The Toyota Crisis II Newsletter - February 6, 2010

The Toyota Crisis II Newsletter - February 6, 2010

“Federal regulators uncovered stark evidence that some Toyota cars accelerated unexpectedly more than two years ago. But neither the government's safety agency nor the automaker apparently recognized at the time how broad the dangers would turn out to be. During a little-noticed 2007 inquiry, investigators found that at least three of every 100 Lexus ES 350 owners in Ohio reported experiencing unintended acceleration, an unacceptably high percentage given the potentially fatal consequences, industry experts said.” Peter Whoriskey

2007 federal probe of Toyota complaints resolved nothing By Peter Whoriskey. Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, February 4, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020304056.html?hpid=topnews

Toyota’s Blind Spot By MATTHEW DeBORD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 5, 2010. TOYOTA is in serious trouble. The Japanese juggernaut should be celebrating its recent ascension to the top spot among global automakers. Instead, it is slogging though a multistage recall of millions of its most popular vehicles, a situation that wasn’t much improved by Friday’s awkward, contentious press conference with Akio Toyoda, the company’s president (and the founder’s grandson). Managing spin, as is becoming glaringly apparent, is not something that Toyota does very well. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/opinion/06debord.html?th&emc=th

Prius Adds to Toyota’s Woes as Stock Drops in Tokyo By MICHELINE MAYNARD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04toyota.html?th&emc=th

Lawsuit Over a Crash Adds to Toyota’s Difficulties By BILL VLASIC. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010. FLINT, Mich. — The trip was one that Guadalupe Alberto had made many times before, just a few miles through her neighborhood to the small grocery store her family had owned for years. It was a Saturday afternoon, April 19, 2008, and Mrs. Alberto, a 77-year-old former autoworker, was driving her 2005 Toyota Camry. Within blocks of her home, witnesses told police, the car accelerated out of control, jumped a curb and flew through the air before crashing into a tree. Mrs. Alberto was killed instantly, leaving her family stunned at how such an accident could happen to someone who was in good health, never had a speeding ticket and so hated driving fast that she avoided taking the freeway. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/business/05recall.html?th&emc=th

U.S. Starts Inquiry Into Brake Problems on Prius By MARTIN FACKLER , HIROKO TABUCHI and MICHELINE MAYNARD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/business/global/05toyota.html?ref=global-home

In a Prius Preserve, Shaken Fans By JESSE McKINLEY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/04owners.html?th&emc=th

Stop Driving Recalled Toyotas, Says Agency Chief By MICHELINE MAYNARD. COPYRIGHT BY THE NEW YORK TIMES. Published: February 3, 2010. Ray LaHood, the Transportation secretary, said Wednesday morning during a House Appropriations panel hearing that owners of recalled Toyotas should stop driving them and take them to their dealers to be repaired. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04toyota.html?ref=global-home

LaHood Backtracks on ‘Stop Driving It’ By MARK LEIBOVICH and MATTHEW L. WALD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/04lahood.html?th&emc=th

Toyota Says It Will Start Fixing Recalled Cars This Week By NICK BUNKLEY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 1, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/business/global/02toyota.html?ref=global-home

Answers to Questions About Toyota’s Repair Plans By MICHELINE MAYNARD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 1, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/business/02questions.html?th&emc=th




International


Haiti Charges Americans With Child Abduction By MARC LACEY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/world/americas/05orphans.html?th&emc=th

American Charged in Haiti Had Some Troubles in Idaho By WILLIAM YARDLEY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/world/americas/05idaho.html?th&emc=th

Four British Lawmakers Charged Over Expenses By JOHN F. BURNS and ALAN COWELL. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 5, 2010. LONDON — In the latest twist of a saga that has stained the reputation of British parliamentarians with claims of widespread fraud on their expense accounts, the country’s chief prosecutor said Friday that criminal charges, including false accounting, would be brought against four legislators. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/world/europe/06britain.html?ref=global-home

Investors Fear Europe’s Woes May Extend Global Slump By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ and JACK EWING. Copyright by The New York Times
Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/business/05markets.html?th&emc=th

Euro Debt Crisis Is Political Test for Bloc By STEVEN ERLANGER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 5, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/world/europe/06europe.html?th&emc=th

ECB leaves interest rates on hold at 1% By Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: February 4 2010 12:45 | Last updated: February 4 2010 12:45 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7054bdee-1183-11df-9195-00144feab49a.html



China


Washington Post Editorial: It's time for the Obama administration to burst Beijing's bubble. Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, February 4, 2010. IN ITS FIRST year, the Obama administration went out of its way to cater to China's communist leadership. It publicly put human rights concerns on a back burner, delayed a presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama and did not press Beijing hard about its currency manipulation. Now it appears that effort produced the opposite of the intended effect. Rather than respond with its own gestures of cooperation, Beijing is pressing hard for more American concessions. Bursting with hubris about its emergence as a global power, it is testing to see how far a new and inexperienced U.S. president can be pushed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303534.html

Currency Dispute Likely to Further Fray U.S.-China Ties By MARK LANDLER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/world/asia/04diplo.html?th&emc=th

China Shows Little Patience for U.S. Currency Pressure By EDWARD WONG and MARK LANDLER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/world/asia/05diplo.html?ref=global-home

China Renews Opposition to Iran Sanctions By ALAN COWELL. COPYRIGHT BY THE NEW YORK TIMES. Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/world/middleeast/05iran.html?hpw




Mess-o-potamia


Soldier Deaths Draw Focus to U.S. in Pakistan By JANE PERLEZ. Copyright by The New York Times and Reuters. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/world/asia/04pstan.html?th&emc=th

Military Officials Say Afghan Fight Is Coming By ROD NORDLAND. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/world/asia/04taliban.html?th&emc=th


National


“Public financing for Congressional campaigns may ultimately be the only practical defense against corporate and union treasuries. For now, measures requiring transparency, shareholder participation and the like are a good start. Congress should swiftly approve them.” New York Times Editorial

New York Times Editorial: What Price Politics? Copyright by New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010. A binge of special interest money seems inevitable unless Congress acts quickly — before this year’s election — to repair the damage from the Supreme Court ruling that ended restraints on campaign spending by corporations and unions. In its overreach, the court’s majority hobbled lawmakers by giving what amounted to constitutional sanction to unlimited corporate and union campaign contributions. But legitimate antidotes are already in the works. Congress should focus on the most feasible proposals. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/opinion/05fri3.html?th&emc=th

Washington Post Editorial: The case for clear standards on holding the worst of the detainees © 2010 The Washington Post Company. Saturday, February 6, 2010. NO LAWS specify the procedures and standards that should govern the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects. Now that an Obama administration task force has determined that some 50 detainees at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are too dangerous to release but not eligible for prosecution or transfer, that legal vacuum needs to be filled. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/05/AR2010020503729.html

Civil fraud charges filed against Bank of America By Zachary A. Goldfarb. Copyright by The Washington Post. Thursday, February 4, 2010; 12:15 PM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020402146.html?hpid=topnews

Settlement Plan Drafted for Sept. 11 Lawsuits By MIREYA NAVARRO. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010. With a firm trial date looming for thousands of lawsuits brought by workers at ground zero against the city, lawyers for both sides are engaged in intensive talks aimed at settling some or all the cases. The first 12 cases are scheduled for trial on May 16 in Manhattan. But Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who is overseeing the litigation, said at a recent hearing that a detailed settlement plan about 70 pages long had been drafted. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/nyregion/05zero.html?th&emc=th

National Prayer Breakfast Draws Controversy By LAURIE GOODSTEIN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/us/politics/04prayer.html?th&emc=th

Obama Offers Pep Talk to Democrats By JEFF ZELENY. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/us/politics/04obama.html?th&emc=th

Republican lawmaker's budget plan gets Obama's attention By Perry Bacon Jr. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, February 5, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020404238.html?wpisrc=nl_politics




Chicagoland


Illinois Area Latest Primary Election Results http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/results/index.html

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial: There are better ways to pick lieutenant gov. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. February 5, 2010. If Scott Lee Cohen, the guy once accused by his ex-girlfriend of holding a knife to her throat, refuses to step aside as the Democrats' nominee for lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn has only one option: Quit the Democratic ticket and run for governor as an independent. http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2030642,CST-EDT-edit05.article

Illinois elections: Shock and awe by Andrew Davis. Copyright by The Windy City Times. News Update, Feb. 4, 2010 http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=24740

Today is last day of full CTA service By Tracy Swartz. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. February 6, 2010. Today is the last day of full CTA service before the service cuts go into effect on Sunday. CTA spokeswoman Katelyn Thrall said the CTA today will have full Saturday service, and the cuts will begin with the start of the Sunday schedules, some of which begin early Sunday morning. http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye/2010/02/today-is-last-day-of-full-cta-service.html





Health Care


“What was not known at the time was that Dr. Wakefield had filed for a patent on a single measles vaccine that would benefit if the triple vaccine failed and that he was receiving payments from a lawyer planning to sue manufacturers of the triple vaccine.” New York Times Editorial

New York Times Editorial: A Welcome Retraction. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 5, 2010. For a decade, many parents have worried that vaccines might somehow be causing autism in children. Repeated assurances from respected experts that there is no link have failed to quiet those fears. Now The Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal that published the paper that first gave wide credence to those fears, has retracted it, saying that the paper’s authors had made false claims about how the study was conducted. The journal acted after a British medical panel had found the lead author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, guilty of dishonesty and flouting medical ethics. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/opinion/06sat3.html?th&emc=th

What's driving the rise in C-sections?. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. February 03, 2010. The rate of births by cesarean section--a major abdominal surgery--in Illinois hospitals reached an all-time high of 30.4 percent in 2007, up from 19.3 percent in 1997, according to a recent report by the Illinois Department of Public Health. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2010/02/whats-driving-the-rise-in-csections.html

Medical Group Urges New Rules on Radiation By WALT BOGDANICH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010. The leading professional organization dedicated to radiation oncology has called for enhanced safety measures in administering medical radiation, including the establishment of the nation’s first central database for the reporting of errors involving linear accelerators — machines that generate radiation — and CT scanners. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/health/05radiation-.html?th&emc=th

Quick Response to Study of Abstinence Education By TAMAR LEWIN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 2, 2010. A study of middle-school students that found for the first time that abstinence-only education helped to delay their sexual initiation is already beginning to shake up the longstanding debate over how best to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/education/03abstinence.html?hpw

Sex reassignment now tax deductible. Copyright by The Windy City Times. News update, Feb. 3, 2010. http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=24875



Health Care Reform


Democrats Ask, Can Health Care Bill Be Saved? By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 5, 2010. WASHINGTON — For a moment, President Obama’s pledge to keep fighting for major health care legislation got personal on Thursday night as he told supporters at a fund-raiser about a former campaign worker in St. Louis without health insurance who had died of breast cancer. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/health/policy/06health.html?th&emc=th

Chicago Tribune Editorial: A disastrous decision. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. February 4, 2010. The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a sound law passed by the General Assembly in 2005 to protect health care in this state. The court threw out a sound law that has worked. The court threw out a sound law and essentially told the state's lawmakers: Don't even bother to try this again. This is a disastrous decision. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-medmal-20100204,0,7053930,full.story

Illinois Court Overturns Malpractice Statute By KEVIN SACK. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/us/05malpractice.html?th&emc=th



GOP BASHING


Of course, we now know what Shelby wants. Later in the day, his office released a statement indicating that the primary motivation for Shelby's hostage taking was his desire to see the Pentagon's aerial refueling tanker contract go to the European aerospace giant EADS instead of the American firm Boeing. Shelby wants EADS to get the contract because some of manufacturing work would be done in his home state of Alabama. It's stunning that a senator would be willing to shut down the process of confirming administration appointees simply to help a foreign firm win a military contract. But it's also amazing that Mitch McConnell, the GOP's leader in the Senate, carried Shelby's water without understanding what Shelby was up to or trying to accomplish. By blindly doing Shelby's bidding, McConnell placed political power above principle, abdicating any potential claim to the moral high ground on Senate procedure. He's given the Democratic Party a huge opening not just to put Republicans on defense, but to reform Senate rules. They must take advantage of it.

McConnell carries Shelby's water by Jed Lewison. Copyright by DailyKos.com. Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 10:50:32 AM PST. In a little over 30 seconds on the Senate floor yesterday, Republican leader Mitch McConnell demonstrated everything that's broken in the United States Senate. http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/2/5/834168/-McConnell-carries-Shelbys-water

The Shelby Opening by Dylan Loewe. Copyright by The Huffington P{ost. Posted: February 5, 2010 01:19 AM. Last month, the Pew Research Center released a poll that found that only 26 percent of respondents know that 60 votes are required to break a filibuster. No wonder Democratic complaints about Republican obstructionists have thus far failed to catch fire. It's just not all that easy to have a national conversation on the topic when three fourths of the country is in the dark about the process. But all of that can change after today. Congress Daily reports that Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has placed a "blanket hold" on at least 70 of President Obama's nominations until he receives over $40 billion worth of earmarks for his state. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-loewe/the-shelby-opening_b_450484.html

Fiscal Scare Tactics By PAUL KRUGMAN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010. These days it’s hard to pick up a newspaper or turn on a news program without encountering stern warnings about the federal budget deficit. The deficit threatens economic recovery, we’re told; it puts American economic stability at risk; it will undermine our influence in the world. These claims generally aren’t stated as opinions, as views held by some analysts but disputed by others. Instead, they’re reported as if they were facts, plain and simple. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/opinion/05krugman.html?th&emc=th

John McCain, no more the iconoclast By Dana Milbank. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, February 5, 2010. I miss John McCain. I miss the McCain I sat with on a flight from San Diego to Phoenix back in 1999, when he defended his oft-ridiculed belief that campaign finance was the most important issue in America: because the corrupting influence of money in politics was preventing all other issues -- taxes, abortion, you name it -- from being solved. A couple of weeks ago, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that gutted the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance legislation, essentially destroying the cause that had been so dear to McCain. His response: Whatever. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020404307.html

CIA Man Retracts Claim on Waterboarding - A study in "enhanced reporting techniques." BY JEFF STEIN. Copyright by Foreign Policy Magazine. JANUARY 26, 2010. Well, it's official now: John Kiriakou, the former CIA operative who affirmed claims that waterboarding quickly unloosed the tongues of hard-core terrorists, says he didn't know what he was talking about. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/26/cia_man_retracts_claim_on_waterboarding

Palin, Visible and Vocal, Is Positioned for Variety of Roles By MARK LEIBOVICH. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 5, 2010... Her growing cast of advisers and support system could be working in the service of any number of goals: a presidential run, a de facto role as the leader of the Tea Party movement, a lucrative career as a roving media entity — or all of the above. Ms. Palin represents a new breed of unelected public figures operating in an environment in which politics, news media and celebrity are fused as never before. Whether she ever runs for anything else, Ms. Palin has already achieved a status that has become an end in itself: access to an electronic bully pulpit, a staff to guide her, an enormous income and none of the bother or accountability of having to govern or campaign for office. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/us/politics/06palin.html?th&emc=th

Wedge issues threaten Tea Party unity By Edward Luce in Washington. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: February 5 2010 19:23 | Last updated: February 5 2010 19:23 http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2010/02/wedge-issues-threaten-tea-party-unity.html

G.O.P. Group to Promote Conservative Ideas By JACKIE CALMES. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/us/politics/04conservative.html?th&emc=th

'Tea party' leaders to unveil national strategy for grass-roots organizing By Philip Rucker. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, February 5, 2010; 1:19 PM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/05/AR2010020501694.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics



The Economy


Labor Market Shows Signs of Rebirth in New Data By PETER S. GOODMAN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 5, 2010. The unemployment rate unexpectedly dipped to 9.7 percent in January, from 10 percent in December, the government reported Friday, buoying hopes that the worst job market in at least a quarter-century is finally improving. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/business/economy/06jobs.html?th&emc=th

US retailers boosted by stronger January By Jonathan Birchall in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: February 4 2010 14:56 | Last updated: February 4 2010 14:56. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2010/02/us-retailers-boosted-by-stronger.html

Sovereign debt fears rattle investors By Robert Budden. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: February 4 2010 08:55 | Last updated: February 4 2010 16:53 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a37ab63c-1166-11df-9195-00144feab49a.html

Blankfein to get $9m stock bonus By Justin Baer and Francesco Guerrera in New York. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Published: February 5 2010 22:26 | Last updated: February 5 2010 23:49. Goldman Sachs on Friday took a dramatic step to stem the public backlash against its compensation practices, awarding chief executive Lloyd Blankfein a $9m stock bonus for 2009, far lower than his payouts during the boom years that preceded the financial crisis. http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2010/02/blankfein-to-get-9m-stock-bonus.html



Your Money


Dodd Denounces Pace of Banking Overhaul - Christopher J. Dodd, head of the Senate Banking Committee, greeted Barry L. Zubrow of JPMorgan before he testified Thursday. By SEWELL CHAN. Copyright by The Associated Press. Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/business/05regulate.html?hpw

Five myths about America's credit card debt By Robert D. Manning. Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, January 31, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902504.html



Housing


Chicago foreclosures soar in 4th quarter - And more to come, data predict By Mary Ellen Podmolik. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. 5:00 a.m. CST, February 4, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-chicago-foreclosures-fourth-quarter-feb04,0,5719250.story



Energy


Washington Post Editorial: Interior Secretary should allow wind farm to proceed. Copyright by The Washington Post. Friday, February 5, 2010. LAST MONTH, the Energy Department released a study concluding that wind turbines could power 20 percent of the eastern electric grid by 2024. But if the nearly decade-long fight over a relatively small wind farm off Cape Cod is any indication, a big obstacle will be extreme not-in-my-back-yard-ism. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020404422.html

Is the $1,500 tax credit for each product? Each year? Each person? http://energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/energystar.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5595&p_created=1236876860


Travel


10 most-asked traveler questions -From rental damage to resort fees to bereavement fares, the Travel Troubleshooter has answers to travelers' most often asked questions. By Christopher Elliott. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. February 4, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-trav-troubleshooter-questions-story,0,2351945,full.story

36 Hours in Istanbul By JENNIFER CONLIN. Copyright by The The New York Times. Published: February 7, 2010 http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/travel/07hours.html?hpw




GLBT


“History was made on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. More than 16 years after their predecessors helped impose the odious “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the nation’s two top defense officials called on Congress to repeal the law that bans gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The principled courage of the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a major step forward for civil rights.” New York Times Editorial

New York Times Editorial: Equality in the Military. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 2, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/opinion/03wed1.html?th&emc=th

Washington Post Editorial: Repeal the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' Copyright by The Washington Post. Monday, February 1, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/31/AR2010013101870.html

Gays in military: A question of integrity BY SIX FOOT SKINNY. Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times. February 6, 2010 http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2032623,CST-EDT-open07a.article

Pentagon supports ending 'don't ask, don't tell' law for gays in military By Craig Whitlock and Greg Jaffe. Copyright by The Washington Post. Wednesday, February 3, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/02/AR2010020200251.html?wpisrc=nl_politics

About face: Powell backs DADT repeal. Copyright by The Windy City Times. News update, Feb. 3, 2010 http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=24815

February 3, 2010: A Few Gay Men & Women http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-3-2010/a-few-gay-men---women

Hermaphrodites Can't Be Gay http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/263284/february-04-2010/hermaphrodites-can-t-be-gay

How to change 'don't ask, don't tell' Copyright by The Washington Post. Sunday, February 7, 2010. The Post asked pollsters and others to explain the politics of changing the ban on gays serving openly. Below are responses from Scott Keeter, Ed Rogers, Dan Schnur, Michael Buonocore, Douglas E. Schoen and Sue Fulton. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/05/AR2010020501926.html

Forces Pushing Obama on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ By ELISABETH BUMILLER. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: January 31, 2010. WASHINGTON — President Obama and top Pentagon officials met repeatedly over the past year about repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the law that bans openly gay members of the military. But it was in Oval Office strategy sessions to review court cases challenging the ban — ones that could reach the Supreme Court — that Mr. Obama faced the fact that if he did not change the policy, his administration would be forced to defend publicly the constitutionality of a law he had long opposed. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/us/politics/01military.html?th&emc=th

It's time for taps for don't ask, don't tell By Clarence Page. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. February 5, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0207-page-20100205,0,4612657.column

Shame on John McCain....Copyright by John Mixner. Feb 1 2010. John-McCain Just as the President is beginning to show serious leadership and courage on DADT, Senator John McCain of Arizona has announced he will lead the change against repeal. The senator knows better and we all know that he knows better. Most likely in the "Hanoi Hilton" there were gay prisoners of war being tortured with the senator. McCain most certainly has served with men and women he knew were gay and witnessed them serving with distinction. And there is no question in my mind that the senator really doesn't believe that the morale of the United States military is so low that allowing open members of the LGBT community to serve would make this nation weak. http://www.davidmixner.com/2010/02/shame-on-john-mccain.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DavidMixnerCom+%28DavidMixner.com%29

Defending the Long Gay Line By MAUREEN DOWD. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 2, 2010...Before Admiral Mullen and Secretary of Defense Bob Gates even made their opening statements, John McCain went on the attack against overturning the policy. Noting that gays and lesbians had served “admirably” and even given their lives, he said: “I honor their sacrifice, and I honor them.” Just as long as they deny their identity and pretend to be something they’re not. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/opinion/03dowd.html?th&emc=th

'Marriage' benefits costly for gay couples - Heterosexuals are protected by $40 license, but wills and legal safeguards for same-sex couples cost thousands By Rex W. Huppke Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. January 18, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-gays-pay-more-18-jan18,0,2205178.story

Gay Marriage Puts Mexico City at Center of Debate By ELISABETH MALKIN. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 6, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/world/americas/07mexico.html?ref=global-home

LEGALLY SPEAKING - PROTECT YOUR LOVER BY MAKING YOUR WILL by Roger V. McCaffrey-Boss. Copyright by Gay Chicago Magazine and Roger V. McCaffrey-Boss. February 4-10, 2010 http://www.gaychicagomagazine.com/advice/legallyspeaking.shtml


Weather


Capital Is Crippled as Blizzard Continues By LIZ ROBBINS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 6, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/us/07storm.html?hpw


Technology

“Microsoft has become a clumsy, uncompetitive innovator. Its products are lampooned, often unfairly but sometimes with good reason. Its image has never recovered from the antitrust prosecution of the 1990s. Its marketing has been inept for years; remember the 2008 ad in which Bill Gates was somehow persuaded to literally wiggle his behind at the camera?” DICK BRASS

Microsoft’s Creative Destruction By DICK BRASS. Copyright by The New York Times. Published: February 4, 2010. AS they marvel at Apple’s new iPad tablet computer, the technorati seem to be focusing on where this leaves Amazon’s popular e-book business. But the much more important question is why Microsoft, America’s most famous and prosperous technology company, no longer brings us the future, whether it’s tablet computers like the iPad, e-books like Amazon’s Kindle, smartphones like the BlackBerry and iPhone, search engines like Google, digital music systems like iPod and iTunes or popular Web services like Facebook and Twitter. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/opinion/04brass.html?th&emc=th

Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks By Ellen Nakashima. COPYRIGHT BY THE WASHINGTON POST. Thursday, February 4, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020304057.html?wpisrc=nl_politics

Justice Dept. Criticizes Latest Google Book Deal By MIGUEL HELFT. COPYRIGHT BY THE NEW YORK TIMES. Published: February 4, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/technology/internet/05publish.html?hpw

AT&T's iPhone Mess - The iPhone has swamped AT&T's data network and sparked a consumer rebellion. What can Ma Bell do? By Roben Farzad. Copyright by Business World. February 3, 2010, 11:00PM EST http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_07/b4166034389519.htm?%20campaign_id=widget_topStories

AT&T Gives Green Light to Sling TV Over 3G By BRAD STONE. COPYRIGHT BY THE NEW YORK TIMES. February 4, 2010, 8:00 AM. Remember the Great Sling Spat? A year ago, Sling Media, a subsidiary of EchoStar, introduced a nifty application for the Apple iPhone that allowed users with a Slingbox at home to watch and control their home television signal from their handsets. The only problem: AT&T said that such a bandwidth-intensive video service would overwhelm its network, so it limited the application to work only over an iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection. TV lovers and techies worldwide cried out in anguish. But all that is about to change. AT&T announced Thursday morning that it will now allow the SlingPlayer iPhone app to stream live over its 3G network. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/att-gives-green-light-to-sling-tv-over-3g/?hpw

The Pluses, and Oddities, of 3-D TV By JOHN BIGGS. COPYRIGHT BY THE NEW YORK TIMES. Published: February 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/technology/personaltech/04basics.html?hpw




Entertainment


The Ad....you won't be seeing... Sean James and Al Joyner respond to the Tebow Super Bowl ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utcxpuHF7jg

A Super Bowl ad too far? Straights can take it By Kevin Huffman. Copyright by The Washington Post. Saturday, February 6, 2010. On Sunday, as I hunker down with family and friends for the Super Bowl, I can rest easy knowing that CBS is working hard to defend my heterosexual sensitivities. On the surface, heterosexuality doesn't seem like a particularly distinctive trait or one in need of broad institutional protections, but many seem to believe that we heterosexuals are delicate souls. The media, the government, the military -- all are ready to head off potential sightings of gay people. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020403562.html



Other

Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly go toe-to-toe on Fox News By Matea Gold. Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune. February 3, 2010 http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-100203-jon-stewart-bill-oreilly-interview,0,4886818.story

Jon Stewart on Bill O’Reilly: Watch Jon Stewart O’Reilly Factor Interview (Video) http://tv.popcrunch.com/jon-stewart-on-bill-oreilly-watch-jon-stewart-oreilly-factor-interview-video/

February 4, 2010: The Blogs Must Be Crazy http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-february-4-2010/the-blogs-must-be-crazy



Humor


WEAKLY HUMERUS NEWS 02-06-10 AIMED AT YOUR FUNNY BONE http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2010/02/weakly-humerus-news-02-06-10-aimed-at.html

February 3, 2010: Male Inequality http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-february-3-2010/male-inequality

Are ya thursty? Best Guinness Commercial EVER! (THIS IS AN R RATED ADD, IT MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrSSSfYE2dQ&feature=email

SCAM ALERT http://iretiredfromnewsletters.blogspot.com/2010/02/scam-alert.html

I am on a cast and receiving ultrasonic stimulation for bone regeneration. My cast will come off February 8th, just in time for our trip to Paris February 15th. Thanks to all who prayed and helped take care of me.

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” The book is out. you can buy it at: http://www.carlostmock.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=32&osCsid=a0b517e687814469f8153c5070d69f99

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