Thursday, February 26, 2009

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Kyle 'Dusty' Foggo, Former CIA #3, Gets More Than 3 Years In Prison Top
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former high-ranking CIA official has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for a fraud scheme in which he steered procurement contracts to an old friend. The 37-month sentence for Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, who held the CIA's No. 3 rank from 2004 to 2006, matched prosecutors' recommendations. He pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud. Defense lawyers had argued for probation and cited Foggo's good deeds over two decades with the CIA, many of which remain classified. Prosecutors said Foggo received tens of thousands of dollars worth of lavish gifts and vacations in exchange for helping his old friend, contractor Brent Wilkes, obtain no-bid contracts. They also say Foggo forced the CIA to hire his mistress for a six-figure job for which she was unqualified.
 
Laurence Leamer: Obama's Omission was a Willful Choice Top
When I listened to President Obama's powerful address before Congress, I kept waiting for him to talk about his pledge to double the size of the Peace Corps. But he said nothing. The president is a brilliant man with an extraordinary sense of detail. His omission was clearly a willful choice. I say this in part because the continuing resolution for the 2009 fiscal year budgets $340 million for the Peace Corps, only $9 million more than for the current fiscal year. At best that will leave the organization standing in place. The Save America Act cosponsored by Senators Kennedy and Hatch increases the domestic AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000 volunteers, but there is nothing in that legislation for the Peace Corps. That is tragically wrong. We can't merely succor our kin and shut our concerns off to the rest of the world. It's insulting and isolationist to increase domestic volunteers so dramatically and to turn away from the world outside our borders. Along side the needs of the foreclosed, the dispossessed, the unemployed and the uninsured sick, the Peace Corps may not seem a matter of much concern, but it is of transcendent importance. At this moment in America, we must reach out for what is good within our people and our values to the rest of the world. We can't hunker down avoiding the world in which we live. I do not believe that this former community organizer has turned his back not only on the Peace Corps but on the best, the noblest part of himself. The reality Obama faces is that in a desperate time for our states and communities there is a built-in constituency for the tripling of domestic volunteers but few ready to stand up for those who carry American ideals to the rest of the world. When Obama's aides approached the Peace Corps in Washington they faced a tired bureaucracy full of many careerists with the idealism and energy of clerks at the Department of Motor Vehicles. They have a hard enough time keeping up and many in the leadership did not even halfheartedly pursue expanding the Peace Corps. It was too difficult. That there are 17 new countries seeking volunteers adding to the 74 countries who already have them made no difference. That there is no room for thousands of eminently qualified applicants made no difference. The can-not-do attitude prevails. And thus for the new administration in the midst of crisis it was expedient to put the whole business on hold and to slide past the whole matter in the president's address before Congress. In the early sixties, a Bolivian minister told Sargent Shriver, the first head of the Peace Corps, "The Peace Corps is your punta de lanza--the point of your lance." The Peace Corps is not only America's most vital symbol of its commitment to the rest of the world, but it is a hands-on witness of our concern. We can not build a truly progressive foreign policy without a revitalized, enlarged Peace Corps. The point has grown dull and rusty. It must be sharpened and enlarged. The Peace Corps has to be radically revamped, and the Americans who head out to Asian, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America must be trained in new, dynamic ways for a new world of challenge and change. The first task is to find a new director worthy of a new Peace Corps who will passionately and energetically push for an expanded force of Volunteers. That means no out-of-work politician desperate for a sinecure, no shrewd Washington apparatchik looking for a seat in the administration. It means somebody who has worked in a volunteer-like setting and someone astute about the world of politics and social change. The perfect candidate is Barack Obama but he is otherwise occupied. More on Asia
 
Terrell Halaska and Kristin D. Conklin: Getting at a Real College Cost Driver: Health Care Top
There are few public policy issues that impact every American, regardless of age, race or socio-economic status. Right now, health care is one of those issues where policy decisions can have a life-altering impact on many Americans. The health care reform debate is finally at the top of the nation's agenda because employers simply cannot afford to continue coverage for their employees under the current cost structure. Tuesday night, in President Obama's address to the joint session of Congress, he laid down the marker : So let there be no doubt: health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year. His first budget, released today, includes a $634 billion "down payment" for health care reform. Understandably, everywhere today, U.S. employers are grappling with real and necessary issues of consolidating production, changing services, reducing inventory - and managing escalating health care costs. Entire industries are banding together in formal coalitions to advocate for health care reform. So what if there was one industry, which not only employed millions, but had the best thinking, ideas and solutions for reform, yet that industry stayed out of this national discussion? It wouldn't make sense, but there is one: higher education. While not typically viewed as an "industry," the nation's colleges and universities combined employ 2.2 million people full-time. Compare that to the U.S. auto industry with 809,000 employees , or the United States Postal Service, with 615,000 employees. The car makers, which spend over $6.8 billion in annual health care costs, and the Postal Service, with over $2 billion in annual health care costs, are both engaged in the debate. They know, like so many others in the private and public sectors that the cost of continuing health care coverage for their employees jeopardizes their ability to stay in business. But higher education hasn't stepped up. Colleges and universities have furloughed workers , left open positions vacant - and of course, continued to raise tuition and fees . Those decisions have a direct impact on the consumers of higher education. So, at the very heart of higher education's cost structure is the rapid rise in the cost of benefits for employees - particularly for health care. Despite the huge burden created by health care costs for institutions of higher education, they've largely been absent from reform discussions. Instead, just like a virus that adapts to changing circumstances and becomes more virulent over time, the underlying cost structures in higher education have become more demanding of resources and more difficult to tame when state revenues or endowments decline. Other employer-based coalitions have been working for years in Washington to ensure their needs are met. Yet, higher education organizations and institutions are neither part of these groups, nor working together on their own. This means the higher education enterprise is in a reactive, not proactive position. Actively taking part in health care reform should be a top public policy priority for every post-secondary education employer in the nation. And, that's not only because of the costs, but because higher education has something incredibly valuable to bring to the table: expertise. Colleges and universities have the potential to produce some of the best thinking and real solutions for health care reform. The combination of strength in numbers and expertise, which higher education brings to the table, could positively affect the outcomes in three key areas: cost, prevention, and innovation. Cost The primary methods of cost containment in health care are to: reduce services, shift costs to employees, get creative with bulk purchasing, and pay for performance. Colleges and universities already have some experience with regional solutions to health care challenges, such as the University Health Systems Consortium. In addition, several states are moving towards performance pay models in higher education. This experience needs to be brought to bear as the debate moves forward. There is another element to the health care cost debate that is unique to the education field and should pique their interest. History tells us that as health care costs at the state level go up (primarily Medicaid costs), state support for higher education goes down. If health care reform is successful at the federal level, and state-funded health care costs are reduced, it is reasonable to expect greater flexibility for states to invest in higher education. Prevention For every dollar invested in disease prevention or health and wellness programs, employers save an estimated $5.81 in reduced medical costs and decreased absenteeism . This is a two-fold issue for higher education. First, as a major employer, the industry should be offering these programs to employees so they can reap the benefits of these cost savings. Second, higher education has a built-in platform in their student bodies to spread the message about prevention, health and wellness. Because 7 out of 10 high school graduates go on to post-secondary education, this is where our nation's young adult population can learn the important health education lessons that will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives. Efforts in the K-12 education system are already underway. Higher education can be a leader in this area by educating their student body, which can have a dramatic effect on long-term health and wellness of the nation. Innovation Higher education has long been a driver of research, development and innovation in the U.S. economy. That power must be used on this public policy agenda, not only for the good of the higher education enterprise, but for the good of the nation. Health care costs are slaughtering this country. 17 percent of American GDP is spent on health care compared to only 9.7 percent in Canada and 10.7 percent in Germany. Since 1999, health insurance premiums have increased 120 percent , compared to 44 percent for general inflation and 29 percent for wages. Higher education can be - and in many places around the country are - part of the innovative teams that are redesigning and implementing improved care delivery systems. For example, the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative has brought together 40 hospitals (including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centers), four major insurers, over 30 health care purchasers, dozens of corporate and civic leaders, and Pennsylvania's attorney general in an effort to create a system that efficiently delivers flawless care to patients. The stimulus package recently passed by Congress makes a massive new federal investment in the development of a national health IT system. Higher education should be out front with this opportunity - describing for the rest of us the best ways to allow innovation in health care to flourish and how to replicate those innovations nationwide. Despite our optimism about potential contributions from the higher education community, there is awareness that higher education is reactionary. Traditionally, this community has shown remarkable adeptness at lobbying their own Members of Congress for their individual interests. However, engaging in the health care debate will require proactive coordination and organization. If higher education joined forces with other employers or organized to speak with one voice, the impact and reach would be profound. The nation needs a more cost-effective, productive higher education system in order for its people to continue to enjoy a quality of life that is ever dependent on educational and skill attainment. This week, President Obama called on every American to attend at least one year of college or other post-secondary education, rightly noting that an ever growing segment of our population must be college educated in order to maintain our global competitiveness. In order to meet the President's call to increase the number of college educated workers by 2020, the U.S. will need to increase the current rate of college graduation from 39 percent to at least 55 percent. Costs will be a major impediment to many students, which reinforces the need to rein in the biggest cost: health care. America's colleges and universities need to take advantage of current opportunities to manage their health care costs. Health care is presenting itself as the key opportunity. No other decisions this year will be more important for higher education than their commitment to participating actively in the health care debate. The question is whether higher education can meet that challenge.
 
Donald Cohen: Jailing Teenagers and the Poisoning of Public Purpose Top
Last month, two Pennsylvania judges pled guilty to accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to the two private detention centers. One judge secured the contracts for the firms to house the teenagers and the other judge kept the centers filled by sentencing enough teens. The judges, as part of their secret "placement guarantee agreement," sent hundreds of teenagers to detention facilities for minor and often questionable teen offenses. One high school student was sentenced to three months for mocking her assistant principal on a spoof MySpace page. The U.S. attorney did drop a bribery investigation into the two private detention companies, presumably agreeing with the companies' claims that the Judges demanded the money and they felt they had no choice. But whether it was bribery or extortion is irrelevant. The real problem is that the structure of private detention and prison contracting creates incentives and behaviors that poison our system of criminal justice. Per Diem contracts that are the norm in the prison industry mean simply that the private contractors generate more revenue when more teens are detained or more adults incarcerated. The PA case was an obvious case of misguided motives. A juvenile justice system with its eyes on the right prize is focused on putting teenagers on the right path in those crucial years when a few mistakes can lead to a life on the edge of society. In some cases, a few days, or even a few months, of detention could be just the wake-up call a teenager needs. But the right response could also be community service, taking away a driver's license, probation, counseling, or finding a mentor. Beyond the kind of gross corruption of the PA case, the poison in the system manifests in multiple ways. The built-in incentives in these kinds of prison contracts can also motivate a more innocuous upgrading of sentences to keep balance sheets and public budgets stable. In an audit of two privatized medium-security Florida prisons, 53% of their inmates had actually been sentenced to minimum-security prisons. Contract minimums motivated the state to make sure the beds of private companies were filled. The Prison industry also flexes its growing political muscle to increase the number of people sent to -- and kept in -- prison. Lobbying dollars and campaign contributions are used to push "tougher" laws such as "three strikes", mandatory minimum sentencing, and "truth in sentencing" that increase the duration of sentences. And they support conservative think tanks such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to be the "independent" voice advocating truth-in-sentencing and three strikes policies throughout the United States. According to the Institute for Money in State Politics, private prison companies strongly favor political giving in states with the toughest sentencing laws that are most likely to fill prison beds. And the payoff to the industry is significant. A Wall Street Journal headline last November says it all: " Larger Inmate Population is a Boon to Private Prisons ." Profits for Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the Geo Group have steadily increased as even as most other industries suffer. CCA's 2008 fourth quarter profits jumped 16% from increased per diem rates and a larger prison population. CCA and Geo are both in the middle of an expansion boom with 29 new or expanded prisons completed and in process between 2008 and 2010. The use of private contractors and 'market mechanisms' such as pay for performance contracts allows company revenue and profits to infect the public system of criminal justice. There couldn't be a clearer case where public purpose is driven off the rails by for-profit private actors and incentives. Unfortunately, any new program that looks to other creative approaches to prevent crime and reduce recidivism could produce cost savings from reduced incarceration. And even more tragically, there's now an industry threatened by these actions and well-positioned to prevent that from happening.
 
The Media Consortium: Obama Can't Play Centrist on Immigration Crisis Immigration NewsLadder Top
by Nezua TMC MediaWire Blogger The Obama Administration seems quite capable centrist positioning on many issues, including immigration reform. While some argue centrist position allows Obama to effectively reach consensus, immigration reform is an issue that he cannot play sides with. While immigration reform advocates cheered the passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program bill (SCHIP ), there is also considerable upset concerning Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano’s “finessing” of crackdown tactics begun under President Bush. And more trouble is brewing. While President Obama speaks of improving our approach to immigration, he has yet to call for a moratorium on the ICE raids that are devastating the communities and economies where they take place. And he has yet to address the detention crisis specifically. The first raid of the new administration occured in Bellingham, WA on Feb. 24. As Hatty Lee writes for RaceWire , “In these times of economic hardship, detaining hardworking men and women and dividing families is just perpetuating more fear in our communities. We need to bring the people together not push them further apart.” One wonders how much supervision ICE is actually operating under, as Secretary Napolitano was surprised to hear about the raid: Napolitano told lawmakers during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday that she did not know about the raid before it happened and was briefed on it early Wednesday morning. She has asked U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which conducted the raid, for answers. “I want to get to the bottom of this as well,” she said. Statements like this do not gel with recent actions that indicate Napolitano’s desire to overhaul U.S. detention practices, such as creating a new advisory position to focus on these issues. Through a more cynical lens, the gap between statement and action can be seen as typical political maneuvering, and specifically, Democratic doublespeak. There are factions on the left that disagree on many issues. Even among immigration advocates there is a rift regarding how to present the issue to the voting public. This conflict may be what we see playing out before our eyes. The division among liberal advocates of immigration reform came into focus after 2006 and 2007 ’s failures to pass immigration reform. Democratic party leaders have adopted Right wing stances on the issue, just as they have regarding National Security. Party leaders are using words that imply harsh and punitive action, and eschewing morality or heart in the name of strategy. These stances are based on the advice of a number of immigration advocacy groups such as the National Immigration Forum (NIF), and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), who felt that the focus must come away from what was best for migrating human beings and onto what was in the national interest. This stance was outlined in a confidential report called Winning The Immigration Debate , which was given to Democratic party leaders in 2007. The report calls for tougher language, but 2007’s McCain/Kennedy bill contained more punitive wording and it failed. Are we now to repeat this error, even while the Democrats hold such power in Washington? It will not do to simply “require” immigrants to “come out of the shadows,” to borrow lingo from 2007, and let the Department of “Homeland Security” continue its traumatizing actions on the community. ICE has not lived up to its promises , and worse, resorted to unethical means to justify its continued operations. Already, we’ve read many heartbreaking stories about those who suffer greatly or die in ICE’s custody. As AlterNet reports, we can now add those suffering from mental illness to the list of those impacted. The number of mentally and developmentally disabled detainees in South Texas federal immigration detention centers has surged during the past year, according to area attorneys who call the trend “alarming.” The AlterNet report details the Kafkaesque case of Pierre Bernard, a Haitian immigrant ordered to undergo six months of psychiatric treatment but who ended up, instead, in an ICE detention center. Women migrants are also subject to exploitation, rape, and other abuse. But now, as Kevin Sieff writes in the Texas Observer, women in U.S. dentention centers are now being denied basic reproductive rights. “For pregnant women in immigration detention facilities, it is virtually impossible to obtain an abortion,” Sieff writes. In 2008, nearly 10% of detained women were pregnant. Yesterday, Janet Marguía, President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, responded to the Bellingham raids , and the challenges now facing the Obama administration. Escalating immigration raids and local police crackdowns over the past eight years have spread indiscriminate terror among millions of people who pose no threat to the United States and who have lived peacefully and productively within our borders for years. Most have worked hard, paid taxes, lived productive lives, and been good neighbors. Many have children and spouses who are U.S. citizens. Many have served in our nation’s defense. Yet over the past eight years, U.S. policies have sought to criminalize this population, raid their homes and workplaces, suspend their civil liberties, put them in chains, and ultimately deport them. And while Hilda Solis, the daughter of immigrants, has been confirmed as Secretary of Labor , and Obama has given another straightforward speech to congress and the nation (critiqued here by The Real News ), DHS appears to be still mucking through the Bush agenda. The so-called “Enforcement first” or ICE-centric approach to immigration is not a solution. It asks too much of ICE, it is not practical, and it is not going well. Such an approach is egregiously incongruent with the nation Obama asks us to envision under his administration. We truly are a “nation of immigrants,” and we must rethink our current treatment of migrants. To continue this destructive approach while speaking eloquently and carefully to the Press is a line the President cannot successfully straddle. The administration is now faced with a confluence of reality and ideals. Some things you cannot split down the middle. This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about immigration. Visit Immigration.NewsLadder.net for a complete list of articles on immigration, or follow us on Twitter . And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy and health issues, check out Economy.NewsLadder.net and Healthcare.NewsLadder.net . This is a project of The Media Consortium , a network of 50 leading independent media outlets, and was created by NewsLadder . More on Barack Obama
 
Times Square To Be Turned Into Pedestrian Mall Top
NEW YORK — Two heavily used swaths of New York City's Broadway will become pedestrian plazas in May to help reduce traffic and pollution. It's an experiment that _ if successful _ could become permanent. Last summer, the city designated two lanes of Broadway for bikes and a public esplanade between 35th and 42nd streets. Now, a City Hall spokesman says the concept is being taken a step further. Broadway will be closed to vehicles at Times Square, from 42nd to 47th streets. A couple of blocks at Herald Square, 33rd to 35th streets, also will be closed. The plan will provide amenities for outdoorsy types, including cafe tables and benches. Traffic still will be allowed on cross streets.
 
Patricia Handschiegel: Misinformation, Egos and Inexperience Making Adjustment to Web Harder Top
Would you take business advice from somebody who has no real business background or experience? Probably not. But that's exactly what hundreds of thousands of industries, companies and executives across the country are doing with relation to conducting business on the Internet. It's the downside of new and disruptive technologies. It brings the best and the worst out of a market. It lowers the barrier of entry, opening the door for a flood of new people taking advantage of opportunity. The downside, unfortunately, is that it also creates a lot of noise for companies to sift through. It can become hard to qualify who to truly listen to and what advice to follow, often resulting in costly mistakes. For the past year, the trend in business has been to create a "personal brand" and the Web makes it easier than ever. But a high level of exposure or visibility doesn't always mean substance. In fact, in today's market, it can often mean the opposite. Many who speak on panels or push for media/blog coverage are not necessarily doing so because they have viable experience and information to share. Media, bloggers and conference organizers often select contributors on the basis of their media presence or association with large companies versus real background and proof in the market. It can mean that you're taking business advice from someone who has very little real background with it. There is also little vetting in most online and traditional media outlets today. In 2008, a major business television network had a guest on several times that had no previous business experience and wasn't even employed. In another example, a big brand signed a deal with a well connected blogger only to find backlash and embarrassment. At a panel discussion including digital executives of many top companies last year, attendees were whispering about how the panelists seemed inexperienced in relation to the Web. "He has no idea what he's talking about," is not what you want to hear about someone you're paying a six figure salary to handle your online efforts. I don't blame people for being confused. The Internet is still relatively new. Those who are new to it will struggle. Even those with extensive experience can't be 100% sure of what works. But for companies of all types, it can mean problems that cannot only delay the ability to adapt their models to the Internet platform, but also trouble for the rest of us. I personally would be reluctant to work with anyone who doesn't have a background dating to Web 1.0 (1998-2000) to present. I don't care how much of an overnight success he or she has been. A lot of the lessons of the past can solve problems today. If your team has less than three years of experience in the market, they'd have no way of knowing this. It's in part why I created my company 9 in 2008, and have decided to write a series of technical white papers about the internet as a platform and how businesses can adapt. Though I have an extensive background in the industry dating to 2000, including in IP at the engineering level and all facets of consumer facing sites, I'm not going to tap my personal experience or knowledge, but that of people who have been building the backbone of the Internet since the early 2000. It's because in the nine years I worked in this area of the industry, I've repeatedly found it to be the most useful and accurate in mapping out how to do business on online. For example, by having a sense of what the internet is designed to do, I knew in 2004 what would be happening today with Web TV, that user driven content would be difficult to monetize and that social networking alone would struggle with keeping mass audiences sticky-all very true in the present. This knowledge had everything to do with simply understanding and knowing the platform. It's something everybody can learn. The white paper will discuss what the Internet is, current problems and solutions for the future, starting with TV business. I will post a link here when it's finished. This article originally ran on TV Week.com. You can see a copy here .
 
Obama FY2010 Budget Top
Check out HuffPost's Big News page for complete details on President Obama's first budget.
 
Presented By: Latest Free Viral PDF Branding Software Packs More Power Top
Dan Blackburn and Alex Jordache are proud to announce the release of a greatly improved version of the popular viral marketing software PDF Power Brand. PDF Power Brand is a free software application that allows preset "tags" in a PDF document to be edited. The main purpose of the software is to enable merchants to provide affiliates with effective e-book marketing campaigns. The latest release fixes several bugs in the software. (PRWeb Feb 26, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/02/prweb2178394.htm >> Read more Ads by Pheedo
 
Fay Ferguson: Syrian-Iraqi Border: Human Bargaining Chips Top
Cut off from civilization, a dirty sea of tents sprawls out across the five kilometre stretch of no-man's land between the Syrian-Iraqi borders. Here, at al-Tanf camp, ruthless sandstorms sweep across the scorpion-infested desert plains, whilst temperatures soar into the fifties in summer and plummet into the minuses in winter. Bleak and hostile, al-Tanf has been home for the past three years to hundreds of Palestinian refugees -- close to half of them children -- who fled persecution in Iraq. Stranded in no-man's land following Syria's refusal to grant them asylum because of their Palestinian identity, the refugees have been left waiting for news of resettlement amidst Hamas-led ideological opposition to the issue. "How can people just leave us here for so long and pretend we don't exist?" asks Ahmed al-Rifa'i. "It's like being a caged animal. Get us out, I want to live again." Mr Rifa'i's family fled Iraq in late 2006 after his father's body was found brutally mutilated with a knife to the chest in a back street of Baghdad. The death threats which for weeks had been pushed under Mr Rifai's door and plastered around his neighbourhood were finally being carried out. The last one read: "You must leave because Iraq is only for Iraqis." Persecuted by Shiite militias because of their ties to Saddam Hussein's regime which publically defended their cause, the Palestinians have been afforded little protection by US troops inside Iraq and Mr Maliki's government. An estimated 20,000 Palestinians have fled the country since 2003, some using fake passports because they thought their Palestinian identity cards might block asylum. Their suspicions were right. When Mr Rifa'i's family reached the Syrian border, they were turned away. While some 1.2 million Iraqi citizens flooded into the country, the Palestinians were refused entry and with nowhere to turn, left stranded in no-man's land. It is an unusual policy of Syria's pan-Arab Ba'athist government to block Palestinian refugees from entering the country. Syria has long been one of the strongest supporters of the Palestinian cause in the region, taking in some 90,000 following the creation of Israel in 1948, a number which has grown to a population of half a million today. Palestinians living in Syria are also largely granted the same working and civil rights as nationals. Syria's refusal to grant asylum to al-Tanf's Palestinians is a policy which draws the line at how many refugees the country can be expected to host, Mohammad Habbash, Syrian MP and vice-president for the Syrian-Palestinian society for the right to return, says. Since October 2007, al-Tanf has grown in numbers from 350 to almost 1,000. The new arrivals have come from Syria. Some were deported by Syrian security forces once it was discovered they held false Iraqi documents and some came to the camp voluntarily with the hope of being resettled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to a third country. Two children were killed last year by trucks on the Baghdad to Damascus highway which runs parallel to the camp. Fires regularly break out: last month a pregnant woman was burnt to death inside her tent. Another man died of kidney failure after not making it to the hospital in Syria in time to receive dialysis. "We pray to God that he will pull us out of this hell hole," Mr Rifa'i said. "But it just continues to expand." Mr Habbash defends the deportations as the legitimate right of any country. "As a principle, if the Syrian government finds anyone with illegal papers, they cannot stay inside the borders, whatever their nationality," he said. Hamas has maintained a silent presence at al-Tanf alongside the UN since the first few refugees arrived, bringing weekly deliveries of everything from fresh vegetables, meat, clothes and blankets to cash and televisions. While Hamas' Damascus-based leadership has asked the Syrian government to take in al-Tanf's refugees, its refusal to do so is a position the faction understands. "Syria worries that if it allows al-Tanf's Palestinians into the country then it will open the flood gates to all of our people living in abysmal conditions across the region, Talal Nasser, public relations director of Hamas, says. "The Palestinians living in Syria get treated very well. Consequently, Syria has to take advanced steps to keep people from swarming in." That said, the Syrian government made an exception to its rule in September 2006 when it allowed 286 Palestinians from Iraq stranded between the Jordanian-Iraqi borders to set up camp at al-Hol in the north eastern province of Hassakah. Syria was the only country to respond to the UNHCR's pleas for the refugees. Mr Habbash rejects the notion however, that Syria should shoulder the responsibility for al-Tanf's refugees. "The Syrian government views the issue in two ways," he said. "Either these Palestinians should be able to move to the West Bank or Gaza, or else the US, which created the problem in the fist place, should provide secure shelter in Iraq until it is safe to return to their lands in Palestine." The resettlement of al-Tanf's 850 refugees is a thorny issue. As a principle, Hamas condemns the resettlement of Palestinians to any third country, viewing it as incompatible with upholding the right of return and abandoning the struggle for a future Palestinian state. As a consequence, the faction condemns UNHCR's resettlement of a small handful of al-Tanf's refugees to Sweden, Switzerland and Chile last year. "We know that the refugees in Tanf are living in harsh conditions," Mousa Abu Marzouk, deputy leader of Hamas, says. "But we are also not happy to see them being moved to European countries which they will integrate into and consequently see them lose the right of return." Hamas' solution for al-Tanf's refugees is to take them to Gaza. It accuses Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) of obstructing the process by agreeing to the resettlement of the refugees to a third country and giving up on the right of return. "If the PA was serious about the right to return, they would talk to the Egyptian government and persuade them to allow al-Tanf's refugees into the country so that they can cross into Gaza rather than Europe," Mr Nasser says. The UNHCR disagrees with opposition to resettling al-Tanf's Palestinians in a third country. "Our first preference is for the Palestinians to be able to return home, but they also deserve a better future than being stranded between border posts," Sybella Wilkes, regional spokesperson for UNHCR in Damascus, says. "We don't see relocating them to a safe environment as taking their right to return away." Ms Wilkes added that UNHCR is in ongoing discussions with Sudan and Western countries about the resettlement of al-Tanf's refugees. She also refutes allegations that the Syrian government, due to its support for Hamas and the right to return, is obstructing the relocation process. "Our biggest challenge is managing to get countries to open their borders to the refugees," she says. Hamas, meanwhile, has opened its own back channels of talks with Arab states on the issue. "If they can't move to Gaza, we would rather see the refugees relocated in Arab countries than the West, where they can keep their identities," Mr Nasser says. "But we're sad to see the Europeans opening their borders, while the Arabs refuse." Mr Nasser said Qatar, Sudan and Yemen were all on the cards as potential hosts in Hamas' discussions, with the faction even offering to build the accommodation if the refugees are accepted. Ms Wilkes said UNHCR would welcome the proposals of Yemen and Qatar if they stepped up to the cause, but added the refugees also have a say in their choice of relocation. "On the rare occasion that the UN announces a country has opened up its borders to some of us, I pray our names will be on that list," Mr Rifa'i says. "But as the years pass, I'm beginning to lose hope of that ever happening." More on Hamas
 
Emanuel Replacement Race Early Voting Ending Today, Turnout Weak Top
With early voting for the special primary in the 5th Congressional District ending today, interest in the race to replace Rahm Emanuel seems tepid at best. Through Wednesday, just 3,420 people in the Chicago portion of the district had cast a ballot. In the suburban Cook County part, a whopping 235 people have voted since the early voting started Feb. 16. More on Voting
 
Betsy Perry: Breakfast with Bernie: New Yorkers Hungry For Information with Their Bacon and Eggs Top
I was all set to write about dating during a recession and how I'd rather stay home and watch Law and Order re-runs than date but this morning's breakfast hosted by Portfolio magazine at "21" and serving up Bernie Madoff on a hot plate was clearly worth morning mascara and undereye concealer. I hotfooted it over to a room packed with every New York high-profile name you can imagine (I even saw Dan Rather in the crowd). New Yorkers are spoiled because we have access to instant news and the people who make it, so getting us quiet and anticipatory on the edge of our seats isn't easy — until you hear Elie Wiesel talk about Madoff. It wasn't just that both he personally in addition to his foundation lost everything, it was that this is a crime so despicable Wiesel will never forgive Madoff — and this from a man who has forgiven a lot in his life. While we tried to tout out labels like psychopath and sociopath, Wiesel called him a common thief and a crook. And when asked what punishment would be appropriate, Wiesel imagined perhaps solitary confinement with a video screen that played pictures of his victims... over and over again. It was former SEC chair Harvey Pitt's take that Madoff didn't act alone and while no one had time to push that further, I want to know why Ruth (the wife) Madoff is out shopping for cigars and still nesting with him in their East 64th street apartment, while so many have lost their homes? Tina Brown, editor of the The Daily Beast, questioned whether this could have started as a mob plot with Bernie early on becoming dependent on them for money ultimately leading to this huge scam. While no one yet knows the details, someone in the crowd optioned Tina's suggestion as a screenplay. While outside New York, everyone thinks we all invested through Madoff, in truth most of us had never heard of him — or as someone said, perhaps no longer want to admit it. I sat at a dinner recently surrounded by legendary Wall Street names as well as a man whose name is synonymous with the security (not securities) world and no one knew of him. Unfortunately, until more details come out, at this point all I can do is walk by his apartment every day on my way to the gym and wonder what the heck is going through his mind. Most of the crowd today still feels he's a psychopath and no punishment — including stoning — will ever be enough. I think all of us at the breakfast today left trying to figure out how we could work in waterboarding...
 
Robert Greenwald: Rethink Afghanistan While There's Still Time Top
Many of you reading this worked diligently to support President Obama and his call for change. I'm sure you feel, as I do, an almost palpable air of excitement and pride right now in having a man of Obama's intelligence and integrity in the White House. What I also find remarkable is Obama's conviction that it is imperative for those who disagree with him to speak out, make their voices heard, and discuss ideas without attacking motivation or character. President Obama just committed 17,000 more soldiers to fight the war in Afghanistan. For me and the Brave New Foundation team, this decision raises scores of questions that must be addressed about troops, costs, overall mission, and exit strategy. Historically, it has been Congress' duty to ask these questions in the form of oversight hearings that challenge policymakers, examine military spending, and educate the public. I invite you to sign the petition urging Senator John Kerry and Representative Howard Berman to hold congressional oversight hearings at once. The President has demonstrated his commitment to plurality of opinion and open debate on issues that impact our country most profoundly. In that spirit, I'm proud that Brave New Foundation will bring you Rethink Afghanistan , a new feature-length documentary I am directing in the tradition of Uncovered: The War on Iraq and Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers . This documentary, which we will release in segments online, will foster the kind of discussion, debate and dissent Obama has called for, hopefully serving as a driving force to help make oversight hearings a reality. Watch the trailer in which experts weigh in on the consequences of military escalation: Since the situation in Afghanistan is extraordinarily complex, Brave New Foundation's goal is to create videos posing some of the necessary questions Congress should ask. Watch the extended version of part one in our documentary. Without congressional oversight hearings, no one in Washington would have exposed corruption and mismanagement during the Civil War. No one would have caught the excessive military spending during World War II. And there would have been no national stage for a young John Kerry to throw down the gauntlet to Nixon over Vietnam. Before Afghanistan escalates any further, I believe Congress must inform the public and ask critical questions. Here's what you can do to get people thinking about the need for congressional oversight hearings: 1. Sign the petition urging Sen. Kerry and Rep. Berman to begin hearings immediately. 2. Send this trailer video to your friends and family and post it your Facebook page and please take a second to Digg it . 3. Watch the full-length version of the video. We look forward to bringing you more videos that raise these pressing questions, to hearing your concerns regarding this war, and to collaborating with the bloggers who have been writing about these issues at Get Afghanistan Right. Together, we can help Congress Rethink Afghanistan. More on Barack Obama
 
Cecilia Attias To Move To US To Campaign Against Domestic Violence Top
The ex-wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy is moving to the United States to continue her work as an advocate for the prevention of domestic violence, the Daily Telegraph reports . Mrs [Cecilia] Attias, who once complained to police about "brutal exchanges" with Mr Sarkozy before he was president, has set up a foundation with her new husband Richard Attias to promote women's rights. But she revealed that she will not expect to see much of Mr Attias as he will continue to work largely in Dubai. Attias told Gala magazine that she will be based in New York with her 11-year-old son, Louis. Attias was in the news last month when her Paris apartment was burglarized and she had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewels stolen, the Daily Telegraph also reported . Thieves broke into the luxury apartment in the upmarket suburb of Neuilly she shares with her new husband Richard Attias, an events organiser, police said. ... According to the newspaper Le Parisien, the thieves broke in by smashing a first-floor window. A cleaner later reported the break-in to police. More on France
 
Obama Budget Cuts Medicare Advantage, Helps Generic Biotech Top
President Obama's budget proposal is looking to a combination of tax hikes and cuts to put a down payment on health reform. Details of the measures are emerging that would have a big impact on the government's role in health care, from cuts to private Medicare Advantage plans to creating a regulatory pathway for approving generic biotechnology drugs. More on Obama Budget
 
Obama Budget Has $5 Billion For Infrastructure Bank Top
U.S. President Barack Obama called for the creation of a National Infrastructure Bank in his budget released on Thursday, saying it would "expand and enhance existing federal infrastructure investments." More on Obama Budget
 
Greg Mitchell: Exclusive: Excerpts from Wild 'NYT Magazine' Piece on Newt Gingrich Coming On Sunday! Top
A massive article by Matt Bai appearing this Sunday in The New York Times Magazine appears rather ill-timed. Titled "Newt. Again," it portrays former Speaker Gingrich as the prime idea man and rallying point for the Republican party just as his ideas and party appear more out-of-it than ever in the aftermath of the Bobby Jindal (a Newt favorite) response to Obama's big Tuesday speech. Still, it somehow raises the hope or fear that Newt (he is mainly known by one name, like Che, the article proposes) will run for president in 2012, completing a "Nixonian" comeback. The Times article reveals that Republicans claim that the conservative movement's "thunderbolts" are emerging from Gingrich's office, not the oldline Heritage Foundation or Cato Institute: He is "at the zenith of influence in conservative Washington." Frank Luntz says he is the one guy he would consult on bringing the party back: "This guy would be the perfect 'Behind the Music' story, because he was on top, and then he lost it all, and now he's back and bigger than ever." One might add: Literally, although Bai improbably claims that Newt's waistline has only expanded "modestly." Bai describes what are called "Newtgrams" - his daily emails bearing policy ideas or advice. But as the article goes on, the puffing up of Gingrich as "idea man" falls apart as the trail of his ideas, and defeats, emerge. We learn that one of his key email ideas proposed that instead of a stimulus plan the party ought to propose a four month payroll-tax holiday. Another idea: no personal or corporate income tax and no FICA tax for a full year. Also: a space-based air traffic control idea that would, by the way, he dreams, "cut the number of unionized air-traffice controllers by 7,000." Then, in talking to Bai -- who hails Newt's brain power -- Gingrich gets excited about the wisdom in the 1913 Girl Scouts Manual, and interrupts the interview to ask his aide to order four copies of it from Amazon. And his response to the collapse of the economy partly caused by lax regulation is to regulate it less, calling for, among other thing, the repeal of Sarbannes-Oxley, Then there is this from Newt, which sounds more like Yogi Berra than Descartes: "Someone once said to me, if you don't leave, you can't come back, because you've never left." Bai finally concludes that there is "a randomness to his brilliance....Gingrich may be an 'idea factory'....but it sometimes seems like a factory working on triple shifts without a floor manager or anyone keeping the books." Gingrich boasts that he doesn't build "opposition" movements - "I build the next governing majority." But if anything, the article reveals Gingrich not as the principled GOP moderate it first sketches but just another blowhard - the guy who left office with an 11% approval rating and admitted cheated on his second wife while denouncing Bill Clinton's affair. After arguing that Republicans need to work with Obama to mount their popular comeback, he flipflops after a few days into the new era, deriding the new president's "left-wing policies" and "Nixonian" abuses of power while applauding GOP lawmakers' near- unanimous opposition - this from the man who said he was not for "oppositional" politics. Yet Bai reports widespread talk in Washington of "Newt 2012," with no less than Grover Norquist putting him among the top 5 contenders. Gingrich says that even if he reached the presidency it would be "a secondary achievement....I think I'm closer to Benjamin Franklin than to George Washington. I'm a contributor to my country and to my times." * Greg Mitchell's new book, his ninth, is "Why Obama Won," which includes much HufffPost-related material. He is editor of Editor and Publisher.
 
Bush Stanford Connection: Dubya Congratulates Financier On St. Croix Expansion Top
George W. Bush spoke at a reception for fraudster Allen Stanford in 2006. He was just one of many politicians in Stanford's web, but it makes sense that the two would have a relationship given the Texas connection and the fact that Stanford's Latin American business interests dovetailed with Bush's foreign-policy interests in the hemisphere. A reader alerted us to this Stanford newsletter from just last February in which Bush and his wife Laura congratulate Stanford on their new St. Croix expansion.
 
Republic Windows Sit-In Workers To Get Jobs Back Under New Owner Top
CHICAGO (AP) -- There's good news for laid-off workers whose sit-in at a Chicago windows plant drew national attention to the plight of laborers last year. Union representatives announced Thursday that the factory is reopening after a green-oriented windows manufacturer purchased Republic Windows and Doors. United Electrical Workers spokesman Mark Meinster says all laid-off workers will be offered jobs at the reopened plant, and Meinster says workers are ecstatic. In December, Republic's then owners gave workers just days notice before firing them. Around 200 occupied the plant for nearly a week until Republic agreed to demands for severance and accrued vacation pay. The plant's new owner, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Serious Materials, hasn't returned calls seeking comment. More on Job Cuts
 
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The Progress Report: Conservatives Search For Direction Top
by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers To receive The Progress Report in your email inbox everyday, click here . Nearly 9,000 conservative activists from across the country are expected to convene at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. today, an event that has been called "a Mecca of sorts for conservatives." At last year's gathering, both President Bush and Vice President Cheney addressed the right-wing base, "the first time in 35 years" that both the president and vice president had addressed the conference in person in the same year. Now, with the Bush administration out of office and Republicans holding a weakened minority in Congress, the conference will feature a who's who of right-wing personalities vying to be the next leader of the conservative movement. Despite President Obama's popularity and the increasingly center-left nature of America, the conference's organizers believe that "if conservatives adhere to their fundamental principles and do not compromise them for political expediency, they will soon win again." "On basic core beliefs, we remain a marginally right of center country," claimed American Conservative Union chairman David Keene, the chief CPAC organizer, in a speech at the National Press Club this week. Reflecting the hardline fervor of the event's organizers, the "star attraction" at CPAC this year is hate radio host Rush Limbaugh, who will be making his first appearance at the annual gathering. Limbaugh, the "unofficial leader" of the Republican Party, will deliver the conference's final speech before receiving the "Defender of the Constitution Award." RE-BRANDING OLD IDEAS: As the Republican Party is now "engaged in a fierce debate over how to redefine itself after having been removed from power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue," CPAC will be ground zero for much of that argument. Kicking off with a panel discussion titled, "Timeless Principles, New Challenges: The Future of the Conservative Movement," the conference's attendees will spend three days trading ideas about how to revive the withered prospects of conservatism as a real force in American political life. But if Keene's recent op-ed in the Washington Times is any indication, the discussion will focus on new ways to sell old, stagnant ideas. "Conservative values continue to appeal to vast numbers of Americans, but conservative politicians sometimes fail to communicate those values effectively or live up to them once elected," wrote Keene. "The remedy is not to abandon the values and beliefs that brought us into the political arena in the first place, but to do a better job organizing, communicating, reaching out to new voters and recruiting candidates who are in it for more than a job and the booty that goes with it." Exemplifying the sorry state of old ideas is the slate of predictable speakers, which features speeches from right-wing luminaries like John Bolton, Newt Gingrich, and Ann Coulter. OBSTRUCTIONIST AGENDA: Beyond efforts to re-energize the conservative movement, the assembled politicians and activists at CPAC will be plotting on how to stop Obama's agenda. On Friday, three right-wing members of Congress -- Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), and Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) -- will complain about Obama's efforts to restart the America's financial system on a panel called "Bailing Out Big Business: Are We All Socialists Now?" Later that day, former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore is scheduled to talk about whether Obama's tax policy will "kill entrepreneurship" (if the 1990s are any indication, it won't). Yet another panel, called "Health Care: The Train Wreck Ahead," will. On Saturday, before Limbaugh continues his call for Obama to "fail," there will be three panels featuring climate change skeptics and deniers who are likely to attack Obama's push for a cap-and-trade program. Opposition to Obama, rather than the cooperation desired by the American people, will undoubtedly be a consistent theme of the conference. For example, in his speech at the National Press Club on Tuesday, Keene praised the Republican opposition to Obama's economic recovery package, saying that it meant "the Republican Party finally is showing signs of doing a better job of formulating its message." THE FRINGE REVEALED: Described by some as "Mardi Gras for the Right" and "an all-inclusive vacation for conservatives," CPAC is infamous for candid moments in which the right wingers drop their guard and reveal their true beliefs. For instance, in 2007, Coulter's homophobia was put on display when she said that she couldn't "really talk about" then-Democratic presidential candidate and former senator John Edwards because "you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot.'" In 2005, then-California congressman Chris Cox introduced Cheney by declaring that weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. "We continue to discover biological and chemical weapons and facilities to make them inside Iraq," said Cox. Salon's Michelle Goldberg reported at the time that "no one gasped" at Cox's "startling revelation" because the fiction was an accepted truism for the CPAC attendees. In 2003, one official vendor at the conference sold "No Muslims = No Terrorists" bumper stickers, though he was forced to put them away while Cheney was speaking.
 
Lee Camp: Sign Of Economic Depression: Dogs Killed For Their Sweaters, Shoes Top
NEW YORK, NY- One of the first signs of a looming economic depression has been spotted in Manhattan, Chicago, and Boston - the murder or kidnapping of small dogs in order to obtain their cozy sweaters and inviting shoes. Claire Michaels, 32, said her Chihuahua, Mr. Magic, was kidnapped on Sunday while sporting a mauve cable-knit Ferragamo sweater and chartreuse Christian Louboutin shoes. Magic showed up back at his home on Tuesday wearing only a garbage bag and a hat made out of newspaper. Apparently his magical powers were unable to protect him from the sweater thieves. Michaels stated that she later spotted the sweater on a man playing a flute in the subway and saw the shoes on a devious two-year-old. She said, "I know it was Mr. Magic's shoes because he had replaced the regular laces with those neon pink curly ones." There also have been 23 reports of dogs murdered for their high-end clothing. If you see anyone wearing a short-sleeve sweater with an extra set of arm holes located near the stomach area, please call the police.
 
Dutch Man, Wasem al-Delaema, Pleads Guilty To Seeking US Deaths In Iraq Top
A Dutch national pleaded guilty this morning to conspiring to kill American troops in Iraq, ending the first prosecution of an Iraqi insurgent in a U.S. courtroom. More on Iraq
 
Mike Lux: Obama's Bold Progressive Vision vs. The Conventional Wisdom of the Establishment Top
The most important battle at this moment in politics isn't actually the one between Democrats and Republicans. Us Democrats won that convincingly in November (and two years prior to that as well), and are winning it overwhelmingly in public opinion polls. For the moment at least, the Democratic-Republican thing is less a fight and more of a rout. For now, the more important battle is between Obama's own progressive vision of big bold change vs. the DC establishment (including many Democrats, some of whom work for the President) and conventional wisdom. President Obama, in his speech Tuesday night to the Congress and the nation, has called on us to think big, be bold, and make major change. He has said that he wants a fundamental reform of health care to provide universal coverage and real cost containment, that he wants to re-structure our fossil-fuels based energy system, that he wants major change in our system of public education, that he wants to completely rebuild and restructure our financial regulatory system. Obama has described his already-passed massive economic recovery package as only a first step toward fundamentally rebuilding our economy. These truly are big, bold ideas- and thank goodness they are, because these gigantic problems we are facing will not be solved by small, cautious solutions. His speech could not have been a clearer call for what I call in my book, The Progressive Revolution , a Big Change Moment. He summed up his vision for change in this clarion call: I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves, that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity. For history tells a different story. History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. Unfortunately, though, the conventional wisdom Democrats, those guardians of what I call in my book the Democratic culture of caution, are trying to convince Obama and congressional Democrats to go down a very different path than the path of bold action and big ideas that Obama laid out in his speech. They want to go slow and take incremental steps on health care; they want to bail out the big banks without demanding true accountability; they want to avoid tough issues like the Employee Free Choice Act and immigration reform. These Democrats, some of whom actually work for the man, need to listen to President Obama and take seriously when he says: History reminds us that at every moment of economic upheaval and transformation, this nation has responded with bold action and big ideas. That is precisely the story American history tells us. In The Progressive Revolution, where my message mirrors President Obama's message exactly, I sum it up this way: The time has come again to choose a progress path, to reject caution and embrace our history, and to rise to the example of progressive leaders of the past. Paine and Jefferson, Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, Abraham Lincoln and the Radical Republicans, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, FDR and John L. Lewis, JFK and RFK, Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez, and Betty Friedan and Rachel Carson: their legacy calls us. We need to rise to the challenge and make the coming years a time to remember and record in our history, a period of transforming change that will lift up our nation and inspire future generations. We can solve the immense problems of our time if we understand our history, throw fear and caution aside, and then choose the path that goes forward. President Obama, you should ignore the voices of the DC conventional wisdom and follow your vision of big, bold change. And the rest of us should respond to the call of the President. Let's follow the call of our own history. Seize the day. Mike Lux is the author of The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be .
 
Bart Motes: U2's No Line on the Horizon: Mostly Meandering Mediocrity Top
The good news is that the first single/product warning label from U2's forthcoming (which is to say widely downloadable for free but impossible to pay for yet) album No Line on the Horizon might be its worst. The bad news is "might." Some bright moments come towards the end, but its not enough to salvage the album. Just like their last two ventures into uninspired mediocrity, No Line on the Horizon takes few chances and generally fails on two bases: either sickening commercialism or painful self-indulgence. Into the former category goes the aforementioned first single, "Get On Your Boots." It starts promisingly enough, but listen for a minute and you recognize a painful copy of a copy of a copy of "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me" (HMTMKMKM), a song, which it must be remembered, was not deemed good enough to be a b-side from Achtung Baby . The producers of the third, tediously awful Batman movie saved that track for the credits. God help me, I went to see that movie just to listen to the song. That's the kind of long suffering U2 fan your humble author is. "Get On Your Boots," which I keep wanting to write as "Get Your Boots On," a very bad sign, is a bad version of "Vertigo" which was a bad version of "Elevation" which was a bad version of HMTMKMKM. Same for "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight." There are really no words. It's serviceable at some level, but I'm not sure what that level might be. Into the latter self-indulgent category goes "Moment of Surrender," which is interminably reminiscent of the tracks on All That You Can't Leave Behind (ATYCLB) that caused me physical pain and dry heaves the several times I forced myself to listen to them. Not only does it meander pointlessly through seven plus minutes, it features some of the falsest lyrics Bono has ever written. "I did not notice the passersby and they did not notice me." Does not ring true. An observational statement from the first person about how unnoticed passersby did not notice the individual. Hmmm. The first part is rescuable: You could reflect on being lost in a moment and say I did not notice that there were people passing me but yet there must have been passersby for it was a busy street. But if so, you could still not have any idea if they had taken notice of you. How did the most daring mainstream band in the world become so meek and uninspired? I blame Paul McGuiness, who probably never spent a weekend in bed with Bono, but still serves as U2's Yoko by virtue of encouraging the band to whore out their talent and release drecky dentist's music in a cynical play for the jaded and short attention spanned American consumer. Sometime around 2000, so the story goes, the boys sat down with Paul and explained their thoughts that he wasn't earning his fifth of the cut. (Equal share to the manager? Being a basically decent group of fellows is really the band's downfall.) Talented blarney artist that McGuiness is, he apparently shot back that instead of taking a smaller cut of the pie, he would prefer to grow the pie taller, as that great American George W. Bush would put it. Sure enough, what followed was an explosion of material from the once reticent Irish lads. DVDs, Best Ofs, etc. Much like Chinese peasants who turned a blind eye to pollution because they were thrilled at their rising standards of living, U2 fans rejoiced as the new gruel flowed freely. Would that the lads would have said, actually Paul, we're all rich enough. The title track "No Line on the Horizon" is not bad. Neither is "Magnificent," though strongest in the first minute only to trail off badly. It's the kind of song that you can fast-forward 30 seconds and it will still sound exactly the same. Neither track will be remembered or played in six months but neither will they be case studies in the decline and fall of a great band. They mainly reveal Bono's voice to be a shadow of its former self. Ditto "Unknown Caller," which has both interesting and painfully obvious moments. "Stand Up Comedy," which follows "Get On Your Boots," prompts a rest for the overworked fast forward button. It's spirited, bouncy and while it takes no chances and is lyrically uninspired, is quite listenable in a top 40 kind of way. "Fez - Being Born" is very good indeed, which, half an hour and eight tracks in, comes as a surprise. The music is lively and Bono's singing is unforced and understated after the earlier overwrought bombast. Unlike the rest of the songs, which tend to start strong and fade off, there's a sudden jolt of energy about a minute in. With a downright Zooropa electronicy transition, the lads suddenly leap into action. There's echoes of past U2 songs here, but the echoes are natural, not an effort to emulate the past. "White as Snow" is a melancholy precursor to the superior closer "Cedars of Lebanon." It's nearly interesting. "Breathe" starts damn strongly with Bono trying out a growl that he drops too quickly. It'll be good stadium fare. "A shitty world sometimes produces a rose," sings Bono in the one track that showcases, a la Johnny Cash, how lovely his voice can be if downshifted into a register that he is still capable of and with the world weary glory that he has earned. So it is with this album. The album closer, "Cedars of Lebanon," finally reveals a band that is mature and capable of lovely, subtle music as well as interesting, evocative lyrics. The rhythm section is understated but powerful and Edge plays a quietly powerful guitar line. The lyrics are honest and adept. Reminiscent of the powerful closing tracks on POP . "Spent the night trying to make a deadline / Squeezing complicated lives into a simple headline." Too little too late, but as close to a classic as this album will produce. So there you have it. A fifth awful (McGuiness gets his cut), a fifth self-indulgent, two fifths decent, and one fifth extraordinary. If you've never really given POP a good listen, you should buy that instead of this latest, inferior offering. And dust off that old copy of Achtung Baby . It, not How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb , deserved a best album Grammy. "Cedars of Lebanon" gives some hope for the future. If Bono is to be believed, another album, filled with more "Cedars" style music is forthcoming in six months. According to an article by the Guardian's Sean O'Hagan, Bono says that the subsequent album will be "a more meditative album on the theme of pilgrimage". Some promise lurks beyond the horizon. (Note of trivia: when, after writing this article, I went to get the Amazon link for HTDAAB, I found out that my previously top ranked and first displayed review has disappeared. It received over 250 "helpful" votes but it was not, um, positive. I've written to Amazon to ask for an explanation. Here's the cached version. )
 
Fatah, Hamas Meet In Cairo Amid Hopes For Agreement On National Unity Government Top
Reconciliation talks between Hamas, Fatah and smaller Palestinian factions began Thursday in Cairo amid hopes for an agreement on a national unity government after nearly two years of bloodshed and political impasse that have slowed progress in the wider Arab-Israeli conflict. More on Middle East
 
Lawrence Coburn: Is The Yelp Controversy Overblown? Top
The last few days, we have seen a flurry of controversy around the local business rating community Yelp.com , a popular and influential online community where visitors can rate local merchants such as restaurants and bars. The allegations? That Yelp will remove or hide negative reviews for companies that advertise. This story touches a lot of small businesses. In addition to reaching about 19.5 million consumers per month, Yelp tends to dominate Google search rankings for names of local businesses in cities that they cover, often making a Yelp reputation the first impression a consumer has of a business. If a favorable Yelp reputation is in fact for sale, it puts tremendous pressure on all local merchants to pay up so as not to fall behind their competitors. And if the allegations are true, it raises ethical concerns about the company. The Background On February 18, the obscure East Bay Express published a 4,500 word article called " Yelp and the Business of Extortion 2.0 ," outlining allegations from anonymous and named local business owners who reported that Yelp salespeople offered to move or remove negative reviews if their company would pay $350 per month in advertising. The article struck a chord. By February 20, the story had been picked up by major publications such as The Wall Street Journal , CNET News , The Register
 
North Korea Lashes Out Over Missile-Test Warnings Top
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea lashed out Thursday at critics warning it not to test a long-range missile, saying it would punish those trying to disrupt its plan to send what it calls a satellite into orbit. North Korea announced earlier this week that it was preparing to shoot a communication satellite into orbit as part of it space program. The U.S., South Korea and other neighboring countries believe the launch may be a cover for a missile test-fire, saying the action would trigger international sanctions. On Thursday, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of (North) Korea accused South Korea of "trumpeting about 'sanctions'" against its satellite launch, saying outsiders will know "what will soar in the air in the days ahead." "If the puppet warmongers infringe upon our inviolable dignity even a bit ... we will not only punish the provokers but reduce their stronghold to debris," the committee said in a statement carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency. Kim Myong Gil, minister to the North's U.N. mission in New York, also told reporters in Atlanta on Thursday that his country would implement "the satellite launch as scheduled," saying timing of its launch remains to be seen, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. The report said Kim was in Atlanta to take part in an international academic forum. Analysts say the North's planned launch is seen as a bid for President Barack Obama's attention as international talks on its nuclear programs remained stalled for months and tensions with South Korea are at their highest level in a decade. Thursday's statement mainly targets the South Korean government of President Lee Myung-bak, who took office one year ago with a pledge to take a tougher line on the North. It didn't mention the United States. South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported Thursday that North Korea has built an underground fueling facility near its launch pad, making it harder for spy satellites to detect signs that a missile is being prepared for launch. The facility was built at the Musudan-ni missile site on North Korea's northeastern coast either late last year or early this year, the newspaper reported, citing an unidentified senior South Korean official. The National Intelligence Service, Seoul's top spy agency, and the Defense Ministry declined to confirm the report, citing the sensitivity of intelligence matters. Analysts said satellite imagery taken last week revealed a flurry of activity at the Musudan-ni test site but no indication a rocket had been mounted on the launch pad. Once mounted, the rocket could take days to fuel. Changes in commercial satellite images captured Wednesday by DigitalGlobe indicate progress toward a launch, said Tim Brown, director of Talent-Keyhole.com, an independent imagery analysis firm in the U.S. He predicted a launch within weeks. In 1998, North Korea test-fired a long-range Taepodong-1 ballistic missile over Japan and then claimed to have put a satellite into orbit. In 2006, the country also test-launched a longer-range Taepodong-2 missile believed capable of reaching Alaska, but it plunged into the ocean shortly after liftoff. The North is believed to be working on an upgraded Taepodong-2 capable of reaching the U.S. west coast. The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution in 2006 prohibiting Pyongyang from ballistic activity. South Korea says it would consider either a satellite or missile launch a threat and violation of the U.N. ban since both use similar rocket delivery systems. Yonhap reported Thursday that chief Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei visited Pyongyang last week to discuss the North's missile launch and how to resolve the deadlocked nuclear negotiations. Yonhap quoted unnamed diplomats in Beijing as saying Wu is believed to have expressed China's concerns that the North's missile launch would cause a negative impact on efforts to produce progress in the deadlocked nuclear talks. Yonhap also said the North is believed to have expressed its intention to resume the disarmament talks during Wu's trip from Feb. 17-19. Moon Tae-young, spokesman at the South Korean Foreign Ministry, said he has no information on the Yonhap report. The Chinese Foreign Ministry was not available for comments late Thursday. ___ Associated Press writers Kwang-tae Kim in Seoul, Pamela Hess in Washington and Anita Chang in Beijing contributed to this report. More on South Korea
 
Drunk Driver Parks In Trooper's Garage, Claims He Lives There Top
Zillah-- Washington State Patrol Trevor Downey can't get away from his job. Downey had finished work on Tuesday and was headed to his home in Zillah about 4:10 p.m. when he came up behind a car going slower than the speed limit. The tan '99 Dodge Avenger was driving about 30 mph on a 50-mph county road north of town. The car then turned into the driveway of Downey's home and parked in the trooper's garage. Downey pulled up behind the Dodge and got out to talk to the driver, who was alone. More on LOL
 
Fox Renews "The Simpsons," Setting TV Record Top
As a great man once said: "Woo-hoo." On Thursday Fox said it had renewed "The Simpsons" for two more years, confirming that the animated series will become the longest-running prime time TV series in history. That record has been held for more than three decades by "Gunsmoke," the TV Western that ended in 1975 after 20 years. The current season of "The Simpsons" tied "Gunsmoke," and its 21st season will surpass it. In testament to the long-lasting appeal of the fictional people of Springfield, Homer Simpson will keep inventing new catch-phrases through at least 2011, when the 22nd season would theoretically end. (The show is still young by Mr. Burns' standards.) More on The Simpsons
 
Presented By: PromotionWorld Honors the Efforts and Techniques of the Medium Blue Search Engine Marketing Team Top
SEO Firm Is Named Number One Search Engine Optimization Company for the Month of February (PRWeb Feb 25, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/search-engine/marketing-optimization/prweb2182994.htm >> Read more Ads by Pheedo
 
Former Serb President Cleared Of Kosovo War Crimes Top
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — U.N. judges on Thursday acquitted former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic of ordering a deadly campaign of terror against Kosovo Albanians, and ordered him released from custody. However, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal convicted five other senior Serbs and gave them prison sentences of between 15 and 22 years. It was the court's first judgment for Serb crimes in Kosovo. Milutinovic's acquittal was a blow to prosecutors who three years ago lost their chance of convicting former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of similar crimes when he died of a heart attack before his trial ended. In what was as close to a guilty verdict for Milosevic himself as the court has ever come, presiding judge Iain Bonomy of Scotland said Milosevic was the most powerful commander of Serb troops and military police who carried out a campaign of murder, rape and deportations that forced nearly 800,000 ethnic Albanians to flee Kosovo before NATO airstrikes forced a Serb withdrawal in mid-1999. "In practice, it was Milosevic, sometimes termed the 'Supreme Commander' who exercised actual command authority over the (Serb army) during the NATO campaign," Bonomy said. The court ruled that as Serbian president Milutinovic had no role in what they ruled was a criminal plot led by Milosevic to drive ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo as a way of retaining Serb control of the province. Prosecution spokeswoman Olga Kavran said prosecutors will study the lengthy judgment before deciding whether to appeal. The five convicted of involvement in the campaign were: former Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, ex-Yugoslav Army Chief of Staff Dragoljub Ojdanic, former army generals Nebojsa Pavkovic and Vladimir Lazarevic and Serbian police Gen. Sreten Lukic. Sainovic, Pavkovic and Lukic were found guilty of charges of deportation, forcible transfer, murder and persecution and each given 22-year prison sentences. Ojdanic and Lazarevic were convicted of deportation and forcible transfer of civilians but acquitted of murder and persecution. They each got 15 years.
 
Alan Dershowitz: My Letter to Hampshire President Hexter Top
Dear President Hexter: Hampshire has now done the right thing. It has made it unequivocally clear that it did not and will not divest from Israel. Indeed, it will continue to hold stock in companies that do business with Israel as well as with Israeli companies, so long as these companies meet the general standards that Hampshire applies to all of its holdings. As I previously wrote to President Hexter , if Hampshire did the right thing and made its position crystal clear I would urge contributors to continue to contribute to this fine school. I now do so. Indeed, I plan myself to make a contribution to Hampshire and to urge that my contribution, and perhaps others, be used to start a fund to encourage the presentation of all reasonable views regarding the Middle East to the college community. Debate about the Middle East is essential and criticism of any of the parties, when warranted, is healthy. What I condemned and continue to condemn is the singling out of Israel for divestment, unwarranted condemnation or any other sanction. I look forward to working together with Hampshire to assure that the marketplace of ideas remains open to all reasonable views on this important issue, and that students feel comfortable expressing views that may not represent the majority view on the campus. Alan Dershowitz More on Israel
 
Coen Brothers Direct New "Clean Coal" Ad (VIDEO) Top
The Reality Campaign has released a new ad. They're the folks behind the widely-played ad that featured a foreman in a hard hat taking viewers on a tour of a non-existent clean coal facility. In this new ad, a pitchman gives us the hard sell on a "Clean Coal Clean"-scented air freshener that works just as well as "clean coal." The ad is directed by the Coen brothers, the team that wrote and directed "The Big Lebowski," "Fargo," "The Hudsucker Proxy" and other great films . WATCH: More on Video On HuffPost
 
Michael Wolff: Murdoch Dynasty Might Be Too Close for Comfort Top
What does Rupert want? He doesn't just want one of his children to take over the family business. This is not just about having a proper and respectful heir--his son, James, as everyone in the company and family acknowledges. That isn't the prosaic reason contract negotiations with Peter Chernin, his long-time No. 2, broke down. It's much much grander than that and operatic and dysfunctional and, well, sweet. He wants all his children around him, as close as they'll come. Closer if he can figure out a way. He wants his daughter Elisabeth, 40, who, in a tiff with her father, walked out of the company 10 years ago, and who has since assembled one of the world's largest independent television productions companies, to put that aside and move to Los Angeles. He wants her take over the entertainment properties--Fox Studios and network--of News Corp. When I said to him how satisfied Elisabeth must be running her own company, he scowled and muttered, "She'll never get rich doing that." Then, he solicited suggestions on work his son-in-law, Matthew Freud, the most famous PR man in London, might get in Los Angeles. Continue reading at newser.com More on Fox News
 
Forys Campaign Uses Nazi Analogy To Slam Quigley In Emanuel Replacement Race Top
Fifth Congressional District candidate Victor Forys reached for an extreme comparison in a recent press release attacking rival candidate Mike Quigley, Progress Illinois reports . The Forys statement, which is meant to showcase the support of GOP Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica, claims the supposed gap between Quigley's record and campaign rhetoric are tantamount to Nazi propaganda strategy. From the release, as run on Polish News : Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley has sent out nearly 10 mail pieces showing Commissioner Quigley standing next to Commissioner Forest Claypool slamming Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. The Minister of Propaganda for Germany in World War II, said "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." "Commissioner Mike Quigley is telling a big lie, and he is repeating it over and over and over," said Dr. Victor Forys, M.D. "That is what you can expect from a career, recycled, politician like Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley," said Dr. Victor Forys. "He is cut from the same cloth as Roland Burris. He is a lot closer to Stroger than he has led voters to believe. He needs to come clean," said Dr. Victor Forys.
 
Robin Chase: Tax for Driving? An Economic Engine Top
Let's spin some straw into gold. There is a hunger in the Whitehouse and state houses, on Wall Street and Main Streets for something, anything, to turn our financial distress and disappearing budgets into a future that restores hope, prosperity and confidence in government. I see the shimmering gold that keeps getting mistaken for impractical straw. You just have to get the right angle to the light. The glimmer lasted only a few hours when late last week the AP reported that Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood said: ''We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled'' as a substitute for the gas tax. But within hours of its first report, transportation department spokeswoman Lori Irving declared: "The policy of taxing motorists based on how many miles they have traveled is not and will not be Obama administration policy." And later this sentiment was reiterated later by President Obama's own Press Secretary Robert Gibbs: "It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration.'' And that shimmering straw was thrown back into its dark policy-wonk corner again. But hold on. Let's re-examine the implications of paying for roads by the mile rather than by the gallon. Point zero (not a point for this story but we need to put it behind us so that you can focus): your locational privacy as you drive can be protected. Really. We can deliver on that so put it out of your mind. Point number one: if we follow through with the Economic Stimulus Bill just signed, state and federal governments are going to be replacing a whole bunch of old fuel-inefficient cars with fuel efficient ones, quickly if they follow the promised timetable. And then the rest of us are supposed to be replacing ours similarly, if the car companies and the EPA follow through with their recent promises. And so begins the inexorable melting of the tried and trusty gas-tax that finances our transportation infrastructure. Inadequate gas taxes, inadequate infrastructure. Secondly, a VMT tax requires technology. And because cars and roads go everywhere, so too will this technology need to be everywhere. And therein lies the gold! Unless you are a communications industry nerd, you'll have missed a very short and far-sighted clause in the Economic Recovery Bill: smart-grid demonstrations projects - 50% of which will be financed by us, the taxpayers -- must "utilize open protocols and standards (including Internet-based protocols and standards) if available and appropriate." Imagine if the VMT technology applied this same language. Instead of having a single purposed transponder in every car, you'd have a device that could communicate and interact with the also ubiquitous and also everywhere smart grid. Are you beginning to see the shine? Imagine further, that at your own option, and thanks to the genius of the private sector, this device would be much like any smart phone or laptop. You could download any number of applications. In fact, you might consider this VMT infrastructure -- end user financed because we want to pick our own devices to suit our own needs -- to be the nub of a mobile internet. And like the Internet, it is a network, routing data over cars, through smart grids, and throughout our environment, in a dynamic decentralized way. A network owned by no one, but powered by all of us. Just like the Internet. And just like the Internet -- remember the glow emanating from the late 90s? -- this will be an economic engine like no other. Is this a fantasy? The military is using just this technology to connect people, tanks, and planes in a decentralized robust and secure network in Iraq right this minute. What did our last President say? Bring it on! Bring on that VMT tax! But make it shimmer, turn it into real gold by requiring open standards, Internet protocols and opening up excess network capacity that is funded with our tax dollars. No, it won't happen overnight. That only happens in fairytales. Robin Chase is a transportation entrepreneur, founder of Zipcar, GoLoco, and Meadow Networks. More on Stimulus Package
 
Miami Fontainbleau Hotel Owner Soffer Facing Casino Issues, Possible Recession Worries Top
Miami insiders say Soffer - who's opening a huge new Fontainebleau casino hotel in Las Vegas this fall - is disappointed he can't also have a casino at the legendary Miami original. "The hotel is obviously set up in a way that would be highly conducive to housing a casino," said one source. In September, the Miami Herald reported, "When Jeffrey Soffer acquired the resort in 2005, he made it clear he sees it as a Vegas outpost in Miami Beach." Although casino gambling is not currently permitted in Miami or Miami Beach, the paper noted that a pro-casino petition filed last year by developers of the nine-block, downtown Miami World Center included provisions for a similar casino at the Fontainebleau.
 
Coleman Signals Support For Do-Over Election Top
The talk from the Coleman campaign about how the Minnesota election results are unreliable, and that a do-over election could be an option, has now gone beyond just Norm Coleman's lawyers -- it's now coming from the mouth of Norm himself.
 
Michael B. Laskoff: The Jindal of Our Discontent Top
Ten years ago, Apple revolutionized the world of personal computer with blueberry iMac. Into a world that had always reflected the beige of manufacturing: Steve Jobs served up a computer that looked more like a VW Beetle than an IBM. It was thrilling to buy something for us: the colored plastic, the computer's shape, the operating system and the way that we were meant to use the computer all reflected a fundamental difference in philosophy. True, the color was the easiest change to identify, but consumers recognized that the whole value proposition was fundamentally different. Apple's competitors did not. They figured that simply changing the color of their beige boxes would make them competitive with the first iMac: they were wrong. All of this is rather instructive in light of President Obama's Congressional address and the Republican response. He got up in front of Congress and proved that he is made of fundamentally different stuff than his predecessor. He has a different vision of American and is guided by that in confronting the multiple disasters that confront the country. The fact that Obama is black has nothing to do with the solutions that he is proposing. As obvious as this, the Republicans seem to have missed the point. The Grand Old Party is responding to Obama in the same way that Dell, HP and Compaq did to the iMac. They delivered the same message through a different colored messenger. And just as the computer makers failed to compete against the iMac, Bobby Jindal's message fell on deaf ears. Americans, as the recent polls attest, understand that people should be judged on ideas, not the color or their skin. That's bad news for Bobby Jindal, whose meteoric rise has reversed trajectory has rather abruptly ended. It's also too bad for America because the Republicans seem to be easy looking for a quick way out of their malaise rather than trying to reinvent, or at least evolve, its ideology into something relevant and useful. There is plenty of room for the Republicans to contribute, compete and assist the national recovery, but first they need to rediscover that there is life beyond a mantra of tax cuts. So long as they pretend to be the party of Jindal but continue to take their cues from Limbaugh, that's never going to happen. More on Apple
 
Isabel Cowles: The Land We Are Top
I am not a native to the lone star state, but I've recently come to understand the old adage, "Don't Mess With Texas." While some non-Texans may associate this phrase with staunch federalist tendencies and a love of guns, the sentiment runs deeper than stereotypes, and is a concept we would all do well to adhere to in our own locales. Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending the annual Texas Land Trust Council meeting in Austin, which was dedicated to conservation and land trust issues across the state. Before I went to the conference, I understood Texans as citizens who favor individual rights more than anything, which includes the right to own and develop land. Living in Houston, which thrives off its lack of zoning, I've seen the unmitigated privilege of landownership at work: people do what they will with the space they own, and they're proud of that freedom. The concept of land ownership and rights was at the heart of the American frontier and the cultural sensibility that endures today, especially in the West. Before attending the TLTC, I wondered where contemporary cowboys would stand on the concept of federally protected land. How could a group of hunters, ranch-owners, lawyers, biologists and impassioned environmentalists possibly agree on conservation issues? Apparently, I had over-thought the matter. Joe Nick Patoski , Texas author and naturalist, articulated the stunning simplicity of the issue in his opening remarks: "Without open space, Texans wouldn't be Texans." It is that simple. Texans are bound to the grasslands, the prairies, the bayous and the open skies of their state. They are proud of the beauty that they come from, they are part of the beauty that they come from, and many of them recognize the immediate need to balance development with preservation. Most of the speakers at the event identified themselves by how many generations of Texans had preceded them, and there was a shared recognition of the pride that comes with deeply identifying with a place. These Texans see the land as an extension of themselves because it is the space that bore them and many of their predecessors. Not a century ago, much of this land was still rugged and uninhabited. The TLTC attendees were, in many cases, the direct descendants of people who pioneered this state. Yet the identity of Texans is threatened. The state is currently losing 200,000 acres of open space every year, which is of major importance to the landscape and the ecosystem as well as to state residents. Suburbs and developments contribute to habitat fragmentation, land and water pollution and the disappearance of thousands of acres of trees, grasslands and wetlands that are an essential to biodiversity and, ultimately, to Texas identity. Land that has been developed cannot be undeveloped: land that bears the scars of bulldozers and buildings cannot soon enough become an integral part of the ecosystem again. If it goes, plants, animals and essential human elements go with it. Preserving land is one of the most essential measures we can take to ensure a healthy planet, and, as the Texans I met recognize, a healthy society. No hunter, rancher, lawyer, biologists or environmentalist would be anything without the space that sustains him or the land that defines him. People across America need to take a cue from this mentality and apply it to where they live. I am nothing but a first generation Texan by way of New England. But as I returned to Houston from Austin, I felt proud to be part of the beauty of the sprawling grasslands and spreading sky--in the same way I am proud of forests and lakes I grew up with. We do not need to be natives to a place to identify with its natural beauty or frailty, nor do we have to be natives to make a difference to the space we inhabit. This modern age encourages us to move from place to place as we pursue our right to opportunity, happiness and success. We must not let this peripatetic lifestyle keep us from 'putting our boots on the ground.' The best way to care about our natural surroundings is to spend in them. The more we enjoy where we live, the more likely we are to recognize how integral the space is to our lives. It is intimidating to consider that we are nothing without the land that sustains us. But the thought is also inspiring: we can each make a difference in protecting and preserving the earth, in a hands-on and immediate way. Visit your local land trust, public park, urban garden or arboretum to see how you can get involved. Or use one of the following national resources for inspiration. You'll feel proud that you did. Land Trust Alliance The Trust for Public Land The Nature Conservancy Urban Harvest
 
OBAMA BUDGET: Text, Details Top
More details on the Fiscal Year 2010 budget will be posted shortly. Below are remarks on the budget by President Obama. * * * * * THE PRESIDENT: Before I begin, I have some good news to report. Starting today, the recently unemployed will benefit from a COBRA subsidy that will make health care affordable. At a time when health care is too often too expensive for the unemployed, this critical step will help 7 million Americans who've lost their jobs keep their health care. That's 7 million Americans who will have one less thing to worry about when they go to sleep at night. Equally important, it prevents a further downward spiral in our economy by ensuring that these families don't fall further behind because of mounting health care bills. And it is a direct result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that I signed into law the other week -- a recovery plan that has only just begun to yield benefits for the American people. But while we must add to our deficits in the short term to provide immediate relief to families and get our economy moving, it is only by restoring fiscal discipline over the long run that we can produce sustained growth and shared prosperity. And that is precisely the purpose of the budget I'm submitting to Congress today. In keeping with my commitment to make our government more open and transparent, this budget is an honest accounting of where we are and where we intend to go. For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent. Large sums have been left off the books, including the true cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that kind of dishonest accounting is not how you run your family budgets at home; it's not how your government should run its budgets, either. We need to be honest with ourselves about what costs are being racked up -- because that's how we'll come to grips with the hard choices that lie ahead. And there are some hard choices that lie ahead. Just as a family has to make hard choices about where to spend and where to save, so do we, as a government. You know, there are times where you can afford to redecorate your house and there are times where you need to focus on rebuilding its foundation. Today, we have to focus on foundations. Having inherited a trillion-dollar deficit that will take a long time for us to close, we need to focus on what we need to move the economy forward, not on what's nice to have. That's why, on Monday, I held a fiscal summit to come up with a plan to put us on a more sustainable path. And that is why, as we develop a full budget that will come out this spring, we're going to go through our books page by page, line by line, to eliminate waste and inefficiency. This is a process that will take some time, but in the last 30 days alone, we have already identified $2 trillion in deficit reductions that will help us cut our deficit in half by the end of my first term. For example, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack is saving nearly $20 million with reforms to modernize programs and streamline bureaucracy. Interior Secretary Salazar will save nearly $200 million by stopping wasteful payments to clean up abandoned coal mines that just happen to have already been cleaned up. Education Secretary Duncan is set to save tens of millions dollars more by cutting an ineffective mentoring program for students, a program whose mission is being carried out by 100 other programs in 13 other agencies. We've targeted almost $50 billion in savings by cracking down on overpayments of benefits and tax loopholes -- that is money going to businesses and people to which they are simply not entitled. This is just the beginning of the cuts we're going to make. No part of my budget will be free from scrutiny or untouched by reform. We will end no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq and end tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas. And we'll save billions of dollars by rolling back tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans while giving a middle-class tax cut to 95 percent of hardworking families. But we'll also have to do something more -- we will, each and every one of us, have to compromise on certain things we care about, but which we simply cannot afford right now. That's a sacrifice we're going to have to make. Now, I know that this will not always sit well with the special interests and their lobbyists here in Washington, who think our budget and tax system is just fine as it is. No wonder -- it works for them. I don't think that we can continue on our current course. I work for the American people, and I'm determined to bring the change that the people voted for last November. And that means cutting what we don't need to pay for what we do. Now, what I won't do -- as I mentioned at the Joint Session speech a couple of days ago -- what I won't do is sacrifice investments that will make America stronger, more competitive, and more prosperous in the 21st century; investments that have been neglected for too long. These investments must be America's priorities and that's what they will be when I sign this budget into law. Because our future depends on our ability to break free from oil that's controlled by foreign dictators, we need to make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. That's why we'll be working with Congress on legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy. And to support this effort, we'll invest $15 billion a year for 10 years to develop technologies like wind power and solar power, and to build more efficient cars and trucks right here in America. It's an investment that will put people back to work, make our nation more secure, and help us meet our obligation as good stewards of the Earth we all inhabit. Because of crushing health care costs and the fact that they drag down our economy, bankrupt our families, and represent the fastest-growing part of our budget, we must make it a priority to give every single American quality, affordable health care. That's why this budget builds on what we have already done over the last month to expand coverage for millions more children, to computerize health records to cut waste and reduce medical errors, which save, by the way, not only tax dollars, but lives. With this budget, we are making a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform. It's a step that will not only make families healthier and companies more competitive, but over the long term it will also help us bring down our deficit. And because countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow, we must make excellence the hallmark of an American education. That's why this budget supports the historic investment in education we made as part of the recovery plan by matching new resources with new reform. We want to create incentives for better teacher performance and pathways for advancement. We want to reward success in the classroom. And we'll invest in innovative initiatives that will help schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps, preparing students for the high-paying jobs of tomorrow -- but also helping them fulfill their God-given potential. These must be the priorities reflected in our budget. For in the end, a budget is more than simply numbers on a page. It is a measure of how well we are living up to our obligations to ourselves and one another. It is a test for our commitment to making America what it was always meant to be -- a place where all things are possible for all people. That is a commitment we are making in this, my first budget, and it is a commitment I will work every day to uphold in the months and years ahead. I want to thank all of you for being here, but I also want to give a special thanks to Peter Orszag, Rob Nabors. They have been working tirelessly in getting this budget prepared, getting it out in a timely fashion. They're going to be doing more work in the weeks to come. And I am absolutely confident that as messy as this process can sometimes be, that we are going to be able to produce a budget that delivers for the American people. All right. Thank you. More on Obama's First 100 Days
 
Presented By: Pet Sitters International Launches Accreditation Recertification Program Top
Professional pet sitters show ongoing dedication to an ever-changing profession (PRWeb Feb 26, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/02/prweb2187124.htm >> Read more Ads by Pheedo
 
Narciso Rodriguez, Jason Wu Behind This Week's Michelle Obama Outfits Top
On Sunday, she once again turned to Jason Wu for a violet raw silk sheath dress with embroidered knots as she welcomed students from the L'Academy de Cuisine to the White House kitchen. Later that evening, at the Governors' Dinner, Obama donned a sequined gown by Chicago native Peter Soronen. And at her husband's first address to Congress on Tuesday night, she turned to another one of her designer favorites, wearing a sleeveless plum silk dress by Narciso Rodriguez. More on Michelle Obama Style
 
Russian Island Wonders "When, Not If An Oil Spill Will Happen" Top
"It is a question of when, not if, an oil spill will happen on Sakhalin," said Leah Zimmerman, head of Russia programmes at Pacific Environment, a US-based group that monitors ecological threats in the Pacific region. "Spills can come from extraction wells, subsea pipelines, or a major tanker accident like the Exxon Valdez spill," she said by e-mail, referring to the notorious 1989 spill in Alaska. Others fear that the Trans-Sakhalin pipeline, which runs underground from northern Sakhalin to Aniva Bay in the south, could leak and spill tonnes of crude oil into rivers where salmon come to spawn. More on Russia
 
Holly Cara Price: Rubbernecking: Top Chef Finale Top
Season Five of Top Chef came to a close last night with a final cook-off in New Orleans. Seventeen chefs started this journey last November 12 and the final three were Stefan Richter (from Santa Monica, age 36); Hosea Rosenberg (from Boulder, Colorado, age 35); and Carla Hall (age 44, from Washington D.C.). Their final challenge is to cook a three course meal for 12 judges and distinguished guests at the world-famous Commander's Palace Restaurant. To assist them, through the indubitable magic of Reality TV, the judges located three runners up from previous seasons to serve as their sous chefs for the most important meal of their lives. As our heroes scurry into the kitchen to do the prep the day before, Stefan and Hosea are already grandstanding with swiping all the foie gras 'n' shit from each other. Boys, boys! Meanwhile, Carla's got her own drama going on as it seems her sous chef Casey Thompson (from Season 2) is quietly trying to put her on stamp on the menu. She talks Carla into doing a sous-vide sirloin, which is something she's never done before; as well as a blue cheese soufflé for the final course which later falls flat - literally. The night before the final challenge, our intrepid three receive a visit from a voodoo tarot card reader to tell their fortunes. The only thing we learn from this is that Stefan confides that he has stabbed voodoo dolls in the name of Hosea and Carla. Apparently he's taking no chances. The day of reckoning starts with a surprise last minute protein based course being added to the mix and the upper hand is awarded randomly to Hosea, who gets to pick his ingredient and decide who gets the others. He picks red fish and gives Carla the crab, sticking his nemesis Stefan with the alligator, which Stefan has never cooked before. Long story short; the dinner guests include chefs, restaurant owners, restaurant critics, food writers, and Branford Marsalis . The best line of the entire show has to go to guest and celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito , who moans, "I don't know if it's only me but I'm tired of eating foie gras " (at which judge Gail Simmons , possibly realizing how effete and elitist that sounds, shakes her head). After the meal is consumed, the four judges ( Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons , and Toby Young ) hand down the final judgment. Carla, after the failure of two of her three courses, is written off right away. Her sous-vide steak was too tough; she f-ed up the soufflé by putting it into a too-hot oven (Wasn't Casey around to trouble shoot that at least? Some sous chef she turned out to be). With Carla out of the running, the judges seemed truly despondent to have to choose between Stefan's dizzying highs (his squab was apparently pure poetry and the best dish of the night) and lows (his dessert creation was pronounced "pedestrian at best" and "completely dated; this sings 1982"), and Hosea's progressive arc of consistent good flavors. Since Carla is, admittedly, the most soulful chef of the three, this is a devastating choice. And hence Hosea is crowned Top Chef. The exit interviews often say it all on these shows and this one was no exception. Hosea rather flatly states to the camera, "I couldn't be happier. Things are gonna change." Over and out. The season's ups and downs shall be revisited next week al dente with the cast reunion show on Bravo , Wednesday March 4th and 10pm. Read more of Holly's ruminations on the slings and arrows of popular culture at Snoop* Du Jour .
 
Kevin Smokler: On the Road Top
Welcome to the Shelf Talker, a weekly rundown of news, gossip and recommendations from and about authors on tour. We'll focus on writers, readers, booksellers and the wondrous ridiculous things that happen when thrown in a room together. Send tibits, endorsements, scandal and dead fish to TST@booktour.com . Christopher Moore is an author we're afraid to admit we haven't read since a) We hear the guy's a laugh riot and b) Our role here dissuades us from owning up to such shortcomings in a public forum (oops). However, Mr. Moore author photo has him wearing a Santa hat (in February) and looking as though he just inhaled sealing wax. We then ask forgiveness for our transgressions as we heartily endorse his. Moore's twelfth novel Fool , landed two weeks ago and concerns a reimagining of King Lear with the court jester at the narrative controls. There's more than a few bits about spanking too, which has our expectations about what may pop off at Mr. Moore's author events undoubtedly raised. Paddlers? Ticklers? All in. Call us disappointed if we depart less than foolishly flushed. Moore got a quick swing down the east coast this week (NY on Wed. , D.C. Fri.) with a landing back home in Northern California next month. Sources tell us he packs 'em in so show up early and wear a funny hat in solidarity. Or Mr. Moore's has the Shelf Talker's full permission to wack ya one. Left coast alert: T.C Boyle's coming your way this week, stops in L.A., Santa Barbara and Tempe, AZ. His new novel The Woman is an all-undergarments-on-the-floor look at Frank Lloyd Wright's history with the ladies. We feel downright prudish not knowing that Mr. Wright was both a genius and a giant ho-bag (The "laying pipe" and "hoisting I-beam jokes wasted! (h)o the humanity!) but we'd rather have writer of Boyle's skill tell us than have to read about in, say, our local AIA newsletter. That rag. Boyle's a favorite around these parts ever since Mother-of-TST gave him The Tortilla Curtain as a birthday present. In addition to a greater rooster of A- and above novels than just about anyone writing today, Mr Boyle has perhaps the best posture of any author of his generation. Forget hunching over a podium or leaning forward to hear your question. By our recall, he hasn't broken at the wasit in the decade we've been showing up for his readings. Instead he stands resplendent as a totem pole, letting his magnificent prose swirl about him like dancing galaxies. Defies physics yes, but we dig it. Now would you, gentle readers, kindly let us know (tst@booktour.com) if you spot the man in a deep knee bend? We just want to know he can. Baltimore-based mystery writer Laura Lippman, a favorite of TST since our joint days at that city's major daily paper, will be making somewhere on the order of eleventy-thousand tour stops this spring in support of her new novel, Life Sentences . This one ain't a mystery but that shouldn't stop you from paying Ms. Lippman a visit if you reside in Boston, D.C. Fort Lauderdale, Houston, or pretty much anywhere in Maryland. Her books, deft as a pirouette, still go down like the mug of chocolate we swallowed just before completing this sentence. She's also funny, charming, and doesn't have a single anecdote about how Norman Mailer once pinched her on the behind. To which we sigh in relief. TST is about 3 volumes from caught up on the Lippman bibliography, which leaves us with some work to do. And you, dear reader, to get started. As we once said about Sly and The Family Stone: "If you can't groove with it, the fault does not lie with them." Overheard: ....in a staff breakroom at a library in Virginia: A hand-lettered sign bearing the admonishment "Will the night staff kindly refrain from having sex in periodicals?" ...A touring novelist reporting he no longer picks up babies during signings since one infant yakked all over him after a hoist at an event in Northern California. He now sticks to shaking his keys and saying, "Thanks for coming by!" ...in the greenroom of a sadly-shuttered independent bookstore: A list of customers no longer welcome and their reason for banishment. Subject #3's crime? "Attempting to assault Bell Hooks." ...On a shelf talker in Chicago: "Read this book or our comics buyer will kick your ass." Overlooked: Kathleen Rooney and her book Live Nude Girl: My Life as an Object . In a forest of somber literary magazines and grad students at the Associated Writing Programs conference in Chicago, it stopped us cold. LNG is a memoir of Rooney's career as an art model that wrestles with the headier issues of the naked form as inspiration, objectification for the sake of art, and the role of a muse throughout history. Since Rooney has 3 other books (including a cultural study of Oprah's Book Club) to her credit, we felt sure that her latest effort wasn't of the "I'm hot and wrote about it" efforts we've been seeing too much of lately. Like many authors who get that there's a 21st century going on, Rooney is rolling out Live Nude Girl on a long carpet of sass. The second half of her 25 city "traveling literary circus" rolls through Arkansas, Memphis, Campaign, IL and Ann Arbor over the next few weeks with guest appearances by a cabal of young writertly talent. Given the subject, we shudder to imagine what flavor of loon and goofball will show up. Sadly, not us as Ms. Rooney's closest west coast gig is an imposing 5 hours south of TST HQ. But we'll be watching as Ms. Rooney seems as compelling a talent in her future off the pedestal as on. -- Kevin Smokler is the Co-founder of BookTour.com, the world's largest directory of author and literary events. Send tips, comments, and innuendo to tst@booktour.com .
 
Howard Fine: What Caused Bobby Jindal's Speech to Be a Disaster? Top
I would like to examine from my perspective as an acting coach, the reason Bobby Jindal's speech did not work. I have heard a great many theories espoused and none of them actually addresses the root of what made him seem so inauthentic in his prepared remarks and why he comes off better in live interviews. It comes down to the difference between "How and Why." In life we have thoughts and feelings and then we find the words to express those thoughts and feelings. It is a straight line. In acting as in public speaking, we start with the words. What should the great actor and the great orator do? They should find the thoughts feelings that make them need to say these words. In short they should find The Why. What is a common mistake? It is focusing on The How. The actor or orator in this case is thinking about How to make the speech effective. If you supply the Why, The How takes care of itself. What Jindal did is focus on How he wanted to come across. In acting I call this a General Attitudinal Choice. He thought of the effect he wanted to have on the audience. He wanted to come across as likable and friendly. He wanted the audience to think that he is a good guy, so he adopted a general demeanor of kind and empathetic. This is why he came off as condescending. No matter what he talked about the the pose was the same. He was trying to project his idea of a warm and friendly guy. Therefore he came off as patronizing. Chances are that he didn't write the speech. He needed to find a way of making the words come from him. In order to do this he would have had to contact sources within his own life experiences and opinions that are in agreement with what he was saying. His feelings and expressions needed to travel freely. Instead he locked himself into a false demeanor. Obama is effective because he is in the moment. He is helped by the fact that he is a writer. Chances are that he wrote some of his address to the joint session of Congress. In any case, Obama connects his real feelings to what he is saying. He therefore comes across as the real deal. Jindal is by far better in his live interviews. Some of the pundits have been saying that perhaps he was more nervous about delivering the Republican Response than he was in his interviews on Meet the Press and the Today show. His nerves had nothing to do with it. In a live interview he is speaking his own words, so they naturally connect to his feelings. He also doesn't know what questions he will be asked and therefore cannot premeditate the shape of his answer. He has to listen and respond which forces him to be in the moment. That is why he is more believable in a direct exchange with a reporter. Some have also pointed out that he may have a hard time reading a teleprompter. That is also not the issue. True emotions travel. This is reflected in body language and in the voice. Manufactured emotions remain static. If you look at Jindal's eyes and listen to his voice in the prepared speech, you can sense the hollowness. His pitch did not vary. His expression barely changed. He tried to have variety in his manner but it was predetermined for emphasis and to give the impression of a real expression. He chose was and/or coached on where to pause and what words to stress. None of this happened organically and he therefore came across as insincere. More on Bobby Jindal
 
Jamal Dajani: No Pasta For Palestinians Top
It's been more than a month since Israel's devastating war on Gaza left many dead and thousands injured. The war has ended, but life in Gaza has not returned to normal. Thousands of people remain homeless, and many people remain hungry. Their stories have all but disappeared from US media coverage. One story is the story of Ayman Aboud, a ten year old orphan from Jabalia. Ayman has lost his parents, two uncles, his grandmother and all of his four siblings. He is now legally deaf having lost more than eighty percent of his hearing and has not spoken a word since the devastating event of January 6 when Israeli shells fell on his home. Ayman's story is not unique. There are hundreds of stories like it. Does anyone care? Here is a story that made headlines and several news cycles on CNN, FOX and other networks: The United Arab Emirates came under sharp criticism after it banned Israeli women's tennis player Shahar Peer last week from entering the country to play in the lucrative Dubai Tennis Championships. The decision of banning Ms. Peer was foolish. Politics and sports should not mix. However, why are those same media outlets not reporting Palestinian athletes who are banned from participating in local and regional competitions due to Israel's restriction of their movement? Last year Israel prevented the captain of the Palestinian soccer national team - who resides in Gaza - to travel to the West Bank in order to attend the team's first international home match. There was no international outrage and CNN, FOX and others did not mention this in their coverage. Also last week, US Senator John Kerry made a rare visit to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. His first stop in the impoverished Palestinian enclave was the American school left in ruins by the deadly 22-day Israeli offensive that ended on January 18. Kerry defended Israel for responding to the rocket attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups. "Your political leadership needs to understand that any nation that has rockets coming into it over many years, threatening its citizens, is going to respond." Senator Kerry did not talk about Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air since June 2007, but he got to experience it firsthand. UN officials have informed him that truckloads of pasta were waiting at the border for days and were prevented by Israel from crossing the border to be distributed to thousands of hungry refugees and homeless in Gaza. Guess what reason Israeli officials gave as an excuse for preventing the pasta from entering Gaza? Pasta is not considered humanitarian aid! But rice is. Fortunately for Palestinians, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak eventually allowed the shipment in after direct intervention by Kerry. Starving children in Gaza can now eat pasta! Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be making her first Mideast trip as America's top diplomat next week. She will be bringing with her good news to the besieged people of Gaza. According to unconfirmed reports, the Obama administration will be donating at least $900 million in humanitarian and rebuilding aid to the Palestinian Authority to help Gaza recover from Israel's latest offensive. Check this out: the aid will go to the Palestinian Authority, which does not have any control over Gaza and whose corrupt members were the reason behind the rise of Hamas, in the first place. Just a reminder: Palestinians elected Hamas because the Palestinian Authority was corrupt! In the meantime Madame Secretary, please bring with you some tomato sauce for the pasta. Gazans would appreciate this more than a promise of $900 going to the PA. Jamal Dajani produces the Mosaic Intelligence Report on Link TV. More on Hamas
 
Lane Wesley Burt: State of the Nation: What Does It Mean For Efficiency? Top
President Obama gave the "State of the Nation" address Tuesday and didn't disappoint. He continues to beat the drum for efficiency and display a big picture understanding of how we can improve our economic outlook and take urgent action on climate change. "We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills. But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America." Notice the order here. We address our infrastructure, we focus on our economy through building retrofits and we push forward on renewable energy, all within the overarching context of climate change action. I agree completely. Climate change legislation is huge for efficiency. The President says we are going to get to work making our buildings more efficient and save billions. He is not exaggerating; the benefits are huge. Retrofitting homes is a labor intensive endeavor . An average home retrofit takes a crew of 3 people about 5 days to complete. There are 111 million homes in this country. We can cut consumption in these homes 30-50% or $700 to $1150 annually on average. Every 4 crews or so needs a project manager. Every retrofit company needs accountants, executives, salesmen, and administrative staff. They need legal advice, they need office supplies, and they need to advertise. The insulation, caulk and sealants, appliances, and mechanical systems they install have to be manufactured. The money that each person saves from being wasted on energy will be spent, supporting other industries and creating more jobs. Add to this projection the 4.8 million commercial buildings in this country, representing 72 million square feet of space. No, he is definitely not exaggerating. Sounds like a plan to me. This post originally appeared on NRDC's Switchboard blog .
 
Jonathan Handel: Leno's All Charged Up Top
The wheels of Writers Guild justice grind slowly, it seems. Flashback to January 2007--almost 14 months ago--when Hollywood was in the middle of a long writers strike, rather than an even longer screen actors stalemate. Comedian Jay Leno, after having been off the air for weeks, came back on, this time minus his writers. That reappearance gave the WGA strike a highly visible supporter, as Jay's first returning monologue was a recital in favor of the strike. But it also created a problem, because Leno, himself a WGA member, was penning his own material. The WGA said at the time that that was a violation of guild strike rules. Leno and his network, NBC, denied that the strike rules applied to performers writing their own material. The legal analysis is a bit complicated, but I concluded at the time that Jay was probably in violation. Eventually the strike ended, and we all moved on to other things, such as SAG strife and bank failures. La affaire Leno disappeared into the maw of the WGA. Meanwhile, ironically, Jay made Hollywood labor news again in December, when it was announced that his show was moving to primetime, displacing five hours of scripted primetime programming per week and causing a commensurate loss of acting jobs that upset SAG. The Writers Guild, in turns out, hadn't forgotten Jay, or forgiven him either. Why it took 14 months is unclear, but yesterday, reports the LA Times , Leno was called in front of a WGA trial committee to assess whether he had broken the strike rules. The case is a political hot potato, because it pits the power of a Hollywood guild against the even greater power of one of its prominent members. If found guilty, penalties could include a reprimand, a fine or even expulsion from the union (this last seems unlikely). No word, however, on how long that determination might take, or on what appeal procedures might be available. -------------- Subscribe to my blog ( jhandel.com ) for more about SAG, or digital media law generally. Go to the blog itself to subscribe via RSS or email. Or, follow me on Twitter , friend me on Facebook , or subscribe to my Huffington Post articles. More on Jay Leno
 
Shashi Tharoor: An Open Response to "an Open Letter to Shashi Tharoor" Top
Note from Shashi Tharoor: "Some of my regular readers are aware that of late, my writing has been taking a back seat to an increasing involvement in public affairs in India. This has involved me in some occasionally-interesting polemics, including the recent exchange of "open letters" that appears below. Since the correspondence raises larger issues about the role of multinational corporations and their social responsibility in a country like India, I thought it might be of interest." An Open Response to "an Open Letter to Shashi Tharoor" 26 February 2009 Dear Mr Swaminathan and Mr Ajayan, Thank you for sending me your letter on February 24. I note, however, that for several days prior to your sending it to me, you had already released it to the media and in various Internet forums. It would appear that your communication was therefore not designed to elicit a genuine answer from me, but rather to score political points. Nonetheless I am doing you the courtesy of taking your public charges in good faith and responding to them point by point. You express your "shock and dismay" at my membership of the Advisory Board of Yatn, the Coca-Cola India Foundation and go on to "condemn [my] insensitivity and unconcern to align with the criminal Coca-Cola against the people of Plachimada." First of all, I should point out the difference between the Foundation and the company. I serve, alongside several renowned social activists and human rights leaders, under the chairmanship of the former Supreme Court Chief Justice and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Justice J.S. Verma, on the advisory board of a purely philanthropic organization. The Foundation is financed by the Coca-Cola Company as part of its corporate social responsibility, which is a practice that I have encouraged around the world since my United Nations days, when UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched the "Global Compact" to encourage corporations around the world to adhere to certain globally-accepted principles and practices. Far from "aligning against the people", the purpose of encouraging such a Foundation is precisely to ensure that the company looks beyond its commercial bottom-line and serves the people of our country. I have been, and remain, strongly committed to the belief that in our liberalizing economy, private sector companies should not only maintain the highest employment and labour standards, but also take pro-active steps to benefit the communities in which they operate. My membership of the Foundation's Advisory Board aims at promoting such benefits through a number of concrete projects, particularly in the area of safe drinking water, which is in such short supply in our country. You level a number of charges against the Coca-Cola company's operations at the Plachimada plant, notably relating to ground-water exploitation and pollution of groundwater through toxic waste from its plant. As I stressed, I do not represent the company in any way, but I am fully aware that such charges led to the plant ceasing operations in 2004. Needless to say, far from being "unconcerned", I enquired into the matter to satisfy myself that these allegations had been thoroughly examined by the competent authorities. I note that a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court ruled, in a judgement dated 7 August 2005, that the company was not guilty of unfairly exploiting the groundwater, and that indeed the groundwater in Plachimada continued to dry up after the company ceased operations, leading the Court to conclude that other factors, including a shortage of rainfall, were to blame. The Court based its conclusions on a number of detailed independent expert studies, including one that the Court itself had commissioned from the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode, which is a part of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and the Environment. I do not understand on what basis you are questioning the Kerala High Court's conclusions. On the question of ground-water toxins and toxic sludge, I have seen reports from reputed governmental bodies, including the Kerala State Pollution Control Board and the Central Ground Water Board, New Delhi, refuting your charges. Once again, I am unable to understand the scientific basis for your continued charges against the company, and can only conclude that they are politically-motivated. Finally, with regard to the discontinuation of the supply of drinking water by the company, I note that this supply in fact continued till December 2007, almost four years after the plant's forced closure, but that it was not practical for the company to continue beyond that date in view of its lack of operations in the area. The Court order required it to supply drinking water to the community only so long as it continued operations there. Nonetheless, the Yatn Foundation intends to give thought to developing a philanthropic project in Kerala in the area of drinking water, an issue to which I have personally attached the highest importance in my interventions on the Advisory Board. Let me add, in conclusion, and with a heavy heart, how much I deplore both the content and tone of your letter. Since leaving the United Nations, I have been doing my best to promote investment into Kerala, which alone can generate the employment that is so desperately needed by our people. As a Keralite, I am ashamed that our people have to find work elsewhere in India and in the Gulf because the over-politicized atmosphere in Kerala discourages companies from investing in our state. The only result of your agitation over the Plachimada plant has been to close down an investment worth over Rs 80 crores in our state, which provided direct employment to 400 people and indirect employment to more than 5000 persons, including transporters, construction workers, and distributors. While all these people are now out of a job, no one has benefited from your continued protests. Instead, the image of Kerala as a place in which it is unwise for businesses to invest has been reinforced. It is tragic that actions such as yours ensure that politics overrides the genuine needs of the people. If you are truly concerned about the well-being of the people of Plachimada, I would urge you instead to attempt to do what you can to persuade businesses like Coca-Cola to invest in Kerala and provide employment and drinking water to the people of our state. I would be pleased to join you in such an endeavour. And instead of being dismayed by my service in such a Foundation, I urge you to applaud whatever help the other Advisory Board members and I can provide to steer the Foundation's resources towards helping people on issues like safe drinking water, energy resources, waste management, and the development of backward areas. Yours sincerely, Shashi Tharoor More on India
 
Presented By: Texts.com Launches International Text Messaging and SMS Marketing Service Top
New website and service to enable international text messaging and SMS Marketing services. The company's mandate is to simplify international text messaging and mobile advertising, making it easy-to-use and affordable for everyone to send texts. With the North American mobile marketing industry expected to grow by 650% in the next five years, the service aims to open up SMS Marketing as an affordable option to small and local businesses. (PRWeb Feb 25, 2009) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/texts/sms-marketing/prweb2167294.htm >> Read more Ads by Pheedo
 
What's Scaring Kids About Food Top
While scarcely any expert would criticize parents for paying attention to children's diets, many doctors, dietitians and eating disorder specialists worry that some parents are becoming overzealous, even obsessive, in efforts to engender good eating habits in children. With the best of intentions, these parents may be creating an unhealthy aura around food.
 
Geithner: Nationalization Is "The Wrong Strategy," "Deeply Offended" By Banks Top
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner spoke with PBS' Jim Lehrer on Wednesday evening about the Obama administration's economic plans. Among the highlights: On the bank bailout, Geithner said, "think of it as a form of insurance from the government." As for the approximately 20 banks that began undergoing "stress testing" on Wednesday--where the government checked their capital cushion to determine whether they could survive a worsening recession--Geithner called it "a core part of what banks do and what supervisors do, but we wanted to bring a more consistent, more conservative, more forward-looking approach." Critics are panning the stress test, however, saying it does not go far enough. The government is assuming that the economy contracts by 3.3% this year and remains mostly flat in 2010. The guidelines also assume that housing prices will fall another 22% this year, while unemployment will reach 8.9%. According to the New York Times : ...Analysts say the administration's worst projections, which it describes as unlikely, are not much more dire than what many private forecasters already expect... ..."I don't think they are harsh enough," said David Hendler, an analyst at CreditSights, who said the dire projection was itself too optimistic about the growth that would be generated from President Obama's stimulus program. "That would be a pleasant outcome, but you have to plan for the worst." Geithner, in his interview with Lehrer, also confronts the issue of nationalization. Since news broke that the government is nearing a deal to purchase shares in Citigroup totaling some $40 billion, the idea that American banks could be nationalized has become a hot-button issue. Nationalization is "the wrong strategy for the country, and I don't think it's a necessary strategy," Geithner said. He added that a government investment in the banks "does not go to pay dividends or excess compensation." He added: "we want the terms designed so that, as conditions normalize, our support is expensive and unattractive," motivating the banks to replace the government support with private sector investment. Continuing with his views on nationalization, Geithner said, "governments tend to underestimate the scales of problem, they move too slowly, they're too tentative and gradual, they escalate late, and that makes crises deeper." As for the banks and their behavior during this crisis, Geithner said he was "deeply offended by the quality of judgments we've seen in the leadership of our nation's financial institutions. They've created a deep hole of public distrust and anger..." In related news, CIA Director Leon Panetta said on Wednesday that the intelligence community is preparing daily reports for Obama on the foreign policy of countries facing instability as a result of the worldwide recession. According to ABC News, he specifically mentioned China, Russia, Argentina, Ecuador and Venezuela. The first report was delivered on Wednesday. "Obviously, the purpose of that of that is to make sure we are not surprised by the implications of (the) worldwide economic crisis and what happens with countries throughout the world as a result of that," he said. The world economic crisis has become the biggest near-term U.S. security concern, displacing terrorism, U.S. intelligence agencies told Congress this month. WATCH: More on Timothy Geithner
 

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