Friday, August 28, 2009

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Michael Carmichael: The Lawmaker: A Eulogy for Ted Kennedy Top
He never lingered over the pain in his past. Memories echoed in the domes, surrounding him with an aura of destiny. The pain of tragic loss; a sister in perpetual absentia; the echoes of bullets lacerating his brothers; a spiraling plane crash that shattered his spine; a panic underwater and the loss of an innocent life; his son's loss of a limb; the perpetual onslaught of rumors whispering scandals; the wind in his face; the tides of the sea; sailing against the winds of time -- these could not disturb his dream. He focused his vision as he understood the pulse of time and the concentration of fury in pursuit of justice. Keen, intent and open, in possession of certainty in equality, liberty and justice; he strode the corridors of power and knew the ways and means of Senates and Congresses and Presidents and Pentagons. In a succession of houses or on the crest of waves rippling with monsters of the deep, he was schooled in the lessons of life by parents who nourished him. Suddenly, the continuity of the world was wrenched from him. An implacable terror displaced security in his mind, members of his family fell into darkness, the future morphed into a twisted dystopia. The world presented danger and uncertainty for him and his family. In the gloaming chaos building up around him, he smote the enemies of peace, justice, equality and liberty. Realizing that he would never know stability, he reached down deeper inside himself for the source of his will. In quiet desperation, the days, the months, the years, the decades washed over him. He arrived at a point where he realized he had survived to exist beyond fear, with hope, with joy and with clarity forged in the crucible of time. Then he was swept forward by his dream -- a gift from his brothers -- and he summoned forth a vision that glistened like billions of stars. A nation that required service; a dream of racial equality; the righteousness of civil liberties and equality; the availability of education; health care; continuity amidst the tides of history and above all -- peace amongst nations. His departed brothers dreamt their dreams of things that never were, and he captured their visions transforming them into words and forging them into laws. He wielded the hammers of justice, and he shaped the law according to his vision, his hope, his dream. Dreams abided in him. Dreams swept forth before him. Dreams compelled him. Dreams empowered him. Dreams enveloped him and closed over him and transformed him into the most powerful lawmaking dreamer in his nation. He raised his voice and sang his dream unto his nation. Utterly enthralled, he came to understand -- history was surging around him. Time and departure were beckoning. He grasped the wheel of his yacht and sailed against the winds summoning his people to march forward as a new generation of dreamers, carrying and enriching the torch of his dream. Justice and Equality murmured into his inner ear, a constant refrain of the laws that never were, and he asked, Why Not? A murmuring memory of his brothers invaded him, and he divined a refrain of laws defending civil rights that the privileged fought fiercely against -- and of a people searching for the health and well-being that was their beloved human right. The murmurings in his mind became a song that he sang of mighty laws defending the rights of humanity. These things, America knows. But, in his final hour, he reached out into the future - uncertain of the courses of history - in hope of a better tomorrow before he soared outward into his infinite dream. More on Ted Kennedy
 
Michael de Portu: The Economy: Cycling Along With the Training Wheels On Top
There is a sharp divergence of views about the economy’s near-term prospects. Some speak of a V-shaped snap-back, others of a W-like double-dip, yet others of an L-pattern driven by a secular change in consumer spending.  This seems just one more indication of how elusive the nature of this crisis has remained.    Statements by Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson that they did not see the crisis coming convey the same sense of confoundment.  Economists David Greenlaw and Jan Hatzius, for their part, crisply expressed a similar feeling of disconnect when they asked: “can we understand how a shock of roughly $250 billion to the leveraged intermediary sector might cause the type of turmoil that we have documented?” (Leveraged Losses: Lessons from the Mortgage Market Meltdown)  The origins and dynamics of the crisis will be a subject of debate for years to come, but one big question mark has been whether this is a traditional economic recession, so to speak, or if something more lethal has been at play due to the financial context.  The stock market has been reacting as if this has been a traditional recession and it is pretty much over. Could the market be misreading things? Looking back, the fact was that well into the credit crunch and through much of 2008, the real economy had continued performing remarkably well .  There were some exceptions: the Californian economy (which began weakening in 2006), the automotive industry (since 2005) and housing. Other than these trouble spots, though, productivity had continued increasing. The U.S. economy had absorbed relentless increases in raw materials with nary a sign of inflation.  Corporations, cash-rich from years of deleveraging, were largely unaffected by the credit contraction of 2007.   Few would have disagreed with Fareed Zakaria’s comment in May 2008 that “global growth is the story of our times. It explains the rise of liquidity – the ever-growing piles of money moving around the world – that has kept credit cheap and assets (including real estate, stocks, and bonds) expensive.” (The Post-American World) It is doubtful that the economy had truly been weakening on its own. In fact, as far as industry is concerned, into late 2008 there were few of the signs typical of a recession – the gradual loss of visibility on customers’ needs, the shortening of procurement forecasts, increased lumpiness in orders, etc. Rather, all the way through September and October 2008, the pace of business activity remained good and companies continued to hire.  Housing and the turmoil on Wall Street beginning in 2007 were being monitored with circumspection, but their impact was muted by buoyancy in capital goods, the proliferation of infrastructure projects around the world, the seeming resilience of consumer spending in the face of ever higher gas prices, and rising demand for consumables generally as world living standards improved. It was not until mid-November – two full months after the Lehman and AIG collapses – that a pullback occurred, and when it did it was an abrupt one.  Without warning, orders were put on hold. A freeze gripped industry, hiring stopped, capital spending was curtailed and everyone stood still, as if a switch had been flipped. But this type of suspension of activity is emblematic not of a recession, but of a sudden concern about liquidity and cash retention.  The successive seizures that started with banks’ unwillingness to lend to one another on even an overnight basis had finally spread beyond Wall Street.   Since liquidity fears will ultimately lead to recessions, we seem to end up in the same place. The problem is elsewhere: it is that when they are too violent these fears can trigger a loss of faith in the system’s pricing and valuation abilities. This is what happens when speculative frenzies end, when the value of a currency or of money itself (viz. John Law) is thrown in doubt, when financial panics occur. In November 2008, a panic did occur . It is just that the Fed’s massive injection of liquidity contained it and successfully masked from most people that this is what was happening. Nevertheless, it is now clear that these interventions did not prevent uncertainty about prices and valuations from setting in. Prices are more than a market-clearing mechanism ; they must also provide information about and sustain long-term value – so the framework exists in which investments can be made and plans involving stakeholders entered into.  The government spending programs that were then put in place have been mainly geared to sustaining and stabilizing precisely this aspect of the system. While diverse at the micro level, all these actions had one thing in common at the macro level: propping up asset prices. This objective is not articulated as such, but that is the fundamental effect of these undertakings. A by-product, of course, has been high bank profits which some hoped would be able to partly make up for the hole left by toxic asset write-downs. These actions have had tangible results: both the credit and equity markets have been more stable. The question is: can the system function on its own without all this government assistance? Despite all the spending, uncertainty about prices and values seems pervasive. Oil is in the $70s but the drilling rig count has dropped 50% to levels that reflect skepticism whether the implied information is reliable. Freight services are down 40%+.  Retailers other than those distributing cheap products made in Asia and Latin America are down, as are food distributors. The American consumer seems convinced that the sale will still be on months from now, that it might actually be for an even greater discount then, or that perhaps the purchase can be skipped entirely. Some people have been warning of inflation down the road as a result of government spending-induced deficits.  The graver risk seems to be not inflation but deflation. Were it not for government spending, prices would probably be declining now.  In short, we are on the verge of a deflationary spiral . This could be set off in earnest by a number of built-in risks in today’s environment: rising unemployment, the prospect of a weakening dollar, a resurfacing of toxic asset losses (the result of Alt-A resets and further defaults and foreclosures), a shock from a bank failure or a misplaced market bet.  International coordination may also erode as different regions face different challenges. When Gordon Brown exhorted all to forsake any “protectionist” impulse in the crisis, he had a point. For the U.S. economy, a two-pronged approach seems necessary to get long-term growth going again. The first is a removal of toxic assets . These assets are unlikely to ever come back and will actually deteriorate further.  The PPIP program, which started earlier this summer, will not achieve this since it ended up giving participating investors enough latitude to trade in distressed paper but avoid the truly toxic assets (essentially turning PPIP into a variation of TARP but with different players and free equity instead). The second prong consists of fiscal and other tools to help American manufacturing and products and services that are exportable become the new economic engine: enhanced tax credits for investments, R&D and engineering projects, employee continuing education; a lowering of corporate taxes in certain sectors and incentives for maintaining or repatriating jobs. Manufacturing investment regions should also be considered, as well as a GI bill-type program and home equity grants for veterans. The non-fiscal tools consist of government technology transfers as occurred when know-how in transistors, radars, sensors, the internet and most recently GPS was made available to the civilian economy – spawning new industries and firms. This would require a systematic scanning of government-sponsored research, DARPA projects, and university collaborations.   Some observers have asked whether we are in 1929 or 1932 . The good news is that the world is so different today that we are probably in neither. We don’t have outhouses to go at night for our bodily needs. Fresh water is available at the turn of a tap. We have air-conditioners to keep us cool and refrigerators to preserve our food. The internet, cell phones, GPS devices, iPods, all have immensely enhanced our quality of life. (Of course, they have also made comparison shopping easier and enabled a new breed of investors to trade commodities electronically – perhaps contributing to the froth and volatility.)   On the other hand, we face challenges unknown in the 1930s. The globe has 6 billion inhabitants with that much more potential for instability. Travel and communication is taken for granted, yet the mere unavailability of oil or electricity would take us back centuries. Work specialization and dependency on complex distribution channels have also diminished our ability for self-sufficiency. More on The Recession
 
Sharon Hanshaw: Four years after Katrina, 100 days to Copenhagen Top
Four years ago today, the lives of millions of Americans were turned upside down when Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast. I was one of those millions. I lost my home and the business I worked so hard to build. It wasn't just my possessions that went missing in the storm; it was my livelihood, my community and my way of life that were taken away from me. We in the Gulf Coast have weathered a hurricane or two, but scientists are warning that climate change will be increasing the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, floods and storms. As we saw in those fateful August days four years ago, it only takes one storm beyond our capacity to decimate entire communities. Seeing my beloved Biloxi crumble before my eyes, I knew I had to stand up and help. While I never intended to become an activist, when Katrina came and took my shop away, and took my livelihood away, it was as if God had this already planned something else for me to do. And that's how I became an activist. Today, we are working to rebuild our community piece by piece, but it sure hasn't been easy. I hear the stories of my neighbors who are struggling. Jobs and economic opportunities dry up when a city is destroyed, leaving families without their livelihoods. For women, who are more likely to live below the poverty line, it's even harder. They are often left carrying two loads and this burden can be even heavier. These tragic stories aren't only happening in the US, they are happening all over the world. A recent Oxfam report forecasts the number of people affected by climate change to increase by half by 2015, to about 375 million people worldwide. That's more than the entire population of the United States. Climate change impacts everyone, but it hits the poorest first and hardest, despite having contributed the least to the crisis. For millions, it means the inability to grow food, leaving them hungrier and poorer. This not only causes more instability in places throughout South Asia and Africa, it also leaves everyone all over the world vulnerable to the ravaging effects of this global crisis. Here home, our legislators have an opportunity to take the lead when it comes to stopping climate change. Our leaders can step up with legislation that not only addresses the climate crisis we are facing, but the human crisis we will face in the future. Helping the poorest and most vulnerable, especially women, increase their preparedness to weather the future storms of climate change can help all of us. In policy speak, it's called adaptation, but what it boils down to is assisting poor communities to help them weather the next storm. It means helping them to build barriers to better weather hurricanes or to open food banks when there's not enough food. Our nation can take the lead to help the world and help ourselves. Tackling the issue of climate change can help generate green jobs in the US and allow us to regain our global economic strength. We are a country of innovation and the demand for clean energy technology and services can give our economy just the kick start it needs. In just 100 days, the nations of the world will come together in Copenhagen to work towards an agreement about how to reduce climate change. In order for those international negotiations to be a success, we as a nation must commit to both reducing our global warming pollution and investing in the resiliency of vulnerable communities around the world so that they can better prepare and respond to the effects of climate change. Negotiations in Copenhagen cannot fail. As President Obama put it, "We have a choice: we can either shape our future, or we can let events shape it for us. The question is whether we will have the will to do so, whether we'll summon the courage and exercise the leadership to chart a new course. That's the responsibility of our generation; that must be our legacy for generations to come." Let's live up to our responsibilities, America. Let's not wait for the next devastating Hurricane Katrina to come before we act. More on Climate Change
 
Elaine Shannon: Can SIGG Salvage Its Brand After BPA? Top
Last week, Steve Wasik, chief executive officer of SIGG Switzerland, made an astonishing admission : the company's aluminum water bottles manufactured before August 2008 had been made with epoxy resin that contains bisphenol A (BPA). "The primary reason that I am writing this letter today is because I believe that the BPA conversation has changed dramatically in the last 12 months," Wasik said in a "bulletin" posted on the SIGG website. "Last year, the primary concern was that of BPA leaching from bottles. Since that time the dialogue has evolved such that now some people are concerned about the mere presence of BPA and some states are considering legislation." Which sounds a lot like -- Oh, that BPA. Wasik's disclosure marks a stunning about-face. Back in March 2007, as other bottle makers were struggling to cope with the burgeoning furor over their use of plastics based on BPA, a synthetic sex hormone, Wasik posted a statement on the company website asserting, "We understand the controversy and concern surrounding BPA leaching from plastic water bottles and can assure you that SIGG bottles are leach-free and 100% safe." It's hard to see Wasik's posture as anything but cynical. To be fair, he didn't say point blank that SIGG bottles contained no BPA. He said they didn't leach BPA. He decided, on his own authority, that consumers didn't want or need to know more. And if others failed to parse his artfully worded statements, he didn't bother to correct them. His March 2007 reassurance to customers quoted an email from a consumer advocacy group that said, in part, "SIGG bottles do not contain BPAs." Around the same time, a SIGG public relations representative engaged in a heated dialogue with Environmental Working Group over the nature of SIGG's liner wrote in an email that the company was seeking to "assure dealers, press and consumers that come to us asking questions that there is no BpA in SIGG products." Maybe the PR man didn't know the facts. But Steve Wasik did. And he didn't set the record straight. The mistaken perception that SIGG bottles were BPA-free very likely boosted the company's position in the growing reusable bottle market. Wasik, profiled by Fortune/Small Business Magazin e as a "marketing whiz," joined the Swiss company in 2005 and promptly launched a high-profile advertising campaign touting the company's committment to the environment and featuring eco-stars Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts. Wasik's strategy paid off: in November 2007, Advertising Age reported that SIGG sales had spiked 250 percent between 2006 and 2007 and that U.S. outlets selling SIGG wares had multiplied from 400 to more than 1,300. Not surprisingly, many consumers who bought SIGG bottles because they thought they could avoid dosing themselves and their families with BPA, which scientists have shown to disrupt the endocrine system and trigger a range of serious conditions, are now expressing outrage. What's the difference between drinking from a metal bottle with a plastic liner and a plastic bottle? As far as we're concerned - none. To add insult to injury, in last week's bulletin, Wasik informed consumers that he foresaw the BPA firestorm as early as mid-2006 and set out to develop a non-BPA alternative: We recognized early that there were questions surrounding BPA and we wanted to be sure that we had a bottle liner that you, our customers, could have absolute confidence in. After two years of comprehensive testing and development and a one million dollar investment in new equipment for our Swiss factory, SIGG began producing bottles with our new, next generation "EcoCare" liner in August 2008. "EcoCare," he went on to say, is a "special powder-based co-polyester liner certified to be 100% BPA and Phthalate Free." Notice that he didn't say what's actually in EcoCare. That remains a mystery, just as the nature of SIGG's pre-August 2008 lining was suspected but unconfirmed -- until last week. SIGG vs EWG SIGG's campaign to disassociate itself from BPA involved EWG. Back in March 2007, Wasik and his aides challenged an EWG report said that "many metal water bottles, such as those sold by the brand Sigg, are lined with a plastic coating that contains BPA." As it turned out, EWG's information was right on the money. But within a day after EWG's report went online, SIGG threatened to sue EWG for "damaging its brand reputation." Wasik demanded a letter that EWG had "no knowledge or information that SIGG bottles pose any kind of health risk." The company refused to provide data to support this statement, so we politely declined. However, since we had decided not to name the brands of canned food we had tested for BPA contamination, we removed SIGG's brand name from our consumer guide on how to avoid BPA exposure. Wasik posted his own statement on the SIGG website attacking EWG's report. He added: SIGG bottles are in fact lined with a proprietary non-toxic, water-based resin which has been refined over decades of study and is extremely safe & stable.... SIGG bottles have been thoroughly tested in Europe to ensure 0% leaching of any substance - no trace of BPA, BPB or any phthalates...We are upset about the misinformation which has circulated and are working feverishly to clear the good name of SIGG. Wasik even disputed EWG's description of SIGG's bottle liner as "plastic." It's hard to understand why. Plastic is a generic term that encompasses a wide variety of flexible man-made materials. The "Facts on Plastic" website of the American Chemistry Council, the Washington-based lobby for the chemical and plastics industries, goes into great detail about epoxy resin, popularized during the Eisenhower era. In the same vein, the Society of the Plastics Industry website lists "epoxy" among a number of "plastic resins" whose makers and users are represented by the trade association. Wasik's blustery description of the unnamed "resin" in SIGG bottles now seems a disingenuous distraction. As his recent bulletin, also carefully crafted, makes plain, the stuff was nothing more nor less than epoxy resin, whose "key building block," according to the American Chemistry Council, is BPA. For many consumers, the question has transcended the issue of BPA. It's, can you trust this company?
 
LeRoy Family Loses Tavern On The Green License To Dean J. Poll, Boathouse Manager Top
It could now be called Boathouse on the Green. The Department of Parks announced that Tavern on the Green, the landmark restaurant in Central Park, will have a new operator: Dean J. Poll, who runs the Central Park Boathouse restaurant. Mr. Poll has taken the franchise away from the current license holder, the family of the late restaurateur Warner LeRoy, which also sought to maintain its control of the license, which expires Dec. 31.
 
Kim Davis: National Healthcare Reinsurance Pool Top
The delay until September of legislative action on health care reform provides a critically needed time out so that the Obama administration and legislators can hit the reset button. We are heading for increasing partisan rancor and a wasted opportunity unless the major players in this effort focus on the problem they are trying to solve and not the political points they are trying to score. The current health care debate is dispiriting: Republicans ignore that we already have a poorly functioning universal health care system, and Democrats want only the political victory of "covering the uninsured," irrespective of whether the legislation actually brings about fundamental reform the system so badly requires. The centerpiece of this debate is the "pubic option" which Democrats tout as the only mechanism to force change in the insurance industry and Republicans view as the first step to a single payer, federally run plan. There is another way to reform the health care insurance market that should work for both parties. As a starting point, the debate about the feasibility and cost of universal health insurance misses the point that universal health care coverage already exists as mandatory emergency room care. No politician, Republican or Democrat, has argued that we should reverse current law requiring emergency rooms to treat patients who walk in, regardless of ability to pay. Once we acknowledge that we have universal coverage, we can avoid the silly ideological battles about whether it is a desirable goal and focus on the critical issue of how to transform our highly inefficient system of providing this coverage to a more comprehensive and economically sustainable one. A grand bipartisan bargain is available for the taking. Republicans need to accept the notion of universal care and a functional health care safety net for all of our citizens in the form of subsidies for the purchase of insurance; Democrats need to accept that we need the market to determine how best to deliver health care, by implication empowering individual choice and allowing insurance companies to price policies based on risk and consumer preferences. Setting aside the compelling moral reasons for having an effective national health care system, we cannot, as a matter of rational economic and health care policy, withhold routine medical care from our citizens nor bankrupt individuals who incur large annual health care bills. To the latter point, it is indisputably true that individuals suffer at random from many serious, even fatal medical conditions, from traffic crash injuries to breast cancer, environmental exposures to genetic disorders, etc.; it is right that our society should provide those people with a meaningful safety net both with respect to appropriate treatment and its economic consequences. One pragmatic, nonpartisan step to achieving such a goal is to create a National Health care Reinsurance Pool (NHRP). All insurers who write health care policies would be required to participate in this pool and, in turn, would be able to purchase reinsurance for payouts that exceed an annual amount. The cost of the reinsurance would be established such that the NHRP would operate at a breakeven level. By creating one large national pool to absorb catastrophic risk, the NHRP is an efficient mechanism to fairly distribute the ruinous costs that millions of Americans bear each year. Of course, for the NHRP to work, all Americans would have to have health care insurance and insurance companies would be required to offer policies irrespective of preexisting conditions with the NHRP as a backstop for the catastrophic risk portion of health care coverage. However, insurance companies would have the flexibility to offer consumers an array of specific choices such as deductibles, out-of-network costs, reimbursements for routine visits and prescription drug coverage, to name a few examples. As importantly, insurers need to have the flexibility to price policies in a way that provides clear economic incentives for healthy behavior. If you smoke, are preventably overweight, drink too much, don't exercise or otherwise don't take reasonable steps to maintain your health, you should suffer an economic consequence in the form of higher premiums. While we can't expect individuals to be educated consumers of health care individually, it is patronizing to assume that individuals can't figure out which insurance policies best meet their needs. The insurance companies need to act as the bargaining agents with doctors and providers and the consumers should judge which insurance company offers the services they want and are their best advocates. In a world in which insurance companies cannot deny coverage and they participate in a national reinsurance pool that largely mitigates the risk of adverse selection, their success will depend on attracting consumers as a function of both the flexibility of the policies they write and the quality and effectiveness of the coverage they provide. Moreover, the market may develop in such a way that major providers of health care such as hospitals and doctors will form consortia that will be able to create captive insurance companies and essentially serve the consumers directly without using traditional insurance companies as third party intermediaries. The best analog would be to think of something like the Mayo clinic which provides coverage directly to patients and participates in the NHRP to mitigate the risk of catastrophic occurrences in their patient population. Our health care system does a very good job for the majority of Americans but a poor job for an important and growing minority of the population. This failing is driving everyone's costs up. Even for those who now enjoy the benefits of our health care system, premiums are rising at unsustainable levels. We can improve this situation. There is no simple or easy solution, but we can do better with the combination of a national health care reinsurance pool and a truly competitive insurance market. That combination is the best "public option." More on Health Care
 
Broncos Suspend Brandon Marshall For Remainder Of Preseason Top
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall, openly unhappy with the Denver Broncos, was suspended by the team through Sept. 5 for what Coach Josh McDaniels called "detrimental" conduct. Marshall, who has brooded since demanding a trade and asking for a new contract, was informed of the suspension by McDaniels on Friday. "We tried to handle this situation with Brandon as privately and professionally as we could throughout the entire process with he and his agent, Kennard McGuire," McDaniels said at a news conference. "This morning, we made the decision as an organization to go ahead and suspend Brandon and that suspension will last through Sept. 5th. We'll look forward to having him back on Sept. 6th as we begin our preparations for Cincinnati" in a Sept. 13 opener. McDaniels did not single out a specific episode but said the suspension resulted from a series of incidents. "He was given a warning Wednesday about his conduct being detrimental to the club and his actions didn't really change after that warning," McDaniels said. "That leads us to today." The warning to Marshall was issued prior to Wednesday's practice, McDaniels said. Marshall then went out during pre-practice warmups and walked while the rest of the team ran. He punted a ball away instead of handing it to a ball boy and swatted a pass thrown to him. His actions were caught on video and broadcast by KMGH-TV. Marshall told ESPN on Thursday night he wasn't trying to force a trade through insubordination but that frustration got the best of him. Marshall, who had 206 receptions the past two seasons, is also upset with what he feels was the team's misdiagnosis of a hip injury that required offseason surgery. He pulled a hamstring during the first weekend of training camp and didn't return until a week ago. The receiver apparently was held out of practice Thursday as punishment for the churlish display, but McDaniels wouldn't discuss it afterward. "I'm not going into it," the coach said. "If they're not ready or able, they're not out here." McGuire didn't immediately return a phone call Friday. McGuire was out of the country until Monday. McDaniels said Marshall didn't play against the Seahawks because he wasn't prepared to take the field. Marshall also missed the team's exhibition opener against San Francisco two weeks ago because he was on trial in Atlanta, where he was acquitted of a misdemeanor battery charge. Prosecutors had accused him of beating his then-girlfriend. Marshall hoped the acquittal would give him leverage for a new deal in Denver or elsewhere. He was angered when the Broncos prohibited teammates from saying they were happy for Marshall about the verdict. That's when Marshall began spending more time between drills with the scout team and the defensive unit instead of his fellow offensive players.
 
Microsoft Holds Secret 'Screw Google' Meetings In D.C. Top
Microsoft's chief Washington lobbyist has been convening regular meetings attended by the company's outside consultants that have become known by some beltway insiders as "screw Google" meetings, DailyFinance has learned. More on Microsoft
 
Michael Winship: Even Camelot Needed Health Care Top
Toward the end of George McGovern's failed presidential bid in 1972, I was helping advance a bus trip for vice presidential candidate Sargent Shriver. The final weekend of the campaign, his caravan would start in New Hampshire and work its way down the Eastern seaboard, holding rallies along the way and winding up in Washington, DC, just before Election Day. As we spoke with mayors whose cities would be visited, the draw wasn't Shriver but the news that his brother-in-law, Senator Ted Kennedy, would be accompanying him. Even though Chappaquiddick had taken place just a little more than three years before, it was the Kennedy charisma, the power of that family that still got even the most seasoned local politico excited. Imagine how popular we were a few days later when we had to go back to tell them Teddy wasn't coming. His bad back from that near fatal plane crash in 1964 made a long bus journey impossible to endure. Shriver still drew crowds but it just wasn't the same. Nearly twenty years later, I ran into Kennedy on an escalator at the AFL-CIO convention in Detroit as he arrived to make a speech. No bodyguards (visible, anyway), no entourage. I thought that I had never seen him look so healthy and vigorous. The gregariousness that made him such a consummate politician was on full display as we chatted and he loudly greeted union officials as we ascended, each a hail fellow, well met. To those belonging to the post-baby boomer generations, it may be difficult to comprehend the change that took place in America when Ted Kennedy's older brother Jack became President in 1961 -- although the successful embracing of the Obama candidacy by young people comes close. As we ended the years of the Eisenhower administration, even though the nation was more prosperous than ever, there was a grayness to everyday life that seemed to shift to Technicolor with the advent of those brief Kennedy years, like Dorothy shaking off the dust of Kansas for Oz. John F. Kennedy's presidential race against Richard Nixon split my family neatly in two. My dad and older brother were for Nixon, my mother and I favored JFK (but I still have a gold Nixon tie clip my father prized, with an engraved caricature of Tricky Dick that looks more like Bob Hope than the presidential incubus we all came to know and love). My father and brother came around. I witnessed Kennedy's inauguration on the elementary school's TV set, and was allowed to stay up late to watch the inaugural balls. My mother kept scrapbooks about Jack and Jackie and Caroline and John-John. All of us snapped up stories about family life in the White House and wept when the President died in Dallas. A few years later we would do the same for Bobby. As time went by we would learn that we had been fooled about a lot of it; that the Wizard was a man behind a curtain, that much of the Camelot legend's glitter was media hype as bogus as fool's gold. But there remained about the Kennedy family a sort of grand, Shakespearean sublimity that applied as equally to the hubris and heartbreak as the good luck and achievement. Or, in the words of playwright, journalist and Republican Clare Boothe Luce, cited in some of this week's obituaries, "Where else but in gothic fiction, where else among real people could one encounter such triumphs and tragedies, such beauty and charm and ambition and pride and human wreckage, such dedication to the best and lapses into the mire of life; such vulgar, noble, driven, generous, self-centered, loving, suspicious, devious, honorable, vulnerable, indomitable people?" But how interesting that despite their grossest and most callow foibles and failings, throughout the life and times of the three Kennedy brothers who survived their older brother Joe there was a deep, moral concern for the nation's health that continued right up through Ted Kennedy's death. Notice in their memories of him this week how many friends and colleagues mentioned help that Senator Kennedy got for them during medical crises of their own. Vice President Joe Biden remembered that when his two sons were recovering from the car crash that took the life of his wife and daughter in 1972, Kennedy "was on the phone with me literally ever day in the hospital... I'd turn around and there would be some specialist from Massachusetts, a doc I had never even asked for, literally sitting in the room with me." And in Thursday's Washington Post, Howard Kurtz reported that, "Chris Matthews, a Type 2 diabetic, spoke of Kennedy calling him with advice after the 'Hardball' host had an attack of hypoglycemia. Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist, recalled on CNN that when his father had received a cancer diagnosis, Kennedy called and 'gave me the name of one of the world's foremost experts in cancer treatment. He said, "He's expecting your call. I just talked to him." And he helped pave the way to get my father the treatment that, frankly, saved his life.'" Perhaps such concern was inspired by the example of the matriarch Rose's selfless devotion to service in the name of the Catholic Church or simply all the time the Kennedy family has spent in hospital wards through the years, nursing or mourning their own. The first time I ever heard the dreaded phrase "socialized medicine" was during John F. Kennedy's presidency, when the GOP fought his administration's attempts at health care reform. And during his own, all too brief presidential campaign in 1968, when Bobby Kennedy told audiences that decent medical care should not be a luxury of the rich, he quoted Aristotle: "If we believe men have any personal rights at all, then they must have an absolute moral right to such a measure of good health as society can provide." The only one of the brothers to live beyond the age of fifty and make it to senior citizenship, Ted Kennedy honed his skills as a legislator over nearly as many decades in the US Senate, and universal health care was, in his words, the cause of his life. Through his years there, Kennedy pushed for it incrementally with the Americans with Disabilities Act, creation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-Chip), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act allowing folks to hang onto their insurance after leaving a job, the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), increased funds for AIDS and cancer research and community medical centers. But many believe the time for increments has passed. In Edward Moore Kennedy's name, it's time to do the right thing, the big thing; time to revive flagging support and step up to universal reform. Already there has been far too much shouting and far too little healing. In Newsweek last month, Kennedy wrote with his longtime speechwriter and advisor Bob Shrum, "I've thought in an even more powerful way than before about what this will mean to others. And I am resolved to see to it this year that we create a system to ensure that someday, when there is a cure for the disease I now have, no American who needs it will be denied it." Ted Kennedy, resolute in his faith and passionately, unabashedly liberal to the last breath, said he wanted "a good ending for myself." Universal health care -- at its best with a public option -- would be it. ############ Michael Winship is senior writer of the weekly public affairs program Bill Moyers Journal , which airs Friday night on PBS. Check local airtimes or comment at The Moyers Blog at www.pbs.org/moyers. More on Barack Obama
 
Harry Moroz: Wasted or Wasteful? Are Bureaucrats All That Bad? Top
The recent glorification of Cash for Clunkers is depressing. Although the program was not all that popular with the American public and its benefits were questionable , its lightning fast impact impressed the hyperactive news media. The Obama administration, beleaguered by endless weeks of health care drudgery, lapped up the positive PR. The stimulus package, on the other hand, has received the cold shoulder, both from ordinary Americans and from the media. The $787 billion measure, which is in the process of righting the economy, gets very little love. Indeed, studies have begun to trickle out tentatively calling the stimulus a success. Even conservative commentators are pondering what the likelihood of a successful stimulus means for future Republican administrations. And recent Gallup polling shows that Americans are becoming more optimistic about the direction of the economy: 40% believe it is improving, 7 percent more than last month. However, only 41% of Americans think that the stimulus package will make the economy better in the short term. Worse, an Economist/YouGov poll found that a dismal 24% of Americans believe the stimulus package is working. Further, news outlets are making a cottage industry out of stimulus criticism. For example, the investigative journalism site ProPublica is doing a fantastic job of aggregating news stories on misspent stimulus funds and raising questions about how the administration is calculating its all-important "jobs created and saved" metric. The gulf between the opinion of economists and the American public is generally quite wide, so perhaps the divergence in judgment about the stimulus should be unsurprising. Yet, the package includes lots of good things for most Americans, from tax cuts (even if unrecognizable ) to increased unemployment benefits and subsidies for health insurance for the unemployed. The divergence of opinion is more likely the result of a failure on the part of stimulus proponents to explain why and how government investment - that is, spending by bureaucrats - is actually a good thing. Instead of defining why the Department of Energy and HUD and HHS and other agencies (most of the time) spend taxpayer dollars effectively and efficiently - and so will spend stimulus dollars effectively and efficiently - there is a tendency for the administration simply to explain that it will ensure that these agencies will not spend money badly , that it will root out fraud and abuse. That is why Vice President Biden, not a lower-level administration official, is running stimulus oversight: so far, he has primarily been in charge of damage control, not coordinating stimulus spending among agencies. Government stimulus spending is presented by the administration as a necessary evil. In the absence of an argument for why spending by the government makes sense, the American public has been captured by the conservative viewpoint that paints all bureaucrats as wasteful and unthinking. A similar situation has occurred in the debate about health care reform. Conservative opponents of reform have forced reformers to explain why government will not ration health care services, rather than explain how measures like comparative effectiveness research can improve care. There is much to be said for how well the federal bureaucracy is functioning under President Obama. Just one example is the coordination between the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency to create livable communities connected to affordable housing, an initiative that breaks down the historical and illogical boundaries between the two agencies. Another example, more to the point, is the expenditure of the stimulus's vast sums. No federal agency has yet buckled under the weight of the spending, funds have been directed relatively quickly from Washington to state governments, and the stimulus is more or less on track with the CBO's predicted spending timetable . The Obama administration should not be afraid to explain that the federal bureaucracy has responded quite well to the gargantuan task of spending the stimulus. Otherwise, progressives will find themselves in the untenable position of arguing that spending is good but the spenders are bad.
 
Assembyman Hakeem Jeffries: 65 Brooklyn Condo Developments In Or Near Financial Distress Top
Sixty-five residential buildings in central Brooklyn are either financially troubled or on the verge of distress, according to a recent survey conducted by Democratic Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries. These properties are market-rate residential buildings at least four stories high located in the neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Bedford�"Stuyvesant. Many are luxury developments in different stages of completion.
 
Ellen Sterling: Congressmember Shelley Berkely: The Next Senator From Nevada? (Please!) Top
First, some background: I came to Nevada from New York, with certain expectations. And, because my life back east had included political involvement, those expectations included the same out west. I quickly learned that I -- to quote a phrase -- wasn't in Kansas any more; that most things here were different. One of those things was in the arena of politics. Here, for example, it was too often issues be damned. Now that might be because I was new and, back east, had made friends through political activism. Here, politics and friends were separate issues. Anyway, a woman whose intelligence I respected until she said it, actually told me in 2006 that she "had to vote" for the incumbent junior senator John Ensign because "he was a veterinarian, you know. He's good to animals." After that statement -- delivered in all seriousness -- her intelligence was deeply suspect. Okay, then. Now I believe that, short of criminal activity, the personal lives of politicians are not anyone else's business. If asked to honestly analyze that attitude, I'd be forced to say it's not because I am taking the moral high road. It is simply the desire to keep my mind clear of a way too-monumental amount of other people's business. (Despite everything, I believe Elliot Spitzer is still preferable.) Anyway, it's taken me awhile to get to know the political people out here. I'd first heard about my Congressmember, Shelley Berkley, from Steve Israel, the Congressman representing New York's Second Congressional District, whom I've known for quite awhile (and who, until I heard Berkely, I'd thought had the best sense of humor in politics). "You're moving to Nevada?" he asked. "Hope you'll be in Shelley Berkley's district. She's great ... And when you meet her, tell her you know me." I took care of the latter request briefly at a rally and she responded positively. That was nice but it didn't tell me much about her. Then, I joined the Red Rock Democratic Club , filled with locals participating in the now successful move to turn the state blue. Headed by a guy named Steve Fernlund, a transplanted activist from Minnesota, the club is filled with people who are interested and interesting. Last year, I heard Berkely speak there about her visits to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to visit soldiers from here who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her stories were poignant and pointed -- she was vigilant in working to ensure "her veterans" didn't suffer. She was, and is, a terrific speaker, but I didn't learn much more about her. That is, until the other night when she was the program at the August Red Rock meeting. After hearing her speak, I have found an elected official to admire in every way possible -- not because she's a character like our high-profile (and amusing) mayor, but because she exhibits character all too often lacking in pubic officials. Greeted as a friend (above with Fernlund) by the membership she spoke about her district where "when the bottom fell out of our economy, it hit this community in a disproportionate way. One out of 47 homes in my district has been foreclosed. The unemployment rate in this county is 13.1 percent and, by the time the next figures are released it will hit 15 percent." Scary stuff indeed. Berkley went on to note that "If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was August of an election year," and talked about the passions -- and disinformation -- that today's issues evoke. As the wife of a nephrologist she spoke of the need for such preventive care as bone density testing and how this care is being cut way back. She talked about the vast number of uninsured in her district and said, "These things need to be fixed and changed but here we are spending our time on death squads, mandated sex change operations -- I, personally, believe you can be any sex you choose -- and other things that aren't real." She talked sense about healthcare, energy (quoting a former public official in saying the desire to put the nation's nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, 90 miles from Las Vegas, would make this "the nation's energy suppository") and the economy. She mentioned the constituent who questioned why Nevada, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, representing the state "didn't get a s***load of money" from the stimulus package. "Well," she said, "maybe we would have if Senator Ensign had voted for it." Putting the challenge our nation faces today into historical perspective, she mentioned the Civil War, World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. "We managed to overcome the challenges and we will again....When we emerge on the other side of this we will be better." Great words but, right now, small comfort. But then she spoke of herself. "Representing my hometown is, for me, a tremendous honor." During the Q and A Berkely talked about various health insurance pans. "If you want a Cadillac plan, you can choose it. If a Buick plan will suit your needs, you can choose that." (I personally believe the French healthcare system is terrific. If possible, I shall choose a Citroen plan.) When an audience member said the old saying, "I don't belong to any organized party. I'm a Democrat" is, too sadly, true, Congresswoman Berkley won me over completely with her honesty. She was quick to agree that the Party leaders must be more outspoken. "We always underestimate the opposition and if we don't get our act together and speak with conviction about the things we care about we will lose." Through it all, Shelley Berkley was passionate, animated and exhibited a sharp wit and deep knowledge. Finally, at the end, came the big question: Steve Fernlund asked her if she was considering a challenge to the already-challenged-in-so-many-ways Senator John Ensign. she said, "This isn't an announcement, but I'm seriously contemplating a run for the US Senate. "When I say 'good night' to my husband I'm not saying 'good morning' to someone else." You go Shelley. Make the run and there'll be lots of people running alongside you.
 
Michael Steele's Medicare Rhetoric Incompatible With GOP's Visions Of Sweeping Change: National Journal Top
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's pledge this week to "protect Medicare" might have been more convincing had it not come five months after nearly four-fifths of House Republicans voted to literally end the program as we know it for all Americans younger than 55. More on Health Care
 
Emily Blunt & John Krasinski Are Engaged Top
John Krasinski and Emily Blunt will soon be husband and wife. The Office star, 29, and actress, 26, who have been dating since November 2008, are engaged, his rep confirms to PEOPLE.
 
Kevin Grandia: Maddow on Bonner and Adfero's Astroturfing for Coal Top
On her show last night MSNBC's Rachel Maddow lambasted the latest coal lobby astroturf campaign for using generic clip art stock photos for their FACES of coal campaign. I guess the coal lobbyists behind the campaign couldn't find any real people willing to pose as pro-coal cheerleaders and instead had to rely on stock photo stand-ins instead. This story was first uncovered by the hardworking folks at Appalachian Voices who are fighting to save the mountains of Appalachia from the hugely destructive and toxic industry process of mountain top removal. Maddow also gave a quick shout-out to DeSmogBlog on her show presumably for our work to uncover the high-powered Washington, DC public relations company, Adfero Group, that appears to be working behind the scenes on the FACES astroturf campaign.  Brad Johnson at the WonkRoom reported yesterday that Adfero Group also has significant ties to the Republican Party. Here's a quick transcript of Maddow's comments where she compares the FACES campaign to the recent Bonner and Associates fake letter scandal, calling them both the "most blatant fake grassroots corporate PR effort ever": Maddow: When the coal industry stole letterhead from the NAACP and used it to write letters to Congress to make it look like the NAACP was against cap and trade political science textbooks across the country had to be scrapped and re-written to account for the new, most blatant fake grassroots corporate PR effort ever now they've topped even that. Eventually we'll just scrap political science textbook altogether and just send everyone to advertising school instead. Maddow should be congratulated for keeping on the astroturf story while most of her peers at other major TV outlets have ignored it. It is important that this undemocratic practice continue to be dragged out from the backrooms and exposed.
 
Jeff Biggers: Now is the Time, Al Gore: Coalfield Uprising and Heroes Need National Defense, Green Jobs Top
Now is the time for all good greens, rednecks, social entrepreneurs, hellraisers, Repower America and Al Gore to come to the aid of their fellow citizens in the Appalachian coalfields. While Big Coal Gone Wild continues to unravel in its bizarre pr campaigns this summer, coalfield residents and advocates from around the country have been organizing one of the most important national campaigns to get our nation beyond coal, to launch clean energy jobs, to slow the grind of climate destabilization, and halt one of the most egregious human rights and environmental violations--mountaintop removal. And they need your help. NOW. The coalfields are in the throes of a state of emergency: Protesters have been met with violence, and saddled with reactionary and costly legal procedures; while 3 million pounds of ANFO explosives devastate the mountain communities and displace citizens every day, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has been wracked with scandal and embarrassing inaction; green job advocates desperately need national supporters and investors. In a line: Whether you live (or are vacationing) in Martha's Vineyard, Yellowstone National Park, Washington DC or anywhere between San Francisco and Boston, you are probably using electricity generated by mountaintop removal coal, and ravaged coalfield residents now need your help to transition away from this abomination--and the help of Al Gore, Repower America, green job investors, lawyers, activists, educators and endowed supporters who can write a check for a defense fund. Here are a few ways to support coalfield residents and heroes, affect climate destabilization, and move our nation toward clean energy jobs: The "Made in America" Tour Should Add Some Pit-Stops in the Coalfields Last week, the Allliance for Climate Protection's Repower America campaign, in partnership with the Blue Green Alliance and its labor and environmental partners, launched a fabulous nationwide Made in America Jobs tour, going to the frontlines in the industrial heartland to spotlight the "benefits to American workers and businesses of transitioning to a clean energy economy that will create millions of jobs." Here's a link to the wonderful tour To go along with the 50 events in 22 states, it would be great if the Made in America tour could also add some events at ground zero in the battle to slow climate change and transition our country to clean energy--namely, the Appalachian and Midwestern coalfields. Last year at the Netroots Nation gathering in July in Texas, Al Gore made it clear that coal miners should be in the forefront of the green jobs movement. He declared: "Mountaintop mining is an atrocity... We should guarantee a job and health and sunshine to every coal miner." Green Jobs administrator Van Jones, who is currently at work on green jobs in the coalfields, told PowerShift activists in Washington DC on February 28 this year: "This movement also has to include the coal miners." He added. "We could have clean coal, and we could have unicorns pull our cars for us." West Virginia was ranked by Forbes Magazine last year as the worst state for business. Mountaintop removal, in particular, has destroyed any diversified economy or economic development, and led to soaring poverty rates. According to the CAP report on Green Economic Recovery, West Virginia could net 12,149 jobs through a green economic recovery program and jumpstart its economy. The Made in America Tour should visit the JOBS project in Mingo County, West Virginia, where coalfield residents have been meeting to discuss renewable energy options, manufacturing ideas, and setting up the infrastructure for investment in a biomass plant and clean energy jobs, and even sponsored an "Energy Independence Day" this summer. Or go to the JOBS website. or the Coal River Wind Project: www.coalriverwind.org Coalfield Uprising Supporters Need More Defense Funds In their fourth day of protest, courageous tree-sitters have scaled massive trees in the lush Appalachian forests in West Virginia--a region where 1.2 million acres of deciduous hardwoods in our nation's carbon sink have been clear cut and strip mined, and where one acre has more diversity than all of Europe's forests combined--and halted the blasting near a Edwight mountaintop removal site, in order to protect local citizens from fly rock, silica and heavy metal blasting showers, and erosion and flooding. However, two of the ground supporters were arrested yesterday, and now sit in jail with a $1,000 bail tab. One arrested supporter is Zoe Beavers, who stated, "I am on this mountain because I believe that every single West Virginian who is proud of being from 'Almost Heaven' should take a stand against mountaintop removal. I am here because DEP officials have failed to stop the blasting. I am putting my body and reputation on the line to do their job and stop the blasting. I served in our military so that we can all live in a country that does not exploit and destroy its land and people." Beavers graduated from Hurricane High School in June of 2000 and started basic training at Fort Jackson, SC in August of that year. During her five years of service, she was deployed in Iraq and Turkey and attained the rank of Sergeant. She is now an Americorps VISTA volunteer with the Student Environmental Action Coalition, a student-run organization working for environmental sustainability and social justice in the schools across the state. For more information, or to donate to the legal defense fund, click here. The WV DEP is infamously embroiled in scandal. On its own website, the WV DEP even admits it can't maintain proper data collection, due to staff vacancies. In the meantime, with both ground supporters arrested, the tree-sitters now need hundreds of ground supporters to come to their aid. To keep up on coalfield issues, visit: www.mountainjustice.org Daring Dragline Protesters Need Defense Funds, Too On June 18th, 12 brave activists, along with two investigative journalists, did something no high level Obama administration official has done--they went to a mountaintop removal site in West Virginia, the Twilight Massey Energy site, which has displaced residents and depopulated the area. Four protesters also occupied a 20-story dragline. The 12 protesters and 2 journalists were arrested and some very serious charges of assault and trespassing have been handed out. According to the supporters, "The journalists had their gear confiscated, media stolen out of cameras and as of today only one camera has been returned, damaged. All media and gear was loaded into the back of a Massey company truck by the Boone County Sheriffs office and then a Massey employee drove the gear to the Madison Court House." The protesters will return to court on September 3rd, and the four dragline activists are reportedly being charged with assault and facing 6 months in jail. According to the supporters, "This was a nonviolent protest, at no time did any of the protesters assault, physically or verbally, any of the miners.: A blog and film cliip on the action can been seen here. And tell your member of Congress to support the Clean Water Protection Act While your member of Congress is on vacation and back in the home district, now is the time to meet and greet and push them to support the Clean Water Protection Act, which will sharply reduce mountaintop removal coal mining, protect clean drinking water and the quality of life for Appalachian coalfield residents who face frequent catastrophic flooding and pollution or loss of drinking water as a result of mountaintop removal coal mining. For more information, and a direct link to your member of Congress, visit here. More on Climate Change
 
Dave Johnson: President Obama's Upcoming "Section 421 Tire Case" Trade Enforcement Decision Top
This post originally appeared at Campaign for America's Future (CAF) at their Blog for OurFuture as part of the Making It In America project. I am a Fellow with CAF. When China was accepted into the World Trade Organization, they agreed that if we experienced import surges of Chinese goods that caused "market disruption," we would be allowed to limit the import of those goods. The particular section of the agreement is called "Section 421." When the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determines that the level of imports from China cause or threaten to cause market disruption to American producers of competitive products, it proposes a remedy that can include quotas or other relief. The President of the United States then makes a decision whether to enforce that recommendation. President Bush repeatedly (seven times) refused to enforce Section 421 even when our own ITC found that American companies, factories and jobs were being lost. Bush claimed at the time that the destructive effects of dramatic, sudden increases in Chinese imports that Section 421 was meant to mitigate were actually good for the U.S. economy. Bush's policy was the opposite of "protectionism" -- it actually favored China's companies over our own! (I think we've seen how that has worked out.) Very soon we will have an opportunity to see where President Obama comes down on this issue . The ITC has decided by a 4-2 vote that the U.S. tire industry has been harmed by a large increase in imports. They have recommended increasing tariffs starting at 55%, falling to 35% over three years. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative now has to give its recommendation on this to the White House by Sept. 2. President Obama has until Sept. 17 to make a decision. This is just one week before the upcoming G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. There is considerable pressure on him to to signal that the US will restore trade balance and help manufacturing in America, by following the rules of the WTO that China agreed to. According to the United Steel Workers , which represents workers in the tire industry, thousands of jobs are being lost and tire plans in the US are shutting down. Also at this page is a chart from the ITC showing that the benefits of enforcing remedies "are two-and-a-half times greater than the costs" to consumers. Mike Elk wrote the other day at the Campaign for America's Future blog, President Obama stands at a crossroads in the fight to rebuild the American economy. President Obama has made a commitment in the past to uphold previously signed trade agreements. China, however, is violating these agreements by flooding the market with a massive 300 percent increase in tire imports in an attempt to wipe out American tire manufacturers. In 2004, China sent 14 million tires to the U.S. valued at $453 million. By last year, that had increased to 46 million tires valued at $1.7 billion. Mike also points out, Chinese importers, in conjunction with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, have ironically formed a lobbying front group ironically named American Coalition for Free Trade in Tires. The coalition is run by Jochum, Shore & Trossevin, a Washington D.C. lobby firm run by former Bush trade officials who are cashing in on their years of U.S. government service to advise foreign competitors. Jim Wansley, former USW Goodyear local president, testified about the impact of the closing of the Goodyear plant in Tyler, Texas where he had worked for 39 1/2 years: The closure put hundreds of workers, many of whom had given decades of service to the plant, out of work. The closure was devastating to the workers and their families, but it is also being felt throughout the community of Tyler, Texas. Tyler has a population of about 100,000. Like many small and medium-sized towns that depend on manufacturing for middle class jobs, the loss of these jobs has taken its toll. The Goodyear plant directly benefitted the local economy by supporting local small businesses who served as its suppliers and service providers. The plant also provided enormous indirect benefits. Jobs at the plant paid good wages and benefits, enabling workers to lead decent middle class lives, buy homes, send their kids to college, and save for retirement. These are the kind of jobs that support an entire community as families pay their doctor bills, buy new cars, and contribute to local charities. The plant and its workers were also an important source of tax revenue for the city, the county, and the state. . . . The victims will not only be the workers and their families, but the suppliers, service providers, local businesses, and entire communities that depend on the industry. In sum, there is an enormous cost to doing nothing. If more plants like Tyler close, we can expect to suffer total additional losses of almost a billion dollars per plant, per year. On the other hand, The Washington Post points out, If Obama backs the tariff, he risks upsetting the Chinese at a time when the United States needs China to keep buying U.S. government debt to fund stimulus efforts. This is not just an intellectual discussion. This, like all trade issues, is about American workers losing their livelihoods and communities losing their economic base. At the same time the policies of the Bush administration -- borrowing trillions of dollars from them while allowing our manufacturing base to deteriorate -- have placed China in a very strong position of economic advantage which gives them the power to demand concessions. For more information : USW fact sheets, background, other info related to tire trade case against China Statements by Senators, other lawmakers supportive of USW unfair trade case claim against Chinese tires More Members of Congress, Senate praise ITC ruling in tire trade case A post at TradeReform.org: Trade Community Awaits President's Decision on China Tire Safeguard Testimony of Senator Sherrod Brown before the U.S. ITC on the tire issue. Gilbert B. Kaplan, Former Deputy Assistant and Acting Assistant Secretary of the U. S. Department of Commerce, writing at Huffington Post on this and other trade issues with China . ManufactureThis.org: Making the Case for Relief from Chinese Tire Imports One group in opposition to this ruling is American tire distributors , who benefit from the low prices of Chinese imports. (Note this is published by the Chinese Xinhua News Agency.) More on China
 
Fake It Till You Make It: Placebos Are Getting More Effective Top
Merck was in trouble. In 2002, the pharmaceutical giant was falling behind its rivals in sales. Even worse, patents on five blockbuster drugs were about to expire, which would allow cheaper generics to flood the market. The company hadn't introduced a truly new product in three years, and its stock price was plummeting. In interviews with the press, Edward Scolnick, Merck's research director, laid out his battle plan to restore the firm to preeminence. Key to his strategy was expanding the company's reach into the antidepressant market, where Merck had lagged while competitors like Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline created some of the best-selling drugs in the world. "To remain dominant in the future," he told Forbes, "we need to dominate the central nervous system."
 
Fortune 's Stanley Bing: Goog The Underdog? Top
The massive machinery of the tech business is mobilizing against a common adversary. That's right, in spite of all it's done to transform our world and define free, open digital space, nobody in the business seems to like the Goog (GOOG). In fact, the operators of the Death Star in Redmond (MSFT) have reportedly taken the point on a new "screw Google" strategy that they are rolling out in Washington. It's always amazing to me how the most rapacious monopolistic capitalists -- opponents of even the most rational regulation that might affect their revenue picture -- hump it to Washington for highly targeted relief when they think a certain form of regulatory action would hurt their adversaries. The bottom line here seems to be that nobody is against ALL regulation. They're just against the unfair government intervention that has something to do with THEM. I've heard it in confabs, gatherings and business meetings, and you read about it in the reports of those sagacious analysts who have done us so little good over the years, particularly recently. Goog has jumped the shark. Goog is going to invade your backyard and drain your above-ground pool. Goog this. Goog that. Boo! Now here comes Microsoft to lead a band of other fiercely independent competitors who are seeking to make Washington do what they can't -- squash the Goog before, like a wild beast acquired as a baby, it grows to adult size and eats every living thing in sight. Dailyfinance.com reports that "one source familiar with the meetings says, 'Law Media Group has several people who work full-time on Google-bashing. Everybody knows Microsoft is trying to throw roadblocks at Google and knock them off their game. Microsoft is trying to harm Google in the regulatory, legal, and litigation arenas because they're having problems with Google in the competitive marketplace.'" No question that the Goog has pushed the envelope and continues to do so. Scanning books before they asked for permission to do so, for instance. Or doing creepy things with your gmail. Like, a few months ago I wrote a friend of mine on my gmail account, beginning the note with my usual inane salutation: "Dude!" As I continued to type my message, I noticed that a number of ads were scrolling down the righthand side of my screen. "Wax your surfboard!" one of them said. "Surfing vacations!" said another. That gave me the hiccups for a minute. They tell me that whole process is automated and they're NOT reading my mail. And of course I believe them. At the same time, you've got to wonder about the whole strategy of the anti-Googlers. First, because in my view Google is smart. Second, because if you bring down the biggest, snazziest ship in the armada the rest of your fleet may be sucked into the downdraft. Third, perhaps most importantly, has Washington, once engaged, ever produced a little bit of regulation? And would we all truly benefit from the closing of that frontier? Follow Stanley Bing on Twitter at twitter.com/thebingblog More on Microsoft
 
Pakistan Court Lifts Curbs On Scientist AQ Khan Who Sold Nuclear Secrets Top
A court in Pakistan has lifted the final restrictions on controversial nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, allowing him total freedom of movement. More on Pakistan
 
Rick Smith: 3 Ways to Jump-Start Your Career, Now Top
Let's face it, for the vast majority of people, work right now sucks. Budgets for the year have been all but spent (or cut). Bonus's this year will be crappy if they come at all, and forget about that big raise. Morale is low, people are frustrated with their jobs, and yet are clinging to them like deck-hands on the Titanic. But there is a bright side. Right now may be the ideal time to jump start your career. The fact is that the worst of times at work are also the best of times to stand out. Demonstrating a winning attitude and performance beyond your peers now will be remembered long after this current recession is in the history books. It is a universal truth that in any competitive environment, the greatest separation occurs during hard times, not good. Lance Armstrong once told me that the race is exciting to watch when everyone is flying downhill, but the race is won on the long, painful uphill stretches. Jim Collins shared research findings with me that pointed to a similar lesson - when studying industry performance over long periods of time, it is during the recessions when the most dramatic change in competitive position occurs among companies. And this pattern is certainly no less true in the workplace. When times are good, everyone is working hard. There is money to spare, so everyone is fighting hard to perform, to get the raise and the big bonus. Managers expect their people to bust their butts. But in bad times, the majority takes a break. Why put in the extra effort if there are no immediate rewards? What is there to be positive about? Managers don't expect a lot from their people in a down market. But they certainly hope someone will step up. Here are three things that you can do between now and the end of the year to dramatically stand out from your peers - actions that will surely be rewarded down the road: 1) Put in the extra effort, now. Show up early. Volunteer for additional assignments. Act like there is an ongoing competition for a great promotion, and you are going to win. This is NOT about brown-nosing. It is simply a matter of putting in the extra time and effort now, when others are resting. 2) Be a positive leader. You can bet that in this market, your boss has a parade of people lining up outside of their office to complain. The talk around the water color is negative. Be a vocal force against negativity. Leadership, at it's essence, is about inspiring people toward a brighter future. Now is a great time to demonstrate that you have a positive vision and are an inspirational force in your organization. Those at the top will certainly take notice. 3) Get creative. When business is slow, people seem to settle into the daily grind. Low motivation locks the status quo securely in place. But my research clearly shows that those that break out in their careers don't just do what they are told - they do what needs to be done, what adds the most value. Now is the time to look around and find ways to do things differently. Finding creative approaches to problems now will lead to amplified results when the market comes back. Now is the time to stretch, not settle. You will stand out in the short term, and be rewarded for it when the sun returns. Oh, and one bonus idea: try out Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist : the social network for career-minded Gen-Y'rs and the people who want to hire them? Check it out! This post was originally published at RickSmith.me Subscribe to Rick's Blog Friend Rick Smith on Facebook >
 
Beth Arnold: Ted Kennedy: A Whole Human Being Top
Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy passed on, and the world woke from its lethargy and paid attention. Homage is being paid to Kennedy across the globe, from Ireland to Bangladesh . But while the good senator from Massachusetts is silent and still, lying in repose in brother President John F. Kennedy's presidential library where thousands are expected to pay their respects, thousands more in an Internet mob has digitally armed itself to seek revenge. They see themselves as Righteous to now go after the iconic dead Kennedy's neck. When someone dies, is the real impact of his or her life measured by how much passion is shown--pro or con, good or bad? Does this explain how much he or she has expanded consciousness in our Universe? Ted Kennedy was a man, even if his personal stature, reputation, and family put him in a category larger than life. What is a man, and what are our traits? A brief discussion: According to the Apple Dictionary : man |man| noun ( pl. men |men|) 1 an adult human male... 2 a human being of either sex; a person : God cares for all races and all men. • (also Man) [in sing. ] human beings in general; the human race : places untouched by the ravages of man.... • a person with the qualities often associated with males such as bravery, spirit, or toughness : she was more of a man than any of them.... Philosophies take the character of man into account and suggest values and aspirations, habits and patterns to produce a life well lived. We are advised how to address mistakes we will no doubt make because we're human. I would like to add this to the above definition: One who will go through life on a journey of learning and growing from the mistakes we all make, accept, and try to recover from. As we all know, Ted Kennedy made plenty of mistakes. But like all of us, he was a man of light and dark--yin and yang--or whatever label one wants place on our human duality . From Wikipedia : The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley. Yin (literally the 'shady place' or 'north slope') is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang (literally the 'sunny place' or 'south slope') is the brightly lit portion. As the sun moves across the sky, yin and yang gradually trade places with each other, revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed. Yin is usually characterized as slow, soft, insubstantial, diffuse, cold, wet, and tranquil. It is generally associated with the feminine, birth and generation, and with the night. Yang, by contrast, is characterized as hard, fast, solid, dry, focused, hot, and aggressive. It is associated with masculinity and daytime.[3] On Election Night, 1992, when Bill Clinton was running for president, I'd volunteered to assist with some VIP guests who were flying into Little Rock. Stationed at a hotel to welcome them, I found myself in the bathroom with two women who had volunteered for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee 's first big campaign. He was running for the Senate against Arkansas Senator Dale Bumpers, a Democrat. I had popped into the bathroom when two other women stepped in. They didn't know I was there, and the venom spewing out of these "Christian" women's mouths toward their Democratic rivals, including the Clintons, made me ill. But I kept my mouth shut. Anyone who knows me would tell you that this in itself was a miracle from God. I am not known for keeping my opinions to myself, which, as you might imagine, turns out well and not-so-well for me. But people who identify themselves as "Christian" and then act like anything but--absolutely no compassion--are truly repellent in my estimation. Hypocrisy isn't a virtue that I admire. In the summer of 1972, I moved to McLean, Va., lived with my uncle and aunt and worked for Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan on Capitol Hill. I'd just graduated from high school and was a hippie girl who wore mini-dresses to work. With the Vietnam War and Watergate, our government's hypocrisy was much on my mind. I saw myself as part of the alternative culture--definitely not the straight line. Senator Ted Kennedy was giving a speech to which I was invited. But even I thought, hmmm, I'll go but he certainly behaved badly at Chappaquiddick. Don't think I'm going to like him. I saw him with how many others? Hundreds? I don't remember that but what compelled my attention and has stayed in my memory was that Ted Kennedy lifted me up and out of the typical bullshit propaganda that was constantly being spewed on Capitol Hill. He gave a riveting and inspirational speech that drew wild applause and earned him the respect and admiration of his audience. Yes, he definitely had the Kennedy charisma, but it was more than that: I believed in his words and ideas, in his recognition of problems in our country and the ways he wanted to fix them--the things he tirelessly worked for during his long and distinguished career--policies that would help the common man. Yes, Ted Kennedy made a tragic and deadly mistake, and he had to live with the ruinous mistakes of others. We all do--in varying degrees. It takes much terrorizing internal work, including forgiving ourselves for countless errors, for any of us to survive this life. We struggle to bring our yin and yang together, learn and grown, face and replace our personal shadows with light. At Senator Kennedy's speech, I discovered that I'd misjudged the man. I hope that now I would have the wisdom to confer more compassion on any and all in tragic circumstances. It is my belief that Ted Kennedy came to terms with himself, lived and died a whole man--a whole person. This would be a grand goal for any of us. From the NYDailyNews.com : Longtime parishioner Melba Thompson, 90, said of Kennedy as she left midday Mass: "He has done more than anybody to stay alive for everybody else, and now he's tired, and God is taking care of him. And you can't ask any more." Beth Arnold lives and writes in Paris. To see more of her work, go to www.betharnold.com . More on Ted Kennedy
 
Una LaMarche: Project Runway Episode 2 Recap: Hot Pregnant Messes Top
Missed last week's episode? Click here for a recap or here to get to know the designers. This week, Project Runway unveiled its official Season 6 opening credits, in which the designers scurry around and shout would-be catchphrases whenever Heidi pauses in her monologue. Near the beginning, Mitchell shouts "Let's do this!" using a voice and stance that suggests he has been in no fewer than three productions of A Chorus Line (and just writing that made me realize Project Runway kind of is A Chorus Line , only with designers instead of dancers and Heidi and Tim instead of the director and choreographer. How amazing would ProjRun: The Musical Be? Someone get on this, now . You are welcome.) It is morning at the apartments. Malvin, in what will later be revealed to be ironic foreshadowing, cloaks himself, cocoon-like, in curtains while Mitchell rather self-awarely opines to the rest of the guys that America thinks he sucks. Over at the lady headquarters, the women have made a pact to quit sleeping and eating to focus on their designs. This is a joke, but looking at Carol Hannah makes one wonder. Out on the runway, Heidi presents the challenge: they will be designing a look for a supermodel with a "big" surprise... her ginormous pregnant belly! Out comes Rebecca Romijn (who will henceforth be known as RR because I have to Google her every time I need to spell her last name), who, if you remember, was carrying twins back in the fall of 2008, where we are still trapped in time. Heidi instructs that the designers must create a form-fitting, "pregnancy-chic" outfit -- as opposed to, I guess, something that would make her look dumpy and whale-sized. In case anyone was confused. Back in the work room, each designer receives a fake belly for their mannequin that resembles a sack of flour equipped with a Velcro strap. Christopher, who is inexplicably wearing a crocheted army helmet, quips, "Is this where the baby goes?" Ra'mon Lawrence notes that RR looks to be in her "early second semester." Logan drawls that he's "never really had a lot of pregnant women in my life." Well, at least none that he knew about. Zing! At this point I have to note that I am developing a fairly baseless hatred for Shirin, who seems to me to be sort of a Kenley 2.0 (Kenley, by the way, is out of jail and getting her own reality show , hopefully to be called Wheres My Tulle? kind of like that old show What's My Line? Anyway...) I feel I have to admit my prejudice so that you can take anything I say about her with a grain of salt. My friend Jess, who cohosts the viewing party I attend each week (since I tragically do not have cable), finds Shirin "kind of adorable." Hopefully we will not come to fisticuffs over this -- I need her TV. In my defense, though, my friend Arcelie's supercute baby Kingston, who is five months old and who we are already forcing to become a Project Runway fan, began to cry when Shirin came onscreen last night. Speaking of Shirin, she is making a dress and a coat, because "other people will just be making dresses." Um, way to be different? Carol Hannah admits that she once made a maternity dress for a bridesmaid. Ra'mon Lawrence is going for something tailored and refined, as he expects everyone else will be going the drape-y, Grecian route. Althea is crafting an intricate ribbon bodice. Louise is, shockingly, doing a 1920s-esque dress that looks a lot like her dress from the first challenge. Malvin, who my husband insists looks like "a Vietnamese Emile Hirsch," is going for a super-conceptual "Mother Hen" look. Mitchell, bless his heart, has decided to make gathered short shorts. When he first stitches them it looks like he's kidding because they are enormous , but sadly he is not kidding. (For the record, Kingston cried again at the sight of the shorts. He's like a baby barometer for lack of fierceness). Tim comes in for his traditional assessment. He has nice things to say about the work of Althea and Shirin. Louise is concerned that her garment looks too much like lingerie, and Tim tells her to trust her gut. Actually what he says is "If your viscera says uh-oh..." which I hereby nominate for the title of his autobiography. If Your Viscera Says Uh-Oh: The Tim Gunn Story . Right? Moving on. Malvin has crafted what he describes as "an egg in a nest," but which looks more like a pregnancy bump sling. He informs Tim that he will be crafting jodhpurs, "like chicken thighs," and Tim -- keeping with Malvin's theme -- kind of clucks sadly and backs away. Ra'mon Lawrence (who has been getting too much screen time for my liking, in the way that if you see too much of a person you know they're in trouble) has created a color-blocked dress which would look great on a thin person but which has the unfortunate effect of making the giant belly look even bigger. Tim warns him to be careful, as "cuckoo's already happened," and the camera cuts to Malvin. Ha! Mitchell tells Ra'mon that his dress looks like a bowling ball bag and then hedges, saying that it looks better from far away. Way to be supportive, Mitchell. Out in the hallway, Johnny has suddenly morphed into Miss Jay from America's Next Top Model and is teaching an impromptu class on runway walking. Nic bitches that nobody's dresses are looking fitted or chic. Logan hammers something and Ra'mon Lawrence says, "You're Stella all of a sudden? Working on your leatha ?" LOVE HIM. The models come in and there is the usual pre-runway fitting/hair/makeup chaos. God, Mitchell's shorts are awful. He seems doomed. On the runway, Heidi introduces the judges. Nina and RR are joined by Monique Lhuillier, who is sitting in for Michael Kors. Her presence seems kind of random until Heidi smugly informs the designers that all of the judges have been pregnant, so they know what to look for. Down come the lights, out come the hot pregnant messes! ALTHEA Very lovely, although Monique Lhuillier later advises that she make more room in the cups. If that model really was pregnant, we'd be seeing nipple. CAROL HANNAH Carol Hannah loves the tiny jacket she has created from what looks like scraps of garbage bag. I do not. But the dress part is OK . CHRISTOPHER PRETTY. I covet the top. I'm not a fan of leggings, but we'll suspend disbelief and accept that they look good on this model's tiny thighs. EPPERSON This jacket made me think of a big wad of Kleenex. It's obvious (at least from last week's outfit) that Epperson is into big drapes of thick fabric. Which is fine. But then the jacket came off to reveal... My sworn enemy, the jumpsuit . And a pregnant jumpsuit at that, with harem pant legs. The only thing that could be worse is if this were also somehow a romper. I have strong opinions about rompers. Epperson, I have you on my Project Runway Fantasy Team! Come on, man. You're killing me here. GORDANA From the waist up, I love this, but the leggings...? I'm just saying that pregnant women retain water. And that most people's thighs touch when they walk. IRINA Suprcute! I would wear this, knocked up or no. But the front seems dangerously close to revealing her, um, birth canal. She could deliver while wearing this dress. Which I guess makes it an all-occasion garment. JOHNNY This seems way too tight, but I think it's just because the pregnant belly is so fake-looking. I take issue with the styling (too much going on with the accessories, and I would have chosen black wedges), but the dress itself is nice. LOGAN This is chic, and does the momma-to-be a favor by covering her ass, unlike Gordana's. Logan's no Stella when it comes to leatha ...but maybe that's a good thing. LOUISE It does look like a nightie, but it's so well-executed that I don't really care. Louise may be kind of one-note (judging from her Challenge 1 dress, which also featured a flower-embellished shoulder and delicate detailing), but you have to give it to her that she does it well. MALVIN Well. This model appears to have already birthed her flour sack, but the good news is she found some burlap in the L'Oreal Paris makeup room and fashioned a last-minute Snuggly. She does look like she is carrying a nest, so I suppose Malvin has realized his vision. Unfortunately that vision also involved two-tone booties. MITCHELL To Mitchell's credit, his horrible, baby-aggravating granny shorts look like a cute skirt in this photo, albeit one that creates a draft strong enough for the fetus to go windsurfing in utero. Sadly, they remain gathered booty shorts -- three words that should never go together. NIC I like this in theory, but the satin reveals too many bunched seams. I think a stretchier fabric would have been more flattering. QRISTYL There's always one look that I am totally ambivalent about, and this is that look. It's... fine. Do any of you have strong opinions? RA'MON LAWRENCE I do love the colors and the design. I think it's just not right for a pregnant woman. Ra'mon, I'll totally wear this, though. Call me. SHIRIN I must give Shirin props, because not only is this justifiably awesome... ...but her model has the morning sickness look down . Side note: During the commercial break, an add for Top Chef aired in which Padma Lakshmi purrs "Who's gonna get lucky?", seductively blows on dice, and basically rubs her boobs on Tom Colicchio. Is Top Chef not about what I think it's about? Back to the runway! Everyone but Shirin, Mitchell, Louise, Malvin, Ra'mon Lawrence, and Althea are safe. The judges collectively love Althea's dress. RR acknowledges that Louise's dress looks like a negligee, but loves it anyway. Shirin is praised for her detailing and exquisite taste. The judges take Ra'mon to task for "sloppy" execution and the fact that he's accentuating the belly far too much. But the final two are fairly obvious: MALVIN: He explains his Mother Hen concept and shows us that he has in fact taken it a step further by adding feather-like detailing on the black top. Nina Garcia wishes that he had just gone with that idea instead of adding the hideous sling which -- like I said, foreshadowing -- looks like it could have been crafted of the selfsame curtains Malvin snuggled in at the start of the show. Heidi, RR, and Monique L'huillier agree that it is busted. MITCHELL: RR likes the cute, casual vibe -- and you have to hand it to Mitchell, he made the shorts-that-shall-not-be-named look pretty good -- but everyone notices and hates said shorts. Heidi calls it "a pregnant mess," adding that the shorts looks like she sewed them herself. Louise is in. And now for the winner of the challenge. Congratulations... Shirin. (Whoop de effing do). Obviously Althea is in. Ra'mon Lawrence, who is wearing Kanye West-like glasses with no lenses, is also in. Which leaves, predictably, Mitchell and Malvin. Mitchell, as you will remember, showed poor judgment and messed up the last challenge, which also landed him in the bottom two with a nutty, conceptual designer. Malvin showed good taste in the first challenge but definitely screwed the pooch (or...the bird?) on this one. So who goes home? The likable but obviously struggling Dexter doppelganger or the mulleted, Vietnamese Emile Hirsch with a pretentious concept? And I almost lost it when Heidi said, "Malvin... You're out ." In my notes I have written, in all caps, WHO IS MITCHELL SLEEPING WITH? Because, really. I like Mitchell, I do. But in the Project Runway I know, unless you have a really interesting point of view you cannot screw up twice in a row and live to tell the tale. It's not even like the judges said, "Oh, well, Mitchell is so talented, even though this sucked we want to see more of him." They gave no rhyme or reason to why they decided to give him another shot. Malvin, on the other hand, at least took a risk. It failed miserably, but you can't say he didn't have a vision. This puzzled me, until I saw the scenes from next week, which insinuate that Mitchell and Ra'mon Lawrence have a relationship, or a falling out, or both. Maybe they kept Mitchell around for some drama? All I know is that if he doesn't pull out something fucking fabulous next week, he will be dead to me. I watched Models of the Runway again this week, and while it still isn't particularly compelling, I love that we get to see the models reacting to the post-runway shenanigans in a little green room. They were shocked that Mitchell was spared, and now they are all terrified of getting picked by him. To heighten the drama, each week Heidi does a little model
 
Alex Storozynski: Mama Mia! Swedish Rockers Invade Poland to commemorate WWII Top
On Sept. 1, 1939, Poland was attacked by Nazi Germany. Now, 70 years later, a Swedish heavy metal band is swooping down on Poland lauding the Poles for their valiant effort against the German blitzkrieg that started World War II and captured all of Europe. The German "lightning war" from the West and the Soviet Union's invasion from the East sandwiched Poland between Europe's two most ruthless armies. It was a prearranged plot by Hitler and Stalin to split Poland in half and decimate the Polish nation. But in the small town of Wizna, a unit of fewer than 1,000 Poles held off 42,000 German invaders for three days. The Swedish band Sabaton has written a thunderous guitar song "40-1" that has young Polish head bangers jumping into mosh pits, and Polish war-veterans weepy eyed over the video that shows their brothers in arms trying to hold off the Nazi attack. Call it history through heavy metal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epeQwq-aYV0 It's not your father's patriotic war song, but many Poles are moved that their Nordic neighbors would praise local heroes; especially given the irony that Sweden also invaded Poland in the 16th century. The rock video superimposes images of outnumbered Polish troops standing up to German Panzer tank leader commander General Heinz Guderian over scenes of the band's heavy guitar riffs with the words: "Baptised in fire Forty to one Spirit of spartans Death and glory Soldiers of Poland Second to none" When Swedish rockers were looking for ideas for their album, "The Art of War," they band's lead singer, Joakim Broden learned about the Battle of Wizna where a band of 720 Polish soldiers stood up to more than 42,000 German soldiers and 350 tanks from Hitler's Wehrmacht. Most of the Polish soldiers fought to their deaths at the Battle of Wizna, but not before destroying more than 50 German Panzer tanks using little more than heavy machine guns. Over the ensuing months, Germany invaded all of Europe, and even though Poland was the first to fight, it was the only country occupied by the Germans not to form a Quisling government to collaborate with the Nazis. The unlikely mix of Polish WWII veterans and rock and roll also takes place at 17 Irving Place in New York City where the Polish War Veterans rent the bottom floor of their building to the concert venue, "The Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza" which has hosted acts such as U2, Sting and Prince. Upstairs, Polish war veterans have established a museum of the Polish Army with a fascinating exhibition of war memorabilia and historic artifacts. Teofil Lachowicz, the curator of the museum showed the video to the members of the veterans group. "They were quite moved," Lachowicz said. "They had tears rolling around in their eyes." The Sabaton tour of Poland kicks off in Warsaw on August 31st, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epeQwq-aYV0
 
Indian Point Nuclear Plant Shut Down... Again Top
BUCHANAN, N.Y. (AP) -- A nuclear power plant in the New York City suburbs is offline again because of a leak in an oil pipe. It's the fourth unplanned shutdown since May for Indian Point 3 in Buchanan. That will likely mean more scrutiny from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Jerry Nappi, spokesman for plant owner Entergy Nuclear, says the plant shut down automatically Thursday night. He said Friday that there was no release of radioactivity. The oil leak was inside a building, so there was no contamination of soil. However, to keep a top performance rating, a plant is permitted only three unplanned shutdowns within 8,000 hours. The fourth usually means an NRC inspection and review. The other plant in Buchanan, Indian Point 2, continued operating.
 
Thursday's Late Night Round-Up: Regis, Joan Rivers, And More! Top
Throughout August the Late Nighters have been obsessing with the god forsaken heat and humidity in this country, most notably Craig Ferguson. But Craig's off this week, so Conan took it upon himself to open last night's show with a jab of his own at the nation's high temperatures (hint: Joan Rivers is no longer a solid). From there we move on to Bill Gates former self, Steve Urkel, Regis Philbin as enhanced interrogation method, and, yes, bocce ball. All this and more! WATCH: Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter! More on Late Night Shows
 
Chris Kelly: Laura Ingraham Tells You How to Behave at Teddy Kennedy's Funeral Top
I once accidentally hit Laura Ingraham in the ass with a door. It wasn't one of those slapstick comedy things, where she toppled over and did a faceplant into a wedding cake or anything, but it was illustrative, nonetheless. I mean, it meant a lot to me. I was thinking about it this morning while I watched a clip of Ingraham guest hosting the O'Reilly Factor. She has a lot of good, sound, practical, impartial advice about how Democrats should and shouldn't remember Ted Kennedy and she especially hopes no one uses his funeral to make a big deal about health care reform. The issue he called "the cause of my life." Now, I already lose because I just admitted I watched Laura Ingraham guest host the O'Reilly Factor. So I was asking for it, and I feel a little like one of those people in the emergency room with a ridiculous object where it shouldn't be, and an unlikely story about how I sat on it. If I didn't want my sense of decency insulted, I shouldn't have tuned in. Be that as it may. Laura Ingraham says she sure hopes no one politicizes the memory of Ted Kennedy, after his 47 years in politics. The end of a man's life is no time for his friends to talk about his ideas. Which won't be a problem when we lose Laura Ingraham. After a long, full life, of course. Spent growing ever smaller and shriller, shunned by man and cursed by the Gods, like Arachne. Here's the thing about Laura Ingraham and the door. It's the Republican National Convention in 1996. They're nominating Bob Dole. (Talk about politicizing a funeral. Haha.) And I'm backstage in this tiny theatre, running around looking for the teleprompter operator, because we're doing a live show in a few minutes, and I have these introductions that need to be changed. And I'm not flailing around the place like Joan Cusack in Broadcast News. I'm just in a hurry. And I go though this door and it taps Laura Ingraham in the ass. And she whirls around and the look on her face is pure, sudden, horrible human hurt. And I froze. It was so awful. The public mask feel away, and there it was. Anguish. It was the face of the most hated child in the meanest fourth grade in the world. Every errant dodgeball to the head. Every puddle splash by the bike rack. Every spilled milk. Nothing ever happened to this child that wasn't bad and wasn't deliberate. Followed in a nanosecond by rage. Anger at what I had done, and that it was obviously on purpose, and anger, most of all, because I had seen the other face. And I said sorry and she glared at me and ran away. But I think about it more than I want to. All these years later. This hateful wounded second-rate soul. I hope she finds peace. Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Robert F. Kennedy, politicizing the death of Martin Luther King, April 4, 1968
 
Not a baa-d price: Record fee for Scottish ram Top
LONDON — A British farmer who paid a new world record price for a sheep says the animal is the finest specimen he has ever seen. Farmer Jimmy Douglas shelled out 231,000 pounds ($347,000) for the 8-month-old Texel ram called Deveronvale Perfection at an annual sale in Lanark, Scotland. Douglas says the ram has "a great body and strong loin." The British Texel Sheep Society says the fee paid Thursday is a world record, eclipsing a 205,00-pound price paid in Australia in 1989. Society member John Yates says the ram will likely father pedigree lambs worth millions of pounds (dollars) for his new owner. Breeder Graham Morrison, of Banff, Scotland, says he was staggered by the price but insists Deveronvale Perfection lives up to his name. More on Animals
 
Peggy Drexler: Health Care Reform and The Awesome Power of Techno-Confusion Top
I'm glad it was back in the 60s when we decided to go to the moon. If we had to make that decision today, I'm not sure we would get there. I can hear the anger at town hall meetings. "It's too expensive." "It's a corporate land grab." "If God wanted us to be on the moon, he wouldn't have put us on earth." The difference between then and now, of course, is a world-rattling ability to disseminate opinion - no matter how self-serving, agenda-driven and utterly specious that opinion might be. Witness the spittle-flung warnings of "Nazis" and "death panels" lurking in the fine print of health care reform; all the ridiculous diversions at a time when few topics have demanded more informed opinion or more rational discussion. The mass confusion so successfully created in the health care debate (and we may have already slipped from debate into diatribe) raises a question: Were we better off when professional gate-keepers assembled and presented news and perspective, or in today's media mosh pit, where anybody with a laptop, simple software and a cause can elbow their way into the national discussion? It's a rhetorical question. We're not going back to for-profit hegemony over the shaping of opinion any more than we are going back to carbon paper, rotary phones and antennas on the roof. Newspapers are not going to repopulate the expertise they have driven from the payrolls - not for the immediate future, maybe not ever. The media filter of the past was never a perfect device, but at least its' imperfections were kept in check by the diverse expectations of a shared audience. There was a business case for accountability and balance. So the open question is how - somehow - to manage opinion overload. How do you sort out who is right, who is wrong, who is paid, and who is simply saying what the voice in the toaster-oven commanded? By comparison, information overload is simple. Today, like a sauce, we can reduce and reduce down to the categories and sources that have meaning in our lives. For civility and society, that is also the bad news. The reduction process tends to create a mix of input that calcifies opinion -- simply accumulating evidence to support what we already believe provides no place where give and take matters on the way to considered compromise. It doesn't matter whether you think that the health-care shouters, were dispatched to reign havoc like the flying monkeys of Oz; or whether you believe their righteous anger is a simple reflection of their righteous anger. The point is that they were not there to hear and learn and consider. They were there to promote an agenda at high volume. Just as they were, at least in part, a creature of the Web's ability to mobilize, they also are a reflection of what the Web has done to the ability to create the kind of compromise that creates democratic action. You don't have to consider contrary opinion if you never have to hear it. And if you make enough noise in enough places, you can make sure that nobody else hears it either. I know we need to reform health care. I have no idea how to do it. I can Google "health care debate" and get almost 8 million places to go for answers. I don't know who is providing those answers. I don't know why they are saying what they are saying. I don't know who is paying them to say it. Information technology has added rocket fuel to the engine of democracy. Will it power us forward or keep us spinning wildly in one spot? The question remains open. The outlook is not encouraging.
 
Michael Wildes, Englewood Mayor, In Court To Keep Gadhafi Out Of Jersey Top
NEWARK, N.J. — A northern New Jersey mayor said he's going to court Friday to stop renovation work at the mansion where Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi wants to stay next month when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly. "If the U.S. State Department won't shut this down, we will," Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes said. "New Jersey's governor, its two U.S. senators and its U.S. congressmen are all on board on this." Libyan intelligence is widely believed to have orchestrated the 1988 attack on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 aboard – including 38 people from New Jersey. Gadhafi, who has worked to try to rehabilitate his image in recent years, provoked a backlash last week by helping secure the release of the only man arrested in the bombing from a Scottish prison. Television cameras captured Gadhafi giving Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the convicted bomber, a warm greeting as a cheering crowd welcomed him back to Libya. Already, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, U.S. senators and representatives from New York and New Jersey have protested Gadhafi's plan to stay at the sprawling estate in the upscale community 12 miles from Manhattan when he addresses the UN next month. Gadhafi is expected to pitch a ceremonial Bedouin-style tent on the grounds, after a request to erect it in Manhattan's Central Park was rejected, according to officials. "I support what Mayor Wildes is trying to do," said Kara Weipz, of Mount Laurel, N.J., whose 20-year-old brother Richard Monetti was on board Pan Am Flight 103. "The one thing we do not want is Gadhafi in New Jersey." The Libyan government, which bought the Englewood estate in 1982, is renovating the property extensively. Wildes said mansion workers have violated numerous city ordinances by tearing down trees and part of a neighboring fence and expanding the mansion's pool without proper permits. He said they may also have violated state environmental rules by encroaching upon a stream that runs through the 5-acre property. The city previously sought to slow the renovation via a stop work order, which allowed the imposition of fines. The Libyans have ignored the order. The injunction will allow Wildes to send Englewood police onto the property to halt work. The city plans to request an injunction Friday at 3 p.m. from Bergen County Superior Court Judge Robert Contillo. Wildes said he expects a decision from Contillo in the next few days. "The governor supports the mayor's efforts and has repeatedly said that Gadhafi is not welcome in New Jersey," said Robert Corrales, a spokesman for Corzine. U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, whose district includes Englewood, has promised there will be "hell to pay" if the U.S. State Department lets Gadhafi stay in Englewood. The four U.S. senators from New York and New Jersey, all Democrats, said they will introduce a resolution condemning Al-Megrahi's release and his welcome home to Libya. Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey described the welcome as "sick." "To see such a celebration for a murderer was a shocking insult to decency," Lautenberg said. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the Libyan government should apologize. Fifty-nine New Yorkers died in the 1988 bombing. "The victims' families have had no peace since the day this evil act occurred and now their wounds have been reopened," Schumer said. Ahmed Gebreel, a spokesman for the Libyan Mission to the United Nations, was unavailable for comment. Nicole DiCocco, spokeswoman for the Libyan Embassy in Washington, D.C., declined to comment. More on United Nations
 
David Roberts: On the Impact of Personal Eco-Behavior Top
grist.org The other day I highlighted a new piece from Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker , which was critical of No Impact Man and other “stunts” in hyper-green living. Mainly I used it as an excuse to point to my old piece on the civic sphere , which, ahem, you should read. I should have made it clear in the post that I have not read the No Impact Man book (or the other books mentioned in Kolbert’s piece), so I’m not really qualified to comment on whether her criticisms are fair. Not surprisingly, Colin Beavan— No Impact Man himself—doesn’t think so! Kolbert’s main charge is that personal lifestyle changes like his, no matter how committed or extreme, tend to obscure the fact that the big changes needed are collective —social and political. One person changing doesn’t amount to much. Beavan wrote me to protest that a) he agrees with Kolbert’s point entirely, b) his book actually contains a whole section toward the end about volunteering for NGOs and going to lobby Congress, and c) he has consistently used his platform to push for social action. One of Beavan’s supporters also mounts a convincing defense in this post . It does seem that, whatever you could say about the other books in Kolbert’s review, she did seem to squeeze Beavan into a box to make a point, a box in which he doesn’t really belong. You could argue, I guess, that whatever Beavan’s intentions, and whatever he may have said in his book or blog, it was inevitable that the stunt—going without toilet paper, etc.— became the focus. The net cultural effect , even if unintended and explicitly disavowed, was roughly what Kolbert charged. Then again, you could just as easily counter that it’s hard to get people involved in social change, period, and that you have to do whatever you can to get people’s attention to begin with; that’s what the stunt was, something flashy to draw people in and get them thinking. Not like other methods of pulling people into social change are working! I certainly don’t know the answer; if I knew how to make change, I wouldn’t be a misanthropic shut-in blogger. I will say, though, that it’s extremely easy to second guess other people’s choices, much easier than taking action yourself. Whatever you might think of No Impact Man, Beavan has put skin in the game—real, intense, sustained effort—and that’s a hell of a lot more than most people do. So props. A final point: if people are going to do these kind of personal-behavior performance pieces, it’s important that they convey accurate information about the impact of personal behaviors . That is information the public desperate needs. McKinsey found, in a 2008 survey of consumers : Our study shows that more than one-third of the consumers who want to help mitigate climate change don’t really know how. The top three ways for them to reduce their own emissions are to drive more fuel-efficient cars, improve the insulation of their homes, and eat less beef. Yet when we asked the consumers in our study to name the top three, they fingered recycling, energy-efficient appliances, and driving less. Few consumers knew how eco-friendly it is to shun beef.
 
The REAL Origin of 'Death Panels' (VIDEO) Top
Ever wonder how politicians come up with phrases like "death tax," "enhanced interrogation techniques," and "energy recovery"? It's usually a pollster or consultant hired to manipulate language to advance a political agenda. Well now you get to meet the men who came up the latest trend in political pandering: Death panels! WATCH: Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter! More on Funny Videos
 
Deepak Chopra: What Is Justice for Lockerbie? Top
Scotland freed the terminally ill Lockerbie bomber last week so he could die at home in Libya. "Our beliefs dictate that justice be served, but mercy be shown," a Scottish official said. Did Scotland do the right thing? Should we have any mercy for mass murderers who are terminally ill? I have hesitated to comment on the release from Scottish prison of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, because there is no clear moral line that I can see. The facts are well known, and by now most people have made up their minds. But on what grounds? Of the 270 people killed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103, 189 were U.S. citizens. Libya didn't formally admit to planting the bomb, yet the Qaddafi regime has paid $2.7 billion in restitution to the victims' families. Despite the assumption that the attack must have involved any number of conspirators, only Megrahi was convicted. He has always proclaimed his innocence, and some of the victims' families believe him while others call him a mass murderer. All the moral choices are cloudy and tangled in this case. When the Scottish secretary of justice decided to grant Megrahi a release -- the prisoner is in the final stages of advanced prostate cancer -- he cited "compassionate grounds." Even though Megrahi showed no mercy to his victims, the secretary said, Scotland was bound by its own values, which include mercy, not the values of the convicted criminal. This seems like a position Christians would endorse, but in the U.S. the teaching of "forgive your enemies" hasn't prevented avowed Christians on the right from being among the strongest advocates of the death penalty and harsh sentences for drug crimes. In a sense the justice secretary was using the term mercy in a very narrow sense. Pure mercy would have been not to send Megrahi to jail, an abhorrent choice to most people -- even Jesus speaks on both sides of the issue in the New Testament. Forgiveness is clouded by other references to punishment, both divine and secular. At one point Jesus even says, "I bring not peace but a sword." In many places he has no tolerance for sinners. Yet there's no doubt that forgiveness stands out as a major tenet of the faith. So what is justice? On religious grounds an eye for an eye settles the matter for millions of devout believers, while others struggle between mercy and vengeance. That's why secular society has turned justice, for all practical purposes, into a technicality of the law. Whatever the law says to do, that is just, even when the law changes (thus the debate over the death penalty in this country has gone back and forth several times, with yes and no standing for justice if it happens to be in force). How are laws made? With great fickleness, depending on the public's mood, recent events, political ideology, legislative horse trading, racial and class prejudice, and religious tradition. The ideal of making the punishment fit the crime has been achieved only sporadically, and there are stretches of history, as when the courts upheld that escaped slaves should be returned to their masters, when the law has sided with gross immorality. If I've described a tangled situation, it also happens to fit reality. It was more realistic for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to wash his hands of the Lockerbie controversy and give it back to those in Scotland who made the decision than for President Obama to issue a blanket condemnation. The public doesn't agree, however, since as so often happens, those who cry for vengeance the loudest tend to win the most support. There is another path. Instead of wrestling with flawed choices, you can go deeply into how justice affects you. As bystanders to tragedies like the Lockerbie disaster, you and I have no moral weight; we are outsiders. But we aren't outsiders in our own lives, where we face moral choices that are just as tangled as this one. When you go inward with honesty and clear sight, you see in yourself all the elements that clash here: mercy, anger, compassion, revenge, high-mindedness, impartiality, bias, and fairness exist side by side. Just this realization brings you out of the illusion that justice is simple. Then you have a choice to empathize with everyone concerned, and step by step you arrive at the ancient principle of non-violence as a living part of your own consciousness. Having achieved that stage, daily situations will look very different from how they look now. One sees that Jesus wasn't really contradicting himself -- a universal empathy allowed him to feel what it was like to be both the judge and the condemned. Until you and I expand beyond the narrow limits of our own consciousness, our moral judgments will be very imperfect. Seeing this, you can't help but stop judging other people so quickly, and at the same time, the desire to reach higher consciousness grows stronger, because that is the only way out of impossibly tangled questions. Published in the Washington Post deepakchopra.com
 
Michael Conniff: Con Games: Virtual Duality, Personal Media In Aspen Top
I first quit newspapers in 1979 because they had no future. After attending the Aspen Institute Forum On Communications and Society thirty years later, it felt like I quit just in time. The smartest people in the media business -- newspapers et al -- were in the room this August in Aspen trying to answer a simple question: how in God's name can journalism be sustained in world where The Internet thang has transformed the historical economic model from apples into apple sauce. Craig Newmark of Craig's List was in the room for "Of the Press: Models for Preserving American Journalism" in Aspen, and he and the others, new and old, were trying to make apple pie of a world where the center cannot hold and flat-out won't. On the other hand, how many fading businesses would love to be in this situation? Think of it this way: audiences for newspapers are bigger than ever if you count both print and online. At the end of a century of monopolistic avarice, the base business (print) goes bust but an even better one (online) rises from the ashes. What happened? The rise of online means advertisers are no longer willing to pony up ten times the money in print to reach equivalent eyeballs online, thereby rendering the old model moldy. An even bigger problem is Craig and Craig's List, available in most places for free, the online classified-killer now slurping on the cash cow that once accounted for 45 percent of the newspaper revenue stream. So the world confronted by the Braniacs in Aspen consists of an increasing audience paired with declining revenue. The answer, in other words, is simply to find new ways to make money -- to monetize in the parlance of our parlous times. Humility was the order of the day at this conference, and answers were few and far between. Riddle me this: how do you fund journalism in the grave new world? Nonprofits like the Knight Foundation can pony up. Organizations can barter tickets for coverage. Readers can pay through subscriptions; or, more problematically, through micropayments. Advertisers can dig into their shrinking purses to pay for space on the good old cost per thousand (CPM) basis. Despite working groups and fine fare at Plato's Restaurant, new schemes to make money were so scarce you had to come away from the Forum looking for Godot or Gates or the next visionary to make sense of a nonsensical world. Lest you despair, however, remember that Google, fabulously successful, generates 97 percent of its revenue from one thing only--the monetization of search. Despite all the hoopla and insta-millionaires and applications made of Chrome, not even Google has figured out how to make money from what comes next. How could media and technology types, including a Google veep by the by, expect to know better? This much is obvious: with the Mass Media model in the crapper, the future belongs to Personal Media--content and/or advertising that knows who you are and what you want. What could be more simple in these complicated times? Maybe if you have to ask how to make money on The Internet, you ain't never going to find out. More on Newspapers
 
Tips From A Cancer Survivor To Help Ease Your Fear About Medical Tests Top
It's that time of year again for me. Testing time. Ye Annual CAT Scanne. Like the Olde Time Ice Cream Shoppe. But with doctors and isotope-laced Crystal Lite instead of ice cream. Um, yeah. See? Testing time makes me crazy. I know I'm lucky to only do this once a year--many cancer survivors get retested more often (I went from four to two to one a year). But it's a drag no matter. That feeling of being well and "moving on" is upended as a myth I've relied on to feel normal. I start combing over every sniffle, ache, cough, negative thought. I remember that I've got this thing, this pet camel, let's say, to take care of. She needs little food and water most of the time, but is very much not a mirage and I'm always amazed how I can almost forget she exists. So the shock of re-meeting the camel--you again!--makes me a little more edgy, neurotic, and overwhelmed than usual. I have one survivor friend who basically ropes off the three weeks before her annual scans. She knows she's going to be a mess, so she gathers support, battens downs the hatches, and is inordinately kind to herself. We could all be so served. To help myself, and you if you happen to be a survivor or love one, I've created this list. Mainly for those who have braved cancer, but it might apply to anyone who gets those nerve-wracking words: "We'd like to do some tests."
 
Deane Waldman: What to ask at a town hall on healthcare Top
Like you, I am concerned that the healthcare reform proposed will not fix healthcare. I tried to attend our local town hall meeting on healthcare but could not get in. I had prepared some questions in advance that I believe speak for all of us (or at least most). I offer them below for you to consider asking at your town hall meeting and in letters or emails to our Representatives. More (!) Bureaucracy? The Healthcare Reform Bill will create three new governmental Agencies: The Health Benefits Advisory Committee, The Health Choices Administration, and the National Health Care Workforce Commission. The single largest cost item in all of healthcare - expending more money than what is paid to all the providers put together - is what someone called the " waste of the middle ." Won't adding three additional bureaucracies just add even more useless cost to system already over-burdened with administration? Not fixing "the system" The President has repeatedly said that the healthcare system is broken and needs reform. Yet the Reform Bill addresses one part of one aspect of the financing of healthcare and not the shortages, the errors, the inappropriate profit-taking, and not even one of the eight value-less root causes of skyrocketing costs . How can you say the system is broken and then not fix it - the system ? (Oh, sorry, please do not say that we need to one thing at a time or fix healthcare step by step. The greatest truth that systems thinking has shown is that in the modern world, it is impossible to fix only one part of a system: you have to fix the whole thing.) Raising (!!) Costs? President Obama started this healthcare discussion by saying that the costs of healthcare will pull us down as a nation. Now we see a Reform Bill that will add over $1 trillion to the deficit. We need to reduce costs as a nation, and the Bill will dramatically increase our costs. What am I missing? Believing Government Estimates At its most optimistic, the Reform Bill is projected to be revenue neutral. (I do not understand this as the President said our most critical need was to reduce healthcare costs.) In 1964, the Medicare Bill was crafted to include careful cost projections. In 1990, GAO reported in that MediCare cost over 800% more than the original estimate and now reports that MediCare will go broke by 2016. Why should we believe any rosy Government cost projection when history shows they are always wrong and we end up paying? Management Malpractice If a doctor recommends treating the symptoms but not the cause of my illness and if there is no evidence that her suggested therapy will work, is this not medical malpractice? Applying the same logic to the Reform Bill, why isn't Congress guilty of management malpractice? Does healthcare come with any personal responsibilities? Canada and Great Britain - both touted as universal health care systems that we should adopt - have come to realize that they cannot deliver on-demand care as an unlimited entitlement. Both are trying to inject some personal responsibility into their systems in order to create feedback...and failing . How does the Healthcare Reform Bill avoid that same pitfall: implying it can deliver unlimited care without bankrupting the nation? Is there a quick fix? The President raised the continuous crisis of healthcare to national prominence. Great! Why should anyone believe that a quick fix is possible for a problem that has been growing for more than fifty years?
 
Complaints Of Afghan Election Fraud Serious Enough To Affect Results Top
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints Commission has received more than 2,000 complaints of fraud or abuse in last week's disputed presidential election, with 270 now listed as serious enough to affect the result, it said on Friday. More on Afghan Election
 
Paterson Signs Anti-Texting Law, Vetoes War of 1812 Bill Top
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- It's now illegal to text, tweet or surf while driving in New York. Gov. David Paterson announced Thursday that he signed the anti-texting law among many, including one to ban the use of the ethnic term "Oriental" in state documents. The governor also vetoed 13 bills that he said would have mandated state spending that was "not absolutely necessary." The ban on texting while driving comes with fines up to $150 for using handheld devices or laptops to send text messages or read, view or transmit images or data while a vehicle is moving. Fines could be imposed only as a secondary offense after a driver is pulled over for appearing to break another law. It's already illegal in the state to talk on a cell phone while driving. The new measures include Amanda's Law, which requires all homes to be outfitted with carbon monoxide detectors. The previous law applied only to homes built or sold after July 30, 2002. The bill is named for Amanda Hansen, a 16-year-old from West Seneca who died in January of carbon monoxide poisoning from a defective boiler while at a sleep-over at her friend's house. The detectors can be found in home improvement hardware stores for under $100. Under the law, contractors who replace a hot water tank or furnace would have to install the detectors, too. Paterson also said the state can't afford the measures he vetoed. He noted the Legislature must tackle a $2.1 billion deficit a September session and also figure out how to remedy a projected $4.6 billion deficit for the 2010-11 fiscal year. "We will not reach that destination by undertaking expenditures that are not absolutely necessary," Paterson stated in vetoing a bill that would create a 24-member commission to celebrate a War of 1812 victory. He said existing boards as well as state and local agencies should instead work together to avoid the estimated $2 million cost of the commission. Paterson's vetoes included: --Refusing to allow several school districts to spread out repayment of state aid without interest over a three- to six-year period. The debt totals millions of dollars, most of which was the fault of the districts for failing to appropriately apply for the aid or failure to adhere to competitive bidding requirements. Paterson said the schools also failed to prove hardship. --Refusing to advance $10 million in aid to Rochester a year early. Paterson vetoed a similar bill for Syracuse weeks ago. He said the state might not even have enough cash on hand to pay the aid in an earlier fiscal quarter. --Refusing to create a Division of Minority Mental Health in the state Office of Mental Health to focus on the special needs of minorities and ensure that programs are "culturally and linguistically appropriate." Paterson said the division would cost $2 million over two years to start and its goals are already addressed. --Refused to grant a judge pension credits for the four months he left the bench to temporarily serve as a United Nations judge in Kosovo more than five years ago. The bill would have meant $18,700 more for Brooklyn State Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach. Paterson said such consideration is given only for military service and would result in more claims against the pension system. Paterson signed other several bills into law, including measures to: --Add "domestic partner" in a same-sex relationship to the list of people who may consent to organ and tissue donations. --Require utilities, energy companies, municipalities, telephone companies and cable TV companies to provide large-print versions of bills on request. --Require state agencies, departments and authorities that let $10 million in contracts a year to create a mentor-protege program between established state contractors and emerging minority- and women-owned businesses seeking state contracts.
 
Credit Card Comapnies Plan To Shrink Limits For Millions Of Americans Top
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Millions of Americans have already seen their credit card limits shrink, and millions more face the same fate as lenders prepare for tougher U.S. consumer protection rules. Since the financial crisis deepened a year ago, credit card companies have been closing millions of inactive accounts, cutting credit limits and raising interest rates to cushion themselves from record loan losses.
 
Elena Brower: Art of Attention: From Acceptance to Intimacy Top
This week I propose cultivating a state of radical forgiveness to experience true intimacy. The following is really a tried and true recipe for my own nourishment; I hope it's useful. 1. Practice full, unbridled acceptance, particularly in the company of people toward whom you feel an aversion. The practice of seeing and respecting that person in that moment heals both of you; over time you will be able to perceive this as an opening and/or a sensation of gratitude in your own heart. By the way, the most unsavory or unreasonable people call for the most acceptance. Nurture this acceptance especially with children of any age in your life; when you honor a child by listening and receiving them fully, you confer dignity on yourself and the child; healing your own past and contributing to the future. This is big. 2. Watch your internal dialogue in the midst of practicing this acceptance. Removing your reaction to others is the principal means of removing the contractions that prevent the robust flow of energy in the system. To be involved in the day-to-day world and yet fully receptive to what is good and true, all negative inner dialogue must simply cease. Such inner talk steals our health and harms our hearts. Blame of any sort drains our power and ages us internally and externally. To transform negativity, we must watch the results of this negativity objectively until we simply cannot entertain such a process any longer. 3. Align yourself with the past, accept it, turn your eyes resolutely to the present and begin again . This is especially potent with family and the patterns we all unconsciously inherit. Such radical forgiveness is based on complete acceptance of the past, with no accounts kept of our errors or anyone else's. Holding mistakes in our mind's eye and dwelling on them actually strengthens their potential recurrence by perpetuating the resonance of their effects. Clinging to the past betrays the vast creative intelligence of the present. Each breath you take in these moments can be a reinforcement of your presence in this moment: inhale and lengthen from your waist all the way up under your arms; maintain that length and space as you exhale and soften your skin. Do this a few times now, and anytime you're under duress to introduce your body to a more spacious, intimate connection with yourself [see number 4 below]. 4. Familiarize yourself with this aim, the concept of intimacy: true intimacy is a symptom of courageous self-trust in the present moment. Such supportive intimacy with the nurturing force of our own reality is the most important relationship we can uphold. Particularly in the solitary moments, tend to the relationship you have with yourself by taking care of your heart and your body, by listening to what is resonant for you, even as you offer your attention to others. This intimacy becomes your most valuable offering in the world. The more comfortable you become in this intimacy with yourself, the more readily you will find meaningful, healing intimacy with another. In my experience, the more I care for myself, the more likely everyone close to me is to care, both for me and for themselves. 5. Love. True love is the recognition that we all share the same condition, in shades and degrees; to remember this is to heal your heart and the hearts of those closest to you. May we all be comforted by the universality of this truth, and offer our acceptance, forgiveness, and intimate healing within the world of our own hearts, and to the heart of the universe. More on Relationships
 
15 Awful Obama Tattoos Top
Obama is great and wonderful. He brings rainbows and unicorns and puppy dogs and cotton candy. As the first African-American president, he is certainly a symbol of a high point in American history, but is any politician worth getting a tattoo? What if Obama suddenly grows out a Van Dyke goatee and turns into evil doppelganger Obama? What if he starts doing things like pushing old women down stairs and running over kittens in a monster truck on the White House lawn? What will be of your Obama tattoo at that point? More on Barack Obama
 
Kathie McClure: Health Insurance Greed -- From Bad to Worse Top
Our family's health care story got air time on CNN today, but this clip doesn't tell the latest chapter. The news is that I'm about to embark on another journey that will make our health insurance woes even worse. You see, tomorrow I'm donating a kidney to a friend. But the day after I was approved to give the gift of life, the LA Times reported that nothing prevents health insurance companies from denying coverage or charging higher premiums to those who donate an organ by categorizing them as people with pre-existing conditions. Deterring potential donors from giving the gift of life is deadly business.  According to the National Kidney Foundation, demand for kidneys far outstrips supply.  More than 80,000 people are waiting for a kidney, of which about 4,500 die each year.  Living donation rates have declined recently, with only about 6,000 donations last year. Denying coverage to organ donors ?!? More proof positive that there is no limit to the greed of the health insurance industry. Without regulation and competition, they will ruin our health and our nation's economy. Embedded video from CNN Video
 
Price Of Solar Panels Drop Top
The price of rooftop solar panels has fallen drastically, as I report in The New York Times on Thursday. But for some homeowners, the upfront costs remain prohibitive. Indeed, many readers have remarked on the article's opening anecdote, about a homeowner in the Houston area who installed a 64-panel, $77,000 system (before the 30 percent federal tax credit) for his amply sized house and garage.
 
Andrea Chalupa: Microsoft's secret "Screw Google" meetings Top
And you thought playing Risk over the holidays was exciting! In the greatest game of tech world domination, Microsoft has been holding secret "Screw Google" meetings, according to Sam Gustin at Daily Finance : "The meetings are part of an ongoing campaign by Microsoft ( MSFT ), other Google ( GOOG ) opponents, and hired third parties to discredit the Web search leader, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter. 'Microsoft is at the center of a group of companies who see Google as a threat to them in some combination of business and policy,' said a source familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity to avoid retribution. "The effort is designed make Google look like the big high-tech bad guy here.'" What do you think? Will Google retalliate by mobilizing the body-painted hordes at Burning Man to crash these meetings? That would be pretty awesome. To read more on Microsoft's "Google death panel" go to DailyFinance.com. More on Google
 
Miguel Guadalupe: Latin Music is Having a "Dixie Chicks" Moment Top
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." Those words by Natalie Maines at the Dixie Chicks' 2003 London concert created a firestorm within the center of the country music world. The women were blacklisted on radio, their CDs were destroyed, and they became pariahs within Nashville and their own home state of Texas. A similar situation is brewing within Latin music. Juanes (Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez) is a Colombian multi-platinum selling artist considered by Time Magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential in the World." His songs have themes of love and peace, from his early 2000 title "Fíjate Bien" which addressed the problem with land mines in his native country - to the most recent album which talks about change and peace globally. Juanes's problems began after his announcement this month of a second "Peace Without Borders" concert to be held at Havana's Plaza de la Revolución on September 20, 2009. His first concert was at the Colombian/Venezuelan border. This immediately was met with sharp criticism from the Cuban American anti-Castro establishment , especially in the exile epicenter of South Florida. Protests have been orchestrated where people destroyed copies of his CDs , and Juanes has had round the clock police presence at his Miami home where he lives with his wife and children because of numerous death threats . Critics are calling him a communist and an enabler of the Castro regime. A recent poll by the DC based Cuba Study Group found 47% of Cuban Americans opposed the concert, with just 27% in support. Miami is the "Nashville" of Latin Music, and many of the powers that be want Juanes to denounce the Castro regime as a condition to getting community support. So far he has resisted making any political statements. The pressure has also spread to artists who have confirmed to perform with Juanes, including Latin music superstars Olga Tanon of Puerto Rico, Spain's Alejandro Sanz and Dominican Republic's Juan Luis Guerra. Cuban-Americans artists like singer Willy Chirino and actress María Conchita Alonso have come out to criticize the concert. The Cuban Government doesn't help matters by not allowing Cuban-American artists to organize their own concerts on the Island. While the initial backlash against Juanes is similar to the one the Dixie Chick's experienced, Ms. Maines woes began because of a political statement about a current president while Juanes is simply holding a music concert. His situation is more like Bruce Springsteen's 1988 concert at the Berlin Wall. Some have attributed that concert as one of the catalysts to the wall coming down. Springsteen's goal for the event was not to make a statement but to play his music for people who did not have access to it before. According to Juanes, that is also his motivation for playing in Cuba. There was no backlash against "The Boss" for his Berlin concert, so why are segments of the Cuban-American community so up in arms? One reason may be that hard-liners are struggling against a generational and political shift within South Florida and the rest of the country and are finding themselves on the loosing side of the long debate on US-Cuba relations. This shift is palpable in the blogosphere and on the streets. Younger generations of Cuban Americans are more willing to discuss engagement with Cuba as a path toward Democracy. There is an understanding that the current isolation and embargo policies haven't worked. Castro has seen 10 American Presidents during his 50+ year reign. Additionally, the hard-line exile community has lost influence politically. They supported the Republicans during the 2008 presidential election because they opposed Obama's engagement policies. Democrats owe little to this special interest group, and are focusing on things like healthcare and immigration which affect more segments of Latinos throughout the country. This hasn't stopped the hard-liners from engaging in their version of book burning. The death threats to Juanes are particularly disturbing, especially as it seems antithetical to the general argument that the Castro government shouldn't be supported because of their treatment of political dissenters. Despite the initial uproar, there is evidence that the Cuban/Miami "Cold War" is melting. Juanes has gotten support from prominent Miamians, like Latin music crossover pioneer and Cuban American Gloria Estefan . The artist himself talks about the support he's gotten from fans on his twitter page. After the concert, we will see how strong the backlash becomes. Will it be on the level of the Dixie Chicks, where sales began to plummet and they had to deal with bans on country radio? To date no major radio station has said they were banning Juanes from their play lists. Perhaps Juanes' story will read less like "The Chicks" and more like Springsteen's in the end. Let's hope so. More on Barack Obama
 
A Rough Draft of Google's Plan For World Domination Top
More on Google
 
Jessica Rovello: To Tweet or Not To Tweet? Top
In 2009 "Follow me on twitter" has become as ubiquitous as "AOL Keyword..." was in 1999. And while tweeting may work for Ashton Kutcher, I'm still not convinced that all Fortune 500 Companies absolutely need a full blown twitter strategy. I mean, does any consumer really care what their life insurance company is tweeting about? My company, Arkadium, has a twitter account, but most followers are likely our competitors, employees or people closely involved in the gaming industry. But oh the pressure if you don't have a twitter account! How can you be any sort of media professional and ignore the tide, even if you're not sure it will have any sort of positive return on your business or brand? Let's face it, if you've been brave enough to ignore the twitter trend you're considered an old media fossil. So now that we've decided to (begrudgingly) sit with the cool kids, and tweet, what can we do to make it effective? For one, this ain't "Field of Dreams" build it doesn't necessarily mean that they will come. In order to get your own following you need to seek out the people who are interested in what you may be writing about and follow them. Re-tweet their tweets and post comments and reply's to their stories. At first it may feel a bit like paying someone to be your friend, but the truth is that people you are interested in, often share a common interest in you as well. (It also helps that flattery is the best way to someone's heart. Even in this crazy new social media space.) Next, make twitter only a part of your media strategy. Use tweets to draw people into your bigger stories, blog postings and news. Don't rely on it exclusively or expect it to take the place of other marketing efforts. Lastly, get it out there. If you have followers, hope that they re-tweet, but if they don't, use tools like tinyurl.com, pingomatic, DIGG, Reddit, Yahoo Buzz and more to get your message out there, bookmarked and read. In the last two years it's become more and more difficult to keep up with what people are really paying attention to but one thing seems to be for sure - Twitter isn't going away. At least not in 2009. More on Twitter
 
Libby Mitchell: Retro Politics Top
I love living in Utah. I was born here, raised here, and moved back here after living away because I like it here so much. The scenery is spectacular, the cost of living is low, the liquor laws are not half as weird as the rest of the world thinks they are, and, for the most part, the Mormon's exercise don't bug people who don't bug them. It's a nice place to live. Over the past five years, with the election of Jon Huntsman Jr. to the position of Governor, it got even nicer. Despite his Republican status, Huntsman pushed for equal rights for everyone, even gays and lesbians, the loosening of liquor laws, and energy efficiency in order to battle global warming. Sadly, those days are over now. Earlier this summer Huntsman was tapped to take the post of U.S. Ambassador to China. He took the job, leaving the state in the hands of previous Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert. I swear that the day Herbert was sworn in to office the calendars here in the state turned back to 1986. You see, Herbert is not only a good old boy, he is the king of the good old boys. He is a big believer in "traditional family values" -- most of which were last updated when Reagan was in office. Thursday Herbert showed his true colors for the first time. During a press conference he said he thought giving gays and lesbians legal protection from discrimination was "going too far." He said that while he supports protecting people due to their gender, religion, or race, the line has to be drawn somewhere, or else we will end up giving protected status to everyone, even those with "blonde hair and blue eyes." Yeah, that's similar. The gay issue is only the tip of the iceberg. Herbert has said in the past that he doesn't believe in global warming. He has also said he supports economic growth in the state, which could include increasing mining rights. Oh, and he has said that he doesn't want to raise taxes, but would rather find ways to cut programs -- like education. Basically he is saying that he wants to undo anything progressive that has happened not only under Huntsman, but under his predecessor (an education supporter) as well. Surprisingly, I am not mad at Herbert about any of this. I am actually pissed at Huntsman. You see, Herbert has never pretended to be anything but what he is. If he could have had a sash made that read "good old boy" I am sure that he would have. Yet, Huntsman, a progressive, picked him as his running mate -- and then left him in charge. He had to know that all of his pet causes, the environment, equal rights, would be crushed under the wheels of Herbert's RV, yet he walked away. Oh, and as he walked away he promised he was leaving the state in good hands. Well, I guess they are good. You know, in the ways reruns of "Leave it to Beaver" are good. Maybe though, this is Huntsman's last progressive act. Maybe he knows what will happen when Utahns have a taste of what could be, and then have it taken away. Maybe he's really a closet Democrat. At least I hope that's what it is. It's the only way I will make it until the special election in 2010. By then I am almost positive acid wash denim will have come back in style. After all, it only fits...
 
Unveiled: The Extraordinary Renditions Script Top
By Scott Horton Special to the Huffington Post Deep among the documents released to the ACLU on Monday afternoon was a curious memo dated 30 December 2004 and directed to Dan Levin, then acting head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. The fax cover sheet has a brief note, "Dan, a generic description of the process." The name of the sender, based at the CIA, has been obliterated. You can view the document here . The document provides a step-by-step manual for extraordinary renditions. The process starts with "capture shock." The detainee is subject to a medical examination prior to his flight. During the flight, the detainee is securely shackled, and is deprived of sight and sound through the use of blindfolds, earmuffs and hoods. The detainee is "in the complete control of Americans." The detainee is stripped naked and shaved. A "series of photographs are taken of the HVD while nude." A medical officer and a psychologist play key roles in the process (though their professional ethics rules would prohibit such conduct.) All of these practices are carefully engineered to facilitate the interrogation process. Nudity, sleep deprivation and dietary manipulation are used as standard preparatory steps. It then details the standard "corrective techniques:" these are a series of physical assaults labeled with innocuous titles like insult slap, abdominal slap, facial hold and attention grasp. "Coercive techniques" used include: walling (slamming a prisoner's head against the wall, with some protective measures to avoid severe injuries), water dousing, the use of the stress position (known to the inquisition as the _strapado_, to the Germans in World War II as _Pfahlbinden_), wall standing (referred to by the NKVD and KGB as _stoika_) and cramped confinement. Because of substantial redactions, it seems unlikely that this list is complete. None of this information is surprising. In fact it all tallies perfectly with the description of the renditions program that can be derived from the report prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which used the appropriate legal designation for these techniques: "torture." But this is an historical document, right? Barack Obama shut down the black sites and the extraordinary renditions program immediately after taking office, right? Well, not entirely. Consider the recent rendition of a Lebanese businessman accused of petty contract fraud, [Raymond Azar.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/target-of-obama-era-rendi_n_256499.html) The first stage of these guidelines was followed with precision. He was seized in Afghanistan by U.S. Justice Department operatives. They claim they had the approval of the Afghanistani Government. The Afghanistani Government disagrees, saying it has no record of ever having permitted the "snatch" of Azar. He was presented with "capture shock," stripped naked, subjected to a body cavity search for "health reasons," was shackled, subjected to hypothermia and sleep deprivation, and then was transported in a Gulfstream with the requisite hood, blindfold and earmuffs. When pressed on this in court, the Justice Department claimed it was only following "standard procedures." The CIA memo shows that this claim is accurate: it was following standard procedures for extraordinary renditions, which were approved in a series of now-rescinded memoranda prepared by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. The [Justice Department also claimed](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/target-of-obama-era-rendi_n_256499.html), in papers filed with the court, that the extraordinary measures were taken out of concern for the safety and security of the prisoners and the government agents involved. But on this point, the Justice Department is now revealed as being guilty of what at a minimum would be called a "failure of the duty of candor" to the court. The memo delivered to the Justice Department explaining these procedures makes very explicit that the techniques employed have little if anything to do with the safety and security of the personnel involved. They explain the real function these techniques serve. "To persuade High-Value Detainees (HVDs) to provide threat information and terrorist intelligence in a timely manner, to allow the US Government to identify and disrupt terrorist plots." The preparatory measures, such as capture shock, nudity, body cavity search, sleep deprivation and manipulation of nutrition are designed to put the prisoner in a position in which he can be effectively interrogated. They are geared to breaking down psychological resistance and making the prisoner pliable. Not every technique designed to wear down resistance and make a prisoner more willing to talk is, of course, "torture." But in fact these techniques are highly coercive and have been held to be torture. Moreover, the Justice Department agents used these techniques in precisely this fashion, moving to aggressive interrogation immediately after applying the preparatory measures. Azar even claims that one agent brandished a photo of his family taken from his wallet and threatened that he would never see them again--something Azar interpreted as a threat against the safety of his family. The credibility of this account is boosted by the release this week of the CIA inspector general's report, which documented numerous cases in which similar threats were made. After Azar's allegations of torture became public, Justice Department prosecutors rushed to [snatch a plea bargain deal](http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-rendition22-2009aug22,0,569241.story) with Azar, clearly motivated by a desire to put an end to that issue. But whatever deal was struck with Azar, that should not avoid the question of government accountability for what was done in this case. That should start with an examination of the Justice Department's failure to candidly disclose to the court that the renditions techniques they applied to Azar were part of an effort to coerce a confession were explicitly engineered for that purpose. In sentencing Azar, the court will have to start with the recognition that the Justice Department began, overstepping the lawful constraints on its authority, to mete out punishment to him from the moment they seized him in Kabul. But the broader question is for the new panel that the Obama White House has set up to oversee renditions and interrogations policy. Why are procedures designed to secure intelligence from violent terrorists being used on businessmen involved in petty contract fraud cases? If this was a conscious decision, it urgently requires a public justification. About Scott Horton Scott Horton is a contributing editor at Harper's Magazine, where he writes on law and national security issues, and an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, where he teaches international private law and the law of armed conflict. A life-long human rights advocate, Scott served as counsel to Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner, among other activists in the former Soviet Union. He is a co-founder of the American University in Central Asia, where he currently serves as a trustee. Scott recently led a number of studies of issues associated with the conduct of the war on terror, including the introduction of highly coercive interrogation techniques and the program of extraordinary renditions for the New York City Bar Association, where he has chaired several committees, including, most recently, the Committee on International Law. He is also an associate of the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, a member of the board of the National Institute of Military Justice, Center on Law and Security of NYU Law School, the EurasiaGroup and the American Branch of the International Law Association and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He co-authored a recent study on legal accountability for private military contractors, Private Security Contractors at War. He appeared at an expert witness for the House Judiciary Committee three times in the past two years testifying on the legal status of private military contractors and the program of extraordinary renditions and also testified as an expert on renditions issue before an investigatory commission of the European Parliament.
 

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