Cousin Sam: In the news, Friday, February 8, 2013

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from Facecrooks

Beware of Fake Facebook Fundraising Campaigns using “Likes” & “Shares”
[from 2012]

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)

RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization

Of Meat and Myth
One hundred years ago, a great and enduring myth was born. Muckraking novelist Upton Sinclair wrote a novel entitled The Jungle—a tale of greed and abuse that still reverberates as a case against a free economy. Sinclair’s “jungle” was unregulated enterprise; his example was the meat-packing industry; his purpose was government regulation. The culmination of his work was the passage in 1906 of the Meat Inspection Act, enshrined in history, or at least in history books, as a sacred cow (excuse the pun) of the interventionist state. But this is a triumph of myth over reality, of ulterior motives over good intentions. Reading The Jungle and assuming it’s a credible news source is like watching The Blair Witch Project because you think it’s a documentary.

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from KHQ Local News (NBC Spokane)

Evidence Of Dino-Killing Asteroid Found

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from New York Times

Newspaper in New York

How the Post Office Made America

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from Quackwatch

A Skeptical Look at Dwight Lundell, M.D.

Dwight C. Lundell, M.D. lost medical license in 2008. Since that time he has been promoting books that clash with established scientific knowledge of heart disease prevention and treatment. His book, The Great Cholesterol Lie, invites people to "forget about everything you have been told about low-fat diets, saturated fats, cholesterol and the causes of heart disease."

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from The Spokesman-Review

Newspaper in Spokane, WA

NYC, New England brace for up to 3 feet of snow

Northeast may get socked
As much as 2 feet of snow could fall

Is blizzard getting too much hype? No, experts say

The Hutton Building is seen in 1909.

Additional floors were added in 1910.

STCU will move offices, new branch into historic Hutton Building

Two 5th-graders charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Stevens County

Middle school in Newport evacuated after bomb threat

Reserve deputy justified in fatal shooting
(note: The map with the story shows the wrong location in the wrong county.)

Brennan defends drone use, even on Americans

Unclear on waterboarding value

These are our top defense leaders? - C. S.
Panetta wanted U.S. to arm Syrian rebels
Outgoing defense secretary testifies before Senate panel

Ex-cop accused of three murders
Fired LAPD officer promises ‘warfare’ on police, families

Wait for green card could be up to a decade

Problem Solvers caucus pledges bipartisanship
Small pack looks for common ground, ‘committed to fix not fight’ in Congress

Tax vote law could be made permanent
GOP senators seek change to constitution

Panel OKs Idaho health insurance exchange
Otter’s controversial plan must be approved by House, Senate

Ex-lawmaker lobbies for do-not-call change
Current law prohibits cable, phone providers from cold calls

Asteroid on path for near-Earth pass
150-foot-wide rock will fly inside moon

County planning urban expansion

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In brief: From Wire Reports:

Bishops reject Obama birth control proposal

American bishops said Thursday the Obama administration’s latest compromise on birth control coverage and religious employers doesn’t go far enough to answer church concerns.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said a bigger buffer is needed between religious charities and any third party arranging contraceptive coverage.

Bishops also want a clearer statement that faith-affiliated hospitals and other nonprofits are religious ministries. And church leaders continue pressing for an exemption for owners of for-profit businesses who say the requirement forces them to violate their religious beliefs. The government has given no indication that it is considering a religious opt-out for business owners.

The bishops made their comments nearly a week after the Department of Health and Human Services announced another revision on coverage for contraception. The regulation is part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, known as the Affordable Care Act.

The department had no reaction Thursday to the bishops’ criticism.

Phelps’ granddaughters leave Westboro church

Kansas City, Mo. – Two granddaughters of Westboro Baptist Church firebrand Fred Phelps have split with the Topeka, Kan.-based congregation, indicating their views have evolved and they now regret the pain they have caused others.

One of them, 27-year-old Megan Phelps-Roper, had been a highly visible member of the church who spoke to media outlets and spread its message via Twitter.

She and a younger sister, Grace Phelps-Roper, in November left the congregation known for its anti-gay stance and for picketing funerals of fallen soldiers and others.

“We ripped the Band-Aid off,” Megan wrote in a text to the Kansas City Star.

A statement signed by both sisters and posted on social media Wednesday said the two were trying to figure out their future.

Steve Drain, a spokesman for the church, said in an interview Wednesday that the sisters had rejected the Lord.

Khamenei rejects U.S. bid for direct nuclear talks

Washington – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the U.S. offer of direct talks on his country’s disputed nuclear program, deepening doubts about the prospects that Tehran’s upcoming discussions with six world powers over the issue will make progress.

Khamenei, who sets his country’s policy on the issue, said in comments carried Thursday on his personal website that talks “will not settle the issue” when the United States has imposed sanctions and is threatening Iran with attack if it doesn’t yield.

“You take up arms against the nation of Iran and say: ‘Negotiate or we will fire,’ ” Khamenei said in a speech to Iranian civilian and air force officials. “But you should know that pressure and negotiations are not compatible and our nation will not be intimidated by these actions.”

Vice President Joe Biden last weekend repeated President Barack Obama’s offer that the United States would open talks with Tehran if Iranian officials showed they were serious.

Ruling Islamist party rebuffs call for new government

Tunis, Tunisia – Tunisia sank deeper into political crisis Thursday, as the ruling Islamist party rejected its own prime minister’s decision to replace the government after the assassination of a leftist politician led to a wave of angry protests.

The murder of Chokri Belaid, a 48-year-old secularist and a fierce critic of hardline Islamists as well as the more moderate ruling party, laid bare the challenges facing this nation of 10 million, whose revolution two years ago sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.

Because of its small, well-educated population, there were hopes Tunisia would have the easiest time transitioning from dictatorship to democracy. But instead Tunisia – a staunchly secular state under ex-dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali – is now a battleground pitting secularists, moderate Islamists, and hardline Islamists against one another.

The economy has struggled, power-sharing negotiations have stalled, and political violence is on the rise. The rejection of the prime minister’s move to create a government of technocrats to guide the country to elections also made clear that divisions exist between hardliners and moderates within the ruling party, Ennahda.

Spokane man fatally shot

SANDPOINT – A Spokane man is dead following a Wednesday evening shooting.

Sandpoint police found Alberto Tuinzing, 36, unresponsive at 726 N. Sixth Ave., and Anthony Viola, 35, who had been shot in the arm. Both men were taken to a hospital, where Tuinzing was pronounced dead. An autopsy is pending.

Medics treated Viola, who is cooperating in the investigation. Police say he was shot with a handgun that has been recovered.

The two men are related. No one has been charged with a crime.

U.S. productivity declines in 4th quarter

WASHINGTON – U.S. worker productivity shrank in the final three months of 2012, although the decline was caused by temporary factors.

Productivity contracted at an annual rate of 2 percent in the October-December quarter, the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2011, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Productivity had risen at a 3.2 percent rate in the July-September quarter.

Labor costs rose at a 4.5 percent rate in the fourth quarter, the fastest gain since the first quarter of 2012.

Productivity is the amount of output per hour of work. It shrank in the fourth quarter because economic activity contracted while hours worked rose. The economy declined at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the last three months of 2012, a drop caused mainly by deep defense cuts and slower restocking, changes not expected to last.

The trend in productivity has been weak for the past two years. For all of 2012, productivity rose by just 1 percent following an even smaller 0.7 percent rise in 2011. Those gains were less than half the average growth that companies saw in 2009 and 2010, shortly after many laid off workers to cut costs during the Great Recession. And it’s below the long-run growth of 2.2 percent a year dating back to 1947.

Economists predict worker productivity will be weak through 2013.

For all of 2012, labor costs were up a modest 0.7 percent. That compared to a gain of 2 percent in 2011 and a decline of 1 percent in 2010. Labor costs were rising more rapidly before the Great Recession, which triggered millions of layoffs and reduced workers’ bargaining power.

Drop in jobless claims good sign, expert says

WASHINGTON – Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, indicating companies continue to hire at a modest but steady pace.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 366,000.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped to 350,500, the lowest in nearly five years. The average is low because of seasonal factors, which reduced applications sharply last month.

Still, economists were encouraged by the decline. Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. When layoffs decline, net hiring typically rises.

The drop in the four-week average “is good news and supports the view that the U.S. labor market is gradually improving,” said Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets.

30-year rate remains steady as 15-year falls

WASHINGTON – The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was unchanged this week near historic lows, while the average rate on the 15-year loan fell. Low mortgage rates could help strengthen the housing recovery.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan stayed at 3.53 percent. That’s still near the 3.31 percent rate reached in November, the lowest in records dating to 1971.

The rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage dropped to 2.77 percent from 2.81 percent last week. The record low is 2.63 percent.

The average fee for 30-year loans ticked up to 0.8 point from 0.7 point last week. The fee for 15-year loans was unchanged at 0.7 point.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 2.53 percent from 2.59 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable-rate loans declined to 0.4 from 0.5 point.

Few on U19 coaching staff

Basketball: The 2013 USA Basketball men’s U19 World Championship team will be led by the experienced coaching staff that helped the USA qualify for the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship.

That staff includes Gonzaga’s Mark Few and Virginia Commonwealth’s Shaka Smart as assistants to Florida coach Billy Donovan.

The 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship will be played June 17-July 7 in Prague, Czech Republic.

“Our 19-and-under team is going to have as good a coaching staff as there is in coaches Donovan, Few and Smart,” said Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University Hall of Fame coach and chair of the 2009-12 Junior National Team Committee. “It’s going to be a tremendous advantage to have the same staff that led the 18-and-under squad a year ago.”

This past summer, Donovan, Few and Smart led the USA to a 5-0 record and a gold medal at the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, earning the USA its place in the 2013 FIBA U19 Worlds. • Gonzaga’s Kelly Olynyk (21.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg in January) and Taelor Karr (15.4 ppg, 4.3 apg) have been named West Coast Conference men’s and women’s basketball players of the month for January.