Big Freakin' News!

A Video Explanation of Sony’s Upcoming PlayStation Motion Controller

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:01:53 +0000

Well, it’s no GameGun, but we hear this “PlayStation motion controller” thing from Sony is going to be “kind of a big deal.”

[Engadget] The SCEA R&D team was kind enough to put together some behind the scenes footage detailing a bit of the genesis of the controller and some of its technical prowess, and according to Sony this should be just enough of a calculated tease to get us excited for TGS in late September.

Hummer Sale to China’s Tengzhong Could be Finalized by Next Week

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:58:35 +0000

Just as General Motors might be balking at the sale of its European Opel brand, the Detroit automaker is said to be close to reaching a deal to sell its Hummer SUV division to China’s Tengzhong. GM and Tengzhong reached a tentative agreement over the Hummer brand earlier this year, but a final deal could be in place by as early as next week.

[Left Lane News] Sources familiar with the situation say Tengzhong has been ramping up its Hummer acquisition efforts over the last few weeks. Despite the Tengzhong’s lack of experience in the automotive segment, the small machinery company could become the new owners of Hummer by next week.

“Tengzhong executives have been traveling between the U.S. and China in the past months and more will arrive in Detroit soon,” an inside source told Automotive News. “If there are no big surprises, an agreement could be finalized next week.”

However, a deal between GM and Tengzhong doesn’t necessarily mean Hummer will be changing hands any time soon. The Chinese government still must approve the transaction, which could be months in the making.

[Today's Video Break] KRS-ONE and Buckshot “Robot” Music Video

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:21:34 +0000

Have a look at this wicked Hip Hop video. Pay attention to the message of this song, too.

How Many iPhones will Apple Sell in China?

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:12:58 +0000

It’s tempting to multiply China’s 700 million mobile phone users by a percentage pulled out of a hat, and now that China Unicom has announced its deal with Apple (AAPL), everybody seems to be doing it.

[Brainstorm Tech] Result: Published estimates of how many iPhones Apple will sell in China next year that range from a low of 1 million to a high of 14 million. Here are the numbers we’ve seen:

UBS analyst Maynard Um: 1 million in fiscal 2010
Sanford Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi: 2.9 million by end of 2011
Standard & Poor’s Clyde Montevirgen: 4 million in calendar 2010
Susquehana Financial’s Jeffrey Fidicaro: 2 million to 5 million
Broadpoint AmTech’s Brian Marshall: 5 million to 7 million in 2010
iPhonAsia’s Dan Butterfield: 14 million in the first year of sales

Everybody’s guessing, of course, since China Unicom hasn’t even announced its pricing or its terms. Meanwhile, Susquehana’s Fidicaro offers investors this handy formula: For every additional 1 million phones Apple sells next year, you can add 18 to 20 cents to the company’s earnings per share.

The Street currently expects Apple to earn $5.84 a share in fiscal 2009 and $6.79 a share in 2010, according to Thomson Financial.

Jon Gosselin’s Roll Model Status Isn’t So Hot

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:12:08 +0000

Why was Jon Gosselin selling lemonade? Is he that desperate for sympathy—or cash?

[E! Online] Actually, Gosselin and his kids were selling lemonade for charity, at a local Pennsylvania fire department. Photogs and reporters caught him out there a few days ago while he was filming a new episode of his reality show.

The firefighters might be the only fans Gosselin has left, though, if what everybody is telling me is any indication…

During the lemonade extravaganza, Gosselin complained to reporters that he wished he could quit Jon & Kate, but that he can’t because he has bills and, in case you haven’t heard, eight kids.

If that sounds desperate, that’s because it genuinely is.

Gosselin had a paid appearance lined up this week at the Shrine club at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods—on which he bailed—and he has one other in the offing, at a club called Wet Republic in Vegas, for which sources tell me he will be paid $15,000.

But beyond that, I could not find a single booker willing to deal with him. Including the very people who were seeking him out just days ago.

“We offered $5,000 for an unadvertised appearance,” Randy Greenstein, partner at Shrine, tells me. “Jon is not really in demand because of his negative image. Who would want to advertise ‘come hang with the world’s biggest scumbag’?

“No, we would never book him again.”

Other talent bookers tell me there’s plenty of demand for soon-to-be-ex Kate Gosselin, but none for Jon.

“Kate is doing three upcoming events for me,” talent wrangler Glenn Rosenblum of Celebrity Access tells me. “She is lovely and a hard worker.”

As for Jon, he could garner an estimated $10,000 per appearance if anyone wanted him, but “especially with the economy, it would be hard to find a group that would want him right now.”

Other talent bookers, including Huff Events in New York, Queenie Donaldson in Los Angeles, and Leverage 8 in Chicago, all tell me they see no current demand for Jon, only Kate.

And oh, just in case you’re wondering whether clubs outside of Los Angeles, New York and Vegas would like to hire Gosselin, the answer is, not likely. At least not for money.

Shane Brennan of the San Diego nightclub Stingaree tells me, “Even with the big hype surrounding Jon Gosselin’s pending divorce and personal drama, he’s still not the caliber of celebrity we’d pay big bucks for. He doesn’t appeal to our demo of young and hip partygoers. Although Stingaree would not pay an appearance fee, we would likely offer complementary bottle service to his party.”

Sure, that might work. As long as there’s lemonade.

—Shennellc, via the Answer B!tch inbox

Obama Pledges to Push Ahead with Hurricane Katrina Recovery

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:59:43 +0000

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. – President Barack Obama marked the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on Saturday by pledging to make sure that turf wars and red tape don’t slow the pace of the continuing recovery.

[Yahoo News] He also said he would visit New Orleans by years’ end.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, the president noted that the Bush administration’s response to the killer storm raised questions among people in the U.S. about whether the government “could fulfill its responsibility to respond in a crisis.”

He said he wanted to ensure “that the legacy of a terrible storm is a country that is safer and more prepared for the challenges that may come.”

Since taking office, Obama has sent 11 members of the Cabinet to the region to inspect progress and to hear local ideas on how to speed up repairs.

“Our approach is simple: Government must keep its responsibility to the people, so that Americans have the opportunity to take responsibility for their future,” Obama said in his address, released during his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts.

Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, killing more than 1,600 people in Louisiana and Mississippi and leaving behind more than $40 billion in property damage. Hurricane Rita followed almost a month later, with billions of dollars in additional damage and at least 11 more deaths.

Obama acknowledged that recovery has not come at an acceptable pace.

“I have also made it clear that we will not tolerate red tape that stands in the way of progress or the waste that can drive up the bill,” said Obama. “Government must be a partner — not an opponent — in getting things done.”

As a candidate, he promised during a speech at Tulane University in February 2008 to help the city hire police officers, repair schools, improve public transit, finish rebuilding the levee system and offer financial incentives to attract teachers, businesses and medical professionals.

Obama’s disaster relief chief, Craig Fugate, has been cited by Gulf Coast officials and Obama administration officials alike for breaking through the gridlock that has delayed recovery.

Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., recently said he had a lot of respect for Fugate and his team. “There is a sense of momentum and a desire to get things done,” he said of the career emergency official.

In half a year, Obama’s team says it has cleared at least 75 projects that were in dispute, including libraries, schools and university buildings.

Even so, many towns remain broken, littered with boarded-up houses and overgrown vacant lots. Hundreds of projects — including critical needs such as sewer lines, fire stations and a hospital — are entangled in the bureaucracy or federal-local disputes over who should pick up the tab.

“No more turf wars,” Obama said. “All of us need to move forward together, because there is much more work to be done,” he said.

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer

Thousands Attend Jackson Birthday Bash in New York

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:58:51 +0000

NEW YORK – Thousands of Michael Jackson fans danced the rain away in a Brooklyn park on Saturday at a party hosted by filmmaker Spike Lee, marking what would have been the 51st birthday of the late pop star.

[Yahoo News] Crowds of partygoers streamed into Prospect Park late Saturday afternoon, many wearing fedoras, sporting white gloves and showing off other Jackson-esque outfits. DJs spun Jackson’s hits one after the other as people danced and sang along. Dozens of hawkers wandered through the crowd with T-shirts, buttons, posters and homemade memorabilia.

“I was just like everyone else. I loved his talent,” said Lee, who directed two music videos for Jackson in 1996. He also reminisced how Jackson had visited him in his home in Brooklyn to talk about their music video collaboration.

The day was also designated Michael “King of Pop” Jackson Memorial Day by Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz.

“We all know Michael Jackson had fans around the world, but we all know the best fans come from Brooklyn,” Markowitz boasted to a roaring crowd that grew as heavy rain in the morning lightened to a drizzle by mid-afternoon.

Edna Robles of Brooklyn was on her feet all afternoon. In a red baseball cap and flip flops, she closed her eyes and swung her hips, pivoting in the grass and mud to the beats of Jackson’s hit “Thriller.”

“It could be thundering, I don’t care,” she said. “I watched him through the years and I think he’s the best. I love him.”

The event, originally planned as a block-party-style gathering for 2,000 in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park, was moved to Prospect Park to accommodate a bigger crowd.

Peter Brodie and his wife, Corrine Rodriguez, brought their daughters, 3-month-old Astrid and 2 1/2-year-old Makeda, to the party. Rodriguez danced with Makeda to “Beat It” while Brodie swayed side to side as he held Astrid in his arms.

“I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. I was 9 years old and he opened up a whole new world of music and dancing to me,” said Brodie, who said it was a shame that such a spirited celebration of Jackson’s music came only after his death.

Aubrey Harris, a 45-year-old from New York, was clutching a stack of homemade portraits he made of Jackson.

“I’m spreading the memory of Michael Jackson,” said Harris, who cut out Jackson’s image from posters and created 19 collages decorated with paint and glitter. “I’m keeping it in the forefront of people’s minds.”

By mid-afternoon, he had already sold 10 portraits for $15 each.

By SUZANNE MA, Associated Press Writer

Students Pay an Arm and a Leg to Park on Campus, Survey Finds

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:58:07 +0000

College kids with cars pay a parking premium if they keep their wheels on campus.

[Washington Post] If they go to a Washington area school, it costs $225 to $1,300 a year to park, according to a survey taken by AAA.

“Students can pay a pretty penny just to own and operate a car and to park it on campus and to cover all the other incidentals — the cost of insurance, car care, repairs and other expenses — that invariably come with having a car,” said John B. Townsend II, the association’s mid-Atlantic manager of public and government affairs.

Despite the cost, almost three-quarters of the nation’s 18.4 million college students will return to campus with a car, AAA said. The association’s annual guide said some students will spend as much as $8,095 a year to keep and maintain a new car at school.

“Typically, college students spend nearly $15 billion annually on cars, according to various estimates,” Townsend said

Parking might be more available on campuses in some parts of the country, but in an urban setting such as Washington it comes at a high price. The AAA survey of area colleges found that the annual student parking fee at Howard University was $240. A permit for the general parking lot at George Mason University cost $225. At American University, it cost an estimated $964 to park on a Nebraska Avenue lot. In College Park, the University of Maryland charges $412 for those who live on campus and $213 for those who commute daily to school.

George Washington University students pay $550 a semester for a parking decal, and students who commute to Georgetown University pay $656 a semester to park at satellite lots in Rosslyn.

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“We strongly discourage all of our students from bringing cars to school,” said Georgetown spokesman Andy Pino. “Georgetown is served by multiple public transportation options, and we encourage our students to take full advantage of them. Students who live on campus are not eligible for daily or monthly parking on campus.”

The price of trying to elude parking fees can be even higher.

“The trouble is, if you run up a pile of unpaid parking tickets, some colleges won’t verify your degree to prospective employers and graduate school programs until the debt is paid in full,” Townsend said.

In College Park, students who lack parking permits can be fined $75 and a $20 “late fee” for failing to buy one when they should have. Aware that college students have their ways of fabricating and sharing documents (notably, ones that might indicate they are of drinking age), the university has a $300 ticket for “the illegal display and/or receipt of permit or decal.”

Renting a car to avoid all this isn’t an option for most college students because rental companies generally won’t deal with anyone younger than 25. But car-sharing services are available at American, Gallaudet University, Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, Howard and U-Md.

For example, students 18 to 21 are eligible to participate in Zipcar programs that allow them to reserve and drive a car by the hour.

By Ashley Halsey III

15 Officers Killed in Attack on Pakistan Police Center

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:20:27 +0000

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — At least 15 officers were killed Sunday in a suicide attack at a police training center in Mingora in Pakistan’s northwest, officials said.

[CNN Wire] The attack also wounded 12 others, said military spokesman Major Pir Mushtaq.

The attacker jumped over a wall at the compound and blew himself up as about 50 to 75 newly-recruited officers were training, said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister of the North West Frontier Province.

Mingora is the largest city and the gateway into the province’s Swat Valley, where Pakistani military are fighting Taliban militants for control.

On Saturday, security officials said the army killed six militants and wounded several others in an operation to destroy the militants’ base of attacks.

The army launched the operation after intelligence information and reports from locals about the presence of suicide attackers and terrorism masterminds close to the Valley town of Charbagh.

Militants had been using a safe area there to launch attacks in other Valley towns, including Mingora.

– CNN’s Samson Desta contributed to this report.

Study Shows New Experimental Drug Cuts Stroke Risk

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:19:00 +0000

BARCELONA, Spain – An experimental drug reduces the stroke risk in patients with irregular heartbeats by more than three times, compared with the popular drug warfarin — but possibly at a cost, according to new research released Sunday.

[Yahoo News] Patients taking the new drug dabigatran etexilate, made by German pharmaceutical Boehringer Ingelheim, also were slightly more likely to have heart attacks or stomach pain, according to the research presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona.

Patients with irregular heartbeats are up to five times more likely to have a stroke than healthy people.

About one-sixth of all strokes occur in patients with irregular heartbeats who also have other risk factors such as smoking or obesity. In the United States, there are about 2 million people with such a condition.

Until now most such patients have been given warfarin, which has been around since the 1950s and has side effects including bleeding risks and requires lifestyle changes such as dietary restrictions.

Doctors hope the new drug can help improve treatment for patients, who must be monitored continuously if they are put on warfarin and avoid alcohol and foods such as spinach and cranberries.

The new research on dabigatran — which has not yet been approved in the United States but is sold as Pradaxa in 40 countries to prevent blood clots — was compiled after doctors monitored more than 18,000 patients with irregular heartbeats, or atrial fibrillation, worldwide for about two years starting in 2005. The patients took either dabigatran or warfarin, at varying doses.

On warfarin a patient’s risk of stroke drops dramatically to about 0.38 percent per year, according to the study, also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Warfarin has invited complications, however, because it is difficult to dose and may be confusing for patients to take, doctors have said.

On dabigatran, that risk is slashed even further to about 0.10 percent per year, the study says.

“It is certainly a big step forward,” said Dr. Fausto Pinto, director of the Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Lisbon, Portugal, and program chairman of the European Society of Cardiology.

Dabigatran “probably will replace warfarin,” as it is easier for both doctors and patients to use, said Pinto, who was not involved in the study.

Last year, the market for anti-clotting drugs was about $13.6 billion globally.

Getting approval for dabigatran could take years after Boehringer Ingelheim submits data to regulatory agencies.

Dr. Clyde Yancy, medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute in Dallas and president of the American Heart Association, said more information was needed on why dabigatran appeared to slightly increase the number of heart attacks, but that overall the data were encouraging.

“Patients have wanted something easier to take for their atrial fibrillation for years, and this may be it,” Yancy said. “That’s why this may be a game-changer.”

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Laid to Rest Near Brothers

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:18:14 +0000

After a Boston funeral Mass attended by dignitaries and stars, his extended family says goodbye to its patriarch at Arlington National Cemetery.

[LA Times] Reporting from Washington and Boston – As a soft twilight fell over the nation’s capital, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was laid to his final rest Saturday in a ceremony on a sloping site in Arlington National Cemetery.

Kennedy’s burial brings America’s most famous band of brothers together again. His grave sits 100 feet south of his brother Robert’s, and 200 feet from the eternal flame that burns for John, the former president.

The senator’s funeral cortege followed the same route his brothers’ hearses did, from the Capitol to the national shrine across the Potomac River in Virginia, after they were killed more than four decades ago.

Eight members of a U.S. military honor guard carried Kennedy’s casket from the black hearse and set it down at a freshly dug grave near manicured shrubs and broad maple trees.

A large U.S. flag was spread over the casket during the final rite of committal and prayer by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a family friend and former archbishop of Washington. The ceremony ended three days of tributes and memorials in Kennedy’s honor.

“His roar and his zeal for what he believed made a difference in this nation’s life,” McCarrick told Kennedy’s widow, Victoria, and 14 other family members, who sat beside the grave on a raised platform flanked by white hydrangeas and roses.

At the end, Kennedy’s four grandchildren — Kiley Kennedy, Edward M. Kennedy III, and Max and Grace Allen — approached the grave.

“I can’t say anything,” said Kiley, 15, as she sobbed. But she continued: “You see, my grandpa was really a kid. He knew how to joke, laugh and have fun. If you ever saw him conducting the Boston Pops, that’s what he was like all the time with me.”

Kennedy’s grave will bear a white oak cross at the head, and a white marble marker at the foot, identical to the one that marks Robert’s plot. No other crosses are like it at Arlington, which has more than 300,000 headstones, according to John Metzler Jr., the cemetery’s superintendent.

Earlier Saturday, Kennedy was mourned in a funeral Mass in Boston, in his home state. The passing of the Kennedy clan’s patriarch brought together four U.S. presidents, more than half of the Senate, plus Hollywood stars, sports legends and foreign dignitaries.

A sense of history and loss pervaded the cold, rainy morning. The Mass bore all of the trappings of a funeral for a beloved head of state.

“We do not weep for him today because of the prestige attached to his name or his office,” President Obama said in a eulogy to the more than 1,400 mourners.

“We weep because we loved this kind and tender hero who persevered through pain and tragedy — not for the sake of ambition or vanity, not for wealth or power, but only for the people and the country that he loved.”

Obama praised Kennedy as “a champion for those who had none, the soul of the Democratic Party, and the lion of the United States Senate — a man who graces nearly 1,000 laws, and who penned more than 300 laws himself.”

Kennedy, he said, “became the greatest legislator of our time.”

Kennedy himself had chosen the imposing Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help for his funeral. He had prayed at the Roman Catholic church daily while his daughter, Kara, was being treated nearby for lung cancer. The ornate spires tower over a working-class community in Boston’s Roxbury area.

As the morning began, a military honor guard unloaded from a black hearse the flag-draped coffin, covered in clear plastic from the rain, and carried it in a strict cadence up the stone steps.

Once inside, they folded the flag, one that had flown over the U.S. Senate, where the liberal Democrat had served for 47 years before he died of brain cancer Tuesday at age 77. A white pall was placed over the coffin.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, praised Kennedy as a man who had lived a “life of faith and prayer” and “compassion and service.”

Ten of Kennedy’s grandchildren, nephews and nieces took turns reading his words in a call and response with the mourners.

Continue reading here.

BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Video

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:17:33 +0000

We hate concept cars. Year after year we see new concept cars more fantastical and amazing than the last, and year after year we see cars hit the market that have had all the magic ripped out of them by safety regulations and market realities.

[Engadget] The newly unveiled Vision EfficientDynamics car from BMW is mainly here to show us BMW’s new diesel-based plug-in hybrid drive system. But it’s also here to annoy us.

Obama Health Reform Turns Spotlight on Canada

Jody Mitoma — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:16:42 +0000

TORONTO – From screaming babies to frail seniors, Canadian-born or recent immigrants, the patients flow continuously through the waiting room of Dr. Kamini Kambli’s clinic. Most have made their appointments that day. None will receive a bill.

[Yahoo News] The receptionist swipes their ID to verify their eligibility as Ontario residents for coverage under Canada’s universal health care system. Kambli’s family medical practice will be reimbursed by the government.

Canada’s system is called Medicare, and is much like Medicare in the U.S. for over-65-year-olds, except that this one treats virtually the entire Canadian population of 33 million.

“It’s one of the best systems in the world. Everyone is guaranteed health care and it does not matter if you’re rich or poor or what your medical condition is — you will be seen and provided health care. How can you argue with that?” says Kambli, who used to practice medicine in her native India.

To be sure, Canadians have their complaints about their health care system — about long waits for elective care, including appointments with specialists and selected surgical procedures; shortages of doctors and nurses, particularly in rural areas; and the growing costs of covering an aging population.

The Canadian Medical Association wants to mix private insurance into the government monopoly. There have been lawsuits demanding the right to buy private health insurance. David Sebald, a Toronto-based health care consultant who has lived in the U.S., calls for a co-payment system to “eliminate the hypochondriacs.”

But right now, Canadians are setting aside their criticisms of Medicare and rallying to its defense. The reason: Their system has been dragged into the debate over President Barack Obama’s health care reform proposals by opponents who say Canada proves Obama is wrong — that Canadians endure long waits for critical procedures, medical rationing, scant resources and heavy-handed government interference.

A TV ad sponsored by the conservative Americans For Prosperity Foundation spotlighted a Canadian woman, Shona Holmes, who has challenged the system in court. She spoke of suffering from a brain tumor and declared she would “be dead” had she relied on her government. She said she had to mortgage her home to pay more than $97,000 to get timely treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

In Canada, groups quickly sprouted up on Facebook accusing Holmes of betraying her country and exaggerating her illness.

In a report on its Web site, the Mayo Clinic said Holmes was suffering from a Rathke’s cleft cyst near her pituitary gland. The Web sites of several reputable medical groups list the cyst as non-cancerous.

“We’ve heard talk in the U.S. that you may die here because of long wait times, you can’t choose the doctors or the care you want and that the government makes your health decisions for you, but none of that is really true,” said Dr. Michael M. Rachlis, a leading Canadian health policy analyst who has written three books about Canada’s system. “I think there’s a lot that the U.S. could learn from Canada.”

Rachlis believes the most significant lesson is the Canadian system’s egalitarianism: health care regardless of income, age and health status. No one is left without critical care and consequently, Canadians live three years longer on average than Americans, according to the World Health Organization.

“The flaw in the American system,” Ontario Health Minister David Caplan said recently, “is that first they check the size of your wallet, not the size of your need.”

Obama has stepped in to defend his neighbors’ system.

“I don’t find Canadians particularly scary, but I guess some of the opponents of reform think they make a good bogeyman. I think that’s a mistake,” he said.

In seeking to spread affordable coverage, including to the nearly 50 million uninsured Americans, Obama has said he isn’t looking to copy the Canadian model, but wants to build on the existing U.S. system with a mix of private and government-funded insurance.

For all the rhetoric, both Canadians and Americans appear in opinion polls to be broadly content with the care they have.

A Harris-Decima poll published last month found that 82 percent of Canadians believe their system outdoes America’s, and 70 percent felt it was working very well or well. The telephone poll of 1,000 Canadians was conducted from June 4 to 8 with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

A survey released this month by the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said more than 86 percent of Americans rated their care as good to excellent. But 52 percent were very or somewhat worried they wouldn’t be able to afford future care, and nearly 30 percent said they were very or somewhat worried it would bankrupt them. The telephone poll of 500 Americans had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

Canada’s system provides its citizens with coverage at a much lower per capita cost than the U.S. largely because its single-payer system, in which the government picks up the tab, greatly reduces administrative costs.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, per-capita spending for health care in the U.S. was $6,714 in 2006; in Canada, $3,678. The U.S. spent 16 percent of its GDP on health care that year; Canada spent 10 percent.

Canadians do pay higher taxes than Americans — the average family pays about 48 percent of its annual income in taxes — partly to fund the health care system.

“It’s a trade-off — we pay more in taxes, but no Canadian ever goes bankrupt because of medical bills. You will always get looked after without worrying about costs,” said Kambli, the doctor.

Some disagree.

“It is in fact a very poor health care system that regularly fails Canadians,” Nadeem Esmail of the Fraser Institute, a conservative Canadian think tank, wrote in a newspaper opinion piece published this month.

He said Canada has the developed world’s second most expensive universal health care system after Iceland, yet lags behind other industrialized countries in access to medical technologies and physician-to-population ratios. He noted that Canadians on average had to wait longer to see a specialist or receive elective surgery than in other developed countries with universal health care such as Australia and Britain.

A Fraser Institute study found that the average wait time from general practitioner referral to treatment by a specialist was 17.3 weeks in 2008, compared to 11.9 weeks back in 1997.

The federal government is aware of the criticisms. In 2004, it instituted a multi-billion-dollar plan aimed at reducing wait times in priority areas such as cancer care and cardiac treatment.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information, an independent nonprofit group, reported that as of April at least 75 percent of patients receive non-emergency surgeries — radiation treatments, coronary artery bypass, hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery — in acceptable time.

David Johnson, 28, of Toronto, said he received immediate treatment after dislocating a shoulder playing ice hockey, but had to wait six months to have surgery to reattach torn cartilage.

“It wasn’t a life or death issue and I wasn’t in pain while I waited,” said Johnson, a finance company employee. “I had the care I needed without worrying about anything like bills.”

The 1984 Canada Health Act guarantees mostly free health care to all citizens and sets overall guidelines for systems in each of Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories. Canadians are barred from purchasing private medical insurance for services covered by the government, and doctors cannot charge patients extra fees.

In Canada’s largest province, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers all medically necessary doctor and hospital care, with fees negotiated between the Ontario Ministry of Health and the provincial medical association.

OHIP excludes some services — optometry, dentistry and outpatient prescription drugs — but many Canadians are covered in those areas by supplemental private insurance, often provided through their employers. Prescription drugs are much cheaper than in the U.S. because the government negotiates prices directly with the drug companies.

Given its popularity, Canadian Medicare enjoys support across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservative Party is closest politically to U.S. Republicans, has not moved to privatize the system since taking office in 2006.

But right-of-center foundations that support a greater private-sector role in medicine have supported lawsuits on behalf of patients who claim that lengthy waiting lists violate basic rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In 2005, Canada’s Supreme Court struck down a Quebec law banning private medical insurance, but the decision had no immediate impact on the system outside Quebec.

After lively debate at its annual convention this month, the Canadian Medical Association approved a resolution urging provincial governments to “examine internal market mechanisms, which could include a role for the private sector” in Canada’s publicly funded health care system.

Outgoing CMA president Robert Ouellet told a news conference that most doctors “believe there is an urgent need to fix Canada’s health care system,” learning from European countries that offer a mixed public-private universal health care system.

“We need to stop deceiving ourselves into believing that we have the best health care system in the world,” he said.

Associated Press writers Rob Gillies in Toronto, Carla K. Johnson in Chicago and Charles J. Gans in New York contributed to this report.

BREAKING! Cash for Clunkers Nets 690,114 Transactions Valued at $2.877 Billion

Jody Mitoma — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:30:45 +0000

The government’s cash for clunkers program finally came to an end at 8 p.m. [Tuesday] night, netting 690,114 transactions valued at $2.88 billion. The program was originally funded for $1 billion, but was extended by another $2 billion after funds dried up during the program’s first week.

[Left Lane News] However, those figures could climb higher in the next few days as the U.S. Transportation Department has not accounted for dealer reapplications. The National Automobile Dealers Association says the clunkers’ rejection rate climbed as high as 80 percent, forcing many dealers to file claims multiple times. The U.S. Department of Transportation says it will continue to accept applications past the expired deadline.

Although hailed by the Obama administration as a success, the program did not run as smoothly as planned. The clunkers’ Web site crashed several times, resulting in a bottleneck of applications. Moreover, as of just a week ago, only about a third of dealers had received their first clunkers check, leaving many dealerships with cash flow problems.

The agency setup to handle the cash for clunkers program was originally staffed with fewer than 350 workers, but now has more than 2,000 people working around the clock. The government has declined to estimate the total cost of the CARS program, but the final tally is well over the $3 billion mark.

By Drew Johnson

To read the full press release click here.

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College Graduates are Struggling with High-Interest Student Loads

Jody Mitoma — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:09:39 +0000

(CNN) — Kristin Schlaud brimmed with pride when she became the first in her blue-collar family to make it to college. But three years after law school, she is completely broke, saddled with almost a quarter-million dollar debt.

[CNN Wire] Schlaud didn’t buy a house she could not afford or run up her credit cards. She owes for her education.

An increasing number of college students are turning to private loans — one of the riskiest ways to pay for schooling, according to an education organization that compared them to credit-card debt.

“I know I have accomplished a lot, but I wonder if it was all worth it,” said Schlaud, 28, who has a law degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a master’s in commercial real estate from John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois.

Private student loans carry variable interest rates that are higher for those least able to afford them, up to 18 percent in 2008, said The Project on Student Debt. A new report by the group found that the proportion of all undergraduates who took out such loans increased significantly — from 5 percent in 2003-04 to 14 percent in 2007-08.

The unfortunate aspect to student debt, the report said, is that nearly two-thirds of those who borrowed privately did not take full advantage of what it called safer and more affordable federal loans.

Paul Ramirez earned a degree at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. The program was so intense, he said, that he could not work part-time. So he signed on the dotted line for a private student loan. The bank came calling for a $1,200 a month payment after Ramirez graduated. He asked for forbearance and when that was up, he moved in with his parents to make the monthly payment, which had risen to $1,700.

Then the recession hit and Ramirez found himself unemployed.

“Where’s the justice?” he said.

College students need more protection, said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access & Success, the mother organization for The Project on Student Debt.

“Both the federal government and colleges should do more to prevent students from taking out unnecessary private loans,” she said.

Private loans not only come with sky-high interest rates, but they lack the consumer protections that are attached to federal loans, according to The Project on Student Debt. It is difficult to discharge them in bankruptcy.

Federal loans also became much more affordable under guidelines that went into effect July 1.

The government allows borrowers to set their monthly loan payment at 15 percent of their annual adjusted gross income, lowering monthly payments for millions of students. Single borrowers who earn less than $16,245 — the poverty level — are not required to make payments on their federal loans as long as their income remains low.

Students who take out private loans are not eligible for payment deferments, loan forgiveness programs or income-based repayment options that federal loans offer.

Among the findings by The Project on Student Debt:

– In America, 62 percent of graduates from public universities had student loans. That number jumped to 72 percent for private nonprofit universities and 96 percent for private for-profit institutions.

– At public schools, the average debt was $20,200, which is 20 percent higher than it was in 2004. The numbers are higher for private schools.

– The number of private loan borrowers rose from 935,000 in 2003-04 to almost 3 million in 2007-08.

Recently finalized Federal Reserve Board regulations for consumer disclosures did not go far enough in warning students about private loans, Asher said. Nor did they make students aware that they have other options, she said.

Asher called for mandatory school certification of private loans, which would give higher education institutions the authority to intervene when a student has other financing options.

Many frustrated students have pushed the idea of a presidential task force to investigate the student loan crisis. They are demanding the government deploy trained financial advisers to American high schools so that students have a clear idea about their financial options.

New York lawyer Robert Applebaum launched a Facebook page in January that urged President Barack Obama to forgive student loans as part of his economic stimulus plan. The page attracted fans by the droves. So he started his own advocacy Web site, ForgiveStudentLoanDebt.com., in the hopes of launching a grassroots movement to address the problem.

The horror stories about debt started rolling in.

Applebaum, who amassed significant debt paying for law school, described private student loans as the epitome of predatory lending. He said federal loan amounts have not kept up with the rising cost of education, so in many cases, students fill the gaps with loans from private banks.

He questioned how colleges could allow teenagers who know little about repaying debt take out such damaging loans.

“We’re talking about kids,” he said. “What’s more predatory than that?”

James Knight, 28, a commercial pilot in Kennesaw, Georgia, said he spent sleepless nights trying to figure out how he would make loan payments that were higher than his monthly earnings.

“Eventually, it comes to this: Do I pay for my loan or do I take care of my family,” said Knight who is married and has a young son. “I chose my family.”

He said the Department of Education is about to begin wage garnishments on a loan balance of $160,000.

The son of a bank teller and a mechanic, Knight said his parents could never afford to send him to college. Now, they are paying a price for having co-signed on his loan while he is embarking on his career.

“College is as crooked as anything these days,” he said.

Schlaud, the Michigan real estate lawyer, has had no luck finding a job amid the economic slump. People think that she ought to be wealthy, she said. But she is hardly living the life she envisioned when she finished law school.

“My parents instilled a tireless work ethic in my brothers and I, and always taught us to be self sufficient. Unemployment is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me,” she said. “I am not asking for a free ride or for someone else to fix my problems. I am not alone and that is why I am sharing my story.”

These days, the phone rings with greater frequency — it’s always a bank calling to collect. But Schlaud has nothing to give them.

The government bailed out the big three auto companies, she said. “Why not us?”

In the meantime, she is considering going to nursing school in the hopes of finding a job. But to do that, she would have to take out yet another loan.

By Moni Basu