Saturday, March 7, 2009

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McCain Rewriting The Part Of Presidential Loser Top
Senator John McCain is rewriting the part of presidential loser. Unwilling to vanish into retirement like Bob Dole, or retreat into academia like Al Gore, or even quietly convalesce like John Kerry, Mr. McCain has quickly reclaimed a place on center stage in Washington, some days skewering President Obama and the Democratic Party, and on other days standing by their side. More on John McCain
 
Tara Stiles: High Fructose Corn Syrup: A Sweet Surprise For America? Top
If you google "High Fructose Corn Syrup," the first thing that pops up is www.sweetsurprise.com . It's a sponsored link, right at the top. Go to the pretty website and you'll see healthy stalks of corn poking into a clear blue sky. A racially diverse group of kids and adults are pictured smiling around tables of pancakes, cereals, berries, and cornbread. "HFCS is the chemical and nutritional equivalent of table sugar (sucrose). The two substances have the same calories, the same chemical composition and are metabolized identically." - Arthur Frank, M.D., Medical Director, George Washington University Weight Management Program. The Washington Times, December, 6, 2006 "In 1983, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally listed HFCS as safe for use in food and reaffirmed that decision in 1996. The FDA noted that "the saccharide composition (glucose to fructose ratio) of HFCS is approximately the same as that of honey, invert sugar and the disaccharide sucrose (table sugar)." - Food and Drug Administration Federal Register, August 23, 1996 Sounds convincing. I had to retreat to Michael Pollan's " In Defense of Food " for a reality check. "One of the most momentous changes in the American diet since 1909 (when the USDA first began keeping track) has been the increase in the percentage of calories coming from sugars, from 13 percent to 20 percent. Add to that the percentage of calories coming from carbohydrates (roughly 40 percent, or ten servings, nine of which are refined) and Americans are consuming a diet that is at least half sugars in one form or another--calories providing virtually nothing but energy. The energy density of these refined carbohydrates contributes to obesity in two ways. First we consume many more calories per unit of food; the fiber that's been removed from these foods is precisely what would have made us feel full and stop eating. Also, the flash flood of glucose causes insulin levels to spike and then, once the cells have taken al that glucose out of circulation, drop precipitously, making us think we need to eat again." Pollan tells us that fructose, found naturally in seasonally ripe fruit, is full of fiber that slows absorption and allows uptake of valuable micronutrients. Sugar, as it is found in nature, gives us a slow-release form of energy accompanied by minerals and all sorts of essential micronutrients. Fructose, as it's found in food products (rather than Actual Food), is metabolized differently. The body doesn't respond to it by producing insulin to convey it into cells to be used as energy. Instead it's metabolized in the liver, which turns it first into glucose and then, when there's not enough call for more glucose, into triglycerides. Fat. So that makes me wonder if eating an apple is like waking up from a nice nap with a refreshed, natural energy . . . while drinking a coke is like, well, doing a line of coke. Both the apple and the coke give a boost of energy. The sugar in the apple releases into the brain more slowly because of the fiber filter. The sugar in the Coke (well, Some of it) rushes to the brain immediately, giving us that nice temporary electrified feeling. But a Coke has 100% of our recommended daily allowance for sugar. All that sugar at once is generally more than our brains and body need right then and there. So with nowhere else to go, it turns into fat. Check out this fun website courtesy of Spinchange , my twitter and childhood pal, that gives us the play by play of what happens to your body when you drink a Coke. High Fructose Corn Syrup has invaded our culture, holding court in supermarkets everywhere. It has even made the leap to the small screen, starring in a series of TV ads defending its honor. It reminds me of when Aniston, Rihanna, or any other blown-up celebrity drama hits the scene. It's everywhere for a period of time until we move on to the next drama. The players in celebrity drama trade places like most people change their underwear. But HFCS is here to stay. Along with obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Now that's star power and a sweet surprise! It doesn't matter so much how we feel about High Fructose Corn Syrup's popularity and its omnipresence. It matters what we all do about it in our own supermarkets and at our own tables. As Michael Pollan says, we can vote with our fork. Snapple apparently is listening, by getting rid of HFCS. According to Linda Tischler's article in Fast Company, "the brand will roll out a new look, and new formula which, Snapple execs promise, has been thoroughly tested with the average Joes who form its target market. 'We talked to Lennie in Manhattan, Hymie in Brooklyn, and Arnie in the Bronx,' says Snapple Marketing VP Bryan Mazur. (Childhood friends Leonard Marsh, Hyman Golden and Arnold Greenburg started the company in Greenwich Village in 1972.)" During my research I twittered: "Researching the rise to small screen fame of HFCS." Within minutes I got a tweet from HiFrucCornSyrup (not a follower, which leads me to believe they search for "HFCS" all day on Twitter). I was a little bit creeped out, in a sci-fi movie kind of way, where everyone is walking around comatose with chips in their arms, feeding their babies HFCS by the bottle, straight up! The following is our exchange of Tweets culminating in an email response. If this isn't a PR firm for the sugar lobby, than it must be an 8-year-old boy addicted to Mountain Dew! HiFrucCornSyrup : If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. It hasn't been an easy journey. TaraStiles : I'm writing for HuffPo, are you with the sweet surprise people? HiFrucCornSyrup: No association with sweet surprise, whoever they are. I'm a complex enough carbohydrate to stand up for myself. And now for a brief interlude of some of my favorite HiFruCornSyrup tweets to put things in perspective: Some of my favorite HiFruCornSyrup tweets... Grrrrr. Snapple introducing new drink that uses sugar instead of me. Way to keep a good sweetener down, you Snapple-jerks More lies!!! http://tr.im/h2UX When will these deliciousness-intolerant research nerds stop scapegoating me? I must get a lawyer. (HFC is mad about Monifa Thomas's piece in the Chicago Sun Times linking kidney disease in women to the consumption of HFCS in sodas, or as we call them in the Midwest, pop) @winstix Sounds like somebody needs a Twinkie. Or a Mountain Dew. Or some Wheat Thins (yep, I'm in those too) @winstix See. I'm delicious, and I kill rats. What more could America ask for?? @fiftiesframes Toss in a little high fructose corn syrup and you've got yourself a cake! And my personal favorite: @tetsuzan I once went to Congress to argue the merits of raising lobsters in vats of high fructose corn syrup. It makes the meat SO sweet. And now for the email exchange. PS, I'm sure whoever this is would love to hear from all of you! From highfruccornsyrup@yahoo.com : Nice to hear from you. I want to stress that I am a totally independent substance, not advocating for any company or organization or group. Just a highly refined liquid sweetner trying to make it in the world. Ever since I was a polysaccharide, I've heard people bad mouthing my kind. My father, a broad-cobbed ear of northern Iowa corn, raised me right, teaching me to never abandon my roots. He's gone now -- wound up in a Twinkie sold in Lewiston, Idaho, while my dear mother, Cornelia, was last seen floating in a hog trough outside Frankfort, Indiana. It's for them that I crusade, hoping to rid the world of syrupism. I suppose it's nice to see people taking to the airwaves to defend sweetners like myself, but I refuse to become a part of any widespread corporate campaign. You'll never see me becoming a celebrity spokes-syrup. I'm more of a loner, the Batman of isoglucose. I don't even care whether or not people want to ingest me -- that's up to them. If it's bad for humans to eat me, well, then they shouldn't do it. You think I want to see the inside of the average American? Blech. All I'm looking for here is a little respect. I never asked to be turned in to an inexpensive, easily transportable, enzymatically processed sucrose substitute. I was just manufactured that way. Hope this helps. And if for any reason you wind up talking to aspartame, keep one thing in mind: That dude's a total phony! Later. - The Frucster More on Health
 
Anne Naylor: How To Successfully Create Jobs With The Industrial Village Top
"Energy and persistence conquer all things." Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin is one of my heroes. On the way to complete an errand in London last week, I noticed a street sign directing me to Benjamin Franklin's former home at 36 Craven Street, where he spent 16 years from 1757 to 1775. This is the only one of his homes anywhere still standing. He was very happy there. A Georgian terrace house with wonderful proportions, it drew me in. Ben Franklin entertained politicians, business people, the creative and inventive there. His home was seen as the first American embassy. He was comfortable and hospitable with wealthy and poor alike. His spirit of innovation, humour and deep humanity still inspires me. You can find out more about his home here . In some ways, I see Huff Po as the present day equivalent for the kind of conversation and stimulation found among Ben Franklin and his friends - just rather more far reaching these days in geographical terms. Franklin helped advance the Age of Enlightenment. Our opportunity too, some 300 years later, is with a new Age of Enlightenment. "Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sun-dial in the shade?" Benjamin Franklin A few weeks ago, I wrote about Job Creation in the UK and Europe during the 1980's. In response to questions received, here is a little more information, specifically about the industrial village. For those of you who wondered, Patrick Naylor is my former husband. I was with him during those extraordinary job creation years. Up until the 1970's, business schools held the view that the responsibility of corporate boards was to enhance the return to their shareholders. Workers were disposable. A board had no moral responsibility for the community dependent upon their industry. British Steel had a need to shed 150,000 people over a short period of time, many in isolated communities for whom steel was the sole economic resource. When the blast furnace was switched off, the community infrastructure began to disintegrate. Everyone is at a loss and suffers. The social impact of large scale layoffs is devastating, not just financially but also it terms of crime, family breakdown, even suicide. Naylor recognized that ordinary people are multi-talented, often put into a conceptual straightjacket. He would take corporate directors to their boardroom (usually at the top of a building). Looking down on the workforce below, he would ask them: Do you know someone who writes poetry; someone who spends his weekends tinkering with clocks and watches; who is good making things with their hands, such as furniture? "Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth." Peter Drucker In each of the steel closure areas, a team of two was set up to manage the job creation programme. Redundant steel plant was converted into small workshop units - an industrial village in the making. People with business ideas flooded in. You could liken it to Field of Dreams - build it and they will come. There was a creamery system, known also as The Paddy Quotient. Each potential project was assessed and given points under the following headings: What types of jobs? How many jobs? How soon? How difficult? Projects with sufficient numbers of points were given the go. Those with job creation potential were given support at every stage to get up and get going. The forces of negativity on the start up are considerable. Loneliness and fear threaten the best project to failure. The role of the job creation manager was to make sure the new entrepreneur would open his mail; answer his phone calls; stay in touch with his customers and creditors. The beauty of the industrial village was the "easy in, easy out" terms of renting space. If a project had a larger contract, it could expand its space. If the orders were down, it would reduce accordingly. They did not have to carry large overheads. Office services could be supplied by a business under the same roof. Book keeping by another. Computer services by yet another. The comfort and reassurance offered by community was immeasurable. On the subject of the value of community, you might enjoy Kari Henley's recent post : "Faith is the ability to see the invisible and believe in the incredible and that is what enables believers to receive what masses think is impossible" Bob Proctor One of the most remarkable Job Creation enterprises was in Kassel Germany, close to the then East German border. Enka, a manufacturer of synthetic fibres, had a large plant employing many people in Kassel. Its fibres had been superseded by others. There was no demand to keep the plant going. It had to be closed. The workers council staged a hunger strike. Riots took place. Because Job Creation had gained a reputation in Europe, Naylor was invited to look at the problem and find a solution. The results spoke for themselves. Within 5 years, 70 projects were up and running within the industrial village. There was an assortment of companies including: printing, advertising, computing, PR, warehousing, car repairs, design, small engineering, glass blowing. There were more jobs in the community than before in the Enka days. The vision that Patrick and I share is that there is a tremendous wealth of human energy and resource in every community. Do you have talents, skills and gifts that are lying dormant? Do you have a vocation that you have yet to fulfil? "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Winston Churchill The Monthly Labor Review of October 1986 sets out clearly the model created for British Steel Industry by Patrick Naylor. It was replicated throughout Europe at that time. Please contact me if you would like a pdf copy emailed to you. *** Anne offers Clear Results Consultations to people facing turning points in their lives and gives monthly Possible Dream Meetings. A pdf copy of the Clear Results Self-Assessment is available; and a pdf copy of the Guidelines for Possible Dream Meetings that can be run in any home I would love to hear from you, either as a comment here or contact me at: ClearResults@mac.com
 
Drew Barrymore Licks Bowling Ball For $10 (VIDEO) Top
(SCROLL FOR VIDEO) Drew Barrymore was Friday's big guest on Jimmy Fallon's new show, and she participated in his bit "Lick it for Ten," where you have to lick a surprise item and are given $10. Barrymore is a best friend and producing partner of Nancy Juvonen, Fallon's wife. The item brought out for Barrymore to lick was a $139 pink bowling ball. As she went to lick it, hoping to earn her cab fare, her new tongue ring was also visible. Later in Friday night's episode Mario Batali cooked Molecche con Rapini for Jimmy, Drew and "Gossip Girl" guy Chace Crawford. (Scroll below the Drew clip to watch that) Earlier in his first week Fallon had a dance off with Drew's fellow "Charlie's Angel" Cameron Diaz, played beer pong with Serena Williams and sat down with Tina Fey. WATCH DREW LICK IT: WATCH MARIO COOK: More on Jimmy Fallon
 
Bombs kill 15 in Pakistan amid increasing turmoil Top
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A bomb-laden car exploded Saturday in northwest Pakistan as police tried to pull a body from it, authorities said, killing eight people amid growing international concern over the nuclear-armed country's stability. Two other bombings killed seven people elsewhere in the northwest. Separately, Pakistani officials said they were investigating reports that a pilotless U.S. drone had crashed elsewhere in a northwest tribal region. The drones are believed to be operated by the CIA and often launch missile strikes against militant targets in Pakistan. The bombs came days after gunmen brazenly attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team in eastern Pakistan and preceded planned anti-government rallies involving the main opposition party, whose leader was recently barred from elected office. The deepening political turmoil concerns U.S. and other Western officials who want Pakistan to focus on fighting militants. Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters are believed to use pockets of Pakistan's northwest as bases to plan attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan, as well as against targets in Pakistan itself. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Friday it was "vital" for Pakistani politicians to stop feuding and "unite against the mortal threat that Pakistan faces, which is a threat from its internal enemies." Militants have staged numerous attacks against security forces near the Afghan border, including a roadside bomb that killed three civilians and wounded four troops Saturday in the town of Darra Adam Khel. Still, the strike that killed seven policemen and a bystander near the main northwest city of Peshawar appeared to be the first to use a body as a lure. Local police chief Rahim Shah said police went to the Badaber area after an unknown caller told them a body was in a parked car. Residents and police recently evicted militants from the area, prompting threats of retaliation. "They found the white car. They also saw a body inside, but when they were pulling it out, the car bomb went off," Shah said. Also Saturday, a suicide bomber killed four people and wounded five others at a mosque in the remote Tirah village in Khyber, a tribal region overlooking the Afghan frontier, government official Sadiq Khan said. The mosque served as a headquarters for Ansarul Islam, a militant group that is rivals with another extremist outfit known as Lashkar-e-Islam, Khan said. Pakistan recently claimed victory in an offensive against militants in the Bajur tribal region. Officials also say they are close to flushing militants from the adjacent Mohmand tribal area. But Pakistan has raised alarm bells in the West by engaging in peace talks with Taliban militants in the nearby Swat Valley. The U.S. has recently escalated its use of missile strikes against militants in Pakistan, prompting official Pakistani protests. The pilotless drones that launch the missiles often target spots in South Waziristan tribal region, a major militant stronghold from where the reports of the crash emanated Saturday. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the reports were under investigation. Two intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media, said their informants and agents had yet to locate any wreckage in the rumored crash site of Angoor Ada village. The U.S. rarely discusses the missile operations. Col. Greg Julian, the top U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, said he couldn't comment on the crash report. The rest of Pakistan has not been immune from violence, as demonstrated by Tuesday's attack on the cricket team in Lahore. Heavily armed gunmen killed six police and a driver and wounded several players before fleeing unscathed. The assault bore some resemblance to November's terrorist rampage in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai. The Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba has been blamed for that attack, in which 164 people were killed. The group's chief spokesman, Abdullah Ghaznavi, on Saturday denied it was involved in the attack on the Sri Lankans. He blamed Indian spies, but offered no evidence to back that up. The group also denies involvement in the Mumbai attacks. Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram declared Friday that Pakistan could become a failed state, according to a news report. "In Pakistan, with regret, I would say we don't know who is in control there _ whether it is the army or the president or the government," the Press Trust of India quoted Chidambaram as saying. "It is not a failed state, but it is threatening to become one." The Sri Lankans were attacked in Punjab province, stronghold of Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. The federal government recently dismissed the provincial government, led by Sharif's brother, after a court disqualified the Sharifs from elected office. Their party intends to participate in a massive march on the capital in the coming week organized by lawyers calling for an independent judiciary. ___ Associated Press Writers Munir Ahmad in Islamabad and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan contributed to this report. More on Pakistan
 
Julia Moulden: An Open Letter To Jeff Skoll Top
Dear Jeff Skoll, I always had you pegged as an ideas guy. I mean, eBay, how cool is that? But lately I've been starting to see you as a man of the people. The idea at the core of eBay was empowering, wasn't it? The revolutionary notion that everyone can become an entrepreneur. And then, when your big idea made you very rich, you thought hard about what to do with those resources. And you got a great piece of advice, "Bet on good people doing good things." Which is precisely what you've done. And, maybe because you deliberately have such a low personal profile, Jeff (I mean, you're not in boldface alongside Paris Hilton, are you?), I'm just starting to put it all together. First, I watched the talk you gave at the TED conference. That helped. I knew that you'd started the Skoll Foundation to help develop the emerging field of social entrepreneurship. (I've been writing about social entrepreneurs in recent weeks, Jeff, but need to do a quick definition for those who are new to this world. A social entrepreneur is someone who applies the approaches and spirit of the entrepreneur - things like innovation, leadership, tenacity, risk-taking, and vision - to help drive social change. Rather than focusing exclusively on making money, these entrepreneurs are driven to achieve social goals - like helping people start small businesses and secure access to health care, education, and clean water.) The Skoll Foundation has been investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs around the world for more than a decade. And social entrepreneurs aren't billionaires (no offence intended), which is what people often think - "You have to be rich to do this work." In fact, one of the best-known examples was started with just $27. There's more in the Social Entrepreneurship 101 video your team produced. Next, you created a way for the growing community of social entrepreneurs to connect. Social Edge is a site where social entrepreneurs can exchange ideas and information, and support one another. I particularly like the discussions hosted by these innovators and professionals in various disciplines, like marketing and finance. All good, but not yet enough for you. Eager to reach even more people, you came up with the wild idea of starting a production company to make films with big messages, Participant Media. http://www.participantmedia.com. The best-known example? The one everyone calls Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." Here, I need to pause for breath, Jeff. Phew! But before I sign off, there's another piece I need to mention. Each year, you host the Skoll World Forum - kind of like Davos, but for social entrepreneurs. This year, 800 people from 60 countries will convene at Oxford University's Said Business School to talk about how to advance social entrepreneurship, to network, and share best practices. It happens on March 25 - 27, and everyone can "listen in" by following live blogs on both the Skoll World Forum and Social Edge sites. Sessions will be recorded and aired after the event, right? Jeff, I see social entrepreneurs as being of a larger movement I've dubbed the New Radicals -- that is, men and women who've discovered how to put skills acquired in their careers to work on the world's greatest challenges. New Radicals are people like you and me, Jeff, who truly believe that each of us can make a difference in the world. (For more, please see archived articles .) I'm writing to say, "Go, Jeff!" - and that we look forward to your next big idea. I also want to ask the question that's on everyone's minds - What impact will the economic downturn have on all of this hopeful, world-changing work? Yours sincerely, Julia Moulden, New Radical P.S. As always, I invite readers to share their thoughts on today's post by commenting below, or by emailing me directly (julia@wearethenewradicals.com.) More on The Giving Life
 
TIME: How To Spot A Ponzi Scheme Top
With so many Ponzis and so little time to know if you've been hoodwinked, there are some red flags even the most trusting investors can bank on: yachts, mansions, jets and women. If your investment adviser is dabbling in any of the above, there's a good chance you've been "Ponzi-ed" or are about to be. Creating the illusion of fantastic success, of course, is chapter one in the Scammer's Handbook. But many, like R. Allen Stanford and Bernie Madoff, among the most egregious alleged billionaire bamboozlers, are taking the art of thievery to the next level. Some don't even bother opening an investor account when new monies come in, they just go shopping. It's enough to make Gordon "Greed is Good" Gecko blush. (See 25 people to blame for the financial crisis.) More on Bernard Madoff
 
Madonna & Jacko's Guitarist Dies Grim Hospital Death Top
THE unsung hero behind Madonna and Michael Jackson died yesterday morning, and the grieving family of David Williams is furious over the disrespect shown to him by the music community and by what they say was neglect by the hospital where he spent his last days. Williams, who was 58, was the guitarist for the pop superstars and toured with both of them as well as Jessica Simpson, Chaka Khan, Lionel Richie and Van Halen for more than three decades, succumbed to complications from high blood pressure. Williams collapsed and was taken to Sentara Hospital in Hampton, Va. where he slipped into a coma last week. While he lay dying in ICU, his family was urged to "pull the plug because he had no medical insurance," a family friend said. More on Madonna
 
Obama Puts Defense Contractors On Notice About Cost Crackdown Top
President Barack Obama fired a surprise broadside at the defense industry, saying he intends to clamp down on practices that have resulted in billions of dollars in cost overruns and delays in recent years. At a time when Washington faces the prospect of bailing out multiple sectors of the economy, contractors' cost overruns are showing up on the radar of many in the capital. And the Pentagon, which spends about $330 billion a year to buy everything from fighters to paper clips, is a particular focus of the new administration.
 
Presidents Gone Gray! (SLIDESHOW) Top
On Wednesday the New York Times reported that only 44 days into the presidency, Barack Obama is already going gray . "I started noticing it toward the end of the campaign and leading up to inauguration," says Deborah Willis, who, as co-author of "Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs," pored through 5,000 photographs of the first head over the last year. Of course, Obama is growing older, and gray hair is part of the aging process. But, the NYT reports, even that seems to happen at an accelerated rate when you're President. "Presidents age two years for every year that they're in office," said Dr. Michael F. Roizen, co-founder of RealAge, a Web site that tells you how much older your body really is because of all that smoking and drinking you have been doing. Take a look at how the presidency has made men go gray below. Or see a slideshow of other silver foxes in politics . SLIDESHOW: More on Photo Galleries
 
Dying Jade Goody Christened With Sons In Hospital Chapel Top
Jade Goody was christened with her two sons today in what is expected to be her final public act before she dies of cancer. Goody and sons Bobby, five and Freddie, four, were baptised at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London because the reality star was too weak to attend a church service. She is so ill that she can barely stand unaided and was brought in for the emotional 20-minute ceremony in a wheelchair still wearing her hospital gown.
 
Obama: Crisis Is A Time Of "Great Opportunity" (VIDEO) Top
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Saturday challenged his country to see its hard times as a chance to "discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis." "That is what we can do and must do today. And I am absolutely confident that is what we will do," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address, taped a day earlier at the White House. WATCH: The work week ended on more down news, with the report of 651,000 more American jobs slashed and an unemployment rate climbing to 8.1 percent. That is the highest rate of people out of work in more than 25 years, as the recession continued to put enormous pressures on families and industries. Obama recapped the work of the latest hectic week in his young presidency. His goal was to reassure the country that he and his team are taking specific steps to create jobs in the short term and begin to address huge issues such as health care. His rundown of the past week: the launch of a more detailed plan to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure; a new credit plan to spur lending for people and businesses; an overhaul of the way the government hands out private contracts to reduce waste; and a summit on how to overhaul health care. On the last point, Obama has set a goal of signing a bill this year that would fix the U.S. health care system, which is the costliest in the world and leaves an estimated 48 million people uninsured, plus many others lacking adequate coverage. "Our ideas and opinions about how to achieve this reform will vary, but our goal must be the same: quality, affordable health care for every American that no longer overwhelms the budgets of families, businesses and our government," Obama said. Obama says he is not wedded to a plan on how to fix the problem. But one proposal he has endorsed, giving Americans the option of buying medical coverage through a government plan, is drawing opposition from Republicans. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., emphasized that point in the Republican weekly radio address. "I'm concerned that if the government steps in it will eventually push out the private health care plans millions of Americans enjoy today," Blunt said. "This could cause your employer to simply stop offering coverage, hoping the government will pick up the slack." As the White House takes on so many huge issues at once, Obama is encouraging people to take a longer view, and not get caught up in the fits and starts. The president said in his address that the nation will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead. Still, he ended with hope. "Yes, this is a moment of challenge for our country," Obama said. "But we've experienced great trials before. And with every test, each generation has found the capacity to not only endure, but to prosper _ to discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis." ___ On the Net: Obama address: http://www.whitehouse.gov More on Barack Obama
 
IRS Quits Use Of Private Debt Collectors Top
WASHINGTON — So much for privatizing the federal government. The Internal Revenue Service's decision this week to quit using debt collectors to dun delinquent taxpayers was celebrated by public employee unions as a pendulum shift after watching the Bush administration often opt for private contractors over federal workers to deliver government services. The IRS program was a small one, bringing in a little more than $80 million since its inception in 2006. But it represented an ideological toehold for conservatives who believe that private companies are more efficient than government agencies. It was an ideology embraced by former President George W. Bush, who famously _ and unsuccessfully _ toyed with the idea of partially privatizing Social Security. Privatization won't disappear. It's too widespread in a federal government that relies on private contractors for work as diverse as computer programming and providing security in Iraq. But with a new Democratic administration in charge, experts don't expect to hear much about privatizing government functions from President Barack Obama. "I think we're going to see a reversal of privatization," said Harvey B. Feigenbaum, a political science professor at George Washington University. "When contracts come up for renewal, they will see if it would be better for the public sector to do the work." IRS contracts with private debt collection agencies to go after delinquent taxpayers expired Friday. In deciding not to renew them, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said he concluded after a monthlong review that tax collection could best be done by government workers. The agency had been turning over to private debt collectors some delinquency cases, often in the $5,000 to $10,000 range, that the IRS lacked the manpower to pursue. The program cost about $7.6 million a year to administer, and private contractors were allowed to keep about a quarter of the taxes they collected. The program brought in more money than it cost to operate, but it had become a political headache for the IRS. The union representing IRS workers and the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent ombudsman within the agency, opposed the program, as did some Democrats in Congress. Other powerful lawmakers from both political parties supported it. Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said the decision to end the program "reaffirms" that "no one can perform the work of the federal government better than federal employees." Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, disagreed. He said the IRS used flawed methods to review the program and succumbed to public employee unions and their allies. "It seems the IRS and Treasury Department went out of their way to knock out an emerging, effective and evenhanded way to collect tax debt that the IRS will otherwise never collect," Grassley said. "It's discouraging when commonsense efforts to make things fair for honest taxpayers in a way that's decent and logical all around get beat down by vested, powerful interests in Washington." Paul Light, a professor of public service at New York University, said he expects the Obama administration to de-emphasize the use of private contractors for government work. But, he said, that probably means hiring more government workers, which comes with the political baggage of enlarging the federal government. "If you aren't going to contract out services, how are you going to provide them?" Light asked. "I'm fairly certain there will be an increase in the number of federal government workers." At the IRS, Schulman said he expects to hire more than 1,000 workers this year to increase collections. He encouraged workers from private collection agencies to apply.
 
Rod Beckstrom, Top US Cybersecurity Official, Resigns Amid Turf Battles Top
WASHINGTON — The head of the nation's cybersecurity center has resigned amid persistent turf battles and confusion over the control and protection of the country's vast computer networks and systems. Rod Beckstrom's decision to step down as director of the National Cybersecurity Center comes as the White House is conducting a broad 60-day review of how well the government is using technology to protect everything from classified national security data to key financial systems and air traffic control. In a blunt letter to Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano, Beckstrom complained about a shortage of money for the center and a clash over whether the National Security Agency should control cyber efforts. The role of the NSA in protecting domestic computer networks has triggered debate, particularly among privacy and civil liberties groups who oppose giving such control to U.S. spy agencies. Intelligence officials argue, however, that they must be involved in order to adequately defend the country and its networks. Beckstrom's letter was dated Thursday, and said his resignation would be effective March 13. Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said the department is working with other federal agencies, specifically the NSA, to protect civilian networks, and is reaching out to the private sector to find additional ways to improve cybersecurity. President Barack Obama last month ordered a 60-day review of the nation's cybersecurity, and put former Bush administration aide Melissa Hathaway in charge of the effort. Hathaway has been meeting with industry leaders, Capitol Hill staff and other experts, seeking guidance on what the federal government's role should be in protecting information networks against an attack. She also is asking for recommendations on how officials should define and report cyber incidents and attacks; how the government should structure its cyber oversight and how the nation can increase security without stifling innovation. As a candidate, Obama criticized Bush's cybersecurity efforts, and suggested that _ as president _ he would have a cyber adviser who would report directly to him. It was not known whether that is still the plan. On Thursday, Obama named a federal chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, to work in the White House. Kundra is to have a role in overseeing the ability of computer systems to speak to each other and the security for the federal government's vast information databanks. ___ Associated Press writer Eileen Sullivan contributed to this report. ___ On the Net: Homeland Security Dept.: http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm
 
U2 World Tour To Begin In June Top
U2 will kick off its world tour in the Spanish city of Barcelona on June 30 and stay on the road until the fall of 2010, playing 90-100 shows, music trade publication Billboard reported on Friday. The official announcement of the stadium tour, to support the Irish rock band's first album since 2004, "No Line On the Horizon," will be made on Monday.
 
Palestinian PM Fayyad Submits Resignation Top
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian prime minister submitted his resignation Saturday, a move that could help pave the way for an elusive power-sharing deal between Palestinian moderates and militants. Salam Fayyad was appointed prime minister by Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in June 2007, in response to the violent takeover of Gaza by the Islamic militant Hamas. Abbas and the Fayyad government control the West Bank, while Hamas continues to rule Gaza, despite a recent three-week Israeli military offensive there. Fayyad's decision was meant as a confidence-building measure, ahead of the resumption of Palestinian reconciliation talks on Tuesday in Cairo. Negotiators from Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement are trying to form a transition government that is to prepare for presidential and legislative elections by January 2010. Abbas said Saturday that he hoped a transition government could be formed by the end of March, suggesting that power-sharing talks have moved into high gear, following failed attempts in the past. Fayyad's resignation "comes to enhance and support the national dialogue to reach a national unity government," Abbas said. Fayyad, 57, said he would step down after the formation of a new government, but no later than the end of March. However, Abbas aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh suggested that Abbas could reappoint Fayyad if power-sharing talks fail. Hamas seemed dismissive Saturday, arguing that the Fayyad government had been unconstitutional from the start. "This government did not work for the sake of the Palestinians, it worked for its own agenda. This end was expected for a government that was illegal and unconstitutional," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza. Fayyad, a respected economist and a political independent, had won widespread international support as prime minister. He carried out government reforms, including making government spending more transparent and deploying Palestinian security forces in former militant strongholds in the West Bank. The support for the U.S.-educated Fayyad translated into massive amounts of foreign aid for the Palestinians. In 2007, donor countries pledged $7.7 billion over three years for the Fayyad government. Last week, another pledging conference, convened in the wake of Israel's Gaza offensive, yielded $5.2 billion over two years. It was not immediately clear whether the pledges would be affected by a change in the Palestinian government. Donors had said at the pledging conference that much of the aid would be funneled through the Fayyad government. Fayyad said in a statement on Saturday that he was hoping to pave the way for a unity government. "This step comes in the efforts to form a national conciliation government," Fayyad said. Hamas officials, meanwhile, suggested that in the event of a power-sharing deal, elections could be put off for several months, beyond January 2010, as the two sides try to improve their standing with voters. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal is informal and hasn't been raised in unity talks yes. The political split between Abbas and Hamas broke out into the open in January 2006 when Hamas won parliament elections, defeating Fatah which had dominated Palestinian politics for decades. Arab mediators repeatedly attempted to bridge the gaps, but failed, and Hamas seized power by force in Gaza in 2007. In response, Abbas fired Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and replaced him with Fayyad, while Israel and Egypt responded by closing Gaza's borders. In 2008, Abbas conducted peace talks with Israel, but the negotiations ended without progress. The rival camps appear to have stronger reasons now than in the past to reach a power-sharing deal. A negotiated deal with Israel seems out of reach, particularly now that a right-wing government is about to be formed in Israel. Hamas, meanwhile, survived Israel's Gaza offensive, but has failed to get the border blockade lifted. In other developments Saturday, a member of an Islamic Jihad rocket squad was killed and two others were wounded in northern Gaza in what a Palestinian medic said was an Israeli airstrike. However, the military said it did not carry out any operations in Gaza on Saturday. The Islamic Jihad squad was targeted as it fired rockets toward Israel, according to Palestinian health official Dr. Moawiya Hassanain and Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Ahmed. The Israeli military confirmed that at least five rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel on Saturday, causing no injuries or damage. Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers separately declared a cease-fire Jan. 18, after the Israeli offensive. However, talks on a durable truce have hit a snag, and rocket fire and airstrikes continue. Islamic Jihad, far smaller than Hamas, is most involved in rocket fire.
 
Obama To Visit Turkey Top
ANKARA, Turkey — President Barack Obama will visit Turkey soon, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday in an indication that the country bridging East and West could be the site of the president's first speech from a Muslim capital. The visit would also be a sign of improvement in a long friendship between two NATO allies that has been strained by the invasion of Iraq and other issues. "We share a commitment to democracy, a secular constitution, respect for religious freedom and belief and in free market and a sense of global responsibility," Clinton said at a news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. Clinton said Obama had asked her to deliver the message that he would visit in the "next month or so." Clinton said the visit is "a reflection of the value we place on our friendship with Turkey" and that a date would be set soon. She said the two allies will consult on the safest, most effective way to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq. Turkey has said it is ready to serve as an exit route for U.S. troops. "We have to discuss what will pass, what kind of equipment," Babacan said. "We are ready to cooperate." Turkey is an ally seen as key to resolving several U.S. foreign policy problems, including blocking Iran's nuclear ambitions and turning around the war in Afghanistan. The southern Incirlik air base has been used for transfer of U.S. troops and equipment to Iraq and to Afghanistan. Clinton also said talks were underway between two U.S. representatives and Syrian officials in Damascus. The Obama administration's decision to send Jeffrey Feltman, the top State Department envoy on the Mideast, and Daniel Shapiro from the White House to Syria was the most significant sign yet that it is ready to improve relations with the Syrian government after years of tension. "We are just at the beginning of exploring the issues that we must discuss between us," Clinton said. "We have not decided on any next steps." Babacan said Turkey was willing to host more indirect talks between Syria and Israel. "There have been four rounds of talks between Syria and Israel and we had suspended our mediation during Gaza war, but whenever Syria and Israel are ready and if they ask we can get involved in the process again," Babacan said. A Turkish government official said Clinton told Babacan that the United States was looking to see whether "a new chapter" in relations with Syria was possible. She said the United States would welcome Turkey's contribution to improved ties to Syria. The Turkish official who was present in the meeting spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists. Babacan on Saturday reiterated Turkey's position on the need to engage Hamas. Similarly, Turkey urged the United States to engage Iran, the official said. Clinton did not respond but took notes, he said. Clinton talked with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for nearly two hours at his residence before visiting the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's national founder. Erdogan's office said in a statement that the two discussed bilateral relations, the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan and combatting terrorism. More on Syria
 

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