Archive for May 2nd, 2011
May
02
More Trump Nuttiness Now Its Obamas Grades
Would-be GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump wasted no time eagerly snatching at another silly, deliberately distracting, media grabbing attention issue, when his crusade to get President Obama to release his birth certificate came to a quick end on April 27.
The issue now is Obama’s alleged mediocre academic performance. There’s method to this idiotic issue, and it’s already paid off for Trump. The media have quoted him extensively on it, and more than a few Obama critics are talking up the president’s college days as a legitimate political issue (continue reading…)
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May
02
Actor Orlando Bloom Shines a Dark Light on Characters in Both Sympathy For Delicious and The Good Doctor
It’s been quite a week for British born actor Orlando Bloom. With two films, Sympathy For Delicious and The Good Doctor, playing before audiences this week, the 34 year-old actor has been seen in a very different light from his Pirates of The Carribbean-tattered days. Bloom displayed his darker chops to good effect.
Born in England in 1977, his supposed father, Harry Bloom — a civil rights activist in South Africa — died of a stroke when Bloom was four years old. Family friend Colin Stone and mother, Sonia, raised him and his sister (continue reading…)
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May
02
Time to Praise Obama
The numbers say it all.
George W. Bush told us that he would get Bin Laden “Dead Or Alive”.
2,688 days after 9/11 — Bush left office with no Bin Laden either dead OR alive.
Just 829 days after Obama took office — we got him!
Barack Obama — has achieved what George W. Bush couldn’t do — in a fraction of the time.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com
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May
02
Paking It In
The United States and Pakistan have divergent interests in Afghanistan. Therefore, their views as to desirable/acceptable outcomes are different. The United States and Pakistan have different conceptions as to what constitutes a satisfactory relationship. Therefore, there is no easy diplomatic mechanism for reconciling interests in a shared strategy (continue reading…)
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May
02
VIDEO With Deep Pockets SB Nation is Building a Great Media Company
With a fast-growing digital spports news business and investment backing from Accel Partners, Comcast, and Allen & Company, SB Nation is aiming to be a “great media company” in various content verticals, CEO Jim Bankoff tells Beet.TV in this interview.
The company made its first big content move outside of sports with the hiring of several former Engadget staffers, including editor Joshua Toplosky, who are creating a new technology blog, which is unnamed and will luanch in the early Fall.
Not waiting for the launch, the star bloggers are publishing on a temporary site titled thisismynext.com.
To accomodate the new blog, SB Nation is opening a New York office and bureau in the Union Square area, Bankoff says.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com
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May
02
Vanessas Hands
Four days ago a ceramic angel that had been placed on a desk in my family room dropped suddenly and it broke from its base, the wings went in two directions. Superstitious always, but more since 9/11, I joked that Vanessa had lost her wings. What was going on in heaven?
On 9/11/2001 Vanessa went to work early, dressed in a black Banana Republic skirt and blouse, asking her husband Timmy if she looked okay before she left. She was four or five months pregnant, feuding with most of us in the family, most importantly her brother James who was 14 at the time — her best friend on earth (continue reading…)
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May
02
Mixed Economic Signals Call for Unambiguous Action Leading in Confusing Times
The economy is going gangbusters. The economy is poised for a fall.
Depending on the signals you tune into, you could see things going either way.
Take recent economic events. In late April, for example, the NASDAQ index topped a 10-year old mark while The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks achieved an all-time high (continue reading…)
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May
02
Top 5 Sports Stories
Happy Monday everyone, here’s my Top 5 for May 2, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* Score of the weekend. U-S-A 1, Evil 0.
* In the NBA playoffs, Miami beat Boston 99-90 in game one of their series.
* Memphis knocks off Oklahoma City 114-101 in game one.
* In the NHL, Tampa Bay and San Jose lead 2-games to none in their series.
* If you’re scoring at home, starting today, the NFL lockout was still on pending a court decision.
* May Day. The Cleveland Indians at 19-8 have the best record in Major League Baseball.
* British heavyweight boxer Henry Cooper, who once knocked down Cassius Clay, is dead at the age of 76.
2 (continue reading…)
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May
02
Now That Weve Killed bin Laden Lets Kill Oil
The U.S. military’s success in finding and killing Osama bin Laden is a gigantic victory in the war against terror and for a safer, freer world.
But if this is to be the beginning of the end for al Qaeda and repressive governments in the Middle East, we have to make it our national mission not just to kill these groups’ leaders, but also to wipe out the single greatest source of their money and power: oil.
From the beginning, Osama bin Laden’s rise was made possible by oil money (continue reading…)
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May
02
The Christian Response To Bin Ladens Death
As someone who worked at Ground Zero in the days and weeks following 9/11 I rejoiced to hear that Osama Bin Laden’s long reign of terror, which had dealt death, destruction and untold misery to millions across the world, had finally come to an end. As a Christian, though, I cannot rejoice at the death of a human being, no matter how monstrous he was.
On the morning of Sept. 11 2001, I was working at my desk at America magazine in Manhattan. My mother, who lives in Philadelphia, called me to tell me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center (continue reading…)
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May
02
With Bin Ladens Death Yemen Threat Comes Into Focus
The stunning news that Osama bin Laden has been killed by American Navy Seals in a daring attack in Pakistan yesterday is a tremendous blow to al Qaeda. The radical movement he created, however, even in a debilitated form, remains a serious threat to Westerners around the world, and to America in particular. The original branch of al Qaeda will now most likely be led by 59-year-old Egyptian pediatrician Ayman al Zawahiri, who combined his own organization, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, with bin Laden’s in 1998. In recent years Zawahiri was much more prolific in released statements, particularly videos, than was bin Laden, who often was relegated to taped voice messages (continue reading…)
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May
02
HuffPost Review We Go Way Back
I was a big fan of Lynn Shelton’s 2009 film, Humpday, so I was interested to see her 2006 film We Go Way Back, which is having a brief release in New York at the moment.
And the film pays off early, with the kind of offbeat humor that marked Humpday and made it so surprising. Unfortunately, the comedy in this film seems like an afterthought, a throwaway subplot. In fact, it offers the film’s best moments.
For the first half of the film, you can almost kid yourself into believing that these witty sidetrips – to the agonizing rehearsals for a small theater company’s production of Hedda Gabler – are what the film is about. But then Shelton gets “serious” – and We Go Way Back dissolves into arty murk.
Amber Hubert plays Kate, a struggling actress who fills a lot of jobs (including bookkeeper) at a small theater company in Seattle (continue reading…)
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May
02
How Baseball Healed a Nation
“Lopez wants it away, and it’s hit deep to left center, Andruw Jones on the run, this one has a chance… home run!, Mike Piazza!, and the Mets lead 3 to 2!” This call was from September 21, 2001, the first professional sporting event played in New York City since 9/11. It was the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Mets were down 2-1 to the Atlanta Braves before Edgardo Alfonzo drew a walk and Mike Piazza stepped to the plate and hit, without a doubt, the most momentous home run I have ever seen.
I was just nine-years-old when the events of September 11 took place (continue reading…)
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May
02
My Mothers Ham Glaze
I had wanted to write this blog post before Easter, so you all could try this recipe on your Easter ham. But I hadn’t tested it yet, so it had to wait. It’s such a great story, though, that I just couldn’t wait until next Easter to share it.
When I was little, I remember my mother making an awesome ham with a sweet and tangy glaze. When she got older, she either forgot or got lazy or something (continue reading…)
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May
02
The Psychology of Revenge Why We Should Stop Celebrating Osama Bin Ladens Death
While the killing of Osama bin Laden is being enthusiastically celebrated throughout America and parts of the world, to say that such merriment is out of order will surely be considered heresy. Nonetheless, I’m saying it — because it needs to be said. What I am tempted to say is this: Get a grip, celebrators. Have you so little decency?
I do understand how those who have suffered from the events of 9/11 may feel relieved, even happy, to have “closure” after 10 years of waiting for “justice to be done” — and I don’t quarrel with such feelings (continue reading…)
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May
02
Terrorism Concerns After bin Laden
The killing of Osama bin Laden constitutes a significant victory over global terrorism. But it is a milestone, not a turning point, in what remains an ongoing struggle without a foreseeable end.
The significance of what was accomplished stems from bin Laden’s symbolic importance. He has been an icon, one representing the ability to strike with success against the United States and the West. That icon is now gone.
There is also the demonstration effect of what U.S (continue reading…)
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May
02
Dont Waste Osamas Death
Defining moments. They have shaped our history — from the Declaration of Independence, to the Emancipation Proclamation, to D Day — the justice served on these days permanently reshaped our world. And then there was that ignominious day, 9/11, that challenged our nation with an unprecedented test. As we valiantly rose from the rubble created by cowards, we experienced another defining moment — we united as a nation (continue reading…)
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May
02
Bin Ladens Death Only a Partial Victory
As much as the U.S. and its allies should rightly be celebrating the execution of Osama Bin Laden, we must remember that it took us more than 20 years since the founding of Al Qaeda in 1988, and nearly ten years since 9/11, to find and kill him. Despite the best efforts of our military and intelligence agencies, he remained elusive for a very long time. In addition to having been protected and hidden by several governments in the past — including that of Afghanistan and the Sudan — it now appears that the Pakistani government — which had supposedly been our partner for many years in fighting Al Qaeda — had to have been complicit in hiding and protecting him, while at the same time partnering with the U.S (continue reading…)
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May
02
Muslimericans React to Bin Ladens Death
What a difference a decade can make!
I remember seeing a patient with a gangrenous foot a few hours after the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th 2001, trying to convince him that an amputation would save his life. As the events of the terror attacks unfolded, I as an American Muslim felt torn and divided: The American in me felt angry, sad, and depressed (even though my anger and sadness would do no one any good) and the Muslim in me felt embarrassed, hurt, and molested (even though no formal connection of the terrorists with Islam had been established yet).
On the contrary, the news of Bin Laden’s death last night aroused a unified reaction: justice.
Or perhaps “justice” was at the pinnacle of many other emotions lurking beneath the surface.
What I am interested in knowing though, is the one-word reaction of my fellow American Muslim leaders as this is the moment for them to set the record straight (continue reading…)
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May
02
Putting the Cart before the Horse or the Building before the Programming
There is one truism for building a building that many arts organizations ignore: before you build a building decide what you want to do in it.
This seems so self-evident as to be ridiculous.
But it astonishing to me how many boards of arts organizations make decisions to build a building without a very clear idea about what they want to produce in it.
I have been approached by several arts organizations in the United States and many others overseas that are planning to build new facilities. In many cases, I am asked for my opinions only after the architects have completed their work and sometimes even after ground-breaking has occurred. How can I offer suggestions about the elements needed in a world class arts facility when the building is already being erected?
At these meetings, I always turn the discussion to the nature of the programming to be produced, what operating budget is projected, how audiences will be developed and how a fundraising will be implemented (continue reading…)
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May
02
Blue Cross Blue Shield Get Richer By Borrowing Playbook of Corporate Insurers
I’ve written frequently in recent weeks about the eye-popping profits the big publicly traded health companies have been reporting. Last year–as the number of Americans without health insurance grew to nearly 51 million–the five largest for-profit insurers (Aetna, CIGNA, Humana, UnitedHealth and WellPoint) had combined profits of $11.7 billion.
But that was so 2010.
If the profits those companies made during the first three months of this year are an indication of things to come, 2011 will more than likely be the most profitable year ever for these new darlings of Wall Street.
But lest you think only those big New York Stock Exchange-listed corporations have figured out how to make money hand over fist while their base of policyholders is shrinking, take a look at the so-called nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans.
Don’t think for a minute that the Blues are any more interested in your health and well-being than the companies that at least own up to being in business to make a hefty profit off of insuring the healthy and shunning the sick.
According to a report by Carl McDonald of Citi Investment Research and Analysis, last year was the most profitable year in history for the Blues plans, which enjoy significant tax advantages because of their claim to be nonprofit and terrific community citizens. Collectively, the Blues reported more than $5.5 billion in net income in 2010.
Not only that, but the Blues now have more than five times that amount in capital above what state regulators require (continue reading…)
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May
02
How Excess Weight Exacerbates Menopause
Originally posted on Women’s Voices for Change.
Dear Dr. Pat,
I am 58 years old, 5 feet, 2 inches tall and I weigh 170 pounds. My doctor tells me that I am pre-diabetic and has warned me that I am increasing my risk for heart disease, stroke and cancer because of my weight. I am still having my periods, and they are a bit longer and heavier than they used to be: eight days and eight pads on the heavy days (continue reading…)
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May
02
Abnormal Heart Rhythm The HeartTalk You and Your Doctor Need to Have
Many people experience “benign” arrhythmias and these can last for years. Cardiologists can sometimes find the cause, but not always. People who suffer with these can occasionally link them to activities, foods, beverages or medicines, but not always. There are many people who simply cannot figure out why they feel a butterfly in their chest, or why they feel a ‘skipped’ beat, or delay (termed “pause”) (continue reading…)
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May
02
Twitter Nails Osama Capture Death First
Osama Bin Laden Dead.
First reported on social media.
People singing the national anthem in front of the U.S. White House is an occurrence that happens more than people realize, but it is usually part of some organized protest (continue reading…)
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