Friday, October 30, 2009

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Shawn Amos: Old Musical Dogs Learning New Internet Tricks Top
The internet is the best thing to ever happen to music. It brought big music to its knees, made Susan Boyle a star, and finally gave me a reason to move all of those CDs into my garage. I'm tired of the doom and gloom prophesying about the end of the music business. This is the beginning of a new musical world, my brothers and sisters. The only ones need be scared are the fat suits who bled generations of artists dry in order to get a ride on a Gulfstream and a check cashed with the sweat and blood of an musician taking a bus to his next gig where some drink tickets await him. This is the Age of the Artist. In a world where equipment, distribution, and Paypal is in the hands of everyone, only talent will matter. The days of the middleman are (almost) over. Viva la revolucion de music. While the major record labels rearrange the chairs on the Titanic, musicians are getting in the water. Bands big and small are reinventing themselves, their music, and their relationship with their audience. They're using technology to break down corporate wall that kept them from their fans. And while the world gets bigger and more fragmented, musicians and their fans have never been closer thanks them Googles and Internets. Here are five old dogs learning new tricks by taking it to the (virtual) street. U2 I'll admit that I'm on the fence about U2 these days - at least musically. But, goddamn, they still inspire me with their battle to stay relevant in the computer age. In 2004, they were the first band to release a digital box set. "The Complete U2" was available only as a 446-song iTunes download. Savvy move. But the capper came last Sunday as U2 streamed their Rose Bowl concert live on YouTube - another first - to an estimated 7 million people. Next up: the first concert broadcast on Mars. Pearl Jam The Seattle band was one of the first to see the corporate music ship sinking. In 2000, they began claiming control over their musical destiny by releasing a series of "Official Bootlegs" from their Binaural Tour. Seventy-two were released in all. Pearl Jam has continued the series off and on ever since and last week announced a bootleg app for Blackberry devices. Now, former grunge scensters-turned-businessmen can get their live PJ fix on the way into their board meetings. Beck Ever the contrarian evangelist, Beck decided to form an old school record club for the internet age. The concept is beautiful in its simplicity and anarchy. Beck and his buddies (including folks like Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale, MGMT, and Devendra Banhart) record an album and then post songs from the album weekly. It's a socialist record label: no hidden fees, no long term contracts, no penny. The first Record Club release was last June's "The Velvet Underground & Nico." Next up was "Songs of Leonard Cohen," posted in September. The releases are so good, it almost makes me miss my old Columbia House membership. Radiohead Radiohead is the id to U2's ego. The British band could own the world if they wanted. Instead, they opt for subverting it - and they use technology heavily to aid their mission. Their 2007 release was an exercise in musical populism. "In Rainbows" was released on the band's website as a digital download only. Nothing new there. The price listed on the home page? "it's up to you," were the instructions. I paid ten bucks. EARLY INTERNET PIONEERS David Bowie David Bowie was first online. Perhaps not literally but first in a way that really mattered. In 1998, he became an internet service provider by launching BowieNet. For $19.95 a month, members received a davidbowie.com email address, internet service, a customizable home page, and a whopping 5MB of space to create content. Two years later, BowieArt went live, providing virtual art exhibitions for thousands of emerging fine artists. Who better than the Thin White Duke to curate the internet? For his pioneering work, Bowie received the 2007 Webby Lifetime Achievement Award. Pete Townshend It wasn't Al Gore who invented the internet, it was Pete Townshend. He invented it in 1969 when he wrote his abandoned rock opera "Lifehouse" (potions salvaged for The Who's 1971 album "Who's Next" and later as a 2000 concept box set). In the midst of the convoluted futuristic story was the Grid, a structure of tubes which provided people with all of the entertainment, food, experiences they needed to survive. Over 40 years later, Townshend would launch The Lifehouse Method, a website where applicants could have an "electronic musical portrait" created for them based on data entered into system. I'm still waiting for mine. My favorite color is purple and I like sushi. Someone? Anyone?
 
Sarah Granger: A Sad Day for Californians: Gavin Newsom's Withdrawl from the Race for Governor Top
I moved to California in 1995. Within a few months, I was versed in some of the problems in the state, such as homeless in Berkeley, tight budgets in the University of California system, and soaring real estate prices vs. rent control problems. One day, I was driving across the Bay Bridge listening to some talk radio show and I heard a man talking about some of the serious issues in the city of San Francisco. I had no idea who he was, but it was noted on the show that he was the youngest member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I liked his energy and common sense. He had a way with words, and I thought he was the freshest political voice I'd ever heard. I hoped he would continue fighting for the City of San Francisco. I kept listening and I found out his name: Gavin Newsom. That day, I began a journal of policy ideas and inspiration, and I wrote his name in my journal along with my thoughts from the radio show. I kept him in mind as I continued studying issues of politics and technology. I graduated and became entrenched in the start-up world, and one day I saw him speak at a Glasshouse for Startups small group event in SF. He was talking about his experience growing the Plumpjack business, and he alluded to his possible run for mayor. I shook his hand, knowing I was shaking the hand of the future mayor because I believed his talent and charisma and his knack for actually finding useful solutions both on the business and the municipal level was significant. I dove into working on new media for political campaigns on national and local campaigns, and during that time, Gavin Newsom was elected Mayor of San Francisco. Every so often, I would attend an event where I would see him. My husband and I attended philanthropic events as a way to get out together, support meaningful causes, and meet interesting people. Gavin Newsom was always there, always talking to people, graciously listening to their concerns. We heard about his own personal problems, but somehow I knew he would rally. His popularity was soaring - the people of San Francisco loved him. When he announced his run for Governor, I think I was the fifth person to sign onto his Facebook page the first day it was setup, and I enjoyed watching it grow to over 59,000 supporters - even in the wake of Jerry Brown's candidacy. Now I want to make one thing clear: Gavin Newsom could have been a safe politician, a career California Democrat like many others, not rocking the boat, just towing the party line. He could have used his charisma and smarts to take the cautious road politically and follow the party line, moving up the ranks the way many others have, making small enough changes to get pats on the back and applause from the sidelines. But I believe he would not have been satisfied with that life. Instead he dared to dream. He's a man who has seen poverty, he's watched couples cry with joy when becoming married after being barred by it for several decades, and he's had his own struggles and triumphs within the education system in California. Newsom's someone who's not afraid to roll up his sleeves and do real work. In the early days of his Plumpjack restaurant while Newsom was on the Board of Supervisors, I heard that he would sweep the sidewalk in front of the restaurant himself because it allowed him to stay involved. It's not that I haven't heard worthwhile criticisms of his work as mayor. We all have our flaws. But he continued to listen to the people in the community and register their their concerns. He continued working hard for the city. And for a man to admit that it's tough to run a race for the state's Chief Executive due to his responsibilities both at home and in his current office - I believe that is daring too, even in the face of an uphill fund raising battle. So while I'm saddened he will not be continuing his run for Governor of California at this time, I feel lucky we still have Mayor Newsom in San Francisco to continue fighting the good fight, and I have no doubt he will run again for another statewide or national office when the time is right. He is a rare individual who could have provided the vision the State of California needed to pull out of a troubled recent past, and perhaps in the future he will still play that role or another of great importance. And for the national pundits who might use this as an opportunity to count him out, take heed: there's always a Comeback Kid.
 
Thousands Line Up For Last Big Mac In Iceland Top
Thousands of Icelanders lined up at McDonald's restaurants to order their last Big Macs before the U.S. fast-food chain abandons the crisis-hit island at midnight Saturday due to soaring costs. More on Iceland
 
Huff Radio: Left, Right & Center: Consumer Spending, Health Care, Hillary and Pakistan, Elections Top
Consumer spending drives the real economy and it is now continuing to fall. Did we save the banks at the expense of the people? And even if Tony cringes at the phrase, the health care reform bills presented by both Houses of Congress make this an Historic Moment. Will Democrat divisions derail the public option? Hillary Clinton in Pakistan: did she make things worse? Facing violence and criticism, did she say the wrong things? And finally, Tony gives us a political wrap up on the elections taking place in NJ, VA and NY - what are the implications for the Obama era? More on Pakistan
 
The Giving Challenge: 29 Gifts In 29 Days Top
At the age of 35, Cami Walker was a newlywed with a great new job. Then everything changed. Walker was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a neurological condition that made it difficult to walk, work or enjoy her life as she once had. Walker became depressed as she faced continual health and money problems. But then a friend and spiritual mentor challenged her to stop feeling sorry for herself and instead start giving to others. The friend challenged Cami to give 29 gifts to others in 29 days. Walker describes in this video from DarynKagan.com that she started noticing a change by day 14: In the end, Walker's 29 days of giving were so transformative that she decided to start a Web site to help others do the same. 29 Gifts is now a global giving movement with several thousand members in 38 countries and Walker has detailed her struggle with MS and the 29 day challenge in a memoir, 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life . Walker's site is a great resource for those who want to (or can only afford to) be generous each day in small ways. Check out her site's forum for thoughtful and free ways to give back, including crafts, phone calls to those who need encouragement and teaching opportunities.
 
White House Visitors List: Vote For The Most Remarkable Guest (PHOTOS) Top
The White House released a list of nearly 500 visitors to the White House Friday. As HuffPost's Sam Stein reports, there are a number of prominent politicians on the list, as well as a few "false positives", as in people with famous names who aren't actually those people (William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, and Michael Moore were among those mentioned as examples by the White House.) While the list may not have had any big surprises, it still had an impressive roster of famous names. Vote below for whom you think is the most remarkable guest to have visited. More on Photo Galleries
 
Lloyd Chapman: Questions for SBA Administrator Karen Mills Top
In February of 2008, President Obama released the statement, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." Every year since 2006, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG) has released a report, which listed the agency's #1 management challenge as, "Procurement flaws allow large firms to obtain small business awards and agencies to count contracts performed by large firms towards their small business goals." ( http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php , http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba/oig_reports_tmc_fy09.pdf ) Since 2003, over 15 federal investigations have found that billions of dollars a year in federal small business contracts are diverted to some of the largest corporations in the world. The most recent statistics released by the Obama Administration indicate that hundreds of Fortune 500 corporations, their subsidiaries and other large businesses were included in the government's fiscal year (FY) 2008 small business contracting data. ( http://www.asbl.com/documents/20090825TopSmallBusinessContractors2008.pdf ) Firms that received federal small business contracts included: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, GTSI, L-3 Communications, British Aerospace (BAE), Northrop Grumman, Booz Allen Hamilton, Thales, General Dynamics, 3M, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T, Rolls-Royce and Dell Computer. Despite the fact that the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations is the SBA's #1 challenge, Administrator Karen Mills has refused to mention the issue or adopt any policies to address it. The American Small Business League (ASBL) believes it is time for someone in the media to question Ms. Mills about the Obama Administration's refusal to address this pressing issue. - Will the Obama Administration support federal legislation or policy that would allow wealthy venture capitalists to participate in federal small business contracting programs? - Considering the fact that America is in the midst of its worst economic downturn in 80 years, why is the Obama Administration continuing to allow contracts to Fortune 500 firms to be counted as small business awards? - Will any contracts to Fortune 500 corporations and their subsidiaries be included in the government's small business contracting statistics for FY 2009? - Why hasn't the Obama Administration adopted polices or legislation to end the diversion of federal small business contacts to corporate giants? - In February of 2009, the Obama Administration awarded a $128 million contract to Bechtel as a small business, how would you justify that to the millions of small businesses who are struggling to keep their doors open? ( http://www.asbl.com/documents/20090806BechtelSB_DOE.pdf ) - Is there any truth to the rumor that the Obama Administration may try to close the SBA by combining it with the U.S. Department of Commerce? More on Barack Obama
 
Steve Parker: NEW TIME FOR WEEKEND AUTO TALK SHOWS Top
Join us LIVE Saturday at our NEW TIME - 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern and Sunday at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern on www.TalkRadioOne.com for our exclusive LIVE motoring and motorsports talk shows! NEW TIME! Steve Parker's The Car Nut Show Saturday starting at our NEW TIME -- 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern Nissan's all-new 2011 Leaf "pure EV" is making a US national tour starting November 13th in southern California and traveling throughout America until it arrives in New York City - Get all the dates and places and the facts and figures ... including price ... on the Leaf! Nissan displayed a production version of Leaf at the Tokyo Motor Show last week, becoming king of the EVs and hybrids. Plus Steve's 60-second road tests and your phone calls! Join two-time Emmy Award-winner Steve Parker, also automotive writer for the Huffington Post, NBC-TV auto show Whipnotic and the Santa Monica Daily Press newspaper. Be sure to join-in the conversation: The call-in number is: 213-341-4353. Nissan's Leaf EV, the production version as displayed at last week's Tokyo Motor Show Steve Parker's World Racing Roundup Sunday starting at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern NASCAR's Race for the Sprint Cup is hot and heavy - only four races left and today the boys are at Talladega, AL, the fastest oval track in the world. Is the title Jimmie Johnson's to lose? Does the Sprint Cup 10-race, 12-racer play-off system need to be modified even more to make it more interesting and exciting for fans and more fair for the drivers and their teams? The final Formula 1 race of the year happens today in Abu Dhabi at a brand-new track and facility. But it'll be a bit of an anti-climactic affair as the World Driving Champion and Constructor's Championship have already been decided (Jenson Button and Brawn-Mercedes Grand Prix, respectively). And GM's Bob Lutz takes on the competition during a private race/testing session pitting Lutz and a Cadillac CTS-V against the best the world has to offer ... So who won? We'll tell you. The call-in number is: 213-341-4353. Join in! Bob Lutz and his standard-issue Detroit executive heater ... Podcasts of both shows are available one hour after the live shows conclude. That's this Saturday at our NEW TIME of 11am Pacific/2pm eastern and Sunday at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern time every week on www.TalkRadioOne.com! More on Cars
 
Laura Carlsen: The Little Coup that Couldn't Top
On Oct. 29, Honduras' de facto regime finally agreed to allow Congress to vote on whether to "return executive power to its state prior to June 28"--a convoluted way of saying "reinstate President Manuel Zelaya." Conceding to international and national pressure, the Honduran coup appears to be facing its final days. June 28 was the date when the Armed Forces kidnapped the elected president, Manuel Zelaya, and forcibly exiled him to Costa Rica. If the agreement brokered this week holds, Honduran society will have turned the ugly precedent of a modern-day military coup d'etat into an example of the strength of nonviolent grassroots resistance. The coup regime has held power for over four months. When the entire international community condemned the coup, many observers thought it would cave. It didn't. When those nations went on to apply sanctions, many believed it would crumple. It didn't. When over half the Honduran population called for its demise, many were sure it would back down. It didn't. Instead, a handful of the nation's wealthiest businessmen and politicians backed by the armed forces held democracy at gunpoint for 123 days. During that time the little coup chugged on, emitting puffs of bravado when challenged and running over people on its track. Some twenty-one members of the resistance movement were murdered by security forces or hitmen. National and international human rights organizations were overwhelmed by the macabre task of documenting cases of human rights violations. The closure of independent media, rapes, beatings, arbitrary detentions, torture and persecution made many Hondurans feel like they were living in a flashback to the military dictatorships of the 80s. In many ways, they were. A Breakthrough of Sorts President Zelaya expressed "satisfaction" at the agreement. Zelaya's negotiating team had agreed long before on the terms of the revised San Jose Accords , and negotiations were hung up on the coup's refusal to allow reinstatement of the president. The terms include reinstatement of Zelaya, creation of a government of national reconciliation, suspension of a possible vote on holding a Constitutional Assembly until after Jan. 27, when Zelaya's term ends, no amnesty for political crimes on either side, establishment of a Verification Commission to follow-up the agreement and a Truth Commission to investigate events leading up to and after the coup and revoking sanctions. The leader of the de facto regime, Roberto Micheletti, issued a statement Thursday night saying, "I am pleased to announce that a few minutes ago I authorized my negotiating team to sign an agreement that marks the beginning of the end of the political situation in the country." Micheletti voiced no humility in defeat. He applauded his own largesse, saying that "accepting this proposal represents a significant concession on the part of this government." He added, "But we understand that our people demand that we turn the page of history in these difficult moments. For that reason, I have decided to support this new proposal to achieve a final accord as soon as possible." Micheletti reversed months of intransigence on the issue of Zelaya's return to power. He ended up signing essentially the same accord he has rejected since talks began in San Jose, Costa Rica in early July. Who knows what magic words were uttered to change the opinion of one of the most stubborn dictators in recent history. But whatever they were, they probably came out of Tom Shannon's mouth. For months, both sides have noted that the U.S. government is the only entity with the power to break the impasse, due to Honduran military and economic dependency on the United States. In a press conference held in Tegucigalpa shortly before the agreement, Assistant Secretary of State Shannon explicitly confirmed that the sticking point was "political will" (the coup's unwillingness to accept Zelaya's reinstatement) and that the U.S. government was there to induce that political will. "From our point of view, the deal's on the table. This is not really a question of drafting or of shaping a paragraph. It's really a question of political will. And that's why it was so important, I think, for us to come to Honduras at this moment to make clear to all Hondurans that we believe the political will that is displayed and expressed by Honduras's leaders should respect the democratic vocation of the Honduran people and the democratic aspirations of the Honduran people, and the desire of Honduras to return to a larger democratic community in the Americas... And that's why we came, to underscore our interest in ensuring that the political will is there to do a deal." Shannon mentioned legitimizing the elections and future access to development funding from international financial institutions as carrots (or sticks) in the negotiations: "...An agreement within the national dialogue opens a large space for members of the international community to assist Honduras in this election process, to observe the elections, and to have a process that is peaceful and which produces leadership that is widely recognized throughout the hemisphere as legitimate. This will be important as a way of creating a pathway for Honduras to reintegrate itself into the Inter-American community, to not - and not just the OAS, but also the Inter-American Development Bank and its other institutions, and to access development funding through the international financial institutions." It worked--at least in the formal stages, as the world now awaits implementation. The State Department was in a celebratory mood following the success of the high-level delegation consisting of Shannon, deputy Craig Kelly and the White House NSC representative for the Western Hemisphere, Dan Restrepo. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a special press conference from Islamabad announcing the breakthrough in negotiations in Honduras: "I want to congratulate the people of Honduras as well as President Zelaya and Mr. Micheletti for reaching an historic agreement. I also congratulate Costa Rican President Oscar Arias for the important role he has played in fashioning the San Jose process and the OAS for its role in facilitating the successful round of talks. I cannot think of another example of a country in Latin America that having suffered a rupture of its democratic and constitutional order overcame such a crisis through negotiation and dialogue. This is a big step forward for the Inter-American system and its commitment to democracy as embodied in the Inter-American Democratic Charter. I'm very proud that I was part of the process, that the United States was instrumental in the process. But I'm mostly proud of the people of Honduras who have worked very hard to have this matter resolved peacefully." After the dust clears, historians will map the course of the little coup that couldn't. But from this observer's view, negotiation and dialogue played a minor role in the apparent resolution of this phase of the crisis. In the end, the mobilization of Honduran society sent a clear message that "normal" government would not be possible and even more widespread insurrection loomed unless a return to democracy reopened institutional paths. International pressures and sanctions played a far greater role in cornering the coup than the technical terms of an accord that is vague, difficult to implement and contentious. The last-minute decision of the coup to sign also begs the question: if this is what it took--a little strong-arming from the State Department's A-team--why didn't they do it before twenty-one people were killed? The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? Leaving those questions to the historians, there is reason to celebrate but the situation now poses tremendous challenges. If it weren't for the extraordinary levels of commitment, participation and awareness generated by the democratic crisis over the past months, the challenges Honduran society now faces could well be deemed impossible. The first is to implement the agreement. Although the decision to restore Zelaya to power must receive a non-binding opinion from the Supreme Court and then be approved in Congress, it appears to be a done deal. Zelaya's team reportedly had the support of members from the UD Party, 20 members of the Liberal Party and more recently the support of the conservative National Party to revoke the decree that was issued to justify his removal from office. That decree was originally accompanied by a forged letter of resignation that was immediately denounced. The second is to restore constitutional order, consolidating the presidency, the new cabinet and state institutions. This is a mammoth task. Zelaya knows he can't just step back into the Presidential Palace and assume that society has returned to its pre-coup state. Under the terms of the agreement, he must form a new cabinet with the participation of coup supporters. Anger runs high and this will be a controversial and delicate undertaking. He must review the damage done to national coffers under the coup regime. He must reestablish a relationship with the Armed Forces and the other branches of government. Many institutions have undergone purges of personnel under the coup and must be reestablished and work to regain legitimacy. Third, is to organize elections for Nov. 29 or a later agreed-upon date. If the original date is not changed, that leaves less than a month before nationwide elections. Imagine a nation moving from the complete breakdown of its democratic system and institutions, to campaigns, to elections in less than thirty days. Anti-coup candidates had pulled out, other campaigns had been met with protests, and now the problem of the logistics of organizing elections raises serious issues, let alone legal, social and political obstacles. The timeline is critical to the process. Zelaya told AFP that the timeline is under discussion and pointed out a concern that has been growing among international organizations and the Honduran public: if reinstatement and the return to democratic order do not happen immediately, the elections scheduled for Nov. 29 will be in jeopardy. His return, he noted, "must be well before the elections to be able to validate them." In fact, despite the breakthrough, the legitimacy of the elections is already in jeopardy. If the reinstatement process drags out, as the negotiations did, Hondurans worry they could find themselves in the middle of an electoral farce. Even if all goes smoothly, nothing will be easy or "normal". The United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the European Union had all announced they would not send elections observers to coup-sponsored elections, as a refusal to recognize their legitimacy but also citing the logistical difficulties of putting together effective teams on such short notice. Now the OAS has stated it is attempting to put together a an observation team but the European Union had previously said it requires six weeks to put together such an elections mission and could no longer consider it. Honduran law provides for a three-month campaign period prior to the vote so it would need to be modified to accommodate a Nov. 29 election. Even if there were an immediate halt to serious human rights violations--many of which are essential to free and fair elections, such as freedom of expression, freedom of press and freedom of assembly--they leave wounds and gaps. As the agreement was being hammered out, coup security forces once again attacked a peaceful demonstrators. Fourth, will be to continue moving toward a vote on holding a Constitutional Assembly. This demand is not going away, despite the agreement between Zelaya and Micheletti not to raise the issue until after Jan. 27. This point of the accords caused Juan Barahona, a leader of the National Front Against the Coup, to resign from the Zelaya negotiating team because it has become central to the movement not only to restore, but to expand, Honduran democracy. A Constitutional Assembly is now more necessary than ever. It would serve to repair the contradictions in the current constitution that coup-mongers exploited to rupture the democratic order, and channel the legitimate demands of organizations of peasants, indigenous peoples, urban poor, women, youth and other groups pushed to the margins of a vastly unequal economic and political system. Since the mobilization of popular sectors in resistance to the coup, it is not possible to conceive of a free and stable society without proceeding with a Constitutional Assembly. Zelaya was quick to point out that obstacles remain. "This is a first step to bringing about my reinstatement that will have to go through several stages. I'm moderately optimistic," he told AFP news service from the Brazilian Embassy, where he has been holed up since Sept. 21. The reinstatement of President Zelaya will likely be voted on soon. Emails from the Honduran Internet groups that have formed a virtual community to debate and decry the military coup in their country, now demonstrate a range of feelings, from jubilation to skepticism. Elections pose a huge challenge to anti-coup forces since a wide range of opinions play out within the diverse National Front Against the Coup. Hondurans now move into the next phase of a long struggle to rebuild and broaden democracy. The challenge includes holding free and fair elections in the short term, but also includes critical issues of expanding democratic rights and participation beyond the elections and the system of representation. They must find ways to heal deep wounds and confront an economic and political crisis that is far from over. If the coup finally falls and Zelaya is restored to power, Honduran society and the international community will score an historic victory. It must be remembered though, that the victory is a defensive one--it marks the successful rollback of anti-democratic forces in a small but determined nation. Those forces will not desist--in Honduras or in other places where democracy is vulnerable and nefarious interests are strong. Until democracy in the fullest sense--participatory and dedicated to nonviolence--gains ground, the world could be stuck in long battles to defend against attacks instead of moving forward toward societies where this kind of offensive against the rule of law can no longer occur. More on Hillary Clinton
 
Roman Abramovich's Nello's Lunch Cost Over $47,000 Top
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's doesn't seem to be too affected by the recent economic downturn. According to TMZ , the oilman and Chelsea Football Club owner dropped $47,221.09 on lunch at famed New York eatery Nello's today. While that tidy sum include a $7,328 tip, it neglects to account for the $5,000 Abramovich is said to have left on tip of it. Abramovich also made headlines recently for installing an anti-paparrazi laser shield on his yacht (which also happens to be the world's biggest and most expensive). Forbes lists Abramovich as the world's 51st wealthiest person, with a net worth of $8.5 billion dollars.
 

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