Sunday, April 12, 2009

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Raymond J. Learsy: A Nation's Shame: Bailing Out Wall Street By The Bucketful- Supporting Our Great Art Traditions With An Eyedropper Top
Incredibly, where Wall Street is showered with billions upon billions, having brought the nation to its knees, destroyed the savings of millions, wrecked havoc on the nations homeowners, crushing our confidence in the capitalist impulse that had been a meritocracy and a beacon unto others. Our financial sector has become a perverse exemplar of a system of vested and influential interests that have stacked the game to such one sided advantage that it has lost all credibility. Billions have been showered on them with barely the most perfunctory oversight. Banks both domestic and foreign are being paid out 100 cents on the dollar for derivatives that would barely fetch 20 cents in the open markets. This to the tune of tens of billions shoveled out without a modicum of restraint permitting the perpetrators of this disaster to walk away with "year-end bonuses'" and so called "retention fees" running into the hundreds of millions at AIG alone. As though the surest way to be awarded in today's financial environment is to create a financial implosion. And all hands of the governing class will be on deck bailing them out for having navigated the nation into an iceberg, handing out ever more millions along with lifejackets while the perpetrators of this disaster are busy, busy assigning themselves seats on the lifeboats, away from women and children. But when it comes to the arts and arts institution, a brave and brilliant part of our societal whole that has done so much to define our nation and our culture, that has brought us important moments of personal joy and insight as well as communal celebration vastly enriching our lives, Washington and the good burghers of the Beltway become scandalously obtuse. The government has set aside $50 million with massive strings attached, from these vast trillion dollar plus stimulus monies being spread around. Of these $50m, $20m is to be parceled to state and regional arts agencies, leaving $30 million to be distributed to arts groups through the National Endowment of the Arts (N.E.A.) . The N.E.A. has already received well over 2000 applications from cultural organizations throughout the land. Bringing insult to injury, the funds, to be distributed in stipends of $25,000 to $50,000, will only be doled out to pay for salaries or to pay contractual workers. It cannot be used for general operating expenses. Lucky are those art organizations located in southern climes as they only have limited heating bills. Humiliatingly the funds will only be reimbursed or made available by specific request 30 days before they are incurred which in turn will result in hundreds of cash requests with extensive reporting requirements. This from the same governing class that permitted AIG to pour $160,000,000 into the pockets of its astute managers, and the likes of John Thain of Merrill Lynch /Bank of America rushing to parcel out year-end bonuses of nearly $4 billion of Tarp monies to his loyal staff that "earned" their windfalls by bringing in a $15 billion Merrill Lynch loss for the year. An act that outrageously held up to public ridicule what had been a common perception of the inherent fairness of our system's standards of risk/reward. Taking a page from their brethren at Treasury, whereby in formulating the operational agenda of the near trillion dollar TALF program the Treasury Department had initially tried to restrict their dealings with the ultimate insiders and Tarp beneficiaries such as the likes of PIMCO and Goldman Sachs, until being shamed into broadening the universe of who would be eligible. The N.E.A. in turn, has limited eligibility to only those who had received a grant from the Endowment over the last four years. This has caused the likes of such wonderful and worthy institutions as the Bronx Museum of the Arts to be cut from the list according to the New York Times (N.E.A. Struggles... 4.11.09). "It was a huge blow for us" its executive director Holly Block was quoted as saying, money that would have been used to pay for a curator, security guards and maintenance staff. As a former member of the Endowment's National Council I have always been astounded by the hesitant and grudging support our government gives the arts and its infrastructure. The halting beneficence in these past turbulent and frightful months where private giving has fallen off dramatically for many of these organizations, speaks volumes. Perhaps the moment has come for all in the art world to simply say to Washington-"We are given so little respect. What we do we will continue doing, because it is our passion, it is our existence. If you feel our contribution to the fabric of the nation's life is so limited that you can continue your patronizing ways toward us, time and again, and especially at this moment of particular hardship and need, perhaps it is time for you to just keep your money. We will muddle through as best we can because we must!" More on Merrill Lynch
 
Tea Party Insanity: "Burn The Books!" (VIDEO) Top
Big bucks are pouring in to the tea party movement. Fox News reports that organizers are making a fortune in merchandise sales -- the online store for the Tax Day Tea Party website has already lodged over $48,000 in sales, according to tea partier Eric Odom. But the big bucks aren't only in T-shirts with pithy slogans - Fox's Glenn Beck said on his radio show that he plans to attend a $500 dollar-a-plate fundraiser for the tea party movement. One wonders how much that fundraiser will resemble the scene in this video of a small event organized by the 9-12 Project, in which a man rouses the rabble with a conspiracy-alleging rant. "In the early 50s our country was infiltrated by the communist party," he says, calling the Obama administration the culmination of that infiltration. "They're doing everything they can to brainwash our public...This thing they're putting on our TVs," he says, presumably referring to digital cable converters, "it's a brainwash unit!" As his speech winds down, he exhorts his listeners to get their kids "the hell out of college. They're brainwashing 'em!" The anti-school message resonates with one woman. "Burn the books!" she yells from off-camera. The surprised camera man asks if she's serious, and which books she'd burn. "The ones in college, the brainwashing books, like the evolution crap." ( The Huffington Post wants to have citizen journalists at as many of the April 15 tea party events as possible. If you're interested in attending one of the protests and reporting back to us with dispatches, photos, or video, click here to sign up . We'll contact you shortly with further instructions. ) Watch the video: HT: Little Green Footballs More on Video
 
Deane Waldman: Medicare Is Not Medicaid. Top
They are not the same, not even close. Yet both in our minds and in the news media, Medicare and Medicaid are always lumped together . They both start with "M." Apples and hand grenades are both round: would you mix them together in a salad? On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed both Medicare and Medicaid into law as part of Title XIX, The Social Security Act. Both are related to healthcare. Both have substantial Federal involvement. There are some individuals who are eligible for both. That is where similarities end. Medicare Before 1965, only those who were in the workforce could get employer-subsidized health insurance. Thus, the retired (and the non-working) were effectively prevented from acquiring medical insurance coverage. The Medicare Program was planned, like social security, as a pay-in-advance-of-need system where the worker paid a certain amount each month into a government-run fund. At age 65, when the worker retired, this pot of money called Medicare would provide all his or her medical coverage funding. Initially, the Medicare Fund was maintained and accounted separately but quickly the Federal government lumped it into the General Fund. (I leave it to your imagination why they did this.) Twenty-five years later (1990), the GAO measured how much Medicare was actually costing versus what was projected. The 1965 legislative calculators were off just a little bit: Medicare then cost more than 800% over projections! The medical insurance plan intended to pay for itself had become a Federal entitlement that was never intended. Medicaid Medicaid was always intended as an entitlement - a social welfare and protection plan funded jointly by State and Federal governments. Initially, the Program covered the lower end of the non-working spectrum, children, plus indigents. Medicaid is a means-tested Program. To qualify, you must make less than a minimum income level, plus you must meet one of the categorical requirements such as age (under 18), pregnancy, disability, blindness, HIV, legal citizenship, etc. In contrast to Medicare, Medicaid recipients pay nothing into any fund. It always was and is an entitlement. Beware when we tout single payer health insurance funded by the government as a means to provide universal health care that will reduce costs. The upward spiral of healthcare costs will reach the stratosphere - the truly unsupportable - for two reasons. 1) As entitlements expand, costs go UP certainly not down. 2) The government is a notoriously in efficient provider of, well, anything. When Government takes over an activity, the bureaucracy and its associated costs expand exponentially. Just think of the postal service or HIPAA. If you need additional proof of how costly government-run programs are, just remember the initial estimate for cost of Medicare and compare to the reality. Medicare Is Not Medicaid. "Government-run" Is Incompatible With "Cost-saving." More on Retirement
 
The Most Adorable Social Experiment Ever (VIDEO) Top
Via Gizmodo , the " tweenbot " looks like a child's craft project (aka awesome) but was designed at NYU as the basis for a social experiment. Tisch School of the Arts student Kacie Kinzer describes the goal of the experiment here (in that academic-ese one grows out of the minute one has to work a real job): I wondered: could a human-like object traverse sidewalks and streets along with us, and in so doing, create a narrative about our relationship to space and our willingness to interact with what we find in it? More importantly, how could our actions be seen within a larger context of human connection that emerges from the complexity of the city itself? To answer these questions, I built robots. She released it amidst the crowds in Washington Square Park with a flag on its head that announced its intended destination and since it can only move forward, whether or not the tweenbot got there depended upon strangers guiding it past obstacles like trash ditches, guard rails, and other NYU students. What follows is an adorable and heartening video of the journey: For more on Kacie's projects go here . More on Funny Videos
 
Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald: Welcome Bo Obama! The Wonderful Benefits of Animal Companionship Top
The cat, er, the dog is out of the bag. The "top secret" arrival of the First Dog is finally here! His name is Bo and he is a 6-month old Portuguese water dog. I have been on Obama Garden Watch for the past few weeks, as those who have followed my recent blogs may know. Well, I have simultaneously been on Obama First Dog Watch, anxiously awaiting the day I could get details on the Presidential Pooch . Michelle Obama tapped into my passion for nutrition and wellness when she decided to promote healthy and delicious eating with her organic garden. Now as a dog lover and animal shelter volunteer, I can share the enthusiasm of the Obama Family's first dog -- the First Dog. Many of us know that animals add to our emotional and spiritual well-being. Since we live in a day where just about anything can and is often researched, many studies have demonstrated that having a pet is good for our physical health as well! Apparently, while we are taking care of our pets, our pets are taking care of us. Studies abound showing that sharing our lives with animals benefits our stress levels, our blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, moods, immunity, fitness levels, the length and quality of our lives, and can even reduce health care costs. Here are a few highlights of the hundreds of studies showing the amazing benefits of animal companionship: Cardiovascular Health Karen Allen, PhD, a medical researcher at State University of New York at Buffalo, reported that dog guardians with hypertension had lower blood pressure readings in response to stressful situations than those who did not have a dog. Pet guardians were found to have lower levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as blood pressure, triglycerides, and cholesterol levels in a study reported in the Medical Journal of Australia . Having a feline companion could reduce your heart attack risk by nearly one third, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota's Stroke Institute. Queen's University researcher Dr. Deborah Wells reported that dog guardians were 8.6% more likely to be alive one year following a heart attack than those without a pooch pal. Health Care Costs Having a pet seems to help with health care costs. A study conducted by the United States National Institutes of Health indicated that people who have pets make fewer doctor visits, especially for non-serious medical conditions. An Australian Study showed dog and cat owners make fewer annual doctor visits and are less likely to be medicated for heart issues and sleeping problems than non-pet owners. The study indicated that a presence of pets in a majority of households could result in an annual savings in health care costs between $790 million and $1.5 billion! Improved Immunity A Wilkes University study found that petting a dog for 18 minutes resulted in a significant increase in secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), which helps the body protect itself from foreign invaders. One possibility for this increased immune response is a decrease in the stress hormone cortisol. Benefits to Children Dr. Sue Doescher, a psychologist involved in a study at Oregon State University, reported that teaching children to care for a puppy increased the children's cooperation and sharing attributes. A study reported in Allergy showed reduced risk of allergic responses such as eczema and asthma for children exposed to pets within the first 4 years of life. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported a study that found that exposure to two or more dogs or cats in the first year of life may reduce risk of allergies throughout childhood. Benefits to Seniors A study reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported that the physical health of seniors benefited from sharing their lives with companion animals. A Saint Louis University study reported that nursing home residents had a significant decrease in loneliness after one-on-one visits with a dog. The health benefits of the human-animal connection have been extensively studied for many years. A lot of the research has resulted in wonderful practical applications. There is a growing number of "therapy dogs," who "volunteer" to visit patients in hospitals, mental health centers, shelters, and nursing homes. One such program is the POOCH (Pets Offer Ongoing Care and Healing) program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Visits from these caring canines often lift their spirits, calm their nerves, and relieve their loneliness. The ways that animal companions affect our well being are seemingly endless: Self esteem As much as I love my family, and they are happy to see me when I come home, it's our dogs that show the most excitement, wagging their tails ecstatically, celebrating my arrival -- day after day! Fitness Dogs can inspire you to get or stay in shape. When you feel like skipping your morning walk, and your dog looks at you with those pleading eyes, you just can't say no. Pure Happiness and Joy Animals are just embodied cuteness; they make us smile and laugh with their precious antics. I constantly marvel at how adorable my two dogs, Charlie and Simba (pictured) are. And I tell them that every day! Most animal guardians talk to their pets, yet few admit it. Our Social Lives You can meet the most interesting people walking a dog, volunteering at an animal shelter, or visiting an animal sanctuary. Good Karma "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Gandhi I know that sharing our lives with animals benefits our spiritual health, for they truly touch our soul. Once you have loved an animal, your heart will never be the same. Rescuing an animal from a shelter and giving it a second chance at life is the best feeling in the world. We often wonder who actually got rescued. Huff Post readers: How have animals touched your lives? Let's hear your stories. Note: If you are inspired to add an animal companion to your life, please make your decision carefully. Being a pet guardian is a long-term commitment. Please visit your local shelter or rescue group for assistance in choosing the right pet for your lifestyle. If you are interested in having an animal companion, but aren't sure you are ready for the commitment, please consider fostering or volunteering at your local animal shelter. More on Barack Obama
 
Captain Richard Phillips Freed From Somali Pirates Top
MOMBASA, Kenya - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a U.S. Navy operation that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a senior U.S. intelligence official said. One of the pirates was wounded and in custody after a swift firefight, the official said. Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A government official and others in Somali with knowledge of the situation had reported hours earlier that negotiations for Phillips' release had broken down. The district commissioner of the central Mudug region said talks went on all day Saturday, with clan elders from his area talking by satellite telephone and through a translator with Americans, but collapsed late Saturday night. "The negotiations between the elders and American officials have broken down. The reason is American officials wanted to arrest the pirates in Puntland and elders refused the arrest of the pirates," said the commissioner, Abdi Aziz Aw Yusuf. He said he organized initial contacts between the elders and the Americans. Two other Somalis, one involved in the negotiations and another in contact with the pirates, also said the talks collapsed because of the U.S. insistence that the pirates be arrested and brought to justice. Phillips' crew of 19 American sailors reached safe harbor in Kenya's northeast port of Mombasa on Saturday night under guard of U.S. Navy Seals, exhilarated by their freedom but mourning the absence of Phillips. Crew members said their ordeal had begun with the Somali pirates hauling themselves up from a small boat bobbing on the surface of the Indian Ocean far below. As the pirates shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men, crew members said. Phillips was then held hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was closely watched by U.S. warships and a helicopter in an increasingly tense standoff. Talks to free him began Thursday with the captain of the USS Bainbridge talking to the pirates under instruction from FBI hostage negotiators on board the U.S. destroyer. A statement from Maersk Line, owner of Phillips' ship, the Maersk Alabama, said "the U.S. Navy had sight contact" of Phillips earlier Sunday -- apparently when the pirates opened the hatches. Before Phillips was freed, a pirate who said he was associated with the gang that held Phillips, Ahmed Mohamed Nur, told The Associated Press that the pirates had reported that "helicopters continue to fly over their heads in the daylight and in the night they are under the focus of a spotlight from a warship." He spoke by satellite phone from Harardhere, a port and pirate stronghold where a fisherman said helicopters flew over the town Sunday morning and a warship was looming on the horizon. The fisherman, Abdi Sheikh Muse, said that could be an indication the lifeboat may be near to shore. The U.S. Navy had assumed the pirates would try to get their hostage to shore, where they can hide him on Somalia's lawless soil and be in a stronger position to negotiate a ransom. Three U.S. warships were within easy reach of the lifeboat on Saturday. The pirates had threatened to kill Phillips if attacked. On Friday, the French navy freed a sailboat seized off Somalia last week by other pirates, but one of the five hostages was killed. Early Saturday, the pirates holding Phillips in the lifeboat fired a few shots at a small U.S. Navy vessel that had approached, a U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The official said the U.S. sailors did not return fire, the Navy vessel turned away and no one was hurt. He said the vessel had not been attempting a rescue. The pirates are believed armed with pistols and AK-47 assault rifles. Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat Friday and tried to swim for his freedom but was recaptured when a pirate fired an automatic weapon at or near him, according to U.S. Defense Department officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about the unfolding operations. "When I spoke to the crew, they won't consider it done when they board a plane and come home," Maersk President John Reinhart said from Norfolk, Virginia before news of Phillips' rescue. "They won't consider it done until the captain is back, nor will we." In Phillips' hometown, the Rev. Charles Danielson of the St. Thomas Church said before the news broke that the congregation would continue to pray for Phillips and his family, who are members, and he would encourage "people to find hope in the triumph of good over evil." Reinhart said he spoke with Phillips' wife, Andrea, who is surrounded by family and two company employees who were sent to support her. "She's a brave woman," Reinhart said. "And she has one favor to ask: 'Do what you have to do to bring Richard home safely.' That means don't make a mistake, folks. We have to be perfect in our execution." More on Pirates
 
RJ Eskow: Leonard Cohen Works For A Living Top
Who would have guessed that Leonard Cohen was a contender for James Brown's title as The Hardest Working Man in Show Business? Cohen's Friday night appearance at L.A.'s Nokia Theater was a riveting three-hour music marathon, complete with wit, charm, and snippets of poetry that mesmerized the crowd. This was no victory lap. At 74, Leonard Cohen works for his living. Cohen, emerging from financial trouble, might have tried a solo acoustic tour. Instead he spared no expense to bring a large group of stellar musicians and his own lighting and sound crew with him. That makes sense. Though he made his name in the sixties folk boom, Cohen's sensibility has always been more Jacques Brel than Jack Elliott. Professionalism, elegance, and discipline marked Friday's performance. The set list was essentially unchanged from previous tour appearances. "The Future" came early, for example, drawing in the darkness that led Trent Reznor to remix it for "Natural Born Killers." So did "Bird On the Wire" and "Who By Fire." "Democracy" and "First We Take Manhattan" came later, as the crowd relaxed into its satisfaction. Cohen rehearsed his band for an unusually long three months before taking them on the road. It showed. They seamlessly conveyed his internationalist blend of gypsy music, Strauss, and French cabaret. Even the stage patter's been repeated from town to town, but Cohen admirers want to hear what he has to say whether it's rehearsed or not. And it still works, months into the tour: "I did my last concerts 14 years ago," Cohen will say. "I was 60 years old. Just a crazy kid with a dream ..." Or he'll mutter gravely: "They say hard times might be coming. (pause) Could be worse than Y2K ..." And he alludes to both his Zen Buddhist monkhood and his history of depression, saying that he tried the great philosophies and religions but "cheerfulness kept breaking through." What about that voice? He may not have chops by any usual standard, but his deep and unadorned delivery was always impossible to ignore. If a corpse could sing it would sound like that. As the back-country folk might say, "it were a plain voice." But that droning plainness could often hypnotize, carrying a song in ways other voices could not. And it's not plain anymore. His voice has found added depth and resonance, expanding downward to acquire what it has always lacked in breadth. Perhaps Cohen's years as a Zen monk included some okyo chanting, which calls on the singer to ground his voice in the earth beneath his or her feet. Whatever the source, his basso approached the subtonal on some notes, drawing enthusiastic shouts from the audience (especially the females). There were no surprises, no covers of R&B obscurities or Webb Pierce hits. In fact there were no covers at all, unless you include Cohen's translation of the French Resistance song "La complainte du partisan." Covers aren't part of what he does. Hats are, though. Cohen and his band wore hats and suits, and the hat has become part of the act. When a man buys his first good hat he's instructed on how to dent and crease it to make it his. Cohen's fedora was well-battered, as if it had been handed down from Fred Astaire via Rocky Marciano. And he brandished it like a scepter, doffing it to honor a soloing musician while bending on one knee. "I'll wear an old man's mask for you," he injected in "I'm Your Man." And he did. The aging roué, dapper and at times almost frail in his gray suit and hat, is growing into his years like a character from a silent movie. At times he was almost Chaplinesque, at others like a refugee from a John Le Carré novel or a fifties-era Organization Man taking the commuter train from Greenwich. And sometimes the elegant Mr. Cohen looked like the CEO he is, the graying but increasingly-powerful head of an international music combine. It's all calculated, of course, but most of us don't object to a seduction if the seducer's working hard enough. The show was extremely generous by any standards, which may be another reflection of that Buddhist practice. Zen monasteries are austere places where monks are expected to work hard, be meticulous in their attention to detail, and never complain. And like any humble Zen priest, Cohen was careful to thank both the audience and his backstage workers with hat in hand. Then there was the band: Sharon Robinson, cowriter of some of his best recent songs, chaired the vocal section with emotional texture and inner beauty, especially when she took the lead on "Boogie Street." The Webb Sisters provided choral richness and gave an exquisite rendition of one of Cohen's best tunes, "If It Be Your Will." (Usually it's a disappointment when backup singers do the star's material. Not in this case.) The instrumentalists, all exceptional, were led by bassist Roscoe Beck. Neil Larsen was on keys, with Bob Metzger on guitar and pedal steel, Dino Soldo on winds, and Rafael Goyol on drums and percussion. Spanish instrumentalist Javier Mas gave the band an added dimension on guitar, bandurria, laud, and archilaud (variants of the oud). The audience reception bordered on ecstatic, although it was hard to track their responses sometimes. A cheer for the line "I'm the little Jew who wrote the Bible" might be a tribute to Cohen. But there was also applause for "I don't trust my inner feelings/inner feelings come and go." That's L.A. for you. Go figure. The young poet who wrote "Maria/please find me/I am almost thirty" is now almost seventy-five, still on the job and still delivering. Friday's performance was a triumphal return, and the tour shouldn't be missed. He might not be back for another 14 years. (Additional tour dates for Leonard Cohen are here .) ____________ RJ Eskow blogs when he can at: A Night Light The Sentinel Effect: Healthcare Blog
 
French Holocaust Memorial Defaced With Swastikas During Passover Top
The government of France vowed yesterday to hunt down the vandals who scrawled anti-semitic graffiti on the country's chief Holocaust monument. Large, black swastikas were painted on to the memorial at Drancy, the site of the second world war deportation camp from where tens of thousands of Jews were sent to their deaths. More on France
 
Sri Lanka Declares Cease-Fire Top
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Indonesia: New Orangutan Population Found Top
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia _ perhaps as many as 2,000 _ giving a rare boost to one of the world's most endangered great apes. A team surveying forests nestled between jagged, limestone cliffs on the eastern edge of Borneo island counted 219 orangutan nests, indicating a "substantial" number of the animals, said Erik Meijaard, a senior ecologist at the U.S.-based The Nature Conservancy. "We can't say for sure how many," he said, but even the most cautious estimate would indicate "several hundred at least, maybe 1,000 or 2,000 even." The team also encountered an adult male, which angrily threw branches as they tried to take photos, and a mother and child. There are an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 90 percent of them in Indonesia and the rest in neighboring Malaysia. The countries are the world's top producers of palm oil, used in food, cosmetics and to meet growing demands for "clean-burning" fuels in the U.S. and Europe. Rain forests, where the solitary animals spend almost all of their time, have been clear-cut and burned at alarming rates to make way for lucrative palm oil plantations. The steep topography, poor soil and general inaccessibility of the rugged limestone mountains appear to have shielded the area from development, at least for now, said Meijaard. Its trees include those highly sought after for commercial timber. Birute Mary Galdikas, a Canadian scientist who has spent nearly four decades studying orangutans in the wild, said most of the remaining populations are small and scattered, which make them especially vulnerable to extinction. "So yes, finding a population that science did not know about is significant, especially one of this size," she said, noting that those found on the eastern part of the island represent a rare subspecies, the black Borneon orangutan, or Pongo pygmaeus morio. The 700-square mile (2,500-square kilometer) jungle escaped the massive fires that devastated almost all of the surrounding forests in the late 1990s. The blazes were set by plantation owners and small-scale farmers and exacerbated by the El Nino droughts. Nardiyono, who headed The Nature Conservancy's weeklong survey in December, said "it could be the density is very high because after the fires, the orangutans all flocked to one small area." It was unusual to come face-to-face with even one of the elusive creatures in the wild and to encounter three was extraordinary, he said, adding that before this expedition, he had seen just five in as many years. Conservationists say the most immediate next step will be working with local authorities to protect the area and others that fall outside of national parks. A previously undiscovered population of several hundred also was found recently on Sumatra island, home to around 7,000. "That we are still finding new populations indicates that we still have a chance to save this animal," said Paul Hartman, who heads the U.S.-funded Orangutan Conservation Service Program, adding it's not all "gloom and doom." Noviar Andayani, head of the Indonesian Primate Association and Orangutan Forum, said the new discoveries point to how much work still needs to be done to come up with accurate population assessments, considered vital to determining a species' vulnerability to extinction. "There are many areas that still have not been surveyed," she said, adding that 18 private conservation groups have just started work on an in-depth census based on interviews with people who spend time in the forests. They include villagers and those working on plantations or within logging concessions. "We hope this will help fill in a few more gaps," said Andayani, adding that preliminary tests in areas where populations are known indicate that the new interview-based technique could provide a clearer picture than nest tallies. "Right now the information and data we have about orangutans is still pretty rudimentary," she said. Some experts say at the current rate of habitat destruction, the animals could be wiped out within the next two decades. ___ On the Net: The Nature Conservancy: http://www.tnc.org Nature Conservancy blog: http://blog.nature.org More on Animals
 
Jordan Honor Killing: Man Confesses To Brutally Stabbing To Death Pregnant Sister Top
AMMAN, Jordan — A Jordanian man confessed to stabbing to death his pregnant sister and mutilating her body to protect the family honor, said Jordanian authorities on Sunday. Prosecutor Mohammed al-Tarawneh said the man turned himself into police and has been charged with murder. The 28-year-old married woman was five months pregnant and stabbed repeatedly in the face, neck, abdomen and back as well as being hacked up with a meat cleaver, according to government pathologist Awad al-Tarawneh. Police familiar with the case said the woman had moved back in with her family after an argument with her husband six months earlier. The brother believed that she had then started seeing other men. The names of those involved have not been released. The incident, the ninth such case this year and the second this month, took place in the village of Basira, in the conservative Bedouin heartland of southern Jordan. Strict tribal and religious values are enforced in these villages, including the belief that women carry the family's honor. Around two dozen women are killed each year in these conservative areas of Jordan by male relatives who typically accuse them of besmirching the family honor through adultery or having sex outside of marriage. International human rights organizations have condemned honor killings in Jordan and appealed to King Abdullah II to put an end to the practice. But attempts to introduce harsher sentences have been blocked in Jordan's parliament, where the predominantly conservative Bedouin lawmakers argue that tougher penalties would lead to adultery. Some members of government have also urged judges to consider honor killings equal to other homicides and punishable by up to 15 years in prison. But many in the judiciary still hand down lenient punishments of half of that or less. More on Crime
 
SINBAD TAXES Embarrassment! Top
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California's budget deficit would shrink by nearly $5 million if singer Dionne Warwick and comedian Sinbad Adkins would pay their taxes. They are among the state's biggest tax scofflaws, according to a report issued Thursday by the Franchise Tax Board. Sinbad owes $2.5 million in personal income tax while Warwick owes $2.2 million, putting them in the top 10 of the state's 250 worst tax debtors. Debtors can get their name off the list by paying up or agreeing to an installment plan. Board spokeswoman Brenda Vote says she cannot discuss individual cases. Warwick's spokesman, Kevin Sasaki, says the singer has been working with the board to pay her outstanding taxes. He did not know how much money had been repaid. A spokeswoman for Sinbad declined to comment. More on Taxes
 
Dungeons & Dragons Creator DEAD Top
MINNEAPOLIS — Dave Arneson, one of the co-creators of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy game and a pioneer of role-playing entertainment, died after a two-year battle with cancer, his family said Thursday. He was 61. Arneson's daughter, Malia Weinhagen of Maplewood, said her father died peacefully Tuesday in hospice care in St. Paul. Arneson and Gary Gygax developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys. It eventually was turned into video games, books and movies. Gygax died in March 2008. "The biggest thing about my dad's world is he wanted people to have fun in life," Weinhagen said. "I think we get distracted by the everyday things you have to do in life and we forget to enjoy life and have fun. "But my dad never did," she said. "He just wanted people to have fun." Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity. "(Arneson) developed many of the fundamental ideas of role-playing: that each player controls just one hero, that heroes gain power through adventures, and that personality is as important as combat prowess," according to a statement from Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. that produces Dungeons & Dragons. Blackmoor, a game Arneson was developing before D&D, was the "first-ever role-playing campaign and the prototype for all (role-playing game) campaigns since," the company said. Arneson and Gygax were dedicated tabletop wargamers who recreated historical battles with painted miniature armies and fleets. They met in 1969 at a convention, and their first collaboration, along with Mike Carr, was a set of rules for sailing-ship battles called "Don't Give Up the Ship!" In later years, Dave published other role-playing games and started his own game-publishing company and computer game company. He also taught classes in game design. He was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame in 1984. Weinhagen said her father enjoyed teaching game design at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., in recent years, where he taught students to make a solid set of rules for their games. "He said if you have a good foundation and a good set of rules, people would play the game again," Weinhagen said. Arneson is survived by Weinhagen and two grandchildren. A public memorial service was planned April 20, from 4 to 8 p.m., at Bradshaw Funeral Home in St. Paul.
 
Troops In Iraq Caught Taking Reconstruction Bribes Top
Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen had a profitable tour of duty in Iraq -- so profitable, in fact, that soon after returning to this working-class neighborhood near the Ft. Lewis Army base, he was parking a Hummer H3T outside his apartment. Then a $70,000 BMW M3 showed up. People notice cars like that on a street filled mostly with pickups, old Chevys and low-end sport utility vehicles. More on Iraq
 
SIMPSONS STAMPS: What's Your Favorite? Top
WASHINGTON — Who's your favorite Simpson? The post office wants folks to vote early and often for their favorite among the five new stamps honoring the nation's funniest dysfunctional family. The Simpson stamps will be issued May 7, portraying Homer, his wife, Marge, their son Bart, daughter Lisa and baby Maggie. The characters, created by cartoonist Matt Groening, have become pop culture icons in 20 years on Fox television. The 44-cent stamps will go on display at 8 a.m. Thursday at and votes can be cast at that site until May 14. http://www.usps.com/simpsons The price of a first-class stamp goes up 2-cents to 44 cents in May. ___ On the Net: U.S. Postal Service: http://www.usps.com
 
Evan Bayh "Agnostic" On Public Health Care Top
On Fox News Sunday this morning, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) trashed the idea of including a new public health insurance plan as part of health care reform, saying "that is exactly the opposite way" to improve health care in America. "We don't need more money," said Coburn. "What we need is true markets that will allocate this resource and create a way for everyone to have access." Host Chris Wallace then asked Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) about "private sector" concerns that a public option would mean "that everybody will end up in the government program." Bayh replied that he was "agnostic" about including a public plan in reform. More on Evan Bayh
 

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