Friday, June 5, 2009

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Craig and Marc Kielburger: Cell Phones Contribute to Rape, War in DRC Top
"I'm here" - two little words that sat in the inbox of one of our cell phones as we prepared to write this column. This particular message came from a friend we met the evening prior. The room was crowded and she wanted to let us know, "I'm here." Today, it seemed another woman wanted to tell us the same thing. Her story is a little different. She is a survivor of rape. One so brutal she was torn apart - both physically and emotionally. The rape also succeeded in tearing apart her family, her village and now her country - the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most people don't speak to this woman now. There's a lot of stigma attached to being raped by the soldiers of the rebel army controlling her region. The army is powerful, funded by the sale of minerals like tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. Minerals that are shipped to Asia, made into electronic goods and sold to us in the form of cell phones. Today, she sent us a message - "I'm here." This woman's story is not unique to her country. In fact, about 1,100 rapes like hers are reported every month with countless more going unheard. Despite the United Nations naming the DRC the most dangerous place on earth to be a woman, little action has been taken to reverse this foreboding moniker. The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is ongoing since 1996. An estimated 5.4 million people have died making it the deadliest conflict since World War II. Sexual violence has become a tool used by the militias to destroy communities. "What the armies are trying to do is clear the land so they can take the resources," says Tanisha Taitt, producer of V-Day Toronto, a movement to stop violence against women which this year focused on the Congo. "They realize that the land is occupied and the only way to rid of the people is to systematically destroy the families." This violence is so widespread Médecins Sans Frontiers reported 75 per cent of rape victims they treat are in the Congo. Physically, the women are often subjected to fistula or HIV. Due to stigmatization, the survivors are shunned by their villages leaving them to deal with the emotional trauma alone. The result is a population ravished by disease and malnourishment. The UN estimates 1.5 million people are internally displaced and 45,000 die each month. But it doesn't have to be that way. By all measures, the Congo should be a rich. Its fertile land is ideal for growing and minerals are abundant. But, the displaced population puts the agriculture sector in disarray. And, armies control the extraction of minerals by forcing miners to work in deadly conditions for low wages. The armies then sell their plunder to international buyers with annual profits estimated at $144 million. Lax international laws make it virtually impossible for consumers to determine where the 40 milligrams of tantalum in their cell phone comes from. While giving up the device isn't a viable option in our interconnected world, we can demand transparency. In Canada, Bill C-300 demands Canadian-headquartered mining, oil and gas companies adhere to the same human rights and environmental standards in developing countries as they do here. Failure would mean loss of diplomatic support, refusal of government loans and stock dismissal from the Canada Pension Plan. The Congo Conflict Minerals Act calls on the United States to cease activities that fund armed groups and contribute to human rights violations. Support for these laws are needed as is access to information. Consumers can take action on this by demanding companies trace the supply chain and conduct audits that document the routes taken. The key is not to stay silent. The key is to let others know, "I'm here." More on Sexual Violence
 
PATH TRAIN Service Disrupted By Fire At Journal Square Top
PATH train service between New Jersey and New York has been suspended due to an electrical fire in the PATH'S main control center in Jersey City's Journal Square, according to Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said.
 
Mike Lux: How DC Centrism Makes For Bad Politics And Bad Policy Top
There's been a lot of talk in Washington, DC lately of a "new, centrist compromise" gaining momentum in terms of how to fund health care reform, and that is taxing health care benefits. The problems? It's not new, it's only centrist in the bizarre inside-the-Beltway world of what qualifies for centrist, it's one sure way to make health care reform incredibly unpopular, and it's a bad policy idea. Remember how popular Ira Magaziner's "health alliances" were in the Clinton health reform battle? This would be worse. So let's go through this point by point: 1. It's not new. The idea of taxing workers' health benefits has been around for a long time, a staple of Republican health policy for at least a generation. It was, as many of you will no doubt remember, part of John McCain's health care reform plan. In fact, it was the part of McCain's health care plan that was polling so poorly that the Obama campaign spent over $100 million worth of TV ads attacking the rich. 2. It's not centrist except in the bizarre world of inside-the-Beltway land. Seriously, it is only in the odd nether-world of special interest-dominated Washington, DC that a policy widely unpopular with the general public in every poll, one where the winning presidential candidate spent over $100 million in campaign advertising attacking, could ever be considered as a credible "centrist" solution to anything. The reason this is possible is that centrism inside-the-Beltway has nothing to do with what real voters think, and everything to do with wealthy special interests and contributors happy. Centrism in DC basically equals corporatism- doing what's good for big business. Rather than do the simple, more popular (with the voter, as opposed to the big business lobbyist) thing of paying for health care reform with progressive taxes, having wealthier taxpayers and businesses pay their fair share, as President Obama has proposed, the DC version of centrism says "Hey, let's increase taxes on hard-pressed middle-class people who work for a living." 3. It's unpopular. When a Presidential campaign picks one policy of their opponent to run more ads on than any other, it is because that policy is a particularly vulnerable area for them with voters. The reason Barack Obama's campaign ran so many ads against McCain's proposal to tax health care benefits is that most people hate the idea. When asked whether health care reform should be funded by taxing health care benefits in a recent poll, only 19% favored the idea, while 77% opposed. Over half, 52%, strongly opposed the idea. On the other hand, paying for health care reform through the progressive tax plan proposed by Obama was favored 62%-35%. 4. It's bad policy. That whole trickle-down, never-tax-the-rich thing is fundamentally failed policy, and the idea of actually increasing the financial burden on hard-pressed working families whose out-of-pocket health care costs have been going through the roof makes no sense. For families with an income of $50,000, they have lost ground in the recent decade, with incomes rising hardly at all while energy, education, grocery, and health care costs have risen dramatically. It makes no sense to dramatically increase their tax burden. The kind of special interest centrism that comes up with tax-the-health-benefits policy "compromise" is classic DC establishment: in order to avoid offending wealthy contributors and special interests, let's be "centrist" and making middle-class families pay the bill. This is exactly the kind of politics that Barack Obama came to Washington to change.
 
Adam Green: Norm Coleman Raises $140,000 for Progressives -- Time for a Knock-Out Punch? Top
Ladies and gentleman...Norm Coleman's insistence on being a sore loser has now raised over $140,000 to help progressives defeat Republicans in 2010. Thanks so much to the many Huffington Post readers who read about the PCCC and Democracy for America's "Dollar a Day to Make Norm Go Away" campaign ever since Sam Stein reported it on the day it launched. If this were a boxing match, it appears Norm Coleman is on the ropes : Roll Call reports that we may now be entering a truly crucial phase in the seemingly never-ending saga of the 2008 Minnesota Senate election -- indeed, it might actually be ending fairly soon, if Norm Coleman doesn't have the heart to keep going. The MN Supreme Court will rule within a week or two. This is the moment of truth. Either we lay the pressure on thick now and get Coleman to concede when the ruling comes, or he appeals again -- keeping Al Franken out of the Senate for potentially months more. It's time for a knock out punch. Can you help us reach $150,000 by Monday? On Monday, we'll be taking our message directly to Coleman's DC funders! Back in Round 6 of the fight, when we were only at $86,000, local Minnesotans made sure Norm Coleman directly got the message that he was hurting Republicans every day he stayed in the race. To the right is the video of Coleman receiving a big check written out from him to progressives. Our campaign's generated a ton of national news (NY Times, Politico, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, Huffington Post, etc.) which Coleman's DC funders would have to try hard to miss. But on Monday, we'll making sure they hear directly just how much they'll be shooting themselves in the foot if they encourage Coleman to keep going. $150,000 is a nice round number that they'll have to take notice of... can you help us make it there? Help throw the knock-out punch... More on Al Franken
 
Daoud Kuttab: Obama is First US President in Office who Speaks of the Suffering of Palestinian Christians Top
"It is undeniable that the Palestinian people- Muslim and Christians- have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation, Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza and neighboring lands of a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations- large and small that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation of the Palestinian people is intolerable." The above words were spoken by the President of the United States Barack Obama in Cairo to millions of people around the world. Never before had a US president even admitted the existence of Palestinian Christians let alone speak of the suffering of Palestinian Christians. For years Americans were fed the stereotypical image of Palestinians as nothing less than Islamic terrorists. Jewish Israelis on the other hand were presented with the image of people with similar values and part of the Judeo Christian heritage. Right wing Christian televangelists and Christian Zionists portrayed the evil Palestinians who were somehow an obstacle to the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. These Christian Zionists never admitted the existence of fellow Palestinian Christians let alone admit that they were suffering at the hands of the 'chosen' Jewish people. In his 47 minute speech at Cairo University President Obama spoke in general terms about the rights of other Christian communities including Egyptian Coptic Christians and Lebanese Maronites. In the past month the issue of Arab Christians was raised in public during the visit of Pope Bendict XVI. In welcoming the pope at the King Hussein Mosque in Amman, Prince Ghazi Bin Mohammad gave special reference to Arab Christians: "Christians were in Jordan 600 years before Muslims. Indeed, Jordanian Christians are perhaps the oldest Christian community in the world, and the majority have always been Orthodox." Statistics regarding Arab Christians vary. Wikipedia states that Christians today make up 9.2 per cent of the population of the Near East. In Lebanon, they now number around 39 percent, in Syria from 10 to 15 percent. In Palestine before the creation of Israel, estimates range up to as much as 40 per cent, but mass emigration has slashed the number at present to 3.8 percent. In Israel, Arab Christians constitute 2.1 percent (or roughly 10 percent of the Arab population). In Egypt, they constitute between 9 and 16 percent of the population (the government figures put them at 6 percent). Around two-thirds of North and South American and Australian Arabs are Christian, particularly from Lebanon, but also from Palestine and Syria. The current president of El Salvador, Antonio Saca, comes from well-known Christian Palestinian ancestry; his family emigrated from Bethlehem in the early 20th century. Although the number of Christian Palestinians in Jerusalem and the occupied territories has dwindled over the years, they are still a key component of the Palestinian and Arab peoples of the region. Activists blame violence, occupation and uncertainty, coupled with work (or lack thereof) and emigration opportunities as the main reason for the flight of Christian Palestinians to the Americas, Australia and Europe. Unlike followers of the Jewish and Muslim faiths, Christians have no religious attachment to physical locations. Scholars refer to the response of Jesus to the Samaritan woman's question about whether to worship in Jerusalem or in the Sumerian mountains. Jesus replied to her: "Neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." A survey issued by the UN Office of Humanitarian Aid announced just prior to the visit of the Pope in May showed that Bethlehem, the birth place of Christ is being choked. In its report, the UN showed how the 176,230 Palestinians who live in the Bethlehem District amid 86,000 Israelis stood to lose even more of their land to 19 settlements and 16 outposts. "The physical and administrative restrictions allocate most of Bethlehem's remaining land reserves for Israeli military and settler use, effectively reducing the space available to the Palestinian inhabitants of Bethlehem," the report stated. Bethlehem's potential for residential and industrial development had been reduced, as had its access to natural resources, it said. According to the UN report, the security wall has also made it difficult for Christians and Muslims to travel to religious sites outside of the city. The once predominantly Christian town a few kilometers south of Jerusalem today boosts only 40% Christian population. While it is safe to say that the US administration still views the Middle East conflict in political rather than religious terms, it is refreshing to hear a US president give recognition to a small but faithful Palestinian Christian community. More on Israel
 
Jeff Danziger: American TienAnMen Top
More on Wal-Mart
 
Charles Taylor Converts To Judaism, Who Could Be Worse? (POLL) Top
Via Foreign Policy , one of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor's wives told BBC Radio today that her husband is converting to Judaism. He will practice both Christianity and Judaism, she said. Taylor is currently imprisoned in the Hague on war crimes charges allegedly committed in Sierra Leone. As his wife told the BBC: Because of the difficulties, he always wanted to know God in a very different and special way. From a very small boy -- because we talk about his childhood a whole lot -- he asked himself questions about Christianity. Too many questions about why certain things happened. And why, this one and that one. Just too many question in Christianity and the whole thing about Christ because he does believe in Christ. When he got to the Hague, he got to know that he really, really wanted to be a Jew. Wanted to convert to Judaism. Get HuffPost World On Facebook and Twitter! More on Religion
 
Obama Arrives In Paris After Visiting Germany Top
PARIS — President Barack Obama has arrived in Paris after meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany and touring the Buchenwald concentration camp, where tens of thousands of Jews perished during the Holocaust. Obama is to meet Saturday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and help commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Allies' D-Day invasion in France. Obama is also reuniting with his family in Paris. First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha flew to the City of Light on Friday to join him. Obama witnessed the Nazi ovens of the Buchenwald concentration camp Friday, its clock tower frozen at the time of liberation, and said the leaders of today must not rest against the spread of evil. The president called the camp where an estimated 56,000 people died the "ultimate rebuke" to Holocaust deniers and skeptics. And he bluntly challenged one of them, Iranian President Ahmadinejad, to visit Buchenwald. "These sites have not lost their horror with the passage of time," Obama said after seeing crematory ovens, barbed-wire fences, guard towers and the clock set at 3:15, marking the camp's liberation in the afternoon of April 11, 1945. "More than half a century later, our grief and our outrage over what happened have not diminished." Buchenwald "teaches us that we must be ever-vigilant about the spread of evil in our own time, that we must reject the false comfort that others' suffering is not our problem, and commit ourselves to resisting those who would subjugate others to serve their own interests," Obama said. He also said he saw, reflected in the horrors, Israel's capacity to empathize with the suffering of others, which he said gave him hope Israel and the Palestinians can achieving a lasting peace. Obama became the first U.S. president to visit the Buchenwald concentration camp. It was, in part, a personal visit: His great-uncle helped liberate a nearby satellite camp, Ohrdruf, in early April 1945 just days before other U.S. Army units overran Buchenwald. Earlier in Dresden alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama pressed for progress toward Mideast peace. The U.S. "can't force peace upon the parties," he said, but America has "at least created the space, the atmosphere, in which talks can restart." The president also announced he was dispatching special envoy George J. Mitchell back to the region next week to follow up on Obama's speech in Cairo a day earlier in which he called for both Israelis and Palestinians to make concessions in the standoff. Fresh from visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Obama said that while regional and worldwide powers must help achieve peace, responsibility ultimately falls to Israelis and Palestinians to reach an accord. He said Israel must live up to commitments it made under the so-called "Road Map" peace outline to stop constructing settlements, adding: "I recognize the very difficult politics in Israel of getting that done." He also said the Palestinians must control violence-inciting acts and statements, saying that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas "has made progress on this issue, but not enough." Merkel, for her part, promised to cooperate on the long-sought goal. She said the two leaders discussed a time frame for a peace process but did not elaborate. "With the new American government and the president, there is a truly unique opportunity to revive this peace process or, let us put this very cautiously, this process of negotiations," Merkel said. Elie Wiesel, a 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and Holocaust survivor whose father died of starvation at Buchenwald three months before liberation, and Bertrand Herz, also a Buchenwald survivor; accompanied Obama and Merkel at the camp. Each laid a long-stemmed white rose at a memorial. They were later joined by Volkhard Knigge, head of the Buchenwald memorial. "To this day, there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened," Obama said. "This place is the ultimate rebuke to such thoughts, a reminder of our duty to confront those who would tell lies about our history." It was a pointed message to Iran's Ahmadinejad, who has expressed doubts that 6 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis. "He should make his own visit" to Buchenwald, Obama told NBC earlier Friday. He added: "I have no patience for people who would deny history." Separately, the president told reporters: "The international community has an obligation, even when it's inconvenient, to act when genocide is occurring." After the tour, Obama flew to Landstuhl, the U.S. military hospital for private visits with U.S. troops recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spent about two hours visiting the wounded. More on Barack Obama
 
Biden Skipping Mayors Event Because Of Picket Line Top
WASHINGTON — Steering clear of a messy labor dispute, the White House on Friday said Vice President Joe Biden and other members of President Barack Obama's Cabinet have scrapped plans to attend a national mayors' conference in Rhode Island rather than cross a picket line of local firefighters. In a statement to The Associated Press, presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration will redouble its efforts to work with the nation's mayors in other ways. That includes a fresh invitation for the mayors to come to the White House. But for now, the list of premier guests at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Providence, R.I., next week just got a lot shorter. Even as the White House was announcing its decision, the mayoral group's Web site promoted that its confirmed guests included Biden, senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Attorney General Eric Holder, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and other administration officials. None of them now plan to attend. "Unfortunately, because of circumstances surrounding the conference, administration officials will not be participating in this year's meeting," Gibbs said. Those circumstances are a years-long conflict between the Providence mayor, David Cicilline, and local firefighters over contract matters. Cicilline is the host of the conference in his home city, and the firefighters, backed by the International Association of Firefighters, plan to stage a picket line at the event. "While this administration is taking no position on the circumstances of the dispute itself, we have always respected picket lines, and administration officials will not cross this one," Gibbs said. More on Eric Holder
 
Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh: I Hate The Term "Food Police." And I Wear It With Pride. Top
I hear the term "Food Police" a lot: mostly as a condescending slur on parents. It came up on the comments for my last post, as it often does when I give speeches or people review my book. People are incredulous that I would suggest that parents can feed their own children. This distaste appears any time the topic of parents and food intersect. We are a culture that delights in chiding parents and moralizing about food and we are never happier than when we combine these passions. My husband bought me a real metal sheriff's badge on eBay a few years back after one of my apoplectic rants about how often I hear "Well, you don't want to be the Food Police..." I wear it under my jacket or in my pocket so I can pull it out and make the slur into a badge of honor instead. I'm tired of this phrase and since I can't stomp it out I might as well own it. Here's the truth: food isn't magic and it isn't optional. Neither are parents. Parents have been feeding their kids since we had hands to do so. Although inherently mysterious, our relationship with food is not done with incantations and formulas; we have done it reliably and lovingly and communally down through the ages. Parents only became incompetent and penitent and apologetic more recently, but that we can unlearn. Not coincidentally, it is only recently that food itself was deemed not necessary to eating. Eschewing food is now more important than chewing. Our eating culture is structured around avoiding elements of food. The grocery store is a guided map to "low" "no" "free" consumption that we then drive somewhere to "work" off in measured increments of self-loathing. We eat inside a moral sculpture in the shape of our bodies. This is the hectoring unpleasantness we call healthy. This is the lifestyle we laud and the new Kool-Aid we give the kids. Do too much of it and you'll be the "Food Police" and do too little and you are part of the Childhood Obesity Crisis. The margin of normal? Vanishingly thin. I'm an eating disorder treatment activist. So you may think my perspective is simply reactive. You are half right: I have a chip on my shoulder right over my Food Law Enforcement epaulets. The acquaintance of countless families watching loved ones slip into obsessive avoidance of food does alter my view, but not in the way you might think. Spending time in the eating disorder world has taught me just as much about the rest of us as it has anorexia and bulimia and binge eating disorder. Disempowered parents are not great caregivers. Parents trained to be afraid of food, afraid of our own bodies, afraid of "passing on" our habits and hips and favorite foods, afraid of "too much" and excess and miscalculating the emaciated margin of Good Food and Ideal Body Weight -- these are parents rendered incompetent to nourish children. Faced with a child with a predisposition for an eating disorder and a mother and father become powerless and dependent on the ready militia of chiding, condescending moral experts on food. Even normal families in today's environment grow to fear and loathe the dinner table fraught with don'ts and can'ts and shouldn'ts. We give up and feed according to the label, without a schedule, eating to live but not together or in pleasure. I am called the Food Police because I believe parents can and should be in charge of their own family's table -- even and especially when an eating disorder is present. I believe in family meals and call on parents to be responsible for planning and serving and being there even in a culture that thinks we should put soccer practice and 110-calorie snack packs above planning a meal around a table. I call on parents to put delicious food on the table and enjoy it with their children. The policing, it seems to me, is better applied to those who would disempower a parent struggling to do the work of raising a family. An injunction against the term Food Police might be a start. More on Food
 
Broadcom Co-Founder, Nicholas: Drug, Dungeon Charges Are False Top
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas III is speaking out in hopes of clearing his name after federal prosecutors accused the billionaire of throwing drug parties and slipping ecstasy into the drinks of business associates. Nicholas told The Orange County Register in an interview published Friday that there was no so-called secret lair beneath the mansion where he lived, except a room his children used for band practice. "Enough is enough," he told the newspaper. "There have been some pretty preposterous allegations made about me which have been reported in the media. While we have, can and will demonstrate that these allegations are false, what I have found is that if you don't respond, the stories are going to keep snowballing." Nicholas has pleaded not guilty to drug charges and to conspiring to backdate $2.2 billion in employee stock options while at the helm of the Irvine-based computer chip company. Prosecutors have accused Nicholas of keeping a warehouse where he stashed and distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy. They say he also hired prostitutes and escorts for himself, his employees and customers. Nicholas' attorney James Brosnahan said the drug allegations would not stand in court because witnesses made them in the pursuit of money. A trial is scheduled for next year. Two earlier civil lawsuits filed against Nicholas by a personal assistant and construction crew accused him of drug use and hiring prostitutes. ___ Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com
 
Amitai Etzioni: Progressive Security and Conserving Rights Top
There is no reason for the Democrats to allow themselves to be painted again as the party that is weak on defense, an image that will haunt them when the next terrorist attack hits. Nor is there a reason that security and the protection of rights cannot be squared. One should not take lightly the marker that Cheney put down, just because so many good people hold him in very low regard. Republicans, and many other voters and our allies overseas, will ask "Did the Democrats neglect security?" when we are attacked again. President Obama's response tries to split the difference by drawing legalistic distinctions. He is closing Guantanamo, but is keeping it open, or least holding the detainees there for now -- maybe some other detention location or shipping them to Saudi Arabia will follow. He has divided the detainees into five groups, each of which he hopes to grant a different level of rights, enough to make even the eyes of a law student blur over. He is closing the military commissions by reopening them under modified rules. There must be, there is, another way. Democrats ought to start by making it plain that Cheney and his associates, far from making us secure, left us woeful exposed. There are several major security threats that were largely ignored by the Bush-Cheney Administration. It is the Obama Administration that is attending to these threats, and in ways that progressive people have little reason to oppose. The threats include, first of all, the dangers posed by cyber terrorists to both the government and the private sector. Given the way U.S. computer networks are now exposed, little information--whether it concerns security or the economy--can be kept confidential. Moreover, cyber attacks can readily disrupt key elements of US infrastructure, such as air traffic. In 2008, hackers breached government computers and planted harmful software 5,499 times. Cyber spies stole information on the Defense Department's Joint Strike Fighter. It was left to Obama to pay the proper attention that this issue commands by appointing a cyber security czar, a long overdue step in the right direction. Equally exposed is the electrical gird on which U.S. factories, offices and homes all rely. Software programs were found to have been planted in the U.S. electrical grid that could be used to disrupt the system in the future. An experiment in an Idaho demonstrated that hackers could command an electricity-producing turbine to spin in ways that would cause it to fly apart. Another security matter the previous administration did not address. Finally, very little has been done to prepare for bioterrorism. A 2008 Congressionally mandated independent commission report found that a biological attack is more likely than a nuclear terrorist attack. It is widely agreed that Al-Qaeda has tried to develop a bioterrorism capability, and a January 2009 report indicates that terrorists in Algeria may have been stricken by biological agents with which they were working, possibly the plague. Dealing with this threat has also been left largely to the Obama Administration. Some may argue that although advancing these security measures violates no rights, indeed it helps protect them, merely championing new and powerful security measures amounts to fear mongering. However, the measures that are needed have the great merit that they should be introduced even if no terrorist attack is feared to occur . Enhancing cybersecurity is essential to protect our privacy, trade secrets, and intellectual properties. A smarter and more reliable grid is needed to promote energy conservation. And many measures needed to protect us against a bioterrorism are no different from those needed to respond to a pandemic. In short, any suggestion that Cheney and company made us more secure and that the Obama Administration is neglecting our security has no basis in the facts. At the same time, there are several key changes in security policy that civil libertarians favor and that no one in his right mind can claim undermine our security. For instance, instead of continuing with indefinite detention without review, a gross violation of one of the most profound foundations of liberty-- habeas corpus --the term of confinement of each detainee should be reviewed every year or so to determine whether it is safe to release the person, as is done for many sex offenders. The Supreme Court examined that form of detention in Kansas v. Hendricks (regarding the constitutionality of Kansas's 1994 Sexual Violent Predator Act) and found it constitutional. There is no reason to accord terrorists more rights than to American sex offenders. Similarly, it is hard to see why we should not replace the military commissions with a national security court, as suggested by the current U.S. Justice Department Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal, or better yet with a national security review board. Those reviewed by this body should have access to a lawyer of their choosing from a list of lawyers with security clearances. And they should be able to appeal the decision to a second, higher ranking, review board. Other adaptations can be made, such as not allowing incriminating statements to be thrown out on the basis of a suspected terrorist not having been read his Miranda rights, in the heat of a battle. But one can still ensure that those detained will be judged by some independent body that will fairly determine whether they indeed are a security risk or should be released. Other measures can be readily discerned if one does not approach the matter with attempts to parse each measure so that it address both sides of the issue. There are some security measures this administration can and should take, and several ways rights can be restored, without so much fudging. --- **I will respond to the comments of those persons who are willing to identify themselves, because I hold this essential for a civilized dialogue. Amitai Etzioni is University Professor at The George Washington University and author of Security First (Yale University Press, 2007). For more, go here. More on Terrorism
 
Rep. Edolphus Towns: Providing Parental Leave Benefits Invests in Federal Working Families Top
People are often surprised to learn that the federal government does not provide paid parental leave to its more than 1.8 million hard-working employees. Currently, when federal workers become new parents they are often forced to make the tough decision between staying home to care for their children without pay or return to work early because they cannot afford to take the time off. We believe this is a choice federal workers should not have to make. As the nation's largest employer, the federal government must be a leader in implementing family-friendly workplace policies. The pro-family "Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act" (H.R. 626), which we have sponsored for many years and passed the House of Representatives yesterday by a 258-154 vote, would eliminate this outdated federal workforce policy and better support working families during this critical time in their child's life. The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act provides four weeks of paid leave following the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child. For the 116,218 federal employees who reside in New York State, being forced to choose between getting a paycheck and caring for their new child is one of the hardest choices they will be forced to make during their careers. Moreover, paid parental leave allows families the opportunity to participate during those critical early moments in their child's life. Children whose parents are provided with paid leave are more likely to have regular check-ups, receive immunizations, and engage in the parent-child bonding that is crucial to early childhood development. But the joyous occasion of a new child can bring undue stress when a family is faced with reduced or no income at all. Today, most families no longer have a stay-at-home parent to care for a new child. Long before the economic crisis hit, few families could afford to go without pay for any length of time. Now, with massive job losses in New York City and across the nation, many formerly dual-income families are struggling to pay the bills on a single salary. On average, new parents spend $11,000 in added expenses in the year a child is born. Paid leave ensures that new families' incomes and spending remain steady and continue to drive economic growth, which we sorely need right now. Paid parental leave is also a worthwhile investment for the federal government. Family-friendly policies boost employee morale and productivity and in turn, reduce turnover and eliminate the cost to taxpayers of hiring and training a new employee. Consider the math. It costs 20 percent of an employee's salary to hire and train a new worker, compared to just eight percent of an employee's salary to provide a skilled, experienced employee with four weeks of paid parental leave. It's a win-win for the federal workforce and the American taxpayer. The United States has fallen behind other industrialized nations and the private sector in providing paid leave. We are the only industrialized nation whose national government workforce does not receive paid parental leave. An astonishing 168 countries are ahead of the United States in setting family friendly workplace policies. In addition, 75 of the Fortune 100 companies already employ workplace policies that invest in employees and their children. It is well past time for the United States to set workplace policies that make it competitive with the private sector--and get us in step with the rest of the industrialized world when it comes to supporting its federal workforce. We are proud that the House took strong action this week to support federal working families. Now, with the support of Senator Jim Webb, D-VA, who has introduced companion legislation in the Senate (S.354), we hope to see swift action on this bill and get it to the President Obama's desk for a signature in the coming months. Congressman Towns (D-NY) is Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and is an original cosponsor of H.R. 626; Congresswoman Maloney (D-NY), the author of H.R. 626, is Chair of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.
 
Jeff Schweitzer: Green or Growth: A False Choice Recycled by the Right Top
When extremists on the left or right express views on the environment, the noise is easy to filter as chatter in the nut-wing echo chamber. But a disturbing trend has developed in which mainstream right-of-center pundits are regressing on issues of environmental protection, and that is more difficult to dismiss. The poster child for this childish behavior is George Will, who has a voice in the nation's most influential newspapers and on major cable channels. In the Washington Post this week, for example, Will writes that "reasonable dissent is impossible " on the issue of climate change due to the "grating smugness" of the left. His wrath was incurred by a statement in the New York Times that noted that in the late 1990s "it was possible to find global-warming skeptics among even the reasonable and informed." I suspect that Will believes anybody who disagrees with him is gratingly smug, even when all evidence is overwhelmingly in the favor of his opponents. The accusation of smugness coming from pursed lips and a bow tie seems incongruous, but so be it. In any case, faithful skeptics like Will make two critical errors in thinking that: 1) the problems are not real, and 2) even if the problems were real, addressing the issues would destroy our economy. Let's look at each in turn. Fallacy No. 1: Environmental Problems are a Creation of the Left Somewhere along the way, the conservative party stopped believing in conservation. Those on the right now believe that concern for the environment is a plot by the left to promote socialism. They can only reach this conclusion by ignoring compelling evidence to the contrary. Climate Change Faithful skeptics take the unusual position that they know more than climatologists from 166 countries who have evaluated the data and concluded that global warming is real and caused by human activity. That the earth has gone through natural variations in climate is not unknown to these scientists, who have incorporated that fact into their analysis. Note that with this approach of simply claiming expert knowledge we have finally discovered a cure for cancer. Let's have the right claim that they know more than oncologists who have studied malignancy and declare that cancer is not real. And magically, we will have no cancer, just as with such magic we have no climate change. Global Amphibian Deaths Since the 1970s, ecologists have documents a precipitous decline in amphibian populations worldwide. The right wing might want to jump in here and save the frogs by declaring that they know more than the world's most prominent herpetologists, and that the data should be dismissed as left-wing propaganda. Voila, the frogs are saved. But the faithful skeptics have to move fast because in some areas, scientists are seeing mortality reach 80 to 100 percent as chytridiomycosis spreads unchecked. In the last 20 years at least 168 species have gone extinct. We now document that another 2469 species are either declining rapidly or are past that point and now close to extinction. Honey Bee Colony Collapse Honey bees are responsible for pollinating one-third of all food crops in the United States, including such staples as nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables. The value of the 130 crops dependent on bees exceeds $15 billion annually. So we discover with some concern that some beekeepers started reporting in late 2006 losses of 30 to 90 percent of their hives. Scientists have not yet definitively determined the cause of the spreading Colony Collapse Disorder, but know that the problem has now been reported in 24 states. About one-third of all bees have been lost since the disease was discovered, although not all of those losses are due to CCD. Bat Pandemics A mysterious fungus is viciously attacking the bat population in the northeast United States. State biologists now believe that the offending white fungus might represent the greatest threat to wildlife in more than 100 years. You might think you do not care about bats, but if you like insects even less, the bat decline should cause alarm. Most bats eat their body weight in insects every night. So some bugs are celebrating the fact that the fungus has killed up to 1 million bats to date, and is spreading unchecked. Habitat Loss For a host of complex reasons, we are losing critical habitat at an accelerating pace. We are destroying 40 million acres of tropical forests every year. The earth is losing up to 50,000 species annually, a rate nearly 1000 times the natural background level of natural extinction. Along with those species and habitats we lose knowledge, medicines and critical ecosystems functions. More than half of all coral reefs are dead or dying. We now estimate that 70 percent of all reefs will disappear in the next fifty years, largely due to global warming. Why should you care? Coral reefs provide about $375 billion worth of economic and environmental services each year. About 500 million people live within just sixty miles of a coral reef, and benefit directly from the reefs' productivity and protection they provide from the ocean's wrath. The Great Barrier Reef alone supports about 8 percent of all of the world's fish species. You eat many of them. Perhaps not for long, though, because we have depleted 90% of the species in the ocean that supply us with food. Exactly how many canaries have to die in the coal mine before the right wing takes notice that we have some issues? Fallacy No. 2: Environmental Problems are Too Costly to Address Ignoring the most obvious argument that environmental problems are too costly not to address, let us look at the false choice offered by the right: economic growth or environmental protection. The next few centuries belong to the country smart enough to be the first to master green technologies and renewable energy. The false dichotomy between growth and the environment is an anachronism born from the failures of conservative thought. Conservatives believe that growth is only possible at the expense of the environment, and that any and all efforts to protect our resources impede growth. That philosophy is wrong on every count. Way back in the prehistoric times of 1988 as the Chief Environmental Officer at the Agency for International Developed I funded an effort to explore the economic incentives for conserving biological diversity. The results were published in a book authored by Jeff McNeely, who provided case study after case study that showed unambiguously that environmental protection was not only conducive to economic growth, but essential to it. We've known this now for 20 years, but the right keeps insisting on hiding from the facts. Environmentalism is not the ideology of left wing socialists, but instead the true engine of all future economic growth. Just as the United States rose to greatness on the engine of industrialization, the world's next great superpower will come to dominate by advancing green technologies. The false choice offered by the right is dangerous not only to the environment but to our national security. The next superpower will be the country that moves quickly to solar, wind and (sane) biofuel power, and finally to hydrogen. You have doubts? Consider the national security implications of moving successfully to a hydrogen economy free from the tyranny of foreign oil. The Middle East will become noting but another spot on the map, contributing no more than Tanzania or Lichtenstein to world affairs. Consider the benefits of clean energy from sun and wind giving life to factory and farms with local sources of power invulnerable to attacks on a national grid. Imagine a transportation sector that pollutes nothing but a few drops of water from each tailpipe. Imagine this as you contemplate the price of oil climbing back up to $140/barrel or more. Opportunities abound. Currently the United States generates only 18% of its energy through the use of renewable technologies. If bacteria can be engineered to digest cellulose to produce the feedstock necessary for fuel production, biomass fuels could meet a significant portion of our energy needs. Spray-on solar cells are now in the laboratory. Wind turbines get better every year. Of course one big stumbling block remains battery technology, which is why the Obama Administration is wisely supporting research into energy storage. The future belongs to those seeking to integrate green and growth. This is how our national interests will be secured. This is where jobs will be created. Several studies conclude that just doubling current wind energy capacity in the United States could create 150,000 new manufacturing jobs in 20 states. The United States should rightfully lead this charge, but only will if the faithful right wing skeptics adopt a more enlightened attitude appropriate to the 21st century and move away from the odd idea that any effort to discuss green growth is gratingly smug. Or the GOP could become irrelevant politically. I hope for the former but would settle for the latter. More on Green Energy
 
Indoor Air Pollution: Six Surprising Sources Top
The most widely quoted statistic about air quality is this: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that indoor air can be two- to five-times more polluted than the air outdoors. And while the EPA is responsible for cracking down on outdoor pollution -- the smog, ozone and other chemicals that spew from tailpipes and smokestacks -- protecting the air indoors is largely the responsibility of homeowners. More on Green Living
 
Rick Sanchez Rips Bill O'Reilly For Lying About CNN And Murdered Army Recruiter (VIDEO) Top
CNN's Rick Sanchez slammed Bill O'Reilly Friday afternoon for his claim that CNN didn't cover the murder of Army recruiter William Long until Anderson Cooper's featured the story on "AC360." "CNN is supposed to be the news channel," O'Reilly said to Editor & Publisher's Joe Strupp. "CNN says we don't do opinion, we do news. Only Anderson Cooper at 10:00 covered this story. Nobody else! All day long it wasn't news to cover an army recruiter gunned down in Arkansas?" Sanchez then proceeded to play a "Daily Show"-like montage of clips of CNN anchors and reporters discussing the story all day. "Let's see, that was Kyra Phillips, Tony Harris, Heidi Collins, Lou Dobbs, certainly you saw myself, you just saw David Mattingly there, Wolf Blitzer, we saw Kiran Chetry, we saw Erica Hill — that's nobody?" Sanchez asked. "Let's add this up together now," Sanchez said. "We led with the story when it broke. We led with it again the next day. We analyzed the terrorism angle with experts and called former FBI agents to take us through it. And as a network, we covered the story umpteen times throughout the days, throughout all hours of those days. But Bill O'Reilly says he only saw it once. And since he only saw it once, well then that must be the truth. It doesn't matter what really happened. It doesn't matter what the record shows. All that matters is what Bill thinks he saw. We called Fox today, by the way. No response yet." Sanchez ended with a comment on O'Reilly calling CNN the "news channel." "O'Reilly did get one thing right," he said. "We here at CNN do say we're in the business of doing news. You know why? Because we are. And while we are far from perfect, we do check our facts before we say things. And if we get it wrong, we say so. And that is called reporting." Watch: More on CNN
 
George Tiller Investigation: DOJ Opens Probe Into Doctor's Murder Top
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Friday launched an investigation into the killing of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller to see whether the accused gunman had accomplices. The department will investigate possible federal crimes in connection with Dr. Tiller's slaying at his church last Sunday in Wichita. "The Department of Justice will work tirelessly to determine the full involvement of any and all actors in this horrible crime," said Loretta King, head of the department's civil rights division. Anyone who played a role in the killing, she said, will be prosecuted "to the full extent of federal law." The department will seek to determine if the killing violated a 1994 law creating criminal penalties for violent or damaging conduct toward abortion providers and their patients. Police have charged 51-year-old Scott Roeder with Tiller's death. After the killing, U.S. Marshals began providing security to some abortion providers and clinics around the country. Tiller's funeral is scheduled for Saturday, and U.S. Marshals spokesman Jeff Carter said federal deputies "are committed to ensuring every individual wishing to mourn Doctor Tiller's passing can do so in a safe and secure environment." Roeder is charged with first-degree murder and is being held on $5 million bond at Sedgwick County Jail. He called The Associated Press from the jail Thursday. "I haven't been convicted of anything, and I am being treated as a criminal," Roeder said. If convicted of the state murder charge, Roeder would face a mandatory life sentence and would not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years.
 
Change In Diet Could Curb Cows' Carbon Emissions Top
Libby, age 6, and the 74 other dairy cows on Guy Choiniere's farm here are at the heart of an experiment to determine whether a change in diet will help them belch less methane, a potent heat-trapping gas that has been linked to climate change. Since January, cows at 15 farms across Vermont have had their grain feed adjusted to include more plants like alfalfa and flaxseed -- substances that, unlike corn or soy, mimic the spring grasses that the animals evolved long ago to eat. More on Climate Change
 
Gillian Caldwell: Clean Energy Bill Can Be Better Top
The American Clean Energy and Security Act offers our country the most important opportunity in generations to jumpstart our economy, create millions of new jobs and set the stage for America to compete and win in a 21st century economy while reducing global warming pollution. This clean energy jobs bill could set us on the pathway back to economic prosperity. But in order for to usher in a new clean energy future, we need to speak out and tell Congress to stand up to the special interests that seek to weaken the bill at every turn. The Bush Administration had a virtual open-door policy to Big Oil for the last eight years. Meanwhile, the powerful interests of oil and coal have had a stranglehold on our energy policy, keeping our country hooked on dirty energy sources. At the same time, China and India have invested in clean energy technology development, recognizing that global economic leadership in the future is dependent on investments in clean energy infrastructure and technology now. America has a chance to lead in the global race if we pass a bill that truly levels the playing field for clean renewable energy and limits the entitlement to federal subsidies and the continued control of our energy economy of Big Oil and Coal. Long-established energy industries have received concessions during the House committee negotiation process that have damaged this bill's ability to deliver on the full promise of clean energy jobs, strong, inclusive and sustaining economy in the 21st century and reducing pollution. Many of the considerations granted the oil, coal, and electricity industries would preserve their market power and profits. We believe that industries should pay to clean up their emissions --not demand loopholes, bailouts, and giveaways from the federal government. The clean energy jobs bill will best serve America if we can strengthen its provisions to maximize job creation, invest in the skills of our workers and the long-term economic prosperity of our country, and significantly reduce the pollution that has been caused by fossil fuel industries for decades. We are calling on members of the House of Representatives to push for provisions that ensure more clean energy for America by increasing the Renewable Electricity Standard, hold polluters accountable by restoring the authority to the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon emissions from power plans under the Clean Air Act, and create more clean energy jobs for America and build resiliency to climate change by reducing allocations to polluting industries. Given a chance, American innovation and ingenuity can lead us out to long-term and broadly shared clean economic prosperity. 1Sky has an easy 1-click mechanism enabling people to fax their member of Congress and ask them to support a strong clean energy jobs bill. Please take action now. More on House Of Representatives
 
LAND OF THE LOST REVIEW: To See Or Not To See? Top
Directed by Brad Silberling and starring Will Ferrell, this update on the Sid and Marty Krofft television series from the 1970s is the strangest, filthiest summer movie I think I've ever seen �" and it opens against one that features Mike Tyson, a tiger and Zach Galifianakis.
 
David Beckmann: A Balanced Approach to U.S. Foreign Aid Reform Top
After reading several reader responses to a recent essay in the Wall Street Journal by former Secretaries of State Albright and Powell, "Don't Forget About Foreign Aid" at href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124148276774185481.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124148276774185481.html I noticed a recurring theme. American taxpayers are concerned that their contributions to foreign aid may not always reach those whom they are intended to help, due to corruption, political strife or other limiting factors in the developing world. Sadly, in many instances over the years, this has indeed been the case. However, let us not throw out the baby with the bathwater. U.S. foreign assistance has worked miracles around the globe, but is outdated and in need of an overhaul. Deaths from diseases like measles have fallen dramatically around the world and almost 30 million more children are in school in sub-Saharan Africa since just 2000. A more efficient foreign assistance system--with better coordination, better accountability and better clarity--will ensure that people who need help the most get it faster and more effectively. Also, it will mean less waste and more impact for our hard-earned tax dollars. Foreign assistance CAN be cost-effective and foster economic sustainability, and we who are lucky enough to live in the wealthiest nation in the world benefit from it every day. Investments in international health care, education, job creation, infrastructure and other essential services that generate economic growth and reduce poverty overseas are investments in our own future. Providing assistance to the developing world is not only the right thing to do, it's sound economic and national security policy. In recent years, we have learned painful lessons that it's not smart to neglect misery in far-off places. And, in a world where poverty anywhere threatens prosperity everywhere, foreign assistance is a vital tool for translating our moral beliefs into practical actions. I urge readers to learn more about H.R. 2139, legislation introduced recently by Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) to move towards much-needed foreign aid reform, and ask their own lawmakers to co-sponsor this important bill. The measures proposed will start finding clarity in our government's programs and making sure the people who need the aid are the ones receiving it. Rev. David Beckmann, president, Bread for the World; and co-chair, Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network More on Poverty
 
Internet Ad Revenue Falls 5% Top
SAN FRANCISCO — Internet advertising in the United States dropped 5 percent in the first quarter, marking the marketing medium's first downturn since 2002 when the Web was still recovering from the dot-com bust. The data released Friday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP provided another reminder of the widespread pain wrought by the longest U.S. recession since World War II. But the Internet's financial backbone isn't sagging as badly as that of more established media like newspapers and broadcasters, where far more severe advertising losses have triggered massive layoffs, bankruptcy filings and doubts about whether their businesses will ever be the same again. By contrast, the setback for ad-driven Web sites and services is considered temporary. "We're confident that growth will resume as the U.S. economic climate improves," said Randall Rothenberg, the Interactive Advertising Bureau's chief executive. Advertising revenue has been drying up as more companies clamp down on their marketing budgets to save money during tough times. The drought has gotten worse during the past year as traditionally big spenders like banks, automobile makers and dealers, department stores and real estate developers have been grappling with major crises that have forced some of them to merge with rivals or simply close their doors. Even before the Internet recorded the first-quarter decline in ad revenue, sales have been slowing down after years of rapid growth. U.S. advertisers spent $5.48 billion on search, display, video and other Internet ads during the first three months of the year, a decline from $5.77 billion during the same quarter last year. It was the first year-over-year decrease since the fourth quarter of 2002, when Internet advertising fell 4 percent. In a telling sign of how much Internet advertising has progressed since the last slump, the total spending in this year's first quarter nearly surpassed the $6 billion that was devoted to online marketing during all of 2002. Even if spending on online ads were to erode at the first-quarter's pace for the remainder of the year, the Internet would still pull in more than $20 billion. The recent decline in online spending is exacerbating the problems facing newspapers, which have been investing heavily in their Web sites in hopes of picking up some of the advertising that has been diverted from their print editions in recent years. But online advertising on newspaper-owned Web sites plunged 13 percent to $696 million in the first quarter, according to the Newspaper Association of America, a trade group. That contributed to an overall first-quarter ad decline of 28 percent that subtracted $3.4 billion from the tills of newspaper publishers. The conditions were nearly as bad for U.S. radio stations as their total first-quarter advertising revenue plummeted 24 percent to $3.4 billion, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau. The first-quarter advertising figures for U.S. television broadcasters aren't expected to be released until next week, but that media sector also is suffering. The research firm BIA Advisory Services last month forecast that television revenue will drop by about 20 percent this year. The Internet hasn't been as hard hit largely because its advertising space tends to cost less and its technology helps advertisers reach the specific people most likely to buy a particular product or services. And in many instances, advertisers don't even have to pay unless a person clicks on the commercial message. Those advantages have helped the Internet's search and advertising leader, Google Inc., to continue growing despite the recession. The Mountain View-based company's U.S. revenue edged up by about 3 percent in the first quarter. Most of Google's ad sales are tied to search requests that inform the company of a user's interests. ___ AP Business Writer Deborah Yao contributed to this story from Philadelphia.
 
Review: `Land of the Lost,' indeed Top
LOS ANGELES — There is exactly one funny bit in "Land of the Lost," and it stands out because it comes at the very beginning and the very end. Will Ferrell, as arrogant scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, appears on the "Today" show to discuss his time-travel theories and promote his latest book. Matt Lauer, thinking he's a crackpot, interviews him with unmistakable disdain and chafes at Marshall's attempts to hijack the segment. (Lauer's deadpan comic timing is great, by the way. Maybe he should think about a career in acting if this TV thing doesn't work out.) In between these two scenes, though, is an awkward combination of kitschy comedy (which is never amusing) and earnest action (which is never thrilling). And it's not as if the source material was worthy of a big-budget summer blockbuster starring an A-lister like Ferrell. The Sid & Marty Krofft TV series "Land of the Lost," about a family that gets sucked into a prehistoric age when an earthquake hits while they're rafting _ "the greatest earthquake ever known," as the theme song goes _ aired for just three seasons in the mid-1970s. It was laughable with its stiff dialogue and low-tech effects. At least the series knew what it was. Working from a script by Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas (though Ferrell and co-star Danny McBride clearly did a healthy amount of improv), director Brad Silberling can't seem to decide whether he's making fun of the show's cheesy visuals or seizing on its sense of roughhewn adventure. And so in hopes of pleasing the lowest common denominator nonetheless, all these people offer an overload of jokes about dinosaur poop and urine. Holly (Anna Friel) is no longer Marshall's fresh-faced daughter but a brainy British research assistant who happens to look sexy in a wife-beater tank top and short shorts. Will, who was Marshall's son, is a redneck who runs the tourist trap that becomes the inadvertent portal to the past. (McBride attacks the role with his patented brand of Southern, mulleted brashness.) And Chaka ("Saturday Night Live" writer Jorma Taccone), who was merely a mischievous primate before, is now a shameless horndog who repeatedly fondles Holly's breasts and even finds himself attracted to Marshall's manhood. The joke doesn't work even once. The plot consists of our trio running from dinosaurs and trying to find a way back home. Chaka sort of tries to help. Sometimes they run into the menacing Sleestaks, in their obviously rubbery reptilian costumes, stomping around like zombies and hissing a lot (they were scary when we were kids, though). Also hammered into the unexplored ground is a running gag about "A Chorus Line" _ a song from the musical keeps blaring from Marshall's time-traveling contraption _ which ultimately allows Marshall to unleash his inner Broadway star. Although the character has his origins elsewhere, this is basically the same guy Ferrell keeps playing over and over. He's Ron Burgundy in khakis instead of a polyester leisure suit, Ricky Bobby traveling to the past instead of driving in circles. Talk about your time warps. "Land of the Lost," a Universal Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for sexual content. Running time: 96 minutes. One star out of four. ___ Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions: G _ General audiences. All ages admitted. PG _ Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. PG-13 _ Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children. R _ Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. NC-17 _ No one under 17 admitted. More on Will Ferrell
 
DHS Nominee Philip Mudd Drops Out Over Ties To CIA Interrogation Tactics Top
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's pick to be the top intelligence chief at the Homeland Security Department withdrew from consideration Friday after questions were raised about his role in the CIA's interrogations of terrorism suspects. Philip Mudd was scheduled next week to face senators considering his nomination as undersecretary of intelligence and analysis at Homeland Security. He notified the White House on Friday that he was withdrawing his name because he did not want to be a distraction. At issue was the extent of Mudd's involvement in the controversial interrogation program while he was a senior official at the CIA during the Bush administration. The interrogation methods have been harshly criticized by Democratic lawmakers and Obama. "I know that this position will require the full cooperation with Congress and I believe that if I continue to move forward I will become a distraction to the president and his vital agenda," Mudd said in a statement Friday. On Thursday, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Mudd's ties to the program would be investigated during the confirmation hearing. As deputy director of the Office of Terrorism Analysis at the CIA, Mudd had direct knowledge of the agency's harsh interrogation program, according to a congressional aide, who was not authorized to disclose the information and spoke on condition of anonymity. A White House spokesman said that Mudd had Obama's full support of the president but that the president understood Mudd's decision. "It is with sadness and regret that the president accepted Phil's withdrawal from consideration as Phil once again demonstrated his duty to country above all things," White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said.
 
Somali Refugees Number 100,000 In Past Month: UN Top
Since fighting broke out last month between Government forces and armed opposition groups, almost 100,000 people have been driven from their homes in the capital, Mogadishu, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) reported today. More on Somalia
 
Walter Ken Myers, State Department Employee, Arrested By FBI Officials Top
A state department employee was arrested by FBI officials Thursday night, federal law enforcement officials told The Washington Times. The employee, Walter Ken Myers, is scheduled to appear in U.S. district court Friday afternoon. Officials would not confirm why Mr. Myers was arrested and the indictment against him is sealed.
 
Shooting Near DuSable High School: 1 Dead, 1 Injured Top
CHICAGO (AP) -- One man is dead and another is injured after a shooting that happened near a high school on Chicago's South Side. Chicago police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak says police received a report that shots had been fired near DuSable Leadership Academy on Friday afternoon. But Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman Monique Bond says the shooting didn't happen on school property and it doesn't appear any students were involved. Police say both victims were 19-year-old men. Fire department spokesman Kevin MacGregor says one person was found dead inside a vehicle and another was transported in serious condition to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. Bond says the school remains on lockdown. Authorities had no further details.
 
Tabby Biddle: Pleasure or Pain: Take Your Pick Top
As a Buddhist practitioner you learn that lust, greed and desire are negative qualities - hindrances on the path to enlightenment and in some texts, even evil. You learn that sensual pleasures are better left renounced and the body just a vehicle to be trained and overcome. It was 12 years ago when I embarked on my Buddhist journey -- sitting for 10-day silent meditation retreats at Wat Suan Mokkh in Thailand, sleeping on cement slabs and reciting a Buddhist prayer before my scant meals to remind me that I was not eating the food in front of me for pleasure. It was on these retreats that I learned that lust, greed and desire were qualities to be abandoned. Being the experiential learner that I am, I decided to have a go at releasing these "evils" from my life. And with that, unknowingly, I also released some integral parts of myself. I remember that upon returning from my Asian expedition friends commented on how peaceful I seemed. I felt peaceful. I felt relaxed. I felt like something inside me had shifted for the better. One close friend, however, said to me, "I miss your drive." I didn't know what to make of that statement at the time, but more recently I have found some meaning in those words. There is a woman in New York City named Regena Thomasaeur who runs something called " Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts ." Regena, otherwise known as 'Mama Gena,' is all about women naming and claiming their desires to live their fullest potential. She gives women permission to feel greedy, lustful and desirous. She believes that women are taught how to study hard, work hard and deprive themselves - but who is teaching them about pleasure ? She is! To her, pleasure is the key to a woman recognizing her own power and her full-throttle life force. Recently I read a statement by Swiss psychologist Carl Jung : "I would rather be whole than good." His premise was that the "dark side" of human nature needed to be integrated with the "lighter sides" into an overarching wholeness for full self-realization. Unfortunately I didn't have this to reflect on at the time I was pursuing my Buddhist studies. The Buddhist teachings initiated me on the spiritual path years ago, but it hasn't been until recently that I have taken a closer look at the depth of how those teachings affected me. In Buddhism one is advised to release desirous attachments to eliminate pain and suffering in one's life, however could it be that denying aspects of your very human self causes its own kind of pain? I cannot discount the wonderful things that Buddhist meditation has brought me - like sitting quietly, watching my thoughts, breathing deeply and finding the space and peace between the thoughts. I cannot deny the growth I have experienced in terms of developing gratitude and compassion at a much greater level than before my days with Buddhism. And I don't know of any other experience that has given me the depth and eternity of spaciousness that I experienced in my meditations in those days of silence. However I wonder today if I walked away from those retreats abandoning a key element of myself -- my desire. "In order to take a rightful seat at the head of the banquet table of our lives, we have to accept the rightness of our feelings and desires and act on them strongly, always," says Mama Gena. For someone who has followed (for the most part) a Buddhist philosophy for over a decade, and has trained herself to give up indulgence to live the Buddhist 'Middle Way,' this kind of suggestion could seem grossly out of the question. However for someone who is also committed to discovering one's power and potential as a woman, Mama Gena's philosophy seems like a worthy subject to investigate and definitely a fun one! So I wonder -- as a woman, could the power of pleasure be the key that unlocks the way to our potential? And could a healthy dose of greed, lust and desire actually be beneficial to our personal fulfillment and path toward wholeness? Maybe pleasure is one alternate path to enlightenment? More on Thailand
 
FDIC Pushes Citigroup To Change Management: WSJ Top
NEW YORK — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is reportedly pressing for a management shake-up at embattled bank Citigroup Inc., putting CEO Vikram Pandit in the hot seat. The Wall Street Journal cited people familiar with the matter for its report on Friday. "We are confident in our management and confident that we will continue to position Citi for a return to sustained profitability," Chairman Richard Parsons said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. A spokesman for the FDIC declined to comment. Citigroup shares slipped a penny to $3.56 in morning trading Friday. Citigroup has been one of the most troubled banks throughout the financial crisis. Investors have long criticized its board and management for allowing the bank to make big investments in the risky housing market _ actions that led to Citigroup reporting billions in losses. Citigroup has already received $45 billion in government rescue funds, and a portion of that will soon be converted into common shares, making the Treasury Department its largest shareholder. Last month, the government determined that it would need to raise an additional $5.5 billion as a buffer against future losses. "We went through a rigorous stress test process, the results of which were agreed to by appropriate regulatory agencies and clearly reflect the significant progress made by this management team over the last 15 months to turn Citi around," Parsons said in Friday's statement. More on Citibank
 
Israeli Settlers' 'Obama Hut' Constructed To Mock Cairo Speech Top
A day after US President Barack Obama reiterated his call to stop settlement activity during a speech in Cairo, defiant settlers continued to erect illegal structures in the West Bank, building a new outpost on Friday morning between Migron and Kohav Ya'akov. More on Israel
 
Energy Secretary Chu: "I Am A Nerd" Top
WASHINGTON (Reuters) Even though he is 15th in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency, Energy Secretary Steven Chu still thinks he's a nerd. More on Green Living
 
FREE DOUGHNUTS: National Doughnut Day Locations In New York City Top
If you haven't been paying attention to the news, you might not have noticed that it's "National Doughnut Day". A day of free doughnuts from any participating bakery. If you're here in New York City you'll find that you can get a free doughnut with the purchase of any drink, however you can get a free doughnut at your nearest Krispy Kreme. Below are locations for New York City Krispy Kremes: Penn Station Two Penn Plaza @ Amtrak Rotunda New York, NY 10001 And if you prefer Dunkin' Donuts you can go ahead and look at their list of stores in the New York City area here . More on Food
 
Carradine Had Rope Around Genitals: Thai Police Top
BANGKOK — Mystery remained Friday over the death of American cult actor David Carradine, best known for the 1970s TV series "Kung Fu" and whose naked body was found in a hotel closet in the Thai capital. Police initially suspected suicide but now believe he may have died from accidental suffocation after finding a rope tied to his neck and genitals. Celebrity blogs and social networking Web sites were abuzz with news of Carradine's death, which was one of the most popular topics Friday on Twitter, along with the Air France crash. The circumstances of his death have set gossipmongers working overtime, speculating that the 72-year-old actor may have been engaged in a dangerous form of sex play known as auto-erotic asphyxiation. The practice involves temporarily cutting off the supply of oxygen to the brain to heighten the effects of a sexual climax. Carradine's body was discovered Thursday morning in his luxury suite by a chambermaid at Bangkok's Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel, said its general manager, Aurelio Giraudo. Police arrived shortly thereafter. "When I arrived, I saw the dead body with a string of rope tied around his neck, also tied around his wrist," said Police Colonel Somprasong Yenthuam, Superintendent of Lumpini Police station, which is handling the case. Another police officer, Lt. Gen. Worapong Chewprecha told reporters that Carradine was found with a rope tied around his genitals and another rope around his neck. "The two ropes were tied together," he said. "It is unclear whether he committed suicide or not or he died of suffocation or heart failure." Somprasong said there was no evidence there was anyone else in the room at the time of Carradine's death. Police completed an autopsy on Carradine on Friday. But Somprasong said results would not be ready for at least three weeks because the cause of death was unclear. He called the time lag "normal." Carradine's body was later taken from the hospital to an undisclosed location by U.S. Embassy representatives while preparations were being made for its repatriation to the United States, expected to be in the next few days. Under U.S. privacy laws, the embassy is not allowed to release further details without permission of the family of the deceased. Dr. Nanthana Sirisap, director of Chulalongkorn Hospital's Autopsy Center, told reporters that the autopsy was conducted because of the "unusual circumstances surrounding Carradine's death," but did not elaborate. Police Lt. Teerapop Luanseng had said Thursday that Carradine's body was found "naked, hanging in a closet," and police at that time suspected suicide. However, no suicide note has been found. Carradine's friends and associates insisted he would never kill himself. "All we can say is, we know David would never have committed suicide," said Tiffany Smith of Binder & Associates, his management company. "We're just waiting for them to finish the investigation and find out what really happened. He really appreciated everything life has to give ... and that's not something David would ever do to himself." Pornthip Rojanasunand, director of Thailand's Central Institute of Forensic Science, said the circumstances suggested that Carradine may have died performing auto-erotic asphyxiation, which is said to result in a form of giddiness and euphoria _ similar to alcohol or drug intoxication _ that enhances the sexual experience. "In some cases it can suggest murder, too. But sometimes when the victim is naked and in bondage, it can suggest that the victim is doing it to himself," said Pornthip, who is considered the country's top criminal forensics expert but who did not take part in the autopsy. "If you hang yourself by the neck, you don't need so much pressure to kill yourself. Those who get highly sexually aroused tend to forget this fact." Carradine had flown to Thailand last week and began work on a film titled "Stretch" two days before his death, Smith said. He had several other projects lined up after the action film, which was being directed by Charles de Meaux. Carradine was in good spirits when he left the U.S. for Thailand on May 29 to work on "Stretch," his manager Smith said by phone from Beverly Hills. Monica Donati, a spokesman for the French film company MK2, which was making "Stretch," said in statement from Paris that the film crew in Bangkok was "clearly shocked" by Carradine's death but would finish shooting. Carradine only had three more days of filming left in Bangkok, she said. "David was apparently very happy about this new role and about filming again," she said. Hotel manager Giraudo described Carradine as "very much a person full of life" who chatted with the staff. "He was a great piano player and played a few nights in the hotel lobby," he said, "He also played the flute and the guests really enjoyed it. I mentioned to him that I had seen (the movie) 'Crank' with my family and that was the last smile he gave me." Carradine, a martial arts practitioner himself, was best known for the U.S. TV series "Kung Fu," which aired in 1972-75. He played Kwai Chang Caine, an orphan who was raised by Shaolin monks and fled China after killing the emperor's nephew in retaliation for the murder of his kung fu master. Carradine also appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby. He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's two-part saga "Kill Bill." Bill, the worldly father figure of a pack of crack assassins, was a shadowy presence in 2003's "Kill Bill _ Vol. 1." In that film, one of Bill's former assassins (Uma Thurman) begins a vengeful rampage against her old associates, including Bill.
 
Daniel Holloway: Hollywood: Like Detroit, but stupider Top
I am a movie critic. While the gig isn't exactly up there with astronaut or bounty hunter in the what-kids-want-to-be-when-they-grow-up department, it is easier than those jobs. It also comes with glamorous perks like being paraphrased in advertisements and receiving e-mailed threats from teen girls who disagree with your opinion of Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience . But one fringe benefit overshadows all others: Every time you see a movie, the crowd is especially well behaved. Why? Because you don't have to watch movies with normal people. You get to watch them from comfortable chairs in small screening rooms filled with your peers, most of whom are too old to make a sound other than the occasional gurgle. This is excellent, because if you're like a growing number of Americans, paying to see a movie in the theater makes about as much sense as paying for music or pornography or anything else our ancestors couldn't get for free. I recently asked BoingBoing.net co-founder Mark Frauenfelder what he thought of April's Swedish-court ruling against ThePirateBay.org, the Google of illegal file sharing (unless you count actual Google, which does pretty much the same thing , just not as loudly). He believes a search engine that directs users to illegal content should not be penalized as if it were the actual host of said content. "Pointing to something shouldn't be against the law," he said. I think that's stretching it, but didn't say so, because I like the guy. But the other point Frauenfelder made has been echoed by pretty much everyone I've spoken to on the subject: Movie studios must change the way they do business if they want to avoid the same fate as the music industry, which now is doing about as well as the oral-storytelling industry was at the middle of the 15th century. According to the National Association of Theater Owners , Americans bought 1.363 billion movie tickets last year (almost none of them for "Speed Racer"). That is nearly a quarter-billion fewer tickets than were sold in 2002. Want more fun numbers? From 1992 to 2002, tickets sales declined from one year to the next only twice. In the six years since, it's happened four times -- and a disappointing summer season is offering no hope for a trend reversal. Wednesday on the New York Times' Carpetbagger blog, Michael Cieply noted that last weekend's box office haul was slightly smaller than the same weekend's a year ago, writing, "The box office, after surging all year, is finally flattening out just as the big summer movies arrive." In the movie business, this is called "bad news." So where are all the moviegoers going? Nowhere. They're at home, downloading illegal bootlegs and laughing (out loud!) about it. I can't say I blame them. Movie purists in the media love to prattle on about the joy of seeing a film on the big screen. But those people have no idea what they're talking about, because they see movies the same way I do -- comfortably. On the few occasions when I've seen a movie with the paying public, the experience struck me as a cross between being a groundling at Shakespeare's Globe and being Faye Dunaway at the end of "Bonnie and Clyde." Crowds are boorish, theaters are filthy, and the car commercials before the previews make me 10 times as averse to buying a car as the ones on TV do. That people actually pay to be subjected to these conditions -- especially considering that the average U.S. ticket price has increased by 53 percent since 1998 -- is remarkable. Frauenfelder suggests that film executives must concede an end to the boom times and turn their attention to creating models for a leaner and meaner industry. "They won't be able to make money on the level that they're used to because of the technology that is out there," he says. "Unless they can learn to provide something that is more like a live performance, or sell a physical experience that can't be copied and use a movie as a way to market it, they might be in trouble. That's the reality." Frauenfelder lives in Los Angeles, which makes me feel bad for him, but also puts him in close proximity to the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood and Sherman Oaks, which charge premium prices for a premium experience that includes reserved seating, advanced sound systems and a grown-up friendly lobby with full bar and table-service restaurant. I don't get reserved seating or the chance to enjoy wine and tapas before a screening (though I will down the occasional sidewalk-cart gyro and Red Bull just before going in), but I can see how the paying public might be interested in a theater experience that is more like mine. The idea makes so much sense, it's almost certain to be embraced by the film industry as warmly as forward thinking was embraced by the music, print, automobile and finance industries a few years ago. More on The Recession
 
John W. Whitehead: When it Comes to Torture, No One is Above the Law Top
"They [the President, National Security Advisor] have the right to send our children, men and women now, in the name of democracy to go kill people and be killed and torture and perhaps be tortured in return, which is always going to be the end result of torture. And so, I think there's nothing wrong with holding these people to the highest possible standards. It doesn't happen enough. But that's what we have to do." -- Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist From its inception, America has stood for the principle that everyone is under the law. There are no kings or power elite that stand outside the law. Yet this has been overlooked in the midst of the escalating debate over the Bush administration's alleged authorization of torture. Much of the debate thus far has focused on President Obama's decision not to release photos depicting alleged abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan by American service personnel. However, this is but a smokescreen issue for the more troubling question: who should be held responsible for these abuses? Obama has already been warned by generals in Iraq and Afghanistan that releasing the photos would endanger U.S. troops deployed there, and I have gone on record as supporting his decision. Recently, Major General Antonio Taguba, who conducted an inquiry into the Abu Ghraib jail in Iraq and confirmed the existence of photos documenting allegations of rape and abuse, said: "I am not sure what purpose their release would serve other than a legal one, and the consequence would be to imperil our troops, the only protectors of our foreign policy, when we most need them, and British troops who are trying to build security in Afghanistan. The mere description of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it." The descriptions are indeed horrendous enough. Taguba has reportedly confirmed the existence of photos depicting an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner and a male translator apparently raping a male detainee. Even if a case could be made to justify the use of certain harsh interrogation techniques, there is no way to justify rape. As Seymour Hersh described in a 2004 speech, "Some of the worst things that happened that you don't know about. OK? Videos. There are women there. Some of you may have read that they were passing letters out, communications out to their men. This is at [Abu Ghraib]... The women were passing messages out saying please come and kill me because of what's happened. And basically what happened is that those women who were arrested with young boys, children, in cases that have been [video] recorded, the boys were sodomized, with the cameras rolling, and the worst above all of them is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking. That your government has, and they're in total terror it's going to come out." So who is to blame, and who should be held accountable? Obama has stated that the military personnel involved in carrying out the abuse depicted in the photographs have been "identified, and appropriate actions" taken. Yet isn't it somewhat hypocritical to punish those who carried out the abuse while giving a free pass to those who condoned the use of torture in the first place? George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and those within the Bush administration who sanctioned torture deliberately and unapologetically violated U.S. laws and virtually every international treaty against torture. Included among the international treaties prohibiting torture that the U.S. has signed onto are the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. Convention Against Torture and the Third Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, among others. American law is clear as to what constitutes torture. Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 2340-2340B, defines torture as "an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control." It goes on to define "severe mental pain and suffering" as the threatened infliction of severe pain or suffering, the threat of imminent death, or such a threat against another person. What's more, attempting or committing torture outside the United States is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and life imprisonment if death results. U.S. courts have also consistently found that the following acts rise to the level of torture: severe beatings using instruments such as iron barks, truncheons and clubs; threats of imminent death, such as mock executions; burning, especially burning with cigarettes; electric shocks to genitalia or threats to do so; rape or sexual assault, or injury to an individual's sexual organs, or threatening to do any of these sorts of acts; and forcing a prisoner to watch the torture of others. Despite the Bush administration's refusal to categorize waterboarding as torture, it too has widely been denounced as such by legal experts, intelligence officials and military judges. There's no room for interpretation here, and ignorance of the law is no excuse. Neither can the blame be placed on legal counsel. President Bush and those serving him took oaths to defend the Constitution. In other words, they pledged to uphold the law of the land. When they authorized the use of torture, Bush and his minions knowingly violated U.S. law and international treaties against torture, which under Article II of the Constitution became part of the body of U.S. federal law when adopted. Thus, the prohibitions against torture in the aforementioned treaties are part of American law. If the rule of law is to mean anything, we cannot overlook such a monumental transgression on the part of Bush administration officials, including Bush himself. And if President Obama fails to hold those responsible accountable by calling for a formal, Watergate-style congressional investigation into these allegations, he too will be guilty of perpetuating the power elite, undermining the rule of law and helping to destroy the moral fiber of this country. As for the fate of the torture photos, General Taguba is right: if the photos are to be released to the public, it should only be after a formal legal investigation has taken place and they have been introduced as evidence. To do otherwise would serve no purpose other than to further imperil our troops around the world.
 
Gavin D. J. Harper: Never Mind Google Streetview... We Need Google "Heat" View Top
Larry and Sergey, listen up guys and step up to the plate. Many people out there are asking how you are going to top Google StreetView. Here's how... First, take a peek into the future here , here and here .... The state of our built environment is in disarray. If we're going to reduce our energy use and green up our buildings, we need to think about the performance of existing buildings, as new-build only account for a small proportion of building stock. Over half of the world's population now lives in cities, so we can make easy gains by improving the quality of our urban built environment. This isn't the low-hanging fruit -- this is the fruit that has fallen from the tree and is now rotting on the ground. Google, you've developed a fantastic sophisticated engine for processing imagery; can we please borrow it to save the world? Where to start? If you want to find out how well your building performs thermally, a good place to start is to take a picture of the outside of your property with a thermal imaging camera. It enables you to quickly identify the "hot spots" -- where heat is being transmitted through your walls where, for example, you have gaps in insulation, poor quality windows etc. The heat that leaks from your house is represented by different color shading. You can then do something smart about it by remedying the problem areas. The only problem is that these pictures are pretty pricey and only occupy a small "niche" in the market, and the chances are you're not going to bother. How can we scale up a survey of our built environment's assets, and do this on a massive scale? After all, if we do everyone's at the same time and scale up the operation, it's going to be much cheaper in the long-run than taking loads of individual pictures that are never going to get taken in time to avoid catastrophic climate change. The Google Streetview 'engine' takes pictures that are processed to form 360-degree views, using GPS units for positioning in concert with a trio of laser range scanners. The net result is that you can look down your street in a virtual world, and find a snapshot of your house. But wait a minute... swap out the photographic cameras for thermal imaging cameras, and suddenly you could survey the energy performance of the built environment really, really, really quickly. Sure there would be some organizational challenges - you'd want to ensure that people had their heating on when you were surveying their area; there might be some issues with seasonal variation that are worked through and you wouldn't be surveying the houses under ideal circumstances, but it would be a great ready reckoner and might encourage people to take further action. Imagine being able to go on Google Maps, switch from 'Satellite' or 'Map' to 'Thermal' and see how much heat is escaping from your badly insulated house roof? Or... how about walking down a virtual street on Google StreetView, and being able to see that your old single glazed windows have terrible thermal performance compared to your neighbors highly insulated triple-glazed windows. Many people are blissfully unaware of their buildings energy performance -- the warm heat from inside streaming through badly insulated walls; yesterday's poorly insulated windows and cracks and air gaps. But how many of us actually pay any attention to our building's energy performance? As well as our own actions as individuals, as a collective we've got scant information about the state of our built environment because we just haven't been collecting the data. Whilst we're now retrospectively trying to do this -- for example in the UK, where I am writing from, by requiring all homes sold or let, come with an "Energy Performance Certificate" -- the scale of the problem is simply immense and the processing power required to make sense of it all beggars belief. It's not just collecting the data, it's a problem of collecting the right data and knowing how to manage it, as Walt Patterson eloquently described in his Chatham House working paper 'Managing Energy Data'. We've got tons of data, but it's not presented in a way that is readily accessible. Google's maps and Street-view interface makes Geographical Information Systems (GIS) accessible to the person on the street. It organizes vast quantities of data in a way that is sensible and easy to navigate. Google are the masters' of this type of work and would be ideally placed to deliver some of the tools and techniques that we are going to need to 'manage our energy data.' The suppliers simply aren't going to deliver effective demand-side management as long as we buy energy by the unit, as Walt highlights, "Poor performance from a customer's technology means more revue for the [energy] company. This perverse incentive has persisted ever since." With a lack of real political ambition, the state won't deliver a solution either. It needs a business that can make money from the exercise to spur innovation on. I'm sure Google could sell advertising space to manufacturers and installers of insulation and efficient heating products; the near-perfect product placement would warrant premium charges for advertisements. You would be able to switch between standard and thermal views at the click of a button to make sure that the blob of orange red and yellow was actually your house! This would have great repercussions all the way round. Homeowners would be able to quickly assess the state of their house and work to improve any energy-sapping, poor thermal elements of their buildings. It would also enhance corporate social responsibility... As casual users browsed the streets of a major city, they'd quickly be able to identify that the xyz Corp building is haemorrhaging heat, and apply pressure to them to clean up their act. It would also present few privacy problems as number plates wouldn't show up, and amorphous blobs of heat are harder to distinguish than pictures of people. So... anyone reading this, if you know anyone who works for Google, lobby them to devote their Friday afternoons to get this project off the ground! More on Green Living
 
Gwyneth Paltrow: Her 'Sensitive Thug' Son, Oily Legs And Butt Exercises (VIDEO) Top
Gwyneth Paltrow (with remarkably shiny, oiled-up legs) joined Conan O'Brien Thursday night, and the two bonded over their kids and did some butt exercises. (An hour later Jessica Biel was working out with Jimmy Fallon ) Both have 3-year-old sons, and Gwyneth described her son Moses as a "sensitive thug" rap lover who likes the music of "Uncle Jay," known to most people as Jay-Z. She said how the toddler loves the video for "99 Problems" (lyric: "and the bitch ain't one") and thinks "any white person is his dad" and all rock music he hears is that of dad, Coldplay singer Chris Martin. In the second segment (legs having been wiped down and appearing less shiny) she talked about her website/newsletter GOOP.com and the exercises she has there to boost your butt, which led to a demonstration by Conan and a butt grab. WATCH FIRST PART (Shiny legs and kids): WATCH PART 2 (less shiny legs and butt crunches in the last minute): Follow HuffPo Entertainment On Twitter! More on Gwyneth Paltrow
 
Greg Mitchell: 'NYT' Finally Corrects Botched Front-Pager on Gitmo Prisoners 'Returning to Jihad' Top
It was all-too-familiar for those who recall the run-up to the Iraq war when scary front-page New York Times stories would be cited by Dick Cheney as proof that we needed to oust Saddam Hussein ASAP. The reminder: A May 21 piece by Elisabeth Bumiller revealing that a not-yet-released Pentagon report declared that 1 in 7 prisoners released from Gitmo had returned to waging "jihad." Today, the Times , finally issued a weighty Editors' Note correcting the article's two main assertions, long after bloggers and others (myself included) had attacked it. First, the Times correction: "A front-page article and headline on May 21 reported findings from an unreleased Pentagon report about prisoners who have been transferred abroad from the American detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The article said that the Pentagon had found about one in seven of former Guantánamo prisoners had "returned to terrorism or other militant activity," or as the headline put it, had "rejoined jihad." "Those phrases accepted a premise of the report that all the former prisoners had been engaged in terrorism before their detention. Because that premise remains unproved, the day the article appeared in the newspaper, editors changed the headline and the first paragraph on the Times Web site to refer to prisoners the report said had engaged in terrorism or militant activity since their release. "The article and headline also conflated two categories of former prisoners. In the Pentagon report, 27 former Guantánamo prisoners were described as having been confirmed as engaging in terrorism, with another 47 suspected of doing so without substantiation. The article should have distinguished between the two categories, to say that about one in 20 of former Guantánamo prisoners described in the Pentagon report were now said to be engaging in terrorism. (The larger share -- about one in seven --applies to the total number described in the report as confirmed or suspected of engaging in terrorism.)" Now here's what Cheney said the day after the story was published at the American Enterprise Institute. As with the Iraq runup stories, he took the Times ' non-facts and exaggerated them: "Keep in mind that these are hardened terrorists picked up overseas since 9/11. The ones that were considered low-risk were released a long time ago. And among these, we learned yesterday, many were treated too leniently, because 1 in 7 cut a straight path back to their prior line of work and have conducted murderous attacks in the Middle East. I think the President will find, upon reflection, that to bring the worst of the worst terrorists inside the United States would be cause for great danger and regret in the years to come. . . ." As often the case, it was McClatchy's Washington bureau, which four days later (after bloggers and others on the Web spoke) started to lead the mainstream truth-squading. Even the correction today does not fess up to other weaknesses in the story. But again, the original article, as the Times admitted today, was botched from the start. And it was no small matter. Right in its second paragraph it had declared: "The conclusion could strengthen the arguments of critics who have warned against the transfer or release of any more detainees as part of President Obama's plan to shut down the prison by January." ** Greg Mitchell is editor of Editor & Publsiher. His latest book is "Why Obama Won."
 
James P. Hoffa: The Arrogance of FedEx Top
FedEx CEO Fred Smith is always full of surprises. First, he threatened to pull his Boeing contract if Congress passes a provision of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization that would place FedEx workers under the NLRA, the statute that protects virtually all other private sector workers. Now his top flack is threatening to "destroy" members of Congress who support FedEx workers over FedEx management. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the legislation on May 21. The reauthorization bill is currently awaiting action in the Senate. When asked about FedEx's multi-million dollar ad campaign against the legislation that is reported to launch on Tuesday, June 9, top FedEx flack Maury Lane told U.S. News and World Report in a story posted in The White House Bulletin, "I'm going to try to destroy them." This follows Smith's repeated threats to cancel a $10 billion contract to purchase Boeing 777 planes if FedEx Express workers were moved under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). FedEx clearly threatened in a March 24, 2009 SEC filing, and Smith reiterated in testimony before Congress in May, that its contract to purchase additional aircraft from Boeing is contingent upon its labor relations for all of its employees being governed by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Under this provision, if Congress dares to grant even a portion of its workers the rights enjoyed by most American private sector employees under the NRLA, FedEx has the right to cancel those purchase orders. Fred Smith and FedEx breed a culture of arrogance and intimidation. First, they cut wages, increase medical insurance premiums and eliminate pension benefits for its employees. Then they try to blackmail Congress with threats to pull the Boeing contract. Now they threaten to destroy the political careers of those who oppose them. One can only wonder what dirty tricks they'll be up to next.
 
Deepak Chopra: Obama's Call to the Faithful Top
President Obama's superlative speech at Cairo University will be much analyzed. It was, as expected, an address that was rational, intelligent, eloquent, and fair. In stark contrast to George Bush's catch phrase, "clash of civilizations," Obama made every effort to weave common threads between the West and the Islamic world. He won his first applause with the phrase "holy Koran," and in that vein more applause followed whenever he praised Islam and the glories of its past. Overall, it was a cobweb-clearing speech. The content wasn't exceptional. Before Muslims assumed the role of bogeyman after 9/11, any tolerant educated person realized that Islamic civilization has a great heritage. Nor is it news that the Muslim world is far more complex than the picture painted by a tiny minority of fanatical extremists. Yet to hear an American president reiterate these things had a powerful emotional effect. The heart of the speech, once we get past its effort at reconciliation, was Obama's candid talk about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the social obstructions in Arab society. It was bracing to hear him say that "Israel isn't going away," just as it was moving to hear the words, "peace be upon them" when he referred to Muhammad and Abraham. In one stroke Obama set America's policy toward the Arab world back on a sensible, moral, even idealistic path. Yet there is a glaring problem that the speech didn't confront directly, which is the inability of "good" Muslims to stand up for change. "Good" is equated with devout, and that's a huge obstacle to reform. The Muslim world has not liberated its core values from the dogmas of religion. In the name of devotion to God women are denied even basic rights; terrorists march under the banner of faith; mullahs control credulous masses of believers; education for the average citizen is totally centered on the Koran. All of these are backward trends. They run counter to the modern world. In fact, the overwhelming dominance of dictators and royal families in the Arab states doesn't begin to be consistent with democratic values that are two hundred years old in the West. Human rights are more or less non-existent. This is an appalling state of affairs, and no amount of tolerance from America's side alters that fact. Therefore, as civilized as it was for President Obama to extend a hand to the faithful, Muslims cannot have it both ways. They can't demand respect while using religion as a reactionary force. In every Muslim country without exception, core social values have medieval roots. Atop the swelling masses of illiterate people, a tiny oligarch sits. This oligarchy is rich, secular, and westernized. It pays lip service to the mullahs and fears their power. but the oligarchy rarely lifts a finger to share its wealth and influence, to extend opportunities to average citizens, or to challenge the reactionary social forces that the jihadists represent. Their sole aim is to stay on top and suppress anyone who opposes what the elite wants. Obama addressed multiple issues and threw light upon all of them. He didn't shy away from hot-button topics like women's equality, to the point that he chided Muslims for telling women how to dress in public. In all respects he told his audience what the modern world, and particularly the West, honestly thinks of them. Will they listen? The mullahs won't. The extremists won't. The illiterate will get only a vague sense that America isn't as hateful and fearsome as the demagogues have told them. But until the small sliver of privileged Muslims quit playing their hypocritical games, problems will only get worse. These are people who lunch in London restaurant and shop in Paris boutiques as often as they attend the mosque. Obama has delivered a wake-up call to them. If they don't change, then the religious backwardness of the Arab world will keep on blindly supporting its opposition to Israel, modernity, democracy, and a better future for ordinary people. Published in the Washington Post More on Barack Obama
 
Dan Frommer: Palm Pre Is Nice, But I'm Keeping My iPhone Top
Palm has done a nice job with the Pre, which goes on sale tomorrow : As others who've used it have said , it's a good-looking, zippy smartphone with perhaps the second-most powerful operating system on the market. But after a few minutes playing with one, I'm in no hurry to get rid of my Apple iPhone 3G . Important: This is not a comprehensive review. I only spent about 15 minutes with the Pre this morning, and trying out a new phone is like trying on someone else's glasses -- dizzying. I'm going to spend a lot more time with the Pre when Sprint ships me a review unit, and maybe that'll change my mind. (Note to AT&T: Your pitiful NYC data network is the biggest reason I'd switch. You MUST improve this.) But while I was impressed with the phone's quickness, the ability to run multiple apps at once, and Palm's overall hardware and software design, it is not enough to get me to switch from an iPhone. * The app platform and app store -- where I spend a lot of time on the iPhone -- is nowhere near competitive yet. Forget about potentially playing the same games as you can on the iPhone. * The physical keyboard is too small to make typing much easier than on the iPhone's on-screen keyboard (and I don't even have fat fingers). * The operating system and controls aren't as simple and intuitive as they are on the iPhone. It takes some training and getting used to, whereas I think the iPhone is so stupid-simple that anyone can master it right away. * There's no virtual keyboard for typing quick messages with the phone closed. You really have to open it every time you want to respond to someone. So: Nice gadget. It's something that's going to get better as Palm irons out the kinks, and assuming app developers start writing apps for it. (And it also slices cheese !) Sprint should be able to sell a bunch to its subscribers who want the best smartphone Sprint offers. But what Palm investor Roger McNamee said about iPhone users -- "not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later" -- is obviously wrong. See Also: CHART OF THE DAY: Palm's Hail Mary 3 Reasons The Palm Pre Might Not Bomb Palm Pre Cool But Not As Good As Apple's iPhone More on Apple
 
Arianna Huffington: Wanted: Five Words to Say at the Webby Awards Top
Monday Night in New York, HuffPost will receive two Webby Awards: Best Politics Site (chosen by the Webby judges) and Best Political Blog (chosen by the public; thanks to all who voted for us). And congratulations to our great HuffPost team. As always at the Webbys, award winners only get five words for their acceptance speeches. Last year, mine was: "President Obama... Sounds good, right?" (that was in June 2008). That five-worder was given to me by HuffPost commenter Sunflower1, and was the top choice out of the many suggestions I received after asking for your help . The other finalists were "Big Brother, we're watching you" (submitted by SilthyTove); "No country for old media" (jungpatawan); and "Fuck it... We'll liveblog it!" (LiarLiarIraqsOnFire) I need to decide what this year's speech should be, and would love to get your input again. Submit your 5-word speech in the comments section. We'll publish the best ones on Monday... and if I end up using yours on Monday night, you'll get a signed copy of the Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging -- and our eternal gratitude. Fire away!
 
Robert Naiman: Will 34 Democrats Oppose Endless War and Funding the IMF's European Bank Bailout? Top
A spectacular, nasty Washington drama is unfolding which you aren't likely to read about in the New York Times or the Washington Post , until perhaps after the fact. Even if it is reported in these papers, few readers will understand it, because the reporters won't care to understand and explain it, and the critical voices of progressive Democrats in Congress will be ignored in their reporting, even though the actions of progressive Democrats are at the center of the drama. Early next week, the Administration and the House leadership want to bring to the House floor a war supplemental that includes $100 billion for the International Monetary Fund which will likely be used primarily to bail out European banks from their exposure in Eastern Europe. The IMF will also likely use this money as leverage to impose economic austerity measures, like government budget cuts and punishingly high interest rates, policies that most Democrats oppose - at least, most Democrats oppose them when someone suggests that they be applied in the United States. Because House Republicans object to including the IMF "global bailout" money in the war supplemental, they have pledged to vote no on the supplemental if the IMF money is included. Therefore, the Administration and the House leadership intend to try to pass the war supplemental, including the IMF money, with only Democratic votes. The leadership's first problem is that in May, 51 Democrats voted no on the supplemental. Many of those no votes were motivated by opposition to the Administration's plans to escalate the war in Afghanistan, and the leadership's refusal to allow consideration of Rep. Jim McGovern's amendment requiring the Pentagon to submit to Congress an exit strategy from Afghanistan. As freestanding legislation , McGovern's amendment now has 84 co-sponsors. In order to pass the supplemental with the IMF money, the Administration and the House leadership need to flip at least 18 of those 51 Democrats. If the leadership succeeds, that would mean anti-war Democrats would be passing up an opportunity to defeat a war supplemental on the floor of the House, thereby missing an important step towards ending the endless war in Afghanistan. Defeat of the war supplemental in the House, even temporarily, would send a signal to the world that there is dissent in Washington about continuing the Afghan war indefinitely, thereby hastening diplomatic solutions. The leadership's second problem is that many Democrats in the House have big problems with the IMF. This includes both Democrats who voted no before and those who voted yes before but might vote no now with the IMF money attached. Some of these Democrats share criticisms of the IMF with Republicans: why should U.S. taxpayers be on the hook to bail out European banks? It was bad enough when we were forced to bail out American banks. And some of these Democrats have criticisms of the IMF that many Republicans don't share. And those are the criticisms that you will likely never read about in the New York Times or the Washington Post . Often, reporters justify ignoring the views of progressive Democrats based on the claim that progressive Democrats aren't determining an outcome. But at this critical juncture, it's progressive Democrats who hold the balance of power. Forty-one Democrats have signed on to a letter led by Rep. Maxine Waters to the House appropriators objecting to the Senate's IMF language, which they called a "blank check" for the IMF. The 41 anti-IMF Democrats argue that the increase of IMF resources and power should be conditioned on a strong commitment by U.S. leadership to ensure that the IMF becomes more transparent and accountable. In particular: Use the Stimulus Money for Stimulus, not Contraction. While the IMF pronounces its commitment to flexible policy approaches for countries in recession or depression, its track record since the onset of the economic crisis in September 2008 demonstrates routine imposition of contractionary monetary and fiscal policies which are exacerbating recessions in recipient countries. In conference, we urge inclusion of language to ensure that the funds allocated by Congress for global stimulus are used for stimulatory, and not contractionary, purposes. In Latvia, the IMF is imposing draconian budget cuts with the economy already in recession. In Pakistan, the IMF is imposing punishingly high interest rates that are strangling economic activity. Democratic Process. Currently, the IMF negotiates and obtains approval for loans from the executive branch of recipient countries, leaving little opportunity for democratic debate in recipient countries over the content and terms of IMF loans. In conference, we urge inclusion of bill language requiring the U.S. Executive Director to the IMF to ensure parliamentary approval of all IMF loans. In fact, for years the IMF has functioned as a key mechanism for governments to end-run elected parliaments. The negotiations are secret. Agreements are presented to parliaments as accomplished facts. The government says to the parliament: the IMF demanded this - what can we do? No-one knows how hard the government fought the IMF, if at all, or if the IMF is simply signing off on something the government wanted to do anyway. Transparency. Some of the IMF's most important documents are considered classified, strictly confidential, or secret. Among the secret documents are: 1) "side letters" containing policy conditions that the IMF requires a recipient government to implement as a condition of loan disbursements; and 2) transcripts of meetings of the Board of Executive Directors. Draft IMF documents are not disclosed prior to approval by the Board of Executive Directors which precludes input from country constituencies. In conference, we urge inclusion of language to ensure greater transparency and public availability of documents within a reasonable time period. As elsewhere, secrecy blocks effective democratic input. Not only does secrecy prevent the public and parliaments in recipient countries from seeing what their governments are doing, secrecy prevents Congress and the American people from knowing whether the Treasury Department is following U.S. laws. The Federal Reserve publishes minutes of its meetings - why can't the IMF? So far the Administration has refused to accept the demands of the anti-IMF 41, and past experience indicates that they are likely to continue to do so. Unfortunately, through Republican and Democratic Administrations, and Democratic and Republican Congresses, the permanent government at U.S. Treasury has learned the lesson that by merely being stubborn they can largely evade Congressional oversight. The Administration and the House leadership are combining two sets of policies - endless war and IMF austerity - that most progressive Democrats vigorously oppose; and are trying to ram them through by strong-arm tactics, like having Administration officials yell at Members of Congress on the phone. Will 34 Democrats stand with Reps. Jim McGovern and Maxine Waters and say no? Firedoglake is keeping score . More on Foreign Policy
 
Lee Camp: WATCH: Real-Life Superheroes or Real-Life Nutbags?? Top
 
Youth Radio -- Youth Media International: Blaming Bill: O'Reilly Is an Enabler, Not a Perpetrator Top
Originally published on Youthradio.org , the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe. By: King Anyi Howell When OB/GYN George Tiller was murdered by a pro-life extremist, many people placed the blame on Fox News shout (as opposed to talk) show host Bill O’Reilly. O’Reilly not only encourages violence against abortion doctors, he mentioned Dr. Tiller on his show more than a handful of times. But, does that make him responsible for Tiller's murder? Anyone who watches “The O’Reilly Factor” or follows current events in the Hip-Hop music genre knows that Bill O’Reilly is a fierce opponent of urban music . The talk show host has held Hip-Hop responsible for everything from teen-aged pregnancy to murder. The same reason I disagree with O'Reilly about his views of Hip-Hop is also why I have to defend him in this circumstance. Just because he instigates citizens into deciding the mortal fates of abortion doctors does not make him responsible for the knucklehead brazen enough to do it. If I were to instruct someone to kick Mr. O’Reilly in the groin, and someone ACTUALLY did it, I shouldn’t get any calls from O’Reilly’s attorneys seeking damages. And vise versa. I don’t even believe the most uneducated, irresponsible, thoughtless member of the Bill O’Reilly fan club would be compelled by a man on TV to go and commit murder, unless they were already planning or fantasizing about it. I do believe that if Bill O’Reilly actually feels the way he does about Hip-Hop and its effects on society, he should then feel PERSONALLY responsible for his Dr. Tiller’s death, whether he is ashamed of it or proud. He should begin to acknowledge his affect on American society and crime, hate crime in particular. Bill O’Reilly is to hate crime what Hip-Hop is to urban violence. Just like music with explicit messages come with a parental advisory warning, “The O’Reilly Factor” shout show should begin with the disclaimer: Don’t Think This At Home. Youth Radio/Youth Media International (YMI) is youth-driven converged media production company that delivers the best youth news, culture and undiscovered talent to a cross section of audiences. To read more youth news from around the globe and explore high quality audio and video features, visit Youthradio.org
 
Obama Ghana Trip In July Causes Excitement, Speculation Top
Just over six months since a change in Ghana's administration following peaceful elections in December 2008 and, coincidentally, six months since the highly-publicised change in the US administration, the President of the USA, Barack Obama, will touch down in Ghana for two days in early July on his first official visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office. More on Africa
 
Fox Developing Arranged Marriage Reality Show Top
Fox is developing a wedding reality series where brides-to-be don't meet their husbands until they exchange vows. In A. Smith & Co.'s "I Married a Stranger," a woman frustrated by the dating scene agrees to marry a man she's never met. While she prepares for a blind wedding, friends and family are shown selecting a spouse from a pool of six eligible suitors offered by producers. The men are eliminated one by one until only two candidates remain. Both finalists walk down the aisle, but only one makes it to the altar to reveal himself to his new wife.
 
Dr. YouTube: Rogue Internet Pharmacies Discover the Online Video Top
Special to Huffington Post, this story was reported and written by Kristina Peterson, Jacob Pearson, Vytenis Didziulis & Danielle Douglas of the Stabile Investigative Reporting Class of 2009, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University A young man wearing a white polo shirt, glasses and a baseball cap faces the camera. For a few moments his lips move before the video's sound kicks in. "I just bought some Valium and Xanax from this online pharmacy," Bijan814 says in a YouTube video of roughly 10 seconds. Posted next to his video, a box directs viewers to the Web site anti-anxiety-pills.com, where they can buy drugs without a prescription. While Internet pharmacies are nothing new, some of their promoters have begun to log onto YouTube to post videos such as these, publicizing Web sites that allow customers to purchase drugs online without a prescription. Over the past four months, students at Columbia University's Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism have researched this development, starting with a focused search using the query terms "buy online" and a list of controlled substances from the Food and Drug Administration. We found close to 170 such videos that have nearly 65,000 hits. And then we went online and bought generic Prozac from one of the promoted sites -- without ever having a prescription. Most of these YouTube videos are rough and cheaply produced. In one, a camera slowly pans around a sealed bottle of the stimulant Adderall before zeroing in on a cascade of pills poured on top of a laptop computer. "Buy Adderall online now from our new online store: click the link in the top right hand corner to buy now," says a pop-up box at the screen's base. At one point last month the clip had pulled in nearly 5,000 viewings. In October, Congress passed the Ryan Haight Act, which explicitly prohibits the online sale of controlled drugs in the U.S. without at least one in-person doctor visit, building on earlier legislation that regulates controlled substances. Still, most of these videos lead viewers to at least 15 Web sites that allow them to order drugs online without a valid prescription. "We do not require prescriptions but we recommend that they speak to their doctor before taking the medicine," said Tony Walker, a customer service representative for anti-anxiety-pills.com. We asked John Horton, president of an online pharmacy verification site, LegitScript.com, to examine these 15 sites. "There's no question about it; these sites are operating unlawfully and are dangerous," he said. But there's little incentive for YouTube to take down these traffic-driving videos. Many of the search pages that display these videos contain paid advertisements. And these ads generate revenue for YouTube, which is owned by Google. Google shrugs off monitoring YouTube videos that promote online pharmacies are not hard to find. Just type in "oxycodone" and "buy online," as we did, and links to numerous videos pop up. After our investigation unearthed 170 videos for various prescription-only drugs, we decided to test one out. We logged on to n1pills.com, a Web site promoted by many of those videos, and ordered 30 pills of generic Prozac for $37.97 plus $10.95 in shipping. All we had to do was fill out a short medical questionnaire--we never spoke to a doctor. Just over two weeks later, the drugs -- plus two Viagra tablets thrown in for free -- arrived, wrapped in a sheet of the Bombay Times. The pills were sent from Pratham Pharma, Shop No. 8 in Mumbai and were labeled a "sample for trade" and "without commercial value," according to the customs slip. Multiple requests to n1pills for comment were not returned. So we contacted Google to see if they were concerned -- both about the number of these videos and their content. We emailed a link for one suspicious video to Scott Rubin, a Google spokesperson who answers questions on behalf of YouTube. Almost immediately, YouTube pulled it. Rubin said the video was taken down due to a violation of the community guidelines. Those standards prohibit users from posting unsuitable videos that YouTube says break its "common sense rules." He said YouTube could not be expected to monitor every posted clip, with 15 hours of video uploaded on the site every minute. Instead, he said, YouTube defers to their "hundreds of millions" of viewers to flag videos they think violate the guidelines. "We have a system to take down any video that violates the guidelines, whether there are others like it or it is a singular violation," he said. Similar videos will remain unless users point them out. Rubin said there is no specific threshold number at which point YouTube on its own would take down all impermissible videos. And based on its business model, which relies on traffic generated by videos, YouTube can earn revenue from the postings. After Google, You Tube is the second most popular search engine. When a user searches on You Tube, a list of related ads appear on screen. These "sponsored links" come from advertisers, who pay every time users click on their ads. Last year Google made just over $21 billion in total advertising revenue, according to its 2008 annual report. Sites that use Google to advertise, including YouTube, account for 31 percent of Google's ad revenue, according to the annual report. But You Tube by itself is not profitable; analysts at Credit Suisse predict the site will lose $470 million in 2009. YouTube does not accept ads for drugs sold online, Rubin said. So we showed him numerous sponsored links to online pharmacies and asked him to explain why these were on You Tube search pages. Rubin said that those ads were sold through Google, which allows online pharma ads. Internet drugstores can advertise on Google network sites so long as they are approved by PharmacyChecker.com, an independent company that vets online pharmacies and affiliate sites that link to them. But we found that this system is not exactly foolproof. One YouTube paid ad -- not a video -- directs viewers to Oxycodone.Wholesalevipclub.com. But that site would never be verified by Pharmacy Checker, said its vice president, Gabriel Levitt. "We've never had a member that had 'oxycodone' in its name," he said. Then, just a couple of days later, the link on the ad was changed to Cheapmeds.Wholesalevipclub.com. Experts said Web sites sometimes tweak their sub-domain names to circumvent verification standards. In this case, the site swapped "oxycodone" with "cheapmeds." As of today, Oxycodone.wholesalevipclub.com is once again advertising on YouTube. "Sometimes they do it to obfuscate the rules," said John Horton, president of online pharmacy verification site, LegitScript.com. Cheapmeds did not answer multiple questions sent via email, but did confirm that they offer oxycodone. "Yes we sell oxycodone," said someone responding from a customer service email account. "If you join [the membership site] and need help finding it please email for assistance." Despite appearances, the site does not actually sell drugs -- it just refers users to other sites that do, Levitt said. When we tried to purchase oxycodone, the site charged us $29.95 for a membership and forwarded us to a page that listed oxycodone as "in stock." But when we tried to buy the drugs, the site shuttled us back to the same membership page asking for another $29.95. When we asked about Cheapmeds, Pharmacy Checker terminated the site's membership that day. Levitt would not say why, but reiterated that Cheapmeds was simply a referral site. Still, the paid link was never pulled from YouTube and several days later its membership had been reinstated. Rubin said Google has faith in Pharmacy Checker's process. "When a site loses its verification status from PharmacyChecker, Google is notified and we take prompt and appropriate action to disable ads from that advertiser until such time as the verification status is reinstated," he said. And Cheapmeds is not the only example -- several other Pharmacy Checker-approved sites have recently had their membership revoked. Levitt said Pharmacy Checker does find through its monitoring that a "small minority" of sites are no longer in compliance. "From time to time, Web sites will act in bad faith," Levitt said. "That's not the norm, but it does happen." Attracting a younger audience Posting videos on YouTube gives drug salesmen access to a large audience -- and a young one. YouTube estimates most of its users are between 18 and 55, but research shows its audience is significantly younger. Roughly 22 percent of YouTube's viewers are 17 years old or younger, according to February 2009 demographics from comScore, Inc., a company that tracks online behavior. These users visit the site frequently. Around 51 percent of its users visit the site at least weekly and another 52 percent of visitors between the ages of 18 and 34 share videos often, according to a YouTube fact sheet. These demographics are important considering that research has found younger children to be susceptible to drug addiction. Almost 9 percent of teenagers between 12 and 17 years old admitted to abusing prescription drugs sometime in the past year, according to a 2006 survey conducted by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. CASA, a leading research institution on the Internet pharma industry, found that the Internet provides "widespread availability" to prescription drugs. In 2008, it found 365 Web sites either advertising and selling prescription drugs, only two of which were legitimate online pharmacies certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. The number of rogue pharmacies is likely much higher, according to Horton. Legit Script counts 36,438 online pharmacies in its database, of which 234 meet its standards. A danger is that armed with nothing more than a credit card, children claiming to be at least 18 may be able to purchase drugs online without consulting their parents or visiting a doctor. Many sites only ask customers to fill out an online medical questionnaire. "A legitimate doctor-patient relationship includes a face-to-face consultation," said Joseph Rannazzisi, deputy chief of enforcement for the Drug Enforcement Administration, in a July 2008 report. "Filling out a questionnaire, no matter how detailed, is no substitute for this relationship." Lurking behind certain videos, a "notorious" rogue Some of the Web sites that sell drugs insist their customers present valid prescriptions and simply make buying drugs more convenient. But most YouTube videos promote sites that verification agencies never approved. Two of the sites with the highest number of videos on YouTube, n1pills.com and all4pills.com, direct viewers to Ypills.com, a rainbow-colored, easily navigable site offering a broad menu of drugs. The National Association of Boards of Pharmacies, which vets and inspects online pharmacies, does not list YPills as a site that passes its standards. Legitscript.com, the online pharmacy verification site, lists Ypills as a "rogue pharmacy" that is "affiliated with" the GlavMed or "Canadian Pharmacy" network of online drugstores. Legitscript describes Glavmed as "a notorious spamming and counterfeit prescription drug operation" that operates thousands of websites from China, Russia and other places. "GlavMed is believed to have ties to the criminal 'Russian Business Network,'" researchers at Cisco and IronPort said in a 2008 report on Internet threats. There are some 130 You Tube videos that lead viewers to YPills, most of them drab slideshows that provide little information other than the Web site's address. Cops on a new beat: policing the Internet YouTube is not breaking any laws. And it is unlikely to be held liable for hosting any of these videos or ads, said experts like Harvard Professor John Palfrey. The Communications Decency Act of 1996 gives Web sites broad free speech protections. Still, efforts to police Internet activity may be on the rise. Craig Butterworth, spokesman for the National White Collar Crime Center, said rising numbers of law enforcement agencies are starting cyber crime units and patrolling online activities. "As Internet-based crime continues to proliferate, law enforcement is paying more and more attention," he said. Some agencies are themselves using YouTube as a means to broadcast their own safety messages. In a June 2007 video, the Food and Drug Administration warns viewers of the hazards of buying drugs online. In between blurry images of a person Googling and extreme close-ups of illegal pills, a spokeswoman sternly advises watchers not to order drugs from illegitimate Web sites. "Many people are choosing to buy prescription drugs online," the spokeswoman says. "But unless they're very careful, this can be a risky undertaking." With additional reporting by members of the Stabile Investigative Reporting Class of 2009, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University
 
Bank Lobby Already Winning Battles Top
As Congressional Democrats and the White House crow about multiple victories over the financial industry, including new rules for credit card issuers, banks are quietly savoring an even bigger victory of their own. The defeat of the bankruptcy proposal is a testament to the enduring influence of banks, even as the industry struggles financially and suffers from its role in the economic crisis More on Bank Of America
 
Who Rules New York Real Estate? Top
The New York Observers delivers its annual list of the 100 most powerful people in New York real estate.
 
Norm Coleman: Key To Republican Success Lies In The "Ethernet" Top
Clearly, Norm Coleman isn't exactly tech-savvy. After a speaking engagement in St. Louis this week, he told a video-camera wielding supporter that the key to success for Republicans "lies in the ethernet ." Coleman, who was in Minnesota Supreme Court this week appealing the Senate election results, was in St. Louis to give a speech at the Conservative Heartland Leadership Conference. WATCH: Minnesota Public Radio has audio of Coleman's remarks to reporters Thursday. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! More on Al Franken
 
National Review Perplexingly Depicts Sotomayor As Asian Top
Good gravy, have you all seen the cover that the good people from the Journal of Lowered Expectations known as the National Review have put together? Courtesy of Talking Points Memo 's Brian Beutler , BEHOLD! Yes. It seems that the National Review has confused their ethnic stereotypes, or their religions, or maybe they just wanted some sort of two-fer, because their "Wise Latina" cover story presents Sotomayor as an Asian, in some sort of Buddhist pose. Anyway, the good news is this will surely provide a excellent P.R. opportunity to Puerto Rico's little talked-about Buddhist community. [Would you like to follow me on Twitter ? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here .] More on Sonia Sotomayor
 
The Dick And Liz Cheney Show Rolls On; MSNBC Defends Air Time Top
For a few weeks now, the media has been running, over and over again, the Dick and Liz Cheney Show, and it's been like bad dinner theatre without the bad dinner -- a weak and repetitive entertainment that leaves you craving something substantive. It's a play in three acts: ACT ONE: President Obama or the White House says something about the War on Terror or foreign policy. ACT TWO: Dick Cheney -- one-time media averse Vice President turned anointed antagonist -- SPEAKS OUT! ACT THREE: Liz Cheney arrives on the scene, to express the fact that she finds her own father's arguments surprisingly compelling. OMG! TWIST ENDING! Somewhere in there there's a tap break or something. Curtain call, and...SCENE. Now of course, I find the whole matter to be the gift that keeps on giving ! But at the same time, I find myself reading more and more accounts of people who sort of wish that maybe someone would push back on the Les Dickandlizerables in real time. Such as: Steve Benen, who, back in late May was discovering how often this show had appeared in the media's repertory: That's 12 appearances, in nine and a half days, spanning four networks. (On today's "Morning Joe," Liz Cheney was on for an entire hour -- effectively becoming a co-host of the program.) And this is just television, and doesn't include Liz Cheney's interviews on radio or with print media. There's no modern precedent for such a ridiculous arrangement. Dick Cheney launches a crusade against the White House, and major outlets look for analysis from Cheney's daughter? Who everyone already realizes agrees with everything he says about torture? This is just crazy. And Greg Sargent holds out MSNBC for particular scorn : MSNBC is shrugging off the growing criticism of the extensive airtime the network has granted Liz Cheney to mount a political defense of her father and a political offensive against the Obama administration, with a network spokesperson saying, "Liz is a great guest." As more critics are beginning to notice, Liz Cheney is not an ordinary GOP commentator. She is an active spokesperson on her father's behalf at a time when questions about how to handle the Bush torture program are actively being debated by the White House and Congress. Her appearances are not comparable to those of conventional GOP guests. Yet as Steve Benen, David Kurtz, and others have pointed out, Liz Cheney has been granted a near-constant platform on MSNBC to act as her father's chief defender and go after Obama, often without meaningful challenge from either a co-guest or from anchors. I can see Sargent's point, but to me, the greater issue here is the sudden and unquestioned elevation of the Cheneys, and the way in which they have been subsequently cast as the equals to the President of the United States. Let's recall that Dick Cheney was never anyone's idea of a media gadfly. He studiously avoided the spotlight for years. He's surged back to the forefront in an attempt to defend various controversial policies -- torture, GITMO, renditions -- but no one seems to be able to point out the irony here: he's claiming the spotlight only after the fact . When these controversial policies were in play, Cheney wasn't out there in the public eye, building a case for them, or celebrating their efficacy. In a similar vein, how on earth has the Dick and Liz Show come to be elevated as equally important to the President of the United States? They aren't even remotely equivalent. Remember how a few weeks ago, the media was just consumed with the idea that a "great debate" on foreign policy was going on between Cheney and Obama? Some "debate!" On one hand, you had a public servant, elected with a mandate to plot a new course in the war on terror, doing his sworn duty and laying out policy. On the other hand, you had a former vice-president who's never been the apple of the public eye giving a paid speech in front of a room full of cronies. This is not -- in any way, shape, or form -- a debate. If you want to sum up Cheney's motivations, circa now, here you go: Dick Cheney wants to receive CREDIT for "keeping America safe" without having to take RESPONSIBILITY for the means by which this supposed "safety" was achieved. No one questions this. And no one seems to realize that at one end of the scale, we have people like General David Petraeus , interrogator Matthew Alexander , al Qaeda infiltrator Ali Soufan -- people who fought for the United States and trod actual war zones -- who speak forthrightly about the fact that torture didn't work, that Abu Ghraib and GITMO actively feed the jihad machinery. On the other end, you have Dick Cheney, and his daughter, telling us that if you cherrypick just the right combination of phantom documents, it will prove that the testimony on the other side is wrong. That is literally the only unique argument they have. It's fine if that's what the Cheney's want to say. It's fine if the media wants to report it! But this little act of theirs belongs a lot lower on the marquee. [Would you like to follow me on Twitter ? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here .] Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter! 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