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Dirty Secrets of Black Friday 'Doorbusters'

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:48:35 PST

by Parija B. Kavilanz
Friday, November 20, 2009

Here are a few things bargain-hungry consumers need to know before they hit stores before dawn the day after Thanksgiving.

Here's a Black Friday reality check: Of the hordes of pre-dawn shoppers who line up for hours outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving, most will not bag the best bargains that appear in merchants' circulars.

Look at the fine print that appears next to an advertised "doorbuster deal" at the bottom of the page in this year's circulars.

It will either say "While supplies last," "Minimum 2 per store," "No rainchecks" or "All items are available in limited quantities."

A quick scan through a few of this year's Black Friday circulars show quantities as low as a "minimum of 5 per store" on some models of large plasma and HDTVs and popular brands of home appliances such as a washer-dryer pair.

Should Black Friday deal hunters feel cheated? Yes they should, say some retail experts.

"It's a sleazy practice," said Craig Johnson, retailing expert and president of retail consulting group Customer Growth Partners.

"I am old school," said Johnson. "If a retailer is advertising a juicy deal and they are not prepared to have in sufficient quantity, don't advertise it. Or give consumers a raincheck."

Johnson said it's not enough for retailers to mention that they'll have such limited quantities of a product on one of the most-hyped shopping days of the year.

"Retailers aren't winning any customers. They are just pissing off people," he said. "It's poor retailing practice."

Unfortunately for consumers, more examples abound.

CNNMoney.com spoke to industry experts to uncover a few dirty secrets of Black Friday deals.

Limited quantities: Advertising a Black Friday deal as "limited quantities" is bogus, said Johnson.

"The only time it makes sense to have only two or three [items] in stock is if the deal is on a $2 million gift product that appears in the Neiman Marcus holiday catalog," he said.

Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and editor of Consumer World, agreed with Johnson.

"C'mon guys. Give me a break," said Dworsky. "How can you be the size of a retailer like Sears and only get a minimum of five per store, yet devote big space in your circular to advertise that deal?

Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) has not officially revealed its Black Friday sales. However, the company confirmed to CNNMoney.com that two of its post-Thanksgiving deals include a Samsung 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $599.99, "Only while quantities last, minimum three per store, no rainchecks."

The other is a Kenmore 3.5-cubic-foot high-efficiency washer and 5.8-cubic foot dryer pair for $579.98, "Limit four per store, no rainchecks."

"Sure, you probably have more, but how do you put out a circular to millions of households and only have three?," Dworsky asked.

When asked for a comment, Sears spokesman Tom Aiello said he was "not comfortable" addressing the issue of limited quantities for some Black Friday deals.

Such short supply on deals are not only annoying but can also be dangerous to Black Friday shoppers.

"We saw the stampede at a Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) store in New York last year on Black Friday that led to an employee's death," said Burt Flickinger, managing director of consulting firm Strategic Resource Group. "The stampede happened because so many of the deals were advertised as limited supply."

One retailer, while not explaining why its advertised deals are in such limited supplies, said it is taking measures to better handle the Black Friday rush.

"From going down the line and handing out doorbuster tickets that guarantee a purchase in advance of the store opening, to printing the minimum quantities in the circular, we go to great lengths to ensure that the Black Friday consumer knows exactly how many items will be at the store and whether or not they will be able to purchase one prior to entering the store," Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) wrote in an e-mail.

What do you mean this HDTV is a "derivative?" Some of the holiday electronics with those low sale prices are derivatives, models that have a few less features than a standard model in that product line, said Dworsky.

The difference can be subtle. "The image contrast ratio might be 20,000 in a derivative model versus 30,000 in a standard model," he said. "Most consumers probably won't even notice the difference."

A report earlier this month in Consumer Reports called attention to HDTV models from Samsung and Sony advertised in Black Friday deals that appear to be "derivatives." The report said these one-off TVs "with unfamiliar model numbers" are usually cheaper than the standard model in their class.

Dworsky cautions that retailers usually don't advertise these models as derivatives. "There's no way the average consumer will know that the TV model they are buying is not the standard one unless they are savvy enough to compare their model numbers," he said.

Which Black Friday deals are online? "Many retailers will say that their Black Friday deals are available online," said Dworsky. "But they're not nice enough to tell you which ones."

"How about telling me which exact ones so I can shop online from home and I'm not in my pajamas at 5 a.m. in front of your store," he said.

Online deals that never get shipped: Case in point: Sears. Last year, one of Sears' hottest Black Friday doorbuster deal was on a Kenmore washer-dryer pair for $600.

Even though the retailer advertised that deal to be in "limited quantities," the company decided to honor every customer order made on that deal last Black Friday.

Big mistake. The manufacturer could not ramp up production fast enough. Some customers waited months before their order was shipped. Others were sold a substitute model, that was "comparable or even better" for the same deal price, said Sears' Aiello.

Lesson learned. "We will not be doing that again this year," he said.

Be careful if you're shopping online on Black Friday, said Dworsky.

"Since retailers don't have a live inventory online you run the risk of getting an e-mail weeks later that your order had been delayed or worse, canceled, because the product is out of stock," he said.

About those rainchecks: Finally, if a retailer does offer you a raincheck on a deal, it could still turn out to be an empty promise, Flickinger warned.

"A raincheck doesn't guarantee that you will eventually get that elusive Black Friday deal," he said. "Consumers can go weeks waiting and hoping, and the retailer may never get more of the product shipped to its stores."

Teenager Says, "I Hate Being Gay"

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:33:58 PST

From the Advocate newspaper, a young reader speaks out about the gay lifestyle ... I hate being gay
This Washington State teen faces a daily battle between the sexual attraction he feels for other men and his religious convictions that tell him being gay is against God’s word.

By Kyle Rice

In late July the Washington State supreme court upheld a law that limits marriage to heterosexual couples. As a gay 19-year-old in Longview, Wash., my delight with that ruling is probably surprising. However, I’m not your average gay person—I'm also a Christian who views living a gay lifestyle as against God's word.
And because of my religious beliefs, I hate the fact that I am gay.

About the time I was 12 years old, it became clear to me that I was sexually attracted to guys. I assumed these feelings would go away as I got older. People choose to be gay, right? I didn’t choose this, so I figured it would pass. But it didn’t. By age 15 I had my first boyfriend.

At about that time I started to attend a Pentecostal church. I began reading the Bible, including its many different and powerful passages condemning homosexual activity. I knew in my heart that being gay was wrong in God’s eyes. I decided to devote myself to living a God-filled life and knew I needed to stop being gay so that I could stop being attracted to guys.

I looked into "ex-gay" ministries and joined such a program offered by a local church. It has taught me that with God’s help I can change my desires. A friend of mine went through another church’s program, and he's changed. He’s now happy and in love with his girlfriend. I pray the same will happen to me someday.

In the meantime I focus on fighting efforts to force the "gay agenda" on those of us who know God does not accept homosexuality. Although I do not condone discrimination, I also do not support gay marriage laws or many of the other issues backed by gay rights groups. I am a proud conservative Republican, and I support political candidates who feel the same way I do.

Many people ask me how I can be gay and also be a Republican and a Pentecostal Christian. My answer is that I am so much more than my sexuality. I don’t vote solely on pet gay issues. My faith and love of God is not guided by one small piece of who I am—a piece of me that I am trying very hard to change.

Being a gay Christian is at times very hard to deal with. Some days I feel as if I’m at war with myself. But I know God would not approve of me acting on my gay feelings, and I have no right to question his directive. I know that in the end I will be happy I lived my life according to God’s standards the best that I could.

That means refusing to accept being gay

Researcher says text proves Shroud of Turin real

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:25:52 PST

By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer Ariel David, Associated Press Writer – 21 mins ago

ROME – A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth.

The claim made in a new book by historian Barbara Frale drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery.

Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, said Friday that she used computers to enhance images of faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the shroud.

She asserts the words include the name "Jesus Nazarene" in Greek, proving the text could not be of medieval origin because no Christian at the time, even a forger, would have labeled Jesus a Nazarene without referring to his divinity.

The shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping out of nailed hands and feet, and believers say Christ's image was recorded on the linen fibers at the time of his resurrection.

The fragile artifact, owned by the Vatican, is kept locked in a special protective chamber in Turin's cathedral and is rarely shown.

Skeptics point out that radiocarbon dating conducted in 1988 determined it was made in the 13th or 14th century.

While faint letters scattered around the face on the shroud were seen decades ago, serious researchers dismissed them due to the test's results, Frale told The Associated Press.

But when she cut out the words from photos of the shroud and showed them to experts they concurred the writing style was typical of the Middle East in the first century — Jesus' time.

She believes the text was written on a document by a clerk and glued to the shroud over the face so the body could be identified by relatives and buried properly. Metals in the ink used at the time may have allowed the writing to transfer to the linen, Frale claimed.

Frale claimed the text also partially confirms the Gospels' account of Jesus' final moments. A fragment in Greek that can be read as "removed at the ninth hour" may refer to Christ's time of death reported in the holy texts, she said.

On an enhanced image studied by Frale, at least seven words can be seen, fragmented and scattered on and around Jesus' face, crisscrossing the cloth vertically and horizontally. One short sequence of Aramaic letters has not been translated. Another Latin fragment — "iber" — may refer to Emperor Tiberius, who reigned at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, Frale said.

"I tried to be objective and leave religious issue aside," Frale told The AP. "What I studied was an ancient document that certifies the execution of a man, in a specific time and place."

Frale is noted in Italy for her research on the medieval order of the Knights Templar and her discovery of unpublished documents on the group in the Vatican's archives.

Earlier this year she published a study claiming the Templars at one time had the shroud in their possession. That raised eyebrows because the order was abolished in the early 14th century and the shroud is first recorded in history around 1360 in the hands of a French knight.

But her latest book, titled "The Shroud of Jesus Nazarene" in Italian, raised even doubts among some experts.

"People work on grainy photos and think they see things," said Antonio Lombatti, a church historian who has written books about the shroud. "It's all the result of imagination and computer software."

Lombatti said that artifacts bearing Greek and Aramaic texts were found in Jewish burials from the first century, but the use of Latin is unheard of.

He also rejected the idea that authorities would officially return the body of a crucified man to relatives after filling out some paperwork. Victims of the most cruel punishment used by the Romans would usually be left on the cross or were disposed of in a dump to add to the execution's deterring effect.

Lombatti said "the message was that you won't even have a tomb to cry over."

Unusual sightings in the shroud are common and are often proved false, said Luigi Garlaschelli, a professor of chemistry at the University of Pavia.

Garlaschelli recently led a team of experts that reproduced the shroud using materials and methods that were available in the 14th century, proof, they said, that it could have been made by a human hand in the Middle Ages.

Decades ago entire studies were published on coins that were purportedly seen on Jesus' closed eyes, but when high-definition images were taken during a 2002 restoration the artifacts were nowhere to be seen and the theory was dropped, Garlaschelli said.

He said any theory about ink and metals would have to checked by analysis of the shroud itself.

Wal-Mart scuffle prompts racism claims

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:58:11 PST

From Gary Tuchman and Dave Mattingly, CNN

November 19, 2009 8:10 p.m. EST

Video of her actions here

Kennett, Missouri (CNN) -- This much isn't in dispute: Heather Ellis joined a line at a Wal-Mart nearly three years ago.

Whether she cut in line or merely switched checkout lanes to join her cousin is in dispute, and the accounts of what happened next vary greatly. The debate has divided this economically struggling town of 11,000 along racial lines.

Ellis, then a college student with no criminal history, said some white patrons shoved and hurled racial slurs at her when she switched checkout lines at Wal-Mart in January 2007.

Store employees refused to give her back her change and called police, she said.

And when she was taken outside to the parking lot, an officer allegedly told her to "Go back to the ghetto." Another roughed her up, she said.

Witnesses and police offer a different take: Ellis was belligerent, cutting in line, shoving merchandise belonging to another customer to make way for hers on the conveyor belt, kicking one officer in the shin and splitting another's lip.

A Dunklin County Circuit Court jury heard from the prosecution and defense as Ellis' felony trial got under way Wednesday.

Surveillance tapes from the store were shown in court Thursday and released publicly, but the tapes don't show much of the alleged confrontation.

A camera above the cash register appears to show Ellis' arm shoving merchandise to the side on the register's conveyor belt several times.

Employees testified Wednesday that the shoving led to a heated verbal exchange with employees, during which Ellis was loud and profane.

Another camera showed her being led out of the store by police, with her arm in the air. A third shot from the parking lot shows her being handcuffed and put into a police car. Ellis appears to kick backward at police but her defense maintains she did so after police assaulted her.

Resisting arrest and disturbing the peace, could she face 15 years in prison if convicted.

Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference said the case is indicative of racial bias in the town, where 13 percent of the population is African-American.

Kennett, the hometown of singer Sheryl Crow, is in the southeastern corner of Missouri and has struggled economically.

Black and Hispanic residents have long complained about the predominantly white Police Department profiling them during traffic stops.

When Ellis' supporters held a peaceful rally in June, officers found business cards scattered along the route that read: "You have been paid a social visit by the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The next visit will not be social."

During another rally Monday, a handful of opponents stood on the sidelines waving Confederate flags.

"I know it's racism. It's blatant, overt racism," said Ellis' father, the Rev. Nathaniel Ellis.

Her attorney, however, has not brought up race as a contributing factor in the case.

"I'm not going to go there," Scott Rosenblum said. "It's up to the prosecutor to decide to prosecute the case that the police investigate and present to them."

At the time of the incident, Ellis was a pre-med student at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

She was home visiting relatives when she made a trip to Wal-Mart on January 6, 2007, to pick up some items for her mother. Ellis' 15-year-old cousin was with her.

After selecting their items, the two stood in different checkout lines. Noticing that her cousin's line was moving faster, Ellis cut in next to him, angering other customers.

In the arguments that followed, Ellis yelled so loudly that employees in the back of the store could hear her, prosecutor Morley Swingle said during his opening statements Wednesday.

Ellis "went ballistic in a profane tirade," he said.

When police arrived to remove her from the store, Ellis confronted them with the "worst kind of cussing imaginable," Swingle said.

Al Fischer, the lead officer at the scene, testified on Thursday that Ellis spewed invective at the officers as he repeatedly asked her to calm down.

"If you try to arrest me, I'll kick your (expletive) ass," he quoted her as saying. That's when he told her that she was under arrest for threatening an officer.

He said Ellis began to fight as he grabbed her from behind to handcuff her, kicking and swinging. Two other officers assisted him, Fischer said, as they took Ellis into custody as she struggled.

She repeatedly kicked one officer in the shin and another in the face, police said.

"I ain't going nowhere until I get my (expletive) change back," Ellis told officers, according to a police incident report.

"She resisted arrest, kicked her feet and stiffened her body" when officers tried to put her in the police cruiser, the report said.

Under cross-examination, Fischer admitted he did not document his own injuries from the scuffle and acknowledged that he went against police protocol.

Customer Teresa Kinder testified that Ellis shoved her items back on the checkout conveyor belt to make room for her own. When Kinder protested, Ellis allegedly threatened her with violence.

Defense attorney Rosenblum described the incident as an unjustified assault on his client.

When Ellis tried to seek help from the cashier and a store manager during the arguments, "her voice was not heard," he said.

Store employees treated Ellis with indifference, Rosenblum said, and officers taunted her by telling her to "go back to the ghetto."

Ellis told the ACLU that officers addressed her "with a series of racial remarks that included the N-word and everything you can imagine."

She said the Wal-Mart cashier asked for her ID card, even though she was paying in cash, and refused to give back her change.

"When you read the probable cause affidavit here, quite frankly, it does sound like she's out of control," legal analyst Lisa Bloom said. "There are five police officers. They're all saying the same thing. There are at least four other witnesses within the Wal-Mart store. They're all saying the same thing.

"She has a completely different version of the facts," Bloom added. "She feels that she was treated differently; it was on account of her race. It's in a racially charged community. And these charges are being blown out of proportion, so she's facing 15 years behind bars for an incident that began with cutting in line. ... I think there's good reason to think there are some racial allegations here."

Now a 24-year-old schoolteacher, Ellis is engaged to a state trooper. She has not spoken publicly about her case, saying she has been instructed not to do so.

"I wish I could, but I can't," she said leaving the courtroom Wednesday.

Two years ago, prosecutors offered a plea deal under which she would have received probation if she dropped her complaint against the police.

"She decided not to sign it, because she was taught to never admit guilt when you're innocent," her father said. "We plan to fight it as we have. We're marching on."

I say 'WHY WAIT?'

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:26:25 PST

Winfrey: Prayer, careful thought influenced exit

By CARYN ROUSSEAU, Associated Press Writer Caryn Rousseau, Associated Press Writer – 2 mins ago

CHICAGO – Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.

Winfrey told the audience that she loved "The Oprah Winfrey Show," that it had been her life and that she knew when it was time to say goodbye. "Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit," she said.

Winfrey talked about being nervous when the program began in 1986 and thanked audiences who had invited her into their homes and lives over the past two decades.

"I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment," she said.

The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire, but in the last year, has seen its ratings slip 7 percent. Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes.

Winfrey offered no specifics about her plans for the future, except to say that she intended to produce the best possible shows during her last 18 months on the air.

"Over this holiday break, my team and I will be brainstorming new ways that we can entertain you and inform you and uplift you when we return here in January," she said. "And then, season 25 — we are going to knock your socks off."

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes the show to more than 200 U.S. markets, held out hope it could continue doing business with Winfrey, perhaps producing a new show out of its studios in Los Angeles.

"We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success," the CBS Corp. unit said in a statement. "We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well."

Many fans heading into Harpo Studios on Friday morning seemed to support Winfrey's decision.

"It's time to elevate to something new," said Sandra Donaldson, 59, of Indianapolis. "Whatever she does is going to be a blessing. It's going to be rewarding and eye-opening. Her name alone opens doors."

Once a local Chicago morning program, the production evolved into television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

Audience members described the atmosphere inside the studio Friday as tense and emotional, with some reaching for tissues as Winfrey announced her decision. "The whole audience was very quiet and she kept saying, `You can breathe,'" said Jennifer Aguilera, 32, of Joliet, Ill.

Fans expressed hope that Winfrey would soon announce another project.

"Oprah, she impacts everybody, her life, the way she gives," said Shawana Fletcher, 29, of Chicago. "I hope she's not totally done. That's what we're praying."

Winfrey's 24th season opened this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago's Magnificent Mile for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas. She followed with a series of blockbuster interviews — Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Whitney Houston and ESPN's Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

As a newcomer, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" chipped away at talk-show king Phil Donahue's dominance. Later, it turned to inspiration. The show's coverage ranged from interviews with the world's celebrities to an honest discussion about Winfrey's weight struggles.

In 1986, pianist-showman Liberace gave his final TV interview to Winfrey, just six weeks before he died. In a 1993 prime-time special, Michael Jackson revealed he suffered from a skin condition that produces depigmentation. Tom Cruise enthusiastically declared his affection for the much-younger Katie Holmes on the program in 2005 — and jumped on the couch to prove it.

In 2004, Winfrey unveiled her most famous giveaway, when nearly 300 members of the studio audience opened a gift box to find the keys to a new car inside. The stunt became a classic show moment as much for Winfrey's reaction — "You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" — as its $7 million price tag.

The show also became a launching pad for Oprah's Book Club, which then launched best-sellers. The titles ranged from "Song of Solomon" and "Paradise" by Toni Morrison to Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" and Elie Wiesel's "Night."

For others, the selection backfired. "A Million Little Pieces" exploded in sales after Winfrey chose the James Frey memoir in fall 2005. Soon after, it was revealed as a fabricated tale of addiction and recovery, and Winfrey later chewed out Frey on her show.

The loss of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" would be a blow to CBS Corp., which earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it — largely ABC affiliates. CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves told analysts two weeks ago that the contract with the show runs through most of 2011 and "if there's a negative impact, it wouldn't hit us until '12."

"Oprah's been a force of media and there's really no person you can look to out there who you could say, `That's the heir apparent,'" said Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for Media Valuation Partners in Los Angeles. Gerbrandt noted many stations build their schedules around Winfrey's show.

"It's a big loss, but not as huge as it would have been 10 years ago," he said. "However, it still commands the biggest audience and ABC station competitors are licking their chops."

Talk of the show's end often has accompanied Winfrey's contract negotiations. Before signing her current contract in 2004, she talked about quitting after the 2005-2006 season. As far back as 1995, she called continuing "a difficult and important decision."

Winfrey started her broadcasting career in Nashville, Tenn., and Baltimore, Md., before relocating to Chicago in 1984 to host WLS-TV's morning talk show "A.M. Chicago" — which became "The Oprah Winfrey Show" one year later. She set up Harpo the following year and her talk show went into syndication.

Powered by the show's staggering success, Winfrey built a media empire. Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray. O, The Oprah Magazine was the nation's 7th most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.

Earlier this year, Forbes scored Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion.

AK volunteers strive to save Santa letter service

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:23:07 PST

By RACHEL D'ORO, Associated Press Writer Rachel D'oro, Associated Press Writer – 31 mins ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A group of volunteer Santa Claus "elves" in Alaska's frigid interior is determined to save a popular holiday letter service featuring the North Pole's most beloved icon.

The group is looking to counter a decision by the U.S. Postal Service to discontinue a program begun in 1954 in the small town of North Pole, where volunteers open and respond to thousands of letters addressed to "Santa Claus, North Pole" each year.

Gabby Gaborik, chief elf among several dozen volunteers, said he met with Postal Service officials this week to come up with an alternative.

He's now working with local government officials to get "101 Santa Claus Lane" as an address for his group, Santa's Mailbag. That way children will have a specific destination for their letters, allowing volunteers to run their own program and bypass stringent new rules implemented by the Postal Service after security issues arose in a similar program in Maryland last year.

Gaborik believes his town's name gives the local effort more cachet than other destinations.

"The city was founded on the Christmas theme," he said Thursday. "This is our identity. This is North Pole, Alaska."

The North Pole program was stymied by a tighter process put in place nationwide by the Postal Service after a postal worker in Maryland recognized a volunteer with the agency's Operation Santa program as a registered sex offender. The worker intervened before the individual could answer a child's letter, but the agency viewed the scare as a reason to tighten security.

The Postal Service had already restricted its policies in such programs in 2006, including requiring volunteers to show identification. But the Maryland episode prompted more changes, such as barring volunteers from having access to children's last names and addresses. The Postal Service instead redacts that information from each letter and replaces the addresses with codes that match computerized addresses known only to the post office.

It's up to local managers to determine whether to go through the time-consuming effort, but the new restrictions must be applied if letter programs are continued. The restrictions don't affect privately run letter efforts.

The Postal Service decided this month to end the North Pole letter program, saying dealing with the tighter restrictions isn't feasible in Alaska. The agency considers the North Pole effort part of its giant Operation Santa program, although locals like to think of their program as unique.

"It's always been a good program, but we're in different times and concerned for the privacy of the information," said Anchorage-based agency spokeswoman Pamela Moody.

People in North Pole are incensed by the changes, likening the Postal Service to the Grinch trying to steal Christmas. The letter program is a revered holiday tradition in North Pole, where light posts are curved and striped like candy canes and streets have names like Kris Kringle Drive. Volunteers in the letter program even sign the response letters as Santa's elves and helpers.

North Pole Mayor Doug Isaacson also is outraged that locals just learned of the change.

"It's Grinchlike that the Postal Service never informed all the little elves before the fact," he said.

Another issue raising the hackles in the community of 2,100 is a second, separate change. Anchorage — 260 miles to the south — is processing mass quantities of out-of-state requests for North Pole postal cancellation marks on Christmas cards and packages. That work used to be done in Fairbanks, just 15 miles away.

Moody said as many as 800,000 items were processed last year, an overload Fairbanks is not equipped to handle. Anchorage is the only city in Alaska with the high-speed equipment necessary to do the job. Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan said the move is a matter of resources and finances for the agency, which lost billions of dollars in the last fiscal year.

Santa Claus House, a North Pole store built like a Swiss chalet and chock full of all items Christmas, sells more than 100,000 letters from Santa, and one of the lures is the postmark.

Store operations manager Paul Brown also believes his business will be affected under changes to the volunteer Santa letter program because tens of thousands of letters are addressed to Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska. Those letters will still be forwarded to volunteers. Those intercepted by the Postal Service will probably eventually be shredded.

Alaska's congressional delegation has stepped in to find a solution. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Democratic Sen. Mark Begich and Republican Rep. Don Young have sent letters to Postmaster General John Potter expressing their concerns over the changes.

12 year old eagle scouts offer to give breast exams

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:02:24 PST

WOW I wish I woulda thought of this when I was their age..heres the video

Obama's Breast Cancer Panel is a true 'Death Panel' for American women

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:49:49 PST

November 17, 8:35 PM

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released recommendations yesterday that completely change the way women will be treated for breast cancer prevention. Their recommendations are as follows: The USPSTF panel…

“..recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take patient context into account, including the patient's values regarding specific benefits and harms.”

“…recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74 years.”

“…concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older.”

“…recommends against teaching breast self-examination (BSE).”

“…concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of clinical breast examination (CBE) beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older.”

“…concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of either digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instead of film mammography as screening modalities for breast cancer.”

There are thousands upon thousands of stories of women in their 20s, 30s and 40s who are cancer survivors today because of early detection either through breast self-examination or mammography. It is completely outrageous that the United States of America, with the number one cancer survival rate, would make the above recommendations. One reason for the high cancer survival rate has been cited as early detection. It is simply common sense that the earlier breast cancer is discovered, the higher the survival rate.

Women of all ages get breast cancer. Ask any woman you know and they are sure to say that the benefits of getting ‘too many mammograms’ over the years far, far outweigh the risks of getting breast cancer. The recommendations by this panel are for primary care physicians across the country. These recommendations will also be taken into account by the insurance industry. When a government agency tells the insurance industry it is no longer recommending people get particular services, odds are many companies will jump on the bandwagon and only provide them according to the government recommendations, including any government run insurance.
Even the American Cancer Society has come out against this report:

“The USPSTF says that screening 1,339 women in their 50s to save one life makes screening worthwhile in that age group. Yet USPSTF also says screening 1,904 women ages 40 to 49 in order to save one life is not worthwhile. The American Cancer Society feels that in both cases, the lifesaving benefits of screening outweigh any potential harms. Surveys of women show that they are aware of these limitations, and also place high value on detecting breast cancer early."

Why has this recommendation come about now? Could it have anything to do with the public option that is now on the table and this is a pre-cursor to the rationing that will most definitely ensue as a result of that public option? Why would this panel make these recommendations now after so many years? If you take a look at who the panel is made up of you will see not one breast cancer expert and interestingly these recommendations are very similar to the guidelines that are currently in place in Canada. Obama owns this report. These recommendations are coming under HIS Administration. Obama’s Breast Cancer Panel is truly a ‘Death Panel’ for American women.

Obama Lung Cancer Shocker!

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:30:37 PST

Chain-smoking President Barack Obama has lung cancer, White House sources fear as the Commander-in-Chief suffers chest pains, dizzy spells and has lost 25 pounds! This week's GLOBE bares the stunning inside story. You can't afford to miss it!

Strong Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Early Tuesday Morning

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:04:00 PST

Robert Roy Britt
Editorial Director
SPACE.com Robert Roy Britt
editorial Director
space.com – 1 hr 1 min ago

One of the best annual meteor showers will peak in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, and for some skywatchers the show could be quite impressive.

The best seats are in Asia, but North American observers should be treated to an above average performance of the Leonid meteor shower, weather permitting. The trick for all observers is to head outside in the wee hours of the morning – between 1 a.m. and dawn – regardless where you live.

The Leonids put on a solid show every year, if skies are clear and moonlight does not interfere. This year the moon is near its new phase, and not a factor. For anyone in the Northern Hemisphere with dark skies, away from urban and suburban lighting, the show should be worth getting up early to see.

"We're predicting 20 to 30 meteors per hour over the Americas, and as many as 200 to 300 per hour over Asia," said Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Other astronomers who work in the nascent field of meteor shower prediction have put out similar forecasts.

Urban dwellers and suburbanites will see far fewer, as the fainter meteors will be drowned out by local lights.

Behind the Leonids

The Leonids are created by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which passes through the inner solar system every 33 years on its orbit around the sun. Each time by, it leaves a new river of debris, mostly bits of ice and rock no bigger than a sand grain but a few the size of a pea or marble.

Over time, these cosmic streams spread out, so predicting exactly what will happen is difficult.

"We can predict when Earth will cross a debris stream with pretty good accuracy," Cooke said. "The intensity of the display is less certain, though, because we don't know how much debris is in each stream."

When Earth plows into the debris, the bits hit the atmosphere and vaporize, creating sometimes dramatic streaks of light and the occasional fireball with a smoky-looking trail that can remain visible for several minutes.

The Leonid stream is moving in the opposite direction of Earth, producing impact speeds of 160,000 mph (72 kilometers per second) – higher than many other meteors.

"Such speeds tend to produce meteors with hues of white, blue, aquamarine and even green," says Joe Rao, SPACE.com's skywatching columnist.

How to watch

The best viewing will be in rural areas. Get out of town if you can. If you have local lights, scout a location in advance where the lights are blocked by a building, tree or hill.

Dress warmly, and take a blanket or lounge chair so you can lie back and scan as much of the sky as possible. "At this time of year, meteor watching can be a long, cold business," Rao reminds people.

Leonids can appear anywhere, but if you trace them back, they all point to a hub, or radiant, in the constellation Leo – hence the name.

Give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Then give the show at least a half-hour. The hourly rates stated above typically come in bursts, with lulls that may test your patience. No special equipment is needed. Telescopes and binoculars are of no use because meteors move too quickly.

When to watch

Earth will pass through one of the denser debris streams at around 4 a.m. EST (1 a.m. PST) Tuesday. If you have only an hour or less to watch, center it around this time. Leo will be high in the sky for East Coast skywatchers, putting more meteors into view. In the West, Leo will be low in the eastern sky at this time, so fewer shooting stars will be above the horizon, and therefore Western skywatchers should also try to stick it out until daybreak.

Across Europe, the best bet is to watch anytime between 1 a.m. and daybreak local time.

The planet will pass through an even denser stream later, just before dawn Wednesday in Indonesia and China, but that show won't be visible from North America because it will be daytime here.

One truth about the Leonids: They always produce, and they sometimes produce spectacular, unforgettable fireballs.

Dozens of Gitmo detainees finally get day in court

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:36:26 PST

By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer Pete Yost, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 34 mins ago

WASHINGTON – In courtrooms barred to the public, dozens of terror suspects are pleading for their freedom from the Guantanamo Bay prison, sometimes even testifying on their own behalf by video from the U.S. naval base in Cuba.

Complying with a Supreme Court ruling last year, 15 federal judges in the U.S. courthouse here are giving detainees their day in court after years behind bars half a world away from their homelands.

The judges have found the government's evidence against 30 detainees wanting and ordered their release. That number could rise significantly because the judges are on track to hear challenges from dozens more prisoners.

Scooped up along with hard-core terrorist suspects in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere, these 30 detainees stand in stark contrast to the 10 prisoners whom the Obama administration targeted for prosecution Friday for plotting the Sept. 11 and other terrorist attacks. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the professed mastermind of 9/11, and four of his alleged henchmen are headed for a federal civilian trial in New York; five others, including a top suspect in the bombing of the USS Cole, will be tried by a military commission.

More detainees are expected to soon be added to the prosecution list. But there will still be plenty of cases left among the 215 detainees now at Guantanamo to keep the judges here busy as they work to clear a legal morass the Bush administration created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Bush administration Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld once promised Guantanamo held "the worst of the worst." The judges here have rejected pleas for release from eight detainees, but they have concluded the government doesn't even have enough evidence to keep 30 other detainees behind bars.

"There is absolutely no reason for this court to presume that the facts contained in the government's exhibits are accurate," District Judge Gladys Kessler wrote in ordering the release of Alla Ali Bin Ali Ahmed. He was repatriated to Yemen after a seven-year stay at Guantanamo, where he was brought as a teenager.

"Much of the factual material contained in those exhibits is hotly contested for a host of different reasons ranging from the fact that it contains second- and third-hand hearsay to allegations that it was obtained by torture to the fact that no statement purports to be a verbatim account of what was said," Kessler said. She ruled the government failed to prove the detainee was part of or substantially supported Taliban or al-Qaida forces.

The evidentiary record "is surprisingly bare," U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in ordering the release of Fouad Mahmoud Al Rabiah, a 50-year-old father of four from Kuwait who had been an aviation engineer for Kuwaiti Airways for 20 years. He has been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay since 2002.

Rabiah is one of dozens of men who won their cases in court or who have been cleared for transfer by the Obama administration who are still among the 215 detainees at Guantanamo. Finding countries willing to take the detainees has proved difficult. Since Obama took office, only 25 detainees have actually left.

In the case of a detainee from Syria, Abdulrahim Abdul Razak Al Ginco, who uses the surname Janko, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon pointed to evidence that the man had been tortured repeatedly by al-Qaida for three months into falsely confessing that he was a U.S. spy, then jailed for 18 months by the Taliban in Kandahar before he fell into the hands of U.S. forces.

"Notwithstanding these extraordinary intervening events, the government contends that Janko was still 'part of' the Taliban and/or al-Qaida when he was taken into custody," Leon wrote in ordering the detainee's release. "Surely extreme treatment of that nature evinces a total evisceration of whatever relationship might have existed!"

One detainee who lost his bid for freedom was Adham Mohammed Ali Awad, taken into custody seven years ago when he was a teenager.

"It seems ludicrous to believe that he poses a security threat now, but that is not for me to say, " wrote U.S. District Judge James Robertson.

"The case against Awad is gossamer thin," consisting of raw intelligence, multiple levels of hearsay and documents whose authenticity cannot be proven, said Robertson. "In the end, however, it appears more likely than not that Awad was, for some period of time, 'part of' al-Qaida."

The detainees' hearings — which usually last a day or two apiece — are expected to go well into next year, unless the Obama administration finds homes for them in other countries in the meantime.

Some 45 percent of the detainees are citizens of Yemen. Afghanistan is the home country of about one in 10 detainees. Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Tunisia together are home for about one in five, according to the Pentagon.

The courthouse's Guantanamo cleanup started with the Bush administration still in office, set in motion by the district judges just days after the Supreme Court ruled that detainees could go to civilian court to challenge their indefinite detention. After two earlier Supreme Court rulings in favor of the detainees, a Republican-controlled Congress stepped in to effectively keep detainees from seek freedom from civilian courts, but the Democratic-controlled Congress let the June 2008 ruling stand.

The district judges contacted the attorney general and the defense secretary to arrange for a secure video link to Guantanamo. A few judges have taken testimony by satellite from several detainees who wanted to speak on their own behalf.

Typically, the first half hour of a detainee's hearing is open to the public, with the prisoner listening by phone. Then the courtroom doors are locked, and the judges hear classified evidence.

The 15 judges' chambers were outfitted with safes, special laptop computers and printers and each of the judges' law clerks underwent background checks and was given a security clearance to deal with classified information that dominates the evidence.

One of the last bastions of judicial opposition to the detainees is the federal appeals court on the fifth floor of the courthouse.

There, a three-judge panel ruled the judges lack authority to order them released into the United States even if they have won their release and have nowhere else to go. Considered no threat to the United States, the detainees in that case are 17 Muslims, known as Uighurs. They were picked up in Afghanistan after fleeing western China and fear persecution if returned to China. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear their appeal, with a decision expected next spring. This year, the U.S. government found a home for four Uighurs in Bermuda and six on the Pacific island nation of Palau. The seven still at Guantanamo hope to live in the United States. To achieve that goal, their lawyers must persuade the Supreme Court to rule in their favor.

911 trial

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:14:58 PST

how do you feel about having the trial in New York City instead of at GITMO under a military tribunal..Ive heard it could go on for a couple of years..those that arranged it fought too hard *NOT* to have a media circus..

personally I think they should crash the transport plane into New York harbor..

heres how some of the New Yorkers feel...

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=16657336&ch=4226713&src=news

Sarah Palin slated for Bakersfield Business Conference

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:16:09 PST

BY COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer
cedelhart@bakersfield.com | Sunday, Nov 15 2009 12:05 AM

Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and actress Goldie Hawn will be among the speakers at next year's Bakersfield Business Conference.

The much anticipated one-day conference is returning Oct. 9 after a five-year absence, and organizers are announcing one or two speakers a week as headliners in business, politics and entertainment are confirmed.

Conference organizer George Martin could not be reached for comment, but in a statement called Palin "one of the most talked-about figures in public life today."

Because of the role the oil industry plays in Alaska's economy, Martin said, Palin "has unique insight into the energy sector of our economy and a candid approach to sharing that knowledge. Understanding the future of the energy industry and energy policy is important to understanding the overall business environment as well as key economic trends in the short and long-run."

Many local political figures were excited to learn that Palin will be coming to town.

"Kudos. That's quite a coup for Bakersfield," said GOP consultant Tracy Leach.

A virtual unknown before joining last year's presidential campaign as Arizona Sen. John McCain's running mate, Palin is considered by some a viable candidate for the presidency in 2012.

She was simultaneously praised for energizing her party's conservative base and criticized for undermining its credibility because of her relative lack of national and international experience.

But party loyalists remain supportive of the first female vice presidential candidate in the Republican party's history.

"She was an easy target for the media," Leach said. "I don't think it was warranted or fair. I think it was over the top hyperbole."

When Susan Moxley, president of Bakersfield Republican Women Federation heard Palin was coming, she exclaimed, "Oh fabulous! Wow."

Moxley said she was "lukewarm" to McCain's bid for the presidency, but Palin's addition to the ticket ignited tremendous excitement, and continues to do so even after Palin's decision to step down from the Alaska governor's office before completing her first term.

That decision "raised eyebrows," Moxley admitted, but she said it doesn't diminish Palin. "I don't know what her specific plans are, but the door's wide open for her," she said.

Since leaving public office in July, Palin has been promoting her new book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," (HarperCollins, $28.99), appearing on news talk shows and traveling the lecture circuit.

Not everyone was warm to Palin appearing locally. Bernita Jenkins, a top official with the Obama campaign in Kern County, said Palin is divisive.

"Mr. Martin has always been able to pull quality people to come for the Bakersfield Business Conference, and every now and then he brings people who are controversial," Jenkins said. "She is definitely controversial in that she has caused a lot of polarization in the past.

"She's probably going to badmouth the president of the United States, and will continue to widen the divide in an already divided community. I'd rather hear someone who will try to bring people together."

Bernard Anthony, president of the Bakersfield chapter of the NAACP, said he is not a supporter of Palin, but that she probably has a lot to teach conference participants.

"She's someone who has been politically active at a national level, and anyone who has been at that level, there are lessons you learn. Maybe she can take her experience and help someone else to be successful in that arena," Anthony said.

The other speaker announced over the weekend was Hawn.

Hawn is best known for her acting, including an Oscar-winning performance in the 1969 film "Cactus Flower" and an Oscar nomination for the 1981 film "Private Benjamin."

But Hawn also is an entrepreneur, chief executive officer, director, producer and author.

Previously announced speakers are former First Lady Laura Bush, impressionist Rich Little, former Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney.

For conference updates and ticket details, go to www.bpcbakbusconf.com.

Hawaii's famed white sandy beaches are shrinking

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:38:42 PST

By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer Audrey Mcavoy, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 18 mins ago

KAILUA, Hawaii – Jenn Boneza remembers when the white sandy beach near the boat ramp in her hometown was wide enough for people to build sand castles.

"It really used to be a beautiful beach," said the 35-year-old mother of two. "And now when you look at it, it's gone."

What's happening to portions of the beach in Kailua — a sunny coastal suburb of Honolulu where President Barack Obama spent his last two family vacations in the islands — is being repeated around the Hawaiian Islands.

Geologists say more than 70 percent of Kauai's beaches are eroding while Oahu has lost a quarter of its sandy shoreline. They warn the problem is only likely to get significantly worse in coming decades as global warming causes sea levels to rise more rapidly.

"It will probably have occurred to a scale that we will have only been able to save a few places and maintain beaches, and the rest are kind of a write-off," said Dolan Eversole, a coastal geologist with the University of Hawaii's Sea Grant program.

The loss of so many beaches is an alarming prospect for Hawaii on many levels. Many tourists come to Hawaii precisely because they want to lounge on and walk along its soft sandy shoreline. These visitors spend some $11.4 billion each year, making tourism the state's largest employer.

Disappearing sands would also wreak havoc on the environment as many animals and plants would lose important habitats. The Hawaiian monk seal, an endangered species, gives birth and nurses pups on beaches. The green sea turtle, a threatened species, lays eggs in the sand.

Chip Fletcher, a University of Hawaii geology professor, says scientists in Hawaii haven't yet observed an accelerated rate of sea level rise due to global warming.

Instead, the erosion the islands are experiencing now is caused by several factors including a steady historical climb in sea levels that likely dates back to the 19th century.

Other causes include storms and human actions like the construction of seawalls, jetties, and the dredging of stream mouths. Each of these human actions disrupts the natural flow of sand.

But a more rapid rise in sea levels, caused by global warming, is expected to contribute to erosion in Hawaii within decades. In 100 years, sea levels are likely to be at least 1 meter, or 3.3 feet, higher than they are now, pushing the ocean inland along coastal areas.

Fletcher says between 60 to 80 percent of the nation's shoreline is chronically eroding. But the problem is felt particularly acutely in Hawaii because the economy and lifestyle are so dependent on healthy beaches.

The state is doing everything it can to keep the sand in Waikiki, for example, joining with hotels in the state's tourist hub on a plan to spend between $2 million and $3 million pumping in sand from offshore.

Sam Lemmo, administrator of the state's Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, says the state would need a variety of adaptation strategies for different beaches.

It would likely have to abandon hope for beaches in posh Lanikai and suburban Ewa Beach on Oahu because they're already lined with seawalls and are badly eroded.

The same probably goes for shoreline next to highways or other critical public infrastructure, where seawalls already exist or may have to be built.

Seawalls protect individual properties from encroaching waters but they exacerbate erosion nearby by preventing waves from reaching the sand needed to replenish the beach.

For undeveloped shoreline, the state wants to make sure these areas stay pristine. This happened recently when a Florida-based developer announced plans to build luxury homes on sand dunes in Kahuku on Oahu's North Shore.

"We just kind of went nuts, pulled out all the guns on that one, basically got them to back off," Lemmo said. "We're working pretty hard to keep any new development away from these areas."

The University of Hawaii's Sea Grant program is working with a consultant to develop a beach management plan for Kailua that would address how to deal with a 1 meter rise in sea level. The state hopes this will be the first of many site-specific management plans for Hawaii's beaches.

A "triage," strategy could be applied to Kailua, which is lined by multimillion-dollar homes but doesn't have seawalls.

Fletcher proposes identifying areas where a land conservation fund would buy five or six adjoining properties. The state would tear down buildings on these plots and allow the beach to shift inland.

He said when erosion hits more sections of Kailua beach, there's going to be a clamor to put up seawalls.

"That will be a very important moment," Fletcher said. "If we allow the first home to put up a seawall, then we're probably dooming the entire beach over the course of a couple of decades . . .

Ultimately the beach will disappear. Or we could have an alternative to that, to identify now some portions of Kailua shoreline where we want the beach to live."

Woman gets face ripped off by Chimp

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:15:44 PST

this is a story about a woman who knew this animal and the owner for years until that fateful eve.. The chimp was raised in her friends home and treated like a member of the family. He was in tv commercials when he was younger and loved through out the community.

No one knows why he snapped but he did. ..the woman survived.. the chimp was killed by the officers who answered the 911 call.

I tried to post the video from youtube but apparently oppies crew have restricted that option. If your interested theres more about it on the list below this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuJQeHYSOXM

EDITORIAL: Running away from terrorism

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:09:14 PST

The White House can't handle the truth

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Fort Hood, Texas, massacre was the worst domestic terrorist incident since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but the government refuses to admit it. The latest act of denial is procedural. The accused shooter, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, reportedly has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder under Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which does not provide for a charge related to terrorism. Officially, this was not a terror attack, but nonpolitical murder.

The primary distinguishing characteristic between murder and terrorism is motive. The Code of Federal Regulations defines terrorism as "the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." We know enough about Maj. Hasan's background, worldview and political orientation to make an informed judgment about his motives. He was a jihadist seeking martyrdom who was trying to take down as many "infidels" as he could in the process.

The massacre fits the definition of domestic terrorism under section 2331 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, and Section 1114 provides for a murder charge against "whoever kills or attempts to kill any officer or employee of the United States or of any agency in any branch of the United States Government (including any member of the uniformed services) while such officer or employee is engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties." Section 2332b stipulates that violations of Section 1114 that are "calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct" bring the incident under the definition of the "Federal crime of terrorism."

There is ample legal support for bringing a terrorism charge if the government were so inclined. Instead, the current government has chosen to make this a regular court-martial. The message is clear: Failure to prevent terror attacks on its watch will be defined away.

Compared to other recent domestic incidents, the Fort Hood massacre was a terror act of historic proportions. According to the University of Maryland's Global Terrorism Database of more than 1,300 domestic incidents since 1970, the Fort Hood massacre ranks fourth in terms of fatalities behind the Sept. 11 attacks (taken collectively), the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 1999 Columbine massacre. It is the deadliest such attack by a lone gunman.

Yet the White House persistently and inexplicably refuses to call this terrorism. This evasion calls to mind the spring of 1994, when the State Department forbade the use of the term "genocide" to describe events then transpiring in Rwanda - in which almost 1 million people were killed - out of concern that use of the expression might obligate the United States to take some sort of action. Weeks later, the government finally came around and recognized that genocide was, in fact, taking place, by which time it was too late to do much about it.

Maj. Hasan's court-martial may reveal more about the terroristic nature of his bloody actions, but we doubt it. Any sensible defense strategy would downplay terrorism and emphasize the image currently popular on the left of Maj. Hasan as a victim of some kind of work-related stress that made him crack unexpectedly. But political correctness cannot long overpower reality or defeat common sense.

The Fort Hood massacre was a domestic terrorist attack by a jihadist radical. Fleeing from that fact places the country in greater danger and inspires other domestic terrorists to try to make the point more definitively.

EDITORIAL: Stimulus creates jobs in China

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:53 PST

Democrats tax recession-wracked Americans to buy Asian machinery

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Of the $1 billion in clean-energy stimulus money spent since the beginning of September, $850 million has gone to foreign wind companies. It doesn't take a bunch of experts at a hastily planned "jobs summit" to discover this isn't the way to bolster employment in America.

Indeed, the 11 U.S. wind farms that received stimulus money from the Treasury have imported 695 of the 982 wind turbines to be installed, creating 4,500 jobs overseas. That's far more overseas work than the stimulus money has created in the United States.

On Oct. 29, a joint venture of American and Chinese companies unveiled plans for a new $1.5 billion wind farm in West Texas consisting of 240 Chinese-made turbines. The project is seeking 30 percent of its funding in government stimulus dollars. At best, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars will create a grand total of 30 permanent jobs. That's $15 million for each job if the project gets the expected level of federal funding.

At least with the auto-industry bailout, the federal program was supposed to help a specific U.S. industry, so the feds could argue that investing taxpayer dollars overseas does advance the advertised purpose of the effort. However, in the case of the stimulus spending, there isn't even such a fig-leaf argument.

Of course, the global economy is critical to the United States. America's massive exports to the rest of the world support millions of American jobs. Even greater imports into the United States enable American workers to have a much higher standard of living than if every window fan, TV set and T-shirt had to be made within our borders.

However, the decisions behind that global economy are voluntary ones. People who would like to buy American-made sweaters or invest in companies that make their products in the United States are free to do so. Others who would rather make investment decisions based solely on what products are cheapest or best or which investments will have the best return are free to follow their beliefs.

However, when the U.S. government gets in the business of funding electric power plants or subsidizing certain corporations, taxpayers and voters quite reasonably want the government that they fund and control to be run to serve their interests. That means the federal government gets drawn ever deeper into micromanaging American businesses. That's why the bailouts and the stimulus package couldn't help but fail to work as advertised and why they were always going to cause more problems than they could ever hope to solve.

EDITORIAL: Health care run by trial lawyers

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:57:55 PST

By THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Political power, rather than substance, is at the heart of the Democrats' proposed health care legislation. Admission of that power-politics reality was the most significant occurrence in a very odd town-hall meeting Tuesday night held by Virginia Democratic Rep. James P. Moran. It is now clearer than ever that plaintiffs' lawyers collectively are the political powerhouse running the health care show.

A constituent at the meeting, quite reasonably, asked Mr. Moran the following question: "There is $200 billion of savings over 10 years if you have [lawsuit] reform, and nobody loses but the lawyers. Why isn't [lawsuit] reform in the bill?"

On this question, as on more than half of those asked by the audience, Mr. Moran deferred to his guest, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, to provide a response. Mr. Dean's answer was candid: "When you go to pass an enormous bill like that, the more stuff you put in it, the more enemies you make. The reason that tort reform is not in the bill is because the people who wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers in addition to everybody else they were taking on, and that is the plain and simple truth.... This bill has enough enemies. The more groups you take on, the more enemies you make."

When Mr. Moran retook the microphone, he praised the constituent for "a very good question" and added, "that's your answer ... a good answer."

Of course, the answer was good only in that it accurately described the political situation. On substance, the answer was terrible. Neither Mr. Moran nor Mr. Dean could defend the lack of tort reform in the bill because there is no good, substantive reason for refusing to rein in the wealthy plaintiffs' bar. There is no good, substantive reason for refusing to protect doctors from ridiculous jackpot justice while the rest of us pay through the nose for the cost of additional malpractice insurance.

The only reason the lawyers escape scot-free is that they give so much money -- 95 percent of their federal campaign donations in virtually every election cycle -- to the Democrats who are writing the bills.

To be blunt, this mollycoddling of lawyers is legislative malpractice. In state after state that has tried medical malpractice reform -- there are 25 in all -- costs have gone down, the number of doctors settling in the state has gone up, and patient services have improved. As far back as 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that high litigation costs contributed to declines in health care quality. In 2007, researchers Jonathan Klick of Florida State University and Thomas Stratmann of George Mason University reported that malpractice reforms also appear to have a substantial, beneficial effect on historically underserved populations -- for instance, by cutting black infant mortality rates by 6 percent.

Would-be reformers who refuse to stop lawsuit abuse give lie to their claims to be putting patients first. Mr. Dean's candor should awaken congressional Democrats. The public won't trust them to reform health care until they stop kowtowing to the plaintiffs' lawyers who treat them as political chattel.

MIA dog found in Afghanistan after 14 months

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:46:34 PST

Thu Nov 12, 2:52 am ET

SYDNEY – A bomb-sniffing dog that disappeared during a fierce battle in Afghanistan between Australian troops and militant fighters has been found and returned to its unit after more than a year.

And Sabi the black labrador is getting a celebrity welcome home.

Sabi was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol ambushed in restive Uruzgan province in September 2008, triggering a gunfight that wounded nine troops and earned one Australian soldier the country's highest bravery medal.

But there was no sign of Sabi after the battle, and months of searching failed to find any sign of the retriever — until now.

Defense officials said Thursday that a U.S. soldier recovered Sabi at an isolated patrol base elsewhere in Uruzgan. Further details about the base were not given.

The dog was returned to the Australians' base in the province just in time for a visit by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was photographed Wednesday along with the U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal petting Sabi.

"Sabi is back home in one piece and is a genuinely nice pooch as well," Rudd told reporters.

Exactly where Sabi has been or what happened to her during the past 14 months will probably never be known, though that she was in good condition when she was found indicated somebody had been looking after her, military spokesman Brig. Brian Dawson told reporters in Canberra.

The dog was being tested for diseases before a decision was made on whether she can return to Australia.

More than 1,500 Australian troops are in Afghanistan and most of them are involved in training Afghan security forces. Among them are units that use dogs to sniff out roadside bombs and other explosive booby traps.

Jobless claims fall more than expected to 502K

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:02:04 PST

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber, Ap Economics Writer – 24 mins ago

WASHINGTON – New claims for unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week, evidence the job market is slowly healing as the economy recovers.

Still, many private economists and Federal Reserve officials worry the nation could be in for a "jobless recovery" as the unemployment rate rises despite some overall economic growth.

The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 502,000 from an upwardly revised 514,000 the previous week. That's the fewest claims since the week ending Jan. 3, and below economists' estimates.

The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, dropped to 519,750, also the lowest in almost a year. It has fallen by more than 20 percent since its peak in the spring.

"The weekly claims figures are showing steady progress," said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities. "Firing activity is starting to taper off. It's not clear whether hiring has picked up."

Economists closely watch initial claims as a gauge of the pace of layoffs. But claims also can provide a signal about the willingness of companies to hire, because laid-off workers able to find jobs are less likely to request benefits.

Abiel Reinhart, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, estimates that claims in the high 400s would be a signal the economy is starting to add jobs. That level could be reached by January, he said, and the economy should start gaining jobs in the first quarter of 2010.

Still, he doesn't expect the gains to be strong enough to push down the unemployment rate — now at a 26-year high of 10.2 percent — until the second quarter.

Pandl, meanwhile, said that claims will need to drop to about 425,000 before jobs are added. Still, he also expects the economy to see net gains in payrolls by January.

The last time the economy saw job gains was in December 2007, when employers added 120,000 jobs. Claims that month averaged about 340,000, though Reinhart said claims don't have to fall that far at the end of the recession to signal gains.

Many analysts estimate that job gains need to top 125,000 to account for population growth and lower the unemployment rate.

President Barack Obama called the better-than-expected jobless claims report "a hopeful sign," but said he'll host a White House summit next month on combating the joblessness that continues to drag on a struggling economy.

"We are open to any demonstrably good idea to supplement the steps we've already taken to put America back to work," Obama said before taking off for a trip to Asia. With millions of unemployed Americans, Obama said the government has "an obligation to consider every additional responsible step we can" to get people back to work.

The December jobs "forum" will bring in public and private sector experts to talk about how to get the job-creation engine running again, Obama said.

The stock market dipped in midday trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 50 points, while broader indexes also edged down.

Employers cut a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, the government said last month, bringing total losses in the recession to 7.3 million.

Several regional Fed bank presidents warned in speeches Tuesday that the unemployment rate is likely to remain high for several years.

The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter after a record four straight quarterly drops. The disparity between the unemployment rate and economic growth figure has raised fears among many economists that the nation's economy could be in for a "jobless recovery."

The government also said Thursday that the number of people continuing to claim benefits dropped by 139,000 to 5.6 million, below analysts' estimates. The figures on continuing claims lag initial claims by a week.

But millions of unemployed Americans have used up the regular 26 weeks of benefits typically provided by states and are receiving extended benefits for up to 73 additional weeks, paid for by the federal government. Congress added 14 to 20 weeks to the extended program last week, the fourth extension since the recession began and the longest total extension on record.

About 4.1 million people were receiving extended benefits in the week ended Oct. 24, little changed from the previous week.

More job cuts were announced this week by Adobe Systems Inc., the maker of Photoshop, Flash and Acrobat software products, and internet company AOL LLC, which will soon be spun off from parent Time Warner Inc