Category: News

Pelosi: No Tier V for Unemployment Benefits

One of the enduring confusions amid the debate over extending unemployment benefits revolves around the fact that the Democrats’ proposals don’t actually extend UI benefits at all. They simply extend the filing deadline to apply for existing benefits.

That dynamic hasn’t been lost on a growing number of unemployed folks who have exhausted all available assistance, and many of them are pushing for additional tiers of emergency help. Yesterday, though, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated that Tier V advocates shouldn’t hold their breath.

Asked by a reporter if Democrats “foresee having another tier of expanded benefits,” Pelosi responded:

Not — not — no. This bill will go into the end of November. At that time we will take up something, but not between now and then.

Pelosi also noted that local politics are playing at least as much of a role as ideology in the debate over whether Congress should extend even existing benefits.

“The phenomenon or the situation that I see is that members who are from low-unemployment areas are very concerned about the deficit,” Pelosi said. “Members who are from high-unemployment areas are very concerned about the jobs.”

May 28, 2010
2011 version of QX56 expected to boost model’s sales

2011 Infiniti QX56

Infiniti is counting big on its 2011 version of the QX56 to increase sales for the model, which has been suffering along with the rest of the segment as buyers move towards more fuel-efficient and smaller options. However, with more power and more fuel-efficiency, the 2011 QX56 is expected to recapture some of the full-size large SUV market.

“We will have months when we sell 800 to 900 of these,” Ben Poore, Infiniti’s vice president in charge of sales and marketing, told Edmunds.

Click here to get prices on the 2011 Infiniti QX56.

That brings Poore’s predictions to annual sales of as high as 10,800 units for the 2011 QX56. Sales of the outgoing model averaged at 1,226 units a month and totaled 14,715 in 2005, making that its record sales year. However, last year sales for the QX56 were the model’s worst, averaging 536 units a month with year-long sales totaling 6,440 units.

It seems like there may be some sun shining on the QX56 in 2010 because sales are averaging at 770 a month.

Refresher: The 2011 Infiniti QX56 is powered by a 5.6L direct injected V8 making 400-hp and 413 lb-ft of torque. The engine is mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission, which helps add a 10 percent gain in fuel-economy. The 2011 QX56 can handle towing of up to a 8,500-pound towing capacity.

2011 Infiniti QX56:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: AutoObserver

May 28, 2010
CHART OF THE DAY: How Google Invests Its Cash (GOOG)
Google (GOOG) has an astounding $26 billion in cash. Brent Callinicos is the guy responsible for investing it.

Brent runs a 30-person trading operation at Google and is developing a more agressive trading strategy by the day, reports Douglas MacMillan at Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Lately, Brent has begun moving away from a cautious cash management strategy towards more higher risk/return investments. He’s specifically targeting corportate debt ($4.9 billion), agency residential mortgage-backed securities ($3.3 billion) and foreign government bonds ($332 million.)

Follow the Chart Of The Day on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chartoftheday

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May 28, 2010
Rumor Has It Samsung and T-Mobile Up to Something Big…
…And we think we already know what it is. Remember back a few weeks ago when we thought we knew what T-Mobile’s Project Emerald was? At the time we purported that it was related to the Samsung Galaxy S arriving on the carrier. After doing some digging around and reading we learned that the project might actually be related to a Sidekick handset. Well, a Samsung source is telling BGR today that they and T-Mobile are working on a major product launch for July. Read on to see what we though, and still do, think is happening.

The handset will be the Samsung Galaxy S. However, this will not be an all-out exclusive deal. T-Mobile will be one of four carriers to provide the phone…With the droid Incredible and HTC EVO getting a great deal of attention these last few weeks, Big Magenta has fast-tracked this phone for release the first week of July.

Might We Suggest…
- Samsung i897 Sounding More and More Like a Galaxy S
  
  A few months back a few documents were listed on the Bluetooth Special Interest Group website for a Samsung i897 handset. At the time it was found that the quad-band GSM device featured a 4.0-inch …
May 28, 2010
The Selloff Intensifies: Here Are The 10 Trades To Watch Right Now

Heading into the weekend, the selling is intensifiying.

Indices are down, and anyone associated with Deepwater is getting hammered again.

The Risk Trade Is Off — everything from stocks to commodities to risk currencies are accelerating to the downside.

Continuing Crisis In The Gulf: BP down 5.18%

Continuing Crisis In The Gulf: Transocean (RIG) down 3.3%

Continuing Crisis In The Gulf: Halliburton (HAL) down 6.97%

Big Shale Oil Purchase: Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) down 0.55%

Spanish Banking Consolidation: Santander (SAN.MC) up 1.57%

Worldwide iPad release: Apple (AAPL) up 0.64%

Hurricane Threats: Orange Juice up 1.27%

CEO Pay Scandal: Schlumberger (SLB) down 4.98%

Schlumberger’s CEO is ranked 10th in the world for pay, after a $15.4 million windfall.

Oil Drilling Permits Suspended: Anadarko (APC) down 5.2%

As a result of new U.S. government rules, Anadarko has had drilling permits suspended.

Worried about the future of oil? China isn’t.

See how China is investing in oil projects around the world >

Join the conversation about this story »

May 28, 2010
The 1-2-3-4 Formula for Unleashing Your Inner Grok
This is a guest post from Matt Garland of Healthy Lifestyle Design.

Do you have what it takes to unleash your inner Grok?

Everyone does. It’s inherent in our biology. And yet many don’t, not because of physical obstacles but mental ones. Such barriers manifest as false and misguided perceptions of Primal living’s complexity, difficulty, and restriction. Alas, these devilish traps inhibit many would-be Groks from realizing their full potential.

So, how do you evade these ensnarements and unleash your inner Grok?

You stop worrying about “how” you’ll live Primal and start thinking about “why” you should.

The “why” is essential. If you don’t know why you should adopt Primal living then you never will. How come? Because the “why” gives meaning to what you do. And when you have meaning you have the strength and resolve to succeed.

This simple 1-2-3-4 forumula will guide you to “why” Primal living is right for you. Have fun with it and get ready to unleash your inner Grok!

1. What do I have to lose?

People fear what they don’t understand. And I believe it’s safe to say that many don’t understand the reasons, science, benefits, and intentions of Primal living in the modern world. Hence, your inner Grok will remain scared and buried within under a blanket of misguided beliefs.

This is tragic because much of what conventional wisdom teaches you about Primal living is in fact untrue. Curiosity isn’t enough to overcome this insidious inertia. To unleash your inner Grok and fully reap the bounty of Primal living you must first define your fears.

This may sound like psychologist-talk and that may be true. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. And how it works is by putting your fears into blunt perspective. Fears are often grossly overstated and over-dramatized. Bringing them down to earth is a powerful means of controlling your fears – thereby not letting them control you.

So, what are your fears of living Primal? And what do you have to lose if you try?

Let me tell you what you WON’T lose:
- You won’t lose your “health” to hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, etc.
- You won’t lose your family
- You won’t lose your personal relationships
- You won’t lose your job
- You won’t lose your mind
- You won’t lose your freedom
- You won’t lose your self-identity or self-confidence
- And you definitely won’t lose your life
Put plainly, there aren’t any substantive, decisive, permanent, or dangerous reasons to not try out the Primal living philosophy.

Once you see this, acknowledge this, and believe this you will unleash previously unknown and untapped wells of curiosity, motivation, and determination for greatness of health and life.

2. What do I have to gain?

You’ve defined your Primal living worst-case-scenarios. You’ve discovered that they aren’t the apocalyptic crises propagandized by many. In fact, the costs are meager, even trivial in many cases.

But lose-framing alone won’t do the job. You must define all that you can gain from trying the Primal living lifestyle. Take this seriously because understanding benefits is a much greater force for inspiration and courage than merely acknowledging the low costs.

So, what all can you gain from trying to live Primal?

Think rationally but think big! Grok certainly did. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- I’ll have real-world experience to evaluate the Primal living philosophy on its merits
- I’ll become more self-confident by allowing myself to try something new to improve my health and life
- I’ll cultivate more energy and focus as I ween off of energy-draining processed foods
- I’ll gain more peace-of-mind and personal freedom from Primal living’s simplicity
- I’ll feel better as I allow my body to perform activities and functions that it was built to do
- I’ll reclaim my right to be the full authority of my personal health and happiness
- I’ll have fun trying new foods and new activities as well as by building new social relations that share the Primal living ideals
- I’ll develop much improved wellness from elevated quality of sleep, nutrition, relaxation, etc
Feel free to pause your analysis here and compare your lose-list with your gain-list. The dichotomy is surely profound – illustrating the incredible ROI of a Primal lifestyle.

Okay, break over. Time to carry on!

3. What do my friends and family have to lose and gain?

Humans do not live in isolation. We are social creatures. This relationship, network-building skill is a defining characteristic of our species responsible largely for our survival and evolution.

Grok knew this well. No member of the tribe was more important that the tribe itself.

Fully understanding this axiom is the next powerful means of unleashing your inner Grok because you’ll see that your choice to live Primal won’t only empower yourself but your tribe as well.

So ask your family members and dear friends about their thoughts on Primal living. Share your lose-versus-gain analysis. Describe your beliefs in unleashing the power of your true Grok.

And compliment the feedback you collect with your own thoughts about how your friends and family will benefit from a Primal you. Maybe you’ll determinate that:
- My friends and family will have a stronger, healthier, more energized me to be around
- My friends and family can learn from my learnings about Primal living
- My friends and family will gain more respect for me as I confidently pursue greater health
- My friends and family will become inspired by my example and want to try Primal living too
- My friends and family will better understand me and my beliefs in living a remarkable life
Such determinations are deeply personal to you. Make them meaningful and make them count.

And don’t be shy. Some won’t understand. Others won’t agree. That’s okay. Be respectful to all opinions but firm in yours. And always remember, “the sure path to failure and misery is trying to please everybody.” – Tim Ferriss

4. Can I take it for a test drive?

Hopefully by now you’ve seen the logic and benefit to Primal living and are ready to try. If so, let’s get to it!

But if you’re not, here’s the final step in unleashing your inner Grok – just TRY it!

Choosing to try Primal living is not a permanent, all-binding decision. There is no fine-print to be weary of. You’re in control, remember? So relax and simply take Primal living for a test drive.

Evaluate your progress mentally, physically, and emotionally after a few weeks. Like what you see and feel? Awesome! Keep going! Don’t like what you see and feel? Then pause and re-evaluate. Or even stop if you so choose. The choice is yours.

But do yourself right and give your Primal living trial a fair go. One week isn’t adequate enough. Aim for two. Nothing happens (positive or negative) overnight.

And lastly, you need not go “all-in” on Primal living at the start. Radical lifestyle changes have a much higher degree of failure. So it’s perfectly acceptable (even encouraged) to start slow. Adopt a few of the Primal lifestyle elements to begin with. Evolve from there.

What do you think?

Why is Primal living important and meaningful for you?

What obstacles have you evaded on your Primal lifestyle journey?

What advice would you give those just starting to unleash their inner Groks?

Please share your thoughts in the comments because all Groks (young and wise) will benefit!

(Photo: stuckincustoms)

About Matt:

Matt Gartland is a healthy lifestyle geek extraordinaire, blogger, world traveler, lifestyle entrepreneur, lifelong kid, bookworm, athlete, and more.

He writes at Healthy Lifestyle Design (HLD), where he unleashes his passion for remarkable and unconventional living propelled by amazing health. Follow Matt on Twitter and join the HLD Tribe on Facebook.

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May 28, 2010
Kanye West – Power

Ye has kept relatively quiet for some time now, but on his new single, Kanye emphatically announces his return to music. Power is just that, a powerful track laced with a gritty baseline and Mr. West going on with his braggadocios self, “I guess every superhero needs his theme music”.

Listen to the track now after the jump.

K p by user9196076

May 28, 2010
Ozzy Osbourne Madame Tussauds Museum Prank!

Ozzy Osbourne scares the tourists! That Ozzy’s always horsing around. The singer pranked visitors at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York City this week by standing in for his wax figure. In anticipation of the release of his new album Scream out June 22, the Black Sabbath star decided to have some fun and provoke some screams by scaring unsuspecting tourists at Times Square hotspot.

May 28, 2010
Android Central Podcast Episode 14
Short Description:

Phil and Jerry spill everything they've learned about Android 2.2 Froyo, Phil's time with the Evo 4G and still find time for a bunch of your voicemails and e-mails. Listen in!

Podcast MP3 URL:

http://media.libsyn.com/media/androidcentral/acpc14.mp3

Android 2.2 Froyo features
Evo 4G news
Other hardware news
Other software news
Google/Android news
- Google snags Palm webOS UI guru Matias Duarte to work on Android
This is a post by Android Central. It is sponsored by the Android Central Accessories Store
May 28, 2010
Volkswagen Jetta, fotos espía
Finalmente ha sido cazado, por fin podemos ver el Volkswagen Jetta completamente al descubierto. Incluso, una de las fotos espía publicada es del interior de este nuevo vehículo. También debemos destacar que la unidad fotografiada no tienen ningún tipo de camuflaje.

Para este nuevo diseño, Volkswagen ha optado por hacer uso de unas ópticas más pequeñas de lo que nos tienen acostumbrados. En general, la nueva línea del Jetta es muy elegante a la vez que tiene algún toque deportivo.

Por otra parte, el modelo de las fotos corresponde a la versión americana. Sobre la europea no sabemos nada todavía aunque se rumorea que no contará con grandes cambios estéticos.

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May 28, 2010
Obama announces new regulations stemming from Gulf oil spill

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official website] held a press conference [transcript] Thursday to announce new regulations to mitigate future oil spill disasters and the current plan of action for resolving the crisis created by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill [BBC backgrounder] in the Gulf of Mexico. The government will be suspending several offshore drilling activities including exploration of platform locations in Alaska, pending lease sales in the Gulf and Virginia, and the drilling of 33 deepwater exploratory wells in the Gulf. The government will also suspend the issuance of new permits to drill deepwater wells for six months. Obama stated that increased government regulation in the oil industry was necessary to alter the “cozy and sometimes corrupt” relationship it has built with federal regulators, specifically the Minerals Management Service (MMS) [official website]. The president admitted that even though Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar [official profile] has worked hard to reform the once notoriously corrupt MMS, more action is necessary to ameliorate that agency’s malfeasance. Responsibilities of the MMS, which include not only providing permits, but also enforcing laws governing oil
drilling, will be divided so individuals who permit the drilling will be different from those that are in charge of regulation and enforcement of safety standards. New permits from the MMS will also require a 30-day safety and environmental review. When asked about the resignation of MMS director Elizabeth Birnbaum [official profile], Obama stated that he was not yet aware of the circumstances under which Birnbaum resigned, but that he had given Salazar command of the “top-to-bottom” reformation of the MMS and trusted him to secure a staff which is “operating at the highest level and aren’t making excuses when things break down, but are intent on fixing them.” Obama closed the press conference by reiterating his commitment to tackle the crisis created by the oil spill.

The US government has struggled to gain political control over the oil spill ever since the severity of the spill and the lack of federal regulation of offshore drilling became public. Last week, Obama signed an executive order establishing an independent commission [JURIST report] to investigate offshore drilling and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling will be charged with identifying the causes of the BP oil spill and developing options to mitigate future occurrences through laws, regulations and agency reform. The Obama administration has also asked Salazar to conduct a “top-to-bottom” reform of the MMS [speech text] and ordered immediate inspections of all deep water operations in the Gulf. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a result of an oil well blowout that caused an explosion 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf. The amount of oil spilled into the Gulf is part of an ongoing debate but the resulting oil slick has covered at least 2,500 square miles and has now surpassed the Exxon Valdez [JURIST news archive] as the worst oil spill in US history. The White House is keeping a daily chronology of events [text].

May 28, 2010
One Tablet Per Child?

IT, Hardware, One Laptop Per Child

Wade Roush wrote:

The Cambridge, MA-based One Laptop Per Child Foundation arguably launched an industry with its XO-1 Laptop, which first went into large-scale production in 2007. The worldwide buzz generated by the little green machine, which was intended mainly for classroom use in technologically underserved areas of the world, inspired computer makers to build an array of low-cost commercial netbooks. But since then, hardware makers have leapfrogged OLPC—with Apple’s iPad, in particular, fueling perceptions that the future of personal computing lies in tablet-style devices with multitouch screens.

This week, the organization unveiled its near-term plans for catching up with the tablet revolution—but it bears little resemblance to the snazzy, dual-screen device OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte first showed off in May 2008. Instead, the foundation is working with Santa Clara, CA-based Marvell Technology Group to develop a version of Marvell’s planned Moby tablet that will run OLPC’s Linux-based operating system and educational software.

Marvell announced the Moby as a “reference design” in March. Envisioned to cost $99 or less, the device will have Marvell’s own 1-Gigahertz Armada microprocessor inside, and will have a multitouch, high-definition LCD screen. At the website for the Moby initiative, Mobylize.org, the company pitches the device as a low-cost alternative to the iPad for students, who could use it for reading e-textbooks. (In a politically savvy pilot program, Marvell says it plans to donate one Moby tablet to every student in an at-risk public school in the District of Columbia.)

Judging from early mock-ups of the Moby—which will be available this fall, according to Marvell—the device will resemble a somewhat chunky iPad, right down to the single “home” button on the bezel. Marvell hasn’t announced the device’s full specs, but says the tablet will include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM, and GPS radios and will support “multiple software standards including full Adobe Flash, Android, Windows Mobile, and Ubuntu.” (Ubuntu is a variant of Linux.) Like the iPad, the Moby is expected to have a long battery life compared to a laptop, but unlike the iPad, it will have a built-in camera for photography and video conferencing. Marvell also says the device’s virtual keyboard will provide “touch feedback,” although it hasn’t specified how this will work.

With OLPC’s software on board, the Moby tablet should be able to do support all the same educational activities the XO-1 does, including the wireless mesh networking that is a key element of the foundation’s “constructionist” philosophy for computer-mediated learning. Because it won’t have a physical keyboard or many of the other moving parts that go into a laptop, the device may even be more …Next Page »

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May 28, 2010
BMW planeja versão ainda menor do Mini

Para competir com seu rival direto, o Smart ForTwo da Mercedes, a BMW está estudando a produção de uma versão de dois lugares para o seu Mini, e assim aumentar seus lucros com carros mais baratos que o de costume.

O novo modelo do Mini teria um motor de 3 cilindros, o que possibilitaria a produção do veículo a um preço aceitável pela montadora alemã. As apostas são de que um novo conceito do Mini apareça em algum evento em breve.

Também existe outro plano da BMW, que seria baseado no modelo da foto acima, o Beachcomber. Mas não existem maiores informações a respeito, apenas em um futuro próximo.

Via | Blogauto

May 28, 2010
House Splits Extenders Bill, Cuts COBRA Benefits Out

House Democratic leaders just started a series of procedural votes leading up to what they hope will be passage of sweeping legislation extending a number of expiring tax breaks and unemployment insurance benefits.

To appease budget hawks in their own party, however, they’ve made a number of changes. Most significantly:

1) They’ve cleaved the bill into two parts: one that includes the tax extensions and unemployment benefits provision, and one that would prevent Medicare doctors from receiving a steep pay cut at the end of this month.

2) The bill no longer extends COBRA health benefits, which help newly unemployed workers pay their health insurance premiums.

3) And it no longer includes funding to help states cover Medicaid patients — funding the states see as vital to balance their budgets, as Medicaid rolls have increased through the recent economic downturn at the same time that revenues have dropped.

If the two bills pass the House today, they will then move to the Senate, which, for all practical purposes, has already adjourned for a week-long Memorial Day vacation. That leaves the upper chamber to take up the House bills when Congress returns June 7. Meanwhile, a number of safety-net benefits — including unemployment benefits and COBRA health benefits — will expire.

May 28, 2010
Peter Beinart vs. the ADL

This exchange will appear in the June 24 issue of The New York Review. Peter Beinart’s essay “The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment” appeared in the Review‘s June 10 issue. Abraham H. Foxman is National Director of the Anti Defamation League in New York City.

Benjamin Netanyahu; drawing by John Springs

Abraham H. Foxman:

Peter Beinart offers a conveniently impressionistic view of the American Jewish community to frame his critique of Israeli policy trends. He should know better than to fall into the trap of generalizing about the Jewish state without giving proper context for what is going on.

He sees an Israel that is clearly moving to the right, that has less regard for the “other,” no matter who that may be, and that is unwilling to take seriously efforts toward peace. Beinart seems to be suffering from the same problems we have seen in the Obama administration, ignoring what Israel has gone through over the last decade and thereby misreading what Israelis are thinking today.

Israelis, to a large extent, and this is shared by many in the American Jewish community (another of Beinart’s targets), feel frustrated that all their efforts toward changing the dynamic have been met with rejection and/or violence. Most Israelis understand that continuing to sit in the West Bank is not good for the country. So at Camp David in 2000 they tried a solution of ending the conflict, which included withdrawing from 90 percent of the territories and eliminating the majority of settlements. They got a big no and suicide bombs.

In 2005, they withdrew unilaterally from Gaza with the intent to do likewise in the West Bank because they saw no partner for peace. They got Hamas and rockets against their civilians. In 2008, with a different Palestinian interlocutor, they went back to a full and better offer for a Palestinian state and got nothing again. So after all that, is it surprising that the public in the last election said, nothing works, let’s hold on until there’s real change on the other side?

There’s no evidence, contrary to Beinart, that there’s a fundamental change in Israel away from peace and away from concessions. What there is is a justified cynicism about the willingness of the other side to end the conflict and a confusion about what real options Israel has regarding its dilemma of how to withdraw and still have security.

The lesson that Beinart and the administration should draw from all this is not what kinds of pressures should be put on Israel to change the situation. Israel has taken initiatives and will be ready to do so again when the time is ripe.

The issue is what can be done with a divided Palestinian leadership and with at best a passive if not destructive Arab world, to bring about that long-awaited change in which the Palestinians fully accept the legitimacy of the Jewish state. That should be the goal so that when Israel once again moves toward a new initiative, for the first time there will be a Palestinian side, supported by the Arab states, ready to say yes, a yes that will finally change the lives of Israelis and Palestinians for the better.

Peter Beinart:

Abraham Foxman’s letter illustrates the problem my essay tries to describe: an American Jewish leadership that publicly defends the Israeli government, any Israeli government, rather than defending Israeli democracy, even when the former menaces the latter.

Obviously, as Foxman suggests, the Palestinians are not blameless. Yasser Arafat deserves history’s scorn for not responding more courageously to the chances for peace at Camp David and the much better ones put forward by Clinton in December 2000. And the election of Hamas was a tragedy, for both Israel and the Palestinians. But to suggest that Palestinian and Arab behavior fully explains the growing authoritarian, even racist, tendencies in Israeli politics is to don a moral blindfold, a blindfold that most young American Jews, to their credit, will not wear.

Firstly, Palestinian rejectionism cannot explain Avigdor Lieberman’s crusade to humiliate, disenfranchise, and perhaps even eventually expel Arab Israelis, the vast majority of whom want nothing more than to be accepted as equal citizens in the country of their birth. Lieberman is not a marginal figure. He was Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff; he heads Israel’s third-largest party; he serves as foreign minister; and when Israel held mock elections in ten high schools last year, he won.

Nor are his views marginal. In 2008, in a poll cited by Yediot Ahronot, 40 percent of Jewish Israelis did not believe that Arab Israelis should be allowed to vote. Among Jewish Israeli high school students surveyed this March, the figure was 56 percent. We cannot wish this away, and we cannot blame it all on Israel’s foes. When do American Jewish organizations plan to start forcefully opposing Lieberman and the forces he represents? When he becomes prime minister?

Secondly, Palestinian rejectionism does not explain Netanyahu’s deep-seated hostility to a Palestinian state. Foxman praises Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert for their willingness to concede such a state in East Jerusalem and almost all of the West Bank. (Olmert’s was never a formal offer, and came when he was already a lame duck, but he deserves credit for it nonetheless.) But if Foxman genuinely supports those offers, why does he not criticize Netanyahu’s opposition to them? Netanyahu, after all, spent the Barak and Olmert years opposing a Palestinian state. And even last year, when under intense American pressure he verbally endorsed the concept, he simultaneously added two conditions that make a peace deal virtually impossible: that Jerusalem remain united under Israeli sovereignty and that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

In the real Israel, as opposed to the imaginary one that American Jewish leaders conjure, there is no consensus on a Palestinian state. There are Israelis who believe that such a state is a demographic and moral necessity. And there are Israelis—like Lieberman, Effi Eitam, and the leaders of Shas—who are doing their best to make a Palestinian state impossible, for instance by ringing East Jerusalem with settlements. American Jewish leaders cannot profess solidarity with the first group while serving as intellectual bodyguards for the second.

There is a strange lack of Israeli agency in Foxman’s story. It is true that Palestinian leaders in the West Bank are weak, and that this makes a peace settlement harder. But their weakness flows in part from their inability to stop settlement growth. (Even this year, despite Netanyahu’s “freeze,” his own transportation minister boasts that “the construction momentum in Judea and Samaria is the same as when it was at its peak.”) It is true that the Palestinians are divided. But when the Saudis brokered a national unity government in February 2007, Israel and the US did everything they could to torpedo it, including reportedly urging elements in Fatah to try (unsuccessfully) to seize power militarily in Gaza, thus overturning the election that Hamas won.

The ADL was founded “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” What I have always admired about that statement is its suggestion that to truly defend Jewish dignity, one must also defend the dignity of other vulnerable groups. At home, the ADL still honors that mission, working valiantly, for instance, against racial profiling in Arizona. But how can an organization that is so vigilant in opposing bigotry in the US be so complacent about a government shaped by men like Lieberman, Effi Eitam, and Ovadia Yosef? How can it not take its rightful place in the struggle on behalf of Palestinians evicted from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah?

When it comes to Israel, the ADL too often ignores the interconnectedness of Jewish and non-Jewish dignity. After all, the same sort of settler fanatics who burn Palestinian olive groves also assassinated an Israeli prime minister. The same ultra-Orthodox hooligans who burn Christian holy books also attack Jewish women trying to pray at the Western Wall. And the same Israeli government that demonizes Israeli Arabs also demonizes Israeli human rights groups. To be for ourselves, we must also be for others. I hope the ADL will live that ethic again.

May 28, 2010
North Korean General Warns of ‘All Out War’ at Press Conference
Via Prison Planet.com » World News

Michelle E. Frazer
Bloomberg
Friday, May 28, 2010

May 28 (Bloomberg) — North Korean Major General Pak Rim Su disputed the results of the international investigation into the sinking of a South Korean warship and said “any accidental clash that may break out in the waters of the West Sea of Korea or in areas along the Demilitarized Zone will lead to all-out war,” at a press conference today, according a KCNA statement.
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May 28, 2010
Alicia Keys pregnant and engaged to Swizz Beatz
Singer Alicia Keys will soon be mother and wife. The representative and boyfriend of the artist, the 29-year-old producer Swizz Beatz has confirmed to People.com that they are engaged and expecting their first child together.

Keys and Beatz “are expecting a baby and are committed to marry later this year in a private ceremony,” explained the representative. The announcement came after the musicians attended the 2010 Keep a Child Alive Black Ball, in London on Thursday.

In addition, a friend of the couple told Us Magazine that both Keys and Beatz “are very happy.”

This would be the first wedding for the twelve times winner of Grammy Award singer, while for the producer and hip-hop artist Swizz Beatz the second. Swizz has two children Jr. and Prince Kasseem from his previous relationship with the artist Mashonda Tifrere. Their relationship ended badly, with Mashonda talking about the infidelities of her husband with Alicia, a relationship that started in 2008, but was confirmed only in May 2009.

Congratulations to the couple.

Related posts:
May 28, 2010
Kill Spill, Pass Bill! – As BP stems flow (for now), Obama asserts, “This disaster should serve as a wake-up call that it’s time to move forward on” climate bill.

The 37^th day since the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig saw several very dark clouds in the BP oil disaster, as well as a silver lining.

BP undertook a “top kill” maneuver to staunch the river of oil coming from the damaged well. This effort involved shooting drilling muds into the drilling apparatus on the ocean floor to block the oil from escape:

In the top kill maneuver, a 30,000-horsepower engine aboard a ship injected heavy drill liquids through two narrow flow lines into the stack of pipes and other equipment above the well to push the escaping oil and gas back down below the sea floor.

This effort appears to have worked – for now. The New York Times just reported

Engineers appeared to have stemmed the flow of oil, Adm. Thad W. Allen of the Coast Guard, the leader of the government effort, said on Friday morning. But he stressed that the next 12 to 18 hours will be “very critical” in permanently stanching what is already the worst oil spill in United States history.

The success of this effort to plug the hole is critical to the public, economic, and ecological health of the Gulf Coast because experts now believe that much more oil is flooding the Gulf than previously estimated. The federal government’s analysis of the oil flow rate through the drill site found that it was two to five times greater than the earlier estimate of 5,000 barrels of oil per day.

USGS Director Dr. Marcia McNutt today announced that the National Incident Command’s Flow Rate Technical Group (FRTG) has developed an independent, preliminary estimate of the amount of oil flowing from BP’s leaking oil well…

Based on three separate methodologies, outlined below, the independent analysis of the Flow Rate Technical Group has determined that the overall best initial estimate for the lower and upper boundaries of flow rates of oil is in the range of 12,000 and 19,000 barrels per day.

This translates to 504,000 to 798,000 gallons of oil per day have flowed from beneath the seabed into the Gulf of Mexico. The flood of oil could total between 18 million to nearly 30 million gallons since the Gulf nightmare began on April 20^th. The Exxon Valdez incident spilled over 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound in 1989. The BP oil disaster now has the dubious record as the largest oil debacle in U.S. history.

After the initial explosion, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar launched a quick examination of the BP oil disaster, and to develop recommendations for immediate safety measures. He also declared a thirty day time out in new drilling, although the New York Times determined that “despite moratorium, drilling projects move ahead.”

On May 28^th, the Department of Interior presented that report to the President. It recommended a longer time out for oil leasing, exploration, and drilling time in deep waters until the completion of the independent investigation led by former Senator Bob Graham and former EPA Administrator William Reilly. During his remarks today, the President announced this six month time out.

Its initial recommendations include aggressive new operating standards and requirements for offshore energy companies, which we will put in place.

Additionally, after reading the report’s recommendations with Secretary Salazar and other members of my administration, we’re going to be ordering the following the actions.

First, we will suspend the planned exploration of two locations off the coast of Alaska.

Second, we will cancel the pending lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico and the proposed lease sale off the coast of Virginia.

Third, we will continue the existing moratorium and suspend the issuance of new permits to drill new deepwater wells for six months.

And four, we will suspend action on 33 deepwater exploratory wells currently being drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.

This is a welcome reprieve for the northern coast of Alaska because it halts the exploratory wells that Shell was set to drill in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The Alaska Wilderness League notes that

The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, the Arctic waters north of Alaska, are sometimes known as America’s ‘Polar Bear Seas’ – and for good reason… These waters are home to the entire population of U.S. polar bears…Many of America’s most beloved sea animals thrive here, including the endangered bowhead whale, sea otters, walrus, seals and countless birds.

Little is known about the effects of a recently-proposed massive oil and gas program on this fragile ecosystem. The government’s Mineral Management Service predicted a 33 to 50 percent likelihood of a large oil spill in the Chukchi Sea alone if drilling proposals were to move forward, while acknowledging that the technology needed to clean up such a spill does not exist.

The report also made the following recommendations (subscription required) to improve safety on rigs.

Among the new safety restrictions Salazar is recommending in a report to Obama are requirements for all blowout preventers to be certified, stronger well control, tougher inspections, and expanded safety and training programs for rig workers.

In addition to describing the Administration’s efforts to respond to the oil spill, President Obama once again urged the Senate to pass comprehensive clean energy and global warming legislation:

This economic and environmental tragedy … underscores the urgent need for this nation to develop clean, renewable sources of energy.

The House of Representatives has already passed a bill that would finally jump-start a permanent transition to a clean-energy economy. And there is currently a plan in the Senate, a plan that was developed with ideas from Democrats and Republicans, that would achieve the same goal.

This disaster should serve as a wake-up call that it’s time to move forward on this legislation. It’s time to accelerate the competition with countries like China who’ve already realized the future lies in renewable energy. And it’s time to seize that future ourselves. So I call on Democrats and Republicans in Congress, working with my administration, to answer this challenge once and for all.

To accomplish this critical goal, President Obama and Senate leaders must role up their sleeves, and pass legislation which would reduce oil use, establish new safety standards for offshore oil drilling, and cut global warming pollution. We don’t have much time left.

Guest blogger Daniel J. Weiss is a Senior Fellow and Director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress.

May 28, 2010
Kanye West Protests Arizona Immigration Law

In the name of Rosa Parks, Martin Louis The King Jr. (also known as Kanye West) insists that artists boycott Arizona over its controversial new immigration law, which makes failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give law enforcement officials the authority to quiz residents on their immigration status.

The rapper is supporting Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha, who is spearheading a campaign against the clause opponents call legally-sanctioned racial profiling. Yeezy compares the plight of Arizona residents to that of the civil rights activists who boycotted buses in Montgomery after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger in 1955.

“When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, they arrested her. As a result, people got together and said, ‘We are not going to ride the bus until they change the law.’ It was this courageous action that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. What if we got together, signed a collective letter saying, ‘We’re not going to ride the bus’, saying ‘We are not going to comply. We are not going to play in Arizona. We are going to boycott Arizona?!”

Cypress Hill, Massive Attack, rapper Pitbull, comedian Jack Black, and Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore have also joined the boycott effort against Arizona.

May 28, 2010
Video: AutoCar test-drives the Audi R8 LMS

Audi R8 LMS

Remember the Audi R8 LMS? It’s the GT3 race version of the Audi R8 that is powered by the same V10 engine but detuned to make 500-hp due to GT3 racing requirements. Either way, the folks at AutoCar were lucky enough to take it out on the track for a spin. Check out their take on the R8 LMS in the video posted after the jump.

Click here to get prices on the 2010 Audi R8.

The Audi R8 LMS is on sale now for 262,000 Euros ($332,425 USD) as the first racing sports car developed by Audi for customer use.

Click through for the video.

Audi R8 LMS:

Audi R8 LMS drive by autocar.co.uk:

Audi R8 LMS:

– By: Kap Shah

May 28, 2010