RT: Alyssa_Milano
This will make you want to throw things. Watch 60 minutes #oilspill story ☛ http://ow.ly/1LROK /via @happysunfish
Monday, May 17, 2010
Swiss ministers say not participating in EU's euro fund
Swiss ministers say not participating in EU's euro fund
Sun May 16, 2010 7:00am
Sun, May 9 2010
ZURICH, May 16 (Reuters) - Switzerland's finance and foreign ministers said the country was not considering any measures to help stabilise the euro apart from the International Monetary Fund, two newspapers reported on Sunday.
The two ministers' comments followed an interview with Austrian Social Democrat Josef Cap with the newspaper Kurier, in which he said the EU should ask Switzerland to contribute to the euro rescue package.
"Voluntary contributions worth billions aren't of any use," Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz told the paper SonntagsBlick. "That won't help the euro problem one iota."
Switzerland is participating in the International Monetary Fund's scheme to help the euro zone via its central bank but is not using taxpayer's money.
"These accusations are wrong and demonstrate how little is known about our country's role in the international community," Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.
She said Switzerland was indeed interested in a stable euro, and was contributing to this via the IMF's package and via the central bank's foreign exchange interventions. (Editing by David Cowell)
Sun May 16, 2010 7:00am
Sun, May 9 2010
ZURICH, May 16 (Reuters) - Switzerland's finance and foreign ministers said the country was not considering any measures to help stabilise the euro apart from the International Monetary Fund, two newspapers reported on Sunday.
The two ministers' comments followed an interview with Austrian Social Democrat Josef Cap with the newspaper Kurier, in which he said the EU should ask Switzerland to contribute to the euro rescue package.
"Voluntary contributions worth billions aren't of any use," Finance Minister Hans-Rudolf Merz told the paper SonntagsBlick. "That won't help the euro problem one iota."
Switzerland is participating in the International Monetary Fund's scheme to help the euro zone via its central bank but is not using taxpayer's money.
"These accusations are wrong and demonstrate how little is known about our country's role in the international community," Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.
She said Switzerland was indeed interested in a stable euro, and was contributing to this via the IMF's package and via the central bank's foreign exchange interventions. (Editing by David Cowell)
‘There’s No Money Left,’ U.K. Minister Learns
“Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left,” Laws cited it as saying.
“Which was honest,” Laws, whose position is the No. 2 in the Treasury after the chancellor of the exchequer, told a press conference in London today. “But slightly less than I was expecting.”
The note underscores the task facing Britain’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition as it seeks to reconcile demand for improved health and education services with promises to reduce the largest budget deficit since World War II.
It was also in the tradition of Reginald Maudling, Conservative chancellor of the exchequer from 1962 to 1964. Leaving his residence after election defeat, he was reported byJames Callaghan, his successor, to have remarked, “Sorry, old cock, to leave it in this shape.”
Byrne didn’t respond to requests for comment. He was quoted by Sky News as saying the note was a joke. “I do hope David Laws’ sense of humour wasn’t another casualty of the coalition deal,” he said, according to Sky News.
According to the Treasury, the letter read as follows: “Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there’s no money. Kind regards -- and good luck! Liam.”
Schwarzenegger's legacy of promises squandered
Schwarzenegger's legacy of promises squandered
Cutting the vehicle license fee and borrowing $15 billion early in his tenure as governor helped force the state into the budget box it's in today.
George SkeltonCapitol Journal
May 16, 2010
From Sacramento
Pretty pathetic, all of it: The bleeding state government, the weakened Legislature, the lame duck governor.
The governor especially. Promise unfulfilled. Opportunity squandered.
It's the choices one makes in the early years — in life and in a governor's office — that usually determine one's fate. Options narrow. The path can become one-way.
For Arnold Schwarzenegger, two very early decisions as governor helped force him into the budget box he found himself in Friday, where the only moves he dared make were, he said, personally painful. Those two fateful moves were:
First, cutting the vehicle license fee, or "car tax." Ironically for Schwarzenegger, it counted as a spending increase, costing roughly $5 billion annually. That's because local governments, not the state, had banked the VLF revenue, and Sacramento graciously reimbursed them for their loss.
Second, the new governor used his star power to persuade the Legislature — it wasn't hard — and the voters to borrow $15 billion to pay not only for inherited debt, but the initial car tax cut and other daily expenses. The state still is paying off those bonds and the money's long gone. The annual cost: $1.2 billion.
Add to those missteps Schwarzenegger's over-reaching in his second year by calling an unpopular special election for too many flawed "reform" initiatives, all rejected by voters. The sum total amounts to wasted opportunity.
A blown opportunity, when he was extraordinarily popular, to impose significant spending constraints, pare back overly generous state retirement benefits and modernize the tax structure — all goals he's still trying to achieve, but with little political capital and fewer than eight months left in office.
There are many culprits, of course, led by the global recession. Most states are hurting, although none seem as critically ill as California.
In Sacramento, Democratic legislators have been too cozy with public employee unions. Republicans have been too rigidly anti-tax.
Legislators of both parties are handicapped by term limits.
The two-thirds vote requirement passing budgets and raising taxes creates gridlock and pork payoffs.
The boom-or-bust tax structure is broken and needs an overhaul.
Roughly 70% of the hemorrhaging general fund flows to local governments and schools. Sacramento hasn't stopped bailing them out since Proposition 13 slashed their property tax revenue 32 years ago.
The bottom line is a projected $19.1-billion state deficit for the fiscal year starting July 1, with no politically acceptable means of filling the hole in sight.
Moreover, even if all of Schwarzenegger's desperate proposals were adopted by the Legislature —recommendations to hit the elderly, poor and disabled especially hard and completely eliminate the main welfare program that benefits 1 million children — it wouldn't solve the long-term budget problem.
There'd still be a $6.6-billion deficit in the next year, and $6 billion the year after that, the governor's finance department calculates.
But it's moot because the Legislature will not — neither Democrats nor most Republicans — vote to make California the only state without a welfare program.
The governor knows that. His primary goal Friday was to just get through the day, meeting his legal obligation to present an updated "balanced" budget by May 14, one that didn't renege on his promise to not raise taxes —again.
It was Schwarzenegger's final budget proposal. And the contrast between this budget rollout and his first more than six years ago was stark.
Back then, the auditorium in the Secretary of State's building — his favorite Sacramento venue — was jammed with 21 TV crews, about 50 reporters, several star-gazing legislators and a cheering section of doting Schwarzenegger appointees. The rookie governor exuded confidence.
"The politicians have made a mess of the California budget; now it's time to clean it up," he asserted. No more "shell games, using tricks and gimmicks to put off the hard decisions."
If anything, the mess has gotten worse.
On Friday, there were roughly half as many cameras and reporters, very few legislators, some aides, but hardly any applause. Definitely no cheers.
These are the symptoms of a lame duck governor. They're also the signs of a life-endangering budget proposal.
Schwarzenegger was glum and defensive, blaming Democrats, "special interests" — theirs, not his — judges and the feds.
"I now have no choice but to stand here today and to call for the elimination of some very important programs," he said. "If we had reform in place, we would not be facing the 'Sophie's Choice.' "
Still talking tough, he pledged: "I will not sign a budget until we fix our broken systems … if we don't have pension reform and budget reform…. We cannot go on like this."
Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) was singing the same tune, but with slightly different lyrics.
"The status quo is unsustainable," he said. "Think about it: For the past 32 years, we've had a system where the state raises the money and acts as merely a pass-through to local government."
Steinberg thinks the budget crisis presents not only an opportunity but also an imperative to wean local entities off Sacramento. Allow more local control and the ability for communities to raise their own revenue.
That would be controversial. It would entail lowering Proposition 13's requirement of a two-thirds voter majority for most local tax increases. But "we're not going to touch residential property," he pledged.
Maybe they'll all get together — Schwarzenegger, Steinberg et al — and compromise on some long-jabbered-about reforms along with an honestly balanced budget. Maybe.
More likely, they'll muddle through again with another gimmicky budget "balanced" only until the ink dries. They'll delay the tough decisions until after the November election and wait for the next governor to arrive.
Hopefully, whoever the new governor is will have learned from Schwarzenegger's misadventures.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Ronnie James Dio dead
Wiki Ronnie James Dio
LOS ANGELES -- Black Sabbath bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler reminisced about his last moments with friend and bandmate Ronnie James Dio in a statement released Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, Dio's family announced that a public memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. on May 30 in the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.
In his statement, Butler recounted his final days with the singer, who died May 16 of stomach cancer at age 67. The two performed together in Heaven and Hell, the latest incarnation of Black Sabbath.
Butler said he shared his last laugh and received his final e-mail from Dio on May 12, then went to visit him May 15 at the hospital along with "25 to 30 friends."
"We knew the end was imminent," Butler wrote. "We all wanted to say our goodbyes."
Butler said the day was filled with tears and reflection.
"In the evening, the chaplain came, and we all gathered around Ronnie's bed and prayed," Butler wrote. "At 11 p.m., most of us left, leaving Wendy her privacy to say her last farewell. The devastation was palpable."
Butler added that Dio was a "special person, blessed with a unique voice and presence." He ended his statement thanking Dio "for the wonderful memories."
In addition to his wife, Wendy, Dio is survived by son Daniel, grandchildren Julie and Joey, and father Pat.
---
Black Sabbath bassist reminisces about Dio
The Associated Press
Published Tuesday, May. 18, 2010
LOS ANGELES -- Black Sabbath bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler reminisced about his last moments with friend and bandmate Ronnie James Dio in a statement released Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, Dio's family announced that a public memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. on May 30 in the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.
In his statement, Butler recounted his final days with the singer, who died May 16 of stomach cancer at age 67. The two performed together in Heaven and Hell, the latest incarnation of Black Sabbath.
Butler said he shared his last laugh and received his final e-mail from Dio on May 12, then went to visit him May 15 at the hospital along with "25 to 30 friends."
"We knew the end was imminent," Butler wrote. "We all wanted to say our goodbyes."
Butler said the day was filled with tears and reflection.
"In the evening, the chaplain came, and we all gathered around Ronnie's bed and prayed," Butler wrote. "At 11 p.m., most of us left, leaving Wendy her privacy to say her last farewell. The devastation was palpable."
Butler added that Dio was a "special person, blessed with a unique voice and presence." He ended his statement thanking Dio "for the wonderful memories."
In addition to his wife, Wendy, Dio is survived by son Daniel, grandchildren Julie and Joey, and father Pat.
---
Strokes can occur in younger people too
Strokes can occur in younger people too
A mild stroke in middle age, such as the one suffered by Beau Biden, isn't uncommon, doctors say. And the cause could be a number of things.
By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times
May 17, 2010
The news that Delaware Atty. Gen. Beau Biden, age 41, recently suffered a mild stroke probably came as a surprise to many people, considering that the son of Vice President Joe Biden is relatively young, trim and in seemingly good health. It shouldn't have.
Strokes are not unheard-of in people that age, said Dr. David S. Liebeskind, associate director of the UCLA Stroke Center. "It doesn't surprise me at all," he said. "Overall, the perception is that only older people have strokes, but we see a lot of people who have strokes at that age, even younger sometimes."
A mild stroke could be caused by a number of things, he said, including a tear in the wall of one of the major arteries leading to the brain, causing a blockage. That could be due to arterial structural abnormalities, or from stress put on the arteries caused by a sudden twisting movement.
"Sometimes it can occur with trauma as severe as whiplash," he said, "or something like a tennis serve or a particular swimming movement or other sporting activities."
General stroke symptoms can include numbness or weakness on one side of the body, loss of speech, imbalance, trouble with speaking or speech loss, or a sudden, severe headache.
A mild stroke can also be caused by a blood clot, which, Liebeskind said, can occur anywhere in the circulatory system, cutting off blood flow to the brain.
A transient ischemic stroke, also called a mini-stroke, is the temporary blockage of an artery caused by a blood clot. A tendency to form blood clots, he added, can be something we're born with. "In many cases we're unaware of it." Infections or minor illnesses can cause inflammation, which can also lead to blood clots.
Another cause of stroke is a cerebral hemorrhage, when an artery in the brain bursts and fills the area with blood. Singer and reality show star Bret Michaels, 47, reportedly suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage recently, a specific type of bleeding stroke that happens between the tissues around the brain and the brain itself.
Some types of migraines may also lead to a stroke, said Dr. Patrick Lyden, chairman of the department of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Those who have classical migraines, he said, which include an aura and sometimes loss of vision or function on one side, may be at more risk for stroke than those who have common migraines, which typically cause pain on only one side of the head and almost never include an aura.
A statement from the vice president's office said that Beau Biden, who suffered the stroke Tuesday, was alert with complete motor and speech skills. But prognosis following a stroke depends on its cause, Lyden said, and that remains unclear. "First you think about the cause, then you think about the severity of the symptoms, then you think about how to treat it."
A mild stroke in middle age, such as the one suffered by Beau Biden, isn't uncommon, doctors say. And the cause could be a number of things.
By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times
May 17, 2010
The news that Delaware Atty. Gen. Beau Biden, age 41, recently suffered a mild stroke probably came as a surprise to many people, considering that the son of Vice President Joe Biden is relatively young, trim and in seemingly good health. It shouldn't have.
Strokes are not unheard-of in people that age, said Dr. David S. Liebeskind, associate director of the UCLA Stroke Center. "It doesn't surprise me at all," he said. "Overall, the perception is that only older people have strokes, but we see a lot of people who have strokes at that age, even younger sometimes."
A mild stroke could be caused by a number of things, he said, including a tear in the wall of one of the major arteries leading to the brain, causing a blockage. That could be due to arterial structural abnormalities, or from stress put on the arteries caused by a sudden twisting movement.
"Sometimes it can occur with trauma as severe as whiplash," he said, "or something like a tennis serve or a particular swimming movement or other sporting activities."
General stroke symptoms can include numbness or weakness on one side of the body, loss of speech, imbalance, trouble with speaking or speech loss, or a sudden, severe headache.
A mild stroke can also be caused by a blood clot, which, Liebeskind said, can occur anywhere in the circulatory system, cutting off blood flow to the brain.
A transient ischemic stroke, also called a mini-stroke, is the temporary blockage of an artery caused by a blood clot. A tendency to form blood clots, he added, can be something we're born with. "In many cases we're unaware of it." Infections or minor illnesses can cause inflammation, which can also lead to blood clots.
Another cause of stroke is a cerebral hemorrhage, when an artery in the brain bursts and fills the area with blood. Singer and reality show star Bret Michaels, 47, reportedly suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage recently, a specific type of bleeding stroke that happens between the tissues around the brain and the brain itself.
Some types of migraines may also lead to a stroke, said Dr. Patrick Lyden, chairman of the department of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Those who have classical migraines, he said, which include an aura and sometimes loss of vision or function on one side, may be at more risk for stroke than those who have common migraines, which typically cause pain on only one side of the head and almost never include an aura.
A statement from the vice president's office said that Beau Biden, who suffered the stroke Tuesday, was alert with complete motor and speech skills. But prognosis following a stroke depends on its cause, Lyden said, and that remains unclear. "First you think about the cause, then you think about the severity of the symptoms, then you think about how to treat it."
Los Angeles County's child welfare system has failed
Thousands of investigations based on child abuse tips go unresolved
L.A. County's child welfare agency has a backlog of some 3,700 cases open 60 days or more. Department and union officials say they're 'at a breaking point' with current staffing levels.
By Garrett Therolf, Los Angeles Times
8:38 PM PDT, May 15, 2010
Click here to find out more!
Los Angeles County's child welfare system has failed to complete investigations into child abuse hotline tips involving more than 18,000 children within the time mandated by the state, according to county records.
Because of the backlog, state regulators recently extended L.A. County's deadline for completing investigations from 30 days to 60, but Department of Children and Family Services officials have been unable to meet the new timeline as well. Some 3,700 cases — many involving multiple children — have been open two months or longer without determining whether abuse or neglect is taking place in the home.
The delays — which might leave children in dangerous situations until social workers complete their work — are the result of too few staff burdened with a litany of new tasks intended to reduce the deaths of children whose families already had come under the department's scrutiny.
"The social worker staff simply cannot keep up with everything we are asking them to do," department Director Trish Ploehn said. "All of the things that equate with quality do take time."
John Tanner, executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents the social workers, said, "The emergency response system is at a breaking point. We have to reinvent it to best help social workers ensure child safety."
The crisis began last year after The Times reported that more than a dozen children had died of abuse or neglect in each of the two previous years after coming to the attention of the department. Internal investigations subsequently determined that most of those cases involved errors by the department that probably contributed to the fatalities, and that the errors were concentrated in the unit that handles emergency response.
Department officials responded by ordering more interviews, additional managerial oversight and other duties intended to improve the thoroughness of investigations.
But the work proved to be too much for the county's 596 emergency response unit workers — up only 80 from a year ago. They are charged with investigating about 160,000 tips that arrive each year through the child abuse hotline. Since July, about 7.5% of the cases opened based on those tips remained unresolved after 60 days or more.
A recent internal study also found systemic flaws in the unit's investigations.
The study found that evidence was often insufficient to fairly judge the situation or had been improperly gathered. Children were interviewed alone in only 66% of cases. And social workers on average spoke with fewer than two so-called collateral contacts — neighbors, friends, school officials and healthcare providers who know the children best.
On the positive side, it concluded that workers correctly assessed the evidence they gathered in 93% of cases.
Further complicating the investigators' work are the department's persistent technology problems. Computer databases with information about family histories are notoriously incomplete and cumbersome to use.
When workers go out into the field, they are not able to access the databases because they have no county-issued cellphones and little information about the child other than an Internet map printout for the last known address.
Despite an investment in laptop computers for field work, most social workers are not trained to use them and do not take them in the field because of unresolved connectivity issues, department spokesman Nishith Bhatt said.
Ploehn has worked for much of the past year to rebuild the emergency response unit. She expanded the unit's training program and ordered many cases to go through an extra layer of review by senior staffers who are held accountable for the inquiries' conclusion and often send investigations back for further work before closing a case.
As a result, investigators are filing far fewer unsubstantiated cases, a factor cited by California Department of Social Services Director John Wagner in his decision to temporarily suspend the 30-day deadline.
"This is significant, as it recognizes the extensive child safety enhancements we have implemented to ensure quality investigations and the time it takes for a social worker . . . to actually complete the required tasks," Bhatt said.
It's difficult to determine how much additional staff is needed, particularly in a time of steep budget cuts throughout many county departments.
In February, Ploehn told The Times that she would add 300 workers to the emergency response unit to aid completion of the investigations. But last month, in a presentation to the county's Commission for Children and Families, she reduced that target to 100 additional workers.
In a recent interview, Ploehn said she needs funding for 133 more workers — which would bring the total added to about 210 from a year ago — in order to bring caseloads to acceptable levels. The estimated cost of making those hires is $15.7 million.
"We have basically done all the reshuffling we can do internally," Ploehn said. "Our board and CEO are juggling a number of priorities and we need to make the case why these additional staff are critical."
L.A. County's child welfare agency has a backlog of some 3,700 cases open 60 days or more. Department and union officials say they're 'at a breaking point' with current staffing levels.
By Garrett Therolf, Los Angeles Times
8:38 PM PDT, May 15, 2010
Click here to find out more!
Los Angeles County's child welfare system has failed to complete investigations into child abuse hotline tips involving more than 18,000 children within the time mandated by the state, according to county records.
Because of the backlog, state regulators recently extended L.A. County's deadline for completing investigations from 30 days to 60, but Department of Children and Family Services officials have been unable to meet the new timeline as well. Some 3,700 cases — many involving multiple children — have been open two months or longer without determining whether abuse or neglect is taking place in the home.
The delays — which might leave children in dangerous situations until social workers complete their work — are the result of too few staff burdened with a litany of new tasks intended to reduce the deaths of children whose families already had come under the department's scrutiny.
"The social worker staff simply cannot keep up with everything we are asking them to do," department Director Trish Ploehn said. "All of the things that equate with quality do take time."
John Tanner, executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents the social workers, said, "The emergency response system is at a breaking point. We have to reinvent it to best help social workers ensure child safety."
The crisis began last year after The Times reported that more than a dozen children had died of abuse or neglect in each of the two previous years after coming to the attention of the department. Internal investigations subsequently determined that most of those cases involved errors by the department that probably contributed to the fatalities, and that the errors were concentrated in the unit that handles emergency response.
Department officials responded by ordering more interviews, additional managerial oversight and other duties intended to improve the thoroughness of investigations.
But the work proved to be too much for the county's 596 emergency response unit workers — up only 80 from a year ago. They are charged with investigating about 160,000 tips that arrive each year through the child abuse hotline. Since July, about 7.5% of the cases opened based on those tips remained unresolved after 60 days or more.
A recent internal study also found systemic flaws in the unit's investigations.
The study found that evidence was often insufficient to fairly judge the situation or had been improperly gathered. Children were interviewed alone in only 66% of cases. And social workers on average spoke with fewer than two so-called collateral contacts — neighbors, friends, school officials and healthcare providers who know the children best.
On the positive side, it concluded that workers correctly assessed the evidence they gathered in 93% of cases.
Further complicating the investigators' work are the department's persistent technology problems. Computer databases with information about family histories are notoriously incomplete and cumbersome to use.
When workers go out into the field, they are not able to access the databases because they have no county-issued cellphones and little information about the child other than an Internet map printout for the last known address.
Despite an investment in laptop computers for field work, most social workers are not trained to use them and do not take them in the field because of unresolved connectivity issues, department spokesman Nishith Bhatt said.
Ploehn has worked for much of the past year to rebuild the emergency response unit. She expanded the unit's training program and ordered many cases to go through an extra layer of review by senior staffers who are held accountable for the inquiries' conclusion and often send investigations back for further work before closing a case.
As a result, investigators are filing far fewer unsubstantiated cases, a factor cited by California Department of Social Services Director John Wagner in his decision to temporarily suspend the 30-day deadline.
"This is significant, as it recognizes the extensive child safety enhancements we have implemented to ensure quality investigations and the time it takes for a social worker . . . to actually complete the required tasks," Bhatt said.
It's difficult to determine how much additional staff is needed, particularly in a time of steep budget cuts throughout many county departments.
In February, Ploehn told The Times that she would add 300 workers to the emergency response unit to aid completion of the investigations. But last month, in a presentation to the county's Commission for Children and Families, she reduced that target to 100 additional workers.
In a recent interview, Ploehn said she needs funding for 133 more workers — which would bring the total added to about 210 from a year ago — in order to bring caseloads to acceptable levels. The estimated cost of making those hires is $15.7 million.
"We have basically done all the reshuffling we can do internally," Ploehn said. "Our board and CEO are juggling a number of priorities and we need to make the case why these additional staff are critical."
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