FRONTLINE's new monthly magazine series launches with the latest from Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest, who investigates the sprawling terrorism-industrial complex that has grown up in the wake of 9/11. Her report, Are We Safer? -- produced and directed by FRONTLINE veteran Michael Kirk (The Warning, Obama's Deal) -- explores the growing reach of homeland security into the lives of ordinary Americans. (read more »)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Are We Safer?
Washington Post's Dana Priest reports on the sprawling post-9/11 terrorism-industrial complex — and its growing reach into the lives of ordinary Americans.
OIL FALLS TO NEAR $91 ON WEAK US JOBS MARKET
Oil falls to near $91 on weak US jobs market
By Agency Reporter
SINGAPORE:Oil prices fell to near $91 a barrel Friday in Asia, as traders mulled whether demand in a slowly recovering United States economy will be enough to push crude above $100 soon. AFP reported on Friday.
Benchmark oil for February delivery was down by 19 cents to $91.21 a barrel late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude lost 46 cents to settle at $91.40 on Thursday.
The Labour Department said Thursday that more people filed for unemployment aid last week in the US, tempering optimism that a strong economic recovery is under way.
Some analysts expect the US economy to stumble this year, weakening crude consumption and prices. Capital Economics forecasts the oil price will fall to $75 in 2011.
By Agency Reporter
SINGAPORE:Oil prices fell to near $91 a barrel Friday in Asia, as traders mulled whether demand in a slowly recovering United States economy will be enough to push crude above $100 soon. AFP reported on Friday.
Benchmark oil for February delivery was down by 19 cents to $91.21 a barrel late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude lost 46 cents to settle at $91.40 on Thursday.
The Labour Department said Thursday that more people filed for unemployment aid last week in the US, tempering optimism that a strong economic recovery is under way.
Some analysts expect the US economy to stumble this year, weakening crude consumption and prices. Capital Economics forecasts the oil price will fall to $75 in 2011.
Singleton to step down as MediaNews CEO*
Additionally, President Joseph Lodovic said he will resign, effective immediately. An interim president has been named in his place.
MediaNews has launched a search to replace the two men.
From the Denver Post:
MediaNews also said it will launch a search for the newly created position of chief revenue officer. Michael Sileck, a MediaNews director, will serve in that position on an interim basis.
"In light of the significant opportunities and challenges we and the industry are facing, our company is best served by having separate executives focus their full efforts on both the strategic landscape, and on implementing an effective plan to expand our revenue streams and meet our operational and efficiency goals," Singleton said in a statement.
MediaNews also named three new directors: Heath Freeman, Bruce Schnelwar and Eric Krauss.*Update: The Post article does not offer any background on the three new directors. According to Silicon Valley Business Journal, Freeman is managing director of Alden Global Capital; Schelwar is executive vice president and chief financial officer of Smith Management LLC as well as managing director of Alden Global Capital, and Krauss is chief financial officer of Action Sports Inc.
When financiers get put in charge, and a chief revenue officer is hired, one can be fairly certain that the banks that helped bail the company out of last year's bankruptcy are not happy with performance. As I wrote in March, "Bank of America and the other major creditors probably won't be very patient about seeing returns on their investment after forgiving [$765 million of] debt." And, apparently, they weren't.
What this means for a company that already has furloughs and a vacation freeze on tap is hard to know. Further consolidation almost seems impossible - nevertheless, that's the plan. And Singleton will be in charge. Here's the company press release, explaining Singleton's role now that he has more free time on his hands:
...focus on opportunities to optimize the company’s portfolio of properties and consolidation opportunities in the newspaper industry.Porfolios are rarely optimized through investment and adding newsroom staff.
Goldman Lets Investors Exit Battered Fund
After losing about half of its value since it started last year, a Goldman Sachs distressed-debt fund is allowing investors to redeem all of their shares ahead of schedule, an option that limited partners in other hedge funds are sure to envy.
Goldman Sachs Liquidity Partners 3, which launched in the summer of 2007 with $1.7 billion of commitments, also gave investors an opportunity to stick with the fund in return for reduced management fees and zero performance fees for a limited period. Those wishing to contribute capital are also eligible for reduced fees.
But for LPs wanting out, Goldman is willing to waive a lockup provision requiring investors to leave their capital in the fund for at least two years. Goldman is outlining the options in a letter it expected to send to investors this week.
The fund, housed in Goldman Sachs Asset Management alongside other bank-run hedge funds, is overseen by James Clark, a partner. The vehicle's management team also includes Roberta Goss, who heads bank-loan investments at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Liquidity Partners 3, which invested in leveraged bank loans and subprime mortgage-backed securities, borrowed to boost its exposure to those markets. Toward the end of 2007, Goldman and many others believed the values of such assets were soon to recover.
As it turned out, credit-market values were nowhere near their bottom, roiling the many players that began investing around that time. Loans issued to finance LBOs, for instance, have since dropped to 70 cents on the dollar from 85 cents. Subprime MBS also proved to have much more room to fall, with some mortgage securities now trading at pennies on the dollar.
Downward pressure remains on such assets, with some blaming the expiration of "mark-to-market holidays" for the latest declines. Since last year, banks have been financing the sales of their leveraged loans and other unwanted assets, and in doing so they have promised buyers that they would value the collateral at their purchase price - usually for a year to 18 months. Many of those seller-financed loans are now being written down to their market values, forcing funds to either put up more cash as collateral or hand the loans back to the banks.
Goldman's decision to let investors cash out contrasts with the decisions of a number of other credit hedge funds, which have suspended or limited redemptions. Some fund operators have "side-pocketed" assets considered too illiquid to sell at a fair price.
Distressed-credit investor Plainfield Asset Management, for instance, recently decided to set up a special-purpose vehicle to hold certain assets after receiving redemption requests totaling 33% of the assets in Plainfield Special Situations Master Fund. Meanwhile, Whitebox Advisors, a convertible-bond arbitrageur in Minneapolis, froze its funds as its prime brokers demanded more collateral.
Castle Hall Alternatives, a firm which assesses operational risk at hedge funds, this month released a report listing 75 hedge funds that have suspended redemptions, restructured terms or imposed gates.
Goldman Sachs Liquidity Partners 3, which launched in the summer of 2007 with $1.7 billion of commitments, also gave investors an opportunity to stick with the fund in return for reduced management fees and zero performance fees for a limited period. Those wishing to contribute capital are also eligible for reduced fees.
But for LPs wanting out, Goldman is willing to waive a lockup provision requiring investors to leave their capital in the fund for at least two years. Goldman is outlining the options in a letter it expected to send to investors this week.
The fund, housed in Goldman Sachs Asset Management alongside other bank-run hedge funds, is overseen by James Clark, a partner. The vehicle's management team also includes Roberta Goss, who heads bank-loan investments at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Liquidity Partners 3, which invested in leveraged bank loans and subprime mortgage-backed securities, borrowed to boost its exposure to those markets. Toward the end of 2007, Goldman and many others believed the values of such assets were soon to recover.
As it turned out, credit-market values were nowhere near their bottom, roiling the many players that began investing around that time. Loans issued to finance LBOs, for instance, have since dropped to 70 cents on the dollar from 85 cents. Subprime MBS also proved to have much more room to fall, with some mortgage securities now trading at pennies on the dollar.
Downward pressure remains on such assets, with some blaming the expiration of "mark-to-market holidays" for the latest declines. Since last year, banks have been financing the sales of their leveraged loans and other unwanted assets, and in doing so they have promised buyers that they would value the collateral at their purchase price - usually for a year to 18 months. Many of those seller-financed loans are now being written down to their market values, forcing funds to either put up more cash as collateral or hand the loans back to the banks.
Goldman's decision to let investors cash out contrasts with the decisions of a number of other credit hedge funds, which have suspended or limited redemptions. Some fund operators have "side-pocketed" assets considered too illiquid to sell at a fair price.
Distressed-credit investor Plainfield Asset Management, for instance, recently decided to set up a special-purpose vehicle to hold certain assets after receiving redemption requests totaling 33% of the assets in Plainfield Special Situations Master Fund. Meanwhile, Whitebox Advisors, a convertible-bond arbitrageur in Minneapolis, froze its funds as its prime brokers demanded more collateral.
Castle Hall Alternatives, a firm which assesses operational risk at hedge funds, this month released a report listing 75 hedge funds that have suspended redemptions, restructured terms or imposed gates.
The blast in the northeastern part of Tacony occurred while fire fighters and workers from Philadelphia Gas Works were responding to a gas leak. Residents in the neighborhood were evacuated earlier in the evening when a hazmat team arrived to address the smell of gas.Obama, Hu Vow Increased Cooperation
President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao stand quietly during an official arrival ceremony for Hu at the White House, 19 Jan 2011.
Both leaders spoke Wednesday at a formal ceremony welcoming President Hu to the White House.
President Obama stressed that both nations have an enormous stake in each other's success and said nations will be more prosperous and secure when working together. He also noted the need to uphold human rights.
Read more....
Luther Campbell May Run for Miami-Dade Mayor
By: EURweb.com
Former 2 Live Crew front man and current high school football coach Luther Campbell is considering a run for mayor in Miami-Dade County, Florida. And he says if his constituents elect him, his time in office will be a reality show.
If incumbent Carlos Alvarez is recalled in an upcoming vote, Campbell said he’ll do it. Via his blog, he said the reality show would provide long needed transparency of what’s really going on in the office.
“Cameras are going to capture when some lobbyist comes to see me to lobby me on some [stuff] they want approved. The cameras are going to be rolling when a commissioner meets with me when I want to talk about the things we need to build for this community. The voters are going to know who is full of [stuff] and who isn’t if I am elected mayor,” he wrote.
Although Campbell, an assistant football coach for Miami Central High School, has not officially announced anything, he’s already getting support, at least in his eyes.
“With Rick Scott winning the governor’s seat,” he mentioned, “I don’t see how I could lose.”
A recall election against Alvarez and County Commissioner Natacha Seijas is scheduled for March 15.
Former 2 Live Crew front man and current high school football coach Luther Campbell is considering a run for mayor.
Former 2 Live Crew front man and current high school football coach Luther Campbell is considering a run for mayor in Miami-Dade County, Florida. And he says if his constituents elect him, his time in office will be a reality show.
If incumbent Carlos Alvarez is recalled in an upcoming vote, Campbell said he’ll do it. Via his blog, he said the reality show would provide long needed transparency of what’s really going on in the office.
“Cameras are going to capture when some lobbyist comes to see me to lobby me on some [stuff] they want approved. The cameras are going to be rolling when a commissioner meets with me when I want to talk about the things we need to build for this community. The voters are going to know who is full of [stuff] and who isn’t if I am elected mayor,” he wrote.
Although Campbell, an assistant football coach for Miami Central High School, has not officially announced anything, he’s already getting support, at least in his eyes.
“With Rick Scott winning the governor’s seat,” he mentioned, “I don’t see how I could lose.”
A recall election against Alvarez and County Commissioner Natacha Seijas is scheduled for March 15.
Tucson: Videotape Shows Judge Died A Hero
 |
| The Hero: Judge John M. Roll |
Judge Roll pushed Ronald Barber to the ground and covered his body with his own; he was then shot in the back and died soon afterward. Barber, hit twice, survived.
posted by Mike McCarville
Atlanta Hawks 93 Miami Heat 89 (OT)
Boxscore
The severity of Al Horford's ankle injury will likely determine the long-term import of this game (there's probably not an NBA team better suited to using Josh Smith at center against than the Heat) but, given the opponent and the quality of Atlanta's play over the first four quarters, the Hawks must be extremely pleased with the result.
If the Hawks needed much to go right to escape Toronto with a victory last Wednesday, they scored the far more impressive victory tonight despite many, many things going wrong. There was the aforementioned Horford injury early in the third quarter, the Crawford/Evans/Wilkins/Powell/Pachulia lineup which killed the momentum generated in the first quarter, a lengthy iso-Joe flashback later in the second quarter, 10 Josh Smith jump shots en route to 15 points on 18 shots, 19 points on 24 shots from Joe Johnson, 23 trips to the free throw line for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, 8 Joel Anthony offensive rebounds (5 of them coming after Horford left the game), Jordan Crawford appearing out of nowhere in the final six minutes of regulation, which resulted in Jamal Crawford guarding Dwyane Wade for several consecutive possessions, and a beautifully-designed but horribly executed play on the penultimate possession of regulation.
Not that the Hawks didn't do things to earn the victory. Most important were the 16 points they scored on 10 overtime possessions. But their 15 offensive rebounds (including a team-leading four from Horford before his early exit) shouldn't be overlooked, nor the 16 Miami turnovers they forced. And, though neither James nor Wade showed any consistent interest in driving the basketball, the Hawks did little to encourage them to do anything other than settle for using 27 of their combined 50 field goal attempts on jump shots, 14 of those being three-pointers. They made two of the 14 three-pointers, four of the 13 two-point jumpers. Furthermore, it took the combined efforts of James and Wade to match Joe Johnson's 10 assists and the rest of the Heat lack the shot-creation skills (if not the touches as well) of Horford, Smith, and Crawford, who earned eight assists between them. The nine Heat players other than James and Wade who saw action combined for two assists.
That's the upshot (at least for one night) of having a team's talent less concentrated. Without Chris Bosh and with James and Wade playing below their admittedly lofty standards, Miami offered little else. Without Al Horford for half the game, without Marvin Williams and with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith playing below their standards, the Hawks still had Jamal Crawford capable of scoring 19 points on 15 shots (an astounding level of efficiency in the context of this game) and Atlanta will surely take their chances in any game against the Heat which comes down to the relative contributions of Mike Bibby and Mo Evans versus those of Mario Chalmers and Eddie House.
| Team | Poss | Off Eff | eFG% | FT Rate | OR% | TO% |
| ATL | 95 | 0.979 | 43.7 | 10.5 | 30 | 12.6 |
| MIA | 96 | 0.927 | 40.9 | 33.8 | 25 | 16.7 |
The severity of Al Horford's ankle injury will likely determine the long-term import of this game (there's probably not an NBA team better suited to using Josh Smith at center against than the Heat) but, given the opponent and the quality of Atlanta's play over the first four quarters, the Hawks must be extremely pleased with the result.
If the Hawks needed much to go right to escape Toronto with a victory last Wednesday, they scored the far more impressive victory tonight despite many, many things going wrong. There was the aforementioned Horford injury early in the third quarter, the Crawford/Evans/Wilkins/Powell/Pachulia lineup which killed the momentum generated in the first quarter, a lengthy iso-Joe flashback later in the second quarter, 10 Josh Smith jump shots en route to 15 points on 18 shots, 19 points on 24 shots from Joe Johnson, 23 trips to the free throw line for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, 8 Joel Anthony offensive rebounds (5 of them coming after Horford left the game), Jordan Crawford appearing out of nowhere in the final six minutes of regulation, which resulted in Jamal Crawford guarding Dwyane Wade for several consecutive possessions, and a beautifully-designed but horribly executed play on the penultimate possession of regulation.
Not that the Hawks didn't do things to earn the victory. Most important were the 16 points they scored on 10 overtime possessions. But their 15 offensive rebounds (including a team-leading four from Horford before his early exit) shouldn't be overlooked, nor the 16 Miami turnovers they forced. And, though neither James nor Wade showed any consistent interest in driving the basketball, the Hawks did little to encourage them to do anything other than settle for using 27 of their combined 50 field goal attempts on jump shots, 14 of those being three-pointers. They made two of the 14 three-pointers, four of the 13 two-point jumpers. Furthermore, it took the combined efforts of James and Wade to match Joe Johnson's 10 assists and the rest of the Heat lack the shot-creation skills (if not the touches as well) of Horford, Smith, and Crawford, who earned eight assists between them. The nine Heat players other than James and Wade who saw action combined for two assists.
That's the upshot (at least for one night) of having a team's talent less concentrated. Without Chris Bosh and with James and Wade playing below their admittedly lofty standards, Miami offered little else. Without Al Horford for half the game, without Marvin Williams and with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith playing below their standards, the Hawks still had Jamal Crawford capable of scoring 19 points on 15 shots (an astounding level of efficiency in the context of this game) and Atlanta will surely take their chances in any game against the Heat which comes down to the relative contributions of Mike Bibby and Mo Evans versus those of Mario Chalmers and Eddie House.
"Caligula" seized in police raid
BBC Radio 4's Today programme had a brief (but excited) mention of the seizure of a Roman statue near Lake Nemi in Italy. This featured in a review of The Guardian: "Caligula's tomb found after police arrest man trying to smuggle statue", January 18, 2011.
Officers from the archaeological squad of Italy's tax police had a break last week after arresting a man near Lake Nemi, south of Rome, as he loaded part of a 2.5 metre statue into a lorry. ... The police said the statue was shod with a pair of the "caligae" military boots favoured by the emperor ... The statue is estimated to be worth €1m. Its rare Greek marble, throne and god's robes convinced the police it came from the emperor's tomb. Under questioning, the tomb raider led them to the site, where excavations will start today.This is a reminder that there continues to be a demand for freshly surfaced antiquities from Italy.
REPORT: Mullah Omar Suffers Heart Attack
by Brad Thor
The Washington Post has just reported that Mullah Omar suffered a heart attack on January 7th and was rushed to the hospital by Pakistan’s spy network, the Inter-services Intelligence Agency.
And how is it that the ISI was right there to provide Omar with complimentary ambulance service? Because, as we exclusively broke in May of last year, Omar has been in Pakistani custody since March 2010.
America is being played.
Remind me how much aid money we are pumping into Pakistan and what it is purchasing us?
More as this story develops.
America is being played.
Remind me how much aid money we are pumping into Pakistan and what it is purchasing us?
More as this story develops.
ObamaCare’s Lies
By Bill Wilson
The government estimates that 32 million people will participate in a mandatory program that over 90 million will be eligible for. That program is ObamaCare, and when it’s fully implemented, it will cost over $2 trillion.
Medicaid enrollment and participation in the insurance exchanges is a key question to calculating the total cost of expanding taxpayer-funded health care under ObamaCare. If one assumes lower participation, the costs behave accordingly. For example, the Congressional Budget Office only calculated $780 billion of costs associated with expanding coverage under the bill.
ObamaCare supporter Kaiser Family Foundation assumes a 57 percent participation rate in Medicaid, and accordingly it calculates its $464.6 billion estimate of expanding that program.
But with the individual mandate requiring everyone to carry health insurance of some sort, enrollment will most likely be higher than the government is estimating. Put simply, a 34 percent participation rate for a mandatory government program is simply unbelievable. Medicare enjoys a 96 percent participation rate, after all.
Get full story here.
The government estimates that 32 million people will participate in a mandatory program that over 90 million will be eligible for. That program is ObamaCare, and when it’s fully implemented, it will cost over $2 trillion.
Medicaid enrollment and participation in the insurance exchanges is a key question to calculating the total cost of expanding taxpayer-funded health care under ObamaCare. If one assumes lower participation, the costs behave accordingly. For example, the Congressional Budget Office only calculated $780 billion of costs associated with expanding coverage under the bill.
ObamaCare supporter Kaiser Family Foundation assumes a 57 percent participation rate in Medicaid, and accordingly it calculates its $464.6 billion estimate of expanding that program.
But with the individual mandate requiring everyone to carry health insurance of some sort, enrollment will most likely be higher than the government is estimating. Put simply, a 34 percent participation rate for a mandatory government program is simply unbelievable. Medicare enjoys a 96 percent participation rate, after all.
Get full story here.
Merely Symbolic
ALG Editor's Note: William Warren's award-winning cartoons published at GetLiberty.org are a free service of ALG News Bureau. They may be reused and redistributed free of charge.
Get permalink here.
Our Regulated Society
By Adam Bitely
Obama has been quite busy reframing his image to the American people since the crushing results of the 2010 midterm elections. At the midway point of his first term, he is quickly attempting to cast himself as the middle-of-the-road independent in the mold of Bill Clinton post-1994 midterm elections. While this rebranding scheme might work on some, don’t let it fool you.
Writing in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal, Obama admits that he loves the free market society that exists in America. As he wrote, “America’s free market has not only been the source of dazzling ideas and path-breaking products, it has also been the greatest force for prosperity the world has ever known.” And he is exactly right.
His next paragraph, however, contradicted this newfound admiration of that very system. Sounding like a typical politician, Obama felt the need to justify the role that government regulators play in the supposedly “free” marketplace.
Obama says, “throughout our history, one of the reasons the free market has worked is that we have sought the proper balance.” Of course, the balance he refers to is government regulators interfering in the marketplace. Obama continues, “[w]e have preserved freedom of commerce while applying those rules and regulations necessary to protect the public against threats to our health and safety and to safeguard people and businesses from abuse.”
This quick reversal inside of two paragraphs reminds one of George W. Bush’s similar reversal that he made in the fall of 2008 while advocating the bailout of the entire financial system. Bush stated that he had to go against the free market ideals that he so deeply believed in to preserve the free market system.
Get full story here.
Obama has been quite busy reframing his image to the American people since the crushing results of the 2010 midterm elections. At the midway point of his first term, he is quickly attempting to cast himself as the middle-of-the-road independent in the mold of Bill Clinton post-1994 midterm elections. While this rebranding scheme might work on some, don’t let it fool you.
Writing in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal, Obama admits that he loves the free market society that exists in America. As he wrote, “America’s free market has not only been the source of dazzling ideas and path-breaking products, it has also been the greatest force for prosperity the world has ever known.” And he is exactly right.
His next paragraph, however, contradicted this newfound admiration of that very system. Sounding like a typical politician, Obama felt the need to justify the role that government regulators play in the supposedly “free” marketplace.
Obama says, “throughout our history, one of the reasons the free market has worked is that we have sought the proper balance.” Of course, the balance he refers to is government regulators interfering in the marketplace. Obama continues, “[w]e have preserved freedom of commerce while applying those rules and regulations necessary to protect the public against threats to our health and safety and to safeguard people and businesses from abuse.”
This quick reversal inside of two paragraphs reminds one of George W. Bush’s similar reversal that he made in the fall of 2008 while advocating the bailout of the entire financial system. Bush stated that he had to go against the free market ideals that he so deeply believed in to preserve the free market system.
Get full story here.
Oprah Tells Piers Morgan About The Child She Lost And Her Suicidal Thoughts
Last night Oprah Winfrey sat down with CNN's newest talk show host Piers Morgan to kick off his new show and chat about her OWN Network, her career in television and also discuss some personal tragedies like the loss of her child.
Oprah Winfrey sat down for a deeply personal interview with CNN's Piers Morgan and one of the most shocking topics on the table was the child she tried to abort and eventually lost when she was 14.
“Getting pregnant was a result of bad choices, not having boundaries, sexual abuse from the time I was 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13,” said Oprah.Oprah then revealed to Piers the shame she felt after learning of the pregnancy and the suicidal thoughts that came. She even tried to drink laundry detergent in attempt to abort the baby herself.
And when a pregnant Oprah went to live with her father, things only got worse when he told her, “I would rather see a daughter of mine floating down the Cumberland River than to bring shame on this family and the indecency of an illegitimate child.”
She then “hid the pregnancy until her swollen ankles and belly gave her away.” A few weeks later, the baby died in the hospital.
Another shocking revelation was that Oprah said she “had no connection..." to the baby and viewed the death as a blessing in disguise. “When the baby died, I knew that it was my second chance.”
Interesting take on it.
Watch the video here:
Earthquake of 7.2 Magnitude Shook Southwestern Pakistan, Delhi and Dubai on Early Wednesday
A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook southwestern Pakistan early on Wednesday, jolting residents of cities as far apart as Delhi, India at approx 1.56 AM IST and Dubai, but the epicenter was far from major population centers.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was more than 80 km (50 miles) underground, close to the town of Dalbandin in Baluchistan province, near the Afghan and Iranian frontiers.
The USGS said the epicenter was 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin, a town of about 15,000 people, and at a depth of 83 km (52 miles).
In Dalbandin, several people were injured when the roofs of their houses collapsed, provincial Transport Minister Amanullah Notizai told Reuters, but so far there were no reports of fatalities in the quake which hit at 1:23 a.m. (2023 GMT on Tuesday).
People in India's border province of Rajasthan said cracks appeared in the walls of rural dwellings.
U.S. forces across the border in Afghanistan were unaffected by the quake, according to preliminary reports from the U.S. military.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was more than 80 km (50 miles) underground, close to the town of Dalbandin in Baluchistan province, near the Afghan and Iranian frontiers.
The USGS said the epicenter was 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin, a town of about 15,000 people, and at a depth of 83 km (52 miles).
In Dalbandin, several people were injured when the roofs of their houses collapsed, provincial Transport Minister Amanullah Notizai told Reuters, but so far there were no reports of fatalities in the quake which hit at 1:23 a.m. (2023 GMT on Tuesday).
People in India's border province of Rajasthan said cracks appeared in the walls of rural dwellings.
U.S. forces across the border in Afghanistan were unaffected by the quake, according to preliminary reports from the U.S. military.
[Source]
"Study: Many College Students Not Learning to Think Critically"
"Study: Many College Students Not Learning to Think Critically"
by Sara Rimer
by Sara Rimer
"An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn't learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education. Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn't determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin.
Arum, whose book "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses" (University of Chicago Press) comes out this month, followed 2,322 traditional-age students from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2009 and examined testing data and student surveys at a broad range of 24 U.S. colleges and universities, from the highly selective to the less selective. Forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college, according to the study. After four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these so-called "higher order" thinking skills.
Combining the hours spent studying and in class, students devoted less than a fifth of their time each week to academic pursuits. By contrast, students spent 51 percent of their time - or 85 hours a week - socializing or in extracurricular activities. The study also showed that students who studied alone made more significant gains in learning than those who studied in groups. "I'm not surprised at the results," said Stephen G. Emerson, the president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. "Our very best students don't study in groups. They might work in groups in lab projects. But when they study, they study by themselves."
The study marks one of the first times a cohort of undergraduates has been followed over four years to examine whether they're learning specific skills. It provides a portrait of the complex set of factors, from the quality of secondary school preparation to the academic demands on campus, which determine learning. It comes amid President Barack Obama's call for more college graduates by 2020 and is likely to shine a spotlight on the quality of the education they receive. "These findings are extremely valuable for those of us deeply concerned about the state of undergraduate learning and student intellectual engagement," said Brian D. Casey, the president of DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. "They will surely shape discussions about curriculum and campus life for years to come."
Some educators note that a weakened economy and a need to work while in school may be partly responsible for the reduced focus on academics, while others caution against using the study to blame students for not applying themselves. Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education known for his theory of multiple intelligences, said the study underscores the need for higher education to push students harder. "No one concerned with education can be pleased with the findings of this study," Gardner said. "I think that higher education in general is not demanding enough of students - academics are simply of less importance than they were a generation ago." But the solution, in Gardner's view, shouldn't be to introduce high-stakes tests to measure learning in college because, "The cure is likely to be worse than the disease."
Arum concluded that while students at highly selective schools made more gains than those at less selective schools, there are even greater disparities within institutions. "In all these 24 colleges and universities, you have pockets of kids that are working hard and learning at very high rates," Arum said. "There is this variation across colleges, but even greater variation within colleges in how much kids are applying themselves and learning." For that reason, Arum added, he hopes his data will encourage colleges and universities to look within for ways to improve teaching and learning.
Arum co-authored the book with Josipa Roksa, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. The study, conducted with Esther Cho, a researcher with the Social Science Research Council, showed that students learned more when asked to do more. Students who majored in the traditional liberal arts - including the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and mathematics - showed significantly greater gains over time than other students in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills. Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the least gains in learning. However, the authors note that their findings don't preclude the possibility that such students "are developing subject-specific or occupationally relevant skills."
Greater gains in liberal arts subjects are at least partly the result of faculty requiring higher levels of reading and writing, as well as students spending more time studying, the study's authors found. Students who took courses heavy on both reading (more than 40 pages a week) and writing (more than 20 pages in a semester) showed higher rates of learning. That's welcome news to liberal arts advocates. "We do teach analytical reading and writing," said Ellen Fitzpatrick, a history professor at the University of New Hampshire.
The study used data from the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a 90-minute essay-type test that attempts to measure what liberal arts colleges teach and that more than 400 colleges and universities have used since 2002. The test is voluntary and includes real world problem-solving tasks, such as determining the cause of an airplane crash, that require reading and analyzing documents from newspaper articles to government reports. The study's authors also found that large numbers of students didn't enroll in courses requiring substantial work. In a typical semester, a third of students took no courses with more than 40 pages of reading per week. Half didn't take a single course in which they wrote more than 20 pages over the semester.
The findings show that colleges need to be acutely aware of how instruction relates to the learning of critical-thinking and related skills, said Daniel J. Bradley, the president of Indiana State University and one of 71 college presidents who recently signed a pledge to improve student learning. "We haven't spent enough time making sure we are indeed teaching - and students are learning - these skills," Bradley said.
Christine Walker, a senior at DePauw who's also student body president, said the study doesn't reflect her own experience: She studies upwards of 30 hours a week and is confident she's learning plenty. Walker said she and her classmates are juggling multiple non-academic demands, including jobs, to help pay for their education and that in today's economy, top grades aren't enough. "If you don't have a good resume," Walker said, "the fact that you can say, 'I wrote this really good paper that helped my critical thinking' is going to be irrelevant."
Arum, whose book "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses" (University of Chicago Press) comes out this month, followed 2,322 traditional-age students from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2009 and examined testing data and student surveys at a broad range of 24 U.S. colleges and universities, from the highly selective to the less selective. Forty-five percent of students made no significant improvement in their critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills during the first two years of college, according to the study. After four years, 36 percent showed no significant gains in these so-called "higher order" thinking skills.
Combining the hours spent studying and in class, students devoted less than a fifth of their time each week to academic pursuits. By contrast, students spent 51 percent of their time - or 85 hours a week - socializing or in extracurricular activities. The study also showed that students who studied alone made more significant gains in learning than those who studied in groups. "I'm not surprised at the results," said Stephen G. Emerson, the president of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. "Our very best students don't study in groups. They might work in groups in lab projects. But when they study, they study by themselves."
The study marks one of the first times a cohort of undergraduates has been followed over four years to examine whether they're learning specific skills. It provides a portrait of the complex set of factors, from the quality of secondary school preparation to the academic demands on campus, which determine learning. It comes amid President Barack Obama's call for more college graduates by 2020 and is likely to shine a spotlight on the quality of the education they receive. "These findings are extremely valuable for those of us deeply concerned about the state of undergraduate learning and student intellectual engagement," said Brian D. Casey, the president of DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. "They will surely shape discussions about curriculum and campus life for years to come."
Some educators note that a weakened economy and a need to work while in school may be partly responsible for the reduced focus on academics, while others caution against using the study to blame students for not applying themselves. Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education known for his theory of multiple intelligences, said the study underscores the need for higher education to push students harder. "No one concerned with education can be pleased with the findings of this study," Gardner said. "I think that higher education in general is not demanding enough of students - academics are simply of less importance than they were a generation ago." But the solution, in Gardner's view, shouldn't be to introduce high-stakes tests to measure learning in college because, "The cure is likely to be worse than the disease."
Arum concluded that while students at highly selective schools made more gains than those at less selective schools, there are even greater disparities within institutions. "In all these 24 colleges and universities, you have pockets of kids that are working hard and learning at very high rates," Arum said. "There is this variation across colleges, but even greater variation within colleges in how much kids are applying themselves and learning." For that reason, Arum added, he hopes his data will encourage colleges and universities to look within for ways to improve teaching and learning.
Arum co-authored the book with Josipa Roksa, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. The study, conducted with Esther Cho, a researcher with the Social Science Research Council, showed that students learned more when asked to do more. Students who majored in the traditional liberal arts - including the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and mathematics - showed significantly greater gains over time than other students in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills. Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the least gains in learning. However, the authors note that their findings don't preclude the possibility that such students "are developing subject-specific or occupationally relevant skills."
Greater gains in liberal arts subjects are at least partly the result of faculty requiring higher levels of reading and writing, as well as students spending more time studying, the study's authors found. Students who took courses heavy on both reading (more than 40 pages a week) and writing (more than 20 pages in a semester) showed higher rates of learning. That's welcome news to liberal arts advocates. "We do teach analytical reading and writing," said Ellen Fitzpatrick, a history professor at the University of New Hampshire.
The study used data from the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a 90-minute essay-type test that attempts to measure what liberal arts colleges teach and that more than 400 colleges and universities have used since 2002. The test is voluntary and includes real world problem-solving tasks, such as determining the cause of an airplane crash, that require reading and analyzing documents from newspaper articles to government reports. The study's authors also found that large numbers of students didn't enroll in courses requiring substantial work. In a typical semester, a third of students took no courses with more than 40 pages of reading per week. Half didn't take a single course in which they wrote more than 20 pages over the semester.
The findings show that colleges need to be acutely aware of how instruction relates to the learning of critical-thinking and related skills, said Daniel J. Bradley, the president of Indiana State University and one of 71 college presidents who recently signed a pledge to improve student learning. "We haven't spent enough time making sure we are indeed teaching - and students are learning - these skills," Bradley said.
Christine Walker, a senior at DePauw who's also student body president, said the study doesn't reflect her own experience: She studies upwards of 30 hours a week and is confident she's learning plenty. Walker said she and her classmates are juggling multiple non-academic demands, including jobs, to help pay for their education and that in today's economy, top grades aren't enough. "If you don't have a good resume," Walker said, "the fact that you can say, 'I wrote this really good paper that helped my critical thinking' is going to be irrelevant."
- http://www.sott.net/
•
(This article was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet affiliated with Teachers College, Columbia University.)
Sports Illustrated Report Suggests Lance Armstrong Used PEDs
Cycling cancer survivor Lance Armstrong claims he has never used performance-enhancing drugs. Sports Illustrated comes up with a smattering of circumstantial evidence that might lead a reasonable person to conclude that he is lying.
SI has eyewitness accounts. Floyd Landis recalls a 2003 incident where customs agents found “a bag full of drugs and shit” with syringes belonging to Armstrong. An aide convinced the customs agent they were vitamins. Stephen Swart, a 1995 teammate, calls Armstrong “the instigator” behind using EPO. He claims seeing Armstrong with an illegal Hematocrit level during the 1995 Tour.
They have a paper trail. Armstrong was part of the clinical trial for the drug HemAssist in the late 1990’s. It’s used to raise the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity, essentially a less harmful version of EPO. There are also texts and emails connecting Armstrong’s team to shady Italian doctor Michele Ferrari as recently as 2009.
SI also has some murky test results. Lance appeared to test positive for an abnormal testosterone-epitestosterone ratio three times in the 1990s, but none of the samples were confirmed.
There’s no firm evidence here, which is why the preview is written in insinuations. However, I believe he’s as innocent as Roger Clemens.
They have a paper trail. Armstrong was part of the clinical trial for the drug HemAssist in the late 1990’s. It’s used to raise the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity, essentially a less harmful version of EPO. There are also texts and emails connecting Armstrong’s team to shady Italian doctor Michele Ferrari as recently as 2009.
SI also has some murky test results. Lance appeared to test positive for an abnormal testosterone-epitestosterone ratio three times in the 1990s, but none of the samples were confirmed.
There’s no firm evidence here, which is why the preview is written in insinuations. However, I believe he’s as innocent as Roger Clemens.
Joe Lieberman to find second career as a door-stop
- Image by TalkMediaNews via Flickr
Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut lawmaker whose successful re-election run as an independent in 2006 resurrected him after defeat in the state’s Democratic primary, is expected to announce Wednesday that he will not seek a fifth term.Joe is a war hawk and I’m glad to him almost gone.
News reports citing sources close to Lieberman indicated Tuesday that the four-term senator will not run again in 2012.
Related articles
- Facing Opposition from All Sides, Joe Lieberman Won’t Seek Re-Election (swampland.blogs.time.com)
- Joe Lieberman to announce political plans – USA Today (news.google.com)
BY Joel L. Watts
FCC Approves Comcast-Universal Merger
CNN is reporting today that the FCC has approved the merger between cable giant Comcast and NBC-Universal. CNET explains: The $37 billion merger between the companies has been a long time coming. The deal, which was first announced in 2009, provides Comcast with a 51 percent controlling stake in NBC Universal. General Electric will retain the remaining 49 percent. When the deal was first announced, the companies hoped to have it accepted by regulatory bodies at the end of 2010. However, over the course of the last year, the companies faced increasing concerns that their merger might unfairly impact competing content providers and harm consumers. The Department of Justice, which is also evaluating the merger with regard to antitrust rules, is also expected to vote to approve the joint venture. Both the Justice Department and that FCC stamps of approval are needed before the deal to form the joint venture can close.The merger has been a subject of relentless lampooning on NBC's 30 Rock, where the acquiring company is called Kabletown.
Sargent Shriver Dead At 95
Sargent Shriver picture
Sargent Shriver, founder of the Peace Corps, has died at the age of 95. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy called on Shriver to start the organization, and it was up and running in 6 months. Shriver later married Eunice Kennedy, President Kennedy’s sister. He had 5 children, including broadcaster and former California First Lady Maria Shriver.
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Early Morning Swim: FBI Calls Bomb Discovered at Washington MLK Parade “Domestic Terrorism” Reports Rachel Maddow
Probably some left-winger trying to make conservatives look bad.
A “potentially deadly” explosive device that could have caused severe casualties was found along the intended route of a Martin Luther King Day march in Spokane, Wash., half an hour before the event was to begin, the FBI said Tuesday. [...]
The device inside “clearly would have had the potential to inflict multiple casualties, injury and death, to humans,” Harrill said in an interview Tuesday. He declined to describe the device. [...]
No one has claimed responsibility or offered a motive, Harrill said. But he called the connection with the King Day march “inescapable."
“We’re treating this as an act of domestic terrorism,” he said.
By: Blue Texan
2011 - New Data Shows That Charter Schools Consistently Outperform Their In-District Counterparts
Comparison underscores the need to extend the benefit of charter schools to more New Jersey children currently in failing schools
Trenton, NJ – Comparative data released by the Department of Education today shows the majority of charters in urban areas last year outperformed other public schools in their host districts on required standardized testing. The data affirms the need for Governor Christie’s reform proposals to grow the number of high-quality charter schools, expand choice for children in failing schools, and reform New Jersey’s charter law to attract high-quality operators to the state.
The charters, located in former Abbott districts, scored higher on the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge and the High School Proficiency Assessment tests in 2010. For eighth-grade students, 79 percent of the charter schools in former Abbott districts scored higher than their home district in Language Arts, while 69 percent of the charter schools scored higher than their home district in Math.
“The data shows us that the innovation and creativity that drove the charter movement in the first place are getting real results for our children,” said Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf. “High-quality charters in New Jersey are shining examples of why we can no longer accept that zip code equals destiny. It’s critical that we act immediately to strengthen and expand charter schools in the state by implementing Governor Christie’s education reforms.”
In Newark, all but two of the nine charter schools outperformed the district average for Math and all but two out-scored the district average in Language Arts. Four charter schools -- Discovery, Gray, Robert Treat Academy and North Star -- bested the state average in Language Arts. In Math tests, Discovery, Gray, Greater Newark, North Star Academy and Robert Treat Academy scored higher than the state average. In Camden, all four charters outperformed the district averages in Language Arts and Math.
“These charter schools are living proof that a firm dedication to students and a commitment to best education practices will result in high student achievement in some of New Jersey’s lowest-income areas,” said Carlos Perez, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Charter School Association. He pointed to NJASK data for third grade Language Arts, where more than half the charters outperformed the schools in their home districts, and of those, more than 75 percent were located in former Abbott districts.
“With charters – as with all schools -- accountability is critical. Charters are not permanent and must be renewed on a regular basis, helping ensure accountability,” said Newark Charter School Fund CEO Mashea Ashton. “The data shows that charter schools are working hard and successfully providing a high quality education for their students.”
Two Newark charters were recently given the prestigious national Blue Ribbon award; five total New Jersey charters have received the award, considered the highest honor an American school can achieve. The federal Blue Ribbon School Program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools, in operation for five or more years, that are either high performing or have improved student achievement to high levels, especially among disadvantaged students.
The NJDOE data on charter school achievement can be found here: http://draft.blogger.com/education/chartsch/expectations.pdf.
| For Immediate Release: |
Contact: Alan Guenther, Director
Allison Kobus |
| Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 |
609-292-1126
|
The charters, located in former Abbott districts, scored higher on the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge and the High School Proficiency Assessment tests in 2010. For eighth-grade students, 79 percent of the charter schools in former Abbott districts scored higher than their home district in Language Arts, while 69 percent of the charter schools scored higher than their home district in Math.
“The data shows us that the innovation and creativity that drove the charter movement in the first place are getting real results for our children,” said Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf. “High-quality charters in New Jersey are shining examples of why we can no longer accept that zip code equals destiny. It’s critical that we act immediately to strengthen and expand charter schools in the state by implementing Governor Christie’s education reforms.”
In Newark, all but two of the nine charter schools outperformed the district average for Math and all but two out-scored the district average in Language Arts. Four charter schools -- Discovery, Gray, Robert Treat Academy and North Star -- bested the state average in Language Arts. In Math tests, Discovery, Gray, Greater Newark, North Star Academy and Robert Treat Academy scored higher than the state average. In Camden, all four charters outperformed the district averages in Language Arts and Math.
“These charter schools are living proof that a firm dedication to students and a commitment to best education practices will result in high student achievement in some of New Jersey’s lowest-income areas,” said Carlos Perez, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Charter School Association. He pointed to NJASK data for third grade Language Arts, where more than half the charters outperformed the schools in their home districts, and of those, more than 75 percent were located in former Abbott districts.
“With charters – as with all schools -- accountability is critical. Charters are not permanent and must be renewed on a regular basis, helping ensure accountability,” said Newark Charter School Fund CEO Mashea Ashton. “The data shows that charter schools are working hard and successfully providing a high quality education for their students.”
Two Newark charters were recently given the prestigious national Blue Ribbon award; five total New Jersey charters have received the award, considered the highest honor an American school can achieve. The federal Blue Ribbon School Program honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools, in operation for five or more years, that are either high performing or have improved student achievement to high levels, especially among disadvantaged students.
The NJDOE data on charter school achievement can be found here: http://draft.blogger.com/education/chartsch/expectations.pdf.
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