Sunday, June 7, 2009

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Roseanne Colletti: Dorm Dilemma Top
Parents picking up their college student for the summer face the dilemma of what to do with all of their stuff. Remember all those living essentials for which you shelled out a fortune in the fall? Guess what: you now have to reclaim it for the next few months. So, should you store it, ship it or cart it all back with you? I've witnessed a variety of combinations and unless you plan to caravan it with a couple of big SUVs, and live close enough to make that a reasonable choice, you have to decide what goes where and how. Let me relate my experience in parental limbo amid the seven levels of hell known as moving the kid out of the dorm. This experience is much worse than moving in because everything is used, abused and grimy. Moving in with everything new and packaged and pristine was a pleasure by comparison. So, what to do with that grimy stuff that you purchased with the idea it would last all four years? First toss the worst of it out. That throw rug that's been on the floor, seen one too many pizza bashes and should never be trod upon again-get rid of it. Dispose of anything that's already open such as shampoo, laundry detergent, and toilet bowl cleaner. If you plan to transport it, I guarantee you will have a mess on your hands. Even if you plan to wrap these supplies in a big plastic garbage bag or bin, you can't ship opened items and the container will take up too much car space if you're driving. What should you put into storage? I recommend big items such as a desk chair, footlocker, floor lamp, plastic storage bins, bicycle, even winter clothing. If you ship this stuff home, you'll just have to ship it back in the fall. That means you pay twice and you will also have boxes sitting around your home all summer. Bad enough your kid may want to sit around the house all summer. Renting storage space presents its own challenges. First find a facility that is close to the dorm. It's just more convenient. Ask whether the storage unit is climate controlled. This feature really doesn't matter for that bicycle or free weights, but summer humidity can do a number on any clothing you have there. You will pay a little more to have your belongings enjoy an air-conditioned summer. The storage facility will probably offer to sell you some type of insurance. You probably don't need it. For one thing, flood damage is usually an exclusion and that is realistically the only thing you need to worry about. Most storage units are constructed of cinderblocks and aluminum and they aren't likely to burn. Unless you're in a tornado or hurricane prone region, your stuff will be just fine. Check with your homeowner's policy and call your credit card issuer if you pay by credit card. You may have coverage against theft or loss already. Take out that cell phone camera and snap pictures of anything of value you place in storage just in case there is a problem. If you have to travel by air, don't even consider just loading up extra bags for the trip home. The airlines will charge you for each one. I just paid $80 for four bags as additional luggage. I shipped a lot more with UPS for less than $200 and didn't have to carry the load to and from the airport. Moving out is no picnic, but keep crib notes. You get to retrace your steps and move them back in come September. If you want to see more of my stories go to(http:// www.nbcnewyork.com )
 
Byron Williams: A Prisoner of Hope for 50 years and Still Going! Top
Jack O'Dell is truly one of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement and, thus, one of America's unsung heroes. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he organized labor unions, wrote the first anti-Vietnam War editorial in a black periodical, and played critical roles in numerous civil rights campaigns, including Birmingham, Ala. He also served as the director of voter registration for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) until he was forced to resign because of communist ties in 1963. I recently spoke with O'Dell from his home in Vancouver, British Columbia. At 86, he still possesses the same erudition that assisted Martin Luther King plan the Birmingham campaign in late 1962. Birmingham, made famous by the photos of police dogs and high-powered fire hoses, became the lasting symbol of segregation, revealing globally the incongruence between the democratic values America espouse and its praxis. The movement, having been stung by the public perception of failure in its previous campaign to desegregate Albany, Ga., planned to move toward Birmingham with the knowledge that it needed a victory to sustain its efforts. But O'Dell takes issue with the perception that Albany was a failure. He argues that Albany was part of a systematic strategy that would lead into Birmingham and to the March on Washington in August 1963. For O'Dell, classifying Albany as a defeat is a superficial assessment that is often made by those evaluating movements in which they are not actively involved. The lessons of Albany would be the fuel for Birmingham. Recounting the meetings that led to the Birmingham campaign, O'Dell spoke glowingly of King's leadership style. "Many leaders aren't good listeners because they have already made up their minds," he said. "But Dr. King wasn't that type of leader -- he was a good listener." The result of the meeting was detailed strategy known as Project C (for confrontation), calling for a combination of targeted sit-ins, economic boycotts of the downtown business section with larger protests; and massive demonstrations designed to give attention to the boycotts as well as fill the jails. Finally, the plan would call on those outside of Birmingham to descend on the city, increasing the attention on the boycotts by overcrowding the jails. King needed assurances from O'Dell that there was a plan in place to ensure the necessary resources were available to carry out the strategy. The movement could ill-afford to fill Birmingham's jail, but be unable to make bail. After O'Dell convinced King that an effective direct-mail fundraising campaign was in place, Project C commenced on April 3, 1963. Project C would prove that the hatred of police dogs and fire hoses was no match for the commitment to the ideals that the nation was founded upon. But O'Dell, who had been a valuable member of the SCLC team, would later that year become a source of controversy. In 1963 communism was the fear du jour. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover hardly sympathetic to the movement's cause, labeled O'Dell and fellow SCLC member Stanley Levison, as dangerous communist operatives. Neither Levison nor O'Dell made their affiliation with the Communist Party a secret; and they were hardly dangerous as Hoover alleged. Moreover, their affiliation with the Communist Party had broken no U.S. laws. Unfortunately, the price the Kennedy administration would demand from King for supporting civil rights legislation would be the removal of O'Dell from his SCLC position. It was a cruel irony of history in that a group of citizens put the elasticity of Jeffersonian democracy to the test, and the only way the federal government would support their noble cause would be to dictate who could openly participate in their movement. What ultimately happened to O'Dell remains with us today. The Cold War fears of communism have been replaced by 21st century fears of terrorism. Each day we bear witness to the paralyzing impact fear has on our democracy. But O'Dell is not bitter; he remains the same prisoner of hope today that he was in 1963, which ultimately led to the nation moving closer to its own democratic values. For those who wish to listen to my interview with O'Dell, you can find it at: www.blogtalkradio.com/Byronspeakscom/2009/05/29/Birmingham-1963. Byron Williams is an Oakland pastor and syndicated columnist and blog-talk radio host. He is the author of Strip Mall Patriotism: Moral Reflections of the Iraq War. E-mail him at byron@byronspeaks.com or visit his website: byronspeaks.com More on Civil Rights
 
Bruce Wilson: Christian Martyr Movement Head Blesses Huckabee & Gingrich Top
On Friday, June 5, 2009, at an event featuring aspiring politicians Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich that was broadcast over the global media networks of GodTV, a rising leader in the rapidly reconfiguring Christian right who has publicly called for acts of Christian martyrdom prayed over and blessed Huckabee and Gingrich: TheCall founder Lou Engle. The June 5, 2009, Rock Church event has received some media notice but coverage -which has noted Newt Gingrich declared Americans are "surrounded by paganism" , and that he and Mike Huckabee made stump speeches calling for Christian conservatives to become more involved in electoral politics- has almost wholly missed the significance. Leaders on the Christian right have been giving such speeches for decades, but the two-day Rock Church conference was not business as usual. Rather, it showcased the rapid reconfiguration of the Christian right around the rising, highly militant but poorly understood charismatic wing of the new Christian right, a movement which includes both Ted Haggard and Sarah Palin .) One point of the spear for the new Christian right is an intense, raspy-voiced man who presided over the June 5, 2009 Rock Church event, layed hands on Mike Huckabee, and pledged the commitment of his prayer warriors to Huckabee and Gingrich was Lou Engle, founder of TheCall - which played a significant role in the push to pass the anti-gay marriage Proposition Eight in the lead up to the November 4, 2008 presidential election. Only days before Huckabee and Gingrich received Lou Engle's endorsement at Rock Church, on Sunday May 31, 2009, late-term abortion doctor George Tiller was gunned down in the lobby of his Wichita, Kansas church. The next morning CBS's Jeff Glor reported, "We did speak with the accused shooters' ex-wife yesterday. She said she was not surprised this happened and that she believed Roeder wanted to be a martyr for the cause." The November 1, 2008 TheCall San Diego event was the capstone event for the pro-Proposition Eight, anti-gay marriage push in California prior to the November 4, 2008 presidential election. Towards the end of the event, which attracted an estimated 30,000 attendees to San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium despite sweltering heat, TheCall founder Lou Engle, and his disciple Eddie Brown, as captured in footage taken at TheCall San Diego by documentary film-maker Michael W. Wilson made calls, from onstage before thousands of impassioned followers, for acts of Christian martyrdom. Engle has in the recent past declared that decades of legalized abortion since Roe v. Wade have incurred a blood debt which demands to be paid in blood. [ more on Gingrich, Huckabee and Engle ]
 
Dan Frommer: Apple's New iPhone: What to Expect Monday Top
Apple's (AAPL) Worldwide Developers conference kicks off Monday with a keynote led by Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller. Apple execs will show off parts of the new iPhone 3.0 operating system . And someone -- Phil; Steve Jobs ? -- is expected to show off a new iPhone . Most likely new iPhone features , as either we or others have reported: Faster processor . More storage capacity. Faster Internet speeds . Video recording. Better camera. Digital compass. More iPhone 3.0 software features, such as video editing, and potentially a new home screen that's better designed for organizing and launching dozens of apps. The phone will likely look very much like the current iPhone 3G. Some reports suggest a matte, rubbery back . But many "leaked" photos are fake . Then there's a slew of other potential features, some of which Apple could unveil Monday, too, such as a front-facing camera for video chat, background app processing , or multi-colored iPhones . But those are relatively unlikely. Just as important: What Apple announces regarding AT&T's iPhone service plans. Specifically, if AT&T will offer some sort of entry-level iPhone plan that is less than $70/month , or if it will at least make its plans a better deal by including unlimited text messaging. (Sprint is doing this for the Palm Pre.) The iPhone itself is still too expensive for many buyers. And the service plan is, too. And about pricing: It makes sense that Apple would keep its new, premium iPhones at the $199/$299 price levels. But it seems that a cheaper iPhone, perhaps will less storage or a few missing components, could show up for $99 or $149 . Photo: Nowhere Else See Also: CHART OF THE DAY: Apple, RIM Swallow Mobile Industry Profits Palm Pre Is Nice, But I'm Keeping My iPhone Retailer Computers List 16GB, 32GB iPhones For Sale More on Apple
 
Allison Kilkenny: New Photos Released of Conflict Between Peruvian Government and Amazon People Top
Thousands of Peruvian activists have been protesting against a series of laws that will threaten their land's natural resources. The Peruvians protest in a show of solidarity for Amazon tribes, who have been on strike more than month. Privatization is the heart of the conflict. The tribes object to presidential decrees that have opened up their natural resource sectors to private investors. Sadly, the protests have spiraled into violence, and more than 30 people have died with dozens more injured. A reader, Luis Andres Sendoya, sent me photos taken by volunteers in Peru of the conflict between the Peruvian government and the Amazon people. The photos can be viewed here , but I must warn readers that they are extremely graphic. Alan Garcia, the president of Peru, pleads for calm from his countrymen, but what he has not yet acknowledged are the rights of the indigenous Peruvians, which is really what this whole conflict is about. Cross-posted from Allison Kilkenny's blog . Also available on Facebook and Twitter .
 
Yoani Sanchez: Red Medalists: Their Sport? Leaving the Communist Party Top
Among us there exists a frequently practiced sport, but one whose statistics and events are not mentioned anywhere. This is the sport of surrendering the Communist Party card, for which many of my compatriots have been preparing for years. Most important is to train the senses to find the right moment to stand in the assembly and say, "Companeros, for reasons of health I can't continue to perform the task you have assigned me." There are those who claim a sick mother whom they must care for, while others announce their intention to retire to spend time with their grandchildren. Few of the testimonies of those who have ended their militancy include the honest confession that they've ceased to believe in the precepts and principles imposed by the Party. I know one who found a novel way to get out of the meetings, the unanimous votes, the calls for intransigence and the frequent mobilizations of the PCC (Cuban Communist Party). Like a boxer, trained to endure until the sound of the bell, he went to what would be his last meeting at his workplace with the Party core. He surprised everyone with the novelty of his argument, really swinging from the left when no one expected it. "Every day I buy on the black market to feed my family and as a member of the Communist Party I should not be doing this. Because I must choose between putting food on the table for my family or abiding by the discipline of this organization, I prefer to resign." Everyone at the table looked at him with disbelief. "But Richard, what are you talking about. Here most people buy on the black market." The rehearsed "blow" came to end the brief round, "Ah... then I'm leaving because I don't want to belong to a party of hypocrites, who say one thing and do another." He left the red book with his name and surname on the table where he would never sit again. The medal of a champion was given to him by his own wife when he returned home. "Finally, you're free of the party," she said," while planting a kiss and handing him the towel. Yoani's blog, Generation Y , can be read here in English translation. More on Cuba
 
Michael B. Laskoff: Capitalism and the End of Health Care as We Know It Top
Over the next month, pick up a newspaper or open your favorite news site, and within a few pages or clicks you should find all kinds of rhetoric on the Obama administration's attempt to reform health care. If the lobbyists do their job correctly, you'll be seeing a lot of provocative words and catch phrases. To date, some of my favorites have included "...big government picking your doctors...", "socializing medicine" and the frightening specter of Canada and Sweden -- the horror! (No doubt, we're just one good speaking point position paper away from hearing how the Taliban advocate universal health care.) In the midst of all this, it's easy to forget some simple realities. Today, 45 million Americans go without health care, and the inability to afford it is the single largest source of personal bankruptcy. Sobering as that is at the individual level, it also speaks to the grand failure to live up to the most basic of our national ideals. The status quo is simply not consistent with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Such "luxuries" are impossible in the absence of health care. In addition, and this is where it seems to get scary for conservatives, capitalism doesn't always deliver outcomes that are good for the country as a whole. Unlike all other aspects of the unregulated economy, health care costs rise and quality decline every year; this is projected to continue at least through 2016 according to everyone -- left, right and center. Meanwhile, many other countries spend far less (as a percentage of GDP) and have healthier populations who live longer than Americans. In the capitalist paradise, that's not supposed to happen; and yet, we're an obese, diabetic nation with an epidemic of heart disease. As Libertarians and a few smart Republicans do point out, our current system isn't really the free market; it's a web of regulations and permitted commercial practices that have evolved over time to create a system in which a few get rich while everyone else suffers, physically and economically. Those who do benefit will defend today's failing system in a cloak of patriotism and opposition to big government. In reality, they are worried that rational change will hurt profits. If, for example, the government banded people together into national scale buying pools, we'd have real economic leverage to lower prices. That's not socialism; that's good business. Whether you think we need more or less government and regulations, don't believe the hype about the status quo. The current resistance to change is about greed. It's time to call that out and, perhaps, do something about it. More on Canada
 
Scott Roeder, Abortion Doctor Murder Suspect, Warns Of More Violence Top
WICHITA, Kan. — The man charged with murdering a high-profile abortion doctor claimed from his jail cell Sunday that similar violence was planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal, a threat that comes days after a federal investigation launched into his possible accomplices. A Justice Department spokesman said the threat was being taken seriously and additional protection had been ordered for abortion clinics last week. But a leader of the anti-abortion movement derided the accused shooter as "a fruit and a lunatic." Scott Roeder called The Associated Press from the Sedgwick County jail, where he's being held on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the shooting of Dr. George Tiller one week ago. "I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal," Roeder said. He would not elaborate. Tiller's clinic in Wichita was among only a few in the U.S. that perform third-trimester abortions. He was shot while serving as an usher at the Lutheran church he attended. Asked if he shot Tiller, Roeder replied that he could not comment about that and said he needed to clear everything with his lawyer. Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a written statement Sunday that "we take this matter seriously, which is why the Attorney General ordered increased protection of appropriate people and facilities last week." Tiller's clinic had been a target of regular demonstrations by abortion opponents. Most were peaceful, but his clinic was bombed in 1986 and he was shot in both arms in 1993. In 1991, a 45-day "Summer of Mercy" campaign organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of abortion opponents to Wichita, and there were more than 2,700 arrests. Jim Cross, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, did not immediately comment Sunday on Roeder's statement. The Justice Department opened an investigation Friday to see if the gunman who killed Tiller had accomplices. The DOJ said its Civil Rights Division and the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas will investigate whether the killing violated a 1994 law creating criminal penalties for violent or damaging conduct toward abortion providers and their patients. An attorney for the Tiller family, Dan Monnat, said he wasn't sure they should be dignifying Roeder's actions and threats with a response "every time he makes a hare-brained phone call." "I am hopeful that state and federal authorities, including Homeland Security, will give Mr. Roeder and his information a deserving response," Monnat said, declining to elaborate. Nancy Keenan president of NARAL-Pro-Choice America, said Roeder's comments "continue to escalate that kind of activity, that kind of violence. Quite honestly, I think it's imperative for anti-choice groups to tone down that rhetoric and keep the more extreme elements in their movement form copying Scott Roeder." A funeral was held Saturday for Tiller. Most anti-abortion groups avoided the service, having denounced Tiller's shooting. Troy Newman, president of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, read about Roeder's statement and e-mailed The Associated Press, saying: "This guy is a fruit and a lunatic." Roeder, a 51-year-old abortion opponent, was arrested a few hours after the shooting just outside Kansas City. He told the AP he refused to talk to investigators when he was arrested, and has made no statements to police since then. "I just told them I needed to talk to my lawyer," Roeder said. In two separate calls to AP on Sunday morning, Roeder was far more talkative about his treatment at the Sedgwick County jail, complaining about "deplorable conditions in solitary" where he was kept during his first three days there. Sedgwick County Sheriff Robert Hinshaw said that Roeder is receiving appropriate medical treatment. "It is after all a jail, but a modern state-of-the-art facility with professional staff," Hinshaw said. "While Mr. Roeder may not care for being in the Sedgwick County jail, all of our conditions and policies are designed to provide safety and security for all inmates, staff and public at large." Roeder said it was freezing in his cell. "I started having a bad cough. I thought I was going to have pneumonia," he said. He said he called AP because he wanted to emphasize the conditions in the jail so that in the future suspects would not have to endure the same conditions. Roeder also said he wanted the public to know he has been denied phone privileges for the past two days, and needed his sleep apnea machine.
 
Michael Lewis: Wall Street Made This Mess And Is Making Fortune Cleaning It Up (VIDEO) Top
Michael Lewis, the former Salomon Brothers trader who wrote "Liar's Poker" about the excesses of Wall Street during the 1980s, delivered a devastating critique of the financial industry and of the government bailout today on CNN"s "Fareed Zakaria GPS." Lewis thinks that the government's rescue efforts have only served to postpone a "day of reckoning" for Wall Street: I think that we are in for another day of reckoning down the road. I just don't know when it is. I think that they haven't even properly evaluated the institutions. They haven't been honest about what these institutions have on their books. They've had phony stress tests. So, we're in a kind of, I think, right now, in a period where there's a false sense that it's over, that the crisis is passed. I don't think the crisis is passed. Watch the video: Embedded video from CNN Video Part of the problem, Lewis argues, is that the architects of the bailout are too cozy with the banks which created the financial crisis in the first place, even speculating that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is already looking ahead to a cushy job in the private sector. "...one of the things that's odd about the current situation is that the people who created the problem are so powerful in deciding what the solution to the problem is going to be. There is a great tradition on Wall Street of making a fortune, creating a mess, and then making a fortune cleaning it up. But to do it on this scale is breathtaking to me. And it is amazing to me the degree to which, say, Goldman Sachs is intertwined with the Treasury, and how they're -- there don't seem to be any independent voices in the thick of the decision-making. The decision-making is all being done by people who one way or another might expect to make a lot of money from Goldman Sachs in the future... So, on a grander scale, if I'm Tim Geithner and I'm the secretary of the treasury, what do you think he's going to do when he stops being secretary of the treasury? His natural next step is go work in the financial sector. I don't think he's actually thinking, "I've got to be nice to the people on Wall Street, because they're going to make me rich on the back end of it." Further, he believes that regulation has been ineffective because the regulators are conflicted, expressing shock that this cozy connection is considered routine in Washington: But the directors of the last three -- let's see, three of the last four or four of the last five directors of enforcement of the SEC work for big Wall Street banks now... And you can just assume, I think, that if you're a prominent person at the SEC, your exit strategy is to get a lot of money from a Wall Street firm. And nobody says anything about it. That's the amazing thing. It's not even thought scandalous. It's just thought normal. It's like a natural career -- a step in a financial career. Lewis believes that two principal causes of the crisis were that the ratings agencies were weak and that credit-default swaps were unregulated. But even if proper regulation is brought to bear on Wall Street, Lewis remains pessimistic. As "a natural cynic," he adds that really smart people in positions of privilege will find ways to get around the new rules." Lewis expressed his shock at the scale of the current crisis, saying that when he wrote his book, he thought "it was the end of something," and he was determined to capture that era in print because he assumed that people 15 years later would hardly believe what had happened during that previous crisis. "And I turned out to be completely wrong." In fact, it was just the beginning of a long era in Wall Street, culminating in the "point of madness," as Lewis describes it, describing his experience at Salomon Brothers where revenues were increasingly being generated by risk-taking and proprietary trading. Lewis described the internal logic at the big Wall Street firms, where top executives are pressured to make the riskiest moves because those are the ones that were generating the most money: The logic of it, internal to the Wall Street firms, is that if I'm the CEO of Citigroup or Merrill Lynch, and the vast majority of my revenues are coming out of this subprime mortgage machine, and I just shut it down, unless I'm incredibly lucky in the timing of it, it's going to look like I've just jettisoned my single most important business. My competitors are all going to be earning fantastic returns on their capital, and I'm going to be out of it. And I'll probably be out of a job. Meanwhile, all the guys who are going along with it are getting paid huge sums of money at the end of every year. The efficient strategy for the individual trader was to ignore his reason and participate in the madness.
 
Stephen Colbert Cameos In High School Principal's Commencement Speech From Iraq Top
Stephen Colbert, with a new crewcut, made a cameo appearance from Iraq in high school principal David St. Aubin's commencement speech to the 2009 graduating class of Goodrich High School in Michigan. During his comments, St. Aubin, who was deployed to Iraq in December, paused to introduce a "special guest." Colbert jumped out and enthusiastically shouted, "Congratulations, Class of 2009. Stay strong!" before high-fiving St. Aubin. Watch the video: More on Stephen Colbert
 

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