Friday, September 11, 2009

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Daniel Levy: Human Rights Watch and Israel: Questions to Answer Top
Two months ago the Israeli government announced that it would be launching a campaign against the organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the smear industry of supportive rightist NGOs and journalists swung into action with a volley of attacks on the group. The timing of this move was no coincidence. HRW was the latest, if perhaps most prominent group, to produce a report detailing serious and disturbing human rights violations that took place during Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza (HRW also reported, with equal condemnation, on Hamas violations ). At the time, I blogged here of my sadness that Israel and some of its friends had chosen the low and easy road in responding to such serious allegations, and I suggested ,"surely supporting Israel cannot be about undermining efforts to advance human rights around the world," describing that as "fundamentally un-Jewish." New information has now come to light regarding a particular hobby pursued by HRW's Senior Military Analyst Marc Garlasco . He collects Nazi-era Wehrmacht memorabilia (specifically flak badges), and has published a 450-page book on the subject. The information on Garlasco comes from part of that smear industry - a right wing Israeli group NGO Monitor - but it does raise, what for me at least, are real questions that need to be answered. The Likud-America blogosphere is going Glenn Beck on this story, and some on the left have joined in, albeit more respectfully . Let me as usual wear my bias on my sleeve - as a Jew and one with a Holocaust family background, any person's passion for this memorabilia is more than weird, it makes me deeply uncomfortable. Looking at the cover of Garlasco's book at the Iron Cross website it is marketed on has been a quick path to appetite loss today. I am not, I repeat not, calling Marc Garlasco a Nazi-sympathizer or worse. That is an extremely serious accusation, one that would be devastating to someone innocent of that charge, and it is one that others have made. What I am saying is that this does not sit easy with me and cannot be ignored. Yes, I know - people collect all kinds of things, Garlasco collects World War II memorabilia from other armies, has not hidden his hobby, and this need not imply anything related to the veracity or otherwise of his analysis and reporting for HRW. And still, it doesn't pass my smell test. So I think the onus is on Mr. Garlasco and Human Rights Watch to clarify further. HRW has put out a statement explaining the background to Garlasco's hobby, his expressions of support for Germany's defeat in the war, and describing the accusations of Nazi sympathies as "absurd." That's okay so far, but in this case, not enough. If this is to be put behind us, I think we need to hear more from Garlasco in his own words. If that is done and in a robust manner, I would expect Israel and friends to, at the very least, respond in the same way as they have greeted actual former real fascists who have recanted and set the record straight. I still feel queasy at the reception that Israel gave to then Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, in 2003, just after he declaratively turned a page on Mussolini, who he previously described as "the greatest statesman of the 20th Century." The guy was head of the succession to the neo-Fascist neo-Fascist Alleanza Nazionale for heavens' sake - I am not so forgiving. Let's be clear, there is no evidence to suggest that Garlasco is anything like a Fini. Indeed, a sincere response by Garlasco passing that smell test would merit at least an apology to him and HRW from those who have jumped to making the Nazi-sympathizer accusation. And of course that's the point that must still not be lost here. There is a concerted, determined, and even transparent effort to create distractions, to distort, and to avoid the subject when it comes to Israel's behavior regarding the Palestinian territories. In that respect, the smear industry is being somewhat hoisted by its petard. Even in a case like this which merits investigation, the smear industry has richly earned the skepticism and distrust with which it should be treated. They do not come to this with clean hands. They keep crying wolf and even this supposed wolf, which smells bad, still needs to be proven or rebutted. Institutionally, there is every reason to have confidence in the professionalism and seriousness of Human Rights Watch under the leadership of Ken Roth. Garlasco did not investigate exclusively on Israel, far from it. He has reported on civilian deaths in Afghanistan, torture, detainee abuse and wars conduct in Iraq, violations by Russia and Georgia, and more (in fact, when Garlasco has indulged in op-editry in his own name, not as HRW, he seems to have exclusively focused on attacking the British government on the issue of cluster munitions - hardly an anti-Israel obsession or bias there). All those reports are no doubt vetted by HRW's program and legal departments and leadership. Is HRW's work on Iraq, Afghanistan, and cluster bombs now discredited? Of course not, and the right governmental response, from any government, is to fully investigate serious allegations - as the US is, for instance, now doing on torture, but the Russians and Georgians are still refusing to undertake. And that is what's still so disturbing on the Israel front - its ongoing refusal to meaningfully address the documented accusations of IDF violations of laws of war and their impact on the civilian population in Gaza - and thereby to avoid their repetition. There are several organizations in addition to HRW that have documented such concerns - the UN's investigation into attacks on its facilities, Amnesty International's report , and most recently the report of Israeli human rights NGO B'tselem, focusing on civilian casualities. In responding to B'tselem, the IDF claimed that it had conducted its own inquiry and reached different conclusions, or to quote the IDF spokesperson, the report has been "verified by the Research Department of the IDF Intelligence Branch." We checked ourselves and we're okay ...Oh, dear! The report of the UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission into the Gaza war, led by South African Justice Richard Goldstone, is due imminently, and my main hope there is that the smear industry can maintain a sufficient modicum of dignity to treat Justice Goldstone with the respect that he has earned as a remarkable and inspirational figure in contemporary Jewish life. Israel and its supposed friends are indulging in a dangerous and highly self-defeating twofer. By responding and continuing to conduct itself in this way, Israel is undermining both its image and its own future security. The best answer, as it has been since the days immediately following the Gaza operation, is not to shoot the messenger but rather to render these reports unnecessary by adhering to B'tselem's call to create an independent committee of inquiry in Israel. More on Palestinian Territories
 
Craig Newmark: Social by Social -- a really practical guide for socal media in orgs Top
Hey, if you're interested in using social media in your organization, and you should be, Social by Social: A practical guide to using new technologies to deliver social impact is the real deal. Its focus really is on how to get your organization really using the stuff, looking at practical measures like getting buy-in from the top and the bottom. There is a wealth of technical talent out there, but energy currently being driven towards creating 'the new Facebook' or 'the next iPhone' could instead be given an alternative, social outlet. We need fewer cool tools and more useful, effective software to improve our society . As social innovators begin to engage in this new world, the impact on our lives could be huge. The opportunity is there, but to take it will require a shift of mindset , mandate and expectations on the part of social innovators, charities and public institutions. Because once upon a time, there were captive audiences, things we wanted to tell them, channels for reaching them, a group of people who were waiting to be 'serviced'. Now that's all changed.
 
Huff Radio: Left, Right & Center: ObamaCare, No to Afghanistan, and 9/11 Eight Years On Top
A truly substantive discussion of Swiss and Massachusetts models for health care, and personal and political reactions to the Obama speech to the Joint Session of Congress this week are top of the list. This one is not to be missed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she will not support any increase in troops to go to Afghanistan. What's a President on the verge of a quagmire to do? And on the eighth anniversary of 9/11, is the country any safer? Is terrorism on the wane? Or did we blow all the global goodwill and sympathy with our follow-up actions around the world? More on Afghanistan
 
Democrats Endorse Quinn For Governor, Giannoulias For Senate Top
Gov. Quinn won the endorsement Friday of the Cook County Democratic Party. Challenger Dan Hynes -- who almost succeeded in getting the party not to endorse the incumbent -- immediately cried "hypocrisy," noting that Quinn for most of his career supported "open primaries." More on Senate Races
 
Mafia Accused Of Creating Berlusconi Sex Scandal Top
A key coalition partner in Silvio Berlusconi's Government said yesterday he believed that the Mafia had orchestrated the sex scandal engulfing the Prime Minister as retribution for Italy's hard line on organised crime. More on Silvio Berlusconi
 
Youth Radio -- Youth Media International: Saving Cornfield Park, An Urban Oasis Top
Originally published on Youthradio.org , the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe. By: King Anyi Howell The new California budget includes more than 14 million dollars of cuts to state parks. Although an official list of the parks to be closed won't be available until after Labor Day, an initial list by the California State Parks included a park in urban Los Angeles. It's called Los Angeles State Historic Park, but all the locals know it as The Cornfield. The beauty of Cornfield Park is subtle. Like a big grassy back yard. Tucked in between the 110 freeway, the Metro Gold railway, and industrial warehouses, it may not sound like much, but Cornfield is an oasis. It's what I call a "chill spot" somewhere you go and let time slip away from you in peace. Recently, I found a few power outlets in the ground and chilled there on my laptop just enjoying the view that I rarely get to see, unless I'm sitting in traffic. "You can't compare it to our great desert and redwood parks," says Rick Rayburn of the California State Parks service. "But certainly it will be one of those great urban parks that many of us have seen across the country." How's this for great? Cornfield Park (officially named Los Angeles State Historic Park) was the first site where a water wheel brought running water to the Pueblo of Los Angeles in the 1800's, even before William Mulholland designed the LA aqueduct. And as for the name... "There was never any corn growing there," according to Alicia Brown, local historian and resident. "The farmers would bring in their carts to pick up the vegetables to take them to el pueblo because that was the marketplace. That was the big hub of activity. And the wagons would carry corn. Corn was very popular. So they just called it the corn field. It was sort of like a nickname you have for a community. And it stuck." For decades, the space was just an empty field used by the Metro train yard and was almost converted into industrial warehouses until the scrappy land was transformed by a community art project led by artist Lauren Bon. "Her activating the space with her artwork really engaged the community, and opened this land to heal itself with the community's involvement," says Meredith Heckleman, a grower at Farmlab, the organization that has continued Bon's work of restoring the toxic soil, planting the seeds, sewing the cornfield, and feeding a handful of goats. The flowers that bloom in the spring are a symphony of colors in an area typically surrounded by weeds, buildings and cars. As families sit on the hill and enjoy what may be the final days of their access to this space, Park Ranger Thomas Carroll compares the skulls of some wildlife. "So tonight, for our campfire, we're going to learn how animals adapt to their environment." If Cornfield closes, families would have to search elsewhere for greenspace in a park poor city. Families like the Rogers. "I live in an apartment. So this is one reason why we come out here. Because we don't have a yard," says Rosalia Rogers. "This is the best place for the kids. It's a good place to walk, it's a good place to bring the dog and the kids and it's safe and it's a nice place. Plus it has a lot of history, so I couldn't see myself going anywhere else." After spending a few weeks there, I can understand why Mrs. Rogers feels this way. I had a hard time leaving the park when it closed at sunset one night, revealing its fantastic nighttime view of the skyline. As I chilled, though, I couldn't help thinking about a future where street traffic serves as a playground, rodents are referred to as "wildlife" and old folks, like me, will walk around asking other old folks: "Remember Parks?" Also From Youth Radio: Everybody Is Green In Other Words: YMI and KQED Environmental Issues- Youth Radio Growing Concerns for LA's Farmers' Markets Youth Radio/Youth Media International (YMI) is youth-driven converged media production company that delivers the best youth news, culture and undiscovered talent to a cross section of audiences. To read more youth news from around the globe and explore high quality audio and video features, visit Youthradio.org
 
Robert J. Elisberg: Larry Gelbart. The Mold Was Just Broken Top
Some days, you wish you didn't answer the phone. Today was that day. It was a friend telling me that Larry Gelbart had died. I can't do justice to Larry Gelbart, even if I had several months weeks to write something about it. He was an amazing writer and probably a better person. There may have been more renowned writers in single mediums, but his versatility was breathtaking, and so he may have been the most successful and best writer ever in America who wrote in all three major media - the theater, movies and television. photo credit, Los Angeles Times On stage, he won Tony Awards for his musicals, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "City of Angels." And he wrote the big hit play, "Sly Fox." For television, he had an amazing 12 Emmy nominations, and additional one, wining the award for "M*A*S*H," the series he developed. He wrote the HBO movies, "Barbarians at the Gate," Weapons of Mass Distractions" and "...and starring Pancho Villa as Himself" (all three of which got Emmy nominations). And he was part of the legendary written staff for the equally legendary series, "Caesar's Hour." And for movies, he got Oscar nominations for "Oh, God!," and his co-written script, "Tootsie." And none of this gives a hint who Larry Gelbart was. None of that even gives a hint to all that he wrote, he was that prolific, and talented. Do yourself a favor and check out his film and TV credits on the iMDB . As a friend said, describing Larry Gelbart would take Mount Rushmore. Here's just a touch of who he was as a person, though. It's the best I can do. Years back, we had never met, but communicated with each other regularly on what was called the Writers Guild BBS, a precursor of newgroups or chat rooms. One day, I mentioned how I had seen a revival of his musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," which played in Chicago with Phil Silvers in the lead role - and there was a great song added to that version that never got recorded, because there was no cast album when the show finally got to Broadway. I said how I'd been looking for the number, "The Echo Song," for over 20 years, and wondered if he knew whether or not it had ever been recorded. He didn't know, but said that whenever he next talked to Steve, he'd find out. Fine, I thought, That's nice. Though I didn't have a clue with this "Steve" was, perhaps his assistant, I figured. Then I realized - oh, he meant Stephen Sondheim, who'd written the score, and that new song. Again, I thought, geez, how really nice that was, but figured they wouldn't likely be talking to one another for a very long while, and when they did, I hardly thought it would be something he'd remotely remember to ask about. But still, you have to admit, it was a nice thought and nice thing to say. Little did I know. One week later, I got an email from Larry. "I just called Steve and asked him about that song. He said he had a recording of it in a little revue that was done and will send me a tape. What's your address?" Now, remember, we had never met . I'd had done close to nothing in my career. I was not much more than a punk kid. He didn't know me from Adam, other than some email correspondence. And he did all this. And I today have the tape. The song is wonderful. But far better is knowing how I got it. The first time I met Larry was not long after that. He was the guest at a Q&A., and I remember the moderator asking him if Larry had always been great with a fast quip (which was his famed reputation), or if it was something he developed. He thought a moment - not trying to figure out the answer, but whether to be modest or honest. He chose honesty. He shrugged, "I've always been that way." The quips at that event went flying past you so fast felt like you had to duke. The afternoon was as hilarious as any comedy. But I most remember one quip said in private, afterwards. As I said, we'd never yet met. We only had communicated by email on the WGA service - and at that point, although your name was attached to your note, you contacted people by an identifying numeral. (Mine was 456). After the event, I went up to Larry and finally introduced myself after many months of emails. "Hi, I'm Bob Elisberg." He looked at me for no more than about one second and then a smile broke out across his face, and he immediately replied. "You look just like your number." One of the most famous quips about the theater was his. He was writing the book for the musical, "The Conquering Hero," based on Preston Sturges's film, "Hail the Conquering Hero." It became a renowned flop, having huge problems during its tryout on the road and only lasted eight performances. The whole process was a legendarily difficult time and ultimate disaster. "I don't know if Hitler is still alive," Larry was quoted as saying, "but if he is, I hope he's out of town working on a musical." But he was just as quick with a witty quip in a nothing private moment. About 15 years ago, we had been exchanging emails about the then-upcoming Writers Guild negotiations with the AMPTP producers. One contingent was attempting to be conciliatory and was suggesting some loopholes that would be acceptable to the AMPTP. In a private email, amid just normal conversation he tossed off a simple phrase. He wrote, "Why give people loopholes, when history shows us they will just be used as a noose." If you'd read that in Bartlett's Famous Quotations and were told it was from Benjamin Franklin, you wouldn't be surprised. To Larry Gelbart, it was just conversation. As kind and thoughtful as Larry was, he was equally feisty and unbending when it came to his vision of right and wrong. Woe be the person who stood on the other side of what he thought was a moral issue. As wildly successful as he was, he always always always fought for the Little Guy. He always fought against leadership anywhere that he perceived as too institutional and what he felt was too overly-protective of private interests. He was, as a friend described him, formidable. If Ted Kennedy was the Lion of the Senate, Larry Gelbart was the Lion of the Writers Guild. But his roar sounded out loudly against any injustice, whether in the Guild or out. One of his last screenplays was about the Bush Administration, "S*** Happens." His last produced work (thus far) was a one-act play written for the Berkshire Playwrights Lab, "Pull," a not very loosely-hidden story about a Vice President of the United States who shoots his friend in the face with birdshot and tries to cover it up. Its juggling of language made it a perfect companion to his great play, "Mastergate" about the Watergate Hearings and the twisting of language, subtitled, "A Play on Words." I said "thus far," because Larry Gelbart remained an active writer to the end. Though 81 years old (and writing for over 60 years, beginning as a professional at age 17, writing for "The Danny Thomas Show" on the radio), Larry was still being hired by studios and companies to write - because there are happily enough smart producers (though far too few...) who recognized talent far transcended age. In addition to "S*** Happens" and Pull," Larry Gelbart was actively working on a film adaptation of his Tony Award-winning musical, "City of Angels," with Barry Levinson set to direct, and Bruce Willis to star. And he had also been hired by Warner Bros. to write a sequel to "Oh, God," for which he wrote the original. And he was working on a stage musical version of his movie, "Tootsie." For that matter, he also had another project that was put on hold because he was so busy with these! It's a musical, "N," about Napoleon and Josephine, written with Cy Coleman (music) and David Zippel (lyrics), When Coleman passed away recently, Larry mentioned that John Kander ("Cabaret," "Chicago") might come in and help finish the score. Further more, about two years ago, he wrote a semi-autobiographical play, "Better Late," that premiered in Chicago at the Northlight Theatre, and last year it played at the Galway Arts Festival in Ireland. He was in the midst of trying to set up for a Broadway run. All this at 81. He was more busy than most A-list writers half his age. But I keep going back to what a gentleman he was. When I had created an online mentor program for the Writers Guild, I received an email from someone dying to write to Larry Gelbart. I contacted Larry and offered to act as an intermediary, to protect his privacy. "No, that's okay," Larry said, "just give him my email address." One time, I had a screenplay I was having a difficult time getting read. Larry asked the story of it - and then (without having read a word) recommended it to a producer he was working with and also told me to send it to his agent, with his recommendation. That's Larry Gelbart. He was a force. He was a dear, kind gentleman. He was crusty. He was a firebreather for liberals. He was hilarious. And he was a brilliant writer. He was just great. I'm pissed off that he's gone - he contracted cancer in June (and being inspired by Larry, I'll say that it's the one contract I'm sure he wishes he could have broken), and to say he will be missed doesn't do justice to the concept. But at least we will always have his works left behind for us to always remember him and be inspired by and be made better by. There's so much more I want to say about Larry Gelbart, but none of my words will do him justice, so I'll leave it at that. What I'll do though is give him the last words. My very favorite thing he ever wrote. Not surprisingly, it's about writing. It's from near the end of "City of Angels." The main character, Stone, has just been told by the director's secretary that she helped rewrite a scene in his screenplay, and figures he should be grateful. Stone, the writer, replies: "'Helped?' You'd need a divining rod to find the word 'grateful' in me. Jesus, where the hell is everybody when they first deliver the typing paper? Where are all the 'helpers' when those boxes full of silence come in? Blank. Both sides. No clue, no instructions enclosed on how to take just twenty-six letters and endlessly rearrange them so that they can turn them into a mirror of a part of our lives. Try it sometime. Try doing what I do before I do it."
 
Charlotte Safavi: The Other Man Top
I'm in love with another man. Let me call him Daniel. We met last summer in the South of France, in Provence to be precise, exactitude being something he approves of. I would like to say we bonded in an outdoor cafe over buttery croissant and café crème, or at a chic bistro seated in bentwood chairs with steaming mussels and chilled rosé before us. No, Daniel and I met through my husband Ron. He introduced us at Marseille airport and then offered him a ride to the village where we were staying. Daniel makes a good first impression. He is well built and polite, well spoken and persuasive. He exudes confidence and authority. Above all, he has a great-sounding baritone, like the guy in the Men's Wearhouse ad, though in the beginning Daniel refused to speak anything but French, something that could have gotten in the way of our relationship, as my technical French is comme-ci, comme-ca. In the end, Ron reprogrammed Daniel--the built-in GPS on our car rental--in English with an upper crusty British accent, perfect pitch, clipped cadence and distinguished diction. I'm surprised my American husband went for the haughty English thing, but he is less superficial than me and more interested in results. When our holiday ended, I mourned leaving Daniel behind. But because I have an open-minded spouse with a penchant for electronic gadgets, Daniel showed up on our doorstep in autumn. I wept with joy. I was the proud owner of the handheld Daniel in a pink leather jacket. I'm the ideal match for a GPS. Pre-Daniel, the husband and wife scenario went like this: "Hi," says an assistant. "Is Ron available?" my voice quivers above roaring traffic. "He's in a meeting." "Uh, could I have a quick word? Nothing urgent," I whimper, sticking a finger in my other ear to block out the honking, "I'm just...um...lost." I blame urban living. I straddled cities car-less most of my life. In Tehran, we had a chauffeur, and Joseph, the Iranian-Armenian bus driver who drove me to school in a VW van. In Edinburgh, I simply memorized the bus number from my boarding school to Princess Street where I shopped for LPs on Saturdays. Oxford was doable by bike. In London, I rode the Tube, in Paris, the Metro, in DC, the other Metro. I never got lost underground. When I moved to Los Angeles, got a car and ended up in South Central asking for directions, I knew I was in trouble. Ironically, my first job was as a film agent trainee where I started in the mailroom delivering scripts. Though there were occasional highlights, like the time I delivered a screenplay to the Spielberg digs, mostly there were low points, the worse, stuck in a rut on an unpaved canyon road with a trunk full of scripts and nary a signpost. So, Daniel riding shotgun in my car is the best thing that has happened to me. Our courtship days were gung-ho. We went out all the time, Daniel taking me places I had never been before. He accepted my faults, did everything I asked. He was a formidable listener -- and I can run off -- I no longer felt lonely and getting lost was impossible. I waxed about him nonstop. Post-Daniel, the husband and wife scenario went like this: "Hi honey," I chirp. ('Turn left on Mansion Road,' goes a muffled Daniel.) "Hey. Did you find the estate sale?" "I found three! Daniel is amazing. I just keep punching in the addresses and voila ." "Hmm, maybe he should start paying the bills." Though he does not do credit card debt, Daniel does marriage counseling, for being on 4-wheels brings out the worse in couples. My husband drives around aimlessly like a Neanderthal looking for a familiar cave, while I roll down my window and shriek at random members of the biped tribe asking for directions. Now Daniel commands our mobile front seat couch. He gives steadfast guidance for a one-time fee, competent counselor in a compact box. Ron and I no longer squabble at intersections, because Daniel knows we are neither on Venus nor on Mars but on asphalt and he can get us back on track. Like every committed relationship, ours has its ups and downs. On the upside, Daniel sends me forth on fresh routes with found confidence. I bloom with the unspoken assurance that he will take care of me through whatever left, right and U-turns life brings. I drive with a certain je ne sait quoi. I make confetti out of MapQuest printouts. The downside is I grow needy, panicking if I forget him, even on my grocery run. He grates on me at times, especially if I know a straightforward way and he insists on a convoluted route. 'Recalculating...' he repeats, when I ignore him. He can be a pompous ass. If we have a sore disagreement, I'm prone to cut him off, revealing my controlling personality. Still, we have found a comfortable groove. I love Daniel despite his always being right. He loves me in spite of the fact that without him I'm a mole in daylight steering a Volvo, rooting out maps piled on my passenger seat at traffic lights. We are like an old married couple. More on France
 
Thelma Adams: Smile Pinki and the Great Movie Giveaways Top
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Well, yeah, unless you're still suffering through Philosophy 101. But if someone makes a brilliant documentary short and no one watches it -- does it have any impact? Even if it won the 2009 Oscar? When the movie is Smile Pinki , and it has such potential for changing the lives of many children around the globe, that's just not good enough for Brian Mullaney, the co-founder of The Smile Train, an American philanthropist who refuses to rest on his laurels. When Smile Pinki , the story of two Indian children with cleft palates whose lives were changed thanks to Mullaney's charity, won the Academy Award it was a great moment -- and the impoverished Pinki came to America to show off her post-op smile. But that was not enough. Now, the organization is doing a major giveaway, sharing ten million DVDs via its website http://www.smiletrain.org to raise awareness -- and funds. And it's the first time ever that an Academy Award winning movie has been given away for free. What struck me watching the short -- finally -- was how The Smile Train succeeds through simplicity as a charity. Based on the principle that to better one life is to change the world one smile at a time, the organization makes the simple cleft palate surgery available for free to children around the world. Over 120,000 in 76 countries receive the cleft surgery annually. The procedure takes only 45 minutes and costs as little as $250. A child first made me aware of The Smile Train. My friend's son chose it as the charity at his Bar Mitzvah and requested that guests donate to that cause rather than give him gifts. What I appreciated was that this act of giving wasn't about aggrandizing the Bar Mitzvah boy -- and putting something on his resume to help him get college. This boy was genuinely a child reaching out to help other children around the world. Another thing that impressed me with Pinki was the child's eye view of rural India it presents. When I was six, I lived in a Gujarati village for a year with my family and I was surprised to see how little had changed. Pinki had to walk for three hours on dirt roads with her father to get to the nearest village to travel to get the operation -- and she's barefoot! How many pairs of shoes do my kids have hidden under their beds alone? She doesn't even have a bed in her mud hut, nor does she have an Xbox360, or the internet, or a closet full of clothes. But she has a father and mother whose love is as strong as any American parents'. They're clearly devoted; in a tender moment Pinki's illiterate father smooths her hair into two perky pony tails following her operation. And despite their fears, they take the risk and travel to a distant hospital to get the life-changing operation. The Smile Train couldn't have made it easier to see this Academy Award winning short. And watching it with your children has the potential to change your life and theirs and, more importantly, better the lives of cleft kids around the world. More on India
 
Bill Maher: New Rule: Float Like Obama, Sting Like Ali Top
New Rule: Democrats must get in touch with their inner asshole. And no, I'm not being gratuitously crude when I say that. I refer to the case of Van Jones, and I'm sure you know who Van Jones is. At least I hope you do, because I haven't a clue, or at least I didn't until this week, when I found out he was the man the Obama administration hired to find jobs for Americans in the new green industries. Seems like a smart thing to do in a recession, but Van Jones got fired because he became the Scary Negro of the Week on Fox News, where, let's be honest, they still feel threatened by Harry Belafonte. Now, I know that right now, I'm supposed to be all re-injected with yes-we-can fever after the big health care speech, and it was a great speech -- when Black Elvis gets jiggy with his teleprompter, there is none better. But here's the thing: Muhammad Ali also had a way with words, but it helped enormously that he could also punch guys in the face. What got Van Jones fired was they caught him on tape saying that Republicans are assholes. And they call it "news." And Obama didn't say a word in defense of Jones and basically fired him when Glenn Beck told him to. Just like we dropped "end of life counseling" from health care reform because Sarah Palin said it meant "death panels" on her Facebook page. Crazy evil morons make up things for Obama to do, and he does it. Same thing with the speech to children this week. If you missed it, the president attempted to merely tell school children to work hard and wash their hands, and Cracker Nation reacted as if he was trying to hire the Black Panthers to hand out grenades in homeroom. Of course, the White House immediately capitulated. "No students will be forced to view the speech," a White House spokesperson assured a panicked nation. Isn't that like admitting that the president might be doing something unseemly? What a bunch of cowards. If the White House had any balls, they'd say, "He's giving a speech on the importance of staying in school, and if you spineless jackasses don't show it to every damn kid in your school we're cutting off your federal education funding tomorrow." The Democrats just never learn: Americans don't really care which side of an issue you're on as long as you don't act like pussies. When Van Jones called the Republicans assholes, he was paying them a compliment. He was talking about how they can get things done even when they're in the minority, as opposed to the Democrats, who can't seem to get anything done even when they control both houses of Congress, the presidency, and Bruce Springsteen. I love Obama's civility in the face of such contumely, his desire to work with his enemies, it's positively Christ-like. In college, he was probably the guy at the dorm parties who made sure the stoners shared their pot with the jocks. But we don't need that guy now. We need an asshole. Mr. President, there are some people who are never going to like you. That's why they voted for the old guy and Carrie's mom. You're not going to win them over. Stand up for the 70% of Americans who aren't crazy. And speaking of that 70% -- let's call them the sentient majority -- when are we going to actually show up in all this? Tomorrow Glenn Beck's army of zombie retirees are marching on Washington in protest of, well, everything. It's the Million Moron March, although they won't get a million of course, because many will be confused and drive to Washington state -- but they will make news. Because people who take to the streets always do. They're at the town hall screaming at the congressman, we're on the couch screaming at the TV. Especially in this age of electronics and Snuggies, it's a statement to just leave the house. But leave the house we must, because this is our last best shot for a long time to get the sort of serious health care reform that would make the United States the envy of several African nations. More on Health Care
 
Penelope Andrew: 9/11 Film Review of Amreeka: Drama of the Christian-Arab Experience in America Also Strikes Notes of Heart and Humor Top
Perhaps, there is no more fitting day than September 11th to write about a film that reminds us of our shared humanity as we struggle to survive, better ourselves, and deal with the subject of loss. Currently, this is exemplified in a new film by first-time, feature-length director and writer Cherien Dabis, from whom I feel certain we will see more exciting film-making. Amreeka , is the Arabic word for America, which Dabis knows so well for she is the daughter of Palestinian-Jordanian immigrants who came to the Midwest before she was born. Dabis' new film is a compelling look at Muna (Nisreen Faour), a lovely, divorced, overweight, overeducated Palestinian woman living in the West Bank with her teenage son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) and her mother. Stopping for groceries before she makes the long and arduous journey home through military checkpoints where she and her son are sometimes subjected to humiliating treatment by Israeli soldiers, she suffers as she sees her ex-husband and his skinny, overly painted, new wife. Muna also suffers from being overqualified for and is becoming exasperated with her job in a bank, weary of her mother's kvetching, and exhausted from a commute formerly taking 20 minutes that now with the wall built around the West Bank takes over two hours. When a long-forgotten visa application is granted permitting her to come to the U.S., Fadi urges Muna to grab it. Their emotional goodbyes to Muna's mother and brother are a heartbreaking reminder of the farewells that immigrants must make when they tear themselves away from parents, siblings, and children. Dabis' direction of her actors' performances brings an extraordinary tenderness and pathos to the universal experience in this and so many other scenes throughout this wonderfully authentic film. Muna (played to near perfection by Nisreen Faour) and Fadi (in an authentic and compelling performance by Melkar Muallem) embrace demonstrating the power of love between mother and son who have come from Palestine to find a better life in small-town Illinois which is not quite ready to embrace them. Even after the long and grueling treatment in U.S. customs, Muna and Fadi arrive exhausted but still hopeful and excited to live with her sister Raghda (Hiam Abbass), brother-in-law Nabeel (Yussef Abu Warda), and their three charming daughters (so perfectly cast that they nearly steal the film). The time is 2003, and the U.S. is about to invade Iraq, which is far from a perfect time for Arabs to come to Amreeka. Muna armed with two degrees and a long work history struggles to find work only to be rejected over and over again. Finally, she takes a job at a White Castle, but the shame of this humble work makes her keep it from her son, sister, and family. Son Fadi encounters similar misunderstandings and abuse based on ignorance and prejudice in school. Thank goodness he has his feisty cousin Salma (Alia Shawkat) close by for support and comfort. Financial pressures and prejudices are made even worse when Muna's brother-in-law, a once successful physician, finds himself losing patients and can barely pay the mortgage on the home that this mega-extended family share. While Muna and her extended family encounter many ignoramuses and bullies, they are also aided by small heroes: the kind-hearted principal of Fadi and Salma's high school, Mr. Novatski (Joseph Ziegler) who is Jewish; a bank employee (Miriam Smith) working next door to the White Castle who keeps tabs on Muna and her secret life as a hamburger slinger; and Muna's blue-haired, high-school drop-out co-worker Matt (Brodie Sanderson) for whom she makes scrumptious falafel in "The Castle's" deep fryer normally reserved for French fries. No one is perfect in this film, however; even the sophisticated Mr. Ziegler assumes Muna and her Arab family are Muslims, but they are, in fact, Christian.* Veteran actress Hiam Abbass known to audiences from The Visitor, Babel, Munich and other films and Nisreen Faour play sisters in a tight-knit, Arab-American family trying to survive and make sense of a post-9/11 world. Amreeka is an artful, moving testimony to the perils of making assumptions about individuals or groups. It is overflowing with masterful framing, lighting, use of music, editing, and other technical aspects of filmmaking, which coalesce almost seamlessly. It features stunning performances by Nisreen Faour as the irrepressible Muna, veteran Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass ( The Visitor, Babel, Munich, Lemon Tree ), Melkar Muallem (in his film debut), Yussef Abu Warda (a well known theater actor from Haifa), Alia Shawkat ( Arrested Development, State of Grace, Prom Wars ), and a wonderful ensemble of other talented actors. The film is also marked by a rare consistency of tone and an authenticity that stretch (almost) to the very end of the movie. By this time, however, we don't much care. We're hooked, so the final idyllic scene is very satisfying indeed. Amreeka is a film of impeccable taste that unites instead of divides and centers itself on a universal character who reminds us so much of our own relatives past and present who had the audacity and courage to come to America to fulfill their dreams of a better life.* ***1/2 Stars Amreeka . Directed, written, and produced by Cherien Dabis. Starring Nisreen Faour (Muna Farah), Melkar Muallem (Fadi Farah), Hiam Abbass (Raghda Halaby), Alia Shawkat (Salma Halaby), Yussef Abu Warda (Nabeel Halaby), and Joseph Ziegler (Mr. Novatski). Released by National Geographic Entertainment. Running time: 1 hour 37 minutes. * (In Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and other Middle Eastern countries, there are large numbers and sometimes a majority of Christians -- who like Victoria Reggie Kennedy -- are Catholic and descendents of Maronites or are Greek and Eastern Orthodox. Like their Irish, Italian, Greek, and Serbian counterparts, they have made their way to the United States ever since the early 20th Century and have not always been entirely welcomed. Recently, Arab- and other Muslim-Americans find themselves subjected ironically to the same suspicion and grotesque anti-Semitism as their Jewish-American counterparts who suffered so similarly during the Red Scare of the McCarthy Era and the HUAC in the 1950s.) More on Arrested Development
 
DC VegFest: September 12 at George Washington University Top
The DC VegFest is a FREE outdoor festival celebrating the very best of everything vegetarian in and around the nation's capital. There are so many reasons to choose a vegetarian diet--for our health, the planet, and animals--and Washington, D.C. offers so many wonderful opportunities to explore meatless cuisine. The DC VegFest has something for everyone to enjoy, so be sure to bring along your friends and family! The first 400 people who come to the DC VegFest Info booth will get a free 2009 DC VegFest bag filled with goodies from Lara Bar, Pirate's Booty, Follow Your Heart, Vega, and so much more!
 
Susan Smalley, Ph.D.: One Vibrant Life Top
I went to a memorial service yesterday for a friend's mother who died at 99. It was full of some 50+ people who knew this extraordinary woman - an ordinary mom who revealed the extraordinary in everyday life. She started using a computer at 83, fell in love with email and the Internet in her 90s, and spent everyday of her life learning. Her wisdom seemed simple: observe, connect, and act. Observe the world outside and in, connect what you learn from these observations to an ever-changing template of life's meaning, and act wisely from such knowledge wrapped in kindness and love. She loved adventure and continued to travel until 98. Her philosophy on travel was described in an email she had written to her daughter - take advantage of your youth and run, don't walk, to explore the world. Yet the words spoken by family and friends revealed the energy source that fueled her longevity - love. She was respected and sought out for her wisdom - even at 99 - because her worldview was constantly changing - updated by her - as she learned more and more. She lived far from a fixed or repetitive self-centered perspective that age can sometimes bring. That was why her interactions with the world were extraordinary despite their ordinary nature. I only met her once, at a baby shower for her grand-daughter; she was 98 that year. I spent 30 minutes with her talking about how powerful our minds are in shaping our realities. Of course she was well read on the topic and began to cite scientific studies demonstrating the thesis; she made a point to send me two books in the mail upon her return to NYC. They arrived within the week. A woman who was like a sponge for learning, elegant in dress, sophisticated in manner, and true to her word. A chance encounter that gave me a model for the later stages of life; but then I realized, she is really a model for every stage of life. It was perhaps most refreshing to attend a memorial service for someone who lived such a vibrant and full life - who died at a time that fit our best expectations, not too early and not following a long and painful illness. Just the natural end to one cycle of life as others - her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren - emerged to continue the process. May she be a model for all of us as we move through the life cycle - never forgetting to create extraordinary moments in the ordinary nature of life. More on Death & Dying
 
Dawn Teo: President of Community College Board Arrested for DUI, Couldn't Recite Alphabet Top
PHOENIX, AZ -- The 26-year-old President of the Maricopa County Community Colleges (MCCC) governing board and staunch Christian conservative activist, Colleen Clark (R), admitted this week that she was arrested for drunken driving in July. According to the police report, Clark was so inebriated that she was only able to recite the alphabet correctly from A to D and then finished her recitation with "L, U, G, A, K, Z, U, P, L, M, N, O, P." Although Clark admitted to the board on Tuesday during a work-study session that she had, in fact, been arrested on July 11 for drunken driving with a .143 alcohol level (missing an extreme DUI charge by just .007), Clark is refusing to step down from her position as head of the MCCC governing board. According to the MCCC website, MCCC is one of the largest community college systems in the world and is the largest provider of health care workers and job training in the state of Arizona. The police report details a bizarre incident that begins with Clark meandering in and out of traffic lanes at a very low rate of speed, nearly clipping a curb at one point. The arresting officer noted in the report that one of the first things he noticed after pulling over Clark was that her pants were "unzipped and open." Colleen Clark's mug shot In addition to being unable to recite the alphabet for the officers, Clark was also unable to pass the standard drunk driving tests administered by the officers. Instead, while trying to convince officers that she only had two glasses of wine, she staggered and nearly fell. According to Clark's biography on the MCCC website, Clark currently serves as the Women's Ministry Coordinator of the East Valley Bible Church (the same church where Republican Governor Jan Brewer recently preached about the state budget) and previously served as the Director of Prevention for the Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Phoenix (a local anti-contraceptives/anti-abortion counseling center). While some public officials have already begun calling for Clark's resignation, at least one of her colleagues -- a Democratic rival -- has magnanimously issued a statement saying he does not think her mistake warrants her resignation. Instead, Board Secretary Randolph Lumm (D), who works as a substance abuse counselor applauded Clark's public admission, saying , "I know that was very hard for her. The fact that she's taken responsibility I totally admire, and it sets a good example for others. And I want it to be used as a learning tool, not a punishing tool." According to the Arizona Republic , fellow board members Jerry Walker and Donald Campbell are also supporting Clark's decision to remain as president of the MCCC governing board. Fellow board member Deborah Pearson is not as forgiving. Instead, Pearson says the DUI demonstrates a pattern of "immature behavior." Pearson has been a tough critic of Clark in the past and has a message for her, "Leave the district out of it; we don't need this. Just go and take care of it. And when you get it taken care of, run again, come back a changed woman, a mature, more prepared, capable person." Arizona Rep. David Schapira (D-17) posted a tweet Friday saying that Clark should resign and that "she sets a bad example for the thousands of young people she serves." Clark defended her decision to stay on the board, saying , "The punishment for this personal behavior will not have adverse effects on any of my professional commitments and certainly not any effect on my work with the community colleges." According to the Phoenix New Times , Clark plans to fight the charges, and the trial date is set for September 1. Clark did not respond to our requests for a statement. Get HuffPost Eyes&Ears on Facebook and Twitter!
 
Michael Jordan Inducted Into Basketball Hall Of Fame Top
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Michael Jordan, maybe the greatest of them all, is taking his place alongside basketball's other greats. Jordan was being enshrined in the Hall of Fame on Friday night, a final honor that follows all the championship rings and MVP trophies he collected during his career. He joins David Robinson and John Stockton, a pair of his 1992 Dream Team teammates, and coaches Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer in a distinguished class. "It all started with that little round ball. I think if you take that away from any of us, I'm pretty sure we would have struggled in life, because that's how much the game meant to us," Jordan said at a morning news conference with the inductees, where he stressed that the weekend wasn't just about him. "It's truly a pleasure for me to be a part of this and contrary to what you guys believe, it's not just me going into the Hall of Fame. It's a group of us," Jordan said. "And I'm glad to be a part of them and believe me, I'm going to remember them as much as they remember me." Still, none of them can compare to Jordan – perhaps no one ever will – after he led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships while often being considered the best player ever. Jordan said he cringes when he hears that label, because he didn't get to earn it by playing others who might have deserved it. "It's a privilege, but I would never give myself that type of accolade because I never competed against everybody in this Hall of Fame," he said. "So it's too much for me to ask and too much for me to accept." Robinson was enshrined first Friday before a large San Antonio contingent that included teammates Tim Duncan and Avery Johnson, and coaches Larry Brown and Gregg Popovich. Stockton told the Spurs that his running mate, Karl Malone, was the best power forward, not Duncan. The enshrinement ceremony took place at Springfield's Symphony Hall, because Jordan was too big for the Hall of Fame. The move to the other building allowed for a crowd of about 2,600, more than double what the Hall can accommodate. Most of the attention was on Jordan, the five-time NBA MVP, but the others in the class are some of the most accomplished in the sport. Stockton is the career leader in assists and steals, Robinson won an MVP trophy and two titles in San Antonio, Sloan is the only coach to win 1,000 games with one team, and Stringer was the first woman's coach to lead three different schools to the Final Four. "Unique, unique competitors," Stockton said. Fiery ones, too. Sloan, Stockton's longtime coach, told two different tales of fights he was in as a hard-nosed player for Chicago. Jordan remembered scoring around 20 points in a row late in a game to pull out a win, which was followed by a conversation with Bulls assistant Tex Winter. "Tex reminded me that there's no 'I' in team," Jordan said. "And I looked back at Tex, I said, 'There's 'I' in win.' So whichever way you want it." Jordan and Robinson were All-American college players who entered the NBA with high expectations. Sloan acknowledged he wasn't so sure about Stockton at first – and turns out, neither was Stockton. "I thought they'd figure me out pretty quickly. I thought the Jazz would figure out that they'd made a mistake, so first paycheck I saved every cent," Stockton said. "I was pretty sure I was a one-year-and-out guy." He ended up playing 19 seasons in Utah, while Robinson spent 14 with the Spurs. He is still an enormous presence in San Antonio through his charitable work. "That's one of the things I think I loved most about San Antonio. When you get out in the community, you really feel like you're making a difference. You feel like you're impacting people there and families there," Robinson said. "So anybody who has followed my career, it's been as important as what we did on the court, being involved in the community, making a difference." Stringer also talked of making a difference in the lives of others, such as the pride she feels watching women's basketball grow into a sport where her former players can now earn a living playing professionally in the United States. Those contributions to the game, along with her 825 wins, had her sharing a stage Friday with Jordan, whose family she developed a friendship with when they did Nike tours together. "I once paid to come into the Naismith Hall of Fame," she said, "and now here I am." More on Sports
 
Georges Ugeux: Could We Expect Anything From the Pittsburgh Summit of the G 20? Top
On September 23 and 24, Pittsburgh will host the meeting of the G 20 leaders of the world's largest economies. I have consistently been surprised by the emptiness of the statements following these meetings ever since President Sarkozy convinced President George W. Bush to hold the first one at the heads of state level a few weeks after Barack Obama's election as President. The G 20 uniquely regroups the Ministers of Finance and the Central Bank Governors "to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy". Never was it intended to be anything else than a technical forum meeting twice a year. It has no power, no administration, let alone any authority. I am all in favor of Heads of State or Governments meeting and discussing the global economy. But the G20 has been used for other purposes: changing the financial regulation, abolishing tax heavens, discussing bonuses, in other words, allowing the European governments to vent their frustration with their inability to act after the financial crisis. Each country has also approached the G20 with different agendas causing a divide between the attending countries -- the United States wants to discuss the management of the recovery of the economy, emerging markets want to raise the issues of international trade and imbalance while European countries, mostly France and Germany, want to push the discussion toward the topic of bonuses. The discussion on bonuses has not gotten close to a concrete coordination of the G 20 countries. The G 20 Ministers of Finance in their communiqué last week end asked the Financial Stability Board to propose common standards to be discussed in Pittsburgh. The real issue, however, the correlation between compensation and risk taking is essential but not advanced enough to provide any solution. The recent statement of Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs is going in the right direction, but will not be sufficient to convince the world that the times of greed and abuse are gone. The second topic, the capital ratio of financial institutions is a crucial one. But it should be addressed by the Bank of International Settlements, the Bank of the Central Banks located in Basle, not by heads of state. The economy is sufficiently struggling and our planet in sufficiently great danger for them not to get distracted by the technicalities of financial reforms. The U.S. and the UK require more strict capital ratios while continental European banks want to keep the Basle II standards. The reality is that the global economy does not have time to reinvent the regulation. These regulations and accounting treatments are some of the most complex regulatory issues. While I believe the U.S. and the UK are right to want to tighten the capital ratios, but this will take time and a lot of political might. In fact, the change in ratios promoted by Bill Mc Donough, Tim Geithner's predecessor at the New York Federal Reserve, have actually been implemented around the world except in the United States where the banking lobbies have managed to freeze its application - we all know the result of that resistance. It is better to use the current rules and work on a new set of rules for the entire financial system rather than trying to improvise. We need stability, not experimentation. Josef Ackermann, the CEO of Deutsche Bank last week made an unambiguous statement about the need for additional equity. Banks are already operation under a higher equity ratio than before the crisis. But it is also crucial that similar ratios be imposed on non bank financial institutions, including investment banks and hedge funds. Overall, the time of the G 20 would be better spent looking at the post--stimulus world, employment and economic growth, and let others deal with the details of the financial reform. At least the expectations are low...Let's hope we will be pleasantly surprised. More on Barack Obama
 
Michelle Obama's Purple Converse At Community Service Project (PHOTOS) Top
The president and first lady marked the eighth anniversary of September 11th on Friday by highlighting community service. The first lady promised George Washington University students that if they completed 100,000 hours of community service this year, she'd speak at their graduation in May. The first lady and president also painted a house with Habitat for Humanity volunteers, where the president got white paint on his dress shoes and Mrs. Obama wore funky purple Converse sneakers. For more info on how you can volunteer, visit www.iparticipate.org Follow HuffPost Style on Twitter and become a fan of HuffPost Style on Facebook ! More on Michelle Obama Style
 
Andrew Reinbach: History Will Judge Top
Lost in the uproar about whether Rep. Joe Wilson (R.-SC) displayed bad taste or patriotic vigor by calling the President a liar as he was addressing Congress was the spectacle, earlier that day, of Supreme Court Justices soiling their honor, that corporations might own us more thoroughly. The subject is no legal quibble: If there's one topic Americans of every political stripe agree on, it's that corporations in this country have too much power. While there's a strong argument to be made that forcing the issue now is a desperate attempt by ideologues who know the jig is up, the fact that Right Wing judges are even addressing the matter this way makes you wonder what the people behind them were really up to in the first place. This display of sheer political greed at the Court was Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (Docket No. 08-205) -- yet another naked example of judicial activism from a Roberts Court apparently determined to twist the facts and the law against ordinary citizens. The irony of Right Wing judicial activism seemed lost on the Justices, who had heard the case earlier this year, but asked the parties to re-argue the case, on new grounds of the Court's choosing, so it could decide whether we should jettison a hundred years of case law and precedent, and give corporations the right to meddle directly in political campaigns. Which side was addressing the real issues of the case was made immediately clear when Justice Scalia wondered if established law is an onerous prohibition of the political rights of auto mechanics, while Justice Ginsberg forced Ted Olson, who represented Citizens United, to confess that a victory for his clients would give foreign corporations with American subsidiaries -- Russia's Gazprom, for instance -- the same right to play in American elections as American corporations -- not to mention you and me. This bizarre but plausible prospect--and I'd like to see what Vladimir Putin would do if the case was reversed -- is possible because in America, corporations are people under the law, and have been since at least 1886 ( Santa Clara County v. Union Pacific Railroad ). American corporations so abused that advantage to grab political power that the idea became an issue in Teddy Roosevelt's 1904 Presidential campaign -- he'd accepted secret corporate contributions -- and gave birth to the 1907 Tillman Act, which is the wellhead of all of America's campaign finance legislation. That the Court's right wing members earnestly swear to uphold precedent during their confirmation hearings, yet abandon said pledges the moment they put their hand on the Bible, tells us a lot about what these people are made of, since Justices Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Kennedy and Thomas have omitted no opportunity to, as they apparently see it, correct the balance of power in established law -- not to mention abandon common sense and equity -- in favor of large concentrations of power. This, despite the fact the Founder's Original Intent, long the Right Wing's touchstone, had the opposite goal. Whether this discrepancy between their sworn statements to Congress and their acts is grounds for impeachment is a subject for Constitutional scholars; doubtless, these men believe they're both acting in the name of a higher truth, and within the true law. There's no evidence they're stupid. But their willingness to trash their reputations in the history books is another matter. Legal scholars -- not to mention Supreme Court Justices--all appreciate that every word they commit to the record takes a life of its own, and that history will judge them, whatever explanations they offer to their contemporaries; after all, they've all studied the first century BC cases of Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman Republic's greatest lawyer, and know the marks they leave on American law will also persist. Certainly, they must know their bedrock belief in a Constitution that should not be interpreted -- that no rights or powers exist unless enumerated in the document -- was exploded by James Madison, the Father of the document, in The Federalist, #44 . That essay says point-blank that "Had the convention attempted a positive enumeration of the powers necessary and proper for carrying their other powers into effect, the attempt would have involved a complete digest of laws on every subject to which the Constitution relates; accommodated too, not only to the existing state of things, but to all the possible changes which futurity may produce...." They probably also know that according to the Book of Revelations, all liars go to Hell. Looked at that way, you really have to wonder whether these Justices are in the service of powers determined to remake America to their advantage, and devil take the hindmost; or if they respect themselves and want to make good law. Luckily for the country, these Justices are intelligent, educated men with lifetime appointments who can do as they please from the Bench. And this goes double for Justices Roberts and Alito, who are reportedly undecided about ruling in favor of Citizens United. They know that they don't have to undermine the American republic if they don't want to. And as individuals, they not only can respond to the will of the American People; I believe they would, given the chance. Dangers like Citizens United v. FEC evaporate in the glare of public scrutiny. And so far, citizens are permitted by the Constitution to petition the government on subjects of interest.. If there was ever a case to be made for doing that, this is it. More on Supreme Court
 
Marines Take Risks With Deadly Trust-Building Game Top
RALEIGH, N.C. — Lance Cpl. Patrick Malone was relaxing on his bunk at an Iraqi combat base when a direct superior interrupted his late-night movie. It was time for a game Marines sometimes play to build confidence in colleagues: Point a gun at a comrade and ask, "Do you trust me?" Cpl. Mathew Nelson raised his weapon – and the 9 mm pistol went off, striking Malone in the head. The higher-ranking Marine rushed to the wounded man's side and tried to perform CPR, but Malone was mortally wounded. The game, which has cropped up in barracks across Iraq and Afghanistan, is supposed to make a serviceman feel comfortable enough with a comrade that he would stare into the other Marine's gun barrel. But it violates the military's basic weapon-safety rules. "I can't believe the Marines, these professional soldiers, are playing these games," said Damian Malone, father of the slain 21-year-old. The younger Malone "was willing to put his life on the line every day, and when he came back to his unit he wasn't supposed to have to worry about his safety." On Thursday, Nelson pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and seven counts of reckless endangerment for the shooting at Combat Outpost Viking in Anbar province just before midnight on March 9. Nelson, 25, of Dearborn Heights, Mich., was sentenced Thursday to eight years in Camp Lejeune's brig, demoted to the lowest rank in the Marines and given a bad-conduct discharge. "From the beginning, my client has been eaten up with remorse," said Vaughan Taylor, a civilian lawyer who represented Nelson. Taylor said the two Marines had finished the trust game, and Nelson turned away. His subordinate, from Ocala, Fla., called out to tell him he was going to attend to the unit's vehicles outside. The corporal turned back, pulling the trigger on the weapon he didn't know was loaded, Taylor said. The game typically begins when one service member partially inserts a bullet magazine into the handle of a pistol and pretends to pull back the gun's slide to make it appear that the weapon is ready to fire. He then points the weapon at a fellow service member before either pulling the trigger or lowering the gun. Typically, even if he pulls the trigger the weapon will not discharge because a bullet is not in the chamber. "When you give high-powered weapons to young men, once in a while bad things are going to happen," said Gary Solis, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and attorney who teaches on the law of armed conflict at West Point and Georgetown. "You have young men, bored, killing time with a gun. That's not a good mix," Solis said. "I don't think the Marines have any corner on this. I think it happens in the civilian community as well." The Marine Corps Times reported this week that the game had similar deadly end in 2007, when a Kentucky Army National Guardsman shot and killed a fellow soldier. The guardsman who fired the fatal shot later said he learned to play from other members of his unit while deployed to Iraq in 2006. Damian Malone believes his son's unit hid the game from their superiors and claimed they were building trust within the team. But the practice amounts to a form of hazing that should be wiped out of the military, he said. Patrick Malone joined the Marines in 2007 after a year at the University of South Florida and another year at a community college closer to home. He went to Iraq in October 2008 as an anti-tank missileman. "I guess there's a little closure on this because you meet who this guy was and you see what happened," Damian Malone said after attending the court-martial with his wife and other family members. "Now we want to expose this game, wherever it is."
 
Water Bottle Deposits To Start This Fall In NY Top
ALBANY, N.Y. — Mandatory deposits on water bottles are expected to start this fall in New York, while the Paterson administration considers changes that would extend them to other beverages, including sugared water, iced tea and sports drinks. "It's something we're seriously considering," said Judith Enck, chief environmental adviser to Gov. David Paterson, with backing of at least one major bottling company. Another possible addition to the law would make deposit bottles redeemable at all stores, not just those that sell a particular brand, which would make returns easier, she said. The exception for water containing sugar has drawn sharp criticism, especially because Paterson's public policy goals include battling obesity. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., prosecuting attorney for the Riverkeeper organization, who has his own water bottling company, called the measure "an ugly sausage cooked up by lobbyists" that gives sugary drink producers an unfair competitive advantage. The required nickel deposit plus the handling fee will raise retail prices more than $2 for a 24-pack of water, including grocery generic brands, said James Rogers, president of the Food Industry Alliance of New York State. "That's where people will see the biggest difference," he said. With nearly 2.5 billion bottles sold annually in the state, environmentalists mainly want to see the water bottle deposits established. They're worried that tinkering, and business lobbying against deposits, could undermine their major legislative victory from April. A federal injunction blocked the law this summer, though U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts is expected to lift it after a hearing Oct. 22. She warned water bottlers they would need to show her why she shouldn't life the injunction. "Water is about 25 percent of the overall beverage market," said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate for the New York Public Interest Research Group, adding that improvements could come later. "With the expansion we're capturing about 90 percent of the beverages we believe should have deposits on them." Earlier state laws required deposits on soda and other carbonated beverages, beer, and wine coolers, with a study showing they raised aluminum can recycling from less than 20 percent to more than 80 percent. Eleven states have at least some mandatory bottle deposits, and legislation has been introduced in Congress, according to the Bottle Bill Resource Guide. Connecticut's water bottle deposits take effect Oct. 1. In New York, exempt beverages includes milk, juice, wine and liquor. Brian Flaherty, director of public affairs for Nestle Waters North America, a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, said his organization is not challenging the deposits but needs time to set up new systems for labels, accounting and collecting returned bottles. He didn't know whether the group would ask the judge for an extension beyond Oct. 22. Its dozen brands include Poland Spring. "We're doing everything we can to be ready," Flaherty said, adding they back expansion to other drinks. "There is absolutely no environmental basis to draw the line between different types of water, and frankly there is no basis to draw the line in putting water in but not sports drinks, not teas and other things." Enck estimated sugared waters now comprise about 2 percent of the bottled water market. Their exemption resulted from a compromise with lawmakers and concerns that downstate stores had limited space and didn't want sugary bottle residues attracting vermin, though they already take soda and beer bottles, she said. "Contrary to what Robert Kennedy said about the Legislature being in the thralls of sugar lobby, that's not how that decision came down," Haight said. It was done in closed-door budget negotiations, a deal that apparently surprised business opponents who weren't even talking about details, she said. Batts in August permitted two key provisions of New York's new law to take effect, raising the handling fee from 2 cents to 3.5 cents per bottle for redemption centers and stores that take returns, and allowing the state to collect 80 percent of unclaimed deposits. New York officials recently issued rules with financial provisions retroactive to June 1, when the law was scheduled to take effect. Judge Thomas Griesa and Batts blocked another provision, requiring New York-specific codes on bottles, finding it a violation of the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause.
 
Matthew DeBord: U.S. Open Tennis: The American Tennis Boom Was a Fluke Top
No one tuning in to the U.S. Open men's and women's semifinals and finals this weekend is going to want to hear this, but I have bad news: the vaunted American "tennis boom" of the 1970s and '80s was a fluke. We were supposed to see tennis broken out of its country-club, upper-crusty enclaves and delivered to the masses. And for a while, it worked. The result, in fact, is the massive National Tennis Center complex, which annually hosts the U.S. Open. America took to tennis for a while. Public courts sprang up everywhere, young kids got racquets and took lessons, and a generation of marketable American stars -- Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, even a naturalized Martina Navratilova -- emerged. It inspired a mega-generation, which included Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, and the Williams sisters. But then the nation lost interest. Or more accurately, had its interest diverted, into Tiger Woods' brand of golf, a resurgent Major League Baseball, fantasy football, big time hoops, X-Games -- the whole EPSN-ificated suite of competitive contests. Now the bottom has fallen out of American tennis. I live in Los Angeles, a one-time tennis hotbed, where on any given day, the city's vast supply of public tennis courts is...completely empty. A common lament at this year's U.S. Open is that we have no up-and-coming male pro players, and when the Williams sisters are finished, the situation looks grim for the ladies. Jimmy Connors, doing commentary for the Tennis Channel, said that the country is already a generation behind on junior development and unless something happens soon in terms of catching up, we'll fall two generations behind. Nothing is going to happen. It's important to remember that this is historically consistent. Tennis has always gone through boom and bust cycles in America. We had great champions in the 1920s and '30s, like Bill Tilden and Don Budge, but tennis became a second-tier sport again after World War II and didn't really pop back into Americans' consciousness until the '70s and '80s boom. This is evident in the caliber of world-class players we have today. Andy Roddick is the only American man in the top ten. James Blake, a class act, if never a serious threat as a Grand Slam champion, has fallen out of the top ten. The next few American men, guys like John Isner and Sam Querrey, are rising, but it's hard to see them challenging the raft of European and South American players who currently dominate the game. On the women's side, it's even worse. Melanie Oudin was a great story at this year's Open, but the top women are from the countries of the former USSR, Belgium, and France. We have Venus and Serena, but they're not going to be around forever. The experts who monitor the game can talk all they want about identifying juniors early and getting them into tennis, or adopting some of the passion, innovation, and sheer love for the game that we see in the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. But it's not going to work because the broad public support for the game isn't there. Trying to force things back to the way they were in the 1980s is a futile undertaking. I hate to be pessimistic, but I take some solace in my belief that the cycle will come back around in another 20-30 years and America will go tennis mad again. By then, this false debate over the future of American tennis will be long forgotten. We'll be less likely at that time to see a manufactured, built-by-pros U.S. challenger to the world's tennis elite. These young men and women won't play because everyone wants them to -- they'll play because they love the game and can't imagine doing anything else. Tennis is an individual sport. The most important motivation doesn't come from the group. It comes from within. And the sooner we confront the fact that the U.S. tennis boom was an anomaly rather than destiny or the norm, the sooner we'll solve the "problem" of American tennis. Oh, and by the time we stage our comeback, maybe we'll have a roof on the largest tennis stadium in the world, so our national tournament isn't stalled for days by rain in September.
 
Hilary Moss: Charlotte Ronson's Shockingly Wearable Collection Top
Maybe it was the thirty-minute-long wait under the pink, incubation-style lighting or the pounding remixes booming from her sister Samantha's deejay booth, but I came away from this afternoon's Charlotte Ronson Spring/Summer 2010 show with a revised -- and positive -- opinion of the designer's work. Looking back at past collections, it seemed that Ronson was trying to round up the trends in that moment, be it plaid, cut-outs or vests, which translated into a plaid dress, with shoulder cut-outs paired with a leather vest. But, honey, fashion ain't that easy, or at least that's what I've learned from Bravo. On this season's catwalk, Ronson showed a cohesive line that took what's currently à la mode and tweaked it just enough to make me consider going shopping. (Gently prying the money from my wallet will be big for spring.) The simple color palette of mainly gray, black, ivory, pale pink, army green and cerulean gave Ronson room to experiment with accoutrements and texture. Some of the garments had short, tissue-like trains, some were layered with lace or mesh tops, some pieces were studded or belted with leather strips, and some ensembles were just straightforward and perfectly-tailored. Many of the models had headbands tied around their hair, a nod to the look that's so very now. I took a liking to the cropped and bunched hosiery worn under some of the skirts and shorts and began to have visions of myself wrapped in her inkblot print. I can honestly say I would wear nearly any piece from this semi-reasonably-priced collection, except for the hoods, which aren't practical for going out in public, unless you pull it over your face so no one can see you. And I guess I'd wear a tank top under her sheer shirts, at least while at the office. And now, let me take your questions: what celebrities were there? Pshaw. I was there to see the fashion, people, not the faces. And Ronson met my challenge, showing a collection that positions her as a legitimate designer. All photos from Getty Images. Follow HuffPost Style on Twitter and become a fan of HuffPost Style on Facebook ! Read our Fashion Week Big News page. More on Fashion Week
 

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