Friday, July 31, 2009
Too Many Tomatoes
Renowned chef and food photographer Brian Yarvin who actually penned a cookbook just about dumplings, A World of Dumplings, has done it again with a 225 page cookbook called The Too Many Tomatoes Cookbook, with about 100 recipes from around the world that star tomatoes.
We went to Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck, NJ where he gave me this primer on understanding and enjoying tomatoes.
Brits Launch Iraq Inquiry - Yanks Should Too
British troops in Iraq
It's pretty obvious the British government followed the U.S. lead into the Iraq war. Now, many people in the United States no doubt are wishing the United States would follow the UK and launch an inquiry into the war in Iraq.
Many of the same questions that are expected to be raised by the British panel need to be answered here as well. What was the source of the intelligence that led the world to believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction? What did the government really know about that claim? Was it really duped into believing something that turned out to be - with tragic results - untrue? Or was it the intel planted to justify an Iraq invasion that was prompted by other reasons?
The British inquiry will also look at the conduct of its troops in country. If for no other reason that purposes of national reconciliation, a similar look at U.S. military conduct should be conducted as well. Most of us are confident that such an investigation would conclude that, with rare exception, the U.S. troops have - and are continuing - to act in exemplary fashion.
As for those who would try members of the Bush administration for alleged war crimes - I leave that issue for another day. But an inquiry, based on one that's being conducted in Britain, would go a long way toward helping form a consensus - one way or another - about that as well.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/libdems/2241332259/
Forget Viagra - If You Want Afghan Support Protect Civilians
I poked fun a few months ago at the Pentagon when someone broke the story that the U.S. military was trying to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people by passing out Viagra. But now comes word that a UN report is indicating that civilian deaths in Afghanistan are up 24 percent. So it would seem to me that, instead of passing out the blue pill, we should be intensifying our efforts to protect non-combatants there.
To be clear, the UN report blames insurgent bombings for many of the deaths. But it also points a finger at air strikes by international forces.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/httpblogsinacomcnhomeofbeijingpeople/3773607947/
Watch For Change In Health Reform Debate
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying out a new argument in the health reform debate. And if it resonates you can expect to see the Democrats, led by heath care reform cheerleader-in-chief Barack Obama, use it as the new rallying cry.
Pelosi is arguing that the health insurance companies are the real "villains'' here.
If the Democrats can portray the health insurance companies as evil, their plan to give government a hand in providing health care to Americans may just pick up steam.
Many people are frightened by the prospect of the government deciding our health care. They are concerned about government's ability to manage a program. And they fear health care rationing under a government plan.
But if health reform proponents can switch the focus from these concerns to the reality of the health insurance industry the public may view this as a lesser of two evils issue. And if the public can get behind a plan, the Democrats feel Congress will have no choice but to play along.
Here's how the argument will likely go. Insurance companies already are determining what health care their subscribers will get. Many doctors call this practicing without a license - especially when the insurance companies refuse to fund medications or procedures the doctors believe to be medically essential to their employees.
Thus far, the more the president speaks about his health reform bill, the more it - and he - lose popularity in the polls. He needs to do what he did so well during the campaign: define and get on message. Pelosi's villain comment is just the first step.
Pelosi is arguing that the health insurance companies are the real "villains'' here.
If the Democrats can portray the health insurance companies as evil, their plan to give government a hand in providing health care to Americans may just pick up steam.
Many people are frightened by the prospect of the government deciding our health care. They are concerned about government's ability to manage a program. And they fear health care rationing under a government plan.
But if health reform proponents can switch the focus from these concerns to the reality of the health insurance industry the public may view this as a lesser of two evils issue. And if the public can get behind a plan, the Democrats feel Congress will have no choice but to play along.
Here's how the argument will likely go. Insurance companies already are determining what health care their subscribers will get. Many doctors call this practicing without a license - especially when the insurance companies refuse to fund medications or procedures the doctors believe to be medically essential to their employees.
Thus far, the more the president speaks about his health reform bill, the more it - and he - lose popularity in the polls. He needs to do what he did so well during the campaign: define and get on message. Pelosi's villain comment is just the first step.
Watch The Shuttle Landing LIVE 10:30 AM New York Time
The shuttle landing in Florida is a "go" for this morning.
Our LIVE coverage begins at 10:30 AM New York time on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com.
Major Radio Syndicator Turns Palin Down
A broadcast industry publication reports that Clear Channel has decided that it does not want to hire former Alaska governor and failed vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a radio talk show host.
Broadcasting and Cable says CC feared that Palin couldn't sustain a full three hours on the air daily. Perhaps the giant radio distributor feared that, like her term of office, Palin might quit half way through her shift.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeisaprayer/2815879337/
Despite Promises, Some Rape Victims Stuck Paying Exam Bills
By Emily Witt
ProPublica
and Ben Protess
Huffington Post Investigative Fund
When a woman is raped, police turn to scientific evidence — semen, blood and tissue samples — to identify her attacker. The evidence is collected through a medical exam of the victim, who is not supposed to pay for this crime-solving process.
But 15 years after Congress passed a law to ensure that rape victims would never see a bill, loopholes and bureaucratic tangles still leave some victims paying for hospital expenses and exams, which can cost up to $1,200.
Congress requires state or local authorities to cover these costs, but the state legislatures that regulate the process offer piecemeal guarantees of Congress' mandate, ProPublica and the Huffington Post Investigative Fund found. Some states allow hospitals to bill the victim's insurer. Confusion in California and other states may cause police to occasionally ignore Congress' rules and require victims to cooperate with an investigation before exam costs are covered. Lax enforcement of the law, victims' advocates say, also means some hospitals in Illinois bill victims directly.
Congress created the Violence Against Women Act to protect victims and encourage them to report rapes. The law, known as VAWA, has forced many states to crack down on billing problems.
But ambiguities in the law still allow a remarkable disparity in the legal system: Some rape victims, unlike victims of other crimes, have to pay for basic evidence collection.
"We never ask a robbery victim to pay for the cost of fingerprints," said Sarah Tofte, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, which has been tracking how states comply with VAWA.
As a victim recovers from her assault, the last thing she needs is a bill for her exam, said Katherine Hull, a spokeswoman for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
After all, she said, "rape is not something you can budget for."
Despite billing concerns, Hull and other advocates encourage victims to get a forensic exam. Many emergency rooms have specially trained nurses who swab, scan and photograph victims' bodies, hunting for evidence.
Yet states vary in how proficiently they process the evidence and medical bills that follow. As we previously reported, even if the state pays for an exam, there is no guarantee the evidence will be tested. There are more than 350,000 untested DNA samples backlogged in police departments and crime labs nationwide, according to federal statistics.
Kellie Greene, a rape victim who battled collection agencies in the 1990s because she refused to pay for her exam, is disappointed that victims still find themselves saddled with hospital bills and testing delays. "It's a frightening thought," said Greene, who runs the advocacy group Speaking Out About Rape.
An opportunity to strengthen VAWA will come soon because Congress must reauthorize the law before it expires in 2011. In a statement to us, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee's chairman, said Congress "will need to carefully consider what can be done to improve and strengthen the Act."
Revisions to VAWA, Leahy's statement said, "should include providing every possible assistance to victims, regardless of where they live."
It's unclear whether Republicans on the Judiciary Committee would support VAWA reform. We called and e-mailed a spokesman for Sen. Jeff Sessions, the committee's ranking Republican, and never heard back.
Some states and police departments have a history of skirting their responsibility to pay for forensic exams, we found in an analysis of state statutes and from interviews with policymakers and victims' advocates.
Last year's presidential race exposed the shortcomings. During the campaign, it came to light that until 2000, police in some Alaska towns charged rape victims or their insurance companies up to $1,200 for forensic exams — including the town of Wasilla where vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002.
Justice Department officials also have found that, until recently, some states refused to pay for a rape victim's exam unless she agreed to file a police report, which some victims are reluctant to do immediately after the attack.
In 2005, Congress revised VAWA [9] to hold states more accountable. This time, Congress required state or local officials to pay for forensic exams even if a victim declined to cooperate with police. States that didn't comply would lose federal crime-fighting grants.
The new rule went into effect this January with some marked successes.
By June, only five states were still billing victims who didn't file police reports, according to the Justice Department. By early July, that number had dropped to one. Now department officials say every state is complying.
But the department still hasn't verified that all of the nation's 15,000-plus law enforcement agencies are following Congress' mandate. After hearing about complaints from victims, the department contracted an outside advocacy group to more closely track these agencies, a Justice Department official said.
One problem the agencies are facing, interviews with police officials and advocates revealed, is lingering confusion about the new VAWA changes. When we first contacted the Nebraska State Patrol, a spokeswoman said it bills rape victims or their insurance companies if victims decline to cooperate with an investigation. When we reported this to the Justice Department, it notified the Patrol and determined that the spokeswoman had been given out-of-date information and that Nebraska is following the mandate.
While California is considered in compliance with VAWA's new mandate, the state requires law enforcement agencies to authorize and pay for exams. Even a victim who doesn't want to press charges must report the assault to get her exam covered. If she doesn't call the police, or if the police don't authorize her exam because they aren't investigating her case, hospitals will charge the victim, several advocates and a forensic exam nurse told us.
A spokeswoman for the California Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for implementing VAWA requirements, said her agency has not received any specific complaints about hospitals billing victims.
Even states that abide by VAWA can take advantage of its loopholes, leaving victims without the full protections that lawmakers intended.
Texas authorities pay for an exam only if the victim reports her attack within four days — a time limit that could exclude some victims and viable evidence, experts say. VAWA doesn't address how long victims have to get their exam, so technically Texas is complying with the law.
Illinois requires hospitals to bill forensic exams to a victim's insurance company, although the state covers exams for the poor and uninsured, as well as co-pays and deductibles for everyone else.
Maryland law leaves the billing issue open to interpretation, because it doesn't explicitly prevent hospitals from billing insurance companies. Although VAWA clearly intended that states or local authorities pay for exams, both Illinois' and Maryland's policies comply with the law.
Kellie Greene, whose forensic exam was eventually paid for by Florida's victim compensation fund, said insurance loopholes could discourage victims from getting exams. A young rape victim might not want her parents, who hold the insurance policy, to know she was attacked, Greene said. Cases are further complicated if a family member is named as the attacker.
Greene also noted that insurance companies could deny a victim coverage for future ailments seen as "preexisting conditions" resulting from her rape, including sexually transmitted infections.
VAWA also does not require states to cover non-forensic medical expenses, including ambulance rides, emergency room stays or treatment for injuries sustained during the assault.
At least one state, West Virginia, won't cover emergency birth control or emergency medication to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
Jeffrey Kessler, chairman of West Virginia's Senate Judiciary Committee, said he doesn't recall any efforts to change this law and suspects the provision was included for budgetary reasons.
"It would seem to me to be archaic and something we would take a look at," he said, adding that a victim willing to press charges could apply for assistance from the state victims' compensation fund.
While these states are technically compliant with VAWA, they are dodging the spirit of the law, said Jennifer Pollitt-Hill, former executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which helped implement the new VAWA requirements.
"States are settling for the letter of the law rather than doing what's best for victims," Pollitt-Hill said.
Much of the confusion over who pays for what stems from overlapping layers of bureaucracy, Pollitt-Hill said. Hospitals must navigate federal, state and local rules, causing "confusion within states about how it's done," she said.
In Illinois, victims' advocates complain that some hospital billing departments occasionally send exam bills directly to victims — a problem VAWA was supposed to prevent. At least three Chicago hospitals send repeated bills to victims who don't pay and turn over some to collection agencies, said Kris Krafka, a legal advocate at Life Span, a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps domestic violence and rape victims.
Part of the problem, Krafka said, is that billing departments often don't know which patients are rape victims because hospital paperwork might not include that information.
The billing problems don't appear to be malicious, Krafka said, but the process hurts victims nonetheless. "It's going to keep happening unless there's repercussions for hospitals when they do the wrong thing," she said.
The problem has been known for years, according to Rape Victim Advocates, a nonprofit that is contracted by 12 Chicago-area hospitals to provide crisis support for rape victims.
We asked the group to review its files from this year to determine how often it gets reports of hospital billing problems. Between January and June, it received about 20 complaints from victims who were billed for hospital services, which typically include an exam, lab tests and treatment for injuries, said the group's executive director, Sharmili Majmudar.
Once the group notifies a hospital of a billing problem, the hospital usually stops pursuing the victim, Majmudar said.
"We make every effort to ensure all [our] patients are treated in accordance with the law," said a spokeswoman for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, one of the city's largest private hospitals. "If a rape victim has inadvertently been billed for a forensic exam or rape kit, we ask that they contact the hospital's billing department to have the charge removed and any payment refunded."
Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which reimburses hospitals that bill the state for forensic exams, said the department has received only a "handful" of complaints about hospitals mistreating rape victims in the last 10 years, though she acknowledged that the department doesn't keep a record of all the complaints it receives.
"In the rare occasion when an eligible survivor is billed for sexual assault-related services, [the department] works to quickly resolve these errors," Thompson said.
Victims' advocates contend Congress needs to bolster VAWA to rid it of loopholes that make for unfair billing.
Policy experts also have suggested that lawmakers craft incentives for states to comply with VAWA rather than threatening financial cuts to law enforcement grants if they don't.
Meanwhile, advocates and law enforcement officials agree that rape victims must not be deterred from getting an exam no matter the cost.
"An exam gives a victim more breathing space and options," said Pollitt-Hill, the former Maryland advocate. "You might decide a week later that you don't want to have it tested, but at least you have the choice."
ProPublica
and Ben Protess
Huffington Post Investigative Fund
When a woman is raped, police turn to scientific evidence — semen, blood and tissue samples — to identify her attacker. The evidence is collected through a medical exam of the victim, who is not supposed to pay for this crime-solving process.
But 15 years after Congress passed a law to ensure that rape victims would never see a bill, loopholes and bureaucratic tangles still leave some victims paying for hospital expenses and exams, which can cost up to $1,200.
Congress requires state or local authorities to cover these costs, but the state legislatures that regulate the process offer piecemeal guarantees of Congress' mandate, ProPublica and the Huffington Post Investigative Fund found. Some states allow hospitals to bill the victim's insurer. Confusion in California and other states may cause police to occasionally ignore Congress' rules and require victims to cooperate with an investigation before exam costs are covered. Lax enforcement of the law, victims' advocates say, also means some hospitals in Illinois bill victims directly.
Congress created the Violence Against Women Act to protect victims and encourage them to report rapes. The law, known as VAWA, has forced many states to crack down on billing problems.
But ambiguities in the law still allow a remarkable disparity in the legal system: Some rape victims, unlike victims of other crimes, have to pay for basic evidence collection.
"We never ask a robbery victim to pay for the cost of fingerprints," said Sarah Tofte, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, which has been tracking how states comply with VAWA.
As a victim recovers from her assault, the last thing she needs is a bill for her exam, said Katherine Hull, a spokeswoman for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
After all, she said, "rape is not something you can budget for."
Despite billing concerns, Hull and other advocates encourage victims to get a forensic exam. Many emergency rooms have specially trained nurses who swab, scan and photograph victims' bodies, hunting for evidence.
Yet states vary in how proficiently they process the evidence and medical bills that follow. As we previously reported, even if the state pays for an exam, there is no guarantee the evidence will be tested. There are more than 350,000 untested DNA samples backlogged in police departments and crime labs nationwide, according to federal statistics.
Kellie Greene, a rape victim who battled collection agencies in the 1990s because she refused to pay for her exam, is disappointed that victims still find themselves saddled with hospital bills and testing delays. "It's a frightening thought," said Greene, who runs the advocacy group Speaking Out About Rape.
An opportunity to strengthen VAWA will come soon because Congress must reauthorize the law before it expires in 2011. In a statement to us, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the Judiciary Committee's chairman, said Congress "will need to carefully consider what can be done to improve and strengthen the Act."
Revisions to VAWA, Leahy's statement said, "should include providing every possible assistance to victims, regardless of where they live."
It's unclear whether Republicans on the Judiciary Committee would support VAWA reform. We called and e-mailed a spokesman for Sen. Jeff Sessions, the committee's ranking Republican, and never heard back.
Some states and police departments have a history of skirting their responsibility to pay for forensic exams, we found in an analysis of state statutes and from interviews with policymakers and victims' advocates.
Last year's presidential race exposed the shortcomings. During the campaign, it came to light that until 2000, police in some Alaska towns charged rape victims or their insurance companies up to $1,200 for forensic exams — including the town of Wasilla where vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002.
Justice Department officials also have found that, until recently, some states refused to pay for a rape victim's exam unless she agreed to file a police report, which some victims are reluctant to do immediately after the attack.
In 2005, Congress revised VAWA [9] to hold states more accountable. This time, Congress required state or local officials to pay for forensic exams even if a victim declined to cooperate with police. States that didn't comply would lose federal crime-fighting grants.
The new rule went into effect this January with some marked successes.
By June, only five states were still billing victims who didn't file police reports, according to the Justice Department. By early July, that number had dropped to one. Now department officials say every state is complying.
But the department still hasn't verified that all of the nation's 15,000-plus law enforcement agencies are following Congress' mandate. After hearing about complaints from victims, the department contracted an outside advocacy group to more closely track these agencies, a Justice Department official said.
One problem the agencies are facing, interviews with police officials and advocates revealed, is lingering confusion about the new VAWA changes. When we first contacted the Nebraska State Patrol, a spokeswoman said it bills rape victims or their insurance companies if victims decline to cooperate with an investigation. When we reported this to the Justice Department, it notified the Patrol and determined that the spokeswoman had been given out-of-date information and that Nebraska is following the mandate.
While California is considered in compliance with VAWA's new mandate, the state requires law enforcement agencies to authorize and pay for exams. Even a victim who doesn't want to press charges must report the assault to get her exam covered. If she doesn't call the police, or if the police don't authorize her exam because they aren't investigating her case, hospitals will charge the victim, several advocates and a forensic exam nurse told us.
A spokeswoman for the California Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for implementing VAWA requirements, said her agency has not received any specific complaints about hospitals billing victims.
Even states that abide by VAWA can take advantage of its loopholes, leaving victims without the full protections that lawmakers intended.
Texas authorities pay for an exam only if the victim reports her attack within four days — a time limit that could exclude some victims and viable evidence, experts say. VAWA doesn't address how long victims have to get their exam, so technically Texas is complying with the law.
Illinois requires hospitals to bill forensic exams to a victim's insurance company, although the state covers exams for the poor and uninsured, as well as co-pays and deductibles for everyone else.
Maryland law leaves the billing issue open to interpretation, because it doesn't explicitly prevent hospitals from billing insurance companies. Although VAWA clearly intended that states or local authorities pay for exams, both Illinois' and Maryland's policies comply with the law.
Kellie Greene, whose forensic exam was eventually paid for by Florida's victim compensation fund, said insurance loopholes could discourage victims from getting exams. A young rape victim might not want her parents, who hold the insurance policy, to know she was attacked, Greene said. Cases are further complicated if a family member is named as the attacker.
Greene also noted that insurance companies could deny a victim coverage for future ailments seen as "preexisting conditions" resulting from her rape, including sexually transmitted infections.
VAWA also does not require states to cover non-forensic medical expenses, including ambulance rides, emergency room stays or treatment for injuries sustained during the assault.
At least one state, West Virginia, won't cover emergency birth control or emergency medication to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
Jeffrey Kessler, chairman of West Virginia's Senate Judiciary Committee, said he doesn't recall any efforts to change this law and suspects the provision was included for budgetary reasons.
"It would seem to me to be archaic and something we would take a look at," he said, adding that a victim willing to press charges could apply for assistance from the state victims' compensation fund.
While these states are technically compliant with VAWA, they are dodging the spirit of the law, said Jennifer Pollitt-Hill, former executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which helped implement the new VAWA requirements.
"States are settling for the letter of the law rather than doing what's best for victims," Pollitt-Hill said.
Much of the confusion over who pays for what stems from overlapping layers of bureaucracy, Pollitt-Hill said. Hospitals must navigate federal, state and local rules, causing "confusion within states about how it's done," she said.
In Illinois, victims' advocates complain that some hospital billing departments occasionally send exam bills directly to victims — a problem VAWA was supposed to prevent. At least three Chicago hospitals send repeated bills to victims who don't pay and turn over some to collection agencies, said Kris Krafka, a legal advocate at Life Span, a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps domestic violence and rape victims.
Part of the problem, Krafka said, is that billing departments often don't know which patients are rape victims because hospital paperwork might not include that information.
The billing problems don't appear to be malicious, Krafka said, but the process hurts victims nonetheless. "It's going to keep happening unless there's repercussions for hospitals when they do the wrong thing," she said.
The problem has been known for years, according to Rape Victim Advocates, a nonprofit that is contracted by 12 Chicago-area hospitals to provide crisis support for rape victims.
We asked the group to review its files from this year to determine how often it gets reports of hospital billing problems. Between January and June, it received about 20 complaints from victims who were billed for hospital services, which typically include an exam, lab tests and treatment for injuries, said the group's executive director, Sharmili Majmudar.
Once the group notifies a hospital of a billing problem, the hospital usually stops pursuing the victim, Majmudar said.
"We make every effort to ensure all [our] patients are treated in accordance with the law," said a spokeswoman for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, one of the city's largest private hospitals. "If a rape victim has inadvertently been billed for a forensic exam or rape kit, we ask that they contact the hospital's billing department to have the charge removed and any payment refunded."
Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which reimburses hospitals that bill the state for forensic exams, said the department has received only a "handful" of complaints about hospitals mistreating rape victims in the last 10 years, though she acknowledged that the department doesn't keep a record of all the complaints it receives.
"In the rare occasion when an eligible survivor is billed for sexual assault-related services, [the department] works to quickly resolve these errors," Thompson said.
Victims' advocates contend Congress needs to bolster VAWA to rid it of loopholes that make for unfair billing.
Policy experts also have suggested that lawmakers craft incentives for states to comply with VAWA rather than threatening financial cuts to law enforcement grants if they don't.
Meanwhile, advocates and law enforcement officials agree that rape victims must not be deterred from getting an exam no matter the cost.
"An exam gives a victim more breathing space and options," said Pollitt-Hill, the former Maryland advocate. "You might decide a week later that you don't want to have it tested, but at least you have the choice."
News Talk Online July 30, 2009: The Iran Protest Lives
Organized protests resumed in Iran today. Including an attempt by many opposed to the regime to mourn at the graveside of Neda, the woman who has become the symbol of the resistance. Police would not allow them to congregate nor would they permit major opposition leaders to talk.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Stop The Race Baiting Already!
Fox News Channel's Glen Beck on Tuesday accused President Obama of being a racist. Causing angst for his new bosses at News Corp and maybe relieving his former employer, CNN, of some of the sting of his defecting to the competition.
Now writer Roberto Lovato, who has been a guest on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com, says that Obama is continuing a Bush policy of racially profiling immigrants.
This whole racial business has been simmering under the surface ever since Obama tossed his hat into the campaign ring. Early on, the Secret Service began investigating a higher-than-usual number of threats against candidate and then President Obama. Too many people publicly predicted he'd be assassinated in office. Not because they are racists, of course. But, well, you know, they said, there are others in this nation who can't stand the thought of a black man in the White House.
Of course, on the other side of that coin, there are those who voted for Obama because of the color of his skin and not all of them were black. There are those who factored his race positively into their vote because they felt that it was time to heal the racial rift that has divided many in this country for so many years.
Guys like Glen Beck (he's not the only person behind the microphone making these kinds of comments you know) should temper their rhetoric. Sorry to say but their ratings do not take precedence over what's best for the nation. And to imply the president is racist because one doesn't like our immigration policy is nearly equally foolhardy. The nation has always set quotas when deciding how many people can emigrate here from what nations. And those quotas - perhaps with some modification - will be in effect long after Obama leaves office.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Some Banks in Govt's 'Healthy Bank' Bailout Are Struggling
By Paul Kiel
ProPublica
A growing number of small and midsized banks that received federal bailout money have stopped paying quarterly dividends to the government in order to conserve capital.
The banks, reeling from bad loans, have sometimes been ordered by regulators to stop the payments as part of a rescue plan.
At least 18 banks that received bailout funds are not paying dividends. They range in size from San Francisco-based UCBH Holdings, which received $299 million in taxpayer money and recently announced suspension of the government dividends as part of an “action plan” to strengthen the bank, to tiny community banks. Some have chosen to suspend dividends, while others have been prohibited from paying them by regulators.
The banks aren’t paying dividends only months after being blessed by regulators and the Treasury Department as “healthy.” The money was distributed through the government’s primary bailout program. As then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson explained last October, the program was aimed at boosting the overall economy by investing in banks that “will deploy, not hoard, their capital.”
The Treasury has kept secret its criteria for accepting banks, saying only that those approved should prove themselves viable without the government investment. Banks in the program are selected for their ability to keep lending levels up, Treasury officials have said, and keep taxpayer risk at a minimum.
Yet shortly after receiving funds, two of the biggest recipients, Bank of America and Citigroup, which both received $25 billion through the program, were bailed out with even more taxpayer money. More recently, CIT Group, which received $2.3 billion late last year, has flirted with bankruptcy.
The suspension of TARP dividends shows that some smaller banks in the program are struggling, too. It also calls into question whether all of the banks in the program really could have survived without the government investment. In the government’s haste to boost the banking sector, “there may have been decisions, where had there been more time and analysis, may have been made differently,” said Karen Dorway, president of BauerFinancial, a research firm that studies the financial health of banks. The Treasury Department declined to comment on the dividend suspensions.
Regulators have intervened with a number of the troubled banks.
California-based Pacific Capital Bancorp, which received $180.6 million, reached an agreement with its primary regulator in April to hatch a new plan to deal with its problem loans and boost its capital levels. The bank, which announced its intention earlier this year to lay off nearly a quarter of its employees, missed a dividend payment to the Treasury soon thereafter.
In Wisconsin, Anchor Bancorp received $110 million from the Treasury in January. In June, regulators issued a cease-and-desist order requiring the bank to raise its capital levels and putting it under strict supervision. The bank has yet to make a dividend payment to the Treasury.
The problems extend to small community banks such as Pacific Coast National Bancorp of San Clemente, Calif. The bank received $4.1 million in January, but regulators later clamped down, forbidding it from increasing its loans above the amount on the bank’s balance sheet and ordering it to raise capital. The bank was in dire straits when it received the bailout funds in January, “significantly undercapitalized” under regulatory guidelines. But as a result of the aid, it ascended to merely “undercapitalized,” according to its annual report. It is prohibited by state regulations from paying dividends.
Blue Valley Ban Corp of Kansas ($21.8 million) suspended dividend payments in May at the request of its regulator, said the bank’s CEO Bob Regnier. But he said the move was only cautionary as the bank deals with losses from construction loans and doesn’t mean the bank is pulling back on lending. “We’re still out there making every good loan that we can find, but it’s a more difficult economic environment.”
One bank is seeking even more TARP funds. Midwest Banc Holdings ($84.8 million) suspended dividends in May to retain cash and announced this week that, as part of a plan to reduce costs and raise capital, it was seeking up to $53 million more from the Treasury.
The Treasury has invested more than $200 billion in 653 companies through the program, and since the overwhelming majority of banks have paid dividends, the Treasury had collected $6.7 billion as of June, according to a Treasury report. The banks pay five percent annual interest on the investment.
There is a consequence for banks missing too many dividend payments. After six quarterly non-payments, the Treasury gains the right to appoint two members to the bank’s board of directors, a fate some banks could face next year.
At least eight California banks have missed dividend payments because of state laws prohibiting payment of dividends unless certain earnings benchmarks are met. The rules are designed to ensure that banks pay dividends out of earnings, something that’s more difficult for younger banks.
Fresno First Bank, a three year-old community bank, is among those eight, but Chief Financial Officer Steve Canfield said the bank expects to gain approval from state regulators to pay the dividends on the $2 million investment later this summer. The bank plans to use the TARP money primarily to fund the bank’s “very, very rapid” growth, he said. It wasn’t our intention to take the money and stiff the government.”
ProPublica
A growing number of small and midsized banks that received federal bailout money have stopped paying quarterly dividends to the government in order to conserve capital.
The banks, reeling from bad loans, have sometimes been ordered by regulators to stop the payments as part of a rescue plan.
At least 18 banks that received bailout funds are not paying dividends. They range in size from San Francisco-based UCBH Holdings, which received $299 million in taxpayer money and recently announced suspension of the government dividends as part of an “action plan” to strengthen the bank, to tiny community banks. Some have chosen to suspend dividends, while others have been prohibited from paying them by regulators.
The banks aren’t paying dividends only months after being blessed by regulators and the Treasury Department as “healthy.” The money was distributed through the government’s primary bailout program. As then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson explained last October, the program was aimed at boosting the overall economy by investing in banks that “will deploy, not hoard, their capital.”
The Treasury has kept secret its criteria for accepting banks, saying only that those approved should prove themselves viable without the government investment. Banks in the program are selected for their ability to keep lending levels up, Treasury officials have said, and keep taxpayer risk at a minimum.
Yet shortly after receiving funds, two of the biggest recipients, Bank of America and Citigroup, which both received $25 billion through the program, were bailed out with even more taxpayer money. More recently, CIT Group, which received $2.3 billion late last year, has flirted with bankruptcy.
The suspension of TARP dividends shows that some smaller banks in the program are struggling, too. It also calls into question whether all of the banks in the program really could have survived without the government investment. In the government’s haste to boost the banking sector, “there may have been decisions, where had there been more time and analysis, may have been made differently,” said Karen Dorway, president of BauerFinancial, a research firm that studies the financial health of banks. The Treasury Department declined to comment on the dividend suspensions.
Regulators have intervened with a number of the troubled banks.
California-based Pacific Capital Bancorp, which received $180.6 million, reached an agreement with its primary regulator in April to hatch a new plan to deal with its problem loans and boost its capital levels. The bank, which announced its intention earlier this year to lay off nearly a quarter of its employees, missed a dividend payment to the Treasury soon thereafter.
In Wisconsin, Anchor Bancorp received $110 million from the Treasury in January. In June, regulators issued a cease-and-desist order requiring the bank to raise its capital levels and putting it under strict supervision. The bank has yet to make a dividend payment to the Treasury.
The problems extend to small community banks such as Pacific Coast National Bancorp of San Clemente, Calif. The bank received $4.1 million in January, but regulators later clamped down, forbidding it from increasing its loans above the amount on the bank’s balance sheet and ordering it to raise capital. The bank was in dire straits when it received the bailout funds in January, “significantly undercapitalized” under regulatory guidelines. But as a result of the aid, it ascended to merely “undercapitalized,” according to its annual report. It is prohibited by state regulations from paying dividends.
Blue Valley Ban Corp of Kansas ($21.8 million) suspended dividend payments in May at the request of its regulator, said the bank’s CEO Bob Regnier. But he said the move was only cautionary as the bank deals with losses from construction loans and doesn’t mean the bank is pulling back on lending. “We’re still out there making every good loan that we can find, but it’s a more difficult economic environment.”
One bank is seeking even more TARP funds. Midwest Banc Holdings ($84.8 million) suspended dividends in May to retain cash and announced this week that, as part of a plan to reduce costs and raise capital, it was seeking up to $53 million more from the Treasury.
The Treasury has invested more than $200 billion in 653 companies through the program, and since the overwhelming majority of banks have paid dividends, the Treasury had collected $6.7 billion as of June, according to a Treasury report. The banks pay five percent annual interest on the investment.
There is a consequence for banks missing too many dividend payments. After six quarterly non-payments, the Treasury gains the right to appoint two members to the bank’s board of directors, a fate some banks could face next year.
At least eight California banks have missed dividend payments because of state laws prohibiting payment of dividends unless certain earnings benchmarks are met. The rules are designed to ensure that banks pay dividends out of earnings, something that’s more difficult for younger banks.
Fresno First Bank, a three year-old community bank, is among those eight, but Chief Financial Officer Steve Canfield said the bank expects to gain approval from state regulators to pay the dividends on the $2 million investment later this summer. The bank plans to use the TARP money primarily to fund the bank’s “very, very rapid” growth, he said. It wasn’t our intention to take the money and stiff the government.”
FBI: Beware Online Rental Ads That Sound Too Good To Be True
You can’t believe your good fortune—you find a rental home in a nice area through a Craigslist classified ad at an unbelievably low rate. The landlord—who had to leave the country and travel to Nigeria—asks that you wire him two months’ worth of rent. You arrive at the home on the agreed-upon date, but there’s just one small problem—the house is not actually for rent and its owners know nothing about your agreement.
This latest scam being perpetrated by Nigerian criminals located halfway around the world has been seen in a number of U.S. states, perhaps in response to the current housing market—with fewer people buying, more people are renting.
But it’s not really a new scam, just a variation of an old one. The so-called 419 scheme—named after the Nigerian penal code section under which this particular kind of fraud is prosecuted—has been around since the early 1980s. The common thread running through these kinds of scams? The victims are solicited by Nigerian criminals to transfer money out of the U.S. and into the criminals’ pockets; usually by being promised something in return. And these schemes are profitable, costing victims millions of dollars annually.
In South Carolina, the rental scam problem has become so prevalent that Columbia FBI Special Agent in Charge David Thomas recently issued a warning about it to homeowners and prospective renters, particularly in the Charleston, Columbia, and Hilton Head areas. The scam has also ensnared victims in Rhode Island, Illinois, Colorado, and California, among other states.
How exactly does the rental housing scam work? The criminals search websites that list homes for sale. They take the information in those ads—lock, stock, and barrel—and post it, with their own e-mail address, in an ad on Craigslist (without Craigslist’s consent or knowledge) under the housing rentals category. To sweeten the pot, the houses are almost always listed with below-market rental rates.
An interested party will contact the “homeowner” via e-mail, who usually explains that he or she had to leave the U.S. quickly because of some missionary or contract work in Africa. Victims are usually instructed to send money overseas—enough to cover the first and last month’s rent—via a wire transfer service (because the crooks know it can’t be traced once it gets picked up on the other end).
Renters might sometimes be asked to fill out credit applications asking for personal information like credit history, social security numbers, and work history. The Nigerian crooks can then use this info to commit identity fraud and steal even more money from their victims.
How to avoid being victimized:
* Only deal with landlords or renters who are local;
* Be suspicious if you’re asked to only use a wire transfer service;
* Beware of e-mail correspondence from the “landlord” that’s written in poor or broken English;
* Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower;
* Don’t give out personal information, like social security, bank account, or credit card numbers.
The FBI says, if you suspect a scam, have already been victimized, or know someone who has fallen victim to a scam, report it to their Internet Crime Complaint Center.
This latest scam being perpetrated by Nigerian criminals located halfway around the world has been seen in a number of U.S. states, perhaps in response to the current housing market—with fewer people buying, more people are renting.
But it’s not really a new scam, just a variation of an old one. The so-called 419 scheme—named after the Nigerian penal code section under which this particular kind of fraud is prosecuted—has been around since the early 1980s. The common thread running through these kinds of scams? The victims are solicited by Nigerian criminals to transfer money out of the U.S. and into the criminals’ pockets; usually by being promised something in return. And these schemes are profitable, costing victims millions of dollars annually.
In South Carolina, the rental scam problem has become so prevalent that Columbia FBI Special Agent in Charge David Thomas recently issued a warning about it to homeowners and prospective renters, particularly in the Charleston, Columbia, and Hilton Head areas. The scam has also ensnared victims in Rhode Island, Illinois, Colorado, and California, among other states.
How exactly does the rental housing scam work? The criminals search websites that list homes for sale. They take the information in those ads—lock, stock, and barrel—and post it, with their own e-mail address, in an ad on Craigslist (without Craigslist’s consent or knowledge) under the housing rentals category. To sweeten the pot, the houses are almost always listed with below-market rental rates.
An interested party will contact the “homeowner” via e-mail, who usually explains that he or she had to leave the U.S. quickly because of some missionary or contract work in Africa. Victims are usually instructed to send money overseas—enough to cover the first and last month’s rent—via a wire transfer service (because the crooks know it can’t be traced once it gets picked up on the other end).
Renters might sometimes be asked to fill out credit applications asking for personal information like credit history, social security numbers, and work history. The Nigerian crooks can then use this info to commit identity fraud and steal even more money from their victims.
How to avoid being victimized:
* Only deal with landlords or renters who are local;
* Be suspicious if you’re asked to only use a wire transfer service;
* Beware of e-mail correspondence from the “landlord” that’s written in poor or broken English;
* Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower;
* Don’t give out personal information, like social security, bank account, or credit card numbers.
The FBI says, if you suspect a scam, have already been victimized, or know someone who has fallen victim to a scam, report it to their Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Downturn In Economy Shot In This Company's Arm
When Wall Street companies crashed and burned last year many professionals found themselves out of work and looking to start new ventures. They needed office space, but didn't want to invest a lot of money for permanent, expensive real estate in Manhattan.
That turned out to be good news for a company called Wurk Environments, provider of upscale, flexible and - if necessary - professional work space. I toured their Times Square facilities (another is planned for Santa Monica) where VP Joseph DeTrano was kind enough to take me on a tour.
News Talk Online July 29, 2009: Obama's Health Reform Plan, New Sports Social Network Topics On Paltalk
President Obama made two stops today as part of his campaign to get national health reform. He's meeting resistance from members of both parties in Congress, so he's trying a bottom up approach - hoping constituents will contact their representatives during the August recess and push for approval.
Joining us today on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com to discuss the president's package and how it will help people who otherwise can't get health insurance was Dr. Andrew Coates, a practicing physician in Albany, New York and a representative of Physicians For a National Health Program.
Then in the second half of the show, my guest was Greg Wilfahrt, representative of a new sports social networking site called Make It Pro.
Joining us today on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com to discuss the president's package and how it will help people who otherwise can't get health insurance was Dr. Andrew Coates, a practicing physician in Albany, New York and a representative of Physicians For a National Health Program.
Then in the second half of the show, my guest was Greg Wilfahrt, representative of a new sports social networking site called Make It Pro.
9/11 House Compensation Bill Clears Major Hurdle
Today, the House Judiciary Committee approved a portion of the landmark 9/11 Health and Compensation Act by a vote of 22-9. New York Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Peter King, and Michael McMahon, the lead sponsors of the legislation, hailed today’s approval as a sign of the measure’s strong momentum toward a vote in the full House by the eighth anniversary of the attacks. The legislation would provide long-term, comprehensive health care and compensation for those sickened or injured in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“Today’s vote is a crucial step toward our goal of passing this landmark bill by the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Eight years is long enough to finally get proper care and compensation for the heroes and heroines of 9/11,” said Maloney.
The Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over the portion of the legislation that would reopen the federal Victim Compensation Fund for those who suffered economic losses as a result of exposure to Ground Zero toxins. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over the health care component of the bill.
“Today’s vote is a crucial step toward our goal of passing this landmark bill by the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Eight years is long enough to finally get proper care and compensation for the heroes and heroines of 9/11,” said Maloney.
The Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over the portion of the legislation that would reopen the federal Victim Compensation Fund for those who suffered economic losses as a result of exposure to Ground Zero toxins. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over the health care component of the bill.
Does China Oppose A Nuclear Iran?
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says China joins the United States in opposing Iran's development of nuclear weapons.
Clinton made the comment following meetings with high level Chinese officials in Washington. If her assessment is accurate, then the squeeze on Tehran has just gotten a bit tighter. But it's hardly news.
In 2006, China's foreign minister traveled there to express that nation's concerns over Iran's uranium enrichment program. In the ensuing years, there's been no movement on the part of the Iranian regime to ensure the world that it's not developing nuclear arms.
New York City Giving Homeless Families Tickets To Ride
The Bloomberg administration has set aside a half-a-million dollars for a unique program designed to get homeless people off the streets and out of the shelters of the city.
If you're homeless in New York and you have a relative someplace else who will take you in, New York City will pay your ticket out-of-Dodge. And there's no limit to where they'll send you on the city's dime.
So far 550 homeless families have opted into the program - one that not only finds a safe place for them to stay - but that also saves the city money. That's because it costs New York City $36,000-a-year to provide shelter to one homeless family.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/3313566370/
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Protect Your Pets In The Hot Weather
Much of the United States is in the grip of a heat wave. And while we can come in from the heat, drink liquids and, basically adjust, our pets need our help in coping with high temperatures. Dr. Ann E. Hohenhaus, senior medical adviser at New York City's Animal Medical Center offers the following tips for pet owners.
Now that the weather is warmer, your pet will spend more time outdoors and has a greater risk of becoming separated from the family. A pet with two forms of ID is more likely to be returned to its family because one form, the name tag is immediately identifiable and the other form, a microchip is a permanent form of ID even if the collar is lost. A collar with a name tag and contact information provides a quick method for returning a lost pet to its family by anyone who finds the pet. Microchips are permanently implanted radio frequency identification devices which are read by a special wand found in most veterinary hospitals and animal shelters.
--
Warm weather brings the risk of heatstroke. Heatstroke occurs when your pet’s internal cooling mechanisms cannot dissipate the heat the body is absorbing. A parked, closed car is just one dangerous place for a pet on a warm day. It can also occur outdoors during exercise or in an un-air conditioned apartment.
On hot humid days, pet owners should provide adequate cool water to drink and protection from direct sun. Exercise should be limited to the cooler times of the day and dogs with short noses such as pugs, bulldogs, shar peis and Pekingese should not exercise when it is excessively hot and humid. Overweight dogs are also at increased risk for heatstroke.
If your pet collapses from heatstroke, you should take him/her immediately to the nearest veterinary emergency facility. You should not attempt to cool your pet if doing so will delay your trip to the veterinary hospital. For quick ice packs you can grab all the frozen vegetables out of your freezer and hold them on your dog for the trip to the emergency clinic.
--
Working in the garden is just one of many summer pleasures for you that may be hazardous for your dog. Mulch from the Theobroma cacao plant sold under the names cocoa mulch, cocoa bean mulch, cocoa shell mulch or cocoa bean hull mulch is a by-product of chocolate manufacturing with a marvelous aroma and great curb appeal. The problem for your dog is, just like chocolate, the mulch contains theobromine, a caffeine related compound toxic in dogs. If unsupervised in the garden, dogs may willingly eat this mulch and some will exhibit vomiting, diarrhea, tremors and hyperactivity. One fatal case has been reported. If your dog eats cocoa mulch or exhibits these signs after being unsupervised around cocoa mulch, a trip to the emergency clinic is necessary.
--
With warmer temperatures, we spend more time outdoors and can be exposed to infectious diseases. Recently two cases of children infected with raccoon roundworms have been reported in New York City. In raccoons, the roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonisis, is an intestinal parasite, but in humans, it causes ocular and neurological problems. Dogs can be infected with the raccoon roundworm, but in dogs, administration of year round heartworm preventative will eradicate this parasite. After outdoor activities, parents should enforce good hand washing practices for their children and should teach their children to avoid animal feces which contain the infective roundworm eggs.
--
Both swimming and boating present dangers to pets. Pet owners can protect their pet against accidental drowning by using a dog life jacket when boating. These bright orange vests not only keep your dog afloat if he/she should become a “dog overboard” but the bright color will make him easier to rescue. Pool owners need to teach the family dog how to find the stairs out of the pool or if the pool only has a ladder, purchase pool stairs or a pool ramp from a pet supply company.
--
Unique to urban areas is feline high rise syndrome. Obviously, the risk of this type of injuring increases in parallel with the ambient temperature. Cats slip, fall or jump from the window or balcony of their apartment and land below on the street. Amazingly, these agile felines frequently, but not always, survive the resulting trauma. Cats typically fracture their wrists, lower jaw, teeth and may also rupture their lungs on impact. This injury is totally preventable by placing inexpensive window screens over any open window and restricting access to balconies.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/snapped_up/479914734/
News Talk Online July 28, 2009: Cyberbullying And Obama's Birthplace
Two topics on today's News Talk Online on Paltalk.com.
The first half of the show focused on cyberbullying and the failure of many school systems to intervene when students are victimized on the Internet. Sometimes this leads to tragic results as teens and even pre-teens have committed suicide as a result of text attacks.
The controversy over President Obama's place of birth was the topic during the second half of the show.
The first half of the show focused on cyberbullying and the failure of many school systems to intervene when students are victimized on the Internet. Sometimes this leads to tragic results as teens and even pre-teens have committed suicide as a result of text attacks.
The controversy over President Obama's place of birth was the topic during the second half of the show.
Leonard Peltier's Latest Parole Hearing Today
Leonard Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement, was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The following essay, submitted by contributor Harvey Wasserman, is a plea for his release.
Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been in prison for more than 12,226 days, more than 33 years. His is one of the longest ordeals of any political prisoner in human history.
With him, our souls have suffered. Our bodies ache for his freedom.
Today, July 28, 2009, Peltier goes before the Federal Parole Commission in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. As you read this, all over the world, beginning in the wee hours of the morning in the South Pacific, prayer vigils, peace marches, ecumenical gatherings, group chantings and all forms of individual meditation accompany this hearing. It is one of the most important tests of the new Obama Administration.
Peltier was charged more than a third of a century ago with the murder of two FBI agents. The circumstances of the prosecution, and the legal history of the case, involve thousands of pages of missing evidence, compromised witnesses and procedures so twisted as to stagger the imagination and leave any sense of fair play and reasonable jurisprudence buried in the dust.
Through it all, Peltier has maintained his dignity and strength with astonishing grace. He will be 65 years old in September, having spent more than half his life behind bars. His body is wracked with prison-related ailments. He has great grandchildren he has never seen.
Yet his writings remain politically astute, spiritually compelling and unfailingly compassionate.
Supporters believe the time is “favorable” for his release. The four-member Parole Commission ( http://www.usdoj.gov/uspc/ ) that will decide on his plea is chaired by Isaac Fulwood, Jr., originally appointed by George W. Bush, elevated to the Chair in May by Barack Obama.
Obama himself has the power through various legal means to end Peltier’s torture and make him a free man.
Peltier’s defense attorney, Eric Seitz, has expressed optimism that the Parole Board will grant Peltier his freedom, especially given Leonard’s exemplary behavior in prison, the utter collapse of the case against him, his health, age and other factors, not least of which may be a changed political and cultural climate. But Seitz has warned of previous disappointments in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now (http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/27/parole_hearing_to_be_held _tuesday ) .
Millions of supporters worldwide have suffered with Leonard over the decades as with no other political prisoner. His case embodies the tortured relationship between the US Government and the Native American community, says Tony Gonzalez (of the Comca'ac-Chicano Tribe) of the American Indian Movement (www.aimovement.org) founded, he says, 41 years ago today.
Meaningful steps toward healing that relationship will be very hard to take until Leonard Peltier is free to re-join his family.
This is a critical moment in the Obama Era. Bill Clinton was thoroughly briefed by numerous people very close to the Peltier case, but did not free him. Constitutional scholar Barack Obama is also well aware of this horrific imprisonment.
Peltier’s freedom marks a monumental corner that must be turned. For the millions who have ached through the terrible injustice and sheer physical and spiritual pain of this imprisonment, it is a moment of liberation that must come.
Only a strongly supportive political climate can make it happen. Call your Senators and Representatives as well as the White House and Parole Commission, newspapers and radio shows, web friends and neighbors down the street. Meditate, pray, march, dance, sing, shout, laugh, cry….do whatever you can to help move this man out of his jail cell and into the open air after 33 hellish years.
This imprisonment must end. Rarely has it been more true that freeing a single human being will help free us all.
For more see: MY LIFE IS MY SUNDANCE, by Leonard Peltier; IN THE SPIRIT OF CRAZY HORSE by Peter Mattheissen; Robert Redford’s INCIDENT AT OGLALLAhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4219825247691110146;http://www.leonardpeltier.net; www.whoisleonardpeltier.info.
--
Photo credt: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24293932@N00/2313008325/
Drop The Birth Certificate Fight; Concentrate On Real Issues
Born in the USA
Either officials in Hawaii are putting their reputations and their jobs on the line as part of a massive conspiracy to cover up the fact that Barack Obama isn't qualified to be president of the United States or he was, indeed, born in the USA.
Once again, the state's top health official has issued a brief statement affirming that the record indicates that Obama was, indeed, born in Hawaii.
"Birthers," who tend to be right wing and who consider themselves ultra-patriotic, will not, I am certain, appreciate the following analogy. But their continued public denial of Obama's birth status is akin to some Muslim who still don't believe Osama bin Ladin was behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Both groups are desperately holding onto what they believe to be a fact and won't let go. It's like a guy hopped up on drugs who has been mortally shot but keeps coming because he doesn't realize he's already dead. This issue is dead and shouldn't keep coming. Sooner or later, like the wounded drug addict, the argument will collapse.
The point is, the chief justice of the Supreme Court has sworn in Obama after declining to hear an appeal of a lower court's ruling dismissing as having no standing a suit challenging Obama's right to run for president based on his place of birth. Remember, it was the Supreme Court that in 2000 issued a ruling in the Bush v Gore case that decided the outcome of that presidential election. If the birthers are going to reject the Supreme Court's decision about Obama's place of birth then they should have rejected the legitimacy of George W. Bush's election. But they didn't. The nation accepted the decision and moved on.
There are a multitude of serious issues that face the nation right now. Focusing on this sideshow diverts attention from things that really matter.
Give it a rest. Barack Obama is the president of the United States. If you don't like his policies, then challenge them. But like after the 2000 Florida presidential was challenged - it's time to move on.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Despite Arrests, Reward Offered In Border Patrol Agent's Death
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas, who was killed in the line of duty on Thursday, July 23, 2009, at Campo, California.
Rosa's body was found in the vicinity of Shockey Truck Trail. At the time of his death, Rosas and other U.S. Border Patrol agents were tracking a group of individuals near the U.S./Mexico border fence. After losing radio contact with Rosas the other agents launched a search of the area leading to the discovery of his body. He had been shot several times.
The FBI is asking anyone with information concerning the death of Rojas to contact them at (858) 565-1255. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Rosa's body was found in the vicinity of Shockey Truck Trail. At the time of his death, Rosas and other U.S. Border Patrol agents were tracking a group of individuals near the U.S./Mexico border fence. After losing radio contact with Rosas the other agents launched a search of the area leading to the discovery of his body. He had been shot several times.
The FBI is asking anyone with information concerning the death of Rojas to contact them at (858) 565-1255. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
FBI: Homegrown Terrorists Busted In NC
FBI agents have arrested a group of alleged homegrown terrorists in North Carolina who they say were heavily armed, organized, and making plans to wage jihad overseas.
The seven men arrested—including a father and his two sons— are charged with providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure people overseas.
The FBI says the father, Daniel Patrick Boyd, once fought in Afghanistan and trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. All of the defendants are North Carolina residents and all but one are U.S. citizens.
“The threat that terrorists and extremists pose to America and our allies has not dulled or gone away,” said Owen D. Harris, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Charlotte division. “These arrests today show there are people living among us, in our communities in North Carolina and around the U.S., that are honing their skills to carry out acts of murder and mayhem.”
The seven-count indictment alleges a conspiracy that began in earnest in 2006 and continued until shortly before today’s arrests. It charges that the defendants trained in the U.S. for battle and were willing to die as martyrs. According to the indictment, they raised money to support their training and in some cases recruited and radicalized others to further their cause overseas. In one case, Daniel Patrick Boyd traveled in March 2006 with one of his sons to Gaza to introduce him to individuals who believed violent jihad was a religious obligation, the indictment charges. It is alleged that A year later, Boyd and several of the defendants went to Israel to wage jihad but returned without success.
The defendants, as well as some of the additional charges they face, are:
* Daniel Patrick Boyd: The 39-year-old Boyd faces charges of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime, receiving a firearm through interstate commerce, and also selling a firearm to a felon.
* Dylan Boyd: One of Daniel Boyd’s sons, Dylan, 22, is also charged with selling a firearm—a 9mm Beretta handgun—to a felon.
* Zakariya Boyd: Also a son of Daniel Boyd, Zakariya, 20, is charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime.
* Hysen Sherifi: The 24-year-old Kosovo native is a legal U.S. resident. As part of the conspiracy, the indictment alleges he traveled to Kosovo in July 2008 to engage in violent jihad, then returned in April to raise support for the mujahedeen. Sherifi allegedly supplied $500 to help fund Daniel Boyd’s overseas efforts.
* Anes Subasic: The 33-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen allegedly discussed preparations with Daniel Boyd to send two people overseas.
* Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan: A 22-year-old U.S. citizen.
* Ziyad Yaghi: The 21-year-old U.S. citizen is accused of traveling to Jordan in October 2006 to engage in violent jihad.
The indictment details the arsenal the defendants allegedly built up over several years including handguns, assault rifles, and a Bushmaster M4A3 that Daniel Boyd allegedly received illegally in 2006. Over the past two months, it is charged, the defendants practiced with the weapons and developed their military tactics on private property in rural Caswell County.
The Raleigh Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI Charlotte Division led the multi-year, multi-agency investigation, dubbed “Triangle Terror Takedown.”
Obama's Ratings Hit New Low Topic On Paltalk
Ginsberg
Last week's USA Today/Gallup Poll gave President Obama a lower approval rating than that facing President Bush at six months into his first term in office. And that was before the furor over his comment that Cambridge police acted "stupidly" when they arrested his friend, Harvard scholar Skip Gates, inside his home.
Many callers to News Talk Online are frustrated over the pace of the economic recovery, worried that the spending the president has already pushed through Congress is bankrupting their children and grandchildren's futures and concerned over who will pay for the health care reform package the president so desperately wants.
But supporters of Obama say there's a concerted campaign to malign the president, with half truths and outright lies promulgated, they say, by the conservative talk show hosts who dominate AM radio in the United States.
One of those supporters, Hal Ginsberg, my guest today on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com.
Ginsberg owns KRXA 540 AM, a California progressive radio station - one of the very few independently owned and operated radio stations left in the United States. Its all- progressive talk format makes it even more unique.
Since 2007, Hal has hosted the KRXA Morning Show from 8-10 am weekdays. The Morning Show is exciting, fast-paced, and informative.
In 2009, Hal was voted Monterey's Top DJ by the readers of the Monterey County Weekly and was awarded the Spirit of Partnership Award by the NAACP - Monterey Branch.
Cyberbullying Topic On Paltalk
Wolf
As August nears, parents and their children can already see a new school year just around the corner. In the past, kids used to be concerned with getting picked-on by bullies in the playground during recess or in the hallways in between classes. But child and adolescent mental health legal expert Carolyn Reinach Wolf sees a disturbing trend in teen violence going from face-to-face confrontations to aggressive attacks via the Internet.
And if schools do not address how to protect students from cyberbullying and parents do not demand that safeguards are put in place to keep their children out of harm’s way, the consequences can be deadly and schools may be liable.
In recent years there has been a rash of suicides as a direct result of cyberbullying.
Fifteen-year old Iain Steele of Western Springs, Illinois hanged himself with a belt after being assaulted by schoolmates in cyberspace, where students posted a video on Facebook making fun of his taste for heavy metal music. Thirteen-year-old Ryan Patrick Halligan of Essex Junction, Vermont hanged himself after he was repeatedly sent instant messages from middle school classmates accusing him of being gay. Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri killed herself after she was taunted through social-networking website Myspace.
A recent study reveals 45 percent of preteens said they have been cyberbullied at school, and 30 percent of teens say they've had the same experience.
Wolf, founder of Campus Behavioral Health Risk Consultants says school policies are outdated and do not address how to monitor and prevent cyberbullying attacks on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace or YouTube.
“Schools have failed to keep up with the newest types of bullying,” said Wolf, the mother of three. “And as a parent and lawyer, I would hold the schools accountable for anything that happens under its roof.”
According to Ms. Wolf, schools have a myriad of tools at their disposal to combat cyberbullying, but most are not using them, including monitoring computers, blocking social network sites from school computers and enforcing a no-text messaging rule while school is in session.
“Unfortunately, most schools are asleep at the wheel and are not taking proactive steps to prevent an attack,” Wolf said. “They prefer to say, ‘It won’t happen to us.'' Wolf says, before dropping your kids off on the first day of school you should talk to administrators about what they are doing to prevent online violence.
Wolf will be my guest, tomorrow, July 28 on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com at 5 PM New York time.
When Wall Street Is The Problem Is Bernanke The Answer?
Bernanke
By Danny Schechter
Author of Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity
In his recent press conference, after which President Obama would be called to task for lambasting the police in Cambridge Mass for acting ”stupidly” - a comment he later withdrew - he also charged that Wall Street knew what they were doing when they made predatory loans. No one called him on that, not even Wall Street.
Here’s what he said. “We were on the verge of a complete financial meltdown. And the reason was because Wall Street took extraordinary risks with other people's money. They were peddling loans that they knew could never be paid back.”
If this is unfair, no one has stepped up to the plate to deny it, certainly not the relentless right-wing which fell on Obama like a ton of bricks for suggesting that a lone policeman acted improperly by arresting scholar Skip Gates in his own home.
If it was a smear, you would expect an uproar from the Wall Street-real estate complex responsible for millions of families losing their homes. After all, this is a mass problem, not a mere incident. Also, a large proportion of those targeted were people of color. Their lives have been handcuffed, not just their wrists. If you are looking for a case of mass racial profiling, look here. A law suit in Baltimore produced an internal memo from Wachovia Bank in which loan officers called black customers “Mud People.”
Sadly, the explainer in chief did not elaborate, did not remind the country that Wall Street firms made billions of dollars securitizing these loans, then turning them into exotic products with misrepresented values. After financing rip-offs of home buyers, they ripped off investors by selling infected “bundles.”
None of these con-artists have been prosecuted; many have been rewarded.
According to economist James Kwak, for banks, “there is no contradiction between fleecing customers and making lots of profits (which is what makes you safe and sound). (a) Originate bad loans; (b) pocket fees; (c) sell bad loans to an investment bank for distribution; (d) repeat. What threatened to bring down banks was the fact that they held on to too much of the risk of those loans, either on their balance sheets or in their off-balance-sheet entities.”
These asset less products had no underlying value, and had to be written off leading to massive losses. It was the implosion of these fraudulent “toxic” mortgages that brought down the economy. The FBI cites “an epidemic” of criminality.
The administration is not going after the people who were “pedaling loans that they knew could never be paid back.” They are, instead, proposing a new consumer protection agency to make sure that the slick salesmen who take advantage of a widespread lack of financial literacy can no longer bamboozle the uninformed.
Everyone advocating responsible lending wants new rules with teeth. They support an agency to safeguard consumer rights. Who is against it? Almost all the banks that the government has bailed and all the sleazebags who should be jailed. They are mounting a slick campaign to kill the agency using a pricey PR agency led by Jim Wilkinson, the Bush operative and former Paulson aide who ran the propaganda war for the Iraq war. (You can’t make this up!)
And guess who has just joined this backlash against reform? None other than Ben Bernanke, the overlord of the Federal Reserve Bank, an organization, quiet as it’s kept, that is actually run by big banks and totally unaccountable to Congress or the people.
The Fed had stood by and none nothing to stop the subprime/subcrime wave, and nothing to stop the millions of foreclosures for years. Now, the Fed is proposing to step in, arguing that the new agency is not needed.
“I’ll handle it,” says Big Ben.
Can he? The New York Times reported: “Consumer groups and lawmakers have blamed the Fed under Mr. Bernanke’s predecessor, Alan Greenspan, for not cracking down early on dubious mortgages practices. High-risk mortgages fed the housing boom and led to its collapse. Mr. Bernanke, who took over the Fed in February 2006, eventually pushed through tougher rules, though some said the changes came too late to ease the mortgage crisis.”
I love when the NY Times reports “some said” without citing names or explaining that everyone fighting for the rights of homeowners and predatory lending victims said it, over and over again. The problem: no one was listening, including Bernanke and the New York Times which admitted in a column in the business section that it were warned in 2000 and then ignored the problem for seven years.
Baseline Scenario, a progressive economic site said of the man insiders call “Helicopter Ben” because of his affinity for spreading lucre from above to financial institutions (whether they need it or not,) “Disregarding his organization’s disappointing track record in this regard, he claims that the Fed can handle this issue perfectly well going forward. He thus adds his voice to the cacophony of financial sector lobbyists favoring the status quo. At the same time, Bernanke and the lobbyists talk about the importance of consumer confidence for the recovery. But how can you expect anyone to have confidence enough to spend and borrow when so many people have been so badly treated by the financial sector in recent years?”
Economist Simon Johnson adds, “The Fed, it seems, just wants to defend its turf.” Beyond that, it wants the banking industry to control the whole financial reform process to make sure that all change is contained, co-opted and controlled.
Bernanke is in the running to become our economic czar. He is now mounting a campaign for reappointment claiming he stopped a recession from turning into a depression. That is debatable. Some like Eliot Spitzer who knows where the bodies on Wall Street are buried says, "The Fed is a Ponzi scheme, an inside job, it is outrageous, it is time for congress to say enough of this."
The irony: many in the administration seem to want to give him and the Fed even more power in the misguided belief he is operating in the public interest up in that netherworld above politics.
Bernankeism is now Leninism, Capitalist style, undemocratic centralism by another name. He decides, we support. No checks, no balances. He is our monetary mullah, a beneficent avatar of Korea’s Kim and Iran’s Supreme Leader rolled into one. Genuflection, not accountability, is his order of the day.
The Princeling of Princeton wants us to think he knows best. As wannabe congressional overseers Ron Paul on the right, Allen Grayson in the center and Dennis Kucinich on the left have learned, questions to the bearded one and the elite he reports to invariably draw mealy-mouthed responses. Demands for disclosure are not welcome and calls are not returned.
The Fed is experiencing an unusually high call volume for the foreseeable future. Don’t try again.
Mediachannel.org’s News Dissector Danny Schechter is finishing a film and book on the financial crisis as a crime story. (newsdissector.com/plunder). Comments to dissector@mediachannel.org
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Time To Stop Discounting Swine Flu Warnings
Airline passengers in Argentina
The news media did us all a disservice by overplaying the swine flu story when it first broke.
At the time there was really no indication that it would cause massive numbers of Americans to die. The story deserved reporting, but the breathless overselling of it in the name of ratings numbed the public to the dangers of swine flu. So that now, when there are real indications that 10s of millions of Americans could contract the swine flu, few of us are paying attention.
The USA was fortunate that the swine flu initially struck in the spring. But the ramifications during the upcoming flu season can be far more devastating.
One needs only to look at Argentina to understand this. It's wintertime - flu season - in Argentina now. And that nation has seen swine flu deaths second only to the United States. Public gatherings have been cancelled there. It's a real problem. One that could likely, according to the CDC, be replicated here this winter.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elaws/3623734364/
Bush White House Considered Using Troops On U.S. Soil Vs Terrorists
There are those who think that as president, George W. Bush lacked intellect and common sense and that he was just taking his cue from then-Vice President Cheney. But this story shows that, not only was he the man in charge, but that he knew, sometimes at least, where to draw the line over some of the more obvious transgressions proposed by his advisers.
According to the New York Times, Cheney and other aides to the president proposed using U.S. troops to go after a band of suspected terrorists near Buffalo.
I don't know about Cheney, but my recollection of how things work legally in the United States is that the police handle law enforcement issues on U.S. soil. Troops are used to go after terrorists, enemy combatants and rival armies elsewhere.
I guess if we were to be invaded by Mexican or Canadian troops it would be OK to deploy the military. But Cheney and his cohorts were clearly delusional about the role troops play in the United States when they made this proposal in 2002. Thank God, the president, for all his faults, rejected this proposal. It makes one wonder how many other plans Cheney proposed that pushed the boundaries of the very Constitution he took an oath to uphold.
According to the New York Times, Cheney and other aides to the president proposed using U.S. troops to go after a band of suspected terrorists near Buffalo.
I don't know about Cheney, but my recollection of how things work legally in the United States is that the police handle law enforcement issues on U.S. soil. Troops are used to go after terrorists, enemy combatants and rival armies elsewhere.
I guess if we were to be invaded by Mexican or Canadian troops it would be OK to deploy the military. But Cheney and his cohorts were clearly delusional about the role troops play in the United States when they made this proposal in 2002. Thank God, the president, for all his faults, rejected this proposal. It makes one wonder how many other plans Cheney proposed that pushed the boundaries of the very Constitution he took an oath to uphold.
Obama Backs Off On Stupid Cops Remark
President Obama has now called Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, the white cop who arrested his friend, black Harvard professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates and came away singing a completely different tune about Crowley. Calling him an outstanding officer with a record of racial sensitivity.
Clearly Obama recognizes that when he said during a prime time news conference that the Cambridge police acted "stupidly" when arresting Gates that he was the one who was acting stupidly.
Now that the president and Crowley have spoken, it's time for Crowley and Gates to meet and reach a mutual understanding and respect to help put this behind them. It's time to move beyond the instant incident and refocus on the issue of race in America. The discourse over the confrontation shows that the election of a racially identifiable black president has not, in itself, healed the historic distrust between the races in America.
The Money Flow Across The Rio Grande Now Goes Two Ways
For decades, Mexicans and other Central and South Americans have been crossing the southern border of the United States, legally and otherwise, to seek a better life, taking jobs working on farms, landscaping, in restaurants, as day laborers or other lower paying jobs. Invariably they leave family behind. And as they find jobs in the norte, they send money back south to their relatives.
But apparently that's changing.
According to a report by New America Media, the economic downturn has taken a bite out of their dreams of fortune as well. And now, according to the story, increasingly the relatives they left behind are sending money to them.
Perhaps this change in economic climate will slowdown the number of undocumented workers making their way across the Rio Grande. Stemming a tide that the border wall and Border Patrol have been unsuccessful in stopping at great financial cost.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crowdive/3471634798/
The Debranding Of Starbucks
The other day some colleagues of mine and I decided to go out for a cup of java before my show. When we hit the lobby of our building the inevitable question came up - Starbucks or another coffee shop?
In Manhattan you're never more than a few blocks away from a Starbucks. But sometimes you want a change of pace. Perhaps grabbing a cup of joe from a local coffee shop with its own, unique atmosphere.
Well the brain trust at Starbucks recognizes that people sometimes go for a local alternative. So they've come up with a way to avoid an erosion of business to a competitor. They are rebranding or debranding or unbranding some stores to make them look like independent coffee shops. But in reality - they'll still be offering the same chain brand fare.
For Starbucks it's a brilliant move. But for local coffee shop owners, it may seem like a stealthy, unfair tactic. And for the coffee consuming public, it makes it just a little bit more difficult to choose a local shop with its own unique ambience and product.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/miskan/18742153/
Friday, July 24, 2009
Evangelist Tony Alamo Convicted Of Transporting Minor Girls Across State Lines For Sex
Tony Alamo, founder and leader of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries has been convicted on charges that he transported minor girls across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity.
The federal jury in Arkansas found Alamo, 74, whose real name is Bernie Hoffman, guilty on
all 10 counts of the federal indictment and followed six days of testimony during which women
Alamo can be sentenced to serve up to 30 years in prison for the most serious of the counts. He also faces the prospect of fines up to $250,000 on each count.
Each of the women testified that Alamo "married" them when they were underaged.
On his website, Alamo claims that the five women who testified against him were pressured to do so by the FBI and that they are under the spell of witchcraft. He also maintains that the legal age of marriage is puberty.
The federal jury in Arkansas found Alamo, 74, whose real name is Bernie Hoffman, guilty on
all 10 counts of the federal indictment and followed six days of testimony during which women
Alamo can be sentenced to serve up to 30 years in prison for the most serious of the counts. He also faces the prospect of fines up to $250,000 on each count.
Each of the women testified that Alamo "married" them when they were underaged.
On his website, Alamo claims that the five women who testified against him were pressured to do so by the FBI and that they are under the spell of witchcraft. He also maintains that the legal age of marriage is puberty.
News Talk Online July 24, 2009: The Curious Case Of Professor Gates And Race In America
The case of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, who claims he was mistreated by a white police sergeant because he is black, just won't go away, especially because President Obama stupidly declared that the police acted stupidly. But it does underscore the differing perceptions many people have depending on their race and their experience with people of other races in general and law enforcement in particular.
Even McCain Disagrees With You Lou: Obama Is A Citizen
Some still can't accept the fact that Obama is president
When the allegations that then-Senator Obama wasn't a U.S. citizen started swirling during the presidential campaign you'd think that the first person to seize upon them would be his opponent, Republican Senator John McCain. But his now famous "no mam, no mam" response to a woman during a campaign town hall meeting when she asserted that Obama wasn't qualified to be president dashed the hopes of "birthers" that they could count on McCain to support them. Now comes word that McCain didn't just dismiss their claims out-of-hand.
The Washington Independent reports today that when the McCain camp learned of Pennsylvania Attorney Phil Berg's lawsuit challenging Obama's qualifications to run for president it immediately investigated the claim. They were hoping to find a smoking gun that would convince the American people that they ought not vote for Obama.
But according to the report, after looking into them, the McCain campaign dismissed Berg's allegations.
I don't know whether CNN's Lou Dobbs was aware of all this when he challenged Obama on his radio show recently to produce his birth certificate. But maybe Dobbs, who I have a lot of respect for, will now reevaluate his position on this. Because if anyone had a vested interest to prove the claim, it was McCain.
I had attorney Berg on my show, News Talk Online on Paltalk.com during the campaign. I listened to his arguments but found them to be unconvincing. Not all of my listeners agreed with me. But let's look at this:
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Berg's appeal - in essence dismissing the claim as lacking standing. And the chief justice of the Supreme Court swore Obama into office.
Now that he's president, I really don't understand why the Berg claim keeps resurfacing. Obama's detractors should be focusing on his policies and challenging them, rather than wasting time and effort on a matter that's already - from their perspective - been disappointingly resolved.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wall Street Bonuses Topic On Paltalk
Schechter
Let's see how this computes.
Does everyone have their calculators out?
The banking community goes bust in 2008. The federal government, that's you and me folks, bails 'em out.
Meanwhile, homes are foreclosed, people by the 10s of thousands are evicted, folks lose jobs, new unemployment claims skyrocket, nearly half of those out of work have given up looking for new jobs AND Wall Street bankers get obscene bonuses.
Again, I ask, how does this compute?
I mean, OK, I admit I have trouble balancing my checkbook. But even I can see something is rotten - and it's not in Denmark this time.
Joining us to help us focus on this international dilemma today on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com was Danny Schechter, author of Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal and maker of the documentary In Debt We Trust. Schechter, on his last visit to the show, said the ring of security cameras the NYPD uses to protect Wall Street should be pointed inside the buildings - because that's where the real crime is taking place.
Schechter came to the show directly from the New York private family memorial service for Walter Conkrite and reported on the funeral and the legendary newsman's legacy.
Love Of Music
I was walking along Broadway at 50th Street near Times Square and saw a piano with a "Play Me" sign on it.
Passersby were encouraged to play it while they were being filmed by a documentary movie team promoting music.
Artist Michael Colavito Creates New Art Form
New York artist Michael Colavito has developed a new art form which merges large frame photography with other media. He painstakingly produces his work, frame by frame, without aid of a computer. He calls his new media Colavito Modern Image Painting.
His work has captured the attention of celebrities, including Robert De Niro who has sat for him. Colavito also heads the Earth Project which uses art to unite people in some 60 nations around the world and raises money for global charities.
U.S. Image Worldwide Improves With Obama
The image of the United States has improved markedly in most parts of the world, reflecting global confidence in Barack Obama the Pew Global Attitudes Project finds. The poll concludes that in many countries opinions of the U.S. are now about as positive as they were at the beginning of the decade, before George W. Bush took office.
Improvements in the U.S. image have been most pronounced in Western Europe, where favorable ratings have soared. Opinions of America have also become more positive in key countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. However, the U.S. image has moved little in some predominantly Muslim countries, where deep concerns continue about U.S. policy and America's role in the world despite the president's popularity.
The Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project conducted more than 26,000 interviews from May 18 to June 16 among 24 nations and the Palestinian territories. In addition to an in-depth examination of the image of America, this report examines attitudes toward the worldwide recession, globalization, China and other major powers, Islamic extremism, the environment and swine flu.
Improvements in the U.S. image have been most pronounced in Western Europe, where favorable ratings have soared. Opinions of America have also become more positive in key countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. However, the U.S. image has moved little in some predominantly Muslim countries, where deep concerns continue about U.S. policy and America's role in the world despite the president's popularity.
The Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project conducted more than 26,000 interviews from May 18 to June 16 among 24 nations and the Palestinian territories. In addition to an in-depth examination of the image of America, this report examines attitudes toward the worldwide recession, globalization, China and other major powers, Islamic extremism, the environment and swine flu.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
News Talk Online July 22, 2009: Gary's Health Care Reform Proposal
There's obvious no consensus in Congress over health care reform so, today, on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com I proposed my own plan which I believe to be more palatable than any other that's thus far been offered.
First, I note that the health insurance industry does not want the government competing because it fears a federally funded option would put them out of business.
I also note that unless you are employed by a company that offers health care benefits or very poor - in which case the federal government already pays for your health care, you don't qualify for health insurance. Hospitals still have to treat you though. So the cost of health care for the rest of us goes up.
The problem is that people who are self employed, working for companies that don't offer health insurance, work part time or are students can't afford health insurance at current rates. So here's what I proposed for them.
Every medical insurance company in the United States will have to provide an affordable basic plan for those who can't afford coverage now but are not so poor that they qualify for government funded plans. A premium cap should be set by law to ensure that everyone in this group can get in. Basic coverage should also be defined by law.
Under my plan, the federal government would not get involved in health care, with the exception of regulating the private insurers to ensure compliance.
In return, Congress should pass tort reform to reduce the risk of medical practitioners and bring down health costs. Patients who are victims of medical malpractice should still have some recourse, but a reasonable cap should be established.
Also, the FDA should loosen some restrictions on the pharmaceutical industry to reduce the costs of prescription medicines and make them affordable and accessible to all. The costs of pharmaceuticals in the United States far exceeds that in other parts of the world.
My plan protects the private insurance companies, provides health care for all and doesn't cost the taxpayers a cent.
I know this is way too simple and represents common sense which is terribly lacking in Washington but I believe it would work.
What do you think?
First, I note that the health insurance industry does not want the government competing because it fears a federally funded option would put them out of business.
I also note that unless you are employed by a company that offers health care benefits or very poor - in which case the federal government already pays for your health care, you don't qualify for health insurance. Hospitals still have to treat you though. So the cost of health care for the rest of us goes up.
The problem is that people who are self employed, working for companies that don't offer health insurance, work part time or are students can't afford health insurance at current rates. So here's what I proposed for them.
Every medical insurance company in the United States will have to provide an affordable basic plan for those who can't afford coverage now but are not so poor that they qualify for government funded plans. A premium cap should be set by law to ensure that everyone in this group can get in. Basic coverage should also be defined by law.
Under my plan, the federal government would not get involved in health care, with the exception of regulating the private insurers to ensure compliance.
In return, Congress should pass tort reform to reduce the risk of medical practitioners and bring down health costs. Patients who are victims of medical malpractice should still have some recourse, but a reasonable cap should be established.
Also, the FDA should loosen some restrictions on the pharmaceutical industry to reduce the costs of prescription medicines and make them affordable and accessible to all. The costs of pharmaceuticals in the United States far exceeds that in other parts of the world.
My plan protects the private insurance companies, provides health care for all and doesn't cost the taxpayers a cent.
I know this is way too simple and represents common sense which is terribly lacking in Washington but I believe it would work.
What do you think?
Report Claims Abortion Clinics Harassed Out Of Business
Aggressive harassment, discriminatory legal restrictions and serious stigma are reducing the number of abortion providers and making abortions more difficult for women to obtain, according to a report released today by the Center for Reproductive Rights, a leading reproductive rights advocacy group.
The report, Defending Human Rights: Abortion Providers Facing Threats, Restrictions, and Harassment, documents a four-month investigation of challenges facing abortion doctors and clinics in six states: Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas. The research chronicles the death threats, break-ins at homes and offices and physical assaults providers face as they protect women’s reproductive health.
The report, Defending Human Rights: Abortion Providers Facing Threats, Restrictions, and Harassment, documents a four-month investigation of challenges facing abortion doctors and clinics in six states: Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas. The research chronicles the death threats, break-ins at homes and offices and physical assaults providers face as they protect women’s reproductive health.
Global Child Porn Member Sentenced To Life
Warren Mumpower of Spokane, Wash., was sentenced to life in prison today for his activity in a global child pornography trafficking enterprise.
Mumpower, 65, was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine by Senior U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier.
Mumpower, a convicted sex offender, was found guilty of six counts including engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising, transporting and receiving child pornography and obstruction of justice.
Mumpower was charged with being a member of a highly sophisticated international network whose purpose it was to proliferate child sex abuse images to its membership during a two-year period. The network used Internet newsgroups to traffic in illegal images and videos depicting prepubescent children, including toddlers, engaged in various sexual and sadistic acts.
The network was busted when an Australian constable infiltrated the group. He testified about how group members used a complex system of pseudonyms, screening tests for new members and sophisticated encryption methods to avoid detection. He also testified that the group traded more than 400,000 images and 1,000 videos of child sexual abuse before it was dismantled by law enforcement.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Justice Department initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Other members of the network were previously convicted and likewise sentenced to life in prison.
Mumpower, 65, was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine by Senior U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier.
Mumpower, a convicted sex offender, was found guilty of six counts including engaging in a child exploitation enterprise; conspiracy to advertise, transport, ship, receive and possess child pornography; advertising, transporting and receiving child pornography and obstruction of justice.
Mumpower was charged with being a member of a highly sophisticated international network whose purpose it was to proliferate child sex abuse images to its membership during a two-year period. The network used Internet newsgroups to traffic in illegal images and videos depicting prepubescent children, including toddlers, engaged in various sexual and sadistic acts.
The network was busted when an Australian constable infiltrated the group. He testified about how group members used a complex system of pseudonyms, screening tests for new members and sophisticated encryption methods to avoid detection. He also testified that the group traded more than 400,000 images and 1,000 videos of child sexual abuse before it was dismantled by law enforcement.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Justice Department initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Other members of the network were previously convicted and likewise sentenced to life in prison.
Conviction Of Minister Who 'Threatened' Judge With Bible Quote Overturned
Rev. Pinkney
Good God! It's now safe for ministers to quote the Bible and predict that God will smite a judge.
The Rev. Edward Pinkney's First Amendment rights were violated, a Michigan appellate court has ruled, when he was imprisoned for quoting the Bible in an article he penned for a Chicago based newspaper.
Pinkney has been fighting for the rights of black people in Berrien County Michigan for years. He has been rallying against what he believes is public corruption and vote tampering.
But when he was himself convicted of paying people to vote in a recall election, he was the one who found himself in legal hot water - convicted of vote tampering himself. While on probation, Pinkney wrote for the newspaper that the Lord would smite the judge who sentenced him. He quoted a line from Deuteronomy to underscore his point. The court took offense to what is supposedly the word of God. Pinkney was declared in contempt of court for threatening a judge.
This is a case that we've followed closely on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com. We've had Pinkney's trial attorney, Buck Davis, on as a guest. It was amazing how people from both the left and the right who usually disagree came together during that show to express their support for Rev. Pinkney.
The ACLU very effectively took up Pinkney's appeal. Without question, his freedoms of speech and religion were violated by the lower court ruling. It's inconceivable that in a nation which was founded on the premise of religious freedom that a minister would be imprisoned for predicting what God might do.
Further, the lower court clearly doesn't understand the line the Constitution places between church and state. When it gave weight to the Biblical passage by deeming it a threat from the heavens, then the court acknowledged and - in effect - endorsed that religious premise.
Should Concealed Weapons Permit Holders Be Allowed To Carry Guns Across State Lines?
My driver's license was issued by the state of New Jersey but it is recognized by the 49 other states so I don't need a separate license for each state I visit. Which is a good thing because, if that were required, there'd be virtually no interstate travel in the United States.
Now, a U.S. Senate measure would extend those same benefits to holders of concealed weapons permits. The measure is mainly aimed at protecting truck drivers who typically carry large amounts of cash on them as they travel the highways of America. If a trucker based in Tennessee qualifies, for example, for a concealed weapons permit there, why can't he carry his gun for protection while hauling a load to Iowa?
Gun control advocates oppose the proposal. They argue, if one state has liberal gun permit laws, that's fine for that state, but don't put the rest of us in danger by flooding our state with guns.
But presumably there are standards in each state for the issuing of permits - and those who receive them are deemed qualified and stable enough to carry a gun.
A Senate vote on the bill is expected today.
--
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/photographi_esc_/1937184496/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)