Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Don’t say it to loudly or you’ll spook it away, but an economic recovery may be on the horizon.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment fell to 8.3% and January saw the addition of 243,000 jobs in the U.S.
Unemployment has declined by .8% since August indicating a slow but steady recovery in the job market. Don’t break out the champagne yet because a definitive end to the nation’s financial woes is not clearly in sight.
But if this trend continues, then by election time in November, unemployment could be in the 7% range, the first time since the recession hit.
Of course, that is a big “IF”…
Have you ever heard of a moral exemption clause? It’s a rule that grants legal exemptions to people who have a deeply held moral belief.
This comes up, for example, when say a Catholic college refuses to write prescriptions for birth control.
But this practice is being challenged by the new health-care law, which requires insurance plans to provide contraception without co-pays.
Catholicism prohibits the use of contraception and perceives the law as an attack on their faith. Under the current law, Catholic colleges would have to pay for and provide something they find morally objectionable.
So, to find a way around the new requirements, Catholic colleges are refusing to prescribe birth control. The colleges argue that they are private institutions and if people don’t like the policy they are free to go elsewhere.
Moral exemptions are tricky. Obviously no one wants to write a law that would unfairly conflict with a person’s faith. We wouldn’t pass a law that requires all Americans to eat pork, for example. Furthermore, Catholic universities are private institutions.
On the other hand, denying women birth control can lead to unintended pregnancies (4 out of 10 end in abortion). It is also argued that treatment is ultimately the decision of the patient not the doctor.
Moral exemptions made the news a few months ago when Michigan Republicans tried to add an amendment on an anti-bullying bill that would exempt “a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.”
The crux of the issue is this: When does religious freedom infringe on the civil rights of others and, should that happen, which one should win?
There is no clear answer to this question. We would love to hear your thoughts on this vexing issue.
After revealing the U.S.’ frequent attacks on Pakistan, Obama addressed citizens in an hour-long video chat on Google+ on Monday.
While this is not surprising to all, it has outraged some including Amnesty International.
Pakistan has claimed that these attacks are illegal and Obama defends them stating that they are aimed to protect U.S. citizens and projects abroad.
The number of civilians killed is being debated. The President reassured in his speech that the number is few.
The Commander in Chief is facing a stiff compromise between military safety and transparency at home. Can he strike a good balance between the two?
Before he became president, Barack Obama drove a Chrysler.
If you’re in the market for a new car, the 2005 Chrysler 300C once leased by the president is now for sale on eBay—with a starting bid of a cool $1 million. Full disclosure: President Obama traded the gas guzzler for a 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid after being criticized for being environmentally insensitive.
When it was traded, the Chrysler had 19,000 miles on it. (We assume most of the miles are highway miles.) It currently has just over 20,000 miles. The seller scoffs at those who are skeptical of the high price tag, citing a recent auction for Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 1977 Peugeot 504, which fetched $1.5 million at auction in 2011.
(The New York Times is a tad skeptical, noting that a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee also owned by Obama sold for a relatively measly $26,438 in 2010.) The eBay listing will expire Wednesday night.
Image Thanks to Feministing!
In the U.S., many people (mistakenly) associate feminism with bra-burning. But in Saudi Arabia, a new development in women’s rights is involving bra-buying.
Last summer, a decree was issued that employees in stores selling products exclusively to women – namely cosmetics and underwear – had to be female. (Apparently being waited on by male sale associates while buying new lingerie was so embarrassing as to force women to shop for new bras and panties abroad.)
This might sound like a common-sense decree – or perhaps one further enforcing gendered isolation. But it’s actually a HUGE step for women in Saudi Arabia, who have previously been banned from working in retail because it might involve interacting with men.
Now the door is being cracked open to the world of retail employment for women, and many women are trying to push through. Over 28,000 women applied for the newly available retail jobs.
Could this development be a sign that more progress for women is to come? Middle East scholar Thomas Lippman thinks so.
While women are still constrained by law, religion and custom, more and more are likely to enter the work force. They will be better educated than their predecessors, will marry later and will have fewer children. The range of jobs and professions open to them will expand…These changes will meet entrenched opposition, but the economic and demographic forces behind them seem irresistible.
And with more and more women working outside the home, perhaps there will be greater pressure to allow Saudi women to drive.
Check out this NYTimes article for more of the history and context behind the decree.
Whoever said super PACs are useless? Say you’re down in the polls, you’re lacking delegates, and no one but a small group of loyal supporters have caught on to your message of economic libertarianism. What’s the solution? Ron Paul action figures.
But maybe… it’s more than just an action figure. Under that meek exterior, and behind that high pitched voice lies – THE GOLD STANDARD CRUSADER!
The GS Crusader has many unique abilities, our favorites are:
- The ability to deny the constitutionality of ANY legislation
- Quote any economic text – ever
- Seek and destroy evil wherever it may be with a lengthy speech filled with obscure references
- Invisibility (when it comes to TSA screenings)
- The ability to never be elected president
This is just a brief list can you think of any more?
For all the film buffs out there, Tuesday was a big day.
It was the day the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominations for the 2011 film year.
After surveying the list of nominees it appears most categories went as expected with a few surprises and snubs along the way (see our list below).
This year, the Big award- Best Picture- had 9 nominees. This group of nine was selected in a new and slightly confusing manner.
It started back in 2010, when the category for Best Picture was expanded from 5 to 10.
This lasted only 2 years, with the Academy announcing last summer they have adjusted the rules to fluctuate between 5-10 nominees. The first 5 films with the highest number of votes get a nod, followed by the next highest vote-getters who get a minimum of 5% of the Academy’s votes. In its first year in application 9 films received Best Picture nominations.
In the coming weeks we will be giving you a break down the major categories, culminating with the awards ceremony on Sunday, February 26.
Best Picture
- “The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
- “The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
- “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
- “The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
- “Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
- “Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
- “Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
- “The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
- “War Horse“ Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Directing
- “The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
- “The Descendants” Alexander Payne
- “Hugo” Martin Scorsese
- “Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
- “The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick
Actor in a Leading Role
- Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
- George Clooney in “The Descendants”
- Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
- Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
- Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”
Actress in a Leading Role
- Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
- Viola Davis in “The Help”
- Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
- Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
- Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”
Actor in a Supporting Role
- Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
- Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
- Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
- Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
- Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Actress in a Supporting Role
- Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
- Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
- Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
- Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
- Octavia Spencer in “The Help”
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
- “The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
- “Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
- “The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
- “Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
- “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay)
- “The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
- “Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
- “Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
- “Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
- “A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi
Animated Feature Film
- “A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
- “Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
- “Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
- “Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
- “Rango” Gore Verbinski
Art Direction
- “The Artist”
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould - “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2“
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan - “Hugo”
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo - “Midnight in Paris”
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil - “War Horse”
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Cinematography
- “The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
- “Hugo” Robert Richardson
- “The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
- “War Horse” Janusz Kaminski
Costume Design
- “Anonymous” Lisy Christl
- “The Artist” Mark Bridges
- “Hugo” Sandy Powell
- “Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
- “W.E.” Arianne Phillips
Documentary (Feature)
- “Hell and Back Again”
Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner - “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman - “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs - “Pina”
Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel - “Undefeated”
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas
Documentary (Short Subject)
- “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin - “God Is the Bigger Elvis”
Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson - “Incident in New Baghdad”
James Spione - “Saving Face”
Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy - “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen
Film Editing
- “The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
- “The Descendants” Kevin Tent
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
- “Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
- “Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen
Foreign Language Film
- “Bullhead” Belgium
- “Footnote” Israel
- “In Darkness” Poland
- “Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
- “A Separation” Iran
Makeup
- “Albert Nobbs”
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle - “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng - “The Iron Lady”
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Music (Original Score)
- “The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
- “The Artist” Ludovic Bource
- “Hugo” Howard Shore
- “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
- “War Horse” John Williams
Music (Original Song)
- “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
- “Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Short Film (Animated)
- “Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
- “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
- “La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
- “A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
- “Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
Short Film (Live Action)
- “Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
- “Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
- “The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
- “Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
- “Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø
Sound Editing
- “Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
- “Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
- “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
- “War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Sound Mixing
- “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson - “Hugo”
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley - “Moneyball”
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick - “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin - “War Horse”
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson
Visual Effects
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson - “Hugo”
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning - “Real Steel”
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg - “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett - “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier
Photo courtesy of the New York Times.
Making the blind see may seem like a miracle.
Some think that miracle has taken place.
The cause for this excitement is some promising results from a new embryonic stem cell treatment for macular degeneration.
Advanced Cell Technology developed the treatment, which was used on two legally blind patients at UCLA. The two women reported encouraging gains in vision, one reporting she had been able to thread a needle, and the other patient reported she was able to navigate a shopping mall by herself.
The news remains controversial for a number of reasons.
As many critics point out, two patients do not make for a statistically significant study. Embryonic stem cells themselves have been controversial, since their creation typically involves the destruction of human embryos.
The first trial of a therapy using human embryonic stem cells, run by Geron, shut down in November mid-trial. (Though Geron cited a lack of funding, rather than controversy, as the cause).
Does embryonic stem cell therapy have a future in the medical field? We’ll wait and see.
Are you confused about the Stop Online Piracy Act ? Join the club.
The issue first caught our eye the last Wednesday when sights like Wikipedia went dark for a day.
The bill seems to have it’s heart in the right place. Piracy and copyright infringement on the web is a legitimate problem.
However, there is more to SOPA that meets the eye. We have found an informational video we think sums up the pros and cons nicely. Check it out and let us know what you think.
Image courtesy of New York Times.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, wait. It’s definitely a bird. A lot of birds, to be precise.
Bird-watchers across the country are recording an unusually high number of snowy owl sightings. There appears to be both an increase in population as well as an increase in the territory the birds have been seen in.
While they are normally rare in Kansas and Missouri, they have been sighted as far south as Hawaii. The birds, which live in the Arctic for most of the year are traveling south in an infrequent irruption. That’s irruption, not eruption. The owls, colored blinding white with yellow eyes, are the same species as Hedwig, the fictional companion of Harry Potter.
Denver Holt, director of the Owl Research Institute, was not clear on what, exactly, caused the rise in numbers.
“We do know they had a really good breeding year, and there was plenty of food last year. Instead of no chicks, or one or two, a single nest will produce five, six, seven or more fledglings in a good breeding year.”
We’re not sure where all the owls are coming from, but would like to helpfully reiterate that we are still waiting on our Hogwarts letters.
Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona has announced that she will be stepping down this week to focus on her recovery, stated in the video above that her camp released.
Giffords was the victim of an assassination attempt in January 2011 in her home state, an attack that injured 13 people and killed six.
Suffering a gunshot wound to the head, Giffords spent the months following recovering her ability to speak, read, and write. In August, she returned to the house to vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling.
Giffords says she hope to return to public office.
Newt Gingrich’s triumph in the recent South Carolina Primary has been largely attributed to his sharp performances in two recent televised debates.
The signature highlight of debate #1 was a confrontation Newt had with Fox News correspondent and former-NPR reporter Juan Williams.
Williams asked Newt Gingrich if calling President Obama the “Food Stamps President” could be considered offensive to low-income people and people of color.
Gingrich’s indignant response, showcased in the clip above, largely blew-off the question. Williams followed up the former Speaker of the House’s response with his assertion that Gingrich might be coming across as “belittling people.”
Gingrich dismissed the claim.
Clearly “Food Stamp President” was meant to be a pejorative slam. But it’s not a surprise that the statement carries a racial connotation for many.
It is reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan’s 1976 presidential campaign term “Welfare Queens” that many studies have shown carry a clear racial code. Representative Clyburn and Representative Sheila Jackson Lee condemned the label as racially coded.
“Food stamps” is the now-outdated term for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that President Bush had a large part in rebranding and de-stigmatizing.
When taking a look at the hard numbers, the President who hailed the largest number of food stamps recipients and who experienced the largest program growth was President George W. Bush, with a 63% jump in recipients and an increase in recipients for 7 out of his 8 years in office.
What was arguably more despicable was Gingrich’s pointed comment about Juan Williams after the debate:
I had a very interesting dialogue Monday night in Myrtle Beach with Juan Williams about the idea of work, which seemed to Juan Williams to be a strange, distant concept.
Hmm, not sure we follow you there, Newt. Especially when considering the way Williams reacted during the debate – oh, and the fact that Williams has been pretty prominently employed as a journalist, author, and commentator for years.
We tend to agree with this quote by senior editor at The Atlantic Ta-Nehisi Coates, which pretty much sums it up:
The notion that Gingrich is somehow unaware of that “food stamp president” has racial connotations, that he is being on the level when he says the black community should not be satisfied with food stamps, requires an extension of supernatural generosity.
South Carolina Primary final numbers, courtesy Current.com
Before any of the numbers were in last night, Newt Gingrich was declared the victor of the first Republican primary in the South by all of the major news networks.
Exit polls showed that Gingrich was double-digits ahead of Mitt Romney, a candidate that has been struggling with media coverage and losing popularity after Gingrich’s attack on Romney, in which he painted the Massachusetts Governor as a moderate and exploitative capitalist for his work at Bain Capital.
Many commentators are predicting a similar outcome in Florida, the next primary stop. Other commentators suspect a Santorum drop-out, with the possibility of a Gingrich endorsement. All in all, the three votes so far do not point to a clear winner, with each of the three showings declaring three unique outcomes.
To see the final numbers from the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, click the image above.
The Colbert Report
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Would you vote for Stephen Colbert? Well technically you can’t because he was not on the ballot in South Carolina (or yet elsewhere). But a road block like that is laughable to Colbert.
Last week a South Carolina poll put the comedian’s popularity at 5 percent, ahead of former Governor John Huntsman (some think this humiliation helped to hasten Huntsman’s departure from the Presidential race).
This prompted Colbert to announce his intention to form an exploratory committee to decide if he should make a run for the White House. It seems as though he might test his luck.
Now, South Carolina doesn’t have write-ins, and Colbert is about two months late to file, so he decided to do the next best thing; run using someone who’s name is already on the ballot. So to quote the Colbert “A vote for Herman Cane is a vote for me.” Herman Cain, received over 6000 votes in the South Carolina primary.
USDemocrazy has never endorsed anyone but we are very eager to see how the Colbert campaign develops. Maybe this time next year we will be inaugurating President-Elect Rev. Sir. Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, DFA.
22
Sex Ed Fun with Rick Santorum
by stretch
News
Poor Rick Santorum. After finishing third in South Carolina, he just got glitter-bombed. Again.
Members of the occupy Charleston movement hurled glitter at Rick while screaming “Gay rights!” and “Occupy!” Perhaps not quite the consolation prize he was looking for.
Santorum has a long track record as an opponent of gay rights.
Perhaps the most violent controversy was spurred by a 2003 interview during which some claim he equated gay marriage with bestiality and pedophilia. (An excerpt of the interview transcript is here).
More recently, he was booed by students during an interview in New Hampshire when he repeatedly brought up polygamy during a series of questions about gay marriage.
Even Meghan McCain (daughter of Sen. John McCain) has gone on the record calling Santorum’s views “dated,” and, “gross”.
Santorum may be confused as to what gay marriage actually is. We recommend someone show him this handy diagram, stat.