Wednesday, May 6, 2009

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Howie Klein: Please Help Us Decide-- Should We Help Draft Joe Sestak To Primary Arlen Specter? Top
If you've been online in the last few days, you've probably noticed many Democrats are not terribly thrilled with the boneheaded deal Biden and Reid entered into with Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter-- namely that Specter gets a reprieve from political death by being allowed to call himself a Democrat while continuing to vote like a Republican. We've been encouraging our old friend, Rep. Joe Sestak, a retired admiral with progressive values, finely honed leadership abilities and impeccable ethics-- all traits severely lacking in Specter-- to jump into the race. I had a long conversation with Joe and he assured me that if Specter doesn't prove himself a Democrat in deed as well as word in the next few weeks, he will enter into a primary battle against him. It isn't an easy decision for most men-- although Joe seems to be coming along pretty well-- because it means going against party leaders he respects, President Obama, Governor Rendell (+ Reid and Biden). Senate Democrats have been hearing enough anger from the grassroots-- a grassroots that frowns on the concept of backroom deals, kings and kingmakers, and a grassroots that thinks the Democrats are afflicted with too many reactionary shills for Big Business already-- and yesterday they did a little kabuki dance ostensibly stripping Specter of his seniority , seniority he didn't have and was never due to get until after the midterm elections. On top of that, the 80 year old Specter is now claiming "confusion" as the reason he accidentally told the NY Times that he wanted Norm Coleman to win the Minnesota Senate contest. Many activists online are backing the PCCC's straw poll idea. We want to know what our readers think about this. It's being covered Inside the Beltway by Politico today and in Pennsylvania by the Philadelphia Inquirer . [T]he effort is aimed at determining the depth of Netroots support for Rep. Joseph Sestak, the two-term Democrat who hasn't ruled out running against Specter. The poll, which will remain open for five days, asks whether a "Draft Sestak" movement should be created to take on Specter. The possibility of a Sestak run has been lighting up left-leaning blogs and provoking debate among Pennsylvania Democrats ever since Specter changed his party affiliation last week. Please go to the straw poll and vote today. We'll report back on the results next week. More on Arlen Specter
 
Tamar Abrams: Connie Culp: Facing the Nation Top
When Connie Culp's husband shot off her face with a shotgun, he was sentenced to a mere seven years in prison. She was sentenced to spend the rest of her life faceless in a nation that values beauty. Who got off easier? And yet, she was given a reprieve of sorts as the U.S.'s first face transplant recipient. This week she showed enormous bravery by revealing her new face - flawed, oddly shaped and hardly conventionally beautiful - to the world with the words, "I am not a monster." With this new face, Ms. Culp can breathe and smell. She can taste and smile. She has gained so much, including - hopefully - the ability to shop in a store without arousing horror or fear. A face is so much more than beauty. It is how we reveal our emotions to ourselves and to the world. A smile on a plain face can be just as appealing as one on the face of a beauty queen. A tear slowly coursing down a cheek expresses great pathos no matter the age or features of the cheek's owner. I am guessing that Ms. Culp is hugely grateful for her new face and I hope she is feeling blessed by its assets rather than cursed by what it lacks. It is a face that takes some getting used to, and one that may change as it settles in. And yet it allows its new owner to do so many things that she was denied in one violent act. It's a gift not only to her but to all the people who love her and have missed her smiles and her tears. It's also a gift to our nation. Not only because our homegrown medical personnel have been able to perform such a complex surgery, but because it demonstrates so clearly that there are second chances in life. There is pure symmetrical physical beauty which some are born with and which many aspire to. But there is also the beauty that comes from character and strength and wisdom and courage. There is the beauty of those who age with grace and who count every wrinkle as a reminder of their journey. And there is the beauty of Connie Culp who stood in front of cameras and gawkers and microphones to say that she's still here, undiminished by a single act of violence. A shotgun blast from a deranged man may have been the worst possible nightmare, but she's clearly not willing to live in a world of shadows anymore. Let's celebrate Connie Culp and all the other courageous human beings who brave stares and ridicule because they fail to attain arbitrary standards. Beauty is subjective, and Ms. Culp's beauty lies in her lovely Second Act.
 
Scott Mendelson: Scrubs, television's best show, says goodbye tonight... Top
"They have thrilled us with their adventures, amazed us with their discoveries, and inspired us with their courage. They have been our guides, our protectors, and our friends. Now we are invited to join them, for one last adventure." Maybe ABC will renew the show, with the new interns being the leads. Maybe we'll be watching Scrubs: The Next Generation this fall, with the old gang doing cameo appearances in each episode, with all the characters spread out so it feels like they're all still there (Zach Braff is leaving for good and many of the other leads have pilots lined up for next fall). Maybe creator Bill Laurence will still be involved in some capacity. But for all intents and purposes, Scrubs as we know it will end tonight. I've made no secret of my complete and utter adoration of Scrubs over the years. Ironically (or fittingly) for a show about the fragility of life and the inevitability of death, it feels like I'm saying goodbye to an old friend. I'm not ready. I thought the series finale was next week. Furthermore, the preemption of last week's new episode meant that the last three episodes would air over two nights, all at once. I thought I had a few weeks to prepare. I haven't watched last night's episode, as my wife was out of town for the evening. So tonight, when we put Allison to bed, we will curl up on the couch and watch the last three episodes of my all-time favorite television show. And if the emotions I'm feeling just typing this are any indication, I'm probably going to cry harder than Allison when she doesn't want to go into the car seat. I watered up during the series finale of The West Wing back in May of 2006. While I did and still do miss the show, it was the passage of time that got me. The show had began right when I was starting college and it was a shock to realize how quickly seven years had gone by and the ways my life had changed since then (little did I know what was just around the corner). I really got emotional during the series finale of, of all things, Justice League Unlimited . That was the end of something that I had grown accustomed to for fourteen years. From 1992 until 2006, I devoured Batman: The Animated Series , Superman: The Animated Series , The New Batman Adventures , Batman Beyond , Justice League , and Justice League Unlimited . Now there would be no more animated episodes in the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini/Alan Burnett DC Animated Universe. I was 26 at the time, so I was saying goodbye to something that had meant quite a bit to me, something that had been a part of my life for over half my existence. There aren't any more shows that I care about that much. I adore The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother , but I will not mourn their inevitable end as long as its on their own terms. I certainly won't get emotionally involved when 24 finally kills Jack Bauer and the clock goes silent one last time (although at this point, letting him survive would actually be a more shocking finale). I'll be relieved if Lost can pull itself out of its exposition-heavy cement shoes and end on a character-focused note this time next year (the Miles-centered stand-alone 'Some Like It Hoth' was a step in the right direction), but I doubt my feelings will extend past the emotions contained in said episode. Truth be told, maybe it's part of being an adult, or maybe I just don't care as much anymore, but there are no longer any television shows that hold any kind of emotional pull over me. Scrubs was the last one, and now it's gone. That in itself is another touchstone of sorts, another reason to mourn or celebrate the passage of time. So, thank you ABC for finally poaching it from NBC and giving it the treatment it deserved, and for giving it one last season to go out on its own terms. Thank you Bill Lawrence for toning down the fantasy and shtick, thus giving us the best overall season since the first three years. Thank you to everyone involved for making one of the very finest television shows ever made, a show that was the very best, most intelligent, witty, and moving sort of comfort food (nutritious and delicious). Thank you for making the last show that I will probably ever give a damn about. I just sincerely hope that its last thought tonight is a good one. Scott Mendelson More on NBC
 
Liz Neumark: A Timeless Evening with the Time 100 Top
A Caterer's Perspective Blogging was made for nights like tonight. When the magical feeling in the room is so potent that you need to share it as fast as possible before anything fades. It was in the Allen Room, at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where Time Inc held its annual fest to toast the 100 Most Influential People in the World; it is a broad and eclectic group representing great minds, deep souls and outrageous talent. In a year like this, any legitimate reason to get together can result in spontaneous celebration. Add the superstars, mere stars and other constellations on tonight's guest list and it is riotous. As in simply divine! The buzz in the room was palpable from the moment the first guest arrived. Perhaps it was in anticipation of the arrival of a very special Time 100 honoree, Michelle Obama. The room was mesmerized as she spoke about the Barack Obama Administration's vision for a new America (with a big smile on her face). We all felt so good - so at home- in a way that we hadn't in at least 8 years. But I am jumping ahead of myself. Cocktail hour. My first conversation of the evening was with the very brilliant and charming Arianna Huffington, at whose pleasure I write on this illustrious website. It is always a pleasure to greet and be greeted by her. A brief hello to Barbara Walters who in addition to everything incredible about her life and career, is often a very honored guest at our Ballroom at the Plaza Hotel where my associates jump through hoops to spoil her; a riveting conversation with Mort Zuckerman who shared a peek into his crystal ball (and if you are interested, keep buying the Daily News to find out what he has to say); and most wonderfully, a warm and sweet greeting from Dan Barber, my most favorite person to speak on behalf of food and food politics with humor, eloquence and brilliance. And he is a Time 100 honoree. (The only catered event I would have traded tonight's for would be for the honor of catering his wedding. I am patient Dan - I hope she is too!) A. R.Rahman performed. Was it Mumbai or the thriving pulse of another citythat thrilled and transported the listeners?Oprah saluted teachers - who would not agree? Paul Krugman saluted his wife -very romantic.SomalyMammade us cry and took our breath away. The Twitter Boys earned my ever-lasting love and respect. I love that we wholeheartedly and sincerely embraced their statement that their success is about humanity, not technology. I would like to embrace them. Their toast was tweeted on the giant plasma screens. The perfect 140-character sound bite. For the moment, Isuspended my skepticism of technology and ignored the shadow of a brave new world. Naturally, the menu was the ideal backdrop to all this good feeling. An opening salad of Organic Tomato, Lobster and Wild Basil will do that to a room every time. Jimmy Fallon was beyond irreverent and made me laugh so hard - is being so funny legal or just the natural outcome of such a delicious and inspirational first course? John Legend sang, undoubtedly nourished by his dinner of Aged Filet Mignon with Asparagus and Wild Mushrooms. The seasonal debut of this beloved vegetable makes me sing too! Honoree Stella McCartney, noted designer and vegan, inspired our chef to create a luscious dinner alternative of Mixed Grill of Tofu and Portabello Mushrooms with an Asparagus and Tomato Ragout, Wild Mushroom Miso Broth and Katchkie Farm Mizuna. It is not unusual to leave a gala evening feeling tired and ready for a glass of red wine before going right to bed. Not tonight. Tonight was all about the feeling and spirit in the city's most beautiful event space. Tonight, everyone had fun. We collectively chased away the recession blues and had a good old-fashioned feel good party so masterfully organized by Ronnie Davis for our fifth year. Encore! The guests were sincere and alive and earthbound with atypical warmth. The service staff felt energized and proud to have participated in the success of the evening. They too laughed and cried. The city outside looked on mesmerized by the activity behind the giant glass wall overlooking Central Park South. My taxi driver was thrilled to know Michelle Obama was the cause of the traffic jam. I was truly satisfied and could not wait to come home to put all this into words. I wish each of you could sample a taste of the menu. Maybe next year. More on Michelle Obama
 
Worst Company In America: AIG VS Comcast Top
This is it, folks. The Final Deathmatch is here. To reach the final round AIG defeated #32 Target, #17 Peanut Corporation of America, #9 Walmart, and #5 Ticketmaster. Comcast had an equally impressive showing, waltzing past formidable opponents such as #30 DirecTV, #14 Capital One, #11 GM, and finally, last year's returning champion #2 Bank of America (Countrywide, Merrill Lynch) went down in an upset last night.
 
Poll: Twenty Percent Of Country Supports Torturing Terrorist Suspects Top
A CNN poll released on Wednesday revealed that roughly 20 percent of the public said the interrogation techniques used by the Bush administration constituted torture but support use of the techniques on terrorist suspects regardless. The figure, somewhat buried in the release of the poll, helps explains why, as CNN Polling Director Keating Holland says, "a majority don't want to see former Bush officials investigated." Six out of every ten people surveyed said they believed that the interrogation techniques used by the Bush White House -- including waterboarding -- were a "form of torture." One out of every five of those individuals, nevertheless, thought the application of these techniques on suspected terrorists was justified. Fifty percent of all respondents said they approved of the former administration's use of "harsh interrogation procedures," including the waterboard. The findings provide a rather frank insight into how a substantial portion of the country approaches the debate over counter-terrorism policies and the suggestion that an investigation should be launched should it be proven that laws were broken. Only 42 percent of respondents said they believed Congress should conduct an investigation of the Bush administration officials who authorized the use of those procedures; 57 percent said no. The same percentage supported an independent panel investigation, with 55 percent opposing that forum as well. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Dan Fleshler: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Israel Lobby? Top
Alarms are clattering in the minds of pro-Israel American activists whose mission in life is to close all gaps between official Israeli and American positions. In the weeks leading up to the annual convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which begins May 3rd in DC, the Obama Administration has made it clear that it doesn't much care what these activists think, and that it is willing to rebuff and challenge Israel when necessary. Obama seems to understand that he need not be afraid of the big bad Israel lobby. Thus far, he has given the lie to the popular notion that Israel's hawkish supporters have a vice grip on American policy, and that any U.S. president who stands up to them is committing political suicide. After Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell praised a comprehensive Arab League peace plan a few times, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called it a "dangerous proposal." The State Department is pushing another idea that is anathema to the Israelis and AIPAC: amending formulas for Palestinian aid to permit the U.S. to funnel money into a unity government that includes ministers from Hamas, even if Hamas itself doesn't meet western conditions for aid. Both Vice President Biden and Defense Secretary Gates have publicly said that an Israeli attack on Iran would be ill-advised, even though ratcheting up tension with Iran is one of AIPAC's highest priorities. Haaretz claims Obama has been readying Democratic allies in Congress for a possible public confrontation with the Netanyahu government. Neither side wants a public battle and it might not happen in the near future, but if it does, bet on Obama to win. Netanyahu cannot count on his friends in the U.S. to dissuade Obama from taking steps the president believes are in America's interests. As part of the research for my book on America's Israel lobby , I tried to determine the likely political fall-out from a more evenhanded American approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I interviewed U.S. diplomats, members of Congress and their staffers, and American Jewish activists. Most of them agreed with Samuel Lewis, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, who told me: "History shows that when presidents are determined to do something in U.S. interests, the [Israel] lobby folds. Congress folds. As Bush demonstrated, the White House can win the fight." Lewis was referring to squabbles between President George H.W. Bush and the Israel lobby over loan guarantees to Israel, which Bush wanted to ensure were not used to free up money for Israeli settlements. Despite angry objections from Israel's supporters in the U.S., Congress gave Bush what he wanted on the loan guarantees in 1991. Nor did the Israel lobby prevent his administration from dragging Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir kicking and screaming to the Madrid peace conference in 1992. Jimmy Carter also fought with Israel's supporters in the U.S, but that didn't stop him from implementing Middle East policies be believed in. Of course there are political risks in arguing with Israel. One oft-cited warning to adventurous presidents is that Carter and Bush pere lost bids for re-election because they lost many Jewish votes. In fact, both would have been defeated anyway, mainly because of terrible recessions and the charisma of their opponents, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. More important, Obama has political buffers that were not available to Bush or Carter, and will have more leeway to lean on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, instead of just one side. In the last few years, American Jewish groups that want Obama to have this leeway have begun to flex their muscles in Washington, including J Street, Americans for Peace Now, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom and Israel Policy Forum. J Street raised more money last year for Congressional candidates than any other Political Action Committee connected with Israel. The silent Jewish majority, whose views are more dovish than groups that purport to represent them in Washington, is finally being heard in the corridors of power. And in recent years, the groups that speak for it have begun to cooperate actively in Washington with church groups and a few Arab American organizations that share most of its goals. This alternative political bloc is not nearly as loud as the status quo lobby, doesn't have as many resources, and can't match AIPAC's grassroots network. But it probably need not be as powerful as AIPAC and the rest of the conventional Israel lobby. One reason is that there is an increasing amount of resentment against AIPAC in Congress. As one former Senate staffer told me, "There is a lot of pent-anger. Lots of staff and members curse the box that AIPAC puts them in. They feel like they are forced to take positions they don't believe are in the best interests of Israel." So the angry waters have been rising, pressing against the dam, and just a little more encouragement might be sufficient to open the floodgates. AIPAC's leaders do not want that to happen. They are terrified of a confrontation with an overwhelmingly popular American president who has passionate support from the American Jewish community. Their highest priority is solidifying America's short- and long-term relationship with Israel. For that, they need access to and good relations with bureaucrats in Foggy Bottom, the Pentagon and the White House. A public squabble with Obama and his team is not helpful to AIPAC staffers who need to get into the right rooms with the right people, and who need to get their board members into those very same rooms because that is an expected perk of voluntary leadership. Right now, the disagreements between Israel and America involve mostly broad principles, not actual facts on the ground. Such disagreements can probably be defused with calm rhetoric. AIPAC is desperately trying to calm the waters when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is trying to rev up its troops to lobby for tougher sanctions against Iran, the most important issue on its agenda. That may well spark an argument with the Obama administration. But since it is about American policy, as opposed to Israel policies and behavior, it probably won't lead to a knock-down drag-out battle between the American and Israeli governments. But eventually, Obama must decide if he is willing to press both Israelis and Palestinians to stop taking steps that will preclude the possibility of peace. He must decide whether to insist loudly and clearly that, like Palestinian violence and incitement, Israel's recalcitrant refusal to stop its settlements projects is unacceptable, and against American, Israeli and Palestinian interests. If he stakes out that position, most American Jews -like most Americans--will support him, No doubt there will be noisy squalls from pro-Israel right-wingers in the U.S. But there is no reason for Obama or his Congressional allies to fear them. More on Israel
 
Norman Solomon: We Need a Green New Deal Top
In the Arctic, sea ice is melting. In the United States, houses are foreclosing. And in Washington, the Senate is becoming a real-life Bermuda Triangle for progressive agendas. Proposals for major limits on carbon emissions aren't getting far in the Senate, where the corporate war on the environment has an abundance of powerful allies. As for class war, it continues to rage from the top down. Last week, a dozen Democratic senators teamed up with Republicans to defeat a bill that would have allowed judges to reduce mortgages in bankruptcy courts. President Obama supported that bill. But as the Associated Press reported, he was "facing stiff opposition from banks" and "did little to pressure lawmakers" on behalf of the measure. The Senate "defeated a plan to spare hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure through bankruptcy." Big-money vultures are circling the Capitol Dome to feast on the latest multibillion-dollar carrion, whether under the heading of "cap and trade" or "healthcare reform." And many billions in profits can be found inside yet another supplemental bill to fund war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a familiar pattern is unfolding for the most important piece of labor legislation in decades -- the Employee Free Choice Act -- which would go a long way toward protecting the rights of workers to form unions. Obama says he supports EFCA. But there are no signs that he'll go all-out for its passage. There are pluses and minuses on Capitol Hill these days. But on big-picture items, it's clear that environmentalists and labor-rights activists are mostly up against the corporate wall -- and the wall is not yielding. We need a Green New Deal. It won't happen without a lot more effective grassroots coalitions -- strong and sustained enough to change power relations for the long haul. But acculturation in the USA often encourages us to think along the lines of solo acts. There's the old American story about the solitary Dutch boy who discovers that a dike has sprung a leak. He inserts his finger, hangs in there heroically by himself and saves the town. But in the real world, individual heroics are a fool's gold when compared to the genuine value of building political movements. The immense obstacles to effective grassroots organizing can be overcome: not by lone rangers, but by persistent organizers and coalition-builders. During the last six months, I've participated in a lengthy series of meetings with many other local activists. Across two counties in Northern California, we're about to launch a long-term project called the Green New Deal for the North Bay. It's just a start. But, as we begin a round of public forums throughout the region, we're in the process of developing a grassroots agenda for far-reaching change that will address these two key questions: "How can we create a sustainable green future that includes economic equity and social justice?" "How can agendas for economic rights and environmental protection become more integrated and more successful?" Seventy-five years after the start of the New Deal, and nearly 40 years after the first Earth Day, the need for basic change on behalf of social justice and ecology is clear. But ideas are the easy part. In an era of massive environmental damage and vast economic inequality, we've got to organize. More on Afghanistan
 
TIME 100 Style: See What Desirée Rogers, Oprah, And Everyone Else Wore (PHOTOS) Top
You may have heard that first lady Michelle Obama delivered the opening remarks at Tuesday night's TIME 100 dinner while looking pretty chic ...or that President Obama's speechwriter Jon Favreau rather adorably attended with his mother . But the event was packed with other style, movie, business and political stars, 99% of whom wore black and/or white. For instance, White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers and U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice both sent a powerful message in black tuxedo jackets. See a slideshow of the red carpet and dinner below. Photos by Getty and Patrick McMullan. More on Photo Galleries
 
Mike Papantonio: Give Government A Chance Top
Mail makes it to the homes of most Americans on time because the US postal service really is a success story. It is a government agency that makes sure that almost 60 trillion pieces of mail end up at the right address every year. But anti-government carpers for decades have tried to sell the idea that all big government is dysfunctional. They scream about how all government workers are overpaid and underworked, underachievers. The end of their pitch usually is that the captains of private industry can always be trusted to do a better job for less money invested. Anti-government loud mouths have been recycling that theme for decades. There is a quote from an officer of the US Chamber of Commerce that is dated 1928. I found it in a book Rick Pearlstein wrote about the failures of conservative politics. "The best public servant is the worst one. A thoroughly first-rate man in public service is corrosive. He eats holes in our liberties. The better he is and the longer he stays the greater the danger." Today, it's impossible to buy into that kind of government bashing when you look at the financial wasteland that has been created not by government bureaucrats but by all those "talented" corporate leaders who were supposed to be smarter, more creative, more disciplined and more reliable than mere mortal government employees. The conservative's attempts to privatize schools, police departments, fire departments, mail services, and social security sound witless in retrospect. If the GOP had succeeded in privatizing social security, the Golden Years for 51 million social security recipients would have been dismal. A privatized system would have lost two trillion dollars during the last economic meltdown. So what does a reality check look like when we judge government professionals against the competence of private sector professionals? Today, industry has left us with a failed energy plan. America is gagging on four trillion dollars worth of toxic bank industry trash. Today we have nothing to sell to the rest of the world because the "captains" shipped technology, and heavy industry overseas. The geniuses, who were supposed to be so much smarter than government leadership, built gas-guzzling dinosaurs with names like Hemi and Hummer while the rest of the world was building green cars. These private sector visionaries still have us breathing coal toxins that are melting our planet even though solar, wind, and geothermal energy blueprints have been in their offices for decades. This week, while taxpayers bailout the MBA smart guys who sank Chrysler and GM, it borders on ridiculous for the government bashers to suggest without giggling that government should not take control over leadership. Is it reasonable to believe that a governmental led task force could do a worse job? George Will and Charles Krauthammer need to save their ink on columns telling us that career big government professionals are failures and their friends in private industry without exception are brilliant. Americans today are pretty sure that the government's postal service will deliver their mail on time, but they have every reason to doubt whether or not Chrysler, GM, AIG and Bear Stearns will be doing business tomorrow. More on GOP
 
Specter Held GOP Fundraiser One Week Before Defection Top
Senator Arlen Specter must have really been on the fence about changing political parties--right up to the end. On Monday, April 21st--one week before he announced his shift from the Republican party to the Democratic party--Specter had a fundraising lunch in New York. More on Arlen Specter
 
Green iPhone App Helps Form And Quantify Green Habits Top
One feature that sets the Creative Solution apart from those hordes of redundant "green tips" is that each solution carries with it with a set of tangible benefits, enumerating precisely how that action will reduce the use of water, energy, waste, carbon dioxide AND dollars. More on iPhone
 
Iraq Violence: List Of Major Attacks Since January 1 Top
Major attacks in Iraq since Jan. 1, when a new U.S.-Iraqi security pact took effect: _ May 6 _ Parked car bomb explodes at a produce market in south Baghdad, killing 15. Two more die in a car bombing in the city's Karradah district. _ April 29 _ Twin car bombs tear through Baghdad's Sadr City, killing 51. _ April 24 _ Back-to-back suicide bombers strike near Shiite shrine in Baghdad, killing 60. _ April 23 _ Baghdad suicide bomber hits Iraqis collecting humanitarian aid, killing 31. _ April 23 _ Suicide bomber strikes restaurant north of Baghdad in Muqdadiyah, killing 57. _ April 6 _ Series of bombings within four hours in Baghdad kill 37 people. _ March 26 _ Car bomb tears through market in Shiite area in east Baghdad, killing 20. _ March 23 _ Suicide bomber strikes Kurdish funeral north of Baghdad in Jalula, killing 27. _ March 10 _ Suicide bomber targets tribal leaders at market in Abu Ghraib, killing 33. _ March 8 _ Suicide bomber strikes police academy in Baghdad, killing at least 30. _ March 5 _ Car bomb tears through livestock market in Hillah, killing 13. _ Feb. 13 _ Female suicide bomber targets Shiite pilgrims in Musayyib, killing 40. _ Feb. 11 _ Twin car bombs explode at a bus terminal and market area in Baghdad, killing 16. _ Jan. 4 _ Female suicide bomber strikes Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, killing 38. _ Jan. 2 _ Suicide bomber hits luncheon at a tribal leader's home in Youssifiyah, killing 23. More on War Wire
 
Swine Flu Fears: Haiti Rejects Mexican Aid Ship Top
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian officials rejected a Mexican aid ship carrying 77 tons of much-needed food aid because of "unfounded" swine flu fears, Mexico's ambassador said Wednesday. The Mexican navy ship El Huasteco was to arrive May 2 in Port-au-Prince carrying rice, fertilizer and emergency food kits to help the impoverished country respond to chronic hunger and devastating tropical storms. But Mexican Ambassador Zadalinda Gonzalez y Reynero said Haitian officials told her April 29 they would not accept the ship, which was still in Mexican waters near the Yucatan peninsula at the time. "The crew was in perfect health and there was no risk at all," Gonzalez y Reynero told The Associated Press, adding that the cargo and 64 sailors aboard the ship had all been screened in Mexico. "We did not want to turn back the ship, but we also did not want our crew to be mistreated." She said it was possible the ship could try again to deliver the aid sometime in the future. The shipment is part of the $324 million promised at an April 14 international donors conference held at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington. Haitian officials did not immediately confirm the aid refusal. But health ministry executive director Dr. Gabriel Thimothee said all ship crews coming from Mexico must fill out questionnaires to determine if they carry a swine flu threat. It was not clear if ships coming from the United States are also being screened for swine flu. The new virus has killed 42 people and sickened thousands in 22 countries. But there have been no confirmed cases in Haiti or the Dominican Republic, which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. World health officials are concerned about the potential for outbreak in impoverished Haiti, where three-quarters of the more than 9 million people lack access to medical care. Haiti is one of 72 "most in need" countries slated to receive antiflu drugs from the World Health Organization. Pan-American Health Organization representatives said the medicine had not yet arrived as of Wednesday. More on Swine Flu
 
Richard L. Revesz and Michael A. Livermore: If Boehner is worried about the cost of cap-and-trade, he should support 100% auctions and refund. Top
Last month, MIT economics professor John Reilly was surprised to learn that his April 2007 report was in the news two years after its release. His research on the costs of cap-and-trade systems found only a modest cost for American families under the plan. But, some members of Congress read Professor Reilly's results differently, confusing the amount of money raised through auctions with the cost imposed on consumers. Based on that false information, they stepped up to the megaphone to warn citizens of thousands of dollars in annual price increases. Reilly promptly sent a cease-and-desist letter to House Republican Leader John Boehner, hoping the Congressman would rescind his comments and set the record straight. Unfortunately, despite Professor Reilly's complaints, some members in the House continued to manipulate the research to say costs could be 10 to 11 times higher than what the report found. Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) even scoffed at Professor Reilly's attempts to correct the misperceptions by saying : "he may go to M-I-T but he is an N-U-T." The question of the cost of climate change legislation has rightly emerged as a major theme of the debate on the Hill. Most recently, Charlie Rangel, Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee announced last week that he would insist on using auction revenues to reimburse American families for increases in energy prices. Since middle and lower classes pay a higher percentage of their income on energy, they are hit hardest by increases. So while a cap-and-trade would not cost nearly as much as Congressman Boehner says it would, it would still mean a few hundred dollars a year out of the pockets of those who could afford it least. But with a cap-and-dividend type plan like Rangel's, Obama's or Congressman Van Hollen's , we could avoid this unfair burden without compromising our green goals. The two most important questions to ensure a fair cap-and trade plan are whether permits will be auctioned, and whether proceeds will be returned to American families. Last week, a number of economists announced their support for the Van Hollen bill that that auctions permits and refunds auction revenue. Paul Krugman recently wrote : "If emission permits were auctioned off -- as they should be -- the revenue thus raised could be used to give consumers rebates or reduce other taxes, partially offsetting the higher prices." In fact, Professor Reillly has found that distributing auction proceeds to American families can completely offset increased energy prices for low and middle income Americans. There is nothing wrong with focusing on what climate change legislation will cost Americans. However, there is clearly something wrong with trying to shoehorn academic research into a scary scenario and passing it off as legitimate political discourse. To err is human-- anyone can be forgiven for misunderstanding a sophisticated economic analysis of a complex problem. But to refuse to correct mistakes and instead continue to perpetuate false ideas is malpractice for a political leader. Obviously, there are some who do not believe climate change is a problem and are likely to resist legislation in any form. But no one should confuse Professor Reilly with this crowd. As he said to Congressman Boehner: "It will take efforts in the US and abroad to reduce emissions substantially to avoid the most serious risks of climate change." For those of us who agree, and who also genuinely want to prevent American families from bearing an unfair share of the costs, these cap-and-dividend plans provide the best road forward. More on Climate Change
 
Fed Inspector General Knows Roughly Nothing About The Fed (VIDEO) Top
The inspector general tasked with overseeing and auditing the Federal Reserve knows pretty much nothing about what the Fed is doing. That's the conclusion that comes from watching the exchange Tuesday between Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) and inspector general Elizabeth A. Coleman. Coleman could not tell Grayson what kind of losses the Fed has so far suffered on its $2 trillion portfolio, which has greatly expanded since September. She appeared unaware that the Fed engages in trillions of dollars in off-balance-sheet exchanges. She is not investigating the role of the Fed in allowing the collapse of Lehman Brothers. She did not know where the Fed has invested its $2 trillion on the liability side of the balance sheet. "I do not know. We have not looked at that specific area at this particular point on," she said. "We do not have jurisdiction to directly go out and audit reserve bank activities specifically," she said, though the IG's Web site proudly declares that her office "conducts independent and objective audits, inspections, evaluations, investigations, and other reviews related to programs and operations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System." Contacted by the Huffington Post, Coleman was in a meeting and unavailable for comment. Watch the exchange: Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! More on The Fed
 
Dilip Hiro: Defying the Economic Odds Top
Crossposted with TomDispatch.com The World Melts Down, China Grows In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, a new world order is emerging -- with its center gravitating towards China. The statistics speak for themselves. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts the world's gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink by an alarming 1.3% this year. Yet, defying this global trend, China expects an annual economic growth rate of 6.5% to 8.5%. During the first quarter of 2009, the world's leading stock markets combined fell by 4.5%. In contrast, the Shanghai stock exchange index leapt by a whopping 38%. In March, car sales in China hit a record 1.1 million, surpassing the U.S. for the third month in a row. "Despite its severe impact on China's economy," said Chinese President Hu Jintao, "the current financial crisis also creates opportunity for the country." It can be argued that the present fiscal tsunami has, in fact, provided China with a chance to discard its pioneering reformer's leading guideline. "Hide your capability and bide your time" was the way former head of the Communist Party Deng Xiaoping once put it. No longer. Recognizing that its time has indeed come, Beijing has decided to play an active, interventionist role in the international financial arena. Backed by China's $2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, its industrialists have gone on a global buying spree in Africa and Latin America, as well as in neighboring Russia and Kazakhstan, to lock up future energy supplies for its ravenous economy. At home, the government is investing heavily not only in major infrastructure, but also in its much neglected social safety net, its health care system, and long overlooked rural development projects -- partly to bridge the increasingly wide gap between rural and urban living standards. Among those impressed by the strides Beijing has made since launching its $585 billion stimulus package in September is the Obama administration. It views the continuing rise in China's GDP as an effective corrective to the contracting GDP of almost every other major economy on the planet, except India's. So it has stopped arguing that, by undervaluing its currency -- the yuan -- with respect to the U.S. dollar, China is making its products too cheap, thus putting competing American goods at a disadvantage in foreign markets. The Secret of China's Success What is the secret of China's continuing success in the worst of times? As a start, its banking system -- state-controlled and flush with cash -- has opened its lending spigots to the full, while bank credit in the U.S. and the European Union (EU) still remains clogged up, if not choked off. Therefore, consumer spending and capital investment have risen sharply. Ever since China embarked on economic liberalization under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping in 1978, it has experienced economic ups and downs, including high inflation, deflation, recessions, uneven development of its regions, and a widening gap between the rich and the poor, as well as between the urban and the rural -- all characteristics associated with capitalism. While China's Communist leaders have responded with a familiar range of fiscal and monetary tools like adjusting interest rates and money supply, they have achieved the desired results faster than their capitalist counterparts. This is primarily because of the state-controlled banking system where, for instance, government-owned banks act as depositories for the compulsory savings of all employees. In addition, the "one couple, one child" law, enacted in 1980 to control China's exploding population, and a sharp decline in the state's social-support network for employees in state-owned enterprises, compelled parents to save. Add to this the earlier collapse of a rural cooperative health insurance program run by agricultural cooperatives and communes -- and many Chinese parents were left without a guarantee of being cared for in their declining years. This proved an additional incentive to set aside cash. The resulting rise in savings filled the coffers of the state-controlled banks. On top of that came China's admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, which led to a dramatic jump in its exports. An average economic expansion of 12% a year became the norm. When the credit crash in North America and the EU caused a powerful drop in China's exports, throwing millions of migrant workers in the industrialized coastal cities out of work, the authorities in Beijing focused on controlling the unemployment rate and maintaining the wages of the employed. They can now claim an urban unemployment rate of a mere 4.2% because many of the laid-off factory workers returned to their home villages. Those who did not were encouraged to enroll in government-sponsored retraining programs to acquire higher skills for better jobs in the future. Whereas most Western leaders could do nothing more than castigate bankers filling their pockets with bonuses as the balance sheets of their companies went crimson red, the Chinese government compelled top managers at major state-owned companies to cut their salaries by 15% to 40% before tinkering with the remuneration of their workforce. To ensure the continued rapid expansion of China's economy, which is directly related to the country's level of energy consumption, its leaders are inking many contracts for future supplies of oil and natural gas with foreign corporations. Energy Security Once China became an oil importer in 1993, it proved voracious. Its imports doubled every three years. This made it vulnerable to the vagaries of the international oil market and led the government to embed energy security in its foreign policy. It decided to actively participate in hydrocarbon prospecting and energy production projects abroad as well as in transnational pipeline construction. By now, the diversification of China's foreign sources of oil and gas (and their transportation) has become a cardinal principle of its foreign ministry. Conscious of the volatility of the Middle East, the leading source of oil exports, China has scoured Africa, Australia, and Latin America for petroleum and natural gas deposits, along with other minerals needed for industry and construction. In Africa, it focused on Angola, Congo, Nigeria, and Sudan. By 2004, China's oil imports from these nations were three-fifths the size of those from the Persian Gulf region. Nearer home, China began locking up energy deals with Russia and the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan long before the current collapse in oil prices and the global credit crunch hit. Now, reeling from the double whammy of low energy prices and the credit squeeze, Russia's leading oil company and pipeline operator recently agreed to provide 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in additional oil to China over 25 years for a $25 billion loan from the state-controlled China Development Bank. Likewise, a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corp agreed to lend Kazakhstan $10 billion as part of a joint venture to develop its hydrocarbon reserves. Similarly, Beijing continued to make inroads into the oil and gas regions of South America. As relations between Hugo Chavez's Venezuela and the Bush administration worsened, ties with China strengthened. In 2006, during his fourth visit to Beijing since becoming president in 1999, Chavez revealed that Venezuela's oil exports to China would treble in three years to 500,000 bpd. Along with a joint refinery project to handle Venezuelan oil in China, the Chinese companies contracted to build a dozen oil-drilling platforms, supply 18 oil tankers, and collaborate with PdVSA, the state-owned Venezuelan oil company, to explore new oilfields in Venezuela. During Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's tour of South America in January 2009, the China Development Bank agreed to loan PdVSA $6 billion for oil to be supplied to China over the next 20 years. Since then China has agreed to double its development fund to $12 billion, in return for which Venezuela is to increase its oil shipments from the current 380,000 bpd to one million bpd. The China Development Bank recently decided to lend Brazil's petroleum company $10 billion to be repaid in oil supplies in the coming years. This figure is almost as large as the $11.2 billion that the Inter-American Development Bank lent to various South American countries last year. China had established its commercial presence in Brazil earlier by offering lucrative prices for iron ore and soybeans, the export commodities that have fuelled Brazil's recent economic growth. Similarly, Beijing broke new ground in the region by giving Buenos Aires access to more than $10 billion in yuans. Argentina was one of three major trading partners of China given this option, the others being Indonesia and South Korea. Will the Yuan Become an International Currency? Without much fanfare, China has started internationalizing the role of its currency. It is in the process of increasing the yuan's role in Hong Kong. Though part of China, Hong Kong has its own currency, the Hong Kong Dollar. Since Hong Kong is one of the world's freest financial markets, the projected arrangement will aid internationalization of the yuan. In retrospect, an important aspect of the G-20 Summit in London in early April centered around what China did. It aired its in-depth analysis of the current fiscal crisis publicly and offered a bold solution. In a striking on-line article, Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, referred to the "increasingly frequent global financial crises" that have embroiled the world. The problem could be traced to August 1971, when President Richard Nixon took the dollar off the gold standard. Until then, $35 bought one ounce of gold stored in bars in Fort Knox, Kentucky -- the rate having been fixed in 1944 during World War II by the Allies at a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. At that time, the greenback was also named as the globe's reserve currency. Since 1971, however, it has been backed by nothing more tangible than the credit of the United States. A glance at the past decade and a half shows that, between 1994 and 2000 alone, there were economic crises in nine major countries which impacted the global economy: Mexico (1994), Thailand-Indonesia-Malaysia-South Korea-the Philippines (1997-98), Russia and Brazil (1998), and Argentina (2000). According to Zhou, financial crises resulted when the domestic needs of the country issuing a reserve currency clashed with international fiscal requirements. For instance, responding to the demoralization caused by the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board drastically reduced interest rates to an almost-record low of 1% to boost domestic consumption at a time when rapidly expanding economies outside the United States needed higher interest rates to cool their growth rates. "The [present] crisis called again for creative reform of the existing international reserve currency," Zhou wrote. "A super-sovereign reserve currency managed by a global institution could be used to both create and control global liquidity. This will significantly reduce the risks of a future crisis and enhance crisis management capability." He then alluded to the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund. The SDR is a virtual currency whose value is set by a currency "basket" made up of the U.S. dollar, the European euro, the British pound, and the Japanese yen, all of which qualify as reserve currencies, with the greenback being the leader. Ever since the SDR was devised in 1969, the IMF has maintained its accounts in that currency. Zhou noted that the SDR has not yet been allowed to play its full role. If its role was enhanced, he argued, it might someday become the global reserve currency. Zhou's idea received a positive response from the Kremlin, which suggested adding gold to the IMF's currency basket as a stabilizing element. Its own currency, the ruble, is already pegged to a basket that is 55% the euro and 45% the dollar. Within a decade of its launch, the euro has become the second most held reserve currency in the world, garnering nearly 30% of the total compared to the dollar's 67%. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's immediate reaction to Zhou's article was: "China's suggestion deserves some consideration." Nervous financial markets in the U.S. took this as a sign from the Treasury Secretary that the dollar was losing its primacy. Geithner retreated post-haste. And President Obama quickly joined the fray, saying: "I don't think there is need for a global currency. The dollar is extraordinarily strong right now." Actually, maintaining the customary Chinese discretion, Zhou never mentioned the state of the U.S. dollar in his article, nor did he even imply that the yuan should be included in the super-sovereign currency he proposed. Yet it was clear to all that at a crucial moment -- with world leaders about to meet in London to devise a way to defuse the most severe fiscal crisis since the Great Depression -- that a China which had bided its time, even though it had the third largest economy on the planet, was now showing its strong hand. All signs are that Washington will be unable to restore the status quo ante after the present "great recession" has finally given way to recovery. In the coming years, its leaders will have to face reality and concede, however reluctantly, that the economic tectonic plates are shifting -- and that it is losing financial power to the thriving regions of the Earth, the foremost of which is China. More on Timothy Geithner
 
Elliott Kalan: Politics, Comedy, Media: They Put the "Human" in "Humanity" Top
Since the dawn of time, man has yearned to hold a Writers Guild of America, East event at Washington, D.C.'s Newseum examining the relationship between politics, the media, and comedy. This Friday, May 8th, that millennia-old dream will finally be fulfilled, freeing humanity to move forward on achieving the next item on its checklist: world peace. But why has this particular collection of concepts (politics, media, and comedy) beguiled us for so long? To answer that, let's return to the very birth of the universe. The big bang's invention of "things" caused primitive man to feel desire and avarice. What man saw, man wanted, and man saw quite a bit because God had designed eyeballs for us far too complicated to come about through random evolution. To make obtaining items possible, a system of social rules was invented in which every caveman worked as hard as possible so that one specific caveman could have whatever he wanted. They called it politics. And yes it was flawed, what with the vast majority of people living their lives in toil and want. But hey, they were cavemen. It was the best they could do. To make life palatable, man invented humor, which allowed him to laugh at the things that were killing him. Since caveman jokes get old pretty quickly, they then invented new forms of communication so that humor could be exchanged over great distances. Thus, media was born. Eventually, ideas and philosophies were shared between alien cultures. This led mostly to violence, but occasionally it brought forth new things that man could be proud of, things anyone could have, not just the man at the top. Democracy. Liberty. Hilariously mistranslated Japanese product packaging. Thanks to politics, comedy, and media, civilization reached a higher plane of freedom. And if you don't tune in on May 8th, I can only assume you liked it better when we were cavemen. Elliott Kalan is a writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He also contributes a weekly column to the free newspaper Metro and co-hosts the film-themed podcast The Flophouse. See the show "Writers Speak! A Potentially Regrettable Evening with WGA Comedy Writers," this Friday May 8th, 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm at Washington DC's Newseum. More WGA blogs about the event available here .
 
Caissie St. Onge: Comedy and Politics: Together Forever Top
Comedy and politics have always gone together. Political cartoons have existed for as long as politics have been cartoonish. In the 70's, comedians swatted the low-hanging fruit of Gerald Ford's clumsiness and, in the 80's, the Reagans' enthusiasm for astrology. During the Clinton years, you could have gagged on the number of jokes about blue-dressed interns and over the two terms of George W. Bush's administration, so much ridiculous happened that the requisite ridicule was enough to sustain a daily show like The Daily Show, with plenty of surplus to give Stephen Colbert a spinoff. Finally, W.'s name and "surplus" in the same sentence. You're welcome, former Mr. President! In the last election, depending on your bent, you might even have thought of comedy as heroic. You're probably asking, "In what sense, Churlie?" Well, Katie Couric's interview with Veep candidate Sarah Palin was seen by under six million people, or less than three percent of eligible voters. But, after Tina Fey's portrayal on Saturday Night Live, the number of people who became aware of that interview increased to...all of them! Approximately. If you were one of the relative few who actually saw the original horrifying exchange, you can give comedy the credit for helping the rest of America dodge a bullet like a wolf being shot at from a helicopter by the Governor of Alaska! How did we get to a place where, rather than just riffing on the news, comedy actually had the power to, in many ways, supplant it? The mainstream media was always supposed to be unbiased, which we recently seem to have figured out is kind of a big fat lie. Journalists traded integrity for access and we suffered. Comedians present a more honest proposition: they're obviously biased, bred to say what others dare not and willing to exploit anything for a laugh. In fact, it's the comic's tendency to try to fill his bottomless pit of neediness with our laughter that makes him an equal opportunity offender, and thus, more impartial than anyone. A comedian's integrity may come incidentally, but it's there. Good comedy will always shine a revealing light on politics and great comedy will hold up a magnifying glass to politics. But the best comedy will shine a light on politics while holding up a magnifying glass until politics tries to run away or catches on fire. Metaphorically speaking. Caissie St. Onge is a writer and producer for Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins on VH1. See the show "Writers Speak! A Potentially Regrettable Evening with WGA Comedy Writers," this Friday May 8th, 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm at Washington DC's Newseum. More WGA blogs about the event available here . More on Satire
 
Souter Says Goodbye: "Just Give Them My Love" Top
PHILADELPHIA — Supreme Court Justice David Souter, momentarily choked with emotion, bid an affectionate farewell Tuesday to judges and lawyers he has worked with for nearly two decades. Souter spoke at an annual conference of judges and lawyers from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He handles matters that come to the Supreme Court from those states. The 69-year-old justice announced last Friday that he will retire when the court finishes its work for the summer and return to his home in New Hampshire. Momentarily dropping his New England reserve, the justice appeared to choke up as he recalled asking his predecessor, William Brennan, if he wanted to send a message to the same group when Souter was preparing to attend his first conference in Teaneck, N.J. "Just give them my love, David. Just give them my love," Souter remembered. "That goes for me, too." He received sustained standing ovations before and after his 15-minute talk, and was introduced by Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as a "beloved member of the 3rd Circuit family." Souter said he had not intended for the news of his retirement to break before Tuesday's event. "I swear to you I was not the leak," he said. Still, he said, "It's impossible not to be doing a mental reckoning of some sort." He gave a lighthearted account of the first conference after he joined the court in 1990, noting that he apparently was viewed with some suspicion by the 3rd Circuit. Among the reading material he was given when he arrived at that first conference was a copy of the Constitution. Souter thanked Scirica for not including the Constitution for this visit. "He may have assumed that it's too late now," Souter said. Souter told the conference that members of the legal profession should take satisfaction in doing "something worth doing" and trying "to do it well." He did not permit cameras or audio recordings at his speech. In Washington, the White House said President Barack Obama will not be announcing his choice to replace Souter this week. Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs ruled out that timeframe when asked about published comments from Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who spoke to Obama on Monday and said he expected an announcement this week. On Capitol Hill, Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he has discussed possible nominees with Obama but would not name them. The Vermont Democrat said he wouldn't schedule the committee's confirmation hearings until a nominee was chosen, but he said he was certain that a new justice would be seated for the court's fall term. Leahy said he has advised Obama, "Make sure you talk to key Republicans, not just Democrats," including the Senate's top leaders, Democrat Harry Reid of Nevada and Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. On Tuesday, Obama made a brief courtesy call to Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., now the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. Sessions' spokesman, Stephen Boyd, said the content of their discussion would not be released. Sessions, in a statement after he became the committee's ranking Republican, said he would ensure "a rigorous and thorough examination" of the nominee's qualifications. Sessions also expressed tradition Republican themes on court nominations, saying the nominee must be "a neutral umpire of the law, calling the balls and strikes fairly while avoiding the temptation to make policy or legislate from the bench based on personal political views." ____ Associated Press writers Larry Margasak and Ben Evans in Washington contributed to this report.
 
Carl Pope: They Are Trying to Steal Your Future Top
San Francisco -- Oil and coal are not about to let clean energy get to market without a fight. And Congress is so used to thinking of energy policy in terms of which regions produce which fuels -- instead of in the context of our collective need for energy services -- that they are getting a hearing. Peabody Coal just launched a huge attack on wind energy. In an ad in Roll Call aimed at Congress, the coal producer makes the claim that coal-fired power plants, even when equipped with as-yet unproven and therefore uncosted capture-and-sequestration technology, will be 15-50 percent cheaper than wind, 28 percent cheaper than natural gas, and 15 percent cheaper than nuclear. These are absurd figures. A recent California PUC study estimated that wind would cost 9 cents per kilowatt hour delivered; coal, with capture and storage, would cost 17 cents; combined cycle natural gas power would cost 9.4 cents; geothermal, 10 cents; concentrating solar, 12 cents; and nuclear, 15 cents. A wide variety of other analyses have also shown that coal, if you have to capture its carbon, simply doesn't compete -- except maybe with nuclear. None of these studies included the costs of properly treating the currently unregulated coal-ash wastes from these plants, which were to blame for the disastrous spill in Tennessee last Christmas. In reality, they are all tilted toward coal. This cost disadvantage to coal is not just theoretical. Look at the experience of the past several months. An economic crisis drives down electricity demand, particularly for industry. U.S. electrical demand has, indeed, slumped -- by 4.5 percent . But demand for coal-generated power is down three times as fast, by 13.4 percent, while cleaner natural gas is up 3.4 percent, and wind is up by 60 percent -- and that reflects the huge new wind construction in 2008 so it's not really apples to apples. These kinds of numbers are why Jon Wellinghoff, the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has stepped forward and stated the simple truth -- the U.S. can meet its electricity needs without building a single new coal or nuclear power plant . Wellinghoff was predictably and promptly attacked by the coal industry , But the attack didn't seek to rebut any of Wellinghoff's analysis -- because the industry can't. Coal is not alone. The oil industry is calling on its allies in the Senate to slow progress. Utah Senator Bob Bennett, now joined by fellow oil-advocate Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, is refusing to permit the confirmation of David Hayes as Deputy Secretary of the Interior until Secretary Ken Salazar gives Bennett satisfaction about oil leases on public lands. These are leases that George W. Bush issued at the end of his term and which Salazar has canceled. And clean energy advocates lobbying swing members of Congress report that coal and oil are finding a hearing.  Mark-ups of the Waxman-Markey Climate Security Act are slowing down because the votes are not yet there even for such seemingly obvious steps as a 25 percent renewable electricity standard.  Public utilities are making a major, and seemingly successful, bid to block the president's plan to auction off 100 percent of the carbon permits in any climate program, and instead are on the verge of grabbing 40 percent for their own benefit -- a raid which, if successful, will greatly slow the pace at which these utilities actually have to clean up their carbon pollution. It's time to turn up the heat on members of Congress who don't get that this is our future they're talking about, and that energy policy is now too important to be left to energy lobbyists.
 
Dr. Irene S. Levine: Circles of Friends Top
QUESTION Hi Irene, I stumbled across your blog, and I think it's so helpful and needed in a society that seems to place greater value on romantic relationships than friendships. I'm in my late 20's, and the older I get, the harder I've found it to keep deep, meaningful female friendships. We're growing in different directions, moving to different states, pairing off romantically, etc. I have three very close female friendships that I treasure but they aren't connected; they are friends from different sectors of my life. So I feel like I'm lacking a "friend group." I also feel as though I don't have enough deep friendships, in general. It bothers me that most people my age seem to have a "group." I've been in friend groups before in my life, but I find that in friend groups, I can't connect as deeply to each friend. So I prefer one on one time. I know this sounds like a sort of hard question to answer, but what's the average number of close female friendships that women my age have? Or any thoughts you have on how friendships change as you get older. Thanks very much, Jane ANSWER Dear Jane: What a great letter! You raised so many thought-provoking questions. A few ideas: Some women have the good fortune of having groups of friends who have a shared history--based on where they were, where they lived, or what they did together. There have been a spate of books lately--- Friday Nights by Joanna Trollope, The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton, and more recently, The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow---that make women feel like they're missing out on something big if they don't belong to a friendship circle. In fact, when I interviewed Mr. Zaslow, he said that he had two types of readers: those who had a circle similar to The Girls from Ames and those that wish they did! When I read that literary trilogy on sisterhoods, I have to admit I was envious because, like you, I'm in the latter category. I have close friends but my friends aren't friends with each other. They come from different ages and stages of my life that don't intersect. While it isn't impossible to forge a sisterhood later in life, it's generally easier to do it as a teenager or young adult because you're likely to have more time and to be thrown together in similar circumstances--whether it's a team, sorority, or neighborhood. As we marry or divorce, move, or graduate and our lives diverge, it becomes tougher to sustain circles of friends. Keep in mind: Even in a circle of friends, there are usually twosomes (dyads or pairs) who seem to have more in common, either temperamentally or situationally. Thus, each woman doesn't have precisely the same relationship with each member in the circle. Zaslow figured out that there was a possibility of 99 different pairs in the 11 Girls from Ames. People generally have far more acquaintances than they do close friends so it isn't surprising that deep and meaningful friendships are the most coveted and difficult to achieve. Just like a romance, most women say that at their start, there is a certain essential chemistry that provides the foundation for best friendships. Then, as two women feel increasingly comfortable together, they are able to become more intimate and reveal their true selves to one another. While there is wide variability, based on the data from my friendship survey, most women have between two and five very close or best friends (there's a section in my forthcoming book that looks at the numbers). What's more important than quantity, however, is quality and whether or not you feel like you have enough of the right type of friends for you. If you feel like something's missing, perhaps it is. I will be returning to this topic again in another blog post but would love to hear from others about the topic of friendship circles and sisterhoods (when you're on the inside) and cliques (when you are on the outside). Best, Irene Do you run in circles? Are you on the outside of a clique? Have a friendship dilemma that is bothering you? Please share your thoughts. Write to me at: Irene@fracturedfriendships.com Irene S. Levine, PhD is a freelance journalist and author. She holds an appointment as a professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine and is working on a book about female friendships, Best Friends Forever: Surviving A Break-up With Your Best Friend , that will be published by Overlook Press in September, 2009. She recently co-authored Schizophrenia for Dummies (Wiley, 2008). She also blogs about female friendships at The Friendship Blog . More on Relationships
 
Amanda Copeland: Maximum Platform Versus Basic Floor: The Case for Autism as its Own Universe Top
When you first get the diagnosis on your toddler, this tiny being, this round, soft, angelic, helpless thing of a human who is beholden to you for its safe-keeping and survival, your guts fall on the floor. If you are a first time autism parent, you don't even know what they are telling you. The feeling is akin to your beloved child's life being over, and truth be told, it is over in a manner of speaking. All special-needs parents have been told the tale of the " Trip to Holland ." Well, this is a detour of shattering proportions: the wild ride of autism. If you are fortunate enough to be standing in a Regional Center prior to your child's 3rd birthday (Regional Center is the clearing house in the state of California for the identification of autism) when you hear this diagnosis, you've gotten a slight jump start on the monumentally huge amount of therapy your child is going to need to face autism head on. The earlier and more intensive the intervention in autism, the better the chance of making any kind of progress for lifetime success for autistic individuals. Experts across the board concede on this urgent fact. Here is where I advise the new parent in autism to give everything it takes to secure your child's therapy prior to entering your school district's jurisdiction. This is the single most important piece of advice I can offer to working class parents who have no way of paying for the more than $150,000 a year worth of services needed for an appropriate early intervention program for toddlers, when they are first diagnosed. For our family, the age was two years and seven months when we were first referred to Regional Center for Lila's condition. It took a month of unreturned phone calls to get an appointment with a psychologist there for diagnosis. The early intake supervisor at our local Regional Center casually dismissed Lila as being of school age in just a few short months, and advised me to wait until January -- her birth month -- for intake into the school district. One's local school district is the second stop for therapeutic services in California for autistic children. This, as well-known special education attorney Valerie Vanaman would tell any number of parents who come to her for help in getting their autistic children therapeutic services, is the time to expect an endless array of obstacles to anything resembling an educational program for an autistic child. Once, when I was faced with my first hearing with Regional Center for denying Lila speech therapy, Valerie looked at me soberly and told me to save my tears for when Lila transitioned into the school district. Then, she advised, I would learn the meaning of the special hell I was about to encounter. Something inside me told me to fight to get Lila's services started at the Regional Center level, despite the supervisor's cajoling to wait a few short months until the district took over. He was tan and casual and jolly about the whole idea, and I was nearly enticed into putting things off for a time when I might be slightly less devastated with the news of Lila's disorder. The same cautionary voice that had told me not to vaccinate Lila after I had done copious research on that topic prior to her birth was speaking to me now. In beginning the struggle for services early, I had no idea I was taking the most important step in guaranteeing Lila would get a suitable concentration of therapy at the school district level. Setting precedent meant that the district would not have cart blanche to offer a skeleton's share of therapy to Lila and have enough traction to get away with it. This brings us to the federal legislation that governs the administration of education, therapeutic and clinical supports that individuals with disabilities need to complete their school-age years. The IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: first drafted into being in 1990 from a prior act that had to do with "handicapped" children, then amended again in 2004 with grave results for many thousands of children. IDEA tells us that our children are guaranteed the right to a FREE, APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION, or as fondly coined in our community: FAPE. In order for states to receive badly needed Federal funding for special education, they must comply with IDEA. But compliance, quickly learned by any autism parents taking on their local school district for appropriate services for their autistic child, is a slippery slope. The word that contributes wholly to the ability of states to flub their compliance however they see fit is: APPROPRIATE. School districts and parents spend millions of dollars each year fighting in hearings, and then in appeal on the 9th circuit level in California, over what APPROPRIATE is for their autistic youngsters. For example: at our Regional Center, after two hearings in two months when Lila was first diagnosed, I was able to procure for her what the "standard", according to autism experts, is for autistic toddlers first entering early intervention at pre-school age. 40 hours a week of behavior-based therapy in the home, 2 hours of clinic based (for some children this should be more) occupational therapy with a sensory integration focus, and 3 hours a week of clinic-based speech therapy. Lila had just begun these services, and was in a previously selected private pre-school, when she transitioned into school district jurisdiction. The school district held its own evaluations of Lila over a month's time three months after Lila's 3rd birthday. The evaluations themselves were horrific for both of us. I watched, as Lila was forced, in sheer terror that caused her to vomit, to descend the heights of a playground slide and to swing, two things that brought her untold horror due to her sensory dysfunction. She was fed Cheerios as an incentive to perform tasks she could not do, though the district's therapists had been advised by our family doctor, Lila is allergic to wheat. Again, Lila was made physically sick. Then, it was time for Lila's first IEP meeting, the time when all the professionals involved in Lila's therapy and education are to gather and decide the best course to offer Lila for her education and related therapies. IEP stands for Individual Education Plan, yet many find it is nothing like individualized in the end. Lila was offered a placement in a "Special Day Class" on the public school campus in our city's neighborhood. In addition, she was offered a total of 100 minutes per week of "pull-out" services, where they suggested a district employee would come and take her out of class for 20 minutes of speech assistance 3x a week, 20 minutes of occupational therapy assistance 2x a week, et cetera. It sounded deeply inadequate to me at first blush, but Valerie told me I had to go look at the placement before I could respond to the offer. The next day, I met another cheery-faced program supervisor from the district at our local school following the offer of FAPE at the IEP. She took me on a circuitous route through the school grounds to the far end of the outskirts of the property, where there was a clatch of decidedly shabby trailers stationed. Upon entering the trailer for the autistic, retarded, and otherwise disabled children, my stomach took a nauseous turn and I had to fight every instinct to address the district supervisor with a "what in the name of. . ." question that could have been inappropriate to deliver in what we will loosely call a "classroom." Dim neon lights exposed a cramped room with darkly tinted windows where non-verbal children, aged from 3-7, ran around in diapers, howling, screaming, beating their bodies against the nearest available wall while a teacher whose second language was English, barked commands at them that went unheeded in total. I noticed an aide in the adjoining bathroom fighting with an unruly 5-6 year old on the changing table, to put on a clean diaper. We went to due process. The district is in a position, under the current ways and means, to litigate first, and discuss later. My hair fell out. I stopped sleeping. My friends became a distant memory as every waking minute we were not in therapy I spent doing research, finding experts to evaluate Lila on private dollars I didn't have, and preparing for the battle royale in special education: private intensive services for a child whose unique diagnosis actually meant that her disability, unlike so many others such as Down's or straight mental retardation, was highly treatable with a chance of profound positive results. This is where we parents stop, and ask ourselves, how is it that the disability of autism is lumped in with every other disorder a child can possibly have, when it comes to educational and therapeutic legislation? Clearly, autism is its own universe, and its inhabitants have a complex, treatable array of problems that differ vastly from disabilities of every other ilk. The IDEA, the governing statutes that judges currently use to determine "appropriateness" in any one of the thousands of lawsuits currently pending in courts across this land, states that school districts have no obligation to provide autistic children with maximum support to achieve not only their best educational result, but their therapeutic ideal -- which in the end translates into children with autism who grow up to be adults with autism, who can actually go to college and work to support themselves as adults. Under IDEA, the district must only provide a "basic floor" of opportunity. The meaning of "Basic Floor" for our autistic children, is lifelong institutionalization, a prospect that costs taxpayers in America millions and millions more dollars on the backend then properly treating our autistic children on the front end. The civil right of these specialized children is Maximum Platform, a high jumping off place packed to the hilt with every intensive therapy these children need, including bio-medical intervention. This is a place where litigation ceases, where families, in their despair and confusion, can go to get the right and speedy treatment their autistic children urgently need. Autism is a disability universe all its own. With maximum intervention, bio-medical treatment, and continuous uninterrupted therapy through the years of 2-10, these children can recover, many become fully functioning, and some improve to the point of inclusion, which means they are part of their social environment with minimal support from an aide. The current paradigm of legal struggle and blockades put in place by a faulty IDEA, a school district whose hands are tied by budgets that continuously fall and fail, and a judicial system clogged with thousands of cases of desperate parents fighting for the lives of their children, will not work with the oncoming tidal wave we have in the autism epidemic. In 1980 there were 1 in 10,000 children born with autism in the United States. In 2009 there will be 40,000 children born with the disorder, translating into 1 in 150. The number of autistic births rises every year, it never plateaus. Leaving the funding needed to give the children of this epidemic their civil right to thrive as members of society, up to a school district whose own typical populations have poor resources to begin with, is a travesty. Autism is an epidemic and an emergency. It deserves at least the same funding consideration as other natural disasters demand, and I would argue, a much stronger consideration for funding from Federal resources then the wars we have funded over the past ten years. In this, autism is a universe of its own, and in its own right demands unique and stand alone legislation which offers inviolable access to the intensive intervention and medical treatment these children need to reach for recovery, vast improvement, or inclusion. This is a civil right not currently afforded these children and the families who lose everything in the struggle to pull them back from the edge of neurological oblivion. At the age of two, my daughter lost most of her words, would sit slack in a chair unable to hold her body up, would flap and flail and spin in circles and ignore everyone around her. Looking into your eyes for Lila, meant torture. Her meltdowns were of monumental proportions and would last for up to an hour and a half. The world would tilt on her axis and stop spinning during episodes that were entirely inconsolable for no other reason than the sound of the vacuum had hurt her ears. At the age of seven, after the most intensive and thorough possible therapeutic and bio-medical intervention, Lila converses, she can be talked through emotional meltdowns and lead through her day in a neuro-typical elementary school with the help of an aide. Her academics are in the average percentile with the rest of her class due to untold thousands of hours of therapy over a five year period of time. Her physical flailing continues due to a blockade of her occupational therapy services by a school district who now randomly decides what it shall give and what it shall take away. Our last IEP was 16 hours long over two days. After debating over a speech goal for over two hours, there came a moment when one of the squadron of speech therapists the district had hired to diminish Lila's speech program stood up in exasperation and announced "How can I tell you what to do with a child I know nothing about?" And herein lies the center of the matter with how we currently mete out scraps for these dear, capable children. We autism parents know our children. We know our children can struggle for recovery and get there in varying levels of ability. But we know they can earn recovery if they just get a chance. Maximum Platform is the very least we can offer these children, who are not throw-aways, and who are worth every penny of the money. Give them their own Act, give them open access to these crucial interventions and medical care, and see how they grow. The Pilgrims: The Journey to a New World for Autism ,Narrated by Aidan Quinn is a new feature documentary film made about the civil rights crisis in autism worldwide. Get more information at pilgrimsmovie.com More on Travel
 
Maureen Reed Says She'll Challenge Michele Bachmann In 2010 Top
Dr. Maureen Reed, a Stillwater area physician and the Independence Party's 2006 nominee for lieutenant governor, today announced she would seek the endorsements of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Independence parties for the 6th Congressional District seat held by Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann. More on Michele Bachmann
 
Philip Slater: Why We Overreacted to an Ordinary Flu Top
In an online newsletter recently some mad housewives were sharing tips on how best to triple-wash and triple-sterilize their countertops. What on earth did they think they would catch from their own countertops? Small wonder our population is riddled with asthma, allergies, and other auto-immune diseases. Since I eat food that has fallen on the floor, both in my own and other people's houses, not to mention the ground outside, and since I was never vaccinated against all the childhood diseases children are vaccinated against today (and came down with most of them), and since I grew up before antibiotics existed, I should, in the view of the mad housewives, be dead by now. And I have never had a flu shot. I've always held the view that if I wasn't stressed or exhausted no flu germ could ever touch me, and that if I was stressed out and exhausted, any stray bug could have its way with me. Of course there's still time for one to do me in some day, but no one lives forever. I think we're in far more danger today from our obsessive over-protectionism with regard to microbes than from the bugs themselves. Why are we so obsessed with killing bacteria? Especially when we depend on them so utterly. We each of us carry within us trillions of bacteria--ten percent of our dry body weight, in fact. They slave night and day to maintain and repair our cells, digest our food, and in a hundred other ways keep us alive. I have every confidence that they know what they're doing--a confidence very, very few doctors have ever inspired in me. Western medicine, which is based on a military model, is also obsessed with killing. If doctors can't find something to kill or cut they seem to be at a loss. Not that doctors are alone in this--our political leaders seem to approach every social problem by making "war" on it, and every international problem by throwing bombs at it. We as a people tend to be dangerously impatient. We want quick fixes to every problem--fixes that usually involve destroying something or someone. Bacteria were here millions of years before us. And they'll be here long after we've destroyed ourselves with our impatience. They created and maintain the atmosphere that enables us to breathe. We are, as someone once pointed out, guests in a bacterial world. (In his inauguration speech, Obama talked of a whole new way of doing things. To understand the cultural paradigm shift that engendered this change--the shift that both Bush and the Taliban have resisted so fiercely, see my website for information on THE CHRYSALIS EFFECT: THE METAMORPHOSIS OF GLOBAL CULTURE). More on Swine Flu
 
Levi Felix: Life on #TheRescue with Invisible Children Top
(Causecast Vice President Levi Felix is still on the road with Invisible Children's Rescue Riders. This is his second dispatch from the road . Don't know the whole story? Check out Invisible Children's The Rescue on Causecast) My pocket vibrates... #therescue isn't on the trend topics anymore. Tweet up I wake up at 4:42 a.m. and find myself somewhere in Missouri. I'm tired. It's been 5 days. Balancing office work, protest, outreach, health and coalition building can get tiring especially when your sitting on the floor between isles of sleeping roadies. It's like being a camp counselor and executive all at once, combining minimal showers, conference calls, e-mails and announcements. But this is necessary. When your goal in life is to help others change the world, there is a point when you must take it into your own hands and join the movement. You can't sleep through a revolution, especially when we've got the digital on our side. Its 5 a.m. The bus driver needs a break and it's about time we get out to stretch our legs. We know the routine. One by one, the sleepy eyes open and make their way off the bus; iPhone, Sigg, and toothbrush in hand, our voices are finally silent but we definitely stay loud and clear--we must be heard. #therescue isn't over its only just begun I couldn't stop dreaming about #therescue last night #therescue taught me how to spell Wichita #rescueriders are on our way to #therescue chicago - we are not giving up I retweet, brush my teeth, and get back on the bus. Our crew has grown from 30 to 45 Rescue Riders over the past four days. From Los Angeles to San Francisco, Frisco to Vegas, and now Vegas to Chicago-- together we ride. As we pick up activists and revolutionary-minded millennials, musicians, students and even recently laid-off hard workers--we see our vision solidify as an issue that has been long ignored is finally coming to the forefront. Our once birthed bus from LA now consists of enthusiastic modern day freedom fighters from around the country and with each stop--we seem to have new additions to the mix. last tweet for a while-'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere' MLK #therescue Standing on the shoulders of the great leaders before us, we ride because power lies in numbers and strength builds with solidarity. It's working. With each city awareness is building, the press is paying attention, and more moguls are coming out to use their voice for good. Common folk who last week would have thought the LRA was a sports league and Joseph Kony a well known MVP, are now discussing global politics and what needs to be done to turn things around over coffee or lunch breaks. As we walked through a rest stop last night, folks recognized our Rescue Rider shirts and asked, "Where next? Thank you! Good luck and don't give up! We need your generation to change the world!" Having successfully collaborated to bring out Willie Brown in San Francisco, and Harry Reid (through an official written statement) and Mel B in Vegas, we are off to meet the other buses and caravans of Rescue Riders to free Chicago. @CBS2chicago abductess will not give up until @Oprah comes to #therescue of Joseph Kony's child soldiers @theEllenShow You want to cover this story: 100's of volunteers have been in Chicago for 5 days to end the war in Uganda @michaelphelps do you have any connections in chi - help invisible children #the rescue The messages build while most wouldn't have expected it to take over Twitter for almost five days when such topics as the swine flu, Wolverine or American idol permeate the news. But CNN is following us and senators are showing their support. Coalitions are building, a family is forming and we won't give up until we know things will change. The bar has been raised and, with one city remaining, we're holding out for a mogul who will confirm our cries. The children of Uganda and Congo need us; distance does not justify disinterest. We must invest in our global youth so we'll never seize this lobby for change. @oprah @joebiden @barackobama come to #therescue of the thousands of child soldiers 100 days of @Barackobama presidency. 100 cities of #therescue down to 1. 100 hrs they've waited in Chicago... Your move Mr. President Les Miserables blares from the sound system as the microphone is held up to a beaten iPhone. We board the bus and edge closer to change, 3g is down but we mobilize as one. The sun, it rises and the wheels begin to turn yet again. #therescue is back to trending We breathe- A sense of momentary relief fills the hearts of our Rescue Riders and those fighting for freedom today and every day past. Chicago see you soon!! Come to #therescue of Joseph Kony's child soldiers because together we are free' Please retweet! Peace and freedom, Levi Written with my thumbs, through the edge, on my iPhone. Follow @levifelix and @Causecast on Twitter. More on Barack Obama
 
Meet the Chrysler Holdouts: Schultze Asset Management, Oppenheimer, Stairway Capital And Others Top
The members include three funds associated with Schultze Asset Management; Stairway Capital Management; Oppenheimer, which holds debt in two funds; Group G Partners, which has holdings in two funds; and Foxhill Capital Partners.
 
Michael Wolff: Can the Times Save Us--and Itself? Top
The Times is sounding almost cheerful about the economy. It's posted two stories in the last 24 hours about optimism and recovery. The day before it was marveling about the fact that the S&P had made up 4 months of losses on Monday. Are these signs, if not of an economic recovery, then of a tonal recovery at the paper? Certainly, the Times' coverage over the last 8 months has not been of the glass-full type. It has rather been an intense expression of I-told-you-so-isms by reporters who, as it happens, didn't particularly predict any of this--hence they became much more inclined to prove their end-of-the-world chops. But self-interest and wistfulness might now be setting in. If only ever-so-slowly, it may have caught up with the Times that its future hangs in the balance of recovery. Continue reading on newser.com
 
Maddisen K. Krown: Ask Maddisen: How to Greatly Improve Your Life Top
Dear Maddisen: I've been experiencing one hardship after another, and I just don't understand why I'm being punished like this. The whole world is a mess and just seems to be getting worse. I'm a good person with a lot of integrity, so why is this happening to me? Please help. Signed, WB Dear WB, Thank you for this loaded question, which fortunately, also happens to be loaded with all of the answers. I say your question holds the answers, because it clearly shows how we can use our mind and our thoughts to perpetuate our difficulties. I'm here to tell you that you actually have dominion over your thoughts, your perception of events, and your attitude; AND that what you continue to focus on will continue to grow. I'll assume that you'd rather experience something more like satisfaction, success, optimism, and responsibility in experiencing a life you desire and choose. So, let's point You and your miraculous & flexible mind into THAT direction, and start practicing more life-supporting habits. Because what you focus on will grow! First, I'll share a theory that will hopefully explain why it is necessary and potentially beneficial for you to be experiencing this issue. The "Nature of Nature" theory is my personal theory, which suggests that because we Humans are part of Nature, or more accurately because we ARE Nature, we are impacted and formed by our life experiences in much the same way non-human forms of Nature are impacted and formed. Take mountains, for example. Mountains are formed when two earth plates press against each other until the land is lifted and folded over itself. One plate pushes on top of the other, and as one plate slides downward into the earth, it begins to melt. The melted rock rushes upward along cracks and weak spots, bursting out as fiery volcanoes, which over time, become mountains. We could "perceive" this as a very violent and destructive series of events, but on the contrary, most of us "perceive" this as an awe-inspiring creative miracle. Nature grinds, burns, and thrusts these beauties above ground and into breathtaking forms for all to marvel at and enjoy. And so it is with human experience. Except that we are impacted and formed by each other and by our environments and experiences! It starts with our parents or those who raise us, and continues with our siblings or roommates, teachers, strangers, colleagues, significant others, friends, foes, our environments, and basically everyone and every experience we come in direct or indirect contact with. Obviously, some relationships and experiences bring joy and some bring pain. But the reason for ALL experience is to INSPIRE MORE LIFE. Imagine how it would feel if you looked at every non-desired or painful situation as healthy resistance training, making you stronger and even more effective in propelling yourself into more of what gives you joy and satisfaction. Imagine using adversity to clarify what you DON'T WANT, in service of moving into what you DO WANT. As adults, we have a choice. We have dominion over our attitudes, our inner choices and our outer choices. We are NOT victims. We can choose to focus on what is not working and look all around to find proof of that, and feel discouraged, and maybe even feel bitter and give up, OR we can remember that we are Nature, and that any adverse experience is an opportunity to thrust ourselves up toward the Light of hope and renewed life, moving closer to and even landing in the realities we prefer. So, now that you've learned the value of transforming misfortune into fortune, or lemons into lemonade (!), I'll teach you how to let go of non-serving thoughts and how to redirect your thoughts and actions toward life experiences that serve and inspire. Please note, dear WB, that the overall change you seek will require your loving commitment and may take you some time, practice, and patience; or it could happen in a flash! Also, your results might be expedited and enhanced with additional support from a Life Coach. Regardless, know that you are on the road to a happier and more fulfilling life simply because you asked the question. RELEASE WHAT NO LONGER SERVES If you'd like support in releasing negative thoughts or ideas that that seem to be getting in your way, try this simplified and slightly modified version of the Sedona Method , which is taught by Hale Dwoskin as inspired by Lester Levenson. Step 1 Focus on the issue you would like to feel better about, and notice your feelings as you focus on it. Step 2 Ask yourself, "Could I accept that I have this feeling?" Step 3 Ask yourself, "Am I willing to let it go?" Step 4 a) Ask yourself, "When?" b) This is your invitation to respond, "Now!" You may find yourself easily letting go. Step 5 Repeat steps 1-4 as needed, until you feel complete. Sometimes for Step 1, I grab hold of a pen or some small object, and use it to represent the issue or undesired thought or feeling, and then when I get to Step 4b, I drop it like a hot potato! Try that. VISUALIZE, FEEL, LIVE After you let go of the thoughts or situations that no longer serve your highest good, you now have the delicious task of focusing on and filling your life with what you DO desire. Remember, what you focus on will grow. It's human Nature. Here's one simple approach to bringing forth your desired realities. Step 1 - Define it, State it Write down what you want. State it aloud. Always tag your statement with, "This or something better for my highest joy and the highest joy of all." Now, your order is placed and in the process of being filled! Step 2 - See it, Feel it, Grow it Close your eyes and visualize or imagine yourself experiencing the situation you desire. Go for details, and engage all your senses. Be aware of the positive or inspired 'feelings' you are having as you imagine this. Fully enjoy these feelings and sensations. If any mental judgments try to come in, just let them float by like clouds in the sky, and continue enjoying your vision and the wonderful feelings. Those feelings ARE the feelings you desire, and they MATCH the vibration of your NEW REALITY. What you're focusing on is growing. Step 3 - Feed it, Live it, Enjoy it While visualizing and imagining your desired reality, you may receive inspired pictures, words, or ideas that support its creation or construction. So, keep a pad of paper nearby and write down this information as it comes or after you've completed the visioning. TRUST your visions and ideas, and take inspired actions from this place. Let go of any attachment to forcing, and be aware of WHERE the desired results are showing up in your life and WHO is showing up to collaborate with or support you. Be open to support and know that you do not have to do this alone. Start noticing what is working and what is going well in your life. Notice how the more you are focusing on your inspired desires, and visualizing them in the now, and trusting this, the more they are becoming your reality. Practice these steps consistently, for example, 10-15 minutes per day. Do it before you go to sleep or first thing in the morning. Be lovingly committed and focused on your heartfelt desires. Remember, you are in control of what you choose to think about, and what you focus on will grow . Also, choose your company wisely, meaning the people you surround yourself with. Thankfully, as you change into a more positive feeling person, the people around you may change as well, and you may find negative people falling away and positive people coming closer. Not everyone may understand your change, meaning some may criticize or disapprove, and at first your mind may even get noisier in an attempt to maintain the old status quo. Don't be discouraged. Instead use all of this to inspire and propel you into the experiences you prefer. This is the Nature of Nature! Also, continue to practice Self Forgiveness, as you learned about in my earlier column. And so, dear WB, I leave you with this simple and powerful quote from Abraham Hicks: "You don't have to go where you don't want to be to get where you want to be. You can go from where you are to where you want to be." Start now! Release what no longer serves your highest joy, and then FOCUS ON AND LEAN INTO your heartfelt desires! Become the person you have been waiting for! That is my wish for all. And so it is! Your Life Coach, Maddisen You may submit your questions for ASK MADDISEN at askmaddisen@krown.us
 
'Torture Memo' Authors Under New Scrutiny, But Criminal Charges Unlikely Top
A Bush administration attorney who approved harsh interrogation techniques of terror suspects advocated in 2006 that President Bush set aside recommendations by his own Justice Department to bring prosecutions for such practices, that the President should consider pardoning anyone convicted of such offenses, and even that jurors hearing criminal cases about such matters engage in jury nullification. That advice came from John Yoo, a former attorney with the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel and author of memos that served as a legal rationale for the Bush administration's interrogation techniques. Yoo's recommendations constitute one of the most compelling pieces of a body of evidence that Yoo and other government attorneys improperly skewed legal advice to allow such practices, according to sources familiar with a still-confidential Justice Department report. A Justice Department internal watchdog agency, the Office of Professional Responsibility, has concluded that Yoo and a second former Justice Department attorney, Jay Bybee, breached their professional legal ethics by skewing their legal advisory opinion to provide a legal rationale for allowing the harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, according to a senior Department attorney who has reviewed a draft of the report. President Obama has said that the use of some of the interrogation techniques constituted torture. The OPR recommends in the draft report that state bar associations consider taking disciplinary action against Yoo and Bybee, according to the same sources. The state bar associations could reject the OPR's findings or it could reprimand the attorneys, sanction them in some other fashion, or even hold disbarment proceedings. The draft report does not recommend that the Bush administration lawyers face criminal charges. Yoo, Bybee, and a third attorney, Stephen Bradbury, as senior attorneys in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), were the primary authors of four memos providing the legal rationale for the Bush administration's controversial interrogation practices. The current draft of the report is critical of Bradbury's conduct as well, but did not consider his behavior serious enough to warrant potential action by his state bar association. Central to the OPR investigation, according to two attorneys involved, has been whether the three administration lawyers engaged in only crafting deficient legal opinions, or whether the they purposely and improperly skewed their advisory opinions to provide a legal rationale for Bush administration policies. "Intent is everything," said a Justice Department official who was involved in overseeing the probe. "What their mindset was, whether they were writing legal opinions tailored to meet the desires of their client -- that is key to whether this was just shoddy legal work or them not meeting their professional obligations." The motivations of both Yoo and Bybee will almost certainly be central to whatever action state bar associations take in deciding whether to investigate or discipline the two attorneys. In Bybee's case, the stakes are quite high in that he is currently a federal judge. The New York Times' op-ed page, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and John Podesta, a former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton who currently heads the Center for American Progress, have all called for Bybee's impeachment . The new disclosures about Yoo's 2006 comments and recommendations in the OPR report are likely to fuel further demands for a House impeachment inquiry. Yesterday, on Amy Goodman's syndicated radio show, Democracy Now!, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wi.), when asked whether Bybee should be impeached, replied : "I don't believe he should be in the office he's in. I'd prefer to see him resign. I would not rule out impeachment. As a senator, my job is to review an impeachment by the House as a juror, just as I did in the case of President Clinton. So I'm not going to prejudge a situation. But on the face of it, I certainly would understand why any member of the House would say, `Wait a minute. Maybe we ought to consider articles of impeachment if he does not resign.' What he did here was truly against American law and against American values." In attempting to discern the attorneys' motives, investigators have reviewed emails traded between the three men as they drafted the legal controversial legal opinions, as well as emails between the three OLC attorneys and other Bush administration attorneys, according to sources close to the case. Additionally, the investigators closely tracked drafts of the four legal opinions until they reached final form. In some instances, the drafts changed progressively over time to afford those who wanted to engage in aggressive interrogation techniques additional legal cover, according to people who have read the draft OPR report. One source indicated that at least two of the earlier drafts were "equivocal" and "nuanced" -- but noted over time they became "more advocative" of the views of then-Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the Bush administration that aggressive interrogation techniques were necessary to prevent new terror attacks. Extraordinarily, however, the most compelling evidence that Yoo skewed his legal advice to facilitate the use of aggressive interrogation techniques is a public statement that Yoo made in 2006 after he retired from government service. One investigator said that a state bar association is likely to consider Yoo's comments perhaps the most "damning evidence" in considering his intentions while coauthoring his OLC memos. In a 2006 memoir of his government service, entitled "War by Other Means," Yoo advocated that a president could take a number of steps so that people criminally charged with allegedly torturing prisoners would go free. Yoo wrote: "There are ways that the legal system could develop effective approaches toward coercive interrogation. A president could decline to prosecute an officer whom he believed properly acted in self-defense or in an emergency, or out of necessity. A President could pardon those involved. Even if a prosecution occurs, a jury must find that that the defense is not met, and convict the agents and his superiors of violating the law. It would require the only juror to agree that it was reasonable for the defendants to believe the coercive interrogation would yield information that would save lives, and that it would be necessary under the circumstances, to prevent the conviction." Yoo made the references in respect to the so-called McCain amendment, sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), which prohibited the use of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment by military and intelligence officials of detainees or terror suspects. Yoo complained that the McCain amendment and similar laws "unduly restrict the flexibility of the people who must make good decisions among the shifting complexities" in interrogating terror suspects. In an interview, Stephen Gillers, a professor of legal ethics at New York University, referring to the first statement by Yoo that the Justice Department should not pursue prosecutions of those suspected of torture told me: "Withholding criminal prosecution because the person's conduct advances the president's political or policy agenda undermines the administration of criminal justice, which is supposed to be neutral in application." Regarding Yoo's advocacy of the use of presidential pardons, Gillers noted that although presidents have the constitutional right to pardon whomever he wants, and the decision to do so is often a political, it is ethically wrong for attorneys giving advice to Presidents to suggest ahead of time pardons for "entire particular categories of crimes." Gillers added: "The pardon power is abused if the president decides in advance of the commission of a crime if he will forgive it because it serves his political agenda or policy agenda... That subverts the criminal justice system and the constitution. It literally sends the signal ahead of time that it is all right to violate the law." And regarding Yoo's comments regarding perspective jurors, who might hear cases against alleged torturers, Gillers told me: "Those comments are unbecoming a Justice Department lawyer. The laws should not be administered and adopted in the hope or expectation that there might not be a conviction because of a hung jury." Collectively, Yoo's recommendations, Gillers said, has the effect of saying to presidential aides and government officials that "you can go ahead and do what we want even if it is a crime," if it is in the furtherance of a policy or activity supported by the President. As to the forthcoming OPR report, Gillers said, "It should be interesting to see if they were just bad lawyers. That would be one thing. But if they falsified or soft pedaled their opinions because the vice president or the president wanted a particular opinion that would be shameful." In the meantime supporters of Yoo, Bybee, and the Bush administration's program mounted an effort to blunt the impact of the OPR report and even discredit its author. The Bush administration's outgoing attorney general, Michael Mukasey, and his deputy his deputy, Mark Filip , wrote a fourteen page critique of a draft o the report, after it was submitted to them shortly before they left office. In a speech that Mukasey gave just prior to his leaving his office, he said administration attorneys were facing "almost unimaginable pressure" just right after the Sept. 11th terror attacks and complained that those criticizing them were engaged in second guessing under different circumstances. To may career officials, Mukasey's remarks appeared to them to be an attempt to interfere or discredit their investigation. In a preemptive attempt to discredit the OPR report, Bush administration lawyers sympathetic to Yoo and Bybee not only leaked word to Newsweek not only of Mukasey's and Filip's disapproval of it, but also quoted an administration attorney--anonymously--complaining: "OPR is not competent to judge [the OLC opinions]. They're not constitutional scholars." One prominent conservative political activist also recently told me that he was approached by backers of Yoo who said that they wanted to attack the credibility of the report by painting it as a partisan probe conducted by President Barack Obama's Justice Department. The investigation, however, begun during the Bush administration -- more than five years ago. In a further effort to discredit the report, conservative backers of Yoo have also attempted to portray its primary author, H. Marshall Jarrett, the head of OPR, as a Democratic partisan. But Jarrett is a lifetime Justice Department employee and career prosecutor who has never been accused of having a partisan agenda in the past. During a long career, Jarrett has served as either or prosecutor or supervisor in U.S. attorney offices in West Virginia and the District of Columbia and Justice's Public Integrity Section, before being appointed to head OPR. During the Reagan administration, Jarrett oversaw the prosecution and conviction of one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress--Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.)--hardly the actions of an anti-Republican partisan prosecutor. In any case, that strategy is also likely to fail, in that Attorney General Eric Holder recently reassigned Jarrett from his position as head of OPR to head the executive office of U.S. attorneys, where he will oversee the nation's 94 U.S. attorneys. It will be left to Jarrett's successor at OPR, Mary Patrice Brown, herself a career prosecutor, who oversaw the criminal division of the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia, to supervise any last minute changes to the release and the release of the report. In the meantime, sources caution that the draft report by OPR is subject to revision, and also has not formally been approved by Attorney General Eric Holder or other senior Justice Department officials who must still sign off on its findings. The report is expected to be made public by the end of this month. Yoo, Bybee, and Bradbury, the three authors of the contested OLC memos, were either unavailable or declined comment for this post. In April, however, Yoo defended his actions during a public forum on the aggressive interrogation technique issue, saying: "Three thousand of our fellow citizens had been killed in a deliberate attack by a foreign enemy. That forced us in the government to have to consider measures to gain information using presidential constitutional provisions to protect the country from further attack." Murray Waas can be contacted via his Facebook page . Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! More on Eric Holder
 
Rick Santelli To Fellow CNBC Host: "Don't Open Your Mouth And Say Dumb Things" (VIDEO) Top
The blogosphere is all abuzz with Rick Santelli again. Seems he got into one of those trademarked shouting matches on CNBC -- your source for trademarked shouting matches -- with Steve Liesman, as is his wont. And during that shouting match -- which was over whether it was right or wrong for Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis to disclose the details of BofA's acquisition of Merrill Lynch -- Santelli shouted at Liesman , "Don't open your mouth and say dumb things." This is ha-ha funny because, of course, Rick Santelli is best known to the world for opening his mouth and saying dumb things . BUT! Here comes one of those patented contrarian views of mine, that angries up the commentariat! Sure, I think Liesman, in advancing the argument that Lewis, agreeing under pressure from Henry Paulson to not disclose the details of the acquisition was actually an instance of "saving the world" (i.e. preventing further systemic failures in the financial system), is doing little more than offering up a point of debate -- not outright advocacy -- and maybe wasn't prepared for Santelli to come at his throat the way he does. Nevertheless, I like what Santelli is saying here, ever so much : "I think what really hit my button was the whole notion that should somebody of high authority tell you to go against something clearly borderline illegal, if not totally illegal - to go along with it because there's a crisis, I don't think that's an excuse," Santelli said. "It shouldn't be an excuse and I hope that we all learn something from 'Frost and Nixon.'" What an extraordinary principle to hear advanced on the teevee! Crisis -- no matter how severe -- does not provide the justification to break the law, even when the looming figures of authority tell you that it's okay. Write that down! Memorize it! Sew it on a cross stitch and hang it above your kitchen table! And the next time someone takes up the matter of, say, torture? Or telecom immunity where warrantless wiretapping is concerned ? LET'S APPLY IT. [WATCH.] [Would you like to follow me on Twitter ? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here .] More on Bank Of America
 
Jeff Biggers: Urgent Letter to EPA and Interior: Liberate Coalfields and Take Primacy Top
As three million pounds of ammonium nitrate/fuel oil explosives continue to rip through the lush green Appalachian mountains and historic mountain communities every day, coalfield residents from West Virginia have issued an extraordinary letter today to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson and Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to assert primacy over the negligent West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Living in the ruins of 500 destroyed mountains, over 1,300 miles of sullied streams, and shattered lives and communities, the coalfield residents plead: "Ms. Jackson and Mr. Salazar, you are our last hope for justice at this point." Here's the entire letter. Let's hope its sense of urgency is felt in Washington, DC. May 4, 2009 Environmental Protection Agency Attn: Lisa Jackson Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460 Department of the Interior Attn: Ken Salazar 1849 C. St. NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Ms. Jackson and Mr. Salazar: We are grassroots groups and citizens that have a stake in the areas of West Virginia that are being destroyed by steep slope strip mining/mountaintop removal and other forms of irresponsible mining. Some of us live and work in the affected area. Ms. Jackson and Mr. Salazar, you are our last hope for justice at this point. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is not doing its job in protecting the environment here in West Virginia, and as a result the people are suffering from Environmental Injustice. We are asking that the EPA and/or OSMRE take primacy from the WV DEP to protect us, the people of West Virginia. Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across this Nation. It will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. Fair treatment means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies. Below are just some examples of the WVDEP's lax enforcement, most recently under Randy Huffman and Governor Joe Manchin. Recently, in response to announced EPA reviews of permits, WV DEP Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman said, "Mainly what we're concerned about as regulators is the ability to develop land after mining.You need valley fills if you're going to have a viable post mining economy. You need flat land. And in order to have flat land you need to have valley fills, and one of our biggest concerns is that EPA is wanting to reduce the size and number of valley fills in Appalachia." Since when is DEP's primary concern the ability to develop land after mining? We thought DEP's job was to protect the environment. What good is developable land if the entire watershed was destroyed during the mining process? During the mining process residents are suffering from the blasting, and the air and water pollution. Mountaintop removal is out of control because for years DEP did not do its job, by failing to enforce the approximate original contour reclamation standard and post-mining land development rules already on the books. If DEP was doing its job, why did it take the EPA and the Justice Department to come in and fine Massey Energy $20 million for thousands of water pollution violations across southern West Virginia coalfields? The DEP simply allowed "discharge monitoring reports" that the coal companies filed to accumulate, never bothering to check and see if Massey and other companies were complying with their pollution permit limits. We the citizens suffer. How many more examples are hidden at DEP? WV DEP has repeatedly missed legislative deadlines to complete a study on whether coal slurry that is injected underground is polluting water supplies and making people sick. Clean water is a human rights issue, and people living near mining communities are sick and dying from toxic water. It is a fact that it took a federal court order for DEP to even consider beginning to write permits and comply with water pollution limits at the abandoned mine sites it controls under its Special Reclamation Program. DEP also proposed legislation this year that does not go nearly as far as its own advisory panel said was needed to fix finances of the Special Reclamation Program. The Federal Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement found serious problems with the way DEP polices coal-slurry impoundments, which is one of the agency's most important jobs. The citizens have repeatedly asked WV DEP to fill the 90 plus open positions at WV DEP. How can any agency do a good job without proper staff? Mr. Huffman's job is not to run interference for the coal industry. It is to protect the environment. As a people who must depend upon the DEP, we are very concerned. At a recent DEP/citizens conference a DEP inspector was asked by a citizen to view, on foot, a permitted surface mine site that was obviously breaking the law. This citizen was told by the inspector (witnesses present) that his knees were bad and that he was not about to walk below a blast area anyway. A week later the citizen contacted the federal Office of Surface Mining. They then walked up the mountain, on foot, as requested, and their inspection resulted in four violations against the coal company. The fact is that for years, WV government has enabled and protected coal operators and created the very circumstances that are now forcing the EPA to act. If WV had adequate regulators, an adequate regulatory structure, and leadership committed to environmental protection, the EPA's involvement would not be necessary. If you need more information regarding the WV DEP's failure to regulate, please contact us and we can provide you with further details. However, we need the EPA and Dept. of Interior to restore environmental protection in West Virginia. The DEP has repeatedly placed industry profits ahead of environmental protection, Environmental Justice, and citizens' health and safety. The urgent situation requires urgent remediation, which will only come with swift federal action to take primacy from a failed agency. Sincerely, Vernon Haltom, Co-Director, Coal River Mountain Watch Janet Keating, Executive Director, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition For a closer look at the daily agony in Appalachia, here's a clip from recent Goldman Prize winner Maria Gunnoe, a community organizer with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition: More on Barack Obama
 
Caption This Photo, Vote For Tuesday's Best, See Monday's Winner! Top
Original Caption: A Russian World War II veteran and a Chinese businessman drink a toast to mark the upcoming Victory Day, in a Chinese restaurant in Vladivostok, Russia's Far Eastern port about 9,300 kilometers (some 5,750 miles) east of Moscow, Wednesday, May 6, 2009. TUESDAY'S FAVORITES: MONDAY'S WINNER: "You realize that by making this switch, you are decreasing the average IQ of both parties." By korviev. More on Caption Contest
 
Madoff Secretary, Eleanor Squillari: Bernie's Silence Is Protecting Others Top
NEW YORK — Bernard Madoff's longtime secretary said Wednesday that she believes the disgraced financier is not cooperating with authorities in order to protect others, and that he was a flirtatious boss who frequented massage parlors. Eleanor Squillari, Madoff's secretary of more than 20 years, told NBC's "Today" that she thinks her former boss carefully orchestrated his arrest and that he's protecting others who might have been involved in his multibillion-dollar scheme by not cooperating with investigators. She declined to speculate as to whom he might be protecting. Squillari was asked what she would say to Madoff. "After I stop crying? I would really want to know why he is not cooperating," she said. Squillari appeared on "Today" and on ABC's "Good Morning America" to promote an account of her time working for Madoff that she co-wrote for Vanity Fair. The 59-year-old Squillari spent two months helping the FBI gather evidence against the former money manager. In the article, Squillari said her married former boss was flirtatious and made sexually suggestive remarks. She said she once saw him perusing the escort ads in the back of a magazine and said he frequented massage parlors. "Once, I looked in his address book and found, under M, about a dozen phone numbers for his masseuses," she wrote. "If you ever lose your address book and somebody finds it, they're going to think you're a pervert, I said." Squillari said Madoff often made sexually suggestive remarks. "'Oh, you know you're crazy about me,' he would say to me. Sometimes when he came out of his bathroom, which was diagonal to my desk, he would still be zipping up his pants. If he saw me shaking my head disapprovingly, he would say 'Oh, you know it excites you,'" she wrote. But Squillari told ABC she had a nice relationship with Madoff, despite his ways toward women. "So, what one person might perceive as inappropriate, I didn't," Squillari said. "So, if he made suggestive remarks, I knew it was only meant to be funny." Squillari wrote about a conversation she had with Madoff years ago, after a client's secretary had been arrested for embezzlement. "You know, (he) has to take some responsibility for this," Madoff said, according to Squillari. "He should have been keeping an eye on his personal finances. That's why I've always had Ruth watching the books. Nothing gets by Ruth," she wrote. Squillari said she was surprised when he added: "Well, you know what happens is, it starts out with you taking a little bit, maybe a few hundred, a few thousand. You get comfortable with that, and before you know it, it snowballs into something big." Madoff, 70, pleaded guilty in March to charges that his secretive investment advisory operation was a multibillion-dollar fraud. The former Nasdaq chairman faces up to 150 years in prison. Madoff's attorney, Ira Sorkin, said Wednesday he has no comment on any of the secretary's allegations. Squillari said the Madoff who was arrested was not the same man she knew. She said she was shocked and then angry after his arrest. "I'm having a hard time getting past the person that I did know, who was so kind and generous, and I admired him," she told NBC. "I can't seem to get it in my head that he did this. It's like it's somebody else." And she decided to help the FBI. "I was very obsessed with going through my stuff and trying to help them find out so I could understand what had happened because I just couldn't wrap my head around it," she told ABC. "I felt if that was making me feel better, maybe this information would help the investors understand," she said. Squillari also told ABC that said she invested years ago but pulled her money out in the 1990s because as a single mother with two children and a "very limited income," she needed to supplement her earnings. More on Bernard Madoff
 
What Could $33.9 Billion Buy You? Top
The Treasury's stress test has reportedly determined that Bank of America will need another $33.9 billion in fresh capital to cushion itself against further economic downturn. With more taxpayer money bound for Wall Street, it's worth putting in perspective how much $33.9 billion is. Here are a few things that could be done with that amount of money. Send other suggestions to ryan@huffingtonpost.com or post them below. (Here's the federal budget. ) Children's health care . President Bush twice vetoed an expansion of S-CHIP, which would have covered an additional 4 million children at a cost of35 billion over five years. Community health centers . An investment of35 billion to build and run more community health centers and to train badly-needed doctors and nurses would provide primary health care for all Americans, including the 60 million who now don't have access to physicians, and save billions of dollars in the long run by keeping people healthy and out of hospital emergency rooms. Another Department of Education . The entire department ran on a46.2 billion budget in fiscal year 2009. Three months in Iraq . The ongoing war in Iraq costs between two and three billion dollars a week.33.9 billion could fund around three months of occupation. PBS . The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which runs on about $400 million a year, is suffering greatly as the economic downturn leads to a decline in donations. The BofA money could fund it for almost a century. A second Department of Justice . The entire DoJ runs on about25 billion a year. Woodstock museums . The capital flew into a tizzy when Democratic New York Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer proposed earmarking a million dollars to build a Woodstock museum in upstate New York. With $33.9 billion you could build 33,900 such museums. National Mall sodding . Republicans also made hay over a stimulus proposal to pay workers to re-sod the National Mall. The BofA money could put down grass once a year for the next 170 years. Detailed budget numbers are to be released tomorrow, breaking down, for instance, how many children could be fed by an increase of how much funding for food stamps. Until then, what else could $33.9 billion buy? Email your ideas to submissions+bailout@huffingtonpost.com and we'll post them below. Be sure to include your name and where you're from. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! More on Financial Crisis
 
Tom Andrews: The Missing Exit Strategy for Afghanistan Top
President Obama said it best when he talked about U.S. policy in Afghanistan on the CBS news program 60 Minutes last month: "There's got to be an exit strategy". Well, there isn't one. There is an escalation of 21,000 US forces and there is a wartime spending bill requesting $94.2 billion more for Iraq and Afghanistan. But, as of today, there isn't even a hint of what the President believes we need-an exit strategy. The Appropriations Committee is expected to dutifully vote out their bill Thursday and send it to the floor of the House for a vote next week. I realize how hard it would be for Congressional Democrats to require the Obama administration to develop an exit strategy as a condition for continued war funding. After all, this is our guy, right? The last thing our guy needs is a Democratic Congress second guessing, making demands, and putting conditions on the war funding. But this is exactly what we and the administration need precisely because he is our guy. Unlike Mr. Limbaugh, we want and need President Obama to succeed. The very real prospect of the United States embedded in an endless war in Afghanistan would undermine everything this administration is trying to do while imperiling the very Congressional Democrats President Obama needs to move his agenda. This is exactly the right time to engage the administration in a respectful but critical discussion about where this military escalation is leading us. Sending tens of thousands of more U.S. troops into Afghanistan-without a plan to get them out-is a bad idea for many reasons. First off, the ink on the President's plan to send an additional 21,000 troops into Afghanistan wasn't even dry before the Pentagon acknowledged that it already has a request in to the administration for an additional 10,000 troops. What's worse, there are indications the Pentagon has even more requests waiting in the wings. The fact is, there are simply not enough U.S. soldiers to secure Afghanistan. Estimates as to what would be required range for 200,000 to 600,000 troops. And, don't look to our NATO allies to be of any help. The leader of Canada's Liberal Party told me last week that the only way Canada citizens would support sending any troops was if there was a clear exit strategy with a date certain for their withdrawal. As a result, all Canadian soldiers will be on their way home by 2011. Those of us who live on this side of the border should be demanding the same from our political leaders. The lack of an exit strategy is already making things worse in Afghanistan. Failing to say when and how we will remove our forces is playing into the hands of Taliban leaders who are using the presence of our troops on Afghanistan soil-and the announced escalation-as their most powerful recruitment tool. The New York Times reports that the escalation has mended fences between the otherwise fractious leadership of the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban who announced that they are joining forces to fight the new troops as they arrive. A BBC/ABC public opinion poll of Afghans reveals that fully 80% of the population is opposed to an escalation of American troops. Many of those who are shooting at our soldiers are not jihadists; they are proud Afghans who are famously sensitive to the presence of foreign forces on their soil. The lack of an exit strategy also works against President Obama's regional strategy -outreach to the neighboring nations who have zero interest in a Taliban dominated Afghanistan because it would threaten their national security as much, if not more, than our own. How likely will China, Russia and particularly Iran be to join the U.S. if the outcome might be tens of thousands of U.S. troops on their border? We need Congress to step up now and help prevent what has now become "Obama's War" from turning into a quagmire that undermines, if not destroys, the critically important agenda the President is fighting to pass here at home. We need to step up too . We can start by contacting Members of Congress and urging them not to succumb to a vote-now, ask questions later approach to war funding even if it is our guy who is asking for it. We need a critical check-and-balance before it is too late to stop an endless war in Afghanistan. The war spending bill is on the floor of the House of Representatives next week. More on Barack Obama
 
R. B. Stuart: Leukemia: The New Army Camouflage Top
While the country is ravaged by a crippling economy it is a lightweight problem compared to what's happening to a portion of American families---military families. They are experiencing something more severe than financial loss---emotional devastation----as their loved ones; son's, father's, husband's and brother's---are coming home from their tour in Iraq---laden with cancer. Their flag draped coffins don't trail through Andrew's Air Force Base for a final salute. Their coffins and urns are discreetly transported to the family's resting place, six months, one or two years after they return home---with no media fanfare. They are the families of the courageous soldiers who upon coming home in one piece, thought that PTSD would be their only battle. But for many it's just the beginning, as there can be up to a two year incubation period for the cancer to emerge. It is the after effects from their exposure to carcinogens in Iraq---from burn pits to depleted Uranium. And the soldiers, so unknowingly toxic, begin to experience symptoms of a disease that will rapidly take their life. Mangling them whole. As was the case with a young Army Specialist, Andrew Ray Rounds from Oregon. [ the photo above was pre Army--the last summer as a civilian] The day before Halloween 2002, Andy Rounds just nearing 18 years old began boot camp. It was a family tradition to join the military, as his father and grandfather had both served. The self-professed spiritual warrior trained as "14 Juliet" air support for incoming aircraft by identifying them on radar. His home base in Hawaii, the Army's Scholfield Barracks. An outdoorsman, he was the epitome of health, finding enjoyment in jogging, swimming, skateboarding, camping and hiking. The military newspaper, Stars and Stripes highlighted him early on for his outstanding physical endurance on his initial PT test. So there was no surprise in January 2004 SPC. Rounds was selected to deploy to Iraq. On his first convoy from Kuwait to Kirkuk he rode atop the last humvee manning a 50 caliber gun. During the eight hour desert journey he drove through hazardous burn pit smoke, ten times more toxic than the sulpher and carbon monoxide plumes found at coal plants in the U. S. accused of producing Acid Rain. SPC. Rounds exposure to Iraq's environmental toxins had begun. He settled into the Forward Operating Base camp in Kirkuk, Iraq. His duties were Tower Guard, checking-in locals working on the base, while escorting transfer workers around the base. He also escorted his crew to the laundry facility and stood guard over them. But everything changed a few months into his tour, after he'd been involved in an explosion at the camps ammunition dump---a depleted Uranium graveyard. Unknowingly, the radioactive smoke and dust amplified his exposure. "He and another soldier were heading towards the chow area when the ammo dump exploded," his mother Lisa Rounds recounted. "They were so close that running to shelter wasn't an option. The explosions sent shrapnel flying all around them for about 15-20 minutes. They laid frozen in a low area until it was safe to move." This episode brought a change to the young soldier, as he began feeling very depressed and started giving away many of his possessions. His mother said she thought it was strange. "And it made me uneasy. Although the depression was understandable at the time, mortars were often lobbed into his base. One hit the barracks next door, but luckily that camps soldier was on guard duty, and the mortar didn't explode." Like some teens predicting their own deaths, SPC. Rounds always had a feeling that he was going to die at 17. "Andy had a premonition that he wouldn't live too long. But when he lived past that age it was like hooray!" his mother remembered. After 14 months in Iraq his tour ended October 2005 and SPC. Rounds headed back to Scholfield Barracks in Hawaii. Besides complaining of his feet hurting, and his inability to jog or work-out as frequently, he was in good health. Within a year his term ended and he separated from the Army. By October 2006 he was enroute back to Oregon where the 20 year-old rented an apartment and worked for a local business delivering furniture. But within months SPC. Rounds developed a persistent stuffy nose and a portion of his vision became blurred. "He just felt bad. Intuitively he knew something was very wrong inside," Lisa Rounds recalled. So SPC. Rounds went to the local Lebanon, Oregon hospital where a doctor diagnosed him with a sinus infection and prescribed medication. "He did not improve after a week or so and returned to the doctor complaining of coughing up and vomiting blood and his vision problems," Lisa Rounds said. This doctor was more concerned then the first and sent SPC. Rounds for a CT-scan of his sinus and chest areas. Another doctor followed-up after the scan but didn't seem worried and adhered to the initial diagnosis of a sinus infection, telling SPC. Rounds, 'Yep, you're full of snot.' And ordered him a stronger medication. Two days later Lisa Rounds just happened to stop by her sons apartment to check in on him. Except she found him sprawled out on his bedroom floor semi-conscious. "I called 911 and he was taken to the local hospital," she said. "If I had arrived a half hour later he would have been dead." The ER doctors thought it might be spinal meningitis and quarantined him, but his CDC came back negative. The blood panel showed his white blood cell count elevated to over 400,000 [10,000 - 70,000 being normal]. "Andy had continual seizures, and piticea where red dots blanketed the skin on his legs and stomach. It was a symptom that his blood capillaries were bleeding-out. His unconsciousness was due to bleeds in the brain," his mother explained. "And if they didn't figure out the cause immediately he was going to die." The Rounds' remained confident in the doctors as they had no reason to doubt their diagnosis. "We couldn't comprehend it at the time that his symptoms were life threatening," she admitted. The local doctors at Lebanon, at least a half dozen, were baffled by the multiple symptoms after his collapse. It was difficult became for them to stabilize SPC. Rounds so they consulted with doctors at Oregon Health and Science University Cancer Institute [OHSU] in Portland and decided to medEvac him there. Finally on January 23, 2007 the Rounds' family was informed that their young son had Acute Myeloid Leukemia [AML]. "We were told it was so aggressive that nothing was working and he was not going to survive," his mother mourned. "It was the reason for the bleed-outs---the leukemia was changing the structure of his blood. Unknowingly, when Andy complained months earlier that his feet hurt, it was the AML, it started to settle in the bones of his feet." Once SPC. Rounds was properly diagnosed he immediately went into surgery for a craniectomy. In order to relieve the pressure from the bleeds in his brain, they needed to remove part of his skull. After surgery they induced a coma to try to control his breathing. Lisa Rounds said, "Then similar to dialysis, they cleaned his blood of the leukemia cells and prepared him for chemo treatment." SPC. Rounds remained in a coma for three weeks until he started fighting the breathing machine. His new doctor at OHSU Dr. Tibor Kovacsovics callously remarked his first impression of the Rounds' case, 'I'll prepare the chemo, but I'm not going to treat a vegetable.' The Rounds' were horrified at the insensitivity. But then Dr. Kovacsovics valiantly took on the case and did all he could to help their son survive. SPC. Rounds received a port in his chest for easy access of the nearly ten doses of chemo, sometimes two together. And three tracheotomies. He slowly came out of the coma. His mother observed, "Beyond the physical damage, we knew Andy was still "in there." It took months for him to come out of the confusion from the brain injury, he had to re-learn how to talk and walk. It was such a difficult time...he had short term memory loss and partial right side paralysis." Everyday SPC. Rounds confidently worked at his rehabilitation, and surprising many, quickly re-learned how to talk and walk. "It was uplifting that he was so resilient. He was an amazing miracle," Lisa Rounds said with astonishment. "The doctors said they thought his brain injury was too severe to survive, let alone be intelligent, still have memories and retain the same personality as before. But we had faith and believed our son would beat this thing." After about six months of treatment and rehabilitation at OHSU, SPC. Rounds was finally able to go home with his parents. "He took everything so well, and knew the seriousness of it. Andy kept thanking us for taking care of him. He persevered for his Mom and Pops," she said lovingly. SPC. Rounds felt disappointed of what he was putting his parents through. "He was not happy that it was happening to him, but he was also accepting of the possibility that this was reality and he would probably die. He tried so hard though. He has always had faith that there is existence after life, so he wasn't afraid, but he knew how very sad this would make us feel," Lisa Rounds shared. Because SPC. Rounds was feeling so down about his situation he didn't socialize much nor did he share any of his Army buddies' names with his family. "It was strange that way, Andy always had a bazillion friends, he was special in that he made everyone he spoke to feel like they mattered and had interesting stories to tell," she remarked of her son. SPC. Rounds would rally for a short time and then the AML would take over again. Then in mid September 2007 after a joyous 30 day stay with his family, he returned to the hospital in Corvallis, Oregon where he received care for the next six weeks from Dr. Steven Neville. Unfortunately it would be the final weeks of his life. Surrounded by his family, the young soldier, almost 23 years old would take his last breath, and on October 20th, 2007 his spirit would relinquish his body and sail off into the ethers. The spiritual warrior found peace in his new after world, one without pain or suffering, and made up of love and kindness. "He touched so many people's lives, it still amazes me. He was a gift to us and we're so happy we got to be Andy's parents," his mother confided. Because of the brain injury they really couldn't speak to their son about his final wishes. But had discussed it in the past and SPC. Rounds expressed his desire to be cremated and buried at the local cemetery. "Some of his ashes were spread at is favorite camp site near our home," Lisa Rounds informed. He left behind a sister, April that will turn 29 this year. The Rounds' are convinced their son was exposed to toxins in Iraq and DU during the ammo dump explosion at his base in Kirkuk March 2004. When the Rounds' voiced their concerns to the Portland VA Assistance Offices, they were 'very nice' but the main governmental VA department was unresponsive to their son's condition. "We were shocked by the brick wall we hit at the VA. Because with this particular cancer, it takes 1 - 2 years for it to manifest, which coincides with his term in Iraq," Lisa Rounds said with astonishment. "They tried everything they could to get help for Andy, but because it was an illness and not an injury, there was no assistance for him. So the Oregon State Health Plan stepped in when the VA wouldn't because they felt Andy was a worthy cause. So we're very grateful to them for taking care of our son." Not only would the VA not take responsibility for this soldier's rare cancer diagnosis and 14 month tour in Iraq, suffice to say neither would the doctors at OHSU. They stand by their medical claims that there weren't any connections between his acute leukemia and military service. [ above, happier times with his parents ] From January to October 2007, the Rounds' "fought this battle." "It was a gift we had him for those 10 months---it was like a long goodbye," she solemnly ended. April 17, 2009 ICBUW ---Associate Professor, Scientist, Kadhim Almuqdadi: Iraqi MD and Environmental Researcher in Sweden Initiates International Petition. Because of the radioactive contamination which resulted from the use of uranium munitions in the second (1991) and third (2003) Gulf wars in Iraq. We call on the Governments of the countries who joined the United States in those wars where depleted uranium ammunitions were used, to share the responsibility of the health and environmental disaster of Iraq today. [ http://www.petitiononline.com/IrqNoDU/petition.html ] The Memorandum to the United Nations and the Governments of the Countries of the World states: The environmental pollution which occurred after the war, especially the radioactive, has already caused hundreds of thousands of cancer deaths and injuries, and congenital deformities, stillbirths, infertility, and many untreatable ailments. Knowing that no dose of radiation, however low, is safe and harmless, we remind you that no borders, no matter how well-controlled, can prevent the transfer of the radioactive contaminants displaced by the wind to the neighboring countries. Those contaminants have already traveled by tens of kilometers away from the contaminated sites. The environmental problems and health consequences have exacerbated after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the country still lacks the potential of immediate and effective required treatment. These factors, among others, have made Iraq unable to tackle alone the thorny and urgent problem of cleaning its environment from the polluted and contaminated remains, or successfully treat the tens of thousands of victim patients, and put an end to the diseases caused by the pollution. The environmental dangers that remain have caused damage to health of the Iraqi people and the peoples of the neighboring countries. We encourage President Obama for an immediate commencement of a campaign to clean up the radioactive waste of depleted Uranium ammunition from American weapons left in Iraq. And also ask the President to please consider vacating the stock of such ammunitions of the US forces stationed in Iraq in order to avoid such disasters in the future. More on Iraq
 
Leon Despres Dies At 101 Top
Leon Despres, the former Chicago Alderman described as the "absolute conscience of the city" for his dedicated activism and consistent opposition to Mayor Richard J. Daley, has died. He was 101. Despres died Wednesday morning, according to Chicago Public Radio , which first reported the news.
 
Democratic Split Emerges As Health Care Debate Heats Up Top
The battle for health care reform has intensified, with an actual plan beginning to materialize and key interest and political groups gearing up for a once-in-a-generation legislative fight. Sources who have spoken with key players in the White House and Congress now say, more definitively than in the past, that the time frame for a bill is October. But what members will ultimately produce is far from clear. Part of the delay is owed to a decision among administration officials to let the process originate on Capitol Hill. Much of it, however, is due to divisions within the Democratic Party over just how far a reform effort should go. No clearer evidence exists than the salvos launched this past week for and against the creation of a public plan for insurance coverage. The newest Democratic Senator, Arlen Specter, and the consummate centrist, Ben Nelson, both pledged to oppose such a measure, projecting the damage it could cause to the private insurance industry. But one prominent progressive told the Huffington Post that reform without a public plan would be tantamount to "a slap in the face." Added former DNC chair Howard Dean, in an interview with the Huffington Post: "If you don't have a public option it is not worth doing... The idea that insurance companies and Republicans can prevent Americans from having choice is just wrong. And I don't think the American people will put up with it. The vast majority of Americans, including Republicans, believe there ought to be a choice for the American people." To this point, the Obama White House has been tight-lipped about its preferences. But high-ranking Democrats say that in private discussions, Obama himself has expressed his desire for a public option. "The president is ahead of some of his own staff members here," said Dean. "I think we are going to have a public health insurance plan because, in the end, it is what the president wants." One thing that Democratic sources say the White House and Congress are looking closely at is the model Gavin Newsom has constructed in San Francisco, in which a universal program (at a relatively low cost) has been applied through the use of public clinics. Newsom met with administration officials as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this past week and came away convinced that something would have to be done "not in 16 months but in six months." Helping to corral other mayors to support the president's health care priorities, Newsom was appointed chair of the US Conference of Mayors' Task Force on Health Care Reform. But Newsom expressed concern that the dialogue coming from the Capitol was too nationally focused. "One-sided health solutions don't work," the mayor told the Huffington Post. "People, particularly in diverse communities, have a connection to their communities and to their clinics. Cultural competency needs to be a huge part of this debate and focus, and I don't hear a lot of that up in Washington, D.C." In testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius touted community health centers as well as various local and state programs that had proven successful in "incentivising" coverage. Her main detractors came from the Republican side of the aisle, where efforts have increased to oppose a public plan. And while Sebelius remained fairly broad on what a new health care system might look like, her remarks provided an unusually stronger indication of where the administration stands. "Can you construct an un-level playing field with a public option unfairly competing with private options? You bet," she said. "Is that the intention of the administration or the majority of Congress when they talk about it? I don't think so at all. It can be designed in any number of ways... so if there really is a level playing field that private insurers don't have the advantage of cherry-picking the market and the public plan doesn't have the advantage of undercutting the cost of driving everybody out, it can work very effectively and does work very effectively all across this country." Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! More on Health
 
Justin Guarini: Justin Guarini's Lowdown On Last Night's "American Idol" Top
"American Idol" is slowly coming to its peak, and with 3 weeks left it's anyone's game. Let's get right to the show... A bit of a stage malfunction set the whole production on its ear just before rehearsal, but no matter, the now seasoned "Idol" contestants performed their hearts out anyway. Ok, Slash, meet the world of Idol, Idol meet Slash. I've never really heard him put two sentences together...probably because I've been too busy being mesmerized by his skills on the guitar. He seemed like a nice guy, and was by all accounts succinct and helpful for the contestants. To the performances... It came as no shock to hear that "Rock Week" was Adam's favorite, and it also came as no shock to hear him wail as well as Robert Plant himself did back in Led Zeppelin's heyday. Singing "A Whole Lot Of Love" is no easy task, and Adam made it look like a walk in the park. I continue to be amazed by how his voice has held up so flawlessly...through all the talking, singing, acting, and general lack of sleep. The poor person to follow Adam's spectacular opening of the show was none other than the lovely Allison. Although it was unfortunate that she had to follow said Adam, she gave an admirable effort with Janice Joplin's "Cry Baby," and really did what she always does - belt the hell out of a song and sound great. Her talk back to Simon was cute and one of the few times that such efforts actually made any contestant look good. One duet later - by the way, was it weird to see the judges judging a performance that wasn't going to be voted on? - we were on our way back to the solo performances. Strange that Danny and Kris were made to sing a duet just before their solos, but somebody had to take the short end of the stick and it unfortunately ended up landing squarely in Kris Allen's hands. After being told that he was the lesser to Danny's greater in the duet, Kris tried his hand at the Beatles classic "Come Together." The judges had a field day with the performance, which was a bit tame in my eyes, mostly due to the fact that it seemed to me like Kris was thinking way too much with the guitar in his hand. He was certainly putting some great comps together that were impressive. I can't fault him for being distracted by the guitar while performing...I've done the same exact thing (trying to remember chords, licks, looking at the fret board more than at the audience) and it's made my performance suffer as well. Regardless, it was a good performance, but will "good" be good enough? Danny rounded out the show with another killer rock tune, "Dream On" by Aerosmith. I have to admit I was afraid of the screaming part at the end, but if anyone could belt it out it would be him. A side note though, he looked a bit tired to me during the whole show, not his usual peppy self. - Do you agree? In the end the screaming bit worked for about 90% of the time, the last 10% of belting out was a bit screechy, and mind numbing for Simon. Randy hit it on the head when he said that Hard Rock just isn't Danny's thing. No matter, I think Danny's got at least one more week to prove that he belongs in the finals. I just looked at that last sentence and realized that he ONLY has one more week to prove himself. Things are going to be tight. A much better duet between Adam and Allison followed...could we be seeing shades of the finale? Who knows? We'll find out what's in store for our Idol's tonight. No matter who goes, it's going to be dramatic. More on American Idol
 
Mayor Daley Backs Sales Tax Repeal: Tax Hike 'Very Detrimental' Top
Mayor Richard Daley said today he agreed with the Cook County Board's vote to repeal its 1-percentage-point sales tax increase , saying the hike had a "very detrimental" impact on business. More on Taxes
 
John Kerry: Newspapers "Endangered Species" Top
WASHINGTON — Layoffs, closings and cutbacks have turned the nation's newspapers into an endangered species as readers and advertisers rush to Web sites and blogs, a top lawmaker said Wednesday. Hours before a Senate hearing on struggling newspapers, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said steps must be taken so the news media can stay diverse and independent. "As a means of conveying news in a timely way, paper and ink have become obsolete, eclipsed by the power, efficiency and technological elegance of the Internet," Kerry said in prepared remarks. "But just looking at the erosion of newspapers is not the full picture; it's just one casualty of a completely shifting and churning information landscape." Kerry, chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, said newspapers resemble an endangered species. The panel was scheduled to hear from Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who has proposed allowing newspapers to choose tax-exempt status and operate as nonprofits similar to public broadcasting stations. Papers would no longer be able to make political endorsements, but could report on all issues including political campaigns. Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax-exempt, and contributions to support coverage could be tax deductible under Cardin's plan. Cardin has said his bill is aimed at preserving local papers, not large newspaper conglomerates. Kerry said he was concerned that traditional journalistic standards on fairness and accuracy could suffer as newspapers falter. "Will the emerging news media be more fragmented by interests and political partisanship?" Kerry asked. "There also is the important question of whether online journalism will sustain the values of professional journalism, the way the newspaper industry has." The Boston Globe in Kerry's home state is the latest major paper facing the threat of closure unless it can cut costs. The Globe and its largest employees union reached a tentative deal early Wednesday on concessions that union officials hope will keep the 137-year-old newspaper publishing. Already this year, E.W. Scripps Co. closed the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and Hearst Corp. stopped printing the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, making it online only. The Christian Science Monitor stopped daily publication in favor of a weekly print edition with online news. Other major newspaper companies, including the owner of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, have filed for bankruptcy protection. Among those scheduled to testify are Arianna Huffington, editor-and-chief of The Huffington Post, and David Simon, who is a former reporter at The Baltimore Sun and creator of the HBO drama "The Wire." More on Newspapers
 
Maine Gay Marriage Legalized Top
Maine Governor John Baldacci signed Wednesday into law a bill legalizing gay marriage in the state. The move makes Maine the fifth state to allow gay marriage. The press release: Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom. "I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully," Governor Baldacci said. "I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste." "I appreciate the tone brought to this debate by both sides of the issue," Governor Baldacci said. "This is an emotional issue that touches deeply many of our most important ideals and traditions. There are good, earnest and honest people on both sides of the question." "In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions," Governor Baldacci said. "I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage." "Article I in the Maine Constitution states that 'no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person's civil rights or be discriminated against.'" "This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs. It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of Church and State," Governor Baldacci said. "It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine's civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government." "Even as I sign this important legislation into law, I recognize that this may not be the final word," Governor Baldacci said. "Just as the Maine Constitution demands that all people are treated equally under the law, it also guarantees that the ultimate political power in the State belongs to the people." "While the good and just people of Maine may determine this issue, my responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and do, as best as possible, what is right. I believe that signing this legislation is the right thing to do," Governor Baldacci said. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Ari Melber: Journalist Jacob Weisberg's New Torture Defense: A Good Offense Top
Jacob Weisberg, the talented journalist , editor and opinion leader, floats a very dangerous idea in the new issue of Newsweek. Weisberg argues that because illegal torture was essentially America's official policy after 9/11, operating with complicity from the general public, it would be wrong to enforce US laws against torture now. This argument basically morphs the infamous Nixon standard into a referendum--if the public supports something, then it is not illegal. Does that sound too crazy to be a serious proposal? Here is the core argument from Weisberg's column, " Our Tacit Approval of Torture: " ...waterboarding was ordered and served up in secret. But it, too, was America's policy--not just Dick Cheney's. Congress was informed about what was happening and raised no objection. The public knew, too. By 2003, if you didn't understand that the United States was inflicting torture upon those deemed enemy combatants, you weren't paying much attention. This is part of what makes applying a criminal-justice model to those most directly responsible such a bad idea. (emphasis added) In this lawless paradigm, public awareness of government misconduct is cited as a justification for placing government officials above the law. Weisberg rules out the "criminal justice model"--you know, those laws that govern the rest of us--because some segment of the public "knew" about government torture in 2003. "Well before the nation reelected George W. Bush in 2004," the article states, "investigative reporters had unearthed the salient aspects of his torture policy." This argument makes no sense. Elections do not cancel our laws. All kinds of politicians, from the charismatic to the corrupt, can get reelected after being exposed for crimes or misconduct. Yet public sentiment should not bully an independent, apolitical Justice Department from enforcing the laws equally, regardless of the power or popularity of alleged criminals. The public disclosures about President Bush's "torture policy," to use Weisberg's taxonomy, simply have no bearing on the legal question of who knowingly broke the law. Torture is illegal, as even Bush officials concede, and the Justice Department has a duty to investigate and prosecute crimes. Weisberg admits, however, that he actually envisions a Justice Department cowed by political pressure. In his narrative, corrupted executive branch decisions masquerade as hard-nose realism: "Pursuing criminal charges would be too hard politically." That is a reckless declaration, obviously, but Weisberg is not alone. If there is one partisan obsession that independent commentators and die-hard Obama supporters share, it is the crass premise that politics should trump equal enforcement of the law. Many even admit it openly. Time columnist Joe Klein opposes enforcing torture laws "for political reasons, mostly," he recently wrote, to avoid detracting from Obama's "important domestic and foreign business." I've heard this same argument from many Obama supporters in email, blog comments and at political events. (To be fair, though, it is also countered by apolitical accountability efforts on the Left, from organizations taking the new administration to court, like ACLU and CCR, to blogs criticizing Obama's legal muddle, such as FireDogLake, Glenn Greenwald and Democrats.com.) This agenda argument, however, is totally out of bounds. It is offered by people who have forgotten, perhaps temporarily, that some goals are simply illegitimate in a democratic society bound by the rule of law. The Justice Department is never allowed to enforce (or undermine) the law for "political reasons." That's what the US attorney firings and the Saturday Night Massacre were about. It is perverse to oppose the enforcement of war crimes like waterboarding because one happens to support the policies of the incumbent President. Would Joe Klein reverse course if prosecutions thwarted the agenda of an administration he opposed? Political meddling at the Justice Department, like torture, must be off the table regardless of utility. Nor should the government weigh whether national security is advanced by, say, canceling elections . Our constitution does not allow a shift towards dictatorship or war crimes, even if it made us "safer." Yet the current torture debate returns to the surreal contemplation of crimes against humanity on the basis of their (contested) intelligence value. "It's almost an out of body experience to me to listen to this debate going on," said General Barry McCafferey in an MSNBC interview last month, scolding pundits and policymakers who openly advocate a criminal torture regime. "We should never, as a policy, maltreat people under our control--detainees. We tortured people, unmercifully, we probably murdered dozens of them," he said. McCaffrey supports an investigation of the government lawyers who knowingly advocated illegal torture, and he specifically cited Bush's White House counsel and Attorney General in the same discussion, emphasizing that "we better find out how we went so wrong." One reason we went so wrong, as the public record now proves, is that policymakers and government lawyers gave fraudulent counsel to advance an illegal torture regime. If the US does not independently investigate those crimes with all the potential legal consequences on the table--taking testimony under oath, punishing perjury, disbarring lawyers (or judges) and prosecuting war crimes--we are more likely to get it wrong again in the future. To put it on Obama's preferred terms, we must "look forward" to give the citizens who live through the next attack, whenever it comes, a clear guide for how to uphold American values under duress--and a tangible disincentive against returning to torture. As it stands, the current precedent leans heavily towards lawless immunity, not accountability. And no, it's not your fault. Ari Melber writes for The Nation , where this column ran. He Twitters politics here .
 
Tuesday's Late Night Round-Up: Cinco De Mayo, Rush Limbaugh, And The Clusterf%$# To The Poor House (VIDEO) Top
The late night hosts celebrated Cinco de Mayo last night in style. Jay Leno hosted a topless Rush Limbaugh on his show, wearing a sombrero and a smile! Jimmy Kimmel mocked the president for calling May 4th, Cinco de Quatro, but, hey, if that's his biggest gaffe in office, we're gonna be okay. Stephen Colbert celebrated with friends in Lou Dobbs's prison, which is either the best S&M bar in midtown or a very scary holding place for illegal immigrants. In other news, Jon Stewart explained why the economy will never get any better. To see yesterday's late night round-up click here. WATCH: More on Late Night Shows
 
Trisha Gura: What's Love Got to Do with Thin? Top
They do it because they want to help. The husbands, partners -- even children -- of women with eating disorders are performing striking feats of "support." ("We love you, mom!") But are they really that? An eye-catching story comes from Tom Cramer , whose wife Meg slipped into the grip of anorexia. As she continued to waste away, Tom tried to cajole a skeletal Meg into eating a cheeseburger and fries: "If you really love me, you will eat this," he begged. She didn't. So he starved himself by her side, just to experience her pain. The "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy is an interesting one, especially in the outcome for Tom. After running three miles daily, eating little more than juice and a banana for breakfast and a small salad for dinner, he eventually pushed through hunger to encounter "the voice." It's one that many eating disorder victims report they hear in their minds: "Come on, you can do it. Don't give in. You're better than everyone else." As Tom heard it, he got it: "Now I understood the seduction of the words in (Meg's) head," he says. "And I saw her as a hero -- who had to be incredibly strong in her fight to recover." Is she a hero? Better yet, did Tom really get it? Hard to say. Tom's self-starvation experiment only lasted about a week. Eating disorders can last a lifetime, waxing and waning in rhythm with triggers caused by the stresses and transitions of life. One of Meg's triggers might have been, actually, motherhood. The birth of her second child nudged her body weight to an all-time high. Or, much to Tom's consternation, some hidden dissatisfaction with her marriage might have catalyzed her fall. The idea that marital struggles can actually trigger eating disorders is not a stretch. More than a decade ago, psychologist Stephan Van den Broucke, research coordinator at the Flemish Institute for Health Promotion in Belgium, did a provocative series of studies with couples in which one partner suffered from an eating disorder. Van den Broucke peeked behind closed doors at how these couples viewed their intimacy and happiness in love. He found that wives with eating disorders were very unhappy in their marriages, while their husbands were not. To find out why, Van den Broucke gathered three types of heterosexual couples: one in which the wife had an eating disorder, another in which neither partner was ill, and a third in which the couple was seeking counseling for run-of-the-mill marital problems. It turns out that couples in which one partner had an eating disorder reported more marital distress than couples with either marital problems or no eating disorder but less distress than couples generally fighting. At the same time, couples with eating disorders scored lower on intimacy measures than did normal couples and only scored slightly higher than did couples seeking counseling for general problems. What this means is that "eating disordered couples are fighting less because they're interacting less," Van den Broucke concludes. Simply, an eating disorder starves basic intimacy. Indeed, Tom Cramer notes that as his wife's disease progressed, she began shunning sex, closeting enticing clothing in favor of baggy sweats that hid her wasting body, and generally falling asleep by 8 p.m., exhausted from self-starvation. Frustrated, Tom starved himself to reconnect. The whole dynamic is complex, as many marriages are. But when it comes to love and eating disorders, it's pretty simple -- the guys are intrinsically, if not intimately involved. In researching Lying in Weight: the Hidden Epidemic of Eating Disorders in Adult Women , I learned that there are five basic categories of men in partnership with women harboring eating disorders: 1. The Nice Guy: Passive and Compliant This is the "rescuer" who genuinely wants to help her. He compromises, concedes, and sacrifices -- for her. Or so it seems. But sometimes taking care of her is a distraction from taking care of himself and his "stuff." So he stays. Until she gets better, that is. Because then he's out of a job. 2. The Knight in Shining Armor A variation on the passive theme, a Knight in Shining Armor wants to save and protect his eating-disordered damsel -- until he realizes that she doesn't really want to be saved. She wants her eating disorder. Lacking gratitude from her, he tires of fighting her dragons and fights her. He may make sly comments about her eating at parties or he may recognize his helplessness and withdraw. Withdrawal can take the form of an affair, immersion in work, or divorce. 3. Macho Man: Control and Conquer A Macho Man may be either controlling or kind and loving. Either way, he sees her as an extension of himself. Whether an executive, doctor, or minister, this man is accustomed to managing people. He brings his job home and chooses they type of woman with an eating disorder because she will go along with his behavior. In the worst case scenario, he is abusive. 4. Mr. Clueless: He Just Doesn't Know That a Problem Exists By far the largest category of partners, many men have no idea that their partner is sick. That's hard to believe in the case of anorexia. But with bulimia, in which women can be normal or even overweight, not knowing is not a stretch. Without any real idea of how seriously their wives are suffering, these men genuinely love their partners and believe their marriages are pretty good. An anecdote to illustrate the point -a husband was clueless that his wife who he had been married to for 35 years was actively bulimic until she checked into a treatment center and told him. He was a detective. 5. The Ostrich: Denial and Distance Question: "If you have a partner with a marked weight fluctuation, how could you NOT notice?" Answer: Denial. In many eating disordered marriages, no one wants to rock the boat. And so the partnership goes on, lacking honest, open communication - and true intimacy. Overall, partners of women with eating disorders are not any more neurotic or insecure than the norm. However, partners may be ignorant of the disease and all its permutations and manifestations. So if you are intimately involved with someone with an eating disorder, you don't have to self-starve. But you'd be wise to educate yourself about what eating disorders are and are not. For help, you can click through a wide variety of good resources created by reputable organizations. Eating disorders don't go away on their own. They don't heal by love alone. They don't affect her alone. Eating disorders play out in partnership and intimacy in profound ways. Yes, love has everything to do with them.
 
Rev. Pfleger Raises Flag Upside Down To Protest Gun Violence (VIDEO) Top
A South Side priest known for his outspoken activism flew the U.S. flag upside down outside his church Tuesday night to urge lawmakers to pass stricter gun control laws, NBC Chicago reports . The Rev. Michael Pfleger of Saint Sabina's Church told parishioners that too little is being done to stop gun violence. The crowd sang a praise hymn as the inverted flag was hoisted up the pole. Flying the flag upside down is done to signal extreme danger, which Pfleger said is appropriate given the high levels of Chicago gun violence. Watch:
 
Vikrum Aiyer: The Swine AcCHORDS: Infectious Disease Surveillance in the 21st Century Top
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova recently noted at a news conference that the current outbreak of H1N1, commonly referred to as swine flu, appears to be tapering off. Mr. Cordova indicated that infected individuals are currently passing the virus along to approximately 1.4 to 1.8 people, lending credence to the idea that perhaps this strain may be only a little more contagious than seasonal influenza. While this may result in health organizations across North America lowering public alert levels, widespread incidence of the flu remains: on Sunday there were 226 cases spread across 30 US states -- as of Monday that number moved up to 286 cases reaching 6 additional states. Moreover, the World Health Organization (WHO) cited 1,085 cases across 21 countries -- up 3 additional nations considered infected as of Sunday. While previously alarmist characterizations of the threat may be on the decline, the increasingly ubiquitous nature of biological threats demands that there be a renewed, sustained and proactive disease-surveillance posture implemented across the globe, in order to best deal with possibilities of a larger scale pandemic. In his first overseas trip as President in April 2009, Barack Obama, at a town hall meeting in France, acknowledged the urgency of the situation by saying, "If you have no health facilities whatsoever in countries in Africa, these days a pandemic can get on a plane and be in Strasbourg or New York City or Chicago overnight. So we better think about making sure that there are basic public health facilities and public health infrastructure in those countries, because we can't shield ourselves from these problems." The dire need to roll out smart infrastructure on a global scale is further compounded, given sentiments from WHO Deputy Director General Dr. Keiji Fukuda that, "We're not quite certain about how this is going to evolve. There is always uncertainty when it comes to a new disease." Yet, as countries attempt to navigate the murky terrain ahead, one thing remains clear: cross-border cooperation among decision makers and health officials functions as the cornerstone of the first line of smart defense against infectious diseases. While a premium has often been placed on threats this homeland faces from hostile entities abroad, this Administration must immediately prioritize and enact a health imperative, as part of their broader Homeland Security goals, in order to ensure the United States and the world remains vigilant of what things may come. Answering this call to action begins by bolstering the mechanisms of individual countries along three key areas: developing their sub-national (and regional response) capacities, ensuring awareness of and compliance with international disease-response protocol, and the promotion of economic development within nations. According to Dr. Katherine Bond , an Associate Director of trans-boundary disease control with The Rockefeller Foundation, "Internal economic development functions as a form of soft-power for developing countries, and all nations interested in strengthening their line of defense against outbreaks. More capital [that flows into public health infrastructure] can yield better skilled people, better communication and better collaboration. This impacts everything from maintaining an adequate response time to monitoring the health of livestock to having sufficiently developed isolation and quarantine methods." To this end, President Obama has acknowledged the need for capital infusions, stating at the aforementioned town hall session that "developed countries have to increase aid, but it also means that the countries who are receiving aid have to use it wisely." The Executive Branch should make good on its insistence to fund the development of this sort of infrastructure, by authorizing money that (a) helps forge clear links between health care providers, agencies and hospitals; (b) makes available cutting edge communication tools for decision makers and (c) conducts thorough dress-rehearsals anticipating both natural and man-made biological attacks, in order to ramp up rapid-response for real-time crises. Funding projects around these themes ensures a wise allocation of resources, empowers our neighbors to be better organized when it comes to detection, and meets the homeland security goals of an Administration weary of the need of a health imperative. But that is only the first step. A world ready to confront biological threats of the 21st century is not solvent solely by strengthening the capacity of individual states. Instead it requires that regional disease surveillance networks be established -- both among developing countries and developed ones -- in order to improve the quality of detection and control across borders. Steps toward building and sustaining such global networks have been pioneered by the Nuclear Threat Initiative's (NTI) biological program, the Global Health and Security Initiative ( GHSI ). After a Winter 2007 conference in Bellagio, Italy convened epidemiologists, experts in health informatics and representatives from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, a call for action was published -- determining the optimal practices required for enhancing our global wherewithal in public health surveillance. Last week, GHSI officially launched a vehicle to implement those recommendations through a process entitled Connecting Health Organizations for Regional Disease Surveillance (CHORDS). Looking to the input from varying countries and regional concerns, CHORDS pools together community practice standards for surveillance by streamlining the sharing and distribution of common knowledge. This can, in effect, function as a blueprint for the Administration and the world to communally establish best-practiced standards for infectious disease monitoring. Moreover, by tapping into the insights of those in the animal, human and agricultural sectors across the world via interactive problem solving, experts are able to shed light on matters that may impact one part of the world, but haven't come to fruition in another, thereby boosting the preventative capacity of differing nations. CHORDS can also make it possible to boost cross-border communication and connectivity through cutting edge technologies (i.e. FluChip, SMS alerts, etc.) as well as with public-private partnerships. One such network in the Middle East established in 2003 (known as the Middle East Consortium on Infectious Disease Surveillance or MECIDS) was able to harness the efforts of IBM and NTI to utilize a technology that standardizes the sharing of health information and automates analysis of infectious outbreaks. The system known has the Public Health Information Affinity Domain (PHIAD) has been deployed regionally, but with an organizational vehicle such as CHORDS, a push could be made to deploy such technology internationally, putting various agencies on the same page and boosting collaboration among countries when cross-border responses are a matter of life and death. Finally, CHORDS has the capacity to build upon networks, forming conduits that link equipped societies to societies in need. As Terence Taylor the Vice President for Global Health & Security at NTI noted at a press conference last week, "an organizational push to connect countries through the monitoring and sharing of information does not just help existing networks, but has the potential to build new ones." While the efforts can further strengthen national and global capacity through electronic tools and joint exercises, it can also go a long way in promoting the development of new capacities in areas of particularly dire need such as Africa and South Asia. Since the late 90's, NTI has worked with governments and health officials to develop regional partnerships to confront viral threats that respect no boundaries. From MECIDS-a collaboration between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority -- to the Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance Network (MBDS) -- a collaboration of 7 Southeast Asian countries -- communities that may not have always been on the same side of the political coin have coalesced to confront the complex threats of biological agents. Full endorsement from President Obama, and other G20 leaders for a program like CHORDS will help different actors work in tandem all over the world, and can assist all participating countries meet their legal obligations under the 2005 International Health Regulations -- ensuring that organizational response and accountability. Support and implementation of such an endeavor is critical for an Obama Administration that strives to protect citizens at home and of the world from biological attacks and infectious disease outbreaks. A champion of reducing biological, chemical and nuclear proliferation threats, former Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) and current co-chairman of NTI recently explained that "one fact is in our favor: many of the most effective steps for fighting infectious diseases are also steps needed to protect against...attacks. Our response to a biological outbreak -- whether caused by nature or by the deliberate act of man -- will depend on our public health doctors, nurses, labs, hospitals and networks -- not on our ships or planes or tanks." By both investing in smart health infrastructures, and working with CHORDS in promoting new cross-border networks, President Obama would be uniquely able to define the strategic goals and priority investments in bioterrorism. At the same time, by facilitating a collaborative approach in establishing these surveillance networks, several different countries are provided a democratic opportunity to outline what concerns impact their region most. According to Dr. Louise Gresham, the Director for Health Security and Epidemiology for NTI's GHSI, "Empowering collective action to build and share resources regionally, makes way for equitable solutions." While not every country will bring the same sorts of academics or technologies to the table, a program like CHORDS ends up enhancing global capacity, by affording an equitable stake in problem solving. This also allows for flexibility in regional problem solving, as challenges are addressed with tailored solutions -- as opposed to a one-size fits all approach. Investment and support for the CHORDS program by the Administration would help enact a human health imperative consistent with larger Homeland Security promises set up by the Obama campaign, restoring faith in American leadership via truly global partnerships. By developing surveillance practices and standards through these methods, we are not only better prepared to deal with outbreaks, but the world is much more in sync with what health problems people of the 21st century are facing. Much of the collaboration we are witnessing in real time by North American countries and the WHO in response to swine flu, is the result of years of preparation and exercises. If such collaborative networks can be developed and implemented across the globe, we can collectively ease the world of the burden of infectious diseases, efficiently share information critical to saving lives, and not have to worry about wearing masks on summer vacation. More on Swine Flu
 
Afghan Civilian Deaths: Clinton Expresses Deep Regret Top
KABUL — The international Red Cross confirmed Wednesday that civilians were found in graves and rubble where Afghan officials alleged U.S. bombs killed had dozens. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington "deeply, deeply" regretted the loss of innocent life. Women and children were among dozens of bodies in two villages targeted by airstrikes, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported Wednesday, after sending a team to the district. The U.S. military sent a brigadier general to the region to investigate. A former Afghan government official said up to 120 people died in the bombing Monday evening. Opening a meeting with the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. State Department in Washington, Clinton said Wednesday that any loss of innocent life was "particularly painful." Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in Washington for his first meeting with President Barack Obama, thanked Clinton for "showing concern and regret" and said he hoped the countries "can work together to completely reduce civilian casualties in the struggle against terrorism." Karzai will raise the issue of civilian deaths with Obama, a statement from Karzai's office said. The first images from the bombings in Farah province emerged Wednesday. Photos from the site obtained by The Associated Press showed villagers burying the dead in about a dozen fresh graves, while others dug through the rubble of demolished mud-brick homes. The international Red Cross team in Farah's Bala Baluk district on Tuesday saw "dozens of bodies in each of the two locations that we went to," said spokeswoman Jessica Barry. "There were bodies, there were graves, and there were people burying bodies when we were there," she said. "We do confirm women and children. There were women and children." Karzai ordered an investigation and the U.S. military sent a brigadier general to Farah to head a U.S. investigation, said Col. Greg Julian, a U.S. spokesman. Afghan military and police officials were also part of the investigative team. Civilian deaths have caused increasing friction between the Afghan and U.S. governments, and Karzai has long pleaded with American officials to reduce civilian casualties in their operations. U.S. and NATO officials accuse the Taliban militants of fighting from within civilian homes, thus putting them in danger. Mohammad Nieem Qadderdan, a former district chief of Bala Buluk, said between 100 and 120 people were killed in the attacks. He said villagers were still uncovering bodies, some of which were missing limbs or were torn into small pieces, he said. "People are still looking through the rubble," Qadderdan said. "We need more people to help us. Many families left the villages, fearing other strikes." Provincial authorities have told villagers not to bury the bodies, but instead to line them up for the officials conducting the investigation to see, Qadderdan said. The fighting broke out Monday soon after Taliban fighters _ including Taliban from Pakistan and Iran _ massed in Farah province in western Afghanistan, said Belqis Roshan, a member of Farah's provincial council. The provincial police chief, Abdul Ghafar, said 25 militants and three police officers died in that battle near the village of Ganjabad in Bala Baluk district, a Taliban-controlled area near the border with Iran. Villagers told Afghan officials they put children, women, and elderly men in several housing compounds in the village of Gerani _ about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) to the east _ to keep them safe. But villagers said fighter aircraft later targeted those compounds, killing a majority of those inside, according to Roshan and other officials. A Western official in Kabul said Marine special operations forces _ which fall under the U.S. coalition _ called in the airstrikes. The official asked not to be identified because he wasn't authorized to release the information. Villagers brought about 30 bodies, including women and children, to Farah city to show the governor Tuesday, said Abdul Basir Khan, a member of the provincial council. Journalists and human rights workers can rarely visit remote battle sites to verify claims of civilian casualties. U.S. officials say Taliban militants sometimes force villagers to lie and say civilians have died in coalition strikes. But the international Red Cross report and other official accounts added weight to villagers' claims in Bala Baluk. In remarks in the United States on Tuesday, Karzai alluded to the problem of civilian casualties without mentioning the bombing deaths. He said the success of the new U.S. war strategy depends on "making sure absolutely that Afghans don't suffer _ that Afghan civilians are protected." "This war against terrorism will succeed only if we fight it from a higher platform of morality," he said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Asked later to clarify, Karzai said, "We must be conducting this war as better human beings," and recognize that "force won't buy you obedience." An Afghan government commission previously found that an August 2008 operation by U.S. forces killed 90 civilians in Azizabad, a finding backed by the U.N. The U.S. originally said no civilians died; a high-level investigation later concluded 33 civilians were killed. After the Azizabad killings, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, announced a directive last September meant to reduce such deaths. He ordered commanders to consider breaking away from a firefight in populated areas rather than pursue militants into villages. ___ Associated Press reporters Heidi Vogt, Jason Straziuso and Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul, and Matthew Lee in Washington ,contributed to this report. More on Afghanistan
 

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