Prometheus 6

Take sorghum, a staple of the Sudanese diet, typically eaten in flat, spongy bread. Last year, the United States government, as part of its response to the emergency in Darfur, shipped in 283,000 tons of sorghum, at high cost, from as far away as Houston. Oddly enough, that is about the same amount that Sudan exported, according to United Nations officials. 

Darfur Withers as Sudan Sells a Food Bonanza
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

ED DAMER, Sudan — Even as it receives a billion pounds of free food from international donors, Sudan is growing and selling vast quantities of its own crops to other countries, capitalizing on high global food prices at a time when millions of people in its war-riddled region of Darfur barely have enough to eat.

The Measure of America: American Human Development Report, 2008-2009 (A Columbia / SSRC Book)
Authora: Sarah Burd-Sharps, Kristen Lewis, Eduardo Borges Martins
List price: $24.95 USD

The Measure of America, American Human Development Report 2009-2009, is the first product of the American Human Development Project (AHDP). It applies a standard roughly equivalent to the United Nations' Human Development Index to the United States of America. It is actually pretty remarkable that this has never been done before since the standards by which United States justifies its foreign policy positions claim similar intent.

His draft rule isn't redefining abortion but it would if it were a rule instead of a draft rule.

Birth Control Fears Addressed
HHS Chief Says Draft Rule Is Not Redefining Abortion
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 9, 2008; A02

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has denied that a controversial draft regulation would redefine common birth control methods as abortion and protect the rights of doctors and other health-care workers who refuse to provide them.

In a statement posted on his blog on Thursday, Leavitt appeared to try to allay fears that the proposed regulation would create sweeping new obstacles to women seeking a variety of commonly used contraceptives, such as birth control pills and the Plan B emergency contraceptive.

"An early draft of the regulation found its way into public circulation before it had reached my review," Leavitt said. "It contained words that lead some to conclude my intent is to deal with the subject of contraceptives, somehow defining them as abortion. Not true."

Mac's publicist reportedly told celebrity gossip site TMZ.com, "Actor/ comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital. No other details are available at this time. We ask that his family's privacy continues to be respected." 

Comedian, South Sider Bernie Mac dies at 50
August 9, 2008

Comedian Bernie Mac died at Northwestern Memorial hospital early Saturday morning, according to Sun-Times Columnist, Stella Foster. He was 50.

Though the cause of death has not been confirmed, Mac had been hospitalized recently for pneumonia. Foster said that she received calls early Saturday morning from a close friend of the Mac family, confirming the reports of Mac's death.

The columnist also said she was deeply saddened to receive such a phone call just an hour after Mac was pronounced dead.

I have a question

The Section 8 program is designed to encourage low-income tenants to settle in middle-income areas by subsidizing 60 percent of their rent. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development issued 50,000 more vouchers for suburban relocations in 2007 than in 2005, bringing the total number of renter families to 2.1 million.

Federal officials and housing experts say that the increase in vouchers was offset by people being forced out of federal housing projects that closed and by renters moving into foreclosed properties. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy and research group, 30 percent to 40 percent of residents in foreclosed properties were renters, many of whom have since sought federal assistance.

If the percentage of white voters who cannot bring themselves to vote for a black candidate were only 15 percent, that would be more than all black voters combined. (Coincidentally, it also would be more than all voters under 24 years old.) That amounts to a racial advantage for John McCain.

And this sentiment stretched across ideological lines. Just as many white independents as Republicans said that most of the people they knew would not vote for a black candidate, and white Democrats were not far behind. Also, remember that during the Democratic primaries, up to 20 percent of white voters in some states said that the race of the candidate was important to them. Few of those people voted for the black guy.

Racism and the Race
By CHARLES M. BLOW

This is supposed to be the Democrats’ year of destiny. Bush is hobbling out of office, the economy is in the toilet, voters are sick of the war and the party’s wunderkind candidate is raking in money hand over fist.

So why is the presidential race a statistical dead heat? The pundits have offered a host of reasons, but one in particular deserves more exploration: racism.

"An employer cannot by contract restrain a former employee from engaging in his or her profession, trade or business," said Justice Ming Chin in Thursday's ruling. He said the law recognizes only a few limited exceptions, for noncompete agreements that are part of the breakup of a corporation or partnership.

State Supreme Court rejects noncompete clauses
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, August 8, 2008

(08-07) 12:04 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Californians have the right to move from one company to another or start their own business and can't be prohibited by their employer from working for a competitor in their next job, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In a unanimous decision, the justices said state law since 1872 has forbidden what are called noncompete clauses that restrict management employees' options after they leave a company.

Zimbabwe consumes 3,5 million litres of diesel, three million litres of petrol and five million litres of Jet A1 daily. The country needs about US$130 million a month to import fuel.

In March, government came up with a plan to use diamonds illicitly mined from Marange in Manicaland province in exchange for fuel from Equatorial Guinea.

BP deal to supply fuel to Zimbabwe falls through
2008-08-08

Negotiations between the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) and two international petroleum companies to supply fuel to the country have collapsed over pricing, sources told ZimOnline.

Sources in the oil industry said NOCZIM was about to clinch a fuel deal with Independent Petroleum Group of Kuwait and BP Shell of South Africa, but it fell through after NOCZIM insisted that the landing rate be US$0,60 a litre.

Under a draft settlement reported in South Africa's Star newspaper on Wednesday, Tsvangirai would run the country while Mugabe would become ceremonial president.

Zimbabwe power-sharing deal close
NELSON BANYA | HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Aug 08 2008 07:53

Judge frees mayor on $50,000 bond, restricts travel, orders him tethered
By M.L. ELRICK and Joe Swickard • Free Press Staff Writers • August 8, 2008

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was fitted for a tether today and released after arraignment on new assault charges.

This morning Wayne County Circuit Judge Thomas Jackson ruled Kilpatrick must pay $50,000 cash bond and wear a tether before he could be released from the Wayne County Jail. He also was forbidden to travel, meaning the mayor must cancel his trip to the Democratic National Convention and a family trip to Florida.

Here's the Miles Davis music player from the official Miles Davis site. Enjoy for a while.

Give it up, dude...they're on your ass worse than Rep. Jefferson. They'll get you for spitting on the sidewalk next.

"It is a very serious case. ... I cannot recall, ever, seeing, let alone hearing, of a situation where a police officer trying to serve a subpoena was assaulted," Cox said, adding that he has been a prosecutor for 20 years.

The new charge stems from a July 24 altercation with Wayne County Sheriff’s Detective Brian White, who testified that Kilpatrick shoved him into his partner at the mayor’s sister’s house in Detroit. Kilpatrick’s lawyers said the mayor gently escorted White away from the house.

White said he was trying to serve the mayor’s friend, Bobby Ferguson, with a subpoena for a hearing in the text message case against Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty, who also is facing multiple felonies in that case.

Mayor posts bond on 2 new felony charges for allegedly assaulting cops
Mayor's attorney promises fight
By Jim Schaefer and Ben Schmitt • Free Press Staff Writers • August 8, 2008

A magistrate today set a $25,000 bond for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in connection with two felony assault charges filed by the Michigan Attorney General's office.

Magistrate Renee McDuffee of the 36th District Court ordered the mayor to post 10% of a $25,000 bond, or $2,500 for release on the new charges. The mayor posted the bond this afternoon and was released.

Russian Troops Enter Rebel Enclave
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ and ANNE BARNARD

GORI, Georgia — Russian troops entered a breakaway region of Georgia on Friday after Georgian forces pushed into the capital of the pro-Russian enclave, in a sharp escalation of the longstanding conflict.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin declared that “war has started” and President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia accused Russia of a “well-planned invasion," saying he had mobilized Georgia’s military reserves.

Reports conflicted Friday about whether Georgian or Russian forces had won control of the capital of the rebel province, South Ossetia. It was unclear late Friday whether ground combat had taken place between the two sides in the capital, Tskhinvali.

Georgia accused Russia of unleashing an air bombing campaign and claimed that hundreds of civilians had been killed; Russia denied those accusations.

Apple removes $1,000 featureless iPhone application
4:41 PM, August 7, 2008

Eight iPhone owners have joined an elite clan: Their Apple gadget is running a program that cost nearly $1,000.

When the iPhone first hit the market in June 2007, those who paid the $499 entry price -- and signed the two-year AT&T contract -- owned a status symbol. A year later, we have the iPhone 3G, Apple's speedier, sleeker and, most important, less expensive smart phone, which introduced a section for downloading third-party applications. Now that the phone is affordable enough for a wider audience, a new status symbol has emerged: a seemingly useless application called I Am Rich.

Newsweek's Christopher Dickey had an interesting interview going on...until he exposed the Internet Trolls!

When Candidates Lie

Dear Stumped:

It seems that, from time-to-time, politicians make assertions that are
demonstrably incorrect, yet their statements are treated as legitimate arguments in debate. Why the reticence in the press to employ a descriptor such as "falsehood" or "lie" when one is clearly offered up? I guess I am getting old, but in my youth, assertion did not sit at the same table as logic and deduction in debate.

Grey at the Temples

David Brooks is quite amusing today . Framing aside, he's right too.

Paul Krugman

What I mean, instead, is that know-nothingism — the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there’s something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise — has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party’s de facto slogan has become: “Real men don’t think things through.”

Yes. They work on the assumption that if you're tough and stubborn enough to stick it out, everyone will be forced to adjust around you. There are limits, though. Republicans are now on tip-toe, stretching out to hold up scary things in all directions at once, and trying to hold that position and posture when the very ground is changing. And the toughness required by this strategy can exceed the limits of flesh.

The mayor said he was handcuffed for about two hours along with his mother-in-law. No charges were brought against Calvo or his wife, who came home during the raid.

Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin High said Wednesday that Calvo and his family were "most likely . . . innocent victims," but he would not rule out their involvement. He and other officials did not apologize for killing the dogs, saying the officers felt threatened.

FBI looking into pot raid of Maryland mayor's home
Cheye Calvo and his wife appear to be innocent victims of a marijuana smuggling scheme. Their two dogs were shot dead by officers.
From the Associated Press
August 8, 2008

BERWYN HEIGHTS, MD. — Mayor Cheye Calvo got home from work, saw a package addressed to his wife on the front porch and brought it inside.

Suddenly, police with guns drawn kicked in the door and stormed in, shooting to death the couple's two dogs and seizing the unopened package. Inside was 32 pounds of marijuana that evidently didn't belong to the couple.

Police now say the mayor and his wife appear to have been innocent victims of a scheme by two men to smuggle millions of dollars' worth of the drug by having it delivered to about half a dozen unsuspecting recipients.

They may own this guy money but isn't the language kind of...loose?

Apple sued for indentured servitude
Egan Orion | Aug 7, 2008 10:08 AM
Class action for overtime pay

A LAWSUIT filed Monday in California seeks class action status alleging that Apple denied technical staffers required overtime pay and meal compensation in violation of state law.

Filed in the US District Court for Southern California, the complaint claims that many Apple employees are routinely subjected to working conditions resembling indentured servitude.

Lead plaintiff David Walsh was employed by Apple as a network engineer from 1995 until 2007. His complaint says he was often required to work more than 40 hours per week, miss meals, and spend his evenings and even entire weekends on call without any overtime pay or meal compensation. He fielded technical support calls that often came after 11 pm.

"The energy question is one of the reasons we were interested in creating this map," said Pratt.

"While we have no particular agenda, it is clear than when states turn to the Law of the Sea Convention they do so thinking more about their rights rather than their responsibilities.

Who owns resource-rich Arctic?  
Map blending geological data, international law offers a new look at overlapping claims
August 07, 2008
Mitch Potter
EUROPE BUREAU

LONDON–Canada's claim to the resource-rich Arctic has been brought into high relief by a team of British researchers that yesterday released the first detailed map illustrating possible future boundaries of the five nations seeking title to the extreme north.

The new map gives Canada a vast swath of disputed territory inside the Arctic Circle, including the now navigable Northwest Passage, but suggests Russia and Denmark may have a greater claim to the actual North Pole.

Win Points for McCain!
Rewards Program for Online Commenters
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 7, 2008; C01

Spread John McCain's official talking points around the Web -- and you could win valuable prizes!...

On McCain's Web site, visitors are invited to "Spread the Word" about the presumptive Republican nominee by sending campaign-supplied comments to blogs and Web sites under the visitor's screen name. The site offers sample comments ("John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan . . .") and a list of dozens of suggested destinations, conveniently broken down into "conservative," "liberal," "moderate" and "other" categories. Just cut and paste.

Isn't that great? You don't even have to strain your eyes reading very much. Don't need to learn the issues or anything, just cut and paste.

Missing votes spark lawsuit
Brunner: Touch-screen machines defective, company should pay
Thursday,  August 7, 2008 3:24 AM
By Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The touch-screen voting setup used in half of Ohio's 88 counties doesn't work properly, and the former Diebold Election Systems should pay as a result, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said in a court filing yesterday.

The move comes fewer than 90 days before Ohio voters go to the polls in an election that could decide the presidential race, but Brunner says safeguards will be in place by then in the affected counties to mitigate any risks.

"We will make the equipment work, but this is not something that Ohio should be satisfied with for the long term," Brunner said. "Our goal is to have Ohio taxpayers compensated for this equipment that doesn't function properly."

In our rush to CGI superheroes, let us not forget the joys of the animated form.

The destruction of African agriculture
Walden Bello (2008-08-05)

Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely food-self-sufficient into chronic food importers. Here the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) figure as much more important villains.

Whether in Latin America, Asia, or Africa, the story has been the same: the destabilization of peasant producers by a one-two punch of IMF-World Bank structural adjustment programs that gutted government investment in the countryside followed by the massive influx of subsidized U.S. and European Union agricultural imports after the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture pried open markets.

African agriculture is a case study of how doctrinaire economics serving corporate interests can destroy a whole continent’s productive base.