Friday, May 8, 2009

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Dennis Palumbo: HOLLYWOOD ON THE COUCH: R.I.P., Movies for Grown-Ups? Top
Well, it's that time of year again, when Hollywood begins rolling out the big-budget "tent-pole" movies. Last week saw the huge opening for X-Men Origins: Wolverine , and this weekend brings Star Trek , also expected to deliver big box-office returns. Not to mention the upcoming Transformers sequel, Night at the Museum 2 , Angels and Demons , and other high-profile summer fare. Not that I have a problem with any of these films. I expect to be standing in line myself for a number of them. My concern here---as both a movie-goer and a therapist who treats many noted Hollywood writers, directors, producers and actors---is that the number of big-budget, comic book-derived, fantasy-oriented films is on the rise, at the same time that fewer mature, adult-oriented films are making it to the screen. And that those which do come out are doing so poorly. Recently, we've seen the release of State of Play , Duplicity , and The Soloist ---among others---none of which, despite good-to-great reviews, did much business. Of course, I'm not alone in pointing out this sober fact. Industry pundits are mostly in agreement that movies have become primarily vehicles for urban teens, who are not only inclined to see their favorite films more than once, but are also avid consumers for merchandise and video games derived from those films. Whether on dates or in fan-groups, these teens are the primary target for Hollywood movies nowadays, which is why we see either big-budget films based on pop culture icons like Spider-Man or Harry Potter, or else low-budget horror films and R-rated comedies. Not to mention how infrequently adults are taking the trouble to go to the movies in theaters. In this uncertain economy, with prices for everything from parking to theater tickets to baby-sitters on the rise, many adults are opting out of what used to be an almost weekly entertainment excursion. This phenomenon is on my mind because I just learned that my friend Bobby Moresco (Oscar-winning writer/producer of Crash and Million Dollar Baby ) is making a new film detailing the story of Fidel Castro's exiled daughter, Alina Fernandez. The result of a love affair Castro had prior to taking power in Cuba, Alina grew up to become a dissident who spoke out against Castro and the Revolution. Moresco will be producing, directing and co-writing the film with Nilo Cruz, a Cuban-American who was the first Hispanic to win the Pulitizer Prize for drama. Sounds like a great project, that will probably make a great film. But will adult film-goers support it? In recent years, we've had terrific films like Michael Clayton , Zodiac and Charlie Wilson's War go unsupported by the very same literate adults who routinely complain about the lack of quality entertainment coming out of Hollywood. Even Oscar-winning Kate Winslet couldn't get people into the theater to see Little Children . Maybe now it's time for all of us to put our ticket-buying money where our mouths are and show up in support whenever Hollywood provides a movie for grown-ups. Rare as they are---and more rare they surely will be, if current trends continue---it's the least we can do. After all, we've pulled other endangered species back from the brink of destruction. Hopefully, we can do the same for grown-up movies, now assuredly on the Cinematic Endangered Species List.
 
Kenneth C. Davis: Libraries Are America's Lifelines. Leave Them Alone Top
Michael Bloomberg may be the ultimate IT Guy. Okay, maybe that's still Bill Gates. But the point is, Michael Bloomberg took Information and Technology and made himself an empire with Bloomberg News . Then he became King of New York -- or at least Mayor -- and a very good one at that, as far as I am concerned. So why would a man who built his world around IT want to cripple New York's IT lifeline -- the public library? In case you haven't heard, New York City's public library systems -- three separate library systems in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens -- are once again under siege, on the chopping block, threatened with draconian cuts in the face of New York City's Great Recession. (The cuts were outlined in an article in Library Journal .) Library cuts in down times remind me of the classic line from Casablanca: "Round up the usual suspects." The public library is always suspect Number One when it comes to municipal budget cuts. And as librarians everywhere know, this is not a fact in New York City alone. Underlying this reality are two simple facts. First, libraries do not have a vocal, powerful constituency. Unlike the police, teachers and firemen, they don't have a potent union or benevolent association. There is no "Library Lobby" doling out campaign contributions. But far worse, libraries tend to be viewed by all too many people in power as a luxury. In many of these minds, the public library is stuck with an antiquated image of stern ladies shushing noisy kids, retirees borrowing the latest bestsellers and -- more recently -- homeless folk camping out in a heated corner. They are all clichés. And dumb ones at that. I was in the bustling Mid-Manhatttan Library on Fifth Avenue recently. They had a line that the hot new Top Shop -- along with all the mostly empty retailers on the street -- would envy. Sure, some people were there to borrow books for free. But the public library, in case you haven't been in one lately, is so much more than that -- especially in these down times. The public library is not just about borrowed books. It is about information -- the great currency of our time. And the library has, by default, become the bridge in the digital divide because it offers free access to computers. Can you imagine in this digital day looking for a job, submitting a résumé or a college application, or searching for housing without your computer? For millions of people, the library is their laptop. And it's not just true in New York City. In Vermont, where I have a home, the digital divide may be even greater due to economic disparity. And the libraries are filled with people who need access to computers and are willing to wait for a turn. They have no choice. Then there is education. The library is the crucial backstop to the educational system, far beyond the fundamental notion of being a "homework helper" for a school kid with a science project. From learning to read, or speak English, to having a decent place to do schoolwork or doing graduate research, the library is still a cornerstone of an educated, enlightened America. For many people, the public library is also the visible face of the government. I've never been in City Hall, but I am in the library all the time. It is one functioning arm of the government that delivers a service efficiently, usually free of charge, and often with a smile and an offer of more help. Yes, librarians are NICE! Besides, when was the last time you saw a librarian being led away in handcuffs for taking bribes, fixing contracts or fudging the books? And speaking of books. Books do change people. They can change society. Ask Harriet Beecher Stowe or Rachel Carson for starters. I could wax poetic about the importance that the public library played in my life. I'll stop short and say that when I was growing up, the Mt. Vernon public library was as significant to me as church and school. Maybe even more. If education and information are going to provide the means as America digs itself out the great big hole we are in, the public library is handing out the shovels. Cut or kill the libraries and you yank away a shovel. So please, Mayor IT Guy. And Mayors anywhere else, for that matter. Leave the libraries alone. Believe me. They are not a luxury, but a lifeline.
 
Brooke Astor's Daughter-In-Law Charlene Cries Top
Charlene Marshall, unindicted villainess of the sensational Brooke Astor trial, broke down in tears as she walked up the courthouse steps yesterday to hear a seventh day of testimony against her allegedly swindling husband, Anthony.
 
Amb. Marc Ginsberg: Decision 2009 -- Iran's June 12 Elections Top
As President Obama calibrates his engagement policy with Iran and plans his next steps with the vexing Islamic Republic, that nation will go to the polls on June 12 to elect a president. The election will have important implications for the U.S. and the future of Middle East stability since it constitutes a referendum on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's confrontational global policies and domestic economic policy failures as he likely runs for a second four year term. And Ahmadinejad's opponents are wasting no time questioning whether Iran can afford another four years of his demagoguery and missteps. In the run up to next month's election the candidates are anxiously jockeying to garner crucial support within a broad cross section of Iranian constituency groups as they crisscross Iran campaigning. Ahmadinejad has the advantage at the outset since he controls Iran's vast state media which will inevitably give short shrift to the challengers. While there is no "pre-voting," the next several weeks of electioneering contain all the trappings of a combined primary/caucus system. Somewhat like the Iowa's caucus system or MIchigan-like straw voting (admittedly a bit of a stretch), leaders of key voting blocs throughout Iran's cities and provinces begin to demonstrate their leanings by taking sides and providing crucial financial and political aid in the run up to the actual balloting. Although Ahmadinejad's electoral fate is important because it signals where Iran may tilt in its confrontation with the west, the June election should not be interpreted as a dispositive referendum on Iran's dangerous game of chicken with Israel and the United States over its nuclear program. Why so? Because under Iran's constitution the fate of the nuclear program resides not with its elected president but with its unelected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Although the Iranian president is the person most in the international spotlight, Khamenei is the SOLE decider when it comes to Iran's nuclear aspirations and state sponsorship of terrorism. Moreover, none of the key contenders would dare criticize Iran's nuclear ambitions - to do so would be political suicide. But Ahmadinejad's electoral fate could influence how the Supreme Leader gauges Iranian public opinion and the consequences of continuing on the path of confrontation with the West and Arab states. Ironically, the ever cagey Ahmadinejad has yet to officially declare his candidacy for re-election (and why he is waiting has led to many a conspiracy theory). But no one believes he would step aside and not seek a second, four year term unless he were to be tossed overboard by the Supreme Leader. After all, Ahmadinejad takes great pleasure grabbing the international spotlight with his bellicosity, cut-throat domestic political record and vicious anti-Israel and holocaust-denying diatribes. So far, Ayatollah Khamenei has not evidenced sufficient displeasure with Ahmadinejad's antics to cast doubt on his reelection chances. Joining Ahmadinejad on the ballot is a lengthy list of challengers. But three candidates stand out and are, by most observers, the leading contenders. They are: Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Mehdi Karroubi, a former Speaker of Iran's parliament. And Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was a prime minister in the 1980s. Rezaei, 57, is the most ultra-conservative of the bunch - and surprisingly, the most vocal critic of Ahmadinejad's confrontational foreign policies (he has even indicated a willingness to cooperate with the U.S. on "regional security"). He has attacked Ahmadinejad for provoking global antipathy toward Iran and unnecessarily subjecting Iran to economic sanctions that have undermined Iran's economy. Coming from a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards that is tough talk that may resonate among the president's core supporters. Rezaei is not viewed as the leading challenger, however. Rather, he is viewed as a potential spoiler - taking crucial conservative votes away from Ahmadinejad. True to his Revolutionary Guard pedigree, Rezaei is wanted by Interpol in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Karroubi and Mousavi are vying for the "reformist" label, and are allied with former President Muhammad Khatami, who abruptly withdrew from the race. Mousavi is viewed as the leading challenger to Ahmadinejad. A respected reformist who has the backing of Iran's former president Akbar Rafsanjani. Leaving the dirty work against Ahmadinejad to Rezaei, Mousavi is calling for a new social compact among the Iranian people and supports improved relations with the west. His chances of unseating the incumbent will greatly depend on whether the reformers can forge a sufficient anti-Ahmadinejad coalition and coalesce around Mousavi, or wind up splitting the protest vote among reformist candidates. The back room haggling to prevent that from happening has begun in earnest. Ultimately, a win for Ahmadinejad may augur a dangerous showdown with Washington and Jerusalem, with enormous consequences to Iran in the long run. Alternatively, a win for one of the reformers could signal a stand down from confrontation and usher in a long period of tentative engagement with the west and major reforms at home that could set the Islamic Republic on a more moderate road. The whole world is watching which of these two roads Iran's voters prefer from their Supreme Leader. More on Barack Obama
 
Louis Caldera, White House Military Affairs Director, Resigns In Wake Of Air Force One Flyover Top
A senior administration official tells ABC News that as part of the White House report investigating the April 27 Air Force One flyover of Manhattan, White House Military Office director Louis Caldera has submitted his letter of resignation and President Obama has accepted.
 
Ahmed Rehab: Do Not Be Fooled by Al Zawahiri Top
Apparently, Al Qaeda No. 2, Ayman Al Zawahiri recently sent out an audio message warning Muslims not to be fooled by Obama. I think I speak for most Muslims around the world and certainly most Muslims in the United States when I say, "Mr. Al Zawahiri, we really don't care what you think." What level of delusion does it take for someone who has brought nothing but fear and destruction to the world to still think that the world wants to hear from him? The only word I want to hear from Al Zawahiri is "guilty" pronounced in a court of law before he is hauled away to serve multiple life sentences. I have a message for the few Muslims who actually might care what Al Zawahiri has to say: "Don't be fooled by Al Zawahiri." What has he done for you lately? What have the Al Zawahiris of the world who claim to fight in defense of Islam actually done for Muslims or Islam? What have they done to educate the illiterate, feed the hungry, heal the diseased, or boost the quality of life anywhere in the Muslim world? The fact is these individuals have devolved into a perverse cult-like existence that engulfs everything around them with anger, hate and self-victimization. They are a disgrace to our faith and a menace to our world. I have a message for those who are not Muslim who may also be listening to Al Zawahiri: "Don't be fooled by Al Zawahiri." He does not speak for Muslims. He speaks for himself and his band of cohorts. I cannot help but wonder: what goes through Al Zawahiri's mind when he releases statements on "Muslim public opinion?" Does he believe that we will think he has access to some polling mechanism or scientific survey we are not aware of? Apparently he has been so secluded from the real world and so entrenched in his own delusional world view that he fails to notice the rest of us actually ask these questions. Mr. Al Zawahiri, Muslims out there are not the brainwashed minions you surround yourself with and pontificate to without being questioned. If they were, you would be in a palace presiding over an empire, not in a cave presiding over an international organization of outlaws. And they are in no need of your advice. Most will judge President Obama, not by his words, color, or ancestry, but as they did his predecessor, by his actions. Nonetheless, it is a farce of our times when a man whose ascension to power through the brute force of bombs can stand to delegitimize a man whose own ascension to power has been through the voice of the people, a tedious and transparent process we call democracy. Obama has the mandate of the people he speaks for; Al Zawahiri in turn has nothing but the usurped powers of a self-serving warlord. I have one final message; this one goes out to the media: We don't want to hear what Al Zawahiri or Bin Laden have to say, please do not afford them publicity and legitimacy they do not deserve -- and could not get otherwise. More on Terrorism
 
One For The Table: Maybe It's in the DNA Top
My late grandmother, may she rest in peace, was very, very good at the things she was good at, and spectacularly bad at the thing she was bad at, which was cooking. She could sew and knit and organize into oblivion, and she could draw and paint, and she had beautiful penmanship and made her bed so neatly and perfectly that you could bounce quarters off the surface. Every photograph she ever put into an album (chronologically, always, all of them) was labeled and dated, and she balanced her checkbook to the penny. She could crochet. Her collection of antique hatpin holders -- she had hundreds of them -- was kept spotless. She saved every dollar she ever had and could account for every dime she ever spent. She had the most beautiful long nails that she kept impeccably manicured in pearly bubblegum pink. But cook? My Bubby could ruin a bowl of cereal. The three things you could always find in her refrigerator were artificially sweetened iced tea, powdered milk, and margarine. So you can imagine the shivers of unhappy anticipation that went through our bodies when Bubby invited us over for a meal. If we got lucky, she would have ordered in hoagies from her local sub shop (Sack o' Subs on Ventnor Avenue in Ventnor, New Jersey); if we were less lucky, she would have cooked. Once, for brunch, she prepared pecan pancakes. Good news! Pancakes are hard to screw up! Unless, of course, you were my Bubby. Somehow the batter was leaden and mealy. To this muck she added a fistful of pecans, which she had apparently been keeping in the freezer. A few bites into the heavy, sodden pancakes, we all had the sudden unhappy realization that she had neglected to defrost the pecans, so they remained frozen, trapped like icy fossils inside of the pancakes, where eventually they might have thawed in a day or so. But let me not skip over the iced tea. Whereas most of the iced teas of my childhood were unsweetened and required added sugar, which would sink balefully to the bottom of the glass, Bubby's iced tea was like liquid Sweet-N-Low. The chemical aftertaste bothered me not at all -- in fact, it was the best part. She kept it in a glass pitcher painted with lemon slices, and it seemed to replenish magically, not unlike the always-full Lucite candy jar on her coffee table, which usually contained just peppermints and the occasional rogue butterscotch disk. Some say we deliberately form our adult selves in reaction to our parents: either you create a life that is a replica of your parents' lives -- intentionally or not -- or you mold yourself into the opposite of what your parents were. Thus: messy parents beget an extremely neat child; timid drivers beget Formula One fanatics, and so on. In this case, my grandmother, the terrible, deliberately hapless cook, sent my mother full tilt into a gourmet rampage. My mother can cook anything, but more importantly, she can improvise. If a gorgeous pile of tiny purple potatoes presents itself to her at a farmer's market, she will come home and whip up a purple potato salad garnished with herbs from her garden and serve it with cold roasted Moroccan chicken and some kind of lemony orzo and a stone fruit cobbler into which she has tossed some blackberries that looked good to her: a delicious meal created on the fly with the confidence of an excellent cook who no longer particularly needs a recipe. My mother, obviously, was not born into a family of cooks and was raised (to hear her tell it, and I kind of believe her) on the most miserable gruel imaginable. But she married into a cooking family -- my paternal grandmother is a classically trained chef who hosted her own cooking classes at her summer place on the Jersey shore. It was my Muzzy who taught my mother to whip up the most sublime béarnaise sauce, the most gorgeous crepe gateau (layered crepes with red caviar, sour cream, tuna in oil, hard boiled egg, and other salty delicacies sandwiched in between crepes and sliced like a layer cake), the whole poached salmon layered with "scales" made of cucumber slices, and the richest chocolate cakes you could ever eat. She would sooner poke out her own eyes with a meat thermometer than toss a handful of frozen pecans into a pre-mixed pancake batter. With her towering height and authoritative voice, Muzzy in her kitchen reminded me a little of Julia Child, though much better dressed. To this day she still has strong opinions about how to make matzah balls, which must be very, very light, and about how certain desserts like individual chocolate puddings must be served with an "underplate," a term that set off a firestorm of giggles at more than one Thanksgiving dinner. I can only dream of one day being as confident a cook as my mother and my Muzzy, both of whom instinctively know their way around the kitchen and who know how to salvage even a botched recipe. But somehow I can't manage not to screw things up. Dark memories still haunt me of the cupcakes I baked once for a friend's birthday, for which I mixed and matched two different recipes from the Joy of Cooking. The batter, which was yellow, was not especially sweet, and I further compromised it by letting it sit in the fridge for a whole day while I went about my business. The icing was made later with dark chocolate and sour cream, and while my love for bittersweet chocolate borders on the irrational, this icing ended up tasting like liquefied unsweetened baking chocolate, which even I found unpalatable. Paired with the cupcake batter, which yielded a dozen extremely dense, very crumbly, bread-like cupcakes, the icing was a gluey chocolate disaster. But now it was too late: the birthday party was imminent, I had promised to bring cupcakes, and Sprinkles was not yet in existence. So I iced the cupcakes and decorated them, and they looked adorable -- happy birthday, mike! -- but they were so bad that I wouldn't let anyone eat them. By the end of the night, the frenzy of curiosity over the dreadful cupcakes overpowered my insistence that they were strictly look-don't-touch, so someone picked one up and took a bite. The result? Frozen pecans, all over again. Maybe it's in the DNA. By Emily Fox
 
Santa Barbara Wildfire: More Than 30K Ordered To Flee Top
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — More than 30,000 people have been ordered to flee a wildfire that burned a five-mile-long front above wealthy coastal communities by Friday, after another hot, windy night in which the fire chief said "all hell broke loose." Towering columns of brown smoke roiled off the face of the Santa Ynez Mountains after a fierce overnight battle as the 3,500-acre blaze repeated its pattern of relative calm in daylight and explosive behavior when evening winds arrive. It had been estimated at only about 1,300 acres Thursday afternoon. "Literally last night, all hell broke loose," Santa Barbara city Fire Chief Andrew DiMizio said. Officials predicted Friday night would bring the same destructive mix of hot weather and strong wind gusts. It was unknown how many homes were lost overnight on top of the estimated 75 houses destroyed earlier in the week in canyon neighborhoods along the north edge of Santa Barbara. Firefighters put out roof fires and kept the blaze from spreading into Santa Barbara proper, and many homes were saved, DiMizio said. The blaze jumped a highway and pushed west toward neighboring Goleta and east toward tony Montecito, and evacuation orders more than doubled in less than a day. A statement from the fire joint information center at late morning Friday estimated that more than 12,000 properties were under mandatory evacuation orders, affecting 30,500 people. It said more than 9,000 properties were under warning for potential evacuation, affecting 23,000 people. Oscar Funez, 39, his wife, Patricia, 42, and their son, Augustin, 4, were watching the fire on television Thursday night when they noticed other tenants leaving their Santa Barbara apartment building. They packed a suitcase and fled, too. "It's our fourth fire in Santa Barbara. We know we have to have everything _ paperwork, clothes, everything _ ready to go," Oscar Funez said. The family spent the night on cots in a recreation center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Authorities said more than 800 people were in evacuation shelters. "Right now, if you're not evacuated in the Santa Barbara area, you are sheltering evacuees," DiMizio said. More than 2,300 firefighters, aided by 14 air tankers and 15 helicopters, were fighting the blaze. Containment was estimated at 10 percent and the cause was under investigation. Santa Barbara and adjacent communities, pinched between the coast on the south and the rugged mountains on the north, are subject to fierce local winds known as "sundowners" that sweep down from the slopes over this coastal city of about 90,000. In November, a wind-driven fire burned 200 houses in the area. Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Tom Franklin predicted Friday would be a copy of Thursday's fire conditions, including low humidity and winds gusting to 50 mph or more. Highs could hover around 100 degrees. A National Weather Service "red flag" forecast for extreme fire conditions continued. The fire was burning along steep slopes in brush that is unusually dry so early in the fire season, Franklin said. When the wind isn't blowing, the fire is being driven by terrain, authorities said. Officials requested a DC-10 jumbo jet tanker capable of carrying much larger loads of retardant or water than helicopters or other aircraft, said assistant incident commander Kelley Gouette of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Officials said 11 firefighters had been injured to date, including three who were burned in a firestorm Wednesday. They were reported in good condition at a Los Angeles burn center, but two will need skin grafts and surgery. Other injuries ranged from smoke inhalation to sprained ankles. ___ Associated Press writer Jeff Wilson contributed to this report. More on Extreme Weather
 
Hong Kong Swine Flu: Guests Let Out Of Hotel After A Week Top
HONG KONG — Hong Kong lifted a weeklong quarantine Friday of an upscale hotel where Asia's first swine flu case was traced, allowing 280 guests and workers to end an isolation that was criticized as overkill by some but a medical necessity by authorities. Towing suitcases and beaming, some guests of the Metropark Hotel found it hard to contain their delight as they poured from the glass double doors to waiting buses, divided from waiting reporters by metal barriers. "I'm happy! I love Hong Kong people!" shouted a South Korean businessman, before breaking into song and hugging a policeman as he stepped out. "It's nice to smell fresh air," added a British man who identified himself only as Matt. Asia has been largely spared the virus that continues to claim lives in worst-hit Mexico, which announced its 45th death and 159 more cases Friday even as it emerged from a national shutdown that closed schools and businesses, and shuttered churches and soccer stadiums. The swine flu virus has now spread to 28 countries, killed at least 47 people and sickened more than 2,500 worldwide. In Asia, only Hong Kong and South Korea have confirmed cases of swine flu _ just four in all and no fatalities _ but governments remain mindful of the impact of bird flu and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Health officials from a dozen east Asian nations meeting in Thailand on Friday agreed on a strategy to help stockpile anti-flu drugs and improve monitoring. Hong Kong's swift lockdown of the Metropark _ imposed after diagnosing the 25-year-old Mexican who flew to the city via Shanghai _ has been criticized by some as an overreaction and initially irked guests stuck inside. But the government has been unswayed. "We all understand the boredom, the frustration they experienced during the quarantine period," Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang told reporters outside the hotel. "We are thankful for the sacrifice they have made for the sake of public health." Hong Kong officials also offered Metropark guests two extra days of hotel lodging after the quarantine and perks like Hong Kong Disneyland tickets, restaurant vouchers and movie tickets as a gesture of thanks. "The general consensus is how great the staff _ including hotel staff, police, health workers _ have been," one hotel guest, James Parer said in an e-mail Friday. The 38-year-old businessman from Brisbane, Australia, said guests celebrated their last night under quarantine Thursday by cracking open a bottle of champagne on the roof. "Drinks have been flowing quite freely," Parer said. Another guest, Indian businessman Kevin Ireland, expressed some annoyance Friday over missing business meetings but concluded: "I think finally the government must do what the government must do." The Mexican patient who prompted the quarantine was released from a hospital in Hong Kong on Friday. Mexico has been angered by some of the responses to the swine flu outbreak, protesting what it called discriminatory trade and travel restrictions. Finance Secretary Agustin Carstens announced that Mexico's economy is officially in recession and could contract by 4.1 percent this year because of swine flu and a decline in exports to the U.S. Some countries have "developed some attitudes which I will straightforward qualify as discriminatory against Mexicans," Mexico's U.N. envoy, Luis Alfonso De Alba, said in Geneva. "Having a Mexican passport has become a problem." Mexico will press for a debate on the issue at a World Health Organization meeting this month, he said. China has quarantined travelers from Mexico, and several nations have restricted Mexican food exports or travel to and from the country. Singapore now requires that Mexican nationals get visas and that travelers arriving from Mexico be confined for seven days on arrival. A report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said America's swine flu deaths _ a toddler and a pregnant woman who died in Texas _ each suffered from several other ailments. The CDC report released by the New England Journal of Medicine said the Mexican toddler had a chronic muscle weakness called myasthenia gravis, a heart defect, a swallowing problem and lack of oxygen. The 33-year-old woman had asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and was 35 weeks pregnant. On Friday, Canada reported a woman with swine flu had died in Alberta last month. She had other serious medical conditions, and the province's chief medical officer said it was not clear what role swine flu played in her death. Mexico's health secretary, Jose Angel Cordova, said Friday tests confirmed Mexico has had 1,319 cases of swine flu, up 159 from Thursday. But he insisted the outbreak is declining across the country. Restaurants, movie theaters, bars and businesses in Mexico reopened Thursday and students returned to high schools and universities for the first time in two weeks. Primary schools and day care centers reopen next week, while fans will be allowed to attend soccer games and churches will reopen this weekend. More on Swine Flu
 
Michael Gross: Sympathy for the Devil Top
On Thursday morning, Charlene Marshall was sobbing, her eyes bloodshot and bright red when she walked into Supreme Court in Manhattan where her husband Anthony is on trial, charged with manipulating his Alzheimer's Disease-stricken mother, the philanthropist and socialite Brooke Astor, into changing her will in his favor, plundering her estate and selling off her favorite painting in the last few years before her death at age 105 in 2007. Marshall was crying because that morning, she'd been referred to as "a villain," "Miss Piggy," "a social climber" and "a bitch" on the front page of the New York Times . It was the Marshalls' 17th wedding anniversary. Marshall's evident distress attracted the not-terribly-sympathetic attention of the pack of journalists who watched, a few feet away, most of them sitting on the prosecution's side of the courtroom. Though that side of the chamber offered a better view of Marshall and of the day's prosecution witness, Astor's friend Annette de la Renta, it also seemed symbolic. There may be two sides to every story, but one side hijacked this narrative almost three years ago with a shocking tale of elder abuse and ever since, sympathy for the 84-year-old Marshall and his third wife, who left a Maine pastor to marry an Astor, has been in acutely short supply. Andrea Peyser, a columnist for the New York Post , has led the ravening mob braying for the Marshalls' blood. Her role in the affair is gob sister (as opposed to sob sister), spitting on the elderly couple while polishing the saintly pedestal on which New York placed Tony's mother long before her tortuously slow descent. Early this week Peyser called the defendant a "depraved, whipped, elderly slug who allegedly robbed and tormented his beautiful, sainted mother." That "alleged" notwithstanding, Peyser is not one to let facts get in the way of a good rant. A couple of days later, she reminded readers of a piece of a sofa, allegedly shabby and urine-soaked, on which Marshall supposedly forced his mother to sleep in a frayed old nightgown. It was Exhibit A for the Marshalls' guilt when one of his twin sons sued his father in summer 2006 to remove Astor from Tony's care and have the Chase bank and de la Renta named her guardians. De la Renta, Peyser wrote, was "the superhero [who] got Mrs. Astor off that rancid couch." Never mind that the official Court Evaluator found the charges of elder abuse not substantiated and, according to someone in the Marshall camp who has seen his report, unfounded. Never mind that a court-ordered inspection of the couch found it to be in excellent condition. Never mind that photos of the couch shown in court yesterday made it look like something any of us would want to lie on, the stink of those charges still clings to the Marshalls and likely always will. Never mind that the prosecution has yet to close its case, Peyser is sure of how it will end: "Anthony Marshall will burn." I spent a day and a half at the trial this week, curious because Astor, Marshall and de la Renta were all trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the subject of a book I just published. In my research, I'd found that in its 139 years, the museum has often taken off its gloves to fight bare-knuckled with families for money and art in estates, just as it is now fighting, in part through de la Renta, one of its vice-chairmen, for money Astor first left it and other institutions in the early 1990s when, apparently upset by Marshall's marriage to a woman she didn't like, she rewrote her will, not for the first time, the defense contends, taking away Tony's ability to dispose of her residuary estate (which she'd placed in a trust separate from that of her long-dead third husband, Vincent Astor) however he wished. The prosecution's argument boils down to a contention that Astor, suffering from Alzheimer's, was not of sound mind when she kept changing her will, slowly returning to Tony the right to decide how her trust -- and a share of Vincent's, too -- would be disposed of. But one after another, prosecution witnesses have admitted that after her decline began, they were more than happy to accept her hospitality, coddle her and even facilitate other transfers of her wealth, never questioning her judgment or their own in accepting her generosity. This week, for instance, de la Renta testified that she accepted Astor's gifts of jewelry few Americans could afford after repeatedly seeing what she deemed clear evidence of her friend's mental deterioration. One day in Central Park, angry at Annette for grabbing the leashes of her beloved dachshunds and refusing to hand them back after Astor had let the dogs run off, the grande dame berated de la Renta, claiming she should have listened to "a man" who'd told her de la Renta was not her friend. In de la Renta's telling, there was no such man, no such warning. Yet the next day, when Astor sent an apology and a pearl necklace, de la Renta accepted both. In that hand-written note, Astor called de la Renta her "dearest child," noting that "there is no one in my life like you," since "my son dear Tony is so happy at last with a wife that loves him so that I hardly see them." A rather different portrait of Brooke's view of her only child from the one painted in the tabloids. But it isn't only the Marshalls who have been rendered in two dimensions. After I got home from court yesterday, I spoke to a journalist who recalled interviewing Astor before her decline and noted that she had her son (then serving as her notably successful investment manager) sit in, but treated him shabbily. The journalist's conclusion? "She was the meanest mother in the world, gratuitously castrating. If you don't feed a dog, how can you expect he won't bite?" That was not the saintly Brooke Astor the world knew, loved and still, quite appropriately, mourns. But as I said, there are two sides to every story. Michael Gross is the author of Rogues' Gallery.
 
Government Authorizes Grand Canyon Uranium Mining Top
The Bureau of Land Management has given the green light to new uranium mining exploration in the Grand Canyon : All of the projects are within the 1 million acres of BLM and Forest Service land that the House Natural Resources Committee ordered to be withdrawn from new uranium mining claims in June 2008, according to the groups. Jane Danowitz, U.S. public lands program director at the Pew Environment Group, issued a statement on the decision: "We are surprised and disappointed by the prospect of uranium mining within a stone's throw of the Grand Canyon. We urge the Obama administration to move quickly to remedy this situation and protect this timeless treasure for future generations to enjoy." Read the full Greenwire story
 
Coleen Rowley: Outlasting the Bastards: Learning and Applying the Pete Seeger Lesson Top
Ever since seeing the "Power of Song" documentary about Pete Seeger in the fall of 2007 and then getting the chance to meet his chip-off-the-old-block-grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger who traveled to Minnesota during the RNC in September 2008 to sing at our "Peace Island Picnic", we have been fascinated with the Seeger activist spirit. So when I heard about the 90th Birthday Benefit Concert being organized, I knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I knew that transplanting the lessons inside our own souls of Seeger's larger than life, successful struggle against fear, hate and greed-driven McCarthyism, racism, wars, and environmental degradation required more than just attending the concert, no matter how extraordinary that would prove to be. So a week ago, our little group of Minnesotans traveled out to Pete Seeger Land (Beacon, New York) a couple days early to try to steep ourselves in that musician activist air. We got to attend the incredible hometown birthday party-hootenanny for Pete given at the Beacon Sloop Club's monthly meeting and then we also followed up with a sail boat ride on the Clearwater Sloop itself on the far-less-dirty Hudson than when the Sloop was first launched 40 years ago by Pete Seeger and began its work of educating people up and down the Hudson River about life's need for clean water. We even got to stand at the same intersection corner between Beacon and Poughkeepsie where Seeger and other area peace activists have been conducting their steadfast vigil every Saturday holding "Peace" signs since before Bush's pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. Just in the last couple years, a number of pro-war types have begun to gather across the same intersection to confront what they apparently see as the looming threat of peace. On this particular Saturday, we counted 17 different military flags, a couple of motorcycles and numerous other gory signs planted by the larger warmonger group and heard their boom box blaring out something about revenge from the opposite side of the intersection. Many of the folks on the peace side had already departed to Manhattan for final concert preparations, so it was really good we had thought to bring our large (Seeger-inspired) "BRING 'EM HOME" banner all the way from Minnesota to compete for the honks of the cars passing by. The epitome of our Seeger activism-steeped weekend was, of course, the huge, almost five hour long Clearwater Benefit concert in a sold-out Madison Square Garden that featured nearly a hundred of our country's best folk and jazz musicians all singing and playing their hearts out in tribute to the first 90 hard-lived and hard-fought years that have made the musical activist legend. There's no way for me to describe this experience in words and no way to improve on the musicians' various tributes but Bruce Springsteen's words did encapsulate well the Seeger secret of success: the "stubborn, defiant and nasty optimism" that Pete needed to stand on conscience in the darkest of hours with those like Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King; to truly believe "we shall overcome" and the "stubborn, defiant and nasty optimism" which has ultimately allowed him to "outlast the bastards". At least that was the message that got transplanted in my soul. Of course Pete's own banjo has been spewing the same message for nearly 70 years. Apparently the stubborn, defiant and nasty optimism works because what started as one little banjo "machine" united all those hundred musicians on stage with about 18,000 singers in the Madison Garden audience in one perfect note after perfect note. Outside the stadium, hundreds of thousands more activist musicians have sprouted all over the world, all twanging out that same stubborn, defiant, and nasty optimism that "surrounds hate and forces it to surrender". Amongst those on the Madison Square Garden stage recruited by Pete's banjo machine, were at least six, who in the same peace and social justice activist tradition (Tom Morello, Steve Earle, Michael Franti, Larry Long, Billy Bragg and grandson Tao) had come here to St. Paul in September 2008 to use their best powers of song to dispel the hate-based power of the RNC message. Unfortunately, despite these musicians' best efforts, some fear and hate won out that first week of September 2008. The ugliness was first seen, even before the RNC began, in the pre-emptive raids and arrests of 8 protest organizers who, it was alleged, needed to be pre-emptively dealt with under "Minnesota's Patriot Act" as constituting a terrorist "conspiracy to riot". This scene was quickly followed by those of militarized police clad in robo-cop gear spraying pepper spray and other chemical weapons and using tasers and other brutal methods to make three mass arrests of nearly 800 persons, including over 40 journalists and other members of the media. Tao, who went with us to the first hastily put together press conference to try and expose these outrageous and indiscriminate police state methods, immediately recognized that it was, sadly enough, the police who had turned the tables on themselves by resorting to "terroristic" tactics. The Seeger grandson intuitively went to the mike and employed the power of song to bolster some resistance: Months later, things have slowly started to right themselves in the wake of the RNC police fiasco. While no apologies or admissions have been forthcoming from any city, county, state or federal official, almost all the charges based on the mass arrests have been dropped and the city has only won one trial (fining a guy $50 who was functioning as a medic during the RNC protest and who was trying to help a kid in a wheel chair but even that one fine is apparently being appealed). The terrorist enhancement charges against the "RNC 8" activists were also finally dropped last month, reducing the years they potentially face in prison from 12 to 5 years. They are now merely charged with garden variety "conspiracy to riot" whatever that is. Ironically, however, if it wasn't for their being originally smeared as "terrorists", I don't think their pre-emptive arrests for "conspiracy to riot" could have been justified as this is something too akin to a thought crime. Happily, by the most serendipitous of coincidences, Bruce Springsteen is going to be playing with The E Street Band this Monday, May 11th at the very same Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul which was the site of the 2008 RNC. The concert will undoubtedly provide a wonderful opportunity for us to hand out information to concert goers about the "RNC 8" prosecution expected to go to trial in September. Our group intends to apply the lessons we learned from our travel out to Seeger Land last weekend to muster a little stubborn, defiant, and nasty optimism of our own in demonstrating for the "Right to Dissent" and gathering more signatures on our poster statements in support of the RNC-8. Nothing could better describe our ongoing mission than Springsteen's own song about Tom Joad: "Wherever there's a cop beating a guy, wherever a hungry newborn baby cries, wherever there's a fight against the blood and the hatred in the air, look for me, Mom. I'll be there." So it would be great if we could get Springsteen to sign onto the "Peace Musician-Songwriter" statement that Tao, Larry Long, Pat Humphries, Sandy O. and others have begun. We are just so close to forcing the leftover RNC hate to surrender! (The photo above, taken by Rick Lewis Photography, is of Tao and Larry Long singing "This Land is Your Land" during the RNC.) The Right to Dissent-Peace Musicians As musicians and songwriters who have spoken out and told the truth even when it was unpopular, we stand on the side of peace and against the unjustified wars and other wrongful and even illegal policies that our government has engaged in over these past several years, and we wish to emphasize our unqualified support for Americans' right to dissent. After eight years in which dubious legal theories meant that citizens' rights were not always respected, we call for the restoration of the broadest protection of First Amendment as well as all other constitutional rights. Many of us have witnessed firsthand or understand from our family members' and friends' first hand accounts, the indiscriminate, egregious police state brutality on display during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. We fail to understand how pre-emptive arrests of the eight young organizers of the "RNC Welcoming Committee" that occurred in the Twin Cities even before the RNC began in September 2008 were in accord with this country's Constitutional freedoms of speech and assembly. We are in full agreement with the "RNC 8" that "Dissent is not a crime!" Charges against these eight young activists should be dismissed. Thanks again, Mr. Seeger, for the great lesson.
 
Chris Guillebeau: The Journey to Every Country in the World Top
Sitting on a six-hour train through Eastern Europe several years ago, I counted up the dozens of countries I had been to and realized I was in reach of one hundred. Doing a quick time-and-money estimate in my journal, I calculated that the cost to get to 100 would be about $30,000. My first thought: only $30,000? My friends were buying S.U.V.s with that kind of money. I thought, I can have a large vehicle or I can have the world. Easy choice. I had been living in West Africa, volunteering as an aid worker while moonlighting on the internet at night, before moving to Seattle in 2006 for graduate school. During every school break, I traveled -- to Uganda, Kosovo, Jordan, Brunei, and beyond. While on one of those trips, I was daydreaming on a ferry from Hong Kong to Macau when the thought hit me: instead of just 100, why not try to visit every country in the world? I decided to go for it. Every good goal has a deadline, so I set mine for my 35th birthday, currently four years from now. By then I plan to have visited every country in the world, all from my new home base in SE Portland. My mode of operation is "keep it simple." I don't check bags, regularly hop between continents, and sometimes wake up not remembering which country I'm in. I earn my living as an independent writer, so I can do my work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. I travel for two weeks at a time, and come home for a few more weeks before hitting the road again. My itinerary is half-planned and half-improvised; I usually know where I'm staying at the first and last stops of each trip. In between, I wander. I enjoy both the journey and the destination. This year I should hit up at least 20 countries, from Andorra to Yemen. (I've already been to Zimbabwe.) Last month I was in Southern Africa, the month before in Southeast Asia, and in the summer I should complete my visits to most of South America. Along the way, I make videos on location, meet up with readers, and write about the way I encounter the world. I don't claim to know it all -- I'm a generalist, not an expert on each place I go -- but I keep an open mind and a full journal along the way. I've got four more years to accomplish my goal, and I'd love for you to join me for the journey. You can share your comments, suggestions, or questions -- all feedback is welcome. See you next from somewhere in the world... you never know where I'll turn up. More on Travel
 
Paul Blumenthal: Should lobbyists be required to disclose anything? Top
That seems to be a question raised from The Next Right 's Soren Dayton. Dayton is taking the position that lobbyists and factions seeking to influence government do not have influence and therefore we should not require them to disclose their activities. This position is very much outside of the mainstream of thought on lobbyists and their influence in Washington. Currently, there are over 30,000 registered lobbyists in Washington with the sole job of influencing outcomes in the federal government. This could include, as Dayton says, educating officials and running pressure campaigns, and truly, there is not an inherent wrong with what almost all lobbyists are doing. However, even if the vast majority of lobbyists are doing no wrong, the revelation of their activities is still essential to a vibrant representative democracy. Over the years, the classic and legal case for regulation of lobbying has been built, starting with Madison's treatise against faction in Federalist No. 10 . As we know well, the American form of government was created to temper the power of faction without limiting the liberty needed for a free society, despite liberty being to faction "what air is to fire". While there should be no attempt made to prevent factions from interacting with the government (the right of petition), there certainly can be regulation of factions and interests who seek action from Congress or the executive branch. Modern lobbying disclosure laws take their root in the changes in American society following the Civil War. In 1876, the first lobbying regulation was enacted, albeit briefly, in response to concerns about the growth of the influence industry, which was growing alongside the growth of the federal government. Many of the pushes to enact lobbying regulation have followed on the heels of outrages and scandals. The 1876 regulation rule was adopted following the long reveal of the Credit Mobilier scandal, where lawmakers also worked as lobbyists handing out railroad stock to congressional leaders. Later outrages included a lobbying campaign against the Underwood-Simmons tariff bill that eventually revealed that the National Association of Manufacturers had an office inside the Capitol and provided all sorts of support for supportive lawmakers, a phony grassroots lobbying attempt by opponents of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, the lobbying attempts to quash certain provisions in the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, the Koreagate scandal in the 1970s, the Wedtech scandal in the late 1980s, and many, well documented cases during the 1990s and 2000s. All of these episodes (with an assist from Mark Twain) helped to inform public opinion that lobbyists were an execrable blight on representative democracy. This is despite the fact that lobbyists are not only protected by the First Amendment, but a vital part of democracy. It is in these two contradictory notions -- that lobbyists are scum and that lobbyists are vital for democracy -- that lobbying regulation must exist. Debate over previous lobbying regulation bills (the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, and the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007) acknowledged that the disclosure by lobbyists is not only due to the potential for corrupting activity, but because they serve an important role and their existence needs to be revealed, not only to the public, but for lawmakers and officials to better understand with whom they are meeting. In fact, the general thrust of the debate during consideration of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 surrounded the need for lawmakers to be informed of who they are meeting and discussing policy. While this has served the legislative need to know the bias of a caller, it has not served the public interest nor has it helped the factions and interests that hire lobbyists to better police each other. The positions that the Sunlight Foundation supports, and that Dayton finds to be mockable , are that lobbyists should disclose, in real time, their contacts with officials, including what was discussed, and that the threshold for lobbyist registration should be lowered to include the many influencers who operate behind the scenes (see: Daschle, Tom). These positions would provide an important view into a part of governance process that has so far been kept in the shadows. The reason why the disclosure of contacts is important is not because we are worried that lobbyists are engaging in a quid-pro-quo but because of associational bias. In her legal essay, St. John's University law professor Anita Krishnakumar explains that, "...[T]he public perceives that lobbyists receive special face time with elected officials. Irrespective of where that face time occurs -- in scheduled meetings, on a train ride, over a game of power, or on the golf course -- it creates opportunities for lobbyists to persuade elected officials of their clients' positions, opportunities that ordinary citizens do not have. In other words, the public's concern is not just that elected officials will engage in blatant vote-selling to lobbyists, but, more subtly, that they will be partial to the causes of lobbyists' clients because they spend a lot of time in lobbyists' company." In many cases, lobbying contact disclosure may show lobbyists working to create bills before they are even dropped in the hopper. While Dayton denies that lobbyists write bills, there is enough proof out there that hired lobbyists have worked hard at crafting many important bills . Another revelation would be the frenzied lobbying for earmarks, which are often largely driven by paid lobbyists. (While Dayton supports a ban on earmarks, he does not recognize that their origin, and the reason why they are so reviled, is because they are often the creation of lobbyists.) The disclosure of lobbying contacts provides not only the public with a better view of which interests and factions are trying to influence outcomes, but it also provides a chance for those same interests and factions to view the actions of their opposition. If union officials are putting a full court press over the Employee Free Choice Act, business groups will be able to see which lawmakers they are targeting and can prepare a better response. Groups can help educate the public on which lawmakers are more supportive of their causes, or if they are in opposition. And some lawmakers, exposed by the sunlight, may find it in their interest to meet with more groups to not only provide a more bipartisan public record, but to also gain insight from a more diverse group of interests. A legitimate issue that Dayton raises is that government officials are the ones that we should be pointing a finger at. They are the ones who ultimately make the final decision on legislation or regulation and, therefore, they should face accountability, not lobbyists. In the Obama administration stimulus lobbying rules, we see a bit of this position. Lobbyists are not required to disclose who they meet with or what they are discussing, instead it is the agency official who must disclose written and oral communications with registered lobbyists. This is a reversal of the disclosure burden, away from the lobbyist. While I firmly believe that lobbying contacts should be disclosed, for the better of the public, the interests, and the government officials, there is still a debate over who discloses that information. Should it be the lawmaker or their staff? Or should it be the lobbyist? Or both? As evidenced by the Obama stimulus rules, that is still up for debate. The need for a better system of lobbying disclosure, that increases registration and disclosure, is necessary to provide the public, interests, and lawmakers with the information that actually matters and to provide the professional legitimacy that the lobbying industry needs. More on Barack Obama
 
Casey Gane-McCalla: If Swine Flu Makes Us Use Masks, Why Can't AIDS Make Us Use Condoms? Top
Amount of people in the U.S. diagnosed with swine flu: 253 Amount of people in the U.S. diagnosed with AIDS: 468,578 Amount of people who have died from swine flu this year in the U.S.: 1 Amount of people who have died from AIDS this year in the U.S.: 5,000 (est.) Amount of people worldwide who have swine flu: 4,600 Amount of people who have HIV/AIDS worldwide: 33 Million (est.) Amount of people worldwide who have died from swine flu: 101 Amount of people worldwide who have died from AIDS this year: 1 million If swine flu is a "pandemic," then what the hell is AIDS? Despite all chatter to the contrary, AIDS remains the true, legitimate pandemic. In some parts of the U.S., the rate of AIDS in Black women is as high as it is in sub-Saharan Africa. If the people who run the nation's media really truly know the difference between an important story and a sensational story, they would still be paying as much attention to AIDS as they do the swine flu. AIDS education and prevention must be a priority for this country. If swine flu can make people wear masks and wash their hands 10 times a day, shouldn't AIDS make people wear condoms? Maybe if the U.S. bordered Africa instead of Mexico we would care pay more attention to the real pandemic that is going on there. Health problems are global problems. We cannot ignore a pandemic because it affects a lot of people who don't look like us. SARS, avian flu and now swine flu. The media seem to go to great lengths to expose possible threats to our health rather than exposing the continuing and exponentially more deadly threat of AIDS. Is AIDS out of fashion now? While we must be on the guard for new viruses and diseases, we can't forget about the ones that are still killing us. Swine flu is covered by every newspaper, every news show and blog. When was the last time AIDS made the front page of a newspaper or the 6 o'clock news? Are diseases like movies? They come out, everyone gets excited, and then forgets about them a month later? Diseases are not entertainment. They are real problems that pose a threat to people across the world. As compelling and scary as a new disease is, we need to put things in perspective. If AIDS could get some of the media attention and government resources that swine flu has been getting, we might be able to stop some of the thousands of AIDS deaths in our community. Simple things like education, condom distribution and testing could drastically reduce the amount of people with HIV/AIDS. Reverend Calvin Butts recently spoke about AIDS in the Black community, saying, "This is more dangerous than the swine flu, and I hope that the country will recognize that if we can solve this, then we can move forward in addressing other health disparities." H.R. 1964, sponsored by Harlem congressman Charlie Rangel, called on President Obama to declare HIV/AIDS an epidemic in the Black community. Surely if we can spend time distributing gloves and masks for the swine flu, we can distribute condoms and brochures on AIDS at the same rate. Swine flu may get worse, or it may go away. But AIDS is as virulent as ever, and we must make sure it kills as few people as possible. Show support to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, which strongly affects the African-American community. Learn more here . More on Swine Flu
 
Michael Steele: "Empathize Right On Your Behind!" Top
While guest hosting Bill Bennett's radio show Friday, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele gave his own perspective on whether a Supreme Court Justice should have "empathy." President Obama said on the campaign trail that it was a quality he would look for in a nominee. Via ThinkProgress : "Good morning y'all, we're back in the house. We're talking a little bit of Constitution and a little bit Supreme Court. And a whole lot of saving America's judicial system and saving our rights as citizens and not having empathetic judges decide cases, but rather judges who are actually understanding the rule of law and what the Constitution and those laws are all about. And how to apply the facts to the law and the law to the facts. And adjudicate my case. I don't need some judge sitting up there feeling bad for my opponent because of their life circumstances or their condition. And short changing me and my opportunity to get fair treatment under the law. Crazy nonsense empathetic. I'll give you empathy. Empathize right on your behind. Craziness." Listen : Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) recently suggested "empathy" was code for judicial activism . Obama's full quote on the issue: You know, Justice Roberts said he saw himself just as an umpire. But the issues that come before the court are not sport. They're life and death. And we need somebody who's got the heart to recogni-- the empathy to recognize what it's like to be a young, teenaged mom; the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges. According to spokesman Robert Gibbs , "the president is looking for somebody with a record of excellence, with a record of integrity, somebody who understand the rule of law, and somebody who understands how being a judge affects everyday lives." According to ABC News , Obama has formalized his short list. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! More on Michael Steele
 
Madoff Trustee Starts 'Hardship Program' for Victims Top
The trustee charged with recovering assets for investors defrauded by Bernard L. Madoff has started a "hardship program" for individual victims to accelerate payments from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. More on Bernard Madoff
 
Parvez Ahmed: Muslims Disproportionate Victims of Flawed Terrorist Watch List Top
The Justice Department has now found that the FBI's terrorist watch list is flawed . Not only does the list consist of a mind-boggling 1.1 million names of 400,000 people, the Justice Department has also found that the FBI was " sometimes dangerously slow to add suspects to the nation's terrorist watch list, and even slower to remove those cleared of suspicion ." As many as 24,000 people have been incorrectly kept on that list. I have firsthand experience with the inefficacy of this list. Every time I travel overseas, I am subjected to extensive searches and wasteful questioning. This is a waste of scarce government resources. Let me illustrate a typical encounter at the border. About a year and a half ago, my wife and I (both U.S. citizens) were returning home after my Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca . Upon landing at New York's JFK airport, we were met by two DHS officers who stood at the end of the jet way scanning the passport of every passenger who stepped off that airplane. Along with several other returning pilgrims, we were escorted into a special room where I found over two dozen other people awaiting questioning. When my turn came, the officer asked me to explain why I was being stopped for additional questioning. I answered that since I did not stop myself to be questioned, how am I supposed to know why was I singled out? I added that one reason for my special treatment is perhaps the fact that I am a Muslim. Such profiling is supposed to be illegal and the officer dutifully pointed that out. However, overwhelming numbers of people waiting additional questioning were visibly Muslims, most of them American citizens returning from Hajj. Not only is the fact that I will be stopped entirely predictable (it happened again this Sunday as I was returning from a trip to Egypt) but the questions are exactly the same every time. The officers will ask me questions like where I work, why I traveled abroad, and who I met while abroad. Then they look through my baggage much like a Customs officer will be looking for items like food or seeds (that are illegal to bring in) but unlike a typical Customs stop the DHS/CBP officers seem curious about the books and magazines they find in my hand carry bags. That appears to me an intrusion into my first amendment rights. An April 2009 report titled, Unreasonable Intrusions: Investigating the Politics, Faith & Finances of Americans Returning Home shows, "that U.S. Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") Customs & Border Protection ("CBP") agents have systematically questioned individuals about their political beliefs, religious practices, and charities they support. Questions include "What is your religion?," "What mosque do you attend?," "What do you think of the war in Iraq?," and "What charities do you contribute to?" Agents have also sought to review and copy business cards, credit cards, and data on laptops, digital cameras and cell phones. These interrogations and searches -- which appear to be targeting Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim -- are taking place without evidence that the travelers have engaged in wrongdoing." Eight years into the so called war on terror, profiling of Muslims remains quite in vogue. Prejudices against Muslims remain real and progressively worsening. A recent ABC News/Post Poll finds that "Americans by 48-41 percent hold an unfavorable opinion of Islam -- its highest unfavorable rating in ABC/Post polls since 2001. And 29 percent express the belief that mainstream Islam encourages violence against non-Muslims -- down slightly from its peak, but double what it was early in 2002." Once again a vulnerable minority in America is being treated with unwarranted suspicion. Such suspicion only provides illusions of security because they yield no suspects plotting to harm Americans. Moreover, they alienate an entire community whose cooperation is critical in keeping our homeland safe and upholding our image as a nation respecting due process. It is time for America to reclaim its true legal tradition of judging a person by their actions, not on the basis of their color or practices of their faith or merely on the basis of their names. A Muslim advocacy group, Muslim Advocates has asked the Obama administration to make sure that U.S. citizens are not detained and interrogated, or threatened with detention for failure to answer questions that go beyond establishing their legal status to enter the U.S. or whether they are carrying contraband. Also DHS should share data about travelers they are stopping, searching and questioning to demonstrate to the public that they are not engaging in discriminatory profiling of travelers. The Justice department's report pointing out the deficiencies in the watch list is a good start but more needs to be done. A congressional hearing on this matter can greatly aid in restoring trust and confidence in a border entry process that appears flawed and discriminatory. More on Terrorism
 
Rep. Carolyn Maloney: Let's Honor Mothers Every Day Top
This Sunday, mothers across the country are being recognized for the invaluable contributions they make to their families and communities. I will be spending time with my family and honoring the women who played a special role in my life. Cards and flowers are always thoughtful gestures, but Congress and the Obama administration can do more than that to make life a little easier for working mothers and their families every day. I've spent a 14-year career in Congress championing women's issues and working to ease the challenges they face balancing family responsibilities with their place in the workforce. In that time there has never been as productive a start as the past 100 days. From the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to expanding children's health insurance, to the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act - a bill I wrote which has just made it out of Committee - Washington is back on the side of working women and their families now that we have a president who will sign these bills. President Obama's stimulus, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will temper the effects of the current recession for these families right now and over time. Extended unemployment benefits, nutrition assistance programs and tax cuts will bring immediate relief for these families. The recovery act also invests in job creation in education and healthcare that tend to disproportionately employ women. Challenges facing women to balance work and family are exacerbated in a downturn, which calls for greater workplace flexibility. Simply put, the workplace should be as adaptable as working mothers have become. This is why I am working to pass the Working Families' Flexibility Act - a bill I have sponsored with Sen. Edward Kennedy which would provide job protection for working parents who request flexible work schedules from their employers. Nearly 80 percent of workers say they would like to have more flexible work options and would use them if there were no negative consequences at work, according to the Families and Work Institute. However, close to 40 percent of workers surveyed believe they would be less likely to advance in their career is they asked for flexibility. This weekend, families all across America will be thanking mothers for the sacrifices they make- something we should remember long after the cards are opened and the flowers are put in vases. I urge you to remind lawmakers to remember the commitment mothers make and push us to enact policies that continue our commitment to them.
 
Lloyd Garver: Barbie Gone Wild? Top
I've been so distracted by minor but flashy news stories this year like the NCAA Finals, the nation's finances, and the new Obama administration, I missed the big story of 2009: to help celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday, Mattel came out with "Totally Stylin' Tattoo Barbie." She comes with a set of tattoos that kids can place on that iconic body. The doll also comes with a tattoo gun so children can stamp these washable stickers on themselves. Barbie with tattoos? I know what you're thinking: what's next? "Hooker Barbie?" "Pothead Barbie?" "Premarital Sex Barbie?" Many parents had exactly this reaction when the doll came out a few months ago. They felt this would encourage kids to think prematurely about getting real tattoos for their real bodies. They thought that Barbie with tats was too slutty for their children. They were outraged that a "role model" like Barbie had sunk so low. Meanwhile, it became a big seller. This wasn't the first time that some adults have objected to Barbie. Some have felt that her unrealistic figure has made young girls yearn for an unrealistic figure of their own. Some parents believe that tattoos for Barbie continues this obsession with one's body rather than other more important characteristics of a woman. If you go to the archives of some universities, I'm sure you'll find more than one Ph.D. thesis called something like, "Barbie and Body Image: The Downfall of American Womanhood." I admit I was somewhat shocked when I heard about Barbie and body art. My first reaction was, "Now parents of seven-year-olds are going to have to deal with them wanting tattoos." But then I did something uncharacteristic for me: I started thinking. Maybe anti-Barbie papers aren't the only theses in those dusty university archives. Maybe there are some with titles like, "Relax, Folks. Barbie Isn't a Role Model. It's Just a Toy." Or if there aren't any, there should be. When you were a kid, weren't you able to tell the difference between a toy and something real? When you played "war" with a friend, didn't you know you were just playing? And did your putting on temporary tattoos make you get real ones? Besides, isn't it a bit ironic that the anti-Barbie-ites who feel that the doll puts too much emphasis on appearance are concerned with the appearance of tattoos? So it's possible that the actual reason that Tattoo Barbie has some parents' (old-fashioned) underwear in a bunch is because this kind of thing wasn't around when they were kids. Maybe it's like adults in the '50's who were shocked by Elvis and convinced he would destroy our civilization. Or maybe they're like parents like me who, in the '90's, thought video and computer games would ruin children forever. (I'm still not sure I was wrong about that one). Tattoos don't have the same connotations today that they had when I was a kid. Back then, it seemed like only sailors, truck drivers, and other "tough guys" had tattoos. Certainly, we never saw a woman with one. Today, your doctor or your kid's teacher is more likely to wear a tattoo than a hat. I confess that I'm still getting used to looking at tattoos without making any kind of knee-jerk judgment about the wearer. Whenever I go on vacation where there's a swimming pool, I'm still a little surprised by the fact that the nice couple we sat next to at dinner the night before has more tattoos than a basketball team. And guess what? Barbie's the same age as that couple. She's fifty now. She might not look like it, but many 50-year-old women don't look their age these days. So maybe it's fitting that 50-year-old Barbie has broken out the tattoos. I also realized that mothers who have real tattoos might be embracing Tattoo Barbie. Maybe the doll helps their children understand that their mother is someone who just found a way to express herself rather than someone who hangs out with a gang during their naptime. As a fuddy-duddy, it's not easy for me to accept change, but I do -- eventually. I accept texting, cars that talk, and milk in cartons. So I can certainly accept Barbie wearing tattoos. But I do think you have to draw the line. Where? I'll tell you where, and this is a warning to the people at Mattel: Don't even think about making a Ken doll with pierced nipples. L loyd 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. Check out his website at lloydgarver.com and he can be reached at lloydgarver@gmail.com< /em>and you can hear his podcasts at iTunes,
 
Short Sales: Banks Blocking Way Out Of Foreclosure Crisis Top
Brett Ellis, a real estate agent in Fort Myers, Fla., was thrilled when he got an offer for a property in Bell Tower Park in May 2008. "It was a gorgeous property on the corner lot," Ellis told the Huffington Post. The owner, who had lost his job, wanted to sell the apartment for a loss rather than go into foreclosure, a strategy known as a short sale. The offer was for $350,000, and Ellis, who is a certified distressed property expert trained in executing such sales, knew it was as good an offer as he was going to get in this market. He immediately sent the paperwork into the bank. He waited for four months. The bank finally told him it wouldn't take anything less than $400,000 -- a price Ellis was sure he could never get. In September, the buyer's agent called to say, "You know what, we gotta move on, we gotta buy something else." Now the property is sitting vacant as it slides into foreclosure. Its former owner's credit is destroyed, and the house is losing value every day. "God knows what the condition is today," Ellis said, adding he'd be surprised if the property is worth more than $290,000 when it resurfaces on the market. Add in the legal expenses involved in a foreclosure, and the bank cost itself a hundred thousand dollars more that it otherwise would have. It's a scenario that plays out constantly, everywhere in the United States. In a time of collapsing real estate values, where one in five homes are now under water, a short sale is increasingly the only option before foreclosure. It is less damaging to credit scores and spares the homeowner the shame of foreclosure. It is also a better option for banks: According to one analysis, short sales resulted in loan losses of only 19 percent, compared with an average loss of 40 percent on homes sold after foreclosure. So why aren't these sales more widely used? The broad answer is that the American financial system simply can't handle a collapse of this magnitude. The fates of the banking and real estate industries are intertwined. But they don't work together -- and the result is that they end up working against each other. The more precise answer is related to securitization, the method by which banks bundle together different mortgages and slice them up and selling the pieces to various investors. Securitization makes negotiating a real estate sale that results in a loss nearly impossible. "The most significant aspect is that so many of the banks' mortgages have been securitized, put together and bundled, sold off to Iceland or China or some godforsaken place," said Dave Liniger, founder and chairman of global real estate company Re/Max, in an interview with the Huffington Post. "The bank has to go through all of the various people who are stakeholders and it becomes a very lengthy process, and the bank is turning off the realtors by not even getting answers back to them, sometimes for months." Banks have little incentive to untie those bundles. Since mortgages are listed on the banks' balance sheets at the value of the original loan, if they complete a short sale they must record a loss on their balance sheets. That would explain why banks drag the process out as long as possible. In Ellis' case, the property is sits vacant a year after the first offer, allowing the bank to list the original value on its balance sheet all along. According to research firm Campbell Communications, only 23 percent of short sale transactions are actually completed. "Three out of four potential short sale transactions fail, principally because the mortgage servicer takes too long to respond to the offer," said Tom Popik, author of the survey. "When these same properties are later sold it further depresses real estate prices." Congress has had as much success untangling this mess as real estate agents. "We've been trying to figure out probably for close to two years now why so few mortgages are being modified when it seems to make absolute business sense for the person holding the mortgage to modify rather than foreclose or to take a smaller loss selling it rather than a bigger loss foreclosing on it," said Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.). Miller points his finger at securitization. Once the mortgages are bundled and sliced up into different pieces, known as tranches, the owners of the pieces get paid back according to a certain pecking order. Senior investors get paid back first and if there's a loss, the most junior investors won't get anything. It's those investors who are blocking short sales. "The people with the least senior tranches have no reason to agree to the modification because they take a complete loss and the people in the most senior tranches don't lose anything. So they've managed to structure their mortgages in a way that makes it almost impossible to modify or sell short," said Miller. Miller sponsored legislation to reform the bankruptcy code to allow judges to rewrite those contracts, taking away the ability of junior investors to sue and encouraging them to negotiate. But the House-approved measure died in the Senate, 51-45, killed last week by Republicans and 12 Democrats, leaving it 15 votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. Dave Liniger of Re/Max said the provision would have changed the bargaining landscape. Lenders would have had much more of an incentive to take a loss on a short sale rather than see a judge unilaterally change the terms of a mortgage. "It was a negotiating ploy more than anything," Liniger said. "It's disappointing," said Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) of the banks' tendency to foreclose rather than agree to a sale. "I've heard that and I've been trying to press the banks not to do that." Without bankruptcy reform, the only power the government has is persuasion. "In the absence of bankruptcy [legislation], you're talking about contracts that we cannot abrogate," he told the Huffington Post. "That's why bankruptcy was so important." Is there any chance Congress will return to it? "Excuse me, what planet were you on last week? The vote was 45 to 51. Why would you ask that? Do I think there's a likelihood we could overturn 45-51? No," said Frank. "I wish it weren't the case," he added. "Maybe there's some kind of compromise." Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) isn't confident. "The purpose of the debate last week was to try to create some impetus for the banks to start renegotiating these mortgages in a positive way and the industry fought it," Durbin, who last week concluded banks "frankly own the place," told the Huffington Post. "I think many of the banks have not operated in good faith when it comes to this mortgage foreclosure issue." Homeowners are the big losers of the banks' battle against the bill. But real estate agents are now losing real money as commissions fall through, making them a potential lobbying counterweight to the banks. The National Association of Realtors wants the rules changed: "We are advocating measures that would help streamline the process when using FHA, Fannie or Freddie," said NAR spokeswoman Mary Trupo in a statement to the Huffington Post. "We are hoping that new process and regulations are put in place." Fannie Mae just wrapped up a pilot program to test a process for streamlining short sales by partnering with local listing providers in Arizona and Florida to pre-approve 400 properties for short sales. The government-backed mortgage firm is still evaluating feedback from brokers, but overall the program was a success, and a new short sale initiative is in the works for this year. "Short sales are one of the tools to avoid foreclosure if all other workout options are exhausted. It's always in the best interest of the homeowner, the community, and the investor to avoid foreclosure," said Fannie Mae spokeswoman Amy Bonitatibus in a statement to the Huffington Post. Liniger says Re/Max recently trained 5,000 employees in short sales. Lita Smith-Mines, a lawyer who specializes in real estate on Long Island, told the Huffington Post she and her colleagues often see short sales turn into foreclosures because the bank won't play along--even when losses are as small as $25,000 and the offer is as high as it will get. And much higher, in this market, than the bank will get from a foreclosure auction. The legal costs of foreclosure alone typically run to $50,000. "There's no common sense when it comes to lenders. They have their paperwork and if you don't slot perfectly in, they just say no," she said. "A lot was taken on the front end [during the housing boom], but they're not giving anything back on the back end," she said. Smith-Mines, though, said she isn't surprised. "If they actually cared about borrowers, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place." Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
John Ridley: Quick, Which Ethnic Group Is More Patriotic Than the Average? Top
Every Black History Month there's always one contrarian (at least one) who pipes up with some snidism such as: "Why do blacks get a month? Why don't we just give everybody a month?" If by "everybody" the cynics mean people of ethnicities whose heritage is not otherwise sufficiently taught in schools, then, yes. We should give "everybody" a month, and "everybody" pretty much has one. May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, devoted to commemorating individuals of Asian and Pacific Island heritage who've contributed greatly to our nation. May was designated as it's the anniversary of both the first Japanese immigrants arriving in the United States -- May 7th, 1843 -- and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10th, 1869 which was built with the considerable labor of a large contingent of Chinese coolies. And contrarians aside, no matter that it's 2009 and there's a biracial man as president, there's still much we can all learn about others during such designated months. Particularly this month as most other Americans don't distinguish Asian Americans , and look at them as a monolithic group. And as much as 45 percent of the general population says they believe Asian-Americans have more loyalty to their countries of ancestry than to the United States. That number has actually increased from 37 percent in a similar 2001 survey. For the record, about 75 percent of Chinese-Americans surveyed (for example) said they would support the United States in military or economic conflicts. That compares to only about 56 percent of the general population who said they would. Of course, as you take time to learn about Asian-American history, such patriotism isn't surprising. Just read up on Executive Order 9066 , the Nisei Brigade and their rescue of the Lost Battalion to be reminded again that so often in our nation's history it's the very folks who are denied the blessing of liberty who fight and bleed for it the hardest. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month doesn't get nearly the play that Black History Month does. But then neither do Women's History Month (March), Hispanic Heritage Month (Sep 15th to Oct 15th), or American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (November). But next time a contrarian wants to know if we have to give everybody a month, you can hand them a calendar and get them educated. For more perspective please visit That Minority Thing.com .
 
Conservatives Launch Ad Blitz Against Public Healthcare Top
As the first legislative action on reforming the nation's health care system draws near, interest groups on various sides of the issue are stepping up their media and lobbying efforts with all sides knowing how much is at stake. A group favoring a market-based approach and emphasizing patient choice, Conservatives for Patient Rights, came out Friday with two new ads featuring British and Canadian citizens who have suffered problems, such as a British woman who could not get a pap smear and her later diagnosis with cervical cancer came too late for treatment and a Canadian man who had to travel to the U.S. to get his heart condition treated. "Listen to those who already have government run health care," states the ad. "Tell Congress to listen to."
 
Michael Wolff: Murdoch Will Change the Web -- If He Can Find It Top
Trying to distract from some disastrous quarterly results, Rupert Murdoch made headlines the other day by announcing that News Corp. would shortly begin to charge for access to its websites and that "the current days of the Internet will soon be over." This comes on the heels of Murdoch firing the founders and reorganizing MySpace and bringing in Jonathan Miller, the former head of AOL, to run News Corp.'s digital businesses. Rupert, in other words, is mad as hell about the Internet and is going to do something about it. I've pointed out before that Murdoch doesn't know where the Internet is--doesn't get email, doesn't use a computer, can't get his cell phone to work. He may, literally, never have opened a web page. News Corp. itself, other than its fluke purchase of MySpace--whose value rose and then, as Facebook surged ahead, crashed--is even more culturally uninterested in digital media than other digitally averse traditional media companies. So when Murdoch has to say something on the issue--when that's what the company thinks Wall Street wants to hear--there's a chicken-without-head scramble in the company to find someone whose been on the Internet to brief him. Continue reading on newser.com More on Wall Street Journal
 
Barbara B. Kennelly: Finding the Right Health Care Reform Equation Top
If health care reform equals entitlement reform and Medicare equals health care then it's clear we can't truly improve our health care system by failing to factor in many of the changes needed to our nation's largest health care provider, Medicare. Everyone involved in this national health care reform debate knows there are many elements to consider in this equation. Thankfully, some key members of Congress and the Obama administration have done the math. They understand that there are savings to be gained from the Medicare program that can help pay for system-wide reform efforts. But what remains to be seen is, how much of those savings will go back into Medicare? Meaningful reform must include making Medicare stronger and healthier. Our health care system is in critical shape and in need of immediate treatment. Medicare beneficiaries are not immune from the crippling costs of health care. In fact, projections by Medicare's actuaries estimate over one-half of the average senior's Social Security benefit check would be consumed by Medicare out-of-pocket costs by 2025. And the solution to the problem, both on the government side and for the private sector, is effective health care reform that ensures we are getting the most value for our health care dollars. This is the goal of some proposals to provide universal coverage for all Americans and to improve the delivery of health care through payment reforms and investments in comparative effectiveness research and health information technology that enhance the quality of care being provided. Innovating and reinvesting in Medicare must be a part of these reform remedies. It is inevitable that policymakers will look to the Medicare model as they craft reform legislation. As this nation's largest purchaser of health services, Medicare influences costs in the private sector. In addition, many of Medicare's coverage decisions are adopted by private health insurers and incorporated into their own health care plans for those under age 65. The challenge will be for legislators to use Medicare as a guide for enacting broad changes in the way health care is provided, and not to arbitrarily cut the federal government's commitment to America's seniors. Some of the potential savings in Medicare, appropriately gained by reducing wasteful industry subsidies in Medicare Advantage, must be reinvested back into the program to improve care for America's seniors. Some of those Medicare improvements include: • lower drug prices through government negotiation • close the prescription drug doughnut hole • limit seniors' out-of-pocket costs We have a historic opportunity to improve our health delivery system, touching the lives of virtually every American from the very young to the very old. Improvements to Medicare should be a part of the solution. Anything less just doesn't add up.
 
Alan Keyes Arrested At Notre Dame Protesting Obama's Speech Top
Former Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes and 20 other protesters were arrested this morning when they refused to leave the Notre Dame campus during a protest of President Obama's upcoming commencement address there, a university spokesman said. More on Barack Obama
 
Frances Beinecke: Growing Green: Honoring Leaders Who Are Changing the Way We Farm and Eat Top
Tomorrow night NRDC will do something it has never done before: give out the inaugural Growing Green Awards to leaders in the sustainable food movement. Selected by a panel chaired by Michael Pollan, the best-selling author of the Omnivore's Dilemma, the winners will be celebrated at NRDC's San Francisco benefit. Why is an organization better known for its policy papers than its culinary expertise wading into foodie territory? For two critical and timely reasons. First, food production takes an enormous toll on the environment--from spilling pesticides into our drinking water to releasing fossil fuels into the atmosphere. NRDC's Growing Green Awards recognize that sustainable food is potent way to solve multiple ecological challenges at once. And second, we want to honor the people who have fed America's growing interest in better farming and eating. From the White House garden to the school cafeteria, more and more people want healthier options for their families. I myself have recently embraced new habits. Two of my daughters are serious sustainable agriculture enthusiasts, and last year, they inspired me to plant a garden in our yard in the Bronx. Now, in addition to the deliveries from our community sustainable agriculture program, we have homegrown kale, chard, lettuce, carrots, and, unlike President Obama, beets. We also eliminated beef from the family diet. Between the environmental devastation from factory farms and the large carbon footprint that comes from the beef industry, my family decided this was the right commitment for us to make. Just five years ago, these choices would have seemed unusual outside of a few progressive centers. But today, they are becoming mainstream. Farmers markets, organic food sections in supermarkets, and locally sourced menus are commonplace now. (Click here to see which local foods are available in your area right now.) The Growing Green Awards celebrate the people who helped unleash this transformation. These are the people who roll up their sleeves and give us the models for how farming and food preparation can best nurture us and the planet. Here are the winners of this year's Growing Green Awards : • Will Allen, has won the Growing Green Award for food producers. As the founder of the Growing Power National Training and Community Food Center , Allen has pioneered a closed-loop system in which water from fish tanks is used to fertilize organic vegetables--all in the heart of urban Milwaukee. (Read this feature on Allen's award in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.) • Fedele Bauccio has won the Growing Green award for business leaders. Bauccio, the founder and CEO of Bon Appetit Management Company , has been a pioneer in the food industry, and offered an excellent example that even large food industry companies can embrace sustainable practices. • James Harvie has won the Growing Green award for thought leaders. Harvie, a founding member of Health Care Without Harm , works to remind the health care industry what should be obvious but isn't: health care institutions should promote food that keeps our bodies and our environment healthy.
 
Birds In India Suffering From Heat, Deforestation (PHOTO) Top
A recuperating Kite is fed multi-vitamins at the Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital in Mumbai. According to the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA), this year there has been a 25 to 30 percent rise in the incidence of birds suffering from heat-related exhaustion as temperatures across several Indian cities soared in excess of 40 degrees celcius (104 degrees farhenheit). BSPCA officials say birds are forced to fly longer distances before resting due to dwindling tree cover in urban areas, as increased tree felling makes way for Mumbai's rapidly developing infrastructure. (SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images) More on India
 
Obama's Muslim Speech To Happen In Egypt Next Month Top
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to deliver a speech in Egypt on U.S. relations with the Muslim world when he sets out on an overseas trip next month. The White House says Obama also will visit Germany and France. In Dresden, Germany, he will visit the Buchenwald concentration camp. In France, he will help commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. Obama had promised to make an Arab country the setting for a major speech on U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Asked why Egypt, press secretary Robert Gibbs said the country in many ways represents the "heart of the Arab world." More on Barack Obama
 
James K. Boyce and Manuel Pastor: First in Profits, Second in What? Top
ExxonMobil just had another banner year. Despite the global economic slowdown, the oil company now tops the Fortune 500 in both profits and sales, with the latter helping it topple Wal-Mart in the business magazine's annual rankings of top U.S. companies. It's also ninth in a less salubrious list -- the "Toxic 100," a ranking of the firms whose toxic air pollution contributes the most to human health risk. But lest this suggest slippage in the oil giant's stature, rest assured: ExxonMobil is second in the country in its disproportionate health effects on minorities and third in its disproportionate effects on the poor. What is the Toxic 100? Maintained by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the Toxic 100 uses a database created by the U.S. EPA called the Risk Screening Environmental Indicators. These data take the toxic releases reported to the government by every industrial facility in the country and churn them through an air model to see where they fall and whom they affect. More toxics, more health risk; more people in the local air shed, more human harm. What the Toxic 100 project does is take the polluting plants and trace their corporate ownership. Drawing on a list of the full Fortune 500, the Fortune Global 500, the S&P 500, and the Forbes Global 2000, the 100 firms operating in the U.S. with the largest negative health impacts are ranked. In a just-released report entitled, Justice in the Air, we have plotted the impacts of the toxic air pollution from all of America's industries and from these top 100 polluting companies onto our states, cities, and neighborhoods. In a first-ever effort, we have paid special attention to the fact that that such pollution is not an equal opportunity affair: minorities and the poor generally live on the "wrong side of the environmental tracks." It's a sort of whodunit -- and who gets it -- analysis. Tennessee, for example, has the highest disparities in exposure: the minority share of the health risk is 43 percent while the minority share of that state's population is 21 percent. California, proud as it should be of its commitment to the environment, is among the cleanest of the states in terms of overall toxics -- but it's among the worst of the states in terms of having a disproportionate share of the resulting health risk borne by the poor and people of color. Petroleum refining, fabricated metals, and electrical services all compete to have the most disproportionate impacts -- and it is the companies associated with these sectors, including refiners like ExxonMobil, Hess, and Valero, and defense contractors like General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, that land among the top ten for whom minorities and the poor bear the highest health risk. For Exxon, for example, minorities, who comprise just over 30 percent of the U.S. population, are nearly 70 percent of those affected by the health risk from the company's air toxic releases. While one reaction is simply to point fingers, we think that is too simple. Production has its consequences and responsibility for improvement is widespread. Moreover, many companies are seeking to improve their environmental and social performance and many consumers want to know they're doing the right thing when they buy their products. We therefore think the data call for four new approaches. First, we need to improve the flow of information -- and we are pleased that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is taking steps to restore standards for company-based toxic reports that were weakened under the previous administration. Second, we need to mix modeling and monitoring. These results come from (informed) guesses about where the pollution goes; if the model says a particular place is inundated, we should improve real-time measurement of emissions and health impacts. Third, we need to consider cumulative impacts. Neighborhoods aren't affected by just one source or one company. Health-sensitive approaches need to take into account the additive and interactive effects. Fourth, we need to encourage shareholder activism. Our measure of pollution equity is one benchmark among many that the owners of companies can use to gauge their impacts and their performance. Former vice President Al Gore helped persuade a reluctant nation to face "an inconvenient truth" -- the reality of climate change and the threats it poses. An equally inconvenient truth is that America's history of racial inequality has been stamped not only on labor and housing markets, but also on the very air we breathe. But history is not destiny. We can develop smart environmental policies that strengthen those most affected by pollution. We can shoulder our responsibilities as citizens, communities, and corporations. And we can secure a future in which the right to clean air is truly shared by all.
 
Sheldon Filger: Carrie Prejean and Her Breast Obsession Top
Maybe I'm just Miss California dreaming, but it seems to me that Carrie Prejean is afflicted with a terminal case of breast envy. Just as some men may feel inadequate if they perceive a certain part of their anatomy doesn't "measure up," it could be that the actions, thoughts and words of the 21 year old beauty queen and runner up at the Miss USA pageant are merely a disguise for her own sense of not "measuring up" to her beauty queen peers in the natural state God endowed her with. There is a reason why I inserted God into this narrative. The whole premise of Ms. Prejean's political antics has been predicated on the claim that she is a devout, Bible-believing Christian woman and her outspoken posture on the issue of same sex-marriage is an act of pious conscience. Whether or not I agree with Carrie Prejean's decision to place her celebrity persona in the service of the anti-Gay marriage organization known as the National Organization for Marriage, I could respect her decision if it was based on consistency. However, it strikes me that this devout Bible-believing Christian woman missed one verse in the Bible, no doubt unintentionally. Allow me to quote from Chapter 4, Verse 5 of the Song of Solomon: "Thy two breasts are like young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies." If you are a conservative Christian who believes that the entire Bible, chapter and verse, is the inalterable word of God almighty, then it appears clear that God thought female breasts were quite important, or otherwise the Lord of the universe would not have bothered to reveal what is essentially an erotic ode to the bosoms of women. My interpretation of this biblical verse is that God thought breasts as they exist on each woman are beautiful, "like young roses that are twins, which feed among the lilies." And for the record, young roses are somewhat on the small size. So, it is obvious that God adores female breasts (kind of like me, or maybe it is vice versa). But more importantly, God created female breasts, along with everything else in the universe. So the essence of that verse from the Song of Solomon is that God thought his creation of the bosoms of women was perfection. Furthermore, it is a principal of conservative Christians such as Carrie Prejean that everything God created in its natural state is perfect and should never be altered, such as the institution of marriage being solely a union for a man and a woman. So Ms. Prejean, what about hiring a cosmetic surgeon to alter your breasts, and undo God's perfect creation? According to Keith Lewis, the co-Director of the Miss California Pageant, Carrie Prejean approached his organization, and they acceded to her request to arrange the surgical insertion of implants into her breasts, so that she would be more "competitive" as she came to blows with her rival beauty queens. This may be calculating and even cynical, but is hardly a reflection of Christian values, unless I'm missing something Ms. Prejean is more attuned to. Statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery indicate that in an average year, more than 300,000 American women have their breasts surgically enlarged. As someone who has been involved in extensive fine art photography of the female nude, this strikes me as tragic. Medical science confirms what my own eyes have observed; 60% of women in the United States have breasts that fit into bras with an A or B cup. Most breasts at maturity are of modest or small size, and historically most artists have preferred female models with bosoms on the small size as the ideal manifestation of feminine beauty. In my book on the aesthetics of female sensuality, entitled Erotic Book , I explored the reasons why so many women have been seduced into believing that external perceptions of their state of beauty and feminine allure are solely determined by the quantity of fatty tissue contained within their mammary glands. Not only is size the least important aesthetic component of breasts; the consequences of surgical implants have often led to dire results for women. In my opinion, Carrie Prejean did not set a sterling example by succumbing to superficial and vulgar definitions of feminine beauty and going the implant route, in a crass attempt to win a contest based on factors that have nothing to do with her character or innate human qualities. For that reason, her awkward attempt to now transition from the woman with the implants to a virtuous moral crusader lacks all credibility. A veneer of pseudo-Christian hypocrisy will not camouflage Ms. Prejean's vapid breast obsession, no matter how tightly she wraps herself with it.
 
Paul Paz y Miño: Chevron Is Learning Its Lesson Top
I grew up with family tales about the unique beauty of Ecuador. My father's family made their living on tourism in the Andes, the Galapagos, and the Amazon. Sadly, what was to us a mysterious and majestic example of the wonder of creation was merely a dumping ground to Texaco. They chose to discard 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into the pristine rainforest, poisoning its people. Texaco left Ecuador in 1992, not long after I finished college, and in their wake was left the worst oil related disaster on the planet . That damage is still there today. Mere weeks ago I stood in front of a toxic waste pit, decades old and yet only a few feet from the home of a family of campesinos. Told the area was cleaned and safe, they bought the land and built their home there. Families like that one have lost more than Chevron, or anyone else, can ever repay. I found it impossible to witness such a horrific site in contrast to the beauty of the rainforest and not be changed. As much as the smell turns my stomach so does the knowledge that Texaco admitted to dumping it, yet refuses to accept responsibility. Of course, the affected communities are demanding justice from the company that caused the damage. It's actually a very simple case. There's a massive murder weapon, 30,000 victims and a motive -- profit. Some Texaco executive, who most likely never set foot in the Amazon, nor ever met any of the indigenous people whose territory Texaco invaded with helicopters and massive machinery, made the cold calculation that saving $3 per barrel was worth the destruction of this part of the rainforest. It still gives me chills to read the 1972 memo from Texaco describing their policy of hiding spills and destroying records. In fact, every decision that has been made from the very first one to drill has been made to choose profit over people and the environment. Decisions that took only the shortest-term impacts into consideration, yet decisions that would wreak havoc on the world's oldest and largest forest. The toxic waste pits sit there, apparently stagnant, but all the while leaching toxins into the rivers and streams of the Amazon. Meanwhile, Chevron's decisions to try to cover up its liability continue unchanged, knowing all the while that the resulting inaction means the continued poisoning of entire communities . The 60 Minutes story that aired this past Sunday has ripped another layer off of Chevron's attempts to bury and ignore this story, like the truly festering wound that it is. The resulting publicity has wiped out much of Chevron's efforts to deceive the financial markets and the general public. I listened to a recent Chevron shareholder call and one of the very first analyst's questions was about the case, it was prefaced with "I know you are not going to be happy about this next question..." Have you seen the internet traffic since Sunday? Chevron is really unhappy this week. Watching Chevron's strategy in the face of the overwhelming facts and growing awareness is as uncomfortable as watching Chevron spokesperson Sylvia Garrigo compare drinking contaminated water with wearing makeup (a tip for Ms. Garrigo: your cosmetics may very well be harming you, please visit www.safecosmetics.org to learn more). Yet Chevron's executives continue to deny and delay. Time is running out for them and the lies they hide behind (to read Chevron's top ten lies about this case look here ). They are learning the hard way that hiding a potential $27 billion dollar liability is just as impossible as hiding 18 billion gallons of toxic waste. The ease at which Chevron's CEO David O'Reilly (who also happens to be the Chair of the Board) has apparently kept his board in the dark is amazing. Yet, last year that plan came crashing down around him like Bernie Madoff's scheme when O'Reilly was force to disclose to shareholders that it faced a potential liability in the billions in Ecuador. How does the board of directors miss the hypocrisy of Chevron's "Will You Join Us" ad campaign, asking others to join THEM in making sound environmental and energy efficient choices, while their CEO refuses to seek a real solution to this quagmire? I suppose that is to be expected from a company which bought Texaco without even demanding a master list of all its toxic dump sites in Ecuador (as we learned courtesy of 60 Minutes ). In this economic climate, Chevron's board must realize that they can on longer afford to operate with such poor governance. Their wound is bleeding even more deeply into the social consciousness and Chevron is becoming the poster child for lack of corporate accountability. Today, even the Attorney General of the State of New York is asking tough questions of Chevron. As my own son grows up I will share with him the same stories of the sacred and timeless beauty of the Amazon. I am confident he will learn from a young age the lesson with which Chevron still grapples. One can only hide from their mistakes for so long, each day you delay facing up to them brings with it a heavier cost, so don't wait until you find that the whole world is at your doorstep demanding justice.
 
Jeff Norman: Schwarzenegger is Way Ahead of Obama on Marijuana Issue Top
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday "it's time for a debate" about whether or not it should be legal to buy, sell and smoke pot for any reason. The Sacramento Bee reports: "Schwarzenegger was at a fire safety event in Davis when he answered a question about a recent Field Poll showing 56 percent of registered voters support legalizing and taxing marijuana to raise revenue for cash-strapped California." Given that U.S. senators , state legislators , The New York Times , Time magazine , scholars and thousands of law enforcement professionals are now thoughtfully assessing the costs and benefits of drug prohibition, it seems odd that our hip, young, president is afraid to address the issue seriously. Will Obama be the very last person in the country to join the discussion, or just one of the last? S
 
Research suggests children can recover from autism Top
CHICAGO — A small but provocative study suggests that at least 10 percent of children with autism overcome the disorder by age 9 _ most of them after undergoing years of intensive behavioral therapy. Skeptics question the phenomenon, but University of Connecticut psychology professor Deborah Fein is among those convinced it's real. She presented research this week at an autism conference in Chicago on 58 children, including 20 who, according to rigorous analysis, got a correct diagnosis but years later were no longer considered autistic. Among them was Leo Lytel of Washington, D.C., a boy who once made no eye contact, who echoed words said to him and often spun around in circles _ all classic autism symptoms. Now he is an articulate, social third-grader. His mother, Jayne Lytel, says his teachers call Leo a leader. The study, funded by the , involves children ages 9 to 18. National Institute of Mental Health Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of the advocacy group , called Fein's research a breakthrough. Autism Speaks "Even though a number of us out in the clinical field have seen kids who appear to recover," it has never been documented as thoroughly as Fein's work, Dawson said. "We're at a very early stage in terms of understanding" the phenomenon, Dawson said. Previous studies have suggested between 3 percent and 25 percent of autistic kids recover. Fein says her studies have shown the range is 10 percent to 20 percent. But even after lots of therapy, most autistic children remain autistic. Recovery is "not a realistic expectation for the majority of kids," but parents should know it can happen, Fein said. Doubters say "either they really weren't autistic to begin with ... or they're still socially odd and obsessive, but they don't exactly meet criteria" for autism, she said. Fein said the children in her study "really were" autistic and now they're "really not." University of Michigan autism expert Catherine Lord said she also has seen autistic patients who recover. Most had parents who spent long hours working with them on behavior improvement. But, Lord added, "I don't think we can predict who this will happen for." And she does not think it's possible to make it happen. The children in Fein's study, which is still ongoing, were diagnosed by an autism specialist before age 5 but no longer meet diagnostic criteria for autism. The initial diagnoses were verified through early medical records. Because the phenomenon is so rare, Fein is still seeking children to help bolster evidence on what traits formerly autistic kids may have in common. Her team is also comparing these children with autistic and non-autistic kids. So far, the "recovered" kids "are turning out very normal" on neuropsychological exams and verbal and nonverbal tests, she said. The researchers are also doing imaging tests to see if the recovered kids' brains look more like those of autistic or nonautistic children. Autistic children's brains tend to be slightly larger than normal. Imaging scans also are being done to examine brain function in formerly autistic kids. Researchers want to know if their "normal" behavior is a result of "normal" brain activity, or if their brains process information in a non-typical way to compensate for any deficits. Results from those tests are still being analyzed. Most of the formerly autistic kids got long-term behavior treatment soon after diagnosis, in some cases for 30 or 40 hours weekly. Many also have above-average IQs and had been diagnosed with relatively mild cases of autism. At age 2, many were within the normal range for motor development, able to walk, climb and hold a pencil. Significant improvement suggesting recovery was evident by around age 7 in most cases, Fein said. None of the children has shown any sign of relapse. But nearly three-fourths of the formerly autistic kids have had other disorders, including attention-deficit problems, tics and phobias; eight still are affected. Jayne Lytel says Leo sometimes still gets upset easily but is much more flexible than before. ___ On the Net National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov Autism Speaks: http://www.autismspeaks.org More on Autism
 
John DeCock: Not Swine Flu, Not H1N1 Virus -- Introducing Factory Farm Flu 1 Top
In the beginning, there was Swine Flu . As it spread and became more than some remote problem south of the border, the PR machine for Confined Animal Feeding Operations ( CAFO's ) in general and the pork products industry in particular became concerned. Presto, change-o, we have the more generic sounding H1N1 virus. I think we need a more descriptive name for this pathogen. I hereby dub this bug The Factory Farm Flu 1. Of course giving the number one in the series is less than accurate. Many diseases have been transmitted from animals to humans by CAFO's. But we have to start somewhere and I suggest this be the first in a new naming protocol for these episodes. Besides, it has that catchy alliterative flow. Corporate meat factories have reason to be concerned. What they are worried about is the story working its way from the blogs to the mainstream press. They don't wish to see stories about the connection between this outbreak and industrial animal production or stories that go beyond this outbreak and call the question about the huge threat to human health that results from this unsustainable method of animal production. This isn't Ma and Pa out back throwing some slop to the hogs and then washing up to come in for dinner. This is a method of producing meat on an industrial scale that generates tons and tons of highly toxic animal waste. Six thousand or more hogs stand cheek to jowl in single enclosed space with huge ventilating fans blowing out air full of contaminants. Workers walk through seas of liquefied feces and urine and then back into their communities. According to a 2008 report from The Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health : It is the concentration of farm animals in larger and larger numbers in close proximity to one another, along with the potential of IFAP (Note: Industrial Farm Animal Production) facilities to affect people, that give rise to many of the public health concerns that are attributed to IFAP. Animals in such close confinement, along with some of the feed and animal management methods employed in the system, increase pathogen risks and magnify opportunities for transmission from animals to humans. This increased risk is due to at least three factors: prolonged worker contact with animals, increased pathogen transmission within a herd or flock, and the increased opportunities for the generation of antimicrobial resistant bacteria (due to imprudent antimicrobial use) or new strains of viruses. This is a story of careless disregard for the health of workers, the public health of communities, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. It defies common sense and demonstrates, at best, an indifference to ethical and scientific standards. This isn't a new thing, it's not isolated, it's going to continue to happen and it affects public health in more ways than this flu outbreak. When spinach was the subject of a nationwide recall in 2006 the FDA found that the source of the e-coli was cow and pig feces. Environmental organizations, rural communities, farm workers, public health officials and many other constituencies have been working hard for years to address the myriad problems associated with CAFO's. The Factory Farm Flu 1 should be a wake up call for the public at large and it is important that people know that there are many solutions to CAFO pollution and contamination within our existing laws. And a clear need for some better ones. More on Swine Flu
 
Andy Borowitz: Angry Cleveland Indians Fans Demand Team Take Steroids Top
The national pastime suffered another black eye last night when a mob of irate Cleveland Indians fans poured onto the diamond at Progressive Field to demand that their team take steroids. Displeasure with the championship-starved squad reached a boiling point with the news that slugger Manny Ramirez took performance-enhancing drugs - but only after leaving the Indians. When asked by ESPN if he ingested the banned medication while playing for Cleveland, Mr. Ramirez shrugged his shoulders and replied, "What would be the point of that?" Mr. Ramirez is just the latest in a long line of baseball players who have refused to take steroids while playing for the Indians, says fan Chuck Goulardi, 49, the leader of last night's protest. "Manny's comment was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back," says Mr. Goulardi, who has seen his 'roid-free Tribe fall to their juiced-up competition more times than he can recall. "These players are paid good money, and all we're asking them to do is take one measly shot in the ass." But getting the Indians to start taking steroids may be easier said than done, ays former slugger Jose Canseco, the author of the controversial tell-all book Juiced. 

 "On more than forty occasions I sneaked into the Cleveland clubhouse, offering to shoot those guys up with 'roids," says Mr. Canseco. "No takers." 

 Last night's melee was only the latest display of dissatisfaction on the part of Cleveland fans, who earlier this season demanded that the giant TV screen on the outfield scoreboard show a different game. ONE MINUTE OF HAPPINESS AWAITS YOU HERE .
 
William Hamilton: All Sex Is Safe Sex Top
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Sarah Holewinski: Will Israel Help Gaza's Victims? Top
Ask any civilian who has lost a loved one, a limb, or a home in war and they're likely to tell you they never received anything for their suffering. I've always found it shocking that international law doesn't generally require warring parties to help the people they've harmed. Take for example the family of 60-year old Fayiz Ad-Daya. He was killed along with twenty of his relatives on January 6, 2009, when an Israeli warplane http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8012543.stm roared over Gaza attempting to bomb a house nearby that allegedly contained a weapons cache. Fayiz's family was killed instead, with victims ranging in age from four (granddaughter Kawkab http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37300 ) to sixty (Fayiz himself). An Israeli military official admitted it made a mistake in hitting the wrong house and said this "is bound to happen during intensive fighting." The Al-Daya family thus joins a long list of millions of civilians destroyed in war. Like so many before them, the surviving members will likely never receive a formal apology or compensation for their losses. When a similar mistake was made by the US military in Afghanistan back in 2001, they didn't pay any compensation either to a woman widowed by a missile intended for three miles east. Eight graves are lined up near her home http://www.civicworldwide.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=130&Itemid=181 , representing her husband and children. I've heard so many stories like this. And then a few years later, the US learned it had to do things differently: a compensation system now exists for "mistakes" and unintended casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. The system doesn't work perfectly, but making amends to these civilians is the decent thing to do. It is befitting a nation like the US that prides itself on abiding by international laws that obligate respect for civilians (as Israel has claimed it does too). Plenty of people have a bone to pick with Israel over this winter's war with Hamas. And by bone I mean serious allegations linking Israeli Defense Forces to war crimes and violations of international laws governing armed conflict. All of the details have to be sorted out -- the investigations, witness accounts, military records, photos and media reports. In the meantime, the UN estimates that three-quarters of the population still needs some form of aid. They're talking about the basic stuff like food, water, shelter and healthcare. So while the investigators press on and the applicable laws are figured out, here's an idea: help these people. Billions have been pledged from donor countries to help Gazans, but Israel has blocked http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/30/israelus-clinton-should-press-end-gaza-blockade all but a trickle from reaching across the closed borders. Hamas has played a role in the devastation too and Gazans are now being punished broadly (if not intentionally by Israel than certainly by default) for the acts of a few. Israel's reticence comes from not wanting aid to go to people who will turn around and support Hamas; but who do they think they're turning Gaza's children toward by blocking life-saving aid? If all that seems too daunting, start with the Al-Daya family. More on Israel
 
"Greenest Office Building In The World" Breaks Ground Top
The 218,000-square-foot, $64 million structure will house 700 employees and is scheduled to be completed in 2010. Funding for the building is coming from $193 million in stimulus funds the U.S. Department of Energy recently announced NREL will get for construction projects and wind-energy research. More on Green Living
 
Jim Luce: When Is a Lawyer Not a Lawyer? When She Acts Top
"I want to act! Act! To be liberated! To feel free!" Anouk Dutruit told me last week over lunch in Chelsea, near to both her day job and her theater school. "Acting allows me to breathe, feel alive!" Making a career in acting is a challenging prospect. What makes Anouk's ambitions even more invigorating is her other career. By day an international lawyer, by night an actor. By day, Anouk Dutruit, Esq. is the Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of AFS Intercultural Programs, a non-profit organization based in New York. AFS is an international organization that provides intercultural learning opportunities throughout the globe. European flair both on stage and in the boardroom. Anouk holds two law degrees - one from the Sorbonne in Paris and the other from the equally prestigious King's College in London. She is also admitted to practice in New York. In her daily work, Anouk deals with a wide array of legal problems - employment issues, intellectual property, compliance, tort liability. Working for an international organization, she travels to such far-flung places as China, South America, and India. Despite all this, or perhaps because of it, her dream is to become an actor. Not a woman of international mystery: she just wants to act. "To act is to be elevated by emotion, connected to the present and to your fellow actors. It is a dance shared with your audience. You want the audience to feel what you feel." These are not satisfactions that come from practicing law. Why would someone so passionate with acting from childhood want to become a lawyer first - in three countries, no less? Why now? "Fear of financial insecurity. I thought that law and litigation were the closest subject matters to acting that I could study which would still provide me with the financial security to seek out acting opportunities. It did and it did not. I got tired of being fearful." For now, Anouk juggles both careers. Despite heavy work obligations, Anouk has managed, in a very short time, to appear in more than ten short films in the U.S., three of them in the Internet Movie Database: Open Door , Pardon My French , and 15 Waffles . Anouk wants to leave law to become a thespian. One of her first short films was 15 Waffles, a short comedy posted on YouTube . 15 Waffles is a collection of vignettes that follows four New Yorkers as they lead their friends and family to their favorite breakfast joint. In it, Anouk plays a Belgian girl with a European accent, hung over after spending a night out with her boyfriend and eager to eat waffles despite the long wait and the awkward presence of her boyfriend's father. "It was amazing being on set at the wee hours of the day, doing what you love and being surrounded by individuals that do what they do because they love it too! It's empowering!" Anouk exclaimed describing her experience in 15 Waffles. Using what little spare time she has, Anouk studied acting with Jim Brill at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. This theater is one of the most respected acting schools in the U.S., and best known for teaching the Sanford Meisner technique, based on the renowned Stanislavski System. Anouk is in good company. Neighborhood Playhouse alumni include such luminaries as James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Grace Kelly, David Mamet, Gregory Peck, Sydney Pollack, Tony Randall, and Eli Wallach. With the theater, her worldview has evolved. "In acting, you have imaginary circumstances, but the interactions are truthful, authentic. In life, you have authentic circumstances with too often untruthful interactions." She idolizes the award-winning Australian actor and theatre director Cate Blanchett. "Cate has an organic presence that is truthful." She also admires Johnny Depp and his portrayals of offbeat, eccentric characters. Today, Anouk is looking to expand her roles in independent film and the theater. Staying in New York is an obvious choice; the city offers a multitude of theaters both on- and off-Broadway. Many films and sitcoms are shot here. All she needs now is an agent and a manager. "Human beings should explore their creative sides, no matter what! Otherwise it's like being constipated. One needs adventure in life," she says. "It gives you ampleur. As you expand your world and life views, you expand yourself." The creative dimension of acting fits well with Anouk's background. "I have spent more than half of my life in foreign countries, speaking in foreign languages. This has made me more flexible, open to different ways of thinking, without judgments." What is next? "I am ready to leave the legal field and start to act. So I can be!" Anouk Dutruit Edited by Ethel Grodzins Romm. More on Travel
 
Craig and Marc Kielburger: Rehabilitating Child Soldiers Top
The egg represents purity. It is untouched, unscathed and innocent. Then, it is stepped on. The innocence is crushed. It sits broken and exposed. The symbolism of the event is not lost on the Acholi people of northern Uganda. The ceremony is an important step in reintegrating and cleansing someone who has been away from the community for a long period of time. After 22 years of war, the Acholi have been doing this a lot for child soldiers. They left as children - pure and innocent like the egg. But they come back psychologically broken even if they are still physically young. They are children forcibly recruited by fighting forces. For them and the communities they return to, these ceremonies are essential for everyone to move forward. Worldwide, an estimated 300,000 kids in 36 countries have had their childhoods replaced by horrors no person should have to endure. Their outer wounds are easy to fix. But, the process of rehabilitation and giving them a new life is complicated and requires personal and cultural forgiveness. "Any child that has experienced this, the memories will never leave them," says Dirk Booy, executive director of World Vision Canada which runs the Children of War Rehabilitation Center in Gulu, Uganda. "It will impact them for the rest of their lives." The conflict between Ugandan government forces and the Lord's Resistance Army is older than most of the child soldiers fighting the battles. In the last two decades, an estimated 25,000 children have been adducted for use as fighters, sex slaves and labourers. Although, some estimates put that number closer to 66,000. "All of them have experienced different atrocities," says Booy. "The army has beaten them and forced them to watch other violent acts to desensitize them. Then, they engage in the acts themselves for fear of their lives." Since opening its doors in 1995, the Children of War Center has helped rehabilitate 15,000 children associated with fighting forces. Booy explains the first step is to address the immediate needs - food, shelter and medical attention. Then, they move on to the psychological wounds. "They come to us traumatized, stigmatized, some of them experienced signs of post-traumatic stress," says Booy. "The center works with them on these issues helping them draw out their experiences and get back to a normal routine." These psychological approaches are essential to the healing process. Using counseling sessions, art and acting, the children are encouraged to talk about their experiences. These are often brutal stories of torture, forced killings, drugs and fighting. Even if the child never held a gun themselves, they often speak of sexual abuse, servitude and forced labour. But just as important are the cultural practices. The egg ceremony has a distinct purpose in acknowledging the foreign elements that crushed the community and the child. In addition, the child must jump over two twigs. The first, called the layibi, is used to open the granary, symbolizing a return to where one once ate. The second, from the opobo tree is traditionally used to make soap. It represents cleansing. While the tradition is much different from the counseling we often use in the Western world, the rituals work to make the former combatant feel safe and welcomed back into the community. "We conduct them in a very public way with the community members in order to reestablish the kids and reintegrate them," says Booy. "We need the kids to feel good about themselves, who they are and how the community feels about them." That's a process that not easy to anyone - community, counselor or child. Despite some of the best treatment in the world, we can never give someone back their childhood. While their physical wounds will heal, it's the deeper, internal scars that will live on.
 
Snack Wrappers Get Upcycled Into Bags Top
With Frito-Lay, TerraCycle will start a new recycling brigade set to collect used chip bags. These bags will become a host of products, from notebooks and folders to purses and backpacks. TerraCycle is also launching a new building product made from shredding the bags, which should launch in 2010. More on Green Living
 
Recession Style: Are Designer Duds The Newest Investment? Top
2009 appears to be year of the "investment," as seen in Smythson's ad for the Enid. The new verbal engine to which the luxury industry is attaching the rest of the train, "investment" references are cropping up everywhere: Suddenly consumers are being urged to build "investment wardrobes" as opposed to making trend-driven seasonal ones. Magazine editors--who rely on luxury brands as advertising cash cows--instruct readers that there is no better time than the present to "invest" in the durable and expensive classics: a Burberry trench coat, or perhaps a Cartier Tank Watch (an eventual heirloom for Junior), or the Chanel 2.55 handbag in caviar leather (which will never go out of style), etc. This is a curious use of the term investment.
 
Carol Felsenthal: Hillary, Michelle and Big Bird Top
Could there be anything more telling about the difference between Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama? Michelle Obama -- introduced by Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations- - tells diplomats and staff at the US mission to the United Nations in New York that she has just come from "Sesame Street." "...I never thought I'd be on 'Sesame Street' with Elmo and Big Bird and I was thrilled. I'm still thrilled. I'm on a high....I think it's probably the best thing I've done so far in the White House." At the same time in the first term of her husband, Bill Clinton, Hillary was maneuvering to design and implement a plan for national health insurance.
 
RJ Eskow: Health Noir: $10 Million Ransom Demand for Data - and Stranger Crimes Are Coming Top
"Attention, Virginia!" the ransom note begins. "I have your shit! In *my* possession, right now, are 8,257,378 patient records and a total of 35,548,087 prescriptions. Also, I made an encrypted backup and deleted the original. Unfortunately for Virginia, their backups seem to have gone missing, too. Uhoh :( " "For $10 million, I will gladly send along the password. You have 7 days to decide." Someone says they've stolen 8.3 million patient records, and now the FBI is on the case . However strange this crime may sound, this was a predictable event. Stranger and more severe crimes are coming, if they're not here already. I've been tracking health data breaches for a while , and it's one of six scenarios I sketched out (but chose not to publish). It's important now to ensure that these concerns are given a high enough priority - and proper funding - in future health IT initiatives. Whatever your position on health reform, nobody wants health data to be the topic of the next private eye novel or film noir. Philip Marlowe wouldn't be happy working at HHS. Since they're now playing out in public, I'll briefly mention those other five scenarios. They are: 1. Individuals are blackmailed using information obtained from stolen medical records. 2. "Medical identity theft" - using stolen information to fraudulently obtain medical care 3. Stolen information is used to submit fraudulent bills to Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance 4. Electronic funds transfers are intercepted using stolen data 5. Medical data is used to obtain controlled substances and sell pharmaceuticals online There are no doubt other ideas out there, and inventive minds will find them. Authorities say the Virginia hackers breached the system's security, but it's less clear whether they can do what they've threatened. Either way, the language in their ransom threat seems to fit the hacker profile of young American kids with time on their hands. We don't know whether that's real or a ruse, but it raises a couple of disturbing questions: - What happens when organized crime gets into the stolen health data business? - Who says they haven't already? Crime syndicates could become brokerages for acquiring and selling health information, which can be traded online. It would be a mistake to use the threat of these crimes to oppose health IT initiatives, however. These crimes will continue, no matter what, because the exchange of data is embedded in every aspect of our insurance-based health system. Doing nothing will not protect us. It makes more sense to use this historical moment to take bold preventive steps. If stolen health data fits the pattern of other cybercrimes, publicly reported breaches don't reflect the full scope of the problem. So what should the Administration and private industry do next? 1. Acknowledge the problem. Don't lose control of the debate by letting health reform opponents raise the topic. 2. Provide funding for security software and solutions. 3. Clarify the security levels and procedures expected of all health IT users. (You'd be surprised how many of these breaches occurred because someone left a laptop in an airport or a computer disk on their front seat.) What should private industry do? Those industries that will benefit from reform and IT initiatives could establish a reward - something like the "X Prize" - for innovative security solutions in healthcare. Whatever shape health reform takes, nobody wants the Mob to get hold of their health records. RJ Eskow blogs when he can at: A Night Light The Sentinel Effect: Healthcare Blog
 
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid: No Woman Should Die Giving Life Top
Progress is being made to save the lives of mothers and newborns around the world. Still, every minute, a woman dies of complications in pregnancy and childbirth, leaving her baby more likely to die within two years. Most of these deaths could be prevented. Join The Huffington Post and the Mothers Day Every Day campaign in the global movement to call upon world leaders to invest in health workers and strengthen health systems so that every day, everywhere in the world, all women and newborns have access to lifesaving care. Ask a mother anywhere about her top priority, and she'll say, without hesitation, her children. Every American family tells the story of a mother who went without luxuries or even comforts so her children could have the best possible start in life. We take such stories for granted because we usually take mothers for granted. They are always there with the extra sweater, the cookies, the hug when we need it, right? Not necessarily. For many children, the stark reality is life without a mother. This Mother's Day, and every day, some 1,400 children will lose their mothers -- one every minute. In every generation, ten million mothers die, leaving ten million families bereft. Nearly all of these women die in Africa, or Asia, or in the poorest countries of Latin America. Many die giving birth or shortly after -- and everyone is the poorer for it. In the United States "dying in childbirth" occurs rarely. But for women in most poor countries, pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death and disability. In Africa, one woman in every 26 risk dying of maternal causes, compared to 1 in 4,800 in the United States. In some countries, the numbers have gotten worse recently, not better. We are so used to the idea that mothers are strong, resourceful and ever-present that we forget that mothers need protection too. Yet every minute, somewhere in the world: • 380 women become pregnant, half of whom did not plan or want the pregnancy. • 110 women experience a pregnancy-related complication. • 40 women have an unsafe abortion. • Ten people are infected with HIV. Most are women. • One woman dies from a cause related to pregnancy or childbirth. Perhaps 30 more suffer injury or illness. In 2000, leaders from 189 nations adopted the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Yet over halfway towards the 2015 target MDG 5, improving maternal health is the goal that has made the least amount of progress. What would it take to accelerate progress towards MDG 5 and give mothers worldwide the protection they need? We already know what to do, and it is not rocket science, nor is it even as hard as curing cancer or AIDS. Giving women around the world access to contraceptives and family planning could reduce the number of maternal deaths by a third. Providing them access to skilled health workers during the time of birth and to emergency obstetric care when needed would save hundred of thousands of lives. And it would be cost-effective. Study after study has pointed out that a country's economic and political health can be measured in the health of its women. Let us not take mothers for granted anywhere in the world. With the right investments we can make motherhood safer and keep more of them alive for their children to love and for their families and communities to lean on. It is time to make every day Mother's Day. The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and CARE, two organizations at the forefront of global women's health issues, have joined Secretary Donna Shalala and UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman and a distinguished group of advocates to promote Mothers Day Every Day, a campaign that raises awareness and advocates for greater U.S. leadership to improve maternal and newborn health globally. To learn more, visit www.mothersdayeveryday.org or follow us on Twitter at @WRAglobal , hashtag #MDED . Check out the rest of our Countdown to Mother's Day series by clicking here
 
Christy Turlington: Hoping for Healthy Mothers All Over the Globe Top
My experiences of giving birth and becoming a mother have profoundly shaped my life and the way I see and relate to girls and women around the world. With spring finally upon us, the promise of life is ever present. I can't help but reflect on the meaning of motherhood, which to me represents the continuum of life and the promise of new beginnings. I can remember my first Mother's Day after becoming a mom and the pleasurable, if not indulgent, feeling of being celebrated. Even if my own daughter could not express her gratitude in so many words, I felt cherished. Mother's Day has become a day to recognize those special women who have nurtured our development and shaped who we are today. The annual celebration began almost 140 years ago as something altogether different. One woman, Julia Ward Howe, who had witnessed the hardships of war and fear that so many women were suffering through, rallied women in a cry for peace with her Mother's Day Proclamation. Today, like so many of our holidays, the commercialization of Mother's Day has somewhat shifted from its original intentions. However, it still carries with it a very personalized and celebratory power. The sacrifices a mother makes are incomparable and they begin even before birth. Her first sacrifice is her body as it begins to make a home for new life. Next, she must let go of many personal freedoms, which one can never truly anticipate nor prepare for until they are gone. From the moment of conception, your body somehow changes from being your own to becoming a shared and relatively confined space. As the size of the fetus increases, so does an overwhelming sense of responsibility. The physical sacrifices, however, are only temporary as something else inside of us begins to grow -- the heart. As mothers, we sacrifice this above all else, which, like our bellies, grows to accommodate its new and precious contents. The truth of the matter is, I'm not sure any of us are ever truly prepared for what motherhood entails -- whether it be those sacrifices or the profound and unexpected new feelings of love and connectedness. When a woman chooses to become a mother, the news that she has become pregnant is perhaps the sweetest she will ever hear. Some of us prepare for that moment for much of our lives. For many of us American women, we masterfully plan our lives, carefully navigating timings, education goals and careers while countless millions of other mothers around the world cannot afford such luxuries. For so many, becoming a mother is often an unplanned event where questions of whether or not to have children or how many children to have are rarely given consideration, let alone offer up a choice. While I continue everyday to be inspired by the many mothers in my life (my mom, my sisters and my friends), it is the women and girls across the world who I have encountered that I will celebrate this Mother's Day. Their stories of struggle and strength remind me that we can seek solidarity with other mothers around the world. Be they adolescent mothers (still children themselves) who were married off at 13 years old, young women in their mid-20's already with 6 children, or 40 year-old grandmothers raising their children's children because their parents have died from AIDS, we must remember that motherhood should be that very gift we honor and celebrate. In my travels, I have met these mothers. More often than not, these women are victims of poverty, have not been educated (for any number of reasons), and have no access to contraception. Sadly, this cycle is not uncommon in many parts of the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where women are especially vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. It is to those women that I dedicate this Mother's Day. Because of gender inequality among other things, women are much more susceptible to contracting the virus that causes AIDS than men, and yet they are rarely in a position to protect themselves against exposure. Some women are utterly powerless in their homes and communities, considered property among men. Until relatively recently, there were very few socially-accepted reasons in many communities that justified being tested for HIV. For those who do get tested, the stigma alone of any association with this devastating disease is well beyond our comprehension in the West. As prevalent as HIV/AIDS is in some regions, it was this very impact of stigmatization that surprised me when I last visited Africa with (RED). Fortunately, there is hope and more and more, solutions are being made available not only to help combat the spread of the disease but to also help alleviate these social issues. While in Swaziland, I learned that ARV (Anti-Retroviral) therapies have become widely available there and are now supported by (RED) monies generated from the collective proceeds of products created in partnership with some of the world's most desirable brands (which to date have contributed more than 130 million dollars toward the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria ). As a result, more and more individual families have access to testing, treatment and support. For the first time, being diagnosed as HIV-positive does not have to be a death sentence. ARV therapy is changing the face of HIV and AIDS, helping make it a more manageable disease through daily medication. Pregnant mothers who might otherwise overlook their own fates are getting tested and receiving treatment in order to prevent the transmission of the virus to their babies and to enable them to continue to care for their families. These moms, because of efforts like (RED)'s are now able to receive a highly effective form of treatment for themselves before and during labor, and a liquid form of it for their newborns, greatly reducing the risk of mother to child transmission. I witnessed this phenomenon first hand when I met an HIV-positive mother of 6 who began the ARV treatment when she was first pregnant with her last child. On the day that I met her, she had just received news that her 6 month-old had tested negative on his second test. He was a normal, healthy baby boy who, like his mom, had a future to look forward to, thanks to ARV's. As I celebrate mothers on this Mother's Day, I am reminded of how fortunate those of us who have access to healthcare are and I am hopeful that those who do not, will, in the foreseeable future. The importance of our global commitment to mothers in need, as well as their family's is crucial -- we must remember that as a worldwide community, we can help provide the support they deserve. For me, being a mother goes well beyond the creature comforts of home (which I am blessed, as a mom, to have) and extends to a greater sisterhood in which we share the common role as mother. Join me as I celebrate mothers around the world with the hope that soon every mother will be honored with that basic human right of being able to give new life, while ensuring both her safety and the safety of her family. Happy Mother's Day More on HIV/AIDS
 
Stephen Morgan, Wesleyan Shooter Suspect Wrote 'Kill Johanna' Top
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Police responding to the fatal shooting of a Wesleyan University student found a journal with an entry saying "I think it okay to kill Jews and go on a killing spree" and "Kill Johanna. She must Die," according to an arrest warrant released Friday. Stephen P. Morgan, 29, was arrested Thursday night after seeing his photo in a newspaper and asking a convenience store clerk to call police. Officers found him standing outside the store, 10 miles from the bookstore where Johanna Justin-Jinich was gunned down by a man wearing a wig Wednesday. Police said they found the journal, which has no name on it but appears to belong to Morgan, inside the bookstore. The composition book also had an entry dated May 6 at 11 a.m. _ about two hours before Justin-Jinich was killed _ that mentioned seeing all of the beautiful and smart people at Wesleyan. Morgan was arraigned Friday in Middletown Superior Court. A judge increased his bond to $15 million. Morgan's parents and two sisters attended the brief hearing. One sister wept as Morgan, scruffy and unkempt, left the courtroom accompanied by judicial marshals. Outside court, defense attorney Dick Brown said Morgan would plead not guilty. "He denies any effort to target the Wesleyan campus or anyone else," Brown said. Morgan's father identified his son as the man seen in bookstore surveillance photos and told investigators his son was a loner who kept a journal and was known to make anti-Semitic comments, according to the warrant. Justin-Jinich, of Timnath, Colo., came from a Jewish family, and her grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. Authorities in New York said Morgan and Justin-Jinich had known each other since at least 2007, when Justin-Jinich filed a harassment complaint against him while they were enrolled in a summer class at New York University. In the complaint filed in July of that year, Justin-Jinich said Morgan called her repeatedly and sent her insulting e-mails. One of the e-mails warned: "You're going to have a lot more problems down the road if you can't take any (expletive) criticism, Johanna." Both were interviewed by university police, but Justin-Jinich decided not to press charges. Morgan's father, James, told police in Marblehead, Mass., he last saw his son on May 5, that his son told him he had decided to move to Newport, R.I., and that his son had taken all his belongings. Police checked Morgan's bedroom, where they said they found a box full of ammunition and an empty handgun holster. Police said they found a red 2001 Nissan Sentra _ with Colorado license plates and registered to Morgan _ in the bookstore parking lot. They said there was a handgun case partially opened in the vehicle and two handgun magazines. One witness, Susan Gerdhart, 22, told police she was paying for a salad when she heard four loud popping noises. She turned to see smoke in the air and bullet casings on the ground and faced the suspect, who fired three more shots, according to the warrant. "Gerdhart noticed that the female behind the counter was no longer standing and the suspect was standing over the counter with a gun in his hand pointed at the floor," the warrant states. Employees in the basement said they heard a loud noise coming from a conveyor belt that connects the store's first floor and basement and then saw a man do a somersault and jump off. "Don't say anything or I'll shoot," the man said, pointing a gun at the employees, according to the warrant. Police responding to the scene found the victim moaning and shaking on the floor. In the basement, police said they found a baseball cap, glasses, a laptop computer and a brown colored wig on the floor. Police said they found a gun at the scene and seven shell casings. The journal was found inside a computer bag near where the wig was found, police said. More on Crime
 
Gavin Newsom: Scaling San Francisco's Universal Health Care Program Top
I've been in our nation's capital this week meeting with Obama Administration officials and Congressional leaders about national health care reform . Everywhere I go, from the White House to the Department of Labor to the U.S. Senate, I get the same question: can San Francisco's universal health care program, Healthy San Francisco, be scaled? The answer is yes. Truly, one of the strongest aspects of Healthy San Francisco (HSF) is its simplicity. The program allows participants to select their primary care provider from among dozens of local hospitals and clinics, both public and private. Our local system does not require lengthy HMO paperwork and there is no denial of treatment based on pre-existing medical conditions. A recent study showed that Healthy San Francisco is dramatically less expensive than traditional insurance. And our experience in San Francisco is proving what most American's already know - it is much less expensive to keep people well than it is to treat their sickness, particularly when so much treatment for uninsured Americans is provided in costly emergency rooms. There are currently more than 40,000 participants in HSF. We are enrolling approximately 600 new participants every week. We have already enrolled more than half of the previously uninsured San Franciscans and the vast majority will have access to health care by the end of next year. I believe that administration and congressional leaders understand that we cannot wait for health care reform. Our health care crisis affects every aspect of our society - from making sure every child receives the health care they need to succeed in school, to decreasing the financial burden on business, both large and small, so our economy can get back on track. I know there is pressure in Washington to wait until the economy improves before we act on health care reform. I faced many of the same pressures when I was working with allies in San Francisco to forge our universal health care delivery system. But "waiting" in politics usually means never - and we simply cannot afford to wait any longer. The lessons we are learning in San Francisco shows that investing in health and wellness is its own kind of economic stimulus. The time is now to tackle this problem and I applaud President Obama for promising to sign a national health care reform bill by October. One of the key figures leading the charge in Congress is Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. I spoke with Sen. Harkin on my Green 960 radio show this week about the challenges Congress and the administration face and the possibility of using HSF as a model for a national program . You can listen to the show online or via iTunes . For my part, I was recently made Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Health Care Reform. Cities often have the most pressing health care needs and have had to adapt and innovate in lieu of national health care reform. I am looking forward to working with my fellow Mayor's to hear what they have learned in their cities and share what we've learned in my hometown through Healthy San Francisco. In the end, the task force will identify urban health care priorities and advise the work of Congress and the Administration to help solve this crucial challenge we all share. As always, please feel free to give me your input and feedback in the comments section below. Listen to Mayor Newsom's Green 960 radio show online or subscribe to his weekly policy discussions on iTunes . Join Mayor Newsom on Facebook . You can also follow him on Twitter . More on Health
 
Ashton Kutcher Leaves Voicemail Apology For A (Faux) Hater (AUDIO) Top
Yesterday, I attacked Ashton Kutcher. The attack was a joke, and even though my sister told me that I should never explain jokes, I'll explain this one. I pretended to be an over zealous fan that got upset when Ashton didn't respond to my twitter reply.... Kutcher left me a long, heartfelt voicemail within four hours of my post going live. (click through to hear the voicemail)
 
Ann Carlson: Wildfires Cause Climate Change, Climate Change Causes Wildfires Top
An obvious question about the raging wildfire in Santa Barbara is whether climate change is the cause. While it's impossible to blame any individual fire on increasing temperatures, we know that climate change is responsible for more frequent and more intense wildfires in the southwest. But less obvious and at least as troubling is that wildfires cause climate change by burning vegetation that acts as a carbon sink. So wildfires are related to climate change in two important and related ways: they cause and are caused by increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Here's the evidence about more frequent and more intense fires. Scripps Institute scientists have found that the principal reason wildfires have increased dramatically over the past thirty years is because warm temperatures cause earlier snowpack melting and resulting drier summers. Over the past twenty years fires in the southwest United States have consumed six times more land than in previous decades. California is expected to see temperatures rise by as much as 10 to 12 degrees F by the end of the 21st century, to face large declines in Sierra snowpack and to experience more frequent and more prolonged drought. Thus the trend we're already witnessing will intensify. The only question will be by how much, which depends in large measure on whether we can slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Here's the evidence about how wildfires cause climate change. A team of 22 scientists from around the world just published a report assessing the global impact of wildfires. The combination of intentional and unintentional fires -- by burning carbon-storing vegetation -- has contributed a whopping 20 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution. Moreover fires create black carbon soot, which then absorbs the sun's energy and heats the ground, adding to climate change. Much of the burning is done intentionally, as fire is a cheap and easy way to clear forests for agriculture and other development. But unintended wildfires, though part of a natural process, have now increased in magnitude and frequency because of human contributions to climate change. The combination means that fires are increasingly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. What to do about the increase in fires is a complicated question. Communities prone to wild fire will need to consider controversial policies like banning building in particularly vulnerable areas. They'll also need to be vigilant about vegetation maintenance and will need to ensure that their building codes require the most fire resistant materials. But at the heart of the problem is our need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically from virtually every source. As the world's leaders prepare to convene in Copenhagen in December to negotiate over a new climate agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocal, the topic of widespread deforestation needs to be at the top of the list. More on Climate Change
 
Dan Dorfman: A Fresh Chat with Count Dracula Top
Is the Wall Street game changing for the nation's more than 100 million stock players? Or put another way, are we nearing a stage where the "stuckholders" -- those investors butchered by huge losses over the past couple of years -- are about to become viable stockholders once again? That's essentially the question being raised in Wall Street in the wake of about a 28% gain in stock prices over the past couple of months, spurred by indications the economy may be moving from bad to less bad, some better than expected numbers on the housing and job fronts and a growing belief that Uncle Sam's financial injections and guarantees will help revitalize the ailing banks. What's noteworthy is that even some of the bears are now beginning to have second thoughts. Indicative of this, many short sellers (those bettors on falling stock prices) have been sharply reducing their short positions, theorizing better days could be ahead. That's by no means the thinking, though, of David Tice, one of the investment community's most notorious bears. I last caught up him nearly 2 1/2 years ago, right around Halloween of 2007, when I was writing a column for the late New York Sun . At the time, bullish sentiment was running rampant, exemplified by the fact the Dow Jones Industrials were trading at around 13,900, just a shade below their all-time high of 14,164. Tice, running counter to the Wall Street herd, thought the bulls were out of their mind and he predicted that all hell would soon break loose, with both the economy and the stock market going into a tailspin. In response to his grim outlook -- which turned out to be right on the money -- one unhappy reader sent me a biting note, which I still recall. "Why do you devote editorial space to such loonies? All they want to do is to suck the blood out of this market by driving stock prices lower. It will soon be Halloween and your guy Tice should dress up as Count Dracula." But that was yesteryear. Given a sunnier market of late, I thought, the Count might have had a change of heart. I was wrong. I caught up with Tice the other day and the portfolio strategist for the Pittsburgh-based $1 billion Federated Prudent Bear Fund, whose strategy is to make money in down markets, is still a growling grizzly. "I'm confident," he says, "the market is heading back to book value or maybe less (versus its current book of about 1.7 to 1.8)." As far as the S&P 500 goes, such a decline in book value would knock the index down to below 400, which is what Tice expects to occur in the next 18 months or maybe sooner. Such a retreat would be devastating, as it represents about a 55% decline from present levels. As bad as that scenario would be, it has the potential to get even worse in Tice's mind since he doesn't think such a collapse would mark the market bottom. The reason: his profit outlook calls for S&P 500 earnings this year of about $40, and he doesn't believe the bear market will end until the index reflects such earnings expectations with an accompanying multiple of between 6 and 9. Such a range would erode the market even further as such multiple valuations suggest an S&P 500 range between 240 and 360. Tice, whose fund is down about 2% this year, following a 28% gain in 2008, further worries that we haven't yet seen the necessary capitulation, that wave of selling that could finally set the stage for a meaningful and sustained market rebound. He notes, for example, there was $6.5 trillion worth of equity mutual funds as of January 1, 2008. As of March 9, the figure dropped to $3.1 trillion. Of that decline, only $100 billion represented outflows, meaning relatively little actual selling. As far as economy goes, Tice argues it's dysfunctional, asserting that the excesses -- such as overleveraging and the government's issuance of excessive credit to grow GDP, leading to excessive borrowing and consumption for more than two decades -- still have to be worked out. Pointing, too, to overexpansion on the consumer front, Tice insists we have, for example, way too many shopping centers, restaurants and theaters. "We have to cut down the consumer infrastructure," he says. The economy of recent years, Tice observes, has largely been finance-driven through a credit bubble, resulting in a huge amount of borrowing, and luxury consumption, but this model is not functional anymore even though we're trying to perpetuate it. He figures the economic decline still has another five years to run to work off the imbalances and that it's not something that happens overnight. "It's like drinking too much," he says. "You go through a heck of a hangover before you sober up." A number of market pros, including former Merrill Lynch economist Richard Bernstein, believe the recent market rallies are for real and a signal that better days lie ahead. Tice, on the other hand, thinks such a view is off the wall. These rallies are gifts for investors, he says, nothing more than golden selling opportunities for them to get out of the market and curb their losses. Wrapping up, Tice also says it's worth taking an historical look at the longevity of major bear markets and three periods that produced market 50% declines for an insight into what may lie ahead.. One such decline kicked off in the Depression era starting in 1929 and lasted 17 years. A second, 18 years in duration, began in 1966. Each was followed by rallies and subsequent multiple declines and prices eventually fell below their prior lows. Noting we've already had another recent 50% decline (with the Dow falling to a low of 6,547 in March of 2009 from a high of 14,164 in October of 2007), Tice contends it makes no sense to believe that this time out the bear market will be compressed to just about two years. "We're in the midst of once again taking out the lows and it's only a matter of time," he says. Or, as Transylvania's Count Dracula might put it, I want more blood. More on Financial Crisis
 
Aruna Kashyap: How Big Is Your Universe? Top
Ignorance is not bliss - certainly not for a government trying to explain the repeated failure to avert an estimated 100,000 preventable maternal deaths each year. Last month I traveled through rural India to try to understand why so many women there die from pregnancy-related causes, despite the Indian government's clear investment in programs for reducing maternal mortality. I think I found at least part of the reason: no one knows. I don't mean to say that no one knows what causes maternal death and disability. I mean that no one, certainly not in rural India, is gathering enough information about maternal deaths, near-deaths, and their causes to know why they continue despite the host of health-related programs. Preventable deaths are tragic but they are doubly so when society learns nothing from them for the future. It's even worse when planners are left to guess how many women are even dying of such preventable causes. A former senior government official described a common situation: when a woman - let's call her Rani - dies of a heart attack after childbirth, the doctor certifies that the cause of death is cardiac arrest, failing to mention that she had just given birth and was hemorrhaging. While poor death registration and cause of death classification is not the stuff of international maternal mortality conferences, let alone popular TV shows, its practical and long-term impact on public health is enormous. It means other women won't benefit from the lessons of a death like Rani's. In such a case, the lack of information is unlikely to bring about the improved nutrition, care during pregnancy and access to emergency obstetric care for women in and around the woman's village that might save others in her situation. Seemingly mundane administration - the accurate reporting of maternal deaths and their medical causes through national civil registration systems - is crucial for sustained maternal mortality monitoring. Under current conditions, the UN Millennium Development Goal on maternal mortality, set by the international community to be achieved by 2015, will likely be achieved more than 60 years off the target date. According to health analysts, south Asian countries are set to achieve this goal of reducing maternal mortality by 75 percent only by 2076. The prediction for sub-Saharan Africa is far worse. The UN said last year that it intends to monitor the progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. But health experts cannot glean the trends in maternal mortality from the available data. Now, accurate information may not sound like a particularly powerful medical intervention. But it is essential. Beyond their use in monitoring, this data are of enormous importance to those who are trying to make the best use of limited resources for health planning. At least in the developed world, women who do not have access to timely health care leave a trace of what happened to them. The civil registration system captures their death and cause of death. But in countries such as India, where one pregnant woman is said to die every five minutes, more often than not, the health information system is oblivious of such deaths. More disturbing, even where the death is captured, the cause of death is many a times wrongly or inadequately classified, leading to a false sense of progress. In Rani's case above, while on paper one maternal death has been reduced, in reality, the death was poorly classified. A related Millennium Development Goal states that countries should ensure universal access to reproductive health care by 2015, but that can only happen if all births and deaths are accurately recorded. Not knowing the size of the "universe" makes the goal of universal access meaningless. Having crossed the halfway mark to 2015, the international community cannot afford to lose more time. International agencies and western states should put their financial and technical resources together to energize the civil registration systems in developing countries. The Millennium Development Goals Africa group has predicted that improving the civil registration system costs a paltry 10 US cents per person. To be sure, the best reporting systems cannot eliminate maternal mortality and disability. However, decades of research have shown that reporting is a critical first step in determining what policies and measures are needed to lower the risk of death in pregnancy and childbirth. The United States, with its own strong registration system, should take the lead in developing a strong global monitoring system and intervene to strengthen the systems of other countries in the developing world. Unless this is done, and done immediately, 2076 will come and go, and the international community will continue to unravel the mystery of whether there has been any progress in ending the scourge of maternal mortality. Hopefully it will mean fewer deaths for women like Rani in the future. ... Aruna Kashyap is the Asia researcher for the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. More on India
 
Matt Littman: Besides Obama: Who Else Will Sell the President's Agenda? Top
If I had to pick a salesman to sell ice to eskimos, I would probably select Barack Obama. He's that good. So when his Administration needs to sell its enormous agenda to the public, President Obama is almost always the person doing the selling. I get it. If you have Michael Jordan on your team, you give him the ball at the end of the game. He's the go-to guy. But it can't be all-Barack, all the time. That's what MSNBC is for. President Obama has tried to use other members of the Administration to sell his plans, but no one is on a par with the President. Secretary Geithner has been tutored in the art of public speaking, and he's become the better for it. But his first try at selling an agenda item resulted in a steep stock market decline. There are certainly qualified spokespeople in the Administration. Secretary of State Clinton and Vice President Biden to name two. But the Administration has decided to solely rely on its number one guy. While the policies of the Administration have the approval of about half the country, the President's popularity rates significantly higher than his plans. Because of his poll numbers, the Administration is riding the Obama wave, much as ABC did many years ago with "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," by putting it on the air all the time. Until people got sick of it, and the ratings for the show sank. What happens if the President's approval rating diminishes? Who will sell the agenda then? The economy will probably not improve in a way that we feel for a couple of years. It's possible that the President will suffer some hits for this. The deteriorating situation in Pakistan also threatens approval ratings here. As the Bush years recede from our minds with time and therapy, Obama will only be compared to our expectations for him. If people feel that he's failing to meet their expectations, will other members of the Administration help sell the agenda, even though they'd have little experience doing it? The Administration has to know that no one will ever be Obama, just as no one on Chicago was ever Michael Jordan. But Jordan did not always take the shots. At the outset of games, the multi-title winning Bulls fed the big man, Bill Cartwright, to get him involved in the game and to keep the opposition from ganging up on Jordan. And at the end of the game, Jordan occasionally passed off to the open man, such as in Game Six of the 1993 Finals, when Jordan had the ball with about four seconds to go, and he passed off to John Paxson, who sank the big, title winning shot. Eventually, your teammates need the ball. You have to let them go out there and, while the stakes for the country are now enormous, they have to fail or succeed on their own. Geithner is a much better speaker than he was just a couple of months ago. He would never have improved so much if he hadn't had a poor first outing. President Obama may maintain a high popularity for a very long time. But he may not. And the Administration has to prepare in case he isn't as popular as he is now. Put some other spokespeople out there. Let's see what they can do. More on Barack Obama
 
Juliette Powell: Crowd Funding: How to Kickstart Your Business Top
Obama did it. Filmmakers are doing it and now you can do it to. 'Crowdfunding', a spin on 'crowdsourcing', is the latest funding opportunity at a time when our funding institutions are failing. With the success of crowdfunding campaigns like wikipedia.com and threadless.com, the financing of projects and people by (large) crowds is on the rise and a new tool to fund even the smallest of projects is now available to the general public. In the best of times, there is always a sense that there are great ideas out there with little or no chance of funding from traditional channels. According to web-preneur Perry Chen, "the biggest trend we've seen so far: even during this economy, people are generous. One reason why: people are getting big responses from their networks as people leverage their Flickr groups and other niche communities to spread the word about their projects. Also, small amounts are key. We need to move away from looking for big checks and learn to embrace small amounts. I love people who pledge $1 or $5 to a project. Why shouldn't we be able to become a patron each other for the price of a cup of coffee?" Enter KickStartr.com a free online platform that uses 'crowd-funding' to seed small projects with big communities. Although still in beta, the funding platform launched 2 weeks ago is for everyone from artists to entrepreneurs to students. Contrary to online investment mechanisms, Kickstarter's site says that: "People who use KickStartr to fund their projects ("project creators") keep 100% ownership and control." How does one crowdfund that project you've been forever putting on the back burner? To find that out, I turned to KickStartr.com founder, Perry Chen. What is the key to crowdsourcing for money or 'crowdfunding'? A focused project. I think we want to rally around things with specific goals. Making people feel like they are a part of something. This starts with a compelling story -- why I should support you -- and then a determination to spread the word. There is a great concept coined "Empowered Interactivity" by the writer Mark Hughes (from his book BuzzMarketing ). Paraphrasing, "Create a mechanism where people have an observable impact, and it becomes their brand, their 15 minutes of fame, their outcome." If you already have a large social network, will it help you get funded more quickly? No question. Each person you know is an amplifier to each person they know. We all have a social network, and the key to crowd-funding is sculpting your project and presentation so that it amplifies past that first degree of your network. If it's compelling, people will forward it. What if you don't have lots of online presence before using KickStartr, how do you raise awareness and get funded? It might not be the sexiest thing, but email is still extremely powerful. Send a rallying cry to friends and family, encouraging them to forward along. Reach out to relevant blogs and organizations. Become a marketer. You can also go small. One of our first projects (and we are only starting our 2nd week) was a programmer named Dan Phiffer who raised $99 to build a Wikipedia iPhone application . The funds will go to pay the Apple's iPhone application fee. He was fully funded in a few days. What can people do to make their idea stand out overall? Video! It's not required to fund a project, but we strongly encouraged it. Doesn't need to be Kubrick, some of the best video are just people talking about their projects. Their passion comes across, we can connect. Along those same lines, offering benefits or rewards that have charm or value is a huge boost. If you just put your hand out, it's not that interesting. Everyone can offer something in return. One great example is a project by Earl Scioneaux , a musician from New Orleans, who is offering prospective backers some home-cooked gumbo and music theory lessons. His rewards really connect us to his project and make us feel like patrons. What are some of the projects currently being funded? They cover all the bases: group of New Yorkers self-publishing a book where everyone gets a page, a photographer exploring Iceland, a writer funding travel for a regional cookbook, a NYTimes crossword puzzle creator funding the release of Brooklyn-themed puzzles. The day after we launched, two projects were already completely funded. That really blew us away. Five projects have been funded in the first week. Five more are quite close. The smallest funded was $35, and another is already close to it's $3,000 goal. Several new projects are attempting to raise $10,000. Who is likely to use the site? I think projects will mostly be started by: people with particular ideas that have been burning in their hearts for awhile; those people that have ideas falling out of their heads; and people in creative industries that no longer want to wait to be tapped on the head. Then the second group are the audiences and networks of those folks. We think, eventually, that's almost everyone. KickStartr was a back of a napkin idea, and everyone has those. What if you could easily aggregate enthusiasm with resources? What project would you like to kickstart? Juliette Powell is an entrepreneur, media consultant and author of 33 Million People in the Room ( Financial Times Press , 2009), a book about social networking for business. Powell is co-founder of the Gathering Think Tank Inc., an innovation forum at the intersection of media, business, advertising and technology. You can connect with her on Twitter and Facebook .
 
Keith Thomson: Al Qaeda: Happy Campers? Top
49 percent of Americans oppose the use of torture no matter the circumstance, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll (48 percent believe the United States should consider torture on a case basis). The country also is split on whether President Obama should investigate the treatment of terrorism suspects under the previous administration (51 percent want an inquiry, 47 don't). At the same time, the intelligence community's perception that fear will be removed from the equation has caused morale to plummet. "At its lowest point since the days of the Church Committee in the 70's," is the consensus I gathered from a range of intelligence community sources. One said that Al Qaeda members are "happy" with the new U.S. policy that essentially has opened our interrogation playbook to them. Fred Rustmann , who was a CIA operations officer for twenty-five years, says that the terrorists "feel as if they've been given a Get Out Of Jail Free card." "Al Qaeda becomes dangerous when they have a feeling of security," former Homeland Security Advisor Kenneth Wainstein told me. "We've seen that movie before with Afghanistan, in the 1990's, when they built up the infrastructure they used for 9/11." "Now, when an Al Qaeda recruit is going through his version of SERE [Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape] training camp, he is being told exactly what his interrogation will be like if he is captured," Rustmann says. "He has no fear of it. He knows that he'll come out okay. He knows that any threats to run him over to a country that will torture him are false. He knows he will not be killed or physically or mentally harmed. There will be no scars on his body or psyche when the interrogation is over. The most he'll endure will be days or weeks of discomfort. He'll be able to hold out. He won't break. There will be no incentive for him to betray Al Qaeda plans and intentions, or to give any information other than his name, rank and serial number." While careful to draw a line at cruelty, Rustmann adds, "There has to be incentive for the prisoner to answer the interrogator's questions. If there is no incentive, the prisoner will simply stonewall the interrogator. And particularly when there is no time for lengthy rapport building and recruitment, fear is the best incentive for cooperation." "The hope is that our liaison counterparts will do the heavy-lifting," Rustmann says. The Pakistani ISI interrogation tactics reputedly make those employed at Guantanamo seem like spa treatments. Rustmann notes: "People always think that the CIA will find a way to get things done, despite the laws. That may have been the case in the old days, but not today. They won't risk their careers and possible jail time." Of course, fear is not the only way to gain our enemies' cooperation. Some are swayed by ideology--The City Upon a Hill has a good track record. Some are motivated by ego, the chance to avenge a grudge against one's superior, for example. And then there is, historically, the CIA's greatest sales aid: The Almighty Dollar. With these tools, CIA officers will attempt to recruit Pakistani and Afghanistani locals--even locals who hate the West--in order to learn the whereabouts of Al Qaeda camps and destroy them. "We have been successful recruiting from strength and not having to coerce people into cooperating," Rustmann says. "You need to give them a way to rationalize their behavior. Give them an excuse--a better life for their families, for instance. They may still hate you. But they'll work for you--there are a lot of workers in America who hate their bosses." But such penetrations are rare, and time-consuming ("a year or more," Rustmann estimates). Also, as Rustmann puts it, "It's the hardest sales pitch you'll ever make in your life: inducing someone to willingly betray his country. And that's a Russian or a Frenchman, not a religious fanatic like an Al Qaeda jihadist." Still, there is an excellent historic precedent for penetration on a fee basis: It worked in, of all places, Afghanistan in 2001. "Along with Delta and Special Forces, the CIA officers were the first into Afghanistan, handing out money," Rustmann recalls. "That's how we got the Northern Alliance on our side. It was like a rent-an-army, and not a lot of money: two dollars a day was a great wage for a soldier. And you can buy fanatics too." More on Afghanistan
 

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