AUGUSTA, Maine – A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do and industry leaders dispute the claim.
The now-ubiquitous devices carry such warnings in some countries, though no U.S. states require them, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. A similar effort is afoot in San Francisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsom wants his city to be the nation's first to require the warnings.
Maine Rep. Andrea Boland, D-Sanford, said numerous studies point to the cancer risk, and she has persuaded legislative leaders to allow her proposal to come up for discussion during the 2010 session that begins in January, a session usually reserved for emergency and governors' bills.
Boland herself uses a cell phone, but with a speaker to keep the phone away from her head. She also leaves the phone off unless she's expecting a call. At issue is radiation emitted by all cell phones.
Under Boland's bill, manufacturers would have to put labels on phones and packaging warning of the potential for brain cancer associated with electromagnetic radiation. The warnings would recommend that users, especially children and pregnant women, keep the devices away from their head and body.
The Federal Communications Commission, which maintains that all cell phones sold in the U.S. are safe, has set a standard for the "specific absorption rate" of radiofrequency energy, but it doesn't require handset makers to divulge radiation levels.
The San Francisco proposal would require the display of the absorption rate level next to each phone in print at least as big as the price. Boland's bill is not specific about absorption rate levels, but would require a permanent, nonremovable advisory of risk in black type, except for the word "warning," which would be large and in red letters. It would also include a color graphic of a child's brain next to the warning.
While there's little agreement about the health hazards, Boland said Maine's roughly 950,000 cell phone users among its 1.3 million residents "do not know what the risks are."
All told, more than 270 million people subscribed to cellular telephone service last year in the United States, an increase from 110 million in 2000, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association. The industry group contends the devices are safe.
"With respect to the matter of health effects associated with wireless base stations and the use of wireless devices, CTIA and the wireless industry have always been guided by science, and the views of impartial health organizations. The peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do not pose a public health risk," said CTIA's John Walls.
James Keller of Lewiston, whose cell phone serves as his only phone, seemed skeptical about warning labels. He said many things may cause cancer but lack scientific evidence to support that belief. Besides, he said, people can't live without cell phones.
"It seems a little silly to me, but it's not going to hurt anyone to have a warning on there. If they're really concerned about it, go ahead and put a warning on it," he said outside a sporting good store in Topsham. "It wouldn't deter me from buying a phone."
While there's been no long-term studies on cell phones and cancer, some scientists suggest erring on the side of caution.
Last year, Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, sent a memo to about 3,000 faculty and staff members warning of risks based on early, unpublished data. He said that children should use the phones only for emergencies because their brains were still developing and that adults should keep the phone away from the head and use a speakerphone or a wireless headset.
Herberman, who says scientific conclusions often take too long, is one of numerous doctors and researchers who have endorsed an August report by retired electronics engineer L. Lloyd Morgan. The report highlights a study that found significantly increased risk of brain tumors from 10 or more years of cell phone or cordless phone use.
Also, the BioInitiative Working Group, an international group of scientists, notes that many countries have issued warnings and that the European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for governmental action to address concerns over health risks from mobile phone use.
But the National Cancer Institute said studies thus far have turned up mixed and inconsistent results, noting that cell phones did not come into widespread use in the United States until the 1990s.
"Although research has not consistently demonstrated a link between cellular telephone use and cancer, scientists still caution that further surveillance is needed before conclusions can be drawn," according to the Cancer Institute's Web site.

Motorola Inc., one of the nation's major wireless phone makers, says on its Web site that all of its products comply with international safety guidelines for radiofrequency energy exposure.

A Motorola official referred questions to CTIA.

DEAR ABBY: With the holidays here, songs about Santa and his reindeer are filling the air. I'm writing to talk about reindeer antlers. Reindeer are unique because they are the only members of the deer family in which both genders have antlers, which are made of bone and grown annually.

In the summer and fall, you cannot identify a reindeer as a "he" or a "she" without further investigation. In late December, however, only the females still have their antlers.

During the summer months, the males use their antlers to attract females and defend their harem (anywhere from five to 15 females) from other males. When they are no longer "looking for love," the males lose their antlers. The females, on the other hand, keep theirs through the winter and into the spring, and use them to compete for food and to protect their young.

The only reindeer with antlers at Christmastime are the GIRLS, Abby. So Rudolph would have been appropriately named "Rudolphia," and the other reindeer would have been laughing and calling HER names until the glow from HER nose guided Santa's sleigh that foggy Christmas eve. -- JOYCE CAMPBELL, PH.D.

DEAR DR. CAMPBELL: Fascinating. This clearly explains why Santa doesn't get lost at Christmas. Females are never reluctant to ask for directions ... ho, ho, ho.

DEAR ABBY: I demonstrate products in a supermarket. It isn't easy, and sometimes I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place.

Will you please tell parents that if we do not give their children samples of food, it is for their own good. We don't know what kind of food allergies their children may have. The company I work for will fire us if we give samples to children without a parent first giving permission. -- TRYING HARD IN TULSA, OKLA.

DEAR TRYING HARD: You have my sympathy, and I'm pleased to pass along your message. I recently read that food allergies among children are on the rise, and that 4 percent of kids today suffer from one. The policy your company is enforcing is for everyone's protection and should not be misinterpreted. It's in place so that no one's little angel gets sick or has an allergic reaction.

DEAR ABBY: A few months ago, my husband and I were visiting a remote area in the mountains. We were on a narrow, winding road with no shoulder and a guardrail on one side. There was traffic in both directions. As we ambled along, we heard a siren. An ambulance came up behind us and rode our tail, blasting the horn, obviously urging us to let him by.

Although we looked and looked, we could not find a safe place to pull over for several minutes. When we finally did find a space to pull into, the crew threw us dirty looks as they drove by.

I hate to think we endangered someone's life or made the EMTs' job more difficult, but it seemed equally dangerous for us to move into a lane of oncoming traffic. What is the proper etiquette for this type of situation? -- RACHAEL IN ATLANTA

DEAR RACHAEL: When approached by a vehicle with a siren and a flashing red light, a driver should pull as far to the right as possible and stop. Because there was no place for you to pull over, you should have done exactly what you did -- which was to proceed at a safe rate of speed until you found one.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." To order, send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $6 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included in the price.)

BOSTON – The baby boy keeping New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen awake at night has a name: Benjamin.
The baby was born Dec. 8. But the day after the birth, Brady said he and Bundchen hadn't chosen a name. Word finally came out Friday when Bundchen posted a holiday message on her Web site.
Bundchen revealed the baby's name when she wrote, "Benjamin is a blessing and I could not be happier."
Brady and Bundchen were married in February. Benjamin is Bundchen's first child. Brady also has a 2-year-old son, Jack, with actress Bridget Moynahan.
Brady had joked earlier in the week about how hard it was to sleep with a new baby in the house, saying it was "a little tough early." He added, "It's coming."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A person familiar with the plan says Danica Patrick has reached a deal to enter NASCAR with JR Motorsports.
Patrick will announce a partial Nationwide Series schedule at a Tuesday news conference in Phoenix, the person familiar with her plans tells The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because she has not officially announced her intentions.
Last week Patrick signed a three-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport to stay in the IndyCar series, but its schedule gives her enough time to also try NASCAR.
It's not clear yet how many races she will drive in NASCAR's second-tier series for team owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick.
GoDaddy.com will sponsor Patrick in both IndyCar and NASCAR.

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
President Barack Obama has given fateful orders likely to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan in a political gamble meant to forge an eventual US exit from a costly and gruelling war.

"The commander in chief has issued the orders," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday, as Obama briefed world leaders on his new Afghan strategy, a day before making a major televised address to the American people.

The plan emerged from an exhaustive policy review amid extreme weariness of the war among Americans, and as supporters warned Obama could be risking his presidency by deploying thousands more men to a Vietnam-style quagmire.

Obama is expected to order between 30,000 and 35,000 more troops to bolster the US effort to repel a resurgent Taliban, secure major cities and fast-track training for Afghan security forces, alongside a separate civilian aid surge.

The president will also assure Americans and regional leaders he will not underwrite an indefinite and costly stay in Afghanistan for US troops.

"This is not an open-ended commitment," Gibbs said, painting the plan as an eventual pathway for US troops to come home.

"We are there to partner with the Afghans, to train the Afghan national security forces, the army and the police, so that they can provide security for their country and wage a battle against an unpopular insurgency."

The White House said Obama delivered orders marking the most crucial leadership test of his presidency in the Oval Office so far, on Sunday, after telling top aides of his final decision.

He met generals and top security aides in the Oval Office.

He then spoke directly by secure video-link to Afghan war commander General Stanley McChrystal, who warned earlier this year the conflict would be lost without more troops -- and US ambassador to Kabul Karl Eikenberry.

Obama will address Americans in a major televised speech to cadets at the US Military Academy at West Point at 8:00 pm Tuesday (0100 GMT Wednesday).

He will tell a nation weary of years of conflict and humbled by the worst economic crisis in generations, why it must risk yet more lives and wealth in a war launched after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

His message will be compelling listening for voters, lawmakers and soldiers, US allies, leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgents battling Washington in a bloody eight-year war.

Many of Obama's core political supporters, and key Democrats worried about ballooning budget deficits, are wary of more troop deployments. Republicans have however demanded the president answer the generals' calls for more help.

As he launched a public relations offensive to market the new strategy, Obama called French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.

Defence Minister Herve Morin said late Monday France could bolster its role in Afghanistan by providing more army and police training as well as reconstruction aid but is unlikely to send more troops.

The French daily Le Monde reported on Monday that Washington had asked France to contribute 1,500 extra troops to Afghanistan.

Morin declined to comment on the specific figure from the report but confirmed "the United States is asking the Europeans for more troops."

Obama also spoke with by secure video link with Gordon Brown after the British prime minister announced he would increase British regular troop numbers by 500 to 9,500 in December.

Obama will also talk to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Obama and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai on Tuesday discussed the plan, Karzai's office said.

The two presidents held an hour-long video conference to discuss aspects of the new strategy and "security, political, military and economic issues were discussed in detail", the palace said in a statement.

It gave no further details.

The US leader told Australian Prime Minsiter Kevin Rudd of his plans in person, during Oval Office talks.

Rudd pledged send more police trainers and civilian aid experts to Afghanistan, saying his country was in "for the long haul" but did not pledge more troops beyond 1,550 Australia has already committed.

Consultations with key players in Congress, where some Democrats have expressed skepticism about new troop deployments, were taking place on Monday and Tuesday.

Some 35,000 American soldiers were fighting the Taliban-led insurgency when Obama took office. After an initial boost in February there are now about 68,000.

More than 900 American soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan and October was the deadliest month since the start of the war in 2001 with 74 US soldiers killed.

Obama Sunday spoke to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by telephone, then met Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff; General James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the joint chiefs; White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and General David Petraeus, head of US central command.

NEW YORK – Somewhere in the universe of TV viewers, there's got to be a person who actually likes those pop-up, on-screen promotions.
Someone who thinks, "Thank you, network people, for those useful, informative announcements that block what I'm watching to tell me what I'm watching, or tell me what I could be watching next, which will then be blocked by reminders of what I could be watching after that."
This is a happy viewer all right, and maybe he or she exists in some den or family room absorbing those intrusive promos that, for everybody else, undermine what TV networks are ideally in business to do: entertain, not tick off.
TV exists above all as a medium of escape. But how do you escape into a TV show when it's plastered with scene-stealing hype?
At least one Web site, stoptvpopups.com, serves as a sounding board and support group for an outspoken few.
But almost any viewer can cite annoying instances where a pop-up ad has upstaged a show's dramatic climax or obscured vital on-screen information.
Viewers hate the detective hero of "Monk" rising from the bottom left screen for eight or nine seconds of vamping, followed by a ghostly but distracting text line that looms for several long minutes to accommodate even the slowest readers: "Monk All New Tonight 9/8c."
The USA network's motto is "Characters Welcome." Well, that "Monk" message adds up to 21 characters, none of them welcome.
And what about TBS, where "Freakin' Sweet!" is an on-screen message plugging "Family Guy" episodes available on that network's Web site: "Very Funny" is TBS' motto. Nothing funny about those cover-ups for its comedies.
Viewers don't forget. Viewers still cite the giant fireball, complete with a whooshing inferno sound, erupting on the screen to promote FX's firefighter drama "Rescue Me." It makes them mad to even think about it.
That promo hasn't aired in two years, says FX spokesman John Solberg. Since then, the network has moved toward making "our air look cleaner, more theatrical," generally opting for a single line of promotional text that appears on-screen for about 10 seconds.
So maybe all is not lost to the pop-up-razzi.
But across the networks, the pop-up ad is alive and well and inescapable, undermining THIS show to shill for some OTHER show, which, when that show airs, will likely be defaced with promos for yet ANOTHER. And on it goes.
Even cartoon viewers like Marge Simpson get riled.
In a classic scene from "The Simpsons," Marge realizes the TV screen that frames her is cluttered with visual promos. She takes a hand vacuum and sucks up the "American Idol" logo. When a squad of football players plugging "Football on Fox" swarms across the bottom of the screen, she sprays them with insecticide.
"Can't anyone just watch the show they're watching?" Marge sighs.
The short answer to her question, of course, is no. You shelled out hard-earned money for a big, magnificent flat-screen — and the networks seem to be poaching more and more of it!
An industry term for these ads is "one-thirds." More telling terms include "snipes" and "violators." But they began innocently more than two decades ago, when CNN applied a small identifying logo (or "bug") to the bottom right corner of the screen.

Other networks fell in line by similarly branding their news telecasts.

Then Fox began accenting its prime-time entertainment with a logo flashed before and after each commercial break. Other networks followed suit.

Then, on Sept. 11, 2001, the day's torrent of news spilled onto a supplementary text crawl on the screens of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel. It remains, a permanent fixture at all three networks.

After that, with viewers increasingly conditioned to absorb extra data on the screen, many networks asked themselves: Why not take the next step and blast the audience with promos — TiVo-proof and unavoidable — embellishing entertainment shows?

They did. And how!

The only question for the networks after that has been: Just how big, protracted, animated and noisy can we make those promos before viewers flee to places like Netflix and Hulu, and take that one-third back?

___

On the Net:

http://www.stoptvpopups.com

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama called on
Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to make good on a commitment to
allow the yuan to appreciate to help prevent trade imbalances
that exacerbated the global economic crisis.

“I was pleased to note the Chinese commitment, made in
past statements, to move toward a more market-oriented exchange
rate over time,” Obama said during a joint appearance with Hu
after a meeting in Beijing today. “Doing so based on economic
fundamentals would make an essential contribution to the global
rebalancing effort.”

America’s trade deficit with China widened to a 10-month
high in September, raising concern that the combination of a
recovering U.S. economy and a fixed yuan exchange rate against
the dollar will worsen global imbalances. China’s dollar
purchases to prevent appreciation swelled its foreign-exchange
reserves to $2.3 trillion in the third quarter, more than twice
as much as any other country.

“There is a continued fierce debate in China” on
revaluation, said Michael Pettis, a Peking University finance
professor and former head of emerging markets at Bear Stearns
Cos. “It seems almost impossible that we’re not going to see
more focus on trade and trade tensions.”

Twelve-month non-deliverable yuan forwards weakened 0.2
percent to 6.6215 per dollar as of 3:31 p.m. in Hong Kong and
were little changed after Obama’s comments. The contracts signal
traders are predicting a 3.1 percent advance in a year. In the
spot market, the currency traded at 6.8266, compared with 6.8270
yesterday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

Hu Silent on Yuan

Hu, in his remarks, made no mention of the yuan peg to a
weakening dollar, which has forced central banks across Asia to
sell their currencies to limit appreciation and maintain export
competitiveness with China. The Indonesian rupiah gained 11
percent against the yuan in the past six months, and the Korean
won rose 9.4 percent.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the
International Monetary Fund, said today in Beijing that a
stronger yuan would be in the interests of China and the world.

The yuan has been pegged at about 6.83 to one U.S. dollar
since July 2008. Maintaining the peg has also helped make China
the biggest foreign holder of U.S. government debt, with $797.1
billion in August, up 10 percent from Jan. 1, Treasury data show.

Fighting Protectionism

Hu said China and the U.S. “need to oppose and reject
protectionism in all its manifestations.” He told Asia-Pacific
leaders in Singapore last week that China’s hadn’t foreseen the
number of protectionist measures it would face this year
including U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made steel and tires.

Obama said the two leaders “agreed on maintaining open
markets and free flows of commerce.”

Controlling currency levels is a form of protectionism,
Gempachiro Aihara, the incoming chair of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation’s Business Advisory Council, said last week.

China and the U.S. agreed to address trade imbalances,
including spurring more domestic demand in China, Obama said.
The deepest U.S. recession in decades triggered a collapse in
world trade as demand for Asian imports slumped. At the height
of the crisis in February, Japan’s exports to the U.S. plunged a
record 58 percent.

Obama’s speeches during his first trip to Asia as president
have focused on the importance of increasing U.S. exports to
achieve greater balance with a region that sells far more goods
to the U.S. than it buys from American companies.

PBOC Signal

China’s central bank last week said foreign-exchange policy
will take into account global capital flows and changes in major
currencies, and scrapped language in a previous report to keep
the yuan “basically stable.” The Chinese economy expanded by
8.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier.

Finance ministers gathered for the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation forum called for “market-oriented exchange rates
that reflect underlying economic fundamentals” in a statement
last week. China and the U.S. are both APEC members.

China’s partnership has been critical to battling a global
recession, Obama said today. The two leaders discussed the next
steps to sustain a recovery, he said.

For Related News and Information:
Top Stories: TOP
China’s currency: CNY GP
Top foreign exchange stories: TOP FX
Currency analysis: NI ANAFX BN
Currency comments: NI FXVOICE

NEW YORK – Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is reportedly in talks to buy tax credits from Fannie Mae, a government-controlled mortgage financier.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday the credits, tied to incentives to boost investments in low-income housing, would allow Goldman to lower its tax bill.
A spokesman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the report. Its shares rose $1.46 to $171.63 in premarket trading, while Fannie Mae shares were stead ay $1.08.
Goldman has quickly recovered from the peak of the credit crisis last fall and is again reporting multibillion dollar quarterly profits. The New York-based investment bank earned $3.03 billion during the third quarter.
Goldman has been under the microscope for its resilience as stock and credit markets bounce back faster than the consumer banking sector and the broader economy.
It received $10 billion in government aid last fall and changed its regulatory status to access government funding. It quickly repaid the $10 billion this year as its profits bounced back.
Fannie Mae, which was taken over by the government last fall at the peak of the credit crisis, is still in a dire situation. It continues to need funding from the government and its operations are closely monitored by its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Because Fannie Mae continues to lose money, it has been unable to take advantage of the credits to reduce its tax burden.
Selling the credits would enable Fannie Mae to pocket some much-needed cash and reduce the amount it has to borrow from the Treasury Department, the Journal reported. It could also provide Fannie Mae with fresh resources to finance more mortgages, according to the report.
Fannie Mae and fellow mortgage giant Freddie Mac were taken over by the government last fall and the pair own or back most mortgages in the U.S. As the housing market collapsed and mortgage defaults skyrocketed, the companies faced billions of dollars in losses and were unable to remain afloat without major government support.

In Orthodox theology the baptismal robe symbolizes the "Garments of Light" (i.e., the fullness of Divine grace) with which Adam and Eve were clothed in the Garden of Eden before the Fall of Man. Baptism is believed to cleanse the believer of all the sinful defilements both of original sin and personal sins and the white garment is symbolic of this. During the ektenia (litany) before baptism, the deacon prays "That he (she) may preserve this (her) baptismal garment and the earnest of the Spirit pure and undefiled unto the dead Day of Christ our God...", referring not so much to the material garment as to the spiritual cleansing it represents.

A wide variety of practices are found in the spectrum of Protestantism. Some main-stream Protestant churches practice infant baptism, and thus make use of the christening gown; while others encourage or practice exclusive adult baptism. In some of the latter churches, special white clothing may be worn by both the person being baptized and the person performing the baptism.

Visit

NEW YORK – Kenny Ortega was responsible for some of Michael Jackson's biggest concerts, including what were to be his comeback shows in London. But in the singer's final days, the producer-director-choregrapher felt like he needed to take on another responsibility — making sure Jackson stayed healthy.
"Michael had sleepless nights and we had to look after him. (I'd say to him), 'Stay hydrated, have a protein shake — Did you eat today before you came?'" Ortega said in an interview Thursday to promote the new Jackson documentary, "This Is It."
When Jackson would say he had, a skeptical Ortega would say — "Michael?"
"Michael's an adult. ... We didn't want to baby him," he said. "(But) I had concerns and we had conversations, wanting to make sure he was doing everything he could to build himself and not break himself down."
Jackson died June 25 at age 50. The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Jackson's death a homicide, caused primarily by the powerful anesthetic propofol and another sedative. Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has not been charged with a crime but is the focus of the police investigation.
Ortega's work with Jackson included world tours for Jackson's "Dangerous" and "HIStory" albums. He was directing the "This Is It" shows — which would have marked the performer's comeback concerts in London's O2 Arena in July — and was brought on to direct a film adaptation of those taped rehearsals after Jackson's death.
"This Is It" will premiere globally on Tuesday and run for two weeks. The soundtrack for the film, which includes the newly released title track as well as some of his best-known hits, is being released Monday.
In a 12-minute clip previewed for media on Thursday, a strong-voiced King of Pop is shown enthusiastically practicing some of his biggest hits.
Jackson, though frail-looking, is shown warming up his vocals during a performance of "Human Nature." That's followed by the singer running through the song in various outfits.
Later, he playfully dances with a woman as he sings "The Way You Make Me Feel," touching her thigh and holding her waist.
"One more time," Jackson says toward the end of the song after being told the last eight bars were to be cut.
Ortega says although he worried about Jackson's health, he doesn't believe the preparation for the shows wore the singer down. In fact, he says it was the opposite.
"I can tell you this experience, working on this show, was invigorating, was nourishing. ... (it) wasn't taking away from Michael," he said.
Travis Payne, a choreographer who worked on "This Is It" and other Jackson tours, says he remembers spending one-on-one time with Jackson — especially visiting Web sites like YouTube.
"I used to love sitting and just surfing the 'net with him," Payne said. "And we would just do that and we would be able to have our creative reference time in a different way now."
Musical director Michael Bearden recalls Jackson's lofty goal to try to capture all of his music in one, over-the-top show.
"He had so, so much music that we tried to get everything in but not cheat the audience at the same time, which is a delicate balance if you will to try to get everything in and still feel like you're getting a full song," he said.
Ortega says Jackson was very adamant about the look of the tour — from the length of the songs to the stage's lighting.

"From the very beginning Michael was very vocal, and very upfront about what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it," Ortega said.

"That's what 'This Is It,' Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' the film, is about — it's a privileged peak into the final creative process of Michael's last theatrical work."

___

On the Net:

http://www.thisisit-movie.com/

LOS ANGELES -- Sen. Olympia Snowe said last week that in the end, which is near, she may or may not vote for health care reform. But she will, judging by her last comment as the Senate Finance Committee voted out a bill: "When history calls, history calls."

That certainly is one of the wisest quotes to come out of this Congress this year, particularly from the Republican side. The not-so-loyal opposition has been answering all questions with a single answer, "No."

The Republican theory seems to be that their job is to destroy the president of the United States -- and to do it before next year's midterm elections. History might judge that as harshly as some Republican elder statesmen have. Former Sen. Robert Dole, once chairman of the Republican National Committee, a partisan who voted against Medicare in 1965, but not a fool, put it this way the other day: "Republicans all stand up and say they're for health care reforms, so why don't they do something about it? ... I don't believe they could absorb just across-the-board being against everything."

Dole may be out of touch with the party he loves, but he is more in touch with the feel of history. It has taken almost a century, but the people of the United States seem to realize that something has to be done about a dysfunctional system. I assume that is what Snowe and Dole were talking about: If it's broken, there does come a day when you do have to try to fix it.

Howard Dean, the current chairman of the Democratic Party, offered his own interpretation of history last month saying:

"All the really great programs in American history -- Social Security was done without Republicans; Medicare was done without Republican support until the last vote, where they realized they had to get on board. So a lot of the things that have been done that have helped seniors in particular have been done without Republican support at all."

That is an exaggeration. During the great Social Security debate of 1935 and the Medicare debate of 1965, a majority of Republicans argued against the legislation -- even though national health care was first proposed by a party hero, Theodore Roosevelt -- but there were many Republicans for those bills from the beginning. Not a majority of Republicans, but many. Perhaps they felt the breath of history.

But Dean's hyperbole points to a revealing bit of history. There were many moderates and even some liberals representing the Republican Party in those days. Today there are almost none, except perhaps in Maine, the home state of Sen. Snowe. Republicans representing hyperconservative states and districts, mostly in the South and Southwest, are probably not going to be punished for doing what a young conservative, William F. Buckley, advocated in 1955: "Stand athwart history, yelling Stop ..."

That was part of the mission statement of Buckley's new magazine, National Review. Well, Buckley could not stop history, but he did affect it in many ways. That is, I think, where we are going now. Once having declared, as Dole noted, that health care reform is now necessary, it is hard to see all Republicans yelling, "Stop."

What they are yelling now is "socialism." But history has seen that before. In 1965, when a majority of Republicans did vote against Medicare, Sen. Carl Curtis of Nebraska said: "This is not public welfare. It is not charity. It is not kindness. It is socialism. ... It is brazen socialism."

Within weeks, it was also law, and few elderly Americans would argue that it is bad law. Primarily because of Medicare, the number of Americans over 65 living below the poverty level has dropped from 28.5 percent to 9.7 percent.

Socialism or not, history is pushing health care reform into law. It will not be 100 percent of what President Obama wanted. It will be a compromise bill with some Republican input -- and it will be added to and expanded over the years. For now, on passage, Obama will say something historic, similar to what Franklin Roosevelt said in 1935:

"We can never insure 100 percent of the population against 100 percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life. But we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age."

Gambling or gaming is designed at the start so that the odds are not affected by the players' conduct or behavior and not required to conduct risk mitigation practices. But players can prepare and increase their odds of winning in certain games such as poker or blackjack. In contrast to gambling or gaming, to obtain certain types of insurance, such as fire insurance, policyholders can be required to conduct risk mitigation practices, such as installing sprinklers and using fireproof building materials to reduce the odds of loss to fire. In addition, after a proven loss, insurers specialize in providing rehabilitation to minimize the total loss.

What is often missing from the debate is that prohibiting the use of legitimate, actuarially sound factors means that an insufficient amount is being charged for a given risk, and there is thus a deficit in the system. The failure to address the deficit may mean insolvency and hardship for all of a company's insureds. The options for addressing the deficit seem to be the following: Charge the deficit to the other policyholders or charge it to the government (i.e., externalize outside of the company to society at large).

Florida Homeowners Insurance

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) –
A suspected suicide car bomb ripped through a police building in an army garrison of Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar on Friday, killing up to 11 people, police said.

It was the second bomb attack in Peshawar in 24 hours, striking a day after 40 people died in a wave of militant attacks against security targets in Pakistan's eastern city Lahore and the country's volatile northwest.

"I have counted 11 dead bodies and 13 wounded in the emergency unit of the hospital," police official Mohammad Gul told AFP by telephone from the main government-run hospital in Peshawar.

Ambulances screeched through the streets, sirens blaring as rescue teams rushed to the scene of the attack, where TV footage showed smouldering wreckage and a damaged brick wall.

Police at the scene earlier put the death toll at seven with detainees in custody at the police building among the wounded.

"There are seven killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast. There are some prisoners among the injured," said senior police official Mohammad Karim Khan.

North West Frontier Province police chief Malik Navid told Pakistan's state PTV it was an apparent suicide attack, with the bomber driving a car.

The bomb ripped through the police-run Central Investigation Agency (CIA) building in Peshawar -- the largest city in northwest Pakistan which lies on the fringes of the lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border.

Navid slammed the attack as a reaction to military operations against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the semi-autonomous tribal belt and parts of the northwest where radicals have carved out sanctuaries.

(Reuters) –
The U.S. Federal Reserve is contemplating accessing money market funds through clearing banks or the creation of a facility to drain cash added to the financial system, Bloomberg said, citing people familiar with the plans.

With the Fed looking to remove some of the more than $1 trillion that was pumped into the U.S. economy, the methods under consideration could help conserve the capital of the 18 primary dealers that act as counterparties for open market transactions, the people told the news agency.

Talks on how to access a broader array of counterparties other than primary dealers are still developing, one of the people told the news agency.

The Federal Reserve did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment that was sent outside of regular U.S. business hours.

(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Kim Coghill)

NEW YORK – A teenager trying to get into his apartment after school is confronted by police. A man leaving his workplace chooses a different route back home to avoid officers who roam a particular street. These and hundreds of thousands of other Americans in big cities have been stopped on the street by police using a law-enforcement practice called stop-and-frisk that alarms civil libertarians but is credited by authorities with helping reduce crime.
Police in major U.S. cities stop and question more than a million people each year — a sharply higher number than just a few years ago. Most are black and Hispanic men. Many are frisked, and nearly all are innocent of any crime, according to figures gathered by The Associated Press.
And the numbers are rising at the same time crime rates are dropping.
Ronnie Carr's experience was typical: He was fumbling with his apartment door after school in Brooklyn when plainclothes officers flashed their badges.
"What are you doing here?" one asked, as they rifled through his backpack and then his pockets. The black teenager stood there, quiet and nervous, and waited.
Carr said the officers told him they stopped him because he looked suspicious peeking in the windows. He explained that he had lost his keys. Twenty minutes later, the officers left. Carr was not arrested or cited with any offense.
"I felt bad, like I did something wrong," he said.
Civil liberties groups say the practice is racist and fails to deter crime. Police departments maintain it is a necessary tool that turns up illegal weapons and drugs and prevents more serious crime.
Police records indicate that officers are drawn to suspicious behavior: furtive movements, actions that indicate someone may be serving as a lookout, anything that suggests a drug deal, or a person carrying burglary tools such as a slim jim or pry bar.
The New York Police Department is among the most vocal defenders of the practice. Commissioner Raymond Kelly said recently that officers may stop as many as 600,000 people this year. About 10 percent are arrested.
"This is a proven law enforcement tactic to fight and deter crime, one that is authorized by criminal procedure law," he said.
The practice is perfectly legal. A 1968 Supreme Court decision established the benchmark of "reasonable suspicion" — a standard that is lower than the "probable cause" needed to justify an arrest.
But in the mid-1990s, then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani and NYPD Commissioner William Bratton made stop-and-frisk an integral part of the city's law enforcement, relying on the "broken windows" theory that targeting low-level offenses helps prevent bigger ones.
Street stops started to go up, and overall crime dropped dramatically in a once-dangerous city.
Last year, New York police stopped 531,159 people, more than five times the number in 2002. Fifty-one percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic and 11 percent white.
Not all stops are the same. Some people are just stopped and questioned. Others have their bag or backpack searched. And sometimes police conduct a full pat-down.
David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on street stops, said few searches yield weapons or drugs. And the more people are searched, the more innocent people are hassled.
"The hit rate goes down because you're being less selective about how you're doing this. That has a cost. It's not free," Harris said.

When officers make a stop, they are required to fill out a form, including the time and location of the stop and why police were suspicious. Age, race and whether the person was frisked are also recorded.

In Philadelphia, stops nearly doubled to more than 200,000 from 2007 to 2008. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter deployed an "aggressive" stop-and-frisk policy in the year since his election in November 2007 and overall crime has dropped.

In Los Angeles, where Bratton recently stepped down as police commissioner, pedestrian stops have doubled in the past six years to 244,038 in 2008. The number of people stopped in cars is higher.

About 15 percent of the stops resulted in arrests in 2002, compared with about 30 percent in 2008, according to an analysis of the data by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Several other major police departments do not keep street-stop statistics or do not release them. Chicago police refused to release numbers to the AP. Boston police say they do not keep the records. The New Orleans department is not required to keep statistics on race and pedestrian stops.

RAND, an independent research agency hired by the New York Police Department to analyze street-stop data in 2007 after public outcry, found little racial profiling. It said the raw statistics "distorted the magnitude and, at times, the existence of racially biased policing."

The NYPD continues to monitor the issue, but after the RAND analysis, officials agreed that large-scale restructuring was unnecessary.

Kelly has warned against more simplistic data reviews.

"There are 8.4 million people in New York City. That number swells to more than 10 million every work day. Police are responsible for more than 800,000 summonses and arrests annually based on the higher standard of probable cause," Kelly said.

"Under the circumstances, it's not surprising that we make 500,000 or even 600,000 stops based on the less stringent standard of reasonable suspicion."

Civil liberties groups also complain because New York police keep a database of everyone stopped — innocent or not. That makes them targets for future investigations, said Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Los Angeles was forced by federal mandate to release data on street stops — including the race of those stopped — starting in 2000 after a series of scandals. The city government promised to adopt scores of reform measures under federal court supervision.

The LAPD was released from the federal decree in July, but a report last year by the ACLU in Southern California showed that blacks were still nearly three times more likely to be stopped by police than whites.

"The initial defense was: 'Because we're over-policing higher crime neighborhoods, they're predominantly populated by people of color, and that's why,'" said Peter Bibring, an ACLU attorney in Los Angeles.

But an analysis done for the ACLU in 2008 by Yale law professor Ian Ayres accounts for differences in crime rates and still shows minorities are stopped much more.

Some people who are stopped file lawsuits against the city and speak out publicly. Most just accept it.

In Harlem, George Lucas changed his route home from work to avoid a stretch of Seventh Avenue, because he kept being stopped by the police.

"The inconvenience of walking out of my way still saves me the worry and frustration about being stopped," said Lucas, 28, director of a nonprofit.

It's so common in some areas that community groups have begun offering classes on how to behave when stopped.

Courtney Bennett of the nonprofit New York City Mission Society says he regularly hosts groups of 30 men, of all ages, who feel powerless because they are stopped routinely for what they say is no reason. Carr recently attended a similar meeting for teens at another nonprofit called The Door.

Bennett is also a member of the Order of the Feather, a black fraternity that mentors young men and promotes community service. At a recent initiation ceremony in Harlem, it did not take long to find dozens of people who said they were stopped by police.

"You see these guys? They're normal guys, you know? Regular dudes," said Paul Hawkins, 22. "They've all been affected by it somehow. They were stopped, or someone they knew, or their dad or whatever. And they're not, you know, criminals."