News on NPR Today 2/22/05

As usual, Morning Edition is my focus.

My news day started with an excellent report about property rights and the Supreme Court. In New London, CT, a group of homeowners is refusing to sell to the town. The town wants the land to give to developers who will turn the decaying neighborhood into a thriving business district. At issue: whether a municipal government has the right to condemn private property for the greater good, when by the “greater good” they mean “bigger tax base.” New London claims that for the economic good of the larger community, it should be able to take the property needed, regardless of who owns it. On the other side, the homeowners say they should not be forced from their home for economic improvements that will benefit corporations first and foremost. I am looking forward to hearing NPR’s coverage of the Supremes’ arguments on this issue.

Today Israel released 500 Palestinian prisoners, mostly on “administrative detention” – a strange state that is almost never used on Israelis. NPR interviewed a Palestinian woman hoping that her husband would be among those released.

The Prez is meeting with the NATO Alliance and EU leaders today to try and ease tensions between us and them, and to gain support for our work rebuilding Iraq. Thankfully, Bush has gotten some support – the EU plans to open an office in Iraq to help with economic development.

Syria vs. Lebanon still a hot issue. Some think they should leave altogether immediately, some think that would be a disaster. Stay tuned.

Margaret Spellings (what a scary woman, now in charge of education in the US, gah!!) was profiled today – apparently she likes conflict, is not intimidated by anyone or anything, and her extreme loyalty to Bush is propelling her success. She refuses to back down on NCLB issues and has set her sights on high schools next. Some think there is too much Federal interference in what should be a local issue, but Spellings does not let things like states rights deter her. No siree.

American Girl made the news – and not in a good way. They make high-end dolls with a backstory, and publish books about them. Lil has one (Samantha), and her clothes cost more than my clothes. Sad. Anyway, back to the story… Marisol is a new Mexican American doll, which is all good, making their doll lineup more diverse, but as no good deed goes unpunished, the Mexican American community is up in arms. It seems that Merisol’s book puts a certain Mexican American community in a bad light. Activists say that it paints an ugly picture of Mexican Americans and their neighborhoods. As for American Girl, they are not apologizing or changing the book. After all, it is a work of fiction about a doll. Interesting in terms of PR strategy here…

How about Eisner and Disney? Talk about a PR nightmare. Who is getting the best of this situation? It might be Pixar and Steve Jobs. Fascinating!
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NPR 2/18

OK, gotta make this quick, since I am at work, and I have missed two days this week already. Listened to Morning Edition.

Listened to one more of the red state/blue state reports in the series that ME is doing. I love that they do series like this one. It puts things into a better context for analysis, and gives a much more thorough airing of both sides of a political story. For this one, they interviewed TIm Polenti (sp?), who is the republican gov of a blue state, MN. He has been having a terrible time with bi-partisan relationships, and republicans have lost seats in the legislature because of partisan fights over the budget. His hard line on education and taxes makes it hard to gain consensus. He has pledged not to raise taxes, and has been trying to cut funding for schools. His approval rating is around 56%. Unless he can keep up schools, he is doomed.

Well, it has happened, Class Actions will now be heard in Fed. courts. Sigh. I hate watching as our rights get slowly eroded in favor of corporations' rights. Sick.

Ah, it was bound to happen. NYC is in the running for the Olympics against Moscow, Paris, Madrid and London, and NPR reported on what the Big Apple is doing to prepare for a visit this weekend from the Olympic committee (IOC). The big question is whether or not NYC can handle the logistics -- how will people get around? And then there is the whole stadium issue.... hmmm. Another cliffhanger -- I guess we find out next week how the meeting goes....

Big story on movies with controversial endings like The Sea Inside and Million Dollar Baby. Brings up all kinds of issues about the disabled and assisted suicide. Will put more here about this later!

News today NPR 2/17/05

Just a few tidbits from Morning Edition. Little people are sick like dogs here, so this will be brief...

Negroponte has been named national intelligence director by Bush. He claims the guy will be great because of his recent experience in Iraq. I suppose we will just have to wait and see on this one.

Well, he filled that one, but there are still lots of vacancies in the Bush white house.

Interesting story on Chernobyl -- where that major nuke accident happened. Interviews with people there say it is an abandoned city, but that people are beinning to come back, despite warnings that it is still not safe there. Why come back? A few high risk jobs that pay better than anything else. Sounds familiar.... fix bad places by poisoning the poor. Works every time.

News on NPR 2/16/05

Morning Edition, as usual, and that is as far as it goes. Been a bad week this week, so not a lot of time for listening broadly to the news... Sigh.

Great story on Kyoto treaty and the reduction of greenhouse gasses. Things seem to be going well (for example, innovation to reduce carbon emissions is ramping up very quickly) in Europe. Seems like most of the world is looking at the US as a spoiler who continues to turn its back on Kyoto. Bush claims the treaty would damage the US economy. The treaty actually goes into effect today. Cool! In addition to reporting on this single event, NPR looked at three countries who signed: Italy, China, and Russia. Italy, along with Germany and Belgium are the most agressive in reducing carbon, and NPR looked into these efforts. Go Italy! Then there was an interview with Chinese officials on Kyoto who said that it is unfair to treat developing countries the same as developed ones. The Chinese did sign, but there is no evidence that they are actually doing much to reduce pollution. Russia signed Kyoto to improve relations with the EU, but they are not actually doing much, either. Hopefully, things will change, but probably not for many years yet.

Tsunami update: Baby 81 has been identified and returned to his parents. Wow, what a story! There were dozens of couples that came to claim him, but genetic tests finally determined who the real parents were. The death toll continues to rise -- today it stands at 220,000, but reports say more people will be found as cleanup continues. Lots of people do not want to move away from the water's edge, because it is their livelyhood, but the gov't in Aceh wants building to begin no closer than 1.5 miles away.

Will the NHL cancel the season? Stay tuned. In other sports news, MLB begins spring training today and the NFL is looking at the first black owner of a franchise. Reggie Fowler is buying the Vikings.

NPR Today 2/15/05

Just a few small tidbits from Morning Edition today...

There was an interesting story about lobbying firms in Washington -- it seems like no suprise, but it helps to be republican these days. The story focused on a firm called Lunquist, Nethercutt and Griles, which is a new K St. firm formed by ex-civil servants. Why should we care? Environmentalists are up in arms because 2 out of 3 of these guys were supposed to be stewards of the land when employed by the government, and were "really benefiting a few with deep pockets" so that when they quit, they could make tons of money in the private sector. As it turns out, that is exactly what has happened.

Next was a report on kidnapping as an industry in India. Doctors have armed guards. Children are vulnerable at school and on the street. Both doctors and children have staged protests. Elections are coming up and kidnapping is a huge issue in the campaign. Police refused to comment for the report, and some think they are part of the problem in some cases. It has become so much like a business, kidnappers have begun offering installment plans. Ugh.

Then there was a report on the TV show "24" -- a TV show that has depicted Muslim Americans as terrorists. Fox has had Keefer Sutherland do a PSA saying that what is on the show is pure fiction and is not meant to harm or disparage Muslims, but according to some interviewed by NPR, that is too little too late. People begin to believe things that aren't true if they watch enough TV. A sad but true fact. Fox refused to comment other than the PSA.

Today Rafik Hariri was killed in Lebanon by terrorists. Accusations are blaming Syria, but Syria claims they had nothing to do with it. Can't wait to see where this goes. Seria out of Lebanon, anyone?

NPR News Today 2/14/05

I am just going to plow ahead here, pretending that this is a day no different from any other. Listened to Morning Edition as I usually do.

Well, it looks like Dean will be head of the DNC -- natch, some democrats are unhappy. They can never agree, can they? Why are they unhappy, you might ask? Dean is seen as able to energize the base, but unable to reach out to more middle of the road types. The upshot of this report was to say that democrats will have to get more flexible on messages like abortion and a few others if they are ever to win big again.

So, what about this suplimental appropriation (SA) for $80 billion? What is that all about? Well, it is SUPPOSED to be about emergency spending, but it seems like Bush is using it more as a screen to keep necessary spending off the "balance sheet" that is used when toting up the deficit. Rummy says, to justify using an SA, that you cannot properly plan the cost of war, but the guy NPR interviewed (Steve Kosniar?) says the war is not an emergency, and better/more planning should've been done. Because SAs keep money out of the budget as published, they also keep money out of the published deficit. Also, because SAs don't require the same amount of paperwork/justification, they are easier to get through congress. Steve pointed out that there are a number of things in the SA that should not be there, including a reorganization of the army. Sigh.

The next report (I guess they put it here just in case you were about to slit your own wrists on account of the news today) was about a study of what makes people happy. Study participants were given Palm Pilots to keep track of their moods all day. Group A was a group of healthy individuals and Group B was a group of kidney patients who were quite ill. Surprisingly Group B members were pretty happy overall. Conclusion: People have a basic balance and no matter what happens, you eventually come back to this basic place. Cool.

What's Up Today 2/11/05

Listened to Morning Edition.

Nice report on Basra reconstruction efforts. Mostly bashed the US efforts there and applauded the locals who really seem to be getting things done. There are many new projects underway, including a children's hospital, but they are beginning to run out of money. About 40% of the budget they had has gone toward security costs. Depressing.

Social Security chatter goes on and on. The Bush administration has eked out a little more info on the program, but not much. First, investments will be limited to conservative stock funds and bonds. Second, accounts will not be available until 2009, and will have no effect on those 55 and older now. Dems don't like what they're seeing, and some republicans are shying away from support because their constituents are restless. One thing everyone can agree on: something needs to be done.

Lynn Stewart, the lawyer who helped her terrorist client communicate with his followers, has been found guilty on 5 counts, including aiding and abetting a terrorist. She claims that the whole case is based on one press release that resulted in nothing happening at all. (Amazing what PR can do, eh?) She is appealing, natch, and sees her conviction as a bad sign for civil liberties in this country.

Hawaiian music now has its own category in the Grammys. Score one for the little people. Some of the most popular Hawaiian music involves traditional chants. People are really excited in Hawaii, and they say it means that the mainstream is finally recognizing this uniqe music.

A quick update on the Class Action Fairness Act: it is very likely to win approval in the senate and house. It is on the fast track and the Prez has already agreed to sign it.