http://wsws.org/articles/2009/may2009/ssmd-m14.shtml
US: Cuts in Social Security, Medicare to pay for bank bailouts
By Tom Eley
14 May 2009
A government report made public Tuesday indicates that Social Security and Medicare will deplete their trust funds more quickly than previously forecast. This has sparked new demands from within the US financial elite for substantial cuts in the two entitlement programs, which pay retirement and medical benefits for tens of millions of working class Americans.
The report was issued by the programs’ trustees, a group of four Obama administration officials headed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Because regressive payroll taxes on workers’ earnings fund the two programs, mounting unemployment has worsened the projections. Since December 2007, 5.7 million jobs have been lost, and the official unemployment rate now approaches 9 percent.
The slump has slowed the rate of inflation to below the level required by law to trigger a cost-of-living raise for Social Security recipients. As a result, the trustees project that in 2010 and 2011, for the first time since automatic cost-of-living raises were incorporated into Social Security in the 1970s, there will be no increase in retirement benefits, and only a minuscule 1.4 percent rise in 2012.
Since the trustees base their projections of the fiscal state of both programs by estimating future economic growth, the current slump has moved forward the projected point at which each program will begin to run a deficit. Social Security currently operates at a surplus, which the report anticipates will end in 2016, when the program would finally have to begin withdrawing from its own fund—potentially cutting into the other areas where the federal government currently funnels the money. The effective freeze in retirement benefits will be combined with substantially higher monthly premiums for many Medicare recipients.
Even by its alarmist critics’ own admission, Social Security is not about to collapse under its own weight. It would deplete its funds by 2045, thirty years from now, according to the trustees’ report. For years, Social Security funds have been used to pay directly or indirectly for reactionary federal budget priorities—including tax cuts for the rich, bank bailouts, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Obama administration has shelled out hundreds of billions, no strings attached, to the biggest financial institutions, under the false rationale that this would “kick-start” lending and generate jobs. All told, between direct cash infusions, loans, and guarantees on debt, Washington has handed over around $10 trillion to Wall Street in less than a year. In comparison, Medicare would need $13 trillion and Social Security $5 trillion over the next 75 years to remain solvent, according to the report. In other words, retirement benefits and healthcare benefits for several generations of the elderly could be secured at the cost of one year’s bailout of the financial aristocracy.
But the vast payouts to Wall Street and the imperialist wars abroad require the plundering of Social Security and Medicare. After giving hundreds of billions to the banks and setting a new record for military spending, Obama has no other credible target for “fiscal discipline.” Yesterday the White House revised upwards its budget deficit estimate by 5 percent from February to $1.84 trillion.
Secretary Geithner’s dual role as Wall Street frontman and “trustee” of the retirement and health care for the working class underscores the duplicitous nature of the Obama administration. Disregarding the trillions he has handed over to the banks, Geithner claimed yesterday that “there is no more important long-term fiscal measure than gaining control of the growth of Medicare costs.”
The first target for cuts will be Medicare, followed by Social Security. Geithner explained: “After we have passed health-care reform that puts our nation on a path to lower growth in health-care costs and expanded affordable coverage, this president will work to build a bipartisan consensus to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security.”
Geithner’s reference to “bipartisan consensus” is Washington code for the sort of reform that can bring the most far-right, pro-market forces aboard. To make sure the significance of this was not lost, Geithner reiterated that Obama “explicitly rejects the notion that Social Security is untouchable politically.” Republican lawmakers reacted favorably.
Thus, after only four months, the historical significance of the Obama administration’s “domestic agenda” has come into focus. As it took a Democratic president, Bill Clinton to undo welfare, it will be a Democrat in the White House who takes the axe to Medicare and that last vestige of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, Social Security.
The freeze in cost of living increases for Social Security and increased user payments for Medicare are only the beginning. The Obama administration used the release of the new data to amp up its demands for what it calls a “major overhaul” of health care in the US.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, also a trustee of the two programs, called the report “a wake-up call for anyone concerned about Medicare. ... it’s another sign that we can’t wait for real, comprehensive health care reform.”
In fact, the revelations on Social Security and Medicare only served to underline that Obama’s health care “reform” will be predicated on a sharp curtailment of the provision of medical services to the working class. The entire effort will take as its starting and ending point the defense of the profit margins of the various “players” in the health care industry—the insurance corporations, the HMOs and the pharmaceuticals.
Earlier this week, Obama gained pledges from representatives of five health industry trade groups and the Service Employees International Union that they would “try” to rein in costs by 1.5 percent per year for the coming decade. There will be no penalties for non-compliance and Congress is likely to authorize generous tax incentives to pay for cooperation. Obama claims that the voluntary pledges could result in an increase in annual health care costs of 5.5 percent compared to the currently forecast 7 percent for the coming years. In other words, even in the best-case scenario, the health care burden on workers would increase only slightly less rapidly.
The industry players have been tempted to cooperate with potentially lucrative promises from the Obama administration. “Groups like the insurance industry hope that cuts to their payments would be offset by new rules that would require all Americans” to pay for private insurance plans, the Wall Street Journal reports. Other groups “want to head off regulations that could pose new burdens or curb their profits.” (“Health-Care Providers Pledge to Try to Curb Costs.”)
Frozen out of Obama’s discussion on health care reform are advocates of government-run or “single-payer” health insurance schemes, such as those that prevail—and are being rolled back—in Canada and Western Europe.
On Tuesday, police removed about thirty nurses and doctors from Senate Finance Committee hearings convened to consider financing changes to the health care system. The health care workers had launched a protest against the exclusion of single-payer advocates from the discussion.
Any new health care bill will be funded by cuts in other social programs and taxes on workers. On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that a health reform bill would be on the House floor by July 31. According to an analysis by the Associated Press, “the final financing package is likely to include a mix of tax increases and spending cuts in federal health programs. Among the possibilities are tax increases on alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and sugary soft drinks, and restrictions on other health care-related tax breaks, such as flexible spending accounts.”
An article in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal, “Idea on Hill: Taxing Health Benefits,” pointed to a growing consensus among lawmakers and Obama administration officials that workers’ health care benefits should be taxed to pay for any reform.
Ensuring the best health care and a secure retirement for all is not a technical, but a political question. The looming attack on Social Security and the transparent bankruptcy of Obama’s health care “reform” are dictated by powerful financial interests who believe that workers should work until they can work no longer, and that thereafter they should expect little or nothing in the way of public assistance or medical care to maintain themselves. That is considered too costly.
There is no resolution outside of a struggle against this financial aristocracy. The medical industry must be wrested from the hands of the insurers, pharmaceuticals and for-profit hospital chains and placed under the democratic control of its doctors, nurses and health care workers, who will determine how medicine’s enormous potential can be best deployed to meet human needs, ensuring long and healthy retirements.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Truth About Angels, Demons and Antimatter
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520193,00.html
The Truth About Angels, Demons and Antimatter
Thursday, May 14, 2009
By Jeremy Hsu
An antimatter explosion threatens to level the Vatican in the movie adaptation of the thriller "Angels and Demons," but real-world physicists are unfazed by this plot.
The story features "Da Vinci Code" hero Robert Langdon racing to recover an antimatter capsule stolen from the CERN particle physics facility in Switzerland. Researchers first figured out how to create and trap antimatter particles at CERN, which gave author Dan Brown the inspiration for his story.
One physicist doesn't find CERN's unexpected publicity from the story upsetting. On the contrary, he's rather pleased.
"I always say that what Dan Brown did for the Roman Catholic Church in 'The Da Vinci Code,' he did for me and my research with 'Angels and Demons,'" said Gerald Gabrielse, a Harvard physicist who currently leads an international research team at CERN.
Antimatter is real, but it still represents a baffling presence in the universe – sub-atomic particles that are the opposite of normal matter. When a particle and antiparticle meet, they mutually annihilate each other and release their entire mass as energy.
This bizarre but intriguing reality has prompted plenty of science fiction writers to dream of antimatter engines powering future civilizations or starships, such as Star Trek's U.S.S. Enterprise.
"Angels and Demons" twists that dream of untapped energy into more of a nightmarish scenario, by suggesting what might happen if a relatively large amount of antimatter annihilated itself with matter all at once. A quarter of a gram of antimatter threatens to unleash the power of 5,000 tons of TNT and destroy everything within a half-mile radius – or so goes the fictional story.
The reality is that physicists can only wish they had so much of the stuff.
"If you take all the antimatter produced in the history of the world and annihilated it all at once, you wouldn't have enough energy to boil a cup of tea," Gabrielse told LiveScience.
Antimatter represents a rare entity in a universe dominated by matter, and scientists still struggle to understand why. What they do know is that creating antimatter requires tremendous effort, such as using particle accelerators at CERN to smash together particles at nearly the speed of light.
An occasional antimatter particle may arise naturally when a cosmic ray strikes Earth's upper atmosphere. But collecting man-made antimatter particles is much more practical for research.
Physicists have only slowed and trapped a small fraction of all the produced particles, in this case known as antiprotons. They use antimatter traps somewhat similar in concept to what "Angels and Demons" describes, with magnetic fields keeping the antimatter particles in a vacuum away from any matter.
"You need a container with no walls, that's the idea," Gabrielse noted. His former project, known as TRAP, successfully created and held charged antiprotons for months.
Now physicists face the more daunting challenge of capturing neutral antihydrogen atoms. The newer international effort, called ATRAP, has put together an antihydrogen trap and is working on a second.
"We are trying right now to trap neutral antihydrogen atoms which we have produced, but no one has succeeded in proving that they've been trapped yet," Gabrielse said.
Such neutral antihydrogen atoms could theoretically be clumped together, whereas charged antiprotons are repelled by each other. Whether an antimatter clump would annihilate with all the power of a small nuke without blowing itself apart remains an open question – and that still assumes physicists can create and collect anything close to a quarter of a gram of antimatter.
One part of "Angels and Demons" may have come true, although unrelated to antimatter. The fictional plot includes retinal scanners guarding a CERN lab, and the real-life CERN happened to adopt such eyeball security after the book came out, Gabrielse explained.
So the plot of "Angels and Demons" doesn't quite annihilate upon contact with reality, but the real-life mystery of antimatter may still trump fiction.
"Why the universe is made out of more matter than antimatter? We don't know the answer to that question at all," Gabrielse said.
The Truth About Angels, Demons and Antimatter
Thursday, May 14, 2009
By Jeremy Hsu
An antimatter explosion threatens to level the Vatican in the movie adaptation of the thriller "Angels and Demons," but real-world physicists are unfazed by this plot.
The story features "Da Vinci Code" hero Robert Langdon racing to recover an antimatter capsule stolen from the CERN particle physics facility in Switzerland. Researchers first figured out how to create and trap antimatter particles at CERN, which gave author Dan Brown the inspiration for his story.
One physicist doesn't find CERN's unexpected publicity from the story upsetting. On the contrary, he's rather pleased.
"I always say that what Dan Brown did for the Roman Catholic Church in 'The Da Vinci Code,' he did for me and my research with 'Angels and Demons,'" said Gerald Gabrielse, a Harvard physicist who currently leads an international research team at CERN.
Antimatter is real, but it still represents a baffling presence in the universe – sub-atomic particles that are the opposite of normal matter. When a particle and antiparticle meet, they mutually annihilate each other and release their entire mass as energy.
This bizarre but intriguing reality has prompted plenty of science fiction writers to dream of antimatter engines powering future civilizations or starships, such as Star Trek's U.S.S. Enterprise.
"Angels and Demons" twists that dream of untapped energy into more of a nightmarish scenario, by suggesting what might happen if a relatively large amount of antimatter annihilated itself with matter all at once. A quarter of a gram of antimatter threatens to unleash the power of 5,000 tons of TNT and destroy everything within a half-mile radius – or so goes the fictional story.
The reality is that physicists can only wish they had so much of the stuff.
"If you take all the antimatter produced in the history of the world and annihilated it all at once, you wouldn't have enough energy to boil a cup of tea," Gabrielse told LiveScience.
Antimatter represents a rare entity in a universe dominated by matter, and scientists still struggle to understand why. What they do know is that creating antimatter requires tremendous effort, such as using particle accelerators at CERN to smash together particles at nearly the speed of light.
An occasional antimatter particle may arise naturally when a cosmic ray strikes Earth's upper atmosphere. But collecting man-made antimatter particles is much more practical for research.
Physicists have only slowed and trapped a small fraction of all the produced particles, in this case known as antiprotons. They use antimatter traps somewhat similar in concept to what "Angels and Demons" describes, with magnetic fields keeping the antimatter particles in a vacuum away from any matter.
"You need a container with no walls, that's the idea," Gabrielse noted. His former project, known as TRAP, successfully created and held charged antiprotons for months.
Now physicists face the more daunting challenge of capturing neutral antihydrogen atoms. The newer international effort, called ATRAP, has put together an antihydrogen trap and is working on a second.
"We are trying right now to trap neutral antihydrogen atoms which we have produced, but no one has succeeded in proving that they've been trapped yet," Gabrielse said.
Such neutral antihydrogen atoms could theoretically be clumped together, whereas charged antiprotons are repelled by each other. Whether an antimatter clump would annihilate with all the power of a small nuke without blowing itself apart remains an open question – and that still assumes physicists can create and collect anything close to a quarter of a gram of antimatter.
One part of "Angels and Demons" may have come true, although unrelated to antimatter. The fictional plot includes retinal scanners guarding a CERN lab, and the real-life CERN happened to adopt such eyeball security after the book came out, Gabrielse explained.
So the plot of "Angels and Demons" doesn't quite annihilate upon contact with reality, but the real-life mystery of antimatter may still trump fiction.
"Why the universe is made out of more matter than antimatter? We don't know the answer to that question at all," Gabrielse said.
Pixar's journey to Cannes acclaim
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8048334.stm
Wednesday, 13 May 2009Pixar's journey to Cannes acclaim
By Neil Smith
Entertainment reporter, BBC News
Pixar's invitation to launch this year's Cannes Film Festival with their 3D feature Up marks the latest coup for the US computer animation powerhouse.
It is testament to how the company behind Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Wall-E and Monsters, Inc. has balanced commercial kudos with critical acclaim.
Winner of more than 20 Academy Awards, the company's own proprietary software has placed it at the vanguard of the computer-generated imagery revolution.
But according to its website, Pixar attributes its success to "memorable characters and heart-warming stories that appeal to audiences of all ages."
Pixar's driving force is John Lasseter, a former Disney employee whose formative experiments in computer animation were rejected by the so-called House of Mouse.
Having had his contract terminated, Lasseter ended up making his first short, The Adventures of Andre and Wally B, for a division of George Lucas's LucasFilm.
Technology
When that subsidiary company was bought by Apple founder Steve Jobs in 1986, Pixar was born.
Around this time, computers were often used to fashion special effects in live-action films and to create backgrounds in animated ones.
Lasseter's colleague Ed Catmull, though, challenged him to use the fledgling technology to make characters as well - traditionally the domain of hand-drawn animation.
John's animated shorts impressed Disney so much his old employer agreed to finance his debut feature, 1995's Toy Story.
The first fully computer-animated feature film, it became that year's highest-grossing movie with global box-office takings of $362 million (£238.7 million).
Disney continued to co-produce and distribute Pixar's films, with 1998's A Bug's Life becoming another sizeable hit.
Relations were strained, however, by Disney's contention that Toy Story 2 - a straight-to-video title considered strong enough to warrant a theatrical release - was not covered by their three-picture deal.
Outside the boardroom, Pixar continued to generate a string of blockbuster successes - 2001's Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo (2003)and The Incredibles a year later.
Its shorts, meanwhile, continued to nurture new talent while providing useful testing grounds for the company's latest innovations.
Differences behind the scenes, though, suggested Pixar and Disney's profit-sharing agreement was unsustainable in the long term.
Ambitious
So many were surprised when the companies decided to merge in a 2006 deal which saw Lasseter become Disney/Pixar's overall creative director.
The new arrangement led to the 52-year-old maintain his role at Pixar while taking a supervisory role over Disney's animated product.
Last year Disney/Pixar unveiled an ambitious slate of animated features that will include a third instalment in the Toy Story franchise and a sequel to its 2006 film Cars.
Pixar's other future projects include Newt, a comedy about two bickering salamanders, and The Bear and the Bow, an action adventure set in ancient Scotland.
Since 2000, Pixar have been located at a purpose-built facility in Emeryville, California, a small town close to San Francisco.
Earlier this year, it announced it was opening a second studio in Vancouver, Canada to handle its non-feature projects.
The Pixar team's presence at Cannes begins a lengthy roll-out for Up that will take Lasseter and his colleagues around the world.
Later this year he and his fellow Pixar feature directors will receive a special award at the Venice Film Festival in recognition of their body of work.
Early reactions to Up have been positive, with Variety's critic calling it "a captivating odd-couple adventure that becomes funnier and more exciting as it flies along".
Screen International's reviewer agrees, describing Pete Docter's film - out in the UK in October - as "a marvel of a movie which will enchant cinema-goers around the world".
Find Out Who Topped Maxim's 2009 "Hot 100" List!
http://omg.yahoo.com/news/find-out-who-topped-maxims-2009-hot-100-list/22462
Find Out Who Topped Maxim's 2009 "Hot 100" List!
Find Out Who Topped Maxim's 2009 "Hot 100" List!
Us Magazine
5-13-9
Maxim has unveiled its "2009 Hot 100," the lad magazine's definitive list of the worlds most beautiful women.
Topping the list: House's Olivia Wilde, whom Maxim editors say they can't stop "drooling over."
For the first time, a First Lady makes the cut: Michelle Obama debuts at No. 93. Says Maxim, "[President Obama] may be dealing with two wars, an economic meltdown, and a rapidly graying dome, but at least our Commander-in-Chief gets to come home to the hottest First Lady in the history of these United States."
5-13-9
Maxim has unveiled its "2009 Hot 100," the lad magazine's definitive list of the worlds most beautiful women.
Topping the list: House's Olivia Wilde, whom Maxim editors say they can't stop "drooling over."
For the first time, a First Lady makes the cut: Michelle Obama debuts at No. 93. Says Maxim, "[President Obama] may be dealing with two wars, an economic meltdown, and a rapidly graying dome, but at least our Commander-in-Chief gets to come home to the hottest First Lady in the history of these United States."
The top 10 most beautiful women (according to Maxim):
1. Olivia Wilde: "We may not know a McDreamy from a McNugget, but when it comes to TV doctors, there is only one who makes our body temperatures rise. We were drooling over the NYC native long before she was injected into Fox's hit medical drama (House)."
2. Megan Fox: "Seriously, do women get more painfully hot than this? Megan Fox has the face of an angel, a body so perfect that God may have carved it out of soap and sex appeal that could melt a unicorn's horn. Plus, we hear she smells like clouds."
3. Bar Refaeli: "If there's any evidence that the Middle East is a land of beauty and wonder Bar is it. The 24-year-old Israeli supermodel with the brain blowing body scorched the cover of the famed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition."
4. Malin Akerman: "In the dark world of Watchmen, Malin was tasked with one tough mission ... Watchmen wasn't the first time we've seen Malin and it won't be the last. She's got four new flicks on her busy schedule."
5. Mila Kunis: "Mila's combination of exotic beauty and gal-next-door charm would make any sane man forget his ex in three seconds flat."
6. Eliza Dushku: "On-screen in Fox's Dollhouse, she's a lethal hottie who can negotiate a hostage release or recover stolen art for the Greek government. Off-screen she's the show's producer. Eliza, you've delivered a round house kick to our heartstrings."
7. Adriana Lima: "With apologies to Mrs. Tom Brady [Gisele], it's Adriana who epitomizes the Brazilian bombshell; her killer curves, ridiculous sexiness, and adorable accent make this supermodel the hottest native of a country stupid with smoking hot women."
8. Rihanna: "Pop's reigning princess has had a year of wild highs and lows. Rumor has it, she's in the studio recording her fourth album. We're dancing already."
9. Jordana Brewster: "This breathtaking daughter of a Brazilian swimsuit model and granddaughter of a Yale University president is the real reason the entire world went to see Fast & Furious."
10. Jennifer Love Hewitt: "Ever since she uttered her first 'Bailey!' on Party of Five, Love has been the object of many a man's obsession. She left us high and dry for a bit, but her return to the tube on Ghost Whisperer gives us our weekly fix of Love... and needy dead people."
1. Olivia Wilde: "We may not know a McDreamy from a McNugget, but when it comes to TV doctors, there is only one who makes our body temperatures rise. We were drooling over the NYC native long before she was injected into Fox's hit medical drama (House)."
2. Megan Fox: "Seriously, do women get more painfully hot than this? Megan Fox has the face of an angel, a body so perfect that God may have carved it out of soap and sex appeal that could melt a unicorn's horn. Plus, we hear she smells like clouds."
3. Bar Refaeli: "If there's any evidence that the Middle East is a land of beauty and wonder Bar is it. The 24-year-old Israeli supermodel with the brain blowing body scorched the cover of the famed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition."
4. Malin Akerman: "In the dark world of Watchmen, Malin was tasked with one tough mission ... Watchmen wasn't the first time we've seen Malin and it won't be the last. She's got four new flicks on her busy schedule."
5. Mila Kunis: "Mila's combination of exotic beauty and gal-next-door charm would make any sane man forget his ex in three seconds flat."
6. Eliza Dushku: "On-screen in Fox's Dollhouse, she's a lethal hottie who can negotiate a hostage release or recover stolen art for the Greek government. Off-screen she's the show's producer. Eliza, you've delivered a round house kick to our heartstrings."
7. Adriana Lima: "With apologies to Mrs. Tom Brady [Gisele], it's Adriana who epitomizes the Brazilian bombshell; her killer curves, ridiculous sexiness, and adorable accent make this supermodel the hottest native of a country stupid with smoking hot women."
8. Rihanna: "Pop's reigning princess has had a year of wild highs and lows. Rumor has it, she's in the studio recording her fourth album. We're dancing already."
9. Jordana Brewster: "This breathtaking daughter of a Brazilian swimsuit model and granddaughter of a Yale University president is the real reason the entire world went to see Fast & Furious."
10. Jennifer Love Hewitt: "Ever since she uttered her first 'Bailey!' on Party of Five, Love has been the object of many a man's obsession. She left us high and dry for a bit, but her return to the tube on Ghost Whisperer gives us our weekly fix of Love... and needy dead people."
American Icon
From Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Icon-Clemens-Steroids-Americas/dp/0307271803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242132392&sr=8-1
American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime (Hardcover)
by Teri Thompson (Author), Nathaniel Vinton (Author), Michael O'Keeffe (Author), Christian Red (Author)
List Price: $26.95
It was an epic downfall. In twenty-four seasons pitcher Roger Clemens put together one of the greatest careers baseball has ever seen. Seven Cy Young Awards, two World Series championships, and 354 victories made him a lock for the Hall of Fame. But on December 13, 2007, the Mitchell Report laid waste to all that. Accusations that Clemens relied on steroids and human growth hormone provided and administered by his former trainer, Brian McNamee, have put Clemens in the crosshairs of a Justice Department investigation.
Why did this happen? How did it happen? Who made the decisions that altered some lives and ruined others? How did a devastating culture of drugs, lies, sex, and cheating fester and grow throughout Major League Baseball's clubhouses? The answers are in these extraordinary pages.
American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime is about much more than the downfall of a superstar. While the fascinating portrait of Clemens is certainly at the center of the action, the book takes us outside the white lines and inside the lives and dealings of sports executives, trainers, congressmen, lawyers, drug dealers, groupies, a porn star, and even a murderer—all of whom have ties to this saga. Four superb investigative journalists have spent years uncovering the truth, and at the heart of their investigation is a behind-the-scenes portrait of the maneuvering and strategies in the legal war between Clemens and his accuser, McNamee.
This compelling story is the strongest examination yet of the rise of illegal drugs in America’s favorite sport, the gym-rat culture in Texas that has played such an important role in spreading those drugs, and the way Congress has dealt with the entire issue. Andy Pettitte, Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez, and Chuck Knoblauch are just a few of the other players whose moving and sometimes disturbing stories are illuminated here as well. The New York Daily News Sports Investigative Team has written the definitive book on corruption and the steroids era in Major League Baseball. In doing so, they have managed to dig beneath the disillusion and disappointment to give us a stirring look at heroes who all too often live unheroic shadow lives.
About the Author
Michael O’Keeffe, Christian Red, Teri Thompson, and Nathaniel Vinton (shown left to right) are the New York Daily News Sports Investigative Team, which has been at the forefront of the issue of performance-enhancing drugs since the team’s inception in 2000. One of the only investigative units of its kind in American sports journalism, the I-Team has won more than a dozen major awards for its work.
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Knopf (May 12, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307271803
ISBN-13: 978-0307271808
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
Gagamania Update: Gaga & Rihanna on "Silly Boy"
Robalini's Note: I swear I didn't know about this song before I wrote about Gaga or mentioned the Rihanna photos with hoop nipple rings. Though record executives representing both now claim "Silly Boy" isn't them, this song seems just too good to be a fake. The voice purported to be Rihanna's has her same icy robotic charm, and lyrically and sonically this sounds like another Gaga-penned gem. So if it is a fake, whoever is behind it should be signed to a record contract.
My guess is they're trying to keep this song under wraps until Rihanna's album is release later this year. A Rihanna-Gaga team-up on a "You're a jerk" song is perfect timing. Right up there with "You're So Vain" and "You Oughtta Now", it's a great song that will likely be even more appreciated by any woman who has pissed off at a guy for being an asshole - which means this song has a target audience of 3 billion by my estimates. (Some of them by me...)
http://blogs.nypost.com/popwrap/archives/2009/05/rihannas_gaga_song_chris_brown.html
Rihanna Slams Chris Brown in New Song!!
Another day, another Rihanna and Chris Brown update. This time, with audio accompaniment!
Rihanna and the unstoppable Lady GaGa -- I'm convinced there are five of her running around -- are teaming up on Chris Brown. And guess who's getting the word out ... Kanye West.
Kanye posted a new collaboration track by RiRi and GaGa (hehe, funny) called "Silly Boy" on his blog last night and boy are the lyrics awfully revealing. I'm not sure if this song is a direct jab at the accused gal beater Chris Brown or just a downright coincidence ... wait, I'm pretty sure it's a jab.
A key verse on the track is "'cause you had a good girl, good girl, girl /That's a keeper /You had a good girl, good girl /but didn't know how to treat her." Yep, sounds like she is talking to Mr. Brown. "Game's over, you lose," she says. Look who finally found her pair of smarty pants and got a clue.
My favorite part of this little nugget of info isn't the actual song, but the fact that Kanye posted it, and for free to download. It looks like he wants us all to have a hot summer track -- not only to dance to but as a reminded that we should dislike Chris "Black&Blue" Brown.
To hear the song:
http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=231629_-1__0_~0_-1_5_2008_0_0&em3161=&em3281
"Silly Boy"
Rihanna - Lady Gaga
You're callin' me more than ever now that we're done
Two keys back to my place, we were having no fun
But you're not ok, tellin' me you miss my face
I remember when you would say you hate my waist
I said I'm not coming back, it's it
You fooled me once but you can't have that ego turning
Just too bad for you, that when you had me
Didn't know what to do, She's over you
Cause you had a good girl, good girl, girl
That's a keeper, k-k-k-k-keeper
You had a good girl, good girl but
Didn't know how to treat her, t-t-t-t-treat her (treat her)
So silly boy get out my face (my face)
Why do you like the way regrets taste?
So silly boy get out my hair my hair (get outta here)
No, I don't want you no more (get outta here)
Silly boy (silly boy)
Why you acting silly boy?
Silly boy boy (boy boy)
Acting acting silly boy?
You comin with those corny lines, can't live without me
I'll get some flowers for the day that you are buried
No, people make mistakes, but I just think your ass is fake
Only thing I want from you, is for you to (stay away)
I said I'm not coming back, it's it
You fooled me once but you can't have that ego turning
Just too bad for you, that when you had me
Didn't know what to do, she's over you
Cause you had a good girl, good girl, girl
That's a keeper, k-k-k-k-keeper
You had a good girl, good girl but
Didn't know how to treat her, t-t-t-t-treat her (treat her)
So silly boy get out my face (my face)
Why do you like the way regrets taste?
So silly boy get out my hair my hair (get outta here)
No I don't want you no more (get outta here)
No more, no more, no more (nooo ooohhh)
(Oooh)
Silly boy (silly boy)
Why you acting silly boy?
Silly boy boy (boyboy)
Acting acting silly boy?
Silly boy (silly boy)
Why you acting silly boy?
Silly boy boy (boy boy)
Acting acting silly boy?
(Yeahhh)
So silly boy get out my face (my face)
Why do you like the way regrets taste?
So silly boy get out my hair my hair (Get outta here)
No I don't want you no more (get outta here)
Silly boy (silly boy)
Why you acting silly boy?
Silly boy boy (boy boy)
Acting acting silly boy?
My guess is they're trying to keep this song under wraps until Rihanna's album is release later this year. A Rihanna-Gaga team-up on a "You're a jerk" song is perfect timing. Right up there with "You're So Vain" and "You Oughtta Now", it's a great song that will likely be even more appreciated by any woman who has pissed off at a guy for being an asshole - which means this song has a target audience of 3 billion by my estimates. (Some of them by me...)
http://blogs.nypost.com/popwrap/archives/2009/05/rihannas_gaga_song_chris_brown.html
Rihanna Slams Chris Brown in New Song!!
Another day, another Rihanna and Chris Brown update. This time, with audio accompaniment!
Rihanna and the unstoppable Lady GaGa -- I'm convinced there are five of her running around -- are teaming up on Chris Brown. And guess who's getting the word out ... Kanye West.
Kanye posted a new collaboration track by RiRi and GaGa (hehe, funny) called "Silly Boy" on his blog last night and boy are the lyrics awfully revealing. I'm not sure if this song is a direct jab at the accused gal beater Chris Brown or just a downright coincidence ... wait, I'm pretty sure it's a jab.
A key verse on the track is "'cause you had a good girl, good girl, girl /That's a keeper /You had a good girl, good girl /but didn't know how to treat her." Yep, sounds like she is talking to Mr. Brown. "Game's over, you lose," she says. Look who finally found her pair of smarty pants and got a clue.
My favorite part of this little nugget of info isn't the actual song, but the fact that Kanye posted it, and for free to download. It looks like he wants us all to have a hot summer track -- not only to dance to but as a reminded that we should dislike Chris "Black&Blue" Brown.
To hear the song:
http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=231629_-1__0_~0_-1_5_2008_0_0&em3161=&em3281
"Silly Boy"
Rihanna - Lady Gaga
You're callin' me more than ever now that we're done
Two keys back to my place, we were having no fun
But you're not ok, tellin' me you miss my face
I remember when you would say you hate my waist
I said I'm not coming back, it's it
You fooled me once but you can't have that ego turning
Just too bad for you, that when you had me
Didn't know what to do, She's over you
Cause you had a good girl, good girl, girl
That's a keeper, k-k-k-k-keeper
You had a good girl, good girl but
Didn't know how to treat her, t-t-t-t-treat her (treat her)
So silly boy get out my face (my face)
Why do you like the way regrets taste?
So silly boy get out my hair my hair (get outta here)
No, I don't want you no more (get outta here)
Silly boy (silly boy)
Why you acting silly boy?
Silly boy boy (boy boy)
Acting acting silly boy?
You comin with those corny lines, can't live without me
I'll get some flowers for the day that you are buried
No, people make mistakes, but I just think your ass is fake
Only thing I want from you, is for you to (stay away)
I said I'm not coming back, it's it
You fooled me once but you can't have that ego turning
Just too bad for you, that when you had me
Didn't know what to do, she's over you
Cause you had a good girl, good girl, girl
That's a keeper, k-k-k-k-keeper
You had a good girl, good girl but
Didn't know how to treat her, t-t-t-t-treat her (treat her)
So silly boy get out my face (my face)
Why do you like the way regrets taste?
So silly boy get out my hair my hair (get outta here)
No I don't want you no more (get outta here)
No more, no more, no more (nooo ooohhh)
(Oooh)
Silly boy (silly boy)
Why you acting silly boy?
Silly boy boy (boyboy)
Acting acting silly boy?
Silly boy (silly boy)
Why you acting silly boy?
Silly boy boy (boy boy)
Acting acting silly boy?
(Yeahhh)
So silly boy get out my face (my face)
Why do you like the way regrets taste?
So silly boy get out my hair my hair (Get outta here)
No I don't want you no more (get outta here)
Silly boy (silly boy)
Why you acting silly boy?
Silly boy boy (boy boy)
Acting acting silly boy?
The "Bailout Bubble"
The "Bailout Bubble" -- The Bubble to End All Bubbles
KINGSTON, NY, 13 May 2009 -- The biggest financial bubble in history is being inflated in plain sight, said Gerald Celente, Director of The Trends Research Institute. "This is the Mother of All Bubbles, and when it explodes," Celente warns, "it will signal the end to the boom/bust cycle that has characterized economic activity throughout the developed world."
Either unwilling or unable to call the bubble by its proper name, the media, Washington and Wall Street describe the stupendous government expenditures on rescue packages, stimulus plans, buyouts and takeovers as emergency measures needed to salvage the severely damaged economy.
"All of this terminology is econo-jargon," said Celente. "It's like calling torture 'enhanced interrogation techniques.' Washington is inflating the biggest bubble ever: the 'Bailout Bubble.' "This is much bigger than the Dot-com and Real Estate bubbles which hit speculators, investors and financiers the hardest. However destructive the effects of these busts on employment, savings and productivity, the Free Market Capitalist framework was left intact. But when the 'Bailout Bubble' explodes, the system goes with it."
The economic framework of the United States has been restructured. Federal interventionist policies have given the government equity stakes, executive powers and management control of what was once private enterprise. To finance these buyouts, rescue and stimulus packages -- instead of letting failed businesses fail and bankrupt banks and bandit brokerages go bankrupt -- trillions of dollars are being injected into the stricken economy.
Phantom dollars, printed out of thin air, backed by nothing ... and producing next to nothing ... defines the "Bailout Bubble." Just as with the other bubbles, so too will this one burst. But unlike Dot-com and Real Estate, when the "Bailout Bubble" pops, neither the President nor the Federal Reserve will have the fiscal fixes or monetary policies available to inflate another.
With no more massive economic bubbles left to blow up, they'll set their sights on bigger targets. "Given the pattern of governments to parlay egregious failures into mega-failures, the classic trend they follow, when all else fails, is to take their nation to war," observed Celente.
Since the "Bailout Bubble" is neither called nor recognized as a bubble, its sudden and spectacular explosion will create chaos. A panicked public will readily accept any Washington/Wall Street/Main Stream Media alibi that shifts the blame for the catastrophe away from the policy makers and onto some scapegoat.
"At this time we are not forecasting a war. However, the trends in play are ominous," Celente concluded. "While we cannot pinpoint precisely when the 'Bailout Bubble' will burst, we are certain it will. When it does, it should be understood that a major war could follow."
To schedule an interview with Trends Research Institute Director, Gerald Celente, please contact:
Laura Martin
The Trends Research Institute
lmartin@trendsresearch.com
www.trendsresearch.com
845.331.3500 Ext. 1
© MMIX The Trends Research Institute®
The Trends Research Institute P.O. Box 3476 Kingston, NY 12401
KINGSTON, NY, 13 May 2009 -- The biggest financial bubble in history is being inflated in plain sight, said Gerald Celente, Director of The Trends Research Institute. "This is the Mother of All Bubbles, and when it explodes," Celente warns, "it will signal the end to the boom/bust cycle that has characterized economic activity throughout the developed world."
Either unwilling or unable to call the bubble by its proper name, the media, Washington and Wall Street describe the stupendous government expenditures on rescue packages, stimulus plans, buyouts and takeovers as emergency measures needed to salvage the severely damaged economy.
"All of this terminology is econo-jargon," said Celente. "It's like calling torture 'enhanced interrogation techniques.' Washington is inflating the biggest bubble ever: the 'Bailout Bubble.' "This is much bigger than the Dot-com and Real Estate bubbles which hit speculators, investors and financiers the hardest. However destructive the effects of these busts on employment, savings and productivity, the Free Market Capitalist framework was left intact. But when the 'Bailout Bubble' explodes, the system goes with it."
The economic framework of the United States has been restructured. Federal interventionist policies have given the government equity stakes, executive powers and management control of what was once private enterprise. To finance these buyouts, rescue and stimulus packages -- instead of letting failed businesses fail and bankrupt banks and bandit brokerages go bankrupt -- trillions of dollars are being injected into the stricken economy.
Phantom dollars, printed out of thin air, backed by nothing ... and producing next to nothing ... defines the "Bailout Bubble." Just as with the other bubbles, so too will this one burst. But unlike Dot-com and Real Estate, when the "Bailout Bubble" pops, neither the President nor the Federal Reserve will have the fiscal fixes or monetary policies available to inflate another.
With no more massive economic bubbles left to blow up, they'll set their sights on bigger targets. "Given the pattern of governments to parlay egregious failures into mega-failures, the classic trend they follow, when all else fails, is to take their nation to war," observed Celente.
Since the "Bailout Bubble" is neither called nor recognized as a bubble, its sudden and spectacular explosion will create chaos. A panicked public will readily accept any Washington/Wall Street/Main Stream Media alibi that shifts the blame for the catastrophe away from the policy makers and onto some scapegoat.
"At this time we are not forecasting a war. However, the trends in play are ominous," Celente concluded. "While we cannot pinpoint precisely when the 'Bailout Bubble' will burst, we are certain it will. When it does, it should be understood that a major war could follow."
To schedule an interview with Trends Research Institute Director, Gerald Celente, please contact:
Laura Martin
The Trends Research Institute
lmartin@trendsresearch.com
www.trendsresearch.com
845.331.3500 Ext. 1
© MMIX The Trends Research Institute®
The Trends Research Institute P.O. Box 3476 Kingston, NY 12401
From 8-Mile to the Amazon — Palast Investigates
From 8-Mile to the Amazon — Palast Investigates — The Story Without The Censors
Last week, you may have caught the story on "60 Minutes" about Chevron crapping all over the Amazon in Ecuador, poisoning the Indians who live there.
The Palast team is thrilled that a big commercial US Network is picking up our reports from BBC Television and Democracy Now! But if you watched the CBS report, you haven't seen the WHOLE story.
If you want the real thing, the original reports — uncut, uncensored — pick up our new film, Palast Investigates: From 8-Mile to the Amazon — On the Trail of the Financial Marauders.
Donate $40 or more to the Palast Investigative Fund (tax deductible) and I'll send you, with gratitude, a signed copy of the DVD.
The Chicago Tribune says, "these stories bite." Here's what we've sunk our teeth into for this DVD — our 3 latest, biggest stories, for BBC Newsnight:
Investigation #1 — The Vultures
For BBC TV we hunt for the man known as 'Goldfinger' — a vulture "investor" who, through pay-offs and political trickery, was able to pocket foreign aid meant to pay for AIDS medication. Nice guy.
The story takes us from a boutique in Switzerland, where Zambia's President used his booty to buy hundreds of shirts, suits and 72 pairs of "elevator" shoes with extra high heels; then on to Jack Abramoff's former lobbying firm, then right into the Oval Office.
"60 Minutes" asked if they can repeat that story as well. Great! But why wait, when you can get the full Monty right now?
Investigation #2 — Rumble in the Jungle
Here's the Chevron Oil story, no holds barred. CBS re-filmed almost every frame of our original BBC report — but what they left out is the confidential document from inside the oil company ordering field workers to destroy evidence of oil dumping. And they left out the crucial connection of Condi Rice to Chevron. We leave out nothing.
Investigation #3 — Steal back your Vote
Yes, they did monkey with the vote in 2008.
In this report we expose how it was done. If every ballot had been counted, Obama would have had an additional 6 million votes in his column.
It didn't make a difference this time but it sure will when future elections are close.
The report also features my Rolling Stone magazine co-writer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"60 Minutes" wanted to repeat that story too. Some day. We've already done it for BBC and Democracy Now! and it's all on this DVD.
For a donation of at least $20 you can download the uncensored hour-long film right now.
Palast Investigates features music by Willie Nelson and Foo Fighters Chris Shiflett.
Donate for the signed DVD and get the bonus material not available on the download version. There's an astonishing interview with the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, the "new Chavez" of Latin America. Plus, my tour of our cheap-rent office, a real journalism boiler room, on New York's Lower East Side.
The Chicago Tribune also said, "Palast's stories are so relevant, they threaten to alter history."
Thanks to your support, we already are "altering history." Just last week, citing our report for BBC Newsnight, Britain's Parliament is about to pass a law to clip the wings of financial vultures like Goldfinger. Congressman John Conyers is preparing to do the same in the USA.
But we cannot alter history without your help. We've got to replace that microphone I dropped in the Amazon river. (To get to their village, the Cofan Indians provided me a dug-out log with a hand-carved paddle. No kidding. Well, I had to get the story, but the microphone dove over the side while I was trying to get my balance and hold onto the $%@^ paddle.)
That's why we turn to your donations to the non-profit, non-partisan foundation, the Palast Investigative Fund.
If you truly believe our work is worthwhile, consider making a donation of $1,000 or more to the foundation and I will be proud to add you to our circle of Producers credited on the film in the next edition of Palast Investigates.
This is ...
Greg Palast, reporting.
GregPalast.com
Last week, you may have caught the story on "60 Minutes" about Chevron crapping all over the Amazon in Ecuador, poisoning the Indians who live there.
The Palast team is thrilled that a big commercial US Network is picking up our reports from BBC Television and Democracy Now! But if you watched the CBS report, you haven't seen the WHOLE story.
If you want the real thing, the original reports — uncut, uncensored — pick up our new film, Palast Investigates: From 8-Mile to the Amazon — On the Trail of the Financial Marauders.
Donate $40 or more to the Palast Investigative Fund (tax deductible) and I'll send you, with gratitude, a signed copy of the DVD.
The Chicago Tribune says, "these stories bite." Here's what we've sunk our teeth into for this DVD — our 3 latest, biggest stories, for BBC Newsnight:
Investigation #1 — The Vultures
For BBC TV we hunt for the man known as 'Goldfinger' — a vulture "investor" who, through pay-offs and political trickery, was able to pocket foreign aid meant to pay for AIDS medication. Nice guy.
The story takes us from a boutique in Switzerland, where Zambia's President used his booty to buy hundreds of shirts, suits and 72 pairs of "elevator" shoes with extra high heels; then on to Jack Abramoff's former lobbying firm, then right into the Oval Office.
"60 Minutes" asked if they can repeat that story as well. Great! But why wait, when you can get the full Monty right now?
Investigation #2 — Rumble in the Jungle
Here's the Chevron Oil story, no holds barred. CBS re-filmed almost every frame of our original BBC report — but what they left out is the confidential document from inside the oil company ordering field workers to destroy evidence of oil dumping. And they left out the crucial connection of Condi Rice to Chevron. We leave out nothing.
Investigation #3 — Steal back your Vote
Yes, they did monkey with the vote in 2008.
In this report we expose how it was done. If every ballot had been counted, Obama would have had an additional 6 million votes in his column.
It didn't make a difference this time but it sure will when future elections are close.
The report also features my Rolling Stone magazine co-writer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"60 Minutes" wanted to repeat that story too. Some day. We've already done it for BBC and Democracy Now! and it's all on this DVD.
For a donation of at least $20 you can download the uncensored hour-long film right now.
Palast Investigates features music by Willie Nelson and Foo Fighters Chris Shiflett.
Donate for the signed DVD and get the bonus material not available on the download version. There's an astonishing interview with the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, the "new Chavez" of Latin America. Plus, my tour of our cheap-rent office, a real journalism boiler room, on New York's Lower East Side.
The Chicago Tribune also said, "Palast's stories are so relevant, they threaten to alter history."
Thanks to your support, we already are "altering history." Just last week, citing our report for BBC Newsnight, Britain's Parliament is about to pass a law to clip the wings of financial vultures like Goldfinger. Congressman John Conyers is preparing to do the same in the USA.
But we cannot alter history without your help. We've got to replace that microphone I dropped in the Amazon river. (To get to their village, the Cofan Indians provided me a dug-out log with a hand-carved paddle. No kidding. Well, I had to get the story, but the microphone dove over the side while I was trying to get my balance and hold onto the $%@^ paddle.)
That's why we turn to your donations to the non-profit, non-partisan foundation, the Palast Investigative Fund.
If you truly believe our work is worthwhile, consider making a donation of $1,000 or more to the foundation and I will be proud to add you to our circle of Producers credited on the film in the next edition of Palast Investigates.
This is ...
Greg Palast, reporting.
GregPalast.com
The Hobbit: Out of Africa
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1892606,00.htmlThe Hobbit: Out of Africa
By Jennifer Pinkowski
Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2009
A very small human ancestor made a very big splash back in 2004, when researchers discovered the remains of Homo floresiensis, a 3-ft., prehuman "hobbit," in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores. The origin of the species and the route it took to Flores have been much discussed since then. Earlier this month, researchers presented work at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, in Chicago, suggesting that H. floresiensis may have left Africa a full million years earlier than any other hominids were thought to have ventured out from the home continent.
The new theory comes from recent analyses of the interior of the skull of Flo — as some call the 18,000-year-old fossil remains. A young female, Flo exhibits features that bear an uncanny resemblance to skulls from the hominid genus Australopithecus, which lived in Africa from roughly 4 million to 1.5 million years ago. The best-known australopithecene fossils are the 3.2 million–year-old A. afarensis Lucy, discovered in Ethiopia, and the 3 million–year-old A. africanus Taung Child, unearthed in South Africa. (See pictures of South Africa, fifteen years on.)
The problem is, the only early hominids found outside Africa are Homo erectus, the earliest of which date to 1.9 million years ago — about a million years after Lucy, Taung and their ilk. If Flo so closely resembles Lucy and Taung, her ancestors may have emigrated from Africa back when those famous kin were still around.
Florida State University skull-morphology specialist Dean Falk and an international team of researchers compared Flo's skull not only to skulls of other prehuman species, but also to those of modern humans, some with normal development and others with microcephaly, an abnormal smallness of the head. That last comparison was critical, since some researchers have suggested that H. floresiensis represents not a separate species but is instead a modern human stricken with microcephaly or similar illnesses. But the "sick hobbit" hypothesis has been unable to gain much traction.
Falk and the others identified seven specific features of Flo's brain that seem to be more-evolved versions of key characteristics of the much older A. africanus brain. "Over the entire cerebral cortex, there are advanced features that make it look like a very fancy brain," says Falk. "H. floresiensis was clearly there a long time, because it developed its own features."
Overall, Flo's brain shows the global neural reorganization that's a mark of advancing intelligence. What's striking about this relative sophistication is that it developed in such a small brain case. A prime indicator of increasing human intelligence has long been thought to be increasing brain size. However, Falk says, the hobbit's skull is a bit of a mishmash of characteristics in terms of who it resembles. "Its brain sorts with africanus, yet its outside skull features look like Homo erectus," she says.
But William Jungers, one of the primary hobbit researchers, says the similarities to erectus seem to end at the neck. Analysis of various anatomical features suggests that the new species has an overall body plan that looks more ancient than that. "It's not identical to Australopithecus," Jungers says, "but it resembles it in limb proportions, the shape of the bony pelvis, the hands." Adds paleoanthropologist Donald Johansen, who discovered the Australopithecus Lucy: "It is a possibility they got out of Africa earlier than we ever thought. If they were isolated on an island and didn't have gene flow from other populations, it would make sense that they retained ancient features like small stature and small heads."
Upcoming excavations of Flores spearheaded by Mike Morwood, the lead researcher of the Australian-Indonesian team that first unearthed the bones, may help answer the essential question, as Falk puts it, "When did the first [hobbit ancestors] get to the island, and what did they look like?"
Aide told Pelosi waterboarding had been used
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/12/pelosi.waterboarding/
Source: Aide told Pelosi waterboarding had been used
Story Highlights
Source says Nancy Pelosi was told by intelligence officer of waterboarding
The source also said because she wasn't personally briefed, Pelosi didn't object
She did support letter voicing concern about waterboarding, source says
Pelosi has been previously adamant she didn't know waterboarding was used
Tue May 12, 2009
From Deirdre Walsh
CNN Congressional Producer
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A source close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now confirms that Pelosi was told in February 2003 by her intelligence aide, Michael Sheehy, that waterboarding was actually used on CIA detainee Abu Zubaydah.
Source says Nancy Pelosi didn't object about waterboard usage because she wasn't personally briefed about it.
This appears to contradict Pelosi's account that she was never told waterboarding actually happened, only that the administration was considering using it.
Sheehy attended a briefing in which waterboarding was discussed in February 2003, with Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, who took over Pelosi's spot as the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
This source says Pelosi didn't object when she learned that waterboarding was being used because she had not been personally briefed about it -- only her aide had been told.
The source said Pelosi supported a letter that Harman sent to the administration at the time raising concerns. The source asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of matters discussed in classified intelligence briefings.
Pelosi admits attending one briefing in September 2002, but at a news conference last month, she was adamant that she did not know waterboarding was used.
"At that or any other briefing, and that was the only briefing that I was briefed on in that regard, we were not -- I repeat, we were not -- told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used, " Pelosi said on April 23.
Some Republicans have called for Pelosi to testify at congressional hearings.
The number two House Democrat -- Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland -- said Tuesday, "I think the facts need to get out" regarding what members of Congress had been told about harsh interrogations.
But when asked whether Pelosi testifying would be appropriate, Hoyer did not directly answer the question, saying, "The issue is what was done. If you don't have the facts pounded on the table, they (Republicans) are pounding on the table, or they are pounding on Speaker Pelosi. Take your pick. But they are doing so as a distraction, as a distraction from what was done in this case."
Source: Aide told Pelosi waterboarding had been used
Story Highlights
Source says Nancy Pelosi was told by intelligence officer of waterboarding
The source also said because she wasn't personally briefed, Pelosi didn't object
She did support letter voicing concern about waterboarding, source says
Pelosi has been previously adamant she didn't know waterboarding was used
Tue May 12, 2009
From Deirdre Walsh
CNN Congressional Producer
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A source close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now confirms that Pelosi was told in February 2003 by her intelligence aide, Michael Sheehy, that waterboarding was actually used on CIA detainee Abu Zubaydah.
Source says Nancy Pelosi didn't object about waterboard usage because she wasn't personally briefed about it.
This appears to contradict Pelosi's account that she was never told waterboarding actually happened, only that the administration was considering using it.
Sheehy attended a briefing in which waterboarding was discussed in February 2003, with Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, who took over Pelosi's spot as the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
This source says Pelosi didn't object when she learned that waterboarding was being used because she had not been personally briefed about it -- only her aide had been told.
The source said Pelosi supported a letter that Harman sent to the administration at the time raising concerns. The source asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of matters discussed in classified intelligence briefings.
Pelosi admits attending one briefing in September 2002, but at a news conference last month, she was adamant that she did not know waterboarding was used.
"At that or any other briefing, and that was the only briefing that I was briefed on in that regard, we were not -- I repeat, we were not -- told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used, " Pelosi said on April 23.
Some Republicans have called for Pelosi to testify at congressional hearings.
The number two House Democrat -- Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland -- said Tuesday, "I think the facts need to get out" regarding what members of Congress had been told about harsh interrogations.
But when asked whether Pelosi testifying would be appropriate, Hoyer did not directly answer the question, saying, "The issue is what was done. If you don't have the facts pounded on the table, they (Republicans) are pounding on the table, or they are pounding on Speaker Pelosi. Take your pick. But they are doing so as a distraction, as a distraction from what was done in this case."
Ventura: "Coleman's always been a hypocrite"
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/05/jesse_ventura_c.phpJesse Ventura: "Coleman's always been a hypocrite"
By Emily Kaiser
Tuesday, May. 12 2009
Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura appeared on CNN's Larry King Live to talk about President Obama, the GOP, and the Minnesota U.S. Senate race.
No surprise: Ventura didn't hold back on anything, calling Coleman a hypocrite, George W. Bush the worst president of his lifetime and then offering to waterboard Dick Cheney. He even made a pitch to be appointed ambassador to Cuba.
King asked Ventura if he was ashamed of his state's recount process, but Ventura was quick to point the blame at Coleman for continuing to drag out the election. Ventura beat Coleman in his race for governor in 1998.
"He never does what he says. He said on Election Night when he won that Franken should drop out and he should be the senator. Well, the same should hold true after the recount."
King also discusses interrogation techniques with Ventura. The former guv says he has been waterboarded as part of his military training and called it torture.
"It's drowning. It gives you the complete sensation that you are drowning... I'll put it to you this way: You give me a waterboard, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders."
Jesus as the Sun throughout History
Surprise, surprise!I've been secretly working on a new project - interrupting others - to bring you the best data on the subject of "Jesus as the Sun throughout History." Here's a brand-new, hot-off-the-presses article for your enjoyment:
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/jesussunexcerpt.html
As I say in this lengthy, fully-illustrated article, there has been much confusion as to when Jesus Christ was first identified with the sun. Suffice it to say that the equation has been from the beginning of the Christian era and has continued throughout history. Hence, the title of my newest ebook "Jesus as the Sun throughout History."
The article is indeed an excerpt from a brand-new ebook! I will be turning this ebook into a paperback, hopefully by the end of the year - with your help! Here's the link to the ebook:
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/jesusasthesun.html
I am asking for donations for the ebook, so please do get yourself a copy, because it will be so helpful to me to continue my work.
In the past, many fine folks have helped me so that I could bring you the great info found in previous books - thanks for getting me through some rough spots! I can ALWAYS use the help, especially at this time of the year.
Please go to the link, get yourself this hot new ebook, and give me a hand - even the minimum of $5 will be very helpful!
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/jesusasthesun.html
Enjoy the article!
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
http://FreethoughtNation.com/
P.S. If you would like to hear from me more often, please join my regular mailing list!
http://www.truthbeknown.com/mailinglist.html
FeedBack: Gaga & John Walker Lindh
Herbert Barry Woodrose on "Gaga 4 Gaga":
This was like reading the in-between-murder parts of American Psycho. But at least I can say I know a lot more about Lady Gaga. Considering I'd never heard of her before this, and have now seen 5 of her videos and a backstage romp video.
What's intriguing about her for me is how odd she looks. She's thick bodied, which almost never happens. She has really strange features. And all at the same time she exudes NYC art-show. This isn't really for me, but I'm curious now whether this is going to pan out as you say.
A really long time ago I was doing extra work on The Bold and the Beautiful, and there was a special guest star one of the days I was on. This short, lightweight no-talent was in the middle of a push, of which Bold and Beautiful was one piece, to fabricate a presence on the charts. I was just sooo sure this lightweight was a nothing, a loser; it was really irritating that the female stars of the show were really starry eyed around him, and walking around absent-mindedly - but full-throatedly - singing his song while getting coffee, or peeing.
I mean, this guy had nothing. NOTHING! No charm, no special talent, no great voice, no charisma. I wasn't even sure he was fully awake. I'm still not, frankly.
I remember coming home and saying "Puh-lease. Even the name is retarded. What the hell is so exciting about an Usher?"
Herbert Barry Woodrose on Free John Walker Lindh:
I remember this guy back when the bullshit around occupying Afghanistan got started. At the time I was one of those firm believers that "if it was true certainly we'd see at least a hint of it on CNN." I was scandalized, like much of my countrymen, at this American who had switched over to the modern version of the Nazis and had actually fired weapons on "our boys".
I feel like such an asshole right now reading this.
This was like reading the in-between-murder parts of American Psycho. But at least I can say I know a lot more about Lady Gaga. Considering I'd never heard of her before this, and have now seen 5 of her videos and a backstage romp video.
What's intriguing about her for me is how odd she looks. She's thick bodied, which almost never happens. She has really strange features. And all at the same time she exudes NYC art-show. This isn't really for me, but I'm curious now whether this is going to pan out as you say.
A really long time ago I was doing extra work on The Bold and the Beautiful, and there was a special guest star one of the days I was on. This short, lightweight no-talent was in the middle of a push, of which Bold and Beautiful was one piece, to fabricate a presence on the charts. I was just sooo sure this lightweight was a nothing, a loser; it was really irritating that the female stars of the show were really starry eyed around him, and walking around absent-mindedly - but full-throatedly - singing his song while getting coffee, or peeing.
I mean, this guy had nothing. NOTHING! No charm, no special talent, no great voice, no charisma. I wasn't even sure he was fully awake. I'm still not, frankly.
I remember coming home and saying "Puh-lease. Even the name is retarded. What the hell is so exciting about an Usher?"
Herbert Barry Woodrose on Free John Walker Lindh:
I remember this guy back when the bullshit around occupying Afghanistan got started. At the time I was one of those firm believers that "if it was true certainly we'd see at least a hint of it on CNN." I was scandalized, like much of my countrymen, at this American who had switched over to the modern version of the Nazis and had actually fired weapons on "our boys".
I feel like such an asshole right now reading this.
Obama will seek to delay photos release
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30725189/
Obama will seek to delay photos release
Pictures reportedly depict the abuse of prisoners by U.S. military in Iraq
5-13-9
WASHINGTON - In a reversal, the White House says President Barack Obama is fighting the release of photos showing abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan because he believes their release poses a national security threat.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday that the argument had not been made before in the courts. He also said that the president believes the release could discourage the investigation of any abuses.
Obama's decision to challenge the court-ordered release came after the top military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan told the president they feared the release of the photos could endanger their troops.
Defense and military officials tell NBC News that President Obama will seek to delay the release of hundreds of photos that reportedly depict the abuse of prisoners by U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is expected to announce Obama's decision.
The Pentagon has said it will release the pictures this month.
Obama decided he "did not feel comfortable" with the release and last week instructed his legal team to fight it in court, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the president's decision had not yet been made public.
Obama has instructed administration lawyers to make the case that "the national security implications of such a release have not been fully presented to the court," the official said.
"The president strongly believes that the release of these photos, particularly at this time, would only serve the purpose of inflaming the theaters of war, jeopardizing U.S. forces, and making our job more difficult in places like Iraq and Afghanistan," the official said.
The official said that Obama believes the actions depicted in the photos should not be excused and fully supports the investigations, prison sentences, discharges and other punitive measures that have resulted from them. But, the official said, the president does not believe that publicizing the actions in such a graphic way would be helpful.
Military agreement
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq met with Obama at the White House Tuesday to ask the administration not to release the photos. Defense officials say Odierno is "vehemently opposed" to the release because he fears it could create a widespread "backlash" against military forces in both war zones.
According to one official, "It would put a bull's-eye on the backs of our forces."
Gen. David Petraeus, senior commander for both wars, had also weighed in, as had Gen. David McKiernan, the top general in Afghanistan. Gates fired McKiernan on Monday for unrelated reasons.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said military "commanders are concerned about the impact the release of these photos would have for the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq," and Defense Secretary Robert Gates shares their concerns.
In Afghanistan, release of the pictures this month would coincide with the spring thaw, which usually heralds the year's toughest fighting. Morrell also noted the release as scheduled would come as thousands of new U.S. troops flow into Afghanistan's volatile south.
According to military officials many of the photos are similar to the infamous prisoner abuse photos out of Abu Ghraib prison, but some of these photos reportedly include mug shots of prisoners who appear to have been badly beaten during their capture or interrogation.
Freedom of information
The photos were gathered in the course of dozens of military investigations of prisoner abuse between 2001 and 2006. Pentagon officials say 400 individual servicemembers have faced disciplinary action, either criminal convictions or non-judicial punishment as a result of the investigations.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sought the release of the photos and won a lawsuit against the U.S. government before the federal appeals court in New York. The only legal option left to the government was to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Instead the Obama administration had earlier made the decision to end the appeals and release the photos.
Through an arrangement with the court, the Pentagon was preparing to release, by May 28, two batches of photos, one of 21 images and another 23. The government also had told the judge it was "processing for release a substantial number of other images."
The ACLU criticized the decision.
"The decision to suppress the photos is profoundly inconsistent with the promise of transparency that President Obama has made time after time," ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer said.
NBC's John Yang and Jim Miklaszewski contributed to this story.
Obama will seek to delay photos release
Pictures reportedly depict the abuse of prisoners by U.S. military in Iraq
5-13-9
WASHINGTON - In a reversal, the White House says President Barack Obama is fighting the release of photos showing abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan because he believes their release poses a national security threat.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday that the argument had not been made before in the courts. He also said that the president believes the release could discourage the investigation of any abuses.
Obama's decision to challenge the court-ordered release came after the top military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan told the president they feared the release of the photos could endanger their troops.
Defense and military officials tell NBC News that President Obama will seek to delay the release of hundreds of photos that reportedly depict the abuse of prisoners by U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is expected to announce Obama's decision.
The Pentagon has said it will release the pictures this month.
Obama decided he "did not feel comfortable" with the release and last week instructed his legal team to fight it in court, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the president's decision had not yet been made public.
Obama has instructed administration lawyers to make the case that "the national security implications of such a release have not been fully presented to the court," the official said.
"The president strongly believes that the release of these photos, particularly at this time, would only serve the purpose of inflaming the theaters of war, jeopardizing U.S. forces, and making our job more difficult in places like Iraq and Afghanistan," the official said.
The official said that Obama believes the actions depicted in the photos should not be excused and fully supports the investigations, prison sentences, discharges and other punitive measures that have resulted from them. But, the official said, the president does not believe that publicizing the actions in such a graphic way would be helpful.
Military agreement
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq met with Obama at the White House Tuesday to ask the administration not to release the photos. Defense officials say Odierno is "vehemently opposed" to the release because he fears it could create a widespread "backlash" against military forces in both war zones.
According to one official, "It would put a bull's-eye on the backs of our forces."
Gen. David Petraeus, senior commander for both wars, had also weighed in, as had Gen. David McKiernan, the top general in Afghanistan. Gates fired McKiernan on Monday for unrelated reasons.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said military "commanders are concerned about the impact the release of these photos would have for the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq," and Defense Secretary Robert Gates shares their concerns.
In Afghanistan, release of the pictures this month would coincide with the spring thaw, which usually heralds the year's toughest fighting. Morrell also noted the release as scheduled would come as thousands of new U.S. troops flow into Afghanistan's volatile south.
According to military officials many of the photos are similar to the infamous prisoner abuse photos out of Abu Ghraib prison, but some of these photos reportedly include mug shots of prisoners who appear to have been badly beaten during their capture or interrogation.
Freedom of information
The photos were gathered in the course of dozens of military investigations of prisoner abuse between 2001 and 2006. Pentagon officials say 400 individual servicemembers have faced disciplinary action, either criminal convictions or non-judicial punishment as a result of the investigations.
The American Civil Liberties Union has sought the release of the photos and won a lawsuit against the U.S. government before the federal appeals court in New York. The only legal option left to the government was to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Instead the Obama administration had earlier made the decision to end the appeals and release the photos.
Through an arrangement with the court, the Pentagon was preparing to release, by May 28, two batches of photos, one of 21 images and another 23. The government also had told the judge it was "processing for release a substantial number of other images."
The ACLU criticized the decision.
"The decision to suppress the photos is profoundly inconsistent with the promise of transparency that President Obama has made time after time," ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer said.
NBC's John Yang and Jim Miklaszewski contributed to this story.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Home Runs and Hypocrisy
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090525/zirin
Home Runs and Hypocrisy: The Shaming of Manny Ramirez
By Dave Zirin
You would think that Manny Ramirez was caught fighting pit bulls alongside Martha Stewart.
ESPN's Bill Simmons says that he is "confronting my worst nightmare." Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports believes that it is time to talk about "lifetime bans." Boston Globe writer Tony Massarotti says, "everyone is guilty until proven innocent."
The sports radio and comment boards have been cesspools of racism. It's always easy to hate, especially someone who plays a game for a living and makes millions of dollars.
All I know is this: thanks to Major League Baseball's hypocritical, idiotic and altogether morally bankrupt steroid policy, the sport will be without one of its premier attractions for fifty games, someone I would pay to watch at batting practice. Yes, Manny Ramirez, the finest right-handed hitter of his generation, has been sent to the showers and forced to surrender $7.7 million in salary after testing positive for what was initially called a "performance-enhancing substance."
The decision ends a stretch where the former World Series MVP was reviving baseball in Los Angeles, leading the Dodgers to a 21-8 start and a record thirteen straight wins at home to open the season. Los Angeles, a town built on artifice and home to hordes of performance-enhanced entertainers, not to mention led by a performance-enhanced governor, now demands purity of its athletes. This is not a column that aims to "defend" Manny Ramirez, but condemn Major League Baseball's steroid idiocy. Besides, the quizzically quirky Ramirez is not at this point defending himself. Ramirez will not appeal the suspension and apologized, issuing a brief statement, which read in part: "I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me." But MLB, in a typically classy move, has leaked to the press that Ramirez tested positive for the female fertility drug HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. Steroid specialists have fanned out across the airwaves explaining that HCG is used to increase testosterone levels, usually after a heavy steroid cycle.
Former AL MVP, author of Juiced, and admitted steroid user Jose Canseco, who pleaded guilty last November to a misdemeanor of trying to bring HCG across the Mexican border illegally, also weighed in: "It could be that a player used it because he used steroids and went cold-turkey and needed HCG to get his [testoterone] levels back to normal."
The use of a "female fertility drug" also has sports radio hosts in a pubescent tizzy asking if "Manny is a mommy" and ESPN's Jayson Stark making an "octo-mom" joke.
From the juvenile to the pious, President Obama's press flack Robert Gibbs took time out from explaining why torturers are above the law to tell us, "It's a tragedy, it's a shame." There is a tragedy and a shame afoot, but it is not rooted in the choices of one player. It's in a baseball culture that continues to think embarrassing individual players and feeding on the resentment of fans is the best path to cleaning up the sport. Manny has now joined Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and many others as permanently stained with a scarlet S. No Hall of Fame, no old timers' games and a life as a cautionary tale.
Meanwhile we all get taken to the cleaners. We have billionaire owners making scapegoats of millionaire players to soothe our anxieties about the game and our lives. Meanwhile these same owners sit like pashas in a baseball palace that could be called the House That Steroids Built.
The man who wrote Juiced knows when a cycle has run its course. Canseco said that he believes the coverage on steroids in baseball has become "overkill" and the spotlight should now be on MLB and the players association. He called it "a complete conspiracy." He's absolutely correct. Baseball owners love conspiracies. For more than twenty years they have conspired to attain public funds for ballparks. In 2008, they collectively conspired not to sign the best hitter in the game, Barry Bonds. Now they are committed to the project of keeping the focus on the players, and off of themselves. We shouldn't let them. If Manny Ramirez is guilty of anything, it's being caught in between baseball's clubhouse culture and public sanctimony.
During the baseball's Summer of Love in 1998, when Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs and Sammy Sosa smacked 66, the money came pouring in. No one cared that McGwire and Sosa looked like a pair of defensive tackles. Soon publicly funded stadiums were included in budgets for Washington, DC, New York City and Minnesota. The home run became the most marketable baseball item since peanuts and crackerjacks and no one wanted to look behind the curtain. It was sports. It was entertainment. It was an escape. Then came 2001, when Barry Bonds hit 73, and all of a sudden we were supposed to be collectively sick at the thought of a home run. As baseball writer Adrian Burgos (Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line) said, "What continues to fascinate me is how MLB leadership is willing to allow individual players to take the full brunt of the collective failure of leadership. Today, pundits have ranted in at times rabid tones about the players who make millions for their role while those who make the hundred of millions (and even have billion- dollar stadiums constructed for them on the public dole) continue to profit. How many stadiums have been built since then and at what cost? All the wealth that has been accumulated at that level is in my mind just as, if not more, offensive, since the owners act as if they were not enablers and co-dependents as their players shot up, ingested and otherwise partook in performance-enhancing drugs."
We should always remember that former Texas Rangers owner George W. Bush made steroid persecution a recurring theme of his time in office, as long as owners were spared the spotlight. The hypocrisy should shame owners toward contrition--but they will happily crack some golden eggs, as long as it means that the goose that laid them lives. Even though come contract time, it's all about the numbers on your stat page, and not the number of clean tests. As baseball fan and poet Martin Espada told me, "Baseball is the Main Street of sports. (Think Cooperstown.) It's full of history and nostalgia, and paved with the bricks of hypocrisy. Now it's the rhetoric of the 'Drug War,' handed down from the Nixon White House forty years ago to MLB and ESPN today."
He is absolutely correct. We are supposed to tsk-tsk at players who are supposed to "just say no" to their addictions to fitness and monster stats, when their success at the park is our addiction as well. We also have yet to truly take owners to task for their addictions to public money and send them to detox.
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.
Home Runs and Hypocrisy: The Shaming of Manny Ramirez
By Dave Zirin
You would think that Manny Ramirez was caught fighting pit bulls alongside Martha Stewart.
ESPN's Bill Simmons says that he is "confronting my worst nightmare." Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports believes that it is time to talk about "lifetime bans." Boston Globe writer Tony Massarotti says, "everyone is guilty until proven innocent."
The sports radio and comment boards have been cesspools of racism. It's always easy to hate, especially someone who plays a game for a living and makes millions of dollars.
All I know is this: thanks to Major League Baseball's hypocritical, idiotic and altogether morally bankrupt steroid policy, the sport will be without one of its premier attractions for fifty games, someone I would pay to watch at batting practice. Yes, Manny Ramirez, the finest right-handed hitter of his generation, has been sent to the showers and forced to surrender $7.7 million in salary after testing positive for what was initially called a "performance-enhancing substance."
The decision ends a stretch where the former World Series MVP was reviving baseball in Los Angeles, leading the Dodgers to a 21-8 start and a record thirteen straight wins at home to open the season. Los Angeles, a town built on artifice and home to hordes of performance-enhanced entertainers, not to mention led by a performance-enhanced governor, now demands purity of its athletes. This is not a column that aims to "defend" Manny Ramirez, but condemn Major League Baseball's steroid idiocy. Besides, the quizzically quirky Ramirez is not at this point defending himself. Ramirez will not appeal the suspension and apologized, issuing a brief statement, which read in part: "I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me." But MLB, in a typically classy move, has leaked to the press that Ramirez tested positive for the female fertility drug HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. Steroid specialists have fanned out across the airwaves explaining that HCG is used to increase testosterone levels, usually after a heavy steroid cycle.
Former AL MVP, author of Juiced, and admitted steroid user Jose Canseco, who pleaded guilty last November to a misdemeanor of trying to bring HCG across the Mexican border illegally, also weighed in: "It could be that a player used it because he used steroids and went cold-turkey and needed HCG to get his [testoterone] levels back to normal."
The use of a "female fertility drug" also has sports radio hosts in a pubescent tizzy asking if "Manny is a mommy" and ESPN's Jayson Stark making an "octo-mom" joke.
From the juvenile to the pious, President Obama's press flack Robert Gibbs took time out from explaining why torturers are above the law to tell us, "It's a tragedy, it's a shame." There is a tragedy and a shame afoot, but it is not rooted in the choices of one player. It's in a baseball culture that continues to think embarrassing individual players and feeding on the resentment of fans is the best path to cleaning up the sport. Manny has now joined Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and many others as permanently stained with a scarlet S. No Hall of Fame, no old timers' games and a life as a cautionary tale.
Meanwhile we all get taken to the cleaners. We have billionaire owners making scapegoats of millionaire players to soothe our anxieties about the game and our lives. Meanwhile these same owners sit like pashas in a baseball palace that could be called the House That Steroids Built.
The man who wrote Juiced knows when a cycle has run its course. Canseco said that he believes the coverage on steroids in baseball has become "overkill" and the spotlight should now be on MLB and the players association. He called it "a complete conspiracy." He's absolutely correct. Baseball owners love conspiracies. For more than twenty years they have conspired to attain public funds for ballparks. In 2008, they collectively conspired not to sign the best hitter in the game, Barry Bonds. Now they are committed to the project of keeping the focus on the players, and off of themselves. We shouldn't let them. If Manny Ramirez is guilty of anything, it's being caught in between baseball's clubhouse culture and public sanctimony.
During the baseball's Summer of Love in 1998, when Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs and Sammy Sosa smacked 66, the money came pouring in. No one cared that McGwire and Sosa looked like a pair of defensive tackles. Soon publicly funded stadiums were included in budgets for Washington, DC, New York City and Minnesota. The home run became the most marketable baseball item since peanuts and crackerjacks and no one wanted to look behind the curtain. It was sports. It was entertainment. It was an escape. Then came 2001, when Barry Bonds hit 73, and all of a sudden we were supposed to be collectively sick at the thought of a home run. As baseball writer Adrian Burgos (Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line) said, "What continues to fascinate me is how MLB leadership is willing to allow individual players to take the full brunt of the collective failure of leadership. Today, pundits have ranted in at times rabid tones about the players who make millions for their role while those who make the hundred of millions (and even have billion- dollar stadiums constructed for them on the public dole) continue to profit. How many stadiums have been built since then and at what cost? All the wealth that has been accumulated at that level is in my mind just as, if not more, offensive, since the owners act as if they were not enablers and co-dependents as their players shot up, ingested and otherwise partook in performance-enhancing drugs."
We should always remember that former Texas Rangers owner George W. Bush made steroid persecution a recurring theme of his time in office, as long as owners were spared the spotlight. The hypocrisy should shame owners toward contrition--but they will happily crack some golden eggs, as long as it means that the goose that laid them lives. Even though come contract time, it's all about the numbers on your stat page, and not the number of clean tests. As baseball fan and poet Martin Espada told me, "Baseball is the Main Street of sports. (Think Cooperstown.) It's full of history and nostalgia, and paved with the bricks of hypocrisy. Now it's the rhetoric of the 'Drug War,' handed down from the Nixon White House forty years ago to MLB and ESPN today."
He is absolutely correct. We are supposed to tsk-tsk at players who are supposed to "just say no" to their addictions to fitness and monster stats, when their success at the park is our addiction as well. We also have yet to truly take owners to task for their addictions to public money and send them to detox.
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.
Ramirez blindsided everyone but Jose Canseco
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-streeter-manny8-2009may08,0,5943246.story
KURT STREETER
Manny Ramirez blindsided everyone but Jose Canseco
Canseco voiced his doubts about Ramirez being drug-free. The admitted drug cheat and eternal conspiracy theorist was right -- again. Maybe next time we'll listen more closely.
May 7, 2009
On a day when we've been blindsided, a day we've found yet another hero has feet of clay, the great sage Jose Canseco strikes again.
Last month I sat in an auditorium at USC and listened to Canseco dish his doubts about baseball, drug use and Manny Ramirez.
There's something fishy about Ramirez, Canseco concluded. Why, he wondered, had it taken so long this off-season to sign one of baseball's premier power hitters? And why was the contract Ramirez signed so short: two years, with an option to leave after one.
In Canseco's mind -- the mind of an admitted drug cheat, the mind of a skeptical conspiracy theorist who happens to have been proven right time and again -- the powers that be in baseball either knew Ramirez was using, or they strongly suspected it. Otherwise, this off-season, someone would have quickly signed a supreme force like No. 99 to a bigger contract, no matter the economy, no matter the "Mannywood" flakiness.
It was a conclusion that came from his gut. Canseco lacked hard proof, but he stated Ramirez "is most likely, 90%" on the list of 104 players that failed a drug test in 2003; a test that was supposed to be anonymous but that snared Alex Rodriguez when his name was leaked.
Right now, with so little information from baseball, the Dodgers, or their left-fielder, we don't know if Ramirez was on that particular list. Could well be. Nobody can argue otherwise. Maybe a positive result in 2003 made baseball's drug testers zero-in on Ramirez. Maybe he was on the list and when he came up dirty more recently, Bud Selig and his crew, long guilty of skirting around the issue of drugs, figured even they'd had enough: The mega-star in baseball's second biggest market must walk the plank.
No matter the exact truth, we have to give Canseco credit. He stuck his head out and was willing to go where so many fear. Not that I needed more proof, but after today, every time Canseco says anything about drugs, I'm listening with serious intent.
He was certainly a lot more candid than Ramirez. Last month, when I went to Ramirez with Canseco's allegation, he sat in front of his locker and gave me a deer-in-the-headlights gaze, a sly laugh, and a calm evasion. "I got no comment," he said. "Nothing to say about that. What can I say? I don't even know the guy."
I wanted to believe. Just as I want to believe all of our great performers. We all do.
But we can't be ignorant anymore. Derek Jeter? Lance Armstrong? Rafael Nadal? Tom Brady? Kobe? All of the hockey players we're seeing in the NHL playoffs, a league that doesn't test for drugs except during the regular season? They might all be clean. Then again, they might not. A year ago, baseball sages were heralding Alex Rodriguez as the last great, unsullied power-hitter of his generation. What a scam. I'm sorry, but nobody is beyond reproach anymore.
It's pretty simple, and pretty sad. If we want to see things straight we need to be like Canseco: willing, like a skeptical conspiracy theorist, to put hard pieces of the puzzle together. Willing to come up with answers we don't want to hear. Willing to hold at least a small level of doubt about everyone.
Either that or we get blindsided, again and again, just like we've been blindsided today.
kurt.streeter@latimes.com
KURT STREETER
Manny Ramirez blindsided everyone but Jose Canseco
Canseco voiced his doubts about Ramirez being drug-free. The admitted drug cheat and eternal conspiracy theorist was right -- again. Maybe next time we'll listen more closely.
May 7, 2009
On a day when we've been blindsided, a day we've found yet another hero has feet of clay, the great sage Jose Canseco strikes again.
Last month I sat in an auditorium at USC and listened to Canseco dish his doubts about baseball, drug use and Manny Ramirez.
There's something fishy about Ramirez, Canseco concluded. Why, he wondered, had it taken so long this off-season to sign one of baseball's premier power hitters? And why was the contract Ramirez signed so short: two years, with an option to leave after one.
In Canseco's mind -- the mind of an admitted drug cheat, the mind of a skeptical conspiracy theorist who happens to have been proven right time and again -- the powers that be in baseball either knew Ramirez was using, or they strongly suspected it. Otherwise, this off-season, someone would have quickly signed a supreme force like No. 99 to a bigger contract, no matter the economy, no matter the "Mannywood" flakiness.
It was a conclusion that came from his gut. Canseco lacked hard proof, but he stated Ramirez "is most likely, 90%" on the list of 104 players that failed a drug test in 2003; a test that was supposed to be anonymous but that snared Alex Rodriguez when his name was leaked.
Right now, with so little information from baseball, the Dodgers, or their left-fielder, we don't know if Ramirez was on that particular list. Could well be. Nobody can argue otherwise. Maybe a positive result in 2003 made baseball's drug testers zero-in on Ramirez. Maybe he was on the list and when he came up dirty more recently, Bud Selig and his crew, long guilty of skirting around the issue of drugs, figured even they'd had enough: The mega-star in baseball's second biggest market must walk the plank.
No matter the exact truth, we have to give Canseco credit. He stuck his head out and was willing to go where so many fear. Not that I needed more proof, but after today, every time Canseco says anything about drugs, I'm listening with serious intent.
He was certainly a lot more candid than Ramirez. Last month, when I went to Ramirez with Canseco's allegation, he sat in front of his locker and gave me a deer-in-the-headlights gaze, a sly laugh, and a calm evasion. "I got no comment," he said. "Nothing to say about that. What can I say? I don't even know the guy."
I wanted to believe. Just as I want to believe all of our great performers. We all do.
But we can't be ignorant anymore. Derek Jeter? Lance Armstrong? Rafael Nadal? Tom Brady? Kobe? All of the hockey players we're seeing in the NHL playoffs, a league that doesn't test for drugs except during the regular season? They might all be clean. Then again, they might not. A year ago, baseball sages were heralding Alex Rodriguez as the last great, unsullied power-hitter of his generation. What a scam. I'm sorry, but nobody is beyond reproach anymore.
It's pretty simple, and pretty sad. If we want to see things straight we need to be like Canseco: willing, like a skeptical conspiracy theorist, to put hard pieces of the puzzle together. Willing to come up with answers we don't want to hear. Willing to hold at least a small level of doubt about everyone.
Either that or we get blindsided, again and again, just like we've been blindsided today.
kurt.streeter@latimes.com
Is Jose Canseco Ever Wrong?
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/04/06/jose-canseco-says-90-chance-manny-ramirez-is-on-steroids-list/
Jose Canseco Says '90 Percent Chance' Manny Ramirez Is on 'The List'
Posted Apr 06, 2009
By Will Brinson
Filed Under: Dodgers, MLB Media Watch, MLB Rumors
Jose Canseco is well past the "naming names" stage of his steroid accusations. However, as ridiculous and irresponsible as Canseco seems with his chatter about this player and that player, he has, for the most part, been correct.
And the latest player that's the target of Canseco's pseudo-slanderous steroid chatter is Manny Ramirez, which is a most shocking revelation (although no more shocking than when Canseco accused Alex Rodriguez).
Canseco spoke to at the Brovard Auditorium on the USC campus recently and the Los Angeles Times' Kurt Streeter caught up with him afterwards, specifically interested about why Canseco stated that Ramirez's "name is most likely, 90 percent" on the list of players who used steroids.
Canseco asked questions as to the status of Ramirez receiving a long-term contract and why owners were so hesitant to sign him as "evidence" as to why Ramirez used steroids, but admitted he had "no way of knowing" whether Ramirez was guilty of using PEDs.
And that, in my mind, makes this allegation seem pretty silly: Ramirez didn't get a long-term deal because there was no chance of receiving the money he wanted over the course of a long-term contract. Additionally, he's 36, so it's not like every team out there should have been scrambling to lock him up in a 12-year uber-deal anyway. Oh, and perhaps Canseco missed it, but the economy collapsed while Ramirez was trying to get paid.
Manny, by the way, laughed off Canseco's allegations when Streeter followed up on the discussion, stating that, ""I got no comment, nothing to say about that. What can I say? I don't even know the guy."
In other words: Yes, Canseco has been right before, and plenty of times. Yes, he broke open the steroid scandal. But in this case, it just seems like he's in the same desperate corner of his, swinging wildly with names in the hopes that another name in a sea full of guilty players manages to stick on the wall and he can score a tiny extension on his 15 minutes in the spotlight.
Jose Canseco Says '90 Percent Chance' Manny Ramirez Is on 'The List'
Posted Apr 06, 2009
By Will Brinson
Filed Under: Dodgers, MLB Media Watch, MLB Rumors
Jose Canseco is well past the "naming names" stage of his steroid accusations. However, as ridiculous and irresponsible as Canseco seems with his chatter about this player and that player, he has, for the most part, been correct.
And the latest player that's the target of Canseco's pseudo-slanderous steroid chatter is Manny Ramirez, which is a most shocking revelation (although no more shocking than when Canseco accused Alex Rodriguez).
Canseco spoke to at the Brovard Auditorium on the USC campus recently and the Los Angeles Times' Kurt Streeter caught up with him afterwards, specifically interested about why Canseco stated that Ramirez's "name is most likely, 90 percent" on the list of players who used steroids.
Canseco asked questions as to the status of Ramirez receiving a long-term contract and why owners were so hesitant to sign him as "evidence" as to why Ramirez used steroids, but admitted he had "no way of knowing" whether Ramirez was guilty of using PEDs.
And that, in my mind, makes this allegation seem pretty silly: Ramirez didn't get a long-term deal because there was no chance of receiving the money he wanted over the course of a long-term contract. Additionally, he's 36, so it's not like every team out there should have been scrambling to lock him up in a 12-year uber-deal anyway. Oh, and perhaps Canseco missed it, but the economy collapsed while Ramirez was trying to get paid.
Manny, by the way, laughed off Canseco's allegations when Streeter followed up on the discussion, stating that, ""I got no comment, nothing to say about that. What can I say? I don't even know the guy."
In other words: Yes, Canseco has been right before, and plenty of times. Yes, he broke open the steroid scandal. But in this case, it just seems like he's in the same desperate corner of his, swinging wildly with names in the hopes that another name in a sea full of guilty players manages to stick on the wall and he can score a tiny extension on his 15 minutes in the spotlight.
Ramirez suspended 50 games for drug violation
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AozPbdpnRxDcG.ttoQ3gr6URvLYF?slug=ap-dodgers-ramirez-drugs
Ramirez suspended 50 games for drug violation
By BETH HARRIS and RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writers
5-7-9
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Ramirez joined a growing lineup of All-Stars linked to drugs Thursday, with the dreadlocked slugger banished for 50 games by a sport that cannot shake free from scandal.
The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder was suspended by Major League Baseball for a drug violation, adding a further stamp to what will forever be known as the Steroids Era.
“It’s a dark day for baseball and certainly for this organization,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told reporters on the field at Dodger Stadium. “This organization will never condone anything that isn’t clean.”
Ramirez said he did not take steroids and was given medication by a doctor that contained a banned substance. A person familiar with the details of the suspension said Ramirez used the female fertility drug HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the banned substance wasn’t announced.
“As tough as it is for us, it’s pretty tough for Manny, too,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “I know he’s the one that did the wrong thing and nobody is trying to cover that up, but it’s still something that I know he’s sorry about.”
HCG is popular among steroid users because it can mitigate the side effects of ending a cycle of the drugs. The body may stop producing testosterone when users go off steroids, which can cause sperm counts to decrease and testicles to shrink.
Ramirez’s suspension was based not on a spring training urine test result but rather evidence obtained afterward, a second person familiar with the suspension said, speaking on condition of anonymity because those details were not released. MLB had concluded the spring test was positive, but the person said the players’ association would have challenged the result because of “testing issues.”
Ranked 17th on the career home run list with 533, Ramirez became the most prominent baseball player to be penalized for drugs. His ban came three months after Alex Rodriguez admitted using steroids, and at a time when Barry Bonds is under federal indictment and Roger Clemens is being investigated by a federal grand jury to determine whether he lied when he told Congress he never used steroids or human growth hormone. And Miguel Tejada was sentenced in March to one year of probation after pleading guilty in federal court to misleading Congress about the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
No matter which way baseball turns, the legitimacy of many of its recent home run and pitching records is being questioned. Sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have been tainted by steroid allegations, Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for a banned drug and Jose Canseco said he used them.
In every case, players once believed to be locks for the Hall of Fame may now be locked out.
“You can’t have arguably the greatest pitcher of our era, arguably the two greatest players of our era and now another very, very good player be under this cloud of suspicion and not feel like it has ruined it for everybody,” Atlanta star Chipper Jones said.
“But what are you going to do? You can’t be born in a different era. It is the Steroid Era,” he said.
Colletti and Torre said they found out about Ramirez’s suspension during an early morning phone call from team owner Frank McCourt. Both said they were surprised and saddened at the news.
Torre spoke to the rest of the team during a closed-door meeting before batting practice.
“The mood was sad in the clubhouse,” he said. “You can’t have someone who’s as much of an impact player and personality as Manny missing without it affecting people.”
The 36-year-old Ramirez tried to make amends right away, telling the Dodgers and fans he was sorry for “this whole situation.”
“Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me,” Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players’ union.
“Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.”
Baseball added HCG to its list of banned substances last year.
His suspension was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on its Web site.
While Ramirez had little to say, Canseco was quick to explain why someone might use HCG.
“It could be that a player used it because he used steroids and went cold-turkey and needed HCG to get his levels back to normal. I had to use it when I quit steroids cold-turkey,” Canseco, who pleaded guilty last November to a misdemeanor of trying to bring HCG across the Mexican border into the United States illegally, told the AP. “I had to go to a doctor to get it and get my levels back.”
Because MLB imposed the suspension as required by the drug agreement, the Dodgers cannot further discipline Ramirez. He is allowed to work out with the Dodgers but must be out of uniform when the stadium gates open for games.
Ramirez was not mentioned in the Mitchell Report, MLB’s official report on drug use, and there had not been whispers that he was among the sport’s juiced players.
“It’s kind of shocking that he got caught up in anything, honestly. Manny likes to play stupid, but he’s a pretty bright guy. And he’s definitely aware of a lot of things that he tries to act like he’s completely oblivious to,” said Cincinnati pitcher Bronson Arroyo, Ramirez’s former Boston teammate.
Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras, and the players’ association had gathered materials for a possible appeal to an arbitrator, but Ramirez decided not to file one because he didn’t want to risk missing significant time in the second half of the season, the person familiar with details of the suspension said. The union said merely that he waived his right to contest the suspension.
Reaction to Ramirez’s ban came swiftly, from major league clubhouses to the White House.
“It’s a tragedy. It’s a shame. My sense is, it’s a great embarrassment on Major League Baseball,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.
The penalty left the best team in the majors without its driving force and free spirit for nearly one-third of the season.
Ramirez’s suspension began Thursday, a day after the Dodgers broke the modern major league record for a home winning streak, opening the season 13-0. Barring any postponements, he will be able to return to the Dodgers for the July 3 game at San Diego. Ramirez will lose $7,650,273 of his $25 million salary.
Rodriguez and Ramirez are the two highest-paid players in the majors. With this suspension, six of the top 17 home run hitters in history now have been covered by the cloud of performance-enhancing drugs.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig couldn’t comment on the suspension because of provisions of the management-union drug agreement, spokesman Rich Levin said.
Ramirez became the fourth player suspended this year under the major league program, following Philadelphia reliever J.C. Romero, Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre and San Francisco pitcher Kelvin Pichardo.
The Dodgers began the 50-game stretch without Ramirez on Thursday night against Washington. Juan Pierre received loud applause when he was introduced as Ramirez’s replacement in the starting lineup, but there were scattered boos when he came to the plate for the first time.
Losing Ramirez to suspension could be a huge blow financially for the Dodgers. The slugger has been single-handedly responsible for increasing attendance, merchandise sales and interest in the team, besides helping it win the NL West after his late-season arrival in 2008.
Los Angeles even renamed a section of seats in left field at Dodger Stadium “Mannywood” in his honor. Hours after the suspension, the team removed a reference to those seats from its Web site.
Torre, however, insisted Ramirez is welcome anytime.
“The thing that was toughest for Manny is how he disappointed everybody,” he said. “He loved it here, and he loves how the fans get turned on by him. He was devastated.”
Associated Press Baseball Writer Ron Blum reported from New York, with AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles. AP Sports Writers Dan Gelston in Philadelphia, Joe Kay in Cincinnati, R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis, Stephen Wilson in London and Steve Wine in Miami, National Writer Ben Walker in New York and AP Writer Donna Cassata contributed to this report.
Ramirez suspended 50 games for drug violation
By BETH HARRIS and RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writers
5-7-9
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Manny Ramirez joined a growing lineup of All-Stars linked to drugs Thursday, with the dreadlocked slugger banished for 50 games by a sport that cannot shake free from scandal.
The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder was suspended by Major League Baseball for a drug violation, adding a further stamp to what will forever be known as the Steroids Era.
“It’s a dark day for baseball and certainly for this organization,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told reporters on the field at Dodger Stadium. “This organization will never condone anything that isn’t clean.”
Ramirez said he did not take steroids and was given medication by a doctor that contained a banned substance. A person familiar with the details of the suspension said Ramirez used the female fertility drug HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the banned substance wasn’t announced.
“As tough as it is for us, it’s pretty tough for Manny, too,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “I know he’s the one that did the wrong thing and nobody is trying to cover that up, but it’s still something that I know he’s sorry about.”
HCG is popular among steroid users because it can mitigate the side effects of ending a cycle of the drugs. The body may stop producing testosterone when users go off steroids, which can cause sperm counts to decrease and testicles to shrink.
Ramirez’s suspension was based not on a spring training urine test result but rather evidence obtained afterward, a second person familiar with the suspension said, speaking on condition of anonymity because those details were not released. MLB had concluded the spring test was positive, but the person said the players’ association would have challenged the result because of “testing issues.”
Ranked 17th on the career home run list with 533, Ramirez became the most prominent baseball player to be penalized for drugs. His ban came three months after Alex Rodriguez admitted using steroids, and at a time when Barry Bonds is under federal indictment and Roger Clemens is being investigated by a federal grand jury to determine whether he lied when he told Congress he never used steroids or human growth hormone. And Miguel Tejada was sentenced in March to one year of probation after pleading guilty in federal court to misleading Congress about the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
No matter which way baseball turns, the legitimacy of many of its recent home run and pitching records is being questioned. Sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have been tainted by steroid allegations, Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for a banned drug and Jose Canseco said he used them.
In every case, players once believed to be locks for the Hall of Fame may now be locked out.
“You can’t have arguably the greatest pitcher of our era, arguably the two greatest players of our era and now another very, very good player be under this cloud of suspicion and not feel like it has ruined it for everybody,” Atlanta star Chipper Jones said.
“But what are you going to do? You can’t be born in a different era. It is the Steroid Era,” he said.
Colletti and Torre said they found out about Ramirez’s suspension during an early morning phone call from team owner Frank McCourt. Both said they were surprised and saddened at the news.
Torre spoke to the rest of the team during a closed-door meeting before batting practice.
“The mood was sad in the clubhouse,” he said. “You can’t have someone who’s as much of an impact player and personality as Manny missing without it affecting people.”
The 36-year-old Ramirez tried to make amends right away, telling the Dodgers and fans he was sorry for “this whole situation.”
“Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me,” Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players’ union.
“Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.”
Baseball added HCG to its list of banned substances last year.
His suspension was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on its Web site.
While Ramirez had little to say, Canseco was quick to explain why someone might use HCG.
“It could be that a player used it because he used steroids and went cold-turkey and needed HCG to get his levels back to normal. I had to use it when I quit steroids cold-turkey,” Canseco, who pleaded guilty last November to a misdemeanor of trying to bring HCG across the Mexican border into the United States illegally, told the AP. “I had to go to a doctor to get it and get my levels back.”
Because MLB imposed the suspension as required by the drug agreement, the Dodgers cannot further discipline Ramirez. He is allowed to work out with the Dodgers but must be out of uniform when the stadium gates open for games.
Ramirez was not mentioned in the Mitchell Report, MLB’s official report on drug use, and there had not been whispers that he was among the sport’s juiced players.
“It’s kind of shocking that he got caught up in anything, honestly. Manny likes to play stupid, but he’s a pretty bright guy. And he’s definitely aware of a lot of things that he tries to act like he’s completely oblivious to,” said Cincinnati pitcher Bronson Arroyo, Ramirez’s former Boston teammate.
Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras, and the players’ association had gathered materials for a possible appeal to an arbitrator, but Ramirez decided not to file one because he didn’t want to risk missing significant time in the second half of the season, the person familiar with details of the suspension said. The union said merely that he waived his right to contest the suspension.
Reaction to Ramirez’s ban came swiftly, from major league clubhouses to the White House.
“It’s a tragedy. It’s a shame. My sense is, it’s a great embarrassment on Major League Baseball,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.
The penalty left the best team in the majors without its driving force and free spirit for nearly one-third of the season.
Ramirez’s suspension began Thursday, a day after the Dodgers broke the modern major league record for a home winning streak, opening the season 13-0. Barring any postponements, he will be able to return to the Dodgers for the July 3 game at San Diego. Ramirez will lose $7,650,273 of his $25 million salary.
Rodriguez and Ramirez are the two highest-paid players in the majors. With this suspension, six of the top 17 home run hitters in history now have been covered by the cloud of performance-enhancing drugs.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig couldn’t comment on the suspension because of provisions of the management-union drug agreement, spokesman Rich Levin said.
Ramirez became the fourth player suspended this year under the major league program, following Philadelphia reliever J.C. Romero, Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre and San Francisco pitcher Kelvin Pichardo.
The Dodgers began the 50-game stretch without Ramirez on Thursday night against Washington. Juan Pierre received loud applause when he was introduced as Ramirez’s replacement in the starting lineup, but there were scattered boos when he came to the plate for the first time.
Losing Ramirez to suspension could be a huge blow financially for the Dodgers. The slugger has been single-handedly responsible for increasing attendance, merchandise sales and interest in the team, besides helping it win the NL West after his late-season arrival in 2008.
Los Angeles even renamed a section of seats in left field at Dodger Stadium “Mannywood” in his honor. Hours after the suspension, the team removed a reference to those seats from its Web site.
Torre, however, insisted Ramirez is welcome anytime.
“The thing that was toughest for Manny is how he disappointed everybody,” he said. “He loved it here, and he loves how the fans get turned on by him. He was devastated.”
Associated Press Baseball Writer Ron Blum reported from New York, with AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles. AP Sports Writers Dan Gelston in Philadelphia, Joe Kay in Cincinnati, R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis, Stephen Wilson in London and Steve Wine in Miami, National Writer Ben Walker in New York and AP Writer Donna Cassata contributed to this report.
RIP! A Remix Manifesto
From Disinfo.com:Can you find Girl Talk on iTunes? You can if you watch...
RIP! A Remix Manifesto
An "Open Source" Documentary About Copyright and Remix Culture
Filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers. The film's central protagonist is Girl Talk, a mash-up musician topping the charts with his sample-based songs. But is Girl Talk a paragon of people power or the Pied Piper of piracy?
Which side of the ideas war are you on?
US jobless at 26-year high
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6251918.ece
May 9, 2009
US jobless at 26-year high but President Obama hopeful
Christine Seib
President Obama said that America was showing signs of economic recovery, even as the country's unemployment rate hit a near-26-year high.
Employers made 539,000 workers redundant in April, according to US Labour Department statistics - the fewest job cuts in six months and far better than the 620,000 reduction that economists had expected.
Mr Obama said that there was a “long way to go before we can put this recession behind us”, but added: “The gears of our economic engine do seem to be slowly turning once again.”
The figures were boosted by a spate of hiring by the Government, which took on 66,000 part-time workers to conduct next year's census.
However, the newly unemployed continued to struggle to find new jobs, pushing the unemployment rate from 8.5 per cent to 8.9 per cent, the highest level since late 1983.
When the number of job-seekers who gave up their search for work or took part-time jobs was included, the unemployment rate hit 15.8 per cent.
About 5.7 million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession started in December 2007.
Ben Bernanke, the US Federal Reserve Chairman, said this week that he expected the country to emerge from recession by the end of this year, but warned that the job market would remain sluggish because employers would take time to regain confidence and resume hiring.
Paul Ashworth, senior US economist at Capital Economics, had reservations about the figures because job-loss estimates earlier in the year have since been revised upwards.
In March, companies made 699,000 workers redundant, a figure that had been revised up from 663,000, while 681,000 workers lost their jobs in February, up from a previous estimate of 651,000. “Revisions to previous months increased the net job losses in February and March by a total of 66,000,” he said. “April's decline could eventually turn out to have been much bigger than it looks now.”
May 9, 2009
US jobless at 26-year high but President Obama hopeful
Christine Seib
President Obama said that America was showing signs of economic recovery, even as the country's unemployment rate hit a near-26-year high.
Employers made 539,000 workers redundant in April, according to US Labour Department statistics - the fewest job cuts in six months and far better than the 620,000 reduction that economists had expected.
Mr Obama said that there was a “long way to go before we can put this recession behind us”, but added: “The gears of our economic engine do seem to be slowly turning once again.”
The figures were boosted by a spate of hiring by the Government, which took on 66,000 part-time workers to conduct next year's census.
However, the newly unemployed continued to struggle to find new jobs, pushing the unemployment rate from 8.5 per cent to 8.9 per cent, the highest level since late 1983.
When the number of job-seekers who gave up their search for work or took part-time jobs was included, the unemployment rate hit 15.8 per cent.
About 5.7 million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession started in December 2007.
Ben Bernanke, the US Federal Reserve Chairman, said this week that he expected the country to emerge from recession by the end of this year, but warned that the job market would remain sluggish because employers would take time to regain confidence and resume hiring.
Paul Ashworth, senior US economist at Capital Economics, had reservations about the figures because job-loss estimates earlier in the year have since been revised upwards.
In March, companies made 699,000 workers redundant, a figure that had been revised up from 663,000, while 681,000 workers lost their jobs in February, up from a previous estimate of 651,000. “Revisions to previous months increased the net job losses in February and March by a total of 66,000,” he said. “April's decline could eventually turn out to have been much bigger than it looks now.”
Governor says he's open to debate on legal pot
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/06/MNO617F929.DTL
Governor says he's open to debate on legal pot
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Sacramento - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the time is right to debate legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California.
The governor's comments were made as support grows nationwide for relaxing pot laws and only days after a poll found that for the first time a majority of California voters back legal marijuana. Also, a San Francisco legislator has proposed regulating and taxing marijuana to bring the state as much as $1.3 billion a year in extra revenue.
Schwarzenegger was cautious when answering a reporter's question Tuesday about whether the state should regulate and tax the substance, saying it is not time to go that far.
But, he said: "I think it's time for debate. I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues - I'm always for an open debate on it."
The governor said California should look to the experiences of other nations around the world in relaxing laws on marijuana.
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill to regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which are barred by federal law.
California voters in 1996 legalized marijuana for medical use with permission from a physician.
Ammiano said he was pleased the governor is "open-minded" on the issue and added that he was sure the two could "hash it out."
Under Ammiano's proposal, the state would impose a $50-an-ounce levy on sales of marijuana, which would boost state revenues by about $1.3 billion a year, according to an analysis by the State Board of Equalization. Betty Yee of San Francisco, who chairs the Board of Equalization, supports the measure.
"This has never just been about money," said Ammiano, who has long supported reforming marijuana laws. "It's also about the failure of the war on drugs and implementing a more enlightened policy. I've always anticipated that there could be a perfect storm of political will and public support, and obviously the federal policies are leaning more toward states' rights."
An ABC News/Washington Post poll last week found that 46 percent of Americans favored legalization of small amounts of pot for personal use, double the number who supported that a decade ago. A Field Poll also released last week found that 56 percent of California voters supported legalizing and taxing marijuana.
In March, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the federal government would take a softer stance on medical marijuana dispensaries, with drug enforcement agents targeting only those who violate state and federal law. California is one of 13 states that allow marijuana use with a doctor's recommendation.
Many law enforcement organizations oppose changes in marijuana laws. The California Police Chiefs Association, in a report last month, concluded that marijuana dispensaries constitute "a clear violation of federal and state law; they invite more crime; and they compromise the health and welfare of law-abiding citizens."
But the head of that association said he, too, is open to a debate on legalizing pot.
"We keep walking around the 5,000-pound elephant in the room, which is should marijuana be legal?" said Bernard Melekian, president of the association and chief of police in Pasadena.
The Board of Equalization analysis predicts that legalization would drop the street value of marijuana by 50 percent and increase consumption by 40 percent.
Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates legalization, said the governor's comments about marijuana are part of a "tectonic shift" in attitudes toward the issue.
"I think, frankly, the public is going to drag the politicians into doing what is right," he said.
Chronicle staff writer Matthew Yi contributed to this report. E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Governor says he's open to debate on legal pot
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Sacramento - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the time is right to debate legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California.
The governor's comments were made as support grows nationwide for relaxing pot laws and only days after a poll found that for the first time a majority of California voters back legal marijuana. Also, a San Francisco legislator has proposed regulating and taxing marijuana to bring the state as much as $1.3 billion a year in extra revenue.
Schwarzenegger was cautious when answering a reporter's question Tuesday about whether the state should regulate and tax the substance, saying it is not time to go that far.
But, he said: "I think it's time for debate. I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues - I'm always for an open debate on it."
The governor said California should look to the experiences of other nations around the world in relaxing laws on marijuana.
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has introduced a bill to regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which are barred by federal law.
California voters in 1996 legalized marijuana for medical use with permission from a physician.
Ammiano said he was pleased the governor is "open-minded" on the issue and added that he was sure the two could "hash it out."
Under Ammiano's proposal, the state would impose a $50-an-ounce levy on sales of marijuana, which would boost state revenues by about $1.3 billion a year, according to an analysis by the State Board of Equalization. Betty Yee of San Francisco, who chairs the Board of Equalization, supports the measure.
"This has never just been about money," said Ammiano, who has long supported reforming marijuana laws. "It's also about the failure of the war on drugs and implementing a more enlightened policy. I've always anticipated that there could be a perfect storm of political will and public support, and obviously the federal policies are leaning more toward states' rights."
An ABC News/Washington Post poll last week found that 46 percent of Americans favored legalization of small amounts of pot for personal use, double the number who supported that a decade ago. A Field Poll also released last week found that 56 percent of California voters supported legalizing and taxing marijuana.
In March, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the federal government would take a softer stance on medical marijuana dispensaries, with drug enforcement agents targeting only those who violate state and federal law. California is one of 13 states that allow marijuana use with a doctor's recommendation.
Many law enforcement organizations oppose changes in marijuana laws. The California Police Chiefs Association, in a report last month, concluded that marijuana dispensaries constitute "a clear violation of federal and state law; they invite more crime; and they compromise the health and welfare of law-abiding citizens."
But the head of that association said he, too, is open to a debate on legalizing pot.
"We keep walking around the 5,000-pound elephant in the room, which is should marijuana be legal?" said Bernard Melekian, president of the association and chief of police in Pasadena.
The Board of Equalization analysis predicts that legalization would drop the street value of marijuana by 50 percent and increase consumption by 40 percent.
Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates legalization, said the governor's comments about marijuana are part of a "tectonic shift" in attitudes toward the issue.
"I think, frankly, the public is going to drag the politicians into doing what is right," he said.
Chronicle staff writer Matthew Yi contributed to this report. E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/05/07/poll-majority-of-americans-support-legalizing-marijuana/
Poll: Majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana
By John Byrne
May 7, 2009
Fifty two percent of Americans support legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana, according to a new Zogby poll released late Wednesday.
3,937 voters were asked: “Scarce law enforcement and prison resources, a desire to neutralize drug cartels and the need for new sources of revenue have resurrected the topic of legalizing marijuana. Proponents say it makes sense to tax and regulate the drug while opponents say that legalization would lead marijuana users to use other illegal drugs. Would you favor or oppose the government’s effort to legalize marijuana?”
52 percent came out in favor, with 37 percent against. The poll was commissioned by the conservative-leaning O’Leary report.
“The survey, published as a full-page ad in [Wednesday's] issue of the political newspaper The Hill, polled a sample of 3,937 voters weighted to match the 2008 presidential outcome — 54 percent Obama voters and 46 percent McCain supporters,” Salem News reported.
The results are “slightly higher than the 46 percent support reported in an ABC News/Washington Post poll released at the end of April.”
Poll: Majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana
By John Byrne
May 7, 2009
Fifty two percent of Americans support legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana, according to a new Zogby poll released late Wednesday.
3,937 voters were asked: “Scarce law enforcement and prison resources, a desire to neutralize drug cartels and the need for new sources of revenue have resurrected the topic of legalizing marijuana. Proponents say it makes sense to tax and regulate the drug while opponents say that legalization would lead marijuana users to use other illegal drugs. Would you favor or oppose the government’s effort to legalize marijuana?”
52 percent came out in favor, with 37 percent against. The poll was commissioned by the conservative-leaning O’Leary report.
“The survey, published as a full-page ad in [Wednesday's] issue of the political newspaper The Hill, polled a sample of 3,937 voters weighted to match the 2008 presidential outcome — 54 percent Obama voters and 46 percent McCain supporters,” Salem News reported.
The results are “slightly higher than the 46 percent support reported in an ABC News/Washington Post poll released at the end of April.”
"The Greatest Boondoggle in History":
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/244222/%22The-Greatest-Boondoggle-in-History%22-Banks-Buoyed-at-Taxpayers%27-Expense
"The Greatest Boondoggle in History": Banks Buoyed at Taxpayers' Expense
Posted May 08, 2009
by Aaron Task
Bank stocks soared Friday, including Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, which sold shares a discounts of more than 10% below Thursday's close.
The ability of banks to raise capital is certainly positive but the idea of shares rallying amid the capital raising and dilution is "counterintuitive," Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis said on CNBC this morning.
BofA shares were also rallying even as the government said it needs to raise an industry-leading $33.9 billion. Citigroup stock was also a big winner after the government's curious declaration that it "only" needs to raise $5 billion.
While much of the focus is on the stress tests and banks' efforts to raise cash, the real story is Geithner's Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP), says William Black, an Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
The PPIP is the "greatest boondoggle in the history of the world," says Black, a former bank regulator who was counsel to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board during the S&L crisis. As occurred during the S&L era, Black says the PPIP will allow banks to exchange "trash for cash" and turn "real losses into faulty gains."
If the goal of Tim Geithner and other regulators was "to rip off the American taxpayer for the benefit of the least-deserving wealthiest people you can imagine, well - mission accomplished," Black says.
"The Greatest Boondoggle in History": Banks Buoyed at Taxpayers' Expense
Posted May 08, 2009
by Aaron Task
Bank stocks soared Friday, including Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley, which sold shares a discounts of more than 10% below Thursday's close.
The ability of banks to raise capital is certainly positive but the idea of shares rallying amid the capital raising and dilution is "counterintuitive," Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis said on CNBC this morning.
BofA shares were also rallying even as the government said it needs to raise an industry-leading $33.9 billion. Citigroup stock was also a big winner after the government's curious declaration that it "only" needs to raise $5 billion.
While much of the focus is on the stress tests and banks' efforts to raise cash, the real story is Geithner's Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP), says William Black, an Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
The PPIP is the "greatest boondoggle in the history of the world," says Black, a former bank regulator who was counsel to the Federal Home Loan Bank Board during the S&L crisis. As occurred during the S&L era, Black says the PPIP will allow banks to exchange "trash for cash" and turn "real losses into faulty gains."
If the goal of Tim Geithner and other regulators was "to rip off the American taxpayer for the benefit of the least-deserving wealthiest people you can imagine, well - mission accomplished," Black says.
'Who Knew' singer Pink: I'm NOT bisexual
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/05/03/2009-05-03_pink_im_bisexual.html 'Who Knew' singer Pink: I'm NOT bisexual
Monday, May 4th 2009
Singer Pink is pretty peeved that she was quoted as saying she's bisexual.
After years of denials, the married "Who Knew" singer reportedly confirmed she has a thing for the ladies. But she says it was all made up.
"I'm not embarrassed about being bisexual. This is who I am," Pink (nee Alecia Moore) is quoted as telling Britain's News of the World.
Pink reportedly added that she would be "just as happy with a new women" if things with hubby Carey Hart went south.
"I'm not complicated," she says. "I sing about love in all its shapes, forms and colors."
But Pink's rep tells the Daily News that the interview was "entirely fabricated."
The singer was cagey about the story on her Twitter page, writing, "I just read that I'm bisexual. So 1991. Good thing people write articles about me so I can get my facts [straight]."
Pink has previously insisted that she wasn't into the idea of having a same-sex romance.
"I'm not gay so I guess I would not try a relationship with a woman," she told NOW magazine last year. "I didn't say I haven't experimented, but I love men too much to make it a permanent thing."
The 29-year-old's alleged revelation comes on the heels of Hart's announcement that the estranged couple are reconciling.
"We're rebuilding," her hubby told People magazine in April. "Sometimes you have to take a couple of steps backwards to move forward."
Uranium Mining just outside the Grand Canyon
When the Bush administration was pushing for uranium mining just outside the Grand Canyon, far sighted folks in Congress moved quickly to protect the land - placing one million acres around the canyon off limits.
Uranium mining would severely jeopardize the ecology of the canyon. Between the blasting to build the mine and the toxic waste being dumped into the waterways, it would wreck one of the earth's greatest environmental treasures.
What's shocking is that Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar is allowing the Bureau of Land Management to move forward with Bush-era plans to mine just outside the canyon.
Take a minute right now, and tell Sec. Salazar to put the breaks on this plan:
http://www.environmental-action.org/no-mining-near-grand-canyon? id4=ES
In this new Administration based on hope and change, and where the President has pledge to be a friend to the environment, we're shocked to see the new Sec. of the Interior clinging to the ways of the past.
We believe with a loud enough voice, we can help stop this plan, so please send Salazar a message today asking him to halt this move and keep the Grand Canyon pristine:
http://www.environmental-action.org/no-mining-near-grand-canyon? id4=ES
Then help out further by passing this message along to your friends and family - and thanks for your work!
Sincerely,
Dan Stafford
Environmental Action Organizer
DanS@environmental-action.org
http://www.environmental-action.org
Uranium mining would severely jeopardize the ecology of the canyon. Between the blasting to build the mine and the toxic waste being dumped into the waterways, it would wreck one of the earth's greatest environmental treasures.
What's shocking is that Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar is allowing the Bureau of Land Management to move forward with Bush-era plans to mine just outside the canyon.
Take a minute right now, and tell Sec. Salazar to put the breaks on this plan:
http://www.environmental-action.org/no-mining-near-grand-canyon? id4=ES
In this new Administration based on hope and change, and where the President has pledge to be a friend to the environment, we're shocked to see the new Sec. of the Interior clinging to the ways of the past.
We believe with a loud enough voice, we can help stop this plan, so please send Salazar a message today asking him to halt this move and keep the Grand Canyon pristine:
http://www.environmental-action.org/no-mining-near-grand-canyon? id4=ES
Then help out further by passing this message along to your friends and family - and thanks for your work!
Sincerely,
Dan Stafford
Environmental Action Organizer
DanS@environmental-action.org
http://www.environmental-action.org
Rupert Murdoch: “Internet Will Soon Be Over”
http://www.prisonplanet.com/rupert-murdoch-internet-will-soon-be-over.html
Rupert Murdoch: “Internet Will Soon Be Over”
Corporate media forced to charged dwindling readership for news content as establishment propaganda organs wither and die while alternative media soars
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch gave a strange response when asked about plans for mainstream news websites to charge for content, declaring, “The current days of the internet will soon be over.”
He was making reference to the fact that corporate media websites cannot continue to survive under their current failing business model.
The establishment media is dying and advertising revenue has plummeted as people turn to blogs and the alternative media for their news in an environment of corporate lies and spin.
This has forced sectors of the corporate media to charge the dwindling number of loyal readers they have left for news content, a practice which is set to become widespread according to Murdoch. This will only send more people over to the alternative media as the old organs of de facto state-controlled propaganda wither and die.
“Asked whether he envisaged fees at his British papers such as the Times, the Sunday Times, the Sun and the News of the World, (Murdoch) replied: “We’re absolutely looking at that,” reports the Guardian. “Taking questions on a conference call with reporters and analysts, he said that moves could begin “within the next 12 months‚” adding: “The current days of the internet will soon be over.”
Murdoch’s newspapers and TV networks, which include Fox News and the Asian Star Network, have seen profits plummet from $216m to just $7m year-on-year. MySpace.com is also floundering despite a recent move to replace the company’s entire management staff.
It was all but over for the Boston Globe this week, following a threat to close the 137-year-old publication after net losses of $85 million this year alone. Only a last minute cost-cutting agreement on behalf of its owner, The New York Times Company, and The Boston Newspaper Guild, saved the newspaper.
But it’s not just establishment newspapers that are struggling to survive - social networking websites like Twitter and corporate online video giant You Tube are also deep in the red. Apparently, paying out millions in server fees for half the population of the planet to watch clips of cute puppies isn’t a sustainable business model.
This is why You Tube is being forced to pursue lucrative partnerships with giant production studios and broadcasters, at the expense of user generated content which has been relegated to a sub-section of its website, taking the “You” out of You Tube altogether. Content that may be deemed harmful to You Tube’s corporate agenda and its multi-million dollar partnership deals, like The Alex Jones Channel, is being systematically erased from You Tube’s website under the pretext of flimsy copyright infringement claims.
The jig is up for the corporate media. If they continue to allow free access to their content they will go out of business because there’s not enough advertising revenue coming in, whereas if they charge for content they will lose a huge chunk of their audience and their influence in shaping the news agenda will wane completely.
This is the price the corporate media has paid for lying, spinning and obfuscating on behalf of the virulently corrupt power elite and expecting the population to eat it up without question.
The corporate media monopoly has terminal cancer and they are losing their power, which is why they are aggressively supporting moves to phase out the old Internet altogether and replace it with “Internet 2,” a highly regulated and controlled electronic Berlin wall, where alternative voices will be silenced and giant corporate propaganda organs will dominate once again.
This what Murdoch is really getting at when he assures us that, “The Internet will soon be over” and it’s down to us to stop that agenda from being realized.
Rupert Murdoch: “Internet Will Soon Be Over”
Corporate media forced to charged dwindling readership for news content as establishment propaganda organs wither and die while alternative media soars
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch gave a strange response when asked about plans for mainstream news websites to charge for content, declaring, “The current days of the internet will soon be over.”
He was making reference to the fact that corporate media websites cannot continue to survive under their current failing business model.
The establishment media is dying and advertising revenue has plummeted as people turn to blogs and the alternative media for their news in an environment of corporate lies and spin.
This has forced sectors of the corporate media to charge the dwindling number of loyal readers they have left for news content, a practice which is set to become widespread according to Murdoch. This will only send more people over to the alternative media as the old organs of de facto state-controlled propaganda wither and die.
“Asked whether he envisaged fees at his British papers such as the Times, the Sunday Times, the Sun and the News of the World, (Murdoch) replied: “We’re absolutely looking at that,” reports the Guardian. “Taking questions on a conference call with reporters and analysts, he said that moves could begin “within the next 12 months‚” adding: “The current days of the internet will soon be over.”
Murdoch’s newspapers and TV networks, which include Fox News and the Asian Star Network, have seen profits plummet from $216m to just $7m year-on-year. MySpace.com is also floundering despite a recent move to replace the company’s entire management staff.
It was all but over for the Boston Globe this week, following a threat to close the 137-year-old publication after net losses of $85 million this year alone. Only a last minute cost-cutting agreement on behalf of its owner, The New York Times Company, and The Boston Newspaper Guild, saved the newspaper.
But it’s not just establishment newspapers that are struggling to survive - social networking websites like Twitter and corporate online video giant You Tube are also deep in the red. Apparently, paying out millions in server fees for half the population of the planet to watch clips of cute puppies isn’t a sustainable business model.
This is why You Tube is being forced to pursue lucrative partnerships with giant production studios and broadcasters, at the expense of user generated content which has been relegated to a sub-section of its website, taking the “You” out of You Tube altogether. Content that may be deemed harmful to You Tube’s corporate agenda and its multi-million dollar partnership deals, like The Alex Jones Channel, is being systematically erased from You Tube’s website under the pretext of flimsy copyright infringement claims.
The jig is up for the corporate media. If they continue to allow free access to their content they will go out of business because there’s not enough advertising revenue coming in, whereas if they charge for content they will lose a huge chunk of their audience and their influence in shaping the news agenda will wane completely.
This is the price the corporate media has paid for lying, spinning and obfuscating on behalf of the virulently corrupt power elite and expecting the population to eat it up without question.
The corporate media monopoly has terminal cancer and they are losing their power, which is why they are aggressively supporting moves to phase out the old Internet altogether and replace it with “Internet 2,” a highly regulated and controlled electronic Berlin wall, where alternative voices will be silenced and giant corporate propaganda organs will dominate once again.
This what Murdoch is really getting at when he assures us that, “The Internet will soon be over” and it’s down to us to stop that agenda from being realized.
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