Saturday, October 31, 2009

Runaways on the Street Newsletter - October 31 2009

Runaways on the Street Newsletter - October 31 2009

“Nearly a third of the children who flee or are kicked out of their homes each year engage in sex for food, drugs or a place to stay, according to a variety of studies published in academic and public health journals. But this kind of dangerous barter system can quickly escalate into more formalized prostitution, when money changes hands. And then, child welfare workers and police officials say, it becomes extremely difficult to help runaways escape the streets. Many become more entangled in abusive relationships, and the law begins to view them more as teenage criminals than under-age victims.” IAN URBINA.

For Runaways on the Street, Sex Buys Survival By IAN URBINA. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 26, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/us/27runaways.html?th&emc=th

The many faces of domestic violence By Amy Wooten. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. October 29, 2009. “When people think of domestic violence, a lot of people think of a woman with a black eye,” said Lisa Gilmore, a Center on Halsted training coordinator and Anti-Violence Project therapist. As pervasive as that stereotype is, however, there are many more faces to domestic violence. It’s just as severe a problem in the GLBT community as it is with straights. It happens with the same frequency, too, and not just in long-term relationships. Domestic violence can occur during a casual encounter that was initially arranged online, for example, or before a hookup takes place. http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/4025



International


Chirac Ordered to Face Trial in France By ALAN COWELL. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 30, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/world/europe/31chirac.html?th&emc=th

E.U. Reaches Funding Deal on Climate Change By JAMES KANTER and STEPHEN CASTLE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 30, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/science/earth/31iht-UNION.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Bullish industry lifts eurozone confidence By Stanley Pignal in Brussels. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 29 2009 12:01 | Last updated: October 29 2009 14:33. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/bullish-industry-lifts-eurozone.html

I.M.F. Raises Growth Forecasts for Asia By BETTINA WASSENER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 29, 2009. HONG KONG — The International Monetary Fund raised its outlook Thursday for growth in Asia for this year and next, reflecting the region’s rapid rebound from the depths of the global downturn in recent months. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/business/global/30imf.html?hpw

Asia Markets Rise After Reports of Korean Growth. Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: October 26, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/26/business/AP-World-Markets.html?scp=3&sq=South%20Korean%20growth%20at%20seven-year%20high%20&st=cse

Export revival lifts Japanese manufacturers By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo and Justine Lau in Hong Kong. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 29 2009 04:05 | Last updated: October 29 2009 04:05. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/export-revival-lifts-japanese.html

Deal Reached in Honduras to Restore Ousted President By ELISABETH MALKIN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 30, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/world/americas/31honduras.html?_r=1&hp



China

In China, too, a health-care system in disarray By Steven Mufson. Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, October 29, 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102805081.html?wpisrc=newsletter

US seeks China climate ‘understanding’ - Push targeted for Obama’s pre-summit Beijing visit By Bill Savadove in Shanghai. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009.Published: October 28 2009 10:01 | Last updated: October 28 2009 10:01. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-seeks-china-climate-understanding.html

Chinese comments further erode dollar - US currency at 14-month low against euro By Peter Garnham. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 26 2009 10:51 | Last updated: October 26 2009 17:23. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/chinese-comments-further-erode-dollar_27.html


Mess-o-potamia


Iran Rejects Deal to Ship Out Uranium, Officials Report By DAVID E. SANGER, STEVEN ERLANGER and ROBERT F. WORTH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 29, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/world/middleeast/30nuke.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Financial Times Editorial Comment: Iran’s last chance. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 30 2009 19:22 | Last updated: October 30 2009 19:22. Rarely, in the 30 years of name-calling and visceral animosity between the US and Iran triggered by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has the prospect of detente between them been so tantalisingly within reach. But Tehran is recklessly close to frittering away this opening. That would be a disaster. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/financial-times-editorial-comment-irans.html

Car Bomb Kills Scores in Pakistan By ISMAIL KHAN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 28, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/world/asia/29pstan.html?ref=global-home

U.S. Speeds Aid to Pakistan to Fight Taliban By ERIC SCHMITT. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 28, 2009. WASHINGTON — Even as the Pakistani government plays down the American role in its military operations in Taliban-controlled areas along the border with Afghanistan, the United States has quietly rushed hundreds of millions of dollars in arms, equipment and sophisticated sensors to Pakistani forces in recent months, said senior American and Pakistani officials. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/world/asia/29weapons.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

New York Times Editorial: The Commander’s Duty Done. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 29, 2009. In his midnight mission to honor the returning war dead, President Obama did more than personally extend the nation’s condolences to grieving families gathered at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Without uttering a public word, Mr. Obama erased President George W. Bush’s shameful attempts to hide the pain of war from Americans and to shield himself from paying public tribute to the thousands who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/opinion/30fri3.html?th&emc=th

Militants Attack U.N. Guest House in Kabul, Killing Nine By SABRINA TAVERNISE and ALISSA J. RUBIN. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 28, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/world/asia/29afghan.html?ref=global-home

When the tough should really get going By Garrison Keillor. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 28, 2009. The former Marine officer Matthew Hoh, who resigned his Foreign Service post in Afghanistan because he feels the war is pointless and not worth dying for, deserves all the attention he's gotten and more. The Obama administration faces hard decisions there, and the man made a good case against deeper American involvement. He says that our presence among the Pashtun people, the rural, religious people, is only aggravating a civil war between them and the urban, secular (and, it seems, fraudulent) government of Kabul, and the role of the Taliban and al-Qaida is not central -- the real issues are tribal and cultural. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-oped1028keilloroct28,0,6642483.column

14 Americans Die in Afghan Helicopter Crashes By DEXTER FILKINS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 26, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/world/asia/27afghan.html?ref=global-home

Brother of Afghan Leader Is Said to Be on C.I.A. Payroll By DEXTER FILKINS, MARK MAZZETTI and JAMES RISEN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 27, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/asia/28intel.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

German Limits on Afghan War Are Facing Reality By NICHOLAS KULISH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 26, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/world/27germany.html?th&emc=th

Eff'dghanistan - John Kerry & Dick Cheney http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-27-2009/eff-dghanistan---john-kerry---dick-cheney

Iraq Reaches Voting Deal as Toll Rises in Bombings By ROD NORDLAND. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 26, 2009. BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials reached a tentative agreement on a new election law on Monday, even as workers continued to recover more bodies from the wreckage of Sunday’s bomb attacks, including an uncertain number of children from two day care centers. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/world/middleeast/27iraq.html?th&emc=th

Legislators in Iraq Block a Deal on Election Law By JOHN LELAND. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 27, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/middleeast/28iraq.html?ref=global-home

Financial Times Editorial Comment: Iraq’s leaders have created a vacuum. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 26 2009 20:18 | Last updated: October 26 2009 20:18. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/financial-times-editorial-comment-iraqs.html

Scores killed, at least 500 wounded in bomb attacks in Baghdad By Anthony Shadid. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, October 25, 2009; 9:16 AM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102500811.html

Iraq Makes Sweeping Arrests Over Baghdad Blasts By JOHN LELAND. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 29, 2009. BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi officials said on Thursday they had arrested 61 army and police officers in connection with the bombings in central Baghdad on Sunday that killed 155 people and wounded hundreds more. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/world/middleeast/30iraq.html?ref=global-home


National


Victory for Obama Over Military Lobby By CHRISTOPHER DREW. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 28, 2009. When the Obama administration proposed canceling a host of expensive weapons systems last spring, some of the military industry’s allies in Congress assumed, as they had in the past, that they would have the final say. But as the president signed a $680 billion military policy bill on Wednesday, it was clear that he had succeeded in paring back nearly all of the programs and setting a tone of greater restraint than the Pentagon had seen in many years. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/business/29defense.html?hpw

Dozens in Congress under ethics inquiry By Ellen Nakashima and Paul Kane. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, October 30, 2009. House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/29/AR2009102904597.html?hpid=topnews

Danish terror plot: 2 Chicago friends accused of scheming to attack Danish newspaper over cartoons about Muhammad - Federal authorities say operation linked to al-Qaida By Hal Dardick, Jeff Coen and Stacy St. Clair. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 28, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-terror-plot-28-oct28,0,7626261.story


Health Care

Fighting H.I.V., a Community at a Time By SUSAN OKIE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 26, 2009. WASHINGTON — Federal health officials are preparing a plan to study a bold new strategy to stop the spread of the AIDS virus: routinely testing virtually every adult in a community, and promptly treating those found to be infected. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/health/27hiv.html?hpw

If it's on the shelves, it's off the streets By Peter Moskos. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, October 25, 2009. This idea -- that drugs are both enjoyable and dangerous and thus better regulated than prohibited by government and sold by criminals -- seems common-sense enough, even in America. Until now, the main opposition to a state's right to legalize marijuana has been the federal government. But last week, in a major policy shift, the U.S. Justice Department instructed federal prosecutors not to focus on "individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102303457.html

Groundbreaking Birth Control Bill Has Powerful Enemies in Philippines By CARLOS H. CONDE. Published: October 25, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/world/asia/26iht-phils.html?hpw




Health Care Reform

New York Times Editorial: The House Health Reform Bill. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 29, 2009. The Senate should pay attention to the health care reform bill unveiled on Thursday by House Democratic leaders. The bill would greatly expand coverage of the uninsured while reducing budget deficits over the next decade and probably beyond. It includes a public option that is weaker than we would like, but it still deserves to be approved by the House. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/opinion/30fri1.html?th&emc=th

Pelosi Unveils House Health Care Bill By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN. Copyright by The New York Times. October 29, 2009, 10:50 AM http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/pelosi-unveils-house-health-care-bill/

Pelosi Backs Off Set Rates for Public Option By ROBERT PEAR. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 28, 2009. WASHINGTON — Under pressure from moderate-to-conservative members of the House Democratic caucus, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has decided to propose a government-run insurance plan that would negotiate rates with doctors and hospitals, rather than using prices set by the government, aides said Wednesday. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/health/policy/29health.html?th&emc=th

The Defining Moment By PAUL KRUGMAN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 29, 2009. O.K., folks, this is it. It’s the defining moment for health care reform. Past efforts to give Americans what citizens of every other advanced nation already have — guaranteed access to essential care — have ended not with a bang, but with a whimper, usually dying in committee without ever making it to a vote. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/opinion/30krugman.html?th&emc=th

AARP: Reform advocate and insurance salesman - Seniors group makes millions from royalties on health plans By Dan Eggen. Copyright by The Washington Post. Tuesday, October 27, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102603392.html?hpid=topnews

Small Business Faces Sharp Rise in Costs of Health Care By REED ABELSON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 24, 2009. As Congress nears votes on legislation that would overhaul the health care system, many small businesses say they are facing the steepest rise in insurance premiums they have seen in recent years. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/business/smallbusiness/25health.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Public Option Annie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMuZWSvlIMY

Rachel Maddow: "Billionaires For Wealthcare" At Washington Protest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NDzA7nChB4


GOP Bashing

Washington Post Editorial: The U.S. Chamber vs. honesty - At war with the truth, and with its own constituents. Copyright by The Washington Post. Tuesday, October 27, 2009. THE U.S. CHAMBER of Commerce has been airing expensive TV ads in Northern Virginia lately involving the race for governor. The ad's first words are "Traffic's worse." Its last words are "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce paid for this ad." Most of the intervening words -- about 70, by our count -- are blatant distortions. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102602714.html

South Carolina Republican Caught With 18 Yr. Old Stripper, Sex Toys and Viagra In Cemetery By Heather. Copyright by Crooks and Liars. Friday Oct 30, 2009 12:00pm http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/south-carolina-republican-caught-18-yr-old

CNN Poll: 7 in 10 say Palin not qualified to be president by Paul Steinhauser. Copyright by CNN News. Posted: October 28th, 2009 01:31 PM ET http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/28/cnn-poll-7-in-10-say-palin-not-qualified-to-be-president/#more-75087

For Fox Sake! http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-29-2009/for-fox-sake-

Republicans in Congress - Great Add for the Iphone!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_IAN081P8I&feature=player_embedded Editorial Note: I’m getting this app for my IPhone

George W. Bush Hits the Lecture Circuit http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-27-2009/george-w--bush-hits-the-lecture-circuit


Immigration


U.S. May Be Open to Asylum for Spouse Abuse By JULIA PRESTON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 29, 2009. In an unusually protracted and closely watched case, the Obama administration has recommended political asylum for a Guatemalan woman fleeing horrific abuse by her husband, the strongest signal yet that the administration is open to a variety of asylum claims from foreign women facing domestic abuse. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/us/30asylum.html?adxnnl=1&hpw=&adxnnlx=1256918531-V2YftGAGssYOMpIOHV++tA

Ticketing non-English speakers: Citations in Dallas raise objections, investigation By Kate Linthicum. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 28, 2009. Over the past three years, police in Dallas have ticketed 39 drivers for not speaking English even though there is no law requiring drivers be able to do so. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-bogus-tickets-1027-102oct28,0,2474338.story




Chicagoland


Campaign finance reform: Best we could get? BY CAROL MARIN. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 31, 2009. Dawn Clark Netsch, the venerable voice of Illinois political reform, called early Friday morning even though it was going to make her late for a dentist's appointment. She was concerned I was going to get it wrong. That I was going to blast the Legislature for once again passing a watered-down, weak-kneed bill on campaign finance reform that they would hail as progress. http://www.suntimes.com/news/marin/1856322,CST-EDT-carol01.article

Chicago Tribune Editorial: Don't call this 'reform'. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 29, 2009. Reform is a word that rolls off the tongue easily. Ask Gov. Pat Quinn, who spent most of his life demanding it and most of this year promising it. Ask Illinois legislators, who are dying to claim credit for it. Will they deliver it? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/chi-1029edit1oct29,0,3956589.story

City enters Block 37 case By Sandra M. Jones. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 31, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat-sub-brf2-block37-1031oct31,0,7482699.story

Sun-Times sale to Tyree group complete BY DAVID ROEDER droeder@suntimes.com. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 26, 2009 http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1846488,sun-times-sale-tyree-closing-media-group-102609.article

A new era begins for Chicago Cubs - With the Ricketts family in control, expectation are high By Paul Sullivan. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. 10:20 a.m. CDT, October 30, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-31-cubs-tom-ricketts-oct31,0,1791650.story




Economy


Waning stimulus hits consumer spending By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 30 2009 13:14 | Last updated: October 30 2009 14:37. US consumer spending stalled in September after climbing in each of the prior four months, dampening spirits, as the effects of government stimulus programmes started to wane. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/waning-stimulus-hits-consumer-spending.html

U.S. Economy Started to Grow Again in the Third Quarter By CATHERINE RAMPELL. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 29, 2009/ US economy grows by 3.5% - First expansion in a year signals end to recession By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 29 2009 12:57 | Last updated: October 29 2009 12:57 http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-economy-started-to-grow-again-in.html

White House: 650,000 jobs saved, created by stimulus By Alec MacGillis. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, October 30, 2009; 11:07 AM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103001095.html?hpid=topnews

Schools Are Where Stimulus Saved Jobs, New Data Show By MICHAEL COOPER and RON NIXON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 30, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/us/31stimulus.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

‘Too big to fail’ is too dumb an idea to keep - The primary purpose of regulation is to protect the public, not promote the interests of the financial services industry By John Kay. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 27 2009 21:36 | Last updated: October 27 2009 21:36. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/too-big-to-fail-is-too-dumb-idea-to.html

Bank protesters descend on downtown Chicago By Daarel Burnette II. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 27, 2009 7:24 PM http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/american-bankers-association-protest-michigan-avenue-chicago-showdown.html

BBVA shores up bad loan provisions By Mark Mulligan in Madrid. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 27 2009 09:10 | Last updated: October 27 2009 11:33. BBVA on Tuesday announced a 3.3 per cent year-on-year decline in net profits for the nine months to the end of September, as Spain’s second-largest bank used one-off gains to bolster provisions against rising bad debts. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/bbva-shores-up-bad-loan-provisions.html

FDIC seizes 9 banks operated by FBOP- U.S. Bancorp purchases assets of Park National, others, which will open as usual Saturday By Becky Yerak. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 31, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat-fbop-seized-oct31,0,4621065.story

IBM plans to boost buy-backs by $5bn - Move signals re-acceleration of share repurchases By Richard Waters in San Francisco. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 27 2009 19:23 | Last updated: October 27 2009 19:23. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/ibm-plans-to-boost-buy-backs-by-5bn.html

Ex-A.I.G. Chief Is Back, Luring Talent From Rescued Firm By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 26, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/business/27aig.html?_r=1&th&emc=th



Housing

Double-digit property tax increases in city, Cook County suburbs By Bob Secter. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. 6:17 a.m. CDT, October 27, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-property-tax-27-oct27,0,3685132.story

Whose property taxes went up most in Chicago? Property tax bills coming out this week jump as '7%' cap is gradually lifted BY ABDON M. PALLASCH apallasch@suntimes.com. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 27, 2009 http://www.suntimes.com/business/currency/1848022,CST-NWS-tax27.article

City property tax: Blame game kicks off as bills leap - Daley lashes out at assessor, whose aide faults General Assembly By Bob Secter and Hal Dardick. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 28, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-daley-property-taxes-28-oct28,0,2872323.story

US home prices rise again in August, cementing the beginnings of a housing turnaround J.W. ELPHINSTONE. Copyright 2009 Associated Press. 8:29 a.m. CDT, October 27, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-us-home-prices,0,6323828.story


Commodities


Exxon’s Earnings Reflect Decline in Energy Prices By JAD MOUAWAD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 29, 2009. Exxon Mobil, the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company, said Thursday that its profit fell 68 percent in the third quarter as oil and natural gas prices slumped from last year’s highs. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/business/global/30oil.html?hpw

Chevron’s production grows as profits fall - Oil company hit by falling commodity prices By Sheila McNulty in Houston. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 30 2009 13:35 | Last updated: October 30 2009 16:38 http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2098331639595932089&postID=5834388580614028604




GLBT


Washington Post Editorial: A civil rights advance - A federal law targets violence based on sexual orientation. Copyright by The Washington Post. Wednesday, October 28, 2009. PRESIDENT OBAMA is scheduled to sign Wednesday what is being described as the nation's first significant pro-gay rights legislation. Attached to the defense authorization act, the measure would add sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to the list of protected classes under the 1969 federal hate-crimes law. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102703166.html

After 10-year dispute, expansion of hate crimes law to gays signed - Move may help Obama quell rising discontent from rights groups By Perry Bacon Jr. Copyright by The Washington Post Thursday, October 29, 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102804909.html

Help gays who aren't hurt By Andrew Kessinger. Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, October 29, 2009. When President Obama signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law Wednesday, human rights advocates across the country won a decent, but insufficient, victory. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102803988.html

Focus of Gay-Marriage Fight Is Maine By ABBY GOODNOUGH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 27, 2009. Less than a week before Maine voters decide whether to repeal the state’s new same-sex marriage law, donations and volunteers are pouring in to sway what both sides call a nationally significant fight. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/us/28maine.html?adxnnl=1&hpw=&adxnnlx=1256728973-Cvla9lQL3KfGiF3wImUV2A

In Battle Over Gay Marriage, Timing May Be Key By ADAM LIPTAK. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 26, 2009. In a San Francisco courtroom two weeks ago, a prominent lawyer opposed to same-sex marriage made a concession that could mark a turning point in the legal wars over the purpose and meaning of marriage. The lawyer, Charles J. Cooper, has studied the matter deeply, and his erudite briefs are steeped in history. He cannot have been blindsided by the question Judge Vaughn R. Walker asked him: What would be the harm of permitting gay men and lesbians to marry? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/us/27bar.html?hpw

Obama Lifts a Ban on Entry Into U.S. by H.I.V.-Positive People By JULIA PRESTON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 30, 2009. President Obama on Friday announced the end of a 22-year ban on travel to the United States by people who had tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS, fulfilling a promise he made to gay advocates and acting to eliminate a restriction he said was “rooted in fear rather than fact.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/31/us/politics/31travel.html?th&emc=th

Tight Race for Houston Mayor, With History on Line By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 29, 2009. HOUSTON — Annise Parker does not talk much about her sexual orientation on the campaign trail. She prefers to focus on issues like drainage and balancing the budget. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/us/30houston.html?th&emc=th

Reel advice: movie reviews and DVDiva By Gregg Shapiro. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. October 29, 2009. Reeling 2009, the 28th Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival begins Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. with a screening of “The Big Gay Musical” at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport (see review below). Reeling runs through Nov. 15 at a variety of participating theaters. For a complete schedule, visit reelingfilmfestival.org. Many more reviews are scheduled to run in next week’s issue of Chicago Free Press. http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/4033

GLN protests LaBarbera dinner in ‘burbs By Matt Simonette. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. October 29, 2009 http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/4021

ESTATE PLANNING TO PROTECT YOUR PETS by Roger McCaffrey-Boss. Copyright by Gay Chicago Magazine and Roger McCaffrey-Boss. October 27, 2009 http://www.gaychicagomagazine.com/advice/legallyspeaking.shtml




Technology

New Google Maps GPS for smartphones spooks competitors By Rob Pegoraro. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, November 1, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103000753.html?hpid=topnews

Sprint Slows Defections, but Loses $478 Million By JENNA WORTHAM. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 29, 2009. Sprint Nextel reported Thursday that fewer customers are fleeing its cellphone service, providing some evidence that the company’s turnaround efforts were having an impact. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/technology/companies/30sprint.html?th&emc=th

Motorola Has Profit Surprise and Forecasts More to Come. Copyright By REUTERS. Published: October 29, 2009. Motorola has forecast a higher-than-expected profit for the current quarter as it begins to sell two phones based on the Android software by Google in a bid to regain ground lost to the iPhone by Apple. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/technology/companies/30motorola.html?th&emc=th

From Here to Neutrality http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-26-2009/from-here-to-neutrality


Religion

Church of Scientology Convicted of Fraud in France. Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: October 27, 2009. PARIS (AP) -- A Paris court convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud and fined it more than euro600,000 ($900,000) on Tuesday but stopped short of banning the group as prosecutors had demanded. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/27/world/AP-EU-France-Scientology.html?ref=global-home

Rock of Ages, Cleft by the Pope By A. N. WILSON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 24, 2009. THE images and clichés came spluttering out of the laptops of church people and religious affairs correspondents on Tuesday: The pope has parked his tanks on the Church of England’s lawn; Rome has made a hostile takeover bid for Canterbury. It is understandable if people are at a loss for words, since the move has been made so decisively and so without warning. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, knew nothing of the plan until a few days ago. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/opinion/25wilson.html?scp=1&sq=why%20will%20britain%20benefit%20from%20benedict&st=cse

Ecce No Homo http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-26-2009/ecce-no-homo



Other


Barcelona’s Hidden Courtyards By VICTORIA BURNETT. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: November 1, 2009... Hidden from view, however, behind the Eixample’s grand facades, is a little-advertised patchwork of public gardens and courtyards that offers refuge from the urban rush and an intimate view of everyday Barcelona life....http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/travel/01explorer.html?th&emc=th

Fall back - Don't forget to turn back your clocks tonight. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday.


Humor

Whole Foods Boycott http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-27-2009/whole-foods-boycott

Everybody Must Get Scanned http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/everybody-must-get-scanned.html

Tim Minchin - If You Open Your Mind Too Much... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFO6ZhUW38w

Waking Up Is Hard To Do http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOrjcLJ2IE0





It has come to my attention that you can only read 2 articles per month at the Financial Times if you haven't registered. If you would like to read more of the articles for free, simply sign up for the free account and you can read 10 articles per month. That should be enough. I'll try to keep the FT links to a minimum. - I used a link that will open the Financial Times articles this week. CTM

Ps. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, just go to my website: www.carlostmock.com and go the the subscription link. It will appear in your email every week.



In Pride (orgullo),


Carlos T. Mock, MD
www.carlostmock.com
Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT
Round Table.
Author: The Mosaic Virus – Floricanto Press 2007.  Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Author: Papi Chulo – Floricanto Press 2007.  Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Cuba Libre, “Mentirita” To be released late September 2009 by Floricanto Press

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Hungry People Newsletter - October 24, 2009

Hungry People Newsletter - October 24, 2009

“The number of hungry people in the world rose to 1.02 billion this year, or nearly one in seven people, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, despite a 12-year concentrated effort to cut the number. The global financial recession added at least 100 million people by depriving them of the means to buy enough food, but the numbers were inching up even before the crisis, the United Nations noted in a report last week. ‘The way we manage the global agriculture and food security system doesn’t work,’ said Kostas G. Stamoulis, a senior economist at the organization. ‘There is this paradox of increasing global food production, even in developing countries, yet there is hunger.’” NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Experts Worry as Population and Hunger Grow By NEIL MacFARQUHAR. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 21, 2009. ROME — Scientists and development experts across the globe are racing to increase food production by 50 percent over the next two decades to feed the world’s growing population, yet many doubt their chances despite a broad consensus that enough land, water and expertise exist. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/22food.html?th&emc=th



International

Eurozone economic activity surges - PMI data raise hopes of sustained recovery By Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 23 2009 11:06 | Last updated: October 23 2009 11:06. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/eurozone-economic-activity-surges-pmi.html

U.K. Stuck in Recession as Euro Area Shows Strength By MATTHEW SALTMARSH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 23, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/business/global/24euro.html?ref=global-home

Czechs Accept Modified Missile Shield Role By PETER BAKER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 23, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/world/europe/24biden.html?ref=global-home

Poland Agrees to Accept U.S. Missile Interceptors By PETER BAKER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 21, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/europe/22biden.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

US raises pressure on Japan air base - Differences over relocation strain ties By Mure Dickie in Tokyo. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 21 2009 09:11 | Last updated: October 21 2009 12:28. Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, on Wednesday dismissed Japanese hopes for a rethink of a controversial military base relocation deal, calling for ”expeditious” action to implement the plan in full. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-raises-pressure-on-japan-air-base.html

Violence in the Newest Olympic City Rattles Brazil By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 20, 2009....Then over the weekend, in a chilling outburst of violence, drug traffickers wielding what the police say they believe was a large-caliber weapon shot down a police helicopter just one mile from Maracana stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics will be held and the World Cup final will be played two years before the Olympics. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/world/americas/21rio.html?th&emc=th



China


China’s Economy Expands 8.9 Percent By ANDREW JACOBS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 22, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/business/global/23yuan.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Public backing for deep China emission cuts By Fiona Harvey in London. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 18 2009 22:26 | Last updated: October 18 2009 22:26. Public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic is firmly in favour of China taking on the lion’s share of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and lukewarm on providing funds to the developing world to adapt to climate change. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/public-backing-for-deep-china-emission.html



Mess-o-potamia


Painful Mideast Truth: Force Trumps Diplomacy By ETHAN BRONNER. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 19, 2009. JERUSALEM — As the Obama administration tries to broker a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is a dark truth lurking: force has produced clearer results in this dispute than talk. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/world/middleeast/20mideast.html?ref=global-home

A Lone Cleric Is Loudly Defying Iran’s Leaders By MICHAEL SLACKMAN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 22, 2009. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A short midlevel cleric, with a neat white beard and a clergyman’s calm bearing, Mehdi Karroubi has watched from his home in Tehran in recent months as his aides have been arrested, his offices raided, his newspaper shut down. He himself has been threatened with arrest and, indirectly, the death penalty. His response: bring it on. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/world/middleeast/23karroubi.html?_r=1&hpw

Iran Guard Commanders Are Killed in Bombings By MICHAEL SLACKMAN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 18, 2009. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — At least five commanders of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps were killed and dozens of others left dead and injured in two terrorist bombings in the restive region of the nation’s southeastern frontier with Pakistan, according to multiple Iranian state news agencies. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/world/middleeast/19iran.html?_r=1&emc=na

Washington Post Editorial: Detente on ice - Does an Iran that sentences an innocent American scholar to prison really want 'engagement'? Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, October 22, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102103646.html

Iran Agrees to Draft of Deal on Exporting Nuclear Fuel By DAVID E. SANGER. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 21, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/middleeast/22nuke.html?ref=global-home

Tehran’s nuclear deal deadline extended - US, Russia and France back IAEA-draft proposal By Daniel Dombey in Washington, Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran and James Blitz in London. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 24 2009 00:29 | Last updated: October 24 2009 00:29. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/tehrans-nuclear-deal-deadline-extended.html

Iran Defers on Nuclear Deal, Proposing Alternative. Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: October 23, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/world/middleeast/24nuke.html?ref=global-home

Pakistan Said to Seize Taliban Town. Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: October 24, 2009. ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Soldiers captured the strategically located hometown of Pakistan's Taliban chief Saturday after fierce fighting, officials said, the army's first major prize as it pushes deeper into a militant stronghold along the Afghan border. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/24/world/AP-AS-Pakistan.html?ref=global-home

Pakistan Air Force Site Is Bombed By JANE PERLEZ. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 23, 2009. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suicide bombing at Pakistan’s premier aeronautical manufacturing complex killed seven people on Friday morning, the ninth attack on major government installations this month. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/world/asia/24pstan.html?ref=global-home

Pakistani Brigadier Is Assassinated By JANE PERLEZ and SALMAN MASOOD. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 22, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/world/asia/23pstan.html?th&emc=th

New York Times Editorial: Mr. Karzai Relents. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 20, 2009. Before Afghanistan’s president, Hamid Karzai, acceded to a runoff election on Tuesday, you could almost hear his arm being twisted. And it took a lot of top-level talent to do it. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, all insisted that Mr. Karzai accept an international audit that found that nearly one-third of his first-round votes were stolen — driving his final count to below 50 percent. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/opinion/21wed1.html?th&emc=th

Financial Times Editorial Opinion: Voting twice in Afghanistan. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 20 2009 19:56 | Last updated: October 20 2009 19:56. The decision to call a second round of elections in Afghanistan, reluctantly accepted by President Hamid Karzai, was all but inevitable once it was clear the first round was seriously flawed by ballot-rigging. But it is still a high-risk strategy, and a huge logistical challenge, in the effort to produce a central government that will be seen as legitimate both inside and outside the country. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/financial-times-editorial-opinion.html

NATO Defense Ministers Endorse Wider Afghan Effort By THOM SHANKER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 23, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/world/europe/24nato.html?ref=global-home

A Rope and a Prayer By DAVID ROHDE. The articles are based on Mr. Rohde’s recollections and, where possible, records kept by his family and colleagues. For safety reasons, certain names and details have been withheld. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 21, 2009. I STOOD in the bathroom of the Taliban compound and waited for my colleague to appear in the courtyard so we could make our escape. My heart pounded. A three-foot-tall swamp cooler — an antiquated version of an air-conditioner — roared in the yard a few feet in front of me. I feared that the guards who were holding us hostage might wake up and stop us. I feared even more that our captivity would drag on for years. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/asia/22hostage.html?scp=1&sq=A%20Rope%20and%20a%20Prayer%20&st=cse

Deadlock Over Election Law in Iraq By ROD NORDLAND. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 21, 2009. BAGHDAD— The Iraqi Parliament failed again Wednesday to enact an election law, saying it had reached a stalemate. The deadlock increased the pressure to delay Iraq’s national elections, which in turn might slow down the American withdrawal from the country. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/middleeast/22iraq.html?ref=global-home



National


New York Times Editorial: A Bit of Bipartisanship. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 17, 2009. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who has long resisted climate change legislation, has joined the ranks of those pushing for a bipartisan agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions. We welcome his change of heart. Mr. Graham has sensibly decided that it helps neither the planet, the country nor his party to block efforts to solve the problem of global warming. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/opinion/18sun2.html?th&emc=th

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Detainee Case. Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: October 20, 2009. WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will hear a new case about the rights of Guantanamo detainees, this time involving prisoners who remain in custody even after the Pentagon determines they're not a threat to the United States. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/20/us/AP-US-Supreme-Court-Guantanamo-Detainees.html?ref=global-home

New York Times Editorial: How to Waste Money and Ruin the Census. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 19, 2009. With the start of the 2010 census just a few months away, Senator David Vitter, a Republican of Louisiana, wants to cut off financing for the count unless the survey includes a question asking if the respondent is a United States citizen. Aides say he plans to submit an amendment to the census appropriation bill soon. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/opinion/20tue1.html?th&emc=th

California in $200m State Street legal action By Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 21 2009 00:57 | Last updated: October 21 2009 00:57. California has launched a $200m legal action against State Street, accusing the institutional money manager of committing “unconscionable fraud” against Calpers and Calstrs, the largest US pension funds. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/california-in-200m-state-street-legal.html

U.S. Arrests Hundreds in Raids on Drug Cartel By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 22, 2009. HOUSTON — Staging raids in 19 states, the Justice Department struck this week at one of Mexico’s most ruthless drug-trafficking organizations, a cultlike group known as La Familia Michoacana and notorious for beheading its enemies. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/us/23bust.html?scp=1&sq=u%20s%20arrests%20hundreds%20on%20drug%20cartel&st=cse

Experts Puzzle Over How Flight Overshot Airport By MATTHEW L. WALD and LIZ ROBBINS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 23, 2009. WASHINGTON — Federal investigators intensified their efforts on Friday to figure out why a commercial jet plane carrying 144 passengers and five crew members over the northern plains of the United States on Wednesday night overshot its destination by 150 miles. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/us/24plane.html?ref=global-home

Calling Story of Boy and Balloon a Hoax, Sheriff Seeks Felony Charges By BRIAN STELTER. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 18, 2009. A story that transfixed millions of television viewers last week — about a child aboard a spaceshiplike balloon as it floated uncontrollably across the Colorado landscape — was concocted by the boy’s parents to gain publicity, law enforcement officials said Sunday. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/us/19balloon.html?th&emc=th



Health Care


In Shift, Cancer Society Has Concerns on Screenings By GINA KOLATA. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 20, 2009. The American Cancer Society, which has long been a staunch defender of most cancer screening, is now saying that the benefits of detecting many cancers, especially breast and prostate, have been overstated. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/health/21cancer.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

New York Times Editorial: Good Sense on Medical Marijuana. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 20, 2009. The federal government should not be harassing sick people and their caregivers. Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. has made the right decision, calling off prosecutions of patients who use marijuana for medical purposes or those who distribute it to them — provided they comply with state laws. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/opinion/21wed4.html?th&emc=th

Obama Declares Swine Flu a National Emergency. Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: October 24, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/24/health/AP-US-Obama-Swine-Flu.html?_r=1&ref=global-home


Health Care Reform

Public option gains support By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen. Copyright by The Washington Post. Tuesday, October 20, 2009. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101902451.html?nav=hcmoduletmv

House Democrats' desired health bill would cost $871 billion By Lori Montgomery. Copyright by The Washington Post. October 21, 2009; 6:00 AM ET http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/10/house_democrats_desired_health.html?wpisrc=newsletter

States 'opting out' is a healthcare option - Letting states decline a government insurance plan could help unify congressional Democrats, says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. By Noam N. Levey and James Oliphant. Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times. October 24, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-health-public-option24-2009oct24,0,1307364.story

Let Me Pose This Important Hypothetical Question To You By Greg Arious. Copyright by Salon.com. OCTOBER 13, 2009 7:09PM. So let me ask you a question. How much do you pay for your health care coverage each month? Do you pay more than $42.00 per month for you and your family? I'm betting no one is saying no. Do you have an attending physician at your work place available at your beckon call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? I didn't think so. If you need to have any test, x-ray, surgical procedure and/or medication do you get it without paying any form of deductible or out of pocket expense? Again, I didn't think so. http://open.salon.com/blog/kind_of_blue/2009/10/13/let_me_pose_this_important_hypothetical_question_to_you



GOP Bashing


2 South Carolina Republicans Apologize for Reference to Jews By ROBBIE BROWN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 20, 2009. Two Republican county chairmen in South Carolina have apologized for a newspaper op-ed article that stereotyped Jews as financial penny pinchers. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/us/21carolina.html?th&emc=th

Limbaugh's "colorblind" history of racially charged comments. Copyright by Media Matters for America. October 13, 2009 5:18 pm ET http://mediamatters.org/research/200910130049

Cheney: Obama 'dithering' on Afghanistan by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor. Copyright by Boston.com. October 22, 2009 03:16 PM. The war of words over foreign policy is back on between former Vice President Dick Cheney and the Obama administration. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/10/cheney_obama_di.html

Rift between Obama and Chamber of Commerce widening - Health-care reform and economy are points of contention By Michael D. Shear. Copyright by The Washington Post. Tuesday, October 20, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101902176.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

Financial Times Editorial Comment: The White House versus Fox News. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 22 2009 20:21 | Last updated: October 22 2009 20:21. The White House has lately assaulted its critics at Fox News – one of the most popular and exuberantly conservative cable news channels. Any media outlet is reluctant to draw attention to another, so the controversy took a while to build, but the fight has now become a matter for debate. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/financial-times-editorial-comment-white.html

Behind the War Between White House and Fox By JIM RUTENBERG. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 22, 2009. WASHINGTON — Late last month, the senior White House adviser David Axelrod and Roger Ailes, chairman and chief executive of Fox News, met in an empty Palm steakhouse before it opened for the day, neutral ground secured for a secret tête-à-tête. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/us/politics/23fox.html?th&emc=th

Attention, Sarah Palin bashers: Lookalike book 'Going Rouge' is coming! by Thom Geier. Copyright by Shelf Life.com. Oct 21 2009 09:05 AM ET. Sarah-Palin-books_lWe know that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin can hunt, and even field-dress a moose, but how will she take to poachers on her book sales? Start-up publisher OR Books has announced plans to publish Going Rouge: Sarah Palin An American Nightmare, a collection of essays about the maverick Republican with a title — and cover design — remarkably similar to Palin’s upcoming memoir. What’s more, OR’s paperback tome will be released on Nov. 17, the same day that Palin’s own Going Rogue: An American Life hits shelves — and one day after Palin’s just-announced, first-ever appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s show. http://shelf-life.ew.com/2009/10/21/going-rouge-palin-basher-lookalike/



Immigration


VIEWS Gutierrez: Do the right thing by Tracy Baim. Copyright by The Windy City Times. 2009-10-21....Now Gutierrez is an important U.S. representative, and is sometimes asked to work on gay-related issues. Immigration is one of those issues that our community often forgets is very gayrelated— not just because there are many LGBT immigrants, some fleeing anti-gay countries. It's also because of the discriminatory impact of U.S. marriage laws; the federal government does not recognize same-sex unions when it comes to binational LGBT couples. This leaves many LGBT couples and families divided by national borders. http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=23225




Chicagoland


Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: Budget crisis shows need for tax reform. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 19, 2009 http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1832358,CST-EDT-edit19.article

Chicago Tribune Editorial: The revolution of 2010. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 25, 2009. Some people eager to open presents scribble daily X's on the calendar as their birthdays approach. Not us. Since mid-2008, we've instead been marking the passage of time until the Feb. 2 Illinois primary. And now, voters, this is it: Your state is a fast 100-day campaign from the election in which you can start to reclaim your governments from political abuse and neglect. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-1025edit1oct25,0,2682341.story

Surprise Hurdle for Illinois Front-Runner - Man Obama Once Called 'Outstanding' Faces White House Resistance in Senate Bid By Peter Slevin. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, October 18, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/17/AR2009101701427.html?nav=hcmoduletmv

Lon Monk, former top Blagojevich aide, pleads guilty BY NATASHA KORECKI nkorecki@suntimes.com. Copyright By The Chicago Sun-Times. October 20, 2009 http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1835110,lon-monk-blagojevich-guilty-102009.article

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: Stroger: Don't mess with health success. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 21, 2009. When politicians inject themselves into health care, bad things can happen. Look no further than Cook County Board President Todd Stroger's efforts to trim the sails of the independently run Cook County health-care system board. http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1836094,CST-EDT-edit21a.article

Uptown neighbors stand up against gangs -- literally - 'Positive loitering' at Leland Avenue and Sheridan Road By Erika Slife. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 20, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-uptown-community-responseoct20,0,7755583.story

Chicago Tribune Editorial: Daley in denial. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 22, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/chi-1022edit1oct22,0,6451544.story

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: Daley is right to tap reserve fund for 2010. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 22, 2009 http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1839342,CST-EDT-edit22.article

U. of I. Chancellor Herman resigns, will join faculty By Jodi S. Cohen and Stacy St. Clair. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 20, 2009 11:53 AM http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/university-of-illinois-richard-herman-resignation-clout-admissions-urbana-champaign.html

Five Chicago assets that could be sold off next - After peddling the Skyway, parking meters, Daley could look up -- or down BY FRAN SPIELMAN. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 23, 2009 http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/1841188,CST-NWS-selloff23.article

Deal closed on old Chicago post office - Original bidder strikes a better deal for old Chicago post office By Melissa Harris. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. 3:04 p.m. CDT, October 21, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-old-chicago-post-office-oct21,0,4971871.story





Economy


Basic Medicare Premium to Rise 15% Next Year By ROBERT PEAR. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 19, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/health/policy/20health.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Obama Announces Small-Business Lending Push By ROBB MANDELBAUM. Copyright by The new York Times. Published: October 21, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/business/smallbusiness/22small.html?th&emc=th

Fed chief warns banks on capital - Big banks may face stricter requirements By Tom Braithwaite in Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 23 2009 18:17 | Last updated: October 23 2009 18:17. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/fed-chief-warns-banks-on-capital-big.html

Bernanke Urges Overhaul of Financial Regulatory System. Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: October 23, 2009. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, prodded Congress on Friday to enact legislation overhauling the nation’s financial regulatory system to prevent a repeat of the banking and credit debacles that thrust the country into crisis. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/business/economy/24fed.html?hpw

U.S. to Order Steep Pay Cuts at Firms That Got Most Aid By STEPHEN LABATON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 21, 2009. WASHINGTON — Responding to the growing furor over the paychecks of executives at companies that received billions of dollars in federal bailouts, the Obama administration will order the companies that received the most aid to deeply slash the compensation to their highest paid executives, an official involved in the decision said on Wednesday. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/business/22pay.html?hp

Feinberg reluctant to revoke contracts By Tom Braithwaite in Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 20 2009 17:21 | Last updated: October 20 2009 17:21. Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration’s special master on pay, on Tuesday said he was struggling with an “incredible gap, the chasm between Wall Street perceptions and Main Street perceptions”. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/feinberg-reluctant-to-revoke-contracts.html

US jobless claims climb more than projected - Labour market recovery continues to stagger By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 22 2009 14:21 | Last updated: October 22 2009 14:21. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-jobless-claims-climb-more-than.html

New York Times Editorial: Credit Card Chicanery. Copyright by The New York Times Published: October 22, 2009. Congress blundered badly when it gave the credit card industry as long as 15 months to phase out the deceptive and predatory practices that were outlawed in a new law enacted in May. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/opinion/23fri3.html?scp=1&sq=New%20York%20Times%20Editorial:%20Credit%20Card%20Chicanery&st=cse

CHECKING YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS By Roger McCaffrey-Boss. Copyright by Gay Chicago Magazine and Roger McCaffrey-Boss. October 20, 2009 http://www.gaychicagomagazine.com/advice/legallyspeaking.shtml

Goldman should be allowed to fail By John Gapper. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 21 2009 22:09 | Last updated: October 21 2009 22:09. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/goldman-should-be-allowed-to-fail.html

Arrest of Hedge Fund Chief Unsettles the Industry By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and ZACHERY KOUWE. Copyright by Bloomberg News. Published: October 18, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/business/19insider.html?ref=global-home

Galleon’s reach - Case causes shock far beyond the financial world By John Gapper. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 23 2009 20:38 | Last updated: October 23 2009 20:38. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/galleons-reach-case-causes-shock-far.html

Galleon Hedge Fund Tries to Stem Withdrawals By ZACHERY KOUWE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 19, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/business/20hedge.html?adxnnl=1&ref=global-home&adxnnlx=1256058215-JoDz9awXe9VFP3FqZILOOQ

First Dupage Bank of Westmont closed by state and U.S. Regulators By Becky Yerak. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 24, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-first-dupage-oct23-,0,6745724.story

Morgan Stanley reports $757m profit - Bank’s revenues jump to $8.7bn By Greg Farrell in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 21 2009 13:42 | Last updated: October 21 2009 13:56. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/morgan-stanley-reports-757m-profit.html

Apple’s Profit Climbs 47% as Sales Gain By BRAD STONE. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 19, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/technology/companies/20apple.html?th&emc=th

Yahoo’s Profit Triples Despite Sales Decline By MIGUEL HELFT. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 20, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/technology/companies/21yahoo.html?th&emc=th

Microsoft Beats Profit Forecast By SAUL HANSELL and JACK HEALY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 23, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/business/24soft.html?th&emc=th

AT&T’s profits boosted by iPhone demand - Record wireless gains help company beat estimates By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 22 2009 13:25 | Last updated: October 22 2009 15:52. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/at-profits-boosted-by-iphone-demand.html

Caterpillar plans for quick economic rebound - Manufacturing bellwether beats analysts’ estimates By Hal Weitzman in Chicago. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 20 2009 14:05 | Last updated: October 20 2009 14:05. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/caterpillar-plans-for-quick-economic.html

Boeing loses $1.5bn as delays take toll - Aircraft maker lowers earnings outlook By Justin Baer in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 21 2009 13:48 | Last updated: October 21 2009 13:48. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/boeing-loses-15bn-as-delays-take-toll.html

Citigroup might lose Mexican subsidiary - US bank’s state aid places Banamex in breach of national law By Adam Thomson in Mexico City. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 18 2009 20:02 | Last updated: October 19 2009 00:42. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/citigroup-might-lose-mexican-subsidiary.html



Housing


US home resales hit 2-year high - Buyers move before tax credit expires By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 23 2009 16:16 | Last updated: October 23 2009 16:16. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-home-resales-hit-2-year-high-buyers.html

Chicago-area home sales increase in September By Mary Ellen Podmolik. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. 9:18 a.m. CDT, October 23, 2009. Does three months make it a trend that will stick? http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-home-sales-chicago-1023-,0,6883759.story

More condos on the block in South Loop By Mary Ellen Podmolik. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 21, 2009. The developer of Michigan Avenue Tower II on Wednesday will announce plans to auction 40 of the remaining 97 units in the 257-unit building at 1400 S. Michigan Ave. on Nov. 15, in the hope of sparking new interest and more realistic prices in the South Loop. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-condo-auction-oct21,0,7112657.story

Chicago property tax: Bigger bills headed this way - Cook County suburbs set to see increases too By Bob Secter. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 21, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-cook-county-taxesoct21,0,5535095.story


Commodities


Dollar gains respite in weak equity market - Currency recovers from a 14-month low By Peter Garnham. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 22 2009 10:42 | Last updated: October 22 2009 10:42. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/dollar-gains-respite-in-weak-equity.html

In Dollar’s Fall, Upside for U.S. Exports By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 18, 2009. PARIS — As economists, pundits and politicians debate the reasons for the dollar’s rapid fall, Robert Stevenson and his workers in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., watch the slide with glee. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/business/global/19dollar.html?hpw




GLBT


Manifesto! The Time Has Come! Powerful statement from John Shelby Spong, who was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark for 24 years before his retirement in 2001. Copyright by John Shelby Spong. Thursday October 15, 2009. I have made a decision. I will no longer debate the issue of homosexuality in the church with anyone. I will no longer engage the biblical ignorance that emanates from so many right-wing Christians about how the Bible condemns homosexuality, as if that point of view still has any credibility. I will no longer discuss with them or listen to them tell me how homosexuality is “an abomination to God,” about how homosexuality is a “chosen lifestyle,” or about how through prayer and “spiritual counseling” homosexual persons can be “cured.” Those arguments are no longer worthy of my time or energy. I will no longer dignify by listening to the thoughts of those who advocate “reparative therapy,” as if homosexual persons are somehow broken and need to be repaired. http://heysonnie.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/manifesto-the-time-has-come/

Senate passes measure that would protect gays - Obama is expected to sign legislation on hate crimes By Ben Pershing. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, October 23, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102204689.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

Commentary: A 'congressional spouse' breaks barriers By Jared Polis. Copyright by CNN News. October 18, 2009. ditor's note: Democratic Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado, the first openly gay man elected to the House as a freshman, is one of the subjects of the CNN.com series "Freshman Year," in which Polis and new Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, provide firsthand reports of political life. Here, Polis' partner, Marlon Reis, talks about the challenges and coping strategies of his own freshman year as a "congressional spouse" not usually encountered in Washington. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/15/polis.congressional.spouse/index.html

LGBT Chicagoans reflect on National Equality March by Joseph Erbentraut. Copyright by The EDGE. Wednesday Oct 21, 2009 http://www.edgechicago.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=97939

Joe Laiacona takes on Deb Mell by Andrew Davis. Copyright by The Windy City Times. 2009-10-21. Joe Laiacona is taking on incumbent state Rep. Deb Mell in what is shaping up to a very intriguing race in the state's 40th District. Does Laiacona realize the magnitude of the task before him? Absolutely. Is he intimidated? Hardly. http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=23220

Louisiana Story By Jennifer Vanasco. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. October 21, 2009. Let me tell you a story. A Louisiana couple goes to a justice of the peace. They love each other. They want to get married. The justice of the peace, though, denies them a marriage license. He says society doesn’t accept those kind of marriages. He doubts, he says, that the couple will be together long. He says, “My main concern is for the children.” He says, “I don’t want to put children in a situation they didn’t bring on themselves.” He says, “In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer.” He says, “I try to treat everyone equally.” http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/4008


Technology


In Lawsuit, Nokia Says iPhone Infringes Its Patents By SAUL HANSELL and KEVIN J. O’BRIEN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 22, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/technology/companies/23nokia.html?th&emc=th

A New Electronic Reader, the Nook, Enters the Market By MOTOKO RICH. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 20, 2009. As widely expected, Barnes & Noble unveiled its Nook electronic reading device at a splashy news conference on Tuesday to generally positive views from the publishing community, and offered some details about its whispered-about lending capabilities. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/technology/21nook.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1256137292-WnbFSbxTMYmySdrZeXm6aA

Windows 7 Keeps the Good, Tries to Fix Flaws By DAVID POGUE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 21, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/technology/personaltech/22pogue.html?th&emc=th

Facebook and Google Expected to Offer Music By BRAD STONE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 21, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/technology/internet/22google.html?th&emc=th

2 Deals Hint at Revenue for Twitter By MIGUEL HELFT and CLAIRE CAIN MILLER. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 21, 2009. SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter gets 55 million monthly visitors, it has raised $155 million in venture capital, and it has generated intense interest from Hollywood to Iran. But it hasn’t earned much revenue and certainly no profit. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/technology/internet/22twitter.html?th&emc=th


Religion


Pope Sets Plan for Disaffected Anglicans to Join Catholics By RACHEL DONADIO and LAURIE GOODSTEIN. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 20, 2009. VATICAN CITY — In an extraordinary bid to lure traditionalist Anglicans en masse, the Vatican on Tuesday announced that it would make it easier for Anglicans who are uncomfortable with their church’s acceptance of women priests and openly gay bishops to join the Roman Catholic Church. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/world/europe/21pope.html?ref=global-home

Offer Raises Idea of Marriage for Catholic Priests By RACHEL DONADIO. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 21, 2009. ROME — In making it easier for traditionalist Anglicans to become Catholic, Pope Benedict XVI once again revealed the character of his papacy: to reach out to the most fervent of like-minded believers, even if they are not Catholic. Yet some observers wonder whether his move could paradoxically liberalize the church — or at least wedge it open — on a crucial issue: celibacy. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/22church.html?th&emc=th

Bankruptcy filing delays church sex abuse case By RANDALL CHASE. Copyright by The Associated Press. October 19, 2009. A bankruptcy filing by the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington was the best way to ensure reconciliation and compensation for all victims of clergy sexual abuse in the diocese, the bishop said Monday. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010092028_apussexabusebankruptcy.html?syndication=rss


Other

Site Lets Investors See and Copy Experts’ Trades By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 19, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/technology/start-ups/19kaching.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Losing Out After Winning an Online Auction By ALINA TUGEND. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 23, 2009. I’VE ventured into the world of online auctions only about a half-dozen times, so I’m pretty much an amateur. But it has been mostly a successful experience: I felt the thrill of outbidding and winning, and my items arrived on time and in good shape. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/technology/24shortcuts.html?th&emc=th

Miss California USA sued over breast implant money By Alan Duke. Copyright by CNN News. Tue October 20, 2009 http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/10/20/miss.california.usa.suit/index.html



Humor


Quotes http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/quotes.html

Questions About Childbirth http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/questions-about-childbirth.html

No More Headaches http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/no-more-headaches.html

Plain Geometry - A Tribute to William Lutwidge Dodgson http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2009/10/plain-geometry-tribute-to-william.html

Piano stairs - TheFunTheory.com - Rolighetsteorin.se http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw




It has come to my attention that you can only read 2 articles per month at the Financial Times if you haven't registered. If you would like to read more of the articles for free, simply sign up for the free account and you can read 10 articles per month. That should be enough. I'll try to keep the FT links to a minimum. - I used a link that will open the Financial Times articles this week. CTM

Ps. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, just go to my website: www.carlostmock.com and go the the subscription link. It will appear in your email every week.



In Pride (orgullo),


Carlos T. Mock, MD
www.carlostmock.com
Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT
Round Table.
Author: The Mosaic Virus – Floricanto Press 2007.  Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Author: Papi Chulo – Floricanto Press 2007.  Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Cuba Libre, “Mentirita” To be released late September 2009 by Floricanto Press

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Hurdles ahead for US health reform Newsletter - October 17, 2009

Hurdles ahead for US health reform Newsletter - October 17, 2009

“It is deplorable that Republicans are being so obstructive. They complain the bill’s good points will be ground down before it passes. If so, the time to object would be when that happens. Meanwhile, their intransigence has increased the risk that the bill will get worse not better, if it passes at all.” Financial Times Editorial

Financial Times Editorial Comment: Hurdles ahead for US health reform. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 14 2009 22:02 | Last updated: October 14 2009 22:02. The Senate finance committee, a crucial player in US healthcare reform, at last voted through its bill on the subject this week. It is likely to form the core of any eventual law. Barack Obama called the committee’s vote a milestone, but cautioned that “we’re not there yet”. He was right on both counts. In spite of the many compromises already struck, and the countless (often needless) complications already introduced, the bill is indeed a bold and comprehensive measure. After months of to and fro, one should recognise that fact. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/financial-times-editorial-comment.html

Fact Checker: Health Insurance Industry Reports. Copyright by the Washington Post. October 15, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/factchecker15.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

Senate Panel Clears Health Bill With One G.O.P. Vote By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN and ROBERT PEAR. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 13, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/health/policy/14health.html?ref=global-home

GOP Claims Olympia Snowe Was Born in Kenya By Andy Borowitz. Copyright by The BorowitzReport.com. Posted: October 13, 2009 03:16 PM. WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) - Just moments after she broke with fellow Republicans and voted in favor of health care reform, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) came under fire from the GOP for allegedly lying about her nation of birth. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-borowitz/gop-claims-olympia-snowe_b_318963.html

Another GOP Senator Open to Health Care Overhaul By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR. Copyright by The Associated Press. Wednesday, October 14, 2009; 2:04 PM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/14/AR2009101400105.html

In Hawaii’s Health System, Lessons for Lawmakers By GARDINER HARRIS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009. HONOLULU — Imee Gallardo, 24, has been scooping ice cream at a Häagen-Dazs shop at Waikiki Beach for five years, and during that time the shop has done something its counterparts on the mainland rarely do: it has paid for her health care. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/health/policy/17hawaii.html?th&emc=th

THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART: THE JOY OF RX: http://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/2009/10/15/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-the-joy-of-rx/

White House to Let Insurers Warn Medicare Recipients About Pending Health Bills By ROBERT PEAR. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009. WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday backed away from an order that had prohibited insurance companies from warning Medicare recipients about the possible loss of benefits under pending legislation to overhaul the health care system. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/health/policy/17health.html?th&emc=th



International


Biggest Obstacle to Global Climate Deal May Be How to Pay for It By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 14, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/science/earth/15climate.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Russia Gas Pipeline Heightens East Europe’s Fears - Eastern Europe Fears New Era of Russian Dominance By ANDREW E. KRAMER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 12, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/world/europe/13pipes.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Russia Resists U.S. Position on Sanctions for Iran By MARK LANDLER and CLIFFORD J. LEVY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 13, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/world/europe/14diplo.html?ref=global-home

Croatia edges closer to EU entry By Tony Barber in Brussels. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 14 2009 14:27 | Last updated: October 14 2009 14:27. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/croatia-edges-closer-to-eu-entry.html

Obama Drops Plan to Isolate Sudan Leaders By GINGER THOMPSON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009. WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has formulated a new policy for Sudan that proposes working with that country’s government, rather than isolating it as President Obama had pledged to do during his campaign. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/world/africa/17sudan.html?th&emc=th



China

Chinese Export Boom in Evidence at Trade Show By KEITH BRADSHER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 15, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/global/16yuan.html?ref=global-home

US hardens stance on renminbi rigidity By Sarah O’ Connor in Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 16 2009 01:21 | Last updated: October 16 2009 01:21. The Obama administration said on Thursday that it had “serious concerns” about the value of the renminbi, but stopped short of accusing China of manipulating its currency in a closely watched report to Congress. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7b301ff2-b9e4-11de-a747-00144feab49a.html

Beijing’s Air Is Cleaner, but Far From Clean By MICHAEL WINES. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/world/asia/17beijing.html?th&emc=th

Chinese Premier Calls for Dialogue Between U.S. and North Korea By DAVID BARBOZA. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 10, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/world/asia/11korea.html?hpw

Russia’s Leaders See China as Template for Ruling By CLIFFORD J. LEVY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 17, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/world/europe/18russia.html?ref=global-home


Mess-o-potamia


U.N. Rights Council Endorses Gaza Report By SHARON OTTERMAN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009. The United Nations Human Rights Council voted Thursday to endorse a report detailing evidence of war crimes committed by Israeli and Palestinian militants during the Gaza war, moving the inquiry a step closer to the Security Council and possible criminal investigations. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/world/middleeast/17nations.html?hpw

Pakistan Opens Offensive in a Militant Stronghold By JANE PERLEZ. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 17, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/world/asia/18pstan.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Pakistan Retakes Army Headquarters; Hostages Freed By JANE PERLEZ. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 10, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/world/asia/11pstan.html?th&emc=th

Washington Post Editorial: The Taliban Threat - As Pakistan finally faces the truth, will the United States stand down? Copyright by The Washington Post. Wednesday, October 14, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/13/AR2009101302796.html

Coordinated Attacks Strike Cultural Heart of Pakistan By JANE PERLEZ and SALMAN MASOOD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 15, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/world/asia/16pstan.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Car Bomb Kills at Least 41 in Restive Region of Pakistan By PIR ZUBAIR SHAH and JANE PERLEZ. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 12, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/world/asia/13pstan.html?th&emc=th

Pakistan Attacks Show Tighter Militant Links By JANE PERLEZ. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 15, 2009. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A wave of attacks against top security installations over the last several days demonstrated that the Taliban, Al Qaeda and militant groups once nurtured by the government are tightening an alliance aimed at bringing down the Pakistani state, government officials and analysts said. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/world/asia/16pstan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

Clinton and Gates Join Forces in Debate on Afghanistan Buildup By MARK LANDLER and THOM SHANKER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 12, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/world/13cabinet.html?th&emc=th

Biden No Longer a Lone Voice on Afghanistan By PETER BAKER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 13, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/world/14biden.html?th&emc=th

Not Good Enoug By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 13, 2009. If President Obama can find a way to balance the precise number of troops that will stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan, without tipping America into a Vietnam there, then he indeed deserves a Nobel Prize — for physics. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14friedman.html?th&emc=th

Karzai Aide Says Afghan Runoff Vote Is Likely By ELISABETH BUMILLER and SABRINA TAVERNISE. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 15, 2009. WASHINGTON — The government of President Hamid Karzai is preparing for the likelihood that he will have to face an election runoff with his main challenger, Afghanistan’s ambassador here said Thursday, acknowledging an outcome that Western diplomats had been pushing for but that could complicate the debate over whether to send more American troops. The comments by the ambassador in Washington, Said Tayeb Jawad, were the first in which Mr. Karzai’s government conceded that a runoff was likely, after weeks of investigation into stark cases of election fraud. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/world/asia/16afghan.html?th&emc=th

In Kabul, Little Hope That a Runoff Will Be Fair By SABRINA TAVERNISE. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 13, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/world/asia/14afghan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

What Failure in Afghanistan? By Fareed Zakaria. Copyright by The Washington Post. Monday, October 12, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/11/AR2009101101552.html


National


Obama must start punching harder By Gideon Rachman. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 12 2009 22:11 | Last updated: October 12 2009 22:11. Just five years ago, Barack Obama was still a local politician in Illinois, preparing for a run for the US Senate. His office wall in Chicago at the time was decorated with the famous picture of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston, after knocking him out in a heavyweight title fight. Ali famously boasted that he could “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” But now that Mr Obama is president, he seems to float like a butterfly – and sting like one as well. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/obama-must-start-punching-harder.html

New York Times Editorial: Faith-Based Discrimination. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 13, 2009. President Obama promised in his campaign to preserve President George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative aimed at helping social service programs sponsored by religious organizations win federal grants and contracts. He also promised a vitally important change: groups receiving federal money would no longer be allowed to hire employees on the basis of their religion. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14wed4.html?th&emc=th

Hedge Fund Chief Is Charged With Fraud By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 16, 2009. In all, six people were arrested, accused by prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission of earning more than $20 million from illegal trading in companies like Google, Akamai and Hilton Hotels over nearly three years. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/business/17insider.html?th&emc=th

Top Judge Calls Calif. Government ‘Dysfunctional’ By JENNIFER STEINHAUER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 10, 2009. LOS ANGELES — In a rare public rebuke of state government and policies delivered by a sitting judge, the chief justice of the California Supreme Court scathingly criticized the state’s reliance on the referendum process, arguing that it has “rendered our state government dysfunctional.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/us/11calif.html?th&emc=th

Two Americans Are Awarded Nobel in Economics By LOUIS UCHITELLE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 12, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/business/economy/13nobel.html?scp=1&sq=nobel%20in%20economics&st=cse

OPEd | Race Relations in America under an African American President By Carlos T Mock, MD http://www.ambiente.us/10509CTMock.html


Health Care


The Gift of Life, and Its Price By STEPHANIE SAUL. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 10, 2009. Scary. Like aliens. That is how Kerry Mastera remembers her twins, Max and Wes, in the traumatic days after they were born nine weeks early. Machines forced air into the infants’ lungs, pushing their tiny chests up and down in artificial heaves. Tubes delivered nourishment. They were so small her husband’s wedding band fit around an entire baby foot. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/health/11fertility.html?th&emc=th

Grievous Choice on Risky Path to Parenthood By STEPHANIE SAUL. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 11, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/health/12fertility.html?th&emc=th

For now, flu vaccine scarcer than expected; kids at higher risk as disease strikes US early By LAURAN NEERGAARD. Copyright 2009 Associated Press.. 1:26 p.m. CDT, October 17, 2009. http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-ap-us-med-swine-flu,0,611787.story

Doubt Break '09: Glenn Beck has to decide how much he trusts his government before getting the swine flu vaccine. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-15-2009/doubt-break—09

Officials See a Shortage in Vaccine for Swine Flu By DENISE GRADY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/health/17flu.html?th&emc=th

Hidden Costs of Medicare Advantage - Plans' Free Perks Are Subsidized By Government By Philip Rucker. Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, October 15, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/14/AR2009101403953.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter


GOP Bashing


Me Talk Presidential One Day by Matt Latimer © 2009 by Matt Latimer. Published by Crown Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. Matt Latimer worked as one of Dubya’s speechwriters during the president’s final twenty-two months in office. He was there to help sell the surge to a skeptical public. He was there as we pretended that the fundamentals of the economy were strong. And he was there to see a president who failed to grasp his own $700 billion bailout package—even as he was pitching it to the American public on live TV. A disillusioned insider reveals for the first time just how messy things got. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/me-talk-presidential-one-day.html

Petulance and Peace Prize By Garrison Keillor. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 14, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-oped1013keilloroct14,0,1071912.column

Super Prize Me - Barack Obama's critics don't think he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, but he proves them wrong by bombing the moon. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-13-2009/super-prize-me Editorial Note: He won because he’s reversed all the hateful Bush policies the world so much despised. And yes, The U. S won for getting rid of the Republicans!!!!

Daily Show: Rape Nuts http://vodpod.com/watch/2341443-daily-show-rape-nuts

You've Got Fail - The RNC's new website features an American flag with hydraulics and Michael Steele's blog, "What Up." http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-15-2009/you-ve-got-fail

Obama 'birther' fined $20K by Andrew Zajac. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. Posted October 14, 2009 10:54 AM. Orly Taitz, the southern California dentist/lawyer who has filed numerous suits challenging President Obama's citizenship, yesterday was fined $20,000 by a federal judge in Georgia for using the courts "as a platform for a political agenda disconnected from any legitimate legal cause of action.” http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/10/obama_birther_fined_20k.html

Pass Rush: Why the NFL Sacked Limbaugh By Eugene Robinson. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, October 16, 2009. Rush Limbaugh, are you ready for some football? The right-wing radio host's attempt to become part-owner of the St. Louis Rams ended Wednesday when his fellow investors cut him from the squad. Rush got the bum's rush shortly after Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the National Football League, hinted strongly that His Loudness was most unwelcome. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/15/AR2009101502770.html

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: Booting Limbaugh not a black and white issue. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 17, 2009. After Rush Limbaugh got dropped last week from a group bidding for the St. Louis Rams, the conservative talk show host had a laundry list of folks to blame. http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1829641,CST-EDT-edit18a.article

A G.O.P. Agitator Not Named Palin By MONICA DAVEY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 14, 2009. BUFFALO, Minn. — Representative Michele Bachmann will appear in the 2010 calendar of “Great American Conservative Women” (she will be November). Her likeness has been transformed into an action figure. And, so far in 2009, she has been interviewed on a national cable news show every nine days, on average, an analysis by Smart Politics, a nonpartisan blog affiliated with the University of Minnesota shows. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/us/politics/15bachmann.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1255622658-/1jGqL9CjbDZj6Ps0fkThw

Fox’s Volley With Obama Intensifying By BRIAN STELTER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 11, 2009. Attacking the news media is a time-honored White House tactic but to an unusual degree, the Obama administration has narrowed its sights to one specific organization, the Fox News Channel, calling it, in essence, part of the political opposition. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/business/media/12fox.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1255345257-VFoq9J+hpFLgEi1PiQEt6Q

Glenn Beck's Hate Speech: Likens Criticism of Fox News To Murder Of 6,000,000 Jews By M.J. Rosenberg. Copyright by TPM. October 13, 2009, 11:21AM. The Obama administration offered some mild criticism of Fox News the other day. It called its reporting opinion, and not news, and labelled it a de factor arm of the GOP. Now Glenn Beck has responded by likening this onslaught to the murder of Six Million Jews. http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/13/glenn_beck_likens_criticism_of_fox_news_to_the_hol/



Immigration

New York Times Editorial: Wrong Paths to Immigration Reform. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 11, 2009. All last week the people of Phoenix witnessed public outbursts by their sheriff, Joe Arpaio, as he railed against the Department of Homeland Security for supposedly trying to limit his ability to enforce federal immigration laws. He vowed to keep scouring Maricopa County for people whose clothing, accents and behavior betrayed them as likely illegal immigrants. He said he had already nabbed more than 32,000 people that way, and announced his next immigrant sweep for Oct. 16. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/opinion/12mon2.html?th&emc=th

Immigration Rally, Tied to a New Bill, Draws Thousands By IAN URBINA. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 13, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/us/14immig.html?hpw

U.S. Alters Disputed Immigration Rules for Police By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009. PHOENIX — Addressing one of the most contentious immigration policies in recent years, the Obama administration unveiled changes Friday in a program that allows state and local police officers enforce federal immigration law. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/us/17immig.html?th&emc=th

U.S. Can’t Trace Foreign Visitors on Expired Visas By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. and JULIA PRESTON. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 11, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/us/12visa.html?_r=1&th&emc=th




Chicagoland


Todd Stroger gets backing of 90 African-American ministers - Clergy members say they want a unified front in the race for Cook County Board president By Hal Dardick and Robert Becker. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 14, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-county-board-president-14oct14,0,7992234.story

Chicago Tribune Editorial: Right under our noses? Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 18, 2009. We can't prove that the beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert near Fenger High School could have been prevented. We do know that a remarkable Chicago anti-violence program called CeaseFire was working to lower hostilities between rival Fenger factions until June 30 -- when an interruption in funding from Springfield reduced CeaseFire's staffing and all but quashed that effort. Disputes at Fenger intensified as this school year began. And, after the Sept. 24 plank-thumping seen worldwide, Derrion lay broken, dead. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/chi-1018edit1oct18,0,2252649.story

Chicago Tribune Editorial: CTA's tough reality. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 13, 2009. There's plenty of pain to go around in the Chicago Transit Authority's proposed 2010 budget. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/chi-1013edit2oct13,0,6713689.story

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: Does CTA back free-ride rollback?. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. October 17, 2009. It was an idea right up Rod Blagojevich's alley when he was governor. Latch onto a populist notion -- free bus rides for Chicago area seniors. Pay no mind how much it will cost -- tens of millions of dollars. And care even less how it will be paid for -- higher fares for everyone else. http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/1829638,CST-EDT-edit18b.article

Granite panels on Thompson Center deemed unstable; all panels in building's arcade to be removed By Blair Kamin. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 14, 2009 http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2009/10/granite-panels-on-thompson-center-deemed-unsable-all-panels-in-buildings-arcade-to-be-removed.html

Old post office building back on the block - Post office hopes to strike a deal with runner-up bidders By Melissa Harris. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. 6:00 p.m. CDT, October 13, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-old-post-office-oct13-,0,6037538.story





Economy


Social Security Makes It Official: No COLA in 2010. Copyright by By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Published: October 15, 2009. Filed at 12:23 p.m. ET. WASHINGTON (AP) -- There will be no cost of living increase for more than 50 million Social Security recipients next year, the first year without a raise since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/15/us/politics/AP-US-Social-Security-COLA.html?scp=1&sq=no%20social%20security%20increase&st=cse

Steep Losses Pose Crisis for Pensions - Two Bad Choices for Funds: Cut Benefits Or Take Greater Risks to Rebuild Assets - In the wake of the economic crisis, pension funds for police officers and other public employees have been battered and face a long recovery, experts say. By David Cho. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, October 11, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/10/AR2009101002360.html?hpid=topnews

US retail sales slump on post-‘clunker’ weakness - Business inventories shrink as companies clear stocks By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 14 2009 14:14 | Last updated: October 14 2009 15:42 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cdf0a750-b8ba-11de-809b-00144feab49a.html

$1.4 Trillion Deficit Complicates Stimulus Plans By JACKIE CALMES. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/us/17deficit.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

New York Times Editorial: 10,000: Then and Now. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009. Dow 10,000 brings back glowing memories of good times — and not just for the people in pinstripes walking around Wall Street with “Dow 10,000” baseball caps. When the Dow Jones industrial average first closed above 10,000 on March 29, 1999, the economy was in its eighth year of uninterrupted growth. The jobless rate was so low — 4.2 percent — that economists called it “full employment.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/opinion/16fri1.html?th&emc=th

Still on the Job, but at Half the Pay By LOUIS UCHITELLE. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 13, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/business/economy/14income.html?th&emc=th

The Dow Passes Mile 10,000 on Road to Recovery - Joblessness in the Way of Future Gains By Frank Ahrens. Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, October 15, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/14/AR2009101403962.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

US consumer prices tick up in September - Jobless claims fall more than expected By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 15 2009 14:08 | Last updated: October 15 2009 14:08. The cost of living in the US rose modestly last month in spite of a fall in food prices, signalling that inflation remains in check. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-consumer-prices-tick-up-in-september.html

US industrial production surges in third quarter - Consumer confidence sinks in October By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 16 2009 15:19 | Last updated: October 16 2009 15:19. US industrial production rose at the fastest rate in four years during the third quarter as manufacturers ramped up their efforts to match rekindling demand, but consumers remain anxious about the outlook for the economic recovery. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-industrial-production-surges-in.html

Financial Times Editorial Comment: Public needs more bank for its buck. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 15 2009 22:05 | Last updated: October 15 2009 22:05. Strong third-quarter results make this a good week for bankers’ bonuses: Goldman Sachs set aside $5.35bn, almost one-half of revenues, for compensation. Stay tuned for another swell of public outrage. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/financial-times-editorial-comment_16.html

Washington Post Editorial: The Unemployed Wait. Copyright by The Washington Post. Published: October 16, 2009. More than a million jobless Americans are in danger of losing benefits by the end of the year unless Congress passes an extension of unemployment insurance. The House has acted, but the Senate, which has a better bill, has been bogged down by obstruction from Republicans. In these extraordinarily hard times, Congress should extend this vital safety net without further delay. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/opinion/17sat2.html?th&emc=th

PepsiCo and Anheuser in landmark purchasing pact By Jonathan Birchall in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 14 2009 06:34 | Last updated: October 14 2009 06:34 http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/pepsico-and-anheuser-in-landmark.html

Failures of Small Banks Grow, Straining F.D.I.C. By ERIC DASH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 10, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/business/economy/11banks.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

JPMorgan Chase Reports Strong Profit of $3.6 Billion By ERIC DASH. Copyright by Bloomberg News. Published: October 14, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/business/15bank.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Goldman Earns $3.19 Billion, Beating Estimates By GRAHAM BOWLEY and MATTHEW SALTMARSH. Copyright by the New York Times. Published: October 15, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/16goldman.html?hpw

Bonuses Put Goldman in Public Relations Bind By GRAHAM BOWLEY. Copyright by Bloomberg News. Published: October 15, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/16bonus.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

A credibility problem for Goldman By John Gappe. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 14 2009 22:34 | Last updated: October 14 2009 22:34. It will be business as usual for Goldman Sachs on Thursday morning. The bank will annoy a lot of people. Goldman, the institution that came through last year’s financial crisis best – arguably the only pure investment bank left standing – will say how much money it made in the third quarter (a lot) and how many billions it has stored for bonuses (about $5.5bn towards a likely 2009 bonus pool of $23bn). http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/goldman-earns-3.html

US pay tsar gets tough over AIG packages - Insurer fears exodus of talent in crackdown By Francesco Guerrera in New York and Tom Braithwaite in Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 11 2009 22:09 | Last updated: October 11 2009 22:09. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-pay-tsar-gets-tough-over-aig.html

Bank of America Posts a Loss and Misses Forecast By JACK HEALY and LOUISE STORY. Copyright by Bloomberg News. Published: October 16, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/business/17bank.html?hpw

Bank of America Chief Forgoes Pay for 2009 By LOUISE STORY and ERIC DASH. Copyright by Bloomberg News. Published: October 15, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/16lewis.html?th&emc=th

Citi Struggles Even as Other Banks Show Strong Profits By ERIC DASH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 15, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/16citi.html?ref=global-home

At $2.5 Billion, G.E.’s Quarterly Profit Hints at Stability By STEVE LOHR. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 16, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/business/17electric.html?hpw

GE profits fall 47% as revenue slumps By Justin Baer in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 16 2009 13:39 | Last updated: October 16 2009 13:39 http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/at-25-billion-ges-quarterly-profit.html. Editorial Note: Please note the difference in reporting between American and British papers on the same subject. Advice, subscribe to The Financial Times and drop the WSJ



Housing


For mortgages, 620 is the new magic number - If your credit score is lower than 620, getting a home loan will be difficult By Gregory Karp. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 11, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-tc-biz-ym-spending-1011oct11,0,4102570.story

US foreclosure activity surges 23% in third quarter By Alan Rappeport in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 15 2009 13:01 | Last updated: October 15 2009 13:01. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-foreclosure-activity-surges-23-in.html

More Illinois homeowners falling into foreclosure - New default notices were up in September, but overall filings dropped from August By Mary Ellen Podmolik. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 15, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/chi-thu-foreclosures-1015-oct15,0,4212972.story

Doubling Down On the Wrong Housing Policy By Charles Lane. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, October 18, 2009. The New York Times reports that a schoolteacher in Colorado recently got talked into buying a $134,000 fixer-upper with only 3.5 percent down. To afford that smidgen of equity, she liquidated her retirement savings. The bank rolled closing costs into the loan in return for a higher interest rate. Her monthly cost is 50 percent of her take-home pay. Happy for now, she may be a pink slip away from foreclosure and financial ruin. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101602736.html

Ultrahigh-end homes slow to sell in crowded market - With no hordes of buyers in sight, builders of some of the area's most expensive homes are trapped in a down market By Mary Ellen Podmolik. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 18, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun-castles-1018-oct18,0,2937682.story


Commodities


Making the case for a weaker dollar By Wolfgang Münchau. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 11 2009 17:06 | Last updated: October 11 2009 17:06. Imagine a world with a small current account deficit in the US, a somewhat larger deficit in the eurozone and a not too excessive Asian surplus. In such a world, economic commentators would no longer bang on about global imbalances and would have to find a different subject. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/making-case-for-weaker-dollar.html

Oil hits 2009 high above $78 - Gold slips back from record high By Chris Flood. Published: October 16 2009 11:47 | Last updated: October 16 2009 11:47. US crude oil pushed above the $78 a barrel mark on Friday, reaching a fresh 2009 peak, while sugar prices rose and gold traded around the $1,050 level after hitting a record high earlier this week. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/oil-hits-2009-high-above-78-gold-slips.html

Recovery for base metal prices falters - Rally stalls over growing concerns about consumption By Chris Flood in London. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. Published: October 11 2009 19:09 | Last updated: October 11 2009 19:09. http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/recovery-for-base-metal-prices-falters.html




GLBT


Coming Out in Middle School By BENOIT DENIZET-LEWIS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: September 23, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27out-t.html?_r=2&ref=magazine

Chicago Free Press Editorial: AIDS, the Times and the ‘Flame of Consciousness’ Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. October 15, 2009. An article that appeared last week in the New York Times, “Debate on March Exposes Split in Gay Rights Movement” (nytimes.com/2009/10/10/us/10march.html), described various controversies surrounding the Oct. 11 National Equality March and the difficulties GLBT activists have had in determining what would work best: advancing our agendas state-by-state or on a larger, national scale. http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/3984

Debate Over Gay March Exposes Split in Approach By JEREMY W. PETERS. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: October 9, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/us/10march.html?scp=1&sq=Debate%20on%20March%20Exposes%20Split%20in%20Gay%20Rights%20Movement”&st=cse

Marching for Equality By Jennifer Vanasco - Contributing writer. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. October 15, 2009 http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/3986

Gay Rights Marchers Press Cause in Washington By JEREMY W. PETERS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 11, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/us/politics/12protest.html?th&emc=th

For Gay Activists, The Lady Is a Champ - Fans Go Gaga As Singer Joins the March By Dan Zak. Copyright by The Washington Post. Monday, October 12, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/11/AR2009101101892.html?hpid=artslot

Obama Pledges Again to End ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 10, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/us/politics/11speech.html?th&emc=th

Obama speaks at HRC Dinner on eve of National Equality March http://outgaylife.com/in-the-news/politics/obama-speaks-at-hrc-dinner-on-eve-of-national-equality-march

Chicago Tribune Editorial: Let gay soldiers serve. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 14, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/chi-1014edit2oct14,0,7500123.story

I Didn't Tell. It Didn't Matter. - Trying to serve his country, a young man faced bigotry and abuse By Joseph Rocha. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, October 11, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/09/AR2009100902570.html

Obama needs to keep this promise By Clarence Page. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 14, 2009. As if he didn't have enough headaches. President Barack Obama has to decide whether to deploy more troops to the Afghanistan war and whether gays and lesbians will be allowed to serve openly in the military. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-oped1014pageoct14,0,3365558.column

Washington Post Editorial: Leadership on Gay Rights - President Obama isn't the only one falling short. Copyright by The Washington Post. Tuesday, October 13, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101202439.html

The Daily Show's Queer and Loathing in D.C.: Fox News Ignores the Gay Rights March in D.C. http://tpmtv.talkingpointsmemo.com/?id=3646735

Halloween Parade announces “Mad Hatters’ Ball” theme By Amy Wooten. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. October 15, 2009. Triangle Neighbors, a branch of the Lake View Citizens’ Council, announced that the 13th annual Northalsted Halloween Costume Parade will feature an Alice and Wonderland-like theme, the “Mad Hatters’ Ball.” http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/3983

Alleged anti-gay cop files motion to stay, placed on leave By Amy Wooten. Copyright by The Chicago Free Press. October 15, 2009. A Chicago police officer who has been accused of trumping up DUI charges and targeting gay and lesbian motorists in the heart of Boystown has reportedly been placed on administrative leave. http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/3982

Lakeview cop's actions caught on video by Sam Worley. Copyright by The Windy City Times. 2009-10-14 http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=23178

Geneva teacher reprimanded for gay slur By Noreen Ahmed-Ullah. Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune. October 14, 2009 11:33 AM http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/geneva-teacher-reprimanded-for-homophobic-comments.html

Aaron Schock – Please, someone tell me he's gay, I want him to be!!!! http://www.gq.com/style/suit-guide/200909/aaron-schock-illinois-republican-business-suits



Technology

The Tech Sector Trumpets Signs of a Real Rebound By STEVE LOHR. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 15, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/technology/16compute.html?th&emc=th

Brisk Ad Sales Spur Google in Third Quarter By MIGUEL HELFT. Copyright by Reuters. Published: October 15, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/technology/companies/16google.html?th&emc=th

Intel’s Profit and Revenue Top Forecast By STEVE LOHR. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 13, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/technology/companies/14chip.html?th&emc=th



Other

A Mother, a Sick Son and His Father, the Priest By LAURIE GOODSTEIN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 15, 2009... Eventually they had a son, setting off a series of legal battles as Ms. Bond repeatedly petitioned the church for child support. The Franciscans acquiesced, with the stipulation that she sign a confidentiality agreement. It is now an agreement she is willing to break as both she and her child, Nathan Halbach, 22, are battling cancer....http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/us/16priest.html?th&emc=th

Indigent Burials Are on the Rise By KATIE ZEZIMA. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 10, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/us/11burial.html?th&emc=th

In Shift From ’08, Holiday Airfare Is Soaring Daily By MICHELLE HIGGINS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: October 15, 2009. Last year, procrastinators were rewarded when they finally got around to booking flights for holiday travel. Back then, airlines were not prepared for the sharp falloff in travel and offered last-minute deals to fill up empty planes. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/16fares.html?th&emc=th



Humor


Obama Named Country Music Entertainer of the Year - Surprise Selection Shocks Nashville. Copyright by The Borowitz Report. OCTOBER 12, 2009 http://newsletter91507.blogspot.com/2009/10/obama-named-country-music-entertainer.html

CNN Leaves It There http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-october-12-2009/cnn-leaves-it-there


It has come to my attention that you can only read 2 articles per month at the Financial Times if you haven't registered. If you would like to read more of the articles for free, simply sign up for the free account and you can read 10 articles per month. That should be enough. I'll try to keep the FT links to a minimum. - I used a link that will open the Financial Times articles this week. CTM

Ps. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, just go to my website: www.carlostmock.com and go the the subscription link. It will appear in your email every week.



In Pride (orgullo),


Carlos T. Mock, MD
www.carlostmock.com
Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT
Round Table.
Author: The Mosaic Virus – Floricanto Press 2007.  Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Author: Papi Chulo – Floricanto Press 2007.  Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association GLBT Round Table, and a Lammie from The Lambda Literary Foundation
Author: Cuba Libre, “Mentirita” To be released late September 2009 by Floricanto Press