"From the desk of Bethany Khan..."

According to CNN:

Judge C. Philip Nichols signed letters threatening parents with jail time or fines if they didn’t immunize their children.

Nichols ordered parents to come to court Saturday morning and either immunize their children on the spot, or to prove that they had already been immunized for diseases such as mumps, measles and polio.

Families who failed to comply could face 10 to 30 days in jail.

All states require school-age children to be immunized, but Maryland parents said that they objected to the heavy-handed way the situation was handled.

Public health officials said the benefits of vaccinations against childhood disease outweighs the risks.

Parents protesting the policy argued that there is the risk of serious adverse reactions, which in their minds does not outweigh the benefits of getting their child vaccinated.

Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey sent out 1,700 letters to parents whose children had not been immunized.

101 vaccinations were administered Saturday and 71 records were updated, Ivey said.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to CNN:

The Iranian government has made the decision to forbid the second printing of a Farsi translation of Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel.

The novel by the famed Latin American writer, which was translated into Farsi, received many complaints from conservatives who believed the novel was promoting prostitution.

The ban has provoked a greater interested in the novel, and on Saturday, the black market was selling copies of the book at more than twice their list price.

The novel, actually titled “Memories of My Melancholy Whores� was translated into Farsi as “Memories of My Melancholy Sweethearts,� tells the story of an elderly man who decides to forgo his habit of using prostitutes on his 90th birthday by sleeping with a 14-year-old virgin, and ends up falling in love with the young girl.

Officials at Niloofar Publications, which published the first edition of the novel, confirmed Saturday that they have been forbidden to put out the second edition.

Since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, Iran has tightened censorshop of books, films and music.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Guardian Unlimited:

Thousands of people marched into the Justice Department headquarters in Washington DC on Friday.

Protestors were demanding federal intervention in the “Jenna Six� case, the ruling of which they found to be overly harsh and unfair against the six black teens accused of jumping a white high school student in Jena, La.

More than 100 busloads of people came to participate in the march, that was organized by Rev. Al Sharpton. Protestors came as far away as Florida, Michigan, and Washington.

“There are so many nooses being hung around America,� said Martin Luther King III. “Anytime there’s a hate crime, the Justice Department should prosecute, and a noose is certainly a hate crime.�

Five of the six Jena teens were initially charged with attempted second-degree murder.

Mychal Bell, 17, who is the sixth teen, was booked as a juvenile and his charge was sealed.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Star Tribune:

In 2005, Minnesota became the second state to outlaw the midnight-to 2am birthday celebrations, known to many as “power hour,� in hopes of discouraging dangerous drinking binges.

A 2006 study at Virginia Tech University found that the average male consumes 13 drinks on his 21st birthday, while the average woman, seven and a half.

The surveyed also showed that 32 percent of men and 26 percent of women ended up vomiting on their 21st birthday because they drank so much.

A third of all students experienced a blackout on their 21st birthday and 30 percent consumed enough alcoholic drinks to give them an estimated blood alcohol level of 0.28 or higher – which puts them at risk for alcohol poisoning.

University of Minnesota Prof. Toben Nelson has studied college student drinking trend for the past decade, both here in Minneapolis and at Harvard.

“It’s cheaper to binge drink than it is to go to a first-run movie in many college towns,� Nelson said. “It’s cheap, highly social entertainment and there’s an industry around supplying alcohol to college students.�

Posted by Bethany Khan at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Pioneer Press:

New boutiques such as Burberry, Chanel and Gucci have opened up at the Mall of America.

For most luxury goods and services firms, 20 percent of the shoppers will deliver 80 percent of the profits, according to the Luxury Institute, which is based in New York.

International tourists from Europe and Japan are more likely to shop in trendy luxury stores, and may be more interested in trips to the Mall of America for economic steals because to the weak exchange rate of the U.S. dollar.

"My belief is that the high-end consumer is still going to spend. That's going to be the one hiding place," said Patricia Edwards, an analyst with Wentworth Hauser & Violich in Seattle. "But the high-end consumer isn't the affordable luxury customer, and that's the catch."

Some new luxury goods, often thought of as affordable luxury, are now selling for 1.5 times the middle-market price goods.

Luxury spending has doubled since 2003 to $600 billion, with many analysts crediting celebrities and fashion designers for the increase.

Stores such as Burberry, which once was in downtown Minneapolis, are often destinations by themselves. "That's a good way to reinforce a shopping center," said David Brennan, co-director of the Institute for Retailing Excellence at the University of St. Thomas. "The more stores you have as destinations, the more insulated you'll be."

Posted by Bethany Khan at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Skills evident: Research and analysis skills. Video inserts. HTML knowledge. Investigative skills. Related links. RSS feeds.

According to 9News article I analyzed:

The journalist researched all of the 20 people named John Thompson in Colorado who are on the government’s No-Fly List. All of whom are false matches.

A program, called Secure Flight, which was created by the 9/11 Commission in 2003, would give the Transportation Security Administration direct control over the watch list.

With the help of Secure Flight, airlines would send passenger data to TSA 72 hours before a flight, where they would check the names and information against the No Fly watch list and transmit the results back to the airlines.

The Terrorist Watch List has more than 755,000 names on it.

Secure Flight, which has cost taxpayers $200 million so far, could prevent 99.5 percent of misidentification, according to the TSA.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 9:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to CNN:

Donda West, mother of Kanye West died Saturday night in Los Angeles. She was 58.

Donda West was the former chairwoman of Chicago State University’s English department.

The cause of death has not been released.

Kanye West, 30, frequently mentioned his strong relationship with his mom, he even penned his love for her in the song, “Hey Mama,� on his 2005 album “Late Registration.�

Donda West, in May, published the book “Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Star,� in which she talked about her famous son.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

According to Reuters UK:

Israeli police raided government offices Sunday in Jerusalem.

The raids are party of three ongoing criminal investigations against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Olmert, a former Jerusalem mayor, is suspected of having arranging an illicit discount on a house that he bought, and for allegations of bid-rigging and cronyism.

Fraud investigators raided 20 sites, which included the Industry and Trade Ministry, Israel Lands Administration, Jerusalem Municipality and Postal Authority for potential evidence to add to the investigations.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to CNN:

Intelligence deputy, Donald Kerr said that privacy no longer can mean anonymity.

Kerr, who is the principal deputy director of national intelligence, said that it should mean that the government and businesses are properly safeguarding people’s private communications and financial information.

Kerr’s warnings come as Congress examines the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The 1978 law was hastily changed last summer to allow the government to eavesdrop within the U.S. on phone calls without court permission, as long as there was reason to believe that one of the parties were located outside of the U.S.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to decide this week whether the updated Surveillance Act will protect telecommunications companies or not.

There are about 40 wiretap suits pending. A central witness in a California lawsuit against AT&T said that the government is vacuuming up billions of e-mails and phone calls as they pass through an AT&T switching station located in San Francisco.

“Anonymity has been important since the Federalist Papers were written under pseudonyms,� said Kurt Opsahl senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group that defends online free speech, privacy and intellectual property rights.

Opsahl continued, “The government has tremendous power: the police power, the ability to arrest, to detain, to take away rights. Tying together that someone has spoken out on an issue with their identity is a far more dangerous thing if it is the government that is trying to tie it together.�

Posted by Bethany Khan at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Star Tribune:

Mike Zoss opened his drugstore in 1950, and has since then influenced the move-making Coen brothers to name their production company “Mike Zoss Productions,� be referenced in their upcoming movie “No Country for Old Men.�

Barry Zoss, Mike’s son, got a call nine years ago from Frances McDormand, the Oscar-winning actress who is Joel Coen’s wife. The Coen brothers wanted to know if it would be OK with Bary if they renamed their production company, “Mike Zoss Productions.�

More recently, nine months ago Barry got a phone call from the Coen brothers who wanted the name the pharmacy in their upcoming movie after his dad’s pharmacy.

Before they were famous filmmakers, the Coen brothers grew up in St. Louis Park and hung out in Mike Zoss Drugs on Minnetonka Boulveard.

The Coen brothers called one more time, they invited Barry Zoss and his family to the premiere of their new movie that happened last Sunday.

“They're just releasing this film, they're in the process of shooting another, and they're already starting one this winter in St. Louis Park,� he said. “And yet they had this desire to honor my father by taking the time to make sure the camera panned just right. They've got enough on their minds that they don't have to worry about that.�

Posted by Bethany Khan at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Photo by: Bethany Khan

According to Star Tribune:

The Minnesota Thunder lose 3-2 to the LA Galaxy in a shoot-out Sunday at the Metrodome.

Fans were torn as they struggled with the decision of cheering for their local MN team versus cheering for international superstar David Beckham, 32.

20, 123 people turned up for the exhibition match to watch the famous celebrity who has rapidly turned into a worldwide celebrity.

Beckham’s decision to join the Galaxy and leave Real Madrid and Europe for an eye-raising salary in Major League Soccer was hailed as the ultimate move that would put soccer on the map for Americans.

MLS chose Beckham to gain credibility and recognition, as well as his marketing appeal, his effect on style, and his swooning good looks.

Beckham, who played for 73 minutes, was credited with an assist on the Galaxy’s goal.

Not a single person in the audience booed Beckham, instead, every time he came close to any side of the soccer field, digital cameras flashed as if he were on the red carpet at a movie premiere.

Photo by: Bethany Khan

Posted by Bethany Khan at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I analyzed an article from the Chicago Sun-Times:

The story somewhat moves beyond stereotyping. The journalist just covers the racist incidents and what is going on right now with the trial, but nothing was reported that shows Tiney Panteleoy, who is Black American, in a light that moves her situation beyond stereotypes. The reporter did do a lot of leg work to find out how many students attend the school, and interview more people, and I found that helpful – all this work made the article more substantive. I appreciated that the journalist interviewed a diverse range of sources. I was surprised to find out that Panteleoy’s co-workers were so blatantly discriminatory and racist to her. Especially, because she lives and works in Chicago and I thought that Chicago was more racially diverse, but Panteleoy is the only Black American who works the George T. Wilkins Elementary/Junior High School in Justice, Chicago.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to ZDNet News:

A half hour after the second-round of ticket sales for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing began, the online booking system broke down.

The Beijing Olympic Committee said in a statement published Tuesday night that it had decided toe temporarily halt domestic ticket sales in the second phase to improve the technical plan.

The Web site received over eight million hits and 200,000 orders per second, which overwhelmed the technical system.

Ticketmaster, which hosts the site, is working on a solution.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to CNN:

A fundamentalist church in Baltimore, Maryland was ordered by the federal jury to pay $10.9 million to the father of a marine whose funeral was picketed by members who blame soldiers’ deaths on America’s tolerance of homosexuals.

The family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder sued the Westboro Baptists Church in Topeka, Kansas, and its leaders for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Church members picketed Snyder’s funeral chanting derogatory slogans and holding signs with messages such as “God Hates Fags.�

The church has picketed dozens of other funerals of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claming that God is punishing the U.S. because of its tolerance for gays.

Church leaders say that the federal jury’s judgment will do nothing to stop their future protests.

Marine's father: "I couldn't let them get away with doing this to our military"

Church members also picketed the funeral of Coretta Scott King in February 2006, because of her support for gay rights.

Several states have adopted laws about funeral protests and Congress has passed a law barring protest from occurring on the grounds of federal cemeteries.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Time:

South Carolina Democrats voted Thursday to keep Stephen Colbert off the ballot.

Colbert, who poses as a conservative host on the Comedy Central show “The Colbert Report,� filed to get on the ballot as a Democratic candidate in his native state South Carolina.

His campaign paid a $2,500 filing fee just before the noon deadline.

After a 40 minute discussion by top party officials, the Democratic executive council voted 13-3 to keep Colbert off the ballot.

The GOP filing fee is $35,000. Democrats say Colbert will get his $2,500 back.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Guardian Unlimited:

Senator Norm Coleman said Thursday that he is backing republican Rudy Giuliani for president.

"The shared vision as mayor of getting things done, tied in with his strong stance on security, Rudy gets that," Coleman told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. "So you tie those two together and it's a pretty powerful combination.''

Giuliani has a motto that he is “ultimately electable,� a pitch that Coleman has publicly concurred with.

Coleman and Giuliani have a lot in common: both are former mayors, both are natives of Brooklyn, New York. Both are former prosecutors, and both are former Democats.

Coleman said he would not consider serving as Giuliani’s running mate.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the Star Tribune:

Three black females at the University of St. Thomas have been receiving racial threats and messages.

This week, at least three cases of hate messages have been reported, all of the recipients are black.

The messages were written on pieces of paper and slipped under the door or written on the student’s residence hall door.

One of the women found a threatening message slipped under the door while she was working in a computer lab on-campus.

School officials and police have no leads yet.

In an e-mail sent to faculty, students and staff on Tuesday evening, President Dease said, “I am so very sorry that this has happened. On behalf of the university, I extend my sincerest apologies to each of the students. I have said in the past and will continue to say that hate crimes in any form at St. Thomas are not tolerated and must be condemned.�
This is not the first case of a hate crime at St. Thomas, earlier this year racial slurs were found written on posters in one of the halls and lounges; a month later, a second note was found on a poster in another lounge.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I analyzed Reuters story:

The reporter, Andy Sullivan used numbers in the following ways to write his story: Year (2008), amount (200 college students), age (46-year-old), date (Jan. 3), account of time (30 years), percent (52 percent), age range (18- to 24- year olds voted), gap (15-percentage-point gap), points (27), and finally, youth participation dropped (36 percent).

The reporter used numbers to show comparisons in voting percentages, age ranges of voters, time elapsed, and voter gaps. The numbers were used within the middle of the article, and were in about five paragraphs that were lumped together, so it was not that overwhelming. It did take some careful reading to understand what he was reporting in terms of numbers. I think that he could have made it easier for his audience if he had used an illustration, bar chart, or some kind of graphic to use his information. It is not clear whether or not he used math to crunch numbers, I supposed maybe he was given raw material of how many people voted and how old they were, so maybe he transferred the numbers into percentages so the comparisons could be clearer to the reader. He references Iowa State political science professor Steffan Schmidt, so I am guessing that a good amount of the information came from him. In addition, I think that some of the polling information might be public records. He also cited a University of Iowa poll. I think he could have done a better job citing his numbers.

Posted by Bethany Khan at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)