http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/02/20/notes022009.DTL
Smoke This Recession
It's simple: First we tax the booze. Then we legalize the pot. Done.
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, February 20, 2009
It is a time of strange bedfellows and bizarre contortions and extraordinary responses to extreme situations, all overslathered with gobs of panic and dread and oh my God, I might have to sell the Range Rover.
In other words, it is a time -- like you don't already know -- of plentiful alarmist rhetoric, resulting in weird outbursts of ingenuity and wanton ethics-loosening, all in a desperate effort to suck up some much-needed cash.
Translation: Money's tight, baby. City's in trouble. State's deep in the hole. Nation's broke.
Solution? Upend the system. Think differently. Get creative. Demolish Ye Olde Ways. And maybe get a really nice buzz on while you're at it.
Where to begin? How can the city/state refill their empty coffers and further gouge the populace to make ends meet? Increased bridge tolls? A new per-mile driving tax? Heavier parking fines? State parks abandoned and left to seed? Child's play, darling.
You want to raise funds in an instant? You want a sure-fire, double-barreled source of nearly limitless funds from a wary, burned-out citizenry? That's easy. Go after its biggest vices, its most beloved balms.
Up first: booze. Already local governments are quietly proposing jacking up the alcohol tax and loosening sales restrictions because, well, why the hell not? Aren't you, right this very moment, as you prepare your taxes and weep over your gutted portfolio and stare down one very bleak 2009, more in need of a drink or three than at any time in recent history except for the entirety of the last eight miserable, Bush-stabbed years? Well, there you go. Tax increases on cocktails, here they come.
But it's not just governments. Check out the happily shameless TV networks who, for the first time in a whocares number of years, are allowing ads for alcohol and K-Y lube during prime-time programming. Oh the outrage! Oh the debauchery! Who, pray who, will protect the children? Oh wait, the children are out buying daddy some more beer and applying for a job at Starbucks to help pay rent. Never mind.
New taxes on the other Great American vices: porn, gambling, prescription meds, pro sports, obesity, Miley Cyrus? Watch for it.
Now, let's get serious. Because there are, of course, bigger fish to fry in the sea of potentially lucrative, all-American inebriates. There is a far more potent, obvious solution to the state's budget woes, a huge, untapped revenue source, and now might be the perfect time to, you know, light it up.
Really now, could there be a better time to decriminalize/fully legalize pot? Or, more fully, to decriminalize pot, and then spread respectable pot shops and vending machines and dispensaries far and wide, instill quality control and decent oversight and then tax the living hell out of the glorious, stress-reducing goodness, as we stop wasting billions fighting its grand ubiquity and instead sink into profitable pools of warm, hazy progress? Don't you already know the answer?
It's difficult to imagine that some intrepid legislator hasn't already walked into Arnie "Pot is not a drug" Schwarzenegger's office and said, "Governator, now is the time. Light it up. Inhale the new reality. Pot is, by a huge margin, the single largest cash crop in the state unless you count porn stars and celebrity rehab. It rakes in upwards of $14 billion a year -- maybe a lot more than that -- and that's just from five clever hippies and a couple intrepid grandmas in Ukiah. Imagine what we could do if we went all-in."
Are the discussions ongoing? Are they passing the bong of possibility around the state Senate chambers? You're damn right they are. What's holding them back? Probably the usual: the negative PR, looking "soft" on crime, encouraging permissiveness, pressure from prison lobbies, and so on. Don't worry, Sacramento. Everyone's already plenty drunk/high on prescription meds trying to alleviate fears of losing their job to care about that nonsense right now. Get to it.
There won't be much pushback from D.C. President Obama's already stated that his upcoming appointee to head the DEA is going to knock it the hell off with the insidious raids of harmless medical pot shops in California, and wants to quit using federal resources to bash hippies and circumvent state laws.
Look. Is there really anyone left who doesn't already know the "War on Drugs" is a pathetic joke, an abject failure and a taxpayer nightmare, and the only reason it survives at all is to fund the CIA and fellate the prison guard unions and support a shameful prison system, and to let politicians say they're "tough on crime" so they can to deflect all those uninformed parents who relentlessly whine about pot in public schools just before dashing off a wine-tasting party to snort a nice line of Bolivian coke?
Anyone left, furthermore, who doesn't know that pot is far safer than booze, less addictive, nonviolent, more transportable, easier to light, and generally won't interfere with your ability to crawl across the carpet and lick cookie crumbs from your lover's thighs? And sure, while heavy, daily usage can make you slow and stupid and rather useless to the world, well, so can a six-pack of Diet Dr. Pepper and six hours of TV every day. Gateway drug? That's on Channel 2, right after "Oprah."
And another thing. Maybe it wouldn't be merely tax 'n' puff. Maybe California, already the pot-growing capital of the nation, could become something more. A hub. A world-class research center. Pot education, study, medicine, import/export, the works. We could ship our crop to various nations in desperate need of chilling the hell out, like Israel. Palestine. Pakistan. Russia. The N-Judah on a Friday afternoon. We could become the largest research and manufacturing center in the world. How proud we would be. You know, sort of.
Let's phrase this grand scenario in another way: Why the hell not try it? What have we got to lose? What, we could go more broke? We could get more desperate and anxious? Fact is, economic nightmares need not breed only miserable stories of lost homes and lost jobs and shuttered businesses. They can also spawn creative solutions, innovative thinking, widespread munchies. Now is the time.
Let's not get carried away. Pot's only one little inebriate, one mild and -- let's just admit it -- relatively boring feel-good plant. California is $40 billion in debt and we're running low on water and we can't give away those hideous tract developments out in Stockton. Milking the pot cow for all she's worth might net us, at best, a few billion a year. To get out of this massive hole, we'd have to legalize Ecstasy too. (Someday, honey, someday).
But it's something. It's radical new thinking that's not the slightest bit radical, or new, and in fact the notion is now even more obvious than it's been for the past 30 years. What are we waiting for? A match?
Friday, February 27, 2009
Ammiano bill would legalize marijuana in state
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/23/BAO416354C.DTL
Ammiano bill would legalize marijuana in state
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, February 23, 2009
SACRAMENTO -- California would become the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use under a bill introduced today by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco.
The proposal would regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which is barred by federal law.
Ammiano said taxes and other fees that accompany regulation could put more than a billion dollars a year into state coffers at a time when revenues continue to decline. He said he anticipates the federal government could soften its stance on marijuana under the Obama administration.
"We could in fact have the political will to do something, and certainly in the meantime this is a public policy call and I think it's worth the discussion," Ammiano said. "I think the outcome would be very healthy for California and California's economy."
A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the proposal.
The use of marijuana for medical conditions has been legal in California since voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996.
E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.
Ammiano bill would legalize marijuana in state
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, February 23, 2009
SACRAMENTO -- California would become the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use under a bill introduced today by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco.
The proposal would regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which is barred by federal law.
Ammiano said taxes and other fees that accompany regulation could put more than a billion dollars a year into state coffers at a time when revenues continue to decline. He said he anticipates the federal government could soften its stance on marijuana under the Obama administration.
"We could in fact have the political will to do something, and certainly in the meantime this is a public policy call and I think it's worth the discussion," Ammiano said. "I think the outcome would be very healthy for California and California's economy."
A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the proposal.
The use of marijuana for medical conditions has been legal in California since voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996.
E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.
Against the Use of New Nuclear Power Plants
February 22nd, 2009
Dear Readers,
The enclosed Resolution Against the Use of New Nuclear Power Plants to Solve America's Energy Problems passed this weekend (Feb. 20-21, 2009) at a meeting of the California-Pacific Conference of the United Methodist Church, Conference Board of Church and Society. The Resolution was presented by Peter Moore-Kochlacs. Peter then took the document to Washington, where he is right now, presented it to 25 people from various interfaith groups, and plans to present it to Congressional aides this Monday (February 23, 2009).
I am deeply honored to have had a part in the creation of the Resolution, along with many other people, and I hope it will be widely distributed and endorsed. If you, or any group you are associated with, endorses this Resolution, please contact Peter and let him know:
Peter Moore-Kochlacs
PeterEco@aol.com
Sincerely,
Ace Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resolution against the use of new nuclear power plants to solve America's energy problems
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whereas the Bible is clear that we are not to pollute our neighborhoods, the planet, and the poor, but are to be good stewards of all (Genesis 2:15, Isaiah 24, Jeremiah 4:2&7,Micah 6:6-8 & Matthew 22:36-40), and
Whereas the building of nuclear power plants, the generation of nuclear power and the plant’s radiation byproducts have been proven to be very unhealthy to life, and
Whereas, every step in the nuclear process is fossil-fuel intensive, including mining, milling, fuel fabrication, building the power plants, and even operating them -- let alone the fossil fuel and other resources which will be needed to care for the used reactor cores after they have been irradiated inside the reactor, and
Whereas, the only safe nuclear power plant is one that does not exist, since no human structure (e.g. underground storage facilities, kick and roll burial of “low level” radioactive materials) can withstand the forces of nature, and
Whereas, every step in the nuclear process is not only fossil-fuel intensive, but terribly polluting in its own right, starting with leakages of radioactive radon gas from the mine tailings, to the radioactive "shine" which emanates from the spent fuel casks, despite several feet of concrete and several inches of steel, and
Whereas, our children are 100 to 1000 times more susceptible to radiation poison damage than adults, and
Whereas, thousands of diseases which are caused or enhanced or exacerbated by radiation are so much worse for children who have no voice or vote, and
Whereas, there is a very sound scientific reason why nearly $100 billion dollars in research funding so far has produced nothing in the way of safe containments for nuclear waste (the scientific reason being that radioactive decay is far stronger than any chemical bond in nature -- known or postulated), and
Whereas, money spent on nuclear power will buy, at most, half the number of jobs that money spent in developing and building cleaner energy sources, such as wind power, would buy, and the new energy would be delivered as much as ten years sooner, and
Whereas, the nuclear industry is incapable of purchasing insurance on the open market, because the size of a catastrophe would bankrupt any and all insurance agencies, and
Whereas, the Government does not provide adequate insurance (the Price-Anderson Act is a hollow shell which would hardly compensate any one after an accident); those few who would receive anything, would get fractions of a penny on the dollar, and
Whereas, every operating nuclear power plant produces isotopes of plutonium and hydrogen and other elements which are the raw materials of nuclear bombs, and
Whereas, every operating nuclear power plant has a list of security and safety violations, which if fully known and understood by the public, would create such an outcry that all current nuclear power plants would likely be shut down, and
Therefore, be it resolved that the California Pacific Conference Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church insist that the United States Federal Government provide that no government money be invested in any nuclear power technology, except as maybe necessary to pay for shutting down the current nuclear power plants as quickly as possible and caring for their waste in as safe as possible a manner, and
Therefore, be it further resolved that we oppose the building of any new nuclear power plants, their funding, or their approval and that the currently operating plants be closed as soon as feasible, and
Therefore, be it further resolved that people who have already been harmed by nuclear power be both identified and compensated as best as possible, and
Therefore, be it further resolved that cleaner energy alternatives such as solar, wind, geo-thermal (atmospheric vortex engines, ocean thermal energy conversion, low flow rate undersea turbines) and other workable and sustainable clean energy solutions be invested in by our Federal Government, instead of Nuclear Power Plants, and
Therefore, be it finally resolved that this resolution be presented to members of the US Congress, other government bodies, public policy organizations, religious bodies and congregations of faith across the United States and World for their information and hopeful affirmation of it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ace Hoffman
Author, The Code Killers:
An Expose About Nuclear Crimes High and Low, Large and Small, Far and Wide
Free download: www.acehoffman.org
phone: (800) 551-2726; (760) 720-7261
address: PO Box 1936
Carlsbad, CA 92018
Subscribe to my free newsletter today!
email: ace@acehoffman.org
Dear Readers,
The enclosed Resolution Against the Use of New Nuclear Power Plants to Solve America's Energy Problems passed this weekend (Feb. 20-21, 2009) at a meeting of the California-Pacific Conference of the United Methodist Church, Conference Board of Church and Society. The Resolution was presented by Peter Moore-Kochlacs. Peter then took the document to Washington, where he is right now, presented it to 25 people from various interfaith groups, and plans to present it to Congressional aides this Monday (February 23, 2009).
I am deeply honored to have had a part in the creation of the Resolution, along with many other people, and I hope it will be widely distributed and endorsed. If you, or any group you are associated with, endorses this Resolution, please contact Peter and let him know:
Peter Moore-Kochlacs
PeterEco@aol.com
Sincerely,
Ace Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resolution against the use of new nuclear power plants to solve America's energy problems
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whereas the Bible is clear that we are not to pollute our neighborhoods, the planet, and the poor, but are to be good stewards of all (Genesis 2:15, Isaiah 24, Jeremiah 4:2&7,Micah 6:6-8 & Matthew 22:36-40), and
Whereas the building of nuclear power plants, the generation of nuclear power and the plant’s radiation byproducts have been proven to be very unhealthy to life, and
Whereas, every step in the nuclear process is fossil-fuel intensive, including mining, milling, fuel fabrication, building the power plants, and even operating them -- let alone the fossil fuel and other resources which will be needed to care for the used reactor cores after they have been irradiated inside the reactor, and
Whereas, the only safe nuclear power plant is one that does not exist, since no human structure (e.g. underground storage facilities, kick and roll burial of “low level” radioactive materials) can withstand the forces of nature, and
Whereas, every step in the nuclear process is not only fossil-fuel intensive, but terribly polluting in its own right, starting with leakages of radioactive radon gas from the mine tailings, to the radioactive "shine" which emanates from the spent fuel casks, despite several feet of concrete and several inches of steel, and
Whereas, our children are 100 to 1000 times more susceptible to radiation poison damage than adults, and
Whereas, thousands of diseases which are caused or enhanced or exacerbated by radiation are so much worse for children who have no voice or vote, and
Whereas, there is a very sound scientific reason why nearly $100 billion dollars in research funding so far has produced nothing in the way of safe containments for nuclear waste (the scientific reason being that radioactive decay is far stronger than any chemical bond in nature -- known or postulated), and
Whereas, money spent on nuclear power will buy, at most, half the number of jobs that money spent in developing and building cleaner energy sources, such as wind power, would buy, and the new energy would be delivered as much as ten years sooner, and
Whereas, the nuclear industry is incapable of purchasing insurance on the open market, because the size of a catastrophe would bankrupt any and all insurance agencies, and
Whereas, the Government does not provide adequate insurance (the Price-Anderson Act is a hollow shell which would hardly compensate any one after an accident); those few who would receive anything, would get fractions of a penny on the dollar, and
Whereas, every operating nuclear power plant produces isotopes of plutonium and hydrogen and other elements which are the raw materials of nuclear bombs, and
Whereas, every operating nuclear power plant has a list of security and safety violations, which if fully known and understood by the public, would create such an outcry that all current nuclear power plants would likely be shut down, and
Therefore, be it resolved that the California Pacific Conference Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church insist that the United States Federal Government provide that no government money be invested in any nuclear power technology, except as maybe necessary to pay for shutting down the current nuclear power plants as quickly as possible and caring for their waste in as safe as possible a manner, and
Therefore, be it further resolved that we oppose the building of any new nuclear power plants, their funding, or their approval and that the currently operating plants be closed as soon as feasible, and
Therefore, be it further resolved that people who have already been harmed by nuclear power be both identified and compensated as best as possible, and
Therefore, be it further resolved that cleaner energy alternatives such as solar, wind, geo-thermal (atmospheric vortex engines, ocean thermal energy conversion, low flow rate undersea turbines) and other workable and sustainable clean energy solutions be invested in by our Federal Government, instead of Nuclear Power Plants, and
Therefore, be it finally resolved that this resolution be presented to members of the US Congress, other government bodies, public policy organizations, religious bodies and congregations of faith across the United States and World for their information and hopeful affirmation of it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ace Hoffman
Author, The Code Killers:
An Expose About Nuclear Crimes High and Low, Large and Small, Far and Wide
Free download: www.acehoffman.org
phone: (800) 551-2726; (760) 720-7261
address: PO Box 1936
Carlsbad, CA 92018
Subscribe to my free newsletter today!
email: ace@acehoffman.org
Who Was Jesus?
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/david-mills-wwj.htmlWho Was Jesus?
Fingerprints of The Christ
A Review by
David Mills
Author of Atheist Universe
Anyone who knows me personally already appreciates what a huge fan I am of D.M. Murdock (aka "Acharya S"). After reading-and thoroughly enjoying-her book Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ, my admiration of Ms. Murdock has climbed to an even loftier elevation. Murdock is one of only a tiny number of scholars with the richly diverse academic background (and the necessary courage) to adequately address the question of whether Jesus Christ truly existed as a walking-talking figure in first-century Palestine. This question, and many others related to New Testament reliability, are directly confronted and satisfyingly answered in Who Was Jesus? I loved this book. It is absolutely superb in every way, from the eloquence of the writing to the integrity of the scholarship. This book should be required reading in every American classroom.
My personal recommendation is that Who Was Jesus? should be the first book purchased and studied by anyone, atheist or true believer, who wants to debate Jesus' existence and the Bible's veracity. Why the first book? Because Who Was Jesus? presents all the background knowledge from which any informed discussion of Christianity must proceed. In doing so, Murdock quotes the very voices of Christian and New Testament scholars, evangelists and apologists themselves, hoisting them on their own petards! Just as a diplomat could not make meaningful proposals for Middle East Peace without an intimate knowledge of the region’s history, neither can any individual engage in intelligent discussion of Christianity without a working familiarity with the information in this brilliant volume. You should therefore make this book priority reading even over The God Delusion, God is Not Great and other excellent but, in my opinion, less important books than Murdock's.
Amply citing Old Testament text to document how the New Testament was adaptively contrived from the Old by using it as a blueprint, Murdock's book focuses primarily on how the New Testament was put together, or should I say "thrown together." I have read many books, both by Christian apologists and resolute atheists, in which the authors displayed very poor understanding of what's actually found in the New Testament. Most people, including some New York Times best-selling authors, seem to derive their "knowledge" of the Bible from hearing their own pastors' sermons on Sunday mornings or, if they’re atheists, from their distant childhood memories of their pastors' sermons on Sunday mornings. In either case, as Murdock points out so adroitly and entertainingly, our popular conception of what Scripture says is often completely at-odds with the text itself. Yes, most people remember that the first four New Testament Books are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But their knowledge of the Bible stops abruptly at that point. And even here, Murdock describes in a most fascinating way why these four Gospels were almost certainly not written in the order in which they currently appear, nor were they authored by the men whose names they bear, not even appearing in the historical record until over a century later!
Murdock provides a splendid and concise summary of the events described in each Gospel account and shows how they are inconsistent with each other in innumerable details. She also presents a spellbinding analysis of the so-called "secular historical references" to Jesus. In each case, she reveals how this extra-biblical "evidence" is completely lacking and how, incredibly, even these dubious "historical references" to Christ were authored by writers who weren't even born until years after Jesus' alleged crucifixion. Even charitably interpreted, therefore, the extra-biblical allusions to Jesus are second-hand hearsay, or twenty-fifth-hand hearsay, and are of no value whatever in determining the accuracy of the New Testament. The fact that there are no contemporary historical references to Jesus argues against his purported existence, especially in consideration of his astounding alleged acts and widespread fame as depicted in the New Testament, other facts emphasized in Who Was Jesus? As Murdock further demonstrates, the New Testament is internally inconsistent as well and showcases within its own pages the best possible evidence against its Divine origin. My very favorite chapter began on page 139: Questions About The Gospel Story. If the battle between atheism and Christianity may be described as a philosophical and theological war, then this chapter provides your invincible arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.
Ms. Murdock also describes Matthew's tale of newly resurrected corpses wandering the streets of Jerusalem following Jesus' crucifixion. Allegedly, these zombies popped back to life and walked away from their Jerusalem burial sites; yet there is not a single non-biblical historical reference to this unimaginably eye-popping event. Murdock points out that, in this instance-and in many other New Testament instances as well-the best explanation for the lack of outside references is simply that the biblical account was fabricated. Otherwise, we are left with the conclusion that no historian of the time considered such a mass resurrection of the dead to be noteworthy.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was an easy and pleasurable read. Even though I've been interested in this subject myself for over thirty years, there was a great deal of information that I learned from Ms. Murdock's book. The book puts together the text of the New Testament with texts of extra-biblical sources and integrates them with common sense and logic. The result is that an objective reader is left with the conclusion that the Bible is simply false. Murdock has stated that she doesn’t tell her readers what to believe: She just presents the evidence. Perhaps so. But the evidence she presents is so compelling and so skillfully argued that the conclusion, it seems to me, is inescapable: Christianity is merely another ancient mythology, like Greek or Roman mythology. Murdock has devastatingly checkmated her theologically enslaved opponents in this debate.
I don't know whether the remainder of my comments (below) belong in a book review, but I'm expressing them nonetheless.
D.M. Murdock/Acharya S, like all authors on controversial subjects, has many critics. But they all share one commonality: They don't know what they're talking about. Murdock understands many languages and has a breadth of knowledge her critics cannot match. This fact irks the uninformed. Having given a fair hearing to some of her online detractors and their "rebuttal" videos, I have detected not only a lack of knowledge on the part of her critics, but also, in some cases, a thinly disguised misogyny. Objectively speaking, D.M. Murdock is an attractive and dazzlingly brilliant woman. This is more intimidation than some men can handle, even some atheist men. To those who follow the teachings of the Apostle Paul, who forbade women to even speak in church, it "logically" follows that Ms. Murdock should remain silent as well, especially since she is grieving the Holy Ghost. In plain English, Murdock is dealt criticism that would never befall an ugly old man in a monastery. I would like to think that 21st-century America is beyond such juvenile conduct, but that is sadly not the case.
If you live in America and you are considered a "mainstream intellectual," you may proffer the most absurd arguments imaginable-and they are considered all well and good. But if you're viewed as "outside the mainstream," you may proffer the most carefully prepared, incontrovertible evidence possible, and you will nevertheless be viewed cynically by those who cannot be troubled to think through the issues for themselves and who must instead rely upon "appeals to authority" (a logical fallacy). Murdock's critics invariably fall into this slipshod and errant category.
To summarize: D.M. Murdock's Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ is unquestionably one of the finest and most enjoyable books I've ever read. It is thorough and scholarly, yet pleasurably provides invaluable knowledge on the most riveting of all subjects. I admire Ms. Murdock tremendously, as much for her personal courage and character as for her remarkable and vitally important volume.
David Mills
Author of Atheist Universe
Acharya S/D.M. Murdock
Author, "The Christ Conspiracy," "Suns of God," "Who Was Jesus?" and "Christ in Egypt"
http://truthbeknown.com/
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/
http://tbknews.blogspot.com/
Natural Relief for Chronic Wound & Skin Conditions
Thanks to Rense.com for the following
http://naturalwoundcare.com/
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severe wounds
diabetic ulcers
pressure ulcers
rashes
psoriasis
burns
acne
post surgery
insect bites
scars
cuts/scrapes
poison ivy
blisters
athlete’s foot
derma abrasions
bug bites
sun burns
shingles
Podiatrists, pediatricians, cosmetic surgeons, wound care specialists, nurses and oral surgeons are all experiencing success with Ocean Aid. They have reported reduced healing times, higher patient compliance, and painless application. Now Ocean Aid is available directly to you.
http://naturalwoundcare.com/
"Natural Relief for Chronic Wound & Skin Conditions"
All Natural, Safe, No Side Effects
Works With Your Immune System
Much Less Expensive Than Many Traditional Treatments "Approved Product" of the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA)
Ocean Aid Can Help Heal These Skin Conditions, Naturally
Ocean Aid has proven effective in healing a wide variety of skin conditions, from minor to the most severe. And it's all natural, with no harmful ingredients, so it's safe—no side effects.
severe wounds
diabetic ulcers
pressure ulcers
rashes
psoriasis
burns
acne
post surgery
insect bites
scars
cuts/scrapes
poison ivy
blisters
athlete’s foot
derma abrasions
bug bites
sun burns
shingles
Podiatrists, pediatricians, cosmetic surgeons, wound care specialists, nurses and oral surgeons are all experiencing success with Ocean Aid. They have reported reduced healing times, higher patient compliance, and painless application. Now Ocean Aid is available directly to you.
Damn that Lincoln: Abe's to blame for Jindal
Damn that Lincoln: Abe's to blame for Jindal
by Greg Palast
Exclusive to Buzzflash.com by Greg Palast
Damn that Abe Lincoln. When Louisiana and Mississippi seceded from the Union, a sensible president would have sent them a box of chocolates with a note, "Goodbye and good riddance."
Tonight, following Barack Obama's budget presentation to Congress, effectively the president's first State of the Union Address, the Republicans have chosen to give their party's response, the governor of the state that wanted to leave the Union, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal.
Jindal's going to tell us that Barack Obama is a terrible President because Obama wants to require states like Louisiana to extend unemployment insurance to - get this - the unemployed! (Technically, the federal government would pay 100% of the cost of reforming Louisiana's and Mississippi's Scrooge-sized benefit requirements.)
Jindal, and some other Republican governors, notably Haley Barbour of Mississippi, are actually turning down millions in federal funds for their own state's unemployed out of fear that, four years from now, they may have to maintain full unemployment insurance like the rest of America.
Barbour's excuse, parroted by Jindal, is that the Obama payments to the unemployed of their states would mean, when the economy returns to expansion, that their state would have to increase unemployment insurance taxes and payments to the US average, scaring away new employers. "I mean, we want more jobs," says Barbour. Um, this is the Governor of MISSISSIPPI talking. Exactly what new "jobs" is he talking about? Is Microsoft based in Gulfport? Is Genentech opening its new headquarters in Bogalusa?
As an economist, I can tell you that the only industry Mississippi leads in is deep-fried chicken-dog manufacturing. I will admit that Louisiana and Mississippi can boast of growing employment at several casinos and cathouses spilling across what the locals charmingly call the "Coon-ass Riviera." Jindal's Louisiana is, after all, the state that solved its unemployment problem by sending its unemployed to Texas in FEMA trailers.
And it's true that Jindal's and Barbour's states do lead the nation in a few indicators. Like poverty: Mississippi has America's highest poverty rate. Louisiana is third worst in America.
And how about their commitment to education? Louisiana ranks 5th and Mississippi 2nd worth in school kids' math scores. As Randy Newman notes about the gulf states' education policies, "good ol' boys... from LSU, went in dumb, come out dumb, too."
Jindal himself is a product of a more advanced culture: His parents are Democrats. The Jindals are Hindus who come from the Punjab in India, a state known for its welfare safety net. Jindal, turning away from the successful example of his parents' politics and culture, has gone native, becoming a born-again Christian Republican who doesn't accept Darwinian evolution nor Keynesian economics. (I hear he may complete his redneck makeover next week by marrying his cousin at a tractor pull.)
For over a century, Louisiana and Mississippi have been trying to attract employers by changing their economy from one based on involuntary servitude to one based on voluntary servitude, selling their citizens to the lowest bidder. The results are blindingly visible: Mississippi and Louisiana, under the Barbour/Jindal Republican regime, maintain the lowest per-capita incomes in the nation (50th and 46th respectively). Mississippi and Louisiana infant mortality rates (1st and 3rd in deaths in the USA) would shame Costa Rica.
Years back, when I worked as an economic consultant to New Orleans, the Louisiana State Legislature was about to require that schools teach evolution as merely a theory equal to the Bible's literal creation myth. When asked if this would harm big employers' views of the state, I said, "Not at all: most national employers think of Louisiana as a state filled with Bible-thumping, dumb-bell rednecks. You won't have to worry about changing that impression."
OK, it's easy to make jokes about America's own Third World states. And before I get a zillion complaints, I'll be the first one to note that Louisiana has birthed the extraordinary, including the greatest of America's investigative journalists, the late Ron Ridenhour, jazz, Chris Ruth's Steakhouse and gris-gris. And it was Louisiana that long ago led the nation in social reform, whose governor, in 1932, led the national fight to create a program now known as "unemployment insurance." Really.
Nevertheless, Jindal's rejection of funds for his state's own unemployed simply follows a history of local Republican plantation-mentality cruelty. After Hurricane Katrina, I met a young man, Stephen Smith, who was stranded with a family on Highway 10 for four days while George Bush photo-strafed him from overhead. An elderly man with Stephen died of dehydration after giving his grandchildren his last bottle of water. (See Stephen on Big Easy to Big Empty, click here.)
I investigated the drowning of New Orleans and the "let'm drown" rescue plans of the Bush Administration. What I found was sickening, heartless and Republican. Marie Antoinette at least offered cake.
Now, once again, the Republican party, by making Jindal the party's official spokesman, is adopting the Barbour-ous refusal to reach out a saving hand to Americans drowning in this economy.
So, let me make a suggestion for Governors Jindal and Barbour. If you cannot join America in accepting our President's call to arms against disaster, if you reject our President's State of the Union - then leave the Union.
As the prescient Phil Ochs sang:
And here's to the government of Mississippi In the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always bogging down…
…And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
Amen.
****************
Greg Palast's investigative reports can be seen on BBC Television Newsnight. Palast, author of the New York Times bestsellers Armed Madhouse and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, is a Nation Institute/Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow for investigative reporting. Pick up the DVD of Big Easy to Big Empty at http://www.PalastInvestigativeFund.org.
Please subscribe to our reports at www.GregPalast.com.
by Greg Palast
Exclusive to Buzzflash.com by Greg Palast
Damn that Abe Lincoln. When Louisiana and Mississippi seceded from the Union, a sensible president would have sent them a box of chocolates with a note, "Goodbye and good riddance."
Tonight, following Barack Obama's budget presentation to Congress, effectively the president's first State of the Union Address, the Republicans have chosen to give their party's response, the governor of the state that wanted to leave the Union, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal.
Jindal's going to tell us that Barack Obama is a terrible President because Obama wants to require states like Louisiana to extend unemployment insurance to - get this - the unemployed! (Technically, the federal government would pay 100% of the cost of reforming Louisiana's and Mississippi's Scrooge-sized benefit requirements.)
Jindal, and some other Republican governors, notably Haley Barbour of Mississippi, are actually turning down millions in federal funds for their own state's unemployed out of fear that, four years from now, they may have to maintain full unemployment insurance like the rest of America.
Barbour's excuse, parroted by Jindal, is that the Obama payments to the unemployed of their states would mean, when the economy returns to expansion, that their state would have to increase unemployment insurance taxes and payments to the US average, scaring away new employers. "I mean, we want more jobs," says Barbour. Um, this is the Governor of MISSISSIPPI talking. Exactly what new "jobs" is he talking about? Is Microsoft based in Gulfport? Is Genentech opening its new headquarters in Bogalusa?
As an economist, I can tell you that the only industry Mississippi leads in is deep-fried chicken-dog manufacturing. I will admit that Louisiana and Mississippi can boast of growing employment at several casinos and cathouses spilling across what the locals charmingly call the "Coon-ass Riviera." Jindal's Louisiana is, after all, the state that solved its unemployment problem by sending its unemployed to Texas in FEMA trailers.
And it's true that Jindal's and Barbour's states do lead the nation in a few indicators. Like poverty: Mississippi has America's highest poverty rate. Louisiana is third worst in America.
And how about their commitment to education? Louisiana ranks 5th and Mississippi 2nd worth in school kids' math scores. As Randy Newman notes about the gulf states' education policies, "good ol' boys... from LSU, went in dumb, come out dumb, too."
Jindal himself is a product of a more advanced culture: His parents are Democrats. The Jindals are Hindus who come from the Punjab in India, a state known for its welfare safety net. Jindal, turning away from the successful example of his parents' politics and culture, has gone native, becoming a born-again Christian Republican who doesn't accept Darwinian evolution nor Keynesian economics. (I hear he may complete his redneck makeover next week by marrying his cousin at a tractor pull.)
For over a century, Louisiana and Mississippi have been trying to attract employers by changing their economy from one based on involuntary servitude to one based on voluntary servitude, selling their citizens to the lowest bidder. The results are blindingly visible: Mississippi and Louisiana, under the Barbour/Jindal Republican regime, maintain the lowest per-capita incomes in the nation (50th and 46th respectively). Mississippi and Louisiana infant mortality rates (1st and 3rd in deaths in the USA) would shame Costa Rica.
Years back, when I worked as an economic consultant to New Orleans, the Louisiana State Legislature was about to require that schools teach evolution as merely a theory equal to the Bible's literal creation myth. When asked if this would harm big employers' views of the state, I said, "Not at all: most national employers think of Louisiana as a state filled with Bible-thumping, dumb-bell rednecks. You won't have to worry about changing that impression."
OK, it's easy to make jokes about America's own Third World states. And before I get a zillion complaints, I'll be the first one to note that Louisiana has birthed the extraordinary, including the greatest of America's investigative journalists, the late Ron Ridenhour, jazz, Chris Ruth's Steakhouse and gris-gris. And it was Louisiana that long ago led the nation in social reform, whose governor, in 1932, led the national fight to create a program now known as "unemployment insurance." Really.
Nevertheless, Jindal's rejection of funds for his state's own unemployed simply follows a history of local Republican plantation-mentality cruelty. After Hurricane Katrina, I met a young man, Stephen Smith, who was stranded with a family on Highway 10 for four days while George Bush photo-strafed him from overhead. An elderly man with Stephen died of dehydration after giving his grandchildren his last bottle of water. (See Stephen on Big Easy to Big Empty, click here.)
I investigated the drowning of New Orleans and the "let'm drown" rescue plans of the Bush Administration. What I found was sickening, heartless and Republican. Marie Antoinette at least offered cake.
Now, once again, the Republican party, by making Jindal the party's official spokesman, is adopting the Barbour-ous refusal to reach out a saving hand to Americans drowning in this economy.
So, let me make a suggestion for Governors Jindal and Barbour. If you cannot join America in accepting our President's call to arms against disaster, if you reject our President's State of the Union - then leave the Union.
As the prescient Phil Ochs sang:
And here's to the government of Mississippi In the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always bogging down…
…And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of
Amen.
****************
Greg Palast's investigative reports can be seen on BBC Television Newsnight. Palast, author of the New York Times bestsellers Armed Madhouse and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, is a Nation Institute/Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow for investigative reporting. Pick up the DVD of Big Easy to Big Empty at http://www.PalastInvestigativeFund.org.
Please subscribe to our reports at www.GregPalast.com.
The US v. Barry Bonds
The US v. Barry Bonds
By Dave Zirin
This is a story about garbage. There's the actual garbage overzealous federal investigators examined in their efforts to prosecute a surly sports celebrity. There's the shredding of the Bill of Rights, crudely ignored by the government in the name of obsession and ambition. Finally, there's the thorough trashing of people's reputations, not to mention the game of baseball. Welcome to The US v. Barry Bonds ; please disregard the stench.
The trial to prove that slugger Barry Bonds perjured himself in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) steroid investigation begins March 2. Yet after seven years of investigation, millions of dollars in work hours and countless ruined reputations, the US Attorney's Office will arrive in court with virtually no leg to stand on. Judge Susan Illston struck down most of the prosecution's case, a move ESPN legal expert Lester Munson called a "devastating" setback for prosecutors. The ruling was an indictment of not only the government's case but its entire approach toward Bonds from day one.
John Ashcroft's Justice Department always seemed irrationally determined to prosecute Bonds. It was as obsessive as the fisherman Santiago attempting to bring home the great marlin in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea . The embodiment of this obsession was IRS agent Jeff Novitzky. He broke open the BALCO case after spending a great deal of time, to the adulation of the press, literally sifting through the company's garbage and sewage.
Novitzky was given the green light by President Bush and Ashcroft to go for the jugular. In 2004, accompanied by eleven agents, he marched into Comprehensive Drug Testing, the nation's largest sports-drug testing company. Armed with a warrant to see the confidential drug tests of ten baseball players, he walked out with 4,000 supposedly sealed medical files, including every baseball player in the major leagues. As Jon Pessah wrote in ESPN magazine, "Three federal judges reviewed the raid. One asked, incredulously, if the Fourth Amendment had been repealed. Another, Susan Illston, who has presided over the BALCO trials, called Novitzky's actions a 'callous disregard' for constitutional rights. All three instructed him to return the records. Instead, Novitzky kept the evidence...."
It was a frightening abuse of power, all aimed at imprisoning a prominent African-American athlete. Yet despite the landfills of trash, the government's case always rested on a flimsy premise. Bonds's contention under oath was that anything illegal he may have ingested was without prior knowledge. The only person who could contradict Bonds was his trainer and longtime friend Greg Anderson. The government pressed Anderson to give testimony. He refused, citing a promise made by the feds that he wouldn't have to testify after pleading guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering in 2005. The feds stuck him in jail for thirteen months to soften him up, but he didn't crack.
Anderson has remained firm even though in January, twenty FBI and IRS agents raided the home of his mother-in-law and threatened to punish her for tax evasion if Anderson didn't spill. Similar threats have been made against his wife. Mark Geragos, Anderson's attorney, told Yahoo Sports, "It's such a blatant and transparent attempt to intimidate Greg. They're acting like the Gestapo. Even the mafia spares the women and children." Without Anderson, the state's case was always weak. But now itis on serious life support. Illston ruled most of Novitzky and the government's case inadmissible, for good reason.
The prosecution wanted to submit a surreptitiously recorded statement from Anderson as well as notations on what it calls his "drug calendar," even though he would not testify to authenticate any of the evidence. Illston, to her credit, said no dice and declared those items inadmissible. The government has raised the specter of jailing Anderson again, but Illston remarked in a "raised voice" that jailing someone twice for refusing to testify would be beyond the pale.
The government is hinting that it will appeal Illston's ruling, but that would indefinitely delay the trial. If the US Attorney's Office does continue the case, it has made clear its next line of offense: it will have Bonds's former mistress, Kimberly Bell, testify in detail about the alleged "shriveling" of Bonds's testicles. Jeff Novitzky should be proud.
It's way past time to say enough is enough.
Whether or not you are a Barry Bonds fan, or consider him to be just a step above a seal-clubbing, pit bull-fighting bank executive, every person of good conscience should be aghast at the way the Justice Department has gone about its business. Barry Bonds, Greg Anderson and maybe thousands of others have had their rights trampled on, all for the glory of a perjury case that looks to be going absolutely nowhere. Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama have strongly indicated that the government is getting out of the steroid monitoring business. That is welcome, but after so many years, so many tax dollars and so many reputations destroyed, it all feels positively Pyrrhic.
At the end of The Old Man and the Sea, when Santiago finally returns to shore, his 18-foot catch has been reduced to a skeleton. A crowd gathers to gawk and imagine what the magnificent marlin once was. Santiago completed his journey with nothing, but he felt purified for the battle and slept deeply and proudly. As we pick through the bones of Barry Bonds, I can't imagine Jeff Novitzky feels the same.
Dave Zirin is the author of “A People’s History of Sports in the United States” (The New Press) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com .
By Dave Zirin
This is a story about garbage. There's the actual garbage overzealous federal investigators examined in their efforts to prosecute a surly sports celebrity. There's the shredding of the Bill of Rights, crudely ignored by the government in the name of obsession and ambition. Finally, there's the thorough trashing of people's reputations, not to mention the game of baseball. Welcome to The US v. Barry Bonds ; please disregard the stench.
The trial to prove that slugger Barry Bonds perjured himself in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) steroid investigation begins March 2. Yet after seven years of investigation, millions of dollars in work hours and countless ruined reputations, the US Attorney's Office will arrive in court with virtually no leg to stand on. Judge Susan Illston struck down most of the prosecution's case, a move ESPN legal expert Lester Munson called a "devastating" setback for prosecutors. The ruling was an indictment of not only the government's case but its entire approach toward Bonds from day one.
John Ashcroft's Justice Department always seemed irrationally determined to prosecute Bonds. It was as obsessive as the fisherman Santiago attempting to bring home the great marlin in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea . The embodiment of this obsession was IRS agent Jeff Novitzky. He broke open the BALCO case after spending a great deal of time, to the adulation of the press, literally sifting through the company's garbage and sewage.
Novitzky was given the green light by President Bush and Ashcroft to go for the jugular. In 2004, accompanied by eleven agents, he marched into Comprehensive Drug Testing, the nation's largest sports-drug testing company. Armed with a warrant to see the confidential drug tests of ten baseball players, he walked out with 4,000 supposedly sealed medical files, including every baseball player in the major leagues. As Jon Pessah wrote in ESPN magazine, "Three federal judges reviewed the raid. One asked, incredulously, if the Fourth Amendment had been repealed. Another, Susan Illston, who has presided over the BALCO trials, called Novitzky's actions a 'callous disregard' for constitutional rights. All three instructed him to return the records. Instead, Novitzky kept the evidence...."
It was a frightening abuse of power, all aimed at imprisoning a prominent African-American athlete. Yet despite the landfills of trash, the government's case always rested on a flimsy premise. Bonds's contention under oath was that anything illegal he may have ingested was without prior knowledge. The only person who could contradict Bonds was his trainer and longtime friend Greg Anderson. The government pressed Anderson to give testimony. He refused, citing a promise made by the feds that he wouldn't have to testify after pleading guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering in 2005. The feds stuck him in jail for thirteen months to soften him up, but he didn't crack.
Anderson has remained firm even though in January, twenty FBI and IRS agents raided the home of his mother-in-law and threatened to punish her for tax evasion if Anderson didn't spill. Similar threats have been made against his wife. Mark Geragos, Anderson's attorney, told Yahoo Sports, "It's such a blatant and transparent attempt to intimidate Greg. They're acting like the Gestapo. Even the mafia spares the women and children." Without Anderson, the state's case was always weak. But now itis on serious life support. Illston ruled most of Novitzky and the government's case inadmissible, for good reason.
The prosecution wanted to submit a surreptitiously recorded statement from Anderson as well as notations on what it calls his "drug calendar," even though he would not testify to authenticate any of the evidence. Illston, to her credit, said no dice and declared those items inadmissible. The government has raised the specter of jailing Anderson again, but Illston remarked in a "raised voice" that jailing someone twice for refusing to testify would be beyond the pale.
The government is hinting that it will appeal Illston's ruling, but that would indefinitely delay the trial. If the US Attorney's Office does continue the case, it has made clear its next line of offense: it will have Bonds's former mistress, Kimberly Bell, testify in detail about the alleged "shriveling" of Bonds's testicles. Jeff Novitzky should be proud.
It's way past time to say enough is enough.
Whether or not you are a Barry Bonds fan, or consider him to be just a step above a seal-clubbing, pit bull-fighting bank executive, every person of good conscience should be aghast at the way the Justice Department has gone about its business. Barry Bonds, Greg Anderson and maybe thousands of others have had their rights trampled on, all for the glory of a perjury case that looks to be going absolutely nowhere. Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama have strongly indicated that the government is getting out of the steroid monitoring business. That is welcome, but after so many years, so many tax dollars and so many reputations destroyed, it all feels positively Pyrrhic.
At the end of The Old Man and the Sea, when Santiago finally returns to shore, his 18-foot catch has been reduced to a skeleton. A crowd gathers to gawk and imagine what the magnificent marlin once was. Santiago completed his journey with nothing, but he felt purified for the battle and slept deeply and proudly. As we pick through the bones of Barry Bonds, I can't imagine Jeff Novitzky feels the same.
Dave Zirin is the author of “A People’s History of Sports in the United States” (The New Press) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com .
Megan Fox is back on the market? SCORE!
Photo is of Megan Fox with an ugly cancerous growthhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/02/megan-fox-singl.html
Megan Fox is back on the market? SCORE!
February 24, 2009
File this under BEST NEWS EVER for girls and guys — and guys and girls — everywhere.
Hollywood's hottest engaged couple, Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green, are totally done.
"The relationship had run its course," one of those chatty insiders tells Us. "They both realized the time had come to go their separate ways. It's completely amicable, and they are remaining friends."
The openly bisexual Fox, 22 (Mikaela in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"), and Green, 35 ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") are "both focusing on their careers," the source adds.
Is that Hollywood publicist code for, "Yes, yes, she is going to be the next Lara Croft, and she can certainly do better than Brian Austin Green."
Oh dear. But about those tattoos they got of each other's names — paging Dr. Tattoff!
Maybe Megan could call Angelina Jolie for the name of the doc she had laser off her ex-husband Billy Bob Thornton's name.
These two do have a lot in common: multiple tattoos, fabulous bods, long dark hair, past lesbian sexual experiences ....
But it's kinda sad, because even in November, Fox talked about wedding plans.
"It's not going to be a big wedding," she told Us at a GQ bash. "I'm not one of those girls. If it happens, it will be very low-key and quick and unplanned."
Wait a minute. "IF" it happens? Was she was trying to tell us something.
Hilton, Myers top Razzies bill for year's worst
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ixgKEnlnx6pKqr7kz3v3xKB3sJOgD96GCQ9O0
Hilton, Myers top Razzies bill for year's worst
By DAVID GERMAIN
2-21-9
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Myers' "The Love Guru" has found some disciples among Razzies voters who pick Hollywood's lowest achievements.
And Paris Hilton is getting her own Razzies moment with three awards all on her own at a ceremony that spoofs the Academy Awards on the eve of the Oscars.
"The Love Guru" won three Razzies on Saturday for worst picture, actor (Myers in the title role) and screenplay, which Myers co-wrote. Hilton's three prizes are worst actress for "The Hottie and the Nottie," supporting actress for "Repo! The Genetic Opera" and screen couple alongside either of her "Hottie" co-stars, Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore.
With three Razzies, Hilton tied the record set last year by Eddie Murphy, who won worst actor, supporting actor and supporting actress for his multiple roles in "Norbit."
Pierce Brosnan was chosen as worst supporting actor for "Mamma Mia!" The worst-director Razzie went to Uwe Boll for three movies: "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale," "1968: Tunnel Rats" and "Postal."
Razzies voters also gave a prize for worst career achievement to Boll, whose critically drubbed movies include "Bloodrayne" and its sequel.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was named worst prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel.
John Wilson, founder of the Razzies, said Boll and Hilton's movies are so bad, he could envision a collaboration between the two.
"She is the 21st century Zsa Zsa Gabor. She is famous for who she hangs out with. She's not famous for any talent she has yet exhibited," Wilson said. "She may end up working with Uwe Boll. She could be the head vampire in `Bloodrayne 3.'"
"The Love Guru" features Myers as the world's second-best self-help guru, who must come to love himself before he can fully realize his potential. The movie topped out at $32 million at the domestic box office, chump change compared to the haul of Myers' "Austin Powers" sequels.
Wilson disagreed with other Razzies voters on "The Love Guru," saying that after watching it again to pull clips for the group's awards ceremony Saturday night, he did not think it was the year's worst movie.
"A couple of things he did got me to laugh, and these days, two laughs in a comedy is a high ratio," Wilson said.
In "The Hottie and the Nottie," Hilton plays a babe who won't date until her homely best pal lands a man. Hilton has a small role in "Repo," a horror musical about organ recipients who face a visit from the repo man if they fall behind on the payments.
"Repo" and "Hottie" combined did not even manage to take in $200,000 at the domestic box office.
Unlike many years, when one movie dominates, the Razzies were shared among a variety of flicks.
One voter joked that "we decided to spread the loathe around," Wilson said. "Everybody got kicked in the shin at least a little."
On the Net:
http://www.razzies.com
Hilton, Myers top Razzies bill for year's worst
By DAVID GERMAIN
2-21-9
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Myers' "The Love Guru" has found some disciples among Razzies voters who pick Hollywood's lowest achievements.
And Paris Hilton is getting her own Razzies moment with three awards all on her own at a ceremony that spoofs the Academy Awards on the eve of the Oscars.
"The Love Guru" won three Razzies on Saturday for worst picture, actor (Myers in the title role) and screenplay, which Myers co-wrote. Hilton's three prizes are worst actress for "The Hottie and the Nottie," supporting actress for "Repo! The Genetic Opera" and screen couple alongside either of her "Hottie" co-stars, Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore.
With three Razzies, Hilton tied the record set last year by Eddie Murphy, who won worst actor, supporting actor and supporting actress for his multiple roles in "Norbit."
Pierce Brosnan was chosen as worst supporting actor for "Mamma Mia!" The worst-director Razzie went to Uwe Boll for three movies: "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale," "1968: Tunnel Rats" and "Postal."
Razzies voters also gave a prize for worst career achievement to Boll, whose critically drubbed movies include "Bloodrayne" and its sequel.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was named worst prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel.
John Wilson, founder of the Razzies, said Boll and Hilton's movies are so bad, he could envision a collaboration between the two.
"She is the 21st century Zsa Zsa Gabor. She is famous for who she hangs out with. She's not famous for any talent she has yet exhibited," Wilson said. "She may end up working with Uwe Boll. She could be the head vampire in `Bloodrayne 3.'"
"The Love Guru" features Myers as the world's second-best self-help guru, who must come to love himself before he can fully realize his potential. The movie topped out at $32 million at the domestic box office, chump change compared to the haul of Myers' "Austin Powers" sequels.
Wilson disagreed with other Razzies voters on "The Love Guru," saying that after watching it again to pull clips for the group's awards ceremony Saturday night, he did not think it was the year's worst movie.
"A couple of things he did got me to laugh, and these days, two laughs in a comedy is a high ratio," Wilson said.
In "The Hottie and the Nottie," Hilton plays a babe who won't date until her homely best pal lands a man. Hilton has a small role in "Repo," a horror musical about organ recipients who face a visit from the repo man if they fall behind on the payments.
"Repo" and "Hottie" combined did not even manage to take in $200,000 at the domestic box office.
Unlike many years, when one movie dominates, the Razzies were shared among a variety of flicks.
One voter joked that "we decided to spread the loathe around," Wilson said. "Everybody got kicked in the shin at least a little."
On the Net:
http://www.razzies.com
FIAT FOOLISHNESS
FIAT FOOLISHNESS
by Kenn Thomas
steamshovelpress.com
It started out as an interesting week for parapolitics: the son of Louis Jolyon West wrote an article on the assisted suicide of the famous CIA-MKULTRA scientist and Francis O’Neill, one of the FBI agents who remarked on “surgery to the head area” in a report of JFK’s wounds that led to David Lifton’s Best Evidence theory of body alteration, died. I circulated these stories on various conspiracy discussion lists and figured it would lead to some provocative feedback.
Jolyon West had been well-known for his association with mind control, dating to the time when he headed the psychiatry department at Lackland Air base and the US discovered many of its shot-down fighter pilots brainwashed by the North Koreans. (see: “Bug Bombs,” in the first volume of Cyberculture Counterconspiracy.) West also killed a bull elephant once by mis-administering LSD to it. He developed plans to for human experimentation as part of a Reagan-supported “anti-violence” center.
Oddly, even as Francis X. O’Neil’s obituary hit the web, so did a feature on retired Secret Service agent Dale Wunderlich, of the 11/22/63 secret service security detail, from Longmont Times-Call in Colorado. Wunderlich gave a Rotary Club talk trying to make a case for the lone nut theory. “The sight of Kennedy’s body, face down in the hospital, is still engraved on Wunderlich’s mind,” according to the article. Fruitless book and net searches for such an image--JFK’s body face down—added some weight to Wunderlich’s own statement that “I had such tears in my eyes that I couldn’t see anything.” Those not inclined to regard Wunderlich as carrying on a decades-long mythology that few really believe may have taken the kinder view that Wunderlich sees only what he wants to see about this momentous event in his life.`
That’s about where any thoughtful reflection on these parapolitical footnotes went. The lists instead got clogged with things like another poorly written Ann Coulter rant against the “fiat money” that Barack Obama plans to print up to fund the stimulus program. Coulter doesn’t disguise her role as a narrow minded and barely literate ideologue. Her readers and critics hear no complaints from her when the government starts over-printing fiat money for the sake of the military, which does as much to deplete currency value as anything. So her criticisms remain select and transparent even as her writing style shows her up as—challenged. (Christopher Hitchens has great fun with this.) I had a girlfriend once who labeled Coulter one of the "dumb blondes for Bush." The other was Barbara Olson, who died on one of the 9/11 planes. Olson’s tragic death didn't improve her arguments any which often fell along the lines of Coulter’s aping the hypocritical old "less government" bull. She supports only a shift in big government spending, not a reduction. It’s a fairly obvious false dialogue. I would have greatly preferred a discussion of things of more historical weight, like the stories of people like West and O’Neill.
Conspiracy critics do themselves a disservice by ever alluding to any of these mainstream pundits. If you have a point to make, make it yourself. Coulter and Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and all those others making similar points—often gleaned from the very online conspiracy sources they say they eschew--are at best like a broken clock, right twice daily, if then. They serve the agenda most students of parapolitics claim they oppose. Their political heroes (Reagan, Bush) have time and again advanced the practice of issuing exorbitant “fiat money” far more than anyone. The TV pundits are about shifting the priorities to which the money is applied. They didn't say a word when Bush's Wall Street buddies, the courtesans of his monarchy, raided the treasury during his last weeks in office. It's only the threat that Obama wants to spend on social programs that's put a bee in their bonnet now. They could give a damn about fiat money, as they always support it for corporate welfare and when the military budget expands. All are welcome to take whatever side they want on the spectrum, of course, but all also, at least when it comes to the endeavor to understand conspiracy, must acknowledge the process of false dialogue and media brainwash. Talking about West, O’Neil and Wunderlich would have been a much more enlightening path to this understanding.
Videos by Geert Wilders have made the rounds of late as well and offer a similar lesson. He’s a right wing Dutch politician who fattens his own political fortunes by very publicly opposing the spread of jihadist Islamic culture in Europe. Wilders is at least as right about that as “conservative” “right” or whatever media is about “fiat money”, but does anyone have to support the right in the Netherlands to agree with him? Of course not. They can, in fact, oppose Wilders and the jihadists at the same time. One long-time list manager even circulated material that literally came from a neo-Nazi group in the UK because it has the same anti-jihad message! This is exactly where the false dialogue leads, islamo-fascists on one side; neo-nazis on the other. It’s not an issue of blaming the messenger. These "messengers" are the same people the conspiracy critical world has always opposed.
As for JFK and the Federal Reserve: he issued silver certificates in smaller denominations in order to help remove them from circulation. The value of the silver used in making coins had become greater than the value of the coins, so Kennedy facilitated the effort to stop using actual silver in minting coins, fully realized in 1965, under Johnson. This was a move clearly in the direction of fiat money, not toward it. The US has been off the gold standard since 1934, so Kennedy was acting in the grand tradition of FDR by doing the same for the silver standard. It's hard to think that Kennedy was shot for this purpose. Whether it’s gold, silver or the goodwill of a cabal of Jewish conspirators, money is what everyone agrees to call money—American GIs used cigarettes as currency in post WWII Germany. It’s supposed to be a consensus reality. The only place where mainstream pundits and the parapolitical underground agree is on the lack of that consensus.
by Kenn Thomas
steamshovelpress.com
It started out as an interesting week for parapolitics: the son of Louis Jolyon West wrote an article on the assisted suicide of the famous CIA-MKULTRA scientist and Francis O’Neill, one of the FBI agents who remarked on “surgery to the head area” in a report of JFK’s wounds that led to David Lifton’s Best Evidence theory of body alteration, died. I circulated these stories on various conspiracy discussion lists and figured it would lead to some provocative feedback.
Jolyon West had been well-known for his association with mind control, dating to the time when he headed the psychiatry department at Lackland Air base and the US discovered many of its shot-down fighter pilots brainwashed by the North Koreans. (see: “Bug Bombs,” in the first volume of Cyberculture Counterconspiracy.) West also killed a bull elephant once by mis-administering LSD to it. He developed plans to for human experimentation as part of a Reagan-supported “anti-violence” center.
Oddly, even as Francis X. O’Neil’s obituary hit the web, so did a feature on retired Secret Service agent Dale Wunderlich, of the 11/22/63 secret service security detail, from Longmont Times-Call in Colorado. Wunderlich gave a Rotary Club talk trying to make a case for the lone nut theory. “The sight of Kennedy’s body, face down in the hospital, is still engraved on Wunderlich’s mind,” according to the article. Fruitless book and net searches for such an image--JFK’s body face down—added some weight to Wunderlich’s own statement that “I had such tears in my eyes that I couldn’t see anything.” Those not inclined to regard Wunderlich as carrying on a decades-long mythology that few really believe may have taken the kinder view that Wunderlich sees only what he wants to see about this momentous event in his life.`
That’s about where any thoughtful reflection on these parapolitical footnotes went. The lists instead got clogged with things like another poorly written Ann Coulter rant against the “fiat money” that Barack Obama plans to print up to fund the stimulus program. Coulter doesn’t disguise her role as a narrow minded and barely literate ideologue. Her readers and critics hear no complaints from her when the government starts over-printing fiat money for the sake of the military, which does as much to deplete currency value as anything. So her criticisms remain select and transparent even as her writing style shows her up as—challenged. (Christopher Hitchens has great fun with this.) I had a girlfriend once who labeled Coulter one of the "dumb blondes for Bush." The other was Barbara Olson, who died on one of the 9/11 planes. Olson’s tragic death didn't improve her arguments any which often fell along the lines of Coulter’s aping the hypocritical old "less government" bull. She supports only a shift in big government spending, not a reduction. It’s a fairly obvious false dialogue. I would have greatly preferred a discussion of things of more historical weight, like the stories of people like West and O’Neill.
Conspiracy critics do themselves a disservice by ever alluding to any of these mainstream pundits. If you have a point to make, make it yourself. Coulter and Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh and all those others making similar points—often gleaned from the very online conspiracy sources they say they eschew--are at best like a broken clock, right twice daily, if then. They serve the agenda most students of parapolitics claim they oppose. Their political heroes (Reagan, Bush) have time and again advanced the practice of issuing exorbitant “fiat money” far more than anyone. The TV pundits are about shifting the priorities to which the money is applied. They didn't say a word when Bush's Wall Street buddies, the courtesans of his monarchy, raided the treasury during his last weeks in office. It's only the threat that Obama wants to spend on social programs that's put a bee in their bonnet now. They could give a damn about fiat money, as they always support it for corporate welfare and when the military budget expands. All are welcome to take whatever side they want on the spectrum, of course, but all also, at least when it comes to the endeavor to understand conspiracy, must acknowledge the process of false dialogue and media brainwash. Talking about West, O’Neil and Wunderlich would have been a much more enlightening path to this understanding.
Videos by Geert Wilders have made the rounds of late as well and offer a similar lesson. He’s a right wing Dutch politician who fattens his own political fortunes by very publicly opposing the spread of jihadist Islamic culture in Europe. Wilders is at least as right about that as “conservative” “right” or whatever media is about “fiat money”, but does anyone have to support the right in the Netherlands to agree with him? Of course not. They can, in fact, oppose Wilders and the jihadists at the same time. One long-time list manager even circulated material that literally came from a neo-Nazi group in the UK because it has the same anti-jihad message! This is exactly where the false dialogue leads, islamo-fascists on one side; neo-nazis on the other. It’s not an issue of blaming the messenger. These "messengers" are the same people the conspiracy critical world has always opposed.
As for JFK and the Federal Reserve: he issued silver certificates in smaller denominations in order to help remove them from circulation. The value of the silver used in making coins had become greater than the value of the coins, so Kennedy facilitated the effort to stop using actual silver in minting coins, fully realized in 1965, under Johnson. This was a move clearly in the direction of fiat money, not toward it. The US has been off the gold standard since 1934, so Kennedy was acting in the grand tradition of FDR by doing the same for the silver standard. It's hard to think that Kennedy was shot for this purpose. Whether it’s gold, silver or the goodwill of a cabal of Jewish conspirators, money is what everyone agrees to call money—American GIs used cigarettes as currency in post WWII Germany. It’s supposed to be a consensus reality. The only place where mainstream pundits and the parapolitical underground agree is on the lack of that consensus.
Roy Lisker, Love and Cosmology
"One might posit the existence of a conspiracy in the collective unconscious, whereby society arrogates to itself the right not only to pass judgment on all matters of the heart, but to credentialize it as well, deeming illegitimate and even non-existent all manifestations which do not conform to a deliberately reductive framework imposed by social institutions and mediated through language."
--Roy Lisker, Love and Cosmology, April 1979
--Roy Lisker, Love and Cosmology, April 1979
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Beast of the Month - December 2008
Beast of the Month - December 2008
Al From
Democratic Leadership Council Kingpin
"I yam an anti-Christ..."
John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) of The Sex Pistols, "Anarchy in the UK"
"His choice, basically, is whether he's going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations."
Ralph Nader on Barack Obama, on election night
Anyone who is cynical about the whole Obamamania fad (and yes, that would include The Konformist itself) might as well suck it up and accept the truth: like it or not, Barky is the face of "liberalism" and "the left" for at least the next eight years. (And perhaps up to forty, if you believe the persuasive political theories of Webster Tarpley and Samuel Huntington.) So the question needs to be asked: what is the reality behind this face?
Despite all the korporate press propagandizing already proclaiming President Obama a perfect mixture of JFK, MLK, RFK, FDR, Abraham Lincoln and Jesus Christ even before he has taken office (an embarrassing level of delusional fawning by the establishment media not seen since... well, since George W. Bush right after 9/11) he is decidedly a transparent fraud rather than a transcendental leader in The Konformist view. This became more annoyingly obvious as the image heavy, substance non-existent campaign continued to be exposed as a front for the most noxious elements of the Democratic Party. All the repeated chantings of the mantras of "hope" and "change" couldn't hide the repellant machine behind the bizarre mixture of a New Age religious kult and a multi-level marketing scam.
Certainly Obama, a crafty politician and master manipulator, deserves much of the credit and blame for the success of his campaign, starting off with his lofty oratorical style. Indeed, his personal magnetism in speeches is so spellbinding, many suspect he intentionally uses NLP phraseology and pacing in his delivery to induce mass hypnosis on his audience. (Then again, since mass manipulation is the purpose of all political propaganda, it's hard to fault Obama on this count just because he's better at it than everyone else.)
NLP hypnosis or not, Obama didn't come up with his war plan blueprint all by his lone gunman self. His two top political advisors, chief strategist David Axelrod and campaign manager David Plouffe, certainly deserve much of the cheers and heckles as well. Axelrod and Plouffe are partners in AKP&D Message and Media, and the campaign they helped craft earned the prize from Advertising Age for 2008 Marketer of the Year, beating out Apple and Zappos.com. As the World Socialist Web Site would sarcastically observe, "Obama replaces last year's winner, the video game system Nintendo. The runner-up in 2007 was the insurance corporation GEICO, which features a talking lizard and a cave-man in its ads for discount insurance."
Still, even the twin David's are chump change in the Democratic Party machine, smooth spin doctor salesman rather than the policy genius. If Obama is the current Grand Theft Auto of politics, the Xbox 360 system running the software is clearly the Democratic Leadership Council, led by founder and CEO Al From, The Konformist Beast of the Month.
The DLC was founded in 1985, after the massacre of Walter Mondale by the Gipper in the '84 election. Its first major battle came in 1988, when it successfully fought against Jesse Jackson from winning the Democratic nomination. Ironically then, its first mission was blocking a smooth-talking Chicago black man from winning the White House.
The DLC's problem with Jesse wasn't that he was African-American, but that he was an economic populist, which the DLC terms as "out of touch" thinking. Instead, they support what they term "centrism" - i.e. right wing economic and foreign policy positions. Economic populism, as far as the DLC is concerned, is engaging in "class warfare" and a decided no-no. Talking populism may not be acceptable, but taking hefty dollars from oil companies, military contractors, korporate monoliths and right-wing foundations is okely dokely. Thanks to the DLC's refusal to battle the GOP talking points, they, as much as George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh and FOX News, have pushed the rightward shift in American politics over the last twenty years.
In 2003, the DLC leadership strongly backed the invasion of Iraq. Indeed, Will Marshall (besides From, the only non-elected official on the DLC founding roster) co-signed a letter written by the neocon Project for the New American Century to George W. Bush in favor of the attack before it was launched. Even as the war became increasingly unpopular, Marshall and the DLC crowd continued to mock what they termed the "looney left" critics of the war. As Marshall would put it, "Democrats need to be choosier about the political company they keep, distancing themselves from the pacifist and anti-American fringe." The DLC went after prez candidate Howard Dean over his antiwar status, who replied that he came "from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." (It's plausible the repeated playing of the "Dean Scream" was orchestrated by DLCers who wanted to destroy his campaign.) There was one guy even more hated than Dean in 2004 among the DLC: Michael Moore, whose Fahrenheit 9/11 heated up the box-office and progressive voters with his Bush-bashing documentary. As Marshall would sneer, "You know, let's let Hollywood and the Cannes Film Festival fawn all over Michael Moore. We ought to make it pretty clear that he sure doesn't speak for us when it comes to standing up for our country." From would add: "We've got to repudiate, you know, the most strident and insulting anti-American voices out there sometimes on our party's left... We can't have our party identified by Michael Moore and Hollywood as our cultural values." Four years later, Moore has been proven to be even more vindicated over what the correct position on Iraq was than Jose Canseco has been on steroids in baseball. Despite this, Marshall continues to head the Progressive Policy Institute, the DLC's think tank (Orwellian in name due to its lack of any progressive values.)
Shilling for war in Iraq isn't the only Shrubian position taken by the DLC. When Bush's illegal warrantless surveillance program was uncovered, senior fellow Marshall Wittmann dismissed opposition to it as from the "fevered imaginations of graying baby boomers and twenty-something bloggers," and added: "The Democratic Party is increasingly under the influence of modern day McGovernites." It should be noted that Wittmann is a "former" Republican, still a social conservative and neocon, and a one-time legislative director for the Christian Coalition. This, of course, is totally acceptable to the DLC, but Michael Moore is not.
The current chairman of the DLC, Blue Dog conservative Democrat Harold Ford, shows the utter cluelessness of the organization. Like Obama, Ford is a charismatic African-American who barely conceals his right-wing agenda under vague generalities. In 2006, he lost the Tennessee Senate contest after his opponent Bob Corker unveiled race-baiting commercials, race-baiting Ford refused to denounce in his attempts to portray himself as a "post-racial" politician. So now, the irony of ironies, one of the few decided Democratic losers in the 2006 election cycle is leading an organization whose purpose is to show the Democratic Party the path to victory.
Thanks to its right-wing posturing, the DLC is viewed as a four-letter word among progressives, and Hillary Clinton's membership (along with her husband Billy's, who is also a former DLC chairman) became a rally just under her Iraq War support for Daily Kos Hill-hatred. In their distaste for Hillary, they found their supposed champion in Obama.
But The Konformist smells a ringer: though he denies any ties to the DLC (just as he's denied ties to Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers) he was featured prominently on the DLC's “100 to Watch” list for 2003. Meanwhile, early last year, From gushed about Obama as the potential Democratic choice, noting: “I mean his chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, is a fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, which is our think tank.” (Goolsbee, for those keeping score, is from the University of Chicago and represents the "centrists" among Milton Friedman acolytes.) The timing of From's comment coincides with the sudden switching of loyalties in the Democratic Party establishment from Hillary to Obama.
Why did the DLC betray Hillary? Perhaps it was about Hillary not being particularly loved by the progressive crowd, meaning that she would be expected to deliver something to satisfy them. Meanwhile, Obama has come with little demands from his followers, as his kult of narcissism has substituted feel-good personality worship over policy and substance. Or perhaps it's about Hill and Bill, for all their "Third Way" and centrist leanings, are still Democrats who believe in the New Deal (having been behind crazy things like trying to provide Americans with universal health coverage) making them unpopular among the DLC crowd in their own right. Whatever the reason, the end result is that the Democratic Party now has as its standard bearer a guy who took less progressive stands on issues than either Hillary or John Edwards during the campaign, this at a time when another Great Depression may be starting and another New Deal the best remedy.
Of course, whatever the DLC may want may be trumped by reality. Sooner or later, if unemployment soars to the double digits and people keep losing their homes to banks, the masses may demand more from Obama than snuggly slogans, at the point of riots. When that happens, Obama can either finally deliver something to the public in a concrete plan or send in the National Guard. At the core of the best of politicians, the fundamental ideology is not wanting to lose, and if there is any true "hope" over Obama, it's that he doesn't want to be labeled a loser. But as shrewd betters in Las Vegas, The Konformist is guessing he's a compromised tool for the DLC establishment who is going to do too little too late, leaving an impotent Democratic Party discredited and holding the bag on Great Depression II. Go ahead, Obama, prove us wrong.
In any case, we salute Al From as Beast of the Month. Congratulations, and keep up the great work, Al!!!
Al From
Democratic Leadership Council Kingpin
"I yam an anti-Christ..."
John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) of The Sex Pistols, "Anarchy in the UK"
"His choice, basically, is whether he's going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations."
Ralph Nader on Barack Obama, on election night
Anyone who is cynical about the whole Obamamania fad (and yes, that would include The Konformist itself) might as well suck it up and accept the truth: like it or not, Barky is the face of "liberalism" and "the left" for at least the next eight years. (And perhaps up to forty, if you believe the persuasive political theories of Webster Tarpley and Samuel Huntington.) So the question needs to be asked: what is the reality behind this face?
Despite all the korporate press propagandizing already proclaiming President Obama a perfect mixture of JFK, MLK, RFK, FDR, Abraham Lincoln and Jesus Christ even before he has taken office (an embarrassing level of delusional fawning by the establishment media not seen since... well, since George W. Bush right after 9/11) he is decidedly a transparent fraud rather than a transcendental leader in The Konformist view. This became more annoyingly obvious as the image heavy, substance non-existent campaign continued to be exposed as a front for the most noxious elements of the Democratic Party. All the repeated chantings of the mantras of "hope" and "change" couldn't hide the repellant machine behind the bizarre mixture of a New Age religious kult and a multi-level marketing scam.
Certainly Obama, a crafty politician and master manipulator, deserves much of the credit and blame for the success of his campaign, starting off with his lofty oratorical style. Indeed, his personal magnetism in speeches is so spellbinding, many suspect he intentionally uses NLP phraseology and pacing in his delivery to induce mass hypnosis on his audience. (Then again, since mass manipulation is the purpose of all political propaganda, it's hard to fault Obama on this count just because he's better at it than everyone else.)
NLP hypnosis or not, Obama didn't come up with his war plan blueprint all by his lone gunman self. His two top political advisors, chief strategist David Axelrod and campaign manager David Plouffe, certainly deserve much of the cheers and heckles as well. Axelrod and Plouffe are partners in AKP&D Message and Media, and the campaign they helped craft earned the prize from Advertising Age for 2008 Marketer of the Year, beating out Apple and Zappos.com. As the World Socialist Web Site would sarcastically observe, "Obama replaces last year's winner, the video game system Nintendo. The runner-up in 2007 was the insurance corporation GEICO, which features a talking lizard and a cave-man in its ads for discount insurance."
Still, even the twin David's are chump change in the Democratic Party machine, smooth spin doctor salesman rather than the policy genius. If Obama is the current Grand Theft Auto of politics, the Xbox 360 system running the software is clearly the Democratic Leadership Council, led by founder and CEO Al From, The Konformist Beast of the Month.
The DLC was founded in 1985, after the massacre of Walter Mondale by the Gipper in the '84 election. Its first major battle came in 1988, when it successfully fought against Jesse Jackson from winning the Democratic nomination. Ironically then, its first mission was blocking a smooth-talking Chicago black man from winning the White House.
The DLC's problem with Jesse wasn't that he was African-American, but that he was an economic populist, which the DLC terms as "out of touch" thinking. Instead, they support what they term "centrism" - i.e. right wing economic and foreign policy positions. Economic populism, as far as the DLC is concerned, is engaging in "class warfare" and a decided no-no. Talking populism may not be acceptable, but taking hefty dollars from oil companies, military contractors, korporate monoliths and right-wing foundations is okely dokely. Thanks to the DLC's refusal to battle the GOP talking points, they, as much as George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh and FOX News, have pushed the rightward shift in American politics over the last twenty years.
In 2003, the DLC leadership strongly backed the invasion of Iraq. Indeed, Will Marshall (besides From, the only non-elected official on the DLC founding roster) co-signed a letter written by the neocon Project for the New American Century to George W. Bush in favor of the attack before it was launched. Even as the war became increasingly unpopular, Marshall and the DLC crowd continued to mock what they termed the "looney left" critics of the war. As Marshall would put it, "Democrats need to be choosier about the political company they keep, distancing themselves from the pacifist and anti-American fringe." The DLC went after prez candidate Howard Dean over his antiwar status, who replied that he came "from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." (It's plausible the repeated playing of the "Dean Scream" was orchestrated by DLCers who wanted to destroy his campaign.) There was one guy even more hated than Dean in 2004 among the DLC: Michael Moore, whose Fahrenheit 9/11 heated up the box-office and progressive voters with his Bush-bashing documentary. As Marshall would sneer, "You know, let's let Hollywood and the Cannes Film Festival fawn all over Michael Moore. We ought to make it pretty clear that he sure doesn't speak for us when it comes to standing up for our country." From would add: "We've got to repudiate, you know, the most strident and insulting anti-American voices out there sometimes on our party's left... We can't have our party identified by Michael Moore and Hollywood as our cultural values." Four years later, Moore has been proven to be even more vindicated over what the correct position on Iraq was than Jose Canseco has been on steroids in baseball. Despite this, Marshall continues to head the Progressive Policy Institute, the DLC's think tank (Orwellian in name due to its lack of any progressive values.)
Shilling for war in Iraq isn't the only Shrubian position taken by the DLC. When Bush's illegal warrantless surveillance program was uncovered, senior fellow Marshall Wittmann dismissed opposition to it as from the "fevered imaginations of graying baby boomers and twenty-something bloggers," and added: "The Democratic Party is increasingly under the influence of modern day McGovernites." It should be noted that Wittmann is a "former" Republican, still a social conservative and neocon, and a one-time legislative director for the Christian Coalition. This, of course, is totally acceptable to the DLC, but Michael Moore is not.
The current chairman of the DLC, Blue Dog conservative Democrat Harold Ford, shows the utter cluelessness of the organization. Like Obama, Ford is a charismatic African-American who barely conceals his right-wing agenda under vague generalities. In 2006, he lost the Tennessee Senate contest after his opponent Bob Corker unveiled race-baiting commercials, race-baiting Ford refused to denounce in his attempts to portray himself as a "post-racial" politician. So now, the irony of ironies, one of the few decided Democratic losers in the 2006 election cycle is leading an organization whose purpose is to show the Democratic Party the path to victory.
Thanks to its right-wing posturing, the DLC is viewed as a four-letter word among progressives, and Hillary Clinton's membership (along with her husband Billy's, who is also a former DLC chairman) became a rally just under her Iraq War support for Daily Kos Hill-hatred. In their distaste for Hillary, they found their supposed champion in Obama.
But The Konformist smells a ringer: though he denies any ties to the DLC (just as he's denied ties to Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers) he was featured prominently on the DLC's “100 to Watch” list for 2003. Meanwhile, early last year, From gushed about Obama as the potential Democratic choice, noting: “I mean his chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, is a fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, which is our think tank.” (Goolsbee, for those keeping score, is from the University of Chicago and represents the "centrists" among Milton Friedman acolytes.) The timing of From's comment coincides with the sudden switching of loyalties in the Democratic Party establishment from Hillary to Obama.
Why did the DLC betray Hillary? Perhaps it was about Hillary not being particularly loved by the progressive crowd, meaning that she would be expected to deliver something to satisfy them. Meanwhile, Obama has come with little demands from his followers, as his kult of narcissism has substituted feel-good personality worship over policy and substance. Or perhaps it's about Hill and Bill, for all their "Third Way" and centrist leanings, are still Democrats who believe in the New Deal (having been behind crazy things like trying to provide Americans with universal health coverage) making them unpopular among the DLC crowd in their own right. Whatever the reason, the end result is that the Democratic Party now has as its standard bearer a guy who took less progressive stands on issues than either Hillary or John Edwards during the campaign, this at a time when another Great Depression may be starting and another New Deal the best remedy.
Of course, whatever the DLC may want may be trumped by reality. Sooner or later, if unemployment soars to the double digits and people keep losing their homes to banks, the masses may demand more from Obama than snuggly slogans, at the point of riots. When that happens, Obama can either finally deliver something to the public in a concrete plan or send in the National Guard. At the core of the best of politicians, the fundamental ideology is not wanting to lose, and if there is any true "hope" over Obama, it's that he doesn't want to be labeled a loser. But as shrewd betters in Las Vegas, The Konformist is guessing he's a compromised tool for the DLC establishment who is going to do too little too late, leaving an impotent Democratic Party discredited and holding the bag on Great Depression II. Go ahead, Obama, prove us wrong.
In any case, we salute Al From as Beast of the Month. Congratulations, and keep up the great work, Al!!!
Saab Distances Itself From G.M.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/business/worldbusiness/21saab.html
Saab Distances Itself From G.M.
By CARTER DOUGHERTY and MICHELINE MAYNARD
February 20, 2009
Saab, the Swedish automaker owned by General Motors, filed for bankruptcy protection Friday and asked the Swedish government for help in making it an independent car company again.
But it was unclear whether the government would step in to help Saab, in which G.M. bought a half interest two decades ago and assumed full ownership in the 1990s.
Separately, G.M. said that its German subsidiary, Opel, would need more than the 1.8 billion euros or $2.3 billion in loan guarantees that it had previously discussed with the German government. A reorganization plan for Opel — G.M.’s second-largest brand after Chevrolet — is expected by the end of next week.
G.M. said earlier this week that it wanted to cut Saab loose by 2010, as it tries to restructure. G.M. said in a report to the Treasury Department that it planned to end financial support for Saab by next year.
Saab went to a Swedish court for protection from its creditors, and said the company would — with assistance from the Swedish government — reorganize to pave the way for private investors to buy all or part of the company.
“We explored and will continue to explore all available options for funding and/or selling Saab, and it was determined a formal reorganization would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment,” the managing director of Saab, Jan-Ake Jonsson, said in a statement.
Saab said it would need financing during its three-month restructuring “from both public and private sources” but that the company “would continue to operate as usual.”
But it was unclear exactly what Saab was requesting. Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, a spokeswoman for the Swedish industry ministry, said Saab would be eligible to receive help through loan guarantees that all Swedish carmakers can access as part of a support package the government approved in December.
“This could be interpreted as the government supporting Saab in the reorganization phase,” said. She added that guarantees for working capital were not on the table.
That is precisely what is at issue in the case of Opel.
Marco Molinari, director for finances at Opel, said in a statement Friday that a change in market conditions meant that the company needed more than the 1.8 billion euros in loan guarantees from the Germany government it had previously requested.
“To put an absolute number out there without having first clarified the contributions of other participants, including shareholders and employees, is not serious,” Mr. Molinari said.
The bailout for Opel is politically contentious in Germany, with politicians calling for strict conditions on the package. Some have even called for Opel to be taken out of American hands, but it is tightly integrated into the G.M. supply and technology chain.
Despite praise for the performance of its cars, Saab has been dogged by losses since 2001. The company lost about 3 billion Swedish kronor, or $343 million, in 2008 and said it would lose a similar amount this year.
Swedish officials have repeatedly resisted efforts to nationalize Saab, which came to life as part of the Svenska Aeroplan, a company founded in 1937 to build military planes. The first Saab cars were built after World War II. A separate company, also called Saab, still makes aircraft.
G.M. bought Saab in the wake of Ford Motor’s purchase of the British luxury car maker Jaguar. Saab, long known for quirky-looking cars with ignition in the floor and a griffin insignia, became a more conventional brand under G.M. It borrowed the underpinnings from some of Opel’s cars for its lineup, which includes sedans, wagons and a sport utility vehicle.
Given its Swedish roots, and ability to maneuver in snow, Saabs have traditionally been popular in the northeastern United States. But Saab is G.M.’s worst-selling brand in the United States, selling 21,383 vehicles in 2008, down 34.7 percent from 2007. Its best selling vehicle is the 9-3, of which G.M. sold just over 10,000 cars last year.
Saab Distances Itself From G.M.
By CARTER DOUGHERTY and MICHELINE MAYNARD
February 20, 2009
Saab, the Swedish automaker owned by General Motors, filed for bankruptcy protection Friday and asked the Swedish government for help in making it an independent car company again.
But it was unclear whether the government would step in to help Saab, in which G.M. bought a half interest two decades ago and assumed full ownership in the 1990s.
Separately, G.M. said that its German subsidiary, Opel, would need more than the 1.8 billion euros or $2.3 billion in loan guarantees that it had previously discussed with the German government. A reorganization plan for Opel — G.M.’s second-largest brand after Chevrolet — is expected by the end of next week.
G.M. said earlier this week that it wanted to cut Saab loose by 2010, as it tries to restructure. G.M. said in a report to the Treasury Department that it planned to end financial support for Saab by next year.
Saab went to a Swedish court for protection from its creditors, and said the company would — with assistance from the Swedish government — reorganize to pave the way for private investors to buy all or part of the company.
“We explored and will continue to explore all available options for funding and/or selling Saab, and it was determined a formal reorganization would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment,” the managing director of Saab, Jan-Ake Jonsson, said in a statement.
Saab said it would need financing during its three-month restructuring “from both public and private sources” but that the company “would continue to operate as usual.”
But it was unclear exactly what Saab was requesting. Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, a spokeswoman for the Swedish industry ministry, said Saab would be eligible to receive help through loan guarantees that all Swedish carmakers can access as part of a support package the government approved in December.
“This could be interpreted as the government supporting Saab in the reorganization phase,” said. She added that guarantees for working capital were not on the table.
That is precisely what is at issue in the case of Opel.
Marco Molinari, director for finances at Opel, said in a statement Friday that a change in market conditions meant that the company needed more than the 1.8 billion euros in loan guarantees from the Germany government it had previously requested.
“To put an absolute number out there without having first clarified the contributions of other participants, including shareholders and employees, is not serious,” Mr. Molinari said.
The bailout for Opel is politically contentious in Germany, with politicians calling for strict conditions on the package. Some have even called for Opel to be taken out of American hands, but it is tightly integrated into the G.M. supply and technology chain.
Despite praise for the performance of its cars, Saab has been dogged by losses since 2001. The company lost about 3 billion Swedish kronor, or $343 million, in 2008 and said it would lose a similar amount this year.
Swedish officials have repeatedly resisted efforts to nationalize Saab, which came to life as part of the Svenska Aeroplan, a company founded in 1937 to build military planes. The first Saab cars were built after World War II. A separate company, also called Saab, still makes aircraft.
G.M. bought Saab in the wake of Ford Motor’s purchase of the British luxury car maker Jaguar. Saab, long known for quirky-looking cars with ignition in the floor and a griffin insignia, became a more conventional brand under G.M. It borrowed the underpinnings from some of Opel’s cars for its lineup, which includes sedans, wagons and a sport utility vehicle.
Given its Swedish roots, and ability to maneuver in snow, Saabs have traditionally been popular in the northeastern United States. But Saab is G.M.’s worst-selling brand in the United States, selling 21,383 vehicles in 2008, down 34.7 percent from 2007. Its best selling vehicle is the 9-3, of which G.M. sold just over 10,000 cars last year.
Its Muscle Car Glory Faded, Pontiac Shrivels Up
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/business/20pontiac.html
Its Muscle Car Glory Faded, Pontiac Shrivels Up
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
February 19, 2009
DETROIT — With its history of building muscle cars like the GTO and the low-slung Firebird, Pontiac had good reason to take pride in its best-known marketing slogan from the 1980s, “We Build Excitement.”
Lately it has been using “Pontiac is CAR,” a phrase more likely to catch the attention of grammarians than car buffs.
And on Tuesday, when General Motors asked the federal government for more bailout money, it also announced a reorganization plan that included demoting Pontiac to a “focused niche brand,” signaling that its lineup of vehicles would shrink and that it would no longer be a separate division.
To industry analysts and Pontiac’s longtime fans, the downgrade provides a case study of the product missteps that helped put G.M. in its precarious state, and a reminder of the dangers in straying from a successful formula.
“When you deviate too far from it, that’s when you run into trouble as a brand and a company,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book, whose 1968 Firebird made him feel “as cool as I could be.”
More than any other G.M. brand, Pontiac stood for performance, speed and sex appeal. Its crosstown rivals followed with similar muscle cars, giving Detroit bragging rights over the cars that Japanese automakers were selling based on quality and reliability.
Though still G.M.’s third-best-selling division, behind Chevrolet and GMC, Pontiac’s sales peaked in 1984, when it sold almost 850,000 vehicles, roughly four times as many as it sold last year.
G.M.’s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, said the company’s decision to concentrate primarily on Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC left the company with a “comprehensive portfolio.”
By many accounts, Pontiac started to falter when G.M. pursued a cost-saving strategy of providing the same cars to different divisions.
It gave Pontiac vehicles like the TransSport minivan, and the Sunbird, Sunfire and Phoenix cars that were barely distinguishable from models sold by Chevrolet and Oldsmobile.
Pontiac also garnered unwanted publicity in 2001 with the Aztek, whose tag line declared, “Quite possibly the most versatile vehicle on the planet.” Its bulky looks landed it on lists of the world’s ugliest cars. Indeed, Aztek won top honors in that category from The Daily Telegraph of London last year.
Pontiac’s current plight is reflected in its Vibe, a well-regarded crossover vehicle that shares underpinnings with the Toyota Matrix, as part of a joint venture between Toyota and G.M.
While the Matrix holds 67 percent of its resale value after three years, according to Kelley Blue Book, the Vibe retains just 54 percent.
The Vibe, whose future is not clear but which was redesigned for 2009, is meant to appeal to the same age group that Pontiac’s muscle cars once did.
But many younger Americans, who were not around for Pontiac’s prime period, will not miss the brand as it shrinks, said Ron Pinelli, who is president of Motorintelligence.com, a company that tracks industry statistics.
To them, he said, “it doesn’t have any cachet unless they’re watching a late-night movie with Burt Reynolds,” whose film “Smokey and the Bandit” featured the Pontiac Trans Am.
But in its best years, Pontiacs were “highly styled and valued and really something,” Mr. Pinelli said.
Known before World War II primarily for its sedate sedans, Pontiac got a lift in the 1950s when G.M. used its cars on the racing circuit. Because of its “wide track” stance, Pontiacs quickly caught on with street racers, as well.
Tim Sampson, whose family owned a yellow Pontiac Grand Prix in the 1960s, remembered the Pontiacs that were used for drag races on President’s Island, in an industrial part of Memphis. “People used to get arrested,” said Mr. Sampson, a founder of the Stax Museum of American Soul.
Italian sports cars inspired another classic Pontiac in the 1960s, when the division’s new general manager, John Z. DeLorean, decided it needed a small, fast car modeled after a Ferrari. He hit on the name GTO — after a Ferrari coupe called the Gran Turismo Omologato.
The GTO returned this decade, as part of an effort to revive Pontiac. But G.M.’s Holden division in Australia built that car.
Its appearance barely echoed the original GTO, disappointing its core audience. It lasted only from 2004 to 2006, before G.M. stopped selling them.
The most recent efforts to breathe new life into Pontiac were put into motion by G.M.’s vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz, who will retire at the end of 2009. Known in the industry for his love of high-performance vehicles, Mr. Lutz had pushed the division to return to its car heritage.
On its Web site, Pontiac explains its new slogan more fully: “Pontiac is style. Pontiac is performance. Pontiac is culture. Pontiac is music. Pontiac is CAR.”
Now, G.M. will have to determine which Pontiacs will remain Pontiacs. So far, Mr. Wagoner and other executives have not given any indication of the company’s specific plans for Pontiac.
But unlike Saturn, which will be discontinued by 2012, G.M. does not have to dismantle a dealership lineup for Pontiac. Its franchises, for the most part, already have been grouped with Buick and GMC. Any future models, G.M. said this week, will be sold through this Buick-Pontiac-GMC organization.
“We’re the third generation, and we’re the last,” said Rick Zimmerman, whose family has sold Pontiacs in Pittsfield, Ill., since the brand came to life as part of its Oakland division in the 1920s. (Pontiac became a stand-alone division in 1932.)
Mr. Zimmerman, whose first car was a GTO, said hundreds of customers used to flood his showroom each fall when new Pontiacs — like the popular Bonneville, now a retired nameplate — were unveiled.
Now, despite positive reviews about the performance of some new models like the G8, he has trouble getting his customers interested in them.
“It’s been a good name, and had a lot of good cars,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “It’s tough to see it go.”
Nick Bunkley contributed reporting.
A version of this article appeared in print on February 20, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition.
Its Muscle Car Glory Faded, Pontiac Shrivels Up
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
February 19, 2009
DETROIT — With its history of building muscle cars like the GTO and the low-slung Firebird, Pontiac had good reason to take pride in its best-known marketing slogan from the 1980s, “We Build Excitement.”
Lately it has been using “Pontiac is CAR,” a phrase more likely to catch the attention of grammarians than car buffs.
And on Tuesday, when General Motors asked the federal government for more bailout money, it also announced a reorganization plan that included demoting Pontiac to a “focused niche brand,” signaling that its lineup of vehicles would shrink and that it would no longer be a separate division.
To industry analysts and Pontiac’s longtime fans, the downgrade provides a case study of the product missteps that helped put G.M. in its precarious state, and a reminder of the dangers in straying from a successful formula.
“When you deviate too far from it, that’s when you run into trouble as a brand and a company,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book, whose 1968 Firebird made him feel “as cool as I could be.”
More than any other G.M. brand, Pontiac stood for performance, speed and sex appeal. Its crosstown rivals followed with similar muscle cars, giving Detroit bragging rights over the cars that Japanese automakers were selling based on quality and reliability.
Though still G.M.’s third-best-selling division, behind Chevrolet and GMC, Pontiac’s sales peaked in 1984, when it sold almost 850,000 vehicles, roughly four times as many as it sold last year.
G.M.’s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, said the company’s decision to concentrate primarily on Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC left the company with a “comprehensive portfolio.”
By many accounts, Pontiac started to falter when G.M. pursued a cost-saving strategy of providing the same cars to different divisions.
It gave Pontiac vehicles like the TransSport minivan, and the Sunbird, Sunfire and Phoenix cars that were barely distinguishable from models sold by Chevrolet and Oldsmobile.
Pontiac also garnered unwanted publicity in 2001 with the Aztek, whose tag line declared, “Quite possibly the most versatile vehicle on the planet.” Its bulky looks landed it on lists of the world’s ugliest cars. Indeed, Aztek won top honors in that category from The Daily Telegraph of London last year.
Pontiac’s current plight is reflected in its Vibe, a well-regarded crossover vehicle that shares underpinnings with the Toyota Matrix, as part of a joint venture between Toyota and G.M.
While the Matrix holds 67 percent of its resale value after three years, according to Kelley Blue Book, the Vibe retains just 54 percent.
The Vibe, whose future is not clear but which was redesigned for 2009, is meant to appeal to the same age group that Pontiac’s muscle cars once did.
But many younger Americans, who were not around for Pontiac’s prime period, will not miss the brand as it shrinks, said Ron Pinelli, who is president of Motorintelligence.com, a company that tracks industry statistics.
To them, he said, “it doesn’t have any cachet unless they’re watching a late-night movie with Burt Reynolds,” whose film “Smokey and the Bandit” featured the Pontiac Trans Am.
But in its best years, Pontiacs were “highly styled and valued and really something,” Mr. Pinelli said.
Known before World War II primarily for its sedate sedans, Pontiac got a lift in the 1950s when G.M. used its cars on the racing circuit. Because of its “wide track” stance, Pontiacs quickly caught on with street racers, as well.
Tim Sampson, whose family owned a yellow Pontiac Grand Prix in the 1960s, remembered the Pontiacs that were used for drag races on President’s Island, in an industrial part of Memphis. “People used to get arrested,” said Mr. Sampson, a founder of the Stax Museum of American Soul.
Italian sports cars inspired another classic Pontiac in the 1960s, when the division’s new general manager, John Z. DeLorean, decided it needed a small, fast car modeled after a Ferrari. He hit on the name GTO — after a Ferrari coupe called the Gran Turismo Omologato.
The GTO returned this decade, as part of an effort to revive Pontiac. But G.M.’s Holden division in Australia built that car.
Its appearance barely echoed the original GTO, disappointing its core audience. It lasted only from 2004 to 2006, before G.M. stopped selling them.
The most recent efforts to breathe new life into Pontiac were put into motion by G.M.’s vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz, who will retire at the end of 2009. Known in the industry for his love of high-performance vehicles, Mr. Lutz had pushed the division to return to its car heritage.
On its Web site, Pontiac explains its new slogan more fully: “Pontiac is style. Pontiac is performance. Pontiac is culture. Pontiac is music. Pontiac is CAR.”
Now, G.M. will have to determine which Pontiacs will remain Pontiacs. So far, Mr. Wagoner and other executives have not given any indication of the company’s specific plans for Pontiac.
But unlike Saturn, which will be discontinued by 2012, G.M. does not have to dismantle a dealership lineup for Pontiac. Its franchises, for the most part, already have been grouped with Buick and GMC. Any future models, G.M. said this week, will be sold through this Buick-Pontiac-GMC organization.
“We’re the third generation, and we’re the last,” said Rick Zimmerman, whose family has sold Pontiacs in Pittsfield, Ill., since the brand came to life as part of its Oakland division in the 1920s. (Pontiac became a stand-alone division in 1932.)
Mr. Zimmerman, whose first car was a GTO, said hundreds of customers used to flood his showroom each fall when new Pontiacs — like the popular Bonneville, now a retired nameplate — were unveiled.
Now, despite positive reviews about the performance of some new models like the G8, he has trouble getting his customers interested in them.
“It’s been a good name, and had a lot of good cars,” Mr. Zimmerman said. “It’s tough to see it go.”
Nick Bunkley contributed reporting.
A version of this article appeared in print on February 20, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition.
Implosion of GM's Saturn leaves fans marooned
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090219/FREE/902199995/1533
Implosion of GM's Saturn leaves fans marooned
By BOB GRITZINGER
I'm not sure how I came to own five--that's right, five--Saturns during the General Motors' division's 19-year life, but it's true. My wife and I were early adopters back in the early '90s when those first plastic-bodied, import-fighting sedans and coupes arrived on the market. Having both grown up in GM families, we naturally gravitated toward this new darling in the GM fold, whose very existence seemed to mirror our need for a quality Honda or Toyota-like family sedan that would qualify for the GM employee discount program.
Ours was a bluish-green SL2 with a tan interior, with the strong-spinning twin-cam four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission. It was our first family car, and we truly loved it.
So did many others, because as we drove it around our nation's highways, especially in that first year or so, people often would approach us in gas stations and restaurant parking lots, all wondering what we thought of this new idea of a car from GM.
The car also was significant for the story it produced. To wit: When we were first "kicking the tires" at the Saturn dealership, I popped open the hood, not so much to check out the valve covers or the plumbing, but to get a bead on the engine's potential for cooking. I'd been doing a lot of engine cooking (following the instructions laid out in Manifold Destiny, written by a pair of One Lappers) and I wanted to see what kind of oven space the car offered.
Apparently, word of my engine study caught someone's attention at Saturn, because not long after taking delivery we got a call from Hal Riney & Associates, Saturn's off-beat advertising agency from San Francisco. The agency twice sent representatives to Michigan to meet us and our car, and to check out the concept of a Saturn owner "who needed a family car that could really cook." I think the idea eventually died when the GM lawyers got involved and advised that it wouldn't be prudent to advertise the idea of putting foreign substances--even if they were bratwurst--on a Saturn engine. Imagine the fires, the horrors, the lawsuits. In retrospect, I should have recognized that reaction as one of the first signs that GM was pulling its wayward planetary body back into the mother ship--and not for any good reasons.
So we went on our way, eventually trading in the SL2 (it drew a surprisingly strong price) on what every Saturn owner seem to need right about then: A minivan. Of course, because of GM's binge-and-starve product strategy for Saturn, the little car company that could had no minivans or SUVs or pickups or sports cars to sell when the market began to shift to those popular segments.
Being from the aforementioned GM family, with a solid GM employee discount to work with long before rebates galore and "employee pricing for all" made the discount nearly meaningless, we bought back-to-back GM minivans, each successively worse, until we couldn't take it anymore and went back to Saturn for the closest thing we could get to a family minivan while still buying a GM product: a Saturn station wagon.
Being back in the Saturn fold was nice, but it was clear that the company's product and styling were getting long in the tooth at that point. We couldn't have been happier when the Saturn lineup expanded for the first time in a decade to include the L-series sedan and wagon. We jumped on an LW wagon as soon as it appeared in the showroom.
When the crossover craze hit, Saturn once was again left bereft of a competitive product, so we ended up in some underwhelming alternatives from other GM divisions until the Saturn Aura arrived, claiming the title of North American Car of the Year. My wife is driving an Aura now, and we recently added an Astra five-door hatchback to the stable, which we plan to keep when the Aura lease expires in the not-too-distant future. We like the little Astra--with its five-speed manual and little four-cylinder engine, I think it reminds us a little of our first Saturn.
So there you have it--five Saturns in two decades, and clearly we could've owned more if GM had only listened to its customers and provided the product-starved division with a few more options in a few more segments.
Sadly, like many Saturn owners who came to love the cars and the dealerships that supported them, we've lived through 20 years of the Saturn whipsaw only to be cast adrift, I suppose to seek out another "different kind of car company."
Wonder what that will be?
Implosion of GM's Saturn leaves fans marooned
By BOB GRITZINGER
I'm not sure how I came to own five--that's right, five--Saturns during the General Motors' division's 19-year life, but it's true. My wife and I were early adopters back in the early '90s when those first plastic-bodied, import-fighting sedans and coupes arrived on the market. Having both grown up in GM families, we naturally gravitated toward this new darling in the GM fold, whose very existence seemed to mirror our need for a quality Honda or Toyota-like family sedan that would qualify for the GM employee discount program.
Ours was a bluish-green SL2 with a tan interior, with the strong-spinning twin-cam four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission. It was our first family car, and we truly loved it.
So did many others, because as we drove it around our nation's highways, especially in that first year or so, people often would approach us in gas stations and restaurant parking lots, all wondering what we thought of this new idea of a car from GM.
The car also was significant for the story it produced. To wit: When we were first "kicking the tires" at the Saturn dealership, I popped open the hood, not so much to check out the valve covers or the plumbing, but to get a bead on the engine's potential for cooking. I'd been doing a lot of engine cooking (following the instructions laid out in Manifold Destiny, written by a pair of One Lappers) and I wanted to see what kind of oven space the car offered.
Apparently, word of my engine study caught someone's attention at Saturn, because not long after taking delivery we got a call from Hal Riney & Associates, Saturn's off-beat advertising agency from San Francisco. The agency twice sent representatives to Michigan to meet us and our car, and to check out the concept of a Saturn owner "who needed a family car that could really cook." I think the idea eventually died when the GM lawyers got involved and advised that it wouldn't be prudent to advertise the idea of putting foreign substances--even if they were bratwurst--on a Saturn engine. Imagine the fires, the horrors, the lawsuits. In retrospect, I should have recognized that reaction as one of the first signs that GM was pulling its wayward planetary body back into the mother ship--and not for any good reasons.
So we went on our way, eventually trading in the SL2 (it drew a surprisingly strong price) on what every Saturn owner seem to need right about then: A minivan. Of course, because of GM's binge-and-starve product strategy for Saturn, the little car company that could had no minivans or SUVs or pickups or sports cars to sell when the market began to shift to those popular segments.
Being from the aforementioned GM family, with a solid GM employee discount to work with long before rebates galore and "employee pricing for all" made the discount nearly meaningless, we bought back-to-back GM minivans, each successively worse, until we couldn't take it anymore and went back to Saturn for the closest thing we could get to a family minivan while still buying a GM product: a Saturn station wagon.
Being back in the Saturn fold was nice, but it was clear that the company's product and styling were getting long in the tooth at that point. We couldn't have been happier when the Saturn lineup expanded for the first time in a decade to include the L-series sedan and wagon. We jumped on an LW wagon as soon as it appeared in the showroom.
When the crossover craze hit, Saturn once was again left bereft of a competitive product, so we ended up in some underwhelming alternatives from other GM divisions until the Saturn Aura arrived, claiming the title of North American Car of the Year. My wife is driving an Aura now, and we recently added an Astra five-door hatchback to the stable, which we plan to keep when the Aura lease expires in the not-too-distant future. We like the little Astra--with its five-speed manual and little four-cylinder engine, I think it reminds us a little of our first Saturn.
So there you have it--five Saturns in two decades, and clearly we could've owned more if GM had only listened to its customers and provided the product-starved division with a few more options in a few more segments.
Sadly, like many Saturn owners who came to love the cars and the dealerships that supported them, we've lived through 20 years of the Saturn whipsaw only to be cast adrift, I suppose to seek out another "different kind of car company."
Wonder what that will be?
Saturn seeks another carmaker
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D96FIDV80.htm
February 20, 2009
Saturn seeks another carmaker as GM casts it aside
By TOM KRISHER
The last hope to stop General Motors Corp.'s wounded Saturn brand from falling out of the solar system appears to rest with some unknown automaker building cars for the dealers to sell.
GM said in its restructuring plan presented to the U.S. government Tuesday that it will only keep Saturn running through 2011, but it's open to the possibility of spinning off the money-losing brand to retailers or investors. It's one of many tough steps the Detroit automaker says are necessary as it seeks a total of $30 billion to ride out the worst sales slump in 26 years.
Chinese and Indian automakers, which have made noise about entering the U.S. market, would be the most likely suppliers, but GM says it hasn't had any discussions with them, and Indian automakers either expressed no interest or wouldn't comment.
Saturn's dealers, with laid-back salesmen and no-haggle pricing, often match luxury brands' scores in independent customer satisfaction surveys. Their locations could be a ready retail network for a foreign automaker to come to the U.S.
"The goal -- from a product perspective -- would be to find future vehicles that match the Saturn Brand: fuel-efficient, safe, reliable and affordable," Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak wrote in a message to customers this week. "From a retailing perspective, we would build on our core strength of unmatched customer service. The same hassle-free experience that is a hallmark of the brand could be taken to even higher levels."
Carl F. Galeana, who owns two Saturn dealerships in Michigan, said he would welcome a buyer from China or India, as it would keep the company going and bring innovation to the product line.
"It's very possible," he said. "It gives a footprint for an automaker to come into this country on the cheap and have a good distribution network."
But other dealers are angry at GM for what they say is a lack of support for Saturn.
When GM executives cast doubt on the brand in December by announced publicly that it was under review, Mike Edwards, principal investor in seven Texas Saturn dealerships, said showroom traffic dropped and he decided to close three of his locations.
Edwards said GM's announcement raised doubts from lenders and customers about whether Saturn would even exist, yet the brand had nothing to do with GM getting government aid.
"It wasn't very well thought out," Edwards, who locked up Saturn dealerships in Amarillo, Midland-Odessa and Abilene. "Showroom traffic dropped considerably."
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Tata Motors have had the greatest appetite for foreign acquisitions among India's automakers and would be the most likely buyers, said Vaishali Jajoo, an auto analyst at Mumbai's Angel Broking. But Tata has cash flow problems and Mahindra might not be a good fit, she said.
Tata Motors spokesman Debasis Ray said the company wouldn't be interested in the Saturn brand or its distribution network.
"We are happy as we are," he said.
Mahindra declined to comment.
Calls were not returned by BYD, a Shenzhen, China, company that has touted goals to bring its electric and hybrid cars to the U.S.
GM started Saturn in 1990 as a small-car answer to Japanese automakers and billed it as a "different kind of car company." Its new factory in Spring Hill, Tenn., had more flexible work rules than traditional GM plants and more autonomy for those who built the cars, known for their plastic body panels.
Despite a cult-like following that drew thousands to annual reunions in Spring Hill, the brand never made money for GM.
As GM focused more on high-profit pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, Saturn began to languish in the late 1990s. But in 2006, it started getting the best of GM's new models, and executives viewed it as a precursor for GM's restructuring effort.
After a good year in 2007, sales dropped 22 percent last year as the U.S. market withered.
Edwards blamed the sales drop on a lack of marketing support. Analysts often criticize GM for having so many brands that it can't advertise them adequately.
"There's nothing wrong with this product lineup," he said. "But it has to be supported by the manufacturer. They were pretty plain that they weren't going to support that."
GM also has said it is reviewing the fate of its Saab and Hummer brands. Swedish-based Saab went into court protection from creditors Friday so the unit can be spun off or sold by its struggling U.S. parent.
------
AP Auto Writer Kimberly S. Johnson in Detroit and Business Writer Erika Kinetz in Mumbai contributed to this report.
February 20, 2009
Saturn seeks another carmaker as GM casts it aside
By TOM KRISHER
The last hope to stop General Motors Corp.'s wounded Saturn brand from falling out of the solar system appears to rest with some unknown automaker building cars for the dealers to sell.
GM said in its restructuring plan presented to the U.S. government Tuesday that it will only keep Saturn running through 2011, but it's open to the possibility of spinning off the money-losing brand to retailers or investors. It's one of many tough steps the Detroit automaker says are necessary as it seeks a total of $30 billion to ride out the worst sales slump in 26 years.
Chinese and Indian automakers, which have made noise about entering the U.S. market, would be the most likely suppliers, but GM says it hasn't had any discussions with them, and Indian automakers either expressed no interest or wouldn't comment.
Saturn's dealers, with laid-back salesmen and no-haggle pricing, often match luxury brands' scores in independent customer satisfaction surveys. Their locations could be a ready retail network for a foreign automaker to come to the U.S.
"The goal -- from a product perspective -- would be to find future vehicles that match the Saturn Brand: fuel-efficient, safe, reliable and affordable," Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak wrote in a message to customers this week. "From a retailing perspective, we would build on our core strength of unmatched customer service. The same hassle-free experience that is a hallmark of the brand could be taken to even higher levels."
Carl F. Galeana, who owns two Saturn dealerships in Michigan, said he would welcome a buyer from China or India, as it would keep the company going and bring innovation to the product line.
"It's very possible," he said. "It gives a footprint for an automaker to come into this country on the cheap and have a good distribution network."
But other dealers are angry at GM for what they say is a lack of support for Saturn.
When GM executives cast doubt on the brand in December by announced publicly that it was under review, Mike Edwards, principal investor in seven Texas Saturn dealerships, said showroom traffic dropped and he decided to close three of his locations.
Edwards said GM's announcement raised doubts from lenders and customers about whether Saturn would even exist, yet the brand had nothing to do with GM getting government aid.
"It wasn't very well thought out," Edwards, who locked up Saturn dealerships in Amarillo, Midland-Odessa and Abilene. "Showroom traffic dropped considerably."
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Tata Motors have had the greatest appetite for foreign acquisitions among India's automakers and would be the most likely buyers, said Vaishali Jajoo, an auto analyst at Mumbai's Angel Broking. But Tata has cash flow problems and Mahindra might not be a good fit, she said.
Tata Motors spokesman Debasis Ray said the company wouldn't be interested in the Saturn brand or its distribution network.
"We are happy as we are," he said.
Mahindra declined to comment.
Calls were not returned by BYD, a Shenzhen, China, company that has touted goals to bring its electric and hybrid cars to the U.S.
GM started Saturn in 1990 as a small-car answer to Japanese automakers and billed it as a "different kind of car company." Its new factory in Spring Hill, Tenn., had more flexible work rules than traditional GM plants and more autonomy for those who built the cars, known for their plastic body panels.
Despite a cult-like following that drew thousands to annual reunions in Spring Hill, the brand never made money for GM.
As GM focused more on high-profit pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, Saturn began to languish in the late 1990s. But in 2006, it started getting the best of GM's new models, and executives viewed it as a precursor for GM's restructuring effort.
After a good year in 2007, sales dropped 22 percent last year as the U.S. market withered.
Edwards blamed the sales drop on a lack of marketing support. Analysts often criticize GM for having so many brands that it can't advertise them adequately.
"There's nothing wrong with this product lineup," he said. "But it has to be supported by the manufacturer. They were pretty plain that they weren't going to support that."
GM also has said it is reviewing the fate of its Saab and Hummer brands. Swedish-based Saab went into court protection from creditors Friday so the unit can be spun off or sold by its struggling U.S. parent.
------
AP Auto Writer Kimberly S. Johnson in Detroit and Business Writer Erika Kinetz in Mumbai contributed to this report.
GM Plans to Eliminate Saab, Saturn, Hummer
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/daily-news/090218-GM-Plans-to-Eliminate-Saab-Saturn-Hummer-and-Shrink-Pontiac/
GM Plans to Eliminate Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Shrink Pontiac
Feb. 18, 2009
Faced with an urgent need to restructure in order to survive, America's largest automaker plans to eliminate three of its brands quickly and shrink a fourth to become a niche brand that will make only a handful of low-volume models.
In a restructuring plan submitted to the federal government yesterday, the automaker announced that it "has committed to focus its resources primarily on its core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Of the remaining brands, Pontiac -- which is part of the Buick-Pontiac-GMC retail channel -- will be a highly focused niche brand."
Hummer and Saab, both of which are typically sold through stand-alone dealerships, "are subject to ‘strategic reviews', including their potential sale."
The company plans to make a final decision on whether to sell or eliminate Hummer by the end of March. The Financial Times notes, "GM said that it was still talking to some potential buyers but that, if these negotiations come to naught, the brand will be phased out. Hummer's US sales have plummeted in recent years, but GM has found sizeable markets abroad, including in the Middle East and Russia."
GM is reportedly in negotiations with the Swedish government about the future of Saab. CNN Money reports that GM "said Tuesday its Saab subsidiary could be forced to file for reorganization as early as this month if the U.S. auto maker and the Swedish government can't come to terms on financial support for the unit. GM, as part of a revamped restructuring plan presented to the federal government to qualify for billions of dollars in government aid, said that it has proposed to effectively cap its financial support for Saab, with the Swedish brand becoming an independent entity by the start of 2010."
In both cases, GM hopes to find a buyer for the brands or spin them off into separate companies because closing the brands outright could be much more expensive. Franchise agreements would require GM to buy out Saab and Hummer dealers individually would could cost the company billions. The New York Times notes, "G.M. found out last decade just how expensive it could be to unwind a brand. It spent more than $1 billion to buy out dealers at Oldsmobile, which built its last cars in 2004."
The Saturn brand, meanwhile, will be gradually phased out of existence because that brand's dealerships "have different, easier to cut franchise agreements than other GM brands," according to Motor Trend. GM plans to continue selling the models currently on Saturn dealership lots, but will build no new Saturn models. =
The restructuring plan says that Saturn "will remain in operation through the end of the planned lifecycle for all Saturn products (2010-2011). In the interim, should Saturn retailers as a group or other investors present a plan that would allow a spin off or sale" of the brand, "GM would be open to any such possibility. If a spin off or sale does not occur, it is GM‘s intention to phase out the Saturn brand at the end of the current product lifecycle."
"Dealers will stay open through 2011, but product development overall will cease," according to Kicking Tires. That means 2010 and 2011 Saturn models will just be newly minted versions of what's already available, and they may or may not receive minor updates, like added safety features."
Pontiac, meanwhile, will be reduced to a small brand selling a handful of models though combined Buick/GMC/Pontiac dealerships. The plan does not address which specific Pontiac vehicles will survive, but industry analysts expect to see the brand become a source of performance-oriented cars like the rear-wheel-drive G8 sedan, which cost GM little to develop because they are based on GM models sold in other markets.
The impact of GM's plan on consumers is an evolving story. In the short term, if you're in the market for a new car and interested in something from one of the doomed brands, you should be aware that prices for the vehicles may crash now that their execution is inevitable.
GM Plans to Eliminate Saab, Saturn, Hummer and Shrink Pontiac
Feb. 18, 2009
Faced with an urgent need to restructure in order to survive, America's largest automaker plans to eliminate three of its brands quickly and shrink a fourth to become a niche brand that will make only a handful of low-volume models.
In a restructuring plan submitted to the federal government yesterday, the automaker announced that it "has committed to focus its resources primarily on its core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Of the remaining brands, Pontiac -- which is part of the Buick-Pontiac-GMC retail channel -- will be a highly focused niche brand."
Hummer and Saab, both of which are typically sold through stand-alone dealerships, "are subject to ‘strategic reviews', including their potential sale."
The company plans to make a final decision on whether to sell or eliminate Hummer by the end of March. The Financial Times notes, "GM said that it was still talking to some potential buyers but that, if these negotiations come to naught, the brand will be phased out. Hummer's US sales have plummeted in recent years, but GM has found sizeable markets abroad, including in the Middle East and Russia."
GM is reportedly in negotiations with the Swedish government about the future of Saab. CNN Money reports that GM "said Tuesday its Saab subsidiary could be forced to file for reorganization as early as this month if the U.S. auto maker and the Swedish government can't come to terms on financial support for the unit. GM, as part of a revamped restructuring plan presented to the federal government to qualify for billions of dollars in government aid, said that it has proposed to effectively cap its financial support for Saab, with the Swedish brand becoming an independent entity by the start of 2010."
In both cases, GM hopes to find a buyer for the brands or spin them off into separate companies because closing the brands outright could be much more expensive. Franchise agreements would require GM to buy out Saab and Hummer dealers individually would could cost the company billions. The New York Times notes, "G.M. found out last decade just how expensive it could be to unwind a brand. It spent more than $1 billion to buy out dealers at Oldsmobile, which built its last cars in 2004."
The Saturn brand, meanwhile, will be gradually phased out of existence because that brand's dealerships "have different, easier to cut franchise agreements than other GM brands," according to Motor Trend. GM plans to continue selling the models currently on Saturn dealership lots, but will build no new Saturn models. =
The restructuring plan says that Saturn "will remain in operation through the end of the planned lifecycle for all Saturn products (2010-2011). In the interim, should Saturn retailers as a group or other investors present a plan that would allow a spin off or sale" of the brand, "GM would be open to any such possibility. If a spin off or sale does not occur, it is GM‘s intention to phase out the Saturn brand at the end of the current product lifecycle."
"Dealers will stay open through 2011, but product development overall will cease," according to Kicking Tires. That means 2010 and 2011 Saturn models will just be newly minted versions of what's already available, and they may or may not receive minor updates, like added safety features."
Pontiac, meanwhile, will be reduced to a small brand selling a handful of models though combined Buick/GMC/Pontiac dealerships. The plan does not address which specific Pontiac vehicles will survive, but industry analysts expect to see the brand become a source of performance-oriented cars like the rear-wheel-drive G8 sedan, which cost GM little to develop because they are based on GM models sold in other markets.
The impact of GM's plan on consumers is an evolving story. In the short term, if you're in the market for a new car and interested in something from one of the doomed brands, you should be aware that prices for the vehicles may crash now that their execution is inevitable.
Governor's rift with GOP grows wider
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arnold-taxes21-2009feb21,0,3998908.story
Governor's rift with GOP grows wider
After his turnaround on taxes in the budget battle, he won't be attending a state party convention -- and many won't miss him.
By Michael Finnegan
February 21, 2009
Reporting from Sacramento -- After five years as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger came full circle on Friday: The film star who promised to rescue California from its fiscal wreckage without raising taxes signed into law $12.5 billion in tax hikes.
With that, the Republican governor broke one of the few bonds left between his shrunken party and California's mainstream voters, marring its hard-won image as a guardian against higher taxes.
"Their last gasp has been taken from them," said Larry N. Gerston, a political scientist at San Jose State, citing the unpopularity among most California voters of the party's conservative stands on abortion, illegal immigration and other touchstone issues. "It puts them in a very precarious position."
By repudiating the thrust of his candidacy in the 2003 recall -- "I will not raise taxes," Schwarzenegger stated flatly the day after he won -- the governor has also enraged the conservatives who dominate the party.
For Republicans convening at a state party convention this weekend in Sacramento, it is a wrenching moment. Schwarzenegger is skipping the event to attend a governors' conference in Washington. But his turnaround on taxes has darkened the mood of the hundreds of party loyalists venting their frustration in a hotel where the governor often stays in a penthouse suite.
To be sure, none of the GOP lawmakers who demanded that the state close its $42-billion shortfall without raising taxes detailed the doomsday cuts that approach would entail, nor did the activists who lobbied against the tax increases. If the state had laid off its entire workforce of 238,000 -- every prison guard, firefighter and clerk -- it still would have fallen billions shy of a balanced budget.
Still, in a nod to the GOP's internal realities, two of the party's top contenders for Schwarzenegger's job in the June 2010 primary have split with the governor over the tax hikes.
One, former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman, said they will "kill jobs, hurt families and make future deficits even worse." The other, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, called the budget a "fiasco." The heavier tax burden, he warned, will increase unemployment.
The party's lone gubernatorial contender defending the tax hikes is Tom Campbell. A former Silicon Valley congressman and state finance director under Schwarzenegger, he all but guaranteed himself pariah status among the party's rank and file by saying the governor and Legislature did the right thing.
"It was essential, because otherwise you would have no public works in the middle of a recession, and that's suicidal for the state," said Campbell, whose fortuitously timed move to Orange County this weekend will spare him the face-to-face hostility of convention delegates.
Like the governor, the six Republican lawmakers who joined Democrats in approving the tax increases are also facing vitriol within the party. Chief targets include Sens. Dave Cogdill of Modesto, whose support of the budget led to his overthrow as Senate Republican leader, and Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, who cast the deciding vote.
Conservative blogger Matthew Cunningham has started a Facebook group, "Never Elect Abel Maldonado to Anything, Ever Again." More threatening, Ernie Konnyu, a former Bay Area congressman, has launched a campaign to recall Maldonado.
Efforts to recall other GOP lawmakers for their break with the party on taxes have sprouted. Conservative purists are pushing the state party to censure them Sunday.
The party's turmoil over taxes comes as Republicans nationwide are still reeling from their 2008 defeat. Their White House nominee, John McCain, lost California by more than 3 million votes in the party's worst presidential rout in the state since the 1930s.
Their ranks diminished, Republicans in Congress are trying to restore the party's reputation for fiscal restraint. They demanded less spending and more tax cuts as they fought President Obama's $787-billion plan to stimulate the economy.
With his pledge to hold the line on taxes, Schwarzenegger took a similar approach in his run for governor during the budget crisis that fostered the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.
Now, Schwarzenegger allies say he had no choice but to break his promise.
"In 2003, nobody was saying that in 2009 this country would go through the worst economic crisis since the Depression," said Adam Mendelsohn, a Schwarzenegger advisor.
"There's nothing Gov. Schwarzenegger hates more than raising taxes. If there was a way to realistically do this budget with $42 billion in cuts and not raising taxes, Gov. Schwarzenegger would be the first one to go and fight for that. But it's totally unrealistic."
Critics, however, say Schwarzenegger long ago abandoned any serious commitment to fiscal restraint. Among other things, they say, twin ballot measures that Schwarzenegger and his Democratic allies marketed to voters in 2004 as an economic recovery package worsened the state's long-term troubles.
Tucked into Proposition 57 were billions in new debt obligations. And the $5 billion in lottery borrowing that Schwarzenegger approved Friday belied his characterization of the 2004 companion measure, Proposition 58, as a move to slice up the credit cards of Sacramento politicians.
To Ted Costa, an anti-tax advocate and leader of the drive to recall Davis, the historic ouster of a California governor has proved to be a waste.
"There's a village back there in Austria right now that could sure have their idiot back any time they want," he said.
Others are less caustic but nonetheless point to the identity crisis that Schwarzenegger's advocacy of tax hikes has visited on the party. If the de facto leader of California Republicans is a socially liberal governor who raises taxes, many wonder, what exactly does the party stand for?
"He's not comfortable being a Republican, and Republicans aren't comfortable with him being a Republican or being governor," said Shawn Steel, the California committeeman for the Republican National Committee.
Some Republican leaders, like Steel, are somewhat forgiving toward Schwarzenegger but livid at the legislators who broke with their party on taxes in return for election reform measures and other pet causes.
"I'm far more disappointed with Republicans who actually voted for this monstrosity," said Steel, a former state party chairman. "Sadly, for the 30 pieces of silver, if that, we had some otherwise pretty good guys collapse. Their entire political careers are now threatened."
michael.finnegan@latimes.com
Governor's rift with GOP grows wider
After his turnaround on taxes in the budget battle, he won't be attending a state party convention -- and many won't miss him.
By Michael Finnegan
February 21, 2009
Reporting from Sacramento -- After five years as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger came full circle on Friday: The film star who promised to rescue California from its fiscal wreckage without raising taxes signed into law $12.5 billion in tax hikes.
With that, the Republican governor broke one of the few bonds left between his shrunken party and California's mainstream voters, marring its hard-won image as a guardian against higher taxes.
"Their last gasp has been taken from them," said Larry N. Gerston, a political scientist at San Jose State, citing the unpopularity among most California voters of the party's conservative stands on abortion, illegal immigration and other touchstone issues. "It puts them in a very precarious position."
By repudiating the thrust of his candidacy in the 2003 recall -- "I will not raise taxes," Schwarzenegger stated flatly the day after he won -- the governor has also enraged the conservatives who dominate the party.
For Republicans convening at a state party convention this weekend in Sacramento, it is a wrenching moment. Schwarzenegger is skipping the event to attend a governors' conference in Washington. But his turnaround on taxes has darkened the mood of the hundreds of party loyalists venting their frustration in a hotel where the governor often stays in a penthouse suite.
To be sure, none of the GOP lawmakers who demanded that the state close its $42-billion shortfall without raising taxes detailed the doomsday cuts that approach would entail, nor did the activists who lobbied against the tax increases. If the state had laid off its entire workforce of 238,000 -- every prison guard, firefighter and clerk -- it still would have fallen billions shy of a balanced budget.
Still, in a nod to the GOP's internal realities, two of the party's top contenders for Schwarzenegger's job in the June 2010 primary have split with the governor over the tax hikes.
One, former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman, said they will "kill jobs, hurt families and make future deficits even worse." The other, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, called the budget a "fiasco." The heavier tax burden, he warned, will increase unemployment.
The party's lone gubernatorial contender defending the tax hikes is Tom Campbell. A former Silicon Valley congressman and state finance director under Schwarzenegger, he all but guaranteed himself pariah status among the party's rank and file by saying the governor and Legislature did the right thing.
"It was essential, because otherwise you would have no public works in the middle of a recession, and that's suicidal for the state," said Campbell, whose fortuitously timed move to Orange County this weekend will spare him the face-to-face hostility of convention delegates.
Like the governor, the six Republican lawmakers who joined Democrats in approving the tax increases are also facing vitriol within the party. Chief targets include Sens. Dave Cogdill of Modesto, whose support of the budget led to his overthrow as Senate Republican leader, and Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, who cast the deciding vote.
Conservative blogger Matthew Cunningham has started a Facebook group, "Never Elect Abel Maldonado to Anything, Ever Again." More threatening, Ernie Konnyu, a former Bay Area congressman, has launched a campaign to recall Maldonado.
Efforts to recall other GOP lawmakers for their break with the party on taxes have sprouted. Conservative purists are pushing the state party to censure them Sunday.
The party's turmoil over taxes comes as Republicans nationwide are still reeling from their 2008 defeat. Their White House nominee, John McCain, lost California by more than 3 million votes in the party's worst presidential rout in the state since the 1930s.
Their ranks diminished, Republicans in Congress are trying to restore the party's reputation for fiscal restraint. They demanded less spending and more tax cuts as they fought President Obama's $787-billion plan to stimulate the economy.
With his pledge to hold the line on taxes, Schwarzenegger took a similar approach in his run for governor during the budget crisis that fostered the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.
Now, Schwarzenegger allies say he had no choice but to break his promise.
"In 2003, nobody was saying that in 2009 this country would go through the worst economic crisis since the Depression," said Adam Mendelsohn, a Schwarzenegger advisor.
"There's nothing Gov. Schwarzenegger hates more than raising taxes. If there was a way to realistically do this budget with $42 billion in cuts and not raising taxes, Gov. Schwarzenegger would be the first one to go and fight for that. But it's totally unrealistic."
Critics, however, say Schwarzenegger long ago abandoned any serious commitment to fiscal restraint. Among other things, they say, twin ballot measures that Schwarzenegger and his Democratic allies marketed to voters in 2004 as an economic recovery package worsened the state's long-term troubles.
Tucked into Proposition 57 were billions in new debt obligations. And the $5 billion in lottery borrowing that Schwarzenegger approved Friday belied his characterization of the 2004 companion measure, Proposition 58, as a move to slice up the credit cards of Sacramento politicians.
To Ted Costa, an anti-tax advocate and leader of the drive to recall Davis, the historic ouster of a California governor has proved to be a waste.
"There's a village back there in Austria right now that could sure have their idiot back any time they want," he said.
Others are less caustic but nonetheless point to the identity crisis that Schwarzenegger's advocacy of tax hikes has visited on the party. If the de facto leader of California Republicans is a socially liberal governor who raises taxes, many wonder, what exactly does the party stand for?
"He's not comfortable being a Republican, and Republicans aren't comfortable with him being a Republican or being governor," said Shawn Steel, the California committeeman for the Republican National Committee.
Some Republican leaders, like Steel, are somewhat forgiving toward Schwarzenegger but livid at the legislators who broke with their party on taxes in return for election reform measures and other pet causes.
"I'm far more disappointed with Republicans who actually voted for this monstrosity," said Steel, a former state party chairman. "Sadly, for the 30 pieces of silver, if that, we had some otherwise pretty good guys collapse. Their entire political careers are now threatened."
michael.finnegan@latimes.com
Ruling against age limit on game sales upheld
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/21/BAI9161PAJ.DTL
Ruling against age limit on game sales upheld
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, February 21, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO -- California's ban on selling video games to minors is unconstitutional because even the most graphic on-screen mayhem is free speech, and there's no convincing evidence it causes psychological damage to young people, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
"The government may not restrict speech in order to control a minor's thoughts," said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in upholding a federal judge's ruling against the law, which has never been enforced. Similar laws in other states have also been struck down.
The head of an industry group that challenged the law praised the court's "rejection of video game censorship." State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, sponsor of the law, urged state officials to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We need to help empower parents with the ultimate decision over whether or not their children play in a world of violence and murder," Yee said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the law in October 2005. It would bar the sale of an interactive video game to anyone under 18 if the game was so violent it was "patently offensive," according to prevailing community standards for minors, and lacked serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
'18' label on package
Those games would carry a large "18" label on their packages. Anyone who sold such a game to a minor could be fined as much as $1,000.
In defending the law, the state argued that violent content should be judged by the same obscenity standards as sex. Just as the government can prohibit the sale of explicit pornography to minors, state lawyers contended, it should be allowed to establish an adults-only category of ultra-violent video games.
The appeals court disagreed. A 1968 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed tighter restrictions on selling explicit materials to minors than to adults applies only to sexual content and not to violence, the appellate panel said.
"The Supreme Court has carefully limited obscenity to sexual content," Judge Consuelo Callahan said in the 3-0 ruling. "We decline the state's invitation to apply the (same) rationale to materials depicting violence."
Video games, Callahan said, "are a form of expression protected by the First Amendment."
Callahan said the state could justify the law only by demonstrating that violent video games cause psychological harm to minors and that young people could be protected only by being banned from buying those games. She said the state had fallen short on both counts.
The state cited researchers' findings that youths who play violent video games are more likely to behave aggressively and get into fights. But Callahan said even some of the researchers acknowledged that their samples were too small to draw conclusions, that there was no proof video games caused violent behavior, or that the games affected minors differently from adults.
She also said the state had failed to show that there were no good alternatives to an outright ban on sales to minors. Callahan said such options include an educational campaign, technology that allows parents to control their children's access to video games, and the industry's rating system that includes an adults-only category.
The rating system, although it is voluntary, works well and is preferable to "state-sponsored nannyism," said Bo Andersen, president of the Entertainment Merchants Association, an industry group that sued the state.
Sellers said to be compliant
"Retailers are committed to assisting parents in assuring that children do not purchase games that are not appropriate for their age," Andersen said. He said independent surveys have found that sellers comply with the ratings 80 percent of the time.
But Deputy Attorney General Zackery Morazzini, the state's lawyer in the case, said a law restricting sales of violent games is far more effective than industry self-policing. He said the technological controls that the court cited as another alternative "can be easily bypassed by any kid with an Internet connection."
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Ruling against age limit on game sales upheld
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, February 21, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO -- California's ban on selling video games to minors is unconstitutional because even the most graphic on-screen mayhem is free speech, and there's no convincing evidence it causes psychological damage to young people, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
"The government may not restrict speech in order to control a minor's thoughts," said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in upholding a federal judge's ruling against the law, which has never been enforced. Similar laws in other states have also been struck down.
The head of an industry group that challenged the law praised the court's "rejection of video game censorship." State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, sponsor of the law, urged state officials to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"We need to help empower parents with the ultimate decision over whether or not their children play in a world of violence and murder," Yee said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the law in October 2005. It would bar the sale of an interactive video game to anyone under 18 if the game was so violent it was "patently offensive," according to prevailing community standards for minors, and lacked serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
'18' label on package
Those games would carry a large "18" label on their packages. Anyone who sold such a game to a minor could be fined as much as $1,000.
In defending the law, the state argued that violent content should be judged by the same obscenity standards as sex. Just as the government can prohibit the sale of explicit pornography to minors, state lawyers contended, it should be allowed to establish an adults-only category of ultra-violent video games.
The appeals court disagreed. A 1968 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed tighter restrictions on selling explicit materials to minors than to adults applies only to sexual content and not to violence, the appellate panel said.
"The Supreme Court has carefully limited obscenity to sexual content," Judge Consuelo Callahan said in the 3-0 ruling. "We decline the state's invitation to apply the (same) rationale to materials depicting violence."
Video games, Callahan said, "are a form of expression protected by the First Amendment."
Callahan said the state could justify the law only by demonstrating that violent video games cause psychological harm to minors and that young people could be protected only by being banned from buying those games. She said the state had fallen short on both counts.
The state cited researchers' findings that youths who play violent video games are more likely to behave aggressively and get into fights. But Callahan said even some of the researchers acknowledged that their samples were too small to draw conclusions, that there was no proof video games caused violent behavior, or that the games affected minors differently from adults.
She also said the state had failed to show that there were no good alternatives to an outright ban on sales to minors. Callahan said such options include an educational campaign, technology that allows parents to control their children's access to video games, and the industry's rating system that includes an adults-only category.
The rating system, although it is voluntary, works well and is preferable to "state-sponsored nannyism," said Bo Andersen, president of the Entertainment Merchants Association, an industry group that sued the state.
Sellers said to be compliant
"Retailers are committed to assisting parents in assuring that children do not purchase games that are not appropriate for their age," Andersen said. He said independent surveys have found that sellers comply with the ratings 80 percent of the time.
But Deputy Attorney General Zackery Morazzini, the state's lawyer in the case, said a law restricting sales of violent games is far more effective than industry self-policing. He said the technological controls that the court cited as another alternative "can be easily bypassed by any kid with an Internet connection."
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
‘Dow Theory’ Says Worst Isn’t Over for U.S. Stocks
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=agapqPsrRIEY&refer=home
‘Dow Theory’ Says Worst Isn’t Over for U.S. Stocks as YRC Falls
By Eric Martin and Cristina Alesci
Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- A 125-year-old method for forecasting the market is telling investors the worst isn’t over for stocks.
Dow Theory, which holds that simultaneous moves in industrial and transportation shares foreshadow economic activity, indicates the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s drop to a six-year low yesterday may presage more losses.
The Dow industrials slumped to 7,365.67 on concern the deepening recession will force the U.S. government to bail out banks. Adherents of Dow Theory say the 30-stock gauge will fall farther because the Dow Jones Transportation Average has slipped to the worst level since September 2003.
“When you have that confirmation in both legs, that’s clearly negative,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati. “There’s some validity to Dow Theory.”
This week’s retreat left the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the benchmark for U.S. stocks, within 2.3 percent of breaking through its Nov. 20 low to the worst level since 1997.
Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. declined the most in the Dow this week, losing more than 31 percent, on concern shareholders will be wiped out through nationaliGzation. General Motors Corp. had the third-biggest slump, losing 29 percent on concern about its solvency. General Electric Co. dropped 18 percent to $9.38, becoming the fifth stock in the average since last year to sink below $10.
“The direction of the market is clearly down,” said Richard Moroney, who manages $150 million at Hammond, Indiana- based Horizon Investment Services and edits the Dow Theory Forecasts newsletter. “We’re holding a lot more cash than we normally do.”
‘Clearly Down’
Dow Theory, created by Wall Street Journal co-founder Charles Dow in 1884, argues that transportation companies are harbingers of economic activity. The transportation gauge slipped below its November nadir in January and has kept retreating. YRC Worldwide Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. fell the most this week, losing more than 27 percent.
Dow Theory is showing that “the bear market is in force,” said Philip Roth, the New York-based chief technical analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. “It doesn’t tell you whether it’s going to last another year or another day. It isn’t a forecaster of magnitude, just direction.”
In November 2007, one month after the Dow industrials and S&P 500 surged to record highs, Dow Theory suggested the rally was over. The S&P 500 went on to tumble 38 percent in 2008, the most since 1937.
Bullish Strategists
The Dow Theory signal goes against all 10 Wall Street strategists tracked by Bloomberg, who on average project the S&P 500 will end the year at 1,059, a 38 percent gain from yesterday’s close of 770.05. Almost $800 billion in federal spending and the cheapest valuations in two decades will spur the rally, the strategists say.
The S&P 500 is a better indicator of the market’s direction because it has almost 17 times more companies than the Dow average and uses market value, not share prices, to determine company weightings, said Roger Volz, New York-based senior vice president at Hampton Securities Ltd. and a technical analyst since 1982.
The index would probably plunge to 681 should it fall below the 11-year-low of 752.44 reached in November, according to Volz. His chart-based techniques include Fibonacci analysis.
“I don’t think we get out of the woods for 14 months,” he said. “The destruction is severe.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Cristina Alesci in New York at calesci2@bloomberg.net; Eric Martin in New York at emartin21@bloomberg.net.
‘Dow Theory’ Says Worst Isn’t Over for U.S. Stocks as YRC Falls
By Eric Martin and Cristina Alesci
Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- A 125-year-old method for forecasting the market is telling investors the worst isn’t over for stocks.
Dow Theory, which holds that simultaneous moves in industrial and transportation shares foreshadow economic activity, indicates the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s drop to a six-year low yesterday may presage more losses.
The Dow industrials slumped to 7,365.67 on concern the deepening recession will force the U.S. government to bail out banks. Adherents of Dow Theory say the 30-stock gauge will fall farther because the Dow Jones Transportation Average has slipped to the worst level since September 2003.
“When you have that confirmation in both legs, that’s clearly negative,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in Cincinnati. “There’s some validity to Dow Theory.”
This week’s retreat left the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the benchmark for U.S. stocks, within 2.3 percent of breaking through its Nov. 20 low to the worst level since 1997.
Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. declined the most in the Dow this week, losing more than 31 percent, on concern shareholders will be wiped out through nationaliGzation. General Motors Corp. had the third-biggest slump, losing 29 percent on concern about its solvency. General Electric Co. dropped 18 percent to $9.38, becoming the fifth stock in the average since last year to sink below $10.
“The direction of the market is clearly down,” said Richard Moroney, who manages $150 million at Hammond, Indiana- based Horizon Investment Services and edits the Dow Theory Forecasts newsletter. “We’re holding a lot more cash than we normally do.”
‘Clearly Down’
Dow Theory, created by Wall Street Journal co-founder Charles Dow in 1884, argues that transportation companies are harbingers of economic activity. The transportation gauge slipped below its November nadir in January and has kept retreating. YRC Worldwide Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. fell the most this week, losing more than 27 percent.
Dow Theory is showing that “the bear market is in force,” said Philip Roth, the New York-based chief technical analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. “It doesn’t tell you whether it’s going to last another year or another day. It isn’t a forecaster of magnitude, just direction.”
In November 2007, one month after the Dow industrials and S&P 500 surged to record highs, Dow Theory suggested the rally was over. The S&P 500 went on to tumble 38 percent in 2008, the most since 1937.
Bullish Strategists
The Dow Theory signal goes against all 10 Wall Street strategists tracked by Bloomberg, who on average project the S&P 500 will end the year at 1,059, a 38 percent gain from yesterday’s close of 770.05. Almost $800 billion in federal spending and the cheapest valuations in two decades will spur the rally, the strategists say.
The S&P 500 is a better indicator of the market’s direction because it has almost 17 times more companies than the Dow average and uses market value, not share prices, to determine company weightings, said Roger Volz, New York-based senior vice president at Hampton Securities Ltd. and a technical analyst since 1982.
The index would probably plunge to 681 should it fall below the 11-year-low of 752.44 reached in November, according to Volz. His chart-based techniques include Fibonacci analysis.
“I don’t think we get out of the woods for 14 months,” he said. “The destruction is severe.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Cristina Alesci in New York at calesci2@bloomberg.net; Eric Martin in New York at emartin21@bloomberg.net.
Basking in Xcalak
http://blog.lavacocktail.com/2009/02/20/basking-in-xcalak.aspx
Basking in Xcalak
2-20-9
Wanting to jettison myself from the frozen wastelands of Minnesota where the coldest winter in one hundred years has been persisting, I recently chose an appropriate place for some much needed climactic counterpoint: Xcalak, Mexico-an old fishing village terminus of sorts where the highway ends and approx. seven miles to the south, Belize begins. A bit freaked by the Mexican government issued ‘travel advisories’ forwarded to me by a concerned relative and which morbidly tallied the number of gringos who have disappeared recently, either the victims of drug war cross fire, riots or fair game targets of the numerous Banditos marauding the country’s roads, I had hesitations about traveling alone. However, in light of this info., I made sure to call on angelic forces for protection during my five plus hour drive from Cancun where I landed -particularly the archangel Michael and this most certainly helped ease my nerves a bit.
Such trips south of the border are not without the requisite rite of passage as it took me nearly two hours to get out of Cancun, thanks to a military check point set up to ‘catch’ drug smugglers and which blocked one lane just north of Highway 307 ,causing mucho aggravation indeed. I later learned that it was put on for a new general of the Mexican army ‘concerned’ about corruption amongst enforcement agents hired to keep the drug lords in check. Once freeing myself of the L.A. like traffic jam and accelerating to 120 Km so as to breathe a bit easier, it wasn’t too long before I was in Mayan territory, passing by busload after busload of turistas destined for the pyramids of Chitzen Itza, et. Al. Based on the garish descriptions offered by a friend of mine who’d been to these sites-of Knights of Columbus geriatrics trying to climb the ruins using walkers and ‘Solar Initiate’ New Agers wearing white gowns and ‘shift facilitating’ at the base of the ruins around the solstices and equinoxes, I chose not to investigate these traps and worked my way further south to Tulum where the energy was exuberant and served to relax me further and caused me to forget about potential hijackings of the economy sized Matiz I was driving and my physical body as well. It really felt like a positive vortex opened above me as a welcome, a nice prelude to birth me into what lay ahead at the literal end of the road.
According to the directions I downloaded off the internet-I was advised to fill my tank well before arriving, which I did as there are no gas stations whatsoever in Xcalak. There are no banks either. So with a money belt brimming with pesos, I traveled on with a bit of lingering trepidation which seemed to wane the closer I got to my destination. If you choose to go to Xcalak, it is advised to bring a laptop with you to make payments for such things as fishing outings, dive instruction and the like. I was able to use my I-Phone to make such purchases, but keying in information with one finger on the Pay Pal page can be a bit tedious, esp. with an unreliable third world internet connection that cut out from time to time.
Xcalak is certainly the proverbial sleepy village miraculously escaping the intensive development found further north. My immediate impression after arriving and riding a sea rusted bicycle aptly named ‘The Hurricane’ was the absence of beggars and obnoxious vendors forcing one to buy handicrafts, dope and by-the-hour putas as they do in Cancun with a relentlessness that is unmatched in any country I’ve been to (other than Kashmir in Northern India). This allowed me to relax even further and take in the delightful profusion of flora and fauna which grace the community such as Tropical Mockingbirds, Yucatan Jays, Magnificent Frigate birds and Brown Pelicans which command the shores from morning to night. Exploring the jungles which buttressed the wash-boarded ‘roads’ was out of the question. According to the owners of the Tierra Maya hotel where I resided, there’s a Mayan pyramid about three hundred yards across the road from them, completely hidden by the jungle and which would take an entire day to get to. There are laws, thankfully, prohibiting the use of machetes to hack through the thickets of Mangrove that make foot travel nearly impossible. The surrounding jungle is home to Panthers and a colorful variety of poisonous snakes and other scaled vermin-so it would be wise before setting out without the necessary precautions and to find a local guide you can trust to take you into truly untrampled territory.
The primary reason for my escape to Xcalak, besides soaking up sun and surf, was to get PADI certified as a scuba diver-something I’ve always wanted to do. Booking the course at one of the local dive centers, I then met my instructor Benito-who in the course of a week managed to get me over every single one of my fears of going under water, making emergency ascents, equalizing and breathing. With treacherous conditions often prevailing in the mornings, I would return in a few hours and the wind would calm down enough for us to go out and do the required exercises needed for certification such as taking ones mask off underwater, putting it back on and evacuating all water by exhaling forcefully through the nose. No need for a Neti pot when you do this and the sensation of having your sinuses reamed with salt water is unlike any other. However, it was actually enjoyable to surmount the mostly mind generated obstacles and actually scuba dive, which overall is a very relaxing venture.
We did four open water dives to approx. 60 ft. and it was a letdown every time to see Benito give me the thumbs up sign, meaning we had to start to surface as our tanks were running low. In the half hour that our air tanks afforded us underwater time, we took in as much of the bewildering and resplendent marine life as we could. Mi compadre showed me such wonders as upside down Freshwater Jelly fish, sea turtles and Barracudas along with brilliantly colored sponges, elliptical star coral, venus sea fans and four eye butterfly fish. I felt such a sense of peace beneath the turmoiled waves and skies above. As I swam along the edge of one of the reefs, I envisioned a summit meeting being held there by world leaders and thought that a viable, life sustaining consensus would be reached, well before the tanks ran out of oxygen, in regards to our emperiled planet and how to go about healing it. “The ocean is the ultimate solution.” as Frank Zappa aptly titled one of his instrumental compositions. I certainly appreciated his observation even more after exploring it as extensively as possible off the shores of beautiful Xcalak. Perhaps those in power will finally listen to it and get the answers they need.
Sadly, the certification week went by too quickly, but I passed all the tests even as exhausted as I was. Benito was kind enough to come into the dive center on his day off to check my test scores and I found this otherwise rare hospitality to be the norm throughout Mexico. Scuba diving is the most physically and mentally demanding of sports-even more so than climbing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing, IMO. It felt like I had been steamrollered several times and I could barely move around in the evenings after a dive. Extensive yoga and a supplement called Cell Food saved me from total exhaustion and muscle soreness along with periodic doses of the homeopathic Arnica. I also found my psychic abilities greatly amplified underwater. More on this in Part II.
The one experience during my Xcalak stay that did totally wipe me out however, was an encounter with a glittered klatsch of beautiful people pawing each others jewelry and clothing, hypnotized by the Margarita glasses they toasted each other with. The scenario served as a stark contrast to the genuinely kind souls of the indigenous locals I encountered in such a heart warming and endearing way. The dreaded encounter took place at the Leaky Palapa restaurant where the food was fabulous but the vampiric clientle I had no choice but to observe in a captive audience kind of way, knocked the spiritual stuffing out of me and I had bad dreams all night of these vampires which fortunately stay together north of the bridge in Xcalak (where the photo below was taken), hidden in their well manicured enclaves.
Xcalak is a place I will most certainly return to as I truly felt at home there-something very rare in my world travels indeed. Tune in for Part II soon.
Cheers,
Jaye Beldo
www.lavacocktail.com
Basking in Xcalak
2-20-9
Wanting to jettison myself from the frozen wastelands of Minnesota where the coldest winter in one hundred years has been persisting, I recently chose an appropriate place for some much needed climactic counterpoint: Xcalak, Mexico-an old fishing village terminus of sorts where the highway ends and approx. seven miles to the south, Belize begins. A bit freaked by the Mexican government issued ‘travel advisories’ forwarded to me by a concerned relative and which morbidly tallied the number of gringos who have disappeared recently, either the victims of drug war cross fire, riots or fair game targets of the numerous Banditos marauding the country’s roads, I had hesitations about traveling alone. However, in light of this info., I made sure to call on angelic forces for protection during my five plus hour drive from Cancun where I landed -particularly the archangel Michael and this most certainly helped ease my nerves a bit.
Such trips south of the border are not without the requisite rite of passage as it took me nearly two hours to get out of Cancun, thanks to a military check point set up to ‘catch’ drug smugglers and which blocked one lane just north of Highway 307 ,causing mucho aggravation indeed. I later learned that it was put on for a new general of the Mexican army ‘concerned’ about corruption amongst enforcement agents hired to keep the drug lords in check. Once freeing myself of the L.A. like traffic jam and accelerating to 120 Km so as to breathe a bit easier, it wasn’t too long before I was in Mayan territory, passing by busload after busload of turistas destined for the pyramids of Chitzen Itza, et. Al. Based on the garish descriptions offered by a friend of mine who’d been to these sites-of Knights of Columbus geriatrics trying to climb the ruins using walkers and ‘Solar Initiate’ New Agers wearing white gowns and ‘shift facilitating’ at the base of the ruins around the solstices and equinoxes, I chose not to investigate these traps and worked my way further south to Tulum where the energy was exuberant and served to relax me further and caused me to forget about potential hijackings of the economy sized Matiz I was driving and my physical body as well. It really felt like a positive vortex opened above me as a welcome, a nice prelude to birth me into what lay ahead at the literal end of the road.
According to the directions I downloaded off the internet-I was advised to fill my tank well before arriving, which I did as there are no gas stations whatsoever in Xcalak. There are no banks either. So with a money belt brimming with pesos, I traveled on with a bit of lingering trepidation which seemed to wane the closer I got to my destination. If you choose to go to Xcalak, it is advised to bring a laptop with you to make payments for such things as fishing outings, dive instruction and the like. I was able to use my I-Phone to make such purchases, but keying in information with one finger on the Pay Pal page can be a bit tedious, esp. with an unreliable third world internet connection that cut out from time to time.
Xcalak is certainly the proverbial sleepy village miraculously escaping the intensive development found further north. My immediate impression after arriving and riding a sea rusted bicycle aptly named ‘The Hurricane’ was the absence of beggars and obnoxious vendors forcing one to buy handicrafts, dope and by-the-hour putas as they do in Cancun with a relentlessness that is unmatched in any country I’ve been to (other than Kashmir in Northern India). This allowed me to relax even further and take in the delightful profusion of flora and fauna which grace the community such as Tropical Mockingbirds, Yucatan Jays, Magnificent Frigate birds and Brown Pelicans which command the shores from morning to night. Exploring the jungles which buttressed the wash-boarded ‘roads’ was out of the question. According to the owners of the Tierra Maya hotel where I resided, there’s a Mayan pyramid about three hundred yards across the road from them, completely hidden by the jungle and which would take an entire day to get to. There are laws, thankfully, prohibiting the use of machetes to hack through the thickets of Mangrove that make foot travel nearly impossible. The surrounding jungle is home to Panthers and a colorful variety of poisonous snakes and other scaled vermin-so it would be wise before setting out without the necessary precautions and to find a local guide you can trust to take you into truly untrampled territory.
The primary reason for my escape to Xcalak, besides soaking up sun and surf, was to get PADI certified as a scuba diver-something I’ve always wanted to do. Booking the course at one of the local dive centers, I then met my instructor Benito-who in the course of a week managed to get me over every single one of my fears of going under water, making emergency ascents, equalizing and breathing. With treacherous conditions often prevailing in the mornings, I would return in a few hours and the wind would calm down enough for us to go out and do the required exercises needed for certification such as taking ones mask off underwater, putting it back on and evacuating all water by exhaling forcefully through the nose. No need for a Neti pot when you do this and the sensation of having your sinuses reamed with salt water is unlike any other. However, it was actually enjoyable to surmount the mostly mind generated obstacles and actually scuba dive, which overall is a very relaxing venture.
We did four open water dives to approx. 60 ft. and it was a letdown every time to see Benito give me the thumbs up sign, meaning we had to start to surface as our tanks were running low. In the half hour that our air tanks afforded us underwater time, we took in as much of the bewildering and resplendent marine life as we could. Mi compadre showed me such wonders as upside down Freshwater Jelly fish, sea turtles and Barracudas along with brilliantly colored sponges, elliptical star coral, venus sea fans and four eye butterfly fish. I felt such a sense of peace beneath the turmoiled waves and skies above. As I swam along the edge of one of the reefs, I envisioned a summit meeting being held there by world leaders and thought that a viable, life sustaining consensus would be reached, well before the tanks ran out of oxygen, in regards to our emperiled planet and how to go about healing it. “The ocean is the ultimate solution.” as Frank Zappa aptly titled one of his instrumental compositions. I certainly appreciated his observation even more after exploring it as extensively as possible off the shores of beautiful Xcalak. Perhaps those in power will finally listen to it and get the answers they need.Sadly, the certification week went by too quickly, but I passed all the tests even as exhausted as I was. Benito was kind enough to come into the dive center on his day off to check my test scores and I found this otherwise rare hospitality to be the norm throughout Mexico. Scuba diving is the most physically and mentally demanding of sports-even more so than climbing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing, IMO. It felt like I had been steamrollered several times and I could barely move around in the evenings after a dive. Extensive yoga and a supplement called Cell Food saved me from total exhaustion and muscle soreness along with periodic doses of the homeopathic Arnica. I also found my psychic abilities greatly amplified underwater. More on this in Part II.
The one experience during my Xcalak stay that did totally wipe me out however, was an encounter with a glittered klatsch of beautiful people pawing each others jewelry and clothing, hypnotized by the Margarita glasses they toasted each other with. The scenario served as a stark contrast to the genuinely kind souls of the indigenous locals I encountered in such a heart warming and endearing way. The dreaded encounter took place at the Leaky Palapa restaurant where the food was fabulous but the vampiric clientle I had no choice but to observe in a captive audience kind of way, knocked the spiritual stuffing out of me and I had bad dreams all night of these vampires which fortunately stay together north of the bridge in Xcalak (where the photo below was taken), hidden in their well manicured enclaves.
Xcalak is a place I will most certainly return to as I truly felt at home there-something very rare in my world travels indeed. Tune in for Part II soon.Cheers,
Jaye Beldo
www.lavacocktail.com
Monday, February 23, 2009
Inside The LC: Part VII
http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/nwsltr99.html
Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the Birth of the Hippie Generation
Part VII
June 22, 2008
“As all halfway-decent managers in the rock era have done, [Jim] Dickson worked on seducing the in-crowd and creating a buzz around [The Byrds] … The timing was perfect … LA’s baby-boomers were mobile, getting around, looking for action. And now they were joined by the hip elite of Hollywood itself, from Sal Mineo and Peter Fonda to junkie comic Lenny Bruce.”
Barney Hoskyns, Waiting for the Sun
As important as the Freaks were to building an audience for the new Laurel Canyon bands, there was another group that played a key role as well: Hollywood’s so-called “Young Turks.” Like the Freaks, the Turks became an immediate and constant presence on the newly emerging Sunset Strip scene. And as with the Freaks, their presence on the Strip was heavily promoted by the media. Locals and tourists alike knew where to go to gawk at the Freaks and, as an added bonus, quite possibly rub shoulders with the likes of Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper and Warren Beatty, along with their female counterparts like Jane Fonda, Nancy Sinatra and Sharon Tate.
Many of these young and glamorous Hollywood stars forged very close bonds with the Laurel Canyon musicians. Some of them, including Peter Fonda, found homes in the canyon so that they could live, work and party among the rock stars (and, in their free time, pass around John Phillips’ wife to just about every swinging dick in the canyon, including Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, Warren Beatty, Roman Polanski, and Gene Clark of The Byrds). Some of them never left; Jack Nicholson to this day lives in a spacious estate just off the portion of Mulholland Drive that lies between Laurel Canyon and Coldwater Canyon. Not far west of Nicholson’s property (which now includes the neighboring estate formerly owned by Marlon Brando) sits the longtime home of Warren Beatty.
From the symbiotic relationship between Laurel Canyon actors and Laurel Canyon musicians arose a series of feature films that are now considered counter-cultural classics. One such film was 1967’s The Trip, an unintentionally hilarious attempt to create a cinematic facsimile of an LSD trip. Written by, of all people, Jack Nicholson, the movie starred fellow Turks Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Bruce Dern. Seated in the director’s chair was Roger Corman, who, throughout his career, worked side-by-side with David Crosby’s dad on no less than twenty-three feature films. Recruited to supply the soundtrack for the film was Gram Parson’s International Submarine Band (Parson’s music, however, was ultimately not used, though the band does make a brief on-screen appearance). The house where most of the film was shot, at the top of Kirkwood Drive in Laurel Canyon, was the home of Love’s Arthur Lee.
Occult imagery from the film The Trip
Another ‘psychedelic’ cult film of the late 1960s with deep roots in Laurel Canyon was the Monkee’s 1968 big-screen offering, Head. Also scripted by Nicholson (with assistance from Bob Rafelson), the movie included cameo appearances by canyon dwellers Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson and Frank Zappa. The music – performed, of course, by The Monkees – was a mix of songs written by the band and contributions from Canyon songwriters like Carol King and Harry Nilsson. And shockingly, some of that music is actually pretty good. Even more shockingly, the movie overall is arguably the most watchable of the 1960s cult films. It is certainly a vast improvement over, for example, 1968’s wretched Psych Out (starring Nicholson and Dern).
I do realize, by the way, that some of you out there in readerland cringe every time that I mention The Monkees as though they were a ‘real’ band. The reality though is that they were every bit as ‘real’ as most of their contemporaries. And while the made-for-TV Beatles replicants were looked down upon by music critics and fans alike, they were fully accepted as members of the musical fraternity by the other Laurel Canyon bands. The homes of both Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork were popular canyon hangouts in the late ‘60s for a number of ‘real’ musicians. Also regularly dropping by Dolenz’ party house were Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson.
The difference in perception between their peers and the public was attributable to the fact that the other bands knew something that the fans did not: the very same studio musicians who appeared without credit on The Monkee’s albums also appeared without credit on their albums. And then, of course, there was the fact that so many of Laurel Canyon’s ‘real’ musicians had taken a stab at being a part of The Monkees, including Steven Stills, Love’s Bryan MacLean, and Three Dog Night’s Danny Hutton – all of whom answered the Monkees’ casting call and were rejected.
There were undoubtedly other future stars who auditioned for the show as well, though most would probably prefer not to discuss such things. Despite persistent rumors, however, there was one local musician who we can safely conclude did not read for a part: Charles Manson. Given that the show was cast in 1965 and began its brief television run in 1966, while Charlie was still imprisoned at Terminal Island awaiting his release in March of 1967, there doesn’t appear to be any way that Manson could have been considered for a part on the show. And that’s kind of a shame when you think about it, because if he had been, we might today remember Charlie Manson not as one of America’s most notorious criminals, but rather as the guy who made Marcia Brady swoon.
And, let’s be honest here, would that really have been any worse than seeing her go ga-ga over the likes of Davy Jones? I mean, I could have understood if she had gotten weak in the knees over, you know, a real man like David Cassidy or Bobby Sherman. Now, I hope we can all agree that those guys were cool … right? Is everyone with me on this? Anyone? … Anyone? …
You know, I’m thinking back right now as I sit here, and I can actually picture in my mind the covers of a couple of Bobby Sherman albums that I had in my personal coll … err, that we had lying around the house for some reason, I’m not really sure why, and … come to think of it, I think there might have even been a Bobby Sherman poster or two pulled from the pages of Tiger Beat magazine, and, uhmm, I suppose I can see how that might seem a little bit, uhhh, what’s the word I’m looking for? … ‘gay’ or whatever to a modern, twenty-first-century-man-about-town, but I’m sure that, if you checked into it, you would find that there were a lot of young boys back ‘in the day’ who just really dug Bobby Sherman and those great songs like “Julie (Do You Love Me)” and “Easy Come, Easy Go” and … uhmm … maybe this is a good time to get back to where we left off.
Returning then to the counter-cultural films of the 1960s, the most critically acclaimed of the lot, and the one with the deepest roots in Laurel Canyon, was Easy Rider. Directed (sort of) by Dennis Hopper, from a script co-written by he and Peter Fonda, the film starred Fonda and Hopper along with Jack Nicholson (the only one in the movie who did anything resembling actual acting). Hopper’s walrus-mustachioed character in the film was based on David Crosby, who was regularly seen racing his motorcycle up and down the winding streets of Laurel Canyon (that motorcycle, by the way, had been a gift from Crosby’s good buddy, Peter Fonda). Fonda’s absurd ‘Captain America’ character was inspired either by John Phillips’ riding partner, Gram Parsons, or by Crosby’s former bandmate in The Byrds, Roger McGuinn (depending upon who is telling the story.) That very same Roger McGuinn scored the original music for the film. His contributions were joined on the soundtrack by offerings from fellow Canyonite musicians The Byrds, Steppenwolf, Fraternity of Man and Jimi Hendrix. And the movie’s hippie commune was reportedly created and filmed in the canyons, near Mulholland Drive.
Since Easy Rider had such deep roots in the Laurel Canyon scene, we need to briefly focus our attention here on one other individual who worked on the film: art director Jeremy Kay, aka Jerry Kay. Before Easy Rider, Kay had worked on such cinematic abominations as Angels from Hell, Hells Angels on Wheels (with Jack Nicholson), and Scorpio Rising (Kenneth Anger’s occult-tinged homage to gay bikers). In the mid-1970s, Kay would write, direct and produce a charming little film entitled Satan’s Children. Of far more interest here than his film credits though is his membership in the 1960s in a group known as the Solar Lodge of the Ordo Templi Orientis (or OTO), which found itself in the news, and not in a good way, just after Easy Rider opened on theater screens across America.
Two weeks after Easy Rider premiered on July 14, 1969, police acting on a phone tip raided the Solar Lodge’s compound near Blythe, California and found a six-year-old boy locked outdoors in a 6’x6’ wooden crate in the sweltering desert heat. The young boy, whose father was a Los Angeles County probation officer (as was Michelle Phillip’s father, by the way), had been chained to a steel plate for nearly two months in temperatures reaching as high as 117° F. According to an FBI report, the box also contained a can “partially filled with human waste and swarming with flies … The stench was nauseating.” Before being put in the box, the child had been burned with matches and beaten with bamboo poles by cult members. The leader of the cult, Georgina Brayton, had reportedly told cult members that “when it was convenient, she was going to give [the boy] LSD and set fire to the structure in which he was chained and give him just enough chain to get out of reach of the fire.” Killing the child had also been discussed (and apparently condoned by the boy’s mind-fucked mother).
Eleven adult members of the sect were charged with felony child abuse, the majority of them young white men in their early twenties. All were brought to trial and convicted. In a curious bit of timing, the raid that resulted in the arrests and convictions coincided with the torture and murder of musician Gary Hinman by a trio of Manson acolytes. Though it is, not surprisingly, vehemently denied by concerned parties, various sources have claimed that Manson had ties to the group, which also maintained a home near the USC campus in Los Angeles. There is no doubt that Charlie preached the same dogma, including the notion of an apocalyptic race war looming on the horizon. The massacre at the Tate residence occurred less than two weeks after the raid on the OTO compound. Manson’s Barker Ranch hideout would be raided a few months later, on October 12, 1969 – the birthday, as I may have already mentioned, of Aleister Crowley, the Grand Poobah of the OTO until his death in 1947.
Sorry about that little digression, folks. I’m not entirely sure how we ended up at the Barker Ranch when the focus of this installment was supposed to be on the Young Turks. So having now established that those Turks were a fully integrated part of the Laurel Canyon/Sunset Strip scene, and also that they played an important role in luring the public out to the new clubs to check out the new bands, our next task is to get to know a little bit about who these folks are and where they came from. Let’s begin with Mr. Bruce Dern, who has some of the most provocative connections of any of the characters in this story.
It is probably safe to say that Dern’s parents had rather impressive political connections, given that baby Bruce’s godparents were sitting First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and future two-time Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson (he lost both times, in 1952 and 1956, to Eisenhower). Bruce’s paternal grandfather was a guy by the name of George Dern, who served as Secretary of War under President Franklin Roosevelt (for the youngsters in the crowd, ‘Secretary of War’ is what we used to call the ‘Secretary of Defense’ in a slightly less Orwellian era). George had also served as Governor of Utah and Chairman of the National Governors’ Association. Bruce’s mother was born Jean MacLeish, and she happened to be the sister of Archibald MacLeish, who also served under Franklin Roosevelt, as the Director of the War Department’s Office of Facts and Figures and as the Assistant Director of the Office of War Information. In other words, Archibald MacLeish was essentially America’s Minister of War Propaganda. He also served at various times as an Assistant Secretary of State and as the Librarian of Congress. By far the most impressive item on his résumé, however, was his membership in everyone’s favorite secret society, Skull and Bones (class of 1915, one year before Prescott Bush was tapped in 1916).
The view from Arthur Lee's Laurel Canyon home (screen capture from The Trip)
It would appear then that, even by Laurel Canyon standards, Mr. Dern has friends in very high places. Let’s turn our attention next to the guy being embraced by Dern in the photo above, Mr. Peter Fonda. Of course, we all know that Fonda is the son of good ol’ Hank Fonda, lovable Hollywood liberal and all-around nice guy. And certainly even a contrarian such as myself would not be so bold as to suggest that Henry Fonda might have some skeletons in his closet … right? Just for the hell of it though, there are a few chapters of the Hank Fonda saga that we should probably review here.
We can begin, I suppose, by noting that Hank served as a decorated US Naval Intelligence officer during World War II, thus sparing Peter the stigma of being the only member of the Laurel Canyon in-crowd to have not been spawned by a member of the military/intelligence community. Not too many years after the war, Hank’s wife, Francis Ford Seymour, was found with her throat slashed open with a straight razor. Peter was just ten years old at the time of his mother’s, uhmm, suicide on April 14, 1950. When Seymour had met and married Hank, she was the widow of George Brokaw, who had, curiously enough, previously been married to prominent CIA asset Claire Booth Luce.
Fonda rebounded quickly from Seymour’s unusual death and within eight months he was married once again, to Susan Blanchard, to whom he remained married until 1956. In 1957, Hank married yet again, this time to Italian Countess Afdera Franchetti (who followed up her four-year marriage to Fonda with a rumored affair with newly-sworn-in President John Kennedy). Franchetti, as it turns out, is the daughter of Baron Raimondo Franchetti, who was a consultant to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The countess is also the great-granddaughter of Louise Sarah Rothschild, of the ever-popular Rothschild banking family (perhaps you’ve heard of them?)
Before moving on, I should probably mention that Hank’s first wife, Margaret Sullavan – who was yet another child of Norfolk, Virginia – also allegedly committed suicide, on New Year’s Day, 1960. Nine months later, her daughter Bridget followed suit. In 1961, very soon after the deaths of first her mother and then her sister, Sullavan’s other daughter, Brook Hayward, walked down the aisle with the next Young Turk on our list, Dennis Hopper. For those who may be unfamiliar with Hopper’s body of work, he is the guy who was once found wandering naked and bewildered in a Mexican forest. And the guy who, after divorcing Hayward in 1969, married Michelle Phillips on Halloween day, 1970, only to have her file for divorce just eight days later claiming that Hopper had kept her handcuffed and imprisoned for a week while making “unnatural sexual demands.”
Without passing judgment here, I think it’s fair to say that Michelle Phillips has been around the block a time or two, if you catch my drift, so if even she thought Hopper’s demands were a bit over the top, then one can only wonder just how “unnatural” they might have been. For what it’s worth, Hopper just recently told a journalist that he “didn’t handcuff her, [he] just punched her out!” In his mind, apparently, that makes him somewhat less of an asshole.
Most official biographies of Hopper would lead one to believe that he was the son of a simple farmer. Dennis recently acknowledged, however, that that was clearly not the case: “My mother’s father was a wheat farmer and I was raised on their farm. But my father was not a farmer.” To the contrary, Hopper’s dad was “a working person in intelligence” who during WWII “was in the OSS. He was in China, Burma, India.” Hopper has proudly proclaimed that his father “was one of the 100 guys that liberated General Wainright out of prison in Korea,” which might be a little more impressive were it not for the fact that it was actually the Red Army that freed Wainright and other prisoners; the US intel team just came to pick them up, debrief them and transport them home … but that, I suppose, isn’t really relevant.
After the war, according to Hopper, his dad carried a gun, which I suppose is what most lay ministers in the Methodist Church do. The family also left the farm in Kansas and relocated to San Diego, California, home of the Imperial Beach Naval Air Station, the United States Naval Radio Station, the United States Naval Amphibious Base, the North Island Naval Air Station, Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation, the United States Naval Training Center, the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot, and the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. And just north of the city sits the massive Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. Other than that though, San Diego is just a sleepy little beach town where Hopper’s dad ostensibly worked for the Post Office.
The modern version of Dennis Hopper, by the way, is wildly at odds with the hippie image that he at one time tried very hard to cultivate. Today’s Dennis Hopper is an unapologetic cheerleader for Team Bush who proudly boasts of having voted a straight Republican ticket for nearly thirty years. He could very well turn up on the campaign trail in the coming months with his lips firmly planted on the ass of war criminal John McCain.
To briefly recap then, we have thus far met three of the ‘Young Turks’ and we have found that one of them is the nephew of a Bonesman, another is the son of a Naval Intelligence officer who was once married to a Rothschild descendent, and the third is the slightly deranged son of an OSS officer. Come to think of it, we have actually covered one of the ‘Turkettes’ as well, since Jane Fonda obviously came from the same family background as her younger brother, Peter. As for the other female members of the posse, Sharon Tate was the daughter of Lt. Col. Paul Tate, a career US Army intelligence officer, and Nancy Sinatra is, of course, the daughter of Francis Albert Sinatra, whose known associates included Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Sam Giancana, Carlo Gambino, Goetano Luchese and Joseph Fishetti (a cousin of Al Capone).
10050 Cielo Drive (now 10066 Cielo Drive), as it looks today
Frank Sinatra was also a client of hairdresser-to-the-stars Jay Sebring, as was Henry Fonda, who also at one time, strangely enough, lived in the guesthouse at 10050 Cielo Drive. Yet another client of Sebring’s was the next Young Turk on our list, Warren Beatty, whose father, Ira Owens Beaty, was ostensibly a professor of psychology. Young Warren, however, spent all of his early years living in various spooky suburbs of Washington, DC. He was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1937, after which his father moved the family to Norfolk, Virginia, which I think I may have mentioned is home to the world’s largest Naval facility (the reason for that, by the way, is that Norfolk is the gateway to the nation’s capital). The family later relocated to Arlington, Virginia, home of the Pentagon, where Warren attended high school and where he was known on the football field, as John Phillips (who attended a rival school) remembers it, as ‘Mad Dog’ Beaty.
Ira Beaty’s relatively frequent relocations, and the fact that those relocations always seemed to land the family in DC suburbs that are of considerable significance to the military/intelligence community, would tend to indicate that Warren’s dad was something other than what he appeared to be – though that is, of course, a speculative assessment. But if Ira Beaty was on the payroll of some government entity, working within the psychology departments of various DC-area universities, then it wouldn’t require a huge leap of faith to further speculate about what type of work he was doing, given the wholesale co-opting of the field of psychology by the MK-ULTRA program and affiliated projects.
The next Young Turk up for review is the one who went on to become arguably the most acclaimed actor of his generation, Mr. Jack Nicholson. The following is a biographical sketch of Nicholson as presented by Wikipedia: “Bundy was born at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont. The identity of his father remains a mystery … To avoid social stigma, Bundy’s grandparents Samuel and Eleanor Cowell claimed him as their son; in taking their last name, he became Theodore Robert Cowell. He grew up believing his mother Eleanor Louise Cowell to be his older sister. Bundy biographers Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth state that he learned Louise was actually his mother while he was in high school. True crime writer Ann Rule states that it was around 1969, shortly following a traumatic breakup with his college girlfriend.”
Uhhm … hang on a minute … I think I might have screwed up. Something doesn’t seem quite right, but I’m not exactly sure what …. Oh, shit! I see what I did wrong! I accidentally cut and pasted ‘serial killer’ Ted Bundy’s bio instead of Jack Nicholson’s. Sorry about that. This is how Jack’s bio is supposed to read: Nicholson was born at some indeterminate location to an underage, unwed showgirl. The identity of his father remains a mystery … To avoid social stigma, Nicholson’s grandparents John Joseph and Ethel Nicholson claimed him as their son; in taking their last name, he became John Joseph Nicholson, Jr. He grew up believing his mother June Francis Nicholson to be his older sister. Reporters state that he learned June was actually his mother in 1974, when he was 37 years old. By then, June had been dead for just over a decade, having only lived to the age of 44.
It is said that Nicholson was born at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, but there is no record of such a birth at the hospital or in the city’s archives. As it turns out, Jack Nicholson has no birth certificate. Until 1954, by which time he was nearly an adult, he did not officially exist. Even today, the closest thing he has to a birth certificate is a ‘Certificate of a Delayed Report of Birth’ that was filed on May 24, 1954. The document lists John and Ethel Nicholson as the parents and identifies the location of the birth as the Nicholson’s home address in Neptune, New Jersey.
It appears then that there is no way to determine who Jack Nicholson really is. He has told journalists that he has no interest in identifying who his father was, nor, it would appear, in verifying his mother’s identity. What we do know is that the nucleus of the 1960s clique known as the Young Turks (and Turkettes) was composed of the following individuals: the nephew of a Bonesman; the son of an OSS officer; the son of a Naval intelligence officer; the daughter of that same Naval intelligence officer; the daughter of an Army intelligence officer; the daughter of a guy who openly associated with prominent gangsters throughout his life; the son of a probable spychologist; and a guy whose early years are so shrouded in mystery that he may or may not actually exist.
I should probably also mention here that Henry Fonda scored his first acting gig through Dorothy “Dodie” Brando, the director of a local theater and the mother of Jack Nicholson’s future neighbor, Marlon Brando. Being the small world that it is, Marlon’s mom happened to be a good friend of Hank’s mom, Elma Fonda. Truth be told, the families had likely had close ties for a long time. A very long time. The ancestors of both Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda, you see, arrived in New York at nearly the same time, roughly three-and-a-half centuries ago.
Marlon Brando is in a direct line of descent from French Huguenot colonists Louis DuBois and Catharine Blanchan DuBois, who arrived in New York from Mannheim, Germany circa 1660 and promptly founded New Rochelle. Other descendents of DuBois include former U.S. Senator Leverett Saltonstall, former Massachusetts Governor and CFR member William Weld, current California First Lady Maria Shriver, and quite likely U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Zachary Taylor.
Henry Fonda, on the other hand, is a direct descendent of Jellis Douw Fonda and Hester Jans Fonda, Dutch colonists who arrived in New York circa 1650 and settled near what would become Albany. The Fondas had sailed out of Friesland, Netherlands on a ship dubbed the Valckenier, which happened to be co-owned by a very wealthy Dutchman by the name of Jan-Baptist van Rensselaer. And Mr. van Rensselaer, as those who have been paying attention in class will recall, happened to be from the bloodline that would one day produce a guy by the name of David van Cortland Crosby.
It would appear then that Peter Fonda kind of owed Crosby that Triumph motorcycle that he gave him back in the ‘60s, what with David’s ancestors having been cool enough to give Peter’s ancestors a lift over to the New World and all.
One other thing we could note here about Hank Fonda before wrapping up this installment: on September 28, 1919, when Henry was just fourteen years old, he bore witness to a crime so brutally sadistic and depraved that one wonders what such an event would do to a young boy’s psyche. According to an account published at the time, a young black man named Will Brown, accused of raping a white girl, was beaten unconscious by an angry mob. His clothes were then torn off and he was hanged from a lamppost. Though quite dead, his corpse was then riddled with bullets, after which he was cut down and dragged behind a car. His body was then doused with fuel and burned. Following that, Mr. Brown’s charred, battered, bullet-ridden corpse was proudly dragged through the streets of downtown. To commemorate the event, the lynch rope was cut into small pieces that were sold for 10 cents each to eager buyers.
And that, my friends, is a snapshot of the sick society we live in … but here, perhaps, I have digressed.
Another view of 10066 Cielo Drive; now, as in the '60s, it is accessed via the private road that runs behind the stilt homes
Let’s wrap up this installment with a quick review of what we have learned about the people populating Laurel Canyon in the mid-to-late 1960s. We know that one subset of residents was a large group of musicians who all decided, nearly simultaneously, to flood into the canyon. The most prominent members of this group were, to an overwhelming degree, the sons and daughters of the military/intelligence community. We also know that mingled in with them were the young stars of Hollywood, who also were, to an astonishing degree, the sons and daughters of the military/intelligence community. And, finally, we know that also in the mix were scores of military/intelligence personnel who operated out of the facility known as Lookout Mountain Laboratory.
I got to tell you here folks that, given the relatively small size of Laurel Canyon, I’m beginning to wonder if there was any room left over for any normal folks who might have wanted to live the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. But even so, I’m sure that there are still some hardcore ‘coincidence theorists’ in the crowd who will still see all of this as “much ado about nothing.” I am committed though to helping those folks see the light, no matter how much it might hurt their sensitive eyes, so I am going to toss one more provocative element into the Laurel Canyon mix, courtesy of Paul Young’s L.A. Exposed:
“The most infamous male madam [throughout LA’s sordid history] would have to be Billy Bryars, the wealthy son of an oil magnate, and part-time producer of gay porn. Bryars was said to have a stellar group of customers using his ‘brothel’ at the summit of Laurel Canyon. In fact, some have claimed that none other than J. Edgar Hoover, the founder and chief executive officer of the FBI, was one of his best clients … when Bryars fell under police scrutiny in 1973, allegedly for trafficking in child pornography, officers obtained a number of confessions from some of his hustlers, and some of them identified Hoover and [Clyde] Tolson as ‘Mother John and Uncle Mike,’ and claimed that they had serviced them on numerous occasions.”
It appears then that the top law-enforcement officials in the nation were also a part of the Laurel Canyon scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s, along with various other unnamed persons of prominence. And we also find, not too shockingly at this point, that Laurel Canyon was a portal of child pornography, which of course goes hand-in-hand with the reports that we have already reviewed of organized, multi-perpetrator child sexual abuse. And lest we forget, we also have that long and bloody Laurel Canyon Death List, which, in the next installment, is going to get even longer, and even bloodier.
Stay tuned …
* * * * * * * * *
And now, faithful readers, allow me to address a couple common questions that have arisen, beginning with:
1. What is the subtitle of the series, “The Strange but Mostly True Story …” supposed to mean? Do you just make this shit up as you go along?
The subtitle alludes to the fact that when dealing with anything concerning Hollywood, there is almost always more than one version of the ‘truth.’ Much of what passes for truth in Hollywood is actually legend and mythmaking, and much of what is dismissed as rumor and legend is actually at least an approximation of the truth. I have endeavored to report this story as accurately as humanly possible by utilizing my finely-honed bullshit detector to separate fact from fiction. Most of the important details of the story, in any event, are not disputed.
2. Are you planning on ultimately publishing this as a book?
I doubt it. I considered putting it together as a book manuscript, but I ultimately decided to put it out on the Internet instead, for a couple of reasons, the first of which is that I wanted people to actually read it. And you people, if we’re being honest here, aren’t really into that ‘old school’ concept of buying and reading books. The reality is that, based on the traffic to my site of late, far more people have read this series in the couple of months that it was been in progress than have read my last book after four years in print.
The other reason that I chose to present this material via the Internet is so that all of you can help to insure that the story is told as accurately as possible. This is, in a sense, a collaborative effort. Though I am willing to do most of the heavy lifting, I am relying on all of you to point out any gaffes or omissions. In other words, this is very much a work in progress and I have already made some minor corrections in previous posts thanks to feedback from readers.
Thanks to one particularly helpful reader who has access to California’s Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Indexes, as well as U.S. Census information, we now know a little more about the Paulekas clan than we did before. Vitautas Alfonso Paulekas was born on May 20, 1913 in Massachusetts, the son of John and Rose Paulekas. He had one older sister, Albena, and two younger brothers, Bronislo and John. Vito married Szou (real name Sueanne C. Shaffer) on July 7, 1961, when he was 48 and she was just 18. If they met when she was 16, as seems quite probable, then Vito was 46 at the time, rather than in his fifties as previously reported.
By far the most interesting information to surface concerns young Godo Paulekas. Born on December 1, 1963, Godo died on December 23, 1966, having just made it past his third birthday. December 23 was, curiously enough, the winter solstice (or very close to it). And it wasn’t just any winter solstice, mind you, but specifically the first winter solstice in the Age of Satan (as declared by Kenneth Anger’s buddy, Anton LaVey, on April 30, 1966). The date of his death also means that young Godo died less than 48 hours before Christmas morning, and yet his parents still thought it a good time to go out dancing.
Vito and Sueanne divorced in Northern California in March of 1975. Before doing so, they produced several more children, each given increasingly ridiculous names. Gruvi Nipples Paulekas was born on June 23, 1967, exactly six months after Godo’s death and, therefore, very near the summer solstice. Bp Paulekas was born on December 29, 1969, just days after the third anniversary of Godo’s death. Bizarrely enough, Sky Paulekas was born on December 1, 1971, on what would have been Godo’s eighth birthday. Last but certainly not least, Phreekus Mageekus Paulekas was born on January 28, 1974, a little over a year before Vito and Sueanne divorced. According to one report, Gruvi has joined Godo in the great beyond, a victim of her voracious appetite for drugs and alcohol.
As for Carl Franzoni, there were indeed a couple of brothers named Franzoni who were brought over from Italy in the early 1800s to carve the Masonic monuments of Washington. According to Ihna Thayer Frary’s book, They Built the Capitol, Guiseppe Franzoni (and his brother Carlo) “had especially good family connections in Italy, he being a nephew of Cardinal Franzoni and son of the President of the Academy of Fine Arts at Carrara.” Also shipped over were Francisco Iardella, a cousin of the Franzoni brothers, and Giovanni Andrei, a brother-in-law of Guiseppe Franzoni. Thus far, I have been unable to verify that Carl Franzoni is in fact descended from these men, but it seems quite likely given that Carl would probably not be aware of such an obscure chapter of American history were it not for a family connection.
One final note: I looked it up and it turns out that Bobby Sherman ended up becoming a sheriff’s deputy. For real. Unlike his late-1960s Here Come the Brides co-star, David Soul, who later became fake bad-ass cop ‘Hutch,’ Bobby became a real bad-ass cop. So I guess he was pretty cool after all. Except for, of course, the hair. And the clothes. And the sappy songs. And the bad acting. And …
Let’s just forget that I ever brought it up.
Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the Birth of the Hippie Generation
Part VII
June 22, 2008
“As all halfway-decent managers in the rock era have done, [Jim] Dickson worked on seducing the in-crowd and creating a buzz around [The Byrds] … The timing was perfect … LA’s baby-boomers were mobile, getting around, looking for action. And now they were joined by the hip elite of Hollywood itself, from Sal Mineo and Peter Fonda to junkie comic Lenny Bruce.”
Barney Hoskyns, Waiting for the Sun
As important as the Freaks were to building an audience for the new Laurel Canyon bands, there was another group that played a key role as well: Hollywood’s so-called “Young Turks.” Like the Freaks, the Turks became an immediate and constant presence on the newly emerging Sunset Strip scene. And as with the Freaks, their presence on the Strip was heavily promoted by the media. Locals and tourists alike knew where to go to gawk at the Freaks and, as an added bonus, quite possibly rub shoulders with the likes of Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper and Warren Beatty, along with their female counterparts like Jane Fonda, Nancy Sinatra and Sharon Tate.
Many of these young and glamorous Hollywood stars forged very close bonds with the Laurel Canyon musicians. Some of them, including Peter Fonda, found homes in the canyon so that they could live, work and party among the rock stars (and, in their free time, pass around John Phillips’ wife to just about every swinging dick in the canyon, including Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, Warren Beatty, Roman Polanski, and Gene Clark of The Byrds). Some of them never left; Jack Nicholson to this day lives in a spacious estate just off the portion of Mulholland Drive that lies between Laurel Canyon and Coldwater Canyon. Not far west of Nicholson’s property (which now includes the neighboring estate formerly owned by Marlon Brando) sits the longtime home of Warren Beatty.
From the symbiotic relationship between Laurel Canyon actors and Laurel Canyon musicians arose a series of feature films that are now considered counter-cultural classics. One such film was 1967’s The Trip, an unintentionally hilarious attempt to create a cinematic facsimile of an LSD trip. Written by, of all people, Jack Nicholson, the movie starred fellow Turks Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Bruce Dern. Seated in the director’s chair was Roger Corman, who, throughout his career, worked side-by-side with David Crosby’s dad on no less than twenty-three feature films. Recruited to supply the soundtrack for the film was Gram Parson’s International Submarine Band (Parson’s music, however, was ultimately not used, though the band does make a brief on-screen appearance). The house where most of the film was shot, at the top of Kirkwood Drive in Laurel Canyon, was the home of Love’s Arthur Lee.
Occult imagery from the film The TripAnother ‘psychedelic’ cult film of the late 1960s with deep roots in Laurel Canyon was the Monkee’s 1968 big-screen offering, Head. Also scripted by Nicholson (with assistance from Bob Rafelson), the movie included cameo appearances by canyon dwellers Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson and Frank Zappa. The music – performed, of course, by The Monkees – was a mix of songs written by the band and contributions from Canyon songwriters like Carol King and Harry Nilsson. And shockingly, some of that music is actually pretty good. Even more shockingly, the movie overall is arguably the most watchable of the 1960s cult films. It is certainly a vast improvement over, for example, 1968’s wretched Psych Out (starring Nicholson and Dern).
I do realize, by the way, that some of you out there in readerland cringe every time that I mention The Monkees as though they were a ‘real’ band. The reality though is that they were every bit as ‘real’ as most of their contemporaries. And while the made-for-TV Beatles replicants were looked down upon by music critics and fans alike, they were fully accepted as members of the musical fraternity by the other Laurel Canyon bands. The homes of both Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork were popular canyon hangouts in the late ‘60s for a number of ‘real’ musicians. Also regularly dropping by Dolenz’ party house were Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson.
The difference in perception between their peers and the public was attributable to the fact that the other bands knew something that the fans did not: the very same studio musicians who appeared without credit on The Monkee’s albums also appeared without credit on their albums. And then, of course, there was the fact that so many of Laurel Canyon’s ‘real’ musicians had taken a stab at being a part of The Monkees, including Steven Stills, Love’s Bryan MacLean, and Three Dog Night’s Danny Hutton – all of whom answered the Monkees’ casting call and were rejected.
There were undoubtedly other future stars who auditioned for the show as well, though most would probably prefer not to discuss such things. Despite persistent rumors, however, there was one local musician who we can safely conclude did not read for a part: Charles Manson. Given that the show was cast in 1965 and began its brief television run in 1966, while Charlie was still imprisoned at Terminal Island awaiting his release in March of 1967, there doesn’t appear to be any way that Manson could have been considered for a part on the show. And that’s kind of a shame when you think about it, because if he had been, we might today remember Charlie Manson not as one of America’s most notorious criminals, but rather as the guy who made Marcia Brady swoon.
And, let’s be honest here, would that really have been any worse than seeing her go ga-ga over the likes of Davy Jones? I mean, I could have understood if she had gotten weak in the knees over, you know, a real man like David Cassidy or Bobby Sherman. Now, I hope we can all agree that those guys were cool … right? Is everyone with me on this? Anyone? … Anyone? …
You know, I’m thinking back right now as I sit here, and I can actually picture in my mind the covers of a couple of Bobby Sherman albums that I had in my personal coll … err, that we had lying around the house for some reason, I’m not really sure why, and … come to think of it, I think there might have even been a Bobby Sherman poster or two pulled from the pages of Tiger Beat magazine, and, uhmm, I suppose I can see how that might seem a little bit, uhhh, what’s the word I’m looking for? … ‘gay’ or whatever to a modern, twenty-first-century-man-about-town, but I’m sure that, if you checked into it, you would find that there were a lot of young boys back ‘in the day’ who just really dug Bobby Sherman and those great songs like “Julie (Do You Love Me)” and “Easy Come, Easy Go” and … uhmm … maybe this is a good time to get back to where we left off.
Returning then to the counter-cultural films of the 1960s, the most critically acclaimed of the lot, and the one with the deepest roots in Laurel Canyon, was Easy Rider. Directed (sort of) by Dennis Hopper, from a script co-written by he and Peter Fonda, the film starred Fonda and Hopper along with Jack Nicholson (the only one in the movie who did anything resembling actual acting). Hopper’s walrus-mustachioed character in the film was based on David Crosby, who was regularly seen racing his motorcycle up and down the winding streets of Laurel Canyon (that motorcycle, by the way, had been a gift from Crosby’s good buddy, Peter Fonda). Fonda’s absurd ‘Captain America’ character was inspired either by John Phillips’ riding partner, Gram Parsons, or by Crosby’s former bandmate in The Byrds, Roger McGuinn (depending upon who is telling the story.) That very same Roger McGuinn scored the original music for the film. His contributions were joined on the soundtrack by offerings from fellow Canyonite musicians The Byrds, Steppenwolf, Fraternity of Man and Jimi Hendrix. And the movie’s hippie commune was reportedly created and filmed in the canyons, near Mulholland Drive.
Since Easy Rider had such deep roots in the Laurel Canyon scene, we need to briefly focus our attention here on one other individual who worked on the film: art director Jeremy Kay, aka Jerry Kay. Before Easy Rider, Kay had worked on such cinematic abominations as Angels from Hell, Hells Angels on Wheels (with Jack Nicholson), and Scorpio Rising (Kenneth Anger’s occult-tinged homage to gay bikers). In the mid-1970s, Kay would write, direct and produce a charming little film entitled Satan’s Children. Of far more interest here than his film credits though is his membership in the 1960s in a group known as the Solar Lodge of the Ordo Templi Orientis (or OTO), which found itself in the news, and not in a good way, just after Easy Rider opened on theater screens across America.
Two weeks after Easy Rider premiered on July 14, 1969, police acting on a phone tip raided the Solar Lodge’s compound near Blythe, California and found a six-year-old boy locked outdoors in a 6’x6’ wooden crate in the sweltering desert heat. The young boy, whose father was a Los Angeles County probation officer (as was Michelle Phillip’s father, by the way), had been chained to a steel plate for nearly two months in temperatures reaching as high as 117° F. According to an FBI report, the box also contained a can “partially filled with human waste and swarming with flies … The stench was nauseating.” Before being put in the box, the child had been burned with matches and beaten with bamboo poles by cult members. The leader of the cult, Georgina Brayton, had reportedly told cult members that “when it was convenient, she was going to give [the boy] LSD and set fire to the structure in which he was chained and give him just enough chain to get out of reach of the fire.” Killing the child had also been discussed (and apparently condoned by the boy’s mind-fucked mother).
Eleven adult members of the sect were charged with felony child abuse, the majority of them young white men in their early twenties. All were brought to trial and convicted. In a curious bit of timing, the raid that resulted in the arrests and convictions coincided with the torture and murder of musician Gary Hinman by a trio of Manson acolytes. Though it is, not surprisingly, vehemently denied by concerned parties, various sources have claimed that Manson had ties to the group, which also maintained a home near the USC campus in Los Angeles. There is no doubt that Charlie preached the same dogma, including the notion of an apocalyptic race war looming on the horizon. The massacre at the Tate residence occurred less than two weeks after the raid on the OTO compound. Manson’s Barker Ranch hideout would be raided a few months later, on October 12, 1969 – the birthday, as I may have already mentioned, of Aleister Crowley, the Grand Poobah of the OTO until his death in 1947.
Sorry about that little digression, folks. I’m not entirely sure how we ended up at the Barker Ranch when the focus of this installment was supposed to be on the Young Turks. So having now established that those Turks were a fully integrated part of the Laurel Canyon/Sunset Strip scene, and also that they played an important role in luring the public out to the new clubs to check out the new bands, our next task is to get to know a little bit about who these folks are and where they came from. Let’s begin with Mr. Bruce Dern, who has some of the most provocative connections of any of the characters in this story.
It is probably safe to say that Dern’s parents had rather impressive political connections, given that baby Bruce’s godparents were sitting First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and future two-time Democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson (he lost both times, in 1952 and 1956, to Eisenhower). Bruce’s paternal grandfather was a guy by the name of George Dern, who served as Secretary of War under President Franklin Roosevelt (for the youngsters in the crowd, ‘Secretary of War’ is what we used to call the ‘Secretary of Defense’ in a slightly less Orwellian era). George had also served as Governor of Utah and Chairman of the National Governors’ Association. Bruce’s mother was born Jean MacLeish, and she happened to be the sister of Archibald MacLeish, who also served under Franklin Roosevelt, as the Director of the War Department’s Office of Facts and Figures and as the Assistant Director of the Office of War Information. In other words, Archibald MacLeish was essentially America’s Minister of War Propaganda. He also served at various times as an Assistant Secretary of State and as the Librarian of Congress. By far the most impressive item on his résumé, however, was his membership in everyone’s favorite secret society, Skull and Bones (class of 1915, one year before Prescott Bush was tapped in 1916).
The view from Arthur Lee's Laurel Canyon home (screen capture from The Trip)It would appear then that, even by Laurel Canyon standards, Mr. Dern has friends in very high places. Let’s turn our attention next to the guy being embraced by Dern in the photo above, Mr. Peter Fonda. Of course, we all know that Fonda is the son of good ol’ Hank Fonda, lovable Hollywood liberal and all-around nice guy. And certainly even a contrarian such as myself would not be so bold as to suggest that Henry Fonda might have some skeletons in his closet … right? Just for the hell of it though, there are a few chapters of the Hank Fonda saga that we should probably review here.
We can begin, I suppose, by noting that Hank served as a decorated US Naval Intelligence officer during World War II, thus sparing Peter the stigma of being the only member of the Laurel Canyon in-crowd to have not been spawned by a member of the military/intelligence community. Not too many years after the war, Hank’s wife, Francis Ford Seymour, was found with her throat slashed open with a straight razor. Peter was just ten years old at the time of his mother’s, uhmm, suicide on April 14, 1950. When Seymour had met and married Hank, she was the widow of George Brokaw, who had, curiously enough, previously been married to prominent CIA asset Claire Booth Luce.
Fonda rebounded quickly from Seymour’s unusual death and within eight months he was married once again, to Susan Blanchard, to whom he remained married until 1956. In 1957, Hank married yet again, this time to Italian Countess Afdera Franchetti (who followed up her four-year marriage to Fonda with a rumored affair with newly-sworn-in President John Kennedy). Franchetti, as it turns out, is the daughter of Baron Raimondo Franchetti, who was a consultant to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The countess is also the great-granddaughter of Louise Sarah Rothschild, of the ever-popular Rothschild banking family (perhaps you’ve heard of them?)
Before moving on, I should probably mention that Hank’s first wife, Margaret Sullavan – who was yet another child of Norfolk, Virginia – also allegedly committed suicide, on New Year’s Day, 1960. Nine months later, her daughter Bridget followed suit. In 1961, very soon after the deaths of first her mother and then her sister, Sullavan’s other daughter, Brook Hayward, walked down the aisle with the next Young Turk on our list, Dennis Hopper. For those who may be unfamiliar with Hopper’s body of work, he is the guy who was once found wandering naked and bewildered in a Mexican forest. And the guy who, after divorcing Hayward in 1969, married Michelle Phillips on Halloween day, 1970, only to have her file for divorce just eight days later claiming that Hopper had kept her handcuffed and imprisoned for a week while making “unnatural sexual demands.”
Without passing judgment here, I think it’s fair to say that Michelle Phillips has been around the block a time or two, if you catch my drift, so if even she thought Hopper’s demands were a bit over the top, then one can only wonder just how “unnatural” they might have been. For what it’s worth, Hopper just recently told a journalist that he “didn’t handcuff her, [he] just punched her out!” In his mind, apparently, that makes him somewhat less of an asshole.
Most official biographies of Hopper would lead one to believe that he was the son of a simple farmer. Dennis recently acknowledged, however, that that was clearly not the case: “My mother’s father was a wheat farmer and I was raised on their farm. But my father was not a farmer.” To the contrary, Hopper’s dad was “a working person in intelligence” who during WWII “was in the OSS. He was in China, Burma, India.” Hopper has proudly proclaimed that his father “was one of the 100 guys that liberated General Wainright out of prison in Korea,” which might be a little more impressive were it not for the fact that it was actually the Red Army that freed Wainright and other prisoners; the US intel team just came to pick them up, debrief them and transport them home … but that, I suppose, isn’t really relevant.
After the war, according to Hopper, his dad carried a gun, which I suppose is what most lay ministers in the Methodist Church do. The family also left the farm in Kansas and relocated to San Diego, California, home of the Imperial Beach Naval Air Station, the United States Naval Radio Station, the United States Naval Amphibious Base, the North Island Naval Air Station, Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation, the United States Naval Training Center, the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot, and the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. And just north of the city sits the massive Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. Other than that though, San Diego is just a sleepy little beach town where Hopper’s dad ostensibly worked for the Post Office.
The modern version of Dennis Hopper, by the way, is wildly at odds with the hippie image that he at one time tried very hard to cultivate. Today’s Dennis Hopper is an unapologetic cheerleader for Team Bush who proudly boasts of having voted a straight Republican ticket for nearly thirty years. He could very well turn up on the campaign trail in the coming months with his lips firmly planted on the ass of war criminal John McCain.
To briefly recap then, we have thus far met three of the ‘Young Turks’ and we have found that one of them is the nephew of a Bonesman, another is the son of a Naval Intelligence officer who was once married to a Rothschild descendent, and the third is the slightly deranged son of an OSS officer. Come to think of it, we have actually covered one of the ‘Turkettes’ as well, since Jane Fonda obviously came from the same family background as her younger brother, Peter. As for the other female members of the posse, Sharon Tate was the daughter of Lt. Col. Paul Tate, a career US Army intelligence officer, and Nancy Sinatra is, of course, the daughter of Francis Albert Sinatra, whose known associates included Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Sam Giancana, Carlo Gambino, Goetano Luchese and Joseph Fishetti (a cousin of Al Capone).
10050 Cielo Drive (now 10066 Cielo Drive), as it looks todayFrank Sinatra was also a client of hairdresser-to-the-stars Jay Sebring, as was Henry Fonda, who also at one time, strangely enough, lived in the guesthouse at 10050 Cielo Drive. Yet another client of Sebring’s was the next Young Turk on our list, Warren Beatty, whose father, Ira Owens Beaty, was ostensibly a professor of psychology. Young Warren, however, spent all of his early years living in various spooky suburbs of Washington, DC. He was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1937, after which his father moved the family to Norfolk, Virginia, which I think I may have mentioned is home to the world’s largest Naval facility (the reason for that, by the way, is that Norfolk is the gateway to the nation’s capital). The family later relocated to Arlington, Virginia, home of the Pentagon, where Warren attended high school and where he was known on the football field, as John Phillips (who attended a rival school) remembers it, as ‘Mad Dog’ Beaty.
Ira Beaty’s relatively frequent relocations, and the fact that those relocations always seemed to land the family in DC suburbs that are of considerable significance to the military/intelligence community, would tend to indicate that Warren’s dad was something other than what he appeared to be – though that is, of course, a speculative assessment. But if Ira Beaty was on the payroll of some government entity, working within the psychology departments of various DC-area universities, then it wouldn’t require a huge leap of faith to further speculate about what type of work he was doing, given the wholesale co-opting of the field of psychology by the MK-ULTRA program and affiliated projects.
The next Young Turk up for review is the one who went on to become arguably the most acclaimed actor of his generation, Mr. Jack Nicholson. The following is a biographical sketch of Nicholson as presented by Wikipedia: “Bundy was born at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont. The identity of his father remains a mystery … To avoid social stigma, Bundy’s grandparents Samuel and Eleanor Cowell claimed him as their son; in taking their last name, he became Theodore Robert Cowell. He grew up believing his mother Eleanor Louise Cowell to be his older sister. Bundy biographers Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth state that he learned Louise was actually his mother while he was in high school. True crime writer Ann Rule states that it was around 1969, shortly following a traumatic breakup with his college girlfriend.”
Uhhm … hang on a minute … I think I might have screwed up. Something doesn’t seem quite right, but I’m not exactly sure what …. Oh, shit! I see what I did wrong! I accidentally cut and pasted ‘serial killer’ Ted Bundy’s bio instead of Jack Nicholson’s. Sorry about that. This is how Jack’s bio is supposed to read: Nicholson was born at some indeterminate location to an underage, unwed showgirl. The identity of his father remains a mystery … To avoid social stigma, Nicholson’s grandparents John Joseph and Ethel Nicholson claimed him as their son; in taking their last name, he became John Joseph Nicholson, Jr. He grew up believing his mother June Francis Nicholson to be his older sister. Reporters state that he learned June was actually his mother in 1974, when he was 37 years old. By then, June had been dead for just over a decade, having only lived to the age of 44.
It is said that Nicholson was born at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, but there is no record of such a birth at the hospital or in the city’s archives. As it turns out, Jack Nicholson has no birth certificate. Until 1954, by which time he was nearly an adult, he did not officially exist. Even today, the closest thing he has to a birth certificate is a ‘Certificate of a Delayed Report of Birth’ that was filed on May 24, 1954. The document lists John and Ethel Nicholson as the parents and identifies the location of the birth as the Nicholson’s home address in Neptune, New Jersey.
It appears then that there is no way to determine who Jack Nicholson really is. He has told journalists that he has no interest in identifying who his father was, nor, it would appear, in verifying his mother’s identity. What we do know is that the nucleus of the 1960s clique known as the Young Turks (and Turkettes) was composed of the following individuals: the nephew of a Bonesman; the son of an OSS officer; the son of a Naval intelligence officer; the daughter of that same Naval intelligence officer; the daughter of an Army intelligence officer; the daughter of a guy who openly associated with prominent gangsters throughout his life; the son of a probable spychologist; and a guy whose early years are so shrouded in mystery that he may or may not actually exist.
I should probably also mention here that Henry Fonda scored his first acting gig through Dorothy “Dodie” Brando, the director of a local theater and the mother of Jack Nicholson’s future neighbor, Marlon Brando. Being the small world that it is, Marlon’s mom happened to be a good friend of Hank’s mom, Elma Fonda. Truth be told, the families had likely had close ties for a long time. A very long time. The ancestors of both Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda, you see, arrived in New York at nearly the same time, roughly three-and-a-half centuries ago.
Marlon Brando is in a direct line of descent from French Huguenot colonists Louis DuBois and Catharine Blanchan DuBois, who arrived in New York from Mannheim, Germany circa 1660 and promptly founded New Rochelle. Other descendents of DuBois include former U.S. Senator Leverett Saltonstall, former Massachusetts Governor and CFR member William Weld, current California First Lady Maria Shriver, and quite likely U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Zachary Taylor.
Henry Fonda, on the other hand, is a direct descendent of Jellis Douw Fonda and Hester Jans Fonda, Dutch colonists who arrived in New York circa 1650 and settled near what would become Albany. The Fondas had sailed out of Friesland, Netherlands on a ship dubbed the Valckenier, which happened to be co-owned by a very wealthy Dutchman by the name of Jan-Baptist van Rensselaer. And Mr. van Rensselaer, as those who have been paying attention in class will recall, happened to be from the bloodline that would one day produce a guy by the name of David van Cortland Crosby.
It would appear then that Peter Fonda kind of owed Crosby that Triumph motorcycle that he gave him back in the ‘60s, what with David’s ancestors having been cool enough to give Peter’s ancestors a lift over to the New World and all.
One other thing we could note here about Hank Fonda before wrapping up this installment: on September 28, 1919, when Henry was just fourteen years old, he bore witness to a crime so brutally sadistic and depraved that one wonders what such an event would do to a young boy’s psyche. According to an account published at the time, a young black man named Will Brown, accused of raping a white girl, was beaten unconscious by an angry mob. His clothes were then torn off and he was hanged from a lamppost. Though quite dead, his corpse was then riddled with bullets, after which he was cut down and dragged behind a car. His body was then doused with fuel and burned. Following that, Mr. Brown’s charred, battered, bullet-ridden corpse was proudly dragged through the streets of downtown. To commemorate the event, the lynch rope was cut into small pieces that were sold for 10 cents each to eager buyers.
And that, my friends, is a snapshot of the sick society we live in … but here, perhaps, I have digressed.
Another view of 10066 Cielo Drive; now, as in the '60s, it is accessed via the private road that runs behind the stilt homesLet’s wrap up this installment with a quick review of what we have learned about the people populating Laurel Canyon in the mid-to-late 1960s. We know that one subset of residents was a large group of musicians who all decided, nearly simultaneously, to flood into the canyon. The most prominent members of this group were, to an overwhelming degree, the sons and daughters of the military/intelligence community. We also know that mingled in with them were the young stars of Hollywood, who also were, to an astonishing degree, the sons and daughters of the military/intelligence community. And, finally, we know that also in the mix were scores of military/intelligence personnel who operated out of the facility known as Lookout Mountain Laboratory.
I got to tell you here folks that, given the relatively small size of Laurel Canyon, I’m beginning to wonder if there was any room left over for any normal folks who might have wanted to live the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. But even so, I’m sure that there are still some hardcore ‘coincidence theorists’ in the crowd who will still see all of this as “much ado about nothing.” I am committed though to helping those folks see the light, no matter how much it might hurt their sensitive eyes, so I am going to toss one more provocative element into the Laurel Canyon mix, courtesy of Paul Young’s L.A. Exposed:
“The most infamous male madam [throughout LA’s sordid history] would have to be Billy Bryars, the wealthy son of an oil magnate, and part-time producer of gay porn. Bryars was said to have a stellar group of customers using his ‘brothel’ at the summit of Laurel Canyon. In fact, some have claimed that none other than J. Edgar Hoover, the founder and chief executive officer of the FBI, was one of his best clients … when Bryars fell under police scrutiny in 1973, allegedly for trafficking in child pornography, officers obtained a number of confessions from some of his hustlers, and some of them identified Hoover and [Clyde] Tolson as ‘Mother John and Uncle Mike,’ and claimed that they had serviced them on numerous occasions.”
It appears then that the top law-enforcement officials in the nation were also a part of the Laurel Canyon scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s, along with various other unnamed persons of prominence. And we also find, not too shockingly at this point, that Laurel Canyon was a portal of child pornography, which of course goes hand-in-hand with the reports that we have already reviewed of organized, multi-perpetrator child sexual abuse. And lest we forget, we also have that long and bloody Laurel Canyon Death List, which, in the next installment, is going to get even longer, and even bloodier.
Stay tuned …
* * * * * * * * *
And now, faithful readers, allow me to address a couple common questions that have arisen, beginning with:
1. What is the subtitle of the series, “The Strange but Mostly True Story …” supposed to mean? Do you just make this shit up as you go along?
The subtitle alludes to the fact that when dealing with anything concerning Hollywood, there is almost always more than one version of the ‘truth.’ Much of what passes for truth in Hollywood is actually legend and mythmaking, and much of what is dismissed as rumor and legend is actually at least an approximation of the truth. I have endeavored to report this story as accurately as humanly possible by utilizing my finely-honed bullshit detector to separate fact from fiction. Most of the important details of the story, in any event, are not disputed.
2. Are you planning on ultimately publishing this as a book?
I doubt it. I considered putting it together as a book manuscript, but I ultimately decided to put it out on the Internet instead, for a couple of reasons, the first of which is that I wanted people to actually read it. And you people, if we’re being honest here, aren’t really into that ‘old school’ concept of buying and reading books. The reality is that, based on the traffic to my site of late, far more people have read this series in the couple of months that it was been in progress than have read my last book after four years in print.
The other reason that I chose to present this material via the Internet is so that all of you can help to insure that the story is told as accurately as possible. This is, in a sense, a collaborative effort. Though I am willing to do most of the heavy lifting, I am relying on all of you to point out any gaffes or omissions. In other words, this is very much a work in progress and I have already made some minor corrections in previous posts thanks to feedback from readers.
Thanks to one particularly helpful reader who has access to California’s Birth, Death, Marriage and Divorce Indexes, as well as U.S. Census information, we now know a little more about the Paulekas clan than we did before. Vitautas Alfonso Paulekas was born on May 20, 1913 in Massachusetts, the son of John and Rose Paulekas. He had one older sister, Albena, and two younger brothers, Bronislo and John. Vito married Szou (real name Sueanne C. Shaffer) on July 7, 1961, when he was 48 and she was just 18. If they met when she was 16, as seems quite probable, then Vito was 46 at the time, rather than in his fifties as previously reported.
By far the most interesting information to surface concerns young Godo Paulekas. Born on December 1, 1963, Godo died on December 23, 1966, having just made it past his third birthday. December 23 was, curiously enough, the winter solstice (or very close to it). And it wasn’t just any winter solstice, mind you, but specifically the first winter solstice in the Age of Satan (as declared by Kenneth Anger’s buddy, Anton LaVey, on April 30, 1966). The date of his death also means that young Godo died less than 48 hours before Christmas morning, and yet his parents still thought it a good time to go out dancing.
Vito and Sueanne divorced in Northern California in March of 1975. Before doing so, they produced several more children, each given increasingly ridiculous names. Gruvi Nipples Paulekas was born on June 23, 1967, exactly six months after Godo’s death and, therefore, very near the summer solstice. Bp Paulekas was born on December 29, 1969, just days after the third anniversary of Godo’s death. Bizarrely enough, Sky Paulekas was born on December 1, 1971, on what would have been Godo’s eighth birthday. Last but certainly not least, Phreekus Mageekus Paulekas was born on January 28, 1974, a little over a year before Vito and Sueanne divorced. According to one report, Gruvi has joined Godo in the great beyond, a victim of her voracious appetite for drugs and alcohol.
As for Carl Franzoni, there were indeed a couple of brothers named Franzoni who were brought over from Italy in the early 1800s to carve the Masonic monuments of Washington. According to Ihna Thayer Frary’s book, They Built the Capitol, Guiseppe Franzoni (and his brother Carlo) “had especially good family connections in Italy, he being a nephew of Cardinal Franzoni and son of the President of the Academy of Fine Arts at Carrara.” Also shipped over were Francisco Iardella, a cousin of the Franzoni brothers, and Giovanni Andrei, a brother-in-law of Guiseppe Franzoni. Thus far, I have been unable to verify that Carl Franzoni is in fact descended from these men, but it seems quite likely given that Carl would probably not be aware of such an obscure chapter of American history were it not for a family connection.
One final note: I looked it up and it turns out that Bobby Sherman ended up becoming a sheriff’s deputy. For real. Unlike his late-1960s Here Come the Brides co-star, David Soul, who later became fake bad-ass cop ‘Hutch,’ Bobby became a real bad-ass cop. So I guess he was pretty cool after all. Except for, of course, the hair. And the clothes. And the sappy songs. And the bad acting. And …
Let’s just forget that I ever brought it up.
Gibbs Assails CNBC Personality
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/defending-presi.html
Defending President's Housing Proposal, Gibbs Assails CNBC Personality
February 20, 2009
Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
The White House lashed back today at CNBC'S Rick Santelli, a CNBC personality who assailed President Obama's housing rescue plan Thursday on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
"I'm not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives or in what house he lives," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs during a press briefing. "But the American people are struggling every day to meet their mortgage, stay in their job, pay their bills, to send their kids to school, and to hope that they don't get sick or that somebody they care for gets sick and sends them into bankruptcy. I think we left a few months ago the -- the adage that, if it was good for a derivatives trader, that it was good for Main Street. I think the verdict is in on that."
"Mr Santelli doesn't know what he's. talking about," Gibbs said a little later. He was responding to a question about public anger at the fact that some people who acted irresponsibly may benefit from the president's plan, a question which mentioned "that cable rant on the floor of the exchange."
"Mr. Santelli has argued -- I think quite wrongly -- that this plan won't help everyone," Gibbs said. "This plan will help, by the money that's invested in Freddie and Fannie, will drive down mortgage rates for millions of Americans."
Concluded Gibbs, "now, every day when I come out here, I spend a little time reading, studying on the issues, asking people who are smarter than I am questions about those issues. I would encourage him to read the president's plan and understand that it will help millions of people, many of whom he knows. I'd be more than happy to have him come here and read it."
"I'd be happy to buy him a cup of coffee," Gibbs wryly added, in remarks he seemed to have prepared. "Decaf."
"Let me do this, too," Gibbs said. "This is a copy of the president's home affordability plan. It's available on the White House Web site, and I would encourage him, download it, hit print, and begin to read it."
Santelli, who has been a member of both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, lashed out at the Obama administration yesterday for "promoting bad behavior."
"We certainly don’t want to put stimulus forth and give people a whopping $8 or $10 in their check and think they ought to save it," effused Santelli on CNBC from the floor of the Exchange. "And in terms of modifications, I tell you what, I have an idea. The new administration is big on computers and technology – how about this, President and new administration? Why don’t you put up a Web site to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages, or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water.”
There were some cheers from those surrounding Santelli on the floor.
“This is America. How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand."
There were boos.
"President Obama are you listening?” Santelli asked.
Santelli said, “We’re thinking about having a Chicago tea party in July. All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I’m going to start organizing it! We're going to be dumping in some derivative securities, what do you think about that?"
Asked about the general benefit of cable news discussions on the economy, Gibbs said "people are entitled to their own opinion, not just their own facts."
Gibbs said "I don't think anybody can sit in front of some of the TV and listen for an hour and not hear somebody that's making a case that just -- I've got to assume they knowing -- they know just isn't true."
He added that if "I hadn't worked on the campaign, but simply watched the cable news score-keeping of the campaign, we lost virtually every day of the race...If I would have just watched cable TV, I long would have crawled into a hole and given up this whole prospect of changing the country."
Defending President's Housing Proposal, Gibbs Assails CNBC Personality
February 20, 2009
Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
The White House lashed back today at CNBC'S Rick Santelli, a CNBC personality who assailed President Obama's housing rescue plan Thursday on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
"I'm not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives or in what house he lives," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs during a press briefing. "But the American people are struggling every day to meet their mortgage, stay in their job, pay their bills, to send their kids to school, and to hope that they don't get sick or that somebody they care for gets sick and sends them into bankruptcy. I think we left a few months ago the -- the adage that, if it was good for a derivatives trader, that it was good for Main Street. I think the verdict is in on that."
"Mr Santelli doesn't know what he's. talking about," Gibbs said a little later. He was responding to a question about public anger at the fact that some people who acted irresponsibly may benefit from the president's plan, a question which mentioned "that cable rant on the floor of the exchange."
"Mr. Santelli has argued -- I think quite wrongly -- that this plan won't help everyone," Gibbs said. "This plan will help, by the money that's invested in Freddie and Fannie, will drive down mortgage rates for millions of Americans."
Concluded Gibbs, "now, every day when I come out here, I spend a little time reading, studying on the issues, asking people who are smarter than I am questions about those issues. I would encourage him to read the president's plan and understand that it will help millions of people, many of whom he knows. I'd be more than happy to have him come here and read it."
"I'd be happy to buy him a cup of coffee," Gibbs wryly added, in remarks he seemed to have prepared. "Decaf."
"Let me do this, too," Gibbs said. "This is a copy of the president's home affordability plan. It's available on the White House Web site, and I would encourage him, download it, hit print, and begin to read it."
Santelli, who has been a member of both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, lashed out at the Obama administration yesterday for "promoting bad behavior."
"We certainly don’t want to put stimulus forth and give people a whopping $8 or $10 in their check and think they ought to save it," effused Santelli on CNBC from the floor of the Exchange. "And in terms of modifications, I tell you what, I have an idea. The new administration is big on computers and technology – how about this, President and new administration? Why don’t you put up a Web site to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages, or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water.”
There were some cheers from those surrounding Santelli on the floor.
“This is America. How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand."
There were boos.
"President Obama are you listening?” Santelli asked.
Santelli said, “We’re thinking about having a Chicago tea party in July. All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I’m going to start organizing it! We're going to be dumping in some derivative securities, what do you think about that?"
Asked about the general benefit of cable news discussions on the economy, Gibbs said "people are entitled to their own opinion, not just their own facts."
Gibbs said "I don't think anybody can sit in front of some of the TV and listen for an hour and not hear somebody that's making a case that just -- I've got to assume they knowing -- they know just isn't true."
He added that if "I hadn't worked on the campaign, but simply watched the cable news score-keeping of the campaign, we lost virtually every day of the race...If I would have just watched cable TV, I long would have crawled into a hole and given up this whole prospect of changing the country."
Rick Santelli: Asshole of the Year...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/02/cnbcs-santelli.html
CNBC's Santelli Rants About Housing Bailout
February 19, 2009
CNBC's Rick Santelli made a splash this morning. It is being called "Santelli's Rant" or "Santelli's Chicago Tea Party".
Santelli derided the Obama administration's housing rescue plan, which aims to spend more than $200 billion when all is said and done to try and keep people in their homes. The goal? By helping the hardest hit, you help everyone by raising home values.
Back to Santelli. He was at his perch on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and with a nod to those around him he blasted Obama's plan. Here is a transcript of what he said:
Rick Santelli CNBC transcript (video):
"Mr. Ross has nailed it. The government is promoting bad behavior. We certainly don’t want to put stimulus pork and give people a whopping $8 or $10 in their check and think that they ought to save it.
And in terms of modifications, I tell you what. I have an idea. The new administration is big on computers and technology. How about this, Mr. President and new administration. Why don’t you put up a website to have people vote on the internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers mortgages? Or would they like to at least buy buy cars, buy a house that is in foreclosure … give it to people who might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that can carry the water instead of drink the water?
This is America! (he turns to the traders nearby)
How many people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgages that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand!
President Obama, are you listening?
You know Cuba used to have mansions and a relatively decent economy. They moved from the individual to the collective. Now they're driving '54 Chevys.
It's time for another tea party.
What we are doing in this country will make Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin roll over in their graves."
CNBC's Santelli Rants About Housing Bailout
February 19, 2009
CNBC's Rick Santelli made a splash this morning. It is being called "Santelli's Rant" or "Santelli's Chicago Tea Party".
Santelli derided the Obama administration's housing rescue plan, which aims to spend more than $200 billion when all is said and done to try and keep people in their homes. The goal? By helping the hardest hit, you help everyone by raising home values.
Back to Santelli. He was at his perch on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and with a nod to those around him he blasted Obama's plan. Here is a transcript of what he said:
Rick Santelli CNBC transcript (video):
"Mr. Ross has nailed it. The government is promoting bad behavior. We certainly don’t want to put stimulus pork and give people a whopping $8 or $10 in their check and think that they ought to save it.
And in terms of modifications, I tell you what. I have an idea. The new administration is big on computers and technology. How about this, Mr. President and new administration. Why don’t you put up a website to have people vote on the internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers mortgages? Or would they like to at least buy buy cars, buy a house that is in foreclosure … give it to people who might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that can carry the water instead of drink the water?
This is America! (he turns to the traders nearby)
How many people want to pay for your neighbor’s mortgages that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills? Raise their hand!
President Obama, are you listening?
You know Cuba used to have mansions and a relatively decent economy. They moved from the individual to the collective. Now they're driving '54 Chevys.
It's time for another tea party.
What we are doing in this country will make Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin roll over in their graves."
Obama's Housing Bailout Comparisons to McCain's
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/19/obamas-housing-bailout-draws-comparisons-mccains-plan/
Obama's Housing Bailout Draws Comparisons to McCain's Plan
President Obama's $275 billion housing bailout plan, aimed at halting mortgage foreclosures, is drawing comparisons to a proposal championed last year by John McCain.
FOXNews.com
Thursday, February 19, 2009
President Obama, in rejecting GOP alternatives to his massive economic stimulus plan, cited his electoral victory over John McCain in November as proof that Americans wanted change.
But Obama's $275 billion housing bailout plan, aimed at halting mortgage foreclosures, is drawing comparisons to a proposal championed last year by John McCain.
"I hope they took the best ideas wherever they found them. And, certainly, Senator McCain campaigned for a long time on this proposal," said Douglas Holtz Eakin, former economic adviser to McCain and author of McCain's plan.
Obama's $275 billion program offers $75 billion in incentives to lenders to lower payments by at-risk homeowners to 31 percent of their income. The other $200 billion would be drawn from money approved by last year's Congress to bolster efforts by federal lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer affordable mortgages and bring stability to the housing market.
Holtz Eakin says Obama has recognized the need to stop foreclosures before they happen. It's an idea he says McCain introduced at his second presidential debate with Obama.
"I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes," McCain said.
McCain said he was following in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton, but her aides said his plan was nothing like hers.
Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan also says McCain's plan is not like Obama's, explaining that Obama's is "focused, targeted to those most at risk of foreclosure and would be far less expensive to the taxpayer than Senator McCain's plan."
Democrats said McCain's $300 billion plan would have had the government basically eat the cost of reduced property values.
"Taxpayers shouldn't be asked to pick up the tab for the very folks who helped create this crisis," Obama said on the campaign trail. "And that's the problem with Senator McCain's risky idea."
Now Obama's $75 billion plan would have the government and the finance industry share the cost of declining property values for a smaller group, though it envisions pumping $200 billion more into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which McCain criticized in the fall for supporting the Obama campaign.
"His pals there and the Democrats in Congress that refused to reform Freddie Mac and enact legislation to stop this crisis," McCain charged on the campaign trail.
Donovan, however, says the money is just a backstop.
"We have no expectation that the full amount would be needed, certainly not in the short run," Donovan said.
On that score, however, Obama officials say they are facing the problem of having to rescue institutions that are too big to fail. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the mortgage market today, Obama officials say. They account for the vast bulk of mortgages and without them mortgage rates would soar and far fewer mortgages would be available.
FOX News' Wendell Goler contributed to this report.
Obama's Housing Bailout Draws Comparisons to McCain's Plan
President Obama's $275 billion housing bailout plan, aimed at halting mortgage foreclosures, is drawing comparisons to a proposal championed last year by John McCain.
FOXNews.com
Thursday, February 19, 2009
President Obama, in rejecting GOP alternatives to his massive economic stimulus plan, cited his electoral victory over John McCain in November as proof that Americans wanted change.
But Obama's $275 billion housing bailout plan, aimed at halting mortgage foreclosures, is drawing comparisons to a proposal championed last year by John McCain.
"I hope they took the best ideas wherever they found them. And, certainly, Senator McCain campaigned for a long time on this proposal," said Douglas Holtz Eakin, former economic adviser to McCain and author of McCain's plan.
Obama's $275 billion program offers $75 billion in incentives to lenders to lower payments by at-risk homeowners to 31 percent of their income. The other $200 billion would be drawn from money approved by last year's Congress to bolster efforts by federal lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer affordable mortgages and bring stability to the housing market.
Holtz Eakin says Obama has recognized the need to stop foreclosures before they happen. It's an idea he says McCain introduced at his second presidential debate with Obama.
"I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes," McCain said.
McCain said he was following in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton, but her aides said his plan was nothing like hers.
Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan also says McCain's plan is not like Obama's, explaining that Obama's is "focused, targeted to those most at risk of foreclosure and would be far less expensive to the taxpayer than Senator McCain's plan."
Democrats said McCain's $300 billion plan would have had the government basically eat the cost of reduced property values.
"Taxpayers shouldn't be asked to pick up the tab for the very folks who helped create this crisis," Obama said on the campaign trail. "And that's the problem with Senator McCain's risky idea."
Now Obama's $75 billion plan would have the government and the finance industry share the cost of declining property values for a smaller group, though it envisions pumping $200 billion more into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which McCain criticized in the fall for supporting the Obama campaign.
"His pals there and the Democrats in Congress that refused to reform Freddie Mac and enact legislation to stop this crisis," McCain charged on the campaign trail.
Donovan, however, says the money is just a backstop.
"We have no expectation that the full amount would be needed, certainly not in the short run," Donovan said.
On that score, however, Obama officials say they are facing the problem of having to rescue institutions that are too big to fail. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the mortgage market today, Obama officials say. They account for the vast bulk of mortgages and without them mortgage rates would soar and far fewer mortgages would be available.
FOX News' Wendell Goler contributed to this report.
Obama Sets $75 Billion Mortgage Rescue Plan
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/feb2009/db20090218_582414.htm
Obama Sets $75 Billion Mortgage Rescue Plan
The "backyard bailout" proposal aims to help up to 9 million at-risk homeowners refinance or restructure mortgages
By Phil Mintz
February 18, 2009
President Barack Obama on Feb. 18 announced a plan to stabilize the faltering housing market by allowing up to 9 million families to refinance or restructure at-risk mortgages through a $75 billion "homeowner stability initiative" and other incentives to keep homes out of foreclosure.
Obama is selling the plan—already being dubbed a "backyard bailout"— by stressing that foreclosures have a huge impact on entire communities and reduce the price of all homes.
How It Works
According to a fact sheet distributed by the White House, the plan, which Obama outlined in a speech in Mesa, Ariz., has three main components:
• Allowing up to 5 million homeowners who have seen the value of their homes decline to refinance mortgages through the government-sponsored mortgage entities Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• A $75 billion fund that would assist up to 4 million home owners to modify subprime mortgage loans so that payments would be no more than 31% of household income and incentive payments to servicers to successfully modify mortgages
• Shoring up market confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by doubling the government's investment in the companies to $200 billion each and increasing the size of their retained mortgage portfolios.
Obama also expressed support for a change in bankruptcy rules that would allow judges to modify first-mortgages held by defaulting homeowners. Such modifications are currently only allowed for mortgages on multifamily homes, vacation houses, and investment properties. The financial services industry has been opposed to the "cramdown" proposals.
In Arizona—one of the areas of the country hardest hit by declining home prices —Obama stressed that foreclosures affect not only those who are being forced out of their homes but the surrounding neighborhoods as well. "In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis. And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen," Obama said.
Next: The Political Sell
That argument that all homeowners have a stake in the outcome is key to persuading homeowners who are paying their mortgages to support a plan that helps those who cannot do so, said Howard Glaser, a former Clinton Administration housing official and a consultant to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
"A $500 check to your next-door neighbor is more 'real' to many people than the abstraction of shoveling hundreds of billions into bailouts for banks headquartered thousands of miles away," Glaser said in a report on the plan. "Obama will need to employ all of his communications skills to explain why all Americans benefit from using taxpayer funds to help homeowners in trouble.
Obama said that the plan "will not save every home" and will not apply to speculators or "rescue the unscrupulous or irresponsible…And it will not reward folks who bought homes they knew from the beginning they would never be able to afford." Guidelines for the mortgage modification plan will be announced when the program begins on March 4.
But it remains unclear whether that will overwhelm critics who argue that the plan promotes "moral hazard" by encouraging people to take excessive risks knowing that someone will bail them out.
"The government could end up subsidizing mortgage borrowers, lenders, and servicers to the tune of more than $10,000 as part of this program." said Mike Larson, real estate and interest analyst at Weiss Research in Jupiter, Fla. "How is that fair to borrowers who played by the rules…That's what many Americans are going to be asking, and what many politicians are going to be hearing from callers."
Mintz is news editor for BusinessWeek.com in New York.
Obama Sets $75 Billion Mortgage Rescue Plan
The "backyard bailout" proposal aims to help up to 9 million at-risk homeowners refinance or restructure mortgages
By Phil Mintz
February 18, 2009
President Barack Obama on Feb. 18 announced a plan to stabilize the faltering housing market by allowing up to 9 million families to refinance or restructure at-risk mortgages through a $75 billion "homeowner stability initiative" and other incentives to keep homes out of foreclosure.
Obama is selling the plan—already being dubbed a "backyard bailout"— by stressing that foreclosures have a huge impact on entire communities and reduce the price of all homes.
How It Works
According to a fact sheet distributed by the White House, the plan, which Obama outlined in a speech in Mesa, Ariz., has three main components:
• Allowing up to 5 million homeowners who have seen the value of their homes decline to refinance mortgages through the government-sponsored mortgage entities Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• A $75 billion fund that would assist up to 4 million home owners to modify subprime mortgage loans so that payments would be no more than 31% of household income and incentive payments to servicers to successfully modify mortgages
• Shoring up market confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by doubling the government's investment in the companies to $200 billion each and increasing the size of their retained mortgage portfolios.
Obama also expressed support for a change in bankruptcy rules that would allow judges to modify first-mortgages held by defaulting homeowners. Such modifications are currently only allowed for mortgages on multifamily homes, vacation houses, and investment properties. The financial services industry has been opposed to the "cramdown" proposals.
In Arizona—one of the areas of the country hardest hit by declining home prices —Obama stressed that foreclosures affect not only those who are being forced out of their homes but the surrounding neighborhoods as well. "In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis. And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen," Obama said.
Next: The Political Sell
That argument that all homeowners have a stake in the outcome is key to persuading homeowners who are paying their mortgages to support a plan that helps those who cannot do so, said Howard Glaser, a former Clinton Administration housing official and a consultant to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
"A $500 check to your next-door neighbor is more 'real' to many people than the abstraction of shoveling hundreds of billions into bailouts for banks headquartered thousands of miles away," Glaser said in a report on the plan. "Obama will need to employ all of his communications skills to explain why all Americans benefit from using taxpayer funds to help homeowners in trouble.
Obama said that the plan "will not save every home" and will not apply to speculators or "rescue the unscrupulous or irresponsible…And it will not reward folks who bought homes they knew from the beginning they would never be able to afford." Guidelines for the mortgage modification plan will be announced when the program begins on March 4.
But it remains unclear whether that will overwhelm critics who argue that the plan promotes "moral hazard" by encouraging people to take excessive risks knowing that someone will bail them out.
"The government could end up subsidizing mortgage borrowers, lenders, and servicers to the tune of more than $10,000 as part of this program." said Mike Larson, real estate and interest analyst at Weiss Research in Jupiter, Fla. "How is that fair to borrowers who played by the rules…That's what many Americans are going to be asking, and what many politicians are going to be hearing from callers."
Mintz is news editor for BusinessWeek.com in New York.
Bank nationalisation gains ground with Republicans
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2ad3b750-fd27-11dd-a103-000077b07658.html
Bank nationalisation gains ground with Republicans
By Edward Luce and Krishna Guha
February 17 2009
Long regarded in the US as a folly of Europeans, nationalisation is gaining rapid acceptance among Washington opinion-formers – and not just with Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman. Perhaps stranger still, many of those talking about nationalising banks are Republicans.
Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina, says that many of his colleagues, including John McCain, the defeated presidential candidate, agree with his view that nationalisation of some banks should be “on the table”.
Mr Graham says that people across the US accept his argument that it is untenable to keep throwing good money after bad into institutions such as Citigroup and Bank of America, which now have a lower net value than the amount of public funds they have received.
“You should not get caught up on a word [nationalisation],” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “I would argue that we cannot be ideologically a little bit pregnant. It doesn’t matter what you call it, but we can’t keep on funding these zombie banks [without gaining public control]. That’s what the Japanese did.”
Barack Obama, the president, who has tried to avoid panicking lawmakers and markets by entertaining the idea, has moved more towards what he calls the “Swedish model” – an approach backed strongly by Mr Graham. In the early 1990s Sweden nationalised its banking sector then auctioned banks having cleaned up balance sheets. “In limited circumstances the Swedish model makes sense for the US,” says Mr Graham.
Mr Obama last weekend made clear he was leaning more towards the Swedish model than to the piecemeal approach taken in Japan, which many would argue is the direction US public policy appears to be heading.
“They [the Japanese] sort of papered things over,” Mr Obama said. “They never really bit the bullet - and so you never got credit flowing the way it should have, and the bad assets in their system just corroded the economy for a long period of time.”
Administration officials acknowledge that the rescue plan unveiled by Tim Geithner, Treasury secretary, last week could result in the temporary nationalisation of some weak banks.
The plan sets out a framework for revealing the extent of the likely credit losses facing banks. Most private sector analysts believe the exercise will reveal that some banks have large capital shortfalls.
Policymakers acknowledge that if this is indeed the case, it will be difficult for those with the largest shortfalls to raise the required equity from the markets, in which case the government would probably have to take temporary control. Moreover, while nationalisation remains taboo in some political circles it is increasingly openly discussed among past and present economic policymakers of all leanings.
“In this country nationalisation of some banks – not the whole banking sector – should be a last resort, but it should definitely now be on the table,” said David Walker, head of the pro-free market Peterson Institute and a former senior official in the George W. Bush administration.
The time for biting the bullet may also be fast approaching.
In early April, big institutions will publish their first-quarter results. If the intervening Treasury stress tests have not by then revealed the true state of their balance sheets, then their first-quarter results may do so.
“The first week in April – that’s when the children’s party is over,” says Chris Whalen, co-founder of Institutional Risk Analytics. “That is when the obvious will become apparent.”
The Obama administration remains opposed to federal control. Mr Geithner last week said: “Governments are terrible managers of bad assets.”
Others say he may eventually face no choice. “The danger we face is a Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae scenario where government gives the banking sector guarantees and then socialises the losses,” says Adam Posen, an economist. “That’s the worst thing we could do.”
Bank nationalisation gains ground with Republicans
By Edward Luce and Krishna Guha
February 17 2009
Long regarded in the US as a folly of Europeans, nationalisation is gaining rapid acceptance among Washington opinion-formers – and not just with Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman. Perhaps stranger still, many of those talking about nationalising banks are Republicans.
Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator for South Carolina, says that many of his colleagues, including John McCain, the defeated presidential candidate, agree with his view that nationalisation of some banks should be “on the table”.
Mr Graham says that people across the US accept his argument that it is untenable to keep throwing good money after bad into institutions such as Citigroup and Bank of America, which now have a lower net value than the amount of public funds they have received.
“You should not get caught up on a word [nationalisation],” he told the Financial Times in an interview. “I would argue that we cannot be ideologically a little bit pregnant. It doesn’t matter what you call it, but we can’t keep on funding these zombie banks [without gaining public control]. That’s what the Japanese did.”
Barack Obama, the president, who has tried to avoid panicking lawmakers and markets by entertaining the idea, has moved more towards what he calls the “Swedish model” – an approach backed strongly by Mr Graham. In the early 1990s Sweden nationalised its banking sector then auctioned banks having cleaned up balance sheets. “In limited circumstances the Swedish model makes sense for the US,” says Mr Graham.
Mr Obama last weekend made clear he was leaning more towards the Swedish model than to the piecemeal approach taken in Japan, which many would argue is the direction US public policy appears to be heading.
“They [the Japanese] sort of papered things over,” Mr Obama said. “They never really bit the bullet - and so you never got credit flowing the way it should have, and the bad assets in their system just corroded the economy for a long period of time.”
Administration officials acknowledge that the rescue plan unveiled by Tim Geithner, Treasury secretary, last week could result in the temporary nationalisation of some weak banks.
The plan sets out a framework for revealing the extent of the likely credit losses facing banks. Most private sector analysts believe the exercise will reveal that some banks have large capital shortfalls.
Policymakers acknowledge that if this is indeed the case, it will be difficult for those with the largest shortfalls to raise the required equity from the markets, in which case the government would probably have to take temporary control. Moreover, while nationalisation remains taboo in some political circles it is increasingly openly discussed among past and present economic policymakers of all leanings.
“In this country nationalisation of some banks – not the whole banking sector – should be a last resort, but it should definitely now be on the table,” said David Walker, head of the pro-free market Peterson Institute and a former senior official in the George W. Bush administration.
The time for biting the bullet may also be fast approaching.
In early April, big institutions will publish their first-quarter results. If the intervening Treasury stress tests have not by then revealed the true state of their balance sheets, then their first-quarter results may do so.
“The first week in April – that’s when the children’s party is over,” says Chris Whalen, co-founder of Institutional Risk Analytics. “That is when the obvious will become apparent.”
The Obama administration remains opposed to federal control. Mr Geithner last week said: “Governments are terrible managers of bad assets.”
Others say he may eventually face no choice. “The danger we face is a Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae scenario where government gives the banking sector guarantees and then socialises the losses,” says Adam Posen, an economist. “That’s the worst thing we could do.”
'Terminator'-Style Military-Robot Rebellion
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,496309,00.html
Experts Warn of 'Terminator'-Style Military-Robot Rebellion
Friday, February 20, 2009
Autonomous military robots that will fight future wars must be programmed to live by a strict warrior code, or the world risks untold atrocities at their steely hands.
The stark warning — which includes discussion of a "Terminator"-style scenario in which robots turn on their human masters — is part of a hefty report funded by and prepared for the U.S. Navy's high-tech and secretive Office of Naval Research.
The report, the first serious work of its kind on military robot ethics, envisages a fast-approaching era where robots are smart enough to make battlefield decisions that are at present the preserve of humans.
Eventually, it notes, robots could come to display significant cognitive advantages over Homo sapiens soldiers.
"There is a common misconception that robots will do only what we have programmed them to do," Patrick Lin, the chief compiler of the report, said. "Unfortunately, such a belief is sorely outdated, harking back to a time when ... programs could be written and understood by a single person."
The reality, Dr. Lin said, was that modern programs included millions of lines of code and were written by teams of programmers, none of whom knew the entire program.
Accordingly, no individual could accurately predict how the various portions of large programs would interact without extensive testing in the field — an option that may either be unavailable or deliberately sidestepped by the designers of fighting robots.
Experts Warn of 'Terminator'-Style Military-Robot Rebellion
Friday, February 20, 2009
Autonomous military robots that will fight future wars must be programmed to live by a strict warrior code, or the world risks untold atrocities at their steely hands.
The stark warning — which includes discussion of a "Terminator"-style scenario in which robots turn on their human masters — is part of a hefty report funded by and prepared for the U.S. Navy's high-tech and secretive Office of Naval Research.
The report, the first serious work of its kind on military robot ethics, envisages a fast-approaching era where robots are smart enough to make battlefield decisions that are at present the preserve of humans.
Eventually, it notes, robots could come to display significant cognitive advantages over Homo sapiens soldiers.
"There is a common misconception that robots will do only what we have programmed them to do," Patrick Lin, the chief compiler of the report, said. "Unfortunately, such a belief is sorely outdated, harking back to a time when ... programs could be written and understood by a single person."
The reality, Dr. Lin said, was that modern programs included millions of lines of code and were written by teams of programmers, none of whom knew the entire program.
Accordingly, no individual could accurately predict how the various portions of large programs would interact without extensive testing in the field — an option that may either be unavailable or deliberately sidestepped by the designers of fighting robots.
Has Atlantis been found off Africa?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/google/4731313/Google-Ocean-Has-Atlantis-been-found-off-Africa.htmlGoogle Ocean: Has Atlantis been found off Africa?
A "grid of streets" on the seabed at one of the proposed locations of the lost city of Atlantis has been spotted on Google Ocean.
By Matthew Moore
20 Feb 2009
The network of criss-cross lines is 620 miles off the coast of north west Africa near the Canary Islands on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
The perfect rectangle – which is around the size of Wales – was noticed on the search giant's underwater exploration tool by an aeronautical engineer who claims it looks like an "aerial map" of a city.
The underwater image can be found at the co-ordinates 31 15'15.53N 24 15'30.53W.
Last night Atlantis experts said that the unexplained grid is located at one of the possible sites of the legendary island, which was described by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
According to his account, the city sank beneath the ocean after its residents made a failed effort to conquer Athens around 9000 BC.
Dr Charles Orser, curator of historical archaeology at New York State University told The Sun that the find was fascinating and warranted further inspection.
"The site is one of the most prominent places for the proposed location of Atlantis, as described by Plato," the Atlantis expert said. "Even if it turns out to be geographical, it definitely deserves a closer look."
Bernie Bamford, 38, of Chester who spotted the "city", compared it to the plan of Milton Keynes, the Buckinghamshire town built on a grid design. "It must be man made," he said.
Google Ocean, an extension of Google Earth, allows web users to virtually explore the ocean with thousands of images of underwater landscapes.
Launched earlier this month, it lets users swim around underwater volcanoes, watch videos about exotic marine life, read about nearby shipwrecks, contribute photos and watch unseen footage of historic ocean expeditions.
The legend of Atlantis has excited the public imagination for centuries. In recent years "evidence" of the lost kingdom has been found off the coast of Cyprus and in southern Spain.
Plato described it as an island "larger than Libya and Asia put together" in front of the Pillars of Hercules - the Straits of Gibraltar. He said Atlantis was a land of fabulous wealth, advanced civilisation and natural beauty destroyed by earthquakes and floods 9,000 years earlier.
Obama Continues US Military Global Dominance
Barack Obama Administration Continues US Military Global Dominance
By Peter Phillips
The Barack Obama administration is continuing the neo-conservative agenda of US military domination of the world— albeit with perhaps with a kinder-gentler face. While overt torture is now forbidden for the CIA and Pentagon, and symbolic gestures like the closing of the Guantanamo prison are in evidence, a unilateral military dominance policy, expanding military budget, and wars of occupation and aggression will likely continue unabated.
The military expansionists from within the Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, G. W. Bush administrations all put into place solid support for increased military spending. Clinton’s model of supporting the US military industrial complex was hold steady defense spending and to increase foreign weapons sales from 16% of global orders to over 60% by end of his administration.
The neo-conservatives, who dominated the most recent Bush administration, amplified this trend for increased military spending. The neo-cons laid out their agenda for military global dominance in the 2000 Project for a New American Century (PNAC) report Rebuilding America's Defenses. The report called for the protection of the American Homeland, the ability to wage simultaneous theater wars, to perform global constabulary roles, and to control space and cyberspace. The report claimed that in order to maintain a Pax Americana, potential rivals — such as China, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea — needed to be held in check. Their military global dominance agenda required forward deployment of US forces worldwide and increasing defense/war spending well into the 21st century. The result was a doubling of the US military budget to over $700 billion in the last eight years. The US now spends as much on war/defense as the rest of the world combined making American taxpayers the highest war tax providers in the world.
Barack Obama’s election brought a moment of hope for many. However, the Obama administration is not calling for deceased military spending, or a reversal of US military global dominance. Instead, Obama retained Robert Gates, thus making Obama the first president from an opposing party, in US history, to keep in place the outgoing administrations’ Secretary of Defense/War. Additionally, Obama is calling for an expanded war in Afghanistan and only minimal long-range reductions in Iraq.
The US military industrial complex is deeply embedded inside the Washington beltway. According to the most recent reports from OpenSecrets.org, 151 members of Congress in 2006 had up to $195.5 million invested in defense companies.
Major defense contractors were seriously involved in the 2008 elections. Lockheed Martin gave $2,612,219 in total political campaign donations with 49% to Democrats ($1,285,493) and 51% to Republicans ($1,325,159). Boeing gave $2,225,947 in 2008 with 58% to Democrats and General Dynamics provided $1,682,595 to both parties. Northrop Grumman spent over $20 million in 2008 hiring lobbyists to consult to Congress, and Raytheon spent $6 million on lobbyists in the same period. Nancy Pelosi received more money from registered lobbyists than any other House candidate in the recent election cycle.
The International Monetary Fund's prediction for global economic growth in 2009 is 0.5 percent—the worst since World War II. The United Nations' International Labor Organization estimates that some 50 million workers will lose their jobs worldwide this year. There are an estimated 62,000 U.S. companies expected to close this year, and while official unemployment is at 7 percent in the US, when you add people no longer looking for jobs and part-time workers, it is closer to 14 percent. The military-industrial-political elite are worried about the potential of increasing global insecurity. The answer inside the Obama Administration is to continue high defense/war spending to insure military control of both domestic and foreign instabilities.
The military, industrial, congressional, and administrative elite profit from defense spending, both financially and ideologically. Insider profit taking from pentagon spending is widespread in Washington. But perhaps more important is the belief that this global military machine is seen as necessary for the protection of US corporate interests and the American upper classes in a increasingly destabilized world. Given that belief, the Obama administration is unlikely to change the established defense spending policies of the previous US administrations.
Peter Phillips is a Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and Director of Project Censored a media research organization. His 2006 study on the Global Dominance Group in the US is available on line at:
http://www.projectcensored.org/articles/story/the-global-dominance-group/
By Peter Phillips
The Barack Obama administration is continuing the neo-conservative agenda of US military domination of the world— albeit with perhaps with a kinder-gentler face. While overt torture is now forbidden for the CIA and Pentagon, and symbolic gestures like the closing of the Guantanamo prison are in evidence, a unilateral military dominance policy, expanding military budget, and wars of occupation and aggression will likely continue unabated.
The military expansionists from within the Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, G. W. Bush administrations all put into place solid support for increased military spending. Clinton’s model of supporting the US military industrial complex was hold steady defense spending and to increase foreign weapons sales from 16% of global orders to over 60% by end of his administration.
The neo-conservatives, who dominated the most recent Bush administration, amplified this trend for increased military spending. The neo-cons laid out their agenda for military global dominance in the 2000 Project for a New American Century (PNAC) report Rebuilding America's Defenses. The report called for the protection of the American Homeland, the ability to wage simultaneous theater wars, to perform global constabulary roles, and to control space and cyberspace. The report claimed that in order to maintain a Pax Americana, potential rivals — such as China, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea — needed to be held in check. Their military global dominance agenda required forward deployment of US forces worldwide and increasing defense/war spending well into the 21st century. The result was a doubling of the US military budget to over $700 billion in the last eight years. The US now spends as much on war/defense as the rest of the world combined making American taxpayers the highest war tax providers in the world.
Barack Obama’s election brought a moment of hope for many. However, the Obama administration is not calling for deceased military spending, or a reversal of US military global dominance. Instead, Obama retained Robert Gates, thus making Obama the first president from an opposing party, in US history, to keep in place the outgoing administrations’ Secretary of Defense/War. Additionally, Obama is calling for an expanded war in Afghanistan and only minimal long-range reductions in Iraq.
The US military industrial complex is deeply embedded inside the Washington beltway. According to the most recent reports from OpenSecrets.org, 151 members of Congress in 2006 had up to $195.5 million invested in defense companies.
Major defense contractors were seriously involved in the 2008 elections. Lockheed Martin gave $2,612,219 in total political campaign donations with 49% to Democrats ($1,285,493) and 51% to Republicans ($1,325,159). Boeing gave $2,225,947 in 2008 with 58% to Democrats and General Dynamics provided $1,682,595 to both parties. Northrop Grumman spent over $20 million in 2008 hiring lobbyists to consult to Congress, and Raytheon spent $6 million on lobbyists in the same period. Nancy Pelosi received more money from registered lobbyists than any other House candidate in the recent election cycle.
The International Monetary Fund's prediction for global economic growth in 2009 is 0.5 percent—the worst since World War II. The United Nations' International Labor Organization estimates that some 50 million workers will lose their jobs worldwide this year. There are an estimated 62,000 U.S. companies expected to close this year, and while official unemployment is at 7 percent in the US, when you add people no longer looking for jobs and part-time workers, it is closer to 14 percent. The military-industrial-political elite are worried about the potential of increasing global insecurity. The answer inside the Obama Administration is to continue high defense/war spending to insure military control of both domestic and foreign instabilities.
The military, industrial, congressional, and administrative elite profit from defense spending, both financially and ideologically. Insider profit taking from pentagon spending is widespread in Washington. But perhaps more important is the belief that this global military machine is seen as necessary for the protection of US corporate interests and the American upper classes in a increasingly destabilized world. Given that belief, the Obama administration is unlikely to change the established defense spending policies of the previous US administrations.
Peter Phillips is a Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and Director of Project Censored a media research organization. His 2006 study on the Global Dominance Group in the US is available on line at:
http://www.projectcensored.org/articles/story/the-global-dominance-group/
Is Israel assassinating Iran nuclear scientists?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1064852.html
17/02/2009
Is Israel assassinating Iran nuclear scientists?
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Iran, Nuclear, CIA
Israel is assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists as part of a covert war against the Islamic Republic's illicit weapons program, the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday quoted Western intelligence analysts as saying.
The British daily said Israel's Mossad espionage agency was rumored to be behind the death of Ardeshire Hassanpour, a top nuclear scientist at Iran's Isfahan uranium plant, who died in mysterious circumstances from reported "gas poisoning" in 2007.
Other recent deaths of important figures in the procurement and enrichment process in Iran and Europe have been the result of Israeli "hits", intended to deprive Tehran of key technical skills at the head of the program, according to the analysts.
The Telegraph also quoted United States intelligence sources as saying Israel is using sabotage, front companies and double agents to disrupt the regime's illicit weapons project as an alternative to direct military strikes.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that Israel has been carrying out similar covert activities for about a decade, ever since Iran was first suspected of seeking nuclear weapons. The U.S. journalist James Risen has written recently that the CIA and the Mossad have planned together a number of sabotage operations against the Iranian program, including damaging power lines to nuclear sites in order to cause harm to computer systems and equipment.
The Telegraph also quoted Israeli officials as privately acknowledging the new U.S. administration is unlikely to sanction an air attack on Iran's nuclear installations and that President Barack Obama's offer to extend a hand of peace to Tehran puts any direct military action beyond reach for now.
As such, the reported goal of Israel's covert campaign is to delay or interrupt the Iranian research program, without engaging in a direct confrontation that could lead to a wider war.
"Disruption is designed to slow progress on the program, done in such a way that they don't realize what's happening. You are never going to stop it," a former CIA officer on Iran was quoted as saying.
"The goal is delay, delay, delay until you can come up with some other solution or approach," he added. "We certainly don't want the current Iranian government to have those weapons. It's a good policy, short of taking them out militarily, which probably carries unacceptable risks."
Reva Bhalla, a senior analyst with Stratfor, the U.S. private intelligence company with strong government security connections, was quoted by the paper as saying the strategy was to take out key people.
"With co-operation from the United States, Israeli covert operations have focused both on eliminating key human assets involved in the nuclear programme and in sabotaging the Iranian nuclear supply chain," she was quoted as saying.
"As US-Israeli relations are bound to come under strain over the Obama administration's outreach to Iran, and as the political atmosphere grows in complexity, an intensification of Israeli covert activity against Iran is likely to result."
17/02/2009
Is Israel assassinating Iran nuclear scientists?
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Iran, Nuclear, CIA
Israel is assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists as part of a covert war against the Islamic Republic's illicit weapons program, the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday quoted Western intelligence analysts as saying.
The British daily said Israel's Mossad espionage agency was rumored to be behind the death of Ardeshire Hassanpour, a top nuclear scientist at Iran's Isfahan uranium plant, who died in mysterious circumstances from reported "gas poisoning" in 2007.
Other recent deaths of important figures in the procurement and enrichment process in Iran and Europe have been the result of Israeli "hits", intended to deprive Tehran of key technical skills at the head of the program, according to the analysts.
The Telegraph also quoted United States intelligence sources as saying Israel is using sabotage, front companies and double agents to disrupt the regime's illicit weapons project as an alternative to direct military strikes.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that Israel has been carrying out similar covert activities for about a decade, ever since Iran was first suspected of seeking nuclear weapons. The U.S. journalist James Risen has written recently that the CIA and the Mossad have planned together a number of sabotage operations against the Iranian program, including damaging power lines to nuclear sites in order to cause harm to computer systems and equipment.
The Telegraph also quoted Israeli officials as privately acknowledging the new U.S. administration is unlikely to sanction an air attack on Iran's nuclear installations and that President Barack Obama's offer to extend a hand of peace to Tehran puts any direct military action beyond reach for now.
As such, the reported goal of Israel's covert campaign is to delay or interrupt the Iranian research program, without engaging in a direct confrontation that could lead to a wider war.
"Disruption is designed to slow progress on the program, done in such a way that they don't realize what's happening. You are never going to stop it," a former CIA officer on Iran was quoted as saying.
"The goal is delay, delay, delay until you can come up with some other solution or approach," he added. "We certainly don't want the current Iranian government to have those weapons. It's a good policy, short of taking them out militarily, which probably carries unacceptable risks."
Reva Bhalla, a senior analyst with Stratfor, the U.S. private intelligence company with strong government security connections, was quoted by the paper as saying the strategy was to take out key people.
"With co-operation from the United States, Israeli covert operations have focused both on eliminating key human assets involved in the nuclear programme and in sabotaging the Iranian nuclear supply chain," she was quoted as saying.
"As US-Israeli relations are bound to come under strain over the Obama administration's outreach to Iran, and as the political atmosphere grows in complexity, an intensification of Israeli covert activity against Iran is likely to result."
Yale & Geronimo's Skull
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/17/geronimos-great-grandson-asks-yale-fraternity-return-ancestors-skull/Geronimo's Great Grandson Asks Yale Secret Society to Return Ancestor's Skull
The great grandson of Geronimo says he wants to know whether Skull and Bones secret society at Yale University has the remains of the famous Apache chief and shaman.
By Stephen Clark
FOXNews.com
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
It's the stuff of legends: an elite secret society that includes what would become some of the most powerful men of the 20th century allegedly invading the grave of an Apache chief to steal his skull for fraternal rituals. It's also the stuff of a new lawsuit filed Tuesday by descendents of that Apache chief.
On the 100th anniversary of the death of Geronimo, 20 of his blood relatives have asked the courts to force Yale University and the school's secret organization, Skull and Bones, to release his remains for return to his native land and a proper burial.
The lawsuit also names President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Army Secretary Pete Geren as defendants because they are responsible for maintaining Geronimo's remains on a U.S. Army base in Oklahoma, the group said.
"I believe it's a good cause because indigenous people over the century have been annihilated, removed from their homeland," said Geronimo's great grandson, Harlyn Geronimo, at a press conference in Washington, D.C.
Skull and Bones has never said whether any of Geronimo's remains are in its possession. The descendants say they are investigating long-held claims that in 1918, members of Skull and Bones, including Prescott Bush, the father of George H.W Bush and grandfather of George W. Bush, invaded Geronimo's grave at Ft. Sill and stole his skull, some bones and other items buried with him.
"In this lawsuit, we're going to find out if the bones are there or not," said the group's lawyer, said the group's lawyer, Ramsey Clark, who was attorney general in President Lyndon Johnson's administration.
Gila Reinstein, a spokeswoman for Yale University, said she is unaware of the lawsuit, but Yale can add nothing to the mystery of the Indian chief's whereabouts.
"To the best of my knowledge, Yale University has no relics or bones belonging to Geronimo," she said, adding that she couldn't speak on behalf of Skull and Bones because it is independent of the university.
Geronimo fought for decades against Mexican and American expansion into tribal lands. He and his small band of Apaches surrendered to U.S. troops in 1886 and were sent to Florida as prisoners of war before being transferred to Alabama.
Five years later, he was sent to Ft. Sill, where he lived the rest of his life as a free-range prisoner. Geronimo became a celebrity in the twilight of his life, appearing at fairs and selling souvenirs and photographs of himself. He died of pneumonia in 1909 at Ft. Sill and was buried at the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery on the military base.
Three members of the Skull and Bones, including Prescott Bush, served as Army volunteers at Fort Sill during World War I. They are accused of stealing the items which supposedly are used in initiation ceremonies. One alleged ritual includes kissing Geronimo's skull.
Geronimo said he's bringing the lawsuit now after contemplating it over the past decade because he has the time to do it after retiring from a tribal council in 2000. Clark added that at the 100th anniversary of the shaman's death, "We really thought it would be a good time to say enough is enough."
Geronimo said he has appealed to former President Bush for help in returning the remains.
"According to our traditions the remains of this sort, especially in this state when the grave was desecrated, need to be reburied with the proper rituals to return the dignity and let his spirits rest in peace."
Asked why he didn't appeal to Obama first, Geronimo said he thought Obama may be too busy to heed his request.
Michael Jackson Neverland auctions
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/4678954/Michael-Jackson-auctions-belongings-from-his-Neverland-ranch.html
Michael Jackson auctions belongings from his Neverland ranch
Michael Jackson is holding a five-day public auction at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles this April to sell off over 2,000 items ranging from personal effects and costumes through to his expansive art collection as well as fixtures and fittings from his Neverland ranch.
How The Pirate Bay sailed into infamy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7893223.stmHow The Pirate Bay sailed into infamy
By Flora Graham
BBC News
Monday, 16 February 2009
The Pirate Bay was launched in 2003 and has established itself as the world's most high-profile file-sharing site. But its founders are now on trial for copyright violation and face imprisonment, if found guilty.
The Pirate Bay team aren't shy about what they are doing - they are pirates, and proud of it. Their logo shows a galleon under full sail, with a cassette tape topping a skull and crossbones in a nod to the Jolly Roger.
It is an accurate characterisation, according to Swedish prosecutors, who have put three of the website's creators and one of its sponsors on trial on charges of contributing to copyright infringement.
But the defendants claim to be more Robin Hood than Blackbeard, freeing creative content from the shackles of copyright.
"There is not a cause closer to my heart," one of the founders told Wired. "This is my crusade."
The Pirate Bay website hosts BitTorrent tracker files, and claims to be the world's largest: in February 2009, it reported 22 million simultaneous users.
BitTorrent connects people so that they can share files over the internet. But users need a "tracker" link to find what they're looking for - like the index card in a library catalogue. The Pirate Bay provides a directory of these trackers, essentially becoming a library of catalogues.
It doesn't store the books, or files, itself, just the information on where to find them.
This distinction is what Pirate Bay claims will protect them under Swedish law.
"The tracker provides the user only with .torrent files which contain no copyrighted data. The actual copyrighted material is to be found on the individual machines of our users, not on our servers," says the site.
The Pirate Bay's enormous success has enraged copyright protection groups like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). And the site's cheeky bravado rubs salt in the wounds. For example, it posts all of the cease-and-desist letters that it receives, including its sarcastic replies.
"Please don't sue us right now, our lawyer is passed out in an alley," says a reply to videogame giant Electronic Arts.
History
The site was founded by the Swedish file-sharing advocacy group Piratbyran ("The Piracy Bureau") in 2003, but has been run independently since 2004.
As other file-sharing websites were felled by threats and lawsuits from industry heavyweights like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Pirate Bay held its ground.
Confident that Sweden's lax copyright laws meant that they were on the right side of the rules, the site continued to defy legal threats that caused other torrent sites, such as Isohunt, to remove links to infringing torrents upon request.
As one of the few high-profile survivors, its piece of the file trading pie grew. The site's antagonistic attitude and tangles with copyright holders and rights organisations increased its profile, and the site now claims to be among the top 100 websites in the world.
The Pirate Bay's fame became too much for Swedish authorities, and in March 2006 the site's offices were raided by police investigating allegations of copyright violations.
Truckloads of file server computers were seized, the site was closed, and three people were held for questioning, including two of the defendants in the court case, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Fredrik Neij.
Authorities denied that the raid was prompted by urging from the MPA, the international arm of the MPAA, but the Swedish media revealed that the MPA had met with the justice ministry in the months before the raid.
The Pirate Bay offers links to TV, films and music
The Pirate Bay's site administrators scrambled to get the site back up and running, and with help from volunteers around the world, it was restored within three days.
Since the raid, the Pirate Bay has set up a network of servers so that shutting down any one site will only cause the site to go down for minutes. Since then, site administrators have challenged all comers to try to shut them down.
"I really want the pleasure of it being down three minutes, then up again," Frederik Neij told Wired.
With Sweden's waters becoming less pirate-friendly, the Pirate Bay looked for warmer climes. In January 2007, it reportedly tried to buy Sealand, a platform in the North Sea off the Suffolk coast, which claims national sovereignty. After that fell through, the Bay raised money to buy an island, but the plan was never realised.
Some media companies have apparently decided to take matters into their own hands rather than wait for the slow pace of the Swedish courts.
In September 2007, hackers leaked six months of internal e-mails from anti-piracy company Media Defender, which revealed that the company was discussing hiring hackers to attack the Pirate Bay's servers.
It was the Pirate Bay's turn to go to the courts, and it filed charges against the Swedish arms of Media Defender clients such as Twentieth Century Fox, EMI and Paramount. The charges were not pursued, which also led to protests after the police investigator, Jim Keyzer, took a job for Warner Brothers, a member of the MPAA. Mr Keyzer is scheduled to be a witness in the Pirate Bay trial.
But the Pirate Bay's Robin Hood reputation was sullied in July 2007 when a reporter, posing as a potential advertiser on the site, estimated that the site was earning up to £55,000 per month that was being channelled into a front company in Switzerland.
Mr Neij has denied that his team was getting rich from operating the Pirate Bay. "I wish I earned that," he told Vanity Fair. "Do I look like I have, like, $2m?"
Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, another defendant, pointed out that they lost $60,000 worth of equipment in the raids. "It's not free to operate a website on this scale," he said.
Strongest challenge
With the Pirate Bay facing its strongest challenge yet, its administrators have not stopped rattling their cutlasses.
Mr Warg, in a webcast on Sunday, said: "What are they going to do about it? They have already failed to take down the site once. Let them fail again.
"It has a life without us."
Mark Mulligan, a digital media analyst at Forrester Research, agreed that even if the Pirate Bay was brought down by the case, the file-sharing genie could not be put back in the bottle.
"The industry knows this. But they also know that they need to go through the motions, particularly with the big players. If they don't, that essentially green lights file sharing."
He points to previous industry victories against companies like Napster, which shut down the network but didn't reduce the market.
"After every victory, file-sharing has got bigger. I see no reason why the same won't happen this time."
Friday, February 20, 2009
Chavez Wins Venezuela Term Limit Vote
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aGnkofmHBIu0&refer=europe
Chavez Wins Venezuela Term Limit Vote, Opens Campaign for 2012
By Matthew Walter and Daniel Cancel
Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez scored a victory in his drive to stay in power as voters scrapped constitutional term limits that would have forced him from office in 2013.
The amendment carried with 54.4 percent of the vote to 45.6 percent, according to preliminary results, said Tibisay Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council, in comments carried on state television. The referendum marked the second time in 14 months that Chavez sought to remove the constitutional bar that kept him from seeking unlimited re-election.
“I’ve received an injection of patriotic fire,” Chavez, 54, said last night in a victory speech from a balcony at the Miraflores presidential palace, as thousands of supporters waved flags and cheered below. “I’ll dedicate myself for life to the service of the Venezuelan people.”
Chavez now has a chance to extend his drive to turn the oil- exporting country into a socialist state, which he says will take until 2019. Without a constitutional check on his power, the former army lieutenant colonel may stay in office indefinitely, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez said.
Chavez already controls Venezuela’s energy wealth through the state oil company, and holds sway over congress and the courts through supporters and appointees, Lopez said.
Fireworks
The president, who celebrated 10 years in office on Feb. 2, announced he’ll be a candidate in 2012 as fireworks were launched across Caracas. Chavez has spent billions of dollars in oil revenue to offer free health care, subsidized groceries and reading programs for the poor.
“He’s clearly going to be very emboldened,” said Michael Shifter, vice president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. “He’s going to move ahead in radical fashion with his revolution.”
Voters narrowly rejected a bid to remove presidential term limits in 2007, his first electoral defeat since winning the presidency in 1998.
Chavez regained some of the support he lost in 2007, when the country suffered widespread food shortages. More than 6 million votes were cast in favor of the amendment yesterday, 1.6 million more than in the last referendum. Still, that’s short of the 7.3 million votes Chavez won in the 2006 presidential elections.
The opposition garnered 5 million votes yesterday, an increase of about 535,000 over 2007.
‘Passed the Barrier’
“We’ve passed the barrier of 5 million,” opposition leader Omar Barboza said last night, in comments broadcast by Globovision. “We’ll continue with our proposal of a different country. Sooner or later we’ll triumph.”
Chavez, known for his confrontational style, adopted a conciliatory tone toward the opposition in a press conference yesterday, and on the day before the vote offered to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama anytime. He regularly accused President George W. Bush of aiding Venezuela’s opposition, and last year expelled the U.S. ambassador in Caracas.
Chavez rushed to hold the referendum ahead of a looming economic recession. He proposed the vote the day after regional elections in November when the opposition won the three biggest states and Caracas, and instructed the National Assembly to act quickly.
Venezuela, the fourth-largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S., depends on oil for 93 percent of export revenue and half the government’s budget. Crude prices have plunged 74 percent since touching a record in July.
Recession, Inflation
Caracas-based Banco Mercantil said in a Feb. 3 report that oil income will fall 66 percent this year, and Morgan Stanley forecasts an economic contraction of 1 percent, even as inflation accelerates. Consumer prices rose 30.7 percent in January from a year ago, the fastest rate in Latin America.
The prospect of re-election may push Chavez to “needed but unpopular” measures to deal with the economy now, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist Alberto Ramos wrote in a note to investors yesterday, citing devaluation of the currency, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, and slower government spending as possibilities.
There are already signs the government is low on cash. Chavez ordered the central bank to transfer $12 billion of reserves into a development fund last month. Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said yesterday the government may back out of a planned takeover of Banco de Venezuela, the local unit of Spain’s Banco Santander SA.
Unpaid Bills
Service providers to Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state oil company, have complained of unpaid bills and begun to take drilling rigs out of service.
Still, Chavez may view the victory as a renewed mandate to crack down on the private sector, Ramos said.
After his 2006 re-election, he took advantage of a five-year run-up in oil prices to fund nationalizations. He took over the biggest telecommunications and electricity companies, a steel mill and the cement industry. He also forced foreign oil companies Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp. and Repsol YPF into joint ventures as minority partners.
The collapse of oil prices makes hard choices ahead more likely, said Carlos Luna, a professor of international relations at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.
“He’s going to have a clock running against him,” Luna said. “People are expecting big things from him at the exact moment that the economic crisis is knocking at the door.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Walter in Caracas at mwalter4@bloomberg.net.
Chavez Wins Venezuela Term Limit Vote, Opens Campaign for 2012
By Matthew Walter and Daniel Cancel
Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez scored a victory in his drive to stay in power as voters scrapped constitutional term limits that would have forced him from office in 2013.
The amendment carried with 54.4 percent of the vote to 45.6 percent, according to preliminary results, said Tibisay Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council, in comments carried on state television. The referendum marked the second time in 14 months that Chavez sought to remove the constitutional bar that kept him from seeking unlimited re-election.
“I’ve received an injection of patriotic fire,” Chavez, 54, said last night in a victory speech from a balcony at the Miraflores presidential palace, as thousands of supporters waved flags and cheered below. “I’ll dedicate myself for life to the service of the Venezuelan people.”
Chavez now has a chance to extend his drive to turn the oil- exporting country into a socialist state, which he says will take until 2019. Without a constitutional check on his power, the former army lieutenant colonel may stay in office indefinitely, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez said.
Chavez already controls Venezuela’s energy wealth through the state oil company, and holds sway over congress and the courts through supporters and appointees, Lopez said.
Fireworks
The president, who celebrated 10 years in office on Feb. 2, announced he’ll be a candidate in 2012 as fireworks were launched across Caracas. Chavez has spent billions of dollars in oil revenue to offer free health care, subsidized groceries and reading programs for the poor.
“He’s clearly going to be very emboldened,” said Michael Shifter, vice president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. “He’s going to move ahead in radical fashion with his revolution.”
Voters narrowly rejected a bid to remove presidential term limits in 2007, his first electoral defeat since winning the presidency in 1998.
Chavez regained some of the support he lost in 2007, when the country suffered widespread food shortages. More than 6 million votes were cast in favor of the amendment yesterday, 1.6 million more than in the last referendum. Still, that’s short of the 7.3 million votes Chavez won in the 2006 presidential elections.
The opposition garnered 5 million votes yesterday, an increase of about 535,000 over 2007.
‘Passed the Barrier’
“We’ve passed the barrier of 5 million,” opposition leader Omar Barboza said last night, in comments broadcast by Globovision. “We’ll continue with our proposal of a different country. Sooner or later we’ll triumph.”
Chavez, known for his confrontational style, adopted a conciliatory tone toward the opposition in a press conference yesterday, and on the day before the vote offered to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama anytime. He regularly accused President George W. Bush of aiding Venezuela’s opposition, and last year expelled the U.S. ambassador in Caracas.
Chavez rushed to hold the referendum ahead of a looming economic recession. He proposed the vote the day after regional elections in November when the opposition won the three biggest states and Caracas, and instructed the National Assembly to act quickly.
Venezuela, the fourth-largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S., depends on oil for 93 percent of export revenue and half the government’s budget. Crude prices have plunged 74 percent since touching a record in July.
Recession, Inflation
Caracas-based Banco Mercantil said in a Feb. 3 report that oil income will fall 66 percent this year, and Morgan Stanley forecasts an economic contraction of 1 percent, even as inflation accelerates. Consumer prices rose 30.7 percent in January from a year ago, the fastest rate in Latin America.
The prospect of re-election may push Chavez to “needed but unpopular” measures to deal with the economy now, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist Alberto Ramos wrote in a note to investors yesterday, citing devaluation of the currency, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar, and slower government spending as possibilities.
There are already signs the government is low on cash. Chavez ordered the central bank to transfer $12 billion of reserves into a development fund last month. Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said yesterday the government may back out of a planned takeover of Banco de Venezuela, the local unit of Spain’s Banco Santander SA.
Unpaid Bills
Service providers to Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state oil company, have complained of unpaid bills and begun to take drilling rigs out of service.
Still, Chavez may view the victory as a renewed mandate to crack down on the private sector, Ramos said.
After his 2006 re-election, he took advantage of a five-year run-up in oil prices to fund nationalizations. He took over the biggest telecommunications and electricity companies, a steel mill and the cement industry. He also forced foreign oil companies Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp. and Repsol YPF into joint ventures as minority partners.
The collapse of oil prices makes hard choices ahead more likely, said Carlos Luna, a professor of international relations at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.
“He’s going to have a clock running against him,” Luna said. “People are expecting big things from him at the exact moment that the economic crisis is knocking at the door.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Walter in Caracas at mwalter4@bloomberg.net.
Obama Is Said to Drop Plan for ‘Car Czar’
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/business/economy/16auto.html
To Fix Detroit, Obama Is Said to Drop Plan for ‘Car Czar’
By BILL VLASIC
February 15, 2009
DETROIT — President Obama has dropped the idea of appointing a single, powerful “car czar” to oversee the revamping of General Motors and Chrysler and will instead keep the politically delicate task in the hands of his most senior economic advisers, a top administration official said Sunday night.
Mr. Obama is designating the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, and the chairman of the National Economic Council, Lawrence H. Summers, to oversee a presidential panel on the auto industry. Mr. Geithner will also supervise the $17.4 billion in loan agreements already in place with G.M. and Chrysler, said the official, who insisted on anonymity.
The official also said that Ron Bloom, a restructuring expert who has advised the labor unions in the troubled steel and airline industries, would be named a senior adviser to Treasury on the auto crisis.
The unexpected shift comes as G.M. and Chrysler race to complete broad restructuring plans they must file with the Treasury by Tuesday. The companies’ plans are required to show progress in cutting long-term costs as a condition for keeping their loans.
The administration official said the president was reserving for himself any decision on the viability of G.M. and Chrysler, both of which came close to bankruptcy before receiving federal aid two months ago.
One of President Obama’s top advisers said Sunday that the administration had not ruled out a government-backed bankruptcy as a means to overhaul the automakers.
“We’re going to need a restructuring of these companies,” the adviser, David Axelrod, said on “Meet the Press” on NBC. He added that a turnaround of the companies would “require sacrifice not just from the auto workers but also from creditors, from shareholders and the executives who run the company.”
The automakers had been expecting the appointment of a car czar to break the logjam of negotiations with the United Auto Workers over the finances of a retiree health care trust, and with bondholders about reducing the companies’ debt.
Mr. Bloom is known for bringing his Wall Street experience as an investment banker to an advisory role as the “in-house” banker for the steel workers’ union. With the auto union locking horns with bondholders in the G.M. revamping deliberations, Mr. Bloom appears to bring credibility with both the union and the debtors. Mr. Bloom could not be reached for comment Sunday night.
Another senior administration official said that Mr. Obama had considered appointing a car czar, and among those considered for the job was the private equity executive Steven Rattner. It was not clear why the administration changed course or whether Mr. Rattner would have a role on the task force.
The panel, called the Presidential Task Force on Autos, will draw officials from several agencies including the departments of Treasury, labor, transportation, commerce and energy, according to the administration official.
Many members of the task force have already been working closely with G.M. and Chrysler on the viability plans they are preparing for the government.
G.M. and Chrysler are both expected to request more loans to stay solvent during what is shaping up as another miserable year for auto sales.
Chrysler’s chairman, Robert L. Nardelli, has said his company needs another $3 billion in addition to the $4 billion loan it received in January.
G.M. originally asked for $18 billion in aid in December. G.M. has borrowed $9.4 billion so far and is scheduled to receive another $4 billion, if the Treasury is satisfied with its revamping plan.
G.M. said in a statement that it welcomed the new task force and that it looked forward to sharing its plan “to restore our company to viability and to meet the requirements of its loan agreements.”
Representatives of Chrysler could not be reached for comment on Sunday night.
The administration official who disclosed the change in Mr. Obama’s plans for oversight of the auto industry said the group would review the companies’ submissions for a week or two before responding publicly. Until then, the auto makers are expected to continue talks with the union and other stakeholders.
On Sunday afternoon, G.M. and the U.A.W. resumed discussions in Detroit about reducing the company’s labor costs, a person with direct knowledge of the talks said. This person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private, characterized the talks Sunday evening as “intense” but did not indicate that an agreement was imminent.
The U.A.W. had walked away from the bargaining table late Friday as the two sides clashed over how to cover retiree health care costs.
U.A.W. leaders in December agreed to help the automakers by delaying when the companies are required to make multibillion-dollar payments into a new trust fund designed to pay for retiree health coverage.
The Ford Motor Company is not taking federal aid, and therefore does not need to submit plans for approval. But Ford, which lost $14.6 billion in 2008, the most in its history, is expected to ask the U.A.W. for whatever concessions are granted to G.M. and Chrysler.
Both G.M. and Chrysler are likely to outline deep cuts in jobs, plants and models in their restructuring plans. One G.M. executive said the automaker is proposing a much smaller company with fewer brands and far fewer people.
G.M. and Chrysler recently extended buyout and early retirement offers to nearly all of their 90,600 hourly workers as they try to eliminate factory jobs and replace older workers making about $28 an hour with new hires who can be paid half as much.
G.M. announced plans last week to cut 10,000 white-collar jobs worldwide, including 3,400 in the United States. It said that salaries for those who remain on staff would be cut by as much as 10 percent through at least the end of 2009.
Over all, automakers are expected to sell between 10 million and 11 million vehicles in the United States this year, far below the 16.2 million they sold in 2007. G.M. said last week that the two-year drop is roughly equal to the capacity of 24 assembly plants.
Jackie Calmes contributed reporting from Washington, and Nick Bunkley from Detroit.
A version of this article appeared in print on February 16, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition.
To Fix Detroit, Obama Is Said to Drop Plan for ‘Car Czar’
By BILL VLASIC
February 15, 2009
DETROIT — President Obama has dropped the idea of appointing a single, powerful “car czar” to oversee the revamping of General Motors and Chrysler and will instead keep the politically delicate task in the hands of his most senior economic advisers, a top administration official said Sunday night.
Mr. Obama is designating the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, and the chairman of the National Economic Council, Lawrence H. Summers, to oversee a presidential panel on the auto industry. Mr. Geithner will also supervise the $17.4 billion in loan agreements already in place with G.M. and Chrysler, said the official, who insisted on anonymity.
The official also said that Ron Bloom, a restructuring expert who has advised the labor unions in the troubled steel and airline industries, would be named a senior adviser to Treasury on the auto crisis.
The unexpected shift comes as G.M. and Chrysler race to complete broad restructuring plans they must file with the Treasury by Tuesday. The companies’ plans are required to show progress in cutting long-term costs as a condition for keeping their loans.
The administration official said the president was reserving for himself any decision on the viability of G.M. and Chrysler, both of which came close to bankruptcy before receiving federal aid two months ago.
One of President Obama’s top advisers said Sunday that the administration had not ruled out a government-backed bankruptcy as a means to overhaul the automakers.
“We’re going to need a restructuring of these companies,” the adviser, David Axelrod, said on “Meet the Press” on NBC. He added that a turnaround of the companies would “require sacrifice not just from the auto workers but also from creditors, from shareholders and the executives who run the company.”
The automakers had been expecting the appointment of a car czar to break the logjam of negotiations with the United Auto Workers over the finances of a retiree health care trust, and with bondholders about reducing the companies’ debt.
Mr. Bloom is known for bringing his Wall Street experience as an investment banker to an advisory role as the “in-house” banker for the steel workers’ union. With the auto union locking horns with bondholders in the G.M. revamping deliberations, Mr. Bloom appears to bring credibility with both the union and the debtors. Mr. Bloom could not be reached for comment Sunday night.
Another senior administration official said that Mr. Obama had considered appointing a car czar, and among those considered for the job was the private equity executive Steven Rattner. It was not clear why the administration changed course or whether Mr. Rattner would have a role on the task force.
The panel, called the Presidential Task Force on Autos, will draw officials from several agencies including the departments of Treasury, labor, transportation, commerce and energy, according to the administration official.
Many members of the task force have already been working closely with G.M. and Chrysler on the viability plans they are preparing for the government.
G.M. and Chrysler are both expected to request more loans to stay solvent during what is shaping up as another miserable year for auto sales.
Chrysler’s chairman, Robert L. Nardelli, has said his company needs another $3 billion in addition to the $4 billion loan it received in January.
G.M. originally asked for $18 billion in aid in December. G.M. has borrowed $9.4 billion so far and is scheduled to receive another $4 billion, if the Treasury is satisfied with its revamping plan.
G.M. said in a statement that it welcomed the new task force and that it looked forward to sharing its plan “to restore our company to viability and to meet the requirements of its loan agreements.”
Representatives of Chrysler could not be reached for comment on Sunday night.
The administration official who disclosed the change in Mr. Obama’s plans for oversight of the auto industry said the group would review the companies’ submissions for a week or two before responding publicly. Until then, the auto makers are expected to continue talks with the union and other stakeholders.
On Sunday afternoon, G.M. and the U.A.W. resumed discussions in Detroit about reducing the company’s labor costs, a person with direct knowledge of the talks said. This person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private, characterized the talks Sunday evening as “intense” but did not indicate that an agreement was imminent.
The U.A.W. had walked away from the bargaining table late Friday as the two sides clashed over how to cover retiree health care costs.
U.A.W. leaders in December agreed to help the automakers by delaying when the companies are required to make multibillion-dollar payments into a new trust fund designed to pay for retiree health coverage.
The Ford Motor Company is not taking federal aid, and therefore does not need to submit plans for approval. But Ford, which lost $14.6 billion in 2008, the most in its history, is expected to ask the U.A.W. for whatever concessions are granted to G.M. and Chrysler.
Both G.M. and Chrysler are likely to outline deep cuts in jobs, plants and models in their restructuring plans. One G.M. executive said the automaker is proposing a much smaller company with fewer brands and far fewer people.
G.M. and Chrysler recently extended buyout and early retirement offers to nearly all of their 90,600 hourly workers as they try to eliminate factory jobs and replace older workers making about $28 an hour with new hires who can be paid half as much.
G.M. announced plans last week to cut 10,000 white-collar jobs worldwide, including 3,400 in the United States. It said that salaries for those who remain on staff would be cut by as much as 10 percent through at least the end of 2009.
Over all, automakers are expected to sell between 10 million and 11 million vehicles in the United States this year, far below the 16.2 million they sold in 2007. G.M. said last week that the two-year drop is roughly equal to the capacity of 24 assembly plants.
Jackie Calmes contributed reporting from Washington, and Nick Bunkley from Detroit.
A version of this article appeared in print on February 16, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition.
Scientists unravel Neanderthal genome
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/feb/12/neaderthal-genomeScientists unravel Neanderthal genome
Extraordinary feat will shed light on what it means to be human
Ian Sample, Chicago
Thursday 12 February 2009
Scientists have unravelled the genetic make-up of the Neanderthal, the long-faced, barrel-chested relative of modern humans.
Anthropologists analysed more than a billion fragments of ancient DNA plucked from three Croatian fossils to reconstruct a first draft of the Neanderthal genome.
The extraordinary feat gives scientists an unprecedented opportunity to clarify the evolutionary relationship between humans and Neanderthals that may ultimately shed light on the great mystery of how we became the most formidable species on the planet.
Neanderthals were the closest relatives of modern living humans. They lived in Europe and Asia until they became extinct around 30,000 years ago. The reason they died out is not clear, but likely factors are dramatic swings in the climate that affected the availability of food, and competition with early humans.
By comparing the genomes of modern humans with Neanderthals and chimps, scientists hope to unravel the genetic differences that define what it is to be human.
The Neanderthal genome was built up from strands of DNA, most of which came from a 38,000-year-old fossilised leg bone unearthed in a cave in Vindija, Croatia. Other material came from older remains dating back 70,000 years. Together, the fragments make up more than 60% of the Neanderthal genome.
Svante Pääbo, who led the project at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Leipzig, Germany, said the team would spend the rest of the year analysing the DNA. They will focus on genes linked to modern human evolution, such as FOXP2, which is involved in speech and language.
The draft genome was announced at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago.
Two years ago, the same group used the ancient DNA to pinpoint the moment, about 500,000 years ago, when modern humans split from Neanderthals.
The analysis should clear up once and for all the ongoing debate as to whether Neanderthals and modern humans continued to mate with each other after separating along the path of evolution.
Remains of Neanderthals dating back to 400,000 years ago suggest they were proficient at crafting basic tools and weapons and buried their dead. The last Neanderthals died out shortly after Homo sapiens migrated to Europe and settled.
Neanderthals were stocky and well-adapted to a cold climate, with brains that were on average larger than those of modern humans. Some fossil evidence suggests they were occasionally cannibalistic, though they more commonly hunted large animals including horses and mammoths.
War On Drugs DVD Combo
http://infowars-shop.stores.yahoo.net/warondrugs.html
War On Drugs DVD Combo
Get three incredible DVDs covering the fraudulent War on Drugs.
In the first and second volumes of his powerful Never Get Busted DVD series, Former DEA Agent Barry Cooper reveals secret police tactics to help you protect your precious liberties while celebrated filmmaker Kevin Booth delves into the American Drug War to uncover the police state being constructed in the name of protecting the nations' children.
Regular price: $64.85
Sale price: $48.90
Never Get Busted Volume 1: Traffic Stops (DVD)
This DVD is truly a one-of-a-kind, never before seen, information packed tool which can help you save thousands in legal fees and stay out of jail!
Watch Real Footage of former DEA Agent Barry Cooper Making Marijuana Arrests, Learn Secret Drug Enforcement Tactics, Avoid Narcotics Profiling, Where Not to Hide Your Stash (Do Coffee Grounds Really Work?), How Police Cause Drug Dogs to False Alert, Search & Seizure Law Made Easy, How Police Can Tell When You’re Lying, 90 Minutes of One-On-One Training.
$19.95
Never Get Busted Volume 2: Never Get Raided (DVD)
This newly released film is the second in Barry Cooper's' series of controversial NeverGetBusted videos. The title, NeverGetRaided, describes the DVD perfectly. Part documentary and all instruction, NeverGetRaided promises to reveal all the latest drug enforcement tactics giving the viewer confidence in maintaining a cannabis culture lifestyle without ever being raided!
Alongside the cannabis friendly citizens, the non-smoker will enjoy the film as well because it interestingly catalogs secret police tactics and gives the audience an insider's view into what caused one of America's top drug cops to "switch sides."
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT Never Get Busted
"Cooper is a former narcotics officer once considered among the top cops in Texas, where more marijuana is seized each year than in any other state."
---USA Today
This hard hitting film contains 90 minutes of non-stop instruction taught in the same "shocking but polite" teaching style delivered in Barry's first film, Traffic Stops that recently gained world attention.
"Totally amazing. It's incredible watching Barry and Candi sneak into the marijuana field. Barry will need an agent soon to help him manage becoming one of today's top documentary film makers."
---Jim Grimes, Channel 33 Dallas,Texas
""The audience laughed, cheered, cried and cursed. It was amazing. More than I could've ever imagined. Truly an educational experience for whomever watches it."
--Mark Meisinger, Attorney At Law
MORE INFORMATION
Chapter 1: Guerrilla Growing Undetected
Barry teaches from the DEA training he received on how to spot marijuana fields from the air. He takes you on a helicopter ride over a genuine clandestine marijuana patch and then "creeps" you into the field while pointing out the grower's mistakes.
Chapter 2: Spotting Undercovers and Informants
Undercover officers and informants are perhaps the strongest and most dangerous tool used against American Citizens in the unjust War on Drugs. Barry points out only 28 officers have lost their lives in the War on Drugs in a ten year period (1996-2005) compared to millions of non-violent citizens who have lost their lives or have been placed in prisons to be raped or stabbed. Barry uses his experience as an undercover officer and interviews a seasoned drug dealer to teach you exactly how to detect these secret government agents.
Chapter 3: Selling Marijuana Safely (Cops are more dangerous than Dealers)
Discover a GUARANTEED method to sell marijuana and NeverGetRaided. The alcohol dealers do not have police invading their homes in the middle of the night and neither should pot dealers. Barry explains a method to use that even he could not bust! It really works.
Chapter 4: Growing Indoor Plants That Are Invisible To Law Enforcement
Are you currently growing your medicine indoors? Do you want to grow indoors but haven't because you don't want to get raided? Heat from lights are the grower's worst enemy so Barry teaches how to beat the heat by explaining FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red Radar.) Walk into an actual grow room and witness real police FLIR footage of an indoor grow operation. Not only does Barry teach how to confuse these heat imaging video cams but he also explains how to obtain grow equipment undetected. You will also learn how to spot police surveillance, tails and stakeouts and learn how to counter these efforts.
Chapter 5: Knock and Talks and K-9 Proofing.
Learn tips that GUARANTEE how to win 100% of the time when facing a police encounter at your door. Learn how to fool the dogs in case you didn't listen to Barry's advice and you get raided.
Chapter 6: A Message To DEA.
Barry pulls no punches when outlining an effective way to conduct search warrants without the violence. The DEA and other drug enforcement agencies will owe an answer after Barry exposes this non-violent method to seizing persons and property.
Chapter 7: Those Are Your Kids! Drugs Are Not Harming Them...The Police Are.
This "no holds bar" chapter challenges government propaganda programs such as D.A.R.E and encourages parents to take charge of their families by teaching the truth about drugs. In this chapter, Barry says what the "closet smoking parents" can't say...highly charged and controversial. Note: We currently have 1.5 million children missing one or both parents because of the Drug War.
$19.95
American Drug War DVD
Order This Incredible New Exposé Today!
Over 4 years, 4 festival wins – Sold out screenings from California to Manchester England.
Angered by the death of several family members from the "legal Drugs" of Alcohol, Tobacco and Pharmaceuticals - Texas filmmaker Kevin Booth delves into a world of deceit and corruption controlled by a drug dealing government who's only allegiance is to its corporate masters.
The official DVD contains over THREE HOURS of BONUS features. Including a sixty minute mini doc about Tommy Chong’s arrest. Sheriff Joe Arpaio serving rotten food to non-violent drug offenders. Mike Ruppert going into great detail about various CIA operations. Ricky Ross talking from a prison Pay Phone. And much much more making the DVD a must have especially if you have already seen the film.
This final version of the film features extensive sound mixing and post production for the SHOWTIME broadcast, and is the version we would like to have spread across the country and the world.
$24.95
Never Get Busted Again Combo
Regular price: $39.90
Sale price: $33.90
Alex Jones' terrifying new film End Game: Blueprint For Global Enslavement explores the history of eugenics and answers why the elite are so obsessed with thinning the human population. Order the DVD or Subscribe to prison planet.tv and watch the documentary in high quality online streaming format.
Now every order gets a free copy of the powerful Citizen's Rule Book!
War On Drugs DVD Combo
Get three incredible DVDs covering the fraudulent War on Drugs.
In the first and second volumes of his powerful Never Get Busted DVD series, Former DEA Agent Barry Cooper reveals secret police tactics to help you protect your precious liberties while celebrated filmmaker Kevin Booth delves into the American Drug War to uncover the police state being constructed in the name of protecting the nations' children.
Regular price: $64.85
Sale price: $48.90
Never Get Busted Volume 1: Traffic Stops (DVD)
This DVD is truly a one-of-a-kind, never before seen, information packed tool which can help you save thousands in legal fees and stay out of jail!Watch Real Footage of former DEA Agent Barry Cooper Making Marijuana Arrests, Learn Secret Drug Enforcement Tactics, Avoid Narcotics Profiling, Where Not to Hide Your Stash (Do Coffee Grounds Really Work?), How Police Cause Drug Dogs to False Alert, Search & Seizure Law Made Easy, How Police Can Tell When You’re Lying, 90 Minutes of One-On-One Training.
$19.95
Never Get Busted Volume 2: Never Get Raided (DVD)
This newly released film is the second in Barry Cooper's' series of controversial NeverGetBusted videos. The title, NeverGetRaided, describes the DVD perfectly. Part documentary and all instruction, NeverGetRaided promises to reveal all the latest drug enforcement tactics giving the viewer confidence in maintaining a cannabis culture lifestyle without ever being raided!Alongside the cannabis friendly citizens, the non-smoker will enjoy the film as well because it interestingly catalogs secret police tactics and gives the audience an insider's view into what caused one of America's top drug cops to "switch sides."
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT Never Get Busted
"Cooper is a former narcotics officer once considered among the top cops in Texas, where more marijuana is seized each year than in any other state."
---USA Today
This hard hitting film contains 90 minutes of non-stop instruction taught in the same "shocking but polite" teaching style delivered in Barry's first film, Traffic Stops that recently gained world attention.
"Totally amazing. It's incredible watching Barry and Candi sneak into the marijuana field. Barry will need an agent soon to help him manage becoming one of today's top documentary film makers."
---Jim Grimes, Channel 33 Dallas,Texas
""The audience laughed, cheered, cried and cursed. It was amazing. More than I could've ever imagined. Truly an educational experience for whomever watches it."
--Mark Meisinger, Attorney At Law
MORE INFORMATION
Chapter 1: Guerrilla Growing Undetected
Barry teaches from the DEA training he received on how to spot marijuana fields from the air. He takes you on a helicopter ride over a genuine clandestine marijuana patch and then "creeps" you into the field while pointing out the grower's mistakes.
Chapter 2: Spotting Undercovers and Informants
Undercover officers and informants are perhaps the strongest and most dangerous tool used against American Citizens in the unjust War on Drugs. Barry points out only 28 officers have lost their lives in the War on Drugs in a ten year period (1996-2005) compared to millions of non-violent citizens who have lost their lives or have been placed in prisons to be raped or stabbed. Barry uses his experience as an undercover officer and interviews a seasoned drug dealer to teach you exactly how to detect these secret government agents.
Chapter 3: Selling Marijuana Safely (Cops are more dangerous than Dealers)
Discover a GUARANTEED method to sell marijuana and NeverGetRaided. The alcohol dealers do not have police invading their homes in the middle of the night and neither should pot dealers. Barry explains a method to use that even he could not bust! It really works.
Chapter 4: Growing Indoor Plants That Are Invisible To Law Enforcement
Are you currently growing your medicine indoors? Do you want to grow indoors but haven't because you don't want to get raided? Heat from lights are the grower's worst enemy so Barry teaches how to beat the heat by explaining FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red Radar.) Walk into an actual grow room and witness real police FLIR footage of an indoor grow operation. Not only does Barry teach how to confuse these heat imaging video cams but he also explains how to obtain grow equipment undetected. You will also learn how to spot police surveillance, tails and stakeouts and learn how to counter these efforts.
Chapter 5: Knock and Talks and K-9 Proofing.
Learn tips that GUARANTEE how to win 100% of the time when facing a police encounter at your door. Learn how to fool the dogs in case you didn't listen to Barry's advice and you get raided.
Chapter 6: A Message To DEA.
Barry pulls no punches when outlining an effective way to conduct search warrants without the violence. The DEA and other drug enforcement agencies will owe an answer after Barry exposes this non-violent method to seizing persons and property.
Chapter 7: Those Are Your Kids! Drugs Are Not Harming Them...The Police Are.
This "no holds bar" chapter challenges government propaganda programs such as D.A.R.E and encourages parents to take charge of their families by teaching the truth about drugs. In this chapter, Barry says what the "closet smoking parents" can't say...highly charged and controversial. Note: We currently have 1.5 million children missing one or both parents because of the Drug War.
$19.95
American Drug War DVD
Order This Incredible New Expos̩ Today!Over 4 years, 4 festival wins РSold out screenings from California to Manchester England.
Angered by the death of several family members from the "legal Drugs" of Alcohol, Tobacco and Pharmaceuticals - Texas filmmaker Kevin Booth delves into a world of deceit and corruption controlled by a drug dealing government who's only allegiance is to its corporate masters.
The official DVD contains over THREE HOURS of BONUS features. Including a sixty minute mini doc about Tommy Chong’s arrest. Sheriff Joe Arpaio serving rotten food to non-violent drug offenders. Mike Ruppert going into great detail about various CIA operations. Ricky Ross talking from a prison Pay Phone. And much much more making the DVD a must have especially if you have already seen the film.
This final version of the film features extensive sound mixing and post production for the SHOWTIME broadcast, and is the version we would like to have spread across the country and the world.
$24.95
Never Get Busted Again Combo
Regular price: $39.90
Sale price: $33.90
Alex Jones' terrifying new film End Game: Blueprint For Global Enslavement explores the history of eugenics and answers why the elite are so obsessed with thinning the human population. Order the DVD or Subscribe to prison planet.tv and watch the documentary in high quality online streaming format.
Now every order gets a free copy of the powerful Citizen's Rule Book! Heart And Body Extract
From Rense.com
http://www.hbextract.com
Heart And Body Extract
Learn The Secrets of an Effective Natural 100% Organic Nutritional Supplement for a Healthy Heart and Circulation
http://www.hbextract.com
Heart And Body Extract
Learn The Secrets of an Effective Natural 100% Organic Nutritional Supplement for a Healthy Heart and Circulation
Great Movie Dialogue: The Wrestler
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: Goddamn they don't make em' like they used to.
Cassidy: Fuckin' 80's man, best shit ever!
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: Bet'chr ass man, Guns N' Roses! Rules.
Cassidy: Crue!
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: Yeah!
Cassidy: Def Lep!
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: Then that Cobain pussy had to come around & ruin it all.
Cassidy: Like there's something wrong, why not just have a good time?
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: I'll tell you somethin', I hate the fuckin' 90's.
- Mickey Rourke & Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler (2008)
Cassidy: Fuckin' 80's man, best shit ever!
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: Bet'chr ass man, Guns N' Roses! Rules.
Cassidy: Crue!
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: Yeah!
Cassidy: Def Lep!
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: Then that Cobain pussy had to come around & ruin it all.
Cassidy: Like there's something wrong, why not just have a good time?
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: I'll tell you somethin', I hate the fuckin' 90's.
- Mickey Rourke & Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler (2008)
LOWFI seeks Nixon’s spirit… are you up for a trip?
http://forteanswest.com/wordpress-mu/blog/2009/02/13/lowfi-seeks-nixons-spirit-are-you-up-for-a-trip/
LOWFI seeks Nixon’s spirit… are you up for a trip?
SUNDAY, MARCH 1st: our next southern California excursion will be to the haunted Richard Nixon library in Yorba Linda. On deck will be a psychic medium to pick up the vibrations, Nixon’s “ethereal conduit” Jeffrey Vallance and L.O.W.F.I.’s NorCal Bureau Chief, Adam Gorightly.
$13, with an optional outing to a secret, undisclosed location in Whittier, a scant 23 minute drive from the Nixon library. The birthplace of Discordianism, a trip to this facility is as close to a religious pilgrimage as a Fortean can get. All hail Eris! (The birthplace of Kerry Thornley himself, Whittier also gave us Nixon and Tom Waits.)
http://www.geocities.com/tribhis/KerryThornleyIntro.html
Stay tuned for details as the date looms near!
LOWFI seeks Nixon’s spirit… are you up for a trip?
SUNDAY, MARCH 1st: our next southern California excursion will be to the haunted Richard Nixon library in Yorba Linda. On deck will be a psychic medium to pick up the vibrations, Nixon’s “ethereal conduit” Jeffrey Vallance and L.O.W.F.I.’s NorCal Bureau Chief, Adam Gorightly.
$13, with an optional outing to a secret, undisclosed location in Whittier, a scant 23 minute drive from the Nixon library. The birthplace of Discordianism, a trip to this facility is as close to a religious pilgrimage as a Fortean can get. All hail Eris! (The birthplace of Kerry Thornley himself, Whittier also gave us Nixon and Tom Waits.)
http://www.geocities.com/tribhis/KerryThornleyIntro.html
Stay tuned for details as the date looms near!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Alien Census
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-much-intelligent-alien-life
February 10, 2009
Alien Census: Can We Estimate How Much Life Is Out There?
New study looks to tabulate the extent of intelligent extraterrestrial life
By John Matson
One day in 1950, nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi posed a question to a few colleagues he was lunching with at Los Alamos National Laboratory that would become known as the Fermi Paradox: If the Milky Way is indeed teeming with alien civilizations, as many theories suggest, where are they? Shouldn't we see evidence of their existence? Nearly 60 years later, the question remains just as vexing. After all, decades of searching for extraterrestrial radio signals or evidence of alien civilizations have come up empty.
Nevertheless, search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) programs soldier on. And the hunt for any alien life, even in microbial form, is ramping up quickly with instruments probing Mars and other likely nearby candidates in greater detail and with the regular detection of new planets outside our solar system. In the absence of hard evidence for intelligent extraterrestrial life, some researchers have set out to estimate just how much might be out there. The hope is that they can justify the continuation of SETI searches or even refine them and thus up the odds of finding ET, perhaps someday rendering the Fermi Paradox moot.
In a recent paper published online by the International Journal of Astrobiology, graduate student Duncan Forgan of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, in Scotland set up a numerical model of the universe under different scenarios of biogenesis. His model relies on current observational knowledge of stars and planetary systems, as well as some assumptions about the viability of life and its ability to evolve into an advanced, intelligent form. If life can only arise under a narrow set of initial conditions, Forgan estimates there should be 361 advanced, stable civilizations in the Milky Way. If life can spread from one planet to another through biological molecules embedded in asteroids, though, the number jumps to nearly 38,000. (Even given a densely populated galaxy, Forgan notes, there is no guarantee of immediate mutual contact.)
Forgan's model makes use of the Monte Carlo method, by which the starting variables in a system are randomized over repeated simulations to allow for uncertainties in their values. By averaging the results from 100 such simulations, Forgan's analysis yields an estimate that accounts for variations in inputs.
But some in the field argue that estimates of the extent of extraterrestrial intelligence cannot carry any degree of accuracy, given the gaps in our knowledge. Such numerical estimates are "still subject to all the other uncertainties and all the other imponderables" regarding the origins of life, says planetary scientist Ian Crawford of Birkbeck College at the University of London. "We have to admit that we're hugely ignorant of many of the pieces of information that we would need to know before we could realistically estimate the prevalence of intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy."
Mark Burchell, a professor of space sciences at the University of Kent in England, says that astronomically speaking, our knowledge base is fairly refined. "But the biological and social aspects of the equation remain speculative," he said in an e-mail. "As Forgan points out, we are limited to single-event observations (life on Earth) to make sweeping general predictions (life elsewhere)."
Forgan acknowledges that the analysis suffers from some uncertainties, stemming in part from a small and somewhat biased data set on planets outside the solar system. Some 300 planetary systems have been found since 1995, when the first planet orbiting a normal star other than the sun was discovered. But the detection methods employed in this effort tend to find planets that are quite large and hot. The European COROT satellite and NASA's forthcoming Kepler spacecraft, however, should be able to locate more Earth-like worlds in the coming years with dedicated, sensitive monitoring of dips in stellar brightness that occur when a planet passes in front of a star. Forgan says that "Earth-mass, rocky planets are still the best bet for habitability," so such discoveries would significantly affect his conclusions.
He also notes that the numbers, subject as they are to uncertainties, should not be considered the sole outcome of his paper. Simply refining models of where and when life should arise, he says, might improve SETI searches. "Searching for life in the galaxy is the ultimate needle in the haystack," Forgan says, and any guidance as to where and when to search for that needle should be useful.
But Crawford thinks such analyses won't affect the status quo. "We've got no option but to keep looking; there's nothing else we can do," he says. "All the SETI searches can do is what they've been doing for the last 40 years and keep listening."
February 10, 2009
Alien Census: Can We Estimate How Much Life Is Out There?
New study looks to tabulate the extent of intelligent extraterrestrial life
By John Matson
One day in 1950, nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi posed a question to a few colleagues he was lunching with at Los Alamos National Laboratory that would become known as the Fermi Paradox: If the Milky Way is indeed teeming with alien civilizations, as many theories suggest, where are they? Shouldn't we see evidence of their existence? Nearly 60 years later, the question remains just as vexing. After all, decades of searching for extraterrestrial radio signals or evidence of alien civilizations have come up empty.
Nevertheless, search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) programs soldier on. And the hunt for any alien life, even in microbial form, is ramping up quickly with instruments probing Mars and other likely nearby candidates in greater detail and with the regular detection of new planets outside our solar system. In the absence of hard evidence for intelligent extraterrestrial life, some researchers have set out to estimate just how much might be out there. The hope is that they can justify the continuation of SETI searches or even refine them and thus up the odds of finding ET, perhaps someday rendering the Fermi Paradox moot.
In a recent paper published online by the International Journal of Astrobiology, graduate student Duncan Forgan of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, in Scotland set up a numerical model of the universe under different scenarios of biogenesis. His model relies on current observational knowledge of stars and planetary systems, as well as some assumptions about the viability of life and its ability to evolve into an advanced, intelligent form. If life can only arise under a narrow set of initial conditions, Forgan estimates there should be 361 advanced, stable civilizations in the Milky Way. If life can spread from one planet to another through biological molecules embedded in asteroids, though, the number jumps to nearly 38,000. (Even given a densely populated galaxy, Forgan notes, there is no guarantee of immediate mutual contact.)
Forgan's model makes use of the Monte Carlo method, by which the starting variables in a system are randomized over repeated simulations to allow for uncertainties in their values. By averaging the results from 100 such simulations, Forgan's analysis yields an estimate that accounts for variations in inputs.
But some in the field argue that estimates of the extent of extraterrestrial intelligence cannot carry any degree of accuracy, given the gaps in our knowledge. Such numerical estimates are "still subject to all the other uncertainties and all the other imponderables" regarding the origins of life, says planetary scientist Ian Crawford of Birkbeck College at the University of London. "We have to admit that we're hugely ignorant of many of the pieces of information that we would need to know before we could realistically estimate the prevalence of intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy."
Mark Burchell, a professor of space sciences at the University of Kent in England, says that astronomically speaking, our knowledge base is fairly refined. "But the biological and social aspects of the equation remain speculative," he said in an e-mail. "As Forgan points out, we are limited to single-event observations (life on Earth) to make sweeping general predictions (life elsewhere)."
Forgan acknowledges that the analysis suffers from some uncertainties, stemming in part from a small and somewhat biased data set on planets outside the solar system. Some 300 planetary systems have been found since 1995, when the first planet orbiting a normal star other than the sun was discovered. But the detection methods employed in this effort tend to find planets that are quite large and hot. The European COROT satellite and NASA's forthcoming Kepler spacecraft, however, should be able to locate more Earth-like worlds in the coming years with dedicated, sensitive monitoring of dips in stellar brightness that occur when a planet passes in front of a star. Forgan says that "Earth-mass, rocky planets are still the best bet for habitability," so such discoveries would significantly affect his conclusions.
He also notes that the numbers, subject as they are to uncertainties, should not be considered the sole outcome of his paper. Simply refining models of where and when life should arise, he says, might improve SETI searches. "Searching for life in the galaxy is the ultimate needle in the haystack," Forgan says, and any guidance as to where and when to search for that needle should be useful.
But Crawford thinks such analyses won't affect the status quo. "We've got no option but to keep looking; there's nothing else we can do," he says. "All the SETI searches can do is what they've been doing for the last 40 years and keep listening."
dark comets 'could pose deadly threat to earth'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/space/4592130/Unseen-dark-comets-could-pose-deadly-threat-to-earth.htmldark comets 'could pose deadly threat to earth'
Unseen "dark" comets could pose a deadly threat to earth, astronomers have warned.
By Kate Devlin
12 Feb 2009
'Dark' comets happen when the water on their surface has evaporated, causing them to reflect less light
The comets, of which there could be thousands, are not currently monitored by observatories and space agencies.
Most comets and asteroids are monitored in case they start to travel towards earth.
But Bill Napier, from Cardiff University, said that many could be going by unnoticed.
"There is a case to be made that dark, dormant comets are a significant but largely unseen hazard," he said
Scientists estimate that there should be around 3,000 comets in the solar system, but only 25 have so far been identified.
"Dark" comets happen when the water on their surface has evaporated, causing them to reflect less light.
Astronomers have previously spotted comets heading towards earth just days before they passed.
In 1983 a comet called IRAS-Araki-Alcock passed at a distance of just 5 million kilometres, the closest of any comet for 200 years, but it was noticed just a fortnight beforehand.
Tests on another comet, called Comet Borrelly, in 2001 revealed it to have large dark patches across much of its surface.
Steve Larson of the University of Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson, which monitors comets, said the idea of an unknown number of "dark" comets circling earth had "merit".
But Clark Chapman from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said that such comets "would absorb sunlight very well" and so could be detected by the heat they emit, reports New Scientist magazine.
Cure for the Common Cold? Not Yet, but Possible
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/health/research/13cold.html
February 13, 2009
Cure for the Common Cold? Not Yet, but Possible
By NICHOLAS WADE
Curing the common cold, one of medicine’s most elusive goals, may now be in the realm of the possible.
Researchers said Thursday that they had decoded the genomes of the 99 strains of common cold virus and developed a catalog of its vulnerabilities.
“We are now quite certain that we see the Achilles’ heel, and that a very effective treatment for the common cold is at hand,” said Stephen B. Liggett, an asthma expert at the University of Maryland and co-author of the finding.
Besides alleviating the achy, sniffly misery familiar to everyone, a true cold-fighting drug could be a godsend for the 20 million people who suffer from asthma and the millions of others with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The common cold virus, a rhinovirus, is thought to set off half of all asthma attacks.
Even so, it might be difficult to kindle the interest of pharmaceutical companies. While the new findings are “an interesting piece of science,” said Dr. Glenn Tillotson, an expert on antiviral drugs at Viropharma in Exton, Pa., he noted that the typical cost of developing a new drug was now $700 million, “with interminable fights with financiers and regulators.”
Because colds are mostly a minor nuisance, drug developers say, people would not be likely to pay for expensive drugs. And it would be hard to get the Food and Drug Administration to approve a drug with any serious downside for so mild a disease.
Carl Seiden, president of Seiden Pharmaceutical Strategies and a longtime industry analyst and consultant, said industry might be loath to wade in because Relenza and Tamiflu — two drugs that ameliorated flu but did not cure it — were huge commercial disappointments.
The industry has also learned in recent years that turning a genetic discovery into a marketable drug is far harder than once thought.
Still, if the discovery could lead to an effective drug to treat the common cold, “that’s a big deal,” Mr. Seiden said.
Industry hurdles aside, perhaps the biggest reason the common cold has long defied treatment is that the rhinovirus has so many strains and presents a moving target for any drug or vaccine.
This scientific link in this chain of problems may now have been broken by a research team headed by Dr. Liggett and Dr. Ann C. Palmenberg, a cold virologist at the University of Wisconsin.
The researchers, who conducted the genetic decoding with the aid of Dr. Claire Fraser-Liggett at the University of Maryland, published their insights into the rhinovirus on Thursday in the online edition of Science.
Dr. Fernando Martinez, an asthma expert at the University of Arizona, said the new rhinovirus family tree should make it possible for the first time to identify which particular branch of the tree held the viruses most provocative to asthma patients.
If antiviral agents could be developed against this group of viruses, Dr. Martinez said, “it would be an extraordinary advance.”
Another asthma expert, Dr. E. Kathryn Miller at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, said the new finding was “a groundbreaking study of major significance.”
People at high risk from rhinoviruses, like children with asthma or adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, would benefit greatly from new drugs, Dr. Miller said, and should therefore be populations of interest to the drug industry.
Dr. Liggett said the new data might even provide an opportunity to consider new vaccine approaches.
Dr. Palmenberg is less optimistic. “There’s not going to be a vaccine for the common cold,” she said, given that vaccines do not protect the linings of the nose where the virus attacks.
The rhinovirus has a genome of about 7,000 chemical units, which encode the information to make the 10 proteins that do everything the virus needs to infect cells and make more viruses.
By comparing the 99 genomes with one another, the researchers were able to arrange them in a family tree based on similarities in their genomes.
That family tree shows that some regions of the rhinovirus genome are changing all the time but that others never change.
The fact that the unchanging regions are so conserved over the course of evolutionary time means that they perform vital roles and that the virus cannot let them change without perishing. They are therefore ideal targets for drugs because, in principle, any of the 99 strains would succumb to the same drug.
Dr. Liggett said he believed that one such target lies at the very beginning of the rhinovirus genome, where its genetic material is folded into a clover-leaf shape. The sequence of units in the clover leaf is designed to be read quickly by the infected cell’s protein-making machinery. All strains of rhinovirus have much the same sequence of units at this region and all could be vulnerable to the same drug.
The data will also help analyze a new family of rhinoviruses that is causing concern. Instead of attacking the cells lining the nose, these attack those lining the deep lungs, causing viral pneumonia.
This family of virus cannot at present be grown for study in the laboratory, Dr. Palmenberg said, but can now be researched genetically through the common elements they share with other rhinoviruses.
Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute, where the rhinovirus genomes were decoded, say another important feature of the viruses lies in a highly variable region at one of the genomes.
The equivalent region in polio virus determines pathogenicity, and the same may be true with rhinoviruses.
There are at present no effective treatments for the common cold. Frequent hand-washing is the best preventive, Dr. Miller said. Once a cold has started, she recommended washing out the nasal passages, warm drinks and rest.
Gardiner Harris contributed reporting from Washington.
February 13, 2009
Cure for the Common Cold? Not Yet, but Possible
By NICHOLAS WADE
Curing the common cold, one of medicine’s most elusive goals, may now be in the realm of the possible.
Researchers said Thursday that they had decoded the genomes of the 99 strains of common cold virus and developed a catalog of its vulnerabilities.
“We are now quite certain that we see the Achilles’ heel, and that a very effective treatment for the common cold is at hand,” said Stephen B. Liggett, an asthma expert at the University of Maryland and co-author of the finding.
Besides alleviating the achy, sniffly misery familiar to everyone, a true cold-fighting drug could be a godsend for the 20 million people who suffer from asthma and the millions of others with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The common cold virus, a rhinovirus, is thought to set off half of all asthma attacks.
Even so, it might be difficult to kindle the interest of pharmaceutical companies. While the new findings are “an interesting piece of science,” said Dr. Glenn Tillotson, an expert on antiviral drugs at Viropharma in Exton, Pa., he noted that the typical cost of developing a new drug was now $700 million, “with interminable fights with financiers and regulators.”
Because colds are mostly a minor nuisance, drug developers say, people would not be likely to pay for expensive drugs. And it would be hard to get the Food and Drug Administration to approve a drug with any serious downside for so mild a disease.
Carl Seiden, president of Seiden Pharmaceutical Strategies and a longtime industry analyst and consultant, said industry might be loath to wade in because Relenza and Tamiflu — two drugs that ameliorated flu but did not cure it — were huge commercial disappointments.
The industry has also learned in recent years that turning a genetic discovery into a marketable drug is far harder than once thought.
Still, if the discovery could lead to an effective drug to treat the common cold, “that’s a big deal,” Mr. Seiden said.
Industry hurdles aside, perhaps the biggest reason the common cold has long defied treatment is that the rhinovirus has so many strains and presents a moving target for any drug or vaccine.
This scientific link in this chain of problems may now have been broken by a research team headed by Dr. Liggett and Dr. Ann C. Palmenberg, a cold virologist at the University of Wisconsin.
The researchers, who conducted the genetic decoding with the aid of Dr. Claire Fraser-Liggett at the University of Maryland, published their insights into the rhinovirus on Thursday in the online edition of Science.
Dr. Fernando Martinez, an asthma expert at the University of Arizona, said the new rhinovirus family tree should make it possible for the first time to identify which particular branch of the tree held the viruses most provocative to asthma patients.
If antiviral agents could be developed against this group of viruses, Dr. Martinez said, “it would be an extraordinary advance.”
Another asthma expert, Dr. E. Kathryn Miller at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, said the new finding was “a groundbreaking study of major significance.”
People at high risk from rhinoviruses, like children with asthma or adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, would benefit greatly from new drugs, Dr. Miller said, and should therefore be populations of interest to the drug industry.
Dr. Liggett said the new data might even provide an opportunity to consider new vaccine approaches.
Dr. Palmenberg is less optimistic. “There’s not going to be a vaccine for the common cold,” she said, given that vaccines do not protect the linings of the nose where the virus attacks.
The rhinovirus has a genome of about 7,000 chemical units, which encode the information to make the 10 proteins that do everything the virus needs to infect cells and make more viruses.
By comparing the 99 genomes with one another, the researchers were able to arrange them in a family tree based on similarities in their genomes.
That family tree shows that some regions of the rhinovirus genome are changing all the time but that others never change.
The fact that the unchanging regions are so conserved over the course of evolutionary time means that they perform vital roles and that the virus cannot let them change without perishing. They are therefore ideal targets for drugs because, in principle, any of the 99 strains would succumb to the same drug.
Dr. Liggett said he believed that one such target lies at the very beginning of the rhinovirus genome, where its genetic material is folded into a clover-leaf shape. The sequence of units in the clover leaf is designed to be read quickly by the infected cell’s protein-making machinery. All strains of rhinovirus have much the same sequence of units at this region and all could be vulnerable to the same drug.
The data will also help analyze a new family of rhinoviruses that is causing concern. Instead of attacking the cells lining the nose, these attack those lining the deep lungs, causing viral pneumonia.
This family of virus cannot at present be grown for study in the laboratory, Dr. Palmenberg said, but can now be researched genetically through the common elements they share with other rhinoviruses.
Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute, where the rhinovirus genomes were decoded, say another important feature of the viruses lies in a highly variable region at one of the genomes.
The equivalent region in polio virus determines pathogenicity, and the same may be true with rhinoviruses.
There are at present no effective treatments for the common cold. Frequent hand-washing is the best preventive, Dr. Miller said. Once a cold has started, she recommended washing out the nasal passages, warm drinks and rest.
Gardiner Harris contributed reporting from Washington.
Autism ruling fails to convince many
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/12/court.autism.reactions/
Autism ruling fails to convince many vaccine-link believers
Story Highlights
Families dealing with autism have mixed response to Thursday's ruling
Scientific community says no credible research supports autism-vaccine link
Advocacy groups question credibility of the vaccine court
By Madison Park
CNN
2-12-9
A special court's Thursday ruling that no proven link exists between autism and certain early childhood vaccines seems to have done little to change the sometimes-passionate opinion fueling the debate.
Amanda Guyton, a mother of a 6-year-old boy with autism, was "incredibly happy" with the decision and said it reaffirmed her belief that her son's autism has nothing to do with vaccines.
"We're ready for them to get on real research like educational strategies and help for kids," she said. "An awful lot of money and effort and time were spent on vaccines when three or four studies said no, there isn't a link."
Meanwhile, John Best, the father of a 12-year-old boy with autism, said: "The whole thing stinks."
Guyton and Best were not involved in the cases, but were following the news because of their interest in autism.
Three families -- the Cedillos, the Hazlehursts and the Snyders -- had sought damage awards from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program for their children who have autism, a disorder that the parents contend was triggered by the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella combined with vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative.
The panel of "special masters" ruled that these petitioners had not presented sufficient evidence to prove that the childhood vaccines caused autism in their children.
A vocal segment of autism parents has contended that childhood vaccinations recommended by the government cause the disorder. Health agencies and the scientific community have disputed that notion. In defending its conclusion that no link exists, the Institute of Medicine cited five large studies that have failed to prove any connection between autism and thimerosal and 14 large studies finding no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
"As the scientific community has been saying for a long time, there is no good, credible, reproducible research that supports the hypothesis that MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine causes autism," said Dr. Max Wiznitzer, an autism expert at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
Wiznitzer testified in two of these three lawsuits brought against the government's National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
"What the decision tells us is that these vaccinations are safe," he said. "The medical evidence tells us there is no association between vaccines and autism. This is one more piece that helps confirm that conclusion."
The defendant, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a statement Thursday: "Hopefully, the determination by the Special Masters will help reassure parents that vaccines do not cause autism."
Meanwhile, some autism advocacy groups such as SafeMinds also criticized the HHS saying the "deck is stacked against families when they enter 'vaccine court.'"
National Autism Association president Wendy Fournier agreed.
"If you have a vaccine injury, you're forced to sue Health and Human Services instead of suing the manufacturers. It's the government that oversees these court cases," said Fournier, who is the mother of a 9-year-old girl with autism. "The conflict of interest is so huge in so many levels by having the government responsible for not only promoting vaccine program, but also responsible for overseeing the safety."
Fournier said her daughter was a happy, healthy toddler who developed autism after receiving shots. She said she's heard countless similar stories from other parents.
The special court denied Mike and Theresa Cedillo's claim that vaccines caused autism in their daughter, Michelle, 14, who can't walk without help and receives nourishment from a feeding tube.
"We're obviously really disappointed," Theresa Cedillo said.
Tom Powers is an attorney for a litigation steering committee representing thousands of families that fall into three categories: those that claim that MMR vaccines and thimerosal-containing vaccines can combine to cause autism; those who claim thimerosal-containing vaccines alone can cause autism; and those who claim that MMR vaccines, without any link to thimerosal, can cause autism.
"We're disappointed in the outcome of the court's decision," he said. "However, these decisions are the first step in a long process. The whole process was designed to raise every possible issue in these cases -- hear all the evidence in these cases, knowing that ultimately appeals courts will be making the final decisions."
This week's ruling brought a different outcome from the Hannah Poling case. In November 2007, the Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation concluded that the Georgia girl's illness that had predisposed her to symptoms of autism was "significantly aggravated" by the vaccinations she received as a toddler and that her family should therefore be compensated.
But Thursday, Special Master George L. Hastings Jr. wrote in his ruling in the Cedillos case, "The evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far short of demonstrating such a link" between autism and vaccinations.
Wiznitzer said the ruling sent a message.
"Instead of spending resources investigating ideas that are hypothetical and have no proven value, we need to invest our time and resources into projects that will better determine the reasons for autism and the interventions that are best needed," he said.
CNN's Miriam Falco and David Martin contributed to this report.
Autism ruling fails to convince many vaccine-link believers
Story Highlights
Families dealing with autism have mixed response to Thursday's ruling
Scientific community says no credible research supports autism-vaccine link
Advocacy groups question credibility of the vaccine court
By Madison Park
CNN
2-12-9
A special court's Thursday ruling that no proven link exists between autism and certain early childhood vaccines seems to have done little to change the sometimes-passionate opinion fueling the debate.
Amanda Guyton, a mother of a 6-year-old boy with autism, was "incredibly happy" with the decision and said it reaffirmed her belief that her son's autism has nothing to do with vaccines.
"We're ready for them to get on real research like educational strategies and help for kids," she said. "An awful lot of money and effort and time were spent on vaccines when three or four studies said no, there isn't a link."
Meanwhile, John Best, the father of a 12-year-old boy with autism, said: "The whole thing stinks."
Guyton and Best were not involved in the cases, but were following the news because of their interest in autism.
Three families -- the Cedillos, the Hazlehursts and the Snyders -- had sought damage awards from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program for their children who have autism, a disorder that the parents contend was triggered by the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella combined with vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative.
The panel of "special masters" ruled that these petitioners had not presented sufficient evidence to prove that the childhood vaccines caused autism in their children.
A vocal segment of autism parents has contended that childhood vaccinations recommended by the government cause the disorder. Health agencies and the scientific community have disputed that notion. In defending its conclusion that no link exists, the Institute of Medicine cited five large studies that have failed to prove any connection between autism and thimerosal and 14 large studies finding no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
"As the scientific community has been saying for a long time, there is no good, credible, reproducible research that supports the hypothesis that MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine causes autism," said Dr. Max Wiznitzer, an autism expert at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
Wiznitzer testified in two of these three lawsuits brought against the government's National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
"What the decision tells us is that these vaccinations are safe," he said. "The medical evidence tells us there is no association between vaccines and autism. This is one more piece that helps confirm that conclusion."
The defendant, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, released a statement Thursday: "Hopefully, the determination by the Special Masters will help reassure parents that vaccines do not cause autism."
Meanwhile, some autism advocacy groups such as SafeMinds also criticized the HHS saying the "deck is stacked against families when they enter 'vaccine court.'"
National Autism Association president Wendy Fournier agreed.
"If you have a vaccine injury, you're forced to sue Health and Human Services instead of suing the manufacturers. It's the government that oversees these court cases," said Fournier, who is the mother of a 9-year-old girl with autism. "The conflict of interest is so huge in so many levels by having the government responsible for not only promoting vaccine program, but also responsible for overseeing the safety."
Fournier said her daughter was a happy, healthy toddler who developed autism after receiving shots. She said she's heard countless similar stories from other parents.
The special court denied Mike and Theresa Cedillo's claim that vaccines caused autism in their daughter, Michelle, 14, who can't walk without help and receives nourishment from a feeding tube.
"We're obviously really disappointed," Theresa Cedillo said.
Tom Powers is an attorney for a litigation steering committee representing thousands of families that fall into three categories: those that claim that MMR vaccines and thimerosal-containing vaccines can combine to cause autism; those who claim thimerosal-containing vaccines alone can cause autism; and those who claim that MMR vaccines, without any link to thimerosal, can cause autism.
"We're disappointed in the outcome of the court's decision," he said. "However, these decisions are the first step in a long process. The whole process was designed to raise every possible issue in these cases -- hear all the evidence in these cases, knowing that ultimately appeals courts will be making the final decisions."
This week's ruling brought a different outcome from the Hannah Poling case. In November 2007, the Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation concluded that the Georgia girl's illness that had predisposed her to symptoms of autism was "significantly aggravated" by the vaccinations she received as a toddler and that her family should therefore be compensated.
But Thursday, Special Master George L. Hastings Jr. wrote in his ruling in the Cedillos case, "The evidence advanced by the petitioners has fallen far short of demonstrating such a link" between autism and vaccinations.
Wiznitzer said the ruling sent a message.
"Instead of spending resources investigating ideas that are hypothetical and have no proven value, we need to invest our time and resources into projects that will better determine the reasons for autism and the interventions that are best needed," he said.
CNN's Miriam Falco and David Martin contributed to this report.
13 Facts About Friday the 13th
http://www.livescience.com/culture/090212-friday-13th.html
13 Facts About Friday the 13th
12 February 2009
If you fear Friday the 13th, then batten down the hatches. This week's unlucky day is the first of three this year.
The next Friday the 13th comes in March, followed by Nov. 13. Such a triple whammy comes around only every 11 years, said Thomas Fernsler, a math specialist at the University of Delaware who has studied the number 13 for more than 20 years.
By the numbers
Here are 13 more facts about the infamous day, courtesy of Fernsler and some of our own research:
1. The British Navy built a ship named Friday the 13th. On its maiden voyage, the vessel left dock on a Friday the 13th, and was never heard from again.
2. The ill-fated Apollo 13 launched at 13:13 CST on Apr. 11, 1970. The sum of the date's digits (4-11-70) is 13 (as in 4+1+1+7+0 = 13). And the explosion that crippled the spacecraft occurred on April 13 (not a Friday). The crew did make it back to Earth safely, however.
3. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor.
4. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.
5. Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his career with the Miami Dolphins. Despite being a superb quarterback (some call him one of the best ever), he got to the Super Bowl just once, in 1985, and was trounced 38-16 by the San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana (who wore No. 16 and won all four Super Bowls he played in).
6. Butch Cassidy, notorious American train and bank robber, was born on Friday, April 13, 1866.
7. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926.
8. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.
9. Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
10. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12."
11. Woodrow Wilson considered 13 his lucky number, though his experience didn't support such faith. He arrived in Normandy, France on Friday, Dec. 13, 1918, for peace talks, only to return with a treaty he couldn't get Congress to sign. (The ship's crew wanted to dock the next day due to superstitions, Fernsler said.) He toured the United States to rally support for the treaty, and while traveling, suffered a near-fatal stroke.
12. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.
13. The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch. So far there's been no evidence tying these long-ago design decisions to the present economic situation.
Origins of Friday the 13th
Where's all this superstition come from? Nobody knows for sure. But it may date back to Biblical times (the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus). By the Middle Ages, both Friday and 13 were considered bearers of bad fortune.
Meanwhile the belief that numbers are connected to life and physical things - called numerology - has a long history.
"You can trace it all the way from the followers of Pythagoras, whose maxim to describe the universe was 'all is number,'" says Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and author of "The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved" (Simon & Schuster, 2005). Thinkers who studied under the famous Greek mathematician combined numbers in different ways to explain everything around them, Livio said.
In modern times, numerology has become a type of para-science, much like the meaningless predictions of astrology, scientists say.
"People are subconsciously drawn towards specific numbers because they know that they need the experiences, attributes or lessons, associated with them, that are contained within their potential," says professional numerologist Sonia Ducie. "Numerology can 'make sense' of an individual's life (health, career, relationships, situations and issues) by recognizing which number cycle they are in, and by giving them clarity."
Mathematicians dismiss numerology as having no scientific merit, however.
"I don't endorse this at all," Livio said, when asked to comment on the popularity of commercial numerology for a story prior to the date 06/06/06. Seemingly coincidental connections between numbers will always appear if you look hard enough, he said.
13 Facts About Friday the 13th
12 February 2009
If you fear Friday the 13th, then batten down the hatches. This week's unlucky day is the first of three this year.
The next Friday the 13th comes in March, followed by Nov. 13. Such a triple whammy comes around only every 11 years, said Thomas Fernsler, a math specialist at the University of Delaware who has studied the number 13 for more than 20 years.
By the numbers
Here are 13 more facts about the infamous day, courtesy of Fernsler and some of our own research:
1. The British Navy built a ship named Friday the 13th. On its maiden voyage, the vessel left dock on a Friday the 13th, and was never heard from again.
2. The ill-fated Apollo 13 launched at 13:13 CST on Apr. 11, 1970. The sum of the date's digits (4-11-70) is 13 (as in 4+1+1+7+0 = 13). And the explosion that crippled the spacecraft occurred on April 13 (not a Friday). The crew did make it back to Earth safely, however.
3. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor.
4. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.
5. Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his career with the Miami Dolphins. Despite being a superb quarterback (some call him one of the best ever), he got to the Super Bowl just once, in 1985, and was trounced 38-16 by the San Francisco 49ers and Joe Montana (who wore No. 16 and won all four Super Bowls he played in).
6. Butch Cassidy, notorious American train and bank robber, was born on Friday, April 13, 1866.
7. Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926.
8. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.
9. Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
10. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12."
11. Woodrow Wilson considered 13 his lucky number, though his experience didn't support such faith. He arrived in Normandy, France on Friday, Dec. 13, 1918, for peace talks, only to return with a treaty he couldn't get Congress to sign. (The ship's crew wanted to dock the next day due to superstitions, Fernsler said.) He toured the United States to rally support for the treaty, and while traveling, suffered a near-fatal stroke.
12. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.
13. The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch. So far there's been no evidence tying these long-ago design decisions to the present economic situation.
Origins of Friday the 13th
Where's all this superstition come from? Nobody knows for sure. But it may date back to Biblical times (the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus). By the Middle Ages, both Friday and 13 were considered bearers of bad fortune.
Meanwhile the belief that numbers are connected to life and physical things - called numerology - has a long history.
"You can trace it all the way from the followers of Pythagoras, whose maxim to describe the universe was 'all is number,'" says Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and author of "The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved" (Simon & Schuster, 2005). Thinkers who studied under the famous Greek mathematician combined numbers in different ways to explain everything around them, Livio said.
In modern times, numerology has become a type of para-science, much like the meaningless predictions of astrology, scientists say.
"People are subconsciously drawn towards specific numbers because they know that they need the experiences, attributes or lessons, associated with them, that are contained within their potential," says professional numerologist Sonia Ducie. "Numerology can 'make sense' of an individual's life (health, career, relationships, situations and issues) by recognizing which number cycle they are in, and by giving them clarity."
Mathematicians dismiss numerology as having no scientific merit, however.
"I don't endorse this at all," Livio said, when asked to comment on the popularity of commercial numerology for a story prior to the date 06/06/06. Seemingly coincidental connections between numbers will always appear if you look hard enough, he said.
Blackwater Worldwide renamed Xe
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/02/13-10
Published on Friday, February 13, 2009 by The Associated Press
US Security Firm Mired in Iraq Controversy Changes Its Name
Blackwater Worldwide renamed Xe as company tries to salvage its tarnished brand
Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name as it tries to shake a reputation battered by oft-criticised work in Iraq, renaming its family of two dozen businesses under the name Xe. The parent company's new name is pronounced like the letter z.
Blackwater Lodge & Training Centre - the subsidiary that conducts much of the company's overseas operations and domestic training - has been renamed US Training Centre Inc., the company said today.
The decision comes as part of an ongoing rebranding effort that grew more urgent following a September 2007 shooting in Iraq that left at least a dozen civilians dead. Blackwater president Gary Jackson said in a memo to employees the new name reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security.
"The volume of changes over the past half-year have taken the company to an exciting place and we are now ready for two of the final, and most obvious changes," Jackson said in the note.
In his memo, Jackson indicated the company was not interested in actively pursuing new private security contracts. Jackson and other Blackwater executives said last year the company was shifting its focus away from such work to focus on training and providing logistics.
"This company will continue to provide personnel protective services for high-threat environments when needed by the US government, but its primary mission will be operating our training facilities around the world, including the flagship campus in North Carolina," Jackson said.
The company has operated under the Blackwater name since 1997, when chief executive Erik Prince and some of his former Navy Seal colleagues launched it in north-eastern North Carolina, naming their new endeavour for the area swamp streams that run black with murky water. But the name change underscores how badly the Moyock-based company's brand was damaged by its work in Iraq.
In 2004, four of its contractors were killed in an insurgent ambush in Fallujuah, with their bodies burned, mutilated and strung from a bridge. The incident triggered a US siege of the restive city.
The September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square added to the damage. The incident infuriated politicians both in Baghdad in Washington, triggering congressional hearings and increasing calls that the company be banned from operating in Iraq.
Last month, Iraqi leaders said they would not renew Blackwater's license to operate there, citing the lingering outrage over the shooting in Nisoor Square, and the US state department said later it will not renew Blackwater's contract to protect diplomats when it expires in May.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the company made the name change largely because of changes in its focus, but acknowledged the need for the company to shake its past in Iraq.
"It's not a direct result of a loss of contract, but certainly that is an aspect of our work that we feel we were defined by," Tyrrell said.
Published on Friday, February 13, 2009 by The Associated Press
US Security Firm Mired in Iraq Controversy Changes Its Name
Blackwater Worldwide renamed Xe as company tries to salvage its tarnished brand
Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name as it tries to shake a reputation battered by oft-criticised work in Iraq, renaming its family of two dozen businesses under the name Xe. The parent company's new name is pronounced like the letter z.
Blackwater Lodge & Training Centre - the subsidiary that conducts much of the company's overseas operations and domestic training - has been renamed US Training Centre Inc., the company said today.
The decision comes as part of an ongoing rebranding effort that grew more urgent following a September 2007 shooting in Iraq that left at least a dozen civilians dead. Blackwater president Gary Jackson said in a memo to employees the new name reflects the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security.
"The volume of changes over the past half-year have taken the company to an exciting place and we are now ready for two of the final, and most obvious changes," Jackson said in the note.
In his memo, Jackson indicated the company was not interested in actively pursuing new private security contracts. Jackson and other Blackwater executives said last year the company was shifting its focus away from such work to focus on training and providing logistics.
"This company will continue to provide personnel protective services for high-threat environments when needed by the US government, but its primary mission will be operating our training facilities around the world, including the flagship campus in North Carolina," Jackson said.
The company has operated under the Blackwater name since 1997, when chief executive Erik Prince and some of his former Navy Seal colleagues launched it in north-eastern North Carolina, naming their new endeavour for the area swamp streams that run black with murky water. But the name change underscores how badly the Moyock-based company's brand was damaged by its work in Iraq.
In 2004, four of its contractors were killed in an insurgent ambush in Fallujuah, with their bodies burned, mutilated and strung from a bridge. The incident triggered a US siege of the restive city.
The September 2007 shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square added to the damage. The incident infuriated politicians both in Baghdad in Washington, triggering congressional hearings and increasing calls that the company be banned from operating in Iraq.
Last month, Iraqi leaders said they would not renew Blackwater's license to operate there, citing the lingering outrage over the shooting in Nisoor Square, and the US state department said later it will not renew Blackwater's contract to protect diplomats when it expires in May.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the company made the name change largely because of changes in its focus, but acknowledged the need for the company to shake its past in Iraq.
"It's not a direct result of a loss of contract, but certainly that is an aspect of our work that we feel we were defined by," Tyrrell said.
Banks Agree To Foreclosure Moratoriums
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200902131828DOWJONESDJONLINE000900_FORTUNE5.htm
Banks Agree To Foreclosure Moratoriums
February 13, 2009
By Meena Thiruvengadam
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) have committed to temporary moratoriums on foreclosures as the government works on a financial stability plan slated to include billions of dollars aimed at keeping people in their homes.
"We will not add to the foreclosure process any new owner-occupied residential loans that are owned and serviced by JPMorgan Chase," the company's chief executive, Jamie Dimon, said in a letter Thursday to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
The moratorium on new foreclosure actions will remain in effect through March 6 and is similar to a 90-day foreclosure freeze JPMorgan announced Oct. 31.
"We believe three weeks is adequate time for the Treasury to announce - and for us to implement - a new plan," Dimon said.
Citigroup in a statement issued Friday said it will place a moratorium on foreclosures for all Citi-owned first mortgage loans that are on principal residences and on loans for which understandings with investors have been reached. The moratorium is scheduled to last until March 12 unless the government finalizes a loan-modification program before that date.
Bank of America on Friday said it will delay foreclosure sales on owner- occupied properties whose mortgage loans are owned and serviced by it or Countrywide Financial Corp. through March 6. Bank of America acquired Countrywide in July.
"If the program's development is not complete in three weeks, we will consider a possible extension," a Bank of America spokeswoman said.
Wells Fargo, which recently acquired Wachovia Corp., has imposed a moratorium on foreclosures for loans it holds, company spokesman Kevin Waetke said Friday. That moratorium is expected to remain in place until the government's foreclosure prevention plan is announced.
The majority of Wells Fargo's mortgage loans, however, are serviced by it and owned by other investors. The company is "working with these investors and related contractual commitments to determine how we will support the moratorium request," it said in a statement issued Friday.
Lawmakers in a congressional hearing Wednesday asked the executives of several of the nation's largest banks to institute a moratorium on foreclosures until the details of a revamped government bailout effort are announced. The Office of Thrift Supervision, which regulates U.S. thrifts, on Wednesday also called for institutions it oversees to suspend foreclosures for the next few weeks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday unveiled the outlines of the revamped government effort and said details will be released later. Geithner has been meeting with other members of President Barack Obama's economic team and the secretary of housing and urban development to discuss foreclosure prevention.
Obama is scheduled to outline his plan to stem foreclosures next week.
"I am asking you at this time to commit to this committee and to the people across America that you will do something here ... and that is to commit to having a moratorium on all foreclosures that each of your banks and affiliates deal with until the Treasury secretary can put together this package," Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., said at Wednesday's hearing.
Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit in that hearing first told lawmakers of his company's intent to institute a foreclosure moratorium, saying Citigroup "would commit to making sure that people stay in their houses."
Also in that hearing, Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis indicated his firm would consider freezing its foreclosure activity. "If we could put a time frame on it, ... say it's two weeks or three weeks, we would do that," he told lawmakers.
Some lawmakers have suggested Geithner "strongly encourage" banks receiving government capital through the controversial $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to temporarily stop foreclosures. "TARP-assisted financial institutions should allow struggling homeowners more time to qualify for any systematic loan modification plan," Frank and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., wrote in a letter to Geithner on Wednesday.
JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo each have received billions of dollars in federal aid through TARP.
-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6629; meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com
(Henry J. Pulizzi contributed to this article.)
Banks Agree To Foreclosure Moratoriums
February 13, 2009
By Meena Thiruvengadam
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) have committed to temporary moratoriums on foreclosures as the government works on a financial stability plan slated to include billions of dollars aimed at keeping people in their homes.
"We will not add to the foreclosure process any new owner-occupied residential loans that are owned and serviced by JPMorgan Chase," the company's chief executive, Jamie Dimon, said in a letter Thursday to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
The moratorium on new foreclosure actions will remain in effect through March 6 and is similar to a 90-day foreclosure freeze JPMorgan announced Oct. 31.
"We believe three weeks is adequate time for the Treasury to announce - and for us to implement - a new plan," Dimon said.
Citigroup in a statement issued Friday said it will place a moratorium on foreclosures for all Citi-owned first mortgage loans that are on principal residences and on loans for which understandings with investors have been reached. The moratorium is scheduled to last until March 12 unless the government finalizes a loan-modification program before that date.
Bank of America on Friday said it will delay foreclosure sales on owner- occupied properties whose mortgage loans are owned and serviced by it or Countrywide Financial Corp. through March 6. Bank of America acquired Countrywide in July.
"If the program's development is not complete in three weeks, we will consider a possible extension," a Bank of America spokeswoman said.
Wells Fargo, which recently acquired Wachovia Corp., has imposed a moratorium on foreclosures for loans it holds, company spokesman Kevin Waetke said Friday. That moratorium is expected to remain in place until the government's foreclosure prevention plan is announced.
The majority of Wells Fargo's mortgage loans, however, are serviced by it and owned by other investors. The company is "working with these investors and related contractual commitments to determine how we will support the moratorium request," it said in a statement issued Friday.
Lawmakers in a congressional hearing Wednesday asked the executives of several of the nation's largest banks to institute a moratorium on foreclosures until the details of a revamped government bailout effort are announced. The Office of Thrift Supervision, which regulates U.S. thrifts, on Wednesday also called for institutions it oversees to suspend foreclosures for the next few weeks.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday unveiled the outlines of the revamped government effort and said details will be released later. Geithner has been meeting with other members of President Barack Obama's economic team and the secretary of housing and urban development to discuss foreclosure prevention.
Obama is scheduled to outline his plan to stem foreclosures next week.
"I am asking you at this time to commit to this committee and to the people across America that you will do something here ... and that is to commit to having a moratorium on all foreclosures that each of your banks and affiliates deal with until the Treasury secretary can put together this package," Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., said at Wednesday's hearing.
Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit in that hearing first told lawmakers of his company's intent to institute a foreclosure moratorium, saying Citigroup "would commit to making sure that people stay in their houses."
Also in that hearing, Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis indicated his firm would consider freezing its foreclosure activity. "If we could put a time frame on it, ... say it's two weeks or three weeks, we would do that," he told lawmakers.
Some lawmakers have suggested Geithner "strongly encourage" banks receiving government capital through the controversial $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to temporarily stop foreclosures. "TARP-assisted financial institutions should allow struggling homeowners more time to qualify for any systematic loan modification plan," Frank and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., wrote in a letter to Geithner on Wednesday.
JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo each have received billions of dollars in federal aid through TARP.
-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6629; meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com
(Henry J. Pulizzi contributed to this article.)
Obama planning ambitious road ahead
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/13/obama.whats.next/
Obama planning ambitious road ahead
Story Highlights
White House aides say they're planning an ambitious agenda for the rest of February
Big messes to address are the crises in housing and banking
Administration wants to lay groundwork for health care and entitlement reforms
Nominations for either commerce and HHS secretary are unlikely next week
By Ed Henry
CNN Senior White House Correspondent
2-13-9
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Fresh off victory on President Obama's signature $787 billion economic recovery plan, several top White House aides say they're planning an ambitious agenda for the rest of February.
The Senate had waited for the return of Democrat Sherrod Brown, who was returning from his mother's wake in his home state of Ohio, to close the voting late Friday.
For the rest of the month, the White House agenda will focus on addressing the housing crisis, cleaning up the banking mess and laying the groundwork for reform of the health care system and entitlement programs like Medicare.
Obama's economic stimulus plan, which top aides say will be signed into law as early as Monday at the White House, received no Republican votes in the House and just three in the Senate despite his heavy emphasis on drawing bipartisan support. There have also been several Cabinet miscues in the early days, but top White House aides are confident the president has gotten off to a strong start.
"Does the road to change have some bumps? Sure," said one senior White House aide. "But we're feeling good."
Several White House aides noted that in addition to the stimulus win, the president has signed into law an equal pay act and legislation expanding a children's' health insurance program for an extra 4 million kids.
"There's an enormity to what's happened so far," said one of the White House aides. "It's hard work, but it's worth it. We're sprinting."
Aides say they plan to pick up the pace next week with a stimulus signing ceremony as early as Monday, though it could slide to Tuesday morning depending on how quickly Congressional leaders wrap up the legislative details.
Then Obama starts his first trip out West as president because White House aides say they believe Obama himself is their best salesman on the big agenda items coming. He will hold an economic event in Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday followed by the long-awaited unveiling, in Phoenix, Arizona, of his plan to deal with the foreclosure crisis on Wednesday.
White House aides are holding back on details of the housing plan as top officials continue to weigh the best approach. Top Democrats like House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank have been pressing the White House for details, but White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday the goal is to get it right rather than rush it out.
"It's not intended to be measured by one day's market scorekeeping, but instead to ensure that the 10,000 Americans each day that have their homes foreclosed on, and the millions more that are barely getting by, are protected," Gibbs said.
Several White House aides say it is unlikely the president will reveal his choice for either commerce secretary or health and human services secretary next week. As for which pick will be unveiled first, one aide said it depends on "whenever the next cake is baked" -- meaning the White House is so eager to get both nominations behind them that they will move forward on either one when the president makes up his mind on the picks.
The following week, the president will host what the White House is billing as a "fiscal responsibility" summit on February 23. The goal of the summit is to begin weighing the impact of massive federal programs like Social Security and Medicare just days before the president plans to unveil his first annual budget to Congressional leaders.
Then on February 24, the president will deliver his first speech to a joint session of Congress. Top aides say that while other topics like foreign policy could be addressed briefly, the speech will be heavily focused on the economy and the domestic agenda.
The president is expected to start taking on a role in selling the administration's plans for fixing the financial regulatory system during the speech and in his travels, according to top aides. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner began rolling out a plan to bail out more banks and bring more accountability to the existing government bailout program known as TARP, but that unveiling received harsh reviews on Capitol Hill and on Wall Street.
Barack Obama • Medicare • Social Security Administration • Health Care Policy
Obama planning ambitious road ahead
Story Highlights
White House aides say they're planning an ambitious agenda for the rest of February
Big messes to address are the crises in housing and banking
Administration wants to lay groundwork for health care and entitlement reforms
Nominations for either commerce and HHS secretary are unlikely next week
By Ed Henry
CNN Senior White House Correspondent
2-13-9
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Fresh off victory on President Obama's signature $787 billion economic recovery plan, several top White House aides say they're planning an ambitious agenda for the rest of February.
The Senate had waited for the return of Democrat Sherrod Brown, who was returning from his mother's wake in his home state of Ohio, to close the voting late Friday.
For the rest of the month, the White House agenda will focus on addressing the housing crisis, cleaning up the banking mess and laying the groundwork for reform of the health care system and entitlement programs like Medicare.
Obama's economic stimulus plan, which top aides say will be signed into law as early as Monday at the White House, received no Republican votes in the House and just three in the Senate despite his heavy emphasis on drawing bipartisan support. There have also been several Cabinet miscues in the early days, but top White House aides are confident the president has gotten off to a strong start.
"Does the road to change have some bumps? Sure," said one senior White House aide. "But we're feeling good."
Several White House aides noted that in addition to the stimulus win, the president has signed into law an equal pay act and legislation expanding a children's' health insurance program for an extra 4 million kids.
"There's an enormity to what's happened so far," said one of the White House aides. "It's hard work, but it's worth it. We're sprinting."
Aides say they plan to pick up the pace next week with a stimulus signing ceremony as early as Monday, though it could slide to Tuesday morning depending on how quickly Congressional leaders wrap up the legislative details.
Then Obama starts his first trip out West as president because White House aides say they believe Obama himself is their best salesman on the big agenda items coming. He will hold an economic event in Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday followed by the long-awaited unveiling, in Phoenix, Arizona, of his plan to deal with the foreclosure crisis on Wednesday.
White House aides are holding back on details of the housing plan as top officials continue to weigh the best approach. Top Democrats like House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank have been pressing the White House for details, but White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday the goal is to get it right rather than rush it out.
"It's not intended to be measured by one day's market scorekeeping, but instead to ensure that the 10,000 Americans each day that have their homes foreclosed on, and the millions more that are barely getting by, are protected," Gibbs said.
Several White House aides say it is unlikely the president will reveal his choice for either commerce secretary or health and human services secretary next week. As for which pick will be unveiled first, one aide said it depends on "whenever the next cake is baked" -- meaning the White House is so eager to get both nominations behind them that they will move forward on either one when the president makes up his mind on the picks.
The following week, the president will host what the White House is billing as a "fiscal responsibility" summit on February 23. The goal of the summit is to begin weighing the impact of massive federal programs like Social Security and Medicare just days before the president plans to unveil his first annual budget to Congressional leaders.
Then on February 24, the president will deliver his first speech to a joint session of Congress. Top aides say that while other topics like foreign policy could be addressed briefly, the speech will be heavily focused on the economy and the domestic agenda.
The president is expected to start taking on a role in selling the administration's plans for fixing the financial regulatory system during the speech and in his travels, according to top aides. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner began rolling out a plan to bail out more banks and bring more accountability to the existing government bailout program known as TARP, but that unveiling received harsh reviews on Capitol Hill and on Wall Street.
Barack Obama • Medicare • Social Security Administration • Health Care Policy
Senate passes $787 billion stimulus bill
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/13/news/economy/house_final_stimulus/?postversion=2009021318
Senate passes $787 billion stimulus bill
Senate votes to approve the historic legislation aimed at reviving the economy. Bill is now sent to President Obama for signing.
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer
February 13, 2009
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's a done deal. Still controversial, but a done deal.
The Senate on Friday evening passed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was drawn up, amended and negotiated in record time.
The bill got 60 votes -- the minimum it needed to pass. Three Republicans -- Sens. Susan Collins, R-Me., Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Olympia Snowe, R-Me. -- voted for it. Earlier in the day, no Republicans in the House voted for the legislation, which nevertheless passed 246 to 183, with just 7 Democrats voting against it.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
"The goal at the heart of this plan is to create jobs. Not just any jobs, but jobs doing the work America needs done: repairing our infrastructure, modernizing our schools and hospitals, and promoting the clean, alternative energy sources that will help us finally declare independence from foreign oil," President Obama said Friday morning.
The Obama economic team estimates the stimulus plan will create or save between 3 million and 4 million jobs.
"We've done something today that's transformational for the nation," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a press conference after the House vote.
During the House floor debate earlier on Friday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wisc., characterized the bill as "the largest change in domestic policy since the 1930s."
Republican discontent
The bill's final passage would represent far less than the bipartisan victory Obama had hoped for weeks ago, a hope he tabled as it became clear that Republicans and some fiscally conservative Democrats were adamantly opposed to the size and contents of the bill.
Republican critics believe there are more targeted and effective ways to create jobs than the measures in the bill, including more spending on infrastructure and more tax relief.
They frequently cite the tag line to describe what Democrats have often said makes stimulus measures effective -- that they be timely, targeted and temporary. "This bill fails on all three points," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Friday.
In the House, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., blasted the bill as misguided.
"Republicans are not about saying 'No' but about saying 'Yes' to solutions that put Americans back to work," Pence said. "[This legislation] will not grow our economy. It will grow our government."
And they frequently cite the burden of such an expensive package on the country's record high deficit and the burden that will place on the next generation.
In response to Republican critics, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., cited provisions in it that will help families facing job loss, education expenses and mortgage troubles.
"Consider the impact on the next generation if their parents lose a job ... if their home is foreclosed upon ... if they're forced out of college because their parents can't pay the bills," Durbin said.
Democrats have also countered the Republicans' debt argument by noting that record deficit levels were achieved as a result of borrowing to pay for the cost of the Iraq war and to finance a series of tax cuts -- both decisions made during a Republican administration.
The compromise bill was crafted after intensive negotiations in recent days between the House, Senate and White House, although Republicans said repeatedly they felt excluded from the process. And on Friday, several said they did not think it was fair that they were being asked to vote on a 1,000-page-plus bill that was posted online only late Thursday night.
How the bill breaks down
The package devotes $308.3 billion -- or 39% -- to appropriations spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That includes $120 billion on infrastructure and science and more than $30 billion on energy-related infrastructure projects, according to key congressional committees.
It devotes another $267 billion -- or 34% -- on direct spending, including increased unemployment benefits and food stamps, CBO said.
And it provides $212 billion -- or 27% -- for tax breaks for individuals and businesses, although the biggest piece of that is for individuals. (Here's a quick breakdown of those breaks.)
Depending on how tax measures are categorized, the percentage of the bill devoted to tax relief is 35%, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Unlike the CBO, the committee counts all portions of tax credits that are refundable. A refundable credit is one that may be paid to tax filers even if the credit exceeds a tax filer's liability. In other words, it is money the government needs to spend. The CBO, by contrast, treats that money as an outlay.
Republicans have advocated for more tax relief in the bill -- they wanted at least 40% -- and they often oppose tax credits going to those who pay less in income tax than they receive in refunds.
Democrats counter that the lowest-income families do pay money into the system by way of payroll tax for Social Security and through sales taxes. And they note that it is those low-income families most likely to quickly spend any tax relief they get, thereby making it more stimulative for the economy.
What it can - and can't do
For months, economists -- both liberal and conservative -- have urged lawmakers to act quickly to help stem the economic downturn. They argue that while tax cuts can be put out more quickly than infrastructure spending, they may not be as stimulative as spending because tax filers are likely to save at least a portion of what they receive.
There also has been debate over how large the total package should be. Many economists think it should be larger -- to help combat what is expected to be a $2 trillion shortfall in the country's output this year and next. But at this point, though they're not enamored with every provision in the bill -- they say it's necessary to do something.
Proponents of the bill aren't promising the economic recovery package will be a panacea for the economy. "No one thinks this is the answer," said House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
But, they say, it's needed to stem the downturn and ease the financial strains hurting Americans. Indeed, Obama's economic team last month said they expect that the unemployment rate likely will go up in the near term but having a stimulus package could bring it down to around 7% by the end of 2010. That's slightly below the rate of 7.6% today.
- CNN's Ted Barrett and CNNMoney.com's David Goldman contributed to this report.
Senate passes $787 billion stimulus bill
Senate votes to approve the historic legislation aimed at reviving the economy. Bill is now sent to President Obama for signing.
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer
February 13, 2009
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's a done deal. Still controversial, but a done deal.
The Senate on Friday evening passed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was drawn up, amended and negotiated in record time.
The bill got 60 votes -- the minimum it needed to pass. Three Republicans -- Sens. Susan Collins, R-Me., Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Olympia Snowe, R-Me. -- voted for it. Earlier in the day, no Republicans in the House voted for the legislation, which nevertheless passed 246 to 183, with just 7 Democrats voting against it.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
"The goal at the heart of this plan is to create jobs. Not just any jobs, but jobs doing the work America needs done: repairing our infrastructure, modernizing our schools and hospitals, and promoting the clean, alternative energy sources that will help us finally declare independence from foreign oil," President Obama said Friday morning.
The Obama economic team estimates the stimulus plan will create or save between 3 million and 4 million jobs.
"We've done something today that's transformational for the nation," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a press conference after the House vote.
During the House floor debate earlier on Friday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wisc., characterized the bill as "the largest change in domestic policy since the 1930s."
Republican discontent
The bill's final passage would represent far less than the bipartisan victory Obama had hoped for weeks ago, a hope he tabled as it became clear that Republicans and some fiscally conservative Democrats were adamantly opposed to the size and contents of the bill.
Republican critics believe there are more targeted and effective ways to create jobs than the measures in the bill, including more spending on infrastructure and more tax relief.
They frequently cite the tag line to describe what Democrats have often said makes stimulus measures effective -- that they be timely, targeted and temporary. "This bill fails on all three points," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Friday.
In the House, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., blasted the bill as misguided.
"Republicans are not about saying 'No' but about saying 'Yes' to solutions that put Americans back to work," Pence said. "[This legislation] will not grow our economy. It will grow our government."
And they frequently cite the burden of such an expensive package on the country's record high deficit and the burden that will place on the next generation.
In response to Republican critics, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., cited provisions in it that will help families facing job loss, education expenses and mortgage troubles.
"Consider the impact on the next generation if their parents lose a job ... if their home is foreclosed upon ... if they're forced out of college because their parents can't pay the bills," Durbin said.
Democrats have also countered the Republicans' debt argument by noting that record deficit levels were achieved as a result of borrowing to pay for the cost of the Iraq war and to finance a series of tax cuts -- both decisions made during a Republican administration.
The compromise bill was crafted after intensive negotiations in recent days between the House, Senate and White House, although Republicans said repeatedly they felt excluded from the process. And on Friday, several said they did not think it was fair that they were being asked to vote on a 1,000-page-plus bill that was posted online only late Thursday night.
How the bill breaks down
The package devotes $308.3 billion -- or 39% -- to appropriations spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That includes $120 billion on infrastructure and science and more than $30 billion on energy-related infrastructure projects, according to key congressional committees.
It devotes another $267 billion -- or 34% -- on direct spending, including increased unemployment benefits and food stamps, CBO said.
And it provides $212 billion -- or 27% -- for tax breaks for individuals and businesses, although the biggest piece of that is for individuals. (Here's a quick breakdown of those breaks.)
Depending on how tax measures are categorized, the percentage of the bill devoted to tax relief is 35%, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Unlike the CBO, the committee counts all portions of tax credits that are refundable. A refundable credit is one that may be paid to tax filers even if the credit exceeds a tax filer's liability. In other words, it is money the government needs to spend. The CBO, by contrast, treats that money as an outlay.
Republicans have advocated for more tax relief in the bill -- they wanted at least 40% -- and they often oppose tax credits going to those who pay less in income tax than they receive in refunds.
Democrats counter that the lowest-income families do pay money into the system by way of payroll tax for Social Security and through sales taxes. And they note that it is those low-income families most likely to quickly spend any tax relief they get, thereby making it more stimulative for the economy.
What it can - and can't do
For months, economists -- both liberal and conservative -- have urged lawmakers to act quickly to help stem the economic downturn. They argue that while tax cuts can be put out more quickly than infrastructure spending, they may not be as stimulative as spending because tax filers are likely to save at least a portion of what they receive.
There also has been debate over how large the total package should be. Many economists think it should be larger -- to help combat what is expected to be a $2 trillion shortfall in the country's output this year and next. But at this point, though they're not enamored with every provision in the bill -- they say it's necessary to do something.
Proponents of the bill aren't promising the economic recovery package will be a panacea for the economy. "No one thinks this is the answer," said House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
But, they say, it's needed to stem the downturn and ease the financial strains hurting Americans. Indeed, Obama's economic team last month said they expect that the unemployment rate likely will go up in the near term but having a stimulus package could bring it down to around 7% by the end of 2010. That's slightly below the rate of 7.6% today.
- CNN's Ted Barrett and CNNMoney.com's David Goldman contributed to this report.
Wikipedia Threatens to Delete Bilderberg List
http://www.prisonplanet.com/wikipedia-threatens-to-delete-list-of-bilderberg-attendees.html
Wikipedia Threatens to Delete List of Bilderberg Attendees
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars
February 13, 2008
The lords of Wikipedia have announced they will delete the Bilderberg attendees list entry on the site because it is allegedly a “totally un-reliably-sourced list [and] possibly defamatory towards living persons.” The announced deletion will occur five days from 2009-02-18 at 14:53.
Wikipedia offers people concerned about this possible deletion the ability to edit the page. “You may remove this message if you improve the article or otherwise object to deletion for any reason. To avoid confusion, it helps to explain why you object to the deletion, either in the edit summary or on the talk page. If this template is removed, it should not be replaced.”
In response, an editor interested in retaining the page added references. Soon after the references were added, however, somebody went on the page and removed them, according to a comment.
Obviously, certain Wikipedia editors are determined to have the page removed and will engage in vandalism in order to have this happen within the five day period announced. Considering the history and allegations leveled at Wikipedia, this should not come as a surprise.
In 2007, Cal Tech computation and neural-systems graduate student Virgil Griffith developed a software tool that revealed the identities of organizations that edit Wikipedia entries (see Wikipedia ’shows CIA page edits,’ BBC, August 15, 2007). The software revealed editorial changes made by the CIA, the FBI, Diebold, the Democratic Party and the Vatican.
“The Democratic and Republican parties, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute of Health have also made their fair share of edits. As far as corporations go, Diebold, Amgen, Pfizer, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Apple, and Exxon Mobil have all made changes. Not to be outdone, the news agencies of Fox News, the New York Times, and Al-Jazeera have also participated,” writes Manila Ryce.
“According to clues accumulated by ordinary citizens around the world, it could be that the CIA and other intelligence agencies are riding the information wave and planting disinformation on Wikipedia,” explains Ludwig De Braeckeleer. “The fact that most Internet search engines, such as Google, give Wikipedia articles top ranking only raises the stakes to a higher level.”
After independent UK journalist and columnist Neil Clark claimed his Wikipedia entry was “consistently maliciously edited” after he critically reviewed a pro-war book penned by Oliver Kamm writing for the Daily Telegraph, the Byzantine Blog wrote that “most internet users who consider Wikipedia a reliable source of information on a whole range of issues, including history and politics, are entirely unaware of” the claim “that Wikipedia is infiltrated by the Western secret services which use it to manipulate truth and prevent the inconvenient facts reaching the wider public, by planting their governments’ official versions of events through Wiki articles.”
And, while the official mainstream media is still filled with praises for the highly dubious Wikiality, independent sources have confirmed Wikipedia is neither “open”, nor “egalitarian”, and certainly not “free”. Unless one thinks CIA and MI5 are veritable fountains of unvarnished, solid-as-gold truths, generously shared with the rest of world for no other purpose but to inform, educate and enlighten the slumbering masses.
Before deciding to rely on Wikipedia as a source of information for serious research on any political subject and most other issues (except for, say, tapeworms and sessile leaves), one would be well advised to heed the warning of founder Jimmy Wales, who personally instructed users not to cite Wikipedia as a source.
Uri Dowbenko is a little more to the point: “Claiming to be a ‘free online encyclopedia,’ Wikipedia is actually a shill for corporate and other internet disinformation, just as AP, also known as Associated Propaganda (or Press), is the Media Cartel’s syndicator of choice, spreading false ‘nooz’ in hometown papers throughout America,” writes Dowbenko. “Wikipedia is the undisputed kudzu weed of the Internet. Just wait till it’s revealed that Jimmy Wales’ Wikipedia is an NSA-CIA-Pentagon PsyOps scam.”
As of this writing, there is no definitive evidence Wikipedia is associated with the CIA or other intelligence agencies. However, other prominent internet information corporations have a well-defined association with the spook world. For instance, Robert David Steele, a 20-year Marine Corps infantry and intelligence officer and a former clandestine services case officer with the CIA, told Alex Jones in 2006 that “Google took money from the CIA when it was poor and it was starting up” and the search engine company is “in bed” with the CIA. “Let me say very explicitly - their contact at the CIA is named Dr. Rick Steinheiser, he’s in the Office of Research and Development,” said Steele.
In 2008, Steve Watson wrote that Google is in the business of providing the search features for a private Wikipedia-style site, called Intellipedia. “Google is selling storage and data searching equipment to the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and other intelligence agencies, who have come together to build a huge internal government intranet,” Watson reported.
Like Wikipedia, the CIA’s platform is based on the open-source MediaWiki software.
Wikipedia’s Bilderberg entry may be of interest to the CIA considering former CIA director John M. Deutch is a member, according to the entry now up Wikipedia’s chopping block. Walter Bedell Smith, a former CIA director, and Cord Meyer, a former CIA official, are also listed as members.
Again, there is no definitive evidence the CIA is complicit in the recent vandalism of the Bilderberg entry on Wikipedia, however the fact Virgil Griffith’s software caught the agency in the act of editing entries is highly suspicious, to say the least.
Finally, if Wikipedia does indeed delete the entry in question, we have replicated it here for the sake of posterity.
Wikipedia Threatens to Delete List of Bilderberg Attendees
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars
February 13, 2008
The lords of Wikipedia have announced they will delete the Bilderberg attendees list entry on the site because it is allegedly a “totally un-reliably-sourced list [and] possibly defamatory towards living persons.” The announced deletion will occur five days from 2009-02-18 at 14:53.
Wikipedia offers people concerned about this possible deletion the ability to edit the page. “You may remove this message if you improve the article or otherwise object to deletion for any reason. To avoid confusion, it helps to explain why you object to the deletion, either in the edit summary or on the talk page. If this template is removed, it should not be replaced.”
In response, an editor interested in retaining the page added references. Soon after the references were added, however, somebody went on the page and removed them, according to a comment.
Obviously, certain Wikipedia editors are determined to have the page removed and will engage in vandalism in order to have this happen within the five day period announced. Considering the history and allegations leveled at Wikipedia, this should not come as a surprise.
In 2007, Cal Tech computation and neural-systems graduate student Virgil Griffith developed a software tool that revealed the identities of organizations that edit Wikipedia entries (see Wikipedia ’shows CIA page edits,’ BBC, August 15, 2007). The software revealed editorial changes made by the CIA, the FBI, Diebold, the Democratic Party and the Vatican.
“The Democratic and Republican parties, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute of Health have also made their fair share of edits. As far as corporations go, Diebold, Amgen, Pfizer, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Apple, and Exxon Mobil have all made changes. Not to be outdone, the news agencies of Fox News, the New York Times, and Al-Jazeera have also participated,” writes Manila Ryce.
“According to clues accumulated by ordinary citizens around the world, it could be that the CIA and other intelligence agencies are riding the information wave and planting disinformation on Wikipedia,” explains Ludwig De Braeckeleer. “The fact that most Internet search engines, such as Google, give Wikipedia articles top ranking only raises the stakes to a higher level.”
After independent UK journalist and columnist Neil Clark claimed his Wikipedia entry was “consistently maliciously edited” after he critically reviewed a pro-war book penned by Oliver Kamm writing for the Daily Telegraph, the Byzantine Blog wrote that “most internet users who consider Wikipedia a reliable source of information on a whole range of issues, including history and politics, are entirely unaware of” the claim “that Wikipedia is infiltrated by the Western secret services which use it to manipulate truth and prevent the inconvenient facts reaching the wider public, by planting their governments’ official versions of events through Wiki articles.”
And, while the official mainstream media is still filled with praises for the highly dubious Wikiality, independent sources have confirmed Wikipedia is neither “open”, nor “egalitarian”, and certainly not “free”. Unless one thinks CIA and MI5 are veritable fountains of unvarnished, solid-as-gold truths, generously shared with the rest of world for no other purpose but to inform, educate and enlighten the slumbering masses.
Before deciding to rely on Wikipedia as a source of information for serious research on any political subject and most other issues (except for, say, tapeworms and sessile leaves), one would be well advised to heed the warning of founder Jimmy Wales, who personally instructed users not to cite Wikipedia as a source.
Uri Dowbenko is a little more to the point: “Claiming to be a ‘free online encyclopedia,’ Wikipedia is actually a shill for corporate and other internet disinformation, just as AP, also known as Associated Propaganda (or Press), is the Media Cartel’s syndicator of choice, spreading false ‘nooz’ in hometown papers throughout America,” writes Dowbenko. “Wikipedia is the undisputed kudzu weed of the Internet. Just wait till it’s revealed that Jimmy Wales’ Wikipedia is an NSA-CIA-Pentagon PsyOps scam.”
As of this writing, there is no definitive evidence Wikipedia is associated with the CIA or other intelligence agencies. However, other prominent internet information corporations have a well-defined association with the spook world. For instance, Robert David Steele, a 20-year Marine Corps infantry and intelligence officer and a former clandestine services case officer with the CIA, told Alex Jones in 2006 that “Google took money from the CIA when it was poor and it was starting up” and the search engine company is “in bed” with the CIA. “Let me say very explicitly - their contact at the CIA is named Dr. Rick Steinheiser, he’s in the Office of Research and Development,” said Steele.
In 2008, Steve Watson wrote that Google is in the business of providing the search features for a private Wikipedia-style site, called Intellipedia. “Google is selling storage and data searching equipment to the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and other intelligence agencies, who have come together to build a huge internal government intranet,” Watson reported.
Like Wikipedia, the CIA’s platform is based on the open-source MediaWiki software.
Wikipedia’s Bilderberg entry may be of interest to the CIA considering former CIA director John M. Deutch is a member, according to the entry now up Wikipedia’s chopping block. Walter Bedell Smith, a former CIA director, and Cord Meyer, a former CIA official, are also listed as members.
Again, there is no definitive evidence the CIA is complicit in the recent vandalism of the Bilderberg entry on Wikipedia, however the fact Virgil Griffith’s software caught the agency in the act of editing entries is highly suspicious, to say the least.
Finally, if Wikipedia does indeed delete the entry in question, we have replicated it here for the sake of posterity.
Clive Owen's 'International' Appeal
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/12/AR2009021200874.html
Clive Owen's 'International' Appeal
Friday, February 13, 2009; WE31
If "The International" were an article of clothing, it would be a steel-gray cashmere sweater. If it were a place, it would be the first-class lounge of a major metropolitan airport. If it were weather, it would be a wintry mix of drizzle with the occasional flurry.
And if this sleek, stylish thriller were a person, well, it would be Clive Owen, who happens to carry "The International" on his strong and handsome shoulders with the unflappable cool that still makes some of us rue the day he wasn't cast as James Bond. Owen plays Interpol agent Lou Salinger, a gruff, obsessed loner who for years has been on the trail of a corrupt bank (based on the real-life Bank of Credit and Commerce International). Now he's working with the Manhattan district attorney's office, specifically a comely assistant D.A. named Ella Whitman, played in an unobjectionable if undistinguished performance by Naomi Watts.
Directed by Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") with sober forthrightness, "The International" is in many ways a throwback to the monochrome urban thrillers of the 1970s, with the added and topical twist of having a diabolical financial institution at its center. Garbled at times (I'm still confused by a scene at a flower stand in Milan), the movie still hums along with attractive, smooth efficiency. The compulsively watchable Owen makes for an ideal leading man of both action and angst. The film's eye-popping set piece, a shootout at the Guggenheim Museum, is an extravagantly choreographed valentine to philistines everywhere.
-- Ann Hornaday
The International R, 116 minutes Contains violence and profanity. Area theaters.
Clive Owen's 'International' Appeal
Friday, February 13, 2009; WE31
If "The International" were an article of clothing, it would be a steel-gray cashmere sweater. If it were a place, it would be the first-class lounge of a major metropolitan airport. If it were weather, it would be a wintry mix of drizzle with the occasional flurry.
And if this sleek, stylish thriller were a person, well, it would be Clive Owen, who happens to carry "The International" on his strong and handsome shoulders with the unflappable cool that still makes some of us rue the day he wasn't cast as James Bond. Owen plays Interpol agent Lou Salinger, a gruff, obsessed loner who for years has been on the trail of a corrupt bank (based on the real-life Bank of Credit and Commerce International). Now he's working with the Manhattan district attorney's office, specifically a comely assistant D.A. named Ella Whitman, played in an unobjectionable if undistinguished performance by Naomi Watts.
Directed by Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") with sober forthrightness, "The International" is in many ways a throwback to the monochrome urban thrillers of the 1970s, with the added and topical twist of having a diabolical financial institution at its center. Garbled at times (I'm still confused by a scene at a flower stand in Milan), the movie still hums along with attractive, smooth efficiency. The compulsively watchable Owen makes for an ideal leading man of both action and angst. The film's eye-popping set piece, a shootout at the Guggenheim Museum, is an extravagantly choreographed valentine to philistines everywhere.
-- Ann Hornaday
The International R, 116 minutes Contains violence and profanity. Area theaters.
Clive Owen takes on bank in 'International'
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/13/PKAU15NCHR.DTLClive Owen takes on bank in 'International'
Delfin Vigil, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, February 13, 2009
A true action film will get only as much respect as its lead actor's skills and reputation can give it. Even then, it's only a matter of time before that good action film will be reclassified as a suspense or thriller.
"The International" could be a case in point. Directed by Tom Tykwer ("Run, Lola, Run") it stars Clive Owen as an Interpol agent taking on a Goliath-size global bank and exposing its corrupt practices via lots of action, suspense and thrills. True to its title, "The International" was filmed in five countries and two continents and co-stars Naomi Watts. We checked in with Owen, the film's unconventional action hero with extra passport stamps, who spoke to us by phone from Los Angeles.
Q: What made you want to take on the lead role in "The International"?
A: It was a combination of reading the script and speaking with the director, Tom Tykwer. It reminded me of one of those '70s paranoid thrillers. It was well researched and still a great, sweeping and entertaining thriller.
Q: What excited you about playing agent Louis Salinger?
A: He's somebody who is obviously angry, passionate, obsessive and hotheaded. He's also morally outraged. I was attracted to a character who was like a dog with a bone - refusing to let go. He's also very fallible. He's not an obvious heroic character. He's a bit of a mess in his own life. His obsession with justice is at all cost of everything else in his life. There's something to admire about the commitment of a man willing to go to any lengths.
Q: The villain in "The International" isn't a person, but rather the institution of a bank. Did the timeliness of this occur to you at the time of filming?
A: No. It certainly felt like a relevant story. But there was no way we could have realized that we'd be in this position with all that's happened since. The big questions of the movie are: "Is this huge corporation behaving appropriately? It is it handling our money properly? Is it an institution we can trust?" These are all questions everybody is suddenly asking now about these huge global banks and the like. It's incredibly timely.
Q: It's not quite in the "Syriana" territory, but "The International" has a slightly complex story line. Did it take a few readings before you completely understood the subject matter?
A: Certainly, some of the intricacies of the way a bank works had to be read carefully. But the story was quite clear and full of well-written ideas. It doesn't get bogged down in factual stuff.
Q: Were you at all surprised in learning how villainous a bank can be?
A: Banks are involved in conflicts around the world, because where there's money involved, so will be the banks. There is a ridiculous amount of guns across the world, and every one of them is bought and sold. Banks somehow have to be a part of that. It's money. One of the most telling things is how keen banks are to control debt. With debt comes power and control.
Q: Is the energy of a film influenced when the set moves around as much as "The International" does?
A: Definitely. With a whole new country comes a whole new crew and a totally different environment. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, the Guggenheim in New York, taking over the main square of Milan for two weeks. Environment is a big part of this movie, not only in terms of the countries we visit, but also the architecture. There are lots of great images of small human beings set against epic modern architecture, which embodies this faceless corporation that you can't connect with.
Q: Action films are like guitar solos. If they go on too long and go over the top, it can leave people rolling their eyes. As the lead actor, how do you keep the tone in check?
A: Ha, ha! That's very true. Ultimately, it's the director's job. He's directing, choreographing and setting the tone. When suddenly we've gone to this epic shootout in the Guggenheim, I'm trying to put people in that situation for real. I could run around posing and trying to look cool with a gun in my hand, or I can do what I think Salinger, an Interpol agent, would do. He'd be absolutely terrified. So you're witnessing it on that level and not watching me as an actor in a movie. It's no different from doing a dialogue scene.
The International (R) opened this weekend at Bay Area theaters.
To see a trailer for "The International," go to links.sfgate.com/ZGAW.
E-mail Delfin Vigil at dvigil@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page R - 20 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Jordan, Stockton, Robinson lead 16 hall finalists
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g8Np_JWgSkfFpB1yS6YEjzASmHMQD96ASK5O0
Jordan, Stockton, Robinson lead 16 hall finalists
By ANDREW BAGNATO
2-13-9
PHOENIX (AP) — Michael Jordan, John Stockton and David Robinson were among the 16 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Friday.
NBA coaches Don Nelson and Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women's coach C. Vivian Stringer also made the cut from a field of 164 nominees, as did former NBA stars Dennis Johnson, Chris Mullin and Bernard King, and two-time WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper.
"I'll step out on a limb and speak for all of them and say thank you," said Robinson, the former San Antonio stalwart and lone finalist who attended the announcement during NBA All-Star Game festivities. "We understand the honor that goes along with being nominated. We know everyone doesn't get in."
The election announcement will be made on April 6 at the NCAA Final Four in Detroit, with enshrinement in September at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. All 16 finalists may be elected, according to Hall policy.
Jordan, regarded by many as the greatest player in history, led the Bulls to six NBA titles and won an NCAA championship at North Carolina. He was a five-time NBA MVP and a six-time NBA Finals MVP. He also won two Olympic gold medals.
Jordan and Stockton dueled in two memorable NBA Finals, with Jordan's Chicago Bulls defeating Stockton's Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998.
Stockton retired as the NBA's career leader in assists and steals, and he also won a pair of Olympic gold medals.
Jordan and Stockton were teammates on the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, and now they're poised to enter the Hall together.
"I mean, those two are a lock," Robinson said. "But think about the rest of these guys. Who's not going to get in?"
Other finalists include former Golden State coach Al Attles, who was nominated as a contributor; Bob Hurley Sr., who has more than 900 wins at St. Anthony's High School in New Jersey; Vladimir Kondrashin, who coached the Soviet Union to the 1972 Olympic gold medal, defeating the U.S. in a controversial final; Pereira "Ubiratan" Maciel, a player known as "The King" in his native Brazil; Richie Guerin, a six-time NBA All-Star with the New York Knicks and a former player-coach with the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks; and Johnny "Red" Kerr, a longtime Chicago Bulls commentator who was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1967 after leading the expansion Bulls into the playoffs in their first season.
Jordan, Stockton, Robinson lead 16 hall finalists
By ANDREW BAGNATO
2-13-9
PHOENIX (AP) — Michael Jordan, John Stockton and David Robinson were among the 16 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Friday.
NBA coaches Don Nelson and Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women's coach C. Vivian Stringer also made the cut from a field of 164 nominees, as did former NBA stars Dennis Johnson, Chris Mullin and Bernard King, and two-time WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper.
"I'll step out on a limb and speak for all of them and say thank you," said Robinson, the former San Antonio stalwart and lone finalist who attended the announcement during NBA All-Star Game festivities. "We understand the honor that goes along with being nominated. We know everyone doesn't get in."
The election announcement will be made on April 6 at the NCAA Final Four in Detroit, with enshrinement in September at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. All 16 finalists may be elected, according to Hall policy.
Jordan, regarded by many as the greatest player in history, led the Bulls to six NBA titles and won an NCAA championship at North Carolina. He was a five-time NBA MVP and a six-time NBA Finals MVP. He also won two Olympic gold medals.
Jordan and Stockton dueled in two memorable NBA Finals, with Jordan's Chicago Bulls defeating Stockton's Utah Jazz in 1997 and 1998.
Stockton retired as the NBA's career leader in assists and steals, and he also won a pair of Olympic gold medals.
Jordan and Stockton were teammates on the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team, and now they're poised to enter the Hall together.
"I mean, those two are a lock," Robinson said. "But think about the rest of these guys. Who's not going to get in?"
Other finalists include former Golden State coach Al Attles, who was nominated as a contributor; Bob Hurley Sr., who has more than 900 wins at St. Anthony's High School in New Jersey; Vladimir Kondrashin, who coached the Soviet Union to the 1972 Olympic gold medal, defeating the U.S. in a controversial final; Pereira "Ubiratan" Maciel, a player known as "The King" in his native Brazil; Richie Guerin, a six-time NBA All-Star with the New York Knicks and a former player-coach with the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks; and Johnny "Red" Kerr, a longtime Chicago Bulls commentator who was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1967 after leading the expansion Bulls into the playoffs in their first season.
The Cult of the McRib
http://www.maxim.com/TheCultoftheMcRib/articles/48421.aspxHUMOR
The Cult of the McRib
In search of the legendary bone-free porky treat that inspired a national obsession.
By Adam Winer
Chicago is shivering beneath the first snowflakes of winter as my rental car skirts the area that was once the meat packing capital of the country. The sky is gray, the trees are bare, the air is raw. But as I make one final turn I find myself basking in the celestial glow of the Golden Arches, beneath which are the three magic words I’ve flown some 800 miles to see: MCRIBS ARE BACK!
McDonald’s McRib is a sandwich of legend. The heavenly blend of pork patty, barbecue sauce, and bun is, to devotees, so addictive that songs have been written about it, Internet shrines erected to it, and TV shows dedicated to it. Yet McDonald’s has made the McRib a limited edition, available only in certain areas of the country for part of the year. It is rarely seen, yet frequently sought and cultishly worshiped. It is the Holy Grail on a bun.
Because I live in New York, where the sandwich is nearly impossible to come by, it has been 15 years since I’ve eaten a McRib. So what to do when McDonald’s offers not only to divulge where it can be found but also to provide access to the men behind the McRib?
It’s time for a McRoadtrip.
I begin my pork-a-thon in Oak Brook, Illinois, where the McDonald’s corporate headquarters is based and where the local franchise sits a mere 100 yards from Ronald’s corner office. My McRib arrives dressed with pickle slices, an even sprinkling of onion arcs, and a healthy dose of barbecue sauce. Literally shaking with anticipation, I take a bite. It’s delicious. The precise appropriation of barbecue sauce perfectly complements the light saltiness of the rib-shaped meat patty, bringing out its porky grace notes. The pickles burst forth with a sourness that contrasts with the sauce’s sweetness. And the onions rush in to leave the palate with a robust kick. “The more taste sensations you can have in a product, the more interesting it is to your tongue,” says Dan Coudreau, head chef for McDonald’s in the United States. “All those savory, salty, sweet, and sour flavors work together. It’s a classic taste combination with barbecue.”
Initially test-marketed in 1981, the McRib was the brainchild of McDonald’s first executive chef, Rene Arend, who’d been plucked from the kitchen of a local luxury hotel and tasked with increasing the franchise’s menu options. Arend’s most industry-altering achievement would prove to be the creation of the Chicken McNugget in 1979. And it was the success of the nugget that necessitated the immediate invention of the McRib. “The McNuggets were so well received that every franchise wanted them,” says Arend, now an 80-year-old retiree living in Chicago. “There wasn’t a system to supply enough chicken. We had to come up with something to give the other franchises as a new product. So the McRib came about because of the shortage of chickens.”
The McRib’s direct inspiration was Southern BBQ. “I had just come back from Charleston, South Carolina, where I ate sandwiches made from pulled pork,” Arend remembers. “I said to myself, Something with that flavor should really go over.”
But instead of pulling his pork, Arend decided to give the meat its legendarily absurd shape: Even though it contains no bones, the patty is molded to resemble a miniature rack of ribs. “Some thought, Why not just make it round?” recalls Arend. “It would’ve been easier. But I wanted it to look like a slab of ribs.”
About sixty miles southwest of Chicago, at a Mickey D’s in Kankakee, Illinois, the booths are packed with sauce-stained customers. “I don’t normally go to McDonald’s, but when I saw McRibs were back on the menu, I was like, ‘I gotta get me one,’” says Oliver Corpuz, a 36-year-old attorney. “I’m not even sure if it’s all really pork in there. It’s some sort of extruded meat product.”
Contrary to what its name implies, there is very little actual rib meat in a McRib. “Primarily, it’s shoulder meat,” explains Rob Cannell, director of McDonald’s U.S. supply chain. “The McRib is made in large processing plants—lots of stainless steel, a number of production lines, and these long cryogenic freezers. The pork meat is chopped up, then seasoned, then formed into that shape that looks like a rib back. Then we flash-freeze it. The whole process from fresh pork to frozen McRib takes about 45 minutes.”
Since the McRib is a promotional sandwich, as opposed to a full-time menu item, each individual restaurant gets to decide whether or not to stock it. Hence the scarcity that has made it the Halley’s Comet of fast-food entrees. McDonald’s has alerted me which Illinois locations are currently carrying the McRib, so I make a number of stops as night falls. But for the average fan there is the McRib Locator Map at mcrib.kleincast.com, a tracking Web site created by Minneapolis-area meteorologist and hardcore pork enthusiast Alan Klein.
“My inspiration came a year ago when some friends of mine were having a hard time finding McRibs,” explains Klein. On his map visitors can report locations where they’ve found a McRib, allowing rib-heads everywhere to benefit from the shared tracking info. As I stop for the night in Urbana-Champaign, I plug all my finds into the site’s map—the better to help others on pork pilgrimages.
The McRib’s place in the pop culture firmament was solidly established with the 12th episode of the 14th season of The Simpsons. In it Homer becomes addicted to Krusty Burger’s new “Ribwich,” which is made from a mysterious animal Krusty refuses to identify. Obviously, Homer has no choice but to abandon his family to tour the country with other rib addicts. The gorging stops only after Krusty announces that the’ve eaten the mysterious animal into extinction. “Homer would follow it around like people followed the Grateful Dead around,” says Simpsons executive producer Al Jean. “We asked Bob Seger to sing the commercial for the Ribwich, but he declined.” The McRib has repeatedly popped up in Letterman’s Top 10 Lists (Top 10 Surprises in Clinton’s State of the Union Address: 2. If reelected, would bring back the McRib Sandwich) and was in an episode of Adult Swim’s The Boondocks in which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. returns to the modern day and discovers the wonders of processed pork patties. “Oh, snap! No they didn’t!” exclaims King. “A boneless rib sandwich. What will they think of next?”
“The McRib has all the trappings of a true cultural phenomenon,” says Chris Sivori, a former video game tester in Austin, Texas who chronicled his coworkers’ annual McRib eating challenge on his Web site, letterneversent.com. “It’s so mysterious. A bone-shaped thing that has no bones in it? That’s out of control.”
After the McRib rolled out nationwide in 1982, McDonald’s learned the sandwich worked best as a limited-time offering. Its restricted availability has become a marketing tool. A few years back McDonald’s even launched a highly publicized Farewell Tour, announcing that the McRib was about to disappear forever, only to bring it back the following year for another Farewell Tour. “The McRib was like the Who,” chef Coudreaut admits. McDonald’s still sold 30 million of them in 2007, totaling more than seven million pounds of pig meat.
Driving through St. Louis, a billboard over the horizon announces mcrib: makes moist towelettes feel wanted, and indeed the city’s franchises have a predilection for heavy saucing. As I down one last sandwich before heading home, I leave a glob of sauce in the box and a mound of soiled napkins on the tray. The experience leaves me feeling oddly content.
On my way to the St. Louis airport to fly back to New York, I buy four final McRibs and shove them into my carry-on bag. Somewhere over Ohio, I reach for my bag to sneak out a midflight snack. As I open the McRib container, its aroma of pork and lukewarm sauce pervades the cabin. The middle-aged woman stuck sitting next to me looks visibly horrified. But her husband one seat over? I’m going to categorize him as envious. Yes, you can smell it in the air: The McRib is back.
Sandwich Cemetery
For every McRib, a ton of items end up in that big drive-through in the sky.
McD.L.T.
McDonald’s (1985)
A container that separated the warm patty from the cool veggies. Genius! The jaunty ad starring Jason Alexander was just a bonus.
Chicken Littles
KFC (1987)
The sky began to fall when KFC introduced these mini-sandwiches. Seems fans don’t want to be reminded of White Castle’s Slyders.
Bell Beefer
Taco Bell (c. 1970)
There are two lessons to be learned from this monstrosity: 1. Taco Bell should stick to tacos. 2. Pick a name that’s at least vaguely appetizing.
Fire-Grilled Salads
Burger King (2004)
This edible oxymoron included a “specially designed pouch” with hot chicken to be poured over the chilled greens.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
A $99 iPhone may be in the works
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29122164/
A $99 iPhone may be in the works
Analyst's report says phone would also come with a cheaper data plan
By Suzanne Choney
Feb. 10, 2009
Apple may be planning an "entry-level" $99 iPhone, one that would look and feel the same as its $199 and $299 siblings, but come with fewer features and a more budget-oriented data plan.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said in a report today the new phone will likely be introduced in June or July, when an upgraded iPhone 3G also is released.
"Checks reveal further entry-level iPhone details, including entry-level pricing," he said in the report. "Also expected is a 3G iPhone performance upgrade."
The $99 iPhone, he said, will not run on AT&T's faster 3G, or third-generation wireless, network, but rather use its slower 2.5G, or second-generation network. The phone will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, just as the first two versions of the iPhone have had. It would also have the same 3.5-inch screen of the current iPhone, with a resolution of 480-by-320.
Apple, which does not publicly comment on products in development, released the first iPhone in mid-2007, and the second model, called the iPhone 3G, came out in July 2008.
A RAZR-like move?
David Chamberlain, principal wireless analyst for In-Stat Research, said a $99 iPhone price is "probably a little low and, if it were any other device, would signal a deterioration of the brand. Remember how Motorola killed the RAZR's exclusivity by dropping the price — and its profits?"
Indeed, Abramsky said in the report, "We estimate the entry level iPhone would cost $195 to $225 to manufacture, vs. the iPhone 3G at $300."
The new iPhone 3G will be offered at the same prices as it is now, the analyst said, but have some new features, including a higher-resolution touchscreen of 720-by-480, a video camera and come with either 16 or 32 gigabytes of flash memory. The current model does not include a video camera and comes with either 8 or 16 GB of flash memory.
The monthly data plan for the phone, for unlimited Internet and e-mail access, is about $30 a month. The $99 iPhone will have a "light" data plan of about $15 a month, with limited usage. The phone is offered exclusively by AT&T in the United States.
Abramsky said at $99, between 20 million and 30 million of the phones might be sold in 2010, meaning the iPhone's share of the global smartphone market could go from an "estimated" 12 percent to between 14 and 19 percent.
He noted that Apple sold 6.1 million iPhones in its first year and that the Motorola RAZR sold 30 million units in its "first 18 months of availability. Our outlook assumes 20 percent of prior-generation iPhone users upgrade to the updated iPhone 3G in 12 months."
Cheaper iPods may follow
Because the iPhone also is an iPod, Apple's digital music player, Abramsky said that sales of a cheaper iPhone could cannibalize those of iPods, especially the iPod touch. In that case, he said, price cuts would likely follow for those players. The iPod touch, which resembles the iPhone, is $229 for an 8 GB version, $299 for 16 GB and $399 for the 32 GB version.
"AT&T's recent results show that the iPhone has been one of the most important reasons they have continued with their subscriber growth, taking customers not only from weaker carriers like Sprint but also dinging Verizon Wireless," said Chamberlain of In-Stat Research.
"After watching Verizon Wireless take market share based on the 'it's the network' message, AT&T now has an even more powerful tool: 'It's the iPhone,' and, believe me, they're going to want as many of them available to as many people as possible."
Chamberlain said he's not sure whether "that $100 difference between a new stripped-down iPhone is a result of AT&T subsidies or whether it's being borne by Apple, but, either way, it's going to be a big benefit to AT&T to continue subscriber growth, even as the rest of the economy is struggling."
A $99 iPhone may be in the works
Analyst's report says phone would also come with a cheaper data plan
By Suzanne Choney
Feb. 10, 2009
Apple may be planning an "entry-level" $99 iPhone, one that would look and feel the same as its $199 and $299 siblings, but come with fewer features and a more budget-oriented data plan.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky said in a report today the new phone will likely be introduced in June or July, when an upgraded iPhone 3G also is released.
"Checks reveal further entry-level iPhone details, including entry-level pricing," he said in the report. "Also expected is a 3G iPhone performance upgrade."
The $99 iPhone, he said, will not run on AT&T's faster 3G, or third-generation wireless, network, but rather use its slower 2.5G, or second-generation network. The phone will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, just as the first two versions of the iPhone have had. It would also have the same 3.5-inch screen of the current iPhone, with a resolution of 480-by-320.
Apple, which does not publicly comment on products in development, released the first iPhone in mid-2007, and the second model, called the iPhone 3G, came out in July 2008.
A RAZR-like move?
David Chamberlain, principal wireless analyst for In-Stat Research, said a $99 iPhone price is "probably a little low and, if it were any other device, would signal a deterioration of the brand. Remember how Motorola killed the RAZR's exclusivity by dropping the price — and its profits?"
Indeed, Abramsky said in the report, "We estimate the entry level iPhone would cost $195 to $225 to manufacture, vs. the iPhone 3G at $300."
The new iPhone 3G will be offered at the same prices as it is now, the analyst said, but have some new features, including a higher-resolution touchscreen of 720-by-480, a video camera and come with either 16 or 32 gigabytes of flash memory. The current model does not include a video camera and comes with either 8 or 16 GB of flash memory.
The monthly data plan for the phone, for unlimited Internet and e-mail access, is about $30 a month. The $99 iPhone will have a "light" data plan of about $15 a month, with limited usage. The phone is offered exclusively by AT&T in the United States.
Abramsky said at $99, between 20 million and 30 million of the phones might be sold in 2010, meaning the iPhone's share of the global smartphone market could go from an "estimated" 12 percent to between 14 and 19 percent.
He noted that Apple sold 6.1 million iPhones in its first year and that the Motorola RAZR sold 30 million units in its "first 18 months of availability. Our outlook assumes 20 percent of prior-generation iPhone users upgrade to the updated iPhone 3G in 12 months."
Cheaper iPods may follow
Because the iPhone also is an iPod, Apple's digital music player, Abramsky said that sales of a cheaper iPhone could cannibalize those of iPods, especially the iPod touch. In that case, he said, price cuts would likely follow for those players. The iPod touch, which resembles the iPhone, is $229 for an 8 GB version, $299 for 16 GB and $399 for the 32 GB version.
"AT&T's recent results show that the iPhone has been one of the most important reasons they have continued with their subscriber growth, taking customers not only from weaker carriers like Sprint but also dinging Verizon Wireless," said Chamberlain of In-Stat Research.
"After watching Verizon Wireless take market share based on the 'it's the network' message, AT&T now has an even more powerful tool: 'It's the iPhone,' and, believe me, they're going to want as many of them available to as many people as possible."
Chamberlain said he's not sure whether "that $100 difference between a new stripped-down iPhone is a result of AT&T subsidies or whether it's being borne by Apple, but, either way, it's going to be a big benefit to AT&T to continue subscriber growth, even as the rest of the economy is struggling."
Butter Up: Why Butter is a Healthy Choice
http://www.naturalnews.com/025564.html
Butter Up: Why Butter is a Healthy Choice
Monday, February 09, 2009 by: Elizabeth Walling, citizen journalist
Key concepts: Butter, Health and Vitamin A
(NaturalNews) There seems to be a lot of question about which healthy spreads should be used to replace butter. Since the word is finally spreading about the harmful nature of trans fat, margarine has been officially declared as a substance which should be avoided. Of course, in its place have rushed countless other butter alternatives which do not contain hydrogenated fats. But now that refined vegetable oils, additives and preservatives are coming under fire, it leaves the question what in the world can we spread on our toast? The answer is simple and natural: go back to butter.
Of course, most people balk at the suggestion of eating real butter. After all, won't butter cause heart disease and all kinds of other frightening health conditions? Although the claim that butter is harmful has been a popular one in the last 70 years, it's an assumption with no foundation. In fact, statistics show the rate of heart disease has increased as butter consumption has decreased.
Butter is filled with essential vitamins and antioxidants in their most natural and absorbable state. Butter is actually a better source of vitamin A than carrots, especially for people who have trouble converting the beta-carotene in carrots into vitamin A. You can also find vitamin E and selenium in butter. These along with vitamin A actually protect the heart from free-radical damage, which is a factor in weakened arteries. On the other hand, fabricated spreads are filled with rancid and refined vegetables oils that cause free-radical damage.
The vitamin A in butter is a vital nutrient which strongly impacts growth in children. Deficiencies can affect the development of teeth, bones, and vision. Low-fat diets are often recommended for children even though these diets have been linked to a failure to thrive as published in Pediatrics in March of 1994. Low-fat diets which remove butter from children's lives may be cutting out their only source of absorbable vitamin A.
Another common misconception propagated by modern industry is that the fat in butter is bad for us. Butter is comprised of mostly short and medium chain fatty acids. These fatty acids can protect against cancer and boost immunity. They are also antifungal. Short and medium chain fatty acids are also more easily broken down for energy, which means its actually less likely that the fat in butter will be stored in the body.
The essential nutrients found in butter are not commonly found in other foods that are considered palatable in American society, which makes butter all the more necessary to our health. So many of our foods are manufactured fabrications that can't possibly offer the same health benefits as their natural counterparts. It's time to start choosing the real thing. It's time to bring butter back to the table.
Fallon, Sally and Enig, Mary G. Why Butter is Better. Health Freedom News. (1999)
McCullough, Fran. Butter's Good for You. The New York Times. (2007)
About the author
Elizabeth Walling is a freelance writer, specializing in articles about health and family nutrition. She is a strong believer in natural living as a way to improve health and prevent common illnesses.
Butter Up: Why Butter is a Healthy Choice
Monday, February 09, 2009 by: Elizabeth Walling, citizen journalist
Key concepts: Butter, Health and Vitamin A
(NaturalNews) There seems to be a lot of question about which healthy spreads should be used to replace butter. Since the word is finally spreading about the harmful nature of trans fat, margarine has been officially declared as a substance which should be avoided. Of course, in its place have rushed countless other butter alternatives which do not contain hydrogenated fats. But now that refined vegetable oils, additives and preservatives are coming under fire, it leaves the question what in the world can we spread on our toast? The answer is simple and natural: go back to butter.
Of course, most people balk at the suggestion of eating real butter. After all, won't butter cause heart disease and all kinds of other frightening health conditions? Although the claim that butter is harmful has been a popular one in the last 70 years, it's an assumption with no foundation. In fact, statistics show the rate of heart disease has increased as butter consumption has decreased.
Butter is filled with essential vitamins and antioxidants in their most natural and absorbable state. Butter is actually a better source of vitamin A than carrots, especially for people who have trouble converting the beta-carotene in carrots into vitamin A. You can also find vitamin E and selenium in butter. These along with vitamin A actually protect the heart from free-radical damage, which is a factor in weakened arteries. On the other hand, fabricated spreads are filled with rancid and refined vegetables oils that cause free-radical damage.
The vitamin A in butter is a vital nutrient which strongly impacts growth in children. Deficiencies can affect the development of teeth, bones, and vision. Low-fat diets are often recommended for children even though these diets have been linked to a failure to thrive as published in Pediatrics in March of 1994. Low-fat diets which remove butter from children's lives may be cutting out their only source of absorbable vitamin A.
Another common misconception propagated by modern industry is that the fat in butter is bad for us. Butter is comprised of mostly short and medium chain fatty acids. These fatty acids can protect against cancer and boost immunity. They are also antifungal. Short and medium chain fatty acids are also more easily broken down for energy, which means its actually less likely that the fat in butter will be stored in the body.
The essential nutrients found in butter are not commonly found in other foods that are considered palatable in American society, which makes butter all the more necessary to our health. So many of our foods are manufactured fabrications that can't possibly offer the same health benefits as their natural counterparts. It's time to start choosing the real thing. It's time to bring butter back to the table.
Fallon, Sally and Enig, Mary G. Why Butter is Better. Health Freedom News. (1999)
McCullough, Fran. Butter's Good for You. The New York Times. (2007)
About the author
Elizabeth Walling is a freelance writer, specializing in articles about health and family nutrition. She is a strong believer in natural living as a way to improve health and prevent common illnesses.
Treehouse hotel takes lofty living to new heights
http://dvice.com/archives/2009/02/treehouse_hotel.php
Art & Design / Buildings / Future TechTreehouse hotel takes lofty living to new heights
Leslie Shapiro
02/05/09
Did your dad build you a treehouse when you were a kid? Obviously, he didn't love you enough. If he did, he would have built you one that looked like this new tree hotel designed by Sweden's Tham & Videgard Hansson Arkitekter.The "Harad's" tree hotel has a small kitchen, terrace, living area and sleeping area. There doesn't appear to be a bathroom or a ladder. That could make for a, um, rather uncomfortable night, at least for guests of the female variety.
The mirrored surfaces blends this conceptual design into the environment. I have a hard enough time remembering where my room is when they all look alike in a real hotel. What if all the trees look alike? Even worse — try finding your tree at night.
Mythic Birthplace of Zeus Possibly Found
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,490244,00.htmlMythic Birthplace of Zeus Possibly Found
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
By Heather Whipps
The Greek god of thunder and lightning had Earthly beginnings, and scientists think they finally know where.
Ancient Greeks first worshipped the omnipotent Zeus at a remote altar on Mount Lykaion, a team of Greek and American archaeologists now think.
During a recent dig at the site, the researchers found ceremonial goods commonly used in cult activity and dated at over three millennia old, making them the earliest known "appearance" of Zeus in Greece.
The discovery challenges the idea that Zeus worship began on the Greek island of Crete, which at least one classical historian names as the god's mythic birthplace.
The latest finds on Mount Lykaion, in the mainland province of Arcadia, are as old as the idea of Zeus himself, said the project's senior research scientist David Romano, of the University of Pennsylvania.
"This new evidence strongly suggests that there were drinking (and perhaps feasting) parties taking place on the top of the mountain in the Late Helladic period, around 3,300 or 3,400 years ago," Romano said.
Worship of lightning god unbroken
Zeus is the most important figure in ancient Greek mythology. He is the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus, the god of the skies and the father of a slew of other deities and mortals, such as Athena, Apollo, Heracles, Aphrodite and Helen of Troy, say the legends.
The heroic figure was born on either the island of Crete or on Mount Lykaion, according to two competing accounts written in ancient times.
While the myths are just that — stories — historians and archaeologists have always been interested in discovering what elements of the stories might be at least loosely based on fact.
Though temples to Zeus, including one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, are found throughout Greece, Zeus' mythic "birthplace" may actually be the spot where Greeks first started to worship him too, the new finds suggest.
Excavating a trench on Mount Lykaion, in an area which ancient Greek historians later called "the ash altar of Zeus," archaeologists found more than 50 drinking vessels, fragments of human and animal figurines, as well as burned sheep and goat bones.
All of the artifacts are consistent with cult ceremonies of the Mycenaean people, who settled Greece approximately between 3,000 and 4,000 years ago, historians say.
A portion of these finds were announced preliminarily by the research team last year.
Mycenaean mountain-top altars are very rare on mainland Greece, according to archaeologists. The period also coincides with the first historical mentions of the god Zeus in Greek texts, suggesting that the Mount Lykaion ceremonies were to honor the man himself.
The worship of Zeus, a god traditionally associated with mountains, became popular on Mount Lykaion during classic Greek antiquity, said the team, made up of archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania, Arizona, and the Greek Archaeological Service.
Younger, higher levels of the trench have yielded silver coins, a bronze hand holding a lightning bolt and petrified lightning in past dig seasons.
All are clear dedications to Zeus, indicating that the use of the god's altar on Mount Lykaion was likely unbroken for several millennia.
Myth and history
The connection between myth and history doesn't apply solely to ancient Greece. Many ancient cultures worshipped gods that had links to both the spirit and physical worlds.
Real-world spots mentioned in mythic or sacred texts often become places of worship or temple locations or, like Mount Lykaion, vice-versa. This especially applies to birthplaces or homes of the Gods, such as:
Heliopolis, Egypt: Though largely destroyed and swallowed by the sprawl of modern Cairo, the ancient city of Heliopolis was once the center of the Egyptians' worship of Ra, the all-important sun God. Ra died in the evening and was reborn every morning, according to legend, spending the night in a boat floating through the underworld.
Kilauea, Hawaii: This sacred volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii is both feared (it is the most active volcano on the planet) and revered as the home of Pele, Hawaii's fire Goddess. Tourists who disrespect Kilauea or take rocks from the mountain are thought to incur the wrath of Pele, who will curse those individuals with bad luck.
Teotihuacan, Mexico: The most important site of the pre-Columbian Aztecs and a major world city in its own right, Teotihuacan was also the ceremonial heart of the cult of the feathered-serpent Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec's creator god. It was at the site's temple where Quetzalcoatl first had plumes added to his reptilian body, according to Aztec myth.
Giant Titanoboa snake ruled the earth
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5662915.eceFebruary 5, 2009
Giant Titanoboa snake ruled the earth after the dinosaurs
The Titanoboa grew to 45ft or more
Lewis Smith, Environment Reporter
A titanic snake that snacked on crocodiles and was longer than a London bus has been identified as the top predator to walk, or at least slither, the land when the dinosaurs disappeared.
It weighed 1.25 tonnes and with a length of 45 feet or more it would have been able to take on and eat pretty much any other animal it came across.
The newly discovered type of snake, named Titanoboa in honour of its immense size, was for 10 million years the largest land predator on earth.
At least 28 individual specimens have been uncovered in Colombia and, with all of them being around 40 feet long, researchers said it is likely the species could have reached much further than 45 feet.
Fossils recovered from the site over the last five years have given researchers the most detailed picture yet of life in tropical South America in the years following the disappearance of the dinosaurs.
Alongside the enormous snakes, which were so wide it would have been a squeeze for them to get through a doorway, were fossils of turtles and giant crocodile-like dyrosaurs.
Other fossil finds, including fish, gastropods and plants such as palms, are providing researchers with their first glimpses of the tropical ecosystem that laid the foundations for the Amazon forest.
Jonathan Bloch, of the University of Florida, was one of the researchers who analysed the remains of the snake, the biggest that ever lived.
He said: “It was not only the biggest predator in the region, as far as we know, but it was the largest terrestrial vertebrate known on the face of the planet for at least 10 million years.
“It could have eaten pretty much anything that came its way. If we had to guess, it probably ate a lot of fish and crocodyliforms.
“It is possible that the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years opened up the opportunity for the evolution of another top-predator such as Titanoboa.”
He added: “Truly enormous snakes really spark people's imagination, but reality has exceeded the fantasies of Hollywood. The snake that tried to eat Jennifer Lopez in the movie Anaconda is not as big as the one we found.”
Carlos Jaramillo, of the Smithsonian Institution in Panama, said the specimens uncovered from the mine are likely to have been merely average in size, meaning that some individuals would have been much bigger.
The reticulated python, from South East Asia, is the longest living species recorded, according to Guinness World Records, with one individual reaching almost 33 feet long but the average length for the species is only 20 feet.
The size of the cold-blooded Titanoboa indicated to researchers that the tropical coastal river system it occupied would have been warmer than the tropics today. Using the snake’s proportions they worked out that the tropics 60 million years ago would have been about 32C, some 4C warmer than now.
Jason Head, of the University of Toronto in Canada and the Smithsonian Institution, said as the findings were published in the journal Nature: “The discovery of Titanoboa challenges our understanding of past climates and environments, as well as the biological limitations on the evolution of giant snakes.”
All of science owes debt to Darwin
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/07/MNPJ15M1VJ.DTL
All of science owes debt to Darwin
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The shy young naturalist Charles Darwin, who voyaged around the world aboard HMS Beagle and became the bearded sage of rational scientific thought, is having a birthday this week - his 200th - and celebrations have already begun throughout the Bay Area, and indeed on every continent.
"No one," says Kevin Padian, a Berkeley biologist and tracker of dinosaur evolution, "has influenced modern thought, modern science, and indeed our modern culture more than Darwin.
"His influence is everywhere, and science would be impossible without him."
Every true scientist at work today is in fact a Darwinian.
They are decoders of the human genome, immunologists battling AIDS, stem cell researchers seeking tomorrow's cures, anthropologists unearthing fossil hominids to define our human ancestry - even the "astrobiologists" seeking life on other planets while they study organisms living in extreme conditions on Earth.
The man who was born just 200 years ago Thursday did not stumble on his theory of natural selection in one blinding insight - as legends that have morphed into quasi-history would have it - when he observed the varied finches and mockingbirds and tortoises of the Galapagos Islands during the Beagle's stopover there.
No, his theories developed long after the observations he had made while adventurously collecting fossils of long-extinct beasts and living plants and animals - largely in South America.
His first insights on evolution and the emergence of new species came to him two years after the Beagle returned to England, and it wasn't until 1859, more than 20 years later, that Darwin, inspired by the writings of Thomas Malthus on population pressures and Charles Lyell on the ancient age of Earth's geology, completed his first great work: "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life."
To evolution researchers today, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco is an important source of information, for the academy maintains the world's largest collection of Galapagos plant, animal and insect life. The Galapagos archipelago and the Darwin Research Station in the tourist-jammed town of Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz there remain an international monument to his achievement.
Collecting specimens
Darwin, no ornithologist, had collected scores of finches and mockingbirds from different Galapagos islands and noticed how widely varied the finch beaks were. He thought some were not finches at all.
But it was long after the Beagle's return to England that he learned his birds were of widely different species and wondered how they came to be.
"One might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends," he wrote in "The Voyage of the Beagle."
Descent from common ancestors with modification are watchwords for scientists of all stripes today. And Darwin saw more clearly than anyone that the pressure for modification came primarily through natural selection: Beasts or plants or microbes come from common ancestors. They are modified to adapt best to an environment, and produce descendents; those who aren't adapted die by the wayside - just as the Neanderthal people may have died away competing in vain with the first Homo sapiens, our direct ancestors. That's today's version.
Species adaptation
"A steady thread of Darwin's natural selection runs through all our work," says David Mindell, dean of science and curator of ornithology at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park who studies the evolution of predatory birds - hawks, eagles, falcons and the like. "Darwin has given us the way to see how species change over time, how new species arise - and that fact remains the real focus of all scientists who study evolution."
The concepts of natural selection and Darwin's later parallel discovery of sexual selection operate at all levels of life, and not just among vertebrate animals that reproduce sexually, Mindell says.
"You can put a culture of bacteria into a laboratory flask, and even though they reproduce by fission, you can see natural selection operating even there - new bacterial species will arise almost instantaneously," he says.
Among his own birds of prey, as Mindell notes, Darwin's concept of sexual selection operates clearly: A bird uses its plumage - or its chirps or raucous cries and whistles - to signal to a potential mate that it has the most desirable genes for producing the best descendants. To Mindell, that means that studying "molecular systematics," or the structure and sequences of genes in his birds, can lead to clues to the evolution of new species.
They are, Mindell says, "molecular clocks" for the history of speciation.
Intelligent design
Padian, the Berkeley biologist, testified as an expert witness during the famed 2005 trial in Dover, Pa., over the school district's decision to order the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in explaining the origin of life. Intelligent design is based on the idea that living organisms are too complex to have evolved naturally, and must have required an intelligent designer to create them.
Like virtually all scientists today, Padian equates intelligent design with biblical creationism, a view held also by the judge in the Dover case who ruled that intelligent design "is a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism, and not a scientific theory." In Dover, evolution won.
Despite that ruling, efforts to promote intelligent design continue to roil school districts across America, and Darwin's evolution - no more a theory than gravity or the round Earth - is still under legal assault.
Padian is a foremost expert on the evolution of dinosaurs, the creatures that ruled the earth for about 160 million years and whose mass extinction an estimated 65 million years ago has given rise to conflicting causes: a meteorite crashing onto Earth or Indian volcanoes erupting in catastrophe.
To Padian, however, the dinosaurs never really went extinct. His studies, and those of many others, have provided overwhelming evidence that dinosaurs evolved in true Darwinian fashion to become today's birds.
Some of the meat-eating fossil dinosaurs that Padian and other scientists have unearthed at ancient sites around the world bore fierce horns, while their more placid plant-eating relatives did not. So Padian today is also studying the evolution of horns in modern animals.
"That's why," he said recently, "I studied a thousand skulls of different antelope species in South Africa - to see how they fit into Darwin's tree of life."
E-mail David Perlman at dperlman@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
All of science owes debt to Darwin
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The shy young naturalist Charles Darwin, who voyaged around the world aboard HMS Beagle and became the bearded sage of rational scientific thought, is having a birthday this week - his 200th - and celebrations have already begun throughout the Bay Area, and indeed on every continent.
"No one," says Kevin Padian, a Berkeley biologist and tracker of dinosaur evolution, "has influenced modern thought, modern science, and indeed our modern culture more than Darwin.
"His influence is everywhere, and science would be impossible without him."
Every true scientist at work today is in fact a Darwinian.
They are decoders of the human genome, immunologists battling AIDS, stem cell researchers seeking tomorrow's cures, anthropologists unearthing fossil hominids to define our human ancestry - even the "astrobiologists" seeking life on other planets while they study organisms living in extreme conditions on Earth.
The man who was born just 200 years ago Thursday did not stumble on his theory of natural selection in one blinding insight - as legends that have morphed into quasi-history would have it - when he observed the varied finches and mockingbirds and tortoises of the Galapagos Islands during the Beagle's stopover there.
No, his theories developed long after the observations he had made while adventurously collecting fossils of long-extinct beasts and living plants and animals - largely in South America.
His first insights on evolution and the emergence of new species came to him two years after the Beagle returned to England, and it wasn't until 1859, more than 20 years later, that Darwin, inspired by the writings of Thomas Malthus on population pressures and Charles Lyell on the ancient age of Earth's geology, completed his first great work: "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life."
To evolution researchers today, the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco is an important source of information, for the academy maintains the world's largest collection of Galapagos plant, animal and insect life. The Galapagos archipelago and the Darwin Research Station in the tourist-jammed town of Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz there remain an international monument to his achievement.
Collecting specimens
Darwin, no ornithologist, had collected scores of finches and mockingbirds from different Galapagos islands and noticed how widely varied the finch beaks were. He thought some were not finches at all.
But it was long after the Beagle's return to England that he learned his birds were of widely different species and wondered how they came to be.
"One might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends," he wrote in "The Voyage of the Beagle."
Descent from common ancestors with modification are watchwords for scientists of all stripes today. And Darwin saw more clearly than anyone that the pressure for modification came primarily through natural selection: Beasts or plants or microbes come from common ancestors. They are modified to adapt best to an environment, and produce descendents; those who aren't adapted die by the wayside - just as the Neanderthal people may have died away competing in vain with the first Homo sapiens, our direct ancestors. That's today's version.
Species adaptation
"A steady thread of Darwin's natural selection runs through all our work," says David Mindell, dean of science and curator of ornithology at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park who studies the evolution of predatory birds - hawks, eagles, falcons and the like. "Darwin has given us the way to see how species change over time, how new species arise - and that fact remains the real focus of all scientists who study evolution."
The concepts of natural selection and Darwin's later parallel discovery of sexual selection operate at all levels of life, and not just among vertebrate animals that reproduce sexually, Mindell says.
"You can put a culture of bacteria into a laboratory flask, and even though they reproduce by fission, you can see natural selection operating even there - new bacterial species will arise almost instantaneously," he says.
Among his own birds of prey, as Mindell notes, Darwin's concept of sexual selection operates clearly: A bird uses its plumage - or its chirps or raucous cries and whistles - to signal to a potential mate that it has the most desirable genes for producing the best descendants. To Mindell, that means that studying "molecular systematics," or the structure and sequences of genes in his birds, can lead to clues to the evolution of new species.
They are, Mindell says, "molecular clocks" for the history of speciation.
Intelligent design
Padian, the Berkeley biologist, testified as an expert witness during the famed 2005 trial in Dover, Pa., over the school district's decision to order the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in explaining the origin of life. Intelligent design is based on the idea that living organisms are too complex to have evolved naturally, and must have required an intelligent designer to create them.
Like virtually all scientists today, Padian equates intelligent design with biblical creationism, a view held also by the judge in the Dover case who ruled that intelligent design "is a religious view, a mere re-labeling of creationism, and not a scientific theory." In Dover, evolution won.
Despite that ruling, efforts to promote intelligent design continue to roil school districts across America, and Darwin's evolution - no more a theory than gravity or the round Earth - is still under legal assault.
Padian is a foremost expert on the evolution of dinosaurs, the creatures that ruled the earth for about 160 million years and whose mass extinction an estimated 65 million years ago has given rise to conflicting causes: a meteorite crashing onto Earth or Indian volcanoes erupting in catastrophe.
To Padian, however, the dinosaurs never really went extinct. His studies, and those of many others, have provided overwhelming evidence that dinosaurs evolved in true Darwinian fashion to become today's birds.
Some of the meat-eating fossil dinosaurs that Padian and other scientists have unearthed at ancient sites around the world bore fierce horns, while their more placid plant-eating relatives did not. So Padian today is also studying the evolution of horns in modern animals.
"That's why," he said recently, "I studied a thousand skulls of different antelope species in South Africa - to see how they fit into Darwin's tree of life."
E-mail David Perlman at dperlman@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
DC readies lesbian Batwoman for take-off
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/feb/11/lesbian-batwoman-dc-comicsDC readies lesbian Batwoman for take-off
Alison Flood
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 11 February 2009
Fans at Comic Con in New York this week were treated to a sneak preview of DC Comics's highest profile gay superhero, Batwoman, described by her creator as "the kind of sexy that makes you think of a succubus with a very bad attitude".
With fiery red hair, a skin-tight leather cat suit and knee-high red stiletto boots - complete with a blood red bat symbol on her ample chest - Batwoman, the alter ego of Kathy Kane, is set to make her debut on bookshelves this June in Detective Comics 854. Her appearance follows the shock – apparent – demise of Bruce Wayne, the multi-millionaire philanthropist who has protected the streets of Gotham City as Batman since 1939.
Writer Greg Rucka said that Batwoman - who first appeared in 1957 but was killed off in 1979 - was "exceptionally cool".
"Yes, she's a lesbian. She's also a redhead. It is an element of her character. It is not her character. If people are going to have problems with it, that's their issue," he told Comic Book Resources. "Frankly, she should be judged on her merits."
Kane was first outed in 2006 when it was revealed that she was the former lover of Gotham detective Renee Montoya. She has made passing appearances in the comics since, with June's outing to be her most high-profile.
"Nobody has really seen her. They don't really know who this person is," said Rucka. "You are going to figure out what she does, why she does it and who she has to help her. I obviously get into what makes her different than Batman. They share a lot, more than including a bat. But they have different techniques and different approaches."
He expects readers to be shocked when they read the first issue. "I think people are going to fall out of their seats," he said, providing the first few pages of the comic at his blog.
La Cage Slams Shut
http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2009/feb/12/emla-cageem-slams-shut/La Cage Slams Shut
Richard Abowitz
Thu, Feb 12, 2009
After 23 years at the Riviera, Frank Marino has joined Las Vegas’ many laid-off workers. Marino’s former job—star of drag show La Cage—turned the Joan Rivers impersonator into a local celebrity. Still, Vegas shows have been hit just like every aspect of the economy, and though the news was sudden (the cast found out after February 9’s last show that it would be the last show), Marino had already begun removing gowns from his dressing room of more than two decades.
“I am not surprised. When the economy hit about six months ago, you started seeing the crunch in the numbers,” he says. “I don’t think people really know how much it costs to put on a show. Even the advertising is expensive.”
But Marino isn’t intimidated by the economy. He intends to negotiate for his own show at the Riviera—with his own money. “In my head I’ve built this show ... Frank Marino’s Ultimate Drag Show,” he says. “I am going to put my money where my mouth is.”
Bullrun
http://www.speedtv.com/programs/bullrun/
Bullrun
The ultimate test of mind and machine, pitting twelve teams of two people against each other for over 3,000 grueling miles. The drivers are behind the wheels of their own cars, from American muscle, to exotics, to tuners. Teams must use every trick under their hoods, choose alliances carefully, and navigate down to the last turn in order to make it to daily checkpoints first or risk finding themselves in the most explosive challenges ever seen on television. There can be only one Bullrun champion.
Bullrun
The ultimate test of mind and machine, pitting twelve teams of two people against each other for over 3,000 grueling miles. The drivers are behind the wheels of their own cars, from American muscle, to exotics, to tuners. Teams must use every trick under their hoods, choose alliances carefully, and navigate down to the last turn in order to make it to daily checkpoints first or risk finding themselves in the most explosive challenges ever seen on television. There can be only one Bullrun champion.
Obama's First Press Conference
http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1020
Obama's First Press Conference: Repeating Old Lies, Dodging Old Truths
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
by BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon
So how's that "change" thing working out? Are we getting better, or more of the same, and why? In his first press conference, Obama labeled the regime a destabilizing influence in the Middle East because it allegedly sought nuclear weapons, while ignoring the longstanding Israeli nuclear threat to all its neighbors. And the same day, Obama Justice Department lawyers appeared in court to invoke the same defense against investigation of their secret cross-border kidnapping and torture schemes as Bush --- that these widely known activities were "state secrets". Have we heard any of this before?
In the past few years, newspapers and broadcast media around the world have print and aired details of a lawless US government policy of kidnapping civilians and flying them abroad for indefinite detention and torture at the hands of client governments or its own military and civilian officials. Called “extraordinary rendition,” by the Bush Administration, which inherited it from its Democratic predecessor, this illegal practice has been the subject of a number of books reconstructing the flight plans and naming many of the so-called “black sites” which were the illegal jailings and tortures took place. Despite the wealth of publicly available detail on these criminal practices, the Bush administration claimed that to be answerable in court for this illegal conduct would compromise “state secrets,” and found federal judges to agree with this ridiculous claim.
On his first full day in office, President Obama renewed his pledge to close the “black sites” without of course naming them and giving himself a full year to do so, and declared that the US government would observe legal norms from this point onward. So when some of the victims of Bush-era cross-border kidnapping and torture appeared in court Monday, the reasonable expectation was that the new Justice Department would reverse itself and allow their lawsuits for damages to proceed. Instead lawyers for the Obama Justice Department rose to object to the case being heard in federal court on the same grounds that the Bush-Cheney regime had employed --- that revealing the criminal conduct of US military and civilian officials in court, even when this conduct is widely documented and well known, would jeopardize “state secrets”.
But after all the books and articles and news items, there are no remaining “state secrets” of any significance in the process of cross-border kidnapping and torture. Looking backward, all that's left are details like how many times it happened, who was kidnapped and tortured, how many buried still alive or dead, and where those bodies, animated and not, are now, and what dates which orders were given. But the president assures us he is not looking backward, So the unidentified maimed, dead and missing, their torturers and enablers and the names of all but the highest officials involved --- Bush, Cheney, Powell, Rice, Rumsfeld and their immediate deputies in and out of uniform, will appear on no court records, because Obama's Justice Department, just like the Bush Justice Department, insists that all the details of their well known crimes, down to the identities of the victims, are “state secrets”.
As legal and official falsehoods go, this one is naked and transparent. It provides past, present and future criminals on the civil service payroll the same cloak of immunity they enjoyed in the Bush-Cheney years. And it sets the tone, in many ways for the new administration.
Later that day, in a similar spirit of telling old lies and avoiding old truths, President Obama used his very first press conference to label Iran and its alleged quest for nuclear weapons to be the pre-eminent threat to peace and stability in the Middle East. Helen Thomas, the most senior reporter in the White House press corps, and the only one to stand up to Obama's predecessor asked point-blank whether any other countries in the Middle East possessed nuclear weapons. It is of course common knowledge that Israel has hundreds of nukes aimed at every capital in the region from Tripoli to Teheran. No less a member of Obama's cabinet than Robert Gates at his confirmation affirmed that Israel has nukes, but it suited the new president to refuse to answer the question, to ignore Thomas's follow-ups, and to filibuster for four or five minutes in some other direction.
Tens of millions who voted for this president imagined they'd get real change. But the reality is dawning on many that what we're getting is a lot more of the same. We have a president who repeats discredited lies about “rogue regimes” with nuclear weapons, while he ignores Israel, a genuine 21st century apartheid state, which has menaced its neighbors with nuclear weapons for more than thirty years.
Obama volunteered at some point during the press conference, that the moment the true import of his new job sank into him was when he had to sign letters notifying the families of American dead, “our heroes”, as he called them. The president made no mention of his decision, on this third day of office, to launch drones and cruise missiles into Pakistan. Those missiles killed 17 people, including several children. The drones were probably launched from Afghanistan, and remotely piloted by stateside military personnel. Those dead, including the children, got no letters of regret from the president, and seemed not to register in the president's public calculus. After all, they were not American heroes.
The election is over. Those unconditional Obama defenders who answer the president's critics with “well what did you want, McCain?” are doing what their president says he won't do. They are living in the past, looking backward instead of forward. It's time to hold the current president and his actions up to the cold light of day, to evaluate his performance in light of his promises and our legitimate expectations for peace and justice. It's time those of us who stand for peace and justice stop protecting the president. We may soon need to be protected from him.
Obama's First Press Conference: Repeating Old Lies, Dodging Old Truths
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
by BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon
So how's that "change" thing working out? Are we getting better, or more of the same, and why? In his first press conference, Obama labeled the regime a destabilizing influence in the Middle East because it allegedly sought nuclear weapons, while ignoring the longstanding Israeli nuclear threat to all its neighbors. And the same day, Obama Justice Department lawyers appeared in court to invoke the same defense against investigation of their secret cross-border kidnapping and torture schemes as Bush --- that these widely known activities were "state secrets". Have we heard any of this before?
In the past few years, newspapers and broadcast media around the world have print and aired details of a lawless US government policy of kidnapping civilians and flying them abroad for indefinite detention and torture at the hands of client governments or its own military and civilian officials. Called “extraordinary rendition,” by the Bush Administration, which inherited it from its Democratic predecessor, this illegal practice has been the subject of a number of books reconstructing the flight plans and naming many of the so-called “black sites” which were the illegal jailings and tortures took place. Despite the wealth of publicly available detail on these criminal practices, the Bush administration claimed that to be answerable in court for this illegal conduct would compromise “state secrets,” and found federal judges to agree with this ridiculous claim.
On his first full day in office, President Obama renewed his pledge to close the “black sites” without of course naming them and giving himself a full year to do so, and declared that the US government would observe legal norms from this point onward. So when some of the victims of Bush-era cross-border kidnapping and torture appeared in court Monday, the reasonable expectation was that the new Justice Department would reverse itself and allow their lawsuits for damages to proceed. Instead lawyers for the Obama Justice Department rose to object to the case being heard in federal court on the same grounds that the Bush-Cheney regime had employed --- that revealing the criminal conduct of US military and civilian officials in court, even when this conduct is widely documented and well known, would jeopardize “state secrets”.
But after all the books and articles and news items, there are no remaining “state secrets” of any significance in the process of cross-border kidnapping and torture. Looking backward, all that's left are details like how many times it happened, who was kidnapped and tortured, how many buried still alive or dead, and where those bodies, animated and not, are now, and what dates which orders were given. But the president assures us he is not looking backward, So the unidentified maimed, dead and missing, their torturers and enablers and the names of all but the highest officials involved --- Bush, Cheney, Powell, Rice, Rumsfeld and their immediate deputies in and out of uniform, will appear on no court records, because Obama's Justice Department, just like the Bush Justice Department, insists that all the details of their well known crimes, down to the identities of the victims, are “state secrets”.
As legal and official falsehoods go, this one is naked and transparent. It provides past, present and future criminals on the civil service payroll the same cloak of immunity they enjoyed in the Bush-Cheney years. And it sets the tone, in many ways for the new administration.
Later that day, in a similar spirit of telling old lies and avoiding old truths, President Obama used his very first press conference to label Iran and its alleged quest for nuclear weapons to be the pre-eminent threat to peace and stability in the Middle East. Helen Thomas, the most senior reporter in the White House press corps, and the only one to stand up to Obama's predecessor asked point-blank whether any other countries in the Middle East possessed nuclear weapons. It is of course common knowledge that Israel has hundreds of nukes aimed at every capital in the region from Tripoli to Teheran. No less a member of Obama's cabinet than Robert Gates at his confirmation affirmed that Israel has nukes, but it suited the new president to refuse to answer the question, to ignore Thomas's follow-ups, and to filibuster for four or five minutes in some other direction.
Tens of millions who voted for this president imagined they'd get real change. But the reality is dawning on many that what we're getting is a lot more of the same. We have a president who repeats discredited lies about “rogue regimes” with nuclear weapons, while he ignores Israel, a genuine 21st century apartheid state, which has menaced its neighbors with nuclear weapons for more than thirty years.
Obama volunteered at some point during the press conference, that the moment the true import of his new job sank into him was when he had to sign letters notifying the families of American dead, “our heroes”, as he called them. The president made no mention of his decision, on this third day of office, to launch drones and cruise missiles into Pakistan. Those missiles killed 17 people, including several children. The drones were probably launched from Afghanistan, and remotely piloted by stateside military personnel. Those dead, including the children, got no letters of regret from the president, and seemed not to register in the president's public calculus. After all, they were not American heroes.
The election is over. Those unconditional Obama defenders who answer the president's critics with “well what did you want, McCain?” are doing what their president says he won't do. They are living in the past, looking backward instead of forward. It's time to hold the current president and his actions up to the cold light of day, to evaluate his performance in light of his promises and our legitimate expectations for peace and justice. It's time those of us who stand for peace and justice stop protecting the president. We may soon need to be protected from him.
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl, 2009
Bar Refaeli, 23, of IsraelSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl, 2009
Will Stormy Daniels Run Against David Vitter?
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2009/02/will-porn-star-stormy-daniels-run.htmlMonday, February 02, 2009
Will Porn Star Stormy Daniels Run Against Whoremonger David Diapers Vitter?
Will Stormy Daniels beat David Vitter (R-LA)?
In the run-up to his 2010 re-election campaign David Diapers Vitter has been working very hard to distract Louisiana voters from the brouhaha over his multiple sex scandals involving prostitutes in Louisiana and Washington, DC. Vitter, widely viewed as Congress' most hypocritical member, would rather Lousiana voters think of him as Congress' most reactionary member. And he's in a tight competition with South Carolina wingnut Jim DeMint for the title. They are the two who have virtually obstructed every single proposal and initiative that President Obama has made. And the two of them are icons of the neo-Confederate "No on Everything" movement within the Senate GOP caucus.
Given the pathetic state of the Louisiana Democratic Party, Vitter is more frightened of a primary challenge than he is of a general election challenge. Religious fanatic Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council (who has already run for the Senate in Louisiana) and neo-Nazi, Jay Dardenne, currently serving as Louisiana's Secretary of State, have both been checking out Vitter's vulnerability on his right flank. All roads point to his reputation as a whoremonger. Petrified that an opponent will keep reminding voters about Vitter's bizarre and perverted sexual history and all the cover-ups, denials, weepy admissions and so on, Vitter is trying to distract them in every way he can. On the first day of the new congressional session, he introduced 34 pieces of diversionary legislation, none of which are considered serious by anyone with a full set of teeth, about all the pet issues on the extreme right, from an anti-stem cell research bill, an anti-immigrant bill, anti-flag burning bill, to a proposal to encourage prayer in public schools. He is understandably eager to be associated with prayer rather than prostitutes and dirty adult diapers.
Unfortunately for Vitter, his opponents have no intention of letting his sex scandals just go away and today's Politico reports on a little shenanigan likely to get plenty of coverage in Louisiana. There is a movement afoot to get porn star Stormy Daniels to run against Vitter. While she hasn't been embraced by the Democratic Party-- which is still trying to recruit ex-Governor Kathleen Blanco-- Stormy, a Baton Rouge Libertarian, would be perfect for the GOP and would be a great countervailing forced against hypocrites like Perkins and Vitter. Could she beat Vitter? According to several prostitutes he's had long-standing arrangements with, that is his exact specialty. Leave it to Louisiana to spice up American politics! Let's just hope Blue Dog Charlie Melancon doesn't jump in looking for a three-way!
Sleeping Around is right up Vitter's alley. But I wonder if he'd bring the same thing to a desert island as Stormy says she would. Anyway, do you think she'd off Vitter serious competition? Let us know what you think.
Labels: David Vitter, Louisiana, pornography, Republican hypocrisy, Senate 2010, Stormy Daniels, Tony Perkins
A-Rod, Anabolic Agonist Sports
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090223/zirin
A-Rod, Anabolic Agonist Sports
By Dave Zirin
February 9, 2009
Should we pity Alex Rodriguez? The three-time MVP, owed $275 million over the next nine years, has been exposed as a steroid user, the latest in Major League Baseball's endless series of anabolic agonists. The creative minds at the New York Post summed up the mood of the moment with one blaring headline: "A-Fraud." ESPN senior writer Jayson Stark was no less overwrought; his headline proclaimed, "A- Rod Has Destroyed Game's History."
However, the list of frauds and history defamers extends far beyond the Yankee third baseman. Before we gather the torches and pitchforks, let us round up some of the real villains. When it comes to steroids, no one, as A-Rod's alleged paramour Madonna might say, is like a virgin. For instance, there's league commissioner Bud Selig, who touted A-Rod as the man who would replace the "unclean" Barry Bonds as the all-time leader in home runs. Then there is the Major League Baseball Players Association. Once arguably the most powerful union in the United States, the MLBPA has in its possession the infamous list of 104 players tested in 2003. That year a deal between the owners and the union was supposed to be based on anonymity and trust. If more than 5 percent of the players tested positive, more testing with suspensions would ensue. The union promised its members that it would destroy the list. Instead it inexplicably held onto the list long enough for the government to seize it for the BALCO investigations.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Steinbrenner family also have anabolic egg on their faces. They were depending on A-Rod to be the cherry atop the sundae of the new billion-dollar Yankee Stadium expected to open this year. Hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars have gone into this public works project, with specious promises of economic renewal. Now it may just set the stage for a season-long, agonizing fall from grace.
Finally, there are the owners-at-large, who have yet to have to face any kind of Congressional subcommittee, grand jury or operatic media melodrama for their role in cheapening the sport. Stark, in his piece blaming A-Rod for shredding the very fabric of baseball history, writes:
In baseball, we love our numbers. And we love our heroes. And that brings us to Alex Rodriguez, a man who has committed a crime he doesn't even understand: a crime against the once-proud history of his sport.
What Stark and his misguided minions ignore is that if we are upset about the way numbers and hallowed records have become cheapened over the past fifteen years, ownership is the problem--and it extends far beyond steroids.
Owners actually had a multifaceted strategy to try to make baseball more like beer-league softball--and it was about as subtle as a tabloid's back page. As legendary baseball writer Bob Klapisch said, "Somewhere someone decided that baseball needed more runs. It was made at a very fundamental level. And little by little, step by step, this became the new reality. There has been too much to write it off as coincidence."
The reasons for the home run boom extend far beyond the steroid dealer. The boom reverberates in every urban budget, every underfunded school and every library that closes early. In the past twenty years, more than fifteen publicly funded baseball parks have been built in the United States. They are supposed to be fan-friendly--that is, unless your child happens to go to a school whose shrinking budgets were paying the tab. The shorter fences at these parks are engineered to yield more home runs.
Then there are the balls and bats. Countless baseball insiders believe that the ball is now wound tighter than it was twenty years ago. As for the bats, as recently as fifteen years ago, players used untreated ash bats. Now the bats are maple and lacquered. That means the ball goes farther.
Then there is the strike zone. The area where a pitched ball can be called a strike has shrunk, in the words of retired pitcher Greg Maddux, to "the size of a postage stamp." The owners consciously engineered this trend toward the microscopic strike zone. When umpires refused to agree to a uniform strike zone, Major League Baseball crushed their union and instituted a machine to monitor their abilities. Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer said, "The loss of the high strike has changed the game more than any pill."
But an equally big reason home run numbers are up is that the game finally shed its nineteenth-century view of strength conditioning. The training standard until the 1990s was that if Joe "Ducky" Medwick didn't do it in the '30s, then it shouldn't be done. For example, it has been the conventional wisdom for most of baseball's history that weightlifting would destroy your swing. Many teams even fined or suspended players if they were caught pumping iron. Weightlifting is now as much a part of every team's regimen as shagging fly balls.
Alex Rodriguez is set to be the next former slugger torn to pieces by columnists, fans and the sports radio blabbocracy. They all need to crack open some Michael Phelps medicinal magic and relax. Rodriguez may not deserve your pity, but he hardly deserves your scorn. Reserve that for the owners, political leaders and Bud the commissioner--who robbed our cities blind and distracted us with dingers so we wouldn't notice.
Dave Zirin is the author of Welcome to the Terrordome: the Pain Politics and Promise of Sports (Haymarket) and the forthcoming A People's History of Sports in the United States (The New Press). and his writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, SportsIllustrated.com, New York Newsday and The Progressive. He is the host of XM Radio's Edge of Sports Radio.
Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.
A-Rod, Anabolic Agonist Sports
By Dave Zirin
February 9, 2009
Should we pity Alex Rodriguez? The three-time MVP, owed $275 million over the next nine years, has been exposed as a steroid user, the latest in Major League Baseball's endless series of anabolic agonists. The creative minds at the New York Post summed up the mood of the moment with one blaring headline: "A-Fraud." ESPN senior writer Jayson Stark was no less overwrought; his headline proclaimed, "A- Rod Has Destroyed Game's History."
However, the list of frauds and history defamers extends far beyond the Yankee third baseman. Before we gather the torches and pitchforks, let us round up some of the real villains. When it comes to steroids, no one, as A-Rod's alleged paramour Madonna might say, is like a virgin. For instance, there's league commissioner Bud Selig, who touted A-Rod as the man who would replace the "unclean" Barry Bonds as the all-time leader in home runs. Then there is the Major League Baseball Players Association. Once arguably the most powerful union in the United States, the MLBPA has in its possession the infamous list of 104 players tested in 2003. That year a deal between the owners and the union was supposed to be based on anonymity and trust. If more than 5 percent of the players tested positive, more testing with suspensions would ensue. The union promised its members that it would destroy the list. Instead it inexplicably held onto the list long enough for the government to seize it for the BALCO investigations.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Steinbrenner family also have anabolic egg on their faces. They were depending on A-Rod to be the cherry atop the sundae of the new billion-dollar Yankee Stadium expected to open this year. Hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars have gone into this public works project, with specious promises of economic renewal. Now it may just set the stage for a season-long, agonizing fall from grace.
Finally, there are the owners-at-large, who have yet to have to face any kind of Congressional subcommittee, grand jury or operatic media melodrama for their role in cheapening the sport. Stark, in his piece blaming A-Rod for shredding the very fabric of baseball history, writes:
In baseball, we love our numbers. And we love our heroes. And that brings us to Alex Rodriguez, a man who has committed a crime he doesn't even understand: a crime against the once-proud history of his sport.
What Stark and his misguided minions ignore is that if we are upset about the way numbers and hallowed records have become cheapened over the past fifteen years, ownership is the problem--and it extends far beyond steroids.
Owners actually had a multifaceted strategy to try to make baseball more like beer-league softball--and it was about as subtle as a tabloid's back page. As legendary baseball writer Bob Klapisch said, "Somewhere someone decided that baseball needed more runs. It was made at a very fundamental level. And little by little, step by step, this became the new reality. There has been too much to write it off as coincidence."
The reasons for the home run boom extend far beyond the steroid dealer. The boom reverberates in every urban budget, every underfunded school and every library that closes early. In the past twenty years, more than fifteen publicly funded baseball parks have been built in the United States. They are supposed to be fan-friendly--that is, unless your child happens to go to a school whose shrinking budgets were paying the tab. The shorter fences at these parks are engineered to yield more home runs.
Then there are the balls and bats. Countless baseball insiders believe that the ball is now wound tighter than it was twenty years ago. As for the bats, as recently as fifteen years ago, players used untreated ash bats. Now the bats are maple and lacquered. That means the ball goes farther.
Then there is the strike zone. The area where a pitched ball can be called a strike has shrunk, in the words of retired pitcher Greg Maddux, to "the size of a postage stamp." The owners consciously engineered this trend toward the microscopic strike zone. When umpires refused to agree to a uniform strike zone, Major League Baseball crushed their union and instituted a machine to monitor their abilities. Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer said, "The loss of the high strike has changed the game more than any pill."
But an equally big reason home run numbers are up is that the game finally shed its nineteenth-century view of strength conditioning. The training standard until the 1990s was that if Joe "Ducky" Medwick didn't do it in the '30s, then it shouldn't be done. For example, it has been the conventional wisdom for most of baseball's history that weightlifting would destroy your swing. Many teams even fined or suspended players if they were caught pumping iron. Weightlifting is now as much a part of every team's regimen as shagging fly balls.
Alex Rodriguez is set to be the next former slugger torn to pieces by columnists, fans and the sports radio blabbocracy. They all need to crack open some Michael Phelps medicinal magic and relax. Rodriguez may not deserve your pity, but he hardly deserves your scorn. Reserve that for the owners, political leaders and Bud the commissioner--who robbed our cities blind and distracted us with dingers so we wouldn't notice.
Dave Zirin is the author of Welcome to the Terrordome: the Pain Politics and Promise of Sports (Haymarket) and the forthcoming A People's History of Sports in the United States (The New Press). and his writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, SportsIllustrated.com, New York Newsday and The Progressive. He is the host of XM Radio's Edge of Sports Radio.
Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.
Message on Alex Rodriguez's answering machine
From David Letterman:
Message left on Alex Rodriguez's answering machine: "Could you find a steroid that keeps you from choking in the playoffs?"
Message left on Alex Rodriguez's answering machine: "Could you find a steroid that keeps you from choking in the playoffs?"
Will You Help Me With My Next Film?
...a request from Michael Moore
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Friends,
I am in the middle of shooting my next movie and I am looking for a few brave people who work on Wall Street or in the financial industry to come forward and share with me what they know. Based on those who have already contacted me, I believe there are a number of you who know "the real deal" about the abuses that have been happening. You have information that the American people need to hear. I am humbly asking you for a moment of courage, to be a hero and help me expose the biggest swindle in American history.
All correspondence with me will be kept confidential. Your identity will be protected and you will decide to what extent you wish to participate in telling the greatest crime story ever told.
The important thing here is for you to step up as an American and do your duty of shedding some light on this financial collapse. A few good people have already come forward, which leads me to believe there are many more of you out there who know what's going on. Here's your chance to let your fellow citizens in on the truth.
If you have any info that would help, please contact me at my private email address: bailout@michaelmoore.com.
For the rest of you on my email list who don't work in the financial industry, you're probably wondering, "What the heck is this all about? I thought he said he was making a romantic comedy!"
Well, I just can't say much right now. I'm sure you can understand why. One thing I can tell you is that you're gonna like this movie when I'm done with it. Oh, yeah...
So, again, if you work for a bank, a brokerage firm or an insurance company -- or if you have seen things or heard things that you believe the American people have a right to know -- please contact me at bailout@michaelmoore.com.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Yours,
Michael Moore
bailout@michaelmoore.com
MichaelMoore.com
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Friends,
I am in the middle of shooting my next movie and I am looking for a few brave people who work on Wall Street or in the financial industry to come forward and share with me what they know. Based on those who have already contacted me, I believe there are a number of you who know "the real deal" about the abuses that have been happening. You have information that the American people need to hear. I am humbly asking you for a moment of courage, to be a hero and help me expose the biggest swindle in American history.
All correspondence with me will be kept confidential. Your identity will be protected and you will decide to what extent you wish to participate in telling the greatest crime story ever told.
The important thing here is for you to step up as an American and do your duty of shedding some light on this financial collapse. A few good people have already come forward, which leads me to believe there are many more of you out there who know what's going on. Here's your chance to let your fellow citizens in on the truth.
If you have any info that would help, please contact me at my private email address: bailout@michaelmoore.com.
For the rest of you on my email list who don't work in the financial industry, you're probably wondering, "What the heck is this all about? I thought he said he was making a romantic comedy!"
Well, I just can't say much right now. I'm sure you can understand why. One thing I can tell you is that you're gonna like this movie when I'm done with it. Oh, yeah...
So, again, if you work for a bank, a brokerage firm or an insurance company -- or if you have seen things or heard things that you believe the American people have a right to know -- please contact me at bailout@michaelmoore.com.
Thank you in advance for your help!
Yours,
Michael Moore
bailout@michaelmoore.com
MichaelMoore.com
Konformist.com: Updated!!!
After a near three year phase of no updates to Konformist.com, we are finally updating it again. In essence, it will link to the best articles each month that are put up at The Konformist Blog. So it means you can return to Konformist.com to see what's going on in the world of rebellion, konspiracy & subversion. To see The Konformist Website:
http://www.konformist.com
http://www.konformist.com/page1.htm
And to see The Konformist Blog:
http://robalini.blogspot.com
And finally, to view The Konformist Newswire (which includes all our material since 2000):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/konformist
Thanks,
Robert Sterling
Editor, Konformist.com
Friday, February 13, 2009
2012: SCIENCE OR SUPERSTITION Review
2012: SCIENCE OR SUPERSTITIONKonformist Review
Robert Sterling, Konformist.com
I remember as a kid in 1979 viewing the "documentary" The Late Great Planet Earth at the Century 21 Theater in San Jose, narrated by no less an esteemed individual as Orson Welles. (This, along with him doing the voice for Magnum P.I.'s Robin Masters and commercials for both Paul Masson wine and the Dark Tower board game, was my early exposure to the cinematic master.) Like the Star Wars Trilogy, a movie theater next to the Winchester Mystery House was the perfect place to see the film. Based on the best-seller by Christian fundamentalist Hal Lindsey, it was incredibly frightening, depressing and filled with doom, warning the audience they were facing Armageddon if they didn't listen to a God whose views were identical to Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Okay, so it wasn't the most logically cohesive documentary ever made, but you had to give it credit: in an era of The Shining, The Omen and Suspiria, it held its own in its ability to scare the fuck out of viewers.
2012: Science or Superstition, by the Disinformation Company, lacks the guilty pleasure quality of The Late Great Planet Earth. 2012, after all, isn't a shameless dive in paranoia and apocalyptic fear that made Lindsey's doc such a fun trip. Instead, it is a thoughtful examination of the different views and opinions on what lays in store for Planet Earth on 12-21-2012, when the Maya calendar predicts the end of time.
That doesn't mean there isn't some scary shit in it. Much of the documentary focuses on a theory that argues our sun has an evil twin - a twin that's coming to Earth December 2012. When it hits, we'll have a disaster on our hands worthy of a Michael Bay blockbuster with bitchin' CGI special effects. (Of course, this proves God doesn't have perfect foresight after all: shouldn't he have realized the destruction of mankind is the ultimate summer popcorn flick?) Other theories pursued are a change in the planet's magnetic fields or solar blasts. Pretty cool stuff, indeed.
But in the end, 2012 is not a gloomy forecast of mass annihilation, but rather a pretty upbeat journey. It's not so much a Black Sabbath song as the B-52s "Love Shack" - the upside of the end of time. It's really an end of an age that is coming at this date, the documentary argues, and the endtime is more metaphorical for a transformation in humanity. (I'm sure the Obama cultists will use this as further proof on how "transcendental" Barky is.)
For fans of the cult TV show Disinfo Nation (and count me as one) the style will seem familiar, which is certainly a plus. This is not merely because Disinformation produced both, but because the dude who shot and cut Disinfo Nation, Nimrod Erez, is the director here. (Doing a Robert Rodriguez impersonation, he also did cinematography and film editing duties here.) It also includes an awesome cast of experts, including Robert Bauval (The Orion Mystery, The Egypt Code), Graham Hancock (Supernatural, Fingerprints of the Gods), Jim Marrs (Alien Agenda, Rule By Secrecy) and Douglas Rushkoff (Cyberia, Media Virus.) A pretty eclectic collection and 2012 definitely was a mind-expanding journey for this viewer. Apparently, I'm not alone, as 2012 hit number one on Apple iTunes documentary charts and the top ten on the New Releases list. Looks like there is a market for a smart documentary about apocalyptic visions after all. Swallow that, Hal Lindsey!
2012: SCIENCE OR SUPERSTITION
Genre: Documentary
Street date: January 27, 2009
Sug. Retail Price: $19.95 (DVD) / $9.99 (iTunes)
Catalog #: DIS051
UPC #: 826262005191
Running Time: 78 mins. + extras
Meg Whitman off and running
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=35596
Meg Whitman off and running
Carla Marinucci
February 09 2009
We told you more than a year ago that former eBay CEO Meg Whitman was eyeing a 2010 run at the GOP nomination for governor. Now she's made it official, announcing she has formed an exploratory committee. Now look for the battle royale to begin between her and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who has been working this turf for more than a year.
Here's her press release this morning:
SACRAMENTO -- Republican Meg Whitman, former President and CEO of eBay, today announced the formation of an Exploratory Committee to seek the nomination for Governor in 2010. Former California Governor Pete Wilson will serve as Campaign Chairman, joining Exploratory Committee Co-Chairs House Chief Deputy Republican Whip Congressman Kevin McCarthy, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, State Senator Tony Strickland, Assembly Republican Whip Nathan Fletcher and former State Assemblywoman Sharon Runner. In the c
Meg Whitman off and running
Carla Marinucci
February 09 2009
We told you more than a year ago that former eBay CEO Meg Whitman was eyeing a 2010 run at the GOP nomination for governor. Now she's made it official, announcing she has formed an exploratory committee. Now look for the battle royale to begin between her and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who has been working this turf for more than a year.
Here's her press release this morning:
SACRAMENTO -- Republican Meg Whitman, former President and CEO of eBay, today announced the formation of an Exploratory Committee to seek the nomination for Governor in 2010. Former California Governor Pete Wilson will serve as Campaign Chairman, joining Exploratory Committee Co-Chairs House Chief Deputy Republican Whip Congressman Kevin McCarthy, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, State Senator Tony Strickland, Assembly Republican Whip Nathan Fletcher and former State Assemblywoman Sharon Runner. In the c