Friday, May 15, 2009

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O'Hare Gate Changes Signal Shakeup, Increased Competition Top
A major shuffle is about to begin at O'Hare International Airport in which two airlines move in with new partners, potentially freeing gates for additional carriers. More on Travel
 
Lloyd Garver: Too Much Information Top
The good news about living in the Information Age is that just about everybody can express what is on his or her mind. In other eras, only writers wrote. Not today. Anybody can self-publish a book, send an email to someone thousands of miles away, or write a blog about whatever she or he wants. It's a wonderful thing that so many people can tell others anything they want about themselves. But why do they feel they have to tell everything about themselves? When people first started buying cell phones, they did so primarily because they found these devices could be helpful in an emergency. Then they discovered that cell phones could help them keep in touch with work or home. So far, not so bad. But next, people became so addicted to talking and texting on cell phones that now many people feel they have to use them every few seconds. I was in a theater a few days ago, watching a children's dance recital when the guy behind me refused to stop texting and checking for messages once the show began. An usher soon told him that using a cell phone during the performance was not allowed. So, did the guy stop using it and watch the show? Nope. He left the auditorium so he could continue to use his cell phone rather than watch his kid dance. Like the cell phone, the Internet seemed harmless enough when we first started using it. We could look up interesting facts, and we could tell our family and friends important things any time of the day. But then things started to get out of hand. My theory is that this deterioration began when people discovered that they could use e-mail to instantly send unfunny jokes to as many people as they desired. Next came the personal blog, yet another mixed blessing. Good writers could tell about their daily lives in fascinating and creative ways. Of course, not so good writers could tell about their daily lives in totally boring ways. Social networking sites followed. These are things like Facebook, MySpace, and whatever new one has become popular since I started typing this. The interesting thing about these sites is that you no longer are restricted to e-mailing your friends about your life. Now you can write to complete strangers and tell them whatever you want. And what are these strangers called on these sites? "Friends." Twitter has fine-tuned the phenomenon of e-mailing people about one's own life. On Twitter, your "tweets" are limited to 140 typed characters. But don't worry. You can send as many of these short messages as you want. We've all heard stories about lurid photographs and messages on these sites, but is most of the communication sexy or outrageous? No, it's dull, duller than you can imagine if you haven't been on the receiving end of this stuff. Here is a sampling of the kind of things that those on Facebook and Twitter send out to other people: "I'm getting thirsty." "I'm thinking of trying a new toothpaste." "I don't want to catch a cold." "I just finished packing for tomorrow's trip." "I really like the color blue." I'm not kidding. These are the kind of messages that people spend hours and hours sending and receiving. (Well, I did change the color to "blue" to protect the identity of the sender). Are people supposed to respond? If someone sends a message that says, "I'm really tired," does he expect people to write back advising whether he should go to sleep or not? Some people send running updates of their day: "On my way to work now" is followed by "Almost at work now" and "At work now." Am I supposed to respond, "Congratulations!"? I don't think so. I have the feeling that people who send up-to-the-minute updates of their daily life don't care if we respond or not. My hunch is that the pleasure they derive is just from writing about changing their fish's water or finding a paper clip in the street. That would make them just interested in pure self-expression, not the reaction of others. On the other hand, maybe they are interested in others' reactions, and those of us who haven't responded are letting them down. I'm sure I could devote much more time to thinking about this. But not now. I'm going to take a shower. Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame Street" to "Family Ties" to "Home Improvement" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover. He can be reached at lloydgarver@gmail.com . Check out his website at lloydgarver.com and his podcasts on iTunes . More on Twitter
 
Dan Pallotta: Re-Thinking Charity, Re-Printed from Harvard Business Review Top
Charity has come to business. Milton Friedman's insistence that causes had no place in business overlooked the fact that alignment with a cause could create a competitive advantage. More and more companies are after that advantage. But the sad reality is that, with a few minor exceptions, business has not yet come to charity. It is not the fault of charity. For well over a decade it has been popular to preach to charities that they should act more like businesses, but the truth is, society won't permit it. And it's not likely to do so without a serious re-visiting of our fundamental canons about charity. What we mean by "act more like business" is really, "focus more on lowering overhead" -- the opposite of what it takes to grow a successful business. The nonprofit sector remains tightly constrained by a set of irrational economic rules handed down to us from the Puritans that discourage profit, self-interest, serious marketing, and risk-taking and long-term investment for revenue development. They work against the sector on every level, and they have been elevated, of all things, to the status of "ethics." We have two rulebooks -- one for charity, one for the rest of the economic world. We let the for-profit sector pay competitive wages based on value, but have a visceral reaction to anyone making a great deal of money in charity. We let people make a fortune doing any number of things that will harm the poor, but want to crucify anyone who wants to make money helping them. This sends the top talent coming out of the nation's best business schools directly into the for-profit sector and gives our youth mutually exclusive choices between doing well and doing good. It is not sustainable, let alone scalable. We let Coca-Cola pummel us with advertising, but donors don't want important causes "wasting" money on paid advertising. So the voices of our great causes are muted. Consumer products get lopsided access to our attention, 24 hours a day. Charitable giving has remained constant at about 2% of GDP ever since we've measured it. Charity isn't gaining market share. How can it if it isn't permitted to market? We let for-profit companies invest in the long-term to identify new sources of revenue, but we want charitable donations spent immediately to help the needy. All results must be measured against expenditures in twelve-month windows, and a 65% return is required. No wonder charities can't scale to the size of the social problems they confront. We aren't upset when Paramount makes a $200 million movie that flops, but if a charity experiments with a $5 million fundraising event that fails, we call in the attorneys. So charities are petrified of trying bold new revenue-generating endeavors and can't develop the powerful learning curves the for-profit sector can. We let for-profit companies raise massive capital in the stock market by offering investment returns, but we forbid the payment of a financial return in charity. The result? The for-profit sector monopolizes the capital markets while charities are left to beg for donations. We're re-thinking business. It's time to re-think charity. It's time to give charity the big-league freedoms we really give to business. The fight for these freedoms must be our new cause, because without them, all of our causes are ultimately lost. This piece originally appeared on Harvard Business Review.
 
Tortoise Cams! Ancient Creatures Go High Tech In The Galapagos Top
QUITO, Ecuador — Scientists in the Galapagos Islands have installed cameras on the shells of giant tortoises in a study that could shed light on how they live, mate and migrate. Galapagos National Park official Washington Tapia says the research project includes two tortoises in captivity and a third in the wild. Tapia says scientists hope to learn about tortoises' nocturnal behavior, reproductive cycles and seasonal migration. He said Friday in a park statement the three-week study may be expanded if it yields useful information. The National Geographic Society, the Charles Darwin Foundation and Germany's Max Planck Institute are participating. The endangered giant Galapagos tortoise is the world's largest living tortoise. More on Animals
 
Barbara Ficarra: 5 Ways to Improve Your Health Top
Simple lifestyle changes boost your health-and your happiness Health care isn't just what happens between you and your medical professionals. It's how you care for yourself and maintain your health and well-being. Here are five ways to change your life in a way that will not only make you healthier, but happier too. 1. Connect with friends-face-to-face Spending time with your best friends is proven to be good for your health . Bonding with your girlfriends is different from connecting to your spouse, kids, family, significant other or lover. Day-to-day life is stressful. Reaching outside your routine to connect with friends provides real relief-and a way to get in touch with the real "you," who can get lost in daily shuffle. But bonding requires face-to-face interactions. While I'm a huge fan of Facebook, Twitter, texting and e-mailing, it's not the same. Get together for lunch, take a walk, chat over tea. Be that care-free girl you once were to boost your health. (Men: this goes for you too. Grab your best buddies and go have some fun.) 2. Listen to the joy Researchers at the University of Maryland School Of Medicine found that listening to joyful music can have a healthy effect on blood vessels. But the key is joyful music. It was found the blood vessels relaxed and widened by 26 percent when subjects listened to uplifting music, compared to a 6 percent narrowing while listening to music that causes anxiety. So what music did the participants of this study choose to evoke joy? Country. (I knew I loved Rascal Flatts for a reason.) Anxiety-producing music? Heavy metal. So choose the music that makes you feel good-it will also make you healthier. 3. Laugh Out Loud Laughing doesn't just make you feel good. The Mayo Clinic reports that laughter can have short- and long-term health benefits. Short-term, laughter increases levels of endorphins that are released from your brain. It can stimulate your heart, muscles and lungs. It can reduce stress, tension and stomach upset. Longer-term, laughter can even help improve your immune system and relieve pain. 3. Eat Healthy Eating mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains is demonstrated to be one of the most powerful ways to boost your health, reducing risk for most major chronic diseases and improving the health and function of nearly every body tissue. Easy to say. Hard to do. One of my favorite health books provides an excellent way to make healthy eating a reality: ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine by John La Puma, MD. As a physician, Dr. La Puma knows his stuff about health. As a trained chef, he knows how to make amazing meals. The recipes are quick and simple, healthy and delicious. Dr. La Puma has been a guest on the Health in 30® Radio Show; give the segment a listen for more. And if you happen to love hummus, here's a great healthy recipe from ChefMD. 4. Just move Sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, obesity and-this is not as well-known-clinical depression. And you don't have to be an exercise fanatic to reap the health benefits. The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week. So does the federal government, though its exercise guidelines for Americans go into more detail. Brisk walking is one of the easiest ways to get this kind of exercise. It also sets a healthy foundation for other kinds of activities you might want to do. The guidelines differ a bit for those 65 and older and for people with chronic health conditions and physical limitations, so check with your doctor before starting an exercise routine. Having support from your friends or an exercise partner may make exercising more fun and improve your chances of sticking with a regular schedule. For me, I love to just grab my iPod and walk or run. On nice days I love being outside. Otherwise I'll hit the treadmill indoors. Find something you like and can stick with over the long haul. Getting in shape for bathing suit season is fine, but in terms of long-term health it's not the same as integrating regular exercise into your life. More on Happiness
 
Youth Radio -- Youth Media International: How To Woo the First Lady Top
Originally published on Youthradio.org , the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe. By: Denise Tejada What does it take to get First Lady Michelle Obama to fly across the country, subject herself to a blistering 94 degree day, and deliver the keynote address at a college commencement ceremony? For the students of UC Merced, handwriting more than a thousand Valentine's Day cards was only the beginning. READ MORE HERE. Youth Radio/Youth Media International (YMI) is youth-driven converged media production company that delivers the best youth news, culture and undiscovered talent to a cross section of audiences. To read more youth news from around the globe and explore high quality audio and video features, visit Youthradio.org More on Michelle Obama
 
Drew Peterson's Girlfriend Gets Big-Name Lawyer Top
A high-profile Los Angeles attorney said Friday she is "representing...as a spokesperson" Drew Peterson's on-again, off-again fiance Christina Raines, 24, who the attorney said may be called as a witness.
 
GOP Base Rejects Pro-Choice Republicans: "We Would Never Bend On That" Top
House Republicans, in search of an identity, are playing with fire. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), in charge of recruiting Republican candidates for the House, told Bloomberg that the party is searching for people who are "ethnically diverse, female, less partisan and even supportive of abortion rights." Pro-life organizations have another word for such candidates -- pro-abortion -- and they're not happy to have them in the GOP tent. The Huffington Post didn't have to look far to find conservative groups threatening revolt over the move. "I think it's dumb," said Joseph M. Scheidler, founder and head of the Pro-Life Action League. "If they start supporting pro-choice -- or pro-abortion -- candidates, they're going to really rile up their conservative base. We don't want pro-choice Republicans or Democrats, because we're issue-oriented, not party-oriented. We'd just as well have our own party." That party's new branding offshoot, the National Council for a New America , isn't the kind of thing Scheidler has in mind. Bloomberg asked Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) about the NCNA's willingness to listen to moderate voices, some of which are pro-choice, in policy debates. "The essence of being a Republican is the belief in free markets, the belief in individual responsibility, the belief in the faith of the individual," he said. "This is what our party is about." Michele Combs, a spokeswoman for the Christian Coalition, said she understood the idea of supporting candidates who don't agree with the GOP base on everything. But compromising on abortion? "You can agree with someone less than a hundred present of the time, but the life issue, we would never bend on that issue," she said. "We always support pro-life candidates." Pro-life groups are in no mood to retreat, having celebrated a Gallup poll released Friday showing that 51 percent of Americans consider themselves "pro-life" while only 42 percent identify as "pro-choice." (Pro-choice advocates pushed deeper into the survey's data and noted that 76 percent of respondents said they think abortion should be legal in all or some circumstances, while only 22 percent thought it should be illegal. In other words, people said they generally opposed abortion but supported the right of a woman to choose to have one.) The abortion issue has flared up this week as conservative groups protest President Obama's speech scheduled for Sunday at the University of Notre Dame. That, said Scheidler, is the issue that drives the base. "They're going to lose their Republican constituency and they're not going to pick up the Democrat constituency, because Democrats for the most part don't vote on issues," he said. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Reese Schonfeld: Obama, the Bishops, Notre Dame and the Fighting Irish Football Team Top
I think we have heard enough about the sanctity of a Notre Dame degree, and the inappropriateness of awarding such a degree to President Obama, because of his stance on abortion, without considering the potential desecration of that degree by others who receive it. I suggest we pay more attention to the position of those opposing the award, and take it to its necessary and logical conclusion. In order to preserve the sanctity of the degree, I propose that any student (including football recruits) enrolling at Notre Dame be required to sign an oath that he or she holds human life sacred from the moment of conception, will use no form of contraception other than the rhythm method, and will require the immediate destruction of any and all embryonic stem cells they may produce. It seems to me that if such requirement is made of Protestants, such as President Obama, Catholic students entering Notre Dame should be equally obliged to follow the teachings of the Church. This requirement should persist beyond graduation, and if graduates violate their oath, their degrees should be revoked. After all, an earned Notre Dame degree is more precious than an honorary one, and its sacredness must be protected. It would seem to me that the loss of a few football recruits, or for that matter, the female basketball players who did so well for Notre Dame last year, is a small price to pay for the sanctity of Notre Dame. Occasionally, even some of the brightest academic recruits might decline to sign the enrollment oath, but they would be better off at a different school, and Notre Dame would be better off not having them. Yes, the "Fighting Irish" may lose a few more football games, the women's basketball team may not get invited back to the NIT tournament, Notre Dame may lose a few potential Rhodes and Fulbright scholars, but no one who graduates will ever again be "unwilling to hold human life as sacred" or support "direct destruction of innocent human life." That's a small price to pay for the purity of a Notre Dame degree.
 
John Cusack: A Hollow and Horrible Equivocation Top
If I had the President's Blackberry, I would send this. President Obama, On Wednesday you reversed your administration's promise to finally release pictures of detainee abuse. The release of the photos was won by ACLU lawyers who have fought to bring to light the full extent of the brutality and torture that U.S. Army and intelligence services have perpetrated against human beings in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and at CIA "black sites" around the world. Torture that was sanctioned and effectively legalized under the former administration, and that, if we are to be honest, most Americans knew -- or should have known -- was being carried out in our names. Only now is the knowledge starting to give rise to the widespread outrage and calls for accountability that such crimes against humanity deserve. Growing numbers of citizens are demanding the independent investigation and prosecution of the members of the Bush administration responsible for the vitiation of fundamental legal principles like habeas corpus and the flagrant violation of both international and domestic laws against torture. The pundits, hacks and shills who dismiss these calls for investigation and prosecution -- integral to any serious definition of accountability -- disgrace themselves and their country. The situation in which we now find ourselves is so bizarre, it's hard to fathom. New revelations continue to surface -- we learn that Vice President Cheney's office ordered and specified how a man was to be tortured, and mounting evidence suggests the United States tortured to extract false confessions that would justify preemptive war on Iraq. Yet a Democratic president leads a Democratic congress to whitewash institutionalized torture and in effect trash any conceivable notion of the rule of law, all in the name of "looking forward." And now we hear that the administration will block the release of new evidence in this hideous criminal conspiracy. Now you, the president who came to power with promises of transparency and change, say you don't want to release the photos because they "will further inflame anti-American sentiment" and endanger U.S. troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ACLU lucidly replies : "It is true that these photos would be disturbing; the day we are no longer disturbed by such repugnant acts would be a sad one. In America, every fact and document gets known -- whether now or years from now. And when these photos do see the light of day, the outrage will focus not only on the commission of torture by the Bush administration but on the Obama administration's complicity in covering them up. Any outrage related to these photos should be due not to their release but to the very crimes depicted in them." Maybe, Mr. President, you've succumbed to all the fear-mongering that the Bush administration and Republican Party sold for so long. Most Democrats have been silent enablers so consistently -- maybe we've all bought into it. We know the truth but we still can't admit it; just as for years signs and traces of torture performed in our name were there, we saw without seeing, and knew without knowing. When those first photos from Abu Ghraib were broadcast around the world five years ago, we told ourselves the sadism was the work of just a few maniacs. When we heard the privatization frenzy that spread like a cancer through the Bush years extended even to interrogation -- effectively making torture its own nightmarish "cottage industry" -- we looked away. And now our first official response is to let it all slide... and just move on. If we do, we are truly lost. This kind of willful collective blindness must not endure, and it must never happen again. It's not enough to be against torture, in this new political moment when speaking out against it is suddenly in vogue. All the information now so readily available contradicts all the official narratives: that we didn't know, a few bad apples, that those responsible have already been investigated and punished. And then there's the outrageous substitute for a narrative, the debate about whether or not torture works. It's a question so insane, it probably makes bin Laden grin like a Cheshire cat. So, if torture works, we should... perfect it and use it? Complete insanity. We must finally be able to look at the photos and see and understand that the broken and humiliated bodies of men half-way around the world depicted therein represent not only the systematically applied U.S. policies, but also the horrible and likely inevitable ramifications of military occupations of other countries. We hope, Mr. President, you will lead, but the Constitution doesn't allow you to obstruct justice... The Department of Justice must act with conviction and follow the law. We understand the enormous pressures and complexities you confront everyday. But the old defenses for these crimes sound hollow and horrible coming from your lips. You are defending the indefensible. Releasing all the photos depicting detainee abuse and initiating an independent inquiry and prosecution of those responsible at the highest level is the only way forward. This is not an issue of partisan politics. It's a police matter... the investigation of a crime scene in which many more of us are complicit than is comfortable to recognize. Sincerely, Your name here. More on Celebs Talk Politics
 
Lawmakers Want To Fund Public Works Plan With Video Poker, Higher Liquor Taxes Top
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Top Illinois lawmakers want to pay for a massive public works program by legalizing video poker, raising liquor taxes and more. The top Democrat and Republican in the state Senate described the plan Friday after meeting with their counterparts from the House. They say all four leaders will present the plan to rank-and-file lawmakers, then decide whether to go forward. The goal is to approve a $26 billion program for roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure needs. To pay for it, lawmakers would raise the tax on beer, wine and hard liquor. They would also legalize gambling on the video poker machines already found in many bars. Another source of money would be hiring a private company to improve the state lottery and sell tickets on the Internet. -ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
Vickie Karp: The Parents of Etan Patz Have Not Changed Their Phone Number in 30 Years Top
Sometimes a book is so much more than a good read. After Etan by Lisa R. Cohen, out this month, tells the story of the disappearance of Etan Patz. Etan was the child who walked the two blocks to his school bus for the first and last time 30 years ago this Memorial Day weekend. Julie and Stan Patz, the parents of Etan Patz, believe he is dead but do not know. They believe a pedophile named Jose Ramos abducted and killed him but do not know. They do know they've made a difference in how we protect our children today by keeping the issues surrounding their son alive, even if they can do nothing to save him. Cohen, a television producer who covered this story and could not put it away after the cameras stopped rolling, evokes many extraordinary people central to the investigation. One is New York attorney Stuart GraBois, who never stopped pursuing the answers to what happened, going so far as to get himself deputized in Pennsylvania when Ramos was there, so that he could legally pursue him beyond the jurisdiction of New York state. GraBois had attained a partial confession from Ramos early on in the investigation, when Ramos told GraBois he was with Patz the day the boy disappeared but put him on a subway to Washington Heights, and remains committed to finding out everything Ramos knows. But, according to Cohen, Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau felt GraBois had insufficient evidence to bring Jose Ramos to trial successfully years ago, and Ramos was ultimately convicted on other charges. A new Manhattan D.A. takes the helm this November, and front-running candidates have stated for the record that they will fully address this investigation anew. Here's an excerpt from Cohen's book, published this month in New York magazine, about the little boy who was the very first to appear on the side of a milk carton, and the one who unwittingly set May 25th -- the date of his abduction -- as the annual date for National Missing Children Day: It's a ghastly scene in which a news photographer asked the mother of the missing boy to fake grief for the camera and save him a return trip, a detail that has stayed with Julie Patz for 30 years: "Would you mind working up a few tears for me now," the man asked Julie, "so I don't have to come back and bother you again when they find the body?" The photographer never had to come back. Etan's body has never been found. And although an entire network for tracking missing children emerged from his disappearance--pictures on milk cartons and Amber alerts and National Missing Children's Day--that's small comfort for Stan and Julie Patz, both of whom fought very hard for such things so others wouldn't have to. After 30 years, Etan's case remains officially open in New York, the mysterious, enduring symbol of a parent's worst nightmare. This piece has also appeared on true/slant.com
 
James M. Lynch: Star of Your Own Life Top
Some dozen years ago I had a life altering realization, an 'aha' moment, in which I realized how much all of the self help, personal growth, transformational courses and books available were similar to the work I had been doing in my 20 years as a professional actor, director and acting coach. I'd been coaching others on how to be powerful, dynamic 'players' on a stage. Why wouldn't it work in 'real life'? Why can't everyone be a star in their own life'? You may feel as if you're a supporting character, randomly re-acting to circumstances beyond your control, but the truth is you are here, the play is going on and no one, including the most powerful 'characters' around you, have any more foreknowledge past what the very next line might be. So, in the play that happens today, you might as well be the star . Every character is important: would a playwright add a character that didn't move the action of the play forward? Everyone is integral in the play's theme. Each individual scene is a chance for you to move closer to your purpose. Every movement and gesture should occur as urgent and important, true to your character and purpose: 'suit the action to the word, the word to the action'. If a character in a play comes up against a challenge or obstacle every fiber of their being is involved in figuring out how to get around that obstacle to get what they want. A character is defined by what they will do to get what they want in spite of obstacles and what they will do is only real if it actually occurs on stage, not just in their minds. Every actor in the play has played someone else in another play. Who they were yesterday has nothing to do with who they will reinvent themselves to be today. The actors will repeat the play over and over again but will apply craftsman-like effort to make it appear fresh and new every time. The main tool the actor will apply is 'as if' it were so. They will act 'as if' they were the king, the prophet, the princess or heroine. Acting 'as if' will move them closer to what they're transforming themselves into being. They will 'fake it til they make it'. You can't act on a 'negative'. Try 'not sitting'. Instead of the negative you'll find that you're actually doing something positive like standing or squatting, etc. Form your being into positive, forward motion and don't allow yourself to 'operate from a negative'. As Napoleon Hill said to his acting troupe (just kidding), "Whatever the mind of man can conceive, he can achieve". Playwrights, directors and actors create whole worlds with words, some lights and a few pieces of cloth. The impossible can be 'staged' with the right approach! Stage fright is very real and every actor experiences it at least once in their career. There are techniques to overcome this fright and in fact, there is a lot of energy to be channeled from fear! And the show must go on! Actors need to bond and trust their fellow players in the pursuit of ensemble, creating with their fellows whole world from words, actions and intentions. The actors have to stay in character and be truly authentic or they'll lose their audience. Actors choose what to wear, apply makeup, and assume the bearing of their character. If you're playing a successful businessman you stand tall, assume a confident stance, dress in a costume that gives others the appropriate message about who you are being. Actors have to have reserves of energy and stamina in order to share a dynamic energy that radiates to others and beyond the stage. They have to achieve a balance in their lives of physical and intellectual conditioning and be in a state of continuous improvement. Characters on stage have a finite time before the curtain comes down so every second onstage has to count. Remember, no matter what the critics say, how poorly your performance is judged or how quickly the show gets closed by the producers, it is just a play. In the long run, it's just a scene in a bigger play. The applause is not why you do it but, at the final curtain, you want to say 'I did my best'. Make sure you gave it your all while the lights shone. If you want to read more about this visit me at http://www.starofyourownlife.com . I welcome your comments here too or hit me on Twitter at YourActingCoach. 'Break a leg' my friends -- which means 'Good Luck'!
 
Al Gore Chastises Dick Cheney: "I Waited Two Years... To Make Statements That Were Critical" (VIDEO) Top
Al Gore said Friday that fellow former Vice President Dick Cheney has jumped back into the political fray too soon into the new administration's term. "I waited two years after I left office to make statements that were critical," Gore said during an interview on CNN, pointing out that his critiques were focused on "policy." More on Dick Cheney
 
Obama Clears The Field For Gillibrand In New York Top
President Obama has cleared the Democratic primary field for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in New York, two Democrats said, asking Rep. Steve Israel not to challenge her in the primary. "The President doesn't want a messy primary in New York when those resources can better be spent elsewhere," one New York Democrat said.
 
Jim Lichtman: Obama's 'First 100 Days': A Closer Look, Part II Top
Last week I shared the results of a new poll that UCSB Capps Center Director Wade Clark Roof and I commissioned Zogby International: " Integrity, Leadership, Trust ." We asked more than 3,300 Americans to grade both President Obama and Congress based on the qualities and issues they considered most important from a poll taken November, 2008. Last week's commentary revealed the "quality" grades: Mr. Obama scored 58% positive numbers on honesty and integrity and 59% positive marks on leadership. Congress received 75% negative numbers on honesty and a 77% negative rating on integrity. The top three issues that Americans consider most important: the economy, the war in Iraq and healthcare reform. On the issue of "fixing the economy," respondents were split as to whether they give Mr. Obama a positive (50%) or negative (49%) rating on his leadership. More than half, 56% of those polled, rate Mr. Obama's leadership in "bringing the troops home from the Middle East" as positive, while 41% rate it as negative. Concerning healthcare, an issue Mr. Obama campaigned on, respondents are split as to whether they rate the president's leadership in reforming healthcare as positive (46%) or negative (49%). When asked about Mr. Obama's ability to "improve America's image in the world," another issue Americans deemed important last November, 59% were confident in his performance, and 57% were confident that the president could "improve international relations by meeting with foreign leaders." When it comes to "working with Congress," Mr. Obama received 63% positive marks compared to a 52% negative score for Congress "working with the president." When asked, "How satisfied are you with the leadership of President Obama" after 100 days in office, half (53%) say they are satisfied with Obama's leadership, two-fifths of which say they are very satisfied (39%). However, 46% say they are dissatisfied with his leadership, two-fifths of which say they are not at all satisfied (39%). To the question, "Do you believe President Obama makes decisions based on what's best for the country or based on what helps him politically," 50% say they believe Obama makes decisions based on what's best for the country, while slightly less believe he bases his decisions on what helps him politically (45%). When asked to rate Mr. Obama's ability "to do the right thing in handling a crisis," more than half (55%) expressed confidence, while two-fifths (43%) said they were not confident. Finally, when asked if Mr. Obama is moving the country in the right direction, respondents are relatively split. 52% are confident compared to 47% who are not confident. With this question, most respondents fall at one end of the spectrum or the other, as a third (35%) say they are "very confident" that Obama is moving the country in the right direction, and two-fifths (39%) saying they are "not at all confident." Overall, the Capps study shows that Americans are encouraged about the start to Mr. Obama's presidency because they like him personally. They trust him, think he is smart and has the best interests of the country at heart. On the other hand, they are split about whether he has the right solutions to fix the current economic troubles. They also have questions about his approach to health care reform. Although the results of both issues are far too early to be seen, they will continue to be closely scrutinized. The survey supports the fact that Americans still hold their Congressional leaders in generally low esteem. A key indicator comes in response to the question asking voters to rate Congress on "restoring the public's trust in government." Congress scored a dismal 81% negative rating. As the Capps study shows, Americans are still craving honesty, integrity, and leadership - and as long as Mr. Obama doesn't stumble, his ratings will remain high. One important aspect of this has been Obama's willingness to speak plainly and directly to the American people about the issues they care about most including a sustainable economic recovery. As long as he is perceived as communicating clearly and honestly, he should sustain the trust of the American people. However, the results of his various economic efforts as well as a viable healthcare plan will be the next great test Mr. Obama will face. Jim Lichtman writes and speaks on ethics to corporations, associations and schools. His weekly commentaries can be found at www.ethicsStupid.com .
 
Amy Novogratz: El Sistema Comes to the USA Top
For the majority of the world's children, the opportunity to learn about music -- with all the intellectual and emotional benefits music brings -- is just not a part of their world. Unless they happen to live in Venezuela. There, for the last 34 years, the visionary musician, economist, and reformer Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu has taught over 250,000 children and turned them into classical symphony musicians and performers, having in the process enriched their lives beyond measure. Now Dr. Abreu's program, el Sistema, will become part of the American musical fabric, thanks to his recent winning of one of three TED prizes, an annual award of TED.com. The prize includes $100,000 for the winners to implement their personal "wish to change the world." Developing el Sistema in the U.S. and other countries is Dr. Abreu's fervent hope. As the director of the TED Prize, I have had the pleasure of sharing the idea that has already transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in Venezuela. Dr. Abreu's program has the potential to impact many thousands more children in the United States and beyond, if monies can be raised to fund the first group of teachers. The Abreu Fellows Program, to be based at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, will be ready to open this fall. This first initiative is a one-year postgraduate program for accomplished young musicians who are committed to expanding el Sistema beyond Venezuela. The Abreu Fellows will spend a year studying in Boston and Caracas and leave with the tools to return to their communities to teach the el Sistema program. While there are many opportunities for people to help worthy causes, we think el Sistema USA (www.elSistemaUSA.org) offers donors a way to build a grass-roots program with a hugely successful track record. The website, elSistemaUSA.org, will serve as a clearinghouse for networking and training sessions, offering both support and advocacy for those interested in building el Sistema programs in their own communities. The Abreu Fellows Program's curriculum, along with teacher training materials, will be freely available on the website as a resource for anyone wishing to support local or international el Sistema programs. Those interested in helping el Sistema USA -- by identifying or supporting a fellow or funding scholarships -- can find specific information on the elSistemaUSA website. The youth orchestra performance is available at http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/466. "Music has to be recognized as an... agent of social development in the highest sense, because it transmits the highest values -- solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion," Dr. Abreu has said. "And it has the ability to unite an entire community and to express sublime feelings." A simple concept lies behind Dr. Abreu's work. The symphony orchestra is about working together and can be a place where children learn to listen to each other and to respect one another. He continues to believe in a better future for Venezuela, wanting to change people and structures through music. El Sistema has already transformed the lives of thousands of Venezuelan children and produced extraordinary talent, including Gustavo Dudamel, who this fall will be music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the bassist Edicson Ruiz, the youngest musician ever to join the Berlin Philharmonic. And we're all betting it will transform the lives of many more. But it will take the support of the world. Additional information on the program, the fellows, and how to help with funding scholarships is online at www.elSistemaUSA.org More on Venezuela
 
US Makes $2.4 Billion Bet On Clean Coal In Stimulus Package Top
WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu says he will provide $2.4 billion from the economic recovery package to speed up development of technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and factories that burn coal. Chu told a meeting of the National Coal Council on Friday that it's essential that ways are found to capture carbon dioxide from coal-burning power plants and industrial sources. Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is the leading greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. Chu said coal will remain an essential energy source. He said even if coal plants in the United States were shut down, as some environmentalists want, China and India will not turn their back on coal. More on Climate Change
 
Lieberman Campaign To Pay $50,000 FEC Fine Top
U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman's campaign has agreed to pay a $50,000 civil penalty in connection with what federal authorities call improper petty cash payments made during the 2006 Democratic primary. The agreement, reported by the New Haven Register on Sunday, comes three years after Lieberman's primary opponent, Ned Lamont, filed a complaint charging that the Connecticut senator had not accounted for $387,000 in expenditures labeled as "petty cash." More on Joe Lieberman
 
The Parking Ticket Geek: Parking Meter Lessee Has 'Substantially Improved': City Top
The City of Chicago has released a multi-page press release claiming that "Chicago Parking Meters, LLC has substantially improved operational performance of meters." CPM is going to fast track the installation of 3,000 Pay & Display units by years end, eliminating nearly 30,000 of the city's current 36,000 single head meters, according to the release. Drivers can use credit and debit cards at the new pay boxes, an increasingly important option as meter rates have soared to as much $3.50 an hour. CPM has so far replaced 4,000 traditional, single head meters with 450 pay boxes. "We are pleased that CPM has decided to make it easier for Chicagoans to use parking meters by installing a pay box cashless system far sooner than our agreement requires," stated Gene Saffold, the city's Chief Financial Officer. The city claims these boxes are among many steps CPM, through its operational partner LAZ Parking, has taken to substantially address the issues that have been plaguing both companies as the city's meters transitioned to private management. Since the torrent of problems erupted in mid-March, CPM has increased the number of meter mechanics from 10 to 35, and collection personnel from 15 to 38. The company also expanded the number of meter routes and increased meter collection to seven days a week. CPM still is utilizing 30 staffers from the city's Department of Revenue to "assist with operations and training," according to the release. "We are committed to providing the highest level of customer service for the users of Chicago's metered parking system, and this equipment will vastly improve that service," said Dennis Pedrelli, CPM's Chief Executive Officer. As of May 11, the city claims there were only 150 meters reported as broken or otherwise inoperable-- less than 1% of all meters. And CPM maintenance staff are supposedly now responding to reports of broken meters within 48 hours. CPM has also hired street teams to engage and educate parkers when new Pay & Display units are installed in a neighborhood. "We challenged CPM to do a better job of addressing consumer concerns and improving the system operability," City Revenue Director Bea Reyna-Hickey said. "And we're pleased to report that CPM has substantially improved their performance." Check out The Expired Meter for even more information and advice about parking, fighting parking tickets and red light tickets in Chicago.
 
Matthew DeBord: The Preakness: Fear and Loathing of a Fantastic Filly Top
When I wrote about the Kentucky Derby earlier this month, I wasn't sure horse racing could get any weirder. And then it got weirder. Here's what happened. Mine That Bird, a 50-1 longshot, won the Derby. Now obviously, if there's to be a 2009 Triple Crown winner, Mine That Bird needs to follow up victory in Kentucky with victory in Maryland at this Saturday's Preakness. And then go on to win the Belmont Stakes in New York. What an inspirational story it would be! The underdog! The longshot! Just what we need in dark times such as these! But now the inspirational story has a new wrinkle. A filly named Rachel Alexandra is in the race, and the last time Rachel Alexandra ran, she blew away the field at an all-filly race called the Kentucky Oaks. She blew away the field by more than 20 lengths. So she didn't blow away the field. She laid the field to waste. Many think she should have been entered in the Derby, and that if she had been, she would have won, not least because pre-Derby favorite I Want Revenge was dropped from the race due to injury. Two people who think she might have won are her new owner, winemaker Jess Jackson, and Mine That Bird's Derby winning jockey, Calvin Borel. Jackson both purchased the "super filly" and came up with $100,000 to get her into the Preakness. And Borel? Well, maybe he wants to win the Triple Crown on two different horses. It would be a first. Things have already gotten ugly--which makes sense, given that this is horse racing, not lawn bowling or curling. Once the Derby has been run, and that unholy spectacle retired for a year, the inexorable trot toward increased scumminess and the restoration of American horse racing's signature unsavoriness begins. This time around, a group that included Mine That Bird's owner tried to pack the field with colts so that the super filly couldn't run. They lost. Rachel A. is in. Actually, it's a good thing that we have all this maneuvering and intrigue surrounding the Preakness. Of course, eyes would be on Pimlico, anyway, because the Triple Crown is always on until the Derby winner loses. But the arrival of Rachel Alexandra, the gatecrashing super filly, and Borel's switch have given the event some extra energy. The Derby is well-marketed, mawkish insanity. The Preakness? Um, well... not exactly drenched in tradition, is it? I mean, what do the fans at the track drink while they're waiting for the race to start? I don't know, either. The Derby is, famously, the "Run for the Roses," while the Preakness is the "Run for the Black-Eyed Susans." Doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, does it? That said, it's probably better than the Runyon-esque Belmont Stakes, nicknamed the "Run for the Carnations." Carnations, in some cultures, are a funeral flower. Hello, Deathrace 2009! The lurid pageantry of big-time horse racing will go on. And to be sure, the thoroughbreds that will rocket around Pimlico tomorrow are a stunning thing to watch, a snarling peloton of rippling, animal velocity, spraying dirt, spitting froth. It's definitely cool to witness the girl horse get in on the game (victories by fillies are a rare event), and it does complicate the rooting. I mean, with Mine That Bird we had a sort of modern-day Seabiscuit, a potential champion ideally suited to the mood of Depression 2.0 America. But it just can't be that simple, can it? And the arrival of Rachel Alexandra smack in the middle of the Triple Crown reminds us why. She is the perfect challenger for a complicated age.
 
Todd Palmer and Rob Pringle: One Way To Preserve The Last Great Places? Endow Research Stations Top
Head to your nearest airport and board a flight to Lima, Peru. From Lima, catch a smaller plane to Cuzco, where you can catch an even smaller plane to Boca Manu. From the airstrip in Boca Manu, head to the river; you'll find a local man waiting for you in a long motorboat. He'll take you up the river. Bring rain gear. Eight hours later, you are in Cocha Cashu Biological Station , in Manu National Park , in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. There are very few frontiers left on this planet, but this is one of them. This is the home of the jaguar , the harpy eagle , the giant otter , the piranha, and the mahogany tree. We could go on name-dropping for days; there might be 500,000 species here, maybe many more. Nobody really knows. There are people in this forest who have never had contact with Western society -- no joke. You can easily get lost and die in here. No joke. Cocha Cashu was established in the early 1980s by an ecologist named John Terborgh , then a professor at Princeton, now at Duke. The rationale was simple: this is one of the very few places left to study a primeval tropical rainforest. It's true that you can still find breathtaking rainforests all over the world, from Washington State to Panama to Australia to Malaysia. But most of those places, beautiful as they are, have been plucked, chopped, girdled, diced, high-graded and cherry-picked by people. This forest is different. There's a human footprint here, too, but it's small. And thanks to more than 500 scientific publications researched here, we have an ever-better picture of what that means -- how a tropical rainforest looks and behaves when it hasn't been tormented by industrial society: what factors determine whether a seed becomes a tree? How do monkeys act when they're not stressed about getting their heads blown off? What role do meandering rivers play in promoting species diversity? Knowing stuff like that makes the forest more beautiful. You can go to Madrid and stand in front of Picasso's Guernica and it might strike you as pretty. But absent of any contextual information, it's also a big, confusing mess and if you're anything like us, you'll move on after about five minutes. Now come back with the audio tour. In the context of the Spanish Civil War, Picasso's protest takes on meaning and with meaning, a profound beauty, even though you probably still don't understand everything you're looking at. In the same way, a rainforest is a big, confusing mess if you don't know anything about its ecology and evolution. Knowing something about how these systems work, and how they came to be there, both makes them more beautiful and deepens their mystique. So, the scientists write the audio tour for these forests, but that's not their only role. To paraphrase Dan Janzen, another student of the tropical forest, they are also the pro bono negotiators with society on behalf of hundreds of thousands of species that have no other representation. Halfway across the globe, a hyena steals a dead baby topi from a pair of cheetahs. The Serengeti is arguably the other biggest name in tropical nature and its biological contrasts with Amazonia are stark. Instead of a towering canopy, you have grassy plains on rolling hills, dotted with thorny Acacia trees. This is the home of the spectacular annual wildebeest migration , in which roughly 600,000,000 lbs. of wildebeest, 100,000,000 lbs. of zebra and 15,000,000 lbs. of gazelle follow the seasonal rainfall from Tanzania to Kenya and back again, harried all the while by big cats and crocodiles . Humans have been part of this ecosystem for as long as there have been humans. Because we evolved here, and because we're large mammals ourselves, we can really connect with this kind of nature. Watching a baby wildebeest run from a lion , you can feel its terror. Somewhere deep in your reptile brain, you know what it feels like to be chased by a predator, even though it's never happened to you personally. The Serengeti is a monument to our history as a species, part of our collective heritage. But it has never been tamed. Tony Sinclair , of the University of British Columbia has been coming here since the mid-1960s, working with Simon Mduma and other colleagues from Tanzania and around the world to come to grips with the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. The scientific output from the Serengeti Wildlife Research Centre during that time is impressive. Like the scientists at Cocha Cashu, the researchers here have painted a compelling portrait of the system -- the flows of energy and nutrients through the plant and animal communities, the intricacies of the interactions among the species -- while simultaneously answering fundamental ecological questions (what are the relative roles of starvation and predation in limiting population growth?). This information is repackaged and supplied to tens of thousands of tourists who visit this iconic landscape each year and to many more non-travelers via TV documentaries and YouTube clips. And because the scientists are there, monitoring the wildlife, they can tell whether hunting is decimating wildlife populations, or whether measures put in place to protect the animals are working . So, how do we ensure that these treasures survive to inspire our descendants and teach them about the many-layered complexities of life? A permanent research presence goes a long way towards protecting a parcel of nature in perpetuity, while simultaneously building a better understanding of that parcel. Terborgh and Sinclair both estimate that it would cost a minimum of $3 million to endow their respective field stations, forever. In Peru, the revenue flowing from such an endowment would pay the salaries of two permanent scientific directors and cover the scant operating costs of the rustic station. In Tanzania, the goal is to underwrite the training and permanent presence of additional Tanzanian scientists, spreading the sense of stewardship of the country's living assets. $3 million is a lot of money. Then again, given what we're talking about, it's really not. Governments will always blow mind-boggling amounts on ridiculous projects -- but think about some of the things that even individuals spend that kind of money on. Like the stuff they're selling at Sotheby's . Don't get us wrong, we've got nothing against Jeff Koons' Baroque Egg with Bow (~$7 million) or Robert Gober's funky sculpture of musical notes printed across a pair of ass cheeks (~$3 million). We're just of the opinion that the Amazon Rainforest and the Serengeti Plains are immensely more complex, more meaningful, more important and more beautiful than anything a mere human brain could ever create. So, $3 million to endow a research station in perpetuity, to secure the continued flow of knowledge and to rest easy that passionate people will be around to advocate for many voiceless species? We think that's the bargain of the century. More on Africa
 
Steele: Americans Need Guns To Defend Against Terrorists Top
Today, RNC Chairman Michael Steele spoke at the National Rifle Association's (NRA) "Celebration of American Values" Leadership Forum. During his speech today, Steele criticized Barack Obama's potential Supreme Court nominee, saying the President is "looking to put Doctor Phil on the Court." More on Michael Steele
 
Hugh Van Es: Photographer Who Took Famous Saigon Photo Dies Top
HONG KONG — Hugh Van Es, a Dutch photojournalist who covered the Vietnam War and recorded the most famous image of the fall of Saigon in 1975 _ a group of people scaling a ladder to a CIA helicopter on a rooftop _ died Friday morning in Hong Kong, his wife said. He was 67 years old. Van Es died in Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, where he had lived for more than 35 years. He suffered a brain hemorrhage last week and never regained consciousness, his wife Annie said. Hospital officials declined to comment. Slender, tough-talking and always ready with a quip, Van Es was considered by colleagues to be fearless and resourceful. He remained a towering figure after the war in journalism circles in Asia, including his adopted home in Hong Kong. "Obviously he will be always remembered as one of the great witnesses of one of the great dramas in the second half of the 20th century," said Ernst Herb, president of Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondent Club. "He really captured the spirit of foreign reporting. He was quite an inspiration," Herb said. Van Es arrived in Hong Kong as a freelancer in 1967, joined the South China Morning Post as chief photographer, and got a chance the following year to go to Vietnam as a soundman for NBC News, which he took. After a brief stint, he joined The Associated Press photo staff in Saigon from 1969-72 and then covered the last three years of the war from 1972-75 for United Press International. His photo of a wounded soldier with a tiny cross gleaming against his dark silhouette, taken 40 years ago this month, became the best-known picture from the May 1969 battle of Hamburger Hill. His wife said in an e-mail to friends that he was proudest of the pictures he took during the Hamburger Hill battle _ not the evacuation photo. Van Es' shot of the helicopter escape from a Saigon rooftop on April 29, 1975 became a stunning metaphor for the desperate U.S. withdrawal and its overall policy failure in Vietnam. As North Vietnamese forces neared the city, upwards of 1,000 Vietnamese joined American military and civilians fleeing the country, mostly by helicopters from the U.S. Embassy roof. A few blocks distant, others climbed a ladder on the roof of an apartment building that housed CIA officials and families, hoping to escape aboard a helicopter owned by Air America, the CIA-run airline. From his vantage point on a balcony at the UPI bureau several blocks away, Van Es recorded the scene with a 300-mm lens _ the longest one he had. It was clear, Van Es said later, that not all the approximately 30 people on the roof would be able to escape, and the UH-1 Huey took off overloaded with about a dozen. The photo earned Van Es considerable fame, but in later years he told friends he spent a great deal of time explaining that it was not a photo of the embassy roof, as was widely assumed. The image gained even greater iconic status after the musical "Miss Saigon" featured the final Americans evacuating from the city from the Embassy roof by helicopter. Van Es was not upset about the play's use of the image but wanted to be introduced as the shooter and went backstage several times to mix with the producer, cast and crew, his wife said. "The producer told Hugh he wishes he had never taken that picture because it was extremely difficult to build the prop and to re-enact in a musical," his wife said. Born in Hilversum, the Netherlands, Hubert Van Es learned English from hanging out as a kid with soldiers during World War II. He said he decided to become a photographer after going to a photo exhibit at a local museum when he was 13 years old and seeing the work of legendary war photographer Robert Capa. After graduating from college, he started working as a photographer in 1959 with the Nederlands Foto Persbureau in Amsterdam, but Asia became his home. When the Vietnam war ended in 1975, van Es returned to Hong Kong where he freelanced for major American and European newspapers and magazines and shot still photos for many Hollywood movies on locations across Asia. Van Es, who served as president of the Hong Kong FCC in the early 1980s, was often found holding court at the club, his firsthand accounts and opinions sought out by reporters new and old. "His presence there is really memorable," Herb said. He covered the Moro rebellion in the Philippines and was among the horde of journalists who flew into Kabul to cover the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. CBS cameraman Derek Williams got through immigration but everyone else was stopped and held in the transit lounge. "As they were then being shepherded back to the plane," Williams recalled, "Hugh saw an open door to his left, and just made a break for it with only his camera bag. He ran through the terminal and jumped into a taxi to try to get to the Intercontinental Hotel." Afghan police arrested van Es, but the plane had taken off so they took him to the hotel. Williams said he and van Es spent three days in Kabul before being expelled. Van Es' still photos, for Time magazine, were the first to capture Soviet tanks rolling into Afghanistan. The Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong held a minute's silence for van Es on Friday. He and his wife, Annie, whom he met in Hong Kong, were married for 39 years. He is survived by Annie and a sister in Holland. ___ Marquez reported from Hong Kong and Pyle from Washington. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer in New York and Dikky Sinn in Hong Kong contributed to this report. (This version CORRECTS Van Es was NOT upset about "Miss Saigon's" use of his photo) More on Vietnam
 
4 Americans Strangled In Tijuana Top
TIJUANA, Mexico — The bodies of four U.S. citizens were found strangled, beaten and stabbed in a van in this border city, two days after they reportedly left their Southern California homes for a night at the Mexican clubs, U.S. officials said Thursday. The victims, ages 19 to 23 years old, were found tied up on Saturday, but their deaths were not reported earlier because they were under investigation, said Fermin Gomez, an assistant state prosecutor in Baja California. U.S. consular officials in Tijuana said the victims _ two men and two women from the San Diego and Chula Vista areas _ were U.S. citizens. The state attorney general's office in Baja California said one of the women was Mexican. Their deaths are the latest in a string of violence in Tijuana that authorities blame on a bloody turf war between drug cartels. "I just don't think kids should be going to Tijuana right now," Chula Vista police Lt. Scott Arsenault told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "They ran into the wrong people, obviously." Bernard Gonzales, a spokesman for the Chula Vista Police Department, said a friend told the women's parents they were headed to nightclubs in Tijuana on Thursday night. They were reported missing the next day when they did not answer their cell phones. More on Crime
 
Obama Nominates Top Polluter Lawyer To Enforce Environmental Laws Top
President Barack Obama has nominated a lawyer for the nation's largest toxic polluters to run the enforcement of the nation's environmental laws. On Tuesday, Obama "announced his intent to nominate" Ignacia S. Moreno to be Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division in the Department of Justice. Moreno, general counsel for that department during the Clinton administration, is now the corporate environmental counsel for General Electric, "America's #1 Superfund Polluter":
 
Les Weisbrod: FDA Approval Of Medical Devices Not Enough Top
This week in Congress Michael Kinsley and Bridget Robb both testified before the US House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health about their medical devices. Kinsley, a popular columnist and former talk show host of Crossfire, discussed his medical implant that helps control the effects of his Parkinson's disease. He described how his brain stimulator helps him function and restore normalcy to his life each day. Robb, a single mother described her heart condition and the defibrillator she had implanted to prevent a fatal arrhythmia. Robb described how one evening the lead to her defibrillator malfunctioned, sending 31 dangerous shocks to her heart and throughout her body as her daughter watched, thinking her mother was dying. The episode has resulted in ongoing trouble, including multiple extended hospital stays since the incident. Both Kinsley and Robb were testifying about the Medical Device Safety Act (MDSA), legislation that would restore the rights of victims injured by medical devices to seek justice in state courts. But the two are on opposite sides of the issue; Kinsley was arguing against the legislation, saying patients will be denied life saving devices, while Robb argued that manufacturers should be held accountable for the devices they produce, instead of putting the cost on others when the devices fail. Neither Kinsley nor Robb would argue against the life-changing benefits medical devices provide. The question is -who pays the price when medical devices fail? Kinsley would argue, the patient, insurance companies, and even the federal government though Medicaid and Medicare. Robb believes the medical device company bears part of the responsibility. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in Riegel v. Medtronic that Congress had intended that medical devices approved through the Food and Drug Administration's pre-market approval process are immune from state tort suits. In other words, injured patients do not have any recourse to hold the manufacturers of faulty medical devices accountable. In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in Wyeth v. Levine that pharmaceutical companies bear the responsibility for prescription drug labels. The MDSA would restore the right recognized in Wyeth to medical device patients. Kinsley and the device industry argue medical devices need to keep their complete immunity status, or patients will be denied lifesaving devices. Immunity is about accountability, not denying patients safe effective products. Medtronic knew there were problems with the defibrillator lead implanted in Robb; in fact, it had been recalled two months before Robb's malfunctioned. Medtronic recalled the lead in 2007 only after 665 failures and five reported deaths, according Heart Rhythm, the Official Journal of the Heart Rhythm Society. The Journal points out that in a study of 3,037 cardioverter-defibrillator leads, 72 (8.5%) of 848 Sprint Fidelis leads failed, while only 94 of all 3,037 defibrillator leads studied failed. According to the Journal article, "the cumulative hazard of Sprint Fidelis failure was significantly greater compared to 2,189 other defibrillator leads." The point is Ms. Robb had options. While her defibrillator did offer her a medical benefit that she will not deny, there were other products, safer products on the market. The only way to hold Medtronic accountable and encourage them to make safer products is to allow the civil justice system to provide the added consumer protection the system was intended to provide. The Medical Device Safety Act would restore patients' right to hold the manufacturer responsible when their products are defective. Kinsley, Robb and all patients with medical devices will benefit from safer products. Hear more stories from victims of faulty medical devices: Visit www.stopcorporateimmunty.org . More on Supreme Court
 
Robert Reames: Let's Talk Fiber! Top
If you want to control your weight, consume adequate amounts of fiber daily. Simply stated, consumption of fiber makes you feel fuller faster and for a longer period of time. It makes any given meal feel larger and more satiating. It also slows the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar in the blood thus helping to keep blood sugar levels balanced and lower insulin levels. Balanced blood sugars throughout the course of your day is a key element in avoiding cravings especially for processed sugars and carbohydrates. (candies, cakes, cookies etc.) And as you'll see in the list below, fiber is a part of many highly nutritious, tasty and nutrient dense foods. Some fantastic power packed sources of fiber and their quantities include: FIBER REFERENCE SHEET (The Tufts University Guide to Total Nutrition) Food Serving Fiber (grams) -Edamame ½ cup (75g) 5g -"Food For Life" 1 slice (43g) 2g gluten free bread -Broccoli 1 cup(cooked) 5g -Ezekiel bread 1 slice(34g) 3g -Spinach 1 cup (cooked) 85g 6.5g -Whole green beans ¾ cup (85g) 2g -Lentil beans 1 cup 9g -Pinto beans 1 cup (cooked) 9g -Lima beans 1 cup " 7.5g -Green peas 1 cup " 5g -Sweet corn 1 cup " 4.7g -Brussel sprouts 1 cup " 5g -Apple 1 medium 3.2g -Banana 1 medium 3g -Raisins 5 tbsp. 3g -blueberries 1 cup 3g -raspberries 1 cup 9.2g -Muesli (cereal) ½ cup 5g -All bran 1 oz. 8.5g -Corn bran 1 oz. 5.3g -Wheat bran 1 oz. 11.3g -Whole wheat bagel 1 2.7g -Bran muffin 1 4g -Almonds 1 oz. 5g -Peanuts 1 oz. 2.5g -Brown Rice 1 cup 3g -Pears 1 medium 4g -Orange 1 medium 2.8g -Figs 2 7.4g Consume your fiber throughout the course of your entire day. Try and include fiber in all of your meals. You don't want to get your entire intake of fiber in one meal or even two. Excessive amounts of fiber can cause gas, diarrhea and bloating. Also make sure that you are taking in adequate amounts of fresh water as well. Determine from the list above how many grams of fiber you are now consuming. Then increase your fiber consumption slowly day by day until you are at the recommended range. Below is the recommend daily intake of fiber from the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Health: Men Women Adults under 50: 38 grams 25 grams Adults over 50: 30 grams 21 grams You've heard me say this before; "protein plus fiber equals hunger suppressor. " Include this combination at all major meals. Protein also slows down the digestive process. Recent research shows that protein greatly suppresses ghrelin, a hormone secreted by the stomach that stimulates appetite. So protein together with fiber provides the one two punch to control appetite, control cravings and thus; control your weight. Robert Reames is a personal/group trainer, nutritionist, motivational speaker and the creator of The Robert Reames Lifestyle Transformation System; Permanent Weight Loss System. He is the author of Make Over Your Metabolism, currently working in his sixth season as the head trainer/nutritionist for Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Loss Race/Challenge and is a spokesperson for Gold's Gym International. For more info log onto www.robertreames.com
 
Peter Esmonde: Trimpin: Another American Visionary Top
I made a film called TRIMPIN: the sound of invention out of purely selfish concerns: I needed to document the most creative person I could find, to discover how they'd managed to survive in this society. And I was lucky enough to find Trimpin. Trimpin is a 50-something artist/inventor/engineer/composer who's built a tower of 700+ electric guitars; constructed a huge marimba ensemble, triggered by real-time seismic data; created an orbiting, silent musical instrument to perform perpetual motion experiments; collaborated and collided with the Kronos Quartet on a performance for toy instruments; etc. etc. Imagine: a genius German cuckoo-clock maker who's let his mainspring go wild. Imagine: Rube Goldberg dreaming Dadaist dreams of automated orchestras. Imagine: Dr. Funkenstein running amok through your local Home Depot. Just by the nature of who he is and what he hears, Trimpin (he uses only one name) cuts a wide swath of artistic and musical turf. Working and playing across disciplines, with various collaborators, using multiple methods and media, he startles and amuses and challenges the people around him. Over years I recorded him doing just that, then reduced the entire phenomenon into a portable, projectable, 78-minute artifact called TRIMPIN: the sound of invention . Somehow Trimpin has learned how to navigate the lures and snares of a market-mad society. He doesn't have a website or a cellphone or an agent or manager or gallery. He's not using his imagination as a bargaining chip to become rich or famous or more commercial. His working methods do not create greater efficiencies or generate more product. He does his best to ignore the bottom line. And I found all that exemplary. Of course, Trimpin is not alone in marching to his different drummer; American culture has always bred its sonic visionaries. From Moondog to Mingus, from Thelonious Monk to Meredith Monk, from Harry Partch to Henry Brant, from Anonymous to Zorn: all mavericks making music along the edge of a market-driven society. Trimpin and his fellow artists demand that we view life and its sounds not as artifacts to be purchased, but as dynamic means of exploration, investigation, and perpetual questioning. In its shilling of lowest-common-denominator culture, mass media has encouraged us to view these artists as irrelevant or naïve or just plain nuts. Almost as a reflex, we've tended to dismiss their work as the product of quirky genius, throw some change into their instrument cases, and/or entomb them alive in museums of outsider art. But mass media's influence isn't as pervasive -- or persuasive -- as it once was. With greater opportunities to see and hear a wider range of works, we just might open our eyes and ears. We might even find that American culture is far richer, wilder, and more surprising than we've been led to believe. Perhaps it's time to stop viewing this country and its diverse riches through the narrow eyes of a venture capitalist. I'd like to think that TRIMPIN: the sound of invention could contribute to opening our eyes and ears. Ladies and Gentlemen: I give you, as honestly as I can, one more unique, American visionary: Trimpin. Open your ears and your mind will follow. The documentary TRIMPIN: the sound of invention will have its West Coast premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival before screening next month at the Newport International Film Festival and SILVERDOCS.
 
Andrew Kreig: Siegelman Deserves New Trial Because of Judge's 'Grudge,' Evidence Shows Top
$300 Million in Bush Contracts Enriched Judge's Private Company The Alabama federal judge who presided over the 2006 corruption trial of the state's former governor holds a grudge against the defendant for helping to expose the judge's own alleged corruption six years ago. Former Gov. Don Siegelman therefore deserves a new trial with an unbiased judge ─ not one whose privately owned company, Doss Aviation, has been enriched by the Bush administration's award of $300 million in contracts since 2006, making the judge millions in non-judicial income. These are the opinions of Missouri attorney Paul B. Weeks, who is speaking out publicly for the first time since his effort in 2003 to obtain the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Fuller of Montgomery on Doss Aviation-related allegations. The comments by Weeks come during a momentous week in one of the most controversial U. S. criminal cases of the decade, with public officials and Alabama activists alike claiming Siegelman was targeted for prosecution because of status as Alabama's most popular Democrat. The Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected on May 15 Siegelman's request for an en banc appeal of his case, thus keeping it in the hands of Judge Fuller. Also, the Obama U.S. Justice Department announced May 12 that it wants Fuller to increase Siegelman's prison sentence to 20 years on re-sentencing this spring, even though Siegelman now faces two fewer charges than when Fuller sentenced him in 2007 to seven years in prison. Siegelman, now free on bail, issued this statement on May 15: "The Bush holdovers in the Department of Justice have asked that I be sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison. The Bush-appointed U.S. Attorney, whose husband is Karl Rove's closest friend in Alabama, joined with the Chief of the Public Integrity Section of D.O.J., also a Bush holdover, in asking for the longer sentence. What makes the request for a longer sentence even more bizarre is the fact that the Bush holdovers are asking my (Bush-appointed) judge to give me 20 years in prison based on charges for which I was found not guilty." In 2003, Fuller avoided any public questions about impeachment allegations of Paul Weeks, which were enabled in part by evidence that Weeks obtained from a state district attorney who had been appointed by Siegelman during his gubernatorial term from 1999 to 2003. With the impeachment complaint by Weeks receiving no media coverage and known only by high-level government and legal insiders, Fuller was promoted to the position of chief judge for Alabama's middle district. In 2005, he became Siegelman's judge in one of the most controversial U.S. criminal cases of this decade. After Siegelman was convicted, Fuller sentenced Siegelman in 2007 to seven years in prison amid claims that the White House had pressured prosecutors to frame the Democratic former governor to remove him as a re-election threat. A Republican, Fuller also became wealthy via his reported 44 percent controlling ownership in Doss Aviation, whose work includes training U.S. Air Force flight candidates nationwide and refueling Air Force planes. "Siegelman deserved a fair judge, and what he got is one who holds a grudge against him for my impeachment effort," says Weeks. "If Fuller had a trace of honor he would have recused himself immediately. Instead, he's part of the machine that pounded down the defendant. It makes a huge difference to a defendant whether the judge is protecting your rights, or letting prosecutors stifle them. All Siegelman needs to do to win a new trial is to put my 2003 affidavit on the table as Exhibit A." Yet Fuller has repeatedly denied bias in the Siegelman case, and has said that he's entitled to obtain stockholder benefits from Doss Aviation without recusing himself from the Siegelman case. The judge declined comment this month on a number of questions arising from this investigation. But in the judge wrote an opinion in 2007 stating that no qualified, independent person would think he has the appearance of bias. The Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department endorsed that view in 2008 by asserting that no qualified person could doubt Fuller's fairness. Similarly, an all-Republican panel of the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on March 6, 2009 that any claims of bias against Fuller are "untimely." Thus, Fuller continues to preside over the case. The appeals court also rejected claims of Justice Department misconduct as either unmerited or harmless, aside from two of seven convictions dismissed for lack of evidence. Siegelman has asked for a review by all eight judges of the appeals court, telling the Huffington Post last week, "If we get a rehearing then we have a few months to pursue options with the Department of Justice. If we don't, then I'm going to be re-sentenced to prison by the same judge and prosecutors, which I say, parenthetically with an exclamation point, is probably the most bizarre twist yet. I'd be still fighting the same right-wing, [Karl] Rove-anointed and Bush-appointed prosecutors even with [Barack] Obama and [Eric] Holder in charge." The unanimous appeals court decision in March vindicating the judge and prosecution failed to quiet escalating complaints about the case. Last month, the New York Times reported that 75 former state attorneys general urged the Justice Department to probe Siegelman's conviction. Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have prompted a nationwide letter-writing campaign this spring by Siegelman supporters to the Justice Department to drop all charges against Siegelman. Vacating charges would parallel Department actions in the prosecution last fall against then- U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican. The Obama Justice Department dropped charges against Stevens in April after the trial judge protested the unfairness of prosecutors. Siegelman's supporters claim the same kind of misconduct against him. Last year, for example, congressional investigators demanded an explanation of why a whistleblower in the Justice Department said federal prosecutors communicated with Siegelman jurors during deliberations without notifying the defense. A CBS 60 Minutes exposé earlier in 2008 alerted a national television audience to many more questions about Siegelman's prosecution, including the prosecutors' coaching of the key witness against Siegelman in 70 practice sessions without providing interview notes to the defense before trial, as required. The May 5, 2009 decision by Senate Republicans to name Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as their top-ranking member on the Judiciary Committee also raises a question about his oversight in sponsoring Fuller for the federal bench. On Oct. 7, 2002, Sessions detailed for his Senate colleagues Fuller's experience, and strongly supported the nominee's qualifications. But Sessions failed to notify his colleagues that Fuller had been working from 1989 until mid-2002 as chairman and CEO of Doss Aviation. That overlapped since 2007 with the nominee's a full-time job as an Alabama district attorney supervising work in two counties. Sessions also failed to notify his colleagues of Fuller's involvement in a pension-related dispute in Alabama that would soon spark heavy criticism of Fuller in the Alabama press, and within months lead directly to impeachment effort by the Missouri attorney Paul Weeks. In fact, not one senator from either party mentioned anything during Fuller's confirmation hearing about the nominee's military work or the pension controversy. And, according to Weeks, not a single senator on the Senate Judiciary Committee ever contacted him for a follow-up inquiry on the 180-pages of evidence that Weeks hand-delivered to each office in 2003 seeking Fuller's impeachment. "U.S. Senators, including Senator Sessions, have insisted that Congress strictly enforce the Constitution's Good Behaviour Clause and impact and remove any federal judge whose conduct does not meet exacting standards," Weeks wrote in 2003, quoting a law review co-authored by Sessions on the topic. "The evidence strongly suggests that Judge Fuller has failed Senator Session's exacting standards of good conduct." The public is, of course, the ultimate judge in the vital process of lifetime appointment for the judiciary, as well as the more specific controversies regarding the fairness of Fuller's continued oversight of Siegelman's fate. What follows is an overview of these matters, which extend back over a decade. Many are currently in dispute. The issues include a long-running battle by the House Judiciary Committee to compel responses by former White House advisor Karl Rove about his purported role in the Siegelman case and similar prosecutions across the United States. This research project's revelations about the Justice Department's prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman are organized into the following chapters: • Siegelman Case Recap • Meet Judge Fuller • 2003: Enter Paul Weeks • Weeks Obtains Fuller's Recusal • Siegelman Indicted • 2007: Fuller Imposes Sentence • Follow the Money • Legal Rules for Recusal • Outside Experts • What's Next? For additional articles, charts and photos, visit: http://www.eagleviewdc.com/ to see: • Key Dates • Who's Who • Expert Opinions • Judge Fuller's Other Recusal Cases Whistleblower Paul Weeks is resuming his effort to obtain the impeachment of Chief U.S. District Judge Mark E. Fuller, and will respond to media questions by tele-conference on Monday, May 18 at 10 a.m. (Eastern Time). The judge and a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice are being invited to participate also. Dial (213) 443-4974#. The conference code is: 2026380070. Those asking questions should first identify themselves. Siegelman Case Recap Don Eugene Siegelman is now 63. A Rhodes Scholar, Siegelman was elected as Alabama's attorney general in 1978 and as the state's governor 10 years later. But he was defeated in a 2002 re-election vote that was so close he was declared the winner on Nov. 3 until a reported software glitch during a rural county recount cost him 6,000 votes and thus the election. Even after defeat, he remained Alabama's leading Democrat and the only official in Alabama state history from either party ever elected to all four of its statewide offices. The Bush Administration's Justice Department announced Siegelman's indictment in May 2004 on multiple charges of conspiring in health care frauds while governor. Preparing for trial, prosecutors unsuccessfully argued that Birmingham-based Chief U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon should be removed from presiding because of alleged anti-prosecution bias. Clemon was a Democrat who joined the federal bench in 1980. Failing to obtain the judge's removal, prosecutors dropped their own case against Siegelman early during trial, in October 2004. But on May 17, 2005, Bush Administration prosecutors obtained a new and sealed indictment of Siegelman in the different judicial district of Montgomery. Fuller, by then chief judge of Alabama's district based in Montgomery, was secretly named to preside over a sealed indictment that was unknown to defendants until October. On Oct. 26, the Justice Department announced a superseding indictment of 32 corruption counts against Siegelman and three co-defendants. This was as Siegelman geared up for his 2006 re-election effort. Siegelman and his co-defendants began trial on May 1, 2006, a month before the Democratic primary that he lost amid adverse news coverage from long-running prosecution and trial. Siegelman's trial prompted many complaints of prosecutorial misconduct that were mostly absolved by Fuller. Prolonged and almost deadlocked jury deliberations ended with a split verdict on June 29. The jury acquitted on 25 of the 32 counts. The guilty verdicts centered on two $250,000 donations that then-HealthSouth Inc. CEO Richard Scrushy arranged for the non-profit Alabama Education Foundation in 1999 and 2000. Prosecutors called the donations bribes. They said it was a deal whereby Siegelman would reappoint Scrushy in 1999 to Alabama's Certificate of Need board, on which Scrushy had served under three previous governors before resigning. Scrushy unsuccessfully argued that he knew nothing about the non-profit foundation' finances, and so couldn't have been trying to bribe Siegelman by helping it. "I might be the only person in the United States who has ever been convicted for making a charitable contribution," Scrushy said after trial. Also, the jury convicted Siegelman for obstruction of justice for writing $2,973 check allegedly intended to cover up a gift from a lobbyist. On June 28, Fuller sentenced the defendants to approximately seven years in prison apiece. The judge ordered the defendants taken from the courtroom in shackles, and denied them an appeal bond. Siegelman served a month of that time in solitary confinement. An all-Democratic appeals court panel freed Siegelman on bond nearly nine months later. Siegelman has said he was innocent of wrongdoing, with the prosecution intended to thwart his 2006 re-election campaign. Scrushy, 56, remains in prison. Controversy in the Siegelman prosecution is rivaled by only a few criminal cases this decade in the U.S. On May 21, 2007, attorney Jill Simpson reluctantly stepped forward to file a sworn statement with Fuller alleging that fellow Republicans had used the Bush Justice Department to eliminate Siegelman as a Democratic re-election threat in Alabama. This created a sensation in political and criminal circles beyond the Alabama case because it coincided with more general allegations that spring of White House involvement in firing U.S. attorneys for political reasons. The Republicans named have denied Simpson's allegations, as amplified below. In recent interviews for this report, Simpson concurred with Weeks, to whom she has never spoken, that Siegelman and Scrushy deserve a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct. Also, she says that she is prohibited by Alabama bar association rules from criticizing a judge outside of court. But the record in the case indicates that she sought to fulfill her other bar obligation to prevent wrongdoing by volunteering extensive information to defense attorneys in February 2007 about Doss Aviation finances. Her information was the basis for an unsuccessful defense argument to Fuller in April that his Doss Aviation holdings should disqualify him from the case, as amplified below. Meet Judge Fuller Mark Everett Fuller, now 50, was nominated by to the federal bench by President Bush on Aug. 1, 2002 following a successful career in business, state office and volunteer efforts. According to disclosure documents for his Senate confirmation, Fuller became chief executive officer and chairman of the Colorado-based federal contractor Doss Aviation in 1989, four years after graduation from the University of Alabama law school. Those disclosure records show that Fuller also served from 1997 until mid-2002 as Alabama's district attorney for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, overseeing that office's work for two counties surrounding his hometown of Enterprise. Among his civic volunteer efforts, Fuller served on the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee from 1992 to 1998. He thus played a leadership role in the Republican Party's transformation
 
Ben Sherwood: Wing and a Prayer: How Safe is My Next Regional Plane Flight? Top
I just flew on a regional jet from Los Angeles to Monterey, California. After watching the National Transportation Safety Board hearings in Washington this week investigating the crash of the Continental commuter plane near Buffalo, I confess that I was very focused on the pilots and the airplane. When I poked my head into the cockpit, I was relieved to learn that the captain had more than 18,000 hours in the air, including military service, while the First Officer had more than 7,000 hours. I only had a few moments up front, so I ran through my checklist: Did the two men look awake? (Yes). Did they seem focused on their work? (Yes). Did they flunk any previous flying proficiency tests? (Couldn't tell). Did they pull all-nighters to get to their job? (Couldn't tell). The last questions may sound strange, but they're entirely justified after what we learned this week about the Continental tragedy. Minutes before the fiery crash in Clarence Center on February 12, Capt. Marvin Renslow (47) and First Officer Rebecca Shaw (24) chatted about the icy weather. "You know, I'd have freaked out," Shaw said. "I'd have, like, seen this much ice and thought, oh my gosh, we were going to crash." The crew kept yakking about their careers and non-flight-related matters (a violation of FAA rules below a certain altitude), unaware their plane had slowed to a dangerous speed. When the stick shaker alarm went off, warning of the airspeed problem, the pilot did all the wrong things, pulling up instead of pushing the nose down to gain speed and recover. Continental Connection Flight 3407 experienced a preventable aerodynamic stall and fifty people perished. "I think this crew went from complacency to catastrophe in 20 seconds," said NTSB board member Debbie Hersman. It turns out that Capt. Renslow had flunked three "check rides" - the flying equivalent of driver proficiency tests. It turns out Renslow worked stacking shelves in Tampa, Florida before being hired by Colgan Air, the regional carrier that operated the commuter flight under contract with Continental, Colgan says Renslow only disclosed one of his check ride failures and wouldn't have hired him if it had known about the other two. It also turns out that First Officer Shaw, who earned around $16,000 a year and once worked a second job in a coffee shop, had pulled an all-nighter to across country to her base in Newark. When I took my seat in 4B this morning, I was left with the same question on the minds of air travelers this week: Will I die on this flight? How safe are smaller, regional carriers. And what can I do to improve my chances in the unlikely event of a crash? 1. Will I die on my next regional flight? Nearly one-quarter of the passengers in the air today in the US are riding on regional carriers. In baseball terms, these airlines are viewed as the minor league teams where pilots and crew put in long hours as they work their way into the majors. Over the last 14 years, the regional airline business has doubled. Today, half of the flights in the US involve these smaller carriers. If you keep track of airplane accidents, you probably know that the recent pattern doesn't look good for regional carriers: They were involved in seven of the last eight fatal commercial crashes in the US. For the absolute latest on the risk of death while flying on a regional carrier, I checked with Arnold Barnett, a brilliant MIT professor who happens to be afraid of flying and who specializes in statistics on aviation safety. Barnett points out that all the news coverage this week about the Continental crash and safety issues with regional carriers has blurred an important distinction between jet and propeller aircraft. "Historically, the safety record for piston and prop-jet aircraft has not been as good as that for pure jets," Barnett says. "US regional jet flights have a splendid safety record," he goes on. "They have suffered only one fatal crash in the past two decades. " According to Barnett's analysis, your risk of death on your next regional jet flight in the US is 1 in 30 million. In other words, you can travel every day for the next 82,191 years - on average - before you will die on a regional jet. Prop-jets - planes with propellers driven by turbo-jet engines - are a different story, Barnett points out. Your risk of death on your next prop-jet flight, he says, is 1 in five million. Yes, the risk is greater than a jet flight, but you can still fly every day for a very very very long time before you run into a problem. In 1997, after a series of commuter crashes, new rules took creating more stringent requirements for regional planes. Smaller carriers now must follow the same rules as the biggies. "This is all one industry," says Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association, a trade group representing 30 airlines. "One level of safety. And that's something the industry is committed to 24-7." Still, safety experts don't believe the regional airlines are doing enough about hiring, training, pay and fatigue. 2. What can I do to improve my survival chances in a crash? In so many everyday crises, ranging from car crashes to health crises, you can improve your chances, especially if you pay attention to the risks, prepare in advance, and take action. In survivable plane accidents, for instance, experts say that up to 40 percent of the people who perished could have lived if they had known what to do. So what should you know? After going through the FAA's plane crash survival school in Oklahoma City and interviewing many experts and survivors of plane crashes, here are the essentials: Listen to the safety briefing. Read the information card. Try to sit within five rows of any exit. Make a point of identifying your primary exit and backup exit. Pay extra attention during the first three and last eight minutes of flight (when 80 percent of accidents happen). And be ready to take action without any instructions from the pilot or flight attendants (40 percent of the time, they're incapacitated).] To learn more about surviving plane crashes and all kinds of life-changing challenges, please visit TheSurvivorsClub.org .
 
Michael Giltz: Cannes 2009 Day Three: A Romantic Poet, A Troubled Cop and a Closeted Jew at Woodstock Top
A very confusing, wet and rainy day at Cannes. Here are my initial impressions of three more films that screened today. And don't miss my exclusive video on how clever Mariah Carey can be! BRIGHT STAR ** -- The title of John Keats' final poem is also the title of director Jane Campion's best film since The Piano . (Low bar, that.) The story of the doomed love between Romantic Poet Keats and Fanny Brawne, it is well directed, well-acted, beautifully shot...and has almost no emotional pull. Even if you know nothing about Keats -- and I've been reading the acclaimed biography by Andrew Motion to prepare for the film -- it's hard to imagine anything here will surprise. Handsome young poet meets fiery, clever young woman. They like each other almost immediately while she can't stand his boorish best friend, Brown. He is poor and can't properly make a match. They love each other, delicately. He declaims poetry. They kiss again. But they cannot marry; no one wants them to marry; they don't marry. And then he dies. The film is slightly less dramatic than that, but you get the idea. Their love blossoms when Keats is writing some of his greatest poems, but you'd hardly know that here. Except for one brief reference to his flourishing work ("I'm writing again," he says to Brown) and some remarks on poetry fluidly lifted from his actual letters, Keats might as well be the apothecary he trained for rather than a poet. Ben Whishaw (a very good stage actor; I saw his compelling Hamlet in London) is good as Keats, though again I didn't walk away thinking I'd seen a genius. Abbie Cornish is also good as the prickly Fanny. And Paul Schneider (so good in The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Lars And The Real Girl ) is better still as the Scottish poet Charles Brown. Perhaps what's missing is that elusive element of chemistry? Cornish and Schneider spark more strikes together -- especially after Keats has died -- than either of them with Wishaw. A worthy effort that improves mightily on most of Campion's work of the last 15 years but ultimately not one to embrace. P.S. Poor Joseph Severn. This real person cherished his friendship with Keats to the end of his days. It was the great achievement of his life. Severn nursed Keats' brother Tom when John was away and accompanied Keats to Italy at the end of his brief life. But in the film he's dismissed by Fanny as a nobody who barely knows John. Not fair! Why do I care? Because he's played by Samuel Barnett, a very good actor I've enjoyed for years seen here in an all too brief turn. Ah well. History is merely fodder for film and gave up long ago on the dream of respect. POLICE, ADJECTIVE *** 1/2 -- Director Corneliu Porumboiu's last film was the droll but dagger sharp 12:08 East Of Bucharest. His art-house reputation should solidify further with Politist, Adjectiv. In it, a Romanian detective is investigating three teenagers (two guys and a girl) who smoke pot once a day in a courtyard. One kid has turned into a narc and reported his friend but not the girl. Though it's officially a case of "drug dealing," the one boy seems to get pot from his brother and he and his friends just smoke a joint. He doesn't sell it to them or anyone else and their lives are thoroughly unremarkable otherwise. They're just kids and the detective is aware that possessing such a small amount of pot is legal in many European countries and probably will be soon in Romania. But if he launches a "raid" (a grand word for arresting three kids), it's likely the kid targeted won't want to turn in his brother for providing the drug and could be sentenced to seven years. Quietly dismayed, the detective drags his feet and doesn't want to go any further with the case. Why destroy this kid's life for such a minor transgression? This is a post-Bela Tarr film, which means if someone walks down the hall to get a soda, you're almost certain to have the camera follow them out the door, down the hall, wait while they fish for change, put the coins in the machine, make a selection, get the soda, open it, take a sip, turn around and walk back up the hall to their office, walk in, shut the door, sit down and take another sip. Seriously. Only fest goers and art house cineastes will get past this style to the heart of the film. And the heart of the film is language, funnily enough. Our hero's wife is a schoolteacher and she's been playing a pop song over and over until they get into a lengthy debate about the lyrics and the difference between an image and a symbol. A co-worker wants to join the detective's "foot-tennis" team -- and in a further twist, I assumed this was some sort of bizarre mistranslation, but in fact they do play "foot tennis," which involves a soccer ball and four guys on a tennis court, strangely enough. Finally, after much delaying, the hero is dragged into the chief's office for a bravura scene where he refuses to lead the raid, citing his "conscience." The chief demands he define "conscience," gets a coworker to write that definition on a chalkboard, calls for a dictionary and soon they are looking up word after word while quietly battling over exactly what it is they do as police officers in Romania. Slowly, subtly, the film evolves from this specific story to a universal struggle over personal responsibility versus fealty to the state. It's fascinating, compelling, and quietly funny, though certainly not mainstream fare. I'll certainly remember the chief for a long, long time. TAKING WOODSTOCK ** 1/2 -- I'm such a big fan of Ang Lee that I can't help being rather disappointed in this film. When he makes a movie, it usually ranks among my favorites of the year. So anything less than great is a letdown. This shaggy comic tale is far from great, though it's so amiable you feel bad being too hard on it. Demetri Martin of The Daily Show plays Elliot Tiber, a nice closeted boy who is spending the summer in the Catskills struggling to keep the very rundown motel of his parents from going bankrupt. He's also the head of the Chamber of Commerce and desperately trying to bring attention to their town when he reads about a music festival planned for Woodstock that is suddenly homeless. Hmm. It's a simple story (and the truth is even stranger, frankly), with Tiber calling up the festival promoters, finding out the lead guy is a kid who lived down the street from him in New York and suddenly they're overwhelmed by hippies and free love. Uptight Elliot smokes pot before a press conference, drops acid with a groovy guy and girl (and spends the day in their van trying every possible combination of love), befriends Liev Schrieber as an exceptionally unconvincing former Marine turned transvestite, bonds with his dad, flirts with a construction worker and generally becomes comfortable with himself. Call it three days of peace, love and (almost) coming out. Jonathan Groff is perfectly cast as Eliot's old chum MIchael Lang, an almost preternaturally calm dude. He's a vivid person in the classic documentary film Woodstock and it probably doesn't help that I saw that film just a few weeks ago at EbertFest. That film captures the era so brilliantly that Taking Woodstock can't helo but pale in comparison, especially when it apes scenes from the documentary, like the mud slide. I could have also done without the returning Vietnam vet (the generally good Emile Hirsch in a badly written role) which puts too heavy a weight on the film. The result is a little safe and sanitized, but diverting enough. Martin isn't a trained actor but he's well cast, as is most everyone, such as Eugene Levy as the friendly but savvy Max Yasgur. But is it too much to ask that if the film is going to be a sweet, idealized story of a young guy coming out of his shell during Woodstock that he at least come out to his folks?
 
Max Fraad Wolff: Car-Nage or Industrial Policy? Top
As GM slides toward Chrysler-style bankruptcy it is brutally obvious that we lack a national industrial policy. There is no debate that we need one. The screaming lack of any coherent macroeconomic plan is obscured by face-offs that pit union fans against bond holder rights advocates. The national media debate is staffed by 'Obama is always right and working for the little guy' people screaming back and forth with 'Obama is always wrong people'. In these confrontations ratings are the focus and understanding becomes the first casualty of cable news. The death of America's manufacturing economy, large swaths of the upper Midwest and a way of life demands closer attention. GM and Chrysler will produce far fewer cars in the future. Wages and benefits are being slashed. Over 100,000 people are likely to directly lose their jobs as a result of Chrysler and GM bankruptcies with an addition 200,000-300,000 likely to indirectly lose work. The deal the U.S. government offered Chrysler bondholders, like the deal being offered to GM bondholders, is terrible. The terms and conditions offered make clear that the Federal Government wants -- or can live with -- Chapter 11 filings. Chrysler bondholders were offered 29 cents on the dollar with greater offers being made to the UAW employee trust despite its being a lesser creditor in standard Chapter 11 proceedings. Thus, this group had nothing to lose but Obama tongue-lashing if they refused the deal. They did refuse and the tongue-lashing came full of statements about those unwilling to make sacrifice. The political game is to blame another party -- perhaps with good reason -- for the ultimate bankruptcy. Public relations theater has gotten all the attention. We should be looking at the destruction of a region, an industry and the shocking lack of industrial policy. This matters. Who may or may not be at fault for the closing act in this tragedy is not of vital or lasting import. The terms and conditions for the UAW and workers are terrible. The impacts on communities -- already in dire straights -- will be cataclysmic. At least 800 Chrysler dealerships and 2600 GM dealerships will be closed. Urban areas and the Midwest are likely to be particularly hard hit. Losses will run above 100,000 total jobs and be spread far and wide. Likely there were too many dealerships and some needed to be shuttered. Rapid geography-based mass closures risk lash-back, further damage to the brands and will spill hundreds of thousands more cars out into markets defined by lack of demand. The "summer breaks," lay-offs and closings are an expensive commitment to having a much smaller US auto industry. We are actively choosing rising importation of parts, growing market share for foreign makers and carnage in the industrial heartland. We so completely lack an industrial policy that we are presently working to spend money to maintain our car market while decimating US domestic car producers. Perhaps the goal is to be the first developed country with neither significant American car production nor, public transit? Subsidizing, choosing sides and failing to plan are not the stuff that phoenix-like recoveries are made of. We have used billions in public funds to preside over the aggressive downsizing of GM and Chrysler. Much of these billions have vanished. We are thus paying to fire tens of thousands of Americans, de-industrialize the country and smash lives and communities throughout the nation. It is very true that real trouble has been long in the offing and the Obama Administration faced few palatable choices. They were handed a thankless job at the worst of times. They have not performed well. Every other major developed country offering assistance does so with stricter job retention demands. Every other state seems more concerned not to damage production capacity and subsidize foreign rivals. Maybe the rest of the world is not wrong? Chrysler received $7.2billion in direct assistance over the last year. None of this will be paid back. The US government will retain an 8% interest in the firm. The Canadian Government will get the balance of the equity against the loans it has made. Thus, when Chrysler/Fiat becomes a $90billion company, the US government will break even less inflation and transaction fees. The UAW President has already pledged to sell into stock strength to fund the now speculative employee trust fund that traded cash for stock. What do we get? A lot less than Fiat. We get Fiat's small and gas efficient technology. We hope that Fiat will do well and Americans will want to buy small, fuel efficient cars made for other markets. Fiat will get 20% ownership and $500 million at no direct out-of-pocket cost with incentive options that allow Fiat to possibly own 35% of the new Chrysler at no direct cost. Fiat can raise its stake to 51%. What do we lose? The UAW employee trust will own 55% of Chrysler/Fiat when the dust settles. They will pay roughly a dollar a share from the employee fund. They need the firm to be worth $10 billion in short order -- that sounds really bad until you recall Uncle Sam is betting it will be worth almost 9 times as much! This calls into question the $15billion lent to GM. Employees are giving up security in the retirement fund, dental care, eye care and risking the future. Job banking will be drastically reduced or removed and the UAW has pledged not to strike before 2015. The UAW employee benefit association will own 55% of The New Chrysler/Fiat but have only 1 of 9 seats on its new board of directors. In addition, it is not free to vote its 1 share against the majority of the board's independent directors. GM is poised to announce similar deals with the UAW, creditors and the Government in the very near future. $1billion in hourly wage savings are likely to be announced as GM closes 16 of 47 assembly plants in the U.S. and reduces its labor force from 61,000 to 38,000. GM agreed to fund a UAW employee benefit association with $35 billion. It will now get $15 billion to $20 billion topped off with up to 39% of the shares in a new company. Common share holders will get 1% of the new company -- in other words close to nothing. Bond holders will be offered cents on the dollar. We will wait as angry voices deride Obama as a socialist for taking a large ownership position in GM. Many will claim the UAW has done well. Meanwhile, workers present and retired will suffer. Communities will lose jobs, tax bases and hope. Dealerships will close, towns will find rising demands for assistance and falling revenues. All of this will go on until we devise and implement a national industrial policy. It is a choice between carnage and policy. More on Auto Bailout
 
Lynn M. Paltrow: The Bishops and the "Right to Life" Top
More than 55 leading Catholic Bishops, all members of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, are speaking out against the University of Notre Dame's decision to host and honor President Barak Obama at their commencement ceremony on the 17th. Much of their ire is due to President Obama's support of the right to choose abortion. And, indeed coverage of the Bishops' opposition has largely, and unfortunately, centered on the issue of abortion, rather than on the pregnant women who have them. Sixty one percent of women who have abortions are already mothers and 84 percent of all women become pregnant and give birth over the course of their lifetimes. While Bishops criticize the president for being unwilling "to hold human life as sacred," an examination of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishop's (USCCB) public positions in two historic legal cases makes clear that that the USCCB itself is unwilling to "hold human life as sacred" when the life belongs to a pregnant woman. Twenty two years ago this June, when a District of Columbia court ordered 27 year-old Angela Carder to undergo cesarean surgery against her wishes, she said: "I don't want it done. I don't want it done." The unborn child who the surgery was intended to save survived for just two hours. Carder died two days later with the cesarean listed as a contributing factor. In the highly publicized appeal that followed, and that reversed the order, only two groups defended the forced surgery: one was the United Catholic Conference -- now known as the USCCB. While the USCCB defended the forced surgery that contributed to a pregnant woman's death as "the correct choice," it vigorously opposed removing Terry Schiavo's feeding tube because it would lead to her death. Terry Schiavo who was not pregnant had suffered irreversible brain damage and had been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years. Experts who examined her concluded that she had no consciousness whatsoever, and that there were no treatments that could possibly improve or reverse her condition. Nevertheless, according to the USCCB, Schiavo's condition was anything but futile, describing her as someone with "cognitive disabilities." The USCCB rejected the notion "that there are some lives that aren't worth living." In contrast, the USCCB explicitly viewed efforts to preserve Carder's life as futile and her life as not worth living. According to the USCCB the forced cesarean surgery was justified because Carder "was lying very near death" and "had at most one, possibly two days, to live." At best, "A.C. might have lived 24-48 hours without surgery" arguing that, "with or without the cesarean operation, A.C. would most probably die within 24-48 hours of the court hearing." Although Carder had specifically agreed to treatments that might prolong her life, the USCCB defended the surgery because the "attempt to save A.C.'s unborn child properly recognized . . . the futility of improving A.C.'s situation." Not only did the USCCB discount the value of Carder's life, it urged the court to ignore her pain and the fact that subjecting her to a c-section -- major abdominal surgery -- could only make that pain worse. The USCCB argued that refusing a c-section "could not save her life or even make it more bearable." The USCCB did not even object to the fact that Carder was stripped of due process --the opportunity to have her rights fully reviewed. Her rights were decided at an emergency hearing, leaving her no opportunity to select a lawyer, obtain medical records, or find experts. Still, the USCCB hoped a precedent would be set for the "next case" so that future courts could similarly force surgery on pregnant women whose rights would be "decided in the same emergency setting." In contrast, the USCCB supported legislation to guarantee that Schiavo, who had eight years of judicial review, would have additional access to the court system. In other words, according to the USCCB, eight years of due process is not enough for someone in a persistent vegetative state, but less than a day of due process is plenty for a pregnant woman. In Terri Schiavo's case, the USCCB argued "every human life has incalculable worth and meaning, no matter its age or condition." Their position in the Angela Carder case, one that they have never recanted and that is embodied in the Religious Directives in force in Catholic Hospitals across the country, suggests that the one form of life that does not have incalculable worth or meaning is that of pregnant women. If it is true that the USCCB in fact prioritizes some lives over others, and excludes pregnant women from the right to life it claims to so vehemently defend, Notre Dame should be praised for inviting a speaker, President Obama, who is committed to promoting a true culture of life--one that includes and values the women who give that life.
 
Nicole Stremlau: War in Somalia: Protecting Somaliland's Peace Should Be a Priority Top
The war in Somalia has entered a new phase. Even by Mogadishu's standards, in recent days the fighting has been intense. More than 100 people have been killed. The al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), supported by the international community, are engaged in a violent power struggle. The dynamics are fluctuating by the day but al-Shabaab, along with other Jihadist movements such as Hisbul Islam, controls most of the territory in south-central Somalia and they are preparing for a final push to seize the presidential palace. This turn of events is not surprising. Only recently, the very same day rich countries were opening their pockets in Brussels to prop up the weak TFG, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys landed in Mogadishu. As the leader of al-Shabaab, and a former colleague-turned competitor of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the arrival of Aweys was significant. He pledged war and has delivered on it. Once in Mogadishu, Aweys addressed crowds in calling the African Union troops "bacteria" that must leave Somalia. Foreign troops in Somalia have always been a point of contention and deeply unpopular. But the reality is that without them the TFG cannot survive. Brushing off overtures from President Sharif for dialogue, al-Shabaab appears to be looking for a military victory. In the coming days the international community will certainly be considering what options it has. These appear relatively limited- the US has little appetite for intervening and al-Shabaab gave the Ethiopian military such a serious fight that they too do not look eager to invade again. The concerns widely discussed about the current crisis in Pakistan, particularly as to whether the government is viable and can withstand the Taliban being within 100 km of the capital, are amplified in Somalia. In Somalia, foreign and local fighters, some of who have trained Afghanistan, actually do control all but a few streets in the capital. There are reports that al-Shabaab is set to be provided with additional reinforcements of foreign and local jihadists in the coming days. Somaliland , the un-recognized peaceful and politically stable northwestern region of Somalia, must also consider its own security. Somaliland rightly prides itself on being an oasis of peace in a violent region. In September 2009 they will be holding their third presidential elections which, building on the 2003 elections, appear set to be competitive and free. After years of fighting for independence and after years of watching their brothers in the south slaughter themselves, Somalilanders do not take their accomplishment of peace lightly. Unfortunately, they may have already been pulled into this war. Somalilanders know al-Shabaab's wrath well. They have been the victims of its impeccable timing- the October 29th suicide bombers that that struck the presidency, UNDP and the Ethiopian embassy coincided with an international meeting for the TFG in Nairobi. A crucial part of the leadership of al-Shabaab currently hails from Somaliland and the October bombings were partly a response to internal criticism suggesting that that they should bring their own clans and land into the war. Al-Shabaab has a presence in Somaliland and events in the south make al-Shabaab sympathizers bolder. The Somaliland government will certainly be asking difficult questions in the coming days. Should Somaliland forge new security relations with Puntland, the autonomous region to the east? This appears to be happening to some degree, but what would a more dynamic alliance look like? These are very real and complicated dilemmas for Somaliland and are issues they will be grappling with in the coming days and months. Domestically there will be new debates as now-marginalized politicians that have lost out in President Sharif's government look for influence. Somaliland has so far managed to successfully build its own democracy and state without intervention, largely because a local and organic peace process was allowed to flourish without external engineering. At this critical juncture a chance remains for the international community to act to at least preserve and protect the one island of hope - a peaceful democratic independent Somaliland that could become a beachhead for extending peace with justice in the region. But Somaliland should be realistic- the international community will allow Somaliland to fail. Somalilanders have rightly prided themselves on succeeding without international intervention but they may yet face one of their greatest tests. More on Afghanistan
 
Josh Dorner: The FauxMB Environmental Scandal That Wasn't Top
Like most of the rest of the DC enviro set, I spent Tuesday morning waiting with baited breath for details of the compromise around the Waxman-Markey clean energy and climate bill to come over the transom. But then midway through the morning the blogs and newswires were suddenly atwitter with what appeared to be some major Obama environmental scandal. And I do mean a-Twitter , the latest obsession for Hollywood and Hollywood for Ugly People (D.C.) denizens alike. Dow Jones , ABC News , and the Associated Press all went up with sensational items describing "a White House document" (specifically a memo from the Office of Management & Budget) that warned of dire economic consequences for millions of small businesses and others if EPA is allowed to proceed with its landmark "endangerment determination." It sounded oddly reminiscent of the many objections raised by the Bush administration and right-wing anti-regulatory groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce--but more on that later. In any case, the scandal-hungry DC press corps took the GOP's bait and ran with it and the breaking news ripped across the internet. (The endangerment finding, mandated by the watershed Massachusetts v. EPA global warming Supreme Court case that was actively ignored for years by the Bush administration , is currently in a 60-day public comment period. Hearings are taking place next week here in D.C. and Seattle. Click here to find out more about how you can get involved to support President Obama's clean energy agenda.) The initial report was immediately seized upon and pushed by several GOP senators , most notably Big Oil and Dirty Coal-lovin' Senator John Barrasso (R-WY). It just so happened that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was testifying about the EPA's budget (doubled thanks to President Obama!) before the Senate Environment Committee, which Barrasso sits on. He then literally waived the mysterious unsigned, undated nine-page memo around, calling it a "smoking gun" proving that EPA's decision was all politics. A somewhat bemused Jackson dismissed Barrasso's objections, much as she had when he raised similarly misguided objections during her confirmation hearing. Barrasso's tomfoolery at least earned him a trip to bloviate further along with wingnutopia's favorite Faux News personality and fellow denialist, Glenn Beck. Watch the senate smackdown (psyche!) here: It struck many as odd that someone at a high-level within the administration would so publicly object (the Clean Air Act requires all documents and interagency correspondence on such issues to be made public) to one of the administration's signature policy initiatives. The inimitable Dave Roberts at Grist put his Spidey Sense to work and determined that all was not what it seemed when it came to this so-called "White House document." First of all, it emerged that it was not even a document authored by anyone within the White House or Office of Management and Budget. All relevant federal agencies are permitted to comment on pending regulations and OMB is required by law to report those comments back to the original agency, EPA in this case. So, rather than being some shadowy "White House document" objecting to those overzealous greens at EPA, it could have been written by almost any bureaucrat at almost any agency within the vast federal bureaucracy--a bureaucracy still riddled with empty slots and holdovers from the Bush administration. In an attempt to defuse the rapidly growing flap, OMB Director Peter Orszag even took to his blog in a post called "Clearing the Air" to clarify that the finding was indeed "rooted in both law and science" and that "press reports to the contrary are simply false." As the sensational news continued to make the rounds, being picked up by the Los Angeles Times and New York Times , further details on the dubious document emerged. If the arguments in the memo sounded like vintage Bush arguments against action on warming, it's because they were written by none other than a vintage Bush holdover at the Small Business Administration named Shawne McGibbon . The plot thickened further when it became known that McGibbon had previously been associated with the Mercatus Center , a well-respected but stridently anti-government regulation think tank. Oh, and it just so happens that said think tank has received extensive funding from corporate mega-polluter Koch Industries . We're not sure whether the moral of this story centers around the current state of journalism ("AP Invents Obama Environmental Scandal" screamed Huffington Post) or the staying power of the Bush hangover. What we are sure about is that Lisa Jackson was pretty awesome on the Daily Show yesterday: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart M - Th 11p / 10c Lisa P. Jackson thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor
 
Bush Critics Frustrated As Torture Debate Shifts To Pelosi Top
For those legal, media and political figures who favor an investigation and/or prosecution of the Bush administration for the torture of detainees, the recent spat over what members of Congress knew and when they knew it has become a bit maddening. As attention shifts toward the extent to which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi oversaw the authorization and use of waterboarding, some are asking: Aren't we missing the forest for the trees? "We are already so far widely away from the Constitution and the rule of law that it is staggering to discuss degradations here," said Bruce Fein, an associate deputy attorney general under Ronald Reagan and fierce critic of Bush's national security policies. "The staggering thing here is we have a former president and vice president who have said, 'Yes, we have authorized torture.' We have a President and Attorney General who have said 'Yes, waterboarding is torture.' And we have a torture statute that strictly defines waterboarding as torture.... We have a clear confession to one of the most serious crimes in the criminal code and what was happening? Absolutely nothing." Added MSNBC's Ed Schultz during his opening segment on Thursday night: "Democrats are not the issue. Nancy Pelosi is not the issue. The issue is, who came up with the torture policy? Who broke the law?" Indeed, in private conversations, Democratic strategists are bemoaning the fact that the harsh questioning of Pelosi has begun to overshadow the fact that torture was authorized in the first place. "It is a debate on Cheney's terms," as one Hill aide put it. To drive home the point, the source pointed to a New York Times oped from earlier in the week by Vicki Divoll, a former deputy counsel to the CIA Counterterrorist Center, who argued that a debate over Congress' role was somewhat irrelevant. "It's logical to ask, so what if it was only four members?" Divoll wrote of the torture briefings . "If they objected to the program, why didn't they take steps to change it or stop it? Maybe they should have tried. But as a practical matter, there was very little, if anything, the Gang of Four could have done to affect the Bush administration's decision on the enhanced interrogation techniques program. To stop it, they needed the whole Congress." And yet, not everyone feels that way. The House Speaker faces criticism for a failure to object more strongly to the use of waterboarding, even from those who say she shouldn't be the center of debate. "Pelosi," said Fein, "should have done what Mike Gravel did with the Pentagon Papers." (That is, Pelosi should have read the information she had on waterboarding into the congressional record.) "The speech and debate clause of the constitution would have given her immunity and legal protection." Pelosi also faces a fresh round of rebuke for being willing to go only so far now in an effort to investigate the potential illegalities of the Bush years. "In this case," said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, "Pelosi is charging that she was knowingly misled about a war crime. Now the problem with her latest explanation is that it is hard to express outrage over false statements regarding war crimes when you have personally blocked the investigations of the war crimes." Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! More on Nancy Pelosi
 
John Carney: Another Turd War Breaks Out At Merrill Lynch Top
Nearly one and half years after a Merrill Lynch employee defecated on the floor of a bathroom near a bond trading desk at the bank's headquarters in lower Manhattan, it looks like it may have happened again. Employees say that someone has left "a turd" in the stairwell connecting trading areas on the fifth and seventh floors. It's not known when the crappy asset was deposited or who left it there, according to people familiar with the (fecal) matter. The January 2008 incident was blamed on an equities trader upset that his bonus had been diminished by losses at the firm, which he blamed on the bond traders. A spokeswoman for Merrill Lynch said she hadn't heard about the latest incident and declined to comment. We asked her to investigate and get back to us. Check for the latest updates on this important story at The Business Insider. More on Merrill Lynch
 
Jim Luce: Madonna, Africa and Child Mortality Top
The problem is straightforward: more than nine million children die each year in Africa. That is the number of people in the entire state of New Jersey. African kids die from infectious diseases such as HIV, TB, malaria, respiratory illnesses, diarrhea, worms, parasites, and vaccine-preventable diseases, malnutrition and -- far too often -- during childbirth itself. In an exclusive interview with HuffPo , Sonia Ehrlich Sachs, M.D., M.P.H. spoke to me about Africa, child mortality, and an intelligent, charismatic women who has learned much about both: Madonna. Millennium Villages help care for children in Africa. Dr. Sonia Sachs is a public health specialist and serves as the health coordinator for the Millennium Villages Project at the Earth Institute at Columbia University . She is also married to another brilliant thought leader and global citizen, Prof. Jeffry Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, and Special Advisor to the U.N. Secretary General on the Millennium Development Goals. Sonia is the pediatrician who was with Madonna in Malawi when the singer met one-year old David Banda. Sonia explained to me that the evening David left the orphanage to spend his first night with Madonna in a hotel in Lilongwe, he was very ill and could have died, as did his other siblings before him. She credits the entertainer for saving the child's life. I had not realized that Madonna's project, Raising Malawi , was helping to support one of Jeff's Millennium Villages near Lilongwe. That was one of the reasons Sonia was with Madonna on the trip. David Banda with his adoptive mother, Madonna. "David would have died that evening or the following day if it were it not for Madonna. I can tell you with certainty that he would have died had he stayed in the orphanage," Sonia told me. "The evening David was handed over to Madonna, he had a very high fever and was in acute respiratory distress -- meaning he had difficulty breathing." "We took him to a private clinic, where a colleague and I examined him carefully, took a chest X-ray, diagnosed his respiratory infection, and treated him immediately with an inhaler, and intramuscular antibiotics. Lower respiratory infections like pneumonia are a common killer of so many children in Africa every year." As founder of Orphans International Worldwide , I have experienced the death of one of our children in Haiti. The pain of losing a child is indescribable. Last fall, Sonia presented to our Orphans International Worldwide Congress -- held at N.Y.U. Medical School -- on the grim story of African child mortality. She explained about preventable and treatable conditions such as extreme nutrient deficiencies, infectious diseases and unsafe childbirth. The deaths of African children are all about food, water, and cooking stoves. Sonia explained that there is usually no public health system in place to address this tragic litany of otherwise very approachable issues. Simple, non-clinical health interventions make a big difference in saving lives, Sonia believes. Improved nutrition through school meals, better cooking stoves to reduce open fire and indoor air pollution, clean water, mosquito bed nets, and de-worming are all essential, interventions needed but not affordable by people living in extreme poverty. Through her work, Sonia has come to know Madonna a little bit. "I have found Madonna to be an impressively solid person dedicated to her children and to the welfare of thousands of neglected orphans in Malawi." A Millennium Village doctor examining a child. Sonia has personally witnessed Madonna's compassion and motherly instincts more than once. In Malawi some people practice witchcraft. On occasion, a boy's entire genitalia are removed by villagers based on ancient superstition. One little boy Madonna met had been so mutilated he could not stop wetting himself. The physical and emotional suffering was unbearable. Madonna held the boy and pledged to care for him, which she has done to this day by looking after his medical and educational needs. Thanks to Madonna, the boy continues to improve. Children learning in a Millennium Village in Africa. Madonna somehow speaks to the children of the world. From Africa to Asia and the Americas. My own teenage son Mathew -- adopted at the age of ten months from Indonesia -- has informed me that if I ever meet Madonna without him, he will disown me. More on Africa
 
Wayne Kramer: My Return to Prison: Views on the Failed Drug War from Inside Sing Sing Top
On Saturday, May 2nd 2009, I returned to prison. Again. Tom Morello, Jerry Cantrell, Billy Bragg, Perry Farrell & Etty Lau Farrell, Gilby Clarke, Boots Riley, Carl Restivo, Dave Gibbs, Don Was, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Eric Gardner and the Road Recovery staff went with me. The prison was the infamous Sing Sing maximum-security facility in Ossining, New York. I talked with the prisoners and we played music for them. And we went in with the blessing of the New York State Department of Corrections to inaugurate a new program focusing on inmate rehabilitation. To tell you the truth, I didn't think it would happen. I could not have been more wrong. We had all played a concert the night before in Manhattan for Road Recovery, a non-profit organization that works with at-risk kids. The show was sold out with the help of my comrade Iggy Pop and it was a resounding success. Me in front of one of the guard towers The Sing Sing show was a bonus. To say it was memorable would be a massive understatement. As would be understating the importance of reaching out to the people on the receiving end of the greatest failure of social policy in America's domestic history. A performance photo in the chow hall You would have to be living on the moon to not know what a disaster the "War On Drugs" has been. Twenty billion dollars a year for the last 30 years, two million Americans in prison -- 60% of them non-violent drug offenders -- and you can go out on any American street corner and buy cheaper, higher quality heroin and cocaine than you could anywhere in America 30 years ago. The political expediency of "get tough on crime" along with the sure-fire vote getting "lock them up and throw away the key" mentality has successfully created the highly profitable Prison Industrial Complex. On Saturday, I asked a corrections officer at Sing Sing what the prisoner population in New York State is right now. "Just over 50,000," she replied. Then, it occurred to me: When I was imprisoned for drug offenses in the 1970s, the entire Federal Prison population totaled just over 50,000 inmates. Then the C.O. added that, when she started her career in corrections 20 years ago, there were 23 prisons in New York State. As I write this today, there are over 60! Crime stats have stayed consistent over the last 30 years, but incarceration rates have more than quadrupled. It's the human cost that has been the most damaging. I'm talking about non-violent drug offenders. Countless families broken up, the marriages destroyed, three generations of kids with fathers (and mothers) in and out of the system. These are mostly brown and black people. People from America's cities who, as screenwriter David Simon describes them, "Leftover people. People who were necessary in an industrial America but who are of no use to the economy today." Non-violent drug offenders who are locked up are people who are pawns in urban political gamesmanship. Nobody talks about them. There's no political will to look at it. There's no political capital in it. It's a no-winner. But, there's certainly money in prison building and guard hiring. Out here in California, the prison guards union is one of the most powerful political lobbies in the state. I don't have any naive ideas about this changing anytime soon. Make no mistake, though, this situation is a crime against humanity. Government should be helping, but it's not. Instead, it has created a self-fulfilling monster that eats humans whose judgment has been, at one time in their lives, critically flawed and then the monster shits out profit and political gain. What I can do as an artist is the same thing you can do as a friend and neighbor -- stand up. Speak out. Get involved. At Sing Sing, I talked to men who had been locked up for eight, 10, 17, 30 years but had somehow managed to hold on to hope. Men who sang along with Billy Bragg on Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" still had hopes and dreams. Their spirit was strong. I doubt any of them ever heard of the MC5 or Jane's Addiction or Audioslave, but it didn't matter one bit. They all connected with the music. What mattered was they knew, by our simple presence, that not everyone has thrown them away. I certainly haven't. Neither have all the musicians who went with me to this historic visit. Not everyone in this country believes in the Draconian approach to drug enforcement that has been the status quo for the last 30 years. A shot of Wayne speaking to the inmates Kudos to Gov. Paterson and the NY Dept. of Corrections for inviting us in. Maybe other governors will start to wake up to the economic and human disaster that is their failed policy. Maybe Barack Obama can step up and bring justice and reason to one of our nation's greatest failures. Handsome Dick wrote to me the following day, "Seeing those prisoners slowly shuffle back through that door, and go back to jail, got to me. Can't stop thinking about it. And me being free... and... how much I appreciate everything I have." Tru dat, Richard. Yesterday's HuffPost ran the headline "White House Czar Calls For End to War On Drugs." Sounds good. Now let's see who steps up. Front Row: Gilby Clarke, Dave Gibbs, Tom Morello, Boots Riley, Jerry Cantrell, Jason Lemiere 2nd Row: Daniella Clarke, Vaughn Martinian, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Matt Pinfield, Carl Restivo, Susan Silver, Don Was 3rd Row: Una Cote, Billy Bragg, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Malin, Jack Bookbinder, Eric Gardner, Margaret Saadi Kramer, Scott Schumaker, Anthony Nater 4th Row: Etty Lau Farrell, Perry Farrell, Officer O. Marchese, Peter Jenner, Wayne Kramer, Laurence Kern, Bobby Danelski, Kirsten Charlebois
 
Rachel Sklar: SAVE ERIC: How To Save A Life (On Twitter) Top
This is unreal. My pal Veronica De La Cruz from CNN is racing against time to get her brother Eric De La Cruz a heart transplant. He lives in Nevada, where there are no places to perform the operation; but he can't go to the nearest out-of-state facility because his insurance is Nevada-only. WOW. She's trying to get as many people as possible to lobby Nevada Senator Harry Reid ( here ), Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons ( here ) - while meanwhile seeking donations to actually pay for it ( here ), because the hospitals WON'T EVEN SEE HER BROTHER WITHOUT EVIDENCE THAT HE CAN PAY . Wow again. The good news is that Veronica has been tireless here - and she has Twitter. The cause is spreading (and so is the #ERIC hashtag ) and she's had some support from some pretty big names ( @TheExpert jumped on board and took it one step further ). So - if you are on Twitter, spread the word ; if you have a moment to donate , do what you can. Incredibly, this is for real. Make a difference. SAVE ERIC [Veronica De La Cruz] Lean on Reid [WriteChic Press] Twitter Joins CNN Reporter's Fight to Save Her Brother's Life [BNet Media] @VeronicaDLCruz [Twitter] Follow Rachel Sklar on Twitter here: Twitter.com/RachelSklar More on Twitter
 
Steven L. Spiegel: What NCIS Tells Us About Obama and Netanyahu Top
If you want to understand the state of the U.S.-Israeli relationship, I suggest you look at some recent episodes of NCIS , the Navy crime drama on CBS, a show that has risen to #5 in the TV rankings this season. Apparently, for a long time, a peculiar arrangement has existed between the NCIS and Israel in the storyline, in which the brilliant daughter of the head of Mossad (Ziva David) has been embedded in the American NCIS . The lesson seems to be that the United States and Israel have an unusual relationship to the point where an Israeli agent can assist American specialists with the uncovering of crimes inside the United States and elsewhere. Suddenly, however, the message has changed. Ziva has a lover, Michael Rivkin, an Israeli operative who also works for the Mossad. He happens to be temporarily in the United States. To the frustration of the NCIS agents, he is killing off terrorists operating in America before they can be reached by the Americans, sometimes reaching them minutes beforehand. Somehow he seems to know more than the entire American team and can get to the target first. He also demonstrates a different philosophy of fighting terrorism. The Israelis simply want them dead; the Americans want to capture them so they can find out further information about additional threats. This is not heading in the direction of a happy ending and it is clear from other developments not described here that this special U.S.-Israeli cooperation is about to end. The message seems to be that the Israelis are extremely capable and their cause is just, but they're trigger-happy and too affected by their tragic past. The NCIS writers seem to be telling us, whether they realize it or not, that there are two Israeli types symbolized here -- two Israels American policy makers have faced over the years. Ziva is the cooperative and quiet Israeli, who has the technical and personal skills to be of enormous assistance in achieving the mission -- in this case capturing criminals and terrorists. Michael is another type -- like Ziva bright and pro-American, but in this case tough, aggressive, thinks he knows what is best for the United States better than the Americans, is sly and wily, and he doesn't heed the advice of his American counterparts. Ziva is someone who the American team respects and admires, a friend applauded and appreciated. Michael is regarded with suspicion and concern; the American agents know he has the same objective as they do, but they wonder openly whether his methods are helpful or productive. They beg him to go away; he is, in short, seen as more of a devious obstacle than an asset. She is Shimon Peres or Yitzhak Rabin or even Ehud Olmert. American leaders like doing business with these leaders, and their own faith in the American-Israeli partnership is reinforced when they are dealing with people across the table with whom they feel they have a basic and fundamental consensus and understanding. Michael is a different story; he is to some extent Yitzhak Shamir or Bibi Netanyahu. Michael is regarded with suspicion, because being on the same side isn't enough. When allies pursue similar tactics and strategies, that is often more important than just having the same objectives. And, today, Bibi Netanyahu seems to be in a different place than Washington on a host of issues including Iran, Palestine, and Syria. It's almost as if just as Americans rejected Bush and his legacy, the Israelis voted for a leader who epitomized the confrontational views that the former president represented. That won't work in today's Washington. If Bibi comes to visit the White House, and he appears as Ziva, the US-Israeli relationship under the new Obama administration will be enhanced. But if he's Michael, then the highly celebrated Washington-Jerusalem connection is in for some tough times indeed. The NCIS story teaches us that American-Israeli relations are not a straight line. One day they may seem perfect; the next day the characters change on one or both sides or new plot twists emerge, and crises can develop as if from nowhere. As they say in TV land, stay tuned for next week's episode. More on Israel
 
First Case Of Predatory Lending In Commercial Real Estate? Top
Is this the first official allegation of predatory lending in the commercial real estate space? A reader passes on a recently filed lawsuit brought by a Long Island retail outlet developer against the institutions that loaned him money. Among the defendants: LaSalle Bank, Wells Fargo and Principal Life Insurance Company (uh-oh).
 
Schwarzenegger's Kids Attend "Terminator" Premiere (PHOTOS) Top
Three of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger's kids attended Thursday night's 'Terminator Salvation' at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The movie is the fourth 'Terminator' film and stars Christian Bale, following three whose main draw was their dad. Below, from left to right, are Patrick, 15, Christopher, 11, and Katherine, 19. Not present is Christina. PHOTOS: More on Celebrity Kids
 
Blaise Zerega: Condi Stumbles Again Top
Here's a deeper look at The War on Torture . This time, it was Condi Rice speaking at the Sixth and I Synagogue which had billed the event as her first Washington appearance since leaving the State Department. Under questioning by Leon Wieseltier, Rice clumsily debunks her "Nixon/Frost moment," and addresses the grilling about torture she received from Stanford University students: Watch the full video at FORA.tv.
 
U.S. Attorney's Office Told Staff Not To Use Drudge Report Top
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts directed employees earlier this month not to log onto the Drudge Report website with government-issued computers due to potential viruses on the site. In an e-mail message sent May 4, Paul Harvey, an information-technology official for the Boston office, wrote that security specialists with the U.S. Attorney's Office at the Department of Justice asked them "to reformat/reimage two computers because the user visited the drudgereport.com site."
 
T. Boone Pickens: Stop Worrying About World Crude Supplies Top
Domestic natural gas supplies will replace our need for foreign oil. Independent studies continue to show that America's natural gas reserves are sufficient to meet all of our needs for well over 100 years. We should protect America's interests by making a national commitment to replacing our need for foreign oil by using our enormous natural gas supplies for every possible use - power, transportation, chemicals, pharma, etc. Over the past few days there have been contradictory reports regarding the global demand for crude oil and the ability (or willingness) of the world's oil producing countries to supply the stuff. - The International Energy Agency predicted the world's capacity to produce crude oil will fall by 1.7 million barrels a day this year. - That same day reports surfaced saying that China, the world's second-largest consumer of energy, had announced it had increased its imports of crude oil by 14 percent in April. China has already entered into supply deals with Brazil, Venezuela, Russia, Iran and is negotiating with Kuwait. - Reuters reported "global oil refinery throughput will fall 3.1 million barrels per day in the April-June period from the same quarter last year" which has been reflected by dramatically higher prices at the pump. According to Consumer Reports, prices for regular gas jumped from $2.05 to $2.24 before the summer driving season has even begun - a nine percent increase in just two weeks. - Then the IEA predicted world crude demand this year is expected to contract by 2.6 million barrels a day, or 3%, to 83.2 million barrels a day. Through the week oil prices bounced between just over $60 per barrel to about $57 per barrel. Why the relatively narrow trading range? Traders know that both the production and consumption numbers are artificial. OPEC has had a $75 price target in mind for several months. OPEC nations are wholly dependent on petro-dollars to fund their national budgets and they must find the proper balance between price and production to generate enough money to keep their populations happy. On the consumption side, China has the capacity and the inclination to engineer its oil requirements because so little of its economy is market-driven. Through it all, America continues to import more than two-thirds of our oil needs which puts us at the mercy of the Middle East oil producers, China, and other countries which do not have the interests of the United States in their hearts. In April, we imported 375 million barrels of petroleum at a cost of just under $19 billion. Last week Hugo Chavez sent troops to take over Venezuela's oil service companies because he felt that the state-controlled oil company (which he nationalized a couple of years ago) owed them too much money. There is no reason for America's national interests - our economy, our environment, nor our security - to be based upon a global oil supply-and-usage regime which is based upon an international set of artificially-controlled factors. This past week, a report in Russia, according to the London Times, "raised the prospect of war in the Arctic as nations struggle for control of the world's dwindling energy reserves." The report suggested that Russia "is willing to defend its interests by force if necessary." Russia, just a few months ago, used its natural gas production and distribution system to force its will on Ukraine by shutting off gas supplies to much of Europe during the coldest months of the European winter. It is not hard to imagine other countries, if they get into domestic trouble because they can't cover their internal social costs, to further manipulate supplies and distribution of crude to artificially affect prices. The United States has it in its power and within its borders to effectively defend itself against the whims of foreign governments by taking serious steps to increase the utilization of domestic natural gas. Natural gas is our most widely distributed natural resource - gas lines run up every street and down every alley in almost every city and town in the nation. As a transportation fuel, natural gas is ready-to-go. There are nearly 10 million natural gas vehicles (NGVs) operating throughout the world but fewer than 150,000 are here in the United States. Our energy future is in our own hands. In natural gas we have an enormously abundant domestic resource; we have the technology to utilize it for power, transportation and every other known use; it is cheaper than imported oil; it is cleaner than either gasoline or diesel fuel; and, it is under our own control. Spending time worrying over global oil maneuvers by foreign governments is a waste of time and money. We should have a national project to use domestic natural gas and reduce our imports of foreign oil. More on Russia
 
Joe Cirincione: Jughead is Real: The Truth About Lost's H-Bomb Top
This article was co-authored by Alexandra Bell, Research Associate at Ploughshares Fund. The giant hydrogen bomb detonated on the ABC hit show, Lost , in its season finale this week really existed. It really was called "Jughead." Constructed in 1954, it was never actually exploded, leaving space for Lost 's writers to whisk it away to the mystery island. As fans of Lost , we were amused to have the 40,000-pound thermonuclear device make its appearance in season five of the show. Jughead, first seen dangling from a tower early in the season, is detonated in the finale as the survivors attempt to change their history. The effect of a nuclear explosion on time travel is a bit outside our expertise, but Lost 's writers got the basic facts of nuclear weapons right. These guys did their homework. Jughead Dissected The United States built thousands of hydrogen bombs in the 1950s. Each, many times more powerful that the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Unlike atomic bombs that get their energy from fission, or the splitting of atoms, hydrogen bombs get their energy from fusion of hydrogen atoms. This is the basic energy force in the universe. It is what powers the sun and all stars. There is no theoretical limit to how big we could make a hydrogen bomb. It is just a matter of how large a quantity of hydrogen isotopes we wants to fuse, though the logistics become more difficult. In 1961, the Soviets planned to test a 100-megaton bomb (equal to 100 million tons of TNT), but settled for the 50-megaton Tsar Bomba . It was the largest bomb ever tested, twice the size of the biggest U.S. test . The real-life Jughead was indeed the hulking behemoth depicted in Lost . It was designed to explode with a force of 8 million tons of TNT, or over 500 times more force than the Hiroshima bomb. As accurately depicted in Lost , a fusion weapon like Jughead has two or more nuclear components in the same device that are ignited in stages. As Princeton physicist Frank Von Hippel likes to say, "Within each big bomb is a little bomb." Although it is not clearly explained in the show, the Lost character Sayid takes out what would be the smaller fission "primary" that would be used to create the heat, pressure and radiation necessary to compress and ignite the separate fusion secondary, vastly increasing the explosive yield. This is the bomb he takes to the Swan site. Would it look as compact as the device Sayid tucks in his backpack? Probably not, but it would not be too much bigger. Could he actually carry it without fear of radiation? Yes. As physicist Ivan Oelrich, also a Lost fan, details : "People think that the fuel that drives an atomic bomb must be intensely radioactive, but in fact it's not. It becomes radioactive after the reaction." Of course, the story is not entirely accurate - you cannot trigger a chain reaction by beating an atomic bomb with a rock, though props to Juliet for really following through. We can grant the writers of Lost a little leeway, since time travel and smoke monsters are not exactly hard physics either. Nuclear Nuts The fantasy and reality of Jughead illuminate the absolute insanity of the Cold War arms race. (For the best historical account, check out the Richard Rhodes trilogy : The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Dark Sun and Arsenals of Folly .) While Albert Einstein and some members of the Manhattan Project, like chief scientist Robert J. Oppenheimer, were appalled at what they had created, others like Edward Teller pushed to produce the H-bomb. Oppenheimer and the entire scientific General Advisory Committee saw it as a weapon of genocide. They told President Truman: "The use of this weapon would bring about the destruction of innumerable human lives; it is not a weapon which can be used exclusively for the destruction of material installations or military or semi-military purposes. Its use therefore carries much further than the atomic bomb itself the policy of extermination of civilian populations." Truman, fearful of the political reaction to a US decision not to build the new bomb if the Soviets did, overruled the scientists. That is how we (and the rest of the nuclear powers) came to create these colossal Jugheads, capable of obliterating entire cities. We went nuclear nuts in the 1950s, increasing the U.S. arsenal from 200 atomic bombs in 1949 to over 20,000 mostly hydrogen bombs by 1960. The Soviets raced to catch up, with both countries peaking at about 65,000 bombs in 1986. The good news: we have cut the number of nuclear weapons by 63 per cent since then. The bad news: we still have around 23,000 left. Lost , intentionally or not, gives us the essential problem: the longer the bomb hangs around the island, the more likely it is that someone's gonna use it. We have been exceedingly lucky to get this far without an intentional or accidental use of nukes. So the next time you think about how crazy Lost is, just think about how insane our nuclear stockpiles are. More on Russia
 

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