Saturday, May 16, 2009

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David Weinberger: Whitehouse.gov: Name your bloggers! Top
The Whitehouse.gov blog continues to improve, by which I mean it continues to move away from being a glass-topped version of White House press releases. But it's missing a big opportunity by keeping its blog posts anonymous. The White House bloggers seem quite aware that a press release isn't a post and are trying to create a difference between the two. For instance, the blogger begins the post on President Obama's speech on credit card reform with a friendly paragraph about the citizen who introduced him. It's not much and it's still directly tied to the President's remarks, but that paragraph doesn't read like a press release or like a speech. And, the post ends with the blogger's evaluation of the President's proposal: "Long overdue." That last phrase, expressing some personal enthusiasm, is uncalled for, and thus is refreshing, for blogging is a medium for the uncalled and the uncalled-for. (Which is why I love it.) Still, it's hard to see how the posts can blow past this minimal level of bloggishness...unless and until the bloggers start signing them. The problem, I believe, is that their posts come straight from the offices behind the long lawn and the pillared portico, just as press releases do. Press releases represent the building and its policies, and have authority, because they're not an individual expression. They have authority because they are unsigned and thus speak for the institution itself. Blog posts come from the same building, and, if they're unsigned, we think maybe they're supposed to have similar authority, except written in a slangier style. So, we don't know exactly what to make of these unsigned posts. And neither do the bloggers, I think. It's too new and it's too weird. But, if the bloggers signed their posts, it would instantly become clear that bloggers are not speaking for the institution of the White House the way press releases do. We would have something — the bloggers — that stands between the posts and the awesomeness of the White House. That would create just enough room for the bloggers to express something other than the Official View. They would be freed to make the White House blog far more interesting, relevant, human, and central to the Administration's mission than even the most neatly typed press releases ever could be. Already most of the bloggiest posts at Whitehouse.gov come from guest bloggers who are named and identified by their position. They feel free-er to speak for themselves and as themselves, in their own voice. Now, I don't expect the official White House bloggers to speak for themselves exactly. They're partisans and employees; they work for the White House because they love President Obama. But, if they signed their names, they could speak more as themselves. This might let them do more of what the White House blog needs to do, in my opinion. For example, I'd like to read a White House blogger explaining the President's decision to try some Guantanamo prisoners using the military tribunals President Bush created. White House communications officials probably consider it bad politics to acknowledge the controversy by issuing a defense. But bloggers write about what's interesting, and hearing a spirited, partisan justification would be helpful, and encouraging. I personally think that Pres. Obama probably has good reasons for his decision in this matter, but the "good politics" of official communications are too timid. I want to hear a blogger on the topic. And I would love to learn to go to the White House blog first on questions such as this. And isn't that where the White House would like me first to go? Bloggers with names are the best way to interrupt the direct circuit from politics to official public expression. That would put people in the middle...which is exactly where we want them. More on Barack Obama
 
Conservatives Map Strategies To Fight Against Obama's Supreme Court Nominee Top
Preparing to oppose the confirmation of Mr. Obama's eventual choice to succeed Justice David H. Souter, who is retiring, conservative groups are working together to stockpile ammunition. Ten memorandums summarizing their research, obtained by The New York Times, provide a window onto how they hope to frame the coming debate. More on Barack Obama
 
Teryn Norris: First Analysis of Full Waxman-Markey Climate Bill Top
By Teryn Norris & Jesse Jenkins The landmark Waxman-Markey 2009 American Clean Energy and Security Act was introduced in the House yesterday (May 15, download PDF here ), and the Breakthrough Institute has performed a preliminary analysis of how it would invest over $1 trillion in cap and trade revenue between 2012-2025. Our key findings for this period include (all numbers are approximate -- download spreadsheet here ): Polluting industries : 57.3% of allowances would be freely distributed to polluting industries, including 36.7% for the electricity sector, 12.3% for energy-intensive industries, 6.5% for local natural gas distribution companies, and 1.8% for oil refiners Direct consumer protection : 16.5% of allowances would be used for direct consumer protection , including 15% for low and moderate-income families and 1.5% to benefit users of home heating oil and propane Energy efficiency and clean energy technology : 12.2% of allowances would be used to fund energy efficiency and clean energy technology development and deployment Adaptation and technology transfer : 4.7% of allowances would be used for domestic and global climate adaptation and technology transfer Workforce development : 0.6% of allowances would be used to fund worker assistance and job training Deficit reduction and other : 8.6% of allowances would be used to fund deficit reduction and other public purposes (click image to magnify) How much money would these allocations translate into? That depends on the average price for each pollution allowance -- the EPA's initial price estimate was $13-17 per allowance, so we will assume an average price of $15 per allowance. The allocation would look like this: Investment in clean energy technology development and deployment is broken out here (Note: the amount for clean energy technology within the "Renewable Energy and Efficiency" program is not specified): Our analysis finds that Waxman-Markey would spend about $9 billion annually on a range of things that could generously be classified as technology innovation. By contrast, the legislation would give $32 billion to utilities, $9 billion to heavy industries, and $11 billion to low-income consumers annually. This $9 billion is far less than what Obama promised ($15 billion) and far less than the $30 billion that three dozen energy scientists and experts, including several Nobel laureates, called for in a sign-on letter during the fall of 2007. One important caveat is that, with all of the options for borrowing from the future and using offsets, the price on carbon dioxide could be much less. If that were the case, Waxman-Markey could quite conceivably have a price on CO2 of $5 per ton and put about $3 billion a year into energy technology innovation, which is about what we currently spend.
 
Larisa Alexandrovna: Cheney MVP of the GOP? Top
Apparently political suicide is a surest way to become MVP in the GOP these days, at least according William Kristol anyway: [Cheney] made himself the Most Valuable Republican of the first four months of the Obama administration (ably assisted by a few bold denizens of the Hill like the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, Pete Hoekstra). Since when is attempting to stay out of prison for crimes against humanity a selfless act of heroism? Does Bill actually think that Cheney is being entirely selfless for the Republican cause? No wonder Republican beloved Ronald Reagan called Bill and his pals "the crazies in the basement." I always find it amusing that the current base of the Republican Party can continue to claim a love-affair with Reagan, but still fully embrace the lunatics that Reagan laughed at. Another hero in his brave defense of torture, according to Kristol, is Pete Hoekstra. The very same Hoekstra who had strange meetings with Iran Contra arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar . I had always wondered if Hoekstra went on behalf of Cheney to help "fix the facts" around yet another war. Perhaps while they are defending torture so bravely together, they might answer that question? Apparently Hoekstra is also defending Cheney's position on torture out of selflessness. Yes, the GOP is packed wall to wall with heroes like Cheney- who never went to war, but was more than willing to send others to die for his lies. Hoekstra spends most of his time attacking the Speaker of the House these days and for political reasons, instead of actually doing his job. Perhaps if Hoekstra had been doing his job all along, he would not have made a fool of himself by publicly claiming that WMD were found in Iraq. Let me remind you : GIBSON : I'm really confused about this. You had to pry this information out of the Department of Defense, evidently, and they're in the business of trying to convince us that Saddam did have WMD. So why was it like pulling teeth? HOEKSTRA : Well, I'm not sure of that. That's one of those questions. Obviously, what is happening here, John, is that they see that WMD is a threat to our front-line troops. So perhaps the answer to that question is buried in, we need to make sure we get a hold of all of these weapons. We have found 500, and we need to get a hold of all the other ones that we think may still be in Iraq because they do pose a threat to our front-line troops. By all means Mr. Kristol, do send more such "bold denizens of the Hill" my way. Anyone who defends torture is going to be fairly easy to discredit and quickly. More on War Crimes
 
Michael Steele: Gay Marriage Is Bad For Small Businesses Top
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Republicans can reach a broader base by recasting gay marriage as an issue that could dent pocketbooks as small businesses spend more on health care and other benefits, GOP Chairman Michael Steele said Saturday. Steele said that was just an example of how the party can retool its message to appeal to young voters and minorities without sacrificing core conservative principles. Steele said he used the argument weeks ago while chatting on a flight with a college student who described herself as fiscally conservative but socially liberal on issues like gay marriage. "Now all of a sudden I've got someone who wasn't a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for," Steele told Republicans at the state convention in traditionally conservative Georgia. "So how do I pay for that? Who pays for that? You just cost me money." As Steele talked about ways the party could position itself, he also poked fun at his previous pledge to give the GOP a "hip-hop makeover." "You don't have to wear your pants cut down here or the big bling," he said. Vermont and Iowa have legalized gay marriage in recent weeks, and a Quinnipiac University poll released in April found that 57 percent of people questioned support civil unions that provide marriage-like rights. Although 55 percent said they opposed gay marriage, the poll indicated a shift toward more acceptance. The chief of the Republican National Committee has been criticized by some social conservatives in recent weeks after GQ magazine quoted him as saying he opposed gay marriage but wasn't going to "beat people upside the head about it." Steele, a Catholic and former Maryland lieutenant governor, was elected chairman of the committee earlier this year. More on Michael Steele
 
Craig Crawford: Anti-Abortion Lobby Takes Another Hit Top
Anti-abortion activists are really out of luck if the top GOP senator for reviewing Supreme Court nominees sticks by his words that he will support a "pro abortion" pick. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions , the new ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the remark on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" airing on Sunday (5/17). "Could I support a pro-abortion nominee? The answer is yes." Still, Session goes on to say that "shouldn't allow their personal view on abortion to shape how they define the law." (More on Craig Crawford's Trail Mix ) Despite the apparent qualification of his words, Session's first statement shows that pro-lifers might not have gained much when the Alabama Republican replaced party switcher/pro-choicer Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania as the top GOP senator on the Judiciary Committee. It has been a long time since anti-abortion groups face a shut-out in a Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Despite Specter's opposition as ranking Republican in past confirmations, they at least had the votes to prevail. Now they lack the votes along with a committee leader and a president favorable to their cause. More on Supreme Court
 
Arthur Rosenfeld: Quiet Teacher Top
Welcome to The Next Big Thing! Beginning with this entry, this Huffington Post blogger is bringing old and new media together in a fresh way. For the next number of entries, I will be posting the opening to my eighth and latest novel, Quiet Teacher . This is the second book in a series about the lives, loves, and action adventures of Dr. Xenon Pearl, a South Florida neurosurgeon who saves lives in the operating room during the day and goes out as a vigilante at night. There's something for everybody in these books: Chinese history, medicine, martial arts, romance, ghosts, and of course page-turning action. I know you all love books and want to support them. Enjoy! Chapter One I am an insubordinate puppet in the pitiless hands of karma, and try as I might I cannot cut the strings. Day in and day out I struggle among the ten thousand things, pulled one way by the desire to shun the world and another by the need to save it. Back and forth I go, sometimes exercising suture and scalpel, other times heeding a dark and terrible call. I want to be a better man, but my violent compulsions stay me. I am never more at peace than when I am cutting; I am never more tortured than in cutting's red wake. My new stepsister, police detective Wanda Berkowitz, knows nothing of my inner turmoil. Although she could see easily enough that nearing the prison sent me into a toxic swoon, she could not know that it was because a thousand lifetimes worth of judgments and sentences fill my head. As she propelled me toward the penitentiary door, I unconsciously rooted myself to the floor. "Oh no," she said, taking my elbow. "You're going through with it, buddy boy." "Please," I said. "You're not out of the woods yet. There are still charges floating around and people waiting to pounce if you slip up. Any and all reminders of prison life are good for you and even better for our family." Two control room guards watched our dance with mild interest. Wanda pressed her badge to the bulletproof window. "Detective Berkowitz," she said. "Everything under control, detective?" "You better believe it." The guard opened the security drawer. Wanda dropped in her badge and reached back somewhere for her cuffs. Then she loosened the jacket of her gray suit and pulled her duty Sig-Sauer .45 from a nylon shoulder web. "Holster those eyes, doctor," she snapped. I didn't. "Watching a woman undress has never been quite like this," I said. "Shut up and give over your knife. I know you've got one." "Don't be silly." "The metal detector will find it." "There's nothing to find." Holding my eye she feigned a cough and magically came up with another, smaller gun. I managed a smile. "And where'd that come from?" "Kahr PM40," she said. "Forty-caliber death puppy. Nothing flatter, nothing finer." The guard pushed out a clipboard for us both to sign. "Chaplain's office," said Wanda. "All the way down the hall, first right, second left." Once before Wanda had tried to scare me straight by taking me to the Broward County Main Jail. It hadn't worked, though I still remembered the terrible stench of sweat and disinfectants and toilet. Up here in South Bay on the lower edge of Lake Okeechobee, smack in the middle of what used to be magnificent Everglades and was now chemically polluted sugar country, all I got was a whiff of burning cane. The hallway was brightly lit, and the orange and yellow color scheme said school as much as maximum security. We found the chaplain's office and Wanda introduced me to a man whose shopworn face revealed a faith still strong after much testing by rapists, murderers, child molesters, and punks. "It's really quite astonishing to get a renowned brain surgeon to come to prison to lead a meditation," he said, seemingly unable to stop staring at my ponytail. "Do many of your colleagues do this kind of work?" "I don't know any others who do," I said. "And I wouldn't exactly say I'm renowned." "I'll leave you two to get acquainted," Wanda said. "There's a prisoner I have to interrogate. Zee, I'll meet you at the car in an hour." She left and the chaplain stared at me in fascination. "Tell me about your meditation techniques," he urged. "A Zen master has been doing a monthly session here for about five years, but I'm sure he doesn't have your technical qualifications." "Sounds like I don't have his," I said. "Meditation is just an escape for me." "And for the men," the chaplain smiled. "The only escape, or so we hope. Shall we go see them?" He led me down another hall to a little windowless room where barefoot men in fatigues waited cross-legged on the floor. A statue of Buddha stood on a draped bookshelf at one end and there were prayer flags, two tiny incense cauldrons, and a stack of inspirational books. The chaplain made a few remarks about me being a celebrated surgeon and meditation master, describing an impressive man who did not sound the slightest bit like me. Then he slipped out of the room and left me alone with the inmates. I made it a point to shake everyone's hand. The group's leader was tall and gangly and ruddy and thin. His ID tag said Irwin. I figured he was there for the same reason as the other men--to break the monotony and find an incorporeal route past the barbed-wire fence and the cameras and fences and guards. "We got a few sick brains in here, Doc," he said in a Southern drawl. "Probably all the neurosurgery in the world won't help." I started to chuckle but saw he was serious. I motioned for the men to rise. "I have a few exercises to calm the body and make meditation easier," I said. " Jing to qi, qi to shen ," said a man standing front and center. His nametag read Neptune, and he bristled with the kind of hard, shiny muscle only endless hours at the weight rack can bring. His ears were as perfectly formed as a young girl's, and his look said he was working the angles, always monitoring how he struck others and how he could use whatever impression he made to his best advantage. His gaze was intense and challenging. He looked at me as if he knew what I was hiding. I found myself holding my breath. "There's a saying in Mandarin Chinese," I explained, giving myself a chance to recover. "Jing to qi, qi to shen means transforming essence to energy, energy to spirit. Qi is the operative word. It means life force or energy. Meditation, together with the exercises we're about to do, uses this life force to transform your essential fluids into a deeper spirit. The exercises are called the Eight Pieces of Brocade." "They are martial arts exercises, yes?" Neptune said. "What's a doctor doing bringing martial arts to prison? You know that's not allowed here. Why are you even practicing if you're a healer? This inmate wants to know." "I'm a martial artist, but these are not martial exercises," I said. "The set is just for health." They were the first movements my teacher, Wu Tie Mei, shared with me during the years she taught me gongfu, medicine, energetics, and philosophy. A superbly trained fighter, Tie Mei (Chinese people put their given name last, family name first) was a Chinese Jew rescued by my maternal grandfather's rabbinical congregation in a 1970s international outreach. Most people don't know there are Jews in China or that they cluster in a city called Kaifeng at the end of what was once the Silk Road. Kaifeng's Jews have no connection to world Jewry, but they engage traditional practices such as eating unleavened bread on Passover and resting on Friday night to honor the Sabbath. "Oh they're martial," Neptune went on. "You can fool them but you can't fool me." His persistence made me uncomfortable. I wished Wanda hadn't left me alone. I wished the chaplain had stuck around. I tried to focus on the exercises. The first movement in the Brocade sequence had the men reaching for the sky or, more precisely, the fluorescent lights nine feet above our heads. Looking up, I saw dead moths and flying roaches trapped behind the plastic covers by their lust for the light. I wondered about their reincarnation cycles. Perhaps they had already come back as men, had tested the laws of karma, and were on their way here to serve prison terms as inmates; perhaps they were already buzzing around outside again. The second movement was called the archer because it separated the arms in a bow-stretching action. "Gotcha," said Neptune, lining up his imaginary arrow with my forehead. The third movement was a big spinal twist. Mercifully, Neptune had nothing to say about it. The fourth movement was similar. The fifth was a low circle that worked the belt vessel--good for weight control because it stimulated the metabolism. Bending low, Neptune aimed his fist at my groin, striking the air just inches from me. The next movement was a toe touch. The one after that was a tensed punching exercise. Neptune lined himself up with my face and went through the motions with grimacing and grunting and harsh breathing and a murderous look in his eye softened only by a humorous glimmer. "For your health, of course," he said, his curled thumb just inches from my nose. He kept his counsel for the last movement, which entailed rising to a toestand and then dropping down onto the heels. "That's it," I told the group. "Now we do our meditation. We stand rather than sit because standing does a better job of encouraging the flow of your life force through all your meridians. The Chinese believe that these meridians carry energy to all parts of our bodies. On our feet, we open the channels for circulation and energy and nourish the vital organs, appendages, and bones. Sitting closes off some of those channels." "Appendages," snickered someone in the back. Chuckles spread in a wave, chaos and violence lurking beneath like shark and rocks, but then the group settled down, hands folded over navels. "Feel the energy come up from the ground," I said. "Imagine it coming into your feet and up the back of your legs and following the line of your spine to your head, rolling up over your crown and back down the front of you to collect behind the navel in what the Chinese call the dantian ." After ten minutes of standing, I came out of my reverie long enough to check on Neptune. He appeared to be deep in meditation, but the moment my gaze settled on his face, his lips turned up into a smile that said he knew I was watching. Irwin began to rock back and forth. Another inmate, a Filipino man with a stocky build and youthful features, sobbed quietly, his hands still in place, tears rolling down his face. I went back to my own practice and tried to remember my past lives. I wanted to see images from the Song dynasty or the Ming. I wanted to smell the battlefield or, better yet, a long-lost lover. I wanted to see a panoply of flowers laid out for an imperial celebration, to recall a feast of dumplings, to see snow on a pristine mountaintop before there was acid rain to stain it or strip mining to gouge holes in its profile. I wanted to get to know my cohorts, those people whom Chinese metaphysics said traveled with me during the transmigration of souls, making pit stops at the way station, the bardo, for the purpose of signing new contracts in the seemingly endless cycle of living and learning and dying and living again. I had visions not of past lives but of this one. I saw my blade, Quiet Teacher, flutter over a woman's eyebrows and I saw her tiny hairs shower down. I saw my sharp steel slice a mulberry-sized mole from a man's neck. I saw that inescapable steel sever an arm from a shoulder, and then I saw it hack a body into bits for easier disposal. My eyes jerked open to find Neptune's lips at my ear. "You're a fake," he hissed. "The dark and the light all confused and running to gray. You're a healer, yes, but an avenger too, and you've got a bill of goods to sell us. You're a hustler of the spirit, a doctor of deception with no goddamn right to preach." My eyes snapped open like blinds with springs run amok. Irwin clapped the gong signaling the end of the meditation. The men came out of it with slow breathing and peaceful expressions, but the scorpions in my belly nearly bent me over with their stings. I avoided Neptune's gaze as I shook hands all around and answered a few questions. The men noticed my agitation, but I was in no condition to explain. I left as soon as I could. Outside at the car, Wanda seemed pleased by my wan expression. "So maybe the life of crime really isn't for you," she grinned. ***More to Come*** Quiet Teacher is specially discounted for Huffington Post readers at: http://www.ymaa.com/publishing/books/fiction/quiet_teacher_paperback Enter the code "teacher" at checkout. You can also find it here . More on Newspapers
 
Major Supreme Court cases still to be decided Top
Highlights of some high-profile cases that the Supreme Court will decide before finishing its work for the summer: _Voting rights: At stake is the federal government's authority to prevent discriminatory voting changes through a provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act. This section forces all or parts of 16 states, many in the South, to submit proposed election changes to the Justice Department. In 2006, Congress extended the provision, first enacted in 1965, for 25 more years. The local Texas governing authority challenging the law says the safeguard once may have been needed to root out discrimination, but no longer can be justified in 2009, especially with an African-American president. _Reverse discrimination: White firefighters in New Haven, Conn., claim they were discriminated against when the city tossed out the results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored high enough. The city says it acted because it might have been vulnerable to claims that the exam had a "disparate impact" on minorities in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The white firefighters said the decision violated the same law's prohibition on intentional discrimination. _Student strip search: A federal appeals court determined that an Arizona school official went too far by ordering a strip search of a 13-year-old eighth-grade girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen. The justices appeared swayed by the argument of the school's lawyer against tying the hands of administrators who must be able search for drugs and weapons on school grounds. _Judicial ethics: The case from West Virginia tests when judges must step aside from disputes that involve people who backed their election. West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin rejected pleas to excuse himself from a lawsuit involving a booster of his 2004 election campaign and cast the deciding vote in overturning a verdict, now more than $82 million with interest, against his supporter's company. _Investigating lending discrimination: A fight between the states and the federal government over who gets to investigate national banks. The Obama administration says federal law prohibits states from looking at the lending practices of those banks, even under state anti-discrimination laws. Federal courts have so far blocked an investigation begun by New York, which is backed by the other 49 states, of whether minorities were being charged higher interest rates on home mortgage loans by national banks with branches in New York. _DNA testing: In a case from Alaska, the justices are examining whether, long after a conviction, defendants have a constitutional right to test genetic evidence that could be used to exonerate them. Alaska is one of a handful of states without a state law providing for DNA testing, which has been used to exonerate more than 200 people wrongly convicted of violent crimes. _Detainee lawsuit: A Pakistani Muslim sued former Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and others over mistreatment he suffered in federal custody after being rounded up in a post-Sept. 11 sweep. The court will decide if high-ranking officials such as Ashcroft and Mueller can be sued when lower-level government workers allegedly violate people's civil rights. More on Supreme Court
 
Primate Fossil Discovered Could Be Key Link In Explaining Evolution Of Modern Human Beings Top
Scientists say a 47-million-year-old fossil found in Germany may be a key link to explain the evolution of modern human beings.
 
Daniel Cubias: It's Much Prettier in Spanish: The Allure of Cursing in a Foreign Tongue Top
I've been blogging for the Huffington Post for about a year now. My emphasis, of course, is on Latino culture and the issues that affect Hispanics. However, as I enter my second year of ranting, provoking, and prophesying, it's clear that I need to get one thing out of the way: No, I will not teach you how to curse in Spanish. As we all know, the first thing anyone ever asks to learn in a foreign language is how to insult a total stranger's parentage in as disgusting a manner as possible. Blasphemy is also hugely popular. Why is this? Are we looking for some common bond across cultures, and the need to offend is prevalent around the world? Or is this just human nature to gravitate toward the basest level of communication? Or is it just more fun to shout, "hijo de puta!" than it is to murmur "como se llama"? In any case, Spanish is not any more vulgar than English, and the context of the insults are pretty much the same. If you really want to let someone have it, you have to go with Arabic. Most languages stop at "F*** you" or perhaps "F*** your mother." But an Arab friend once taught me an insult that basically translated to "May you be anally raped by a thousand lunatics and your severed corpse flung into the gutter to be devoured by a hundred rabid hyenas." Sadly, I have since forgotten how to pronounce this extremely handy phrase. However, with sentiments like that floating around the Middle East, I have a better understanding of why they are so damn tense there. But again, what taboo are we seeking to transcend when we refer to human excrement in a foreign language? Why is that the first thing we try to learn, instead of "Where's a restaurant?" or "Can you break a twenty?" or something we might actually use? Of course, even bringing up this subject is bound to offend some people. To those individuals, I can only offer my earnest apologies and humble expressions of remorse. And let me just add, in the true spirit of sincerity, that you should go chinga tu madre. More on Middle East
 
Louis Vuitton Launches First Ever Exclusive Online Product, Joins Twitter Top
The luxury industry took another big step into the digital world Friday as Louis Vuitton launched its first exclusive product online. The Louis Vuitton Totally Monogram tote ($1,100) will be available exclusively at LouisVuitton.com until June 1, the first time ever the brand has offered a product online before it hits stores. "Our on-line business has grown rapidly since we launched the e-commerce portion of our site in November 2007," Louis Vuitton North America President & CEO Daniel Lalonde said. "We are delighted to be able to offer louisvuitton.com clients the exclusive opportunity to purchase this exciting new product prior to its debut in our retail stores." The fashion house also launched its presence on Twitter Friday, tweeting under the name @LouisVuitton_US . The company promises that its followers "will be kept up to date on new product launches, progressive collaborations, exclusive images, celebrity sightings and privileged details from private events." "With this new presence on Twitter, we hope to provide not only additional customer service to our clientele, but also a unique look at all aspects of Louis Vuitton," Lalonde said. "This new forum will allow us to communicate the extensive characteristics of the brand to a broader group and offer followers an exceptional experience with Louis Vuitton."
 
India Elections Results: Ruling Party Wins Resounding Victory Top
NEW DELHI — The ruling Congress party swept to a resounding victory Saturday in India's mammoth national elections, defying expectations as it brushed aside the Hindu nationalist opposition and a legion of ambitious smaller parties. The strong showing by the party, which is dominated by the powerful Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, laid to rest fears of an unstable, shaky coalition heading the South Asian giant at a time when many of it neighbors are plagued by instability, civil war and rising extremism. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared victory, telling reporters that voters had given the Congress party-led coalition a "massive mandate." The left-of-center Congress, which has long tried to balance free market reforms with a vow to protect the downtrodden in this country of 1.2 billion people, wants a "stable, strong government which is committed to secular values," he said. The results left the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, the country's other main party, vowing a period of introspection after they failed to capitalize on the economic uncertainty and increased turmoil in Pakistan, India's longtime rival. "We will analyze these results in detail," said Arun Jaitley, a senior BJP leader conceding defeat. "The BJP accepts the mandate of the people of India with all humility." With most votes counted, the Election Commission said the Congress-led alliance had won _ or was leading in _ races for 254 seats in the 543-seat Parliament. The BJP alliance came up short with 153. The Congress party alone, without the support of its coalition allies, had won or was leading in 204 seats, putting it far ahead of all other parties. While the results were a clear victory for the Congress coalition it still leaves it short of the 272 seats needed to govern alone and will require the support of other parties. India has been ruled by coalition governments for most of the last two decades. For months, polls and political observers had predicted that neither of the country's two main parties would emerge a clear winner, forcing an unstable and unwieldy coalition that could have conceivably included dozens of smaller parties. Analysts said that Congress _ which posted the best results by an individual party in nearly two decades _ reaped the rewards of dramatic economic growth during their last term and a series of high-profile pro-poor programs. "It's not just because it oversaw four years of nine percent growth. What has probably helped was that its agenda was one of inclusive growth," said Mahesh Rangarajan, a political analyst in New Delhi. That perception also saw Congress make deep inroads into the base of their former allies, the Communist parties _ a result welcomed by business leaders who said it would enable India to embrace economic reforms as it faces the global downturn. The communists, a traditional power in Indian politics, had supported Congress for much of the previous term, but broke ties over the Indian-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement, the cornerstone of warmer relations between New Delhi and Washington. Until their departure they repeatedly frustrated economic reforms that would have allowed India to further open up its economy. Venu Srinivasan, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, said Congress' re-election would provide welcome stability and continuity, calling on the party to ensure reforms are "fast tracked." President Barack Obama congratulated India on its "historic national elections," a White House statement said Saturday. "By successfully completing the largest exercise of popular voting in the world, the elections have strengthened India's vibrant democracy and upheld the values of freedom and pluralism that make India an example for us all," it said. While the results marked the success of the government's policies, it also heralded the next chapter in the country's deep ties to its most powerful political dynasty. The Congress party has long said that Singh, 76, an economist and technocrat who helped open India's economy nearly 20 years ago, would return to power if it won. But the election was also a clear victory for party chief Sonia Gandhi's son, Rahul, who emerged as a key strategist during the campaign and became the party's most visible face. While a relative political newcomer, he has been increasingly viewed as a future prime minister. "This is the beginning of the real rise to power of Rahul Gandhi," said Rangarajan, the analyst. Rahul, 38, is a scion of India's most powerful family _ the son of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, grandson of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister. The family was closely allied to the pacifist icon Mohandas Gandhi, though they are not related. The election also scuttled the ambitions of the "Third Front," an alliance of regional and caste-based parties that had banded together _ and which for a time had been seen as a wild card that could emerge with immense power. Among these was Mayawati, who had made clear her ambition to be India's first low-caste politician. Mayawati, a Dalit, or "untouchable," the social outcasts at the bottom of the caste system, has emerged as a major force in Indian politics, winning control of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state in 2007 state elections. But she failed to replicate her success _ based on an alliance of Dalits and high-caste Hindu Brahmins _ in the national elections. As results came in, celebrations erupted outside the Congress party headquarters. Party workers set off fireworks and danced in the streets carrying posters of party leader Sonia Gandhi. "We have won a thumping majority," Congress activist Parag Jain said outside the party offices, in a leafy, elegant south New Delhi neighborhood. "Successful rule begins and ends with Congress and the Gandhi family." ___ Associated Press writers Tim Sullivan and Sam Dolnick contributed to this report. More on India
 
Paul McRandle: Live Dangerously, America! And Unholster Your Food Thermometers... Top
Your health and safety are in your own hands--it's a truism, but one that some in the packaged food industry are too ready to promote. According to The New York Times , Con Agra, makers of the Banquet pot pies that sickened 15,000 people with salmonella in 2007, have given up tracking the source of that contamination and instead are opting for detailed, if inadequate, safety instructions. Killing the bacteria in Banquet pot pies is left to the consumer, who is asked to make multiple measurements of the pie's temperature to ensure it reaches 165 F. But as the Times reported, attempts to follow the directions on several brands resulted in pies 25 degrees F too cool in some spots and burnt in others (check out the video on their site). By passing all responsibility for possible contamination on to the purchaser, all the consumer is really paying for is convenience--and sticking a food thermometer all over your pie takes that down a notch, too. Ultimately, consumers will be footing the bill for the damage to both health and the environment caused by a cheap food system. The companies blame it on the complexity of the supply chain. With suppliers from around the globe--many of whom do no contamination testing themselves--it's proving tough for the end-producer to ensure high standards. So it's only too fitting that this story should break the week of NRDC's Growing Green Awards . If global supply chains practically ensure we'll get contaminated food (not to mention toys, toothpaste or lunchboxes), turning to ingredients from trusted regional producers is a pretty easy choice. Take Will Allen's Growing Power or Michael Rozyne's Red Tomato . Locally and regionally produced foods from small-scale farmers don't have an opportunity to spread contaminants far and wide. And because of their proximity to their customers, these farmers can be held directly responsible for problems, so they have both financial and social incentives to maintain high food safety standards. To monitor their efforts, Growing Power operates in partnership with the Great Lakes Aquaculture Institute at the University of Wisconsin, which promotes sustainability and the environment of the Great Lakes. Allen explains that the institute tests samples of the fish to ensure they are free of contaminants. Furthermore, Growing Power's goal is to feed those in underserved urban food deserts, providing affordable, fresh food in areas supermarkets have shunned. So given the alternatives, why wouldn't consumers take the food industry at their word and avoid products that might make them and their children physically ill?
 
Roubini And Rogoff: Recovery Still Months Away Top
The U.S. economy isn't likely to recover for months, and even then will remain weak for a long time, two well-known economists told CNBC. Nouriel Roubini, co-founder and chairman at RGE Monitor, also known as Dr. Doom, and Kenneth Rogoff, professor at Harvard University's Department of Economics, both said the economy still faces serious challenges. More on CNBC
 
Beverly Hills Fund Manager Arrested, Allegedly Spent Investor's Money On Malibu Beach House Top
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Beverly Hills hedge fund manager was arrested Friday on a charge he bilked investors out of $44.3 million, including $5 million he lost playing poker, the U.S. attorney's office said. Bradley L. Ruderman, 46, surrendered to FBI agents after being named in a wire fraud complaint. He was later released on $500,000 bond. The government alleges he spent at least $8.7 million of investor money on personal expenses including a summer rental of a Malibu beach home and two Porsches. He admitted in an FBI interview that he lost $5.2 million of investor money in poker games held in a Beverly Hills luxury hotel suite, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement. A message seeking comment was left at the offices of Ruderman's attorney, James D. Riddet of Santa Ana. A federal judge last month froze Ruderman's assets after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint alleging he falsely told investors his hedge funds had hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. Ruderman's scheme lasted from 2002 until its collapse this year, according to the wire fraud complaint. He allegedly raised $44.3 million from 22 investors with claims of annual returns as high as 60 percent. Many of the victims named in the complaint were Ruderman's own relatives, U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek said. The complaint said he lied about profits, repeatedly sent false account statements to investors and reported he had $206 million in funds under management after actually losing $3 million in 2008 and beginning 2009 with a net value of only $588,246. If convicted, Ruderman faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
 

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