The latest from The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com
- Linda Hirshman: Newspaper Boy: Announcing Ross Douthat Watch
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson: An Honorary Degree for Kermit The Frog But Not President Obama
- Rasmussen CAPITALISM POLL: Stunning Results
- Dutch TV Show Finds Osama Bin Laden 'Not Guilty'
- Christopher Brauchli: Reporters, Cigarettes and a U.S. Senator
- Why Surprise Over Iowa Gay Marriage Ruling? State Has Long Progressive History
- French Hostage Killed By Somali Pirates In Rescue Operation
- Art Brodsky: VA Owes Reporter Apology for Its Shameful Behavior
- David Sirota: The Best Investment Money Can Buy!
- Christopher Herbert and Victoria Kataoka Rebuffet: Weekly Foreign Affairs Roundup
- Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin: Dog Ears Music: Volume Sixty-Seven
- Louise Nelson Dyble: Bridging the Transportation Gap
- Obama, Economic Advisers Meet: "Glimmers Of Hope"
- Crazy High-Speed Chase: Woman Tries To Run Down Cops; Gets Out Of Vehicle While It's Moving (VIDEO)
- David M. Abromowitz: Why is this President Different from All Other Presidents?
- Liz Neumark: A local meal of historic proportions; an historic meal of local proportions
- Dave Johnson: The Innovative Movie Industry
- Keely Field: Notre Dame Gives Fox News Plenty of Fuel for the Fire
- Dennis Markatos: Oil Report Shows Global Carbon Emissions May Fall in 2009
- New York Church Tweeting Passion Of Christ
- Peggy Drexler: There's Something About Michelle
- Dylan Ratigan: I Left CNBC For Broader Platform
- Craig Newmark: More support for Veterans from President Obama
- Rob Shapiro: Time to Face the Facts: The Economy Probably Won't Get Better For Quite a While
- Scott Paul: American Manufacturing Doesn't Need a Bailout, Just a Level Playing Field
- China's Population Laws Threaten Baby Girls, Favor Boys
- Earth Day Deals: Save Money While Saving Energy
| Linda Hirshman: Newspaper Boy: Announcing Ross Douthat Watch | Top |
| In a week or so, Atlantic Magazine wunderkind, the 29 year old conservative blogger Ross Douthat will start his career as a regular columnist for the New York Times. The announcement of his appointment caused a flurry in the blogosphere. Conservatives generally praised the selection; some liberal writers did, too . Other liberals were pretty critical , both of Douthat and of their liberal colleagues for lauding what they called a very bad choice. For or against, it is clear that Douthat's opinions in the newspaper of record are going to matter in interesting ways. Douthat is not the usual apparatchik, like Bill Kristol, simply phoning in the latest Republican talking points. He has a distinctive point of view - that the Republican Party should reconstruct itself as the party of the white working class through restoring traditional sexual mores - and a set of rhetorical techniques designed to make his message sound palatable even to the Times' generally liberal readership. Although no newspaper is in a position to guarantee a year's tenure, let alone life tenure, since he's not yet thirty, Douthat may be pulling the discourse rightward from his high perch for a very long time. The Chief Justice John Roberts of punditry. Accordingly, starting today, the Huffington Post will carry "Ross Douthat Watch," a feature dedicated to analyzing Douthat's columns and alerting the Post's readership to the meaning and effect of his opinions and proposals for the future of the society. DOUTHAT WATCH 1: Who Is Ross Douthat And What Is He Doing In The Most Expensive Meme Estate In America? Douthat came from New Haven, Connecticut, son of a very successful plaintiff's trial lawyer and a mostly stay at home mom. At seventeen, his entire family converted to Roman Catholicism. He describes his other conversion -- to conservatism -- initially as a youthful rebellion. After attending private high school, he went to Harvard, where he ran the conservative paper and wrote a conservative column for the Crimson, which activities catapulted him into an internship at the Atlantic. His first book, "Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class" (2005), decried the elitism, wealth and resume obsession of the other students at his elite college. In an interview in the New York Observer, he reported that he had been concerned about becoming a writer decrying obsession with wealth and status at Harvard, because he is obssessed with wealth and status, as Harvard defines it: "You know that your peers who go off and do consulting or Web design-or back then it was Silicon Valley-are going to be making, for the foreseeable future, twice as much money as you are, and living lifestyles twice as affluent as you are. . . But there are professions that are very respectable if you're a kid at Harvard, and writing is clearly one of them-because even though it doesn't have the financial rewards of some of the others, it does have the recognition and fame aspect." After several years of blogging and writing at the Atlantic, Douthat co-wrote (with Reihan Salam) "Grand New Party" (2008), an extended argument for realigning the Republican Party: "How the Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream." As fellow Times columnist David Brooks put it, "Douthat and Salam argue that the Republicans rode to the majority because of support from the Reagan Democrats, and if the party has a future, it will be because it understands the dreams and tribulations of working-class Americans." Although GNP eschews any specific racial references, Reagan Democrats were, overwhelmingly, both white and male. GNP does not recommend the usual working class bromides of progressive income taxation, union organization or universal health care. The primary organizing theory of GNP is that the working class fell because of the decline of the stable, heterosexual nuclear family. The policy proposals in GNP are mostly directed to promoting [heterosexual] marriage and encouraging the heterosexual married to have children and then for a parent (in social context, mothers) to stay home with them. During his years blogging around, Douthat published a range of opinions, including opposition to the candidacy of Barack Obama , women's abortion rights , stem-cell research , and artificial birth control, as well as support for the candidacy of Sarah Palin, the 42nd President of the United States being "mobbed up," and the dominance of one religious viewpoint for social peace. | |
| Earl Ofari Hutchinson: An Honorary Degree for Kermit The Frog But Not President Obama | Top |
| It's not clear whether Arizona State University President Michael Crow had any say in the decision not to grant President Obama, the school's commencement speaker, an honorary degree. But one thing's for sure the dumbest thing that school officials said in telling why they won't grant an honorary degree to President Obama was not that he didn't have a credible body of work and thus supposedly was unfit for the honorary degree. It was that the commencement committee may not have even considered him for the degree in the first place. Here are the names of the wise ones on ASU's Honorary Degrees Committee who snubbed President Obama for the honorary degreee. Laurie Chassin, Psychology, 2010 (Chair) Christine Wilkinson, Senior Vice President and Secretary of the University, 2010 (Co-Chair) Roger Adelson, History, 2009 Bill Miller, Applied Biological Sciences, 2009 Joan Brett, Graduate College, 2010 Claudia Brown, Art, 2010 Chris Callahan, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 2010 Philip Christensen, Earth and Space Exploration, 2010 Luis Gomez-Mejia, Management, 2010 Jewell Parker Rhodes, Virginia C. Piper Center for Creative Writing, 2010 Paul Patterson, Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness, 2010 Sander van der Leeuw, Human Evolution and Social Change, 2010 Linda Vaughan, Nutrition, 2010 Gary Waissi, ASU Global Engagement, 2010 The university vice provost and dean of the Graduate College; and the president of the ASU Foundation also are ex-officio members of the committee. The committee members hail from all over the university map and they made no mention in the flurry of press announcements they put out variously explaining and defending the snub the exact criteria they used to determine why Obama didn't cut the academic muster. That would be tough anyway. The whole thing is either ludicrous or farcical depending on how charitable one wants to be. By any measure--organization, political mastery, historic trend setting, his education and legal writings, research and instruction, and intellect--President Obama's merits speak for themselves. And ASU officials pretty much acknowledged that by inviting him to give the commencement address in the first place. The reason for the degree snub then can't be lack of merit or a lack of a body of work. It's something else and that something else speaks to the politics and money behind who gets an honorary degree and why they get it. In years past ASU has laddled them out to a laundry list of such academic wizards as a movie director, oil computer and microchip executives, and newpaper publishers. Universities, and that includes ASU, routinely hand out honorary degrees to a check list of fat cat contributors and donors. Universities have even been known to award them to politicians who have never taken pen to paper. This was the case in 2001 when Yale University awarded an honorary degree to George W. Bush. He was barely one year into his presidency. The sum of Bush's academic accomplishment from Yale was a degree in history in 1968. ASU also honored its favored political son, Barry M. Goldwater, with an honorary degree in 1961. It didn't hurt that Goldwater was the state's most influential US senator and could steer a lot of federal cash to the university. But a Goldwater honorary degree at least in that respect made some sense. Not sure if the same could be said for the recipient of the honorary degree from Long Island's Southampton College in 1996. The academic marvel that year was a Sesame Street Muppet Kermit the Frog. Then again maybe Kermit was more deserving than Bush since Kermit had used his celebrity to spread positive messages about environmental protection in public service announcements for the National Wildlife Federation, National Parks Service, the Better World Society, and other groups. At least that's what University officials said in defending Kermit's honorary degree. Then there are the universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University Stanford University, the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Virginia. They play it close to the vest, maintain their level of real academic integrity and cut out the honorary degree sham. ASU obviously isn't on that elite list of academic non-honorary degree game players. And President Obama is not Bush or Kermit the Frog. So here's how ASU President Crow can erase an embarassment. Ignore the Honor's Committee's blindspot toward or deliberate egg of the President, and bestow on him the award that he richly deserves, an honorary degree. Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His weekly radio show, "The Hutchinson Report" can be heard on weekly in Los Angeles on KTYM Radio 1460 AM and nationally on blogtalkradio.com | |
| Rasmussen CAPITALISM POLL: Stunning Results | Top |
| Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better. Adults under 30 are essentially evenly divided: 37% prefer capitalism, 33% socialism, and 30% are undecided. Thirty-somethings are a bit more supportive of the free-enterprise approach with 49% for capitalism and 26% for socialism. Adults over 40 strongly favor capitalism, and just 13% of those older Americans believe socialism is better. | |
| Dutch TV Show Finds Osama Bin Laden 'Not Guilty' | Top |
| A Dutch TV jury has found Osama bin Laden not guilty of the Sept. 11 attacks. In the conclusion Wednesday night to the show "Devil's Advocate" on Dutch public broadcaster Nederland 2, the jury of two men and three women, along with the studio audience, ruled there was no proof bin Laden was the mastermind behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001. | |
| Christopher Brauchli: Reporters, Cigarettes and a U.S. Senator | Top |
| All successful newspapers are ceaselessly querulous and bellicose. They never defend anyone or anything if they can help it; if the job is forced upon them, they tackle it by denouncing some one or something else. H.L. Mencken, Prejudices, First Series If they don't get a Pulitzer it won't be for want of trying. Raymond Hernandez and David Kocieniewski (RADA) of the New York Times did a brilliant job of letting the public see the dark side of Kirsten Rutnik , now known as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, when she was a baby lawyer in a large law firm. We can only be sad that RADA were unable to complete their journalistic voyage into the early days of her legal career before she ran for any office, much less was appointed to the United States Senate by New York's Governor David Paterson. If they had been able to do that she would probably still be laboring in a law office assisting those who offend society instead of offending RADA by her presence in the United States Senate. T What RADA discovered (and reported on in a manner worthy of a PhD dissertation) was that Ms. Rutnik represented, zealously, a tobacco company. Not just any tobacco company-Philip Morris, a company recently in the news when the United States Supreme Court refused to consider the company's appeal of a $150 million punitive damage award won by an Oregon woman against the company. In the second paragraph of their report RADA set the stage. They report that in 1996 the Justice Department believed tobacco industry officials had lied to it and wanted to obtain company research to prove that. Instead of assisting the prosecution by telling Philip Morris to confess the error of its ways, Kirsten Rutnik, lawyer, represented her client. She took the position that the government was not entitled to the documents it was seeking and helped the company resist the government's efforts. Although RADA are offended by her diligence they cut her a bit of slack later in the report when they observe that notwithstanding her efforts on behalf of her clients: "there is no indication that Ms. Gillibrand ever discussed the case with . . . the Philip Morris president and chief executive who was among the subjects of the perjury inquiry." (Since she was a relatively young lawyer that may surprise some less than it surprised RADA.) Lest anyone think that gets her off the hook, however, they add: "But Philip Morris internal records show that the company's top lawyers entrusted her with several essential elements of the case." Ultimately the companies were successful and, according to RADA's report "beat back the federal perjury investigation, a significant legal victory at the time" but, and here is the bit that gives us insight into the nefarious character of the Senator, "not one Ms. Gillibrand is eager to discuss." RADA do not stop there. They observe that Ms. Gillibrand "plays down her work as a lawyer representing Philip Morris, saying she was a junior associate with little control over the cases she was handed and limited involvement in defending the tobacco maker." RADA have examined thousands of documents and interviewed dozens of lawyers and write that as a result of that work they can see that she was involved in some of the "most sensitive matters related to the defense of the tobacco giant. . . ." Some might assume that this is a conclusively damning indictment of the Senator since we all know that cigarette companies are per se evil and anyone who tries to block the waiter who is serving them their just desserts is like the client, per se evil. Having said that, however, we have to acknowledge that murderers are entitled to zealous representation even when the murderer's lawyer knows that the client is guilty. The criminal is entitled to a defense. We are, therefore, relieved to learn that RADA are not insensitive to this professional obligation. They observe that lots of U.S. senators who were once lawyers, defended unpopular clients in the course of their careers. However, and here is where they catch Senator Gillibrand out, RADA were told by one of her former colleagues that lawyers at her law firm "were permitted to decline work on the tobacco cases if they had a moral or ethical objection to the work." Had the Senator been a decent young lawyer, RADA's reporting suggests, she would have said to her superiors that she would have nothing to do with a company as scurrilous as Philip Morris. Confident of her ability, she would have been confident that declining to undertake the assigned task would have no effect on her future in the firm. Pursuing their inquiry further, RADA asked Matt Canter, the Senator's spokesman, whether the Senator had any misgivings about representing the tobacco companies. He responded, noncommittally, that she "worked for the clients that were assigned to her." I'd say RADA gave her the benefit of all possible doubts. Their case is, nonetheless, overwhelming. The Senator is not qualified to hold public office. But for RADA we'd never have known. | |
| Why Surprise Over Iowa Gay Marriage Ruling? State Has Long Progressive History | Top |
| Once again, a humble Midwestern state is being laughed at by cosmopolitan smarty-pants on the East and West coasts. The victim this time, of course, is Iowa, which recently had the gall to legalize gay marriage and attempt to mess up decades of perfectly good Midwestern stereotyping. More on Gay Marriage | |
| French Hostage Killed By Somali Pirates In Rescue Operation | Top |
| French forces have freed a yacht captured by pirates off Somalia last weekend in an operation that left one hostage and two of the pirates dead, according to a statement from the office of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. More on Somalia | |
| Art Brodsky: VA Owes Reporter Apology for Its Shameful Behavior | Top |
| When he was in the Army, the current secretary of Veterans Affairs, Gen. Eric Shinseki (USA ret.), no doubt had occasion to read the riot act to subordinate officers. It's time for him to get into command mode again, and the subjects this time are his incompetent public relations staff, which created an embarrassing nightmare for an Administration dedicated to transparency and openness. Last week, David Schultz, a reporter for WAMU-FM, a public radio outlet in Washington, D.C., went to cover a public forum on care for minority veterans. For the April 7 meeting, Schultz, a new, part-time reporter, had with him a recorder, headphones and a microphone. (Even with that gear, he was accused of not identifying himself as a reporter.) After listening to vets speak to a packed room in public about the care they were being given, Schultz wanted to interview one of them, Tommie Canady, 56, who has a terminal pancreatic disease and who said he has been denied benefits and had poor care. According to a number of reports , VA staff said Schultz would need a waiver from the patient in order to do an interview, and here's where it got ugly. VA public relations officials demanded his microphone, headphones and recorder. They brought four armed, uniformed guards to enforce the order and wouldn't let Schultz leave. Schultz called his editor, who advised him to give up the recorder's storage card to the VA and then get out, figuring the event shouldn't escalate and that the radio station would get the card back. Here's how Schultz initially described the confrontation. Eventually, Schultz went around the VA PR machine and got the story, interviewing Canady on the phone . So far, the VA had declined comment on the story and the storage card remains with the agency. How can we put this gently: Unacceptable. Ridiculous. Insulting. Heaven knows, the VA is under a great deal of pressure these days, with an aging veteran population on the one hand, and the demands of a six-year (and counting) war on the other. Even so, this incident is low-hanging fruit and Shinseki should deal with it forthwith. Start with the concept that the vets in the hospital were there as a result of defending freedom of speech and of the press, and it's not the duty of the VA flacks (and I'm a flack in my day-job) to interfere with that. Calling the cops to keep a reporter from leaving the building until he turns over a storage card is beyond sanity. This wasn't a top-secret briefing the reporter had infiltrated. It was a public meeting. Announced by a news release. WAMU's news director, Jim Asendio said he tried to hand-deliver a letter to the VA on April 9, but they wouldn't accept it. Today (April 10), a courier is taking over a letter from station management, which may find its way to the executive suites. Asendio told us he has heard that the agency is willing to release the flash card if the station signs a release. It doesn't matter what the release says. The station shouldn't sign it. What should happen is that Shinseki should invite Schultz and Asendio to the department, return the card and apologize. And the PR people who were idiots enough to have perpetrated this assault should be sent away to learn how their jobs should really be done. Then Schultz can get back to doing the important work of covering vets' health care - not covering it up as the VA was trying in its clumsy way to do. More on Eric Shinseki | |
| David Sirota: The Best Investment Money Can Buy! | Top |
| This week, I did something I've really never done in my newspaper column - I went for the full-on, all-out sarcasm/satire to make a point about our economy and our corrupt campaign finance system. You can read the column here . Without ruining the column, let's just say I try to put on my best Billy Mays. In the get-rich-quick infomercial that has become our economy, it seems the best, highest-yield investment of all isn't in any stock or business plan, it's in politicians and political operatives. Buy a share of Permanent Washington, and you are almost guaranteed to make astronomical profit margins - 22,000 percent or higher, in many cases . It's a sad commentary, but it's also, unfortunately, rooted in verifiable fact. And the more we expose it, the more we're able to discuss ways of fixing this systemic problem. And remember, there are efforts to fix the problem - everything from the Change Congress initiative to efforts to pass public financing of elections. Read the whole column here . The column relies on grassroots support - and because of that support, it is getting wider and wider circulation (a big thank you to all who have helped with that). So if you'd like to see my column regularly in your local paper, use this directory to find the contact info for your local editorial page editors. Get get in touch with them and point them to my Creators Syndicate site . Thanks, as always, for your ongoing readership and help contacting local editors. This column couldn't be what it is without your help. | |
| Christopher Herbert and Victoria Kataoka Rebuffet: Weekly Foreign Affairs Roundup | Top |
| The Week's Top Stories in Foreign Affairs: Turning East - Turning West : Brewing Revolutions and Breakaway Provinces Facts: Up to 100,000 protesters have taken to the street of Tbilisi hoping to unseat the government of Mikhail Saakashvili, in an unprecented uniting of Georgia's opposition and student movements. Uprising is also suspected in the (potentially pro-Russian breakaway) provinces of Anjara and Samtskhe-Javakheti in the southern part of the country. Also, Moldova saw unprecedented riots this week after the Communist Party won what were apparently rigged elections, drawing a distinct line between the general populace and the breakaway pro-Russian province of Transnistria. Though nothing of note took place this week, Russophile politicians have been duking it out with their Western-minded foes in Ukraine over the past few years, prompting many to regularly predict government collapse or a non-democratic leadership change there. SI Analysis : Are we seeing the backlash to the Orange and Rose Revolutions? And the founding of new ones elsewhere? Last summer's war between Russia and Georgia, exacerbated by the global financial crisis, has put Western leaning government like NATO candidates Georgia and Ukraine on the defensive with regards to their dissatisfied populaces. At the same time, certain peoples in Moldova (and even Azerbaijan , where Baku is concerned about its breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh) are tiring of authoritarian rule and isolation and are turning their (traditionally Soviet-allied) sights westward, courting NATO members (Moldova's neighbor Romania is one of NATO's newest members). The role and influence of Russia and the West in these countries' domestic politics is on trial in Eastern Europe (though one should note that none of the opposition parties protesting in Georgia are specifically pro-Russian). But so is the authoritarian pseudo-democratic rule of the Western leaning leaders. Revolution may be too strong a word. But it is certain that both the governments and the people are Europe's eastern flank are trying to assess the new political realities of a re-emergent Russia, a conciliatory Germany and a consensus-minded US. What is apparent is the demographic and cultural disparity and the real division within these countries revealing their intrinsic tendency towards instability despite recent political reform. To be continued... Turkey, the New Fulcrum of Geopolitics Facts: US President Obama courted both the Turkish people and the Islamic world during his trip to Ankara early in the week. He also bolstered US ties with its new favorite Middle East ally by championing its EU candidacy , obtaining key positions for Turkey in NATO's leadership (after securing Denmark's prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, as the alliance's next secretary-general), reaching out to the Muslim world and even championing Turkey's improved relations with Armenia . SI Analysis : Turkey matters. It matters politically as the US' closest 'Islamic ally.' It matters militarily as a member of NATO. It matters diplomatically as an arbiter between Syria and Israel, Syria and the US, Iran and the US, and between parties in Lebanon. It matters geostrategically as a potential alternative to Russian energy in Europe, possibly providing an alternative route for Central Asian energy to reach Europe. It matters geographically as a bridge between Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe (and as Iraq's northern neighbor). Turkey matters and US President Obama understands this. Israeli-US Relations on the Fritz? Facts: In Turkey, US President Obama clearly stated that he was in support of a two state solution and even cited the Annapolis peace process as his framwork for achieving it. He said, "Let me be clear: the United States strongly supports the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security... That is a goal that the parties agreed to in the road map and at Annapolis. That is a goal that I will actively pursue as president." However Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman clearly stated that the current peace efforts " held no validity ". The peace process is not the only issue that Israeli and the US do not see eye to eye, how to deal with Iran is another. Thought leaders in Israel have expressed concern of the new US policy of engagement with Iran and some in both the US and Israel have suggested that Israel could launch a preemptive attack on Iran in response. SI Analysis : After bold statements from the new Israeli leadership, many speculate that US-Israeli relations are headed on a crash course to bitterness and a definitive rift. Many contend that pro-Israeli forces, who were instrumental in ousting the nomination of Chas Freeman as Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, will make life difficult for President Obama... but said forces are not powerful enough to completely uproot Obama's new foreign policy to the Middle East. However hawkish and belligerent FM Lieberman may appear, it is PM Netanyahu who really holds the peace dossier. Netanyahu is a pragmatist and is familiar will the political realities facing Israel. He has said he will announce a peace policy soon and promised to work closely with the US on thsi issue. We expect more constructive engagement between the US and Israel to develop soon. New US Defense Priorities Facts: US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates released his proposals for a new US Defense budget raising the ire of both democrats and republicans. Essentially Secretary Gates calls for: A recalibration of the military resources -- in light of present realities and recent experience in both Iraq and Afghanistan -- to reflect its strategic imperative to fight insurgencies and terrorism in addition to traditional wars. An overhaul of Pentagon procurement, acquisition and contracting policies, expanding the Pentagon's number of full-time employees and cutting some major star projects. An institutional engagement to better support the all-Volunteer American military corps, by integrating health care and pensions into the regular budget and increasing the Army and Marine Corps and halting planned reductions in the Navy and the Air Force. SI Analysis : The most controversial items that Gates' proposes to cut are the Air Force's most expensive fighter, the F-22 Raptor, and some spending on the Missile Defense Program. The budget clearly shows that realists are back in charge of the White House and the Pentagon, attempting to align spending with actual needs and security imperatives. Sadly, many expect political bickering to hamper the implementation of the proposed reforms and reduced spending. Speculation of the Week: Plausible Denialability in Pakistan Facts: US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke with US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen meets with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad to discuss tactics in creating stability and combating insurgency. Pakistan raises the issue of drones conducting cross-border raids in Pakistan. President Zardari says that Pakistani is fighting terrorism for its survival . Senior Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud says that his group will perform 2 suicide attacks per week in the country unless Pakistani troops withdraw from the Afghan border region and stop the ross border raids. Holbrooke continues his trip to India and emphasizes the need for New Delhi and Islamabad to work together to confront the common threat of Islamist terror. SI Speculation : Key issues here include how to deal with the rising Taliban insurgency how to engage with some "moderate Taliban", increasing aid to Pakistan and debating the reliability of the Pakistani Intelligence Service. Pakistan is in a state of failing failure and the US is doing its best to bolster its surviving institutions and push elements to really crack down on foreign and extreme Islamist militants. Pakistan is working with the US to find the best strategies to ensure its survival. What is most important though was that Zardari was able to express publically and loudly his disdain for American cross-border raids now conducted in the FATA and Baluchistan. Pakistan will certainly continue to coordinate with the US, share intelligence and at least tacitly sanction these attacks, but publically it can decry the raids and maintain a level of plausible denialability with regards to a excitable Pakistani public. Hodge-Podge and Under the Radar: Debate of the Week: Mutli-Party or Direct Talks with Iran and North Korea SI Analysis : After North Korea's much-decried missile launch (and crash) and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announcement of major progress in its nuclear program, many analysts wonder whether the new US policy of engagement will entail multi-party or direct talks. Still unclear with regards to North Korea, the Obama Administration announces that it would like to hold talks in " P5 plus-one " setting with Iran over its nuclear program. Meanwhile, reports emerge that the US and Iran may be talking directly and secretly in Switzerland . It is unclear what the US strategy with regards to Iran really is. The question is what is the most effective way to engage with the leaders of Tehran and Pyongyang ? The US response so far seems to be both multilaterally and directly. Visit of the Week: Obama in Iraq SI Analysis : US President Barack Obama travels to Iraq Tuesday. He tells US troops it is time for Iraqis to take control of their future and receives rousing support from US military members and some Iraqi citizens . Obama's surprise trip to Iraq reminded the world that the Middle East state is still of strategic importance to American foreign policy. And though security has improved greatly in recent months, there are signs that Iraqi stability remains fragile . Streak of the Week: Somalia Pirates SI Analysis: Good weather brought the Somali pirates back to the forefront of media attention. Six ships were taken in the past week. One, a freighter with 21 American crewman on board, was able to wrest control of the vessel from the pirates but not before the American captain was taken hostage. There is no end sight for this present menace in the high seas and sadly for US interests in and around the Gulf of Aden, the best hope for calm is if Somalian Islamists gain effective control of the coast. Olive Branch of the Week: Chavez to the US SI Analysis : Tempestuous Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, after calling US President Obama an " Ignoramus" last week, said he hoped to " reset relations between the United States and Venezuela " at the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. Election to Watch: Algeria SI Analysis : Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is poised to be re-elected for a third term . After a referendum eliminating term limits passed last year, pundits said that chances for opposition candidates to have a fair greatly dwindled. Though many decry the coronation of Africa's next president-cum-dictator, others say that Algerian stability and control of Islamist extremist is best supported by Bouteflika's continued rule. For more Simple Intelligence, visit here . More on Turkey | |
| Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin: Dog Ears Music: Volume Sixty-Seven | Top |
| The Dead Boys Clevelandites The Dead Boys are punk squad Stiv Bators (vocals), Jimmy Zero (guitar), Cheetah Chrome (guitar), Jeff Magnum (bass), and Johnny Blitz (drums) founded in 1976. This pack once runneth with abandon under the tattooed roof of the legendary CBGBs. An underdog in the record-sales department, the group disbanded after only two albums, in 1980; Bators, who went on to form The Lords of the New Church, died in 1990. "I Need Lunch," from The Dead Boys' 1977 release Young, Loud and Snotty , is an irreverent ode for what bad boys want. Buy : iTunes Genre : Punk Rock Artist : The Dead Boys Song : I Need Lunch Album : Young, Loud and Snotty Caetano Veloso Brazilian composer, singer, poet, and activist Caetano Veloso was born in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, in 1942, one of seven children. As a young boy, Caetano was drawn to the guitar, and knew music would be his life. In his late teens, he set off for Rio de Janeiro, where he would hone his craft. Caetano's sister Maria Bethânia, also a singer, got her lucky break in Rio, which formed the chrysalis of Caetano's career. In 1969, Veloso's leftist leanings became an unwelcome presence in his homeland. Along with Gilberto Gil, he fled to London, where he lived in creative exile before returning to Brazil a few years later. Veloso's four-decade silver-throated career includes dozens of albums and five Latin Grammys. Collaborations include Gil, Tom Zé, Dadi, and Marisa Monte. Veloso's sound is an embarrassment of romantic riches. Start with "Cucurrucucu Paloma," from his 2003 collection The Best of Caetano Veloso , then work your way back to his beginnings. Buy : iTunes Genre : World Artist : Caetano Veloso Song : Cucurrucucu Paloma Album : The Best of Caetano Veloso Franz Liszt Composer/conductor, master pianist, and golden boy Franz Liszt was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1811, son of a musician. A gifted child, Franz began to compose at the age of 8. He went on to study in Vienna, and befriended Schubert and Beethoven. By his teens, he relocated to Paris, and before the age of 20, he made a name for himself, even counting Paganini as a fan. Years later, he would be credited with advancing the careers of Chopin and Wagner. Although Bartok landed on the forint, Liszt is noted as the greatest Hungarian composer to date. The maestro's personal life was filled with passion and romantic intrigue, but in his final years he enigmatically retired to a monastic order. Much of Liszt's work is torn between two souls, the perdition of the netherworld and the absolution of the divine. His magisterial works include Transcendental Etudes, Dante's Symphony, Mephisto Waltz, Oratorio, Christus, and Faust Symphony. Liszt bequeaths us so much overwhelming beauty for the ears. Start with "Zwölf Lieder Von Franz Schubert--Winterreise, S. 561bis: No. 10. Das Wirtshaus," from the 1995 album Liszt: The Schubert Transcriptions III, Vol. 33 , performed by Leslie Howard. Buy : iTunes Genre : Classical Artist : Franz Liszt Song : Zwölf Lieder Von Franz Schubert--Winterreise, S. 561bis: No. 10. Das Wirtshaus Album : Liszt: The Schubert Transcriptions III, Vol. 33 Wrongkong Electro-rock five-piece ensemble Wrongkong comprises Calgary expat Cyrena Dunbar and Nurembergers Tommy Yamaha, Martin Kaiser, David Lodhi, and Markus Wurm. Wrongkong was founded in 2004 when the balletomane Dunbar linked up with local club act the Strike Boys (Yamaha and Kaiser). They were later joined by Lodhi and Wurm, who is also Yamaha's brother. This Germany-based team moves between ethereal and meditative juju to hipster charm. The title "Wide Open," from their 2008 eponymous release Wrongkong , is a whisper in your ear of distorted melodic cool. Currently touring. Buy : iTunes Artist : Wrongkong Song : Wide Open Album : Wrongkong Tour : Visit Rodriguez Trip-folk singer/songwriter Rodriguez (a.k.a. Sixto Diaz Rodriguez) was born in Detroit in 1942, the son of Mexican immigrants. Rodriguez's debut album, Cold Fact , was released in 1970 and went lead. According to his MySpace page, Rodriguez often performed with his back to audiences, playing at dives and biker bars. His sophomore album was released in 1972, but that also earned him cement shoes in the U.S. Then he turned his back on music, dabbled in politics, and ended up working as a roustabout. All the while, Cold Fact was gaining critical acclaim, going multi-platinum in South Africa, Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, Australia, and New Zealand, wracking up coin he would never see. Rodriguez recently toured the Antipodes, and now is signed to a new label. "Sugar Man" is one of those songs you can't hear enough. Give some love and attention to this deserving artist and buy the whole album. Buy : iTunes Genre : Folk Rock Artist : Rodriguez Song : Sugar Man Album : Cold Fact Gabin Dabiré West African jongleur Gabin Dabiré is from Burkina Faso, which is bounded by the Sahara Desert and coastal rain forest. In the mid-'70s Dabiré studied abroad in Denmark and toured Italy, where he would learn the chordophone and Indian percussion instruments. By the mid-'80s, he relocated to Tuscany with his family. His collaborations include Pino Palladino and Dominic Miller. The title "Bagá Bagá," originally recorded in 1997 and re-released on the 2009 compilation Afriki Djamana: Music From Burkina Faso , is a respectful hommage . Buy : Amazon.com Genre : World Artist : Gabin Dabiré Song : Bagá Bagá Album : Afriki Djamana: Music From Burkina Faso | |
| Louise Nelson Dyble: Bridging the Transportation Gap | Top |
| Americans tend to think about transportation in competitive terms: freeways versus subways, cars versus buses, rails versus airports. Certainly, the debate on economic stimulus spending has been argued along these lines. While state representatives and industrial groups advocate for "shovel-ready" projects such as new roads, bridges and tunnels, city planners and environmentalists tend to support investments in mass transit and rail. This divide -- each mode of transportation with its own advocates, all fighting for funding -- is not inevitable. As the Obama administration and the American people prepare to embark on a new wave of major public works initiatives, it's more pressing than ever that we take advantage of our opportunity to fix a fragmented system. Our messy transportation infrastructure is the result of a century of public policy, built right into the structure of transportation agencies at all levels. When the government agency overseeing mass transit and the government agency building highways in the same place are distinct and uncoordinated, they compete for money, and the public loses. It becomes less about getting there quickly and easily, and more about which interest group wins. The common belief that it's "unfair" for drivers to help pay for mass transportation, even when it reduces traffic congestion, reflects the way we manage transportation. In a few cases, transportation policy has taken a different path, and the pragmatic need for mobility and access -- to get around easily at a low cost -- has led to an effective bridging of different types of transportation. It's no coincidence that where this happened we have the most extensive mass transportation systems in the United States today: metropolitan New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. Since the 1950s, tolls from the Bay Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area have supported the region's rapid transit system, including paying for a three-mile underwater tube for commuter trains. In 1969, revenue from the Golden Gate Bridge was dedicated to supporting buses and ferries. And as congestion worsened, voters began to understand the compelling relationship between traffic relief on local bridges and commuter rail service in the same corridor. Twice -- in 1988 and in 2004 -- Bay Area voters approved measures to extend bridge toll subsidies for mass transportation. Today, a congestion-pricing scheme for San Francisco is winning public support because of its potential to strengthen mass transportation. Another success story, New York City, also underwent major changes in transportation policy in the 1960s. Leaders of two regional car-centric powerhouses, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, struck deals that included long-term commitments to supporting mass transportation with tolls. Governor Nelson Rockefeller won concessions on behalf of subways and commuter rail that helped New York become a financial and cultural center. For example, revenue from the Holland Tunnel supported the PATH system, which helped thousands of people commute to the World Trade Center. And, tolls from the TBTA bridges revived the city's subways in the 1980s. It's easy to argue that dense development made transit viable in these cities, but the relationship between land use and transportation is a two-way street. Without toll-funded transit, neither New York nor San Francisco would be the vibrant urban places they are today. As Americans become more and more enthusiastic about city life -- as shown by strong demand for homes in walkable neighborhoods even as property values in sprawling suburbs collapse -- transportation policy that is unified, not fragmented, becomes even more important. Right now, there is an opportunity for change. Transit ridership is at a fifty-year high in the United States, despite the anemic state of most mass transportation systems. Metropolitan New York and the San Francisco Bay Area can be models for a new approach to the management of transportation, and more importantly, for its funding. Revenue generated by congestion pricing programs can help forge new and durable links across modes, especially if money is dedicated to transit that improves driving conditions and presents a convenient and affordable alternative. Let's change the way we think about getting around and start building transportation systems that serve the needs of people and places, not interest groups or bureaucracies. | |
| Obama, Economic Advisers Meet: "Glimmers Of Hope" | Top |
| WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Friday the economy is showing "glimmers of hope" despite continuing stresses and signaled more steps to brighten the business climate. Obama commented to reporters after meeting at the White House with members of his economic team, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, economic adviser Larry Summers and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. "What we're starting to see is glimmers of hope across the economy," the president said, although he also noted that the economy is "still under severe stress." "Whatever we do ultimately has to translate into economic growth and jobs," Obama said. He said there has been a significant uptick in the number of homeowners seeking to refinance their mortgages, which will put money back into their pockets. He said a 20 percent increase last month in the Small Business Administration's largest program means that small companies, often prized as the backbone of the economy, "are starting to get money." But Obama also pointed to the high rate of joblessness _ which climbed to a 25-year high of 8.5 percent in March _ and acknowledged that "we've still got a lot of work to do." "We're starting to see progress," he declared, "and if we stick with it, if we don't flinch in the face of some difficulties, then I feel absolutely convinced that we are going to get this economy back on track." Obama said he and his advisers discussed the stability of the financial system and a program to help banks clear their books of bad assets that have made normal lending difficult if not impossible. Also at the meeting were Christina Romer, who heads the White House Council of Economic Advisers; Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro and Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan. Friday's meeting was Obama's first with his economic team since his return this week from an overseas trip partly focused on the global economic slump. He participated in a meeting in London of leaders from the 20 wealthiest and developing economies. The backdrop for the meeting was the still-fragile economy that has begun to show hints of a possible recovery, including a strong profit forecast from Wells Fargo & Co., a drop in claims for unemployment benefits and predictions of solid April sales from several retailers. Also promising were less jittery stock investors, shoppers and homebuyers, slowly thawing credit markets that were once frozen and stabilizing economic indicators that had been going from bad to worse. All that has at least one Obama adviser sounding cautiously optimistic. "There has been a substantial anecdotal flow over the last six to eight weeks of things that felt a little bit better," Summers, director of Obama's National Economic Council, said Thursday. "The sense of a ball falling off a table, which is what the economy has felt like since the middle of last fall, I think we can be reasonably confident that that is going to end within the next few months, and we will no longer have that sense of a free-fall." But Summers, who spoke at the Economic Club of Washington, said it was too soon to forecast how strong the rebound would be and when it would take hold. He also refused to predict how high the unemployment rate will rise before a sustainable recovery begins. ___ On the Net: White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov More on Obama's First 100 Days | |
| Crazy High-Speed Chase: Woman Tries To Run Down Cops; Gets Out Of Vehicle While It's Moving (VIDEO) | Top |
| (SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO) LOS ANGELES - A driver tried to ram a Long Beach car, prompting an hour-long, high-speed chase Friday in which the woman drove the car in circles, went the wrong way on a tollway and even got out of the car to gesture at officers, authorities said. The woman was arrested after about a 40-mile pursuit and could face charges of reckless driving, California Highway Patrol Officer Gabe Montoya said. Her name was not immediately known. No injuries were reported, but the woman endangered motorists on four freeways, CHP officers said. The chase began when Long Beach officers went to an intersection shortly after 6 a.m. in response to a report of a woman screaming. A car tried to ram their police cruiser three times and then fled, Long Beach police Officer Jackie Bezart said. After an eight-minute chase through Long Beach, the driver got onto a freeway and the CHP was notified. Officers chased the silver Scion into Orange County at speeds that sometimes topped 100 mph, authorities said. Television news helicopters carried the chase live. WATCH OR CONTINUE READING BELOW: On the SR 241 tollway in Rancho Santa Margarita, the woman made "doughnuts" while driving on both shoulders of the road, briefly drove the wrong way then got out of the car and gestured with both hands at officers before returning to the slowly rolling vehicle and driving off. A short time later a patrol car rammed the back of the Scion, spinning it around and knocking an attempt to stop it, but the driver managed to flee again. The car finally was stopped at the end of the tollway in an unincorporated area near Rancho Santa Margarita. After being bumped a second time, the Scion was boxed in and swarmed by officers, including one who jumped onto the roof. The woman was pulled through the car's window, forced to the ground and handcuffed. More on Stupid Criminals | |
| David M. Abromowitz: Why is this President Different from All Other Presidents? | Top |
| At the White House last night, someone held up the bread of poverty and said, "Let all who are hungry come and eat." A ceremony with religious overtones at the White House is nothing remarkable. There have been Christmas tree lightings and Hanukah menorah gatherings many times. President Bush hosted iftar (post-Ramadan) dinners with Muslims. But as anyone who has participated in a Passover seder (literally, "order") knows, it is an experience of a different kind, an ordered retelling of the passage from slavery to freedom unfolding through symbolic reminders of every individual's responsibility to carry forward the freedom we inherited from prior generations. The President and friends recounted the history of an immigrant people originally welcomed into a country in one era, but later pressed into conditions of forced labor when a new regime turned suspicious and fearful that these Hebrews had grown too numerous. The seder participants undoubtedly also heralded the bravery of midwives who risked their lives to defy the order of a tyrant who ordered the death of Hebrew first born males. And while they rejoiced in the liberation of the enslaved, the First Family and company also recognized that the terrible ten plagues that brought about freedom were not simply the righteous infliction of collateral damage on an enemy. They also brought about tragic deaths of fellow human beings - and like seder-goers around the world, the Obamas symbolically diminished their joy drop by drop from their wine cups with the mention of each of plague. The President and company certainly declared "We were slaves in Egypt" - and were emphatically reminded by the Passover story that each of us today must identify with the enslaved, and not with the prosperous rulers. It is no wonder that the Passover seder - a family centered gathering that is home-based, not sited in a house of worship - is the most widely celebrated Jewish holiday ritual, embraced by the completely unobservant along with the totally orthodox. The powerful themes of gratitude for freedom, and personal responsibility for spreading it, soak in to the young children who ask the most basic of questions about what all this ritual means.Many adults active in efforts for social justice and equal rights cite the values they absorbed around the seder table as early inspiration. Not surprisingly, seders have also long provided a setting for reaching across religions to celebrate points of commonality. When I was growing up in the early 1960s, my German Catholic neighbors the Moenches (who truly were mensches) asked one April to borrow our Passover books (haggadahs.) They and their local parish priest wanted to conduct their own seder and experience the Last Supper. At our own recent family seder, a teenage friend of the family wisely analogized the parable of the four types of children to the levels of enlightenment in Buddhism. In communities across America, interfaith and cross-racial seders are common. A Presidential seder might seem to many like an orange on a seder plate . According to the Jerusalem Post , "Franklin D. Roosevelt had snuck out the back door of the White House in 1943 to avoid seeing rabbis marching out front to demand US action to save European Jews from the Nazis." And tapes released of Richard Nixon's conversations with aides and evangelists are chock full of anti-Jewish comments. In this White House, however, a seder seems, well, right in order. David Abromowitz is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, www.americanprogress.org. More on Barack Obama | |
| Liz Neumark: A local meal of historic proportions; an historic meal of local proportions | Top |
| It is Passover, a holiday celebrated with themes of redemption and remembrance, family gathering and food. I am in the Galilee, one of the most beautiful places I know. It is spring and the shades of green are breathtaking. It is a short season distinguished by the proliferation of wild flowers and intense colors. The Passover Seder is the opening event of this seven-day holiday (a day longer outside of Israel.) As with any significant holiday meal, the food is bountiful and incorporates many traditional components. Matzoh, hard-boiled eggs, bitter herbs, charoset (a dish ofchopped apple, nuts, wine and spices), and other ceremonial foods are part of the story telling that begins the Seder. Then there is the feast. How delighted was I to be in a part of the world where for the most part, local agriculture determines what is in the supermarket - and consequently, what we would be cooking. My sister cooked a turkey - she bought it from the guy at the local gas station, who bought it from a local farmer. The pot of chicken soup (also a local bird) was already in the fridge when we arrived. The handmade Matzoh was packed in boxes, baked weeks ago in Jerusalem bakeries. Other goodies were stuffed into her fridge. The Jews may have left Egypt centuries ago with just dough on their backs, but clearly, no one was going to be hungry here while remembering that. At dawn we headed out to see what local produce was available. The roadside stand was open, and the owner rolled out of bed, perhaps a little surprised our early arrival. A Hudson Valley girl, I was not quite prepared for the local bounty that greeted us: red peppers, kohlrabi, mushrooms, carrots, garlic (storage), tomatoes (greenhouse), fennel, potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, avocados, lettuce, cucumbers, artichokes, leeks and more. The citrus was abundant, but we had harvested that already from the trees growing outside the kitchen window at home. Visits to 2 local organic farms yielded more treats. And another trip to the butcher at the gas station was necessary for the spicy sausage snack we would savor later. Eggs of course, local and fresh.And as it is not the season for grapes, there were none to be found in the local supermarket. Asparagus were gathered in a quick forage expedition led by local culinairian Abby Rosner. Better yet - olives and olive oil - local! And that is when it hit me, we were going to prepare and savor a 100-mile menu for Passover Seder. It is so obvious, that the Seder must have always been a locavores delight, but in this era of international industrial diets and convenience shopping, it was never an integral part of New York tradition. Passover Menu 2009 opened with Chicken Soup with homemade Matzoh Balls. A groaning buffet included - Roasted Turkey with gravy, pickled beets, grilled zucchini/fennel/leeks, roasted white and sweet potatoes, baby lettuce salad, local trout, a garlic studded meat roast, asparagus, steamed artichokes, eggplant salad with tomatoes and onions, spinach soufflé, avocado & grapefruit salad, and more. Fruit to finish - passion fruit, loquat, melons, watermelon and oranges along with homemade fruit tarts and chocolate ice cream. The agricultural scene in Israel is so robust. Advanced technology is applied to irrigation, green house growing and soil management. Organic farming is gaining traction. And though the country is a leading exporter of specialty items, if you are lucky enough to be here, you can enjoy the intense flavors and craftsmanship of local artisanal growers. Bread baking has evolved to an art form and the dairy products have been legendary for decades. Even the fledging wine industry has earned high marks. It is a thrill to drive around the country and see the patchwork of fields representing large and small-scale farmers. The earth tones of the plowed fields are a deep rich brown. Little shacks and roadside stands present a very human face and answer the simple question: Where does our food come from. All this led me to think about one of the most famous Seders in history, which took place here in the Holy Land - The Last Supper. Its outcome had universal impact. The food was local. | |
| Dave Johnson: The Innovative Movie Industry | Top |
| I have been writing about the MPAA vs RealDVD case. MPAA vs RealDVD goes to court April 24. This is the movie industry trying to keep a program off the market because it lets you copy your own DVDs onto your own computer. It doesn't let you distribute copies, just put them on your computer. The MPAA is suing under the terms of the DCMA copyright law -one of those laws that was lobbied (money changed hands) through Congress giving certain kinds of already-big corporations all kinds of rights that prevented new inventions and businesses from coming along and disrupting their sweet cash flows. At ContentAgenda they're writing about a panel put on by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, "That happens a lot in Congress," Barr added. "You have an industry, where they basically draft the statute--which is what happened with the DMCA--and then they start using it for all kinds of things that weren't part of the original deal. And I wish sometimes that Congress wasn't such a patsy for it." Meanwhile the MPAA weighs i n about the poll the other day, which found that people actually want to be able to copy their DVDs onto their computers. First, "The studios' claim: The poll was bought and paid for by download advocates, calling into question the survey's findings." Right. People don't want to be able to copy their DVDs onto their computers. We're dealing with responsive, innovative companies here. (Sort of like how at exactly 25 minutes and 32 seconds into a movie we get a car chase scene with the special effects raised to exactly 102 decibels, and then at 82 minutes and 48 seconds we get an emotional reconciliation between the 58-year-old male star and the 22-year-old former model playing the female love interest. Right.) ANYway, Said Angela Belden Martinez, MPAA's vice president for corporate communications, "We didn't need RealNetworks--who is in the fight of its life to defend its illegal RealDVD product in federal court--to sponsor a poll telling us that consumers of entertainment want to enjoy content when, where, and how they want it. The creators of film and television shows are energized by the opportunities that new technologies offer to consumers and have been tirelessly working in collaboration with innovators to deliver them. This includes the streaming of entire popular programs on successful sites like Hulu, one-click downloadable movies on iTunes, and capabilities that enable customers to keep a free and legal digital copy of their DVDs. We will work with anyone who can continue to help creators use new technologies that exceed consumer expectations and ensure a sustainable model that supports even greater creativity in the future." Now, there is your hint. They aren't trying to stop RealDVD, they're trying to extort license fees from the company in exchange for dropping this expensive lawsuit. More on Technology | |
| Keely Field: Notre Dame Gives Fox News Plenty of Fuel for the Fire | Top |
| As I am sure you have heard by now, President Barack Obama is scheduled to be the commencement speaker at the University of Notre Dame's graduation next month. Catholics around the country, however, are demanding the invitation be withdrawn. The bishop of the Indiana diocese where Notre Dame is located has even said he will not attend the ceremony. Bishop John D'Arcy calls it a silent protest of President Obama's policies on life issues. He describes his view piont in his own words: "I wish no disrespect to our president, I pray for him and wish him well, but a bishop must teach the Catholic faith in season and out of season, and he teaches not only by his words -- but by his actions," he said in a statement. "My decision is not an attack on anyone, but is in defense of the truth about human life." D'Arcy isn't the only Catholic leader protesting. Archbishop John Nienstedt of the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese sent a letter to Notre Dame's president saying Obama has "a deliberate disregard of the unborn." Pro-life groups are even now protesting at the White House this week. It doesn't stop there. The Catholic intramural so called "controversy" over President Obama's invitation to speak and receive an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame has provided Fox News with lots of red meat for Pro-Life supporters all over the Fox Nation. As a woman who was raised as a Roman Catholic, I support my faith, but I have been Pro-Choice since the young age of 14, when I watched a friend go through her first unplanned pregnancy, and with no job, money, or parents to support her was faced with the choice of abortion, adoption or living on the streets with her child. I supported her through her decision of an abortion, and held her hand through the nightmare of a process, but I would have made the same choice in her position, and every female should have the legal right to choose. Put yourself, your daughter, or your mother in this position, and then really think about it. I have always supported the viewpoint of others around me, even if their opinion was the extreme opposite of mine, but I really think you should choose your battles and be "fair and balanced," and mean it when you claim to be. The Fox coverage of this so-called controversy has been, for the most part, unfair and unbalanced. The segments that could be considered even handed were laced with commentary that revealed a bias on the part of the interviewer so "fair and balanced?' -- not so much. Earlier this week Martha MacCallum, of the Fox News Live Desk , moderated a debate between liberal Catholic Phil Donahue (Notre Dame graduate) and Fox's chaplain, the erstwhile Father Jonathan Morris (based in Rome and who did PR work for the Passion of the Christ ). MacCallum began by asking if the invitation was correct given that "critics say that his stance on abortion makes him the wrong pick". The chyron read "Obama commencement address stirs firestorm at Notre Dame." (Comment: the "firestorm" is outside of the University). MacCallum mentioned the online protest petition and not the one in support of the invitation. She asked if this is something the school should do "given all the controversy over stem cell research which many Catholics are against (63% approve of) and the abortion issue." Donahue felt that the "lashing out" by alumni was unproductive given the decline of the Church. MacCallum said that she didn't believe that the Church was in decline because Masses at her parish are standing room only. (Martha, obviously, hasn't seen the polling data). Martha defended the church's position: "The Catholic church needs to defend life from moment of conception." Hey Martha, I have a question for you: How about social justice, immigration, and poverty, issues which Obama and the Catholic Church agree on? She then asked Morris (who has written an article about the invitation on the Fox website) how many priests he was training. When he said 450, she smiled in the secure knowledge that her point about the church's popularity was proven. Morris talked about "respect for life" as the "core" of Catholic belief. MacCallum repeated that theology in the context of her question: "What if you had an anti-Semitic speaker speak at a Jewish university? It goes against the central core of the most fundamental belief. The central core of Catholicism is a respect for life which isn't backing embryonic stem cell research while negating other areas of research." Martha seems to have forgotten that former president Carter spoke at Brandeis when he was being accused of anti-Semiticism. When Donahue said that these conservatives, who are protesting, had no problem with the killing of thousands in the Iraq invasion, it was more talk about "core beliefs." If Fox were "fair and balanced," they would interview faculty and students at the university. While I don't begrudge Catholics the right to protest, the spin is being aided and abetted by the same network that turned the Schiavo case into a "pro-life" media circus complete with Sean Hannity giving smiling interviews to Randall Terry. More on Fox News | |
| Dennis Markatos: Oil Report Shows Global Carbon Emissions May Fall in 2009 | Top |
| For the first time since the last oil shock of the early 1980s , global greenhouse gas emissions are poised to fall significantly. The International Energy Agency (IEA) just released its monthly oil report within which they lowered oil demand projections by 1 million barrels per day (Mbd) from last month. Such a fall in consumption brings total demand down 2.4 Mbd (2.8%) from 2008 and translates into a fall in carbon emissions by that percentage. Of course, oil is not the only fossil fuel. Carbon dioxide also is produced by the combustion of coal and natural gas. As long as average growth for these two fuels is less than 1% in 2009, carbon emissions from energy will likely fall overall. And with the IEA projecting global GDP to fall 1.4% for the year, coal and natural gas demand will probably be closer to zero or even negative. Oil Demand & Supply Fall Oil demand is projected to be the lowest in five years , falling at a similar rate to the early 1980s. Such a fall in demand supports OPEC maintaining their current ~4 Mbd cuts through the summer (with impressive ~83% compliance in March). Oil output from non-OPEC countries is now forecast to fall ~.3 Mbd (like last year), mainly due to lower biofuel production, to 50.3 Mbd. Lower non-OPEC oil field investment may translate into continued output declines in 2010, especially in the US where the oil rig count fell a whopping 9% this week to 204 rigs (54% below the November 2008 peak of 442 rigs). Bottom Line: Emissions aren't just falling in the US. With global demand for oil forecast to fall more than 2.5%, it is likely that global greenhouse gas emissions will fall significantly in 2009. This is great news for the climate, but can only be replicated sustainably and prosperously if we ramp up energy efficiency and renewables deployment in our economic recovery of 2010 and beyond. I'll continue to give you updated info, along with demand details for coal and natural gas, as the weeks roll by. Onwards in the Sustainable Energy Transition - More on Climate Change | |
| New York Church Tweeting Passion Of Christ | Top |
| NEW YORK — Experience the Passion of Christ _ in 140-character bursts. In a marriage of Christian tradition and digital technology, Wall Street's Trinity Church is using the micro-blogging service Twitter to perform the story of Jesus Christ. The main characters will tweet the Passion play for three hours beginning at noon on Good Friday. The feed also can be delivered to mobile devices or e-mail addresses. The lower Manhattan Episcopal parish also is offering a Web version of the Stations of the Cross. The church was founded by a small group of Anglicans in 1697. More on Twitter | |
| Peggy Drexler: There's Something About Michelle | Top |
| By the time Michelle Obama gave her husband the fist-bump heard around the world before his nomination speech, we already knew that this woman would be a different kind of First Lady - one that would bring new dimension to that curiously antiquated term. Since she burst on to the national consciousness, her trajectory remains in full ascent. She lit up the capitols of Europe in ways unmatched by any First Lady before her - even Jackie Kennedy. One on level, the reason for the reaction is obvious. This is one tough, smart, attractive engaging woman who is more than up to meeting the high-stakes but loosely-defined demands of a position where the Goldilocks chorus will always find too much or too little - seldom just right. But it's more than that. In ways that may be hard to describe, a nation and the world are responding to her self-described role as "mother-in-chief" - a description that in less authentic hands might have all the resonance of Mitt Romney complimenting African American kids on their "bling bling." As the world financial structure shudders and sways, we have responded to the comfort of her calm, clear and unapologetic certainty about who she is. Perhaps she reminds us that there is no such thing as monsters (Madoff being a discussion for another time) and there is nothing hiding under the bed. She is showing that the very qualities that make a great mother - consistency, clarity, humor, wisdom, patience, connection, confidence and determination and the like - also populate the job description of a great leader. To paraphrase Patrick Henry: If this be motherhood, make the most of it Some of that, as I've argued here before, is packaging. A woman who can hold her own in any board room seems to have mastered the talking points about the joys of running a home and raising kids. But there is real substance inside the package. In ways that have become so rare in any sphere of leadership these days, she allows us to see the real person, and makes us believe that what we see is the truth. Part of that truth is her recognition that, with a white house staff at her disposal and her live-in mother providing domestic bench-strength, she has a support network unimaginable to most women. Another woman in another time might have encountered the kind of blow back from the arbiters of expectation that Hillary Clinton encountered when she said she had no intention of staying home and baking cookies. The concern this time, from some feminist quarters: Obama is wasting her Princeton and Harvard Law degrees, well, baking cookies. As Geraldine Brooks wrote in an the October 2008 edition of More magazine, Michelle Obama's story is a "a depressingly retrograde narrative of stifling gender roles and frustrating tradeoffs." Watching move nimbly from the halls of state to the halls of grade schools as she charmed her way across Europe, I see nothing depressing, nothing stifling. Whatever tradeoffs she has made appear quite comfortable, as she is deftly balancing home and office - no small trick when your office is in the White House and the world is grading your every syllable. While two little girls run the White House grounds, this force of intellect, looks and personality will very happily employ those sculpted arms to carry a cookie tray. But at the same time, it is clear that the country's "mom-in-chief" can handle the responsibilities of motherhood while standing square in the klieg lights of her position. She is an object lesson in the importance and power of mothers, a reminder that their work is empowering, comforting, instructive and joyous. We like that. And more than any time in recent memory, we need it. | |
| Dylan Ratigan: I Left CNBC For Broader Platform | Top |
| Blodget: So, you're one of CNBC's biggest stars. You're running one of the most successful shows they've got. And you bolt. Why? Ratigan: A lot of things came together. One, it became apparent to me that there had been some major policy failures in America. While clearly pursuable at a place like CNBC, in my opinion, they are more broadly pursuable from a wide variety of other news platforms. Blodget: Such as? Ratigan: Pick them. ABC, CBS, HBO, MSNBC, CNN, FOX. When you're dealing with economic problems, you want to be speaking from an economic platform. When you're dealing with systemic policy failures that have rendered a catastrophe the likes of which we've really never seen, the role of journalism is to ask questions of money and power from the broadest possible platform. More on CNBC | |
| Craig Newmark: More support for Veterans from President Obama | Top |
| Hey, it's good to have a President who supports the troops. Yesterday, he made good on two campaign pledges that will have a huge impact on the lives of veterans. These two new initiatives will provide advance funding for VA healthcare, and help streamline the transition of medical records between the Department of Defense and the VA. Check out this quick CNN interview with IAVA's Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff, and add your name to the letter thanking the administration: www.iava.org/signtheletter | |
| Rob Shapiro: Time to Face the Facts: The Economy Probably Won't Get Better For Quite a While | Top |
| Brace yourself for very anxious and stormy times, economically and politically, because there's little prospect that the U.S. economy will improve for quite some time. The latest to weigh in is the Federal Reserve, whose new private forecast sees no growth in sight for the rest of this year and slow gains at best for 2010. The Fed always speaks cryptically (even among themselves). What it means is that the economy is still in free fall, with our best prospect for hitting bottom coming sometime this summer, and then bouncing around the bottom through the fall and into early winter. Why early winter? The only force out there to stop the decline is the stimulus package, which ought to kick in just about then. The Fed didn't say so, but their view that any recovery is some time off and will be a modest one reflects the judgment -- one I share -- that the administration's fixes for banking and housing aren't up to the task. The Fed also didn't say so, but the outlook for much of the rest of the world is at least as gloomy, since so many Asian and European economies depend on Americans to buy what they produce and on U.S. businesses to invest in their countries. That's not in the cards for some time. Trade is falling at a 20 percent rate here, at 30 percent rates across much of Europe, and at 30 to 40 percent rates in much of Asia. This week, for example, we found out that Americans' purchases of foreign imports in February were down $62 billion from a year earlier. That translates into tens of thousands of jobs lost in a lot of other countries (and ultimately fewer U.S. exports down the line). The Fed's view should be a wake-up call for the administration, which still talks about a "V" shaped business cycle, where our deep decline will be followed by a strong and sharp recovery starting late this year. V-shaped recoveries are powered by unleashing suppressed demand: People cut back until they see the light at the end of the tunnel, and then they buy everything they had put off during the recession -- especially houses and other large purchases that require credit. That's the scenario behind OMB's risible forecast of more than 3 percent growth next year, followed by two years of more than 4 percent gains. This misunderstands the very nature of what we're going through, which is nothing like the other recessions of the last 50 years. This time, the economy's circulatory system, banking and credit, isn't working. Even if it were, American households aren't holding back because their wages are down a bit. They're being forced to downsize for the long term, because this crisis has wiped out 20 percent of their net worth. It's even more serious than that, because most Americans used the fast-rising net worth they thought they had over the last decade to support their consumption. Mainly, we withdrew trillions of dollars from the once fast-rising value of our houses so we could go on vacation, buy new furniture, and send the kids to college. We had to do that, because for the first time in more than a half-century, most people's wages and incomes stagnated during a "strong" expansion. The current crisis will pass eventually, even as it takes much longer and exacts much larger costs for tens of millions of people than any downturn since the 1930s. When it does, the administration and the country will face once again the profound structural problem of the last decade -- of most people's incomes stagnating in the face of strong productivity gains, and relatively little job creation during times of strong GDP growth. Addressing that will require all of the President's skills, because it won't change unless we slow down rising health care and energy costs, and educate and train everyone in many of the ways we now use to prepare only the top 20 percent of us. The irony is that if President Obama can put in place policies for banking and housing that would work better than what his advisors have been willing to put out there so far, the economy could recover decently early next year. Then, he could have the political capital for the rest of his agenda, which is targeted just where it should be, on health care costs, energy, and education and training. But if he doesn't pull off the recovery, none of the rest will happen -- and the Obama years could look a lot like the Bush era. Cross-posted at the NDN blog . More on The Recession | |
| Scott Paul: American Manufacturing Doesn't Need a Bailout, Just a Level Playing Field | Top |
| On Tuesday, I joined more than 1,000 people-mostly laid-off Steelworkers and their families in a dusty, windswept lot where piles of subsidized, imported steel pipe from India destined for a major oil pipeline served as the backdrop. Just a mile or two away stood the Granite City, Illinois works of United States Steel, a massive facility that is now shuttered because of the recession. When it is operating, the mill employs over 2,000 workers and makes a quality, competitive product. The familiar noises of a busy, industrial town have vanished in Granite City. The hum of machines is nowhere to be found. The downtown is now a ghost town. It would be easy for the laid-off workers and their families to simply stay at home, hang their heads, hope for the best, and complain about the hand they've been dealt. But that's not what I saw. Instead, I saw hundreds upon hundreds workers and family members gathered together, unified in their call for jobs, justice, and a change in the way we do business. They were angry, but not xenophobic. Upset about unfair trade, but unafraid to compete. Not asking for a bailout, only an opportunity. Concerned about their own jobs, but downright scared about the future their children and their community might face. Across the Mississippi River from Granite City lies the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis. To me, the Arch is a symbol of hope, of a new day dawning, of a call to move forward. It's the gateway to what's possible in America, one of the simplest yet most meaningful structures in our nation. And it's made with a lot of steel: stainless, rebar, and carbon. All of these things are visible from 15,000 feet in the air, in a plane on my way back to DC: the massive Granite City works, the piles and piles of green pipe, and the Gateway Arch. But you can't see humans from that altitude. Yet I'm afraid that's the view too many Americans have of our manufacturing crisis. The pipe for TransCanada's oil pipeline project should have been made in America. But TransCanada chose the low road and selected the subsidized Indian pipe for the vast majority of the project. While Granite City doesn't make pipe, it is capable of making the hot-rolled steel that eventually becomes the pipe. It might be too late to ditch this pipe. But it's not too late for TransCanada to make the right call on its new Keystone XL pipeline. And it's not too late for federal, state, and local officials to tell TransCanada that if the company wants to secure permits and right-of-way, they need to make the pipe in America. Besides pipe, we make a lot of other things with steel. Everything from durable goods, automobiles and commercial jets to the tanks and warships that keep us safe. But we are losing the capacity to manufacture at an alarming rate. Our nation has lost 1.5 million manufacturing jobs since the recession began in December 2007. Forty thousand factories have closed over the past decade. One lesson of the recession is that we need to make more things here. Developing new technology and consuming alone do not make for a stable economy, but that's been our economic strategy for the past decade. Manufacturing generates real wealth, family-supporting jobs, and exports. It does matter where things are made. Granite City is ground zero in the crisis in manufacturing. To recover, it will take a trade policy that insists on reciprocity and fair play. India subsidizes its steel and should be held to account. Other countries that cheat should understand the consequences. It will take smarter domestic policies on health care, taxes, and energy to make manufacturing more competitive. Finally, it will take sizable investments in infrastructure, innovation, and education. This will only come about through the initiative and collective action of Americans across the political spectrum. But it starts with a single act. Paul Revere's "midnight ride" sounded the alarm in the American Revolution. Ironically, he was also a famous metal manufacturer after the war. Perhaps Granite City's Paul Revere is Jeff Rains, a retired steelworker. On his way to a meeting in February, Jeff saw the green pipe from India loaded on rail cars, took a couple of pictures, and alerted his local union. The rest is now history. We owe it not just to Jeff Rains and the thousands of unemployed workers in Granite City, but also to our children and grandchildren to make things in America again. American manufacturing and American workers will do their part by producing quality, competitive products. We'll even remind people why it is so important to make things here. We need a government as willing to fight for manufacturing as it is willing to give out $700 billion to Wall Street. The difference is this: we don't need $700 billion, we just need a level playing field. More on The Recession | |
| China's Population Laws Threaten Baby Girls, Favor Boys | Top |
| BEIJING — China has 32 million more young men than young women _ a gender gap that could lead to increasing crime _ because parents facing strict birth limits abort female fetuses to have a son, a study released Friday said. The imbalance is expected to steadily worsen among people of childbearing age over the next two decades and could trigger a slew of social problems, including a possible spike in crime by young men unable to find female partners, said an author of the report published in the BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal. "If you've got highly sexed young men, there is a concern that they will all get together and, with high levels of testosterone, there may be a real risk, that they will go out and commit crimes," said Therese Hesketh, a lecturer at the Centre for International Health and Development at University College London. She did not specify what kinds of crimes. The study said analysis of China's 2005 census data extrapolated that males under age 20 exceeded their female counterparts by a whopping 32 million. The study found that China has 119 male births for every 100 girls, compared with 107 to 100 for industrialized countries. "Nothing can be done now to prevent this imminent generation of excess men," said the report by Hesketh and two professors from eastern China's Zhejiang province. The study found that the biggest boy-girl gaps are in the 1 to 4-year-old group _ meaning that China will have to grapple with the effects of that imbalance when those children reach reproductive age in 15 to 20 years. China imposed strict birth controls in the 1970s to limit growth of its huge population, noting that resources, especially land, were increasingly strained and that changes were needed in its new push to modernize. The government says the controls have prevented an additional 400 million births in the world's most populous country of 1.3 billion. But families, especially rural ones, cling to traditional preferences for a male heir, and infanticide of baby girls became a problem. In response, some parts of China allow couples to have a second child if the first is a girl. The prevalence of sonograms in recent years has allowed parents to learn the gender of their fetus about 20 weeks into pregnancy, Hesketh said, leading to a rise in abortions based on sex. Abortion is legal and widely available. China bans tests to determine the fetus' gender for non-medical reasons but they are still commonly done, mainly by underground private clinics in the countryside. Many countries ban abortion after 12 or sometimes 24 weeks of pregnancy unless the mother's life is at risk. China's laws do not expressly prohibit or even define late-term termination. A debate about the extent of China's gender imbalance has brewed for years among population experts. Some families hide the births of daughters, never registering them with authorities, so they can legally try for a son, making it harder to measure the problem. Nancy Riley, a professor of sociology at Bowdoin College in Maine who was not involved with the study, said its methodology looked fine but questioned whether selective abortion indeed counted for almost all the excess males. "From other research, it is clear that sex-selective abortion does indeed contribute to these high sex ratios, but so do other things (such as) non-reporting of girl births, abandonment, even infanticide," Riley said. For their study, Hesketh and professors Li Lu of Zhejiang University and Zhu Weixing of Zhejiang Normal University examined data on 4.7 million people under the age of 20 from all parts of the country. Ratios in Jiangxi and Henan provinces were the highest in the country, with 140 boys for every 100 girls in the 1-4 age range, the study said. Hesketh told The Associated Press she thought rates were highest there because both provinces are poor and have largely secular Han Chinese populations. China's often disadvantaged ethnic minorities are exempt from birth limits, and researchers found normal sex ratios in the minority regions of Tibet and largely Muslim Xinjiang. Ratios were also particularly high among second children as parents again try to ensure they have a son and not another daughter. China has launched subsidy programs and education campaigns encouraging families to have girls, but they have had a limited impact. The study said enforcing the existing ban on sex-selective abortion could lead to normalization of the ratios. ___ On the Net: http://www.bmj.com/ More on China | |
| Earth Day Deals: Save Money While Saving Energy | Top |
| Earth Day is a great time to make forward-looking changes at home. Maybe you've been waiting to insulate, or you've been thinking about upgrading to appliances that take less energy. Great! Now's the time. And if it weren't already made obvious by the fact that the federal government is stepping up, Sears and the State of Missouri (separately) want to lead you to a greener life, too. The Sears deal: If you're in the Los Angeles or Orange County area, you can get a home energy audit for $99 between April 20 and April 26. And Missouri has an Energy Star tax holiday ! From April 19-25, the state is waving its 4.225 percent sales tax on washing machines, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners if the new appliance is Energy Star-certified. Nine counties and just over 50 cities also are waving their sales taxes for the week. If you know of other deals, let us know in the comments or ping me on twitter . More on Earth Day | |
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