Monday, June 8, 2009

Y! Alert: The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

Ken Bacon: Obama's speech and displacement in the Muslim World Top
President Obama's speech to the Muslim World in Cairo was a complete home run. He highlighted the shared religious values of peace and justice that unify the People of the Book--Jews, Christians and Muslims who live by their Holy texts, the Talmud, the Bible and the Koran. He addressed the differences that currently divide the faiths, and he proposed paths for dialogue, partnership and peace in the future. Yet no speech, even one as comprehensive as the June 4th address in Cairo , could address all the vital issues. One fact that President Obama did not touch on at length was the massive displacement in the Muslim world. There are more refugees and internally displaced people in the Muslim world than anywhere else. Over four million Palestinians are victims of diplomatic stalemate in the Middle East; some five million Iraqis have been displaced by sectarian violence following the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Millions of Sudanese have been displaced by ethnic violence in Darfur and South Sudan . In the last few months about three million Pakistanis have fled their homes to escape fighting between the Pakistani military and increasingly aggressive Taliban forces seeking to acquire territory and expand their rule. In February, the Brookings Institution calculated that "there are nine to ten million refugees in the Muslim world, and at least 14 million internally displaced. If this was the case in the United States, there would be two million refugees and three million American internally displaced persons." Why is displacement so high in the Muslim world? One answer is impact of conflict, as in Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. But the explanation is broader, including bad governance. "Unfortunately, the majority of the present refugees are Muslims who are suffering from political and economic injustice in their respective countries," Dr. Muhammad Nur Manuty, Director of the Centre for Studies in Modernity and Civil Society in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, asserted in an article in The Refugee Survey Quarterly last year . One of the signal themes of President Obama's Cairo speech was the need for new understanding and cooperation to advance political and economic development. The duty to protect people in exile, both Muslim and non-Muslim, is an important theme in the Koran, and many Muslim countries--Syria and Jordan and Iran are important examples--do provide refuge. But the cost of providing refuge can be high to host countries, and, of course, displacement can destabilize entire regions by creating economic and political tensions, while impeding development and education. Reducing displacement in Muslim countries and elsewhere is an important step toward creating a more peaceful, prosperous and stable world. The benefits will reach far beyond the Islamic world. More on Barack Obama
 
Pavel Somov, Ph.D.: Umami: Taste the Fullness Top
Umami, the notoriously elusive "fifth taste," has been described as producing a taste of fullness with hearty and meaty mouth-feel. According to Marcia Pelchat, a sensory psychologist from Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, if you add MSG, yellow coloring and salt to boiling water, "you can make people think they're eating chicken broth" (Fletcher, 2000, p.fd-1). Umami owes to the cells of the tongue that respond to monosodium glutamate (MSG) in protein-heavy foods and is enhanced by aging, fermentation, curing and ripeness (Fletcher, 2000). Whereas so far we described fullness as an essentially physical phenomenon resulting from the distention of the stomach, umami offers an intriguing possibility of preloading on chemical fullness. Experiment with manipulating your overall experience of fullness by having a cup of that proverbial chicken soup with a splash of soy sauce to augment the umami taste. In so doing, you will be pre-loading your fullness on liquid, smell and on umami. Taste the fullness. Pavel Somov, Ph.D., author of "Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time" (New Harbinger, 2008) www.eatingthemoment.com
 
City Has Nearly $1 Billion In Unspent TIF Money Stashed Away Top
Over the past month, Mayor Daley's tax increment financing (TIF) system has attracted some much-needed scrutiny.
 
AP: House Dems Favor Health Insurance Mandate Top
WASHINGTON — Officials say top Democrats in the House are circulating health care proposals that would require individuals to purchase insurance if they can afford it and slap an unspecified financial penalty on those who refuse. These officials _ both Democrats and others briefed _ also say top lawmakers in the House are considering imposing a new tax on certain health insurance benefits as one of numerous options to help pay for expanding coverage to the uninsured. No details are available, and these officials stressed that no final decisions have been made. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt a presentation set for Tuesday for members of the House Democratic rank and file. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama is making a mistake on health care by insisting on a government insurance option for the middle class, influential Republicans said in a letter to the White House released Monday. It could cost him chances for broad support across the political divide, the nine lawmakers, all members of the Senate Finance Committee, warned. Leaders of the Finance panel, which has the best odds of producing a bipartisan bill, are working against a self-imposed deadline for moving the legislation through committee this month. But tensions have been rising since Obama recently affirmed his strong support for including the option of a public insurance plan. "At a time when major government programs like Medicare and Medicaid are already on a path to fiscal insolvency, creating a brand new government program will not only worsen our long-term financial outlook but also negatively impact American families who enjoy the private coverage of their choice," said the letter, signed by all but one of the Finance Republicans. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Democrats would live to regret it if they insist on a public plan. "Democrats know that if they go to a totally partisan approach like the president has suggested they're going to eat that the rest of their lives," said Hatch, who circulated the letter to Obama. "I'll be glad to help them, but not with a public plan," Hatch, referring to the Democrats, told Fox News. Obama says his plan would allow Americans to keep private coverage. But many Republicans say that once a government insurance program is created, it will eventually dominate the market, and drive private insurers out of business. Most Democrats support creating a public plan to compete with private insurers, but even they are divided over critical details. In the House, a rift has opened between conservative and liberal Democrats over a government plan. The one Finance Republican who did not sign the letter was Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. Snowe has been trying to find a compromise through which a government plan would be available as a last resort, if health insurance remains unaffordable for many families even after Congress overhauls the system. "If individuals are not offered affordable choices, the use of a fallback public plan as a last resort plays a critical role," said Snowe. About two-thirds of Americans now have private insurance coverage, the vast majority through job-based plans. But there is one government health program that enjoys widespread political support. Medicare, created for seniors more than 40 years ago, has defied the predictions of critics that it would usher in an era of socialized medicine. Though the government controls every aspect of the plan, Medicare recipients enjoy a wide choice of doctors and hospitals. Some Democrats want to set up a Medicare-like plan that would, for the first time, offer government coverage to middle-class workers and their families. Depending on how such a plan is designed, economists say it could force many private insurers out of business. A government program would be able to undercut private insurers by paying doctors and hospitals less, thereby offering lower premiums that would draw employers and workers away from private insurers. The idea of a public plan is also controversial among Democrats. In the House, the 50 or so conservatives who make up the Blue Dog coalition argue that the government plan must look and work a lot like private insurance. It would be run by an outside contractor. And it couldn't compel hospitals and doctors to sign up, but would have to negotiate payment rates with providers. To stay solvent, the plan would have to rely on premiums, not taxpayer dollars. The House conservatives share many ideas with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has been looking for compromises in the Senate. On the left, the 80 or so members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, contend that the public plan should be modeled on the Medicare program. It would be operated directly by the government and would use the existing framework of Medicare to keep costs low. ___ Associated Press writer Erica Werner contributed to this report.
 
Cristobal Joshua Alex: Key Latino Groups Launch Effort to Protect Sotomayor Nomination From Vicious Attacks Top
As the rhetoric around Judge Sotomayor's nomination heats up, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) in partnership with the broad Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary coalition has launched a website, Sotomayor For Justice , to counter the misinformation and backwards logic behind opposition to this historic nomination. The website comes at a perfect time; the right has thus far done a solid job of poisoning what should be a well-informed discussion on the importance of the judiciary, and the role it plays in all of our lives. While some Senate leaders appear to be preparing for a thorough and respectful examination of Sotomayor's extensive federal judicial career, extremist commentators and elected officials on the right continue to try and derail the nomination with accusations of racism and comparisons to the KKK, and claims that she would bring bias into her decision-making in favor of Latinos. What is worse, notwithstanding the hateful remarks they make, many in the media continue to provide these individuals the platform to spread their ignorance. Never mind that Judge Sotomayor is a brilliant, qualified jurist with great respect for the rule of law and firm commitment to upholding the values enshrined in our Constitution. Never mind that she the most experienced judge to ever be nominated for the nation's high court. And never mind that among the federal circuit courts' 179 judicial positions, only 12 are occupied by Latinos. Whether its to fill their coffers, or simply to foment greater hostility to the current administration, the right-wing talking heads and elected officials are using this moment to trash a well-respected and intelligent woman, and the country's fastest growing voter base. Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary has put together a strong coalition but has a lot of work to do to set the record straight. To see how bad things have gotten one need only look at the recent cartoon in the Oklahoman depicting Judge Sotomayor strung up like a piñata at a lynching. I only hope that the media and others start paying attention to the real issues at stake in this nomination. And when this is all done, those that have viciously attacked and ridiculed Judge Sotomayor should be held accountable, both at the voting booth and through pulled corporate sponsorships for their hate speech on TV, print and radio. More on Sonia Sotomayor
 
Steve Parker: GM must cut Buick, GMC - Now Top
General Motors must drop their Buick and GMC divisions. And do it now. The number of people already put out of work by the Amazingly-Shrinking General is sickening, outrageous; these workers didn't bring this on themselves, it's been forced on them and their families and the businesses where they trade by GM's own shortcomings and the collapse of the credit market precipitated by the sub-prime mortgage crisis through the banks and Wall Street. Yet the real horror of unemployment, no health insurance and in too many cases homelessness is going to continue to fall on the backs of America's working men and women. Lay-offs at GM and its suppliers and the numbers of those put out of work by the thousands due to planned dealership closings will continue for at least another two years. The closing of Pontiac alone has resulted in 20,000 workers put on the street from GM and its suppliers; the sales of Hummer and Saturn will result in more people gone as will the bankruptcy and ultimate disposition of Saab. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu gas/electric hybrid Estimates of "displaced workers" from GM's announced dealership closings range to well over 100,000, spread throughout the nation. No one wants to see this trend continue or grow. (In one humorous aside, GM and the Sichuan, China-based industrial firm which has agreed to buy Hummer stated in their joint press release that Hummer executives are part of the deal between the two companies; hope those GM and AM General folks in Detroit and Mishawaka and South Bend, IN, enjoy spicy Asian food; well, a job's a job these days). Yet if the Obama Administration really feels that this ritual death and resurrection of GM is so crucial to the economic and psychic health of America, this part of their plan leaves a lot to be desired. Orange, CA's Robby Gordon driving his Chevy off-road race truck to victory this past weekend in the 41st SCORE-Tecate Baja 500; Chevy's long-time racing activities give it a high profile Even with "four core divisions," as GM likes to call their new quad of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, the company's failed recipe for overcapacity, overproduction and waste could continue unabated within what was for almost 100 years the world's largest manufacturing concern. For the past three decades, GM has developed an inferiority complex which saw the corporation go so far as to keep its own name and logo off their Saturn and Oldsmobile Aurora products, among others, yet now they're hanging onto Buick and GMC for no good reason other than, it would appear, corporate ego. "Never fail to take advantage of a crisis," is a mantra of this White House, but what has the President's Automotive Task Force learned during this exercise? Not much, it would seem, as Buick and GMC will now continue to market "their own" versions of existing Chevrolet and Cadillac products, exactly what all involved claim they're trying to avoid. There are few "single-point" Buick dealers, that is, stores which sell Buicks only and no other GM products. According to Automotive News' 2008 dealer census figures, out of 2,587 stores, only 63 of them are Buick-only. Out of 2,133 GMC dealerships, just 120 are single-point. All the rest sell other GM products. The world's first "concept car" was this 1938 Buick "Y-job" designed and driven daily by Harley Earl, the legendary first chief of GM's styling studio, the world's first full-time, dedicated automotive styling operation Conversely, Chevrolet in 2008 still had 3,812 dealers of which 1,965 were singles, while 201 of Cadillac's 1,422 dealers were Caddy-only. GM (and the White House) must honestly answer this question: Even without considering the manufacturing costs for Buick and GMC, are the marketing, advertising, public relations, executive salaries, transportation, supplier and other ancillary costs worth it when the two divisions have only 183 single-point dealerships between them? In 2008, Buick dealers sold an average of just 52 vehicles per year; GMC dealers moved 167 pieces of iron annually. GM in 2008 claimed 13,132 dealers in the US (with its 7 divisions, including Saab) selling about 163 cars and trucks per store. Toyota and Scion combined had 1,235 stores moving 1,589 cars and trucks a year with (Toyota luxury division) Lexus' 226 dealers pushing 1,158 vehicles out the door. Get the picture? GM makes too many cars ... has too many factories and stores ... too many employees ... and too many executives ... and too much of everything else. Scion's Hako concept shown at a recent NY Auto Show The company has been burning through $1 billion a week in recent months, the costs of shutting-down almost as incapacitating to the corporation as the past 100 years of growing "too large to fail" (and isn't it strange that while "financial services" firms are dubbed by the government as being "too large to fail," we've yet to hear of a company which actually makes tangible products which has that same quality?). Any continued overcapacity on GM's part is disastrous for the future of the company; Buick and GMC have no involvement in racing, either, which at least allows Chevrolet some modicum of extra promotional activity (especially if my man Tony Stewart keeps working his magic in NASCAR this year). Rather than searching for reasons and justifications to keep divisions (and, yes, employees), General Motors must be cut to the very barest of its bones and then rebuilt from there, if possible. That is, if the White House is indeed serious about getting the "heavy lifting" done now so GM can rise again. Perhaps "saving" the company through Chapter 7 bankruptcy wasn't the best idea; maybe Chapter 11, with the various divisions sold-off to the highest bidder, would have ultimately made more sense. More on Cars
 
Annelle Sheline: Obama's Call for Cooperation with Islam Begins to Elicit Responses Top
One day before Obama's highly-anticipated Cairo speech, the East Bay Express reported on Zaytuna College in Berkeley, which seeks to be the first fully accredited Muslim college in the United States. Founders Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shaker seek to provide an "American alternative to traditional Muslim education" while upholding the rigorous tradition of Islamic scholarship. Yusuf is known as the "Elvis Presley of Western Muslims" by the Egyptian English-language monthly Egypt Today , which quoted him on the problem of Islam's politicization: "Many Arabs now see Islam as a political movement that will solve their often-excruciating social and economic problems. That is simply false and a dangerous utopian assumption." Both Yusuf and Shaker are converts to Islam born into American Christian households, making them ideal messengers to communicate moderate Islam to the American public. Meanwhile back here in Cairo, Obama's call for cooperation has already found a willing partner. His visit on Thursday coincided with publicity for the August launch of the satellite channel El Azharia . The channel seeks to use Al Azhar, one of the oldest and best-known Muslim educational institutions, to present "true Islam" to non-Arab Muslims and non-Muslims. The stated goals of both Zaytuna and Al Azharia require stepping into the Islamic limelight as vocal moderates, a stage that has typically shown radicals hogging the spotlight. Air Force One had not yet taken off for Germany and I was already sitting down to interview Sheikh Khaled El Guindy, a member of Egypt's Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs and one of Al Alzhar's most famous imams. Hassan Tatanaki interjected occasionally: as the source of $2.7 million needed to launch the 24-hour channel, the august sheikh forgave the wealthy philanthrocapitalist for intermittent commentary. I couldn't catch how his translator phrased it, but I asked the sheikh to give me his "elevator speech" for Al Azharia. He expounded on Al Azhar as an ideal source from which to communicate "true Islam" to young Muslims and non-Muslims: not suicide bombing and celestial virgins, but spirituality partnered with rigorous scholarship. "Al Azhar breeds no fanatics because our students spend years studying many different schools of Islamic thought and thus they learn that there is more than way to think. Fanatics only accept one point of view as legitimate: theirs," El Guindy explained. Tatanaki interposed that "Any Tom, Dick or Harry can set themselves up as an authority and start brainwashing people, as they did in Al Qaeda." None of Al Qaeda's key figures--Bin Laden, Zawahiri or Sayyed Imam al-Sharif--had achieved the level of study needed to legitimize their statements from a religious perspective. Many Al Qaeda members attended small madrassas in Pakistan, such as Darul Uloom Haqqania (Center of Righteous Knowledge) . I pointed out that even some moderate Muslims favored Al Qaeda's Salafist ideology that rejects all Muslim jurisprudence, much of which was issued from centuries of Al Azhar scholars, favoring instead the pure Quran and sunna, the sayings of Prophet Mohamed. A parallel could be drawn to the Protestant Reformation rejecting the Catholic Church which it perceived as straying from the true faith into self-important decadence. Gingerly, I included the criticism that Al Azhar is the tool of the Egyptian government and may not command its former legitimacy. The sheikh laughed politely. He explained that millions of Muslims around the world know Al Azhar to be one of the greatest universities in Islam. Changing the subject, I asked how the sheikh hoped to find an edge in a competitive media environment. "Ha, that is why I'm dressed so nicely!" he laughed. (In a suit and rich red tie, I had not been immediately able to identify him as the Sheikh until I noticed the amber-colored prayer beads in his hand.) El Guindy has already recognized the power of new media to communicate with people seeking guidance from him and Al Azhar. He launched a Muslim telephone hotline to which people can call in with questions and appears on multiple television shows: his face is known by millions, if not, prior to our interview, by me. Yet he knows that it takes more than many hard years of intense study to command respect, because in the case of Bin Laden and media super stars like Amr Khaled, it doesn't even take that. Sheikh El Guindy explains the popularity of such figures through the "void of leadership" in the Muslim world that allows the loudest voices to be heard. I asked what had prevented moderate Muslim leaders from concerted efforts to make themselves heard in order to prevent extremists from dictating global perceptions of Islam. Sheikh El Guindy explained that "circumstances had prevented Al Azhar from responding to the negative image of Islam until this time." Tatanaki asserted that there had been "no encouragement" and that if such a channel had been launched a few years ago, it probably would have failed. Obama had provided the necessary encouragement. Tatanaki mentioned how pleased he had been to hear that when Keith Ellison, the first Muslim-American congressmember took the oath to defend the Constitution, he used a Quran that had belonged to Thomas Jefferson. Yet both men emphasized the necessity of media attention for the success of projects like theirs. When pundits like Michael Wolff, the founder of Newser , make statements like Barack Obama Just Changed the World , I can't help but think, no, he didn't. As Obama himself acknowledged, one speech won't. But from Cairo to Berkeley it does seem to be promoting the actions that will change the world, and the attitude that change is possible.
 
Chuck Todd To Write Book About Obama Administration Top
The Observer has learned that Chuck Todd--the defiantly goateed newsman who serves as the chief White House correspondent and political director for NBC News--has sold a book proposal about the first few years of Mr. Obama's presidency to editor Geoff Shandler of Little, Brown.
 
GOP Says Palin Will Attend Fundraiser Top
WASHINGTON — Republicans said Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will attend a major congressional fundraiser Monday night, ending a will-she-or-won't-she mystery that has overshadowed the event and frustrated the GOP. Republican officials involved in organizing the event said Palin, the party's 2008 vice presidential nominee, had accepted an invitation to attend without a speaking role. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. But just hours before the dinner, there was still some confusion. Fred Malek, a Palin friend and finance chairman of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, said she would attend and "be recognized and I think it will be well-received by all attendees and be a real plus for the committees." But a spokeswoman for Palin's political committee, Meghan Stapleton, said in an e-mail: "Not confirming." The last-minute uncertainty is the latest twist in an unusual public flap between Palin and congressional leaders who run the GOP's fundraising committees, and who had originally asked the telegenic, potential 2012 presidential candidate to headline the event. In March, organizers replaced Palin as the keynote speaker with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., after she wavered over accepting the invitation for the annual Senate-House dinner. She hadn't been expected to attend until last week, when her advisers approached organizers saying she would be near Washington and would like to come. Republican officials involved in the discussions said Palin was invited to sit at a head table but told she would not be given a chance to speak for fear that she might overshadow Gingrich. Palin balked at that arrangement but as late as Monday had not made clear whether she would attend, the officials said. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, made a personal appeal over the weekend for her to attend. Late Monday afternoon, the officials said Palin's aides had informed organizers that she and her husband, Todd Palin, would attend. They are slated to sit at Cornyn's table, the officials said. Palin catapulted to fame last year as presidential candidate John McCain's running mate and is widely believed to be eyeing a presidential bid in 2012. In March, Cornyn's committee and its House counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, put out a news release saying she would be the keynote speaker at the dinner, which is one of the party's largest fundraisers. Palin's representatives said later that the governor never confirmed that she would speak and wanted to make sure the event did not interfere with state business. Gingrich also has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, and the confusion over the fundraiser comes as Palin is denying an allegation that she borrowed heavily from an article he co-wrote in a recent speech. Responding to an accusation from a blogger on the Huffington Post Web site, Palin's attorney said the governor gave Gingrich proper credit when she used some of his material about former President Ronald Reagan. ____ Associated Press writer Beth Fouhy in New York contributed to this report. More on GOP
 
Third Way's Anti-Public Health Care Memo Drafted By Ex-Insurance Industry Advocates Top
A health care policy statement causing an uproar among progressives was drafted by two policy analysts with longtime connections to the health insurance industry. The paper, leaked by the organization Third Way Monday, rejects calls for a public health care option that would compete with private insurance on the grounds that it would be divisive and undermine broader reform goals. The position would be unsurprising coming from the insurance industry, which strongly opposes a public option. But Third Way is nominally a liberal organization and claims allegiance to progressive politics. The two authors are Anne Kim and David Kendall. Kim is a former lobbyist with Hogan and Hartson, a top health care industry lobby shop. Kendall is a former consultant for the Blue Cross-Blue Shield Association, one of the most powerful insurers in the nation. He is on the board of directors for the Wye River Group on Healthcare, which is funded to the tune of a million dollars by CIGNA, a major health insurance player. In 1991, according to his bio on the Wye River website, Kendall "helped set the stage for the national health care reform debate by bringing to Washington, D.C. the idea of managed competition, a theory developed by the Jackson Hole Group to achieve universal health care coverage through private health plans. He co-created the Jackson Hole East Group to foster discussion and political interest in managed competition." Progressives have reacted with fury at Third Way's insertion of itself into the health care debate. Adam Green at OpenLeft.com wrote that if the draft paper becomes the official position he'll work to defund the organization, saying of Third Way: "Enough." Kim and Kendall did not return calls left on their Third Way voice mail. A spokeswoman for Third Way did not immediately return a call, either. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Michelle Obama In Paris: Where She Shopped And What She Wore In Paris Top
PARIS — Michelle Obama, whom French fashionistas regard as the best-dressed American first lady since Jackie Kennedy, lived up to her sartorial reputation during her trip to Paris, sporting a wardrobe of fashion-forward classics by top American designers. But the woman who put unstuffy retailers like J. Crew on the fashion map also showed a weakness for high-end fashion "a la francaise," taking her two daughters on a private shopping trip to the exclusive children's couture house Bonpoint. Mrs. Obama's visit to the City of Light was widely billed as a rematch of the "duel of charm" that pitted her in a glamour contest against France's first lady, the former supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. The two faced off before the cameras only once during Mrs. Obama's latest visit, from Friday through Monday. For D-Day commemorations in Normandy, the first ladies chose strikingly similar looks, both in creamy white, knee-length dresses with contrasting belts and kitten heels. The heels were a departure for Bruni-Sarkozy, a leggy Italian-born heiress who leaped to fame in the early 1990s as a top model. Since she married France's diminutive leader Nicolas Sarkozy last year, the 5'9" (175 centimeter) -tall first lady has largely stuck to flats for her public appearances. Bruni-Sarkozy's outfit, which also included a swingy black cashmere coat, was signed Christian Dior _ her favorite label. Also true to form, Mrs. Obama's dress was by Narciso Rodriguez, one of the stable of American designers she champions. Britain's Daily Telegraph said photos of the two striding side-by-side on the red carpet at Saturday's commemorations were "surreally interchangeable with shots from a catwalk show. ... They could almost have been modeling some designers' collection named 'First Lady Spring 2009.'" French fashion weekly Elle said the two looked like "twin sisters" and hailed their "sophisticated, feminine" 1950s-era looks as "a success: We want more!" A similar thing happened at their last meeting, at a G-8 summit in the French border city of Strasbourg in April, when both showed up in stylish but proper coats embellished with flowing bows at the neckline and coordinated with matching dresses. Then, the European fashion press generally concurred that Mrs. Obama's Thakoon ensemble, in black silk with fuchsia flowers, stole the show from Bruni-Sarkozy's Dior outfit in putty gray. But it appeared that Bruni-Sarkozy's sophisticated Parisian style might be winning Mrs. Obama over. On Sunday, the American first lady and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, went shopping at Bonpoint, a children's clothing store favored by wealthy Parisians and international jet-setters like Sofia Coppola. Bonpoint's store in the tony Saint Germain des Pres neighborhood was closed for inventory on Monday and store officials were not available to discuss what, if anything, they bought. The brand, known for its airy stores carrying cashmere baby sweaters and smocked pastel frocks, was a far cry from CrewCuts, J. Crew's children's line, which the Obama girls wore to the inauguration. Mrs. Obama and the girls met up with the president in Paris, on the last leg of his six-day tour of four Middle Eastern and European countries. Obama left Paris for Washington, D.C., on Sunday morning, leaving his wife and children to enjoy the French capital on their own. Apart from the D-Day commemorations, Mrs. Obama's Paris visit was a private one, closed to the press. Photographers and camera crews caught images of her and the girls visiting the city's must-see monuments, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Pompidou Center modern art museum and Notre Dame cathedral. For those visits, Mrs. Obama stuck to her signature looks, wearing cardigans and flats for her trip to Bonpoint and a teal jacket and printed scarf for the Eiffel Tower. Mrs. Obama and the girls also attended a private luncheon hosted by the Sarkozys. The event, at the gilded Elysee presidential palace, looked like an advance fete for Sasha's 8th birthday this Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear what Mrs. Obama or Bruni-Sarkozy wore to the lunch, so fashion-watchers will have to hold on for Round 3 of the first ladies' fashion face-off. More on Michelle Obama Style
 
Alan Dershowitz: Taking a Stand Against Iran Top
Irwin Cotler, the former minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, member of Canadian parliament and co-author of this piece, is introducing legislation in Canadian parliament today called the "Iran Accountability Act." While it expressly holds Iran to account - for its genocidal threats, nuclear ambitions and domestic repressions - it can also function to hold any signatory to the Genocide Convention to account. All signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention (including the United States) have a responsibility to prevent genocide - and to punish incitement to genocide - that they have largely ignored in the case of the world's greatest threat. The IAA, while a Canadian initiative, is a template model as to how to fulfill these responsibilities and take a stand against Iranian criminal actions. We were in Geneva when the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stepped to the podium at the United Nations and delivered an address at a conference ostensibly aimed at fighting racism. With that speech - fettered with anti-Semitic comments and rooted in the very intolerance the Durban Review Conference was supposed to be combating, the whole delivered on the day of Holocaust remembrance in Geneva - the use and abuse of the United Nations reached a new, shameful low. President Ahmadinejad is a man who incites to hatred and genocide in violation of the Genocide Convention's prohibition; who is engaged in the massive repression of the rights of his own people--particularly the Baha'i religious minority of Iran; who pursues the most destructive of weaponry in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions; who is complicit in crimes against humanity through genocidal terrorist proxies; who assaults the basic tenet of the UN Charter; who presides, as president, over the parading in the streets of Tehran of a Shahab-3 missile draped in the emblem "Wipe Israel off the Map" while exhorting the masses with cries of "Death to Israel"; who denies the Holocaust as he incites to a new one; who warns Muslims that if they recognize Israel, they will burn in the umma of Islam; and who has used the podium of the United Nations General Assembly to invoke classic anti-Semitic tropes reminiscent of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Such a person belongs in the docket of the accused, not the podium of the United Nations. And yet the danger of a genocidal, nuclear and rights-violating Iran did not begin with President Ahmadinejad and will not end simply with the completion of his tenure. The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated that "it is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map of the region." Indeed, when he delivered his most infamous incitement - that Israel should be "wiped off the map" - President Ahmadinejad made it clear that he was simply repeating what "the Imam said"--at once grounding his hateful prescription in the words of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and invoking religion to confirm the obligation. Let us be clear, however, that the great civilization of Iran - and the peoples of Iran - are not the ones targeted by this legislation. To the contrary, the bill takes as its premise that these peoples are increasingly the object of Iran's human rights violations. It is in their best interest that the international community hold Iran's leaders to account. As Edmond Burke cautioned, it is clear that this evil will triumph unless good people do something to stop it. This template Iran Accountability Act would ensure precisely that. The IAA divests Canada from investment in Iran. It establishes a mechanism to monitor incitement to hate in Iran, and would render the most virulent inciters inadmissible to Canada. It freezes the assets of those that contribute to Iran's nuclear or military infrastructure -as well as its machinery of hate. It uses the framework of the international community - Canada's bilateral relationships and the United Nations - to bring Iran to justice through recognized principles of international law. And, similar to a recent American legislative proposal, it targets Iran's dependence on imported petroleum - so long as the incitement continues. The IAA makes it clear that diplomacy targeted solely at Iran's nuclear threat mistakenly ignores the terrifying and vilifying context in which that threat operates and, however inadvertently, sanitizes the genocidal incitement at its core. We hope that the US government and Congress look closely at this bill. A dual statement from both Canada and the United States would send a clear signal to Iran that while we are open to engagement, we will not acquiesce in incitement to genocide and other crimes against humanity. Irwin Cotler, a Montreal MP, is the former minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. Alan Dershowitz is Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard University. More on Canada
 
AP sources: House Dems favor insurance requirement Top
WASHINGTON — Officials say top Democrats in the House are circulating health care proposals that would require individuals to purchase insurance if they can afford it and slap an unspecified financial penalty on those who refuse. These officials _ both Democrats and others briefed _ also say top lawmakers in the House are considering imposing a new tax on certain health insurance benefits as one of numerous options to help pay for expanding coverage to the uninsured. No details are available, and these officials stressed that no final decisions have been made. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt a presentation set for Tuesday for members of the House Democratic rank and file. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama is making a mistake on health care by insisting on a government insurance option for the middle class, influential Republicans said in a letter to the White House released Monday. It could cost him chances for broad support across the political divide, the nine lawmakers, all members of the Senate Finance Committee, warned. Leaders of the Finance panel, which has the best odds of producing a bipartisan bill, are working against a self-imposed deadline for moving the legislation through committee this month. But tensions have been rising since Obama recently affirmed his strong support for including the option of a public insurance plan. "At a time when major government programs like Medicare and Medicaid are already on a path to fiscal insolvency, creating a brand new government program will not only worsen our long-term financial outlook but also negatively impact American families who enjoy the private coverage of their choice," said the letter, signed by all but one of the Finance Republicans. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Democrats would live to regret it if they insist on a public plan. "Democrats know that if they go to a totally partisan approach like the president has suggested they're going to eat that the rest of their lives," said Hatch, who circulated the letter to Obama. "I'll be glad to help them, but not with a public plan," Hatch, referring to the Democrats, told Fox News. Obama says his plan would allow Americans to keep private coverage. But many Republicans say that once a government insurance program is created, it will eventually dominate the market, and drive private insurers out of business. Most Democrats support creating a public plan to compete with private insurers, but even they are divided over critical details. In the House, a rift has opened between conservative and liberal Democrats over a government plan. The one Finance Republican who did not sign the letter was Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. Snowe has been trying to find a compromise through which a government plan would be available as a last resort, if health insurance remains unaffordable for many families even after Congress overhauls the system. "If individuals are not offered affordable choices, the use of a fallback public plan as a last resort plays a critical role," said Snowe. About two-thirds of Americans now have private insurance coverage, the vast majority through job-based plans. But there is one government health program that enjoys widespread political support. Medicare, created for seniors more than 40 years ago, has defied the predictions of critics that it would usher in an era of socialized medicine. Though the government controls every aspect of the plan, Medicare recipients enjoy a wide choice of doctors and hospitals. Some Democrats want to set up a Medicare-like plan that would, for the first time, offer government coverage to middle-class workers and their families. Depending on how such a plan is designed, economists say it could force many private insurers out of business. A government program would be able to undercut private insurers by paying doctors and hospitals less, thereby offering lower premiums that would draw employers and workers away from private insurers. The idea of a public plan is also controversial among Democrats. In the House, the 50 or so conservatives who make up the Blue Dog coalition argue that the government plan must look and work a lot like private insurance. It would be run by an outside contractor. And it couldn't compel hospitals and doctors to sign up, but would have to negotiate payment rates with providers. To stay solvent, the plan would have to rely on premiums, not taxpayer dollars. The House conservatives share many ideas with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has been looking for compromises in the Senate. On the left, the 80 or so members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, contend that the public plan should be modeled on the Medicare program. It would be operated directly by the government and would use the existing framework of Medicare to keep costs low. ___ Associated Press writer Erica Werner contributed to this report. More on Barack Obama
 
Max Bergmann: Don't Dismiss Obama's role in Lebanese Elections Top
This has been tossed around on the internets today and I think it is very much an open question. There was a wide expectation that Hezbollah was going to win the parliamentary elections, instead the more pro-western March 14th movement was victorious. The AP framed the elections as "the first major political test in the Middle East since President Barack Obama called last week for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims." So presumably Obama passed the test - but is this right? Could Obama's speech have had such an impact that it contributed to a March 14th victory?  In short, while there are plenty of reasons to be very cautious in jumping to that conclusion given Lebanon's politics, Obama's impact definitely shouldn't be dismissed by observers either. Many Lebanese experts have dismissed the impact of the speech pointing to a variety of domestic reasons. Lebanon political expert Dr. Omri Nir told the Jerusalem Post that  "I didn't see an impact of the speech [from Cairo] on the elections campaign," he added. Nir attributed the unexpected outcome to internal politics among Lebanon's Maronite Christians. Lebanese citizens usually cast their vote based on the people running and not according to party lines, he explained. Christopher Dickey at Time also makes the useful point that "The fact is, Lebanese politics are uniquely treacherous... when elections take place, that old adage, 'all politics is local,' comes into play at every level and in very particular ways." But although many Lebanese political experts dismiss the impact of Obama, sometimes issue-area experts are so immersed in their area that they really can't see the forest from the trees. The fact is that atmospheric changes in political environments matter and are often really hard to detect at the time. One thing I found bizarre about the literature on democratic transitions was how most of the theories were on the causes were focused almost exclusively on specific internal developments and largely neglected outside factors, such as the international movements or events. For instance, concerning Spain's transition most theories focus on internal dynamics and often totally ignore the demonstration effect of having a successful democratic club in the European Community next door. While each of the southern European transitions happened as a result of their own internal political dynamics, it wasn't a coincidence that Spain, Greece, and Portugal all transitioned at the same time. Additionally, it is not a coincidence that there are often particular years at which revolutionary change happens suddenly - such as 1989 and 1848. Each successive revolution in those years evolved due to its own particular circumstances - but the demonstration effect contributed to the snowball of change that occurred. Now what happened in Lebanon was no revolution. We are talking about a small shift in the electorate. But just as the atmosphere of 1989 or 1848 created an impetus for change, the same principles apply to 2009 - albeit on a much much smaller scale. President Obama's efforts beginning with his inaugural address, continued with his overtures to Iran, his engagement in the peace process, leveling with Israel on settlements, his speech in Cairo, and the nature of his story and background - may not be revolutionary - but they have no doubt changed the climate of American engagement with the region. It would follow then that if Bush's approach and his policies had a negative impact in this regard, then dramatically changing the tone and approach would surely have to have some impact. For instance, under Bush, it was clear that American support for a particular candidate or party was likely a death blow in the Middle East. So the fact that the side that the Obama administration was clearly pulling for did better than expected - or at least wasn't hurt by that stance - would seem to suggest that there was some impact, since Obama's speech was last week, Biden did go to Beirut, and Ray Lahood was there today. Therefore, former Cheney adviser David Wurmser deserves to have a significant amount of egg on his face after tell the WSJ before the election that "The Lebanon vote could mark a major strategic shift for the region...Iran could increasingly be viewed as preeminent, while U.S. influence wanes." Instead, the vote, at the very least demonstrates that Obama's approach is a vast improvement over the Bush administration. The Telegraph quotes , Rami Khouri, of the American University of Beirut, "This was the first real victory by pro-American groups in the ideological battle that has defined this region in the last 10 years. Every time the US tried to help somebody in the region, it hurt them and they lost." A 25-year old software designer from West Beirut, said: "It was 'you are either with us or against us' before and both sides had this attitude. Now it is something in the middle with Obama and I think there is more freedom there." However, despite all of this, it is really hard to tangibly assess the precise impact of Obama's engagement with the region on the election. And the fact that many point to the Iranian elections as the big test maybe very unfair to the Obama administration, since local issues may very well dominate and even though we may think otherwise the world does not always revolve around the United States. Nevertheless, while a great deal of politics is local, not all of it is. The international atmosphere matters and the approach by the Obama administration it seems has definitely helped change it - the question that we are all wondering is by how much. More on Barack Obama
 
Thai Mosque Attack: Gunmen Open Fire During Evening Prayers, Killing 10 Top
PATTANI, Thailand — Gunmen opened fire on a mosque in southern Thailand during evening prayers Monday, killing at least 10 people and wounding another 19 in the violence-plagued region, police said. The attack was one of the most deadly single incidents since an Islamic separatist insurgency was launched in Thailand's three southernmost provinces in early 2004. More than 3,400 people have been killed in the violence, most victims of the insurgents. Five or six men shot automatic rifles into the mosque in Narathiwat province's Joh-I-Rong district on Monday, said police Lt. Col. Somjai Singkliang. However, the Web site of the newspaper The Nation cited Army spokesman Col. Parinya Chaidilok as saying there were only two attackers. The newspaper also reported that an 11th person had died en route to hospital. Among those who died at the mosque was the Imam, or prayer leader, said Somjai, who added that most of the 19 people wounded in the attack were in serious condition. Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces, where virtually all the violence has occurred, are the only Muslim-majority provinces in predominantly Buddhist Thailand. Southern Muslims have long complained of discrimination, especially in education and job opportunities. Last week two teachers, one eight months pregnant, were killed in the same province in an attack attributed to the insurgents. The deaths triggered intense anger among the area's Buddhist community. Security forces sometimes blame the insurgents for attacks on Muslim individuals and institutions, claiming they mean to stir up hatred to boost their cause and trigger sectarian strife. "They are trying to make it look like the attackers are the authorities, because Muslims would apparently not shoot inside a mosque. But it's impossible that it is the work of the military," The Nation quoted Army spokesman Parinya as saying about Monday's attack. Very rarely does any group claim responsibility for any attacks on either community. Earlier Monday in the same province, nine soldiers were wounded when the pickup truck in which they were traveling was ambushed, reported the state Thai News Agency. It said a remote-controlled roadside bomb destroyed the vehicle, and attackers then opened fire on the solders before fleeing. The attacks came on the same day Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was on an official visit to Malaysia to hold talks about the insurgency and economic cooperation. Southern Thai Muslims are ethnic Malays, a background shared with most people just across the border in northern Malaysia, where there is sympathy for their plight. On Sunday, suspected Islamic insurgents shot dead a villager and then detonated a car bomb as a crowd gathered, killing one and wounding 19 in another part of Narathiwat, according to police. Insurgent attacks _ which include drive-by shootings and bombings _ are believed intended to frighten Buddhist residents into leaving the area. They also target Muslims whom the rebels believe have collaborated with the government, including soldiers, police, informants and civilians. The identity and precise goals of the insurgents have never been publicly declared. They pursue an ill-defined agenda that sometimes seems to call for a separate Islamic state. A massive government counterinsurgency effort has slowed the pace of attacks but has shown little sign of ending the violence. Abhisit announced in March that 4,000 more soldiers and other security personnel would be deployed to the region, supplementing more than 60,000 _ including local part-time forces _ already there. More on Thailand
 
Farai Chideya: Lee, Ling and North Korea: Are We Informed? Top
I landed at JFK after a short trip out of the country, eager to get my bags and go home. But one of the video monitors caught my eye... a presenter from the BBC was announcing the breaking news that journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee of the Current Network (founded by former VP & Nobel laureate Al Gore) were convicted of "committing hostilities against the Korean nation and illegal entry." (It is in dispute if they even crossed the North Korean border.) Their sentence: twelve years of hard labor. I tweeted a garbled version of the breaking news, and then many voices chimed in online, most voicing outrage and some demanding military action. Outrage is more than justified. But the calls for military action seemed to come out of a void... a void where the only response to provocation and injustice is to start what we have no clear vision of finishing: that is, another war, on another front. Twenty years ago Afghanistan handed the Soviet forces their rear ends on a platter, in a conflict that is often equated to Vietnam. If a nation is willing to expend countless people to win a war; willing to accept mass casualties; then it is almost impossible to crush that nation militarily. North Korea is a very different military and government model than Afghanistan, but it too has already shown a willingness to let families die of famine (well over a million in recent years) rather than play ball with other nations. The New York Times points out that both the US and the UN are considering sanctions against North Korea for its recent nuclear tests. But it also runs this telling quote : "Our response would be to consider sanctions against us as a declaration of war and answer it with extreme hard-line measures," the North Korea's state-run newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said in a commentary. In other words, North Korea is spoiling for a fight. The sentencing of Lee and Ling may not be an attempt to guard against conflict, but rather to provoke it. (Note that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, already tried to apologize and broker a release... before the sentence came down.) Why look for battle? To be seen as a "big man" in international affairs is no small thing. Many have defied the U.S. with fewer means to more than scattered applause from some quarters. Yes, some people were rooting for the Somali pirates who captured the U.S. vessel. So: a nuclear equipped nation is spoiling for a fight with the world's only superpower, a superpower which finds itself overextended militarily in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two journalists are held in breach. Two young women are away from their families and lives, potentially for years, for doing their jobs. It's rare that Americans are put in this position, directly in the line of fire. Journalist Chauncey Bailey was killed in Oakland, California, in 2007 while investigating a possible murder cover up. Some American reporters have been wounded and died in Iraq. (I think of the moving writing of Michael Weisskopf of Time magazine, who tossed a grenade thrown into the vehicle he was riding in in Iraq out... saving his life and others' but losing his arm.) But the people imprisoned or killed for "committing" journalism are usually not American or even Western. Countless Iraqi translators and reporters have been killed, often working as stringers for Western media. Latin America has seen journalists killed covering narcotrafficking, government corruption, and crime. Groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists work on these issues every day. (Their website, linked above, runs the headlines "Tiananmen anniversary, obscured" and "Fifth Somali Journalist Killed this Year.") Few people outside of the media industry even know that groups like the CPJ exist. Of all the questions that come to mind when looking at the case of Lee, Ling, and North Korea, the one troubling most people I know (personally or in the Twitter-verse) is: What do I do? What do we do? What can we do? The first thing we can do is to inform ourselves, to get to know more about North Korea than its name. We need to learn more about the possible regime change in North Korea and how it could hinder diplomacy; what recent and past North Korean actions (from the nuclear tests to famines to the 1 953 armistice with South Korea, which the North says it now will not honor) say about this government and its desires; who is negotiating on behalf of the U.S.; and how movements like the call for action in Darfur have or have not worked in addressing human rights issues. On that last score, two more phrases come to mind: celebrity and social networking. Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk), perhaps the most followed person in the Twitter-verse, chimed in to say, among several things, that he was exploring ways to network a coalition of supporters. I do believe it matters than Laura comes from an already well-network family. (Her sister Lisa Ling does or has worked for outlets including Oprah and ABC; Lisa and I briefly overlapped at ABC). I do believe it is critical for celebrities and other people who connect the media to the masses (i.e., most of us) get their talking points ready. And those talking points must include an actual depth of knowledge about the situation. So: what do we do? We listen, we learn. Let me repeat that: we learn. We learn about the situation; the diplomatic interventions; and who can help. Whether we are journalists, celebrities, news consumers, even diplomats, we can constantly refresh our knowledge of the situation and strive to help from a position of educated power and compassion. To the speedy freedom of these two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee; to a renewal of our interest in and championing of brave journalism as well as brave journalists. ============== Farai Chideya is the author of the new novel "Kiss the Sky" and runs PopandPolitics.com More on North Korea
 
Best White House Kitchen Garden Tour Ever (VIDEO) Top
Ryan Howard, of the Philadelphia Phillies, just got the best-ever tour of the White House kitchen garden. White House chef Sam Kass showed Howard around and then started pulling green things out of the ground for the freshest veggie tasting possible. Howard approved! WATCH: More on Sports
 
George Mitchell To Visit Syria, Lebanon: AP Top
WASHINGTON — Detecting signs of hope for its Mideast peace initiatives in the defeat of a Hezbollah slate in Lebanon's weekend election, the Obama administration said Monday it will send special envoy George Mitchell to Syria and Lebanon this week. Officials in Washington heaped praise Monday on Lebanese voters for the weekend electoral results and were visibly relieved that moderate candidates prevailed over Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian-backed allies. The surprising turn in an election that many observers expected to be won by Hezbollah cleared the way for former Sen. Mitchell to make hasty plans to visit Beirut and Damascus after previously planned stops this week in Israel and the Palestinian territories. A senior administration official said Mitchell would be in Beirut on Friday and Damascus on Saturday after the Israeli and Palestinian meetings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Mitchell's exact itinerary is not yet finalized. Mitchell had wanted to visit Syria on his current trip, which was announced last week, but did not get White House approval to go until Monday, after the Lebanese election results were known, the official said. In his meetings in Damascus and Beirut, Mitchell will press the administration's desire for a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement that includes both Syria and Lebanon, officials said. They said the U.S. was pleased that Syria, with a long history of meddling in Lebanese politics, appeared not to have interfered in the vote. Sunday's election dealt a setback to Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies who had hoped to play a larger role, if not take outright control, of the country's government. This would have boosted the influence of both Iran and Syria in Lebanon and could have hurt U.S. outreach efforts there and in the region, officials said. President Barack Obama and his foreign policy team had invested heavy diplomatic capital in urging Lebanese voters to choose a path of moderation in the election that many predicted would see heavy Hezbollah gains. Asked if he believed Obama's speech may have made an impact on the vote, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he thought it was "certainly important" that the president had spoken about the importance of elections. But Gibbs also noted that Obama had not been among those who were concerned that Hezbollah would win. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made high-profile visits to Beirut separately in May and April to underscore U.S. support for Lebanon's democracy, sovereignty and independent armed forces, which have been challenged by Hezbollah's powerful militia and past Syrian domination. Then, last week, in his speech to the Muslim world from Cairo, Obama himself called for an embrace of democratic values throughout the Middle East and a new beginning in relations between the United States and Islam. In a statement on Monday, Obama hailed the vote and pledged continuing U.S. support for Lebanon. "The people of Lebanon have demonstrated to the world their courage and the strength of their commitment to democracy," the president said, adding that "it is our sincere hope that the next government will continue along the path towards building a sovereign, independent and stable Lebanon." Obama urged Lebanon's leaders to commit to "principles of peace and moderation" that he said "are the best means to secure a sovereign and prosperous Lebanon." More on Lebanon
 
Mike Lux: Obama And The Left, Part 432 (And Counting) Top
There has been some interesting writing lately on the whole Obama and the left thing, a wave of discussion that started when Obama declared his candidacy for President, and won't end until humans stop writing history books. The first was kind of a silly article by Josh Gerstein in Politico, which basically described the left as being Rachel Maddow, some civil liberties groups, and some LGBT activists. Not surprisingly given that definition, all "the left" in Gerstein's article cared about were civil liberties, gay rights, and having a Supreme Court Justice picked. Now don't get me wrong, all of those are incredibly important issues and activists, but to describe "the left" in that way seems like pretty bad reporting. Doesn't mention the labor movement, health care advocates, advocates for low-income people, environmentalists, bloggers, community organizers, progressive think tanks, feminists, progressive activists of color, MoveOn and other online activists, the progressive youth movement, the peace movement, or any other parts of the remarkably diverse and interesting progressive movement. He didn't mention how progressives had both pushed for the stimulus package to be bigger but also were an essential part of getting it passed in the end; or how progressives have been organizing big coalitions on behalf of helping Obama get health care, immigration reform, climate change reform, and a re-write of banking legislation passed; or how progressives have expressed concern on a range of issues like trade and banking. There have also been articles in the Washington Post about how Obama's election and the sausage making of passing legislation had deadened progressive excitement, and the excellent grasp of the obvious file- one about how progressive groups now had more power in lobbying than they had under Bush. Easily the most thoughtful pieces of all have been two recent pieces by members of the progressive movement themselves (both personal friends, so I'll admit my bias upfront). The first , by Gara LaMarche of Atlantic Philanthropies, was a thoughtful and nuanced discussion of the challenges of both Obama and progressives, and was fairly hopeful in general, both about Obama and about the relationship between him and the movement. The second , by Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake, was a more frustrated discussion of the way progressive leaders aren't challenging Obama enough, and the distancing of Obama from progressives. From my experience in the Obama transition as the Obama team's liaison to the progressive community, and in all my conversations with folks both inside and outside of Obamaland before and since, the tension between being hopeful about the possibilities and upset that better things aren't being realized will always be there. If managed right by both Obama and progressive leaders, it can be the kind of constructive, creative tension that leads to the kind of big breakthrough progressive changes we saw in this country at key moments in our history- the 1860s, the early 1900s, the 1930s, and the 1960s (the Big Change Moments I write about in my book, The Progressive Revolution). If managed poorly, it can lead to the kind of Presidential meltdowns we saw with the LBJ and Jimmy Carter presidencies, and on the Republican side with the first Bush presidency: Presidencies that started with high hopes but ended with destructive conflicts between the base and the Presidency, tough primary challenges, and lost re-election hopes. So far, I'm feeling quite good about Obama's chances for the former. After some initial stumbles, he pushed through the stimulus package- and the biggest progressive public investment package- in history. His budget was very bold and as strongly progressive as any budget at least since 1965, and it has made its way through the first rounds of the congressional budget process in good shape. He has so far handled the politics around his first big legislative initiatives, health care and climate change, very pretty, giving us a solid chance at success. Progressive leaders have handled themselves well on balance, too. A lot of us thought the stimulus was too small, but we pushed hard to get it passed once the die was cast. A lot of us prefer a single-payer health care system, but are also pushing hard to see a strong public option kept in this reform package, and are putting big resources into the passage of a good plan. Progressive groups and leaders are working hard and constructively to push Obama and other Democrats to improve the climate change bill that came out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and to move forward on the strong financial regulation and immigration reform legislation. And where Obama has disappointed many of us- on civil liberties, on LGBT issues, on Afghanistan, and on financial regulation- we have pushed back strongly but generally not been destructive in doing so. Going forward, though, there are certain things history and common sense teach us that both sides need to understand very clearly: 1. We need each other. Progressives need to understand that our fates for several years to come are tied, fundamentally and completely, to Obama's success as President. If he loses his big legislative fights, we won't get another chance at winning them for a generation (see health care, 1993-94), and early losses will make the Democrats more cautious, not more bold (see health care, 1993-94). If Obama's popularity fades, Democrats will lose lots of seats in Congress. If he loses re-election, Republicans and the media will say he was a failed liberal and run against him for many elections to come, even if his actual policies are more centrist (see Jimmy Carter). But Obama's team needs to understand that they need a strong progressive movement as well, and as Jane alluded to, they haven't generally acted like they do. Without progressives' passion, activism, lobbying, and money, Obama can't win those incredibly challenging legislative battles. Just as Lincoln never would have won the civil war or ended slavery without the passion of the abolitionists, just as FDR never would have won the New Deal reforms without the labor and progressive movement, just as LBJ would never have passed civil rights bills without the civil rights movement, Obama can't win these big fights alone. And he can't win re-election either without the passion of his base: see LBJ, Ford, Carter, George H.W. Bush, and many other Presidents for more info on that topic. 2. Obama needs a left flank. It is a natural tendency of any White House to be dismissive of criticism, and to play hardball when people disagree with you. The Obama team should not hesitate to defend itself when being pushed from the left, but I would caution against playing too hard at hardball. The Obama team needs a vibrant and vocal left flank, because the stronger their left flank is, the more Obama seems solidly in the middle. The White House would be well-served to fully support and empower progressive groups, media, and bloggers- even when they sometimes disagree with Obama. 3. There needs to be both an inside and an outside strategy for progressives. Progressive leaders who get jobs in the administration are sometimes derided as sell-outs, and progressive groups who are not openly critical of the Administration are sometimes criticized as being too cozy with those inside. At the same time, insiders get very worked up about "irresponsible" bloggers and outside activists who they say don't understand the system and the challenges they are facing. Having been both on the inside and the outside, I see the grain of truth in both sides' perspective, but also respectfully disagree with both sides. We need progressive people in government, even if the cost of that is that they have to trim their sails on issues where they disagree with administration policy. We need progressive groups in regular in-depth policy meetings with the administration, even if that means they have to soft-pedal their criticisms some of the times to keep that access. And we need outsiders who will push like crazy for doing the right thing now no matter what. Change and progress never happened in this country without both insiders and outside agitators playing a strong role. The administration needs to respect the role of those outsiders, and those working for progress from the inside and the outside need to respect each other. There is no other way this is all going to work for the good.
 
Ben Nelson Says He Won't Filibuster Public Health Care Plan Top
Senator Ben Nelson, one of the key figures in the health care reform fight, has told a local official in his state that he could support cloture on a public plan for insurance coverage even if he opposed the bill itself. The Nebraska Democrat, who has skeptically approached the idea of a government or publicly-run insurance program, additionally told state Democrats not to assume that he will oppose such a proposal in a final reform package. "He's not against anything right now," said Bud Pettigrew, the chair of county chairs for the Nebraska Democratic Party, who fielded a phone call from Nelson on Monday. "But he does want to read the plans that come out first and then make a judgment." "He is open to some type of government plan but he wants to see the details first," Pettigrew added. "He wishes the liberals would give him a chance." And yet, even if Nelson were to oppose the final bill, his vote may not hold as much significance as expected. According to Pettigrew, the senator said he will not be the 60th Senator to sustain a filibuster on a bill that he ultimately would oppose. "If it comes to cloture I would vote for it," Nelson said, according to Pettigrew. "I will not be the deciding vote." Asked for clarification, the senator's office offered a somewhat watered-down but largely concurring statement. "Regarding cloture, the Senator's position is that he may support cloture even if he doesn't support some provisions of the underlying bill," said Jake Thompson, a spokesman for Nelson. "It is impossible to know how he will vote until he sees an actual bill, but it is correct to assume that he may support cloture even if he doesn't agree with some of the provisions of the bill." The remarks come as Nelson has attempted to assuage concerns from Nebraska's small but vocal progressive community over the way he has approached a health care system overhaul. In addition to talking with Pettigrew by phone for half-an-hour, Nelson also contacted Rich Schommer, the Democratic Party chair of Box Butte County, last Friday to talk all things health care. That conversation, however, left a more negative impression about the Senator's support for a public plan. "He would not come out and say it, but I think he is absolutely against it," said Schommer. "It's just his attitude. I kept telling him. I thought there had to be a public plan. But he said he didn't think it would work, that government programs never work." "He said that he might support a plan with a trigger," Schommer added, referencing a system whereby a plan would be put in place once certain economic conditions are met. "And I contended that they pulled the trigger sixteen years ago when [the insurance industry] undermined the Clinton plan..." Publicly, to this point, Nelson has left the impression that he would vote against a public plan, which would allow consumers to buy into government-run insurance coverage. His reasoning has been that it would unfairly affect private providers and could be a step towards a single-payer system. But in an earlier interview with the Huffington Post , the Nebraskan did say he would remain open to a public option if it did not erode the current system. He also expressed support for a trigger. "It is true that Sen. Nelson may vote for a public option," said Thompson. "He has supported public plans such as Medicare and Tri-care and, as governor, created Kids Connection which is the Nebraska SCHIP program. Funding was cut from this program after Nelson left office. However, as Sen. Nelson has told the Huffington Post and others, he will not support a government health plan if it is designed undermine the insurance now held by 200 million Americans, or shift higher costs onto the estimated 85% of Nebraskans that currently have health insurance. Should Nelson's commitment to opposing a filibuster on a public plan prove true, it could be a major boost for progressive health care reform advocates. While Democrats in the Senate and the Obama administration have left the door open towards using budget reconciliation to pass health care reform (which would require a simple up and down vote), the working assumption remains that 60 votes would be needed to pass any bill. "It's good to hear that Senator Nelson is not going to block the views of the majority on reform," said Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Director for Health Care for America Now. In addition to telling Pettigrew about his take on the public plan, Nelson also relayed word that he opposed a measure to end the tax exemption for employers who provided health care coverage to their workers. That proposal, which has gained some traction in Congress (including with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus), is seen as a practical way to help pay for reform. Nelson also told Pettigrew that he supported a mandate for individuals, including youth, to buy health care coverage. He also declared that insurance companies had conceded to him that they would cover preexisting conditions as part of a health care compromise. Pettigrew also discussed what is an important subtext to the Nelson call. "The liberals are kicking him in the ass right now and he is feeling it," he said, when asked why he received a half-hour call from the state's preeminent politician. Since late May, the reform group Change Congress has been running a public campaign targeting Nelson for his position on a public option, including direct mail pieces, online ads and calls to Democratic donors. "If Senator Nelson supports cloture on the public option, that is welcome news," said Adam Green, CEO of Change Congress, "and concrete proof that when we call out politicians for siding with their special-interest donors it forces them to be more responsive to their constituents." Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Sybil Adelman Sage: Stephen Colbert in Iraq Top
To remind everyone about the war, The Colbert Report has gone to Iraq, taping shows for the troops, which is sure to inspire others to follow the lead. In upcoming weeks, viewers can look forward to: Jeopardy : Alex Trebeck elicits humorous anecdotes from the troops about holidays, births of babies, graduations, anniversaries, weddings and other significant events they've missed while serving multiple tours of duty. The Bachelorette : Jillian has dinners with 8 remaining troops, trying to single out the lucky guy who will then get e-mails from her, written after she returns to the safety of home. Gossip Girl : Panic ensues when Blair and Serena board the wrong plane and instead of flying to Barcelona on the class trip, find themselves in Iraq without their luggage. Maury : After a lengthy and heated dispute, Taliban terrorists agree to take paternity tests to determine who is the father of an 11-month old baby. Curb Your Enthusiasm : An impatient Larry David, cranky about standing in line, cuts in front of starving, battle-weary troops in the mess hall and is caught by the General, whose brother is the Dean of Admissions at Harvard, which, if Larry should have kids, will jeopardize their chances of being accepted. Jon & Kate Plus 8 : Kate and Jon introduce variety to their bikering by doing it in a different time zone. My Life on the D List : Kathy Griffin books a haircut with Gen. Ray Odierno after watching him shave Colbert's head, then complains, "There will be no tip. You took off too much!" Martha Stewart : Martha and her crack team of home design experts show the troops how to redo their barracks with lighter, pastel shades for summer in Iraq. David Blaine Special : A film crew covers an uninterrupted, 72 hours of American interrogators waterboarding David Blaine, trying to get him to reveal the secrets of how he survived his other stunts. More on Stephen Colbert
 
Washington Post Calls For Burris' Resignation Top
WE DON'T know where to begin with the latest mess that has ensnared Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.). No, "ensnared" isn't the right word. That would imply that he's blameless for his troubles, which isn't the case.
 
The Best Of Zach Galifianakis (VIDEO) Top
So "The Hangover" came out this weekend and all of America finally realized how awesome Zach Galifianakis is. He's weird and sweaty and bearded and makes you feel uncomfortable in the only way that's ok: a hilarious way. Here's a mash-up from Comedy Central of Zach's best "before he was famous moments." WATCH: Jokes.com Zach Galifianakis - Before the Hangover dians.comedycentral.com Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter! More on Zach Galifianakis
 
Blue Dogs Backsliding On Health Care Top
Conservative House Democrats agreed to a set of health care principles late last week that angered advocates of a overhaul of the health care system. The Blue Dog Coalition issued a statement that said it would only support the public health care option as a fallback measure that would be triggered sometime down the road if private insurers don't meet a particular set of goals. The backsliding took advocates of reform by surprise because 20 members of the coalition had previously signed a pledge expressing their support for a public option without a trigger. The statement was written and organized by the reform coalition Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which strongly opposes a trigger and sees it as an industry plot to strangle a public option in the crib. Blue Dogs, by their charter, need two-thirds of their 51-member caucus to approve a position before it can be officially adopted. With 20 Blue Dogs backing a public option, they would be short several votes if everyone stuck to their pledge in the closed-door meeting. A senior Blue Dog staffer, however, said that when the coalition first met to discuss the set of principles, they decided to stake out a negotiating position rather than draw a firm line. "The sense in the room when these principles were drafted was that the coalition was shooting a bit past where they want to end up," said a top Blue Dog aide. "The final product is obviously going to be delivered through a negotiation and an ultimate compromise meaning the principles listed are much more of a starting place for the negotiation than they are an intractable position." Another Blue Dog aide whose boss signed the HCAN pledge said that Blue Dogs have told staff that they are not against a public plan and want to see health care reform happen this year. The principles laid out last week are just the beginning of negotiations, the aide said, and an attempt to hold the industry accountable for its pledge to trim $2 trillion from health care spending. The trigger the Blue Dogs support would be pulled more readily than one the industry might prefer. The Huffington Post contacted the 20 Blue Dogs who originally signed onto the public option but have begun to backtrack in the days since. Unfortunately, the calls yielded little response. Rep. Patrick Murphy (Penn.) still backs a public plan without a trigger, said his spokeswoman Kate Hansen. "Congressman Murphy stands with President Obama in supporting the inclusion of a public option without a trigger in healthcare reform legislation, and believes it would be a good way to introduce transparency, competition, and cost-control into the insurance market," she said. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (Calif.) said she is waiting to see what emerges from committee before taking a stand, though she didn't back off her HCAN pledge. "I believe the ultimate goal of this health care debate is to help all Americans gain access to more affordable, higher quality care than they are currently getting," she said in a statement to Huffington Post. "I will continue working with local health care advocates in my district and my Blue Dog and Congressional colleagues to ensure we stabilize and strengthen health care in a fiscally responsible manner. However, this debate is still taking shape, and I will wait to judge the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees' final proposal on its merits." Members of Congress are traveling from their districts to Washington, D.C. during the day on Monday and several were on plains for much of the day. If they comment when they land, we'll update this story. Beyond Sanchez and Murphy, the 18 other Blue Dogs to sign the HCAN statement include Democratic Reps. Jason Altmire (Penn.), Michael Arcuri (N.Y.), Joe Baca (Calif.), Marion Berry (Ark.), Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Leonard Boswell (Iowa), Chris Carney (Penn.), Ben Chandler (Ky.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Jane Harman, (Calif.), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.), Tim Holden (Penn.), Frank Kratovil (Md.), Mike Ross (Ark.), Adam Schiff (Calif.), Zack Space (Ohio), Mike Thompson (Calif.) and Charlie Wilson (Ohio). Several of those members played an active role in the creation of the principles that go against the original pledge they signed for health care reform. Ross, for instance, is chairman of the Blue Dog Health Care Task Force and an HCAN pledge-signer. "It is essential we pass a health care bill that would not disrupt the ability of families to keep their health care coverage and see their doctor," said Ross in a statement when announcing the principles. "We cannot create a public option that stacks the deck -- through rate setting and forced participation -- against a system that currently provides coverage to 160 million Americans." Pledge-signer Cooper put is also quoted in the announcement of the principles. "The key to successful health care reform is building as broad a coalition of support as possible," said Cooper, Blue Dog Health Care Task Force Vice Chairman. "The conditions we're laying out today ensure that Americans who like their current health insurance can keep it; that they will have access to their choice of quality, affordable health care plans; and that any public option exist on a level playing field. And of course, we strongly support President Obama's commitment to keep health care reform deficit-neutral." The 20 Blue Dogs have taken a combined $6,849,273 from various segments of the health care industry, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Individually, they've taken a good chunk of change from the industry, but money isn't always the decisive factor. Murphy, in fact, has taken nearly $300,000 from health care interests but still reiterated his support for the public option with out a trigger. Here are the rest: Jason Altmire: $405,279 Michael Arcuri: $103,547 Joe Baca: $159,250 Marion Berry: $536,917 Sanford Bishop: $356,496 Leonard Boswell: $304,680 Chris Carney: $167,664 Ben Chandler: $223,300 Jim Cooper: $894,414 Jane Harman: $292,694 Stephanie Herseth Sandlin: $323,924 Tim Holden: $386,278 Frank Kratovil: $86,556 Mike Ross: $833,670 Loretta Sanchez: $183,162 Adam Schiff: $380,708 Zach Space: $144,125 Charlie Wilson: $138,724 Mike Thompson: $631, 532 (His take from the health care industry, was second only to beer/wine/liquor business, which gave him $1,009,370) Read the principles here. Jeff Muskus contributed reporting. Get HuffPost Politics On Facebook and Twitter!
 
Sponsors Abandon Sacramento Radio Station Following Controversial Transgender Comments Top
Bank of America, Verizon, Chipotle and other companies have pulled advertising from the Sacramento station (98.5 FM) after talk show hosts referred to transgender people as freaks with mental disorders.
 
The Progress Report: The American Health Choices Act Top
by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, Ryan Powers, and Ian Millhiser To receive The Progress Report in your email inbox everyday, click here . Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, is circulating draft legislation designed to overhaul the nation's health care system. This so-called "draft of a draft" is the first piece of concrete health reform legislation to emerge from Democrats in Congress. As the Washington Post notes, "[A]t least five congressional chairmen are working on health-care reform bills," and Kennedy's draft represents the Democrats' first attempt at "a partial road map for how the nation might address health coverage gaps and problems such as rising costs and inferior quality." The legislation, called the "American Health Choices Act," would provide affordable coverage to all Americans, require businesses to provide and individuals to obtain coverage, and establish a new public health care plan to compete alongside private insurers. EVERYBODY IN, NOBODY OUT: Kennedy's bill aims to improve access to coverage by regulating insurers, expanding Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and building state-sponsored insurance Gateways (or exchanges) to help Americans find affordable coverage. Americans who like the insurance they have can keep it, but those who are dissatisfied with the porous policies of the individual market -- and those who are uninsured -- would be able to purchase affordable and adequate coverage. Under the legislation, "a group or individual health insurance plan may not impose preexisting condition exclusions." In fact, "rates cannot vary by health status, gender, class of business, or claims experience." Insurers must accept every employer and individual that applies" for coverage and must also renew their policies. The bill eliminates lifetime or annual limits on benefits and limits the cost sharing for certain preventive services and immunizations. Individuals and employers would be required to purchase insurance, but families earning up to 500 percent of the federal poverty line (FPL) -- $110,000 for a family of four -- could "buy insurance on a sliding scale with government subsidies." Anyone with incomes up to 150 percent of the FPL -- $33,000 for a family of four -- would also be eligible for Medicaid, and people up to age 26 would be able to participate in SCHIP. The new state-based insurance Gateways -- where individuals and small employers could compare plans side by side, find options with a minimum benefits package, and buy coverage -- would help applicants find and enroll in comprehensive and portable coverage and certify qualified health plans to ensure they "provide a level of standard benefits." A MUSCULAR PUBLIC OPTION: The new public health plan would provide all Americans under 65 the choice of public coverage, restore competition into the consolidated health insurance market, lower health care premiums across the board, lead the way in innovation, and improve health quality. As CAPAF Senior Fellow Peter Harbage and Director of Health Policy Karen Davenport argue in a recent report about the public plan, "In the face of tremendous consolidation in the health insurance market, employers and individuals have a shrinking set of health insurance options. Private insurers have used this market power to boost their profits." Harbage and Davenport add, "By including a public health insurance plan as another insurance option and creating a health insurance exchange that delivers transparency and accountability to the market, we can assure both viable competitors and real competition." A new public plan has the potential "to drive improvements in the health care system" and set the standard for developing new payment models and investing in preventive care and care coordination. Critics of the public option, including the insurance industry and most Republicans, argue that a public plan could not compete fairly with private insurers because its lower reimbursement rates would "crowd out" private coverage and spell death for the private insurance industry. But as health care economist Uwe Reinhardt explains, "If the new public plan had to negotiate its own prices, then it would not have a competitive advantage any more 'unfair' than is the ability of large insurers -- such as Aetna and Wellpoint -- to negotiate lower prices with hospitals and physicians than these providers charge smaller insurers. For some reason, no one has ever called this form of price discrimination 'unfair.'" Under Kennedy's bill, the new public option would reimburse providers 10 percent above current Medicare rates. It would not have to negotiate its own rates, but could piggyback off of Medicare's considerable reach. Using "Medicare plus 10" rates, rather than the prevailing market rates, would lower costs and allow the plan to charge lower premium rates. ' HEALTH CARE REFORM BY OCTOBER': President Obama "is preparing an intense push for legislation that will include speeches, town-hall-style meetings and much deeper engagement with lawmakers," the New York Times reports. In Saturday's radio address, Obama argued that "fixing what's wrong with our health care system is no longer a luxury we hope to achieve -- it's a necessity we cannot postpone any longer. ... Today, at this historic juncture, even old adversaries are united around the same goal: quality, affordable health care for all Americans." The radio address kicked off a "50-state grass-roots effort that Organizing for America, the president's political group, began Saturday to promote a health care overhaul." The push also follows Obama's letter to Kennedy and Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), in which he reiterated his support for the public health plan and committed to "fully offset the cost of health care reform by reducing Medicare and Medicaid spending by another $200 to $300 billion over the next 10 years" and "by enacting appropriate proposals to generate additional revenues." The Washington Post's Ezra Klein, who obtained a timeline of Congress's legislative schedule for passing health reform, reports that the Senate -- which is expecting a separate bill from the Senate Finance Committee on June 17 -- will vote on a single health bill during the last two weeks of July, and the House is expected to move a bill to the floor in "the last week of July." "The overarching goal is to get health care reform to the president's desk by Oct. 1," Klein writes. More on Ted Kennedy
 
GroundReport: Over 40,000 people in Chitral stranded as bridge awaits reconstruction Top
Published by GroundReport.com , a global citizen reporting platform with 4,000 contributors worldwide. By Zar Alam Khan ISLAMABAD: The government's failure to reconstruct a bridge in a far-off valley of Chitral has left its over 40,000 residents stranded for the fourth consecutive summer this year. The bridge on the Yarkhoon River near Khotanlasht was constructed in 1980 but it collapsed in August 2006 due to lack of maintenance cutting off the over 100-km-long valley of over 50 scattered villages stretching up to the Boroghil Pass bordering the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan. As a result, the area has been nearly facing a crisis in the absence of supplies of essential commodities and basic healthcare facilities. Ironically, there is even no basic healthcare centre in the entire valley and a dispensary set up in the Dizg village was also closed down a few years ago. The worse affected are patients needing emergency medical treatment including aged people, women and children. Besides, due to absence of transport, people have to travel on foot from the destroyed bridge to reach their villages and vice versa. Hundreds of students including girls from the four villages near the collapsed bridge have to attend their schools situated in Brep village across the river. When the bridge collapsed, they remained out of school for three months till a pedestrian bridge was set up at the site. Crossing the dangling and quite long suspension bridge is like playing with one's life. Early in the morning and in the afternoon, crowds of students can be seen on the bank of the river waiting for their turn to cross the bridge one by one, as the bridge is also used by other people and for shifting of luggage, etc. The residents said they had been going through mental distress and were also concerned about the safety of their children. One person has already lost his life while crossing the river. Though the reconstruction of the bridge could take hardly one or two months, too many political stakeholders have complicated the matter to achieve their own vested interest making the residents suffer. As the area is far off and has no communication links, the affected people's pleas after pleas for resolution of the problem have fell on deaf ears despite the fact that their political representatives had made promises to reconstruct the bridge on many occasions. During the last about three years, every political party hoodwinked the people and sent contractors to the site who carried out some groundwork that too by fits and starts and then disappeared. So far, work on the project has been started and closed for fourth time but there is no hope that the work presently going on at a snail's pace at the site would be completed any time soon. When the bridge was washed away, the then provincial government of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) deliberately put the project into the cold storage and did not release the required funds on time. However, MMA's successors in the province turned out to be more callous and did the same with the project. In the 2008 elections, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) candidates Shahzada Mohiuddin and Ghulam Mohammad returned to the national and the provincial assemblies mainly through the votes of the Yarkhoon Valley after promising to reconstruct the bridge as a priority project. But after reaching the assemblies, these two leaders have also been buying time on one pretext or the other. Instead of ensuring the reconstruction of the bridge, the MPA made it a publicity opportunity and proudly opened a plaque in his name on April 21, 2008, declaring that work on reconstruction of the bridge has been started. Had there been political will to resolve the public issue, the bridge would have so far been reconstructed, regretted the residents. Zhar Alam Khan is Go to GroundReport.com for more coverage from Pakistan . GroundReport is a citizen journalism platform that allows anyone to publish global news and earn money.
 
Fred Whelan and Gladys Stone: Closed Your Small Business & Now Need a Job Top
This recession has been a killer - in fact it killed your small business. After years of being your own boss, now you've got to pitch yourself as a "company person" - someone who can thrive in corporate America. It wasn't easy but you got over the emotional hurdle of no longer being the boss. The hard part now is convincing a prospective employer that you can make this transition. How do you go about doing that? 1. Connect the Dots - In an interview you need to show how your experience matches to what they are looking for. Since you're not coming from a corporate position, you'll have to work harder to sell your relevant experience. Figure out beforehand the most pertinent responsibilities for this job and talk to how your experience meshes. Obviously, as a small business owner you wore a lot of hats. Focus just on the "hats" that are required for this job. 2. Address the Psychological Aspect of Not Being the Chief - One of the main things the interviewer might be wondering is, will you be okay not being the boss? Let them know that this transition is something you feel good about, not a necessary evil. Focus on how your experience as a small business owner can be leveraged into your new long-term career goal . Maybe you got a lot of experience in guerilla marketing, financial management or sales, and realized that the sales part of the job is what you really want to focus on. Or maybe you liked it all and now want to be a general manager - with more resources than you could possibly have in your own company. You're okay not being the boss because there are other ways to advance your career. And being part of a bigger company allows you to do more of the things you love, rather than all the ancillary things you had to do in your small business. 3. Discuss How You Are a Thinker & Doer - Everyone knows that as a small business owner you had to be "hands-on". Larger companies, many of which are contracting, look for a combination of thinking and doing. Focus on how you were hands-on especially when it came to customers. Too many people in large companies are removed from customer contact, which causes them to make decisions in a vacuum. Because you've had the experience of resolving customer problems and understanding their needs, you can add value. Your expertise of doing was combined with your strong strategic thinking. Describe how you grew the business with minimal resources. 4. Talk About Being Collaborative - Nowadays companies look for people who can be successful as an influencer and as part of a decision making team. One concern the interviewer might have is that there was no need for you to be collaborative - after all, you were the boss. Give them an example of how you were able to get people who weren't working for you to respond to your needs. This could be influencing a supplier to get something to you quicker - with no up charge - just because they wanted to do something special for you. 5. Don't Oversell - Don't go on about how you ran your own business and so now can do anything. Obviously, you loved your business and there were countless things you did well. But implying that you can do it all is off-putting and unrealistic. Just focus on the experience that applies to this job. 6. Managing a Team - There might be a natural bias on the part of the interviewer that mentoring fell to the bottom of your priority list as a business owner. Discuss how you mentored your team - even if it was only a receptionist and bookkeeper. Talk about how you trained them and helped them grow professionally. If this was something that you particularly enjoyed, let them know that. It will definitely be a transition from company owner to employee. Now that you're ready make sure that you illustrate your desire for this career change to your prospective employer. Let them know that this is something you are embracing rather than enduring, and that this position is an important step along the way to your ultimate career goal. Fred & Gladys Whelan Stone Executive Search and Coaching Authors of "GOAL! Your 30 Day Career Plan for Business & Career Success" More on Layoffs
 
MLB POWER RANKINGS: Dodgers Still #1 Top
This is the fifth week the Los Angeles Dodgers have been without Manny Ramirez. Yet for four of those weeks, the Dodgers have been the No. 1 team in baseball.
 
Megan Fox Shows A Lot Of Leg At 'Transformers' Premiere Top
Megan Fox showed up at the 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Tokyo premiere on June 8 in a purple gown slashed all the way up her thigh. All in a day's work, really, for a star whose only job is to look attractive . The movie opens in the U.S. on June 24. PHOTO: Follow HuffPo Entertainment On Twitter! More on Celebrity Skin
 
Brooke Siler: Recession or Deprivation? What Happens When You Give Up The Very Things That May Help You Thrive? Top
What a droll city New York would be without our fancy store windows and high-priced cafes, our cosmoliscious cocktails and fitness studios on every corner (2nd floor or higher of course, but who's counting). This depressed economy has revealed a very interesting phenomenon of prioritizing our lives by dollars rather than value - health and pleasure have taken a big hit. Now I'm never going to force anyone to run out and drop a "village-saving" pile of cash on the latest season's clothing but when prioritizing luxuries I have to make my argument for Pilates. My studio has always upheld the philosophy that health should be affordable and still excellent and to that end I have always kept class prices low and class size to a minimum. But even with the utmost integrity I have seen the economy make shadows of my former die-hard Pilates students. It's simply hard to convince most people that Pilates isn't a luxury but a necessity when it comes to thriving in tough times. Pilates may be known for sculpting long, lean Hollywood bodies (for which I will take my due credit or criticism) however the deeper effects are far more interesting (And please note that I am not referring to just any old Pilates -- only the really good, authentic, 1st generation Pilates that uses original design specifications for its equipment and requires years of training for its teachers -- because truly there is some bad, bad Pilates happening out there since the name went public...but more on that at another time). A Pilates session is a conscious commitment to yourself and your health. Pilates is an anti-aging system with a proven ability to increase bone density and mobility in aging joints (just think of all the insurance money saved from eliminating broken bones and torn muscles)! Pilates stimulates both the parasympathetic nervous system (known as the "rest and digest" regulator) and sympathetic nervous system that helps keep you on your toes so you are at once de-stressing and awakening. Pilates accesses reflexology points to stimulate greater organ function (heart, lung, colon and kidney points are all stimulated in the very first exercise). Pilates teaches you to breathe and focus without needing to actually stop or meditate so you are better able to think on your feet (literally). And by the way - could anyone pick up a book on Pilates and affordably continue practice at home? Of course! (Although without the apparatus the aforementioned effects are minimized). And they can also find quiet time to meditate, reflect, write in a journal, take a walk at lunchtime, tell their folks how thankful they are to have had them as parents, etc. But will they? Doubtful. (Why they won't is a much bigger topic that I plan to delve into the not too distant future.) For now, suffice it to say that those chances are slim. So here are my Top 5 reasons why Pilates should make the short list of "luxuries to keep" in a recession: 5. Pilates elicits gravity defying results -- knocking out the cost of cosmetic surgery from your budget altogether. 4. Pilates keeps Crackberry junkies aware of meaningful inter-personal relationships with actual human beings. 3. Pilates creates flexibility where you are stiff and toxin-ridden and strength where you are weak and wobbly. 2. Pilates reminds you to stand up straight which fixes a wealth of stress-induced problems and just looks better across a dinner table. And my number 1 reason to keep up with Pilates even in a recession is: 1. No one cares more about making you feel great than a Pilates teacher on the day of your session. (Not even your therapist). The moral -- any stress caused by worrying about losing money on a "luxury" like Pilates is clearly overridden by its myriad benefits -- and for all you know taking an hour out for Pilates may be just the thing that hones you at the helm when you return to work with a clearer mind and sharper reflexes.
 
Dem Defections Give GOP Control Of New York Senate Top
Democrats appeared to have lost their majority in the New York State Senate on Monday, in a stunning and sudden reversal of fortunes for a party that has controlled the chamber for barely five months.
 
Krugman: Recession Over By September Top
June 8 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy probably will emerge from the recession by September, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said. "I would not be surprised if the official end of the U.S. recession ends up being, in retrospect, dated sometime this summer," he said in a lecture today at the London School of Economics. "Things seem to be getting worse more slowly. There's some reason to think that we're stabilizing." More on Paul Krugman
 
Susan Tenby: Nonprofits Blaze Virtual Trails in Second Life Mixed Reality Lounge Top
The setting was an amphitheater filled with attendees from around the globe. The scene sounds fairly usual, although the attendees were sitting amongst a Panda -- wearing a shoulder-ferret (looks exactly like it sounds), a bald English woman levitating in lotus position; a small penguin; a punk-rocker girl, replete with a bull's style nose ring; and yours truly, Glitteractica Cookie (Susan Tenby by human/legal standards), a pink-skinned cat-lady, emblazoned with paw-print tattoos, wearing a tuxedo T-shirt and a tutu, though I was both virtual and present in real-life, which is not as tricky as it sounds. The small conference room in San Jose, California, was dimly lit and buzzing with intensity, while being relatively silent, except for the tapping of keyboards and the occasional chuckle or sigh. The reason was because many participants in the room were participating from both Second Life and the room in San Jose, and they are doing so, in avatar form. Avatars are virtual alter egos, that are our embodiment (not always human, as I noted) in a virtual world. The avatars and the in-world, Second Life experience was being projected on the far wall of the room, although most people were looking at many more than just that one screen. The room was packed. People were sitting, standing, texting, blogging, filming and tweeting -- all about the use of virtual worlds like Second Life to connect and educate people about public health issues. The event I'm describing was not a costume parade or a psychedelic dance party. It was a day-long "Mixed Reality Lounge," hosted by the NonProfit Commons , an online community initiative of nonprofit TechSoup Global -- and part of the NetSquared Conference in San Jose -- an annual gathering that brings people together to collaborate on projects using Web-based and mobile technology to progress social change. The Mixed Reality Lounge used live audio and video streams to connect the virtual world of Second Life with the physical conference in San Jose. Attendees of the Lounge celebrated the launch of Health Commons, the newest Second Life "island" hosting nonprofits with health-related missions, and discussed the impact of virtual reality technology in health education and community support. The Boomer Esiason Foundation was just one organization present that shared its success story of using Second Life as a platform for Cystic Fibrosis patients to connect and support one another. Cystic Fibrosis is an aggressive and debilitating disease. Patients are often tethered to vibrating vests and machines to keep their lungs mucus-free. To avoid serious cross-infections, patients are discouraged from interacting with one another in real life. In many cases, the virtual world of Second Life is the only opportunity for patients to meet others with the disease in a real-time setting. In this virtual environment, patients are able to socialize, get support and advice, and to connect with others who understand their condition. Second Life is superior to a chat room for these purposes as it provides a unique venue for creative self-expression. The patients, for example, have created a photo gallery where their avatars can guide others through a hall of photos showing self-portraits of their human selves and explaining the meaning behind each shot. In addition to the element of fun that is provided by the visual, 3-D interface, notably absent from text-based chat rooms, virtual worlds can enable a user to experience learning from an inside, walk-through perspective. That is, rather than just reading about the the surface of the moon, or a brain, or the bottom of the sea or ancient Greece, an avatar can take a stroll (or fly, if you prefer) through these experiences. The limits are only those of the imagination of the designer. It is a world where the impossible can happen and that is very significant when the impact can vastly improve a patient's quality of life. Virtual Ability, a virtual community of support and resources for people with disabilities, was another notable presenter illustrating the benefits of using virtual worlds for health education and support. One example of a person with a disability using Second Life is Louise Nicholson known as "Louise Later" in avatar form. Louise is blind and has a virtual seeing-eye dog that serves as an assistive technology engine that reads the typed, text chat in the virtual space and describes the environment to Louise. This technology enables Louise to participate in the virtual world and meet with other people who share her struggles and successes. As Peggy Weil, Ph.D. of the Gone Gitmo, virtual Guantanamo Bay experience in Second Life points out, correctly, "Second Life is real life, and the people behind the avatars are real. Using terms like Real Life, in opposition to Second Life, minimizes this fact." The disabilities represented by the Virtual Ability group are just as real, and include cognitive, behavioral, psychological and physical disabilities. Some participants are not ambulatory due to conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, but through Second Life, they are provided with a vibrant, ever-changing, creative and fun way of expressing themselves and connecting with their peers. Virtual Ability was just awarded a $10,000 prize (as in real dollars folks, not play money for virtual use) for their excellent application of community-building and education in Second Life. Large foundations are beginning to take notice and leaders like the MacArthur Foundation are not only providing grants to nonprofits to help grow their virtual presence, they are holding events on their own island. Other nonprofit communities like Global Kids teach digital media skills to young people and have successful funded programs in Second Life. More nonprofits are seeing virtual worlds, like Second Life, as one of a handful of social media tools that are essential in their Web and outreach strategies. To learn more about the Nonprofit Commons, an online community initiative of TechSoup Global that hosts hundreds of nonprofit organizations in Second Life, visit us at www.nonprofitcommons.org or just jump into your avatar finest and teleport on over to the Nonprofit Commons Island. We have an open town hall meeting, every Friday, on Plush Nonprofit Commons Island, at 8:30am PT (also known as Second Life time). Tell them, Glitteractica Cookie, the pink cat lady, sent you.
 
Pete Doherty Arrested, Fined For Doing HEROIN On Plane Top
GENEVA — British singer Pete Doherty was fined by Geneva police for heroin consumption during a flight from London, authorities said Monday. The 30-year-old rocker was picked up by officers after the 1 hour, 40-minute British Airways flight landed Friday, and held for two hours, police spokesman Jean-Philippe Brandt said Monday. Doherty then paid the fine and was released. Brandt said Doherty was tested for heroin consumption, confirming a report in the Swiss tabloid Le Matin. But police declined to confirm the newspaper's report that Doherty was discovered by an air hostess collapsed in a toilet, with a used syringe nearby. Air staff then contacted the police, it said. Doherty, lead singer of Babyshambles and former boyfriend of British model Kate Moss, has had well-publicized battles with drug use. He served 29 days in a London prison last year after being caught with crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis during a probation period. British Airways said a passenger on the flight was arrested on arrival, but that the airline was legally barred from disclosing details. Doherty was on his way to Switzerland to present his debut solo album at a festival in the city of Neuchatel. Brandt declined to say how much Doherty was fined.
 
'NY Housewife' Bensimon Gets Community Service For Boyfriend Beating Top
"Real Housewives of New York's" Kelly Bensimon has been ordered to two days of community service for laying the smack down on her ex in an apartment attack. Kelly Bensimon: Click to watch Bensimon was arrested in March after allegedly giving boytoy BF Nicholas Stefanov a black eye and sliced cheek in an argument at her Manhattan pad.
 
Bret Michaels Breaks Nose, Busts Lip In Tonys Accident Top
NEW YORK — Bret Michaels performed at the Tony Awards, and all he got was a nose fracture _ and a busted lip. According to Michaels' spokeswoman, the rock singer had X-rays taken after getting clocked in the head by a descending set piece at Sunday's Radio City Music Hall ceremony. Publicist Joann Mignano says Michaels, who performed with his 1980s hair-metal band Poison, fractured his nose and had to get three stitches in his lip. She says he was getting a CAT scan on Monday as a precaution, as he's had a past neck injury. Although he's "pretty bruised up," Mignano says, Michaels was in good spirits. He wiped off blood with a towel and laughed backstage when host Neil Patrick Harris joked that the singer "gave head banging a whole new meaning." Michaels took to the stage with Poison during the telecast's opening production number, featuring performances from the season's Broadway musicals. They performed "Nothin' But a Good Time" with the cast of "Rock of Ages," and as Michaels exited the stage, he smacked into a piece of scenery and was knocked to the ground upon impact. Footage of the accident soon landed online, where Michaels' pratfall seemed to score as much attention as the prestigious ceremony itself. Michaels had a "great time performing for the Broadway audience," says Mignano, who notes that the star of VH1's "Rock of Love" reality series took photos backstage with theater legends Liza Minnelli and Angela Lansbury. Michaels, who has gone solo, is touring with his namesake band. Later this month, he'll take Poison on the road for a joint tour with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick.
 
Eric L. Lewis: The Struggle for Muslim Minds in Lebanon Top
Strolling through the leafy campus of American University of Beirut on a balmy late May evening, I can easily believe I am in Southern California. The buildings are Victorian-era sandstone; the students linger in shorts and T-shirts; a long street of fast food joints and bookstores faces the front gates. But as with most things in tiny, troubled Lebanon, all is not as it seems. Stolid College Hall, built in 1871, was blown up in 1991. The bomber has never been found and the building and clock tower were rebuilt to the same specifications in 1999. With the June 7 election results in and a narrow victory for the moderate Sunni-Christian coalition over the coalition dominated by Hezbollah, Lebanon may have dodged a bullet that would have put the secular, outward looking Lebanon represented by American University of Beirut in jeopardy. The defeat of Hezbollah not only gives hope for moderation in the region, it prevents a critical beachhead for an Iranian push for power within the Islamic world generally. Hezbollah's radical credentials are well known. A designated terrorist organization, Hezbollah asserts it will never recognize Israel and instigated the devastating 2006 war with a cross-border raid, killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Despite the devastation both to Southern Lebanon and the Shia suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah emerged in a stronger position, having taken on Israel and survived intact and also by displaying its extensive social service network, treating the wounded in its hospitals and giving large cash payments to those displaced by the war. Like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah has won support by providing government services more efficiently and with less corruption than the central government. All of this bodes ill for Israel, as it is likely to have an implacably hostile government on its Northern border and on the Mediterranean. But Hezbollah's ambitions are far more wide-reaching. Hezbollah is the stalking horse for a distinctive Shia pan-Islamic ideology developed by Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. Its manifesto declares that it is part of a worldwide Muslim "umma" or community linked by radical Shia fundamentalism. Hezbollah takes both its vast funding and ideological direction from Tehran. Weapons and cash flow through Syria, a Sunni-majority country governed by the Assads, nominally secular, but of the Alawite community, an offshoot Shia sect. A victory in Lebanon would have been a critical victory for Iran and its vision of pan-Shiism over the Sunni establishment in Riyadh and Cairo. Although Sunnis are 85% of the world's Muslims, the so-called Shia crescent encompasses some of the world's most important territory. By overthrowing the Sunni minority government of Saddam Hussein, the United States empowered a new Shia dominated Iraq, more closely allied with Iran that we would like to admit. A Shia majority in Bahrain is governed by a Sunni monarchy. There is a large Shia community in Kuwait. And although Sunnis dominate Saudi Arabia and Wahabi theologians consider the Shia infidels, Shias are in the majority in the Eastern province, which is where the oil is. The United States and its Sunni allies must recognize that Lebanon is more than just a strategic keystone, surrounded by Israel, Syria and the Mediterranean. It is the first incubator for a new brand of pan-Islamism led by Tehran. As Iran moves ineluctably toward joining Israel as the two nuclear powers in the region, it also is moving to become a political powerhouse as well through an old-fashioned combination of money and social services, shrewd alliance building in a fractious area and a religious-ideological message to the millions of have-nots in the region. Iran is promoting to Muslims worldwide an aggressive alternative vision to the conservative monarchies of the Gulf. A Hezbollah victory would not have led only to the closing of the Lebanese mind and the end of 150 years of secular open inquiry in Lebanon. It may also have been be the first, critical skirmish in an intra-Islamic struggle with great consequences for the rest of the world. The narrow victory of the Sunni led March 14 coalition should not be a cause for excessive confidence. Hezbollah becomes a much larger and important player. It continues to build support through the provision of social services throughout Lebanon and by catalyzing Lebanese opposition to Israel borne of powerlessness under long Israeli occupation and the devastating 2006 war. If the Lebanese government cannot deliver economic prosperity and political stability, Hezbollah remains the only alternative and behind it stands Iranian ambitions for the region and for leadership in the Islamic world. More on Hezbollah
 
Robbie Gennet: The Case for a National Office of Transition Top
President Obama is seeking massive changes in the way the US is operating when it comes to energy, transportation, agriculture and labor, among others. These seismic shifts will involve huge numbers of workers who may be coming out of an industry or trade that is no longer viable/sustainable, while the new Green Economy and Boomer-fueled Health Care industry boom will open up hundreds of thousands of jobs, many of which will require new training and skills. Transitioning whole industries and workforces in new directions is a huge logistical issue that needs organization at a level and size unseen in the past. Accordingly, there ought to be a National Office of Transition to manage that shift with an even larger eye towards planning and structuring it, especially when it comes to our labor force. Putting thousands of laid off auto and manufacturing workers into colleges and schools to train them for future employment means helping link them into the private sector by funneling quality, well-trained employees into well-paying positions that will soon need them. This could involve cooperating with various colleges and universities by both retrofitting and adding to their campuses to create learning centers that will thrive both during this transitional push and for generations after. But besides facilitating the retraining of whole workforces, the government must work and coordinate directly with the leaders of dying or unstable industries to help them transition their infrastructure, labor, environmental practices and R&D. Partner with them to innovate into the green future and create jobs that have a steady flow of workers freshly trained with the latest knowledge and technology. And give people a stake in their work by giving them a living wage, health coverage and a decent retirement plan. It sounds so idyllic until you realize why it hasn't happened yet and why it's a fight to make it happen now: corporations are terrified of change. They see nothing but lost revenue where they should see opportunity. And we still haven't come to grips with the surge of veterans that will be coming home as the Iraq Occupation winds down. These people need to be trained and placed in new jobs that will enable them to rejoin society with the feelings of pride, dignity and self-worth of being gainfully employed and able to support the family they have been apart from for so long. However, where there is money to be made, there is someone happy to make it. Some of our major industries are very comfortable with the way they make their profits and they see change as a threat to those profits. While those profits may be in danger with change, there are other profit streams that can open up and eventually supplant the one they're so concerned about, even surpass it. Yet they still cling to the status quo because it's what they know. The Oil & Auto Companies fight alternative fuels and higher mpg instead of co-opting it and becoming leaders in that industry. The Prison System lobbies against drug reform because it's bad for business instead of our Justice Department looking at sentencing laws with an eye towards the health issues and economics that drive them. The Defense Industry needs war to thrive and so it lobbies to bloat our Defense Budget instead of preparing for other uses of its organization during peacetime (much like during WWII when we expediently retooled our manufacturing plants for wartime usage). Being resistant to change is nothing new for humanity, but this shortsightedness usually heralds our undoing. Besides money playing a big role, this inability to see change as an opportunity severely hobbles us in the great race to find balance and harmony on this beautiful planet before we burn, slash, rape and mutilate it into an uninhabitable cesspool that shakes us humans off like a bad case of fleas. Our economy is changing and there will be new jobs that need skilled and qualified workers. Time Magazine's most recent issue on The Future of Work predicts a big rise in job opportunities in areas like Personal and Home Health Care Aides, Nursing Aides, Medical Assistants, Computer Software Engineers, Network-Systems and Data-Communications Analysts, Personal Financial Advisors, Veterinarians & Vet Technicians, Post-secondary Teachers and more. By coordinating a mass re-education of workers shedded from contracting industries, the US can give these workers a solid shot at a stable future. Imagine if the hundreds of thousands of autoworkers laid off from GM were not just collecting unemployment, but were being trained at local schools for jobs that were waiting for them once they were qualified. For instance, if we know that by 2016 there will be an additional 750,000 new jobs in personal and home health care aides, we could have 750,000 people who are currently unemployed being trained for long term jobs that are already short of qualified candidates. Add to that the jobs provided by schools as they gain funding to upgrade and expand classrooms and hire more teachers, creating facilities prepared to give our current and future students and world-class education. But what of the companies foundering in their aim to stay the course? The ones that shed jobs and still are billions in the red? Should the government bail them out? Or simply help steer the ship in a new direction where it can go on its own power? The fluctuations on the demand side- let's use the old Buggy Whip Manufacturer losing business as the Auto Industry grows in market share- should trigger an effort by the company to send their workers into a retraining program rather than give them pink slips and say "Good luck!" Whether Buggy Whip, Inc. turns itself into an Auto Company or not, those workers will have jobs waiting for them when they come out of retraining. Just imagine what could have come of our Defense Industry after World War 2 if we helped it transition it's workforce into peacetime businesses rather than let the Military Industrial Complex grow fat on the various wars and conflicts we've managed to stay in since (see Eugene Jarecki's excellent documentary Why We Fight for more on this). When you think of an industry in flux that is shedding jobs- manufacturing and auto seem to be highest profile in the news- just imagine the difference an Office of Transition could make. Take a look at the US Dept. of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Mass Layoffs Summary for April 2009, which shows that the industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in April 2009 included school and employee bus transportation, construction machinery manufacturing, food service contractors, tax prep services, discount department stores, professional employer organizations and hotels and motels, not including casinos. (Evidently, no matter the numbers of job losses, casinos are still doing great business. Go figure.) Each of these industries has thousands of people who are recently jobless. Imagine if, instead of just collecting unemployment and looking for a job (good luck out there), they collected unemployment and immediately started training for a new career with a guaranteed job on the back end that gets them off unemployment and back on the payrolls to contribute to the tax base. Instead of the government giving you handouts, they are actually investing in your career and sending you on a path to productivity and financial security. In April alone we lost 563,000 jobs. Yet we know where there are new jobs being created by new industries (alternative energy) and old (health care). All we have to do is connect the dots between our labor pool and American employment needs. Just look at what Michigan is already doing with their No Worker Left Behind program, which was reported on by Arthur Delaney in his terrific Huffington Post piece . Here's a highlight: Michigan's No Worker Left Behind program provides up to two years of free tuition toward school or training for careers in certain high-demand fields. The program has put 68,785 people into training since its 2007 launch, according to Andy Levin, deputy director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth. "No Worker Left Behind is going like gangbusters, and the pace of putting people into training is accelerating, but we don't have enough money to train everybody who wants to be trained," Levin told the Huffington Post. Just imagine if that was a Federally funded national program; the possibilities are immense, especially when you consider the numbers of unemployed people in the US in April alone. For those numbers, I encourage you to check out the latest BLS Employment Situation Summary , released May 8. Yes, it's a little dry, but as you scan down the industries that are hemorrhaging jobs in April- manufacturing lost 149,000, construction lost 110,000, professional & business services lost 122,000, retail lost 47,000- imagine if all those people left their jobs on Friday and started retraining on Monday at a local school or college retrofitted to handle the influx. The investment in our institutions would benefit generations to come while the preparation of our labor force for near-future employment will give our economy the foundation it needs to be healthy again both now and long term. And instead of unemployment benefits just being a government handout, they can instead offer a chance at a new beginning for those who need it the most. More on Personal Finance
 
Ira Forman: Sotomayor: A Strong Choice for Supreme Court Top
President Barack Obama showed sound judgment and profound respect for our nation's highest court by selecting an individual who has impeccable credentials and is committed to our constitutional values, rights, and liberties. Judge Sonia Sotomayor brings not only a distinguished legal background to the Supreme Court, but a wealth of common sense understanding of how the law affects everyday life. Sotomayor has been called "a uniquely well-qualified Supreme Court nominee, someone with a sharp and independent mind, and a record of excellence and integrity" by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. ( Click here to tell the Senate that you agree.) When Sotomayor's nomination was made official in the East Room of the White House last month, numerous Jewish organizations were in attendance, including the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC). We were proud to be there and be a part of this historic moment. Many leading Jewish groups, in addition to NJDC, have praised the Sotomayor nomination and her strong credentials, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), Orthodox Union (OU), and Religious Action Center (RAC). Richard Foltin, Legislative Director of AJC, said to JTA, "there's no question of her impressive qualifications." The ADL released a statement declaring that Sotomayor "will undoubtedly bring an important new perspective to the work of the Court." Within our community, a consensus has developed: Sotomayor will be a welcome addition to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed to the Court in the past 70 years. She has been a prosecutor, a corporate litigator, and a now a federal judge for the last 17 years. Sotomayor's quintessential American story and strong legal career provide her with unique qualifications to be the next Supreme Court justice. Former Chief Judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals Jon Newman said Sotomayor "is everything one would want in a first-rate judge." Her ascent to the federal bench from an upbringing in a South Bronx housing project is an inspiration, in and of itself. Support for Sotomayor's judicial career has transcended political lines. Before she was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by President Bill Clinton in 1997, and confirmed by the Senate in 1998, she was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and confirmed unanimously by the Senate. It has been disappointing that leading Republicans have taken the nomination of Sotomayor as an opportunity to launch nasty attacks on her character and question if she really has what it takes to serve on our highest court. They ignore the fact that she was first appointed to the federal courts by a Republican president. It is one thing to stand against a nominee on ideological grounds, and another still to do so on partisan grounds. But when Republicans depict Sotomayor as a racist they go beyond the pale. Although there are some in the GOP who sanely call on their colleagues to "refrain from calling Sonia Sotomayor a racist," Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has "refused...to condemn [these] controversial comments." And then there are the absurd Republican attacks that Sotomayor is somehow an "intellectual lightweight." Her academic qualifications are impeccable and she is at least as intellectually qualified or even more so than any justice sitting on the bench today. Sotomayor's 20 years of service in the federal courts exceeds comparable experience of anyone recently nominated. This kind of rhetoric and these spineless attacks are inexcusable. The President believes it is important for the Senate to vote and confirm Sotomayor before the August recess, to allow the new justice time to prepare and participate when the Court confers this fall and selects cases to be heard for the upcoming term. I agree. The ridiculous Sotomayor bashing must stop. Republicans and Democrats should work together to review Sotomayor's record and work towards a confirmation this summer. More on Sonia Sotomayor
 
E-Mails Show How Cheney Forced DOJ Lawyers To Approve Torture Top
Three newly-disclosed Justice Department e-mails thoroughly vindicate the most cynical suspicions about how former vice president Dick Cheney bent ostensibly independent Justice Department lawyers to his will and forced them to manufacture legal cover for his torture policies. The e-mails, which date back to a 2005 re-evaluation of interrogation policies, were written by then-deputy attorney general James Comey. They reveal Cheney's extraordinary influence over then-attorney general Alberto Gonzales and key lieutenants -- including top officials in the department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). More on Dick Cheney
 
'Hangover' Upsets 'Up' For Number 1 Top
LOS ANGELES — It turns out Hollywood's weekend hangover was bigger than expected. The Warner Bros. comedy "The Hangover" drew larger audiences than earlier projected to raise its weekend ticket sales to $45 million, about $1.8 million more than the studio estimated Sunday. That made it the No. 1 draw for the weekend instead of Disney and Pixar Animation's "Up," which came in second with $44.3 million. Sunday studio estimates had "Up" edging "The Hangover" by about $1 million. It's rare that the first- and second-place movies on Sunday flip-flop when final numbers come out Monday. But strong attendance Sunday allowed "The Hangover" to pull ahead. With heavy matinee traffic, family films such as "Up" usually hold on better through Sunday than adult movies like "The Hangover." Warner Bros. had expected Sunday's NBA championship game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic to cut into business for the R-rated "The Hangover," the tale of four friends at an out-of-control bachelor party weekend in Las Vegas. Yet more people turned up for the movie than anticipated, said Dan Fellman, Warner head of distribution. "The Lakers weren't the only winners," Fellman said. "We had an unbelievable day." Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta said the studio was happy to come in at No. 2 with "Up," whose final weekend total came in about $100,000 higher than the studio estimated Sunday. "Up" has topped $137 million in just 10 days and is on track to become the latest $200 million blockbuster from Disney and Pixar, whose hits include "WALL-E," "The Incredibles," "Finding Nemo" and the "Toy Story" movies.
 
Emmie Twombly: 5 Ways Women Can Make Changes Across Generations Top
The women of Vital Voices are dynamic, bold, daring risk takers, in fact even putting their lives on the line. The five award winners, Global Trailblazer Award winner and the women behind Vital Voices are transforming the notions of women, and most importantly, their connotations with power and leadership. These women were recently honored at the Kennedy Center by Ben Affleck, Candice Bergen, Sally Field and Diane Von Furstenberg because they are defining success on their own terms in their own countries, organizations and families. Each woman is championing her own cause, but the women who graced the stage showed that we are all individuals working together for a common goal. Hillary Clinton stated this goal in 1995 at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, "Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights." After attending such an inspirational event I felt that owed it to other generations to share 5 way women can make changes across generations. 1. Educate Yourself. "Knowledge is power, no one can take education away from you." Sadiqa Basiri Saleem brings hope to Afghanistan and a new generation of women. Sadiqa and three other women pooled their money together after the Taliban fell to found a learning center, which provides uniforms, supplies, and funding for 36 girls to study in an abandoned mosque. Sadiqa said her "dream is to see my sisters well-educated in a peaceful Afghanistan. They should be able to raise their voices to get their rights since I can't stand seeing them tortured and murdered in the name of honor anymore." 2. Be Bold and Brave. Chouchou Namegabe Nabinut and Marceline Kongolo-Bice brought issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the international stage. Chouchou used her powerful voice as a journalist to shed light on women, health and human rights issues. At age 23, Marceline has shown her strength and courage time and time again. At 13 she was imprisoned for refusing a military order to marry a local commandant. She also lost her older brother and father to murderous soldiers and witnessed the use of rape as a weapon of war. She then founded an NGO, SOS Femmes en Dangers to heal and rehabilitate rape victims, and how to empower themselves by knowing their rights so that they can defend themselves, supporting one another so their voices are heard. 3. Invest in Others. Temituokpe Esisi of Nigeria started her own tailoring company to benefit her country's economic empowerment as well as her own. She serves as a role model to leaders across the globe, since she invests in her employees, in their future and in their education. She works to inspire other women throughout Nigeria and beyond with her success. 4. Follow Your Heart. Somaly Mam of Cambodia was forced to work in a brothel, where she endured rape, beatings and humiliation by her bosses and clients. After one of her closest friends was murdered by a pimp, she escaped. She then showed her bravery by sharing her story and rescuing young girls and women from her brothel. She never had an education and just "gave love." She is a visionary who shows that you have unlimited potential by following your heart. 5. Keep Moving Forward. How did these women move beyond the traumatic events and brutal atrocities which the award recipients experienced first-hand? This is a question that has been resurfacing in my mind since I left the event in Washington, D.C. On its face it seems to not make sense that women are still forced to overcome rape as a weapon of war, lack of education and lack of opportunities. The five amazing women who accepted their awards at the Kennedy Center showed that even though they were given significantly fewer opportunities for achieving leadership positions, they still prevailed, and so can the rest of us. More on Women's Rights
 

CREATE MORE ALERTS:

Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted

Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope

Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more

News - Only the news you want, delivered!

Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more

Weather - Get today's weather conditions




You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)