11 April 2008
News and Comments - 04/11/08
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: What's News .
12 Comments so far...
Roy Bischoff Says:
11 April 2008 at 12:56 am.
I spent a long time working on an article but when I posted it something went wrong and it was lost. It is too late to try and rewrite all my comments but just let me say that there is a real problem with freedom speech and the Olympics. Propaganda is a very popular term with communists and we shouldn’t let China dictate what can be said by athletes. This sets a dangerous precedent. China made promises about human rights in order to get the games and now demands that those promises be forgotten. Their arrogance and sense of entitlement are disgusting.
Athletes who take Tibet stand ‘face Olympic cut’
Athletes who display Tibetan flags at Olympic venues — including in their own rooms — could be expelled from this summer’s Games in Beijing under anti-propaganda rules.
Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said that competitors were free to express their political views but faced sanctions if they indulged in propaganda.
He accompanied those comments with an admission that the Games were in “crisis” after pro-Tibet protests engulfed the Olympic torch relay.
Mr Rogge’s call for Beijing to abide by its promise to address human rights was given short shrift by Beijing, which bluntly told him to keep politics out of the Games.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article3724308.ece
Matt Says:
11 April 2008 at 10:52 am.
Consumer confidence falls to new low
WASHINGTON - Americans’ confidence in the economy fell to a new low, dragged down by worries about mounting job losses, record-high home foreclosures and zooming energy prices.
According to the RBC Cash Index, confidence dropped to a mark of 29.5 in April, down from 33.1 in March. The new reading was the worst since the index began in 2002. It marked the fourth month in a row where confidence has fallen to an all-time low.
“Consumers are very pessimistic,” said Mark Vitner, economist at Wachovia. “There are not a lot of happy campers out there.”
Over the past year, consumer confidence has deteriorated significantly. Worsening problems in housing, harder-to-get credit, financial turmoil on Wall Street and lofty energy prices have put people in a much more gloomy mind-set. Last April, confidence stood at 85.4. The index is based on results from the international polling firm Ipsos.
Article
Matt Says:
11 April 2008 at 11:00 am.
The last part of the article says there will be slightly higher output of cereals this year but what they don’t say is that a lot of it is going to bio-fuels. I hope the U.N. will address this problem. I’m glad it is being talked about finally.
Food riots to worsen without global action: U.N.
ROME (Reuters) - Food riots in developing countries will spread unless world leaders take major steps to reduce prices for the poor, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Friday.
Despite a forecast 2.6 percent hike in global cereal output this year, record prices are unlikely to fall, forcing poorer countries’ food import bills up 56 percent and hungry people on to the streets, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf said.
“The reality is that people are dying already in the riots,” Diouf told a news conference.
“They are dying because of their reaction to the situation and if we don’t take the necessary action there is certainly the possibility that they might die of starvation. Naturally people won’t be sitting dying of starvation, they will react.”
Food riots have broken out in several African countries, Indonesia, the Philippines and Haiti, the FAO said. Thirty-seven countries face food crises, it said in its latest World Food Situation report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080411/wl_nm/food_fao_dc_1;_ylt=AhkQfPcGlNgZGePr5hIIiVkE1vAI
T. Fan Says:
11 April 2008 at 11:13 am.
Roy, I agree with what you wrote. Since when was the Olympics not about human rights? Why do they think they get to change the rules? We rewarded them because they made promises they never intended to keep. It’s how we treat the Palestinians and North Koreans and others every time they make promises and don’t keep them. They are like kids who are spoiled and get a sense of entitlement. China is a spoiled brat.
Carrie Says:
11 April 2008 at 11:51 am.
Jason is on for Rush today and he said the IMF said that corn raised for biofuels is the reason there are food riots. Its good they are admitting this. Maybe more people will talk about it and something will get done. Hope hope.
E.E. Says:
11 April 2008 at 12:20 pm.
Jason Lewis is awesome. I agree with almost everything he says. He is very logical but at the same time he isn’t rude to people.
Jan W. Says:
11 April 2008 at 2:38 pm.
Roy and T. Fan, I am on board with you about China. It is horrible what they are doing. Arrogant is a very good word for them and I am sick of watching our government kiss up to them. It makes me nervous to see how tied in to them we are with COSTCO and Wal-Mart and so much other things. We need to produce our own food and manufacture our own most important items.
Benjamin Says:
11 April 2008 at 3:00 pm.
I have a feeling that Huckabee will shoot himself in the foot before 2012 and won’t stand a chance for election by then.
(CNN) – Former Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee has signed a contract with Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, daughter and senior advisor Sarah Huckabee tells CNN. “Nothing has been decided,” the younger Huckabee says of future projects, “[it] probably won’t be just one thing but maybe several different things. Just exploring options right now.” Huckabee follows former rival Fred Thompson’s lead by inking a post-campaign deal with a talent agency. But unlike the former Tennessee senator, this is Huckabee’s first official foray into show business. While running, his appearances on late-night shows like ‘Saturday Night Live’ and ‘The Colbert…
SGS Says:
11 April 2008 at 3:04 pm.
About Olympics, I recall an article talking about how there are some big sponsors out there. Those corporations are private. I do not remember who they are, but they are spending tens of millions into this event. Maybe it was for the opening ceremony or something. Again, I don’t recall what the article was about, but it was from a couple of weeks ago. Maybe we could start a petition against those corporations, demanding them to withdraw their supports, since China has failed to keep its promises. Just a thought…
SGS Says:
11 April 2008 at 3:06 pm.
Benjamin, Huckabee getting in Show Biz?!? Yes, he definitely will shoot himself in his foot, at best, and disappear off the face of earth at worst! Hollywood and Pastors do not mix! Nothing good can come out of it, period! He’s out in any case, once he start acting.
Joy Bischoff Says:
11 April 2008 at 5:30 pm.
SGS, I have my hands full with this and a few other projects right now and would love some help with your petition idea. If you could, I would love it if you put something together and we would put it on the site.
Mac Says:
11 April 2008 at 5:55 pm.
Yup, ole Huck would be dead in the water if he went into show biz. I think that is his true calling. He is great at one liners.
SGS, that is a good idea about the petition. Readers could email it around to their friends. I would.
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