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If you have ever been held captive on plane that is going nowhere for the foreseeable future, you know how helpless and frustrated it feels to be trapped in a metal tube with screaming kids, overflowing toilets — and no food or drink. Good news. Starting today, if you find yourself in that situation, you have rights.
If your plane pulls back from the gate and sits on the tarmac for two hours, the airline must give you access to food, water and the plane’s bathroom. Before three hours have passed, they have to take you back to the gate. Believe me, when I say the airlines will take this seriously. They can be fined $27,500 per passenger. If the plane is full, that could add up to somewhere in the neighborhood of a $3 million dollar fine.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood acknowledges that the airlines don’t much like the new rule. LaHood told me earlier this week, “What I’ve said to airline CEOs … is: ‘you should be for the passengers and that’s a good reason to be for this rule.’”
Some industry analysts believe there could be a downside to all this. Since some flights don’t make a lot of profit, the airline may choose to cancel a flight if there is even a small chance the plane might be held on the tarmac because of weather or air traffic congestion.
“I am confident that we will see a fairly large number of cancellations through the summer, just to avoid the penalty this rule could impose, ” said William Swelbar, a research engineer from MIT’s International Center for Air Transportation.
In 2009, there were 903 flights that were held on the ground for more than three hours. Already in the first two months of 2010, airlines were on pace for a worse record.
Some credit for this new rule must be given to the small grassroots group, flyersrights.org. After getting stuck on a plane in Austin, Texas for more than 9 hours in 2006, Kate Hanni founded the group and began lobbying for a Passenger’s Bill of Rights. She points out that airlines over-schedule the number of flights that can reasonably be expected to take off from an airport — sometimes by as much as 30 percent. She says that means “a certain number of flights … are gonna sit in the penalty box.”
By the way, I am reporting from JFK airport today in New York, where runway work is expected to create mayhem for travelers during the busy summer travel season. Please take note.
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Now that Super Street Fighter IV is out and about, what can fans of the fighting series look forward to now? Costume packs, of course!
Happy Meals are officially sad in California’s Santa Clara County. After debating the issue, the board of supervisors in that Silicon Valley area has voted 3-2 to ban toys and other promotions from high-fat, sodium-loaded kids meals. The new ordinance won’t take effect for 90 days, giving fast-food restaurants a chance to bring their kids’ offerings up to a better nutritional standard. (Hint: If it hasn’t happened by now, I doubt three months will make much difference.) The ban doesn’t cover a large geographical area—just the unincorporated parts of the county—but the repercussions might be felt far and wide. It’s a bit of a test case for other municipalities that might want to fight the child-obesity epidemic by attacking the trinkets that come with burgers and fries. The delay in enacting the ban means a number of summer movie tie-ins will still happen as planned. The rest of the year? Still to be determined.
—Posted by T.L. Stanley
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2010
DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010
In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press.
Later, the President, the Vice President and the First Lady will attend Dorothy Height’s funeral at the National Cathedral. The President will deliver remarks. This event is open to pre-credentialed media. The Washington National Cathedral is handling media credentials, however the deadline to request credentials has passed. There will be travel pool coverage of the President’s remarks.
In the afternoon, the President and the Vice President will have lunch in the Private Dining Room. This lunch is closed press. Later, the President will honor the 2010 National Teacher of the Year and the state teachers of the year from all across the country at an event in the Rose Garden. Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will join the President for the event. Every President since Harry S. Truman has continued the Presidential tradition of honoring the country’s finest educators. This event is open press.
Later in the afternoon, the President and the Vice President will meet with Secretary of State Clinton in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press.
In the evening, the President will attend a DNC fundraising dinner at a private residence in Washington, DC. Since no formal remarks are planned, the event will be closed press.
In-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: FOX
Print: Baltimore Sun
Radio: VOA
EDT
9:00AM Pool Call Time
9:00AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press
10:00AM THE PRESIDENT, THE VICE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY attend Dorothy Height’s funeral; THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks
National Cathedral
Open to pre-credentialed media (Travel Pool Gather Time 9:20AM – North Doors of the Palm Room)
12:30PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT have lunch
Private Dining Room
Closed Press
1:40PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks at an event honoring the 2010 National Teacher of the Year
Rose Garden
Open Press (Pre-set 10:30AM – Final Gather 1:10PM – North Doors of the Palm Room)
4:30PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT meet with Secretary of State Clinton
Oval Office
Closed Press
7:35PM THE PRESIDENT attends a DNC fundraising dinner
Private Residence
Closed Press (Travel Pool Gather Time 7:00PM – North Doors of the Palm Room)
Briefing Schedule
12:00PM Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
##
KNOXVILLE – Two University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students have received Fulbright grants for the 2010-2011 academic year. Jordan Kuck, a doctoral student in history, will be conducting research in Latvia, while Alex Tullock, a graduating senior in Russian, will go to the country for an English teaching assistantship.
Kuck, of Bertrand, Neb., is researching the 20th century Latvian dictator Karlis Ulmanis for his dissertation. His Fulbright grant will enable him to spend nine months in Latvia where he will have access to historical archives. Kuck plans to return to UT Knoxville after his experience to teach and complete his Ph.D.
Tullock, of Riceville, Tenn., will graduate next month with a Bachelor of Arts in Russian. During his Fulbright year, he will teach English language classes and serve as an advisor to Russian teachers of English, experiences Tullock anticipates will help him with his future plans of teaching at the university level.
“Both Jordan and Alex had that ’something extra’ that is takes to win nationally competitive awards like the Fulbright, “said Rebekah Page, assistant director of UT’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships. “Jordan’s research proposal was focused and well-planned, and he had made contacts in Latvia prior to applying. Alex’s essays highlighted his previous study abroad experience in Russia and spoke of the importance of cultural exchange. Both of them have strong language skills to back up their other impressive qualifications.”
Kuck advises future applicants to request feedback from different people on the application, a service Page said the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships provides to applicants as well.
“Getting comments and suggestions from as many readers as possible is the key to producing a good proposal,” Kuck said.
Each year, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides full grants for graduate study or research and English teaching assistantships to approximately 1,500 U.S. students to over 140 countries worldwide.
Sponsored by the Department of State and named for the late Senator J. William Fulbright, the Fulbright Program was established by Congress in 1946 to “enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” In addition to the U.S Student Program, Fulbright also sponsors teaching and research awards for faculty and awards for international students to conduct graduate study at U.S. universities.
Applications for next year’s Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition become available on May 1, 2010. UT students must have their completed applications submitted by September 15, 2010.
Because the Fulbright program recommends beginning the application at least two months in advance of the deadline, UT students interested in applying for Fulbrights for the 2011-2012 year are encouraged to meet with someone in the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships before the start of summer term.
—
C O N T A C T :
Rebekah Page (865-974-7875, [email protected])
This morning, President Obama named three people to the board of the Federal Reserve: Janet Yellen to be vice chairman, and Peter Diamond and Sarah Bloom Raskin to be general members of the seven-person board.
Yellen is the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Diamond is an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Raskin is Maryland’s state banks regulator. The nominations were first floated in March. All three picks are widely respected in economic circles, particularly among liberals.
Yellen is known as an inflation dove — a believer that the risk of inflation remains low and therefore the Federal Reserve should maintain interest rates at scratch to help the economy grow. She also tends to have more employment-centric views than other Fed economists. For instance, earlier this month, she said, “Even as we applaud the economic turnaround, it’s important not to lose sight of just how fragile this recovery is and how far we yet have to go before things return to normal.” Diamond is a highly respected liberal academic economist. And Raskin is known as a strong banking regulator, taking a hard line against mortgage fraud, for instance.
But why did Obama pick Raskin rather than another economist? And if the Federal Open Markets Committee sets the interest rate, what does the Fed board do?
The board is meant to contain a “fair representation of the financial, agricultural, industrial, and commercial interests and geographical divisions of the country,” hence the pick of Raskin from the regulatory, rather than academic, economic world. It does not move the interest rate, true, but the board helps to coordinate the Fed’s monetary policy, supervise banks, aid the credit markets, keep a general eye on the economy, coordinate the 12 regional banks, conduct research, maintain financial stability and oversee systemic risk.
After volunteering at the EPA booth during the Earth Day festivities this past weekend, I walked over to the Climate Rally at the National Mall. Speaker after speaker highlighted the need to take action to develop a comprehensive policy to address climate change. It was interesting to see those who had participated at the first Earth Day 40 years ago in 1970 speaking at the rally on Sunday. While they pointed to the environmental progress achieved over the years, several indicated that on this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the world faces new challenges. Many of them joined their voices to call for urgent action on climate change today in 2010.
Just two days after the festivities, EPA has published a report entitled Climate Change Indicators in the United States . The report analyzes 24 key indicators that show how climate change impacts the health and environment across the nation. While it focuses on the effects of these indicators in the United States, global trends are presented as well. Some of the findings point to an increase in average temperatures across the United States, rising sea levels, heavier precipitation, and a greater intensity of tropical storms, to name a few. The report concludes that there is compelling evidence that fundamental changes to our environment are unfolding before our very eyes.
The urgency of the situation brought memories of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I have a dream”
speech delivered at the other end of the National Mall nearly forty-seven years ago. Although the great civil rights leader sought to stress the urgency for action in favor of racial justice and equality, a parallel can be drawn regarding the urgency to address the current challenge of climate change. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said on that hallowed spot in front of the Lincoln Memorial, “This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism…It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.”
While the challenges seem monumental for the average citizen, there are simple steps that we all can take to reduce our environmental impacts. Pick something that you can do today!
About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.
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It’s no secret that Larry Sanger is no fan of Wikipedia. He’s often credited as being a co-founder of the site, though some dispute this. He was involved in the creation of Nupedia, Wikipedia’s predecessor, which was more of a traditional expert-edited online encyclopedia. While many involved in Wikipedia these days downplay his role there, Sanger has made a pretty compelling case that he was heavily involved in the early days. Either way, since he left, he’s gone way out of his way to distance himself from Wikipedia, while setting up a competitor (again, an expert-edited encyclopedia) that doesn’t get much usage. Every few months or so, he seems to find some way to pop up in the news, often using his connection to Wikipedia as the hook for why the press should cover his competitor, which appears to get almost no traffic whatsoever.
His latest tactic is really pretty low. SimonTek points us to a Fox News article all about Sanger calling on the FBI to investigate Wikipedia for distributing child porn. While Fox of course plays up Sanger’s Wikipedia credentials, they leave out the fact that he has been working on a failed competitor for years (they mention the company name, but not that it’s a competitor). They also leave out much of the animosity between Sanger and Wikipedia.
This story actually got some attention a few weeks ago on Slashdot, where many commenters, rightfully, took Sanger to task. Sanger responded to the criticism by arguing a few points, saying that he was required by law to report his findings to the FBI. To some extent, on that point, he is correct, though it is an issue with the law that focuses on criminalizing even those who accidentally run across questionable material, rather than focusing on those who create and purposely distribute the material (the real problems). However, he does appear to go somewhat out of his way to publicize this claim. He could have just alerted the FBI and been done with it… but he republished his letter to the FBI on a mailing list. That certainly raises some serious questions.
On top of that, his complaint is not about actual photographs of child pornography, but drawings. Indeed, the courts have found that even such depictions count as child pornography — though many people find that arguable about whether or not a made up drawing exploits a child in any way.
The real problem, of course, is that this (like so many arguments over this stuff) takes away from the real issue: which is stopping those actually responsible for child pornography. Attacking Wikipedia is not the answer and does little to help the issue — especially when the attack comes from someone with a long history of animosity towards the site, and a failing competitor. Why not focus those resources on actually dealing with the real problem? Wouldn’t we all rather that the FBI is focused on actually stopping those involved in the production of child pornography than wasting time going after Wikipedia? Part of the problem is certainly with the way the law is structured today, but it does seem that Sanger went out of his way to try to broadcast this attack when that absolutely was not necessary.
He makes it even worse in the Fox story by claiming that he was doing this to alert educators that Wikipedia is dangerous for school children. That’s flat-out ridiculous. For the most part, it is not. It’s quite unlikely that anyone is going to accidentally stumble onto those drawings on Wikipedia — and they’re equally as likely to find similar (or worse) stuff elsewhere. To call out all of Wikipedia as being unsuitable because of this is clearly going way too far.
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[JURIST] The US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday removed accused Bosnian civil war criminal Marko Boskic to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Boskic will stand trial in Sarajevo for his role in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995, where 1,200 unarmed prisoners of war were killed. Boskic was first arrested in the US in 2004, when immigration officials charged him with fraud and misuse of a visa for not reporting his foreign military service. During his imprisonment on those immigration-related charges, ICE worked with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to investigate Boskic’s alleged role at Srebrenica. Depending on the severity of Boskic’s role, he will be tried either in the ICTY or the BiH war crimes court.
Last week, the BiH war crimes court convicted two individuals, Radomir Vukovic and Zoran Tomic, for their roles in the Srebrenica massacre, sentencing each to 31 years in prison. In March, the court indicted a former Serbian police commander, Nedjo Ikonic, for his alleged role at Srebrenica. The BiH war crimes court was originally formed in 2005 to relieve the caseload of the ICTY, and retains jurisdiction over crimes considered to be of a lower level, while the ICTY hears high-level cases, such as those involving Radovan Karadzic. The BiH war crimes court handed down its first decision in 2008.
If Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wants a glimpse into the life of a newly declared Independent candidate, he need look no further than Massachusetts’ Tim Cahill.
Cahill, the sitting Democratic state treasurer, had been eyeing a gubernatorial bid, but Cahill and the Democratic Party had been drifting apart. The party base continued to rally around sitting Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, leaving Cahill with little hope of becoming the party favorite. So last year, Cahill changed his party affiliation from Democrat to what Massachusetts’ election law refers to as “unenrolled” status.
That switch shook things up on the Republican side of the race. Polls show that since identifying as unenrolled, Cahill has begun to cut into frontrunner Republican Charlie Baker’s margin. Part of that success can be linked to Cahill’s new alignment with the Tea Party movement.
So can Crist expect the same kind of treatment if he does decide to run as an Independent? Not necessarily. For one, Massachusetts is friendlier territory for outsider candidates — unenrolled voters make up more than half of registered voters in Massachusetts. In Florida, fewer than 20 percent of voters are Independents.
And Crist won’t be the one capitalizing on the Tea Party in his race — Crist’s GOP opponent, Marco Rubio, has conservative support locked down. Polls do show better odds for Crist if he runs as an Independent, but he’d still be playing catch-up to Rubio.
Despite their vastly different circumstances, do Crist or Cahill have a better shot at winning their elections as candidates outside of the two major parties? Well, yes, but they each still have a long road ahead to become more than just a spoiler.
No Doubt already has “Spiderwebs,” “Excuse Me Mr.,” “Sunday Morning” and “Just a Girl” available for Rock Band. But for those who loved the whole Tragic Kingdom album, the collection will be completed for the game this
Después de servir de voluntaria en el pabellón de EPA durante las festividades del Día del Planeta Tierra el pasado fin de semana, caminé hasta la Manifestación Climática en el Mall Nacional. Orador tras orador destacó la necesidad de tomar acción para desarrollar una política global para abordar el cambio climático. Fue interesante ver aquellos que participaron en el primer Día del Planeta Tierra hace cuarenta años atrás en 1970 hablando en la manifestación este domingo pasado. Mientras destacaron los avances medioambientales logrados en los pasados años, varios indicaron que en este 40mo aniversario del Día del Planeta Tierra, el mundo se enfrenta a nuevos retos. Muchos unieron sus voces en un llamado a favor de acción urgente para abordar el cambio climático hoy en el 2010.
Justo dos días después de las festividades, EPA ha publicado un informe titulado Indicadores del Cambio Climático en Estados Unidos. El informe analiza 24 indicadores claves que demuestran cómo el cambio climático impacta la salud y al medio ambiente a través de toda la nación. Mientras el informe se enfoca en los efectos de estos indicadores en Estados Unidos, también se presentan tendencias globales. Algunos de los hallazgos apuntan a un aumento en temperaturas promedio en todo Estados Unidos, un alza en los niveles del mar, una mayor precipitación, y una mayor intensidad de las tormentas tropicales, entre otros factores. El informe concluye que hay evidencia apremiante de que hay cambios fundamentales en nuestro medio ambiente se están desarrollando ante nuestros ojos.
La urgencia de la situación me trajo recuerdos del famoso discurso de Martín Luther King, hijo, “Tengo un sueño”que pronunció al otro extremo del Mall Nacional hace casi 47 años atrás. A pesar de que el gran líder de derechos civiles buscaba enfatizar la urgencia de acción a favor de la justicia racial y la igualdad, se puede trazar un paralelo referente a la urgencia de abordar el reto actual del cambio climático. Como dijera Martín Luther King, hijo, en ese lugar sagrado al frente del monumento al Presidente Abraham Lincoln, “Este no es el momento de dedicarse al lujo de enfriarse o de tomar la droga tranquilizante del gradualismo…Sería fatal para la nación ignorar la urgencia del momento”.
Mientras los retos parecen monumentales para el ciudadano promedio, hay unos pasos sencillos que todos podemos tomar para reducir nuestros impactos medioambientales. ¡Elija algo para hacer hoy mismo!
Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.
News that Hewlett-Packard Co. had agreed Wednesday afternoon to buy Palm Inc. for US$5.70 a share came just in time for the struggling company, analysts said Thursday.
Peter Misek, analyst with Canaccord Adams, said in a note Thursday he is "very positive" on the move, worth US$1.2-billion in total, calling for investors to tender their shares.
"We have always been of the opinion that Palm would not survive as a standalone entity and that its troubles would only accelerate as carriers and suppliers increasingly question the company's solvency," he said. "We view HP's bid as the 'white knight' for palm stakeholders."
However, in morning trading shares in Palm jumped almost 25% to US$5.74 a share, beyond HP's initial offer.
Rod Hall, analyst with J.P. Morgan, noted there was potential for counterbids that may drive the price higher, but remained neutral on Palm.
"We see this as a good exit for Palm investors. Indications for revenues between US$90-million and $100-million in new guidance suggest the company would have needed to raise cash soon," he said in a note to clients. "It seems clear Palm's products are not getting traction in key channels."
HP's offer of US$5.70 a share in cash implies a 23% premium to Wednesday's closing price for Palm, a "final positive testament to the WebOS platform that Palm created," he said.
Not to say this is the end for Palm though, as HP plans to use its relationships with carriers worldwide to help push Palm products. It also ensured it can use Palm's WebOS on its tablets and slate devices.
"We see a reinvigorated Palm as a significant threat to other smartphone platforms, though this will take time," Mr. Misek said.
If you don’t have the time to decode the multiple coded messages seen in Dead Space 2’s latest trailer, don’t worry. IGN’s done it for you.
