Archive for April 17th, 2012
Apr
17
Spring Skiing at ABasin
By Kathryn Whiteman
Skiing at Vail and Beaver Creek last week just whetted my appetite for spring skiing, so Saturday of Easter weekend, I headed to Arapahoe Basin. Since this was my first time at A-Basin, I was surprised to find the parking lot full of campers, dogs, kids, grills — we’re talking full-on tailgate parties. I’ve never seen this at a ski resort before, but it was a beautiful day and they looked like they were having a blast. I liked this place even before I set foot on the slopes (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Summit of the Americas Flashback and Fast Forward
As President Obama makes his way to Colombia for the Summit of the Americas — “to tout his trade record and convince millions of Hispanic voters back home he cares about the region,” as Reuters tartly reported — I found myself thinking back three years when he last attended this meeting.
At a concluding press conference, the president recounted what he learned about what Cuban doctors do in the region thanks to their nation’s commitment to “medical internationalism”:
One thing that I thought was interesting — and I knew this in a more abstract way but it was interesting in very specific terms — hearing from these leaders who when they spoke about Cuba talked very specifically about the thousands of doctors from Cuba that are dispersed all throughout the region, and upon which many of these countries heavily depend.
The Cubans have been helping nations around the world react to crises and natural disasters, and to meet their people’s primary care needs, since 1960. The achievements of this program — chronicled by scholars such as John Kirk, and non-governmental organizations like MEDICC — were well known outside the United States when President Obama heard about them in April 2009.
Following the earthquake in Haiti, however, when Cuban doctors already stationed there were the first to respond, became the backbone of the fight against cholera, and continued helping Haitians recover and build a new health care system long after many in the international community diverted their gaze, the full extent of Cuba’s commitment to public health outside its own borders was hard to ignore even in the United States (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Were Not Accredited and Were Proud of It
This tweet just appeared in my feed:
Hmmmm…
What separates a “real” college from a fly-by-night diploma mill? One of the ways in which colleges and universities are vetted is by accreditation … and many new for-profit online start-ups like the one in the Twitter ad blast flaunt their accreditation as a validation of their legitimacy. But accreditation comes in many flavors (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Argentinas Expropriation and the Lessons of History
Created in 1922, Argentina oil producer YPF became the first entirely state-run oil company in the world, and came to symbolize the politicization of oil well before today’s Middle Eastern oil producers became omnipotent. The nationalization of oil has been a consistent theme in Argentina since the state first established a monopoly on oil exploration in 1928. President Kirchner’s recently announced expropriation of YPF continues a long tradition of gyration between pro and anti-foreign investment sentiment in the country’s oil sector.
Given that the president consolidated her power by being reelected in a landslide vote last year, she has a mandate to continue the ‘Argentina first’ policies she pursued during her first term. YPF’s expropriation is the largest of its kind in the natural resource sector since the Russian government expropriated Yukos a decade ago, and a reminder — as if any were needed — that acts of expropriation can occur without notice, even to the largest of multinational corporations.
Surely, Repsol would have been aware of Argentina’s history of expropriating foreign investment in YPF over the course of the past century (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Stayathome Working Mothers
Oh no she DI’INT! Oh, yes, she did. Strategist and CNN political analyst Hilary Rosen said Presidential first-wife hopeful Ann Romney, homemaker and mother of five boys, was out of touch with the economic issues a majority of women face (e.g., feeding kids, sending them to school and worrying about their future) because she “never worked a day in her life.” This is like asking an overweight woman when she is due, or informing a Mom or Dad that their child appears to have been hit repeatedly with the ugly stick — you just don’t do it no matter how loud the screaming in your head is. You never, ever, suggest a stay-at-home mom is not “really working”. It is inflammatory, infuriating and just plain wrong (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Defending Mr Daisey Part 2 Big Fact Little Fact
A little over a week ago, I began this series about the flap over This American Life’s hour-long “Retraction” of its January broadcast of excerpts of Mike Daisey’s The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Lobs. In Act One, entitled “Lies Like Truth,” I made the fairly obvious observation that theatre and journalism are not the same thing, and that we should be looking a bit more critically at Ira Glass’ inability to distinguish between the two. Judging from the comments on that post, there are quite a few people who are obsessed with the “lies” that Mike Daisey told in his performance, and they fail to see that the question of “journalistic fact” in the realm of memoir and creative nonfiction is not quite as settled and cut-and-dried as they would like to make out.
Which brings us to
Act Two, “Big Fact, Little Fact.”
Let’s begin by revisiting the statement Ira Glass makes at the very beginning of “Retraction”: “in fact-checking, our main concern was whether the things that Mike says about Apple and about its supplier, Foxconn, which makes this stuff, were true (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Corporations Supporting ALEC Are Risking Damage To Their Brands
Some companies are learning that supporting hyper-partisan groups can backfire when their customers find out about it. In recent weeks a number of companies are trying to distance themselves from the partisan, right-wing group ALEC before their brands become as damaged as Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
ALEC, The American Legislative Exchange Council, is a shady, hyper-partisan, state-based lobbying group that was able to wield power by staying under the radar. Recently the Trayvon Martin shooting case exposed how ALEC helped push through a dangerous “shoot first” law in Florida (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Program Alert Live BeetShow from NAB in Las Vegas 245 PT Starring RedFuryNYC
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Please check out our 45-minute live Webcast from floor of the NAB show today from the stage of Livesteream. The program runs from 2:45 – 3:30 PT. Helping moderate is the fantastic Ashley J.
read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com
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Apr
17
Take Me Out To The Bookstore A Pair Of New Baseball Books Touch All The Bases
It seems almost a shame that two of the best baseball books I’ve read in recent memory are coming to us at the same time as Opening Day. It seems almost unnecessary to dive between the covers of a good book about baseball when there’s the real thing going on just a click of the remote (or mouse button) away. Not to mention baseball blogs, fantasy baseball, the MLB Network, baseball blather on sports radio… I mean, how can true fans find time to read a whole book about the game, let alone two? But The Juju Rules by Hart Seely and The Baseball Maniac’s Almanac, edited by the late Bert Sugar, are too good to wait for November to check out (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Thoughts on Tax Day 2012
As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., wrote in 1904, “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”
But the wealthiest Americans, who haven’t raked in as much of America’s income and wealth since the 1920s, are today paying a lower tax rate than they have in over 30 years. Even though America faces a mammoth federal budget deficit. Even though public services at all levels of government continue to be slashed. Even though the median wage is still dropping, adjusted for inflation (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Trayvon Martin Case Reminds Us Never Be Silent
With George Zimmerman’s upcoming trial in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, the role that racism may have played in this incident will continue to be a heated topic of debate. And while these discussions may be uncomfortable, they should be welcomed since only by bringing prejudices to light do we have any hope of ending them.
We all have prejudices to dispel: the need to get away from thinking that “I” am important and special and “you” are not, and the frightened mindset that tells us that certain “others” are of no consequence. And homophobia, racism, sexism, speciesism, ageism, anti-Semitism, and other “-isms” not only separate us from one another but also can lead from words to weapons. To read the news is to see a world awash with examples (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Lets Use Taxes to Put America to Work
As tax day rolls around, hardworking families are meeting their obligations to our nation by paying their taxes. This year, Americans will pay an estimated $2.62 trillion in federal taxes and $1.42 trillion in state-local taxes. But at the same time, the reality is many of the wealthiest Americans just aren’t doing their part. Since the Bush tax cuts were signed into law, the nation’s top earners continue to get wealthier while middle-class and low-income families are paying more than their fair share (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
How Safe Is Your Cookware
by guest blogger Isaac Eliaz, MD, MS, LAc, integrative medicine pioneer, researcher, clinical practitioner, author, and lecturer
As an integrative physician, some of the most important recommendations I make for my patients include advice on diet and healthy eating habits. But what about healthy cooking? Cooking techniques that can increase nutrient availability are certainly an important part of a health-promoting diet. However, many people don’t consider the fact that some cooking methods can also increase the presence of toxins in their meal.
A significant number of consumer reports and scientific studies have revealed the presence of harmful, carcinogenic chemicals and heavy metals in aluminum and other nonstick cookware products. Peer-reviewed research suggests that certain nonstick chemicals can contribute to cancer, birth defects, flulike symptoms, elevated cholesterol, abnormal thyroid hormone levels, liver inflammation, weakened immunity, and other health problems (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Actor Guy Pearce pumps up for Lockout
Stranded in outer space, stranded in Serbia – how much different can it be?
Not much, says actor Guy Pearce, whose newest film, Lockout, opened Friday.
“The thing I enjoy about being in remote places is that there are no distractions,” Pearce, 44, says. “I love the idea of having three months to just think about one thing. It’s hard to shoot at home – with the house and the dogs and the banking (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Nudes Nudes Electric Nudes
Some years ago, there were two or three automobile collisions each week at the intersection of 3rd St. and La Cienega in Los Angeles. Northbound cars on La Cienega would smash into southbound cars turning left onto 3rd St. I witnessed this sitcom from the cafe area of the now-sadly-demised Borders Books and Music at the northeast corner of the intersection (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Dougs Dozen 12 New Details in the PenguinBitesNewtGingrich Story
News item: Newt Gingrich had a bandage on his finger after being bitten by a penguin at the St. Louis Zoo.
If you think I’m leaving this one alone, you’re crazy.
So herewith are…
DOUG’S DOZEN: 12 NEW DETAILS IN THE “PENGUIN-BITES-NEWT-GINGRICH” STORY
1 (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
The Muslim Brotherhood Is Dead Long Live the Freedom and Justice Party
The Muslim Brotherhood (MB), until after the Egyptian revolution began in 2011, was a civil society movement. It wasn’t founded as a militant movement, for martial resistance, nor was it founded as a political movement in order to take power. It was founded out of a civil impulse to reform society, in an age when colonialisation had radically altered society in Egypt. As the decades ensued, the MB went through various phases, and produced many offshoots – but in the main, the MB remained a civic-based organisation in Egypt.
After the 25th of January, the MB leadership had a choice: transform the movement into a political party — or remain as a movement (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Playing It Straight With Women
Emotional honesty, the topic of my last blog post, received more than 2,000 comments. It’s clearly a hot topic, and it pushed a lot of men’s buttons. Emotional honesty isn’t part of any feminist agenda, and contrary to some comments, being emotionally honest with a woman actually strengthens a man’s position in a relationship. I’ve been advocating for men for over 20 years, and I also support women’s rights (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Dale Watson Texas Honky Tonk Legend Makes His First Stage Appearance In Ghost Brothers of Darkland County
Last Tuesday night, a man who had never performed in a play in his life stepped in front of 750 people and into the lead role of a major new musical by Stephen King and John Mellencamp. He sang songs he’d never sung under lights he’d never been under, setting cues and talking to actors to whom he’d never spoken, and he did it with no script in his hands.
As an actor this is pretty much the most terrifying situation imaginable. In fact that very scenario is the basis of its own play, An Actor’s Nightmare, by Christopher Durang, in which an unsuspecting performer plays the lead in a show he’s never seen.
But musician Dale Watson lived a (modified) version of that on Tuesday when he played the role of Joe McCandless in Ghost Brothers of Darkland County at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta after the Tony-nominated actor and Goergia native Shuler Hensley fell ill unexpectedly, and Watson, his understudy, had to fill in. It was the last night of previews before a Wednesday night opening (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
UnEqual Pay Day
Today is Equal Pay Day, a national misnomer dedicated to the sad reality that in 2012 women in modern day America have to work an extra 3.5 months — April 17th to be exact — for their 2011 earnings to match what men were paid on average in 2011.
I find that there is cruel irony in having Equal Pay Day fall on Tax Day. Women and men share the responsibility of paying taxes, but there is no sharing when it comes to receiving equal pay for comparable work.
Since President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, the gap between men and women’s earnings has narrowed by less than a half-cent per year (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Fire Up Your Creative Genius Challenge Day 1
Click to join the challenge!
No matter where you are in your life, whether you’re a soaring entrepreneur or an executive in a rut, a student revving up to save the planet or a stay-at-home mom, an urban shaman wandering or well established, you need to consciously cultivate your Creative Genius. And everyone has it. Everyone.
Fire up your creative genius today.
Creativity is about intention. It’s how you work (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Clippers Recap April 16 2012 ESPN
Source:Associated Press
__________________________________________________________________________
LOS ANGELES — With some help, the Los Angeles Clippers had already clinched their first playoff berth in five years before they tipped off against Oklahoma City. Then they went out and earned it.Nick Young scored 19 points off the bench, Blake Griffin added 17 and Randy Foye 13 to beat the Thunder 92-77 on Monday night.”It is something that we’re happy about, but by no means is that all we want,” said Griffin, who like a lot of his teammates will be in the postseason for the first time. “That was one of our goals coming in, but it goes farther than that.”Houston lost to Denver by three points earlier Monday night, ensuring the Clippers would end the second-longest active postseason drought in the league.”I’m happy we can get Blake on TV in May,” DeAndre Jordan said.Griffin had 11 rebounds and Jordan grabbed 12 in the Clippers’ fourth straight victory and 12th in their past 14 games. Their 38 wins are the most since the franchise had 40 in 2006-07.”This is a great feeling,” said Paul, whose acquisition shortly before the lockout ended has played a key role in the Clippers’ changing fortunes. “We can celebrate it, be excited about it tonight, but tomorrow we’re back at work.”Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 24 points, Serge Ibaka and James Harden added 12 points each and Russell Westbrook was held to nine as the Thunder’s two-game winning streak ended. San Antonio beat Golden State to move percentage points ahead of the Thunder in the race for the No. 1 seed in the West.”There’s no time to panic right now,” Durant said. “We have to win the next game in order to get our momentum back.”The Clippers didn’t need the victory to achieve their immediate goal, but they played like they wanted it in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Thunder 26-11.”We got good looks, but we were missing shots and they picked their intensity up,” Durant said. “It was just one of those tough ones for us. I missed a few 3s, Russell missed a few elbow jump shots, which he normally makes, and Serge missed some that went in and out. That’s how the game is, man.”Mo Williams hit a 3-pointer for the Clippers’ first lead since they scored the game’s first basket. Eric Bledsoe came in for Paul and calmly ran the offense, feeding Williams and Young, who combined for 10 of their first 14 points.”We’re one of the best second units in the league,” said Young, who joined the Clippers a month ago in a trade from Washington. “I’m excited. I was waiting for one of these type of games. To get it tonight against one of the league’s top teams was great.”Griffin scored on back-to-back rim-rattling dunks that had the Clippers’ 32nd sellout crowd of the season on its feet roaring. Paul briefly came back in, but Williams and Foye made consecutive 3s to stretch their lead to 90-77, so the All-Star guard sat down again with the game in hand.”We have enough offensive power to play with anybody, but our defense is what triggers us,” Paul said. “When we defend, we’re tough to guard.”Foye dribbled out the final seconds with a smile on his face, although at the buzzer the Clippers did little more than smile and hug each other.”We know that’s not the only thing we want,” Jordan said. “We still have a goal for this team, and this is just one of the steps towards it.”The Clippers won the season series, 3-1.”They’re really good, but I don’t think they’re a better team than us,” Durant said. “It’s not like we’re afraid of them or that we’re scared to see those guys later on. But you have to give them credit. They beat us.”The Clippers dominated the third, outscoring the Thunder 23-14. Durant and Westbrook were shut out, while Ibaka scored 12, including nine in a row. Young scored eight straight, hitting two consecutive 3s, to draw Los Angeles within one. Durant banged into Griffin on the perimeter for the foul. Griffin made both shots, but the second was disallowed when Jordan committed a lane violation, leaving the game tied at 66.”We picked up the defensive intensity to start the third quarter,” Paul said. “We got some steals, got out in transition, guys hit some big buckets and we were able to sustain that momentum.”The Thunder led by 11 points in the second quarter. The Clippers closed within four three times, the last time on a 10-3 run including four in a row by Griffin. But the Thunder ran off the final five points to go up 52-43 at halftime. Ibaka had three fouls in the first half when he had no rebounds and no points.Game notes Paul took his 2-year-old son to a Dodgers game on Sunday. They were both wearing Dodgers caps and his son waved at the crowd. “They booed me bad,” he said. “I was just happy that my son didn’t know what was going on.” … The Clippers play four of their final five games on the road, where they will try to finish with a .500 or better record for the first time since moving to Los Angeles in 1984. … They are 15-14 away from home, one of just three Western Conference teams with a winning road mark. … The Thunder fell to 19-11 on the road, still tops in the West. … The Thunder came in averaging 103.1 points. … Durant made 10 of 12 free throws, but the Thunder were just 62 percent from the line, well below their league-leading 80.3 percent.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The
Links:Full news story
Source:espn.go.com
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Apr
17
Gossip Girl Recap Chucks Mama Drama Spices Up Salon Of The Dead
Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 5, Episode 20 of The CW’s “Gossip Girl,” entitled “Salon of the Dead.”
Oh, “Gossip Girl,” why must you tease me so? Just when I think we’re making progress, with last week’s episode demonstrating some nostalgically sharp writing and logical character progression, along comes an episode like “Salon of the Dead,” which was so by the numbers it could’ve been painted by an eight-year-old with a DIY kit and tiny paintbrush.
The separate pieces were all promising: Lola on the verge of discovering Serena’s secret; the truth about Chuck’s mother finally coming to light; Dan and Blair hosting a fabulous soiree at which every conceivable catastrophe occurs; an actual storyline for Rufus and Lily. And yet the sum of its parts failed to add up to an entertaining whole. The writing felt flat, the scathing wit was nowhere to be found, and every character’s actions were painfully predictable (continue reading…)
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Apr
17
How Centrist Democrats Are Helping Conservatives and Failing Americas Moms
So a corporate Democratic lobbyist named Hillary Rosen made a gaffe about Ann Romney’s resum. So what? The reality is that Moms of all ages have been wounded by an obsolete and misguided consensus among Washington elites – a consensus that is too often mislabeled as ‘centrism.’
This false centrism is based on an utterly discredited ideology of deregulation and government austerity – an ideology that has the GOP in its iron grip and controls much of the Democratic Party apparatus. The GOP hA become too radical to save. But the Democrats need to see the light, and soon, because the results are in and they’re indisputable.
The Clintonite economic fantasy of “corporate-friendly Democrats” has failed (continue reading…)
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