Saturday, March 7, 2009

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US Calls For Talks WIth North Korea Amid Missile Threat Top
A U.S. special envoy called Saturday for talks with North Korea and urged Pyongyang not to launch a missile and stop issuing threats to its southern neighbor. North Korea escalated tensions Thursday by warning it could not guarantee the safety of South Korea's passenger jets flying near its airspace if annual joint U.S.-South Korean military maneuvers went ahead as planned Monday. "We're reaching out now. We want dialogue," Stephen W. Bosworth told reporters upon arrival in South Korea, the last leg of a regional tour that took him to China and Japan. The U.S. has not held official talks with North Korea since President Barack Obama took office earlier this year as his administration formulates its North Korea policy. Some analysts say the communist country is trying to grab Obama's attention with the threat of a missile launch, speculation dismissed by North Korea. Obama's envoy on North Korea also urged Pyongyang to halt its belligerent tone toward its southern neighbor after issuing the warning about the safety of commercial airlines. "I don't think the warning was very helpful," said Bosworth. "Everyone would be much happier if they would drop that line of rhetoric." The comments came amid heightened tensions over stalled reconciliation efforts on the divided Korean peninsula. Bosworth also said the North's expected launch of a missile or satellite was "very ill-advised." Pyongyang has said it was preparing to send a communications satellite into space, but regional powers suspect the claim is a cover for the launch of a long-range missile capable of reaching Alaska. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi shied away from directly criticizing China's neighbor and longtime communist ally over the threatened rocket launch but called for a toning down of regional tensions. "We believe that safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean peninsula serves the interests of all relevant parties," Yang said at a news conference. Bosworth met Russia's nuclear envoy in Seoul but he declined to elaborate. He also plans to hold consultations with South Korean officials on Monday before returning home. The joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises begin Monday and are scheduled to run 12 days. Washington and Seoul say the exercises are defensive, not preparation for an invasion as North Korea claims. The U.S. military said it would go ahead with the drills involving its 26,000 military personnel in South Korea, an unspecified number of southern soldiers and a U.S. aircraft carrier. The exercises are a "grave military provocation that greatly threatens peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency. The two Koreas technically remain at war because their 1950-53 war ended in a cease-fire rather than a peace treaty. Associated Press Writer Charles Hutzler contributed to this report from Beijing More on South Korea
 
Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent: Dressing for a Date Top
We taped an episode of the Tyra Banks Show last week with Steve Harvey, and an audience member asked what she should wear on a first date. This is a common question and we want to share our advice with all of you. First of all, it doesn't matter how shiny your hair is, what color your nails are painted or how high your heels are if you don't feel confident and comfortable in your own skin, so we want you to stop worrying about your wardrobe and focus on your date, instead. Is he what you're looking for? Do you two have chemistry? Stop thinking about the length of your skirt and whether or not he can see your muffin top, and focus your attention on him, instead! In order to get your mind off of your clothes and help you feel secure, we're offering some ground rules and tips for dating attire, but please remember that you will look hot in whatever clothes you wear as long as you wear them with confidence. 1. Pick a Body Part We don't want you to play small, cover up, or feel insecure about your body when you should be enjoying your date. Remember that he is on a date with you, so he automatically finds you attractive. You can stop worrying and let yourself be in the moment. Be confident in your sexuality, but don't mistake revealing your entire body for being sexy. Of course you want to turn him on, but you also want your date to be able to focus (at least a little bit) on your eyes, brains, and personality. A great tip from LA stylist Lisa Bezzina is, "Show cleavage or legs, but not both." We completely agree. Pick one body part that you love on yourself and show it off. It can be your cleavage or legs, but it can also be something less obvious like your neck, arms or back. Show yourself off while leaving something to be desired and you're sure to inspire desire in both of you! 2. Color = Confidence Many women wear black because it's safe, but we want you to be bold instead of trying to blend in and go unnoticed. Wearing a bright color is a great way to capture your date's attention without trying to hard. Plus, it makes you appear confident and can brighten your own mood. One of our new favorite clothing lines is Leyendecker , whose clothes come in a variety of rich, sophisticated colors that can help you experiment with color without making you look like Rainbow Bright. On your next date, steer clear of basic black and let your true colors shine through, instead. 3. Accessorize Your Assets It's amazing how putting on a few pieces of jewelry can instantly make you feel glamorous and confident. That's how we felt when we wore some pieces from Rebecca Wynn 's gorgeous new line on the aforementioned Tyra Banks taping. Her stuff is classic and unique at the same time and goes with everything from jeans to ball gowns, but we especially love the fact that these nature-inspired designs are sure to last through every passing trend and season. Before your next date, don't worry about your clothes! Just throw on your favorite pair of jeans and dress it up with a pair of dangly earrings or layer on some necklaces and let yourself glimmer inside and out. 4. Stay Soft and Cozy We also want you to feel sexy if you're past the dating stage and spending most of your nights curled up on the couch with your loved one. Save the fishnets and the come f-me heels for when you really feel like spicing it up, and know that you can be just as sexy and desirable in something soft and cuddly. Wear something that makes you feel smooth and womanly and your man will want to snuggle with you all night. Scanty is one of our favorites for these occasions. Their motto is, "Powered by peace, inspired by love and created with happiness," and that's exactly how we want you to feel on all of your dates - peaceful, loved and happy.
 
Companies Cutting Prices Like Never Before Top
Trey Shores, 36, recently scored a fantastic deal. The Tokyo-based consultant scooped up an in-season Helmut Lang leather jacket in the city's Ginza district for 50% off the regular price. What was an out-of-reach $2,000 became a more reasonable $1,000 "just like that," says Shores. "I'm quite proud of [it]." More on The Recession
 
Valynne Bowers, Linda R. Nef Accused Of Sexually Assaulting The Same Student Top
Two Bountiful Junior High School teachers are accused of sexually assaulting the same 13-year-old student, after their separate relationships with him spiraled from personal conversations to the exchange of sexual text messages and phone sex, authorities said.
 
Radio Legend Paul Harvey Mourned At Funeral Top
CHICAGO — The son of radio legend Paul Harvey used his father's words for the eulogy Saturday at a public funeral service in Chicago, the city from which he launched his national news and commentary show. "A great tree has fallen," said Paul Harvey Jr., quoting his father's send-off for President Franklin Roosevelt. "An empty place has opened up against the sky." The broadcaster died March 1 in Phoenix, where he had a winter home, less than year after the death of his wife of nearly 68 years, Lynne Harvey. He was 90. Their son recalled the couple's long romance and his father's start on radio for the 200 mourners at the Fourth Presbyterian Church on the city's Magnificent Mile. When his father first applied for a job on radio, he was given a broom and told to sweep up, Harvey Jr. said. The elder Harvey would have wanted to help mold reaction to the country's current difficulties, his son said. Harvey's newsroom colleagues, ABC Radio Networks executives and Doug Limerick, one of two broadcasters chosen to fill Harvey's time slots, attended the service. "You can hear his father in his words," Chicago Tribune media columnist Phil Rosenthal said of Harvey' son. "I think people are starting to realize what we've lost." "It was a dignified eulogy delivered in a 'rest of the story'-type style," said Bruce DuMont, founder and president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications. "It exemplified the dignity of Paul Harvey." Standing outside the church in overcast weather, Chicago resident and businessman Gregory Fischer said he felt compelled to attend the service because he could remember listening to Harvey as a child. Fischer said that as an adult, he's realized that he was listening to a broadcasting trailblazer. "He was a part of Americana," he said. "It was like he was talking directly to you." Harvey had been heard nationally since 1951, when he began his "News and Comment" for ABC Radio Networks. He was credited with inventing or popularizing terms such as "skyjacker," "Reaganomics" and "guesstimate." Staccato delivery, long pauses and phrases like "Stand by for news!" were Harvey's hallmarks. In 2005, Harvey received the presidential Medal of Freedom. He also was an inductee in the Radio Hall of Fame, as was his wife. ___ On the Net: http://www.paulharvey.com
 
Morse Theatre In Rogers Park To Stay Open Top
Representatives of the owners of the building that houses the Morse Theatre and Century Public House restaurant in Rogers Park announced Friday morning that they have reached "an agreement in principle" to take over management of the venue.
 
Cubs Won't Be Sold By Opening Day: Bud Selig Top
The sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family may drag on past Opening Day, according to Commissioner Bud Selig. More on Sports
 
Southwest Starts Minneapolis-To-Chicago Flights Top
MINNEAPOLIS - Another front in the national fare wars opens up Sunday morning at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport when Southwest Airlines begins service to Chicago. The Dallas-based airline will fly eight daily roundtrip flights to Chicago's Midway Airport from the Humphrey terminal. Southwest's arrival has already driven down fares to Chicago, which is the most-heavily traveled air route out of the Twin Cites at more than a million passenger a year. Southwest spokesman Mike Van de Ven says the low-fare airline expects a a tough fight in the Twin Cites, but it's confident of success. Spokesman Anthony Black says Northwest Airlines will compete aggressively, using its frequent flier programs, customer lounges, business class service and broader network.
 
Jake Gyllenhaal Shirtless In "Prince Of Persia" (PHOTOS) Top
Below are new stills of Jake Gyllenhaal from the 2010 release "Prince of Persia." The film is based on the video game of the same name and features Gyllenhaal as "an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world." PHOTOS: More on Celebrity Skin
 
Carol Felsenthal: Jay Rockefeller on Health Care: "We Can't All Have Everything We Want When We Want iIt." Top
Barack Obama needs to take one step immediately if he wants to move his health care reform through Congress--especially if he is looking eventually to bring a single payer system to the United States. Put a muzzle on Democratic Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV. Do not let the West Virginia Democrat whose very name screams Standard Oil riches, and who is also a long-time proponent of health care reform, speak on its behalf. Rockefeller, a great-grandson of John D., said yesterday during Obama's White House health care summit and facing head-on the prospect that Americans who are accustomed to private care might have to accept--for the good of all Americans, and especially the 47 million currently uninsured--that they will face new limits on the care they can expect. : "We can't all have everything we want when we want it," Rockefeller said, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune . "And it's going to hurt everyone's feelings. But I don't see any other way." Rockefeller's comments might alarm those who fear they could lose their private insurance and end up waiting for MRIs and open heart surgery and cancer surgery and hip replacements. To those who currently enjoy private health insurance and first-rate, reliable medical care, the comments of Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, might seem, shall will say, a tad out of touch and presumptuous.. Does anyone believe that any member of the Rockefeller family will ever worry about getting the best medical treatment?
 
Stanton Peele: States Selling Addiction: "Why Not? We Need the Money!" Top
States make money off of addictive substances. The cigarette settlements made a ton of dough for the states. But these settlements also created problems - as does raising cigarette taxes. Although the states can claim they are doing God's work by discouraging addiction, at the same time they are reducing cigarette taxes and tobacco-company funding the states need to offset future expenses. Gambling, on the other hand, which is often administered directly by the states (e.g., lotteries), is an unalloyed financial boon. The more people gamble, the more the states make. Thus, they market gambling unabashedly - in ways that could be seen to encourage addiction. And, of course, there's the possibility of taxing marijuana - another multibillion dollar business, one that is currently illicit (you know, like lotteries used to be). In 1998, a settlement was negotiated between the states and tobacco companies resulting in billions of dollars in payments to states. In order to justify these payments, states were to use the money to discourage smoking. But, you see, they had all these billions in their coffers - and their needs were so great! So what do you think states did? Connecticut state senator David Scribner lamented, "The Legislature has opted to simply use this money to bridge budget shortfalls for the majority of years it has been received, using only 1.15 percent [how about if we call this 1%] toward cessation and prevention programs." And there are further problems with cigarette funding for states. Raising taxes on cigarettes reduces smoking, but in doing so it can reduce the overall tax yield. Moreover, the settlement provided for ongoing payments to states from tobacco companies pegged to the number of cigarettes sold. So reducing smoking reduces the payments received from cigarette manufacturers. According to Bloomberg.com : Higher federal and state taxes on cigarettes this year may bring the biggest drop in smoking ever (as much as 10%), reducing the tobacco industry's annual payments to states by as much as $500 million and threatening the repayment of $37 billion in municipal bonds backed by that money. Can you imagine state legislators discussing somewhere, "I'd sure like to discourage smoking among young people, but if I vote to raise real estate taxes to make up the shortfall, I'm going to lose my job!" There are no such problems with gambling. States profit directly from lotteries (remember when street hoods and the Mafia ran the numbers rackets?), and also gain substantially from taxing casino gambling and horse racing. So states want gambling. They need gambling. Thus, eyeing the money made by Native American casinos, last spring Kansas voted to be the first state to themselves own and run Las Vegas-style casinos, rather than simply licensing and taxing them. In the case of gambling, the states are encouraging what many see as an unwholesome habit. The solution? Use the money for education! Kansas is a bedrock conservative state whose Republican legislature was joined by Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius in strongly endorsing the casinos as the only way to meet the Kansas Supreme Court's demand that the state increase its education funding. Of course, the states will be tempted to divert this well-intended money, to wit: "New York Lottery axes $1.4 million in scholarships after taking in $7.5 billion in 2008." Kansas previously didn't even have private gambling casinos. But politicians simply couldn't stand watching their citizens running to nearby Iowa and Missouri to gamble away their money in those states' private casinos. States all over the country are now looking at ways to expand their gambling operations, including, like Kansas, creating their own casino system. The good news: Sebelius can now, as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, help states improve their gambling-addiction treatment services! I live in New Jersey (there, I've admitted it) - a state where the budgetary crunch is especially bone crushing. Last month, the New Jersey Senate passed a resolution urging Congress to remove the ban on sports wagering in the state (Nevada is the only state in which sports betting is legal). You can see states and legislators fuming, "This is going on already, we should profit from it!" Of course, if they're in the gambling business, states need to promote gambling. I watch frequent television ads coming from New York encouraging people to "Pick 3" and "Pick 4" as the path to "Mega Millions" - a unified lottery system across many states (I confess that all of this confuses me - I've never bought a lottery ticket). These ads emphasize three things: (1) How easy it is: "Visit any of the nearly 16000 New York Lottery retailers throughout New York State and pick up a Mega Millions playcard. Each game costs $1." (2) How people have no chance to escape their humdrum lives (the Mega Millions Web site pictures a person futilely placing a coin in a piggy bank, ads show people bored and purposeless before gambling), and how the riches of gambling will take them to another plane of existence (pictured are ordinary people like them transported to the storied worlds and playgrounds of the rich and famous). (3) The likelihood (as well as the joy) of winning are endlessly emphasized and substantially exaggerated (in one work place, first one man breaks into a victory dance for having won Pick 3, only to be superceded by a neighboring worker who has won Pick 4). What do all of these things point to - addiction! - defined as people seeking magical solutions for daily doldrums and life problems which they have no realistic means to redress. And, so, when a San Francisco Assemblyman, Democrat Tom Ammiano, proposed legalizing and taxing marijuana in the California legislature last month, what's the diff? Ammiano called it "simply nonsensical" not to tax marijuana, California's top cash crop, given the state's massive financial crisis. Remember when governments were accused of permitting drugs and alcohol to pervade ghettos in order to stave off the demands of deprived people for better lives? Remember when the Romans bought off the masses with bread and circuses? Our financial and emotional needs now dictate that state governments sedate their citizens, while picking their pockets, from California to Kansas to the Mid-Atlantic, and everywhere else in these United States. More on Kathleen Sebelius
 
Sarah Silverman And JImmy Kimmel Split Again Top
Despite a reconciliation that gave them both cause for laughs, late-night talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel, 41, and comedian Sarah Silverman, 38, have split, a source confirms to PEOPLE. No reason was revealed for their second breakup. The funny duo dated for five years before they called it quits last July. But they rekindled their relationship just a few months later. "They're taking it slow," a source told PEOPLE last fall. "They're on the road back to being together." More on Jimmy Kimmel
 
Paula Duffy: Why Americans Ignore the World Baseball Classic Top
While watching the Canada vs. USA match this Saturday morning it occurred to me that 40,000 Canadians in a dome in Toronto are there out of national pride and to see if their team can beat the Americans. And this comes at a time when their beloved hockey season is heading towards the playoffs. Wherever our team goes they are the ones who others want to beat into submission. The USA team might as well be the Yankees. And that's the key. Rightly or wrongly we don't feel like we exist in the shadow of a more powerful country in sports or in other endeavors for that matter. Thus, we don't look for times like these to prove what we are made of. We are convinced our team sports athletes are far superior to international baseball, basketball or football leagues Stars from around the world play in our leagues whereas Americans go abroad when they can't make it in the NFL, MLB or the NBA. Sprinkled throughout the WBC international teams are players who we root for when they don uniforms of the Mariners, Red Sox and Angels. It seems odd for us to turn around and hate on them because they are now wearing the colors of Japan, the Dominican or even Canada. It's not that we have no national pride. That is clear when you see the size of audiences for the Olympic games. But in general, most of the Olympic sports that consume us are individual in nature. And in many of those sports we are the underdog, living in the shadow of dominant teams from countries around the world. We also are given the opportunity to get to know our Olympic athletes and feel connected to their personal stories. Some of that is a creature of the television networks who need to make us care to justify the hundreds of millions they spend on the rights to broadcast the games. But since we know the MLB players who play on Team USA no introductions seem necessary. It's just not life or death for us and we don't think we have a point to prove. This isn't the Olympic men's basketball team needing redemption. But it is baseball and despite some of the quirky rules that irk us, it isn't a waste of time. Just one woman's thoughts. I'm sure you have yours.
 

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