Legal action threatened over 'sham' Heathrow consultation (Colin Brown, 23 November 2007, Independent)
Councils opposed to a third London runway threatened legal action yesterday after Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, provoked fury by signalling a massive expansion of Heathrow.Environment groups accused Gordon Brown of hypocrisy for claiming to be leading the world in combating climate change four days before consulting on an expansion of aviation in his own backyard.
The Government's plans were backed in a move that appeared to be co-ordinated by all sides of the pro-expansion lobby, including unions, the CBI, chambers of commerce and the airlines. But ministers may find the threats of legal action against "sham" consultation more worrying.
New boss turns the tables on Al Qaeda: Ex-Sunni insurgent becomes U.S. ally (Liz Sly, November 22, 2007, Chicago Tribune)
The once-dreaded Al Qaeda in Iraq stronghold of Amariyah has a new boss, and he's not shy about telling the story of the shootout that turned him into a local legend and helped change the tenor of the Iraq war.Earlier this year, Abul Abed, a disgruntled Sunni insurgent leader, began secret talks with the Americans about ending Al Qaeda's reign of terror in this run-down, formerly middle-class Baghdad neighborhood, renowned as one of the city's most dangerous. He had been gathering intelligence on the group for months.
One day in late May, he said, he decided it was time to act.
He hailed the car carrying the feared leader of Al Qaeda in the neighborhood, a man known as the White Lion, on one of Amariyah's main streets. "We want you to stop destroying our neighborhood," he told the man.
"Do you know who you are talking to?" said the White Lion, getting out of his car. "I am Al Qaeda. I will destroy even your own houses!"
He pulled out his pistol and shot at Abul Abed. The gun jammed. He reloaded and fired again. Again, the gun jammed.
By this time, Abul Abed said, he had pulled his own gun. He fired once, killing the White Lion.
"I walked over to him, stepped on his hand and took his gun," Abul Abed, which is a nom de guerre, said at his new, pink-painted headquarters in a renovated school in Amariyah, as an American Army captain seated in the corner nodded his head in affirmation of the account. "And then the fight started."
It was the beginning of the end for Al Qaeda in Amariyah.
End to French Transit Strike Seems Near (DOREEN CARVAJAL, 11/22/07, NY Times)
A crippling national transportation strike that has lasted nine days appeared to be sputtering to an end in France today as rail workers fighting to retain early retirement rights appeared to grow willing to accept negotiations and voted throughout the country to return to work. [...]It has been a symbolic clash that has tested the resolve of the transport unions — fighting an unpopular battle to allow their workers to retire in their 50s — against that of President Nicholas Sarkozy.
Christopher Kimball Saves the Thanksgiving Feast (Morning Edition, November 24, 2005)
It could happen to you. Friends and relatives are traveling over the river and through woods to your house for Thanksgiving. You started cooking well before dawn, and just as your culinary masterpiece is taking shape: disaster.The biscuits are burned, the gravy is gritty and the turkey is in trouble.
That's where Christopher Kimball can help. He is the creator of Cook's Illustrated Magazine and hosts the PBS television show America's Test Kitchen.
(originally posted: 11/24/05)
It is, amazingly enough, already that time of year when we all give formal thanks for the blessings we too often take for granted the rest of the year. As we never tire of telling you, it is the readers, commenters, and correspondents of the Brothers Judd who make it worthwhile to us and we can not adequately express how thankful we are to and for you.
Personally, this has been one of my most enjoyable years of blogging. The conversation has been especially civil of late and at this point we only very rarely have to delete comments and those almost exclusively of the most virulent nativists. As a general matter folks are thoughtful, informed and good natured and that allows for a lively exchange with minimal bruised feelings. We do read every comment and email and try to respond to most, if not always at the length they deserve.
We are humbled and gratified that you choose to spend some of your time with us and share your thoughts when moved to do so. We value hearing from you and are honored whenever you opt to hear from us.
We hope everyone has a happy and healthful Thanksgiving in the bosom of their own home--which would obviate the need to drive--or in the company of friends and family--whose homes are more than likely accessible by train. We include even Sox-haters, Darwinists, reflexive nativists, witch-coddlers, anti-McCainiacs, Airbusphiles, gold bugs, soccer fans and those who remain in Eric/Julia denial in these well wishes. You may be as wrong as dark socks with shorts, but you do give the joint atmosphere.
As an entirely inadequate expression of our regard, perhaps a Thanksgiving Day Football contest would be in order? Pick the three NFL games that day (with the total points scored in each) and we'll give out some more books.
Green Bay at Detroit
N.Y. Jets at Dallas
Indianapolis at Atlanta
God bless you and yours and the Land of the Pilgrim's pride.
Influential Iranian daily issues a rare rebuke to Ahmadinejad (Nazila Fathi, November 22, 2007, IHT)
The newspaper, Jomhouri Eslami, criticized Ahmadinejad for calling a former nuclear negotiator, Hossein Mousavian, a spy and saying that influential politicians were using their power to have him cleared of those charges. Mousavian was a close aide to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanajni when he was president."Lately, defaming political rivals has become common in the country and has replaced lawful behavior," the daily wrote in a front-page editorial in its Wednesday editions. "We want to reject this kind of behavior as immoral, illegal, illogical and un-Islamic and remind wise figures that such a trend is dangerous for the country."
Ahmadinejad has proved a divisive leader, with both hard-line conservative and reformist opponents finding fault with his economic programs and his strident anti-Western rhetoric. But the criticism is often indirect, to avoid political repercussions. Jomhouri Eslami, however, is so established - the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was once the managing editor - that it is unlikely to be closed down or censured.
Is Atomic Radiation as Dangerous as We Thought?: A mounting number of studies are coming to some surprising conclusions about the dangers of nuclear radiation. It might not be as deadly as is widely believed. (Matthias Schulz, 11/22/07, Der Spiegel)
There, in a long brick building, workers, including many women, sat in a dimly lit environment and placed the encrusted rods into nitric acid, triggering a process that allowed them to remove the weapons-grade plutonium. While the same work was performed with remote-controlled robotic arms in the West, the Soviet workers were not even given masks to wear. There was nothing to stop plutonium gases from entering their lungs.And yet the amount of health damage sustained by these workers was astonishingly low. The GSF study has examined 6,293 men who worked at the chemical plant between 1948 and 1972. "So far 301 have died of lung cancer," says Jacob. "But only 100 cases were caused by radiation. The others were attributed to cigarettes."
The second large, but as yet unpublished study by the GSF scientists also offers surprisingly low mortality figures. The subjects in this study were farmers who lived downstream from the nuclear reactors, in 41 small towns and villages along the Techa River. From 1949 to 1951, waste material from the plutonium production -- a bubbling toxic soup -- was simply poured into the river untreated. As a result, highly radioactive elements such as cesium 137 and strontium 90 were deposited in the river's sediments. The riverbanks became radioactive.
A report warning of the dangers was sent to Moscow in 1951. A series of X-ray tests was conducted, and police officers were assigned to guard the river. "We could only see the river through barbed wire or from a small wooden bridge," says a former resident. By 1960, 22 villages had been evacuated.
From the standpoint of Russian citizens' groups, which are currently suing for compensation in the courts, these official steps were half-hearted. In their view, the plant management committed "atomic genocide" against the ethnic Tatars living in the area.
But as the analyses show, even this accusation is exaggerated. The US National Cancer Institute (NCI) studied 29,873 people who lived along the Techa between 1950 and 1960. According to the NCI scientists, only 46 deaths came about due to radiation exposure.
The German researchers now know why the death rate was relatively low. Although the Techa was abused as a nuclear waste dump, the abuse was not as severe as the rumor-mongers would have us believe. "The Techa farmer most heavily exposed to the radiation received a dose of only 0.45 Gray," explains Jacob. By comparison, a lethal dose of radiation, which causes fever, changes in the composition of the blood, irreparable damage to the body and death within two weeks, is 6 Gray.
The findings hardly jive with the popular image of the atom as evil incarnate. Nightmarish scenarios of lingering illness and birth defects on an apocalyptic scale populate nightmares. In West Germany, the moral and political self-image of an entire generation arose from its battle against radiation, from "no nukes" protest marches to facing off against police water cannons at the Brokdorf nuclear power plant to sit-ins in front of Castor rail containers of reprocessed nuclear waste.
This hard-line stance was partly rooted in history. On Aug. 6, 1945, a US bomber dropped an atomic bomb code-named Little Boy over Hiroshima. The bomb detonated at an altitude of 600 meters (about 2,000 feet), directly above the center of the city and the resulting fireball, generating temperatures in excess of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, swept away all of downtown Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people. Three days later, a second atom bomb was dropped over Nagasaki, killing 70,000.
The more recent meltdown at the reactor in Chernobyl in 1986 reminded the world of the dangers of the atom. The incident was referred to as "nuclear genocide," and the press wrote of "forests stained red" and of deformed insects. The public was bombarded with images of Soviet cleanup crews wearing protective suits, bald-headed children with cancer and the members of cement crews who lost their lives in an attempt to seal off the cracked reactor with a concrete plug. Fifteen years after the reactor accident, the German newsmagazine Focus concluded that Chernobyl was responsible for "500,000" deaths.
Was all this just doomsday folklore? There is no doubt that large sections of the countryside were contaminated by the accident in the Ukraine. In the ensuing decades, up to 4,000 cleanup workers and residents of the more highly contaminated areas died of the long-term consequences of radiation exposure. But the six-figure death counts that opponents of nuclear power once cited are simply nonsense. In most cases, they were derived from vague "extrapolations" based on the hearsay reported by Russian dissidents. But such horror stories have remained part of the nuclear narrative to this day.
In fact, contemporaries who reported on the Chernobyl incident should have known better. Even in the 1980s, radiobiologists and radiation physicists considered the media's doomsday reports to be exaggerated.
And their suspicions have become a virtual certainty today. Groups of researchers have set up shop at all of the sites of nuclear accidents or major nuclear contamination. They work at Hanford (where the United States began producing plutonium in 1944), they conduct studies in the English town of Sellafield (where a contaminated cloud escaped from the chimney in 1957), and they study the fates of former East German uranium mineworkers in the states of Saxony and Thuringia. New mortality rates have now been compiled for all of these groups of individuals at risk. Surprisingly, the highest mortality rates were found among the East German mineworkers.
In Hiroshima, on the other hand, radioactivity claimed surprisingly few human lives. Experts now know exactly what happened in the first hours, days and weeks after the devastating atomic explosion. Almost all of Hiroshima's 140,000 victims died quickly. Either they were crushed immediately by the shock wave, or they died within the next few days of acute burns.
But the notorious radiation sickness -- a gradual ailment that leads to certain death for anyone exposed to radiation levels of 6 Gray or higher -- was rare. The reason is that Little Boy simply did not produce enough radioactivity. But what about the long-term consequences? Didn't the radiation work like a time bomb in the body?
To answer these questions, the Japanese and the Americans launched a giant epidemiological study after the war. The study included all residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who had survived the atomic explosion within a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) radius. Investigators questioned the residents to obtain their precise locations when the bomb exploded, and used this information to calculate a personal radiation dose for each resident. Data was collected for 86,572 people.
Today, 60 years later, the study's results are clear. More than 700 people eventually died as a result of radiation received from the atomic attack:
* 87 died of leukemia;
* 440 died of tumors;
* and 250 died of radiation-induced heart attacks.
* In addition, 30 fetuses developed mental disabilities after they were born.
Such statistics have attracted little notice so far. The numbers cited in schoolbooks are much higher. According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, 105,000 people died of the "long-term consequences of radiation."
"For commendable reasons, many critics have greatly exaggerated the health risks of radioactivity," says Albrecht Kellerer, a Munich radiation biologist. "But contrary to widespread opinion, the number of victims is by no means in the tens of thousands."
Especially surprising, though, is that the stories of birth defects in newborns are also pure fantasy. The press has repeatedly embellished photos of a destroyed Hiroshima with those of deformed children, children without eyes or with three arms. In reality, there hasn't been a single study that provides evidence of an elevated rate of birth defects.
Clashes between Sunnis and Al Qaeda break out near Baghdad (The Associated Press, November 21, 2007)
Suspected al-Qaida fighters killed two Iraqi soldiers early Thursday, then used their Humvees to kill at least 18 rival Sunnis south of Baghdad, police said, a brazen example of the challenges still facing Iraqis despite a lull in violence.Several Iraqi refugees, meanwhile, returned home to the capital from Syria, saying they felt confident about the dramatic drop in the level of sectarian attacks.
"Thanks to be for God that we arrived here today. We have learned that the security situation improved and we hope all Iraqis will get back to Iraq," Muhanad Ibrahim said as he arrived in the western neighborhood of Mansour.
Cue Burl Ives: Holiday TV specials are here (Mike Duffy, 11/21/07, Detroit Free Press)
We also have such beloved animated classics as "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (ABC, 8 p.m. Tuesday), Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (ABC, 8:30 p.m. Nov. 28 plus numerous cable airings) and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (CBS, 8 p.m. Dec. 4), shows that have long been a yearly family viewing tradition.Plus, there's always the very merry movie marathon of "A Christmas Story" (TBS, 8 p.m. Dec. 24), humorist and narrator Jean Shepherd's screwball family holiday memoir of growing up in the 1940s. The broadcast spreads nutty yuletide cheer from Christmas Eve through Christmas Day.
So here's a happy blizzard of viewing choices. Enjoy!
President Bush Offers Thanksgiving Greetings (President George W. Bush, Berkeley Plantation, Charles City, Virginia, 11/19/07)
Thank you all. Thanks very much. Thanks for the warm welcome. I am proud to be back in the great state of Virginia. I particularly appreciate the chance to visit Berkeley Plantation. I thank the good people who care for this historic treasure. Over the years, Presidents have visited Berkeley. President William Henry Harrison called it home. As a matter of fact, it was here where he composed the longest inauguration speech in history. (Laughter.) He went on for nearly two hours. You don't need to worry; I'm not going to try to one-up him today. (Laughter.)The good folks here say that the founders of Berkeley held their celebration before the Pilgrims had even left port. (Applause.) As you can imagine, this version of events is not very popular up north. (Laughter.) But even the administration of President Kennedy -- a son of Massachusetts -- recognized Berkeley's role in this important holiday. And so this afternoon, I've come to honor Berkeley's history -- and to continue the great American tradition of giving thanks. (Applause.)
Laura sends her best. Most people say, I wish she'd have come and not you. (Laughter.) She's doing just fine and I know she is going to be envious when I describe how beautiful this part of the country is. And I thank you for giving me a chance to come.
I want to thank my friend, Tom Saunders, who is the founder of the Saunders Trust for American History at the New York Historical Society -- that means he and his and wife, Jordan, are raising money to make sure this site is as beautiful as it is and stays an important part of our history and legacy. (Applause.)
I thank Judy and Jamie Jamieson, who happen to be the owners of this beautiful site. And I appreciate your hospitality. (Applause.) I can't help but recognize my daughter's future father-in-law -- (laughter) -- I appreciate you coming. (Applause.) A lot of people think she's showed some pretty good common sense to marry somebody from Virginia. (Applause.) He's doing all right, himself.
I appreciate the fact that the Congressman from this district, Congressman Bobby Scott is with us. Thanks for coming, Bobby. (Applause.) Congressman Eric Cantor from Richmond is with us. (Applause.) And Congressman Randy Forbes; appreciate you coming, Randy. (Applause.) I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bolling, for joining us. Thank you for coming, Governor. (Applause.) Bob McDonnell, the Attorney General; General, I appreciate you being here. (Applause.) I had the honor of meeting the High Sheriff. Sheriff, thank you and your law enforcement officials. I'm proud to be with you. I want to thank all the local officeholders and state officeholders. And most of all, thank you for letting me come by and I appreciate you coming. (Applause.)
Every November, we celebrate the traditions of Thanksgiving; we're fixing to do so again. We remember that the Pilgrims gave thanks after their first harvest in New England. We remember that George Washington led his men in thanksgiving during the American Revolution. And we remember that Abraham Lincoln revived the Thanksgiving tradition in the midst of a bloody civil war.
Yet few Americans remember much about Berkeley. They don't know the story of the Berkeley Thanksgiving. This story has its beginnings in the founding of the colony of Virginia four centuries ago. As the colony grew, settlers ventured beyond the walls of Jamestown, and into the surrounding countryside. The Berkeley Company of England acquired 8,000 acres of nearby land, and commissioned an expedition to settle it.
In 1619, a band of 38 settlers departed Bristol, England for Berkeley aboard a ship like the one behind me. At the end of their long voyage, the men reviewed their orders from home. And here's what the orders said: "The day of our ship's arrival h shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God." (Applause.) Upon hearing those orders, the men fell to their knees in prayer. And with this humble act of faith, the settlers celebrated their first Thanksgiving in the New World.
In the years that followed, the settlers at Berkeley faced many hardships. And in 1622, the settlement was destroyed. Berkeley became a successful plantation after it was rebuilt, when people returned to this site. And it is an important part of our history. And as we look back on the story of Berkeley, we remember that we live in a land of many blessings.
The story of Berkeley reminds us that we live in a land of opportunity. We remember that the settlers at Berkeley came to America with the hope of building a better life. And we remember that immigrants in every generation have followed in their footsteps. Their dreams have helped transform 13 small colonies into a large and growing nation of more than 300 million people.
Today, America we're blessed with great prosperity. We're blessed with farmers and ranchers who provide us with abundant food. We're blessed with the world's finest workers; with entrepreneurs who create new jobs. We're blessed with devoted teachers who prepare our children for the opportunities of tomorrow. We're blessed with a system of free enterprise that makes it possible for people of all backgrounds to rise in society and realize their dreams. These blessings have helped us build a strong and growing economy -- and these blessings have filled our lives with hope.
The story of Berkeley reminds us that we live in a nation dedicated to liberty. In 1776, Berkeley's owner, Benjamin Harrison, became one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration, we see the founders' great hope for our country, their conviction that we're all created equal, with the God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
At times, America has fallen short of these ideals. We remember that the expansion of our country came at a terrible cost to Native American tribes. We remember that many people came to the New World in chains rather than by choice. For many years, slaves were held against their will here at Berkeley and other plantations -- and their bondage is a shameful chapter in our nation's history.
Today, we're grateful to live in a more perfect union. Yet our society still faces divisions that hold us back. These divisions have roots in the bitter experiences of our past -- and have no place in America's future. (Applause.) The work of realizing the ideals of our founding continues. And we must not rest until the promise of America is real for all our citizens.
We're also grateful to live in a time when freedom is taking hold in places where liberty was once unimaginable. Since the beginning of the 1980s, the number of democracies in the world has more than doubled. From our own history, we know these young democracies will face challenges and setbacks in the journey ahead. Yet as they travel the road to freedom, they must know that they will have a constant and reliable friend in the United States of America. (Applause.)
The story of Berkeley reminds us to honor those who have sacrificed in the cause of freedom. During the Civil War, Union forces at Berkeley adopted a nightly bugle call that has echoed throughout the ages. The bugle call has become known as "Taps." And when we hear it play, we remember that the freedoms we enjoyed have come at a heavy price.
Today, the men and women of the United States Armed Forces are taking risks for our freedom. They're fighting on the front lines of the war on terror, the war against extremists and radicals who would do us more harm. Many of them will spend Thanksgiving far from the comforts of home. And so we thank them for their service and sacrifice. We keep their families and loved ones in our prayers. We pray for the families who lost a loved one in this fight against the extremists and radicals, and we vow that their sacrifice will not be in vain. (Applause.)
This Thanksgiving, we pay tribute to all Americans who serve a cause larger than themselves. We are thankful for the police officers who patrol our streets. We're thankful for the firefighters who protect our homes and property. We're thankful for the leaders of our churches and synagogues and all faith-based organizations that call us to live lives of charity. We're thankful of the ordinary citizens who become good Samaritans in times of distress.
This Thanksgiving, we remember the many examples of the good heart of the American people that we have seen this past year: We remember the Virginia Tech professor who died blocking a gunman from entering his classroom. (Applause.) As a survivor of the Holocaust, Professor Liviu Librescu had seen the worst of humanity -- yet through his sacrifice, he showed us the best. (Applause.)
We remember the Minneapolis man who was escorting a busload of children when the bridge underneath them collapsed. Jeremy Hernandez responded to this emergency with courage. He broke open the backdoor of the bus and he helped lead every child on board to safety.
We remember the people in New Orleans who are rebuilding a great American city. One of them is Principal Doris Hicks. After Katrina, many said that her school could never return to its building in the Lower Ninth Ward. But Principal Hicks had a different point of view; she had a different attitude. As a matter of fact, she had a uniquely American attitude. She had a vision for a resurgent community with a vibrant school at its heart. This summer the Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior Charter School for Science and Technology became the first public school to reopen in the Lower Ninth Ward. (Applause.)
These stories remind us that our nation's greatest strength is the decency and compassion of our people. As we count our many blessings, I encourage all Americans to show their thanks by giving back. You know, I just visited the Central Virginia Foodbank. If you're living in Richmond and you want to give back, help the Central Virginia Foodbank. The volunteers there help prepare thousands of meals for the poor each day. And in so doing, they make the Richmond community and our nation a more hopeful place. And there are many ways to spread hope this holiday -- volunteer in a shelter, mentor a child, help an elderly neighbor, say thanks to one who wears our nation's uniform. (Applause.)
In the four centuries since the founders of Berkeley first knelt on these grounds, our nation has changed in many ways. Our people have prospered, our nation has grown, our Thanksgiving traditions have evolved -- after all, they didn't have football back then. (Laughter.) Yet the source of all our blessings remains the same: We give thanks to the Author of Life who granted our forefathers safe passage to this land, who gives every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth the gift of freedom, and who watches over our nation every day. (Applause.)
I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I offer Thanksgiving greetings to every American citizen. May God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
Lebanon's Fateful Showdown (Amir Taheri, 11/26/07, New York Post )
Within the next week or so, we'll know whether Iran (acting through proxies in Beirut) will trigger a new civil war in Lebanon.The issue is the choice of a replacement for President Emil Lahoud, imposed by Syria during its occupation of Lebanon. His term of office expires Nov. 23.
Tehran's favorite for the job is ex-Gen. Michel Aoun, a maverick Maronite Christian politician. He is allied with the Lebanese branch of Hezbollah - whose leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has publicly threatened violence if the Iranian candidate does not win.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Islamic Republic president, sees the Lebanese election as a showdown with the United States and a potential blow at the Bush Doctrine of spreading democracy in the Middle East.
[I]t wasn't until just after the signing of the Constitution that Congress immediately moved to pass a resolution asking for a National Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer (yes, liberals, that's right -- prayer) at which time George Washington intoned this famous proclamation in 1789:"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.
"That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country � "
The proclamation was not about turkey, feasts or families. It was about devotion and solemnity to God and country. Our nation's first president, and perhaps its greatest leader, captured the spirit of the holiday a bit more eloquently than Governor Bradford.
But it wasn't until nearly 80 years later, in 1863, in the midst of one of our nation's bloodiest conflicts, the Civil War, that Abraham Lincoln had found
the equanimity to proclaim the Day of Thanksgiving an annual national holiday.Here's his solemn proclamation:
"No human has devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out, these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy .� I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens .� [It is] announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord .� It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people."
World Wide Web: Land of Free Stuff: You want it? It's yours. From a college education to your favorite shampoo, it's all happening gratis on the Internet (Douglas MacMillan, 11/19/07, Business Week)
This year, e-commerce is projected to be a $259 billion business, up 18% from 2006, according to market researcher Forrester Research (FORR). That's a mind-numbing figure, but it doesn't mean everything online has a price tag. The list of free things you can get is as nearly extensive as the Internet itself, and includes everything from circus tickets to booze, including golf lessons, gift cards, pets, even a college education.What have I found? I've collected 101 of the very best freebies—including enough free software to run your own business or become a YouTube video mogul—all without putting my hand in my pocket. Of course, I did have to give something, even if it wasn't money. In some cases, I had to click on an ad or watch a video. In others, information about me—such as how I spend my time online, or how I spend my money—was so valuable it entitled me to free products.
There are plenty of freebies to go around. I still watch TV, but I stopped paying for cable and get a lot more of my entertainment needs filled from the Internet. Radio sites like Pandora and TV sites like Joost serve more content that's customized to my tastes, with some ads on the side. If I'm feeling more adventurous I head over to WWITV, where TV channels from all over the world are streamed in real time. I don't know how much it would cost to get news broadcasts from Fiji on my home TV set, but my hunch is that it would take a very large satellite dish.
Handing out free product samples is not a novel form of advertising, but on the Web it's super easy to find companies willing to give you enough products to stock every room of your house.
How a Breakthrough in Trade Broke Down in Congress (Juliet Eilperin, 11/22/07, Washington Post)
Early on, Sweeney made it clear that he and other union leaders wanted any trade pact to include the International Labor Organization's 1998 Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which calls for freedom of association, the right to bargain collectively, a ban on forced labor and child labor, and no employment discrimination.Rangel and other senior Democrats adopted labor's demand, and made it clear to the administration that no trade agreement would make it to the floor unless it included the ILO standards, which is a more stringent requirement than had ever been achieved during the Clinton administration.
For six years, labor -- along with the Democrats -- had been largely sidelined when it came to trade negotiations, but now one of its top leaders has gained access to the lawmakers making the deals. Rangel and Sweeney, according to the chairman, regularly have "friendly meetings about his concept of international trade policy."
"It just shows you what can be accomplished when the right people get elected to office," Sweeney said of the Democratic majority and his newfound position on Capitol Hill. "I've been thanking God every day for this."
After nearly four months of negotiations, the administration and congressional leaders reached an accord that met all of the Democrats' initial requirements. Just as Sweeney saw the new leadership as the answer to his prayers, those leaders saw the trade pact as a sort of miracle.
"We were able, thank God, to take yes for an answer," said Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Sweeney was meeting with foreign labor leaders in Berlin when the deal was struck on May 10, but both Rangel and Pelosi called to inform him of the news. At about midnight Berlin time, Sweeney spoke to the speaker on the phone. "This is a historic agreement," he told her.
But moments later, as Pelosi walked into the Speaker's Dining Room to hold a news conference with Schwab and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., she found herself facing hostile Democrats. A handful of lawmakers opposed to the trade pact with Peru -- including several Democratic freshmen who had campaigned on the issue -- had squeezed themselves into the tiny room on the Capitol's first floor and stared stony-faced at the speaker.
"We're not against trade. We just want a trade system that works," said Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), a former labor lawyer who listened skeptically as the bipartisan group outlined its achievement.
Many of Sweeney's fellow union leaders delivered even harsher assessments of the new trade accord. Change to Win, the six-million member federation that now ranks as the AFL-CIO's main rival, issued a news release on May 25 saying that the agreement "does not represent the basis for the type of new U.S. trade policy that this nation desperately needs."
Even some leaders of the AFL-CIO's own affiliates rejected the agreement, saying they do not trust President Bush with the enforcement of its labor provisions.
How about squirrel for Thanksgiving: Some prefer non-traditional holiday dishes (RAE WILSON, 11/23/06, The News Democrat)
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, supermarket aisles are filled with traditional "Turkey Day" favorites. Cranberries, pumpkin pies, homemade noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy and of course, everyone's favorite fowl, the Thanksgiving turkey. But what if for a change, instead of making our way to the local supermarket, we decided to take a less traveled path.How do you think your family would like it if say instead of the classic bird, your centerpiece this year was fried squirrel or a steaming pot of venison chili? What would the guest of honor think of Pheasant chow mein?
Cooking wild game is not as difficult as one may think, and can even bring about variety that one could never find elsewhere. According to Larry Wise, of Wise Taxidermy in Bainbridge, if you prepare just one turtle, you will find meat that tastes like a variety of foods.
"The neck tastes like shrimp, the front legs are just like lamb, the hind legs are beefy, and the best part is the loin, because you think you are eating a chicken," said Wise.
(Originally posted: 11/23/06)
A green idea for saving lives in Iraq: An Army trial program is insulating structures to reduce dependence on fuel, and the dangerous convoys that supply it (Doug Smith and Saif Rasheed, November 22, 2007, LA Times)
When a little-known agency of the U.S. Army asked Joe Amadee III to come up with an idea for saving lives in Iraq, it was probing for some kind of a contraption.After all, the Rapid Equipping Force, a 5-year-old think tank for military innovation, had come up with some pretty high-tech stuff: robots to search caves in Afghanistan, an acoustic sniper finder and a hand-held laser pointer that soldiers use to flag down cars at night.
But, instead of a gadget, Amadee proposed a green solution.
And so, before long, he and a crew led by an Oklahoma roofing contractor were at this desert base east of Baghdad spraying foam onto tents.
Their plan is to turn all of the Army's hulking, heat-absorbing tent barracks into rigid shells of 2-inch insulation.
The way that would improve soldiers' lives may be self-evident. What is less obvious is how it also could save their lives.
The key is fuel: The more of it a base uses, the more soldiers are exposed to deadly roadside bombs on fuel convoys.
Angels get Torii Hunter: Gold Glover agrees to a five-year, $90-million deal, giving the team a surplus of outfielders. (Mike DiGiovanna, November 22, 2007, LA Times)
The Angels pulled off their second stunning -- and somewhat perplexing -- move of the week late Wednesday night, signing free-agent center fielder Torii Hunter to a five-year, $90-million contract, the richest deal in franchise history.Three teams -- the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals -- extended five-year offers to the former Minnesota Twins star, and the Angels seemed set in center field with Gary Matthews Jr., a superb defender who is entering the second year of a five-year, $50-million contract. [...]
That deal created a surplus of starting pitchers -- the Angels' rotation is six-deep. Wednesday night's acquisition of Hunter gives the Angels a glut of outfielders.
Man who helped start stem cell war may end it (Gina Kolata, November 22, 2007, NY Times)
If the stem cell wars are indeed nearly over in the United States, no one will savor the peace more than James Thomson.Thomson's laboratory at the University of Wisconsin was one of two that in 1998 plucked stem cells from human embryos for the first time, destroying the embryos in the process and touching off a divisive national debate.
And on Tuesday, his laboratory was one of two that reported a new way to turn ordinary human skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells without ever using a human embryo.
The fact is, Thomson said in an interview, he had ethical concerns about embryonic research from the outset, even though he knew that such research offered insights into human development and the potential for powerful new treatments for disease.
"If human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough," he said. "I thought long and hard about whether I would do it."
He decided in the end to go ahead, reasoning that the work was important and that he was using embryos from fertility clinics that would have been destroyed otherwise.
Keeping Jazz Musicians Alive: Many world-renowned jazz musicians have no pensions, no medical plans, no hope (Nat Hentoff, November 19th, 2006, Village Voice)
Jazz musicians do not have pensions, and very few have medical plans or other resources. Pianist Wynton Kelly, for example -- a vital sideman for Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie -- died penniless. I was at the first recording session of pianist Phineas Newborn, whose mastery of the instrument was astonishing. As jazz musicians say, he told a story. His ended in a pauper's grave in Memphis.At last, 17 years ago, in New York, a group of musicians and jazz enthusiasts for whom the music had become essential to their lives formed the Jazz Foundation of America. Its mission is to regenerate the lives of abandoned players -- paying the rents before they're evicted, taking care of their medical needs, and providing emergency living expenses.
Because of Dizzy Gillespie -- who had such a strong will to live and more generosity of spirit than anyone I've ever known -- the Jazz Foundation has been able to send musicians to New Jersey's Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and its Dizzy Gillespie Memorial Fund.
In 1993, Dizzy, dying of cancer at Englewood Hospital, said to his oncologist and hematologist, Dr. Frank Forte, a jazz guitarist by night, "Can you find a way to get the medical care I'm getting for musicians who can't afford it?" Since then, at no cost, jazz makers have received a wide range of treatment there -- from cancer care to hip replacements.
A very active Jazz Foundation board -- including musicians and extraordinarily generous donors -- has continuously expanded the foundation's reach to musicians in this area and elsewhere. (I'm an inactive member of the board. All I do is write about what it does.)
The indispensable driving force at the Jazz Foundation is its executive director, Wendy Oxenhorn. I've known a number of people who gave their all to keep others alive -- death penalty lawyers and human rights workers, for example -- but I've never come across anyone who is so continually on call as Wendy, at all hours, even when she herself is not well. [...]
If you want to be part of this essential branch of the jazz family, you can donate to the Jazz Foundation of America, 322 West 48th Street, 6th floor, New York, NY 10036; 212-245-3999, ext. 21; or wendy@jazzfoundation.org. The life from this music encircles the globe.
(originally posted: 11/24/006)
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A Displaced Jazz Musician Rebuilds in New York (VINCENT M. MALLOZZI, 11/22/07, NY Times)
The musical Prince of New Orleans has been touring New York in vagabond shoes.“I’ve been walking around at night looking at all the clubs and the restaurants, just trying to figure out a new beginning for myself,” said Davell Crawford, 32, sitting on a piano bench recently at Roth’s Westside Steakhouse on the Upper West Side, where he practices. “I’m just thankful to be given another chance in a great city like this, a chance to fit in somewhere and entertain the people.”
Mr. Crawford, a jazz artist who is as well known in New Orleans as Mardi Gras, lost everything but his melodious soul in 2005 to Hurricane Katrina, which caused many musicians to leave and try to find work in other cities.
His career ruined by the storm, the man who once opened for Etta James, jammed with Lionel Hampton and thrilled audiences on four continents lives in a tiny Manhattan apartment provided by the Jazz Foundation of America, which has aided in more than 3,000 emergency cases involving musicians and their families affected by Katrina.
“Davell is a cross between Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, a male Billie Holiday,” said Wendy Oxenhorn, the executive director of the Jazz Foundation. “He is way too talented to be going through hard times.”
Talking turkey about Butterball's origins (SCOTT FORNEK, November 21, 2004, Chicago Sun-Times)
More than half a century ago, Evanston inventor Leo Peters bought the rights to the name Butterball for $10.Nearly 20 years later, he sold the trademark to Swift & Co. for $1 million.
Peters enjoyed telling his family and newspaper reporters of the role he played in developing the Butterball turkey -- everything from helping to breed broader-breasted poultry with more white meat to trying to sell skeptical 1950s butchers on the idea of switching from fresh to frozen birds.
"He was really the originator of the Butterball turkey," Peters' widow, Nancy, said.
Right up until he died in 1995 at age 86, Peters still dreamed of reclaiming the rights to what had become a household name.
" 'I'd really like to buy that back,' he'd say -- practically on his deathbed," Nancy Peters, 72, said.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Butterball turkey, a Chicago creation that has become nearly as synonymous with Thanksgiving dinner as cranberries, stuffing and sweet potatoes.
(originally posted: November 25, 2004)
Ease Turkey Day turmoil with a few handy tips (Mercury News Wire Services, 11/23/06)
Magazine tips• Instead of brining, salt the turkey for 24 to 48 hours before cooking. Massage salt into the turkey meat under the skin and inside the cavity. Be sure to rinse and dry the bird thoroughly before roasting (Cook's Illustrated, December).
• When baking stuffing separately, use an ovenproof glass baking dish instead of a ceramic one. The bottom of the stuffing will brown better (Fine Cooking, November).
• Two ways to handle problem gravy: Too thick? Add a splash of fortified wine such as Madeira or sherry. Too pale? Add a few shakes of soy sauce (Real Simple, November).
• Four steps to light and buttery mashed potatoes: Boil the potatoes whole, with the skin on. Dry them out in a large saucepan over medium heat for two minutes before you rice or mash. Add butter before you add any liquids. Add milk/liquid that has been warmed (Bon Appetit, November).
• To peel and cut butternut squash: First, trim an inch from the bottom and top for stability; use a serrated peeler on the thick skin; slice in half lengthwise and scoop out the membrane and seeds with a spoon (Cooking Light, November).
• Three ways to handle Thanksgiving leftovers: Refresh undressed salad and crudités the next day by soaking them in water for 10 minutes. Make savory bread pudding with leftover stuffing; add meat from turkey legs to make it a strata. Freeze pecan pie by wrapping it tightly in foil and placing it inside two resealable plastic food storage freezer bags (Gourmet, November).
• If you're not making your own pie crust, try Pillsbury's already-rolled or Pet-Ritz pie crust in a pan. They were rated best among ready-to-bake brands (Food & Wine, November).
• When refrigerating pumpkin pie, lay a piece of paper towel lightly across the top, then cover the pie with plastic wrap. The towel will absorb any moisture and keep the pie surface free of droplets (Everyday Food, November).
(originally posted: 11/23/06)
Nice Rack: Which roasting pan is best for your Thanksgiving turkey? (Jonathan Kauffman, Nov. 17, 2006, Slate)
A flimsy disposable pan is a danger to you, your oven, and your main course. You need something sturdy enough to go from oven to stovetop, so you can make gravies and sauces, but there's no reason, beyond conspicuous consumption, to invest $450 on French copper. In the interest of offering you one sure piece of advice for your Thanksgiving meal, I tested six roasting pans, priced from $9.99 to $274.95. [...]Calphalon One Infused Anodized Nonstick
Price: $149.99
The dark-gray Calphalon One line is appealing in its sleek functionality. Though sturdy, the pan isn't too heavy to work with, and the bolted-on handles are the best designed of the lot, flaring out perfectly so that I never butted my knuckles up against the pan's contents. The inside surface, which feels like sandpaper, is apparently "four-layer interlocking nonstick coating" involving "advanced release polymers." Food washes away from the surface with a few wipes, yet it's tacky enough to keep the pan's U-shaped, nonstick roasting rack from slipping around. Circulon, take note!
Both pork and turkey juices crystallized on the bottom of the pan without blackening, becoming darker and more flavorful, in fact, than in the ultra-thick Viking model. When I brought the Calphalon to the stovetop, it took but a few seconds of pushing the browned bits around to incorporate them. My only complaint: the rack. Though the skin of the turkey remained intact when it roasted breast-side down, when I turned the beast breast-side up, thick lines were embedded in it. That said, the marks weren't much worse than those produced by others; the problem seems endemic to the roast-flip-roast method of cooking heavy chunks of flesh. Overall, the turkey emerged from the oven a gorgeous, even brown, with juicy white meat.
Pick or Pan: My vote goes to the Calphalon One for good design, great results, and ease of cleanup. Though I'm now turkeyed out this year (my family has agreed to try guinea fowl on the big day), I've already found myself plotting meals around the pan. Isn't that what good cookware is for?
(originally posted: 11/23/06)
Leftovers: Turkey in other guises still gets top billing (HSIAO-CHING CHOU, 11/22/06, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER)
The postprandial turkey sandwich is a veteran of the meat lover's Thanksgiving tradition. But what else can you do with leftovers from the big meal?Basically, any dish that could contain chicken is a good bet for turkey. Some obvious candidates include turkey noodle soup, turkey Caesar salad, turkey salad sandwich, turkey tacos or enchiladas, turkey fried rice, turkey and pasta. [...]
TURKEY SHEPHERD'S PIESERVES 4
# 2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
# 2 tablespoons olive oil
# 2 cups chopped cooked turkey
# Salt and pepper to taste
# 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
# 2 teaspoons chopped thyme
# 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/3-inch thick slices and parboiled
# 1 cup chicken broth
# Mashed potatoesSoak leek slices to clean. Drain well. Heat oil over medium heat in a pot or deep skillet. Add leeks and saute 2-3 minutes. Add turkey, salt and pepper, garlic, thyme, carrots and broth. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Turn on the broiler.
Put the filling in a baking dish. Cover with mashed potatoes. Broil about 3 inches from the heat until top is golden, about 3 minutes.
From Seattle P-I
(originally posted: 11/22/06)