Sunday, April 19, 2009

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Scott Mendelson: Huff Post review - State of Play (2009) Top
State of Play 2009 127 minutes Rated PG-13 by Scott Mendelson State of Play is the very sort of movie that 'they just don't make anymore'. Despite its attempts to include newfangled ideas regarding new journalism and the topical subject matter, it is a refreshingly old-fashioned star-driven thriller. As to be expected from any two hour film adapted from a six-hour British mini-series, this is a plot-packed movie, but also one that feels surprisingly leisurely. It does not rush from plot twist to plot twist, but remembers to keep character front and center. A token amount of plot - One the eve of congressional hearings into Point Corp, a multi-billion dollar private security firm that does business with the US for overseas operations, Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is stained by scandal when his head researcher and mistress dies in an apparent accident. As Collins struggles to maintain his career, his former college roommate, Washington Globe reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), discovers an inexplicable connection between the young woman's tragic death and the shooting of a junkie. That's all you need. The film quickly becomes the most satisfying sort of puzzle. While there certainly are several 'plot twists', they are not the sort that make you question or reassess everything you've seen up to that point. Rather, as each layer of the story is pealed back, the plot makes more sense, not less. The characters' actions seem more plausible and the overriding themes at play become stronger. Russell Crowe gives a weary, but vaguely optimistic performance as an old-guard journalist who knows he is of a dying breed. Helen Mirren shines as the paper's editor, torn between her love of old-fashioned shoe leather journalism and the fact that the newfangled blog world is a far larger moneymaker. She has a devastating moment where she almost casually explains how a major story that turns out to be false will sell more papers than a true story, since the resulting denials and recriminations become additional stories unto themselves. Ben Affleck once again proves what a fine actor he is when he's not forced to be a movie star. Only Robin Wright Penn and Rachel McAdams are underused, though they do what they can with what they are given. The former is stuck with a token role as Affleck's scorned wife, and her apparent romantic history with Crowe fails to pay off. McAdams fairs worse though, as young hotshot blogger Della Frye who must represent that fact-less, gossipy, copy-every-hour new journalism that is theoretically killing the news. That State of Play champions objective journalism over opinion-based online snark pieces is an obvious, though still noble path. But blogger Della Frye never establishes an identity of her own, we never really learn what kind of blogger she is, what she likes to write about, or how she feels about the current tug-of-war that exists in the newspaper community. That corporatization of newspapers is the real issue, and blogging is merely a symptom, is barely mentioned. And the relationship between her and Crowe is almost laughably one-sided. She learns the value of honest investigative journalism and learns to 'be a real reporter', yet he learns nothing and gains no insight from her. Still, the blogging versus reporting angle turns out to be a minor one, so its failure to really come together is at best a moderate flaw. But as a crime drama, a political thriller, and a journalistic who-dun-it-and-why, it is never less than completely compelling. The alleged conspiracy that is eventually unraveled is completely plausible and absolutely chilling, and I'm assuming any similarities to the terrific seventh season of 24 are coincidental. Aside from the stars, there are several fun supporting turns by the likes of Jeff Daniels and Jason Bateman. Once again, Bateman takes a stock character and infuses him with humanity, sympathy, and a specific point of view (see also - Hancock , Juno , Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium ). He is quickly becoming one of the finest character actors around. While the film is implicitly about the death of newspapers and the death of conventional journalism, it also ends up being about the death of itself. By that I mean the film ends up being an eulogy of sorts to the adult thriller, the star-driven suspense picture, and the very idea of mainstream movies for grownups. As their numbers dwindle in the wake of superhero epics, tween-driven comedies, and 3D animated features, the star-driven potboiler, once the most popular of genres, is becoming an endangered species. And by casting Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, two men who were once the biggest stars in Hollywood, the film becomes a monument to the death of the conventional movie star. As the traditional leading man is supplanted by the geekey outsider or the dweebish underdog (think Shia Labeouf or Zac Efron), the picture becomes an ode to all things old-fashioned. It mourns the death of traditional journalism, traditional movie stars, and even traditional movies. One cannot dispute that State of Play represents a fine example of all three relics. Grade: A-
 
Christine Pelosi: The Emerging Obama Doctrine Top
Watching Obama's press conference at the Summit of the Americas discussing economics, narco-terrorism, and guns, the President showcased a new direction in American regional partnerships. The line that captured the essence of Obama's new approach: "other countries see that we are not dug in to policies created before I was born." Though the president declined to define the Obama Doctrine, 4 themes emerged: 1. We the USA are a super power but not a singular power. There are not junior partners and senior partners on the world stage - other countries have good ideas too. We should listen to them. 2. The USA leads best by example. We have our democracy, freedom of religion and the press, a civil society where we pursue our dreams without interference from government. We show strength when we practice what we preach, confessing that sometimes we stray from our values. 3. We must put aside old debates. As Obama said, it is easier for our friends like Mexico and Columbia to work with us because their neighbors see us as a force for good... when "other countries see that we are not dug in to policies created before I was born." For example, the Cuban policy we had in place has not worked. The Cuban government could release political prisoners and reduce charges on remittances to family members as signals that they are pursuing change. 4. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And a handshake is just a handshake. And a gift book is just a gift book. Let's look at progress on economics, narcoterrorism, and guns to determine whether we are moving in the right direction. This emerging Obama Doctrine is the change we voted for and the change he is beginning to deliver. More on Barack Obama
 
Susan J. Demas: Joe the Plumber in Michigan: Pass the Tea, Drink the Kool-Aid Top
Hailing Joe the Plumber as an authority on tax policy is kind of like appointing the puffy-shirted FreeCreditReport.com guys expertise on the Somali pirate situation. Of course, that's what the assorted anti-tax and right-wing groups did when they breathlessly begged the man formerly known as Samuel Wurzelbacher to headline their Tea Party protest in Lansing. And that is precisely why it's hard to take them seriously. "Let me give you another extremist view, 'In God We Trust,'" Headliner Joe told a crowd of 5,000 on Wednesday. "You say that too loud, you get shot somewhere in America. Isn't that just terrible?" Really, Joe. Where, praytell? That over-the-top gibberish would be less incredible if a guy hadn't just blown away three Pittsburgh police officers. Richard Poplawski popped off, not because the cops said "under God" during the "Pledge of Allegiance," but because he feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon," according to his friend. It's worth noting that mingled with signs like "Bring our troops home, send the Democrats" and "Spread my work ethic, not my wealth" (carried by a surly-lipped chick ditching work, natch) were a fair number of firearm-happy posters like "Let your gun be your companion." One dude held up a placard proclaiming himself as an "acrimonious white small business owner" who was busy "fighting socialism" and "buying guns." Of course, there were the usual virulent anti-Obama placards like "Hitler gave good speeches too." Right now, conservatives are split if these are just a few bad apples or the future of the Republican Party. It's a staggeringly stupid debate. The GOP already suffered deep losses in '08 with their all Sarah Palin, all the time strategy to appeal to Know Nothings and their borderline bigotry. Gallup found there are now only five states -- Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Alaska -- that have a significant plurality of Republican voters, versus a jaw-dropping 35 for Democrats. But evidently, you don't mess with failure. So Republicans have made a specimen like Joe the Plumber their spokesman. The right-wing Pajamas Media even deployed him to report on the conflict in Israel , a country Sammy couldn't find on the map. He proceeded to file nonsensical dispatches and berate the media for failing to have the integrity of pro-war propaganda films like "when you'd go to the theater" during World Wars I and II. As an encore, after receiving thunderous applause at the Media Research Council's DisHonors Awards, the Plumber declared , "God, all this love and everything in the room - I'm horny." It makes sense for Michigan Taxpayers Alliance head Leon Drolet to team up with a character like Joe. Carnival barkers always want to make a buck off the four-legged girl or bearded lady - and now Leon's got some great photos for his state Senate campaign. But no thinking conservative can laud J the P's childish "money for nothing and your chicks for free" anti-tax shtick as sage political philosophy. Even Joe doesn't believe it, as he admitted in Lansing that he was "just regurgitating" crap people have e-mailed him. Look, protests are supposed to be loud and gleefully free of nuance. But they don't have to be celebrations of willful ignorance. That's why it's baffling that any politician, much less reasonable ones like U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, and former state Rep. Lorence Wenke, R-Richland, would not only go, but fail to have the courage to call B.S. when they see it. Taxes are bad, sayeth folks whose rally was protected by publicly financed police. They drove there on publicly funded roads, after eating breakfast inspected for disease by publicly financed agencies and flushing their waste down toilets connected to publicly funded sewer systems. Too bad the dang gov'ment won't get out of the way, right? And pay no attention to that federal tax credit in the paychecks of 95 percent of Americans, courtesy of the stimulus. That's what Republicans want, of course, having voted against that massive $282 billion tax cut. Ideological backflips aside, what's most disturbing is the protesters' historical illiteracy. The original Boston Tea Party of 1773 wasn't a protest of high taxes. Some colonists were steamed over the British taxing them without giving them representation in Parliament and merchants were riled that new, lower taxes favored importers. Right now, the only folks who can legitimately gripe that there's taxation without representation are those living in Washington, D.C. We have a full-time Legislature in Michigan. We elected Gov. Jennifer Granholm by a 14-point margin in 2006 and gave President Barack Obama a 16-point victory last year. What most Tea Partiers are doing is throwing a tantrum that we elected the wrong people in their opinion, i.e. Democrats. That's fine. The left wandered in the wilderness for years. And they threw some rockin' rallies, especially against the Iraq wars, that make the Fox News-sponsored bashes Wednesday look like, well, tea parties. There's no doubt that there are millions of angry people out there. Losing is tough. But the thousands who showed up on Tax Day are in deep denial of their minority status. Obama is still popular, as are his policies. Mr. The Plumber wasn't having any of it, irately waving around USA Today 's story on Gallup polling that most Americans are OK with big government. That can't be true, he decided to big cheers, because nobody at the rally believes it. Yeah, forget tea. The GOP is still drinking the Kool-Aid. More on GOP
 
Gerald Sindell: The Netroots Go Deep Top
We were at the Netroots Nation New Media Summit this afternoon in San Francisco, welcomed by Nancy Pelosi -- looking and sounding very much as if she's getting used to being on top of the world -- and followed by a panel of media revolutionaries, who also seem to be getting used to being on the inside after years of being the bleeding edge. Markos Moulitsas summed it up with an off-hand closing remark, "We're just the soundtrack for what's going on." Actually, the panel was both the soundtrack, the movie, and coming attractions. No one claimed to know where the new media was headed, except that newspapers were getting deader by the moment. The panel split into two camps about what should and will happen to investigative reporters. And here's where one of the most interesting comments I've heard about a reporter's role was made. I suddenly realized why I could read the entire NY Times every day in 30 minutes or less. Clara Jeffery, Co-Editor of Mother Jones , and one smart lady, described what might be lost if all those professional reporters no longer had a paying newspaper or magazine job. She said long-form reporters have two responsibilities: One -- be a check on government power run amok. Two -- be a check on corporate power run amok. She said it as if she'd said it not-infrequently before. But it made me wonder if that's really why I read a paper or a magazine. I'm kinda sorta interested in keeping those two groups in check, but isn't there a huge other area of our world that needs reporting on? I'm talking about the stuff that actually makes me want to get up in the morning and feel good about the world. I want to know if we're making any progress. Is civilization moving forward or backward today? Did someone discover something important, or create something beautiful? I want to know what's happening in the human story that tells me it's all going to be okay someday. But when Ms. Jeffery said that with such a sense of completeness, I really began to wonder if I should be reading a paper at all. They want to do a 'get' on the bad guys. But I want to know what the good guys are doing. Maybe that's why all the big stories are the ones I barely glance at, and the tiny ones, even the great obituaries (I can't believe I never heard of this person before -- what a life!) are where the important stuff is. As an example of the big stories, the ones I don't read, Karl Frisch of Media Matters (by the way, please give this guy his own show -- he's smart and sneaky clever) cited the David Barstow NY Times story that ran for two days and used up about twenty-five thousand barrels of ink to tell us that the Pentagon had been running a media shop before and during the Iraq war, putting a lot of guys with medals on the talk shows. Frisch was pointing out that the story got zilch traction and was wondering why. Maybe it's because anyone who could fog a mirror already knew the story years before the huge exposé went live just by watching TV and noticing there were a whole lot of guys in medals spinning the war and singing from the same hymnal. The future of the "New Media"? If you're reading this, you're already part of it More on Nancy Pelosi
 
Mia Farrow: My Hunger Strike for Darfur Top
On April 27th I will begin a fast of water only in solidarity with the people of Darfur and as a personal expression of outrage at a world that is somehow able to stand by and watch innocent men, women and children needlessly die of starvation, thirst and disease. The Darfur crisis deepened on March 4th when the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president President Omar al-Bashir for his essential role in the murder, rape, torture and displacement of millions. Al-Bashir retaliated immediately by expelling thirteen key international aid agencies from Sudan, including Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, CARE, Oxfam and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) along with three highly respected Sudanese agencies. Sudanese U.N. Ambassador Abdalhaleem claimed his government would have no problem filling in any gaps created by the expulsions. But U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes spoke honestly about the desperate realities: "We do not, as the U.N. system, the NGOs do not, and the Sudanese government does not have the capacity to replace all the activities that have been going on. This is a decision which is likely to have a major impact on millions of people in Darfur who are in need on a daily basis, of life-saving humanitarian assistance." According to the UN, as of this May more than a million people will be without food aid, medical assistance, and drinkable water. The United Nations humanitarian agencies issued their joint plea; "The suspended NGOs account for more than half of the capacity for the aid operation in Darfur. If the life-saving assistance these agencies were providing is not restored shortly, it will have immediate, lasting and profound impacts on the well being of millions of Sudanese citizens. These organizations provide a lifeline to 4.7 million people." I undertake this fast in the heartfelt hope that world leaders who know what is just and right will call upon the Government of Sudan to urgently readmit all of the expelled agencies or otherwise insure that the gap is filled, giving aid workers unimpeded access to the populations before they begin to die in numbers that could dwarf the Rwandan genocide. I also call upon President Obama and other leaders with influence to help build a credible peace process that can end the suffering in Darfur. I hope human rights advocates and citizens of conscience around the world will join me in some form of fasting, even if for one day. And when I can no longer continue, I pray another will take my place, and another-- until finally there is justice and peace for Darfur's people. More on Genocide
 
Sheldon Filger: Paul Krugman Angers Austria's Bankers, Politicians by Stating the Obvious Top
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman stirred the ire and indignation of Austria's political and financial establishment by merely stating the obvious. While speaking at the Foreign Press Club, Krugman responded to a query regarding Austria's exposure to flimsy debt in over-leveraged Eastern Europe. The Princeton University economics professor and New York Times columnist had the audacity to provide a factual response. As Paul Krugman restated in his blog, "I responded by saying what everyone knows: Austrian lending to Eastern Europe is off the charts compared with anyone else's, and that means some serious risk given that emerging Europe is experiencing the mother of all currency crises." Hell knows no fury than an economist stating the obvious. Austria's irate Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister, Josef Proell, denounced Krugman's comments as "totally wrong." To make sure everyone understood his point, he added, "absolutely absurd." Adding to the amen chorus of aggrieved Austrian politicos was the International Monetary Fund. The head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, informed the Austrian media, "I do believe that the Austrian situation is fairly good, so I have no particular concern about the Austrian economy these days." No concern? The Austrian banking situation vis a vis East European loans is "fairly good?" What planet is Dominique Strauss-Kahn living on? It's perhaps time for a little financial history, which the Austrian and European political establishment seems to have forgotten. Does anyone still remember the collapse of the Credit-Anstalt? Created in 1855, with links to the Austro-Hungarian nobility and Rothschild banking family, Credit-Anstalt was the world's first investment bank. It was the catalyst of many of the most important infrastructure projects in the last decades of existence of the Habsburg Empire. In the years after World War I, this Austrian bank engaged in major speculation throughout Europe, giving all the appearances of being a highly profitable financial institution. Even after the stock market crash on Wall Street in 1929, Credit-Anstalt sought to conduct business as usual, though the economic contraction that followed the 1929 crash transformed a growing proportion of its balance sheet into non-performing assets. When the bubble burst on May 11, 1931, it sent shock waves throughout the world's financial system. Contrary to public perception, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 was not the major catastrophe of the Great Depression; it was merely the precipitating event. In fact it was the bankruptcy of Credit-Anstalt in 1931 that made the Depression truly global, and crippled banks throughout Europe and North America. The resulting run on banks throughout the world, with numerous banking failures, was the catalyst that accelerated the rise in global unemployment. When Franklin Roosevelt assumed the U.S. presidency in 1933, his first major task was to attend to the deplorable state of U.S. banking. That reality was at least in part attributable to a chain reaction of financial failures that stemmed from the insolvency of Credit-Anstalt. Now we are in 2009, with the subprime mortgage securities debacle having been the underlying cause of the state of insolvency afflicting America's largest banks. The U.S. government, including Congress, Treasury and the Fed, have injected or issued backstop guarantees to the tune of $13 trillion in a frantic effort aimed at keeping these zombie financial institutions artificially alive. Yet, in this truly global economic and financial crisis, events in other parts of the world may render mute and futile all the trillions of dollars the U.S. is borrowing to save the American and global financial system. As in 1931, it may well be the Austrian banking sector that is the final nail in the coffin of the current globalized financial order. With the fall of communism, former East Bloc European states were encouraged to borrow heavily by their Western brethren, with Austrian banks leading the way. Governments in Eastern Europe borrowed massively to finance the modernization of their industries, with the goal of providing lower-cost industrial goods and commodities to consumers throughout Western Europe. In addition, consumers in Eastern Europe were encouraged to borrow money in Euro currency at low interest rates for homes and consumer durables. When the Global Economic Crisis hit Europe, demand destruction afflicted the highly leveraged new industrial plants in Eastern Europe. In addition, the consumers who unwisely borrowed money from Western banks in Euros were devastated by the collapse of their home currencies. A new housing crisis has arisen in lands as diverse as Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The non-performing assets on the balance sheets of European banks are enormous, and have affected many countries throughout the Eurozone. However, in terms of percentage of toxic assets to GDP, no European state is in as precarious a state as Austria. More than $250 billion in bad assets are poisoning the balance sheets of Austrian banks, a sum equal to more than 62% of the nation's GDP. By way of comparison, if the admittedly shaky U.S. banks held toxic assets in the same ratio to GDP, this would equal $8.7 trillion dollars in bad assets. If America's banking disaster was on the same scale as Austria's, it would require a dozen TARP programs to cover the holes on the balance sheets. Is another Credit-Anstalt catastrophe in the works? The macroeconomic data emerging from Europe looks increasingly gloomy. In addition, the European Union is proving to be both disunited and uncoordinated in facing up to mounting evidence of a financial avalanche that may bury the Union and everything else with it, including the common currency. Policymakers throughout Europe are arguing over Eastern European stabilization funds, protectionism versus "free trade," and other issues, both real and distractions, while the financial underpinning of the entire European economic system is ablaze. Just as Iceland was the first nation to become nationally insolvent due to bank failures stemming from the Global Economic Crisis, Austria may be fated to endure a similar disastrous outcome. Should Austria's banks fail as spectacularly as did the Credit-Anstalt back in 1931, the impact on the world's financial and economic order will be at least as catastrophic and likely much worse. It is indeed timely for Paul Krugman to state the obvious regarding the looming Austrian banking crisis, irrespective of the indignation pouring out of Vienna. Will 2009 prove to be 1931 redux? The indicators favor the pessimists far more than the optimists. Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman has issued a sober warning, which hopefully will not be drowned out by the hyperbole of reality-denying European politicians. More on Global Financial Crisis
 
Norm Stamper: 420: Thoughts on Pot vs. Alcohol from a Former Police Chief Top
As 5:00 p.m. rolls around my interior clock starts chiming. I'll have an ice-cold, bone-dry martini, thank you. Jalapeno olives and a twist. If the occasion calls for it (temperatures in the twenties, a hot political debate on the tube) I may substitute two fingers of Kentucky sour mash. Four-twenty? Doesn't resonate. But with April 20 approaching and Waldos of the world gearing up to celebrate their favorite day of the year, it's not a bad time to consider, yet again, the pluses and minuses of alcohol vs. cannabis. First, a disclaimer: I am a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition , but I don't officially represent the organization in this forum. That said, I can't very well check my affiliation, or beliefs, at the keyboard when I sit down to blog for HuffPost. We at LEAP are current and former cops and other criminal justice practitioners who have witnessed firsthand the futility and manifold injustices of the drug war. Our professional experiences have led us to conclude that the more dangerous an illicit substance--from crack to krank--the greater the justification for its legalization, regulation, and control. It is the prohibition of drugs that leads inexorably to high rates of death, disease, crime, and addiction. Back to booze vs. pot. How do the effects of these two drugs stack up against specific health and public safety factors? Alcohol-related traffic accidents claim approximately 14,000 lives each year , down significantly from 20 or 30 years ago (attributed to improved education and enforcement). Figures for THC-related traffic fatalities are elusive, especially since alcohol is almost always present in the blood as well, and since the numbers of "marijuana-only" traffic fatalities are so small. But evidence from studies, including laboratory simulations, feeds the stereotype that those under the influence of canniboids tend to (1) be more aware of their impaired psychomotor skills, and (2) drive well below the speed limit. Those under the influence of alcohol are much more likely to be clueless or defiant about their condition, and to speed up and drive recklessly. Hundreds of alcohol overdose deaths occur annually. There has never been a single recorded marijuana OD fatality. According to the American Public Health Association, excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of death in this country. APHA pegs the negative economic impact of extreme drinking at $150 billion a year. There have been no documented cases of lung cancer in a marijuana-only smoker, nor has pot been scientifically linked to any type of cancer. (Don't trust an advocate's take on this? Try the fair and balanced coverage over at Fox .) Alcohol abuse contributes to a multitude of long-term negative health consequences, notably cirrhosis of the liver and a variety of cancers. While a small quantity, taken daily, is being touted for its salutary health effects, alcohol is one of the worst drugs one can take for pain management, marijuana one of the best. Alcohol contributes to acts of violence; marijuana reduces aggression. In approximately three million cases of reported violent crimes last year, the offender had been drinking. This is particularly true in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, and date rape. Marijuana use, in and of itself, is absent from both crime reports and the scientific literature. There is simply no link to be made. Over the past four years I've asked police officers throughout the U.S. (and in Canada) two questions. When's the last time you had to fight someone under the influence of marijuana? (I'm talking marijuana only, not pot plus a six-pack or a fifth of tequila.) My colleagues pause, they reflect. Their eyes widen as they realize that in their five or fifteen or thirty years on the job they have never had to fight a marijuana user. I then ask: When's the last time you had to fight a drunk? They look at their watches. All of which begs the question. If one of these two drugs is implicated in dire health effects, high mortality rates, and physical violence--and the other is not--what are we to make of our nation's marijuana laws? Or alcohol laws, for that matter. Anybody out there want to launch a campaign for the re-prohibition of alcohol? Didn't think so. The answer, of course, is responsible drinking. Marijuana smokers, for their part, have already shown (apart from that little matter known as the law) greater responsibility in their choice of drugs than those of us who choose alcohol.
 
Geoffrey R. Stone: Remembering the Nazis in Skokie Top
This morning marked the official opening of the Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois. This sttriking new institution is dedicated to "preserving the legacy of the Holocaust by honoring the memories of those who were lost and by teaching universal lessons that combat hatred, prejudice and indifference." The seeds of the Skokie Holocaust Museum were sown more than thirty years ago, when roughly thirty members of the Nazi Party of America sought to march in Skokie. The plan was for the marchers to wear uniforms reminiscent of those worn by the members of Hitler's Nazi Party, including swastika armbands, and to carry a party banner bearing a large swastika. At the time of the proposed march in 1977, Skokie, a northern Chicago suburb, had a population of about 70,000 persons, 40,000 of whom were Jewish. Approximately 5,000 of the Jewish residents were survivors of the Holocaust. The residents of Skokie responded with shock and outrage. They sought a court order enjoining the march on the grounds that it would "incite or promote hatred against persons of Jewish faith or ancestry," that is was a "deliberate and willful attempt" to inflict severe emotional harm on the Jewish population in Skokie (and especially on the survivors of the Holocaust), and that it would incite an "uncontrollably" violent response and lead to serious "bloodshed." The Skokie controversy triggered one of those rare but remarkable moments in American history when citizens throughout the nation vigorously debated the meaning of the United States Constitution. The arguments were often fierce, heartfelt and painful. The American Civil Liberties Union, despite severe criticism and withdrawal of support by many its strongest supporters, represented the First Amendment rights of the Nazi. As a young law professor at the University of Chicago, I had the played a minor role in assisting the ACLU. In the end, the Illinois Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court contributed to the conclusion that Skokie could not enjoin the Nazis from marching. It is useful to consider the three primary arguments set forth by Skokie in support of its effort to forbid the march. First, the village argued that the display of the swastika promoted "hatred against persons of Jewish faith or ancestry" and that speech that promotes racial or religious hatred is unprotected by the First Amendment. The courts rightly rejected this argument, not on the ground that the swastika doesn't promote religious hatred, but on the ground that that is not a reason for suppressing speech. After all, it the Nazis could be prohibited from marching in Skokie because the swastika incites religious hatred, then presumably they couldn't march anywhere for the same reason, and movies could not show the swastika, and even documentaries could not show the swastika. And if the swastika can be banned on this basis, then what other symbols or ideas can be suppressed for similar reasons. What about movies showing members of the Ku Klux Klan? News accounts showing Palestinians committing suicide bombings in Israel or showing Israelis attacking civilians? Second, the village argued that the purpose of the marches was to inflict emotional harm on the Jewish residents of Skokie and, especially, on the survivors. Certainly, some residents would be deeply offended, shocked and terrified to see Nazis marching through the streets of Skokie. But they might also be offended, shocked and terrified to know that Schindler's List was playing at a movie theatre in Skokie, or in Chicago, or in Illinois, and African-Americans might be offended, shocked and terrified to know that the movie Birth of a Nation was playing in a theatre in their town or nation. And so on. Moreover, it is doubtful that the actual intent of the Nazis was to inflict emotional harm on the residents of Skokie. Initially, the Nazis sought to march in a totally different community in Chicago, one with almost no Jewish population. But they were denied a permit. They then decided to march in Skokie in order to get publicity for their grievance. Indeed, the signs they planned to carry in Skokie did not say "Bring Back the Holocaust," but "White Free Speech" and "Free Speech for the White Man." Making First Amendment rights turn on judgments about a speaker's subjective intent is a dangerous business, because intent is very elusive and police, prosecutors and jurors are very prone to attribute evil intentions to those whose views they despise. Third, the village argued that if the Nazis were permitted to march there would be uncontrollable violence. But is this a reason to suppress speech? Isn't the obligation of the government to protect the speaker and to control and punish the lawbreakers, rather than to invite those who would silence the speech to use threats of violence to achieve their ends? If the village of Skokie had won on this point, then southern communities who wanted to prosecute civil rights marchers in Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham could equally do so, on the plea that such demonstrations would trigger "uncontrollable violence." Moreover, once government gives in to such threats of violence it effectively invites a "heckler's veto," empowering any group of people who want to silence others to do so simply by threatening to violate the law. The outcome of the Skokie controversy was one of the truly great victories for the First Amendment in American history. It proved that the rule of law must and can prevail. Because of our profound commitment to the principle of free expression even in the excruciatingly painful circumstances of Skokie more than thirty years ago, we remain today the international symbol of free speech. (Ultimately, a deal was worked out and the Nazis agreed to march in Chicago rather than in Skokie.) Ironically, but exquisitely, it was the Skokie controversy that caused the survivors in Skokie and around the world to recognize that, in the words of the new Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, "despite their desire to leave the past behind, they could no longer remain silent." It was in the wake of the Skokie affair that "Chicago-area survivors joined together to form the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois." As a result on this controversy, the survivors dedicated themselves to "combating hate with education." And so now, with only a handful of survivors still alive to see the moment, we now have this extraordinary memorial and museum. As Justice Louis Brandeis once explained, the Framers of our First Amendment knew "that fear breeds repression; that repression breeds hate; that hate menaces stable government; that the path of safety lies in the opportunity to discuss freely supposed grievances and proposed remedies; and that the fitting remedy for evil counsels is good ones." The opening today of the Holocaust Museum and Education Center proves the profound wisdom of the principle that "the fitting remedy for evil counsels is good ones."
 
Frank Nothaft: Housing Sales Near Bottom Top
U.S. housing sales are near a bottom, and a third of sales are now of foreclosed properties, the chief economist of Freddie Mac, Frank Nothaft, said on Saturday. More on Housing Crisis
 
Anthony Papa: 4/20: National Pot Smokers Day Top
April 20 is "National Pot Smoking Day." It's a day where people across the world celebrate in the conspicuous consumption of the magical herb, marijuana. It's an unofficial counterculture holiday that is based on the simple concept of smoking some cannabis and being happy. The history of its origin is somewhat cloudy. I found some interesting theories into the beginning of this toker's holiday. The most convincing account was recorded in the San Francisco Chronicle . According to the editor of High Times , Steven Hager, the term "420" originated at San Rafael High School, in 1971, among a group of about a dozen pot-smoking students who called themselves the Waldos. The term was shorthand for the time of day the group would meet, at the campus statue of Louis Pasteur, to smoke pot. Intent on developing their own discreet language, they made 420 a code for a time to get high, and its use spread among members of an entire generation through various vehicles like the music of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. Other versions say 420 originated from a police dispatch code that identified pot smokers or that 420 was the number of chemical compounds that are found in pot. Whatever its true origin may be, 420 Day is now firmly implanted in the marijuana subculture. The true significance of this day, beyond the fact that it brings together people to celebrate the use of marijuana, is that it's a day to explore the meaning of the freedom - or the lack thereof - to indulge in its use. Despite being a popular drug that is enjoyed by millions of Americans, it is still classified as an illegal substance. Penalties range from the stigma of arrest to fines and even imprisonment. Currently, there is a tremendous amount of activity in marijuana arena. Many states like New Jersey and Illinois are calling for the legalization of medical marijuana. This was in lieu of a recent policy shift by the Obama administration. It openly called for the limitation of prosecuting sick people who use the drug for medical purposes or to the caregivers that dispense it in states that have passed medical marijuana legislation. Recently in California, San Francisco lawmaker, Tom Ammiano, introduced a bill to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. "With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense," Ammiano told reporters. "This legislation would generate much needed revenue for the state, restrict access to only those over 21, end the environmental damage to our public lands from illicit crops, and improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes. California has the opportunity to be the first state in the nation to enact a smart, responsible public policy for the control and regulation of marijuana." Advocates point out that thirteen states already regulate medical marijuana. "Marijuana already plays a huge role in the California economy. It's a revenue opportunity we literally can't afford to ignore any longer," said Stephen Gutwillig, California state director for the Drug Policy Alliance. "It's time to end the charade of marijuana prohibition, tax the $14 billion market, and redirect criminal justice resources to matters of real public safety. Assemblyman Ammiano has done the state an enormous service by breaking the silence on this commonsense solution." On May 2 there will be a worldwide marijuana march that will be held in over 544 cities in 54 nations around the world to celebrate the medicinal value and spiritual benefits of marijuana. The principal organizer of the event is veteran activist, Dana Beal . He believes that this is a critical year for the cause. Beal is especially concerned about the large amount of pot arrests involving nonviolent citizens who choose to smoke it in the privacy of their own homes. "Criminalizing millions of people - nearly 10 percent of the total US population for smoking a plant is ridiculous" he says. Numerous scientific studies since President Nixon's Shafer Commission have proved this. Beal also believes that the money spent by the criminal justice system to prosecute and jail harmless pot smokers would be better spent on our educational system and health care. The debate on the legalization of marijuana continues. It's up to the millions of pot smokers across our nation who use 4/20 as a day to light up to get involved in changing the prohibition that ruins so many lives and takes away the legal right to consume what we want in our own bodies, without the threat of governmental interference. Anthony Papa is the author of 15 To Life and a communications specialist for the Drug Policy Alliance.
 
Tamar Abrams: Yom Hashoah: Filling the Empty Spaces Top
Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter of Krakow, once echoed with the comings and goings of nearly 70,000 Jews, but now only 300 remain. The streets still bear a resemblance to their pre-World War II days, with synagogues and carved signs in Hebrew for shops and restaurants. But now the quarter is most famous as the site of the filming of "Schindler's List." Tourists come for the food, the recognition of a movie set, the outdoor cafes and -- occasionally -- to hear about all that was lost. As an American Jew, I find the place suffused with sadness. The worn four story buildings overlooking the cafe where my family dines must once have housed families like my own. I can't enjoy the warm sunshine and the beet soup without reflecting on the misery that once took hold of this place. So much is gone now. This week people the world over will observe Yom Hashoah (Days of Remembrance) for the millions of Jews who perished during the Holocaust. The date - April 21 this year - actually commemorates the Warsaw ghetto uprising. In Krakow, two weeks before Yom Hashoah, the Jews of Krakow are mostly ghosts. At Remuh Synagogue -- one of only two that remain open -- the cemetery is ill-tended. Like much of Krakow, cigarette butts and trash litter the ground. Where is the national pride, or shame? My father -- eighty years old and hale still -- wanders among the tombs wearing a kippah. He weeps on the shoulder of my teenage daughter, unable to say more than that one of the graves may be his great-grandfather's. I wander among the graves, placing stones on those that are bare. Each of these Jews long gone was once loved, and I want to leave a reminder of that. But these are the lucky ones who died of natural causes or disease. They died believing in the future of their families and their people. They had a place to be buried, even though the cemetery was desecrated by the Nazis. There is still a place for them in Krakow. Kazimierz is now filled with trendy new restaurants with names like Avocado. On a Saturday night, it is packed with young Poles -- impossibly thin and dressed in Euro-chic -- looking for excitement. The people who once inhabited these streets are long gone and their descendents who survived have not returned. But Jewish tourists come, and congregate at the traditional Jewish restaurants that remain. We eat one evening in the Klezmer Hois, in a small dining room seating about 30 people. We are Americans, British, Canadians and Germans. I'm guessing most of the others are also Jewish. The food is nostalgic and filling -- kreplach, chopped liver, borscht, hamantaschen. Later a Klezmer group begins to play Hava Nagilah as we nod and sway and try to fill the empty spaces.
 
Daoud Kuttab: Connect Gaza and the West Bank Now Top
So finally there are no more reasons to wait. The US president has been sworn in. A special envoy has been chosen and is already setting up office and finally the new Israeli government has been formed. President Obama and his aides have repeated over and over his support for the two state solution while the new Israeli government has refused to publicly support the Annapolis process and can't bring themselves to use the three letter word: two state solution. So what are the options awaiting Senator Mitchell as he sets up his new office in Jerusalem with Keith Dayton as his security deputy and David Halle as his deputy for the peace talks? The traditional US diplomatic approach has been to impress on the process part of the "peace process." On the other hand, the often repeated Arab position is that the US can press Israel to amend its policies. Such calls include either through cutting off aid or cutting off political protection (in other words abstaining rather than vetoing in the security council) or both. President Obama's impressive signals since day one in office (calling Arab leaders before European allies, appointing Mitchell and speaking on Al Arabiyeh TV) reflect a different approach than what has traditionally come out of Washington. In the last thirty years US administrations have usually become deeply interested in the Arab Israeli conflict in the last year of a two term administration. So the process-only approach doesn't appear to be the thinking of the Obama administration. On the other hand, it is not clear whether Washington has the stomach for a major confrontation with the new Israeli government. While leaks coming out of the White House say that the administration is preparing for such a possibility, few observers believe that this will be how things will in fact turn out. Although the main issue of difference at present is over the shape of any final outcome (two state or not), the more likely point of friction will most likely be issues that are taking place on the ground. A study of the Mitchell report (which was produced during the greatly pro-Israel Bush administration) points to settlements as the next point of confrontations. On this issue Mitchell and the US administration have been very clear even though they have not been effective. A freeze of all settlement activity which includes expansion and natural growth will certainly be the center of the focus of the new robust presidential envoy Mitchell and his team on the ground. The Jerusalem issue is also another on the ground issue that will be the litmus test of the seriousness of the Obama administration. The repeated house demolitions and provocations in East Jerusalem point to the need to confront this issue very early on. While clarity on the two state solution would be welcomed by Palestinians, and while a true settlement freeze will send a powerful signal, the one major need for Palestinians today is somewhere else. The separation of the Gaza Strip from the West Bank is possibly the single biggest danger confronting the long term Palestinian aspiration. Irrespective of the outcome of the internal Palestinian dialogue taking place in Cairo, there is a need to reconnect Gaza and the West Bank. There is no excuse why Palestinians living in either part of Palestine should be barred from traveling to the other part of the occupied Palestinian territories. Despite claims by Israelis that barring the movement of people and goods from both parts of the occupied Palestinian territories is done for security reasons, the facts are clear that this is done for political and strategic reasons. Under the leadership of General Dayton, the most robust security checks can be made, but there is absolutely no excuse to bar Palestinians from moving from the West Bank to Gaza and the other way around. Palestinians have high expectations from President Obama and his envoy Senator Mitchell. Connecting Gaza and the West Bank is doable and doesn't require Netanyahu or Leiberman to declare their support or rejection of the two state solution. Such connection could be the single most powerful message of hope that can be delivered in the next weeks or months. If this is not carried out it is highly doubtful that a lasting peace agreement can be reached in the near or distant future. More on Barack Obama
 
James Warren: This Week in Magazines: A Remarkably Resilient Progressive Turns 100, Eliot Spitzer Gropes to Turn a Corner Top
Now let us all sing happy 100th birthday to the Progressive . The April issue may prove that amid the industry's escalating revenue travail, there can be hope, even if you are, as editor Matthew Rothschild concedes, "woefully undercapitalized" for what amounts to a full century. A left-leaning bastion founded by U.S. Senator Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin and based in (the People's Republic of) Madison, it offers a wonderful compendium of its 100 years, with appetizers from each and every one. They include its distinctly isolationist 1940-1941 era. "America, Wake Up!" was the headline on a call to avoid war by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who harrumphed, "Off we go again on the bloody trail to Nowhere and Never. Forever." For sure, Rothschild's note to reader indicated that the 1940-1941 volumes prompted him to squirm as his predecessors "woefully underestimated the horrors of Hitler, and opened the pages of the Progressive to disreputable figures such as Charles Lindbergh." But, overall, such missteps were ultimately overwhelmed by an admirable passion and ideological consistency, whether the issues be segregation, women's suffrage, the power of big business, McCarthy-era red-baiting, union, privacy, environmentalism, improved health care, the Vietnam War or a then-high-profile 1979 court battle about publishing an article on the making of an H-Bomb. "The mobbing of harmless, helpless Negroes in the capital of this country is the nation's everlasting shame," La Follette wrote in August, 1919. "Peaceable, unoffending colored men and boys were beaten up and murdered by brutes who boast of our white civilization." And the bylines are a who's who of great thinkers, journalists, politicians and activists, including Bertrand Russell, Theodore Roosevelt, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, union leader Walter Reuther, Theodore Dreiser (on what he saw as a "destructive phase" for American individualism circa 1932), Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I.F. Stone, Ralph Nader and Saul Bellow, among many others. For sure, you may wind up occasionally shaking your head and wondering just exactly what somebody meant, as with Bellow's 1959 "Manifesto for Now." "Now that we stand on the threshold of out space, our self-absorption reaches the most grotesque stage of its development. We look inward, we look backward." You'll also see how the dissident voice has persevered. At minimum, this is a rich primer on the issues which struck a nerve among men and women of the left over 100 years. If financial creakiness proved an avoidable threat, then one can only hope that similar fragility holds the Progressive in good stead for the rest of this century. You can check them out online at www.progressive.org . ---The Council on Foreign Relations website, www.cfr.org , is worth " Afghan Defense Chief Unhappy with Obama Plan ," a sobering interview with Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, Afghanistan's defense minister. He clearly needs more troops from the U.S. and elsewhere than the 4,000 U.S. troops to be added to train the nation's army and police. But if he did get the numbers he craves, he concedes, the country can't afford to sustain those levels, given economic woes. And not only does he underscore the challenges of recruiting soldiers to serve within their home districts, due to reluctance to investigate family or tribal members, there's also the economic challenge of retaining troops. Get this: "The Taliban pays $300. Our soldiers, when they come in, their salary is only $100. They have some incentives, but still, the maximum they will make is $150 or $160." --- National Journal 's " Region or Nation? " is Ronald Brownstein's suggestion that "building a low-carbon, clean-energy economy" could well reshape the nation as did the transcontinental railroad but that we'd best remember the very sectional differences impeding construction for the railroad (mostly between North and South). "Today, the regional conflict endangering national progress on energy is the clash between the states that rely heavily on coal for electricity (mostly in the Southeast and industrial Midwest) and those that don't (largely on the East and West coasts). He concludes with the hope that we learn from the "key lesson" of the transcontinental railroad," namely that after the sectional standoff, "all Americans benefited from its completion." And, getting back to railroads, the website of the New American Foundation, www.newamerica.net , is worth Philip Longman's, " Running Late: The missed opportunity of the Obama high speed rail plan ." He finds the plan, unveiled by the president, Vice President Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to be "long on process and short on specifics." And "don't expect to be whisking across the country at 160 m.p.h. anytime soon like French rail passengers have been doing since the 1970s. One of the biggest challenges in implementing the plan, as it notes, is that few Americans know anything about building and operating passenger trains these days tend to be approaching retirement, if not flat out elderly already." ---Architecture critics will surely be cranking out reams of analysis of the new, billion-dollar Yankee Stadium. For now, Sports Illustrated 's Tom Verducci raises one good question in " New Stadium an instant classic ," to be found on www.SI.com . "It succeeds wonderfully as an homage, one that looks back more than it looks forward. It is an attempt -- and it is executed skillfully and exactingly -- to reflect what was rather than redefine what it." Should the architects have shown more nerve and vision? Meanwhile, the " Spitzer in Exile " cover of April 27 Newsweek (which is the current issue, as opposed to a week-old issue some nincompoop columnist referred to here last week!), is the most vivid rollout so far of disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's obvious image rehab, including going jogging around Central Park with a reporter as his shame and ego continue their internal battle. But this also his its own architecture-related opinion piece on a New York landmark, namely, " A Masterpiece in Jeopardy " by historian David McCullough, concerning a subject of one of his own impressive works, namely the Brooklyn Bridge. "The sanctity of its own space has been unviolated by and large. Until lately. Now, alas, plans are proceeding to build an 18-story luxury apartment building within a hundred feet of the bridge on the Brooklyn side. (A vote in the process is expected this week.) The building, as proposed by the Two Trees Management Co., would stand 184 feet high and just about ruin the view of the bridge from on shore, as well as the view from the bridge looking toward Brooklyn--in other words, the view for just about everyone except those living in the apartments. To permit such a project so close to the bridge would be a shameful, inexcusable mistake. There is no other way to say it." "Would we wish to see an 18-story building go up beside the Statue of Liberty, or next to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, or beside the Washington Monument? Of course not." "Would the city of Paris permit an 18-story building beside the Arc de Triomphe or Notre Dame? Unthinkable." ---April 16 Economist is worth the cover, " Africa's next big man " about soon-to-be-South African President Jacob Zuma, "a scandal-ridden charmer and chameleon." "Hardest of all for Mr. Zuma to accept is that, in the longer run, South African democracy needs a sturdier opposition. The liberal Democratic Alliance, led by a brave white woman, Helen Zille, has good ideas but has failed to expand its appeal beyond a white core. The new Congress of the People, a black-led breakaway from the ANC, has able leaders, yet several are tainted by association with Mr. Mbeki. With luck the opposition parties may stop the ANC from getting the two-thirds of parliamentary seats that would let it override the constitution." "Mr. Zuma could yet prove to be the right sort of Big Man: big enough to hold his party back from creating something akin to a one-party state, big enough to accept that no one, himself included, is above the law. If that is how he chooses to spend his five years in power, South Africa would indeed serve as a model for the whole continent. But will he?" --April 15 Nation 's " A Lexicon of Disappointment " is a droll look at all not being well in "Obamafanland." Naomi Klein offers words for an Obama acolyte to cling to if they just don't think the candidate they craved is proving to be the president they desire: " Hopeover . Like a hangover, a hopeover comes from having overindulged in something that felt good at the time but wasn't really all that healthy, leading to feelings of remorse, even shame. It's the political equivalent of the crash after a sugar high. Sample Sentence: 'When I listened to Obama's economic speech my heart soared. But then, when I tried to tell a friend about his plans for the millions of layoffs and foreclosures, I found myself saying nothing at all. I've got a serious hopeover.'" " Hopebreak . Like the heartbroken lover, the hopebroken Obama-ite is not mad but terribly sad. She projected messianic powers onto Obama and is now inconsolable in her disappointment. Sample sentence: 'I really believed Obama would finally force us to confront the legacy of slavery in this country and start a serious national conversation about race. But now he never seems to mention race, and he's using twisted legal arguments to keep us from even confronting the crimes of the Bush years. Every time I hear him say 'move forward,' I'm hopebroken all over again.'" ---Spring Ms. includes its "2009 Guide to Women's Studies," which is largely a listing of the mushrooming programs, with the most critical component being Duke law professor Katharine T. Bartlett's "Feminist, Esq." She cites various external and internal challenges for feminist legal theory, including opponents of reproductive rights having "grabbed the rhetorical high ground and political momentum on many important issues. Internally, she contends that "questions have arisen about whether feminist legal scholarship and teaching are sufficiently attentive to differences between women based on race, class, culture and religion---or to issues of gender identity, masculinity and the societal limitations placed on men." ---May Martha Stewart Living 's "25 Colors We Love" includes Kate Betts' "The Culture of Color," a look at what's in, what's out, and why that might be. "For centuries, color has represented individual moods while also reflecting and expressing the broader cultural zeitgeist. For example, Michelle Obama's choice of a lemongrass wool-lace dress and matching coat for the inauguration "was rich with symbolism," especially since it seemed alternately yellow and greenish from different perspectives, with "yellow being the color hope and optimism and green introducing the idea of change and resuscitation." And, at recent high-fashion shows in Paris, "the noncolor, white, reemerged on runways, especially at Chanel, where designer Karl Lagerfeld said he was influenced by white paper and the idea of the blank page. So white, which represents a fresh start, just might be the new black." ---Our weekly journey into the obscure takes us to the winter edition of Critical Inquiry and " The Practice of Everyday (Media) Life: From Mass Consumption to Mass Cultural Production? " by Lev Manovich, who teaches in the visual arts department of the University of California at San Diego: "The explosion of user-created media content on the web (dating from, say, 2005) has unleashed a new media universe. (Other terms often used to refer to this phenomenon include social media and user-generated content.) On a practical level, this universe was made possible by free web platforms and inexpensive software tools that enable people to share their media and easily access media produced by others, cheaper prices for professional-quality devices such as HD video cameras, and the addition of cameras and video capture to mobile phones. What is important, however, is that this new universe is not simply a scaled-up version of twentieth-century media culture. Instead, we have moved from media to social media. What does this shift mean for how media functions and for the terms we use to talk about media? What do trends in web use mean for culture in general and for professional art in particular? These are the questions this essay will engage with." Along the way, he notes some of the sites he checks out regularly: xplsv.tv (motion graphics, animation), coroflot.com (design portfolios from around the world), archinect.com (architecture students' projects), and infosthetics .com (information visualization). "In my view, the significant percentage of works you find on these web sites represents the most innovative cultural production done today. Or, at least, they make it clear that the world of professional art has no special license on creativity and innovation. But perhaps the most important conceptual innovation has been happening in the development of the web 2.0 medium itself. I am thinking about all the new creative software tools--web mashups, Firefox plug-ins, Facebook applications, and so on-- coming from both large companies such as Google and from individual developers. Therefore, the true challenge posed to art by social media may not be all the excellent cultural work produced by students and nonprofessionals, although I do think this is also important. The real challenge may lie in the dynamics of web 2.0 culture--its constant innovation, its energy, and its unpredictability." All I can say is keep Twittering. More on Eliot Spitzer
 
Ariane de Bonvoisin: Spirituality for Kids Top
I've had a few parents ask me recently how to help their kids develop their spiritual essence. I love this question. Kids are naturally spiritual. They live in the present moment. They love unconditionally. They don't believe their minds. They don't compare themselves and think they are unique. They overflow with joy. Well, most of the times! My first thought to tell parents is that kids are here to help YOU develop your spiritual essence. I look at my own spiritual practice and really, there isn't much that kids can't do. Here are a few suggestions • Get a pack of "angel cards" and have your children pick one for the day. They have words like Happiness, Compassion, Love, Friendship, etc. on them and have them focus on this for the day. It's a fun and exciting thing to do first thing in the morning. • Teach them how to set an intention for the day, for what they want to focus on and have happen. Start with "I intend for...." • Have an area in their rooms for a Gratitude wall or whiteboard. At the end of every day, have them write three things they are grateful for. The only rule is that they must be different from the day before. • Teach them how to create a vision board for their room. Have fun with this, pick out words, images in magazines. It should make them feel good to look at it and imagine what might happen. Spirituality for children is really about teaching them who they are, reminding them daily of their connection to something greater than themselves, to the universe, nature, the energy that flows through all of us. They are connected to every other child/adult on the planet, developing compassion--the number-one thing the Dalai Lama says we must teach our children nowadays--developing forgiveness for any sibling or friend who hurts them. Children are actually quite good at meditating, or as my godson calls it, "headitating," i.e. about turning off his head and turning on his heart and inner voice. It's important for kids to know they always have a place inside themselves they can go to for answers, guidance, truth and that they can always find a time to be still and silent to hear what their bodies are trying to tell them. And one more note, whatever your child feels or says is completely fine. If they start talking about angels, presences, invisible people, stay open. It's critical for them to feel heard, accepted, and validated for anything they want to talk about that has to do with God and Spirituality.
 
Alex Abella: A Simple Solution: A National Debt Moratorium Top
I hope they don't kill me for this. Alright, here it goes. In the wake of the now-expired freeze on foreclosures on the part of financial institutions receiving financial assistance from the federal government via the TARP program, it's obvious that some more radical medicine is needed to halt the financial decline in this country. Since it is also obvious that IndyMac, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and their ilk will continue to act in their own self-interest, regardless of the consequences of their actions to the nation, I hereby make simple proposal: A NATIONAL DEBT MORATORIUM. In essence, this moratorium would freeze all payments of debt to financial institutions for a certain period, to allow debt holders to be able to raise a cushion of cash and prepare for further economic turmoil. I personally favor a brief period, let's say of 90 days, although some may want to extend it to 180 days. The moratorium would only freeze the payment of the obligations -- it would not modify the terms, per se, but suspend them for the time being. And yes, that means no payments on your mortgage, your credit cards, your car loan or any other financial instrument. It would not extend to wages, however. This is not as crazy as it sounds, as there is plenty of precedent for this kind of government intervention. Back in ancient Rome, the Gracchus brothers, leaders of the populares , the party of the people, in conflict with the wealthy optimates or landed gentry, advocated just such debt relief. Unfortunately, both brothers were assassinated for their efforts. All the same, later Roman leaders successfully utilized forms of debt relief to curtail the influence of the plutocracy. Lately, debt moratoriums have been the province of third world countries, such as Ecuador declaring a moratorium on its debt to the International Monetary Fund in 2008, or Argentina in 2001. However, during the Great Depression, American politicians also wielded the moratorium sword. In 1931, President Hoover proposed and implemented a moratorium on debts from the cost of World War I. Two years later, upon his inauguration in 1933, President Roosevelt declared a bank holiday -- for all intents and purposes a moratorium -- under which all banking business was placed under the regulation of the Secretary of the Treasury. But what about the sanctity of contracts, you say. Rewriting contracts is expressly prohibited by Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution. Well, it ain't. During the Depression, many states drafted laws imposing moratoriums on foreclosures, rewriting the terms of contracts for years. Case in point--the Minnesota Mortgage Moratorium Law. In 1933, the Legislature in that state said that "extremely low prices, great unemployment, lack of credit, stagnation of businesses, agriculture and industry" had created a public economic emergency. In its view, the state had a right under its police power to declare an economic emergency "to safeguard the public and promote the general welfare of the people" which necessitated the drafting and implementing of the moratorium. Needless to say, financial interests -- banks, loan holders -- sued, losing both at the state and the federal level. When the case finally arrived at the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice Charles Evans, in the case of Blaisdell versus Home Building & Loan Association upheld the constitutionality of the Moratorium as a "reasonable means to safeguard the economic structures upon which the good of all depend." In other words, a National Debt Moratorium is perfectly legal under the police powers afforded government in the Constitution. That means that a federal debt relief plan could be implemented at the national level by President Obama by executive order with the mere stroke of a pen. I propose that, failing such federal action, state legislatures across the nation begin unilaterally imposing such moratoriums, confident in the knowledge that they have legal precedent and the welfare of the people behind them. Extreme times call for extreme measures. For a long time banks and financial institutions benefited from deregulation, a policy pursued in the name of "consumer sovereignty," a concept developed at the RAND Corporation in the 1950s. Well, if we consumers are really kings, it's time we make our wishes heard. And since we find ourselves in a hole dug by the financial entities, let them wallow in the royal muck along with the rest of us for a while.
 
Philip N. Cohen: Throwing Stones at Afghanistan's Marital Rape Law Top
Is the American house made of glass? Maybe the United States should require all the countries we occupy to implement an equal rights law for women, something like the one we never passed : "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." That might help remind us of the situation here. It might also fit with Secretary of State Clinton's assertion , with regard to Afghanistan, that, "Women's rights are a central part of American foreign policy in the Obama administration. They are not an add-on or an afterthought." (Really, she doth protest too much. Can there be any doubt that in America's involvement in Afghanistan, women's rights are literally an add-on and an afterthought?) The current problem with symbolic self-governance in Afghanistan is a law that, for the country's Shia minority, would "legalize marital rape, prohibit women from leaving the home without permission, deny them the right of inheritance, force a woman to 'preen for her husband as and when he desires,' and set the minimum female marital age to sixteen," in the summary of journalist Anand Gopal . (Gopal also points out that, although the law may now be revised, most of the affected women already live under these conditions, and would not be aware of the legal change either way.) This is naturally abhorrent in the United States, a country that, although it never passed the ERA, at least prosecutes husbands who rape their wives. At least we have since 1979 - the first year in which an American man was convicted of raping his wife . It is surprising that the marital rape aspect of Afghanistan's law is what generates the most outrage here , because that aspect of the law is most similar to our conditions. By definitions of rape that approximate the legal standard, a series of surveys have found that about 10%-14% of married women in the U.S. have been raped by their husbands. American women may be protected when they want to leave the home or inherit property (although most U.S. states also permit marriage at age 16 with parental consent). But when it comes to marital rape, the situation is poor. Originally, U.S. law -- following the "traditional" model of marriage in which one man owns one woman -- treated rape as a crime against the woman's husband or owner (in the case of slaves). That meant a man raping his own wife (or slave) was logically impossible. The doctrine of "coverture," which subsumed wives into their husbands' citizenship, eroded during the 19th century, and (white or non-Southern) women became voting citizens in 1919. But marital rape went largely unchallenged until the 1970s. Now, it is technically illegal in all states, but "marital immunity" still prevails to varying degrees. As of 2003, for example , 20 states "exempt men from sexual offense charges when their wives are mentally incapacitated or physically helpless." So in most states, if they were married, Ronnie in Observe & Report would have been guilty of rape if Brandi hadn't woken up and told him it was OK, but in 20 states it would have been legal even if she didn't. (Some gay marriage advocates have remarked on the irony of demanding access to this legal institution in the name of equality. But marriage and marriage laws have changed, and permitting same-sex marriage would represent more progress in the same direction.) In practice, prosecuting marital rape remains difficult and rare in America, especially in the absence of other abuse or serious bodily injury. That means millions of married American men wandering the streets today have raped their wives with legal impunity. The Afghani law is atrocious - another brick in the wall of fundamentalism shored up by American support for its current friends in the Islamic world. But before stoning the ruling Afghanis, Americans should check on the glass walls of their own family home. More on Afghanistan
 
Marianne Schnall: This Year Make Earth Day a Family Affair Top
Tips On Getting Kids Excited About Greening Our Planet Earth This April 22nd marks the annual celebration of Earth Day, a national American and now global expression of public will bringing together environmental activists and the community at large, to foster respect for the planet and help create a sustainable society. The following article provides creative ideas and suggestions for youngsters, teens, educators and parents seeking to celebrate the riches of our planet on Earth Day through simple, impactive gestures at the home, school, community, civic and political levels. Here are some environmentally conscious activity ideas to celebrate Earth Day: Appreciate the Earth: Wake early, take a morning walk with your children and watch the sunrise. Breathe in the morning air and focus on the natural world around you. Reflect on the things that you love about the earth. Write in your journal, make up a story, draw a picture, write a poem. Think about how you as a family can preserve and keep the earth in good health. Make an Earth-Day Pledge: Sit down with your family and come up with earth-friendly resolutions you can all keep. Examples could be to start recycling and purchasing recycled products, make the change to non-toxic cleaners and pesticides, purchase organic produce, bike to school or work, or become vegetarians. Arrange a Special Earth Day Action in Your Own Community: Plant a tree or organize an Earth Day clean up - supply bags and pick a park, street, or other public area and clean it up. Host a recycling event or organize a drop off site for toxic materials such as batteries and paint cans. Set up a table in a public place and let people know how you feel about taking care of the earth. Set up a compost demonstration alongside a plant sale. Beautify Your Schools: Participants can prepare garden beds and children can plant flowers at a later date. Have volunteers bring garden tools. Ask for landscaper and Master Gardener volunteers to help oversee this project. Plant a tree at the school. Green Your Schools: Talk to school administrators about changing over to non-toxic cleaners and building products, serving organic milk, food and juice, and using recycled, non-toxic school supplies. Have your school conduct an energy audit. Ask them to incorporate environmental themes and activities into the school's curriculum. Organize an Eco-field Trip: Plan a trail walk through a park, a visit to a nature center, organic farm, science museum, your local recycling plant, landfill, or water reservoir. Plan an Earth Day Event : Write and perform an Earth Day play, organize an Earth Day Music Concert or Earth Day Art Show. Have an Eco-Fashion show, demonstrating clothes made from hemp and organic cotton. Organize an organic picnic - invite friends for lunch in the park on the grass with only organic foods. Get the local schools involved in their own special events with the kids. Your school can make a sculpture of recycled materials, or individual classes or individual children can create their own recycled art projects. Create an Earth Day mural. Support Pro-Earth Groups : Plan an Earth Day walk-a-thon or clean-up-a-thon. Take financial pledges from people to sponsor you for each mile you walk or each garbage bag you fill. Donate the money to a reputable environmental agency or use the money for local beautification. Adopt a park, playground, or street. Adopt an endangered animal from an environmental organization. Shop Green: Use your purchasing power to support environmentally friendly companies and products by doing your shopping online, which cuts out pollution from car travel and the waste of paper catalogs. Choose from thousands of earth-friendly products including non-toxic household cleaners, organic and hemp clothing, natural body care, energy efficient products, recycled paper and more. Reduce Waste: Clean out your closets and bring things that you no longer need to a thrift shop. Don't throw things away! Instead, have a swap -- meet and trade clothes, toys, and books with your friends. Make a list of disposable items that you can do without. Take a grocery store tour and learn how to purchase products that have little or no packaging, organic produce, and products made of recycled materials. Take Action! Write a letter with your children to the President or your local, state or federal government representatives asking them to focus on a particular environmental issue. Write to a corporation and congratulate them on their "good" environmental practices or ask them to clean up their act. "The fate of the living planet is the most important issue facing mankind." - Gaylord Nelson (founder of Earth Day) This article originally appeared at EcoMall.com . More on Earth Day
 
Tom Hayden: Is Obama Isolated in Latin America? Top
Latin America may be Barack Obama's greatest opportunity and greatest current weakness. As an opportunity, the continent is in the midst of the greatest democratic revolution in fifty years and can become a successful model of independent economic development. Domestically, the growing Latino and immigrant populations in the United States are evidence as to where the future lies. Two-thirds of them voted for Obama, helping deliver New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and even Florida. The weakness is that Obama has little experience in Latin America, is surrounded with advisors who represent the failed models of NAFTA-style trade agreements, drug war interventions in Colombia and Mexico, the irrational embargo of Cuba, and U.S. hostility to democratically-elected governments in Venezuela and Bolivia. Over an eight-year presidency, however, Obama's progressive instincts and intelligence might lead him to break with the failed policies of the past and define the U.S. as a "good neighbor" in the tradition of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who banned military interventions and accepted Mexico's and Bolivia's rights to nationalize their oil industry in the 1930s. The future begins today in Trinidad and Tobago, an archipelago populated by the descendants of slaves and sugar-cane workers of empires past. Advisers in Washington, Caracas and La Paz have been huddling for weeks to orchestrate today's inescapable encounters between Obama, Hugo Chavez, and Evo Morales. One reasonable guess is that Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will facilitate the ritual contacts, which will be a mixture of the scripted and the impromptu. [One of Obama's former professors, Roberto Unger, lives in Brazil and advises Lula.] Obama surely will be good-natured and project the dawn of improved dialogue and diplomatic relations. He combines sweeping possibilities with incremental measures, such as the relaxation of travel and remittances for Cuban-Americans visiting their homeland. These new policies are less than Latin American wants, but may be enough to keep Latin America engaged with the new president. Chavez will project two sides of his Bolivarian project: a positive abrazo to the newcomer combined with a declaration of independence for Latin America. Morales will glow with the Aymara [indigenous] presence long suppressed in continental relationships. If the atmosphere becomes friendly enough, he may hand Obama a coca leaf. That will be stepping into the shallow end of the pool, so to speak, the stage of superficial rapprochement. But the shallow will lead to the deep in the months and years ahead. Obama needs to create his own Latin American working group that engages with its counterparts to the South in a permanent roundtable dialogue where no issues are off the table. Unfortunately, social movements in America demanding a new course in Latin America have ebbed since the anti-WTO and anti-FTAA protests of the past decade and the solidarity movements that came before. Organized labor, the immigrant rights movement and environmentalists will have to come together with progressive Latinos to demand significant change towards the south. In the establishment center, Obama has some support to go further. The Council on Foreign Relations already approves the normalization of ties with Cuba and better relations with Venezuela and Bolivia. Julia Sweig of the CFR has been particularly good on Latin American issues, but was passed over for a post in the administration. On the right of the spectrum, Obama can be less worried than previous presidents about the Miami Cubans, whose stranglehold on U.S. foreign policy is fading with time. A greater threat to Obama will come from the neo-conservatives who want an aggressive approach to Venezuela. The Center for Security Policy already is demanding to know "who lost Latin America?' to Chavez and Venezuela, claiming they are a breeding ground for Islamic terrorists. This line of thinking parallels that of Lou Dobbs and Patrick Buchanan, who claim that America's jobs and national identity are threatened by immigration from the South. Their threat of right-wing populism could gain traction in the recession, but thus far seems to be a minority backlash. At the deeper end of the pool will be trade agreements. Obama promised to re-open NAFTA and opposed Bush's trade deal with Colombia. He now needs to clarify how far he intends to back away from his campaign pledge, a retreat which will upset Latin America and organized labor. Lula, who is considered a pragmatic leader, is not against the WTO or FTAA per se, but even he demands that power be shifted away from the "white-haired blue-eyed" Wall Street bankers who have plunged the continent into greater poverty. To the left of Lula are those led by Venezuela in ALBA, the Bolivarian alternative model, who are shaping a Latin American trade and currency bloc of their own. Obama will be under great pressure to accept a negotiated agreement more equitable to Latin America and distance himself from the wreckage left behind by the Bush administration and Wall Street. The deepest issue will be liberating the U.S., Mexico, Colombia and the whole continent from the nightmare of spreading military intervention under the pretext of drug wars. Hawks in Washington prefer is a politics of repression state-formation as a rival pole to Chavez' 21st century socialism. Plan Colombia and Plan Merida set in motion a dangerous U.S. military intervention in support of corrupt, authoritarian regimes, leading toward permanent U.S. bases and forward positioning in Latin America. Thomas Shannon, the key State Department official under both Bush and Obama, has described this approach as "armoring NAFTA." Branded as essential to protecting Americans from drugs and gangs, the result will be a toxic combination of privatization and militarization. This emergent policy, towards which the Obama administration is drifting, will require a powerful resistance from movements in both North and South if it is to be checked. Though only a first step, Hillary Clinton's acceptance of blame for American drug consumption and free-for-all U.S. weapons sales to Mexican traffickers must be the start of an imperative dialogue. The Calderon government's military offensive against the Mexican cartels, supported by the U.S., has resulted in 7-10,000 deaths in the past year alone. In Colombia, the U.S.-backed counterinsurgency has claimed 114, 000 lives, including 12,713 alleged "subversives" from 2002 to 2008, according to Colombian human rights sources. Latin American leaders are moving towards legalization, regulation and treatment strategies for drugs like marijuana, while Morales and others demand the legalization of coca. But the Pentagon model of "armoring NAFTA" is deepening, with typical gringo indifference to oblivious to Latin American perspectives. As the continental drift widens, a radical new analysis is emerging among many intellectuals and policy analysts in Latin America, one that views the U.S. as a declining superpower. In Venezuela, for example, I interviewed Gen. Alberto Mueller-Rojas, a close Chavez ally who now heads a Caracas policy institute of the Socialist Party. Over a three-hour discussion, the general explained why he thinks it pointless for the U.S. to worry about "losing" Latin America. "Latin America is already 'lost,'" he began. Besides the repeated democratic elections of left-center parties, internal economic, trade, financial and diplomatic exchanges are growing throughout the region. Technology transfer is increasing. Chinese, Iranian, Russian investments and military sales are expanding. The only remaining American base is Colombia, he said. Second, Central America is similar, he said. The FMLN will win in El Salvador, he correctly predicted. Honduras is the remaining U.S. base. Third, he claimed, "the Caribbean is lost to the U.S." Instead of the U.S. embargo isolating Cuba and intimidating the region, the reverse is true. Its Cuban policy has isolated the U.S. in the entire region. The general's proposal to Obama was to accept the geopolitical fact that "a multi-polar world exists already", through transnational forces which are more important than governments. "Technology conspires against empire", he asserted, because "it facilitates communications among people to achieve their needs to develop themselves." He was suggesting that the slogan "another world is possible" already is obsolete. Another world already exists, or is beginning to exist. "It is irreversible," he opined. In the general's perspective, all Obama needs to do is deal with reality. The U.S. is no longer the hegemon over Latin America. "If the geopolitical interest of the U.S. is to contain its competitors, that is no longer possible." Instead, the U.S. should learn the lesson that military strength must be replaced by politics: "We in Venezuela are willing to do politics, which is a process of negotiating explicitly." He added that Obama gives us "hope for normalizing relations with us, because we know he must please his base." Listening to this general share his long experiences, I wondered if he was underestimating the persuasive power of Obama's charisma combined with the low visibility of the Pentagon's counterinsurgencies. I also worried whether the American public might be stampeded to senseless war by fear of drug lords and terrorists at the border. The U.S. has been dismissed incorrectly as a "paper tiger" before. But the general's explanation made greater sense than the Beltway-centric view that the U.S. has been "losing" Latin America because the Bush administration became mired in Iraq. It remains to be seen if Obama can bend events to his liking by offering "a new beginning" or whether his task will be to retreat from unsustainable fantasies that Latin America continues to be America's backyard. Tom Hayden is the author of the forthcoming The Long Sixties, From 1960 to Barack Obama [Paradigm, August 2009]. He has made many trips to Latin America. More on Latin America
 
Dr. Susan Corso: Susan Boyle: Kissed by an Angel Top
I have to take issue with Saturday's New York Times' article headline: Unlikely Singer is YouTube Sensation. Why the hell is she "unlikely?" Because she doesn't look like a star. So? Because she's 47? So? Because she's an unemployed spinster from Scotland? So? Susan Boyle isn't an unlikely anything. None of us are. Instead, she's a human being who's been kissed by an angel -- of song. And by the grace of divine order, we were privileged to receive her gift poured out for all the world to hear last Saturday night on Britain's Got Talent . By her own report, Miss Boyle has been singing since she was 12. If we do the math, that means she's been holding, thinking of, nurturing and growing her dream for 35 years. She's also been singing during that time -- when she could, where she could, when asked, and probably when not asked as well. Miss Boyle has sung in her local church for more than three decades, but she didn't pick a church song for her first worldwide venue. (I can't wait to hear her knock "Ave Maria" out of the park!) Instead, she chose a song about dead and dying dreams -- ALL THE WHILE holding out for her own dream of being a professional singer, in her own words, as good as "Elaine Paige." The conventional wisdom from her first Scottish television interview, from the BBC, and various other sources yammered on about how Miss Boyle is so inspiring because ... she's an underdog ... looks and age don't matter ... it's never too late ... she reminds us that we should never give up hope .... I hold a dissenting opinion. Susan Boyle is the exact right singer with the exact right song for our exact right time. Our world is falling apart. Our dreams, if we want to continue in the new world that's forming, must be different. We can't keep the same dreams, in the same forms, doing the same things to make them come true, when the environment for their becoming is drastically changed. We can't. We have to let life kill the dreams we dreamed, and let new dreams surface. Interestingly, the only other song I found online sung by the angel-kissed Miss Boyle was "Cry Me A River." Originally written for a film set in the 1920s for Ella Fitzgerald to sing, it was tossed out because, according to the song's author, Arthur Hamilton, "no one will believe a Negro knows the word 'plebian.'" I kid you not. I know the song from Streisand's debut album. Miss Boyle sings this depression-era song as though she was born to it. She, too, is one of the plebian, from Latin roots plebius , of the common people vis-à-vis the patrician people. The Times says, "Miss Boyle's apparently complete lack of formal training fits more purely into the archetypal talent-competition narrative: Unknown From Nowhere Reveals Extraordinary Gift and Stuns World." Let's take it apart idea by idea, shall we? Unknown: to whom? She took care of her mother all her life. Her mother knows her. Her church folk know her. Her brother knows her. Now we know her. Unknown, not so much. From nowhere: please? She told us where she was from, a small collection of quiet villages in Scotland. No one is from nowhere. Reveals: nope. She didn't reveal it. She received it, cared for it, used it as much as she could in as many venues as possible until that 35-year nourishment program sent her into a venue where she could pour it out, and Miss Boyle stinted nothing. She rained, she poured, she blessed us. Extraordinary Gift: I'll give you this one. Her gift, and a gift from the angel of song it is, is truly extraordinary. Stuns World: Well, certainly it stunned the three cynical judges of Britain's Got Talent. Piers Morgan said he gave her performance "the biggest yes in three seasons of the show." Amanda Holden said, "Definitely yes." And the arrogant Simon Cowell took credit for knowing what they were about to see in advance, adding (finally), "three yeses," and letting a tiny flash of his buried enthusiasm for talent peek through his cynicism before the clouds descended again. Was the world stunned, really? I don't think so. I think instead we were awed, delighted, overjoyed, reminded of who we are, blessed by this generous outpouring of song that was, to quote Amanda Holden again, "the biggest wake-up call ever." Wake up, rise, let the old dreams die. Keep nourishing the ones that do not go away. We, like Miss Boyle, will live to sing another day. Visit Susan Corso's website at www.susancorso.com . More on YouTube
 
Obama Defends Venezuela Position At Americas Summit Top
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — President Barack Obama on Sunday suggested that Cuba release its political prisoners and defended his highly publicized handshakes with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, closing an overseas trip that he said heralded a new start in U.S. ties with Latin America. Obama said the exchanges with Cuba and Venezuela provide "an opportunity for frank dialogue on a range of issues, including critical issues of democracy and human rights throughout the hemisphere." And yet, he quickly added, "the test for all of us is not simply words but also deeds." Earlier this week, the Obama administration lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans who want to travel and send money to their island homeland and freed U.S. telecommunications companies to seek business there. Havana responded, saying it was open to talks on issues including human rights _ a topic long held off-limits. Obama, speaking to reporters at a closing news conference at the Summit of the Americas, suggested that Cuba could further respond by releasing political prisoners and cutting fees on the money that Cuban-Americans send to their families. The U.S. president brushed aside Republican condemnation of his friendly exchanges with Chavez. He said Venezuela has a defense budget about one-six hundredth the size of the United States' and noted that it owns the oil company Citgo "It's hard to believe we are endangering the strategic interests of the United States" by talking with Chavez, he said. The trip was Obama's first presidential journey to the region, and he said the meeting of heads of state had the potential to create greater progress on economic progress, climate control and immigration. As he did on a recent trip to Europe, Obama stressed in Latin America that the United States is a willing partner, "inclined to listen and not just talk," in trying to advance national interests. "We recognize that other countries have good ideas, too, and we want to hear them," he said, adding that the fact that an idea comes "from a small country, like Costa Rica," should not diminish its potential benefit. Besides the discussion about Cuba, which was not invited to the summit, his trip was dominated by images of his handshakes with Chavez, the leftist president of Venezuela who once likened President George W. Bush to the devil. Chavez approached Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the summit and said he was restoring his nation's ambassador in Washington, voicing hopes for a new era in relations. The Venezuelan leader told reporters he will propose Roy Chaderton, his ambassador to the Organization of American States, as the country's new representative in a move toward improving strained ties with Washington. "We ratify our willingness to begin what has started: cementing new relations," Chavez said in remarks broadcast on state television. "We have the very strong willingness to work together." Chavez, an ally of Cuba, a U.S. nemesis, expelled the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, in September in solidarity with leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales, who ordered out the top U.S. diplomat in his country. Obama welcomed the remarks from both Chavez and Cuban President Raul Castro. Reminded that he had once favored lifting the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, Obama sidestepped. "The policy we've had in place for 50 years has not worked," he told reporters. "The Cuban people are not free." He said freedom of speech and freedom of religions are important "and not something to be brushed aside." In Washington, both Democrats and Republicans said Sunday that they wanted to see actions, not just rhetoric, from Cuba. "Release the prisoners and we'll talk to you. ... Put up or shut up," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "I think we're taking the right steps, and I think the ball is now clearly in Cuba's court," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. "They need to respond and say what they're willing to do." Former Central Intelligence Director Michael Hayden, an official in the Bush administration, expressed caution about any changes in U.S. relations with Venezuela. "Here's a case where I would watch for behavior, not for rhetoric, and the behavior of President Chavez over the past years has been downright horrendous _ both internationally and with regard to what he's done internally inside Venezuela." Central American leaders who met with Obama said they pressed him on immigration reform. They also said that Obama promised to consider providing better notice before the U.S. deports dangerous criminals back to their nations. Even Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega, a critic of U.S. policy, said he found Obama receptive to dealing with the issues raised. Ortega said Obama "is the president of an empire" that has rules the president cannot change. Nevertheless, Ortega said, "I want to believe that he's inclined, that he's got the will." Yet the summit's final declaration carried just one signatory: the host country's prime minister, Patrick Manning. Chavez and allies including Nicaragua and Bolivia refused to sign chiefly because they want Cuba reinstated the Organization of American States, which suspended it in 1962. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil said he was pleased that what "many people thought would end in a battle royale" over Cuba and other issues ended with the United States and Latin America "creating a new way of looking at each other, of defeating our differences, of debating them with much maturity." As for Obama, da Silva expressed satisfaction in the knowledge that the new U.S. president was "fully immersed in Latin America" for a weekend. Hayden, Graham and McCaskill spoke on "Fox News Sunday." ___ Associated Press writers Christopher Toothaker in Caracas, Venezuela, and Frank Bajak and Alan Clendenning in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, contributed to this report. More on Venezuela
 
Magda Abu-Fadil: Rima Maktabi: Al Arabiya's Stunning, Substantive, War-Tried Anchor Top
Fearless, dedicated, yet emotional about conflicts ripping into her country, Rima Maktabi knows when to suppress tears and get on with her job as a professional journalist. "So many times I cried when I interviewed the displaced Lebanese from south Lebanon, and many nights I suffered from physical pains due to stress," she said of reporting Israel's July 2006 war on Lebanon and sleeping with refugees. Despite hating the war, Maktabi never editorialized on the air. She acknowledged feelings affected journalists seeing their people being slaughtered, but believes detachment brings reporters closer to "the truth.'' She also finds it less difficult and hazardous for journalists covering wars in their own countries because they know the terrain, can mingle with the people, and speak the language. Rima Maktabi covers Israel's July 2006 war on Lebanon (Al Arabiya) "The more familiar one is with the land, the geography and the people, the faster and more accurate the coverage," she noted. So what makes a good war correspondent? Those who get close to the people, she said, despite being startled by missiles and war flames. "(In) times of war, phones and means of communication may be cut, sources try to mislead journalists, rumors spread fast, and live TV coverage requires immediate information which might be wrong," she said of reporters' need not to lose sight of accuracy in the fog of battle. Maktabi could have stayed away that summer, or in 2007, when the Lebanese army fought protracted month-long bloody battles with "Fateh Al Islam" in Lebanon's north, where the terrorists were holed up, but she decided to witness and report. There's steely determination in the style, substance and modus operandi of this prime time news anchor at Dubai-based, Saudi-owned Al Arabyia (www.alarabiya.net) satellite channel, out to prove that looks aren't everything. She has been presenting and co-producing a daily news hour in Arabic called "Al Thamina (8:00) KSA" since June 2008 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB4_2yT0EoQ) , but it's a hard slog and a quantum leap for the attractive one-time weather girl, whose understated beauty landed her as a game show host, before she turned to news, all at Lebanon's Future TV station. The 32-year-old Maktabi was initially criticized for not being in full command of the Arabic language -- her college studies were in English -- and that her claim to fame was "a pretty face" when she began at the pan-Arab Al Arabiya. Weather girl, game show host, anchor Maktabi (Al Arabiya) What helped was a decade's worth of work at Future TV, where she started in 1996 as a teenager, and her later transformation into a writer, reporter, news anchor and occasional field correspondent. Dedicated viewers followed Maktabi's career shift and became big fans, with admirers blogging about her, or posting romantic videos singing her praises as "the bird of journalism." (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A7+%D9%85%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A8%D9%8A&aq=f) . As a news anchor, she's seen the big picture and interviewed decision makers and analysts from Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Algeria, and the U.S., to name a few. She has covered breaking news, Arab summits, a Lebanese presidential election, and done a memorial program on the fall of Baghdad. But it's the people on the street in Lebanon who inspired her. The most touching dialogue was with Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir on a debate show for Lebanese youth she hosted on Future TV in 2005. Kassir was assassinated a month later, leaving the station with the last live interview of him. "I felt proud and guilty: proud to have interviewed a thinker and journalist of his kind and caliber; guilty because I pushed Kassir in my questions to speak his mind, which he did freely and courageously," Maktabi lamented. At that time, speaking with that tone was high risk, and the reward for free words was blood, she added, recalling the spate of assassinations gripping Lebanon, that included mentor Gebran Tueni, publisher of the daily An-Nahar , who, like Kassir, was blown up in his car a few months later. When anchoring the news, Maktabi stands in front of large interactive screens talking, walking about, pressing buttons, and dealing with fast moving visuals, much like counterparts at CNN , Fox , the BBC or SkyNews . Does this draw a larger audience or do viewers find it distracting? "I think the video wall presentation in "8 o'clock KSA" (17:00 GMT) involves the audience more in the news," she argued, providing her with a wide range of elements by using graphics, video rushes, and strong content. It has also improved ratings from the news hour's pre-May 2008 launch. Maktabi anchors prime time newscast on Al Arabiya (Abu-Fadil) But remote interviews have risks, Maktabi admitted, notably when sources lie or mislead. So advance research and knowing the topic well is paramount, and if she doubts a tip or a report, she does not air it. "I simply tell the audience that I need to confirm certain breaking news or that I am not sure," she said. The insistence on high professional standards comes from a hard-driving former reporter/college professor in Lebanon who saw potential in the undergraduate juggling studies and game show hosting, and who encouraged Maktabi to pursue an MA in international affairs to be on firmer ground as a well-rounded journalist. What keeps her going is a never-ending search for knowledge - something she hopes will take her back to academia for a PhD in media or politics, or another MA in business or management. Becoming a university professor is also an option. But anchoring and reporting are still Maktabi's passions. As is print, where a brief stint alongside TV in Lebanon, first gave her a taste for traditional journalism and a desire to be a columnist. Off-camera Maktabi works the phones (Abu-Fadil) She answers messages from young people or students who need advice and morale boosts but only responds to fans with emails of gratitude. Asked where she saw herself in 5-10 years, Maktabi replied: "In a kitchen cooking for five kids, my kids. Just a joke. Ask me in 10 years." More on CNN
 
Mandela Endorses Jacob Zuma At Massive Election Rally Top
JOHANNESBURG, April 19 -- Pollsters and analysts predict a clean sweep for the ruling African National Congress when this nation goes to the polls on Wednesday. But just in case, the party pulled out an electoral trump card at a massive rally Sunday: Nelson Mandela. More on South Africa
 
Auschwitz Tattoos Reunite Lost Inmates Top
JERUSALEM — As terrified teenagers 65 years ago, Menachem Sholowicz and Anshel Sieradzki stood in line together in Auschwitz, having serial numbers tattooed on their arms. Sholowicz was B-14594; Sieradzki was B-14595. The two Polish Jews had never met, they never spoke and they were quickly separated. Each survived the Nazi death camp, moved to Israel, married, and became grandfathers. They didn't meet again until a few weeks ago, having stumbled upon each other through the Internet. Late in life, the two men speak daily, suddenly partners who share their darkest traumas. "We are blood brothers," said Sieradzki, 81. "The moment I meet someone who was there with me, who went through what I went though, who saw what I saw, who felt what I felt _ at that moment we are brothers." The twist of fate doesn't end there. Two brothers who were with them in the tattooist's line have made contact since hearing of their story. One of the brothers joined them for a reunion on Sunday at Israel's Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem. With tears in their eyes, the three embraced warmly and caught up on painful memories in Hebrew and in Yiddish. "This is my victory," Sieradzki said. The meeting came a day before Israel marks its annual Holocaust remembrance day beginning Monday night, commemorating the 6 million Jews murdered in World War II. The four survivors, with the consecutive serial numbers, are among hundreds of thousands of survivors who poured into Israel at the birth of the Jewish state. An estimated 250,000 are still alive in Israel, carrying the physical and emotional scars of that era. "It is never forgotten, not for a moment," Sieradzki said. "It's like an infected sore deep inside that hurts every time it is exposed." The unlikely reconnection began when Sholowicz's daughter found a Web site that detailed Sieradzki's odyssey from Auschwitz to Israel. It struck her as eerily similar to her father's. All the same elements were there _ being separated from parents and siblings and never seeing them again, searching for scraps of bread to eat in the Polish ghettos, surviving the selection process of Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous Auschwitz camp doctor who decided who would live and who would die. They endured Nazi death marches to two other camps in which any emaciated prisoner who fell behind was shot in the head. Later, both moved to Israel, fought in its 1948 war of independence, and made careers in its military industry. Still, the two men never met and the name Sieradzki on the Web site didn't ring a bell. Then Sholowicz, 80, saw the man's number and he froze. "I rolled up my sleeve and sure enough _ I stood exactly ahead of him in line at Auschwitz," he said. The discovery "was a moment of great emotion, great excitement. We went through it all together. We are like two parallel lines that never met." He called Sieradzki the next day. They recently met halfway between their homes in Haifa and Jerusalem, and a photo of them and their tattoos appeared in an Israeli newspaper. Sieradzki says it is astounding that both survived the Holocaust and lived this long. In Auschwitz, "I used to think about getting through the moment, the hour, at most the day," he said. "I didn't think about the next day, because I didn't think I was going to live to see the next day." He can never forget arriving at Auschwitz and seeing Mengele, who with a flick of a thumb decided fates. Those too old, too young, or too ill were sent to the gas chambers and the crematoria. Those fit enough to work were stripped, shaved and tattooed and then forced into labor. He never noticed the others in line with him. "At that moment, everyone was busy with their own thoughts," he said. "I don't remember who was in front of me and who was behind me." In an even more unlikely development, Sieradzki recently discovered who stood behind him in line for tattoos _ Shaul Zawadzki and his older brother Yaakov, serial numbers B-14596 and B-14597. They too survived Auschwitz and made it to Israel. "It's unfathomable that something like this could happen. I'm still in shock," a shaking Yaakov Zawadzki, 82, said at Sunday's reunion. He said his brother could not make the meeting both because he had to care for his ailing wife and because he could not bear the emotional burden of bringing up the old memories. Like many survivors, Sieradzki, who in Israel took on the Hebrew name Asher Aud, also kept silent for more than half a century. Only when he returned to Poland in the early 1990s did he open up. He founded an organization of the former residents of his hometown of Zdunska Wola and resurrected the Jewish cemetery there. The organization's Web site is what first drew the attention of Sholowicz's daughter. "I felt like I was closing a circle," Sieradzki said of visiting Poland. "If God kept me alive to tell of what happened, then it was worth staying alive." Now that story includes a new chapter he shares with three others, bound together forever by the numbers inked deep into their arms. "Our fate was to be together either in life or in death," Sholowicz said. "Now we have life." ___ On the Net: http://www.zchor.org/zdunska.htm More on Genocide
 
Ian Welsh: Big Brother is Watching Top
More panopticon news raises the specter of not having any privacy left. First America follows in the Brits footsteps by keeping DNA on file from people who were arrested but not convicted. Next, Britain 1) The mobile calls, emails and website visits of every person in Britain will be stored for a year under sweeping new powers which came into force this month. The new powers will for the first time place a legal duty on internet providers to store private data. 2) What really troubles him is the automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) system implemented by the police across the country to track vehicle tax evaders and criminals, but also potentially to record where you've been. Currently it can only be accessed by the police and intelligence services, and you can't yet do it in real time - when that moment comes, it will be truly dangerous, says Campbell. The system does pose a threat to sources' anonymity, agrees Leigh: if you assume that CCTV is watching any public journey, the only way left to meet is through a private journey in your car So. Closed circuit TV (CCTV watches everything in public transit (and most public spaces in Britain) and license plate scanners track where you're traveling. Anyone with access to those two databases can, in theory, track where you are. Leigh is right about real time being a threat, the other half of the threat is recognition software which is able to reliably identify individuals and scan records, whether in real time or not. Once this occurs (and it will), combined wtih ubiquitous CCTV, and it is virtually everywhere in Britain and spreading the US, from the second you step out of the door, to the moment you return there will be a record of everything you've done in public spaces, and since most privately owned stores, malls, offices and so on tend to have CCTV, basically you will be under surveillance everywhere you go outside your house. Even inside your house is not completely off bounds, since shades don't protect against infra-red and so. Add this to the tracking everyone you phone, everyone you email, everyone you chat with and every website you visit, and there really isn't very much that you do which governments, and any major corporation which can get access to the databases, won't know. If they want to track you in real time, they can do so, and there will be very little you can do to stop it. Privacy is very swiftly becoming a thing of the past. For whatever reason, Britain has led the way (something else the wonderful Tony "middle way" Blair has to take responsibility for starting), but the new government hasn't stopped it, and other nations are following suit, albeit at a slower pace. Universal surveillance is the first step towards a Big Brother state. Folks may scoff at the possibility, but as America's founders understood, only people who don't care about their liberties put this much power into the hands of government. Power such as this will be used, and eventually someone will succumb to the temptation to use it to its full potential. In the meantime, after seeing the last eight years, those who are tempted to say "but if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear", might want to think again. As for myself, my business is my business, and no business of some government bureaucrat, whether George Bush or Barack Obama is President.
 
Roxana Saberi: Iran President Urges Full Defense For US Reporter Top
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's president said Sunday that an American journalist convicted of spying for the U.S. should be allowed to offer a full defense during her appeal, a day after she was sentenced to eight years in prison. The message was a sign that Iran's leadership does not want the case to derail moves toward a dialogue with the Obama administration to break a 30-year diplomatic deadlock. Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to Tehran's chief prosecutor instructing him to personally ensure that "suspects be given all their rights to defend themselves" against the charges. "Prepare for the court proceedings ... to observe and apply justice precisely," the state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying. The letter came a day after Iran announced the conviction and sentence for Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen. It was the first time Iran has found an American journalist guilty of espionage, and her lawyer said he'll appeal. President Barack Obama said Sunday he was "gravely concerned" about Saberi's safety and well-being and was confident she wasn't involved in espionage. The U.S. has called the charges baseless and said Iran would gain U.S. goodwill if it "responded in a positive way" to the case. "She is an Iranian-American who was interested in the country which her family came from. And it is appropriate for her to be treated as such and to be released," Obama said. Saberi's case has been an irritant in U.S.-Iran relations at a time when Obama is offering to start a dialogue between the longtime adversaries. A few days before her sentence was announced, Ahmadinejad gave the clearest signal yet that Iran, too, was ready for a new relationship with the U.S. Ahmadinejad's letter also referred to Canadian-Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, who has been in an Iranian prison since November on charges of insulting religious figures. Ahmadinejad requested the prosecutor also ensure that he be allowed to fully defend himself, IRNA reported. Iran has released few details about the charges against the two. Saberi, who was born in Fargo, North Dakota, was arrested in January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But earlier this month, an Iranian judge leveled a more serious allegation that she was passing classified information to U.S. intelligence services. She told her father in a phone conversation that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine. Her father said she had been working on a book about Iranian culture and hoped to finish it and return to the U.S. this year. Saberi, who was 1997 Miss North Dakota, had been living in Iran for six years and worked as a freelance reporter for news organizations including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp. Because Saberi's father was born in Iranian, she received Iranian citizenship. Her parents, who live in Fargo, traveled to Iran to seek her release. Her father, Reza Saberi, has said his daughter wasn't allowed a proper defense during her one-day trial behind closed doors a week ago. He said no evidence has been made public, and his daughter was tricked into making incriminating statements by officials who told her they would free her if she did. He told CNN on Sunday that her trial lasted only 15 minutes. "It was a mock trial," he said. One Iranian analyst said Ahmadinejad's letter was politically motivated and suggested Iran could be using Saberi's case to gain leverage with the U.S. "Iran can use Saberi's case as a bargaining card in possible negotiations with the U.S.," said analyst Saeed Leilaz. The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran after its 1979 Islamic revolution and takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Relations deteriorated further under former President George W. Bush, who labeled Iran as part of the so-called "Axis of Evil." Iran has been mostly lukewarm to the Obama administration's overtures until Ahmadinejad's comment last week that he was ready for a new start. It was unclear how far Iran's ruling hard-line clerics and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are willing to go to achieve better ties. Some of Iran's hard-liners, including those who dominate the country's judiciary, don't want warmer ties with the U.S. and are trying to derail efforts, analysts say. The Saberi case "shows that the judiciary and Ahmnadinejad have not reached an agreement over ties with the West," said Sergey Barseqian, another Iranian analyst. Saberi's conviction also comes about two months ahead of key presidential elections in June that are pitting hard-liners against reformists, who support better relations with Washington. Ahmadinejad is seeking re-election, but the hard-liner's popularity has waned and he's been trying to draw support away from reformists. Ahmadinejad was scheduled to meet Sunday with the president of Switzerland at a U.N. racism conference in Geneva. Though it wasn't known what they'd discuss, Switzerland represents the United States' diplomatic interests in Iran. Obama said Sunday that Washington would be in contact with Iran about Saberi through its Swiss intermediaries. More on Iran
 
Andy Sernovitz: Why It's Wrong to Pay for Blog Coverage Top
It's a bad idea to pay for blog coverage. You're going to humiliate yourself and your company. You're going to get in legal trouble. And it just doesn't work. On The Media 's Bob Garfield and I talked this morning about the most important issue in the world of blogging: ethics. Specifically, we talked about what happens when marketers pay for placement in blogs. Here's what you need to know: Advertising is OK. Most media are supported by ads, and it's ok to have a blog supported by ads. The difference between advertising and sleaze is disclosure . It all comes down to properly saying , "And now, a word from our sponsor." If you say something is paid for, or write "Advertisement" on the top of it, everyone knows that it's not editorial. The problem comes in when you don't give proper disclosure, or try to hide it. The FTC agrees, and says that you need to make your disclosure clear to the average reader. Disclosure isn't sticky. This is the heart of the problem with disclosure on blogs and social media. Even if the original post mentions that it was paid for, that disclosure is unlikely to get repeated on Facebook, Twitter, or by anyone who reposts the paid story. Every paid blog post unleashes a torrent of blogosphere pollution. Future readers of the reposted articles have no idea that they are reading coverage of a paid ad. Hear me (and the FTC): If you pay for blog coverage, you are responsible for the subsequent deceptive posts that are generated. Trust is a one-time thing. You don't get a second change to be honest. Here's my advice: Bloggers: There's no reason to go here. It only takes one missed disclosure statement to ruin your reputation forever. Feel free to take advertising, but when you sell your editorial, you are forever tainted. Readers: Zero tolerance is the only option. Boycott any blogger or Twitterer who writes paid posts. Un-friend them on Facebook. Friends don't sell out their friends. Marketers: Don't pay for blog posts. Ever. There's no ethical or safe way to do it. It only takes one blogger who forgets to post the disclosure to humiliate your company, launch a PR scandal , permanently damage your brand, and have the FTC knocking at your door. On top of that, it generates embarrassingly bad advertising that doesn't work. It's not worth the risk (and it's wrong). So here's my disclosure: I run a group called the Blog Council which has a free Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit that you can use to learn how to do it the right way, and we're having a conference on the topic.
 
Tim Giago: April; A Month of Tears, Tragedy and Happiness Top
In April of 1921 Vaudevillian entertainer Al Jolson stood on the stage in Jolson's 59th Street Theatre in New York City in blackface in the production of the Broadway musical Bombo, and he sang, "Though April showers may come your way, they bring the flowers that bloom in May." At that time April became the month of hope and dreams. But before Jolson's song of April, the month took some ominous turns. On April 20, 1889, Adolph Hitler was born and between his life and death, millions would die in World War 2. More than 6 million Jews would die in the concentration camps in what Hitler proclaimed as the Final Solution. On April 15, 1912 the luxury liner Titanic struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and sank taking 1,517 passengers to the bottom with it. It was in April 1968 when Robert F. Kennedy made his historic visit to the Holy Rosary Mission Indian boarding school on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, just a few months before he was assassinated in California. On April 19, 1995 an Army veteran named Timothy McVeigh calmly walked away from the Ryder Truck he had parked in front of the Alfred Murrah federal building and the truck exploded nearly destroying the building and taking the lives of 168 people. And on April 20, 1999, Hitler's birthday, two high school boys, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, walked into the classrooms at Columbine High School and took the lives of 12 students, one teacher and then turned the guns on themselves. In all 15 people died that day. Something else happened on April 4, 1981 that helps me to round out things that happened in that month that held different meanings. On April 4 a group of Native Americans from the American Indian Movement occupied a small plot of land called Victoria Creek Canyon and changed the name to Yellow Thunder Camp in honor of Raymond Yellow Thunder, the Lakota man killed in Gordon, Nebraska by locals. On the evening that AIM took over the grounds at Yellow Thunder Camp the skies above Rapid City took on colors of red, pink and purple that I have never seen before or since. The entire sky above this city lit up for nearly 30 minutes. Members of AIM looked upon this as a sign that Wakan Tanka (Great Spirit) was with them. That same evening in a hospital bed at the Rapid City Regional Hospital, a tiny Lakota woman named Lupe breathed her last breath. When I looked out of the windows at the hospital and saw the brilliant hues of colors in the skies I thought, "There goes the spirit of my mother." In April of 1992, I got a phone call from my cousin "Buzzy" telling me to hurry home because my brother Tony, the man we called "Tuna the Bass" was in the same Regional Hospital and in dire straits. I was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard at the time and I rushed out to Logan International Airport in Boston and caught the first available flight home. I was too late. My brother passed away before my plane could reach Rapid City. I found it ironic in 2001 when I saw on the news that one of the hijacked planes that crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City took off from the same airport where I boarded the plane in an effort to make it home before my brother's death. From that day on, April has been a month of anxiety to me. My angst about the month "that brings May flowers" was pushed to the forefront when on April 6, 2006, my lovely daughter Roberta died in a terrible pickup crash in Albuquerque, N.M. She was only 34 and had just begun to find real purpose in her life. But April can also bring good things because every month of every year has had its good happenings and bad. For example, it was in the month of August when two atom bombs destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the island of Japan marking the first and last time that atomic weapons have ever taken the lives of human beings. It was on April 22, 1996 that I went on a blind date to celebrate the birthday of Karla Anderson, one of my employees at the Albuquerque office of my newspaper, Indian Country Today, and met, Jackie, the woman who would become my wife. Although it took several years for us to figure out that we should spend the rest of our lives together, we still celebrate April 22 as the very special day in our lives. Karla Anderson still lives and works in Albuquerque with her husband Bob, and every year we hoist a glass of wine and wish her a very Happy Birthday. So I guess, even though I traveled a very circuitous route to tell you about the bad and the good of April, I tried to make it a historical trip for you. And by the way, when I was young man, one April day in 1951, I was sitting on the porch with my teenage girlfriend at her home in North Rapid listening to the rain splatter on the roof above us, and through the open window, on her radio, the voice of Al Jolson wafted through the air; "So if it's raining, have no regrets, it isn't raining rain you know, it's raining violets." (Tim Giago, Oglala Lakota, is editor and publisher of the weekly Native Sun News and he can be reached at editor@nsweekly.com or by writing him at; 1000 Cambell St. Suite 1A, Rapid City, SD 57701)
 
Steve Rosenbaum: The Untold Susan Boyle Story Top
Ok, by now you've heard the story of Susan Boyle, the British churchlady/spinster who wowed the crowd at Britian's Got Talent. If you haven't - then take a minute and look at the clip to understand the pure power of what an unexpected talent can do. The clip is here: http://www.susan-boyle.com/video/Susan-Boyle-on-Britain-Got-Tale But the Susan Boyle story has a lot more going on than just the music phenomenon, thought that's interesting to be sure. Take, for example, the story of Paul Wood. Paul Wood is a construction worker in London, who's got the bug for building video networks on the web in his spare time. So on Saturday night in London last week Wood decided on a lark that this Susan Boyle woman he read about might 'take off' when Britain's Got Talent would be broadcast. He'd seen her in the auditions and decided to take a risk. He bought the URL Susan-Boyle.com and Sunday night - moments after the broadcast - he had a fan site for her up on line. What Wood didn't know and couldn't know was that some how Susan Boyle connected with a wide variety of people in a deep and powerful way. Why is that? First, you need to see the clip to understand. We can spend a sec and try and psycho-analyze the public: For some, the music is what it's all about. For others, it's the ugly duckling who spreads her wings. And then, it may just be given the economy, with people feeling so beaten up, that watching an underdog totally triumph was just too hard to resist. It hardly matters. She totally owned the gig - and now she's a rocket. And the best part? This isn't some contrived media event from the pop-culture factory. This is real. Susan-Boyle.com has created a pop-up destination where people can connect, share stories, record videos, and watch Susan Boyle's video experience. It is a feel good site with most comments gushing with enthusiasm and support. There is something that feels good about watching a community grow organically around such a positive media moment and personality. We just don't have enough of this stuff these days. Four days later he has a website that is getting close to a million page views a day and has over 12,000 registered members. The Wall Street Journal reports here that the site's fast growing traffic is the #1 site for Susan-Boyle fans worldwide, providing a unique mix of network clips, user-submitted video testimonials, and a live twitter stream of Susan Boyle fans that updates round the clock from a fast growing worldwide fan base. It is also worth pointing out, that only in the technologically adept world we live in could such an event be possible. Millions of people flocking to a virtual destination and forming a "flash mob" style community - never meeting each other, but finding a real outlet to come together and share in the moment. Who says technology is making us numb to personal interaction? http://www.susan-boyle.com/video/my-thoughts-about-Susan-Boyle http://www.susan-boyle.com/video/In-Response-to-Susan-Boyles-AMA http://www.susan-boyle.com/video/Susan-Boyle-I-am-dreaming-a-pea Here are just a few of the more than 4,000 comments posted to the site: top gear dave said: "I am a married man of 46 with three kids not normally given to moments of emotional outburts but while watching this delightful lady performing tears streamed down my face. It was definitely a moment when the meek inherited the earth." bookwoman said: Hope as well as talent beam from this video and this woman. And oh, we need both so much. We should be ashamed of the cynicism most of us wallow in, expecting talent only from glitzy packages. I am thrill, touched and grateful for Susan Boyle. God Bless her! U.S.A. fan said: I love her. She represents all the underdogs of the world. She is wonderful. Dr. Bob said: Thanks,Susan... for ringing the bell of believeability for those like yourself who keep on believeing in their dreams. i am happy for you and for your success. God loves you and so do I. torchman25 said: susan boyle, thank you for sharing your beautiful voice to the bankrupt state of california. thank God for the internet! Cheron said: It's 2am here in Saskatoon Canada and I happened upon this video....feelin g all down and freaken sad because its my 59th birthday this day I heard Susan Boyles audition and I smiled the hugest smile....life has hope again because one lady out of nowhere had a dream come true!! If you haven't had enough, go visit the site and watch a couple videos, hang out with other unlikely fans and witness a neat moment in media history.
 
Earth Day 2009: Obama Energy Chief Lays Out Climate Doomsday Scenario Top
Days before Earth Day 2009, President Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu gave a press briefing at the "Summit of the Americas" in Trinidad and Tobago where he laid out the potentially disastrous consequences if the world community doesn't unite to combat climate change. Chu, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997, detailed several of the most dramatic impacts that global warming could have, such as several island nations being submerged. We've posted the transcript below -- take a look: * * * * * SECRETARY CHU: Well, I had no discussions in this summit meeting on the issue as to whether the climate is really changing or what are potential economic consequences. Now, in full candor, I haven't talked with representatives from Venezuela yet, but I think they're -- in terms of discussing whether the climate is changing or whether humans have caused it, I think for the most part this debate is over. It's something -- yes, it's changing; that's a demonstrable fact. If one looks at the latest IPCC reports, there's very, very convincing evidence -- very high probability it was caused predominantly by greenhouse gas emissions. And what is not known with certainty is what are the range of effects that might happen, and -- because that, quite frankly, also depends on what the world does. But let me just say that there are certainly a reasonable probability that -- I'm sure the people in this room have heard this -- that in the last IPCC report, the 2007 report, they said that it's going to be somewhere between two and four -- two and a half, four and a half -- I'm not sure of the exact numbers -- degrees Centigrade change. And so let me remind you that the Earth has already warmed up by about 0.8 degrees Centigrade; that the experts acknowledge that there is another 1 degree Centigrade already built into the system, even if humans stopped carbon emissions today flat. That's because we put enough greenhouse gases up into the atmosphere, the sun continues to warm up the Earth, and until you reach a new equilibrium or the heat from the Earth then reaches the equilibrium -- what's coming in and what's getting reflected back -- there's 1 degree change already; that there's a reasonable probability we can go above 4 degrees Centigrade to 5 and 6 more. That means we have a -- there's a reasonable probability, and certainly in business-as-usual scenario, we can go to 5 or 6 degrees Centigrade. Now, what does that mean? The last ice age, we were 6 degrees Centigrade colder than we are today -- a very different world. Okay, only 6 degrees Centigrade means, in North America, ice sheet from Canada down to Pennsylvania, Ohio -- year round in ice. So imagine a world 6 degrees warmer. It's not going to recognize geographical boundaries. It's not going to recognize anything. So agriculture regions today will be wiped out. Yes, there are parts of Canada will be -- can grow more food, but, you know, the other thing is, the Earth is spherical and the sun hits at an angle up north. So there are going to be huge consequences if we go up to that 4, 5, 6 degrees. Q How long would it take? SECRETARY CHU: We're talking about that temperature in -- by the end of this century. And the other thing is, you stick that carbon in the atmosphere, it cycles around, but it's up there for a couple hundred years. Okay, so you've just bought a couple hundred years of this effect. So -- and that could have dramatic consequences on the world, but especially the more vulnerable people in the world. Q Secretary Chu, so did any of the leaders, especially from this part of the world, talk about the specific concerns about rising ocean levels? SECRETARY CHU: Yes, very much so. I think the Caribbean countries face rising oceans and they face increase in the severity of hurricanes. This is something that is very, very scary to all of us; that if you consider what has been happening, especially in the polar regions in the north, and you look at the predictions of the IPCC beginning in 1990, this is something they didn't do so well. It's melting considerably faster than anyone predicted ten years ago. So we are terribly afraid there will be an increase in temperature if the ice in the Antarctica and Greenland melt. This is bad news. If Greenland melts -- it's two or three kilometers thick -- we're looking at a seven-meter sea level rise around the world. Some island states will disappear. So there was specific -- at the lunch today, there was specific discussion represented from the island states that this is of great concern, and the island states in the world represent -- I remember this number -- one-half of 1 percent of the carbon emissions in the world. And they will -- some of them will disappear. So this is pretty serious business. More on Earth Day
 

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