| Sunday, October 23, 2005 |  |
| Oh My | 1 comment |
| 23 Oct 2005 @ 06:22 Dead man gets parking ticket Fri Oct 21,10:38 AM ET Australian authorities have apologized to the family of an elderly man who was given a parking ticket while he lay dead in his car in a suburban shopping center. The 71-year-old man, known to be seriously ill, went missing nine days ago and his body was found in his car in a shopping mall car park in a Melbourne suburb, police said. A parking ticket had been placed on the car the day before his body was found. "It's just tragic. It must be just so sad for the family and we extend our sincere sympathies to them," local mayor Paul Denham told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Friday. "The circumstances surrounding the location of this poor fellow must make it all the harder for the family. It is simply a case of the parking officer not noticing." More > |
| Saturday, October 8, 2005 | |
| New Orleans hurricane victim hits the jackpot | 1 comment |
| 8 Oct 2005 @ 01:03 New Orleans hurricane victim hits the jackpot Thu Oct 6, 1:46 PM ET A New Orleans storm victim shelled out $4.25 in quarters and won a $1.6 million jackpot at a Louisiana casino where she had stopped to play the slot machines on her way to shop at a Wal-Mart discount store. "I am a casino fanatic, it relaxes my nerves," said Jacquelyn Sherman, a 57-year-old retired librarian whose fortune changed on Tuesday. "I like winning but I never expected to win like this." Sherman has been sleeping on her sister's floor in Opelousas, Louisiana, since the storm ravaged her house and killed hundreds of New Orleans residents in late August. Sherman said she is determined to find a new, comfortable home back in New Orleans. The casino where she got lucky with the slot machine was Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino in Opelousas, near Lafayette where many victims of Katrina and later Hurricane Rita sought shelter. With regard to Wal-Mart, Sherman said: "We haven't gotten there yet." More > |
| Friday, July 22, 2005 | |
| NEWS BYTES | 1 comment |
| 22 Jul 2005 @ 06:07 EXXON WANTS TO SAVE THE TIGERS Recognizing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington, ExxonMobil ran a quarter-page ad on the op-ed page of Monday's New York Times headlined "Saving Tigers." According to Exxon's website, the company has given more than $9 million since 1995 to efforts to save endangered tigers. Exxon has claimed the tiger as its brand mascot since the 1930s. While "preserving the endangered Bengal tiger" did make its way in to an early State Department press release on the summit, India's nuclear industry, the global war on terrorism and foreign investment in India were the dominate themes of the meeting. The agreement to help India further develop its nuclear energy capacity is part of a larger U.S.-India Energy Dialogue that also includes an Oil and Gas Working Group that "will endeavor to strengthen mutual energy security and promote stable energy markets." Several NGOs have targeted ExxonMobil, criticizing the company for violating human rights and destroying the environment. ---------------------------------- INDUSTRY LOBBYIST BLOWS SMOKE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES Jim Tozzi, the industry friendly lobbyist who helped create the little-known "Data Quality Act," is offering his assistance to medical marijuana advocates who are using the Act to undermine government claims that marijuana has no accepted medical value. Enacted in 2000, the Data Quality Act has been used by businesses to challenge government reports on such things as climate change and diet. The Los Angeles Times writes that Tozzi's support of medical marijuana "had more than just altruistic motives. Since its inception, the Data Quality Act has been under attack as a weapon of big business, a stealthy way to keep federal agencies tied in knots over what constitutes sound science. Eager to blunt such criticism and dash attempts to thwart his law in Congress, Tozzi has pushed public interest groups to start deploying the act against the bureaucrats." ----------------------------------- COKE'S SWEET INTENTIONS "Coca-Cola will work with Weber Shandwick this fall to promote its new, seemingly selfless, Live It children's fitness campaign in schools across the country." The PR firm will "focus on generating local publicity for schools that participate in the week-long program." Kirsten Witt, Coke's "nutrition communication manager," said the $4 million Live It campaign would not address childhood obesity or encourage students to drink Coke, adding that "the company's logo will not appear on Live It materials." In addition to PR and marketing, Coke is paying for campaign "posters, pedometers, and nutrition education materials along with prizes to offer children who meet the program's exercise goal of walking 10,000 steps in a week." In other sugary news, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to require labels on sodas warning about "obesity, tooth decay and diabetes." More > |
| Thursday, May 12, 2005 | |
| Beware of Fraudulent Cashiers Checks | 6 comments |
| 12 May 2005 @ 19:06 Be careful when selling things to private parties. even cashiers checks that look completely real can be fraudulent. Get the money first and wait until it clears, or better yet, sell local get cash or use PayPal. I recently sold my Alienware Are 51-M laptop via an ad I put in the Los Angeles Recycler magazine. I sent the package COD FedEx Ground to the (not so) gentleman in Reno, Nevada. He told me his name was Ollie Westbrook at 345 Westbrook Lane, Reno, NV. FedEx picked up the cashiers check, no signature was required, I deposited the cachiers check, bought a new laptop and a week later when I went to my bank they told me there was a stop payment on the cashiers check. The check was from Great Basin Federal Credit Union. It had an incorrect routing number on it. Turns out the bank has a detective investigating this already due to several other fraudulent cashiers check being issued. I had spoken to the guy 2-3 times on the phone and as many emails. When I called and emailed him after the stop payment, guess what, both were no out of order. There weren't really any telltale signs this was going to be a rip off except for his hurry to get it and not wanting to pay through paypal, which was okay with me since I didn't want to losee the % paypal takes. But I lost alot more. The main signalss I got not to ship it was I had to go to three different places to get it shipped. The 1st the man who knew COD wasn't there, the 2nd didn't do COD's anymore, the 3rd their computers were down, so I went back to the 1st later in the day and I shipped it off. Life does give us information to go by if we stop to listen. Tricky balance between will and guidance. I was willful and pushed on through this time. And though I am back pedaling a bit now financially, the upside is I am really enjoying my new Mac Powerbook which I bought with non-existeant funds. May we live long, love and prosper. More > |
| Monday, June 23, 2003 | |
| War Poll Uncovers Fact Gap | 0 comments |
| 23 Jun 2003 @ 04:43 WAR POLL UNCOVERS FACT GAP: MANY MISTAKENLY BELIEVE U.S. FOUND WMDS IN IRAQ By Frank Davies, Inquirer Washington Bureau Philadelphia Inquirer June 14, 2003 WASHINGTON -A third of the American public believes U.S. forces have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, according to a recent poll. Twenty-two percent said Iraq actually used chemical or biological weapons. But such weapons have not been found in Iraq and were not used. Before the war, half of those polled in a survey said Iraqis were among the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001. But most of the Sept. 11 terrorists were Saudis; none was an Iraqi. The results startled even the pollsters who conducted and analyzed the surveys. How could so many people be so wrong about information that has dominated news coverage for almost two years? "It's a striking finding," said Steve Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, which asked the weapons questions during a May 14-18 poll of 1,256 respondents. He added: "Given the intensive news coverage and high levels of public attention, this level of misinformation suggests some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance." That is, of having their beliefs conflict with the facts. Kull noted that the mistaken belief that weapons had been found "is substantially greater among those who favored the war." Pollsters and political analysts offer several reasons for the gaps between facts and beliefs: the public's short attention span on foreign news, fragmentary or conflicting media reports that lacked depth or skepticism, and Bush administration efforts to sell a war by oversimplifying the threat. "Most people get little whiffs and fragments of news, not in any organized way," said Thomas Mann, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, a centrist-liberal think tank. "And there have been a lot of conflicting reports on the weapons." Before the war, the U.S. media often reported as a fact the assertions by the Bush administration that Iraq possessed large stockpiles of illegal weapons. During and after the war, reports of possible weapons discoveries were often trumpeted on front pages, while follow-up stories debunking the reports received less attention. "There were so many reports and claims before the war, it was easy to be confused," said Larry Hugick, chairman of Princeton Survey Research Associates. "But people expected the worst from Saddam Hussein and made connections based on the administration's policy." Bush has described the preemptive attack on Iraq as "one victory in the war on terror that began Sept. 11." Bush officials also say Iraq sheltered and helped al-Qaeda operatives. "The public is susceptible to manipulation, and if they hear officials saying there is a strong connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda terrorists, then they think there must be a connection," Mann said. "Tapping into the feelings and fears after Sept. 11 is a way to sell a policy," he added. Polls show strong support for Bush and the war, although 40 percent in the May survey found U.S. officials were "misleading" in some of their justifications for war. A majority, 55 percent, said they were not misleading. Several analysts said the murky claims and intelligence data about lethal weapons and terrorist ties allowed most people to see such news through the filter of their own political beliefs. And GOP pollsters said any controversy over weapons won't change public attitudes, because ridding Iraq of an oppressive regime was reason enough for war for many Americans. "People supported the war for national-security reasons, and that shifted to humanitarian reasons when they saw evidence of Saddam's atrocities," Republican strategist Frank Luntz said. "There's an assumption these weapons will be found because this guy was doing so many bad things." Several analysts said they were troubled by the lack of knowledge about the Sept. 11 hijackers, shown in the January survey conducted for Knight Ridder newspapers. Only 17 percent correctly said that none of the hijackers was Iraqi. "That really bothers me, because it shows a lack of understanding about other countries -- that maybe many Americans don't know one Arab from another," said Sam Popkin, a polling expert at the University of California-San Diego who has advised Democratic candidates. "Maybe because Saudis are seen as rich and friendly, people have a hard time dealing with them as hijackers." Hugick said his analysis showed those who were misinformed were not necessarily those who had less education. "I think a lot of people are just confused about the threats out there," he said. |
| Saturday, June 21, 2003 | |
| Many Mistakenly Believe U.S. Found WMD's in Iraq | 3 comments |
 21 Jun 2003 @ 23:53The Philadelphia Inquirer Sat, Jun. 14, 2003 War poll uncovers fact gap Many mistakenly believe U.S. found WMDs in Iraq By Frank Davies Inquirer Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - A third of the American public believes U.S. forces have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, according to a recent poll. Twenty-two percent said Iraq actually used chemical or biological weapons. But such weapons have not been found in Iraq and were not used. Before the war, half of those polled in a survey said Iraqis were among the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001. But most of the Sept. 11 terrorists were Saudis; none was an Iraqi. The results startled even the pollsters who conducted and analyzed the surveys. How could so many people be so wrong about information that has dominated news coverage for almost two years? "It's a striking finding," said Steve Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, which asked the weapons questions during a May 14-18 poll of 1,256 respondents. He added: "Given the intensive news coverage and high levels of public attention, this level of misinformation suggests some Americans may be avoiding having an experience of cognitive dissonance." That is, of having their beliefs conflict with the facts. Kull noted that the mistaken belief that weapons had been found "is substantially greater among those who favored the war." Pollsters and political analysts offer several reasons for the gaps between facts and beliefs: the public's short attention span on foreign news, fragmentary or conflicting media reports that lacked depth or skepticism, and Bush administration efforts to sell a war by oversimplifying the threat. "Most people get little whiffs and fragments of news, not in any organized way," said Thomas Mann, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, a centrist-liberal think tank. "And there have been a lot of conflicting reports on the weapons." Before the war, the U.S. media often reported as a fact the assertions by the Bush administration that Iraq possessed large stockpiles of illegal weapons. During and after the war, reports of possible weapons discoveries were often trumpeted on front pages, while follow-up stories debunking the reports received less attention. "There were so many reports and claims before the war, it was easy to be confused," said Larry Hugick, chairman of Princeton Survey Research Associates. "But people expected the worst from Saddam Hussein and made connections based on the administration's policy." Bush has described the preemptive attack on Iraq as "one victory in the war on terror that began Sept. 11." Bush officials also say Iraq sheltered and helped al-Qaeda operatives. "The public is susceptible to manipulation, and if they hear officials saying there is a strong connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda terrorists, then they think there must be a connection," Mann said. "Tapping into the feelings and fears after Sept. 11 is a way to sell a policy," he added. Polls show strong support for Bush and the war, although 40 percent in the May survey found U.S. officials were "misleading" in some of their justifications for war. A majority, 55 percent, said they were not misleading. Several analysts said the murky claims and intelligence data about lethal weapons and terrorist ties allowed most people to see such news through the filter of their own political beliefs. And GOP pollsters said any controversy over weapons won't change public attitudes, because ridding Iraq of an oppressive regime was reason enough for war for many Americans. "People supported the war for national-security reasons, and that shifted to humanitarian reasons when they saw evidence of Saddam's atrocities," Republican strategist Frank Luntz said. "There's an assumption these weapons will be found because this guy was doing so many bad things." Several analysts said they were troubled by the lack of knowledge about the Sept. 11 hijackers, shown in the January survey conducted for Knight Ridder newspapers. Only 17 percent correctly said that none of the hijackers was Iraqi. "That really bothers me, because it shows a lack of understanding about other countries - that maybe many Americans don't know one Arab from another," said Sam Popkin, a polling expert at the University of California-San Diego who has advised Democratic candidates. "Maybe because Saudis are seen as rich and friendly, people have a hard time dealing with them as hijackers." Hugick said his analysis showed those who were misinformed were not necessarily those who had less education. "I think a lot of people are just confused about the threats out there," he said. More > |
| Sunday, June 15, 2003 | |
| Associated Press To Do Vote Tabulation | 1 comment |
| 15 Jun 2003 @ 12:08 TV networks signs contracts for AP to count the vote on election night (05-15) 15:56 PDT NEW YORK (AP) -- The Associated Press announced Thursday it has signed agreements with five television networks to provide special vote tabulation services for them starting with next year's presidential primaries. The AP will provide continuous running election-night returns on presidential, gubernatorial and congressional races for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox News Channel under contracts that run through 2008. The agreements mean that AP will be taking over one of the two primary functions of the Voter News Service, a consortium that had been created by the six news organizations in 1993 to conduct exit-polling and count votes. VNS was disbanded after election-night failures in 2000 and 2002. In the past, AP provided an independent vote count as a backup to the VNS tabulation, as well as providing results in thousands of state and local election races that VNS did not cover. AP will continue to provide election returns to its other members and subscribers as part of their regular news service, and it will also offer some newly developed election services. "AP has been tabulating the national vote and telling the nation who won since the year we were founded, which was 1848," said David Tomlin, assistant to AP President Louis D. Boccardi. "We're very good at it, and we appreciate the trust and confidence in that ability that our network partners are showing with this agreement." The other VNS function, conducting exit surveys of voters, will be taken over by two veteran polling experts under an agreement reached earlier this year with the six news organizations. Exit poll information is used to help project winners in individual elections and provide information on why people voted the way they did. In 2000, VNS provided flawed information that led television networks to prematurely call the presidential election for George W. Bush. Last year, it was unable to provide exit poll data for November's off-year election. The terms of the agreements for the special new vote tabulation services to the networks were not disclosed. More > |
| Thursday, May 29, 2003 | |
| Rachel Corrie Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize | 0 comments |
 29 May 2003 @ 16:34ISM Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize - Letter of Nomination To: The Norwegian Nobel Committee Drammensveien 19 0255 Oslo Norway Dear Committee Members, AS a member of the House of Commons of Canada, and as the International Human Rights advocate for the New Democratic Party of Canada, it is my pleasure to nominate the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. The contribution of the ISM to advancing the cause of peace in the Middle East, to defending human rights, and to upholding international law is without parallel. This organization's selfless efforts to promote peace and protect the lives of innocent civilians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict clearly merit international recognition. Although this nomination is for the ISM as a whole, three young individuals merit particular recognition for the courage and resolve they displayed in their acts of non-violent civil disobedience in defence of peace and human rights in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. These individuals are Brian Avery and Tom Hurndall, who miraculously survived sniper shots to the head by Israeli forces while they were defending Palestinian civilians from Israeli troops, and Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death by an Israeli Defence Force bulldozer while attempting to prevent the demolition of the home of an innocent Palestinian family. A Nobel Peace Prize for the ISM would be a fitting testament to the fortitude and principle exemplified by the members of this organization and these three individuals in particular. Thank you for accepting this nomination. Sincerely yours, Svend J Robinson, MP |
| Wednesday, May 14, 2003 | |
| Tarzan's Cheetah's Life As A Retired Movie Star | 40 comments |
 14 May 2003 @ 18:13TARZAN'S CHEETA'S LIFE AS A RETIRED MOVIE STAR By John Roach National Geographic News May 9, 2003 Many Hollywood stars retire in the oasis of Palm Springs, California where they while away their golden years splashing paint on canvases, taking leisurely strolls, playing the piano, and flipping through the pages of magazines. Such is the life of 71-year-old Cheeta, the chimpanzee of Tarzan fame who celebrated his birthday a month ago. "He's the world's oldest chimp and in excellent condition," said Dan Westfall, who cares for Cheeta and several other retired showbiz primates at the Cheeta Primate Foundation in Palm Springs. Cheeta's "world's oldest" title is noted in the Guinness Book of World Records. Chimpanzees in the wild tend to live for 40 to 45 years and to the mid 50s in captivity, according to chimpanzee researchers. Activists for the proper care and treatment of chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates applaud Cheeta's age record, but caution against celebrating the lifestyle of chimpanzees that were stars in the entertainment industry. "Would you go to a movie if you knew the child actors had been kidnapped and been forced through abuse by their kidnappers to perform silly, demeaning acts?" asks Roger Fouts, co-director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Activists say that retired entertainment chimpanzees engage in human behaviors such as watching television and reading magazines because they were deprived of a natural lifestyle and were instead trained to behave like humans, often through physical abuse. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that they are pretty dysfunctional," said Gloria Grow, co-founder of the Fauna Foundation which cares for neglected and abused animals in Quebec, Canada. For example, Grow said that several of the chimpanzees in her foundation's care, including those that were in the entertainment industry, do not know how to have intercourse or how to look after their young. "It is common scientific knowledge that taking mothers from babies has very serious consequences for the psychological well-being of both the mother and the infant, yet this is what happens to every trained chimpanzee," said Fouts. The Good Life? Abe Karajerjian, a biological anthropologist who works with Westfall in the caretaking of the animals at the Cheeta Primate Foundation, says Cheeta and his companions are provided with an environment and social structure that is more suitable to their species rather than perpetuating their human-like lifestyles and behaviors. "We just love them and love to do things for them," he said. "They made tons of people happy, they had to endure a lot to make people happy, and we want to give back to them, provide them with friends." Westfall, a comedian and actor, adopted Cheeta about 10 years ago from his uncle Tony Gentry, an animal trainer who worked in Hollywood and discovered Cheeta while on an animal talent scouting trip to Africa in the 1930s. The 4 foot (1.2 meter) tall, 142 pound (53 kilogram) chimpanzee starred in 12 Tarzan movies and had his last role 36 years ago in the 1967 musical film Doctor Doolittle. Cheeta now spends his days socializing with other apes and human caregivers. At times he seems fascinated by looking at other animals on television and in the pages of magazines like National Geographic, said Karajerjian On a few occasions the media has spotted Cheeta taking a ride in the car with Westfall, who said that Cheeta "likes to go through the drive-thru and get a hamburger and a Coke." Cheeta's staple diet consists of fresh fruit, vegetables, and monkey chow, which is a nonhuman-primate version of dog food. In his earlier years Cheeta had a penchant for beer and cigars, reportedly drinking several cold ones a day. Westfall and Karajerjian said booze and smoke have not been a part of the old chimp's life since he came into their care ten years ago. "Where he lives now nobody smokes and drinks," said Karajerjian. "I hate smoking and drinking and so why would I offer it to apes?" At the sanctuary the apes are provided with a variety of activities to stimulate their intellect and curiosity. One of the activities is painting, which Karajerjian says allows chimpanzees to mimic their innate behavior of inventing and using tools. Westfall says that Cheeta has developed a particular talent as an abstract artist and has trademarked Cheeta's creations as "Ape-stract." Cheeta uses a paintbrush and bright colors for his creations which are full of sweeps, swirls, and straight lines. "They are very pretty, actually," said Westfall, who sells his companion's work for $125 a piece. The proceeds go to support the Cheeta Primate Foundation, which Westfall started to raise money for unwanted showbiz animals. Entertainment Abuse Cheeta is a rarity among chimpanzee actors in that he was used for films into his 30s. "Most of the chimpanzees used in the entertainment industry are used when they are quite young," said Rick Bogle of the Primate Freedom Project in Santa Barbara, California. The organization works for the protection of nonhuman primates. Chimpanzees rarely act beyond the age of ten because they become less manageable and less willing to follow directions, said Bogle. When the chimpanzees are retired, many of them are sold into biomedical research. Gentry, Cheeta's previous owner, feared a research laboratory was Cheeta's destination so he had asked in his will that Cheeta be put to rest. Westfall talked his uncle out of having Cheeta put to rest by promising to take good care of the chimp. Ex-entertainment chimpanzees are unfit for zoos, said Fouts, because they do not behave like regular chimpanzees. "And often times they are not socialized to other chimpanzees so they would be difficult to integrate into a social population," he said. Westfall said primate researcher Jane Goodall inspired him to start the foundation for unwanted showbiz primates. The other chimpanzees, orangutans, and monkeys in his care have starred in television commercials, nightclubs, and theaters, but none reached the star status of Cheeta. "There are also some from labs that we'd love to get sometime to save their lives and give them a good, healthy home to live in," he said. All of the animals in Westfall's care interact on a daily basis and with each other and their human caregivers. Westfall's house is not open to the public, but tour buses and children often stop in front where there is a statue of Cheeta. Living Longer Terry Wolf, wildlife director at Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee, Florida, which cares for about 35 chimpanzees, said that captive chimpanzees that were picked up from the entertainment industry and research facilities are living longer because humans are taking better care of them. "The quality of health care and diet in the past was traditionally not all that great," he said. Now humans have a better understanding of chimpanzee dietary, physical, and social needs, including the need for interaction to prevent the onset of deadly bouts of depression. Little Mama, a chimpanzee who starred in a traveling ice skating show before coming to Lion Country Safari in 1967, is thought to be 65 years old and like Cheeta is in good health. She is social and gets along well with her mates, who she lives with on a series of islands in the drive-through zoo, said Wolf. "Old age is something to be celebrated," said Virginia Landau, director of the Jane Goodall Institute's ChimpanZoo in Tucson, Arizona, which coordinates the study of chimpanzees in zoos and other captive settings. Donations or a request for a piece of Cheeta's Ape-stract art can be sent to Westfall: Dan Westfall Cheeta Primate Foundation PO Box 8162 Palm Springs, CA 92263 More > |
| Tuesday, May 13, 2003 | |
| IRS and Low-Income Taxpayers | 0 comments |
| 13 May 2003 @ 17:42 The Bush Administration has asked the IRS to require low-income working people who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to provide the most exhaustive proof of eligibility ever demanded of any class of taxpayers. Even though the EITC has long had bipartisan support as one of the most effective anti-poverty programs ever - three-quarters of the people who claim it have incomes of $20,000 a year or less - this proposal could undo much of the progress made in helping families escape poverty. The process for filing for the EITC is very complex. The instruction booklet alone is 54 pages! It is widely acknowledged that many errors made in the filing process are not fraudulent, but are simple mistakes. The IRS says that in 1998, EITC filers who were not entitled to the credit received between $8.5 and $10 billion. In contrast, a Harvard economist's study showed that corporations avoided $54 billion in taxes in 1999 by hiding profits in tax shelters. As military spending increases and politicians argue for expensive tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, the needs of poor people are being ignored. Funding for programs that assist those who Jesus called "the least of these" is being cut. With this EITC proposal, the President is not just ignoring poor people - he is targeting them. Your elected leaders in Washington can stop this, but they need to hear from you. Sojourners urges you to Send a message to key leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, urging them to hold hearings and stop the IRS from implementing this proposal. Send this alert to your friends, and learn how you can do more to put America's poor back on the national agenda. |
| FCC to propose easing US television caps | 0 comments |
 13 May 2003 @ 17:17FCC to propose easing US television caps By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington Published: May 11 2003 Michael Powell, chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission, is expected to propose an increase in the US television cap to 45 per cent when he presents a draft of new media ownership rules to his fellow commissioners on Monday. The proposal will be welcomed by News Corp and Viacom, which stand to benefit. The existing cap prevents one company from reaching more than 35 per cent of the US national television audience. Increasing the cap would allow large television networks to buy more local stations. It would also eliminate the need for CBS (Viacom) and Fox (News Corp), who are currently in breach of the cap, to divest stations. On June 2, the FCC's five commissioners will vote on Mr Powell's proposals to ease decades-old rules that the Republican chairman says have become obsolete with the emergence of cable and satellite television and the internet. While Mr Powell is understood to have the support of his two fellow Republican commissioners, it has not come without a cost. The chairman, who argues that free-to-air television is under threat from cable and satellite networks, favoured a larger increase or elimination of the cap. But he was forced to compromise at 45 per cent with fellow Republican Kevin Martin. Another regulation that will see significant changes is the newspaper-broadcast rule, which prevents one company from owning newspapers and television stations in the same market. The Senate commerce committee, which monitors the FCC, will hold a hearing on Monday about media ownership at which some senators are likely to call on the FCC to put its rules out for public comment. Meanwhile, the White House has privately urged Mr Powell not to delay the proceedings. |
| Thursday, May 8, 2003 | |
| Survey Reveals Geographic Illiteracy | 0 comments |
 8 May 2003 @ 23:12Well, I'll have to admit that I am one of those who failed to retain what was presented to me about national and world geography. When there is an international story I usually need to look up on a map to get a visual of what is being talked about. Slowly I am getting the global picture. Survey Reveals Geographic Illiteracy Bijal P. Trivedi National Geographic Today November 20, 2002 See Survey Results and Test Yourself In a nation called the world's superpower, only 17 percent of young adults in the United States could find Afghanistan on a map, according to a new worldwide survey released today. The young U.S. citizens received poor marks generally in geography. But then, as results showed, their counterparts in other countries were hardly star students. The National Geographic–Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey polled more than 3,000 18- to 24-year-olds in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden and the United States. Sweden scored highest; Mexico, lowest. The U.S. was next to last. "The survey demonstrates the geographic illiteracy of the United States," said Robert Pastor, professor of International Relations at American University, in Washington, D.C. "The results are particularly appalling in light of September 11, which traumatized America and revealed that our destiny is connected to the rest of the world." About 11 percent of young citizens of the U.S. couldn't even locate the U.S. on a map. The Pacific Ocean's location was a mystery to 29 percent; Japan, to 58 percent; France, to 65 percent; and the United Kingdom, to 69 percent. Are Young U.S. Citizens Americentric? Despite the threat of war in Iraq and the daily reports of suicide bombers in Israel, less than 15 percent of the young U.S. citizens could locate either country. More young U.S. citizens in the study knew that the island featured in last season's TV show "Survivor" is in the South Pacific than could find Israel. Particularly humiliating was that all countries were better able to identify the U.S. population than many young U.S. citizens. Within the U.S., almost one-third said that population was between one billion and two billion; the answer is 289 million. "It gives the sense that there is this Americentric thing going on—that we are big and powerful and have all these people in our country," said John Fahey, President and CEO of the National Geographic Society. On the other hand, Pastor suggests that the results could mean that most young Americans just have no idea of the total world population (about six billion). Poor Geographic Literacy Worldwide Young adults worldwide are not markedly more literate about geography than the Americans. On average, fewer than 25 percent of young people worldwide could locate Israel on the map. Only about 20 percent could identify hotspots like Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. Of all the young adults in the survey, only about one-third in Germany, Sweden and Japan, could name four countries that officially acknowledge having nuclear weapons. In the rest of the countries that number dropped to less than a quarter. In France 24 percent did not know that that their own country was a nuclear nation. The survey results are not all bleak, says Roger Downs, head of the geography department at Pennsylvania State University, in State College, and a National Geographic geographer-in-residence in 1995-1996. Geography Not Valued in Schools Since the last Geographic-sponsored survey in 1988, said Downs, the percentage of young U.S. citizens who reported taking a geography course in school rose from 30 to 55 percent. And students who had studied geography did better on the current survey. U.S. schools generally have slighted geography. "If geography is not in the curriculum," Downs said, "it's not tested—and that says to the students that it is not valued." The schools are not solely to blame, either. "Wouldn't it be nice if parents also read atlases to their children?" Downs says. Questions covering current events or practical activities yielded more promising results. Most young U.S. citizens knew that Africa was most affected by the AIDS epidemic, and about half knew that El Niño caused erratic weather. "When geography and life intersect, people pay attention," said Nick Boyon, senior vice president for international research at RoperASW, in Manhattan. Boosting Geography Geographic knowledge increases through travel and language proficiency, among other factors. In the highest-scoring countries—Sweden, Germany and Italy—at least 70 percent of the young adults had traveled internationally in the last three years, and the majority spoke more than one language (in Sweden, 92 and 89 percent, respectively). In the U.S. and Mexico only about 20 percent had traveled abroad during the same period and the majority spoke only one language. To fight geographic ignorance, and apathy, among young people in the U.S. and around the world, the National Geographic Society will convene an international coalition of leaders in American business, education and media. Next year the panel will recommend initiatives to policymakers in those areas—and to parents and children. |
| Saturday, May 3, 2003 | |
| Taxpayers To Fund Church Building | 0 comments |
| 3 May 2003 @ 10:03 The ACLU reports that the Bush Adminstration is pushing for a change in a federal rule at the Department of Housing and Urband Development (HUD) as part of it's faith-based initiative. This rule change would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to fund construction of churches and other religious buildings such as schools. Where would the money come from? Well, under the Bush plan it is earmarked from the same fund that pays for housing for single parents, the homeless and AIDS patients. Incredible but true. "This is probably the most clearly unconstitutional aspect of the White House's faith-based initiative that we've seen up to this point," said Christopher E. Anders, an ACLU Legislative Counsel. For more information, ACLU website |
| Wednesday, April 30, 2003 | |
| FCC To Let Media Bosses Rule Your Airwaves | 0 comments |
| 30 Apr 2003 @ 18:41 American Free Press Iron-Fisted Monopolists Clobbering Opposition FCC to LET MEDIA BOSSES RULE YOUR AIRWAVES It looks like we have to do it again and stop the media manipulators from taking monopolistic control of the public airwaves. By James P. Tucker Jr. The Federal Communications Commission blinked in the face of public outrage (AFP, Feb. 3, 2003) but plans a new attempt to cement the media monopoly this spring. FCC Chairman Michael Powell told reporters March 4 that although he expects much op position, he hopes to relax restrictions on media monopolies by late May or early June. This will pave the way for multinational corporations to continue buying up the last vestiges of independent newspapers around the United States. “I perfectly expect that in an item of this magnitude and controversy, there will be hard-won results,” Powell said. “I think the media environment will have to be partially liberalized if you include all the factors you have to look at.” Meanwhile, still another study shows that relaxing regulations that prohibit giant media companies from buying up too many local broadcast outlets and dominating the marketplace would result in poorer news coverage. A newly released five-year study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism found that television stations owned by smaller companies produced higher-quality newscasts than those owned by media moguls “by a large margin.” Fourteen local TV reporters and producers throughout the country examined 23,806 news stories from 172 stations, evaluating content, community interest, and whether stories showed “enterprise and courage” or were “fair, balanced and accurate,” among other things. Their opinions, in turn, were sorted through by academics and compared with Nielsen ratings. The entire report can be found on the group’s web site (www.journalism.org). “The data raises serious questions about regulatory changes that lead to the concentration of vast numbers of TV stations into the hands of a very few large corporations,” the study said, echoing other studies reported in AFP. “The findings strongly suggest that this ownership structure, though it may prove the most profitable model, is likely to lead to further erosion in the content and public interest value of the local TV news Americans receive,” it said. The study examined 61 station owners in five categories based on size, location and other factors. They included owners with three or fewer stations, those with TV stations and newspapers in the same region, independent network affiliates, publicly traded companies and conglomerates with dozens of properties. Data revealed that small stations did better jobs on the heavily watched 11 p.m. Eastern newscasts. “Smaller owners were 20 times more likely [than] large owners” to receive an A grade from their evaluators on their late-night news, a fact that confounded researchers. “Larger companies are capable of producing high-quality newscasts,” it said. “Yet, for some reason, they often fail to do that when most are watching.” The study answered its own question about the reason for low quality from big companies: profits. Big owners can pressure their stations to tone down controversial reports or produce weak, one-size-fits-all stories that could be used around the country. Smaller stations also received higher grades for their substance. They offered longer stories, included reporters rather than video footage alone and offered a wider range of sources for their material. |
| Saturday, April 26, 2003 | |
| Judge Orders Potter Books Back On Shelves | 0 comments |
 26 Apr 2003 @ 18:02Judge Orders Potter Books Back On Shelves By CARYN ROUSSEAU .c The Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A federal judge ordered Harry Potter books back onto an Arkansas school district's library shelves Tuesday, rejecting a school board's claim that tales of wizards and spells could harm school children. Ruling in favor of a fourth-grader's parents, U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren ordered the Cedarville School District to put the four books in J.K. Rowling's popular series back in general circulation. The district's board drew wrath from national free-speech groups for its June decision to require students to obtain parental permission to check out the books. The 3-2 decision, which overruled a unanimous decision by the district's library committee, came after a parent complained about the books. The Harry Potter books have been assailed by some Christian groups for their themes of witchcraft. The American Library Association says the books were the most frequently challenged of 2002, but rarely did those challenges lead to restrictions or bans. Plaintiffs Billy and Mary Nell Counts said they feared their daughter Dakota would be stigmatized if she were identified as someone who read books the district considered ``evil.'' First Amendment associations and children's author Judy Blume filed a brief in support of the couple last month. They claimed the Cedarville district was committing censorship and trampling on students' right to receive information. ``Everybody is just thrilled with the decision,'' the plaintiffs' lawyer, Brian Meadors, said. The school district did not immediately return calls seeking comment. In depositions, the three board members who voted for the restrictions said they felt the Harry Potter books prompted children to disobey authority and pushed occult messages. Scholastic, which publishes books for school markets, said its Harry Potter series teaches children about right and wrong. ``We're proud to publish the Harry Potter books,'' spokeswoman Judy Corman said. ``We think they're about good and evil and we don't believe in censorship.'' The books chronicle the fictional adventures of young, bespectacled Harry and his wizard pals at the Hogwarts magic school as they battle Harry's nemesis, the evil sorcerer Voldemort. More than 190 million copies of the novels have been printed in at least 55 languages. The fifth book in the series, ``Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,'' is due June 21. |
| Friday, April 25, 2003 | |
| US Tax Returns To India Causing Stir | 0 comments |
 25 Apr 2003 @ 00:31US Tax Returns To India Causing Stir CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2003 08:28:39 PM ] WASHINGTON: Millions of Americans sweated it out on Tuesday, struggling to meet the deadline - April 15 - for filing their annual tax returns as accountants and post offices stayed open late to accommodate the laggards. Many will be hoping the Indians have lived up to their reputation for sound number-crunching. In keeping with the great outsourcing trend that has swept across American businesses, thousands of US tax returns are now being processed in India, a development that has led to quite a stir in the accounting community. Numbers are hard to pin down, but according to Kishore Mirchandani, president of Outsource Partners International, the firm that claims to have triggered the development, more than 10,000 returns went to India for scrutiny this year. The accounting firm Ernst and Young alone is believed to have forwarded 7500 American tax returns to its subsidiary in India after transferring a tax partner familiar with US tax laws there. Scores of other smaller accounting firms have also sent returns numbering hundreds to India after a pilot study last year showed encouraging results. "The business is still in its infancy, but we are looking at over 100,000 returns going to India this coming year," says Mirchandani, whose firm has a 300-person operation in Bangalore and is looking to expand because of the growing demand. Several traditional American firms are also lining up to send returns to India, after pilot projects showed significant reductions in costs and turn-around times. "More and more firms are jumping on the bandwagon after seeing the results. They seem very satisfied with the quality, not to speak of the speed and cost factors," says Bill Carlino, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Accounting Today, which has tracked the trend over the past year. Expectedly, not everyone is thrilled with the outsourcing of what some regard as sensitive financial information. In the latest issue, the magazine Practical Accountant ran a column by a New York accounting professor questioning the trend on grounds of security and job loss to Americans. "If you were to stop by any downtown skyscraper where Ernst & Young has an office, I guarantee that you could not just walk to the elevators and go up to the company's offices. You would be stopped by at least one security officer before you got anywhere near the elevator bank," wrote Prof Lloyd Caroll, head of the accounting department at Manhattan Borough Community College. "Yet the company does not appear to be troubled by the notion of putting taxpayer security in peril by sending returns out of the United States." "The very notion of transmitting confidential tax data - from Social Security and employer identification numbers to financial information - to any foreign country, even Canada, borders on the reprehensible at best, and is treasonous at worst," Caroll fumed. But accounting firms say security is a non-issue. What they are moving to India are only images and the original data remains with the US firm. The software used by the firms is also web-enabled and is accessed by the Indian subsidiary through a server in US. Firms also reported a 50 to 60 per cent cost reduction, besides improved scrutiny because they are able to hire better qualified people. In the US, simple returns are often viewed by junior staff who are not CPAs. Although the pilot studies of last year involved sending simple low end returns, some firms such as Toronto's Horwath Ornstein are now said to be sending high-end returns. In turn, firms are also posting Indian-American CPAs qualified in US tax laws to India to oversee the work. "The accounting profession in India itself has improved a great deal and quality should not be a problem," says Ram Ganesan, a Maryland-based CPA, who practices in the United States but sees outsourcing as an encouraging trend. |
| UN Backs Scheme to Block Blood Diamond Trade | 2 comments |
 25 Apr 2003 @ 00:31UN Backs Scheme to Block Blood Diamond Trade NEW YORK, New York, April 15, 2003 (ENS) - The link between the illegal trade of rough diamonds and the use of diamond trade proceeds to fuel armed conflict was weakened today when the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in support of a global diamond certification process. The ongoing international process, the Kimberley Process, is aimed at detecting and preventing the trade in conflict diamonds, often called blood diamonds because of the numerous deaths resulting from the illegal trade. The Kimberley Process includes a negotiating procedure to establish minimum acceptable international standards for national certification covering the import and export of rough diamonds, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Illicit trade in the valuable stones has financed armed conflict aimed at overthrowing legitimate governments, and led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the past 10 years. Conflict diamonds represent up to 20 percent of the annual world total diamond trade, and the diamond industry is taking part in the scheme in an effort to quell fears that diamonds for sale at the world's best jewelers may be blood diamonds. More > |
| Saturday, April 12, 2003 | |
| Interest Exceeds Income Tax Paid | 1 comment |
 12 Apr 2003 @ 11:30 ..."Now, to be honest, the surplus during the Clinton years is the obvious anomaly and was created by grabbing Social Security funds, specifically the cash set-aside for the impending baby-boomer retirements, and spending it as if it were general funds. But this chart does show the "death spiral" of the government's debt crisis. The interest alone on all this debt now exceeds the income tax paid by every US citizen." More > |
| Viacom / CBS Merge | 1 comment |
 12 Apr 2003 @ 11:02So what are the implications? ."..........Already the largest operator of cable TV broadcasting, with MTV, Nickelodeon, Showtime, VH-1 and Comedy Central, Viacom will add such CBS-owned networks as TNN. The combined firm will also be the largest US owner of outdoor billboards, as well as controlling Blockbuster Video, the largest video-rental company, book publisher Simon & Schuster, and five amusement parks.Viacom owns 50 percent of the embryonic sixth US television network, UPN, but will likely be forced to sell all or most of its stake as a condition of the merger. The other half-owner is Chris Craft Industries.Both Viacom and CBS are themselves products of a complex series of mergers and acquisitions over the past 20 years, during which the US media and publishing industry has seen ownership concentrated in the hands of a half dozen giant conglomerates...." Full Story Here More > |
| Sunday, April 6, 2003 | |
| Realpolitik for Real People | 0 comments |
 6 Apr 2003 @ 20:19A friend just emailed me this Website. Looks interesting. Al Martin Raw What the Smart Money Reads Political & Financial News-Analysis Service Realpolitik for Real People "For busy professional people who need to know what's going on, the best news coverage of the economy and the Bush Administration has been the Al MartinRaw.com website." -- Catherine Austin Fitts, former FHA Commissioner, George Bush Sr. Administration, and current president, Solari Inc, an investment advisory company. |
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