As Republicans and Democrats prepare for what is sure to be a contentious 2012 election cycle, the Republican National Committee finds itself $23 million in debt, committee chairman Reince Priebus announced on Monday.
Priebus said the RNC's year-end report would announce $21 million in debt for 2010, but that updated figures put the debt at approximately $23 million.
"While the year-end FEC report reveals the Republican National Committee is $21 million in debt, I believe it is best to get out all the facts as we know them associated with our financial position," Priebus said in a statement. "To date, the committee has approximately $23 million in debt: $15 million in loans, and $8 million owed to vendors."
According to the Washington Post, the $23 million estimate is significantly higher than was previously reported: An RNC financial report filed in the weeks following November's midterm elections listed a debt of $15 million, but in subsequent reports, covering the time period since, the known debt grew by a cumulative $8 million.
Priebus was elected RNC chair last month over Michael Steele, whose tenure helming the committee was marked by several scandals and charges of financial mismanagement.
In his statement, however, Priebus remained hopeful about the RNC's future.
"We have our work cut out for us, but I am confident we will succeed in turning around the RNC through hard work, transparency and honesty with our hardworking grassroots activists and donors," Priebus said.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
more WORLD gone nuts! Bill Introduced in South Dakota Would Require All Citizens to Buy a Gun
A group of South Dakota lawmakers have introduced a bill mandating that every citizen in their state over the age of 21 purchase a firearm, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports.
Under the bill, the firearm would reportedly have to be "sufficient to provide for their ordinary self-defense" and residents would have six months to buy one after the law takes effect. The only people exempted would be those legally prohibited from owning a firearm.
If this sounds too crazy to be true, it is - sort of. The lawmakers told the Argus Leader they know the bill won't pass and introduced it only to make a point related to the individual mandate in last year's sweeping health care reform law. The mandate, which goes into effect in 2014, requires that all Americans purchase health insurance or pay a fine.
"Do I or the other cosponsors believe that the State of South Dakota can require citizens to buy firearms? Of course not," Republican Rep. Hal Wick told the Argus Leader. "But at the same time, we do not believe the federal government can order every citizen to buy health insurance."
The individual mandate has been at the center of court challenges to the health care reform law. Two federal judges have thus far ruled the law constitutional and two have ruled it (at least in part) unconstitutional. The matter is expected to eventually come before the Supreme Court.
In an appearance on CBSNews.com's "Washington Unplugged" in December, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli compared the individual mandate to forcing people to buy guns.
"Never before in our history has the federal government ordered Americans to buy a product under the guise of regulating commerce," he said. "Imagine if this bill were that in order to protect our communities and homeland security, every American had to buy a gun. Can you image the reaction across the country to that?"
Under the bill, the firearm would reportedly have to be "sufficient to provide for their ordinary self-defense" and residents would have six months to buy one after the law takes effect. The only people exempted would be those legally prohibited from owning a firearm.
If this sounds too crazy to be true, it is - sort of. The lawmakers told the Argus Leader they know the bill won't pass and introduced it only to make a point related to the individual mandate in last year's sweeping health care reform law. The mandate, which goes into effect in 2014, requires that all Americans purchase health insurance or pay a fine.
"Do I or the other cosponsors believe that the State of South Dakota can require citizens to buy firearms? Of course not," Republican Rep. Hal Wick told the Argus Leader. "But at the same time, we do not believe the federal government can order every citizen to buy health insurance."
The individual mandate has been at the center of court challenges to the health care reform law. Two federal judges have thus far ruled the law constitutional and two have ruled it (at least in part) unconstitutional. The matter is expected to eventually come before the Supreme Court.
In an appearance on CBSNews.com's "Washington Unplugged" in December, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli compared the individual mandate to forcing people to buy guns.
"Never before in our history has the federal government ordered Americans to buy a product under the guise of regulating commerce," he said. "Imagine if this bill were that in order to protect our communities and homeland security, every American had to buy a gun. Can you image the reaction across the country to that?"
Planned Parenthood Under Fire Over New Video (Can this world get more NUTS!)?
An anti-abortion rights activist today released an edited undercover video she says exposes Planned Parenthood for "aiding and abetting the sex trafficking of underage girls" and "covering up sex abuse."
The latest release follows similar undercover video releases from young conservative activists, most notably the James O'Keefe-led ACORN videos. And like those videos, which were later revealed to have been selectively edited, this one has immediately generated controversy.
The young woman behind the Planned Parenthood video is O'Keefe associate Lila Rose, whose group Live Action last month sent fake pimps and prostitutes ostensibly involved in an underage sex trafficking ring into Planned Parenthood offices with hidden cameras. Here's how she describes her latest video, which you can watch below:
This video reveals a top-level Planned Parenthood worker, the manager of Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey's second largest clinic, making a secret deal with a pimp. Watch and listen as the Planned Parenthood manager, Amy Woodruff, advises the pimp how to make the trafficking of underage girls look "as legit as possible" (her words). Watch and listen as the manager advises the pimp how to ensure that his 14-year old victims of trafficking can still make money for him after secret abortions by performing sex acts "waist up" (her idea). Watch as she advises the pimp to instruct his girls to lie on the paper work about their ages, and identify themselves as "students" to get cheaper contraception and avoid mandatory reporting laws.
Rose is using the video to call on Congress to end taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood and demand a Department of Justice and FBI investigation of the group.
Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions as well as other services, told Hotsheet that it took in roughly one quarter of the $317 million in taxpayer funding offered under Title X last year. It receives federal funding to provide family planning services, annual exams, cancer screenings, contraception visits and testing and treatments for sexually transmitted infections.
As it turns out, Planned Parenthood last month reported to the FBI that it had been getting visits from men and women claiming to be involved in a sex trafficking ring. The group appeared to know it was being targeted by Live Action - multiple clinics reported similar, suspicious visits - but reported the activity anyway, as TPM reported on January 25th.
(Here's Planned Parenthood's statement on its actions, from Jan. 24th.)
"These multi-state visits from men claiming to be engaged in sex trafficking of minors may be a hoax," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. She added, however, that "if the representations made by this man are true" they run afoul of sex trafficking and other laws.
Planned Parenthood said in a statement that the action taken by the employee as portrayed in the new video "is not consistent with Planned Parenthood's practices, and is under review."
The CEO of Planned Parenthood New Jersey added that "the behavior of our employee, as portrayed on the video, if accurate, violates PPCNJ policies, as well as our core values of protecting the welfare of minors and complying with the law, and appropriate action is being taken."
But the group also pointed to the fact that it had already notified the FBI of possible lawbreaking and said Live Action is engaged in an orchestrated attempt to bring down their organization.
"The group that has undertaken this secret taping is on the record as saying its goal is to 'take down' Planned Parenthood over the next 10 years by creating 'controversy' in the organization and making Planned Parenthood 'not feel safe,'" they said. "Planned Parenthood has delivered quality health care to American women for nearly 100 years, and we are as committed as ever to meeting the reproductive health needs of women in every community across the United States."
Seemingly in response to criticism that it may have selectively edited the video, Live Action on Tuesday afternoon made public what it says is the full video of the New Jersey Planned Parenthood sting. Part one is here and part two is here.
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Indiana) has introduced a bill in the House that would ban federal funding of any kind to organizations that perform abortions. Organizations are already barred from federal funding for abortions but Pence's bill would deny groups that provide abortions (such as Planned Parenthood) federal funding for other services as well.
Planned Parenthood said the bill "would have a devastating impact on rural and women's health by denying a significant number of health centers federal funding for preventive care."
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly said on Twitter he planned to cover the video on his program this evening, a sign that it may become a major issue in the conservative media.
The latest release follows similar undercover video releases from young conservative activists, most notably the James O'Keefe-led ACORN videos. And like those videos, which were later revealed to have been selectively edited, this one has immediately generated controversy.
The young woman behind the Planned Parenthood video is O'Keefe associate Lila Rose, whose group Live Action last month sent fake pimps and prostitutes ostensibly involved in an underage sex trafficking ring into Planned Parenthood offices with hidden cameras. Here's how she describes her latest video, which you can watch below:
This video reveals a top-level Planned Parenthood worker, the manager of Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey's second largest clinic, making a secret deal with a pimp. Watch and listen as the Planned Parenthood manager, Amy Woodruff, advises the pimp how to make the trafficking of underage girls look "as legit as possible" (her words). Watch and listen as the manager advises the pimp how to ensure that his 14-year old victims of trafficking can still make money for him after secret abortions by performing sex acts "waist up" (her idea). Watch as she advises the pimp to instruct his girls to lie on the paper work about their ages, and identify themselves as "students" to get cheaper contraception and avoid mandatory reporting laws.
Rose is using the video to call on Congress to end taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood and demand a Department of Justice and FBI investigation of the group.
Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions as well as other services, told Hotsheet that it took in roughly one quarter of the $317 million in taxpayer funding offered under Title X last year. It receives federal funding to provide family planning services, annual exams, cancer screenings, contraception visits and testing and treatments for sexually transmitted infections.
As it turns out, Planned Parenthood last month reported to the FBI that it had been getting visits from men and women claiming to be involved in a sex trafficking ring. The group appeared to know it was being targeted by Live Action - multiple clinics reported similar, suspicious visits - but reported the activity anyway, as TPM reported on January 25th.
(Here's Planned Parenthood's statement on its actions, from Jan. 24th.)
"These multi-state visits from men claiming to be engaged in sex trafficking of minors may be a hoax," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. She added, however, that "if the representations made by this man are true" they run afoul of sex trafficking and other laws.
Planned Parenthood said in a statement that the action taken by the employee as portrayed in the new video "is not consistent with Planned Parenthood's practices, and is under review."
The CEO of Planned Parenthood New Jersey added that "the behavior of our employee, as portrayed on the video, if accurate, violates PPCNJ policies, as well as our core values of protecting the welfare of minors and complying with the law, and appropriate action is being taken."
But the group also pointed to the fact that it had already notified the FBI of possible lawbreaking and said Live Action is engaged in an orchestrated attempt to bring down their organization.
"The group that has undertaken this secret taping is on the record as saying its goal is to 'take down' Planned Parenthood over the next 10 years by creating 'controversy' in the organization and making Planned Parenthood 'not feel safe,'" they said. "Planned Parenthood has delivered quality health care to American women for nearly 100 years, and we are as committed as ever to meeting the reproductive health needs of women in every community across the United States."
Seemingly in response to criticism that it may have selectively edited the video, Live Action on Tuesday afternoon made public what it says is the full video of the New Jersey Planned Parenthood sting. Part one is here and part two is here.
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Indiana) has introduced a bill in the House that would ban federal funding of any kind to organizations that perform abortions. Organizations are already barred from federal funding for abortions but Pence's bill would deny groups that provide abortions (such as Planned Parenthood) federal funding for other services as well.
Planned Parenthood said the bill "would have a devastating impact on rural and women's health by denying a significant number of health centers federal funding for preventive care."
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly said on Twitter he planned to cover the video on his program this evening, a sign that it may become a major issue in the conservative media.
Yet another reason to hate and not watch FOX NEWS CHANNEL!
Kelsey Grammer's Wife Blames Fox News For Breaking Up Their Marriage
Fox News just gets blamed for everything that goes wrong.
Case in point: Beverly Hills soon-to-be ex-housewife Camille Grammer discussed her crumbling marriage to actor Kelsey Grammer with Joy Behar -- and what is to blame?
The allure of Fox News!
"I love cuddling...but we didn't even do that....He was too busy watching Fox News, he didn't want to cuddle," said Camille.
Lack of physical intimacy is a first sign that your spouse is starting to lose interest and distancing themself.
A second sign?
"I had a feeling there was somebody [else] because I wasn't allowed in the apartment," said Camille.
Yeah, that'll do it.
So is this good publicity for Fox News or bad publicity? One one hand, Camille is saying that people can't look away from Fox News, even when their hot blonde wife is next to them.
On the other hand, if you're a hot blonde wife, forget the other woman, it's the sultry nightly combo of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannitty that you really need to worry about.
Fox News just gets blamed for everything that goes wrong.
Case in point: Beverly Hills soon-to-be ex-housewife Camille Grammer discussed her crumbling marriage to actor Kelsey Grammer with Joy Behar -- and what is to blame?
The allure of Fox News!
"I love cuddling...but we didn't even do that....He was too busy watching Fox News, he didn't want to cuddle," said Camille.
Lack of physical intimacy is a first sign that your spouse is starting to lose interest and distancing themself.
A second sign?
"I had a feeling there was somebody [else] because I wasn't allowed in the apartment," said Camille.
Yeah, that'll do it.
So is this good publicity for Fox News or bad publicity? One one hand, Camille is saying that people can't look away from Fox News, even when their hot blonde wife is next to them.
On the other hand, if you're a hot blonde wife, forget the other woman, it's the sultry nightly combo of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannitty that you really need to worry about.
Mubarak Says He Won’t Run for President Again
CAIRO — President Obama has told the embattled president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, that he should not run for another term in elections scheduled for the fall, effectively withdrawing American support for its closest Arab ally, according to American diplomats in Cairo and Washington.
State television said that Mr. Mubarak would release a statement on Tuesday evening, and it was expected that he would announce that he would not run for another term.
But it was far from certain that the concession would placate protesters in the streets of Cairo, who have made the president’s immediate and unconditional resignation a bedrock demand of their movement.
The message from Mr. Obama was conveyed to Mr. Mubarak by Frank G. Wisner, a seasoned envoy with deep ties to Egypt, the American diplomats said. Mr. Wisner’s message, they said, was not a blunt demand for Mr. Mubarak to step aside now, but rather firm counsel that he should make way for a reform process that would culminate in free and fair elections in September to elect a new Egyptian leader.
This back channel message, authorized directly by Mr. Obama, would appear to tip the administration beyond the delicate balancing act it has performed in the last week — resisting calls for Mr. Mubarak to step down, even as it has called for an “orderly transition” to a more politically open Egypt.
It was not clear whether the administration favored Mr. Mubarak turning over the reins to a transitional government, composed of leaders of the opposition movement and perhaps under the leadership of Mohamed ElBaradei, or to a caretaker government led by members of the existing regime, including the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman.
The decision to nudge Mr. Mubarak in the direction of leaving is a critical step for the United States in defining its dealings not just with its most critical ally in the Arab world, but also with the rising swell of popular anger on the streets of Cairo and in nearby countries like Jordan, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia.
Mr. Wisner, who had been expected to leave Egypt on Tuesday but decided to extend his stay, is among the United States’s most experienced diplomats, and a friend of Mr. Mubarak. His mission was to “keep a conversation going,” according to a close friend of Mr. Wisner.
As a result, this person said, the administration’s first message to the Egyptian leader was not that he had to leave office, but rather that his time in office was quickly coming to a close. Mr. Wisner, who consulted closely with the White House, is expected to be the point person dealing with Mr. Mubarak as the situation evolves, and perhaps as the administration’s message hardens.
Mr. Wisner’s mission took shape over the weekend in a White House meeting, after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recommended him to the national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon.
Reinforcing the administration’s message to Mr. Mubarak was an Op-Ed article in The New York Times on Tuesday by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in which he advised Mr. Mubarak to bow out gracefully “to make way for a new political structure.”
State television said that Mr. Mubarak would release a statement on Tuesday evening, and it was expected that he would announce that he would not run for another term.
But it was far from certain that the concession would placate protesters in the streets of Cairo, who have made the president’s immediate and unconditional resignation a bedrock demand of their movement.
The message from Mr. Obama was conveyed to Mr. Mubarak by Frank G. Wisner, a seasoned envoy with deep ties to Egypt, the American diplomats said. Mr. Wisner’s message, they said, was not a blunt demand for Mr. Mubarak to step aside now, but rather firm counsel that he should make way for a reform process that would culminate in free and fair elections in September to elect a new Egyptian leader.
This back channel message, authorized directly by Mr. Obama, would appear to tip the administration beyond the delicate balancing act it has performed in the last week — resisting calls for Mr. Mubarak to step down, even as it has called for an “orderly transition” to a more politically open Egypt.
It was not clear whether the administration favored Mr. Mubarak turning over the reins to a transitional government, composed of leaders of the opposition movement and perhaps under the leadership of Mohamed ElBaradei, or to a caretaker government led by members of the existing regime, including the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman.
The decision to nudge Mr. Mubarak in the direction of leaving is a critical step for the United States in defining its dealings not just with its most critical ally in the Arab world, but also with the rising swell of popular anger on the streets of Cairo and in nearby countries like Jordan, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia.
Mr. Wisner, who had been expected to leave Egypt on Tuesday but decided to extend his stay, is among the United States’s most experienced diplomats, and a friend of Mr. Mubarak. His mission was to “keep a conversation going,” according to a close friend of Mr. Wisner.
As a result, this person said, the administration’s first message to the Egyptian leader was not that he had to leave office, but rather that his time in office was quickly coming to a close. Mr. Wisner, who consulted closely with the White House, is expected to be the point person dealing with Mr. Mubarak as the situation evolves, and perhaps as the administration’s message hardens.
Mr. Wisner’s mission took shape over the weekend in a White House meeting, after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recommended him to the national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon.
Reinforcing the administration’s message to Mr. Mubarak was an Op-Ed article in The New York Times on Tuesday by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in which he advised Mr. Mubarak to bow out gracefully “to make way for a new political structure.”
100 Dogs in Canada Killed After Business Slows
100 healthy sled dogs slaughtered as tour business slows in Canadian province
The 100 dogs were shot dead over two days after an expected post-Olympics boon in dogsledding business at an adventure company didn't pan out. Most died instantly, but others suffered — like the one that ran away with its "face blown off and an eye hanging out."
The gruesome event was described in documents awarding compensation to a worker, who claimed post-traumatic stress disorder for having to shoot the dogs after bookings dropped sharply for a tour operator following the 2010 Winter Olympics.
"He had to chase her down and finish her off," Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said of the wounded down that was run down and slain.
Moriarty said the slaughter left her sickened and said it is the worst investigation she's ever done. Both the British Columbia SPCA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating the slaughter.
Moriarty said all the other dogs would have seen the incident in which the one dog did not die instantly from the single gunshot to the head and ran away from the worker.
"There aren't words to really describe some of the ways these dogs died," she said. "We don't put cows down like that. Slaughterhouses have very strict rules for how supposed culling takes place. This violated every one of them."
An employee of Outdoor Adventures Whistler was awarded compensation in a ruling by WorkSafe BC, the provincial body that manages workers' compensation claims. Outdoor Adventures did not contest the man's compensation claims.
The WorkSafe documents are confidential, but Moriarty has read them as part of the society's investigation.
The WorkSafe documents were obtained by radio station CKNW. The station reported the man was attacked at least twice by nearby dogs as the shootings occurred. He was forced to slit the throat of one animal who jumped on top of him.
The name of the man who killed the dogs has not been released, but his lawyer, Cory Steinberg, told CKNW that it was "the worst experience (the man) could ever have imagined."
The documents reveal bookings for dog sled tours collapsed after the Olympics, and when the company could not find homes for its animals, it ordered the cull. The dogs, which were part of a pack of 300, were shot over two days last April.
"He was essentially told to figure out a way to make (the business) more cost-effective. They just had to have less dogs. So he did everything he could finding homes for them, having them adopted, every which way that he could," Steinberg said Monday.
Graham Aldcroft, a spokesman for the company, said Outdoor Adventures had a financial stake in a company called Howling Dogs in Whistler for four years, but operational control of Howling Dogs was with the worker referred to in the WorkSafe B.C. documents.
"While we were aware of the relocation and euthanization of dogs at Howling Dog Tours, we were completely unaware of the details of the incident until reading the ... document Sunday," Aldcroft said in the statement.
Outdoor Adventures took over control of Howling Dogs in May, Aldcroft said. He said it is now company policy that animals needing to be euthanized are treated at a veterinarian's office.
Rich Bittner, the operator of Howling Dogs in Canmore, Alberta, said he sold his 50 percent interest in the Whistler operation in 2004 to a man named Bob Fawcett. He said the Whistler tour operator was supposed to change the name because Howling Dogs was no longer involved.
An online site offering support to people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder includes several postings made under the name of Bob Fawcett. It could not be immediately determined if these postings were made by the man who bought the dogsled tour company in 2004.
Dogsled tour operators in the tight-knit mushing community in British Columbia expressed outrage over the killings. Several operators said they routinely adopt dogs from other companies, but were not asked to take any from Whistler in early 2010.
Tim Tedford, who runs dog sled tours in the Big White area, near Kelowna, said, "That behavior doesn't sound like a real musher."
"Most mushers love their dogs. That sounds more like an accountant to me. Most mushers would starve themselves before they'd ever neglect their dogs," he said.
Following revelations of the slaughter, the Vancouver Humane Society on Monday called for a ban on the sled-dog tour business.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press
The 100 dogs were shot dead over two days after an expected post-Olympics boon in dogsledding business at an adventure company didn't pan out. Most died instantly, but others suffered — like the one that ran away with its "face blown off and an eye hanging out."
The gruesome event was described in documents awarding compensation to a worker, who claimed post-traumatic stress disorder for having to shoot the dogs after bookings dropped sharply for a tour operator following the 2010 Winter Olympics.
"He had to chase her down and finish her off," Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said of the wounded down that was run down and slain.
Moriarty said the slaughter left her sickened and said it is the worst investigation she's ever done. Both the British Columbia SPCA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating the slaughter.
Moriarty said all the other dogs would have seen the incident in which the one dog did not die instantly from the single gunshot to the head and ran away from the worker.
"There aren't words to really describe some of the ways these dogs died," she said. "We don't put cows down like that. Slaughterhouses have very strict rules for how supposed culling takes place. This violated every one of them."
An employee of Outdoor Adventures Whistler was awarded compensation in a ruling by WorkSafe BC, the provincial body that manages workers' compensation claims. Outdoor Adventures did not contest the man's compensation claims.
The WorkSafe documents are confidential, but Moriarty has read them as part of the society's investigation.
The WorkSafe documents were obtained by radio station CKNW. The station reported the man was attacked at least twice by nearby dogs as the shootings occurred. He was forced to slit the throat of one animal who jumped on top of him.
The name of the man who killed the dogs has not been released, but his lawyer, Cory Steinberg, told CKNW that it was "the worst experience (the man) could ever have imagined."
The documents reveal bookings for dog sled tours collapsed after the Olympics, and when the company could not find homes for its animals, it ordered the cull. The dogs, which were part of a pack of 300, were shot over two days last April.
"He was essentially told to figure out a way to make (the business) more cost-effective. They just had to have less dogs. So he did everything he could finding homes for them, having them adopted, every which way that he could," Steinberg said Monday.
Graham Aldcroft, a spokesman for the company, said Outdoor Adventures had a financial stake in a company called Howling Dogs in Whistler for four years, but operational control of Howling Dogs was with the worker referred to in the WorkSafe B.C. documents.
"While we were aware of the relocation and euthanization of dogs at Howling Dog Tours, we were completely unaware of the details of the incident until reading the ... document Sunday," Aldcroft said in the statement.
Outdoor Adventures took over control of Howling Dogs in May, Aldcroft said. He said it is now company policy that animals needing to be euthanized are treated at a veterinarian's office.
Rich Bittner, the operator of Howling Dogs in Canmore, Alberta, said he sold his 50 percent interest in the Whistler operation in 2004 to a man named Bob Fawcett. He said the Whistler tour operator was supposed to change the name because Howling Dogs was no longer involved.
An online site offering support to people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder includes several postings made under the name of Bob Fawcett. It could not be immediately determined if these postings were made by the man who bought the dogsled tour company in 2004.
Dogsled tour operators in the tight-knit mushing community in British Columbia expressed outrage over the killings. Several operators said they routinely adopt dogs from other companies, but were not asked to take any from Whistler in early 2010.
Tim Tedford, who runs dog sled tours in the Big White area, near Kelowna, said, "That behavior doesn't sound like a real musher."
"Most mushers love their dogs. That sounds more like an accountant to me. Most mushers would starve themselves before they'd ever neglect their dogs," he said.
Following revelations of the slaughter, the Vancouver Humane Society on Monday called for a ban on the sled-dog tour business.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press
Obama Urges Mubarak Not to Run Again
WASHINGTON — President Obama has told the embattled president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, that he should not run for another term in elections in the fall, effectively withdrawing American support for its closest Arab ally, according to American diplomats in Cairo and Washington.
Al Arabiya television, citing unnamed sources, reported that Mr. Mubarak would announce in a nationwide address Tuesday evening that he would not run for another term.
The message was conveyed to Mr. Mubarak by Frank G. Wisner, a seasoned former diplomat with deep ties to Egypt, these officials said. Mr. Wisner’s message, they said, was not a blunt demand for Mr. Mubarak to step aside now, but firm counsel that he should make way for a reform process that would culminate in free and fair elections in September to elect a new Egyptian leader.
This back channel message, authorized directly by Mr. Obama, would appear to tip the administration beyond the delicate balancing act it has performed in the last week — resisting calls for Mr. Mubarak to step down, even as it has called for an “orderly transition” to a more politically open Egypt.
It was not clear whether the administration favors Mr. Mubarak turning over the reins to a transitional government, composed of leaders of the opposition movement perhaps under the leadership of Mohamed ElBaradei, or a caretaker government led by members of the existing regime, including the newly-appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman.
It was also far from certain such a pledge by Mr. Mubarak would placate the protesters in the streets of Cairo, who have made the president’s immediate and unconditional resignation a bedrock demand of their movement.
The decision to nudge Mr. Mubarak in the direction of leaving is a critical step for the United States in defining how its dealings not just with its most critical ally in the Arab world, but with the rising swell of popular anger on the streets of Cairo and in nearby countries like Jordan, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia.
Mr. Wisner, who is now heading back to Washington, is among the country’s most experienced diplomats, and a friend of Mr. Mubarak. His mission was to “keep a conversation going,” according to a close friend of Mr. Wisner’s.
As a result, this person said, the administration’s first message to the Egyptian leader was not that he had to leave office, but rather that his time in office was quickly coming to a close. Mr. Wisner, who consulted closely with the White House, is expected to be the point person to deal with Mr. Mubarak as the situation evolves, and perhaps as the administration’s message hardens.
Mr. Wisner’s mission took shape over the weekend in a White House meeting, after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recommended his name to the national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon.
Reinforcing the administration’s message to Mr. Mubarak was an Op-Ed article in The New York Times on Tuesday by Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in which he advised Mr. Mubarak to bow out gracefully “to make way for a new political structure.”
Al Arabiya television, citing unnamed sources, reported that Mr. Mubarak would announce in a nationwide address Tuesday evening that he would not run for another term.
The message was conveyed to Mr. Mubarak by Frank G. Wisner, a seasoned former diplomat with deep ties to Egypt, these officials said. Mr. Wisner’s message, they said, was not a blunt demand for Mr. Mubarak to step aside now, but firm counsel that he should make way for a reform process that would culminate in free and fair elections in September to elect a new Egyptian leader.
This back channel message, authorized directly by Mr. Obama, would appear to tip the administration beyond the delicate balancing act it has performed in the last week — resisting calls for Mr. Mubarak to step down, even as it has called for an “orderly transition” to a more politically open Egypt.
It was not clear whether the administration favors Mr. Mubarak turning over the reins to a transitional government, composed of leaders of the opposition movement perhaps under the leadership of Mohamed ElBaradei, or a caretaker government led by members of the existing regime, including the newly-appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman.
It was also far from certain such a pledge by Mr. Mubarak would placate the protesters in the streets of Cairo, who have made the president’s immediate and unconditional resignation a bedrock demand of their movement.
The decision to nudge Mr. Mubarak in the direction of leaving is a critical step for the United States in defining how its dealings not just with its most critical ally in the Arab world, but with the rising swell of popular anger on the streets of Cairo and in nearby countries like Jordan, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia.
Mr. Wisner, who is now heading back to Washington, is among the country’s most experienced diplomats, and a friend of Mr. Mubarak. His mission was to “keep a conversation going,” according to a close friend of Mr. Wisner’s.
As a result, this person said, the administration’s first message to the Egyptian leader was not that he had to leave office, but rather that his time in office was quickly coming to a close. Mr. Wisner, who consulted closely with the White House, is expected to be the point person to deal with Mr. Mubarak as the situation evolves, and perhaps as the administration’s message hardens.
Mr. Wisner’s mission took shape over the weekend in a White House meeting, after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recommended his name to the national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon.
Reinforcing the administration’s message to Mr. Mubarak was an Op-Ed article in The New York Times on Tuesday by Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in which he advised Mr. Mubarak to bow out gracefully “to make way for a new political structure.”
Black Lab Outperforms Lab Test at Detecting Cancer
Dogs Can Learn to Detect Disease, Protect Humans, Experts Say
With a little training, a dog can learn to heel. But a new study adds to growing evidence that man's best friend can also learn to heal by detecting invisible signs of disease.
Marine, a specially-trained 8-year-old black Labrador retriever, detected colorectal cancer 91 percent of the time when sniffing patients' breath and 97 percent of the time when sniffing stool, according to a study published Jan. 31 in the British journal Gut.
She even beat the fecal occult blood test, the most economic and non-invasive screening for colorectal cancer, which positively predicts the presence of cancer only 10 percent of the time, according to lead author Dr. Hideto Sonoda, from Fukuoka Dental College Hospital in Japan, and colleagues.
This is not the first time dogs have successfully sniffed out malignancies. The phenomenon has already been reported in skin, bladder, lung, breast and ovarian cancers.
"We shouldn't be shocked by this," said Dr. Marty Becker, a veterinarian at the North Idaho Animal Hospital and author of "The Healing Power of Pets." "We know dogs can detect accelerants, explosives, mold, peanuts -- even counterfeit CDs."
It's estimated that a dog's sense of smell is up to 1 million times better than that of a human, depending on the breed.
"It's like having an NFL stadium filled with yellow balls and one red ball," Becker said. "That's the concentration of scent a trained dog could find."
But Becker cautioned that not all dogs are so gifted.
"You don't see bomb-sniffing pugs," Becker said. "You've got to have pretty robust olfactory capabilities."
Dogs have even been trained to smell chemicals signaling seizures in epileptics and elevated blood sugar levels in diabetics, according to Rebecca Johnson, associate professor at the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine and Sinclair School of Nursing, and director of the Research Center for Human-Animal Interactions.
In August 2010, a terrier named Kiko bit off his owner's big toe while he was passed out drunk, alerting the 48-year-old to his undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.
A slight drag of the foot, a change in walking pace or a tremor imperceptible to the human eye can send a message to dogs that something's off.
"These dogs are guarding our physical and emotional health," Becker said, explaining that a nudge on the arm during a stressful session at the computer can be a warning to a take a much-needed break.
For people who have anxiety disorders -- particularly post-traumatic stress disorder -- dogs serve not only as companions, but also perform particular skills that help their owners to live fuller lives, Johnson said.
And nothing motivates a person to get out for a walk like the hopeful eyes of a dog, leash in mouth, tail wagging.
"We showed that people who walked with dogs had 72 percent adherence to a walking regimen," Johnson said, explaining that adherence was better with dogs than with a human walking buddy. "Dogs are always ready to go and always encouraging."
Among older adults, dogs boosted adherence to 100 percent, which led to a 28 percent improvement in walking speed, Johnson said. Walking speed was recently linked to lifespan.
"It improved their balance and their confidence in walking," Johnson said. "It helped them maintain their independence."
As for the prospect of using trained dogs for cancer screening, Johnson said it would be wonderful.
"We're always looking for effective and inexpensive screening devices," Johnson said. "Training dogs is not inexpensive, but the cost to the end user is going to be a lot less than many of the tests we have."
She cautioned that the sniff test reported, or others like it, should not be used in making a diagnosis. Rather, they could be used to supplement current screening systems.
But the study authors hope that future research will tease out the cancer-signaling chemicals that Marine could smell. Then a machine could be programmed to detect the chemical quickly and cheaply, they wrote.
Man's Best Friend in Health
But until a machine can mimic dogs' extraordinary ability to monitor human health, people should pay more attention to their pets and take every opportunity to reward them, Becker said.
"We've always known dogs made us feel good, we just didn't know they were good for us," Becker said. "I think in the coming years we're going to be in awe of just how strong the connection is."
With a little training, a dog can learn to heel. But a new study adds to growing evidence that man's best friend can also learn to heal by detecting invisible signs of disease.
Marine, a specially-trained 8-year-old black Labrador retriever, detected colorectal cancer 91 percent of the time when sniffing patients' breath and 97 percent of the time when sniffing stool, according to a study published Jan. 31 in the British journal Gut.
She even beat the fecal occult blood test, the most economic and non-invasive screening for colorectal cancer, which positively predicts the presence of cancer only 10 percent of the time, according to lead author Dr. Hideto Sonoda, from Fukuoka Dental College Hospital in Japan, and colleagues.
This is not the first time dogs have successfully sniffed out malignancies. The phenomenon has already been reported in skin, bladder, lung, breast and ovarian cancers.
"We shouldn't be shocked by this," said Dr. Marty Becker, a veterinarian at the North Idaho Animal Hospital and author of "The Healing Power of Pets." "We know dogs can detect accelerants, explosives, mold, peanuts -- even counterfeit CDs."
It's estimated that a dog's sense of smell is up to 1 million times better than that of a human, depending on the breed.
"It's like having an NFL stadium filled with yellow balls and one red ball," Becker said. "That's the concentration of scent a trained dog could find."
But Becker cautioned that not all dogs are so gifted.
"You don't see bomb-sniffing pugs," Becker said. "You've got to have pretty robust olfactory capabilities."
Dogs have even been trained to smell chemicals signaling seizures in epileptics and elevated blood sugar levels in diabetics, according to Rebecca Johnson, associate professor at the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine and Sinclair School of Nursing, and director of the Research Center for Human-Animal Interactions.
In August 2010, a terrier named Kiko bit off his owner's big toe while he was passed out drunk, alerting the 48-year-old to his undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.
A slight drag of the foot, a change in walking pace or a tremor imperceptible to the human eye can send a message to dogs that something's off.
"These dogs are guarding our physical and emotional health," Becker said, explaining that a nudge on the arm during a stressful session at the computer can be a warning to a take a much-needed break.
For people who have anxiety disorders -- particularly post-traumatic stress disorder -- dogs serve not only as companions, but also perform particular skills that help their owners to live fuller lives, Johnson said.
And nothing motivates a person to get out for a walk like the hopeful eyes of a dog, leash in mouth, tail wagging.
"We showed that people who walked with dogs had 72 percent adherence to a walking regimen," Johnson said, explaining that adherence was better with dogs than with a human walking buddy. "Dogs are always ready to go and always encouraging."
Among older adults, dogs boosted adherence to 100 percent, which led to a 28 percent improvement in walking speed, Johnson said. Walking speed was recently linked to lifespan.
"It improved their balance and their confidence in walking," Johnson said. "It helped them maintain their independence."
As for the prospect of using trained dogs for cancer screening, Johnson said it would be wonderful.
"We're always looking for effective and inexpensive screening devices," Johnson said. "Training dogs is not inexpensive, but the cost to the end user is going to be a lot less than many of the tests we have."
She cautioned that the sniff test reported, or others like it, should not be used in making a diagnosis. Rather, they could be used to supplement current screening systems.
But the study authors hope that future research will tease out the cancer-signaling chemicals that Marine could smell. Then a machine could be programmed to detect the chemical quickly and cheaply, they wrote.
Man's Best Friend in Health
But until a machine can mimic dogs' extraordinary ability to monitor human health, people should pay more attention to their pets and take every opportunity to reward them, Becker said.
"We've always known dogs made us feel good, we just didn't know they were good for us," Becker said. "I think in the coming years we're going to be in awe of just how strong the connection is."
Exit the Israel Alibi
LONDON — One way to measure the immense distance traveled by Arabs over the past month is to note the one big subject they are not talking about: Israel.
For too long, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been the great diversion, exploited by feckless Arab autocrats to distract impoverished populations. None of these Arab leaders ever bothered to visit the West Bank. That did not stop them embracing the justice of the Palestinian cause even as they trampled on justice at home.
Now, Arabs are thinking about their own injustices. With great courage, they are saying “Enough!”
The big shift is in the captive Arab mind. It is an immense journey from a culture of victimhood to one of self-empowerment, from a culture of conspiracy to one of construction. It is a long road from rage to responsibility, from humiliation to action.
The Muslim suicide bomber aims fury at a perceived outside enemy. Self-immolation, the spark to this great pan-Arab uprising, betrays similar desperation, but directed inward. The outer scapegoat is replaced as the target by the inner Arab culprit.
Change won’t come overnight, and won’t be without pain, but Arabs have embarked on it — and the United States must support them without equivocation. Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, is finished: It is only a matter of time. No wonder the Obama administration is calling for an “orderly transition.”
Sure, there is risk. There always is in change. But nothing in the Arab genome says democracy, liberty and plain decency are unattainable.
Remember, Mohamed Atta, the leader of the 9/11 attack, came from Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt. The vast majority of Atta’s henchmen came from another U.S.-backed Arab autocracy, Saudi Arabia. They did not come from Iran. They did not come from Lebanon — or Gaza.
President George W. Bush was right in 2003: “As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment and violence ready for export.” And Condoleezza Rice was right to note that the U.S. promotion of “stability” — read autocracy — had allowed “a very malignant, meaning cancerous, form of extremism to grow up underneath.”
Bush and Rice were also, however, the authors of the Iraq invasion. This destroyed their credibility on Arab liberation. Their Middle East democracy agenda went nowhere. But, self-generated, it remains the right goal.
A 2008 study by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center found that 60 percent of Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters were of Saudi or Libyan origin: the handiwork of those alibi-seeking Arab despots again.
I spoke of risk. Egypt is not Tunisia, it’s the epicenter of the Arab world, self-styled “mother of the world,” a supporter of U.S. interests, a big nation that has made a cold peace with Israel. The direction it now takes will be pivotal to the region.
The arguments of those who say, “Better the devil you know” are already clear. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel-prize-winning Egyptian opposition leader, has immense stature but no organization. The Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist Israel haters, will fill any void. Look at what Arab democracy brings: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and chaos in Iraq! You want that in Egyptian guise?
These arguments are facile, as Tunisia, with its very un-Islamic revolution, has just demonstrated, and Turkish democracy shows, and Egyptian restraint suggests. They only perpetuate Middle Eastern dysfunction. They ignore America’s sway over Egypt’s Army as a critical moderating force — and ElBaradei’s rapid emergence as unifier.
Yes, Iraqi democracy is messy, but will prove healthier than Saddam Hussein’s tyranny. A Hezbollah-backed prime minister just came to power in Lebanon, but through a constitutional process — and life goes on. The Palestinian stab at democracy has proved divisive but also produced in the West Bank precisely the move from a culture of victimhood and paralysis that other Arabs are now following.
Indeed, with its fast-growing economy and institution-building the West Bank is an example to the dawning Arab world — and would be more so if Israel helped rather than blocked and hindered.
Nothing good can get built on the false foundation of Arab absolutism with its decades of waste: That’s the irrefutable argument for change.
Images of Cairo 2011 plunge me back to Tehran 2009, when another repressive Muslim — but not Arab — nation stood on a razor’s edge. Henry Precht, an author and former U.S. diplomat, has pointed out some differences: 40 percent of Egyptians make less than $2 a day while such poverty is less widespread in Iran; Iranian women are far more present in universities; literacy is higher in Iran, the fertility rate lower. As Precht writes, “Iranian politics, though badly flawed, offers more elements of democracy than Egypt’s.”
These are perhaps some indices of why the Islamic Republic proved more resilient than Mubarak’s Egypt seems today. Still, Iran’s paranoid rulers will shudder at Egyptian people power.
A representative Egyptian government — the one whose birth pangs I believe we are witnessing — will talk about Israel one day and may be less pliant to America’s will. But it would carry a vital message for Arabs and Jews: Victimhood is self-defeating and paralyzing — and can be overcome.
Washington Post Roger Cohen
For too long, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been the great diversion, exploited by feckless Arab autocrats to distract impoverished populations. None of these Arab leaders ever bothered to visit the West Bank. That did not stop them embracing the justice of the Palestinian cause even as they trampled on justice at home.
Now, Arabs are thinking about their own injustices. With great courage, they are saying “Enough!”
The big shift is in the captive Arab mind. It is an immense journey from a culture of victimhood to one of self-empowerment, from a culture of conspiracy to one of construction. It is a long road from rage to responsibility, from humiliation to action.
The Muslim suicide bomber aims fury at a perceived outside enemy. Self-immolation, the spark to this great pan-Arab uprising, betrays similar desperation, but directed inward. The outer scapegoat is replaced as the target by the inner Arab culprit.
Change won’t come overnight, and won’t be without pain, but Arabs have embarked on it — and the United States must support them without equivocation. Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, is finished: It is only a matter of time. No wonder the Obama administration is calling for an “orderly transition.”
Sure, there is risk. There always is in change. But nothing in the Arab genome says democracy, liberty and plain decency are unattainable.
Remember, Mohamed Atta, the leader of the 9/11 attack, came from Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt. The vast majority of Atta’s henchmen came from another U.S.-backed Arab autocracy, Saudi Arabia. They did not come from Iran. They did not come from Lebanon — or Gaza.
President George W. Bush was right in 2003: “As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment and violence ready for export.” And Condoleezza Rice was right to note that the U.S. promotion of “stability” — read autocracy — had allowed “a very malignant, meaning cancerous, form of extremism to grow up underneath.”
Bush and Rice were also, however, the authors of the Iraq invasion. This destroyed their credibility on Arab liberation. Their Middle East democracy agenda went nowhere. But, self-generated, it remains the right goal.
A 2008 study by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center found that 60 percent of Al Qaeda in Iraq fighters were of Saudi or Libyan origin: the handiwork of those alibi-seeking Arab despots again.
I spoke of risk. Egypt is not Tunisia, it’s the epicenter of the Arab world, self-styled “mother of the world,” a supporter of U.S. interests, a big nation that has made a cold peace with Israel. The direction it now takes will be pivotal to the region.
The arguments of those who say, “Better the devil you know” are already clear. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel-prize-winning Egyptian opposition leader, has immense stature but no organization. The Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist Israel haters, will fill any void. Look at what Arab democracy brings: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and chaos in Iraq! You want that in Egyptian guise?
These arguments are facile, as Tunisia, with its very un-Islamic revolution, has just demonstrated, and Turkish democracy shows, and Egyptian restraint suggests. They only perpetuate Middle Eastern dysfunction. They ignore America’s sway over Egypt’s Army as a critical moderating force — and ElBaradei’s rapid emergence as unifier.
Yes, Iraqi democracy is messy, but will prove healthier than Saddam Hussein’s tyranny. A Hezbollah-backed prime minister just came to power in Lebanon, but through a constitutional process — and life goes on. The Palestinian stab at democracy has proved divisive but also produced in the West Bank precisely the move from a culture of victimhood and paralysis that other Arabs are now following.
Indeed, with its fast-growing economy and institution-building the West Bank is an example to the dawning Arab world — and would be more so if Israel helped rather than blocked and hindered.
Nothing good can get built on the false foundation of Arab absolutism with its decades of waste: That’s the irrefutable argument for change.
Images of Cairo 2011 plunge me back to Tehran 2009, when another repressive Muslim — but not Arab — nation stood on a razor’s edge. Henry Precht, an author and former U.S. diplomat, has pointed out some differences: 40 percent of Egyptians make less than $2 a day while such poverty is less widespread in Iran; Iranian women are far more present in universities; literacy is higher in Iran, the fertility rate lower. As Precht writes, “Iranian politics, though badly flawed, offers more elements of democracy than Egypt’s.”
These are perhaps some indices of why the Islamic Republic proved more resilient than Mubarak’s Egypt seems today. Still, Iran’s paranoid rulers will shudder at Egyptian people power.
A representative Egyptian government — the one whose birth pangs I believe we are witnessing — will talk about Israel one day and may be less pliant to America’s will. But it would carry a vital message for Arabs and Jews: Victimhood is self-defeating and paralyzing — and can be overcome.
Washington Post Roger Cohen
BP Resumes Dividends Despite Full-Year Loss (THANKS TO YOU PAYING OVER $3 at the pump)!
LONDON (AP) — BP has announced it is resuming dividends as the oil company reported a gain in fourth-quarter profits which fell short of reversing a full-year loss.
BP, which announced a dividend of 7 cents per share, had suspended payments following the Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in April.
The company on Tuesday reported a profit of $5.6 billion, up from $4.3 billion a year earlier. However, for the full year BP booked a loss of $3.7 billion compared with a profit of $16.6 billion in 2009.
Replacement cost profit — a closely watched industry measure which reflects inventory gains and losses — was $4.6 billion for the quarter, compared to $3.4 billion a year earlier.
BP, which announced a dividend of 7 cents per share, had suspended payments following the Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in April.
The company on Tuesday reported a profit of $5.6 billion, up from $4.3 billion a year earlier. However, for the full year BP booked a loss of $3.7 billion compared with a profit of $16.6 billion in 2009.
Replacement cost profit — a closely watched industry measure which reflects inventory gains and losses — was $4.6 billion for the quarter, compared to $3.4 billion a year earlier.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)