Monday, March 30, 2009

Y! Alert: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Marian Wright Edelman: Important Free Help at Tax Time Top
Mabel Pichardo is a self-employed mother of two young children from New York City. She earned approximately $31,000 last year making ends meet through three different freelance jobs. In 2008, she had her tax returns prepared for free at the nonprofit Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation. She found the workers courteous and helpful and often referred friends and co-workers to their site. But this year, a personal financial emergency caused Mabel to go to a commercial tax preparer and purchase a loan that would allow her to use some of her refund money right away. Rapid Center, a tax preparation business in the Bronx, charged Mabel $160 for tax preparation plus $150 for a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL). It would have taken Mabel about two weeks to receive her refund through direct deposit into her bank account if she had filed it online with free assistance from the nonprofit organization. But because she was facing eviction, she didn't think she could wait and felt she had no choice but to purchase the loan. Mabel used most of her $4,480 refund to pay past due rent and the rest to catch up on bills and purchase food for her family. She certainly also could have used the extra $310 she was forced to spend at the commercial tax preparer. Mabel is not alone. Some commercial tax preparers take advantage of workers by targeting them for "rapid refunds" through RALs, short-term, high-interest loans that tax filers take out against their expected tax return. Tax preparers aggressively market these loans as a way to get cash fast instead of waiting for a tax refund. Most of their customers are low-income taxpayers who need their refunds quickly to pay for basic needs. These loans are disproportionately marketed in Black and Latino communities and offered in locations not typically used for financial services, including auto dealerships, pawn shops, and rent-to-own stores. Tax preparers advertise to filers that they can use their loan for a down payment on a car or to purchase items in the store. These loans often undermine important benefits that should be available for hard-working families playing by the rules but still struggling to stay ahead. As the 2008 tax filing deadline approaches and millions of families struggle in the economic recession, the Children's Defense Fund has released a report highlighting the importance of tax credits for working families and how low-income families lose billions of dollars each year to predatory commercial tax preparers. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable federal tax credit for low- and modest-income workers, is one of the most effective tools for lifting families out of poverty. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that in 2005, the EITC lifted 5 million low-income Americans out of poverty--including 2.6 million children. EITC's benefits are far-reaching. EITC and the Child Tax Credit help families make ends meet during tough economic times, improve children's well-being, and benefit our economy and communities. But it's the same workers who most need their hard-earned income who are often sold these expensive loans. In tax year 2006, our report found low-income families lost $3.1 billion of their EITC benefits to high-interest, short-term loans, tax preparation fees and other financial products pushed by commercial tax preparers. Community leaders need to be aware and warn against their use. Filing alone can be confusing, so CDF and other organizations have encouraged the growth of free tax preparation sites that offer electronic filing and direct refund deposit, allowing taxpayers to get their money in two weeks or less without unnecessary fees. The money saved helps families pay bills, purchase needed household items, and even save a bit. Are you eligible for the EITC or the Child Tax Credit? Visit the Children's Defense Fund's website, download our report, find out if you are eligible, and locate a free tax preparer site near you. Whether or not you are eligible, you can learn how to help children escape poverty by helping working families keep more of their benefits. You also can see how much your city, county or state has lost to predatory commercial tax preparers and how individuals, communities and policy makers can take action.
 
Jayne Lyn Stahl: Pimping Out Your Wallet Top
These days, we no longer look to sacrifice our first born on the altar of unnameable greed, but instead our wallets. The rescue plan which has funneled tax dollars into the pronounced, if a bit frayed, pockets of all the major U.S. home savings and loans has also left town with our savings. When our friendly ancestors came in on the Mayflower, (make that your friendly ancestors; mine came through Ellis Island, and were not all that friendly), they couldn't have imagined that someday we'd be walking depositories, existing solely for their mercantile (read mercenary) approval. The guy who penned "The Declaration of Independence" had this to say back in 1802: "Banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." But, even Thomas Jefferson couldn't have predicted that the predators would have been this prolific, or that global economic collapse could happen about as fast as it takes to make your average cheeseburger. Arguably, too, were he able to say so, Mr. Jefferson might tell big banks, and investment companies, like JP Morgan, to forget about their toxic assets and get their toxic asses out. His idea of rescue might be more Napoleonic -- exile! (How many chief executives of these behemoths have already taken refuge in Swiss bank accounts may never be known) Every time Uncle Sam decides to manufacture greenbacks in the name of rescuing you from financial ruin, it's like a pimp trying to persuade a judge he was just trying to secure enough money to pay the college bill for one of his wards. It's flat out usury, plain and simple, and usury, like war, alas, is mostly nondenominational, and president-proof. More on Economy
 
Virginia Dems Allow Stem Cell Research Ban To Pass Top
Apparently the General Assembly Democrats allowed legislation to pass BANNING state funds for embryonic stem cell research?!?!?!?!
 
Paulson Wants More 'Kudos' For Saving Economy Top
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, former treasury secretary Hank Paulson said the Bush administration prevented the economy's "collapse" but seemed to lament the fact that the public hasn't given the previous administration credit for it: More on Economy
 
Ari Herzog: Bloggers: Fight Hunger on April Food Day Top
If you are a blogger, please join me on April Food Day . Responding to the economic downturn and the fact that people are losing their jobs, the editors of Easy & Elegant Life and Pigtown*Design joined forces to create a blogger action day on April 1, 2009, which they've called April Food Day . Echoing their goals, I will join them and write about hunger on my blog . But that's not all. I ask you to consider donating whatever you can afford to Feeding America (formerly Second Harvest), a national food bank with 200 member banks across the country. This is the official recipient organization of the project. Every dollar you contribute provides seven meals or 10 pounds of food. A $25 gift provides 75 meals. If each of us who has a blog writes something on April 1 and ask our readers to contribute, imagine the difference we can make in our communities. If you would like to help: Write this or a similar article on your blogs, and ask your readers to do the same. Remember to write something on March 31 or April 1, asking your readers to donate to Feeding America. Provide a link to the original blog, April Food Day , and they will link back to your blog and to your post. This is not a joke. Please join me on April 1.
 
James Zogby: Bush's Tortured Legacy Top
Stories on the Bush Administration's use of torture in Sunday's New York Times ("Spanish Court Weighs Criminal Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-era Officials" ) and Washington Post ("Detainee's Harsh Treatment Foiled No Plots") raise several issues worth noting. Despite Cheney's stubborn insistence that information obtained from tortured detainees stopped "a great many" terrorist attacks, he will present no evidence to back up that assertion (not even in a classified setting to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, responsible for oversight in this matter). Because he has so often stretched the truth and fudged facts, Cheney's word alone is not enough. In fact, the weight of credible evidence leads to the opposite conclusion: that "tortured testimony" is just that - unreliable and, because it is also inadmissible, we now have a bunch of tortured prisoners on our hands with whom we don't know what to do. One might hasten to add that torture has also sullied our image and compromised our values (to which, I fear, the former VP might respond "so what"). But, lest we forget, torture is also against international law and binding Conventions. Since neither our Congress nor Department of Justice have moved to hold the last Administration accountable for their violations of law (a fact that surely compromises our ability to hold other governments accountable), it looks like a Spanish court will do the job for us. I, for one, am heartbroken to see us reduced to the level of Chile's Pinochet. As the Spanish court proceeds to build a case against the Bush Administration for its use of prohibited torture practices, the court may have an easy time of it. It appears that they will encounter no denials - just boastful claims that the torture worked! I'm not sure the judge will be impressed. Messers Gonzales, Addington, Yoo, Feith et al ought to consider canceling foreign travel for awhile.
 
How Old Are You? Take The Real RealAge Test Top
Considerable attention has fallen lately on RealAge, a wildly popular online questionnaire that claims to calculate your body's true age by factoring in your diet, medical history, exercise habits and less obvious indicators of longevity like how many close friends you have. Critics complain that the test is used by pharmaceutical companies to identify potential customers and bombard them with e-mailed ads. No one, though, has warned about the danger inherent in the questionnaire itself: the mere act of slogging through its more than 85 questions could subtract years from your life. And the test gives short shrift to the adage "You're as young as you feel" -- few questions address what might be thought of as one's mental age. Below, a more focused quiz that should save you precious hours:
 
3 Weeks As Blagojevich Appointee Adds $40,000 A Year To Pension Top
The State Employees Retirement System has signed off on granting former Rep. Kurt Granberg (D-Carlyle) a yearly pension of $113,305. Which is $40,288 more a year than he would have gotten if his pension were based only on his 22-year legislative career, which ended in mid-January.
 
Obama Announces GM, Chrysler Restructuring Plan (LIVE VIDEO) Top
President Obama is set to elaborate Monday on what he told reporters over the weekend: Neither GM nor Chrysler submitted acceptable plans to receive additional federal bailout money. Administration officials said Chrysler has been given a 30-day window to complete a proposed partnership with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. The government will offer up to $6 billion to the companies if they can negotiate a deal before time runs out. If a Chrysler-Fiat union cannot be completed, Washington plans to walk away, leaving Chrysler destined for a complete sell-off. For GM, the administration offered 60 days of operating money to restructure. Officials say they believe GM can put together a plan that will keep production lines moving in the coming years. WATCH OBAMA LIVE AT 11 AM EST : More on Obama's First 100 Days
 
Second US Soldier Found Guilty Of Iraqi 'Execution-Style' Killing Top
VILSECK, Germany — A military court convicted a second U.S. soldier of murder in the execution-style slayings of four bound and blindfolded Iraqi detainees in 2007 after the soldier pleaded guilty at his court-martial Monday. Wearing his dress uniform and speaking crispy and confidently, Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Mayo of Fort Bragg, N.C., pleaded guilty to charges of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder at the proceeding at the U.S. Army's Rose Barracks in southern Germany. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of obstruction of justice in the incident, which occurred while he was deployed to Iraq. Military prosecutors dropped that charge. The 27-year-old will be sentenced later Monday and faces the possibility of life in prison, along with a reduction in rank to private, forfeiture of all pay and a dishonorable discharge. Col. Jeffrey Nance, the judge overseeing the proceedings, told Mayo that he "entered into an agreement to commit premeditated murder" that saw the four Iraqi men shot in the head by the side of a canal in Baghdad between March and April 2007. In February a military court convicted Sgt. Michael Leahy, 28, of Lockport, Ill., to life in prison with the possibility of parole after he admitted to the execution-style killing of one of the detainees and shooting another. He was acquitted of murder over a separate incident in Baghdad in January 2007. According to testimony at previous courts-martial, at least four Iraqis were taken into custody in spring 2007 after a shootout with a patrol. The Iraqis were taken to the U.S. unit's operating base in Baghdad for questioning and processing, although there was not enough evidence to hold them for attacking the unit. Later that night patrol members took the Iraqis to a remote area and shot them in retribution for the attacks on the unit, according to testimony. Mayo, Leahy and Master Sgt. John Hatley, 40, are accused of pulling the trigger. "Hatley stated that if we took (the) individuals to detention they'd be released in a matter of days," Mayo told the court. "He said we should take care of them. I agreed." All were with the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. The unit is now part of the Germany-based 172nd Infantry Brigade. Hatley's court-martial on charges of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and obstruction of justice is scheduled for April. The Army has also not released a hometown for Hatley. Hatley also faces murder charges from the separate incident in Baghdad. Two soldiers _ Spc. Steven Ribordy, 26, of Salina, Kansas, and Spc. Belmor Ramos, 24, of Clearfield, Utah _ pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and were sentenced to prison last year. Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham, 29, of Bakersfield, California, and Sgt. Charles Quigley, 28, of Providence, Rhode Island, had charges of conspiracy to commit premeditated murder dropped this year. It is unclear whether they will testify in the upcoming courts-martial. ___ On the Net: http://www.hqjmtc.army.mil More on War Wire
 
Ayers To Make Speech Via Satellite After Appearance Canceled Top
BOSTON (AP) -- Former Weather Underground Organization member William Ayers will address Boston College students via satellite after university administrators canceled an on-campus personal appearance. Ayers was invited to speak by two student groups, but university officials rescinded the invitation on Friday. Students at first tried to find an off-campus site. Melissa Roberts, vice president of the College Democrats of Boston College, tells The Boston Globe that Ayers will now speak via satellite from Chicago on Monday in Devlin Hall on campus. The talk is open only to Boston College students, faculty and staff. Ayers was a central figure in the 2008 presidential campaign when Republicans criticized Barack Obama for his connections to the former 1960s radical. ___ Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe
 
Marshall Fine: What's killing independent film? Top
So now what? That's the question I've asked myself recently after watching any number of worthy but small movies. I come out of the screening room - or turn off the TV because I've had to watch a DVD screener - and thought, "This is a nice little movie - but who will ever have the chance to see it?" Maybe these films will have a life on DVD or on cable or video-on-demand. But how will anyone hear about them if they wind up painted/tainted with that "straight-to-video" label? Most of them, it seems, will barely be released into theaters, so they join the slurry of movies that seems to increase daily: films which, just a few years ago, would have had an arthouse release at a minimum. They'd have been reviewed, seen, remembered. Recently I wrote about David Hollander's film Personal Effects, which starred Ashton Kutcher and Michelle Pfeiffer - and which was going straight to DVD after one-night-only screenings in Los Angeles and New York. Or The Deal, a witty little film about the movie world that William H. Macy co-wrote, co-produced and starred in with Meg Ryan. And the list goes on. In March, I screened several films at a film club I host that were getting extremely limited releases before heading to the DVD/on-demand universe: Reunion, Sherman's Way, The Cake Eaters. This week, the movie The Escapist, a British prison-escape drama, hits video-on-demand two days before its limited theatrical release in New York. Indy-film guru John Pierson explained it to me a year ago at South by Southwest, when I was trying to peddle a documentary I'd made (still trying). The number of screens available for independent/foreign/documentary films isn't growing. Neither is the size of the audience for these films - at least not the audience willing to leave its home to pay to see a movie in a theater. But the number of these movies being made has mushroomed. Literally thousands of films were submitted to Sundance this year for a couple hundred slots. Everyone seems to be operating from the model of 20 years ago when, as John Sayles once told me, "If it had sprockets, you could sell it." Or the model of five or 10 years ago, when selection to a major film festival meant your film had a good shot at being released. So what of the thousands that don't get selected? Or worse - the hundreds that do play the festival circuit without ever attracting a buyer? For the rest of this post, click here to go to my website, www.hollywoodandfine.com.
 
Dems Target GOP Congressman's Paper Trail Of Pork Top
When the ground shifts, politicians still standing often are left to explain positions that made plenty of sense on the old terrain but are now more controversial. Take the case of Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). His stance on earmarks has evolved since he came to Congress. With a paper trail of earmarks to his name, Democrats can now beat him up for his current, more reticent stance toward the funding requests. "A person can't learn as they go?" McCarthy begged of his local paper when the Democrats came after him. "They like to hit me," McCarthy told the Huffington Post. "I understand. It's all fair in love and war." It's the kind of shot that comes with the earmark debate. No one likes pork, but who's against money for a children's hospital downtown? "Kevin McCarthy says the system's broken and that's why he won't make project funding requests for his constituents. But he didn't have any problem making funding requests last year under the very same system," says Andrew Stone of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. McCarthy found himself in Democrats' sights when he told his local paper that he wouldn't be taking any earmarks, explaining, "If everyone else is robbing a bank, should I rob a bank?" The paper, with the help of Democrats, quickly pointed out that he'd been for the metaphorical bank robbery before he was against it. "The story here is pretty clear. McCarthy isn't just being contradictory -- he's being hypocritical -- and it's his constituents that are paying the price," says Stone. As the political cost of earmarks rose, fewer members on both sides of the aisle wanted to partake, but constituents at home still have projects they want funded. With Republicans hammering Democrats for "spending too much, taxing too much and borrowing too much," government spending could wind up an issue in the 2010 mid-term elections. McCarthy threads the needle by saying that he wants reform, but that while the process is being reformed, he will be as transparent as possible and limit earmarks to defense requests. (He represents a military district.) "This is where I am on earmarks," McCarthy explains to the Huffington Post. "When I first came here...my first year, I submitted earmarks, but what I did, I put them on my Web page. I think there were only 13 people that did." Democrats hit him for that, too, saying that, no, lots of people did. "The next year, I believe I was the coauthor of the Kingston-Wamp bill where I thought, let's do a temporary moratorium to find out reform because you had all these concerns on both sides of the aisle," says McCarthy. The Kingston-Wamp bill called for a temporary moratorium on earmarks while the problem was studied and a solution found. "I'd like some type of a form. So what I did during my second year, I only did military -- I have two military bases in my district -- I only did military ones because I wanted to see what reform -- how do you deal with private business? How do you deal with no-bid contracts? So I thought the Kingston-Wamp puts a commission together to study it all. I thought that'd be the best process," he says. Democrats, of course, point out that private military contractors are among the worst no-bid offenders. "I was hopeful that our working group could come up with some form of some agreement, but they haven't come back to the caucus yet," he says. "I'm not opposed to all. I think there's a role for individuals. I have a certain criteria I'd like to live by."
 
Fortune 's Stanley Bing: For Sale to Feds: My Toxic Assets Top
1. 59 yo-yos, purchased over a lifetime on the principle that they would accrue in value and eventually be collector's items, as indeed they are, in the sense that they seem to be of interest only to the person who collected them. Current value: $157 dollars. 2. Large portfolio of comic books circa 1966 - 2006, assembled after I found out that my mother had thrown away all my Silver Age Marvel comics. Collection includes many vintage R. Crumbs, entire run of Spawn, Preacher, and many other underground titles. Current value estimated, by me, to be far from the $5 million projected, by me, while the process of investment was underway. 3. 50 shares of Google (GOOG) purchased for a stagnant IRA of mine at approximately $700 per share not all that long ago, when we all had nowhere to go but up. Yesterday's share price: $324. 4. Assorted shares of other "blue-chip" firms purchased 1995-2000, when I decided to "go conservative" in the market. Current decline in value: 90%. 5. A number of stock options now valued by ridiculous accounting rules to be worth something. Actual value in foreseeable future given the state of the economy and tremulous state of Wall Street: $0.00. 6. Several contracts that provide "guaranteed" income from firms that now no longer exist. Black-Scholls value of these worthless contracts: $14,530,423.34. 7. One co-op in New York City. Present estimate of market value: Will accept any reasonable offer. 8. One twelve-year-old cocker spaniel, selectively incontinent, likes chocolate. Current value: Priceless. More on Google
 
Earth Hour Electricity: Illinois Use Drops 1 Percent During Event Top
CHICAGO (AP) -- Commonwealth Edison says electricity use by northern Illinois customers dropped by 1 percent as people in buildings and homes dimmed their lights as part of Earth Hour. Gov. Pat Quinn flipped a 4-foot-tall light switch in Chicago Saturday to kick off the 60-minute annual event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. Hundreds of communities throughout the state participated in the international campaign to highlight the need for conservation. ComEd says its 3.8 million customers saved about 100 megawatt hours of electricity. It says that's equivalent to the removal of around 154,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The WWF says 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries participated in Earth Hour this year. More on Energy
 
Christina Bellantoni: WH Press Secretary works to celebrate birthday Top
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs turned 38 on Sunday to little fanfare. One of his deputies told me that Gibbs said "He worked for 10 hours to celebrate." Since he's coming up on the big 4-0, let's hope there's a bit more of a party in 2011. I asked Gibbs if President Obama presented him with cupcakes like he did for Vice President Biden's birthday last fall. His repsonse: "Don't I wish!" Also worth noting, ABC spotted this Facebook group - "I knew Robert Gibbs back when" - made up of Gibbs' friends from his former, and less public lifestyle.   —   Christina Bellantoni , White House correspondent, The Washington Times Please track my blog's RSS feed here . Find my latest stories  here , follow me on Twitter and visit my  YouTube page .
 
Jeremy Scahill: New Report Reveals Why We'll Be Paying for the Iraq Occupation for Years to Come, Withdrawal or Not Top
See my complete report at AlterNet With last week's announced escalation of the war in Afghanistan, including an Iraq-like "surge" replete with 4,000 more U.S. troops and a sizable increase in private contractors, President Barack Obama blew the lid off of any lingering perceptions that he somehow represents a significant change in how the U.S. conducts its foreign policy. In the meantime, more reports have emerged that bolster suspicions that Obama's Iraq policy is but a downsized version of Bush's and that a total withdrawal of U.S. forces is not on the horizon. In the latest episode of Occupation Rebranded, it was revealed that the administration intends to reclassify some combat forces as "advisory and assistance brigades." While Obama's administration is officially shunning the use of the term "global war on terror," the labels du jour, unfortunately, seem to be the biggest changes we will see for some time. While Obama -- and public attention -- shifted foreign policy focus last week to Afghanistan, lost in the media blitz was an important report that examines how taxpayers will continue to pay for the Iraq occupation for years to come, withdrawal or not. This report, released in March by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, provides a sobering look at Obama's "massive and expensive" Iraq plan, identifying several crucial questions that have yet to be addressed. Whether or not the Obama administration actually intends to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq in numbers large enough to claim to be "ending the war" as many believe, this kind of official review of the U.S. reality in Iraq -- and the congressional oversight to which Obama will (or will not) be subjected in the coming months -- bears intense scrutiny. Among the issues identified by the GAO: --What will Obama do with the 283 US bases in Iraq? --Who will provide security for the massive -- and likely expanding -- army of diplomats deployed in the country at the monstrous U.S. embassy in Baghdad? -- What is the US responsibility to pay for the humanitarian destruction in Iraq caused by the US? --Will Obama comply if Iraqis vote in July 2009 to have all US forces out by 2010? The Obama administration is likely to portray the costs of "withdrawing" from Iraq as a painful necessity made inevitable by the Bush administration. But there are already calls for Obama to not allocate any new funds for such an operation. Retired Army Col. Ann Wright, a veteran diplomat who reopened the U.S. embassy in Kabul after Sept. 11 (and, while in the military, worked on plans for an Iraq invasion), says, "Everyone in the Department of Defense -- military and civilian -- knows well the expense of going to war and the expense of bringing troops back to the United States. "DOD has plenty of money to withdraw equipment and personnel and no doubt has had monies specifically for that purpose built into its budgets for years. The Congress should not provide additional funding for withdrawal, but instead require DOD to use existing allocations." To read my full analysis of the new GAO report, check out my new story, " 283 Bases, 170,000 Pieces of Equipment, 140,000 Troops, and an Army of Mercenaries: The Logistical Nightmare in Iraq ," on AlterNet. More on Barack Obama
 
Study: Triathlons Can Pose Deadly Heart Risks Top
ORLANDO, Fla. — Warning to weekend warriors: Swim-bike-run triathlons pose at least twice the risk of sudden death as marathons do, the first study of these competitions has found. The risk is mostly from heart problems during the swimming part. And while that risk is low _ about 15 out of a million participants _ it's not inconsequential, the study's author says. Triathlons are soaring in popularity, especially as charity fundraisers. They are drawing many people who are not used to such demanding exercise. Each year, about 1,000 of these events are held and several hundred thousand Americans try one. "It's something someone just signs up to do," often without a medical checkup to rule out heart problems, said Dr. Kevin Harris, a cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. "They might prepare for a triathlon by swimming laps in their pool. That's a lot different than swimming in a lake or a river." He led the study and presented results Saturday at an American College of Cardiology conference in Florida. The Minneapolis institute's foundation sponsored the work and tracks athlete-related sudden deaths in a national registry. Marathon-related deaths made headlines in November 2007 when 28-year-old Ryan Shay died while competing in New York in the men's marathon Olympic trials. Statistics show that for every million participants in these 26.2-mile running races, there will be four to eight deaths. The rate for triathletes is far higher _ 15 out of a million, the new study shows. Almost all occurred during the swim portion, usually the first event. "Anyone that jumps into freezing cold water knows the stress on the heart," said Dr. Lori Mosca, preventive cardiology chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and an American Heart Association spokeswoman. She had no role in the study but has competed in more than 100 triathlons, including the granddaddy _ Hawaii's Ironman competition. Cold water constricts blood vessels, making the heart work harder and aggravating any pre-existing problems. It also can trigger an irregular heartbeat. On top of this temperature shock is the stress of competition. "It's quite frightening _ there are hundreds of people thrashing around. You have to keep going or you're going to drown," Mosca said. Swimmers can't easily signal for help or slow down to rest during swimming as they can in the biking or running parts of a triathlon, said Harris, who also has competed in these events. Rescuers may have trouble spotting someone in danger in a crowd of competitors in the lakes, rivers and oceans where these events typically are held, he added. For the study, researchers used records on 922,810 triathletes competing in 2,846 USA Triathlon-sanctioned events between January 2006 and September 2008. Of the 14 deaths identified, 13 occurred during swimming; the other was a bike crash. Autopsies on six of the victims showed that four had underlying heart problems. Two others had normal-looking hearts, but they may have suffered a fatal heart rhythm problem, Harris said. A search of the Minneapolis registry and the Internet found four other triathlon-related deaths from 2006 through 2008 beyond those that occurred in the officially sanctioned events. "While not a large risk, this is not an inconsequential number," Harris said. Fundraising triathlons have enticed many runners to try to expand into areas like swimming, which they may not have learned to do very efficiently, to benefit particular charities, Mosca said. "They're really recruiting people to do these events," she said. "It can be a recipe for disaster." Doctors offer these tips to anyone considering a triathlon: _Get a checkup to make sure you don't have hidden heart problems. _Train adequately long before the event, including open-water swims _ not just in pools. _Acclimate yourself to the water temperature shortly before a race, and wear a wetsuit if it's too cold. _Make sure the race has medical staff and defibrillators on site. __ On the Net: Heart meeting: http://www.acc.org American Heart Association: http://americanheart.org Registry: http://www.suddendeathathletes.org More on Health
 
Huff TV: Arianna Discusses Huffington Post's Investigative Journalism Venture on Morning Joe Top
Arianna joined the Morning Joe crew to discuss plans to launch "The Huffington Post Investigative Fund," a non-profit fund to produce a wide-range of investigative journalism. Watch the full segment below: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy More on Morning Joe
 
Cuba Travel Ban Faces Growing Opposition Top
Roughly a year after Fidel Castro stepped aside and handed much of the responsibility for leading Cuba to his brother Raúl, there is new momentum in Washington for eliminating the ban on most U.S. travel to the island nation and for reexamining the severe limitations on U.S.-Cuban economic exchanges. More on Cuba
 
Guatemala Opens Vast Archive On Human Rights Abuses Top
Marylena Bustamante traveled 24 hours on a bus from Mexico City for a new chance at finding information about her brother, who disappeared 27 years ago during Guatemala's civil war. More on Latin America
 
Karzai's Presidential Term Extended 3 More Months Top
Afghan top court has extended Karzai's presidential term for additional three months till the transition of power in August 09. More on Afghanistan
 
More Couples Go To Battle Over Netflix Top
With a nation in recession and households cutting back on nights out at the movies, and even canceling cable services, Netflix has thrived, with a growing number of subscribers looking for cheap escapist relief. The company announced in February that it had surpassed 10 million subscribers. The slim red envelopes are everywhere these days, each packed with a single DVD, pumping like platelets through the nation's mail system. But for many couples, the queue -- the computer list of which films will arrive next in the mail, after those at home are returned -- is as important as everything else that spouses and other varieties of significant others share, from pet names to closet space to the bathroom. For some, this is fine. For others, the queue is the new toilet seat that somebody left up. More on Relationships
 
Kayla Williams: Veterans' Unemployment Top
Hello, my name is Kayla. I'm a combat veteran and I was on unemployment. Admitting this publicly took years. I was deeply ashamed of what seemed a sign of my own weakness, my personal failings. But the news that unemployment among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is at 11.2% - higher than among our non-veteran peers - makes it clear that this problem is not mine alone. In 2005, I got out of the Army and moved to the DC area to help the man who is now my husband, Brian. He had sustained a penetrating Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from an improvised explosive device (IED) in October 2003 near Mosul, Iraq and was back at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. We struggled to navigate the complicated bureaucracy involved in getting him medically retired from the Army for months, with limited success. Finally, we went on a belated honeymoon, seeking much-needed relaxation. Days before our scheduled return, he received an urgent message: the paperwork had finally gone through (over two years after he was injured), and he was to be retired from the military immediately. When we got back, the lengthy steps involved in processing out of the military were rushed through in days. I felt relatively lucky. As an experienced Arabic linguist, it hadn't been hard for me to find work in the DC area. I had a signed offer letter for a good job, and was just waiting for my paperwork to go through. In the meantime, my husband would get two months of "terminal leave" - his accrued vacation days - and we would still get his housing allowance during that time. Surely I would be working by the time that ran out! To our shock, the Army would not allow Brian to take his terminal leave, and "bought back" his vacation days instead. Suddenly, we were prospect of making ends meet with only the two months of his salary, deposited as a lump sum with no housing allowance, and Brian's military retirement pay, which was paltry due to a bizarre method for calculating benefits. Nervous calls revealed no progress on a prospective start date for my job. Brian had applied for disability from the VA, but we heard of lengthy delays in processing claims. Within a few weeks, we began to worry how we would be able to pay our bills. Swallowing our pride, we both applied for unemployment benefits. The amount was almost shockingly low - we could not survive on our combined benefits, even with Brian's military retirement pay and final salary, and began charging our groceries on credit cards. Qualifying for unemployment was itself a time-consuming, paperwork-dense job. My husband, still recovering from the physical and psychological effects of his TBI, struggled unsuccessfully to fulfill the requirements properly, and we later had to repay some of the benefits he had received. Luckily, my paperwork finally went through and I was able to start my job (five months after I got the offer). We were able to survive on my salary alone until Brian's second disability rating process was complete and he began getting VA benefits. To ease this process for others, it is crucial that injured servicemembers have a seamless transition from the Department of Defense to the VA. No one should have to endure frightening months of uncertainty and insufficient income, as we did. This blog is cross-posted at VetVoice .
 
China Applauds Obama Climate Goals, Pledges Cooperation Top
Beijing welcomed U.S. promises of more action to slow global warming on Monday and said China would also do its share while ensuring that its people were not "left in the dark" without electricity. More on China
 
Struggling Ford Plant Getting Boost From New SUV Top
Ford's Chicago assembly plant is slated to produce a new version of the Explorer sport-utility vehicle next year, a big boost for a factory hit hard last fall by cutbacks at the struggling automaker. More on Cars
 
James Zogby: Netanyahu: Then and Now Top
When Benjamin Netanyahu became Prime Minister in 1996, he ran on a platform dedicated to ending the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. That is what he said in Israel. For U.S. consumption, Netanyahu took a different approach, seeking instead to unilaterally alter the terms of the process. He rejected the "land for peace" formula, replacing it with "security for peace" (emphasizing Israeli security, while promising only economic improvements to the Palestinians). Netanyahu also imposed new parameters for judging Palestinian performance, focusing on "Palestinian incitement" (ignoring the fact that Leah Rabin, widow of assassinated Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, held Netanyahu, and his ilk, responsible for the incitement that inflamed passions leading to her husband's murder). Throughout his troubled tenure as Prime Minister, Netanyahu's wily intransigence frustrated President Clinton's efforts to salvage a failing peace process. But, Clinton could also be wily. Despite having made a campaign pledge that he would not publicly pressure Israel, Clinton, nevertheless, found subtle, but real, ways to do just that. On one occasion, for example, both Clinton and Netanyahu were in Los Angeles at the same time, with Clinton refusing to meet him. Instead, the President flew back to Washington to convene a White House meeting of Arab Americans and American Jewish leaders to award "The Rabin Peace Prize" to the man Netanyahu had defeated, Shimon Peres. Message sent. On another occasion, at a State Dinner in Jerusalem, Netanyahu used his toast to rather undiplomatically chastise Clinton reminding him that Gaza and Bethlehem (where Clinton was scheduled to go the next day) were also Jewish places. Clinton rose in response and quite nicely shot back at the Prime Minister - to the surprise and, I must say, delight, of his Israeli audience! Some analysts point to Netanyahu's endorsement of the Wye Agreement as a sign of his flexibility, claiming that it was the first time any Likud leader had signed an agreement with the PLO. But, on closer examination, despite the extraordinary effort made by the U.S. to achieve this agreement, it was, at best, flawed and tortured. Hanan Ashrawi called Wye "a compromise of a compromise of a compromise," noting that instead of advancing the peace process, the agreement distorted it and set the process back. It is also important to recall that, while the ink was still drying on the Wye Agreement, Ariel Sharon (then Infrastructure Minister in Netanyahu's government), called on his followers to go into the West Bank and seize as much land as possible. They did so, and established, with Netanyahu's acquiescence, dozens of "illegal" outposts. Despite repeated Israeli pledges to remove these outposts, they have grown in number (now almost 100) and size. In 1999, plagued both by scandal and the Israeli public's concern that he was alienating the U.S., Netanyahu was defeated. Though he had not ended the peace process, he had succeeded in radically transforming it, leaving it deformed and lifeless. He left office with a legacy of expanded settlements (including a massive expansion around Jerusalem), dozens of extremist settler outposts firmly in place, and broken trust and bitterness all around. Now he's back, still playing the same tunes as before. While affirming, for public consumption, that he will be a "partner for peace" (because he knows that the U.S. requires this), he will not commit to two states or "land for peace." Much like Hamas, he affirms that he will "respect" prior agreements, but refrains from saying that he will "abide" by their terms. He will not discuss Jerusalem or any other "final status" issues - promising only to pursue economic development and security agreements with the Palestinians. Those who see hope in the fact that the Labor Party has now joined Netanyahu's coalition fail to understand that this was simply a desperate move by Ehud Barak, who sought more to save his job as Defense Minister than to influence the course of what is, at the end of the day, an overwhelmingly right wing government. Netanyahu has not changed. But all is not lost. In fact, the situation will only be problematic if the U.S. remains passive - which is what President Obama, Secretary Clinton, and Senator Mitchell have said they will not do. Mitchell has dealt with the likes of Ian Paisley. And, as he has noted in his analysis of the Irish peace process: [I]t's hard to stop a war if you don't talk with those who are involved in it. To be sure, their participation will likely slow things down and, for a time, block progress. But their endorsement can give the process and its outcome far greater legitimacy and support. Better they become participants than act as spoilers. Sometimes it is necessary to take a step backwards in order to take several forward. Left to their own devices, a Netanyahu-led government and a fractured Palestinian polity cannot make peace. But U.S. leadership and pressure can play a transformative role in reshaping Israeli and Palestinian politics. It may be, as in Ireland, that a hard-line Israeli coalition and a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas elements are the necessary preconditions to for a real peace process to work. While Olmert and Abbas may have been able to reach a meeting of the minds, they could not deliver an agreement. This more complex situation may be the step backward which enables forward movement in the peace process. It won't be easy; but, then, peace-making never is.
 
Gaddafi Storms Out Of Arab Summit, Slams Saudi King For Pro-Americanism Top
Doha, Qatar - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi stormed out of an Arab summit on Monday after denouncing the Saudi king for his long ties to the West. Gaddafi disrupted the opening Arab League session in Qatar by taking a microphone and criticising Saudi's King Abdullah, calling him a "British product and American ally". Gaddafi has harboured a grudge against Abdullah since exchanging harsh words during a summit in early 2003 shortly before the US-led invasion of Iraq. "Now after six years, it has proved that you were the liar," Gaddafi said, adding that he now considered their "problem" over and was ready to reconcile. But when the emir of Qatar tried to quiet Gaddafi, the Libyan leader insisted on speaking to the summit. "I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam (leader) of Muslims and my international status does not allow me to descend to a lower level," Gaddafi said before getting up and walking out of the hall. A Libyan delegate said Gaddafi went to the Islamic museum in Doha for a tour. The Libyan leaders is known for his unpredictable behaviour and it's not clear whether he will rejoin the two-day summit. Gaddafi has angered other Arab leaders with his sharp remarks at past summits. Last year, he poured contempt on fellow Arab leaders at a summit in Syria and warned that they might be overthrown like former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. He boycotted the 2007 summit in Saudi Arabia but gave a televised speech saying "Liza" - referring to former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - had dictated the gathering's agenda. In 2005, he told the summit in Algeria that Palestinians and Israelis are "stupid". A year earlier, he sat smoking cigars on the conference floor of the Tunisia summit to show his contempt for the other leaders. More on Middle East
 
"More To Love": Fox Orders Overweight Dating Show Top
Fox is teaming with "The Bachelor" producer Mike Fleiss for a new dating-competition series that casts "average-looking" people. The series, titled "More to Love," is billed as the first "dating show for the rest of us," throwing open its doors to overweight contestants.
 
O'Hare Getting $12M In Stimulus Money Top
U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) will be in Chicago on Monday to talk about federal stimulus money heading to the state, including millions geared toward the O'Hare expansion project. More on Stimulus Package
 
Did You Know: Crazy Facts About The World (VIDEO) Top
In this video , there are too many facts that aren't well known. Did you know? -If you are 1 in 1 million in China, there are actually 1,300 other people just like you, and that the country will soon become the number 1 English-speaking country in the world. -25% of India's population with the highest IQ's is greater than the total population of America, or put another way: India has more honor kids than America has kids. -If MySpace were a country, it would be the fifth-largest in the world. -There are 31 billion searches on Google every month; In 2006, it was 2.7 billion. WATCH: More on Video
 
Sliding-Roof Greenhouse Finds Own Natural Light Top
The moving part of this remarkable sliding building is a whopping 50 tons and nearly 100 feet long. Gliding on rails, this enclosing exterior element with its own walls, roof and opening can be adjusted to selectively reveal and conceal spaces within the home. The changes also bring natural lighting shifts, view opportunities and alters the feel of each interior space - a static structure but at the same time a While this may look and seem modern up close, it reflects the vernacular timber architecture of the region and is relatively simple in form when seen from a distance - until the extra element slides back to reveal a sparkling greenhouse of light at night. The result: something that fits its context but also pushes the envelope on architectural design and technology.
 
Blackstone's Secrecy: Rejects SEC Request for Fund Data Top
March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group LP, the world's largest private-equity firm, rebuffed a request from securities regulators to publicly disclose the performance of its buyout and hedge funds while Fortress Investment Group LLC agreed. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked both New York-based companies to include fund returns in their financial reports, according to letters the agency released earlier this month. Fortress did so in its annual report. Blackstone told the SEC it wouldn't.
 
Russell Bishop: Why You Should Juggle Goals, Not Tasks Top
Of course you have multiple things to do. That's a good thing. In fact, if you didn't have multiple things to do you might be coming near the end of an active life. Even if you've lost your job, and I know what that one's like, you still have multiple things to do. More accurately stated, you have multiple goals you are seeking to accomplish, each of which requires multiple tasks in order to complete. Can you hold multiple goals at the same time? Of course you can. Can you work on multiple goals at the same time? Of course you can. Can you work on multiple tasks at the same time? Well, that's another story. Last week we talked about how multi-tasking often turns into "half-tasking. " Over the years, I have coached many executives who consider themselves to be "power multi-taskers," apparently able to keep a whole lot of balls in the air at the same time. Now if keeping the balls in the air were the goal, that would be great. However, those balls are simply actions that need to be completed for the real goal to be accomplished. Keeping actions in the air, or juggling multiple actions at the same time, is not the same as completing those actions. Many multi-taskers I have worked with tend to get part way into one task, then notice a sticky note by the computer and start working on that one, when the next email ping shows up and they start on that one, when the teleconference starts, etc. You get the idea - the multi-tasker will often sit on the conference call while answering email while working on the budget. Many of these multi-taskers, often wind up at the end of the day with an interesting conflict: whereas a number of tasks have been completed, a handful that were started in the morning, wind up still incomplete at 5:00 pm having been juggled all day long. The person "worked" all day long, is often tired, and feels a bit frustrated. That's because they were "half-tasking" not "multi-goaling." When I can get someone to focus on one task at a time, they typically become quite excited about how much they can actually get done. To do lists shrink and, more importantly, goals and projects wind up getting complete. On time, even! Someone who is multi-goaling, understands that they have any number of goals that are important to them. Maintaining health, launching a new product, finding a new job, finishing your taxes, setting up a service project with your kid's school, are all examples of goals that can be held simultaneously; however, each of them requires very distinct actions, most of which are incompatible with one another. Of course, every goal requires a number of tasks or actions to be completed. The challenge is how to keep your eye on the prize (accomplishing the goals that are most meaningful) while handling the dozens, if not hundreds of actions that are on your plate. How to Become a Multi-Goaler 1) Determine which areas of your personal and professional life are important to you. A couple of months ago, we gave you some tips about how to determine what areas of life are important to you and how to set goals in those areas. Clarify what areas of life are most important to you (Health, Wealth, Personal Growth, Spiritual Growth, Relationships, Family, Career, Service, etc) and set a goal or two for each area. 2) Make a list of actions you can take that will move you toward your goals. Don't get too obsessive about having to figure out all the steps for each goal - at a minimum, all you really need is to know is where you are now and what's the very next step required to get you moving toward that goal. 3) Be clear what it is you are trying to accomplish and why. In earlier posts, we have distinguished between what you want and why you want it . That's a pretty important distinction right there - just look at what you are focused on, why it's important to you, and you may find that some of those goals or tasks just go away because they aren't really all that important. 4) Create separate lists for each key area. Now that you know what's important to you, keep one list of your important goals, another list of projects you will have to complete in order to move you toward the goal, and a third list of action steps you can choose from. 5) Make a little progress each day. As you move through the day, pick off action steps that you can accomplish now, with the resources you have available at the time, and then move to the next one. (One of my big lessons has been to break my list of tasks into like actions - I have a phone list for example, and another that requires internet access, and another for errands - no need to be looking at my list of actions to do at home when I'm at work, unless I have to do something during the work day that handles something personal - like make that doctor's appointment for your child. One of my absolute favorite lists is "Mind Like Mush." I use this list for simple tasks that don't require a whole lot of mental acuity and aren't that critical in terms of timing. I turn to this list when my brain is drained. I get to knock of a few items with little risk of screwing them up because I'm not sharp - and an amazing thing happens most of the time. By knocking off a few simple items, I seem to catch a second wind and can then focus on more important tasks. 6) Review and update your lists regularly. Once a week, review your goals list, to make certain you are making progress. Similarly, review your projects list to ensure you have a handle on those as well. Hope this helps! *** You can find out more about Russell Bishop at http://www.lessonsinthekeyoflife.com . Contact Russell at: russell@lessonsinthekeyoflife.com . The author of Lessons in the Key of Life, Russell is an Educational Psychologist, professional life coach and management consultant, based in Santa Barbara California. More on The Balanced Life
 
Therese Borchard: Stress Kills: 3 Reasons Do Something About Yours...Before It's Too Late Top
I apologize if this post reads like your grandmother's obituary, but I want to drive home a very important point: STRESS KILLS YOU. I've always known that chronic and severe stress can damage your body and mind, blocking the fluid communication to and from most organs-especially in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and in the limbic system, the brain's emotional center. But the last two weeks have been a real wake-up call for me to see how stress is quite literally attacking my body. Let's start with my heart. Two years ago cardiologists discovered a tear in my aortic valve with some regurgitation. Because of the leak my heart is getting bigger and working harder. Double that under stress. The doctors didn't seem to think it was that big of a deal two years ago, so I blew it off. But for the last few months, I have been experiencing major chills and an intolerance to the cold. (I wear a few sweaters in the house to keep me warm and I've quit swimming because the water temperature is too cool.) My lips sometimes turn blue and my fingers are numb and discolored. I often feel my heart palpitating. Plus I've been extremely dizzy and lightheaded with some vision problems, especially when I shift positions suddenly. The cardiologist suspected this was due to my very low blood pressure--possibly postural hypotension--but it's probably aggravated by my malfunctioning valve. And then there's my brain. Bipolar disorder, of course, is no friend to stress, as many of my symptoms can be triggered by stress and fatigue, like the recent "I wish I were dead" thoughts. But stress may be almost entirely responsible, as well, for my pituitary tumor. You see, stress can significantly raise your prolactin level, a hormone produced by the pituitary, and raised prolactin levels can contribute to the development of pituitary tumors. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with the pituitary tumor after blood work showed raised prolactin levels. But, like the tear in my aortic valve, I ran past this red flag as well because my doctor didn't seem to think it was a big deal. The MRI results of last week showed that the tumor was growing, by about 30 percent since my first MRI. She increased my dose of bromocriptine, a drug that acts like the nice hormone, dopamine (responsible for the highs you experience with drug use and infatuation ... which is why I like it) which inhibits secretion of the evil hormone, prolactin. Ironically, none of my doctors mentioned the word stress, or urged me to look at the bigger health picture ... what is down the road for me if I don't take some major steps to ease up and turn around the momentum of wear and tear on my body. That was made clear to me only when I did my homework on these two (three, if you count the blood pressure) semi-serious conditions. If my tumor gets much bigger, I'll need to have it surgically removed. And if my heart continues to work harder than it's supposed to and I keep on experiencing symptoms (chills and heart palpitations), they will need to replace my valve in open-heart surgery. Thank God I'm not an investment banker. I have a flexible job and can take some serious measures at slowing down. I already have. I work out hard five times a week, making sure my heart stays in a cardiovascular zone (over 140 beats a minute) for an hour each time. I eat a healthy diet, rich in brain food, and take 6 Omega-3 supplements daily, the kind with the right EPA to DHA ratio to elevate and stabilize mood. I'm in bed by 9:30 every night. I shut down the computer at 6 every night and on Sundays. And I meditate for 20 minutes every morning. But that's not enough. This somewhat-fragile and highly-sensitive body need more. As a member of the somewhat manic and overworked blogosphere -- where the MO is to grow your traffic at all cost -- I'm frequently caught in rush hour, driving toward the city, because the other bloggers are headed there, so that must be the right place to be. But with my body feeling like Humpy Dumpty one second before his biggest fall, I'm trying more often than not -- at least every time I feel my heart palpitate -- to turn my clunker of a car around and drive against the traffic. I'm taking back control of my tattered body because I don't like the idea of some surgeon tinkering with my brain or my heart. In fact, next to my desk hangs a sign with a picture of a brain, a heart, and a computer, with the caption: "Which one of these is most important?... Remember, stress kills." *** Originally published on Beyond Blue at Beliefnet.com . To read more of Therese, visit her blog, Beyond Blue at Beliefnet.com , or subscribe here . You may also find her at www.thereseborchard.com . More on Health
 
David Wallechinsky: Staying Away from South Africa's World Cup Top
Last week, the government of South Africa, bowing to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, barred the Dalai Lama from entering its country to attend a peace conference, and announced that he would not be allowed to visit South Africa until the 2010 World Cup was over. Many South Africans were outraged by this decision. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he was "ashamed," and even a member of the South African cabinet, Health Minister Barbara Hogan, called on the government "to apologize to the citizens of this country, because it is in your name that this great man...has been denied access." I attended the last four World Cups: in the United States, in France, in Japan and in Germany. I was looking forward to going to South Africa for next year's World Cup, particularly as it would have been my first visit to the country. I have been warned repeatedly that many of South Africa's major cities have serious crime problems, but everyone I have ever known who has visited South Africa has spoken highly of the South African people. I was about to join the ticket lottery online when I learned of the South African government's decision. Now I have decided to stay home and watch the matches on television. As an American, it made me gag when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on February 21, told reporters that the Obama administration would not let the issue of Chinese human rights abuses "interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis." But at least no U.S. government has banned the Dalai Lama from entering the United States. In fact, President George W. Bush even personally and publically presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal. I would never call for an athletes' boycott of the World Cup; but for spectators, that's another story. If the president of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe, wants to grovel at the feet of Hu Jintao and the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, that's his choice. But if the Dalai Lama has to wait until the World Cup is over before he visits South Africa, I guess I can wait until then too. AllGov.com More on South Africa
 
Google Launches China Music Download Service In Bid To Fight Pirating Top
Google and major music companies launched a free Internet music download service for China today in a bid to help turn a field dominated by pirates into a profitable, legitimate business. The advertising-supported service will offer 1.1 million tracks, including the full catalogues of Chinese and Western music for Warner Music Group Corp., EMI Group Ltd., Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music and 14 independent labels, the companies said. It will be limited to use by computers whose Internet protocol, or IP, addresses show they are in mainland China. "This is the first really serious attempt to start monetizing online music in China," said Lachie Rutherford, president of Warner Music Asia and regional head of the global recording industry group, the International Federation of Phonographic Industries. Chinese pirate Web sites offer downloads of unauthorized copies of music despite repeated lawsuits and government crackdowns. Legitimate producers have no estimate of lost potential sales, but some Chinese performers have announced they were no longer recording because piracy made it unprofitable. The venture gives Google a new way to compete in a market where its research shows 84 percent of people say finding music is their main reason to use search engines, said Kai-Fu Lee, Google's president for Greater China. "With today's offering, we complete the puzzle and offer a complete set of services that are fully integrated," he said. China has the world's biggest online population, with some 300 million Internet users, according to the government. Online commerce is still modest in China and most Web surfers are looking for music, games and other entertainment. Lee said the company was optimistic that use would grow rapidly but he declined to give any revenue forecasts. EMI launched a separate venture with China's dominant search engine, Baidu Inc., in January 2007 to compete with pirates by allowing free streaming pop music from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It sells downloads for a small fee. Google's service is to be run by Top100.cn, a 3 1/2-year-old Chinese Web site partly owned by Google. The site will sell advertising on its download page and split revenues with music companies, said its CEO, Gary Chen. Providers will abide by Chinese censorship and withhold songs that are banned by the communist government, Rutherford said. "When you're in the music business in China you know you have to follow the regulations," he said. "We wouldn't give files to people in China (in situations) where a song has been banned." Google, headquartered in Mountain View, California, has struggled to expand in China, where it says it has about 30 percent of the search market. Baidu's market share is just over 60 percent, according to research firm Analysys International. Google's Lee declined to comment on Beijing's blocking of its YouTube video-sharing service last week. China occasionally bars its Internet users from seeing YouTube to prevent access to videos considered critical of communist rule or unflattering to the government. Read more from the Independent. More on Google
 
Khmer Rouge Trials Begin Top
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- The first substantive sessions in the trials of former Khmer Rouge officials began Monday morning, 30 years after the end of the notorious communist regime that left some 1.7 million Cambodians dead. More on War Crimes
 
Bill O'Reilly On Obama: "We Want Him To Succeed," "I Don't Think He's A Socialist" Top
Public opinion polls show that Obama still has tremendous popularity, even though Republicans and some Democrats are inveighing against the bailout and the budget and the stimulus. He still seems to have tremendous public support. I don't know if it's as much about Barack Obama the man, because I think he is very likable and a brilliant guy, as it is about people's individual situations. I think that's why they're coming [to Fox News]. It's about them, not Barack Obama. Do you want Obama to fail? No. We want him to succeed. We want to persuade him that perhaps some of his policies are not going to help him succeed. What about all this talk of socialism? Isn't that a little premature, since this bailout was started by the Bush administration? I've never bought into the fact that Barack Obama is a socialist. I think he's a classic liberal that believes that big government can solve the problems of society, and he wants to redistribute income. I don't think he's a socialist. I don't think he wants to seize people's property. But I do think he's a classic committed liberal. More on Bill O'Reilly
 
Cable News Networks "Have Steadfastly Remained In Campaign Mode": David Carr Top
There is no question that the stakes are high in this presidency, and it's hardly an epiphany that in order to feed the 24/7 beast, cable news has to turn every little thing into a big event. But something else is at work here. Gorged on ratings from a historic election and still riding on leftover adrenaline, the cable networks have steadfastly remained in campaign mode. And the hyperbolic rhythms and requirements of a cable news world have never seemed less relevant to the story at hand. "On the cable networks, the intensity of conflict is what drives their shows, so everything is turned into a referendum," said John D. Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, who served as chief of staff for President Clinton and the co-chairman of the transition team for Mr. Obama. "It's worse than it was four years ago, and its worse than it was four years before that. It's on a new slope."
 

CREATE MORE ALERTS:

Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted

Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope

Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more

News - Only the news you want, delivered!

Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more

Weather - Get today's weather conditions




You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)