plus 4, Britney Spears: a budget guru the public can count on? - Sacramento Bee |
- Britney Spears: a budget guru the public can count on? - Sacramento Bee
- Music review: Lady Gaga vamps. Sings, too. - San Francisco Chronicle
- IGX Growing in Current Economy With New Hires and Increased Market ... - Earthtimes
- Vein Center & CosMed, Inc. Selected as Exclusive St. Louis Provider of ... - Earthtimes
- The slow rot of society sped up in ’00s - Badger Herald
| Britney Spears: a budget guru the public can count on? - Sacramento Bee Posted: 15 Dec 2009 12:31 AM PST What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.) Here are some rules of the road: • Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior. • Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear. • Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals. • Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message. • Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box. • Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time. • Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed. • Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience. You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa. If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name. fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger |
| Music review: Lady Gaga vamps. Sings, too. - San Francisco Chronicle Posted: 15 Dec 2009 12:10 AM PST In just over a year, the 23-year-old singer from Yonkers, N.Y. - known to her parents as Stefani Joanna Germanotta - has gone from playing tiny venues for curious onlookers who probably didn't take her all that seriously to playing two sold-out nights at the city's largest concert hall for people who think so highly of her they were willing to track down black lace leggings for the show. The gesture shouldn't be taken lightly. Lady Gaga is the closest thing we have going to a certifiable pop siren. Her first album, "The Fame," has sold nearly 2 million copies in the United States and served as a launching pad for five No. 1 singles on the Billboard pop chart, including the dance-floor staples "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance." Her label recently repackaged the set as "The Fame Monster," fleshing it out with eight new songs that all sound like scientifically engineered earworms. But you get the sense the music, which Lady Gaga has helpfully labeled as "soulless electronic pop," isn't really the point. Her success has just as much to do with her willingness to wear practically anything (or almost nothing) and the brazen way in which she aligns herself with pop royalty. Before she took the stage Sunday, the audience was prepared for her arrival with a run through Michael Jackson's greatest hits. During her 90-minute performance - not so much a live concert as a meticulously choreographed spectacle - Lady Gaga also evoked Kanye West with the futuristic set, Britney Spears in her heavy-lidded stage movements, Courtney Love with her interminable between-song monologues highlighted by four-letter squelches and - who else? - Madonna for, oh, just about everything else. Lady Gaga' s steep emphasis on style over substance meant that, apart from a piano, the only instrument that appeared onstage the entire night was a keytar, which was hauled out during a high-voltage run through "Just Dance." She performed her biggest hit, "Poker Face," twice - initially as a stripped-down cabaret romp that seemed to confuse her fans, especially when Lady Gaga pulled out a prop machine gun and started firing at them. "Do you like my show?" she said. "If you don't, I don't care because you can f- leave." She was more engaging when offering gratitude rather than demanding it. "I love San Francisco so much," she said. "I've played every single gay club in this whole town." The middle section of the show was given over to the ecstatic disco anthems that gave her traction in the first place, such as "The Fame" and "Paparazzi," offering the singer the perfect excuse to parade around in everything from a shiny red bikini to a black-feather overcoat. "Take my picture," Lady Gaga demanded. "Make me a star." To those in the room, it was a foregone conclusion. The only dilemma was what they would wear next time she was in town. E-mail Aidin Vaziri at avaziri@sfchronicle.com. This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| IGX Growing in Current Economy With New Hires and Increased Market ... - Earthtimes Posted: 15 Dec 2009 12:52 AM PST With a consistent focus to deliver best in class performance and security solutions, igxglobal inc. is hiring and expanding their operations. Rocky Hill, CT (PRWEB) December 15, 2009 -- igxglobal, a leading information technology integrator with world headquarters based in Rocky Hill, CT and with EMEA operations located in London, UK, have announced that they are expanding their technical and sales resources in current economy due to high demands and increased growth over 2008. Over the years, igxglobal has achieved record revenue growth recognized by Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and CT Fast 50 and will continue to expand their market presence. As an organization that has focused on expansion, igxglobal delivers a life cycle solution to help clients achieve their respective performance and security objectives within their information technology networks. "Expanding in the current economy will allow us to provide our clients with the best-of-breed solutions and services. It is most important that our clients can rely upon us to assist them with all of their infrastructure needs, said Barry Johnson; igx president of North American Operations. "As more companies are being forced to reduce staff, the importance is even greater to provide customers with trusted information technology advisors", added Johnson. Due to the demand for technical expert services and solutions, the expansion includes a director of technical services in igx North America to manage the technical service integration and consultative teams, sales engineering to provide technical support to the outbound sale team in the New England and NY Metro markets, and outbound account manager for NY metro and London; who would be in charge of developing new business in the respective regions. "Providing our clients with the complete life cycle solutions to meet their infrastructure needs and help them succeed is what enabled igxglobal to expand and increase our revenue growth this past year; said David Robinson, igx UK limited Managing Director. "Our focus continues to be with a few market leading product vendors and a strong technical services team and we expect continued growth and success in 2010. Our goals to continue to expand and earn the right to support our client's information technology initiatives," added Robinson. About igxglobal igxglobal provides information technology services and solutions designed to improve the security and performance, of our clients infrastructure operations. At igxglobal we are committed to helping our customers operate their networks with more security, efficiency and reliability. We pledge to understand your business model, your customers, and your expectations in order to provide you with the most viable information technology solution. With a customer focused approach and a comprehensive life cycle model of solutions, we will be your long term partners in ensuring the performance, infrastructure and security of your information networks. These solutions are systematically delivered in our core competencies of: Whether your needs warrant pre or post intelligence, or the operation is handled by your resources or ours, igxglobal has the experience, expertise and knowledge to reduce your risk and simplify your approach in order to achieve predictability with security. ### Source : PRWeb fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger |
| Vein Center & CosMed, Inc. Selected as Exclusive St. Louis Provider of ... - Earthtimes Posted: 15 Dec 2009 12:52 AM PST Veinwave Eliminates Spider Veins and Telangiectasia (PRWEB) December 10, 2009 -- Millions of men and women suffer from spider veins and telangiectasia – those unsightly clusters of red, blue or purple veins that spider-web across the nose, cheeks, legs and ankles. In fact, for Western populations like the US, it's been estimated that 25-30% of women and 10-20% of men suffer from this unsightly condition.
Although the Veinwave has been available for over 8 years in Europe (where it is enjoyed by over 1000 physicians), the FDA only recently cleared the revolutionary Veinwave device to use in our country. Dr. Mark Blumenthal of the Vein Center & CosMed has been selected as the first physician to offer this revolutionary treatment in St. Louis and surrounding areas. Veinwave is designed primarily for use by vascular surgeons. Veinwave uses a revolutionary process called "Unipolar Thermo-coagulation (UTC)". Unique, high frequency energy is applied to the affected area, which causes the vein walls to collapse. The veins disappear before your eyes. It is very safe, effective and permanent. Until now, lasers and IPL devices have tried to treat these veins, but with limited success. Unlike lasers, the Veinwave involves only slight discomfort, so there is no need for anesthetic creams or pain medications. Also, the Veinwave doesn't carry a risk of long-term scarring and a session is over in about 15 minutes. The Veinwave ultra-fine, insulated probe permits a highly targeted treatment that doesn't irritate the surrounding skin. Therefore, within minutes after the session, patients can resume their everyday activities without bandages as if it never happened. As a combination therapy, Veinwave is the perfect complement to sclerotherapy, which provides successful treatment on the larger leg veins. About The Vein Center & Cosmed, Inc. Complete information on Veinwave is available at www.veincentercosmed.com or by calling 314-966-6100. Dr. Mark Blumenthal is a board certified general and vascular surgeon. He founded The Vein Center & Cosmed, Inc. in 1991. It continues to be the St. Louis area's premier facility for the medical and cosmetic treatment of vascular conditions. # # # Source : PRWeb fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger |
| The slow rot of society sped up in ’00s - Badger Herald Posted: 14 Dec 2009 11:05 PM PST Opinion: ColumnThe slow rot of society sped up in '00s Looking for a print version?
Earlier this year, I was watching CNN while waiting for a plane at Madison's airport. Wolf Blitzer was leading a discussion on how 24-hour news networks have negatively affected the media by blending entertainment and news. After cutting the interview short, he raised his voice and told viewers to come back after the commercial break to hear about Jon Gosselin's latest scandal. It was the textbook definition of a *facepalm* moment. But it illustrates what I think has characterized the '00s — a time of social and political digression not noticed even when shoved in our face. Simply put: It's a decade in which America failed to move forward. A decade in which, time and time again, our country and our society had the best intentions, yet fell flat on our face each and every time. While we didn't take part in every facet of this digression, we were there every step of the way — for both the critical events and the trends. We saw that second plane hit Tower 2. We saw Colin Powell dangle that vial of anthrax in front of the United Nations Security Council. We saw devastating attacks in London, Madrid and Mumbai. We saw the flooded black neighborhoods in New Orleans. We saw our economy reach near collapse. We've all heard the arguments about why the responses to these events were misguided at best and criminal at worst. The failed policies of George W. Bush are widely talked about, as are the dubious economic plans of Barack Obama. I'll stop there, since we as a society had regrettably limited control over American tanks in Baghdad or FEMA's failings. But everyday Americans played a huge role in the societal transgressions of this decade that, in many ways, are worse than nation-building or mortgage-backed securities. We've seen MSNBC, Fox News and CNN turn journalism into a constant exercise in partisan hackery and absurdity, and we've taken part it. We've clicked on Matt Drudge's bastardization of politics 7.5 billion times in the past year. We've watched the intensely personal moments of stars like Britney Spears, Anna Nicole Smith, Lindsay Lohan and, most recently, Tiger Woods, and have somehow convinced ourselves we actually care about their missteps. We fawn over contestants on "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars." More than anything political or economic, the aughts will be characterized as a period in which society lost a sense of what is deserving of its attention. We no longer understand when to make a big deal about something — not the case 10 years ago. Think about it. The biggest scandals of the '80s and '90s were Iran-Contra, Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill, Whitewater and Monicagate. All were political in some sense. But what sticks out for the '00s? Where Anna Nicole's remains are? Nipplegate? Hilton's drunken driving escapades? "I'mma let you finish"? Certainly nothing overly political comes right to mind, even the scandals that do revolve around more salacious events — Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Jim McGreevey, Eliot Spitzer. We spent much more time thinking, reading and hearing about these things than we did about Scooter Libby, warrantless surveillance, the Downing Street memo or the fact that Bush fired seven federal prosecutors without giving a reason. I truly think we are losing the ability to determine what is and isn't news. Sure, this is the fault of journalists for catering to what society wants, but it's more society's fault for eating it up and demanding more and more. This can only get worse in the '10s. As pointed out by a Wall Street Journal columnist this week, see the Taiwanese re-creation of what happened with the Tiger Woods scandal (http://tinyurl.com/yl9h6x6) as a frightening example of what news could become. So I ask of my fellow students, my fellow Madisonians and my fellow Americans: Be critical of what you see in the media at all times. Deconstruct and analyze advertisements you find particularly striking. Spend more time reading the Financial Times and less listening to your favorite talking head. Watch the evening news and close that Drudge tab constantly open on your Firefox. Stay far away form Perez Hilton and stop caring about the Gosselin family. I'd like to think, as a hilarious Onion article pointed out, that 2009 is the nadir of Western civilization. But I doubt it. We must work together to reverse the superficial nature of the '00s. If we don't, I'm absolutely terrified of how far society will fall in the next decade. Kevin Bargnes (kbargnes@badgerherald.com) is a junior majoring in journalism. 3 Comments | Leave a comment Leave a comment fivefilters.org featured article: Normalising the crime of the century by John Pilger |
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Awesome article, Kevin. You should read some Martin Kaplan and Neil Postman if you haven't yet. The arguments you make and the arguments they make are very similar.
Hi, Kevin. I'm one of the folks who posted on your column last week and, well, I didn't write anything nice. After reading this column, I take everything back. I was a dick, I admit it. With that out of the way, Let's move on.
The subject of your column this week is what should really be on every American's mind. Yes, we do worry about things that aren't worth worrying about. Whether we watch all that drivel for entertainment or just because there's nothing better on, it all only serves to distract us from the real issue-that our society is going down the tubes.
While our economy teeters on verge of collapse, propped up only by the record spending by Congress and the president, we forget that, down the road, we are the ones who will be paying it off. Another disturbing thought is what we might do if/when we finally hit bottom and the only way to survive is to mug someone or steal something, even if it means taking our neighbor's life to put food on our own table. Many of us had hoped that Obama's election in November 2008 would bring a new era of promise. Though he's been in office for barely a year, many of us are already losing faith. He has continued to allow the big banks to squander federal money, and even though most of the recipients have repaid it, virtually none of it was ever spent to stimulate the economy. We're holding steady…for now. But how long will it be before it all changes, and will it change for better or for worse? That's the part that keeps us on edge.
The current academic year is almost half over. Even the business majors who are graduating in June are just as uncertain about their future as they are eager to step up to the podium, grab that sheepskin and get the hell outta here. And then there are the rest of us, long since graduated or never went to college, let alone finished high school. Will it really matter ten years from now what educational background we have if there's a good chance we'll end up like a third-world country. Perish the thought, but don't count on anything getting any better without some heads rolling.
Getting back to Obama-and the folks in Congress, does anyone else besides me wonder if any elected officeholder in Washington really calls the shots anymore? Why does it always seem that the most powerful people in government are bending over for the most powerful people in the private sector? Why can't they just get a subpoena or a warrant and show up at corporate headquarters. It was very entertaining to watch Michael Moore in Capitalism: A Love Story show up at AIG in a Brink's truck and money bags, yelling through a bullhorn that the CEOs are under arrest. But wouldn't it be mind-blowing if actual federal officers showed up instead, with warrants in hand? So why isn't it happening? What's stopping our own fearless leaders, the same leaders who sent our troops off to fight terrorists and tyrants, from hauling in the greedy bastards on Wall Street in for questioning?
Our new president, the one pinned our hopes on, has already started to disappoint. There are plenty of things he could be doing right now to turn the tide. Instead, he appears to be doing what unseen hands are directing him to do, while at the same time doing his best to give us the impression that he is on control and that America is on the mend. Sometimes, I wish that, with every second of news coverage of every politician, there would be subtitles appearing onscreen that revealed what was really on their minds. Or if politicians really have souls.
And the most pressing question on my mind these days: How much of this pretense, this canned, off-the-teleprompter BS are we willing to sit back and listen to before we finally decide that we've had enough? What will it take for us to finally stop allowing so much division among ourselves and accept the fact that too few of us will ever be the CEO, the president, the talk show host, the movie star or the star athlete that practically all of us hoped to be. Maybe if we were more concerned with improving the quality of life and financial security of even our lowliest citizens, then being just another face in the crowd wouldn't make us feel so insignificant, so unimportant. We're all important. That's why God put us here. Let's get busy.
There exists a major problem in the basic premise of this argument. You claim the things that took our attention previoulsy were "Iran-Contra, Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill, Whitewater and Monicagate" and then list these trivial celebrity meltdowns as the attention getters of the 2000's.
This is problematic because you neglect major worldwide scandals that dominated news cycles in the 2000's. I would say that the major 00's scandals were the Gore-Bush election, the Bush-adminstrations refocusing the worlds attention to invade Iraq, the mis-handling of the Katrina aftermath, the lack of regulation that allowed credit-default swaps, sub-prime mortgages, etc, and Madoff.
In addition, you were probably just too young to realize that the 90's media was DOMINATED as well by stupid trivial celebrity bullshit. For example:
These were all huge newsmakers.
You are right that this is a problem but is it once that is isolated to the 00's? Absolutely not. Always fear the argument that things are so much different now than they were in the "good old days,"….this is rarely actually the case.