October 07, 2009

In A Viable Peace?, the ninth report in its series tracking progress in Iraq, The Fund for Peace (FfP) warns that Iraq still risks a return to serious conflict if deep-seated inequalities and political divisions are not addressed. The report covers the period July 2008 to August 2009. In its previous report, "The Surge: What Comes Next?" the FfP concluded that the "surge" of 30,000 American troops had been less successful at achieving the overarching political goals of sectarian reconciliation, economic development and good governance than in reaching military goals.(1) The same largely holds true one year later, despite improvements in security. Though casualty figures have fallen dramatically since they peaked in 2004-2006, violence persists, including a post-surge rise in bombing and assassinations as the U.S. draws down its troops and the country prepares for another election in January, 2010. Full release.

With newspapers and venerable magazines such as Gourmet closing up shop, and book publishers racing to get the latest Dan Brown thriller out in digital form, the printed word is under unprecedented assault. The battle is not just a duel among businesses and technologies -- what's being decided is the future of how we think and how we perceive the world. In the Autumn 2009 Wilson Quarterly, Christine Rosen, a New Atlantis editor, argues that the information cornucopia "has not made us better readers or more empathetic human beings," but economist Tyler Cowen counters that it allows us to "assemble culture for ourselves," filling our lives with "beauty, suspense, and learning." Digital media analyst Alex Wright contends that books, "capable of flowing into any number of vessels -- paper, Web browsers, eBooks, iPhones," will retain their intellectual edge over the "digital dross." Full release.

Only days after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to one of the nation's most egregious gun laws, a new Rasmussen poll shows waning support for stricter gun laws. The Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today that the poll results indicate strongly that "America's philosophical pendulum is definitely swinging back in favor of gun rights and individual liberty." "Whether Congressional anti-gunners like it or not," observed CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, "the American public has wised up to the fact that prohibitive gun control measures, like the gun ban in Chicago that is now being challenged in the Supreme Court, have not stopped violent crime and only disarm the victims. Americans are concerned about their personal safety and the safety of their families, and they have had it with Utopian gun bans that leave them defenseless against merciless thugs." Full release.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan today joined with Chicago city officials to call for a national conversation on values to address youth violence in the wake of the fatal beating of a Chicago high school student. The announcement followed meetings with city officials, community leaders, students, and parents. "Youth violence isn't a Chicago problem, any more than it is a black problem or a white problem. It's something that affects communities big and small, and people of all races and colors. Today is the beginning of what will be a sustained, national effort on behalf of this entire administration to address youth violence and to make our streets safe for everyone," Holder said. "Chicago will not be defined by this incident but rather by our response to it - so we came here today to join with you and with communities all across America - to call for a national conversation on values. It's a conversation that must happen every place in America where violence, intolerance, and discrimination exists," Duncan said. Full release.

A trial beginning next week targeting the nation's largest health insurer and its California subsidiary for allegedly automatically denying requests for out-of-network liver transplants will help shed light on the need for stronger health reform than is currently being considered, according to Consumer Watchdog. The group urged President Obama, White House representatives, and the national news media to follow the trial. "This lawsuit is a perfect example of the type of health care that Americans can expect under legislation pending in the U.S. Senate that would make private health insurance compulsory for every U.S. resident," said Jerry Flanagan, Health Care Policy Director for Consumer Watchdog. "Denials of life-saving, medically necessary care, is the MO of an industry that puts profits before patients and yet another example of why Americans need a public option to the private insurance market. When the nation's largest PPO is alleged to have automatically denied liver transplants at out-of-network hospitals it is clear that Congress must require more transparency when insurance company bureaucrats override a doctor's prescription, and greater legal accountability when they deny access systematically." Full release.

To mark Food Safety Action Day, Trust for America's Health (TFAH) calls on the U.S. Senate to act expeditiously to reform the nation's food safety system. "The food safety system hasn't been fundamentally modernized for about 100 years. Technologies and processes have changed a lot since then, and it's about time we bring food safety laws and policies into the 21st century. We need to upgrade safety standards, inspection practices, outbreak detection capabilities, and recall systems," said Jeff Levi, Ph.D., Executive Director of TFAH. "The current fragmented, antiquated system has tragic consequences. Millions of Americans get needlessly sick and thousands die each year from foodborne illnesses that could have been prevented. The Senate should act now to modernize food safety laws to effectively deal with today's biggest threats." Full release.

Northwest-based nonprofit Global Team for Local Initiatives (GTLI) has been awarded a $387,000 grant by US Agency for International Development (USAID) to help the organization implement clean water and sanitation programs in Ethiopia. Since 2008, GTLI, which incubated a new community-based model, has successfully completed a risk assessment of the threatened Hamar tribe, developed training programs with tribal elders, and is ready to deliver hygiene training, wells and cisterns to 3,000 people in four communities. "We are thrilled that USAID is investing in a new type of recipient that measures the adoption of new behaviors," said GTLI Founder and Country Director Lori Sweningson. "USAID saw the value in our comprehensive needs analysis and the importance of building trust and a relationship with elders prior to developing programs. This will result in sustainable behavior change." Full release.

The federal government has funded more than 3,100 airport construction and rehabilitation projects costing nearly $2 billion from 2005-2009, despite the fact they received priority ratings well below the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) threshold for projects consistent with national goals and objectives, according to Subsidyscope, an initiative of the Pew Economic Policy Group. These data were compiled and released today by Subsidyscope, as part of its new searchable database which shows National Priority Ratings (NPRs) -- self-assigned by FAA -- for every airport that received a grant under the agency's Airport Improvement Program (AIP) over the last five years. The AIP database also includes information on funds committed under the stimulus plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Of the more than $1 billion in federal stimulus AIP grants awarded from March 16-September 18, more than 90 projects encompassing more than $270 million had NPRs well below the FAA's stated minimum ratings for stimulus funding, representing nearly 27 percent of all such funding. Full release.

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) today released its annual report on School Readiness in Pennsylvania, showing steady growth in early education programs including pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten. The state also has improved on child well-being indicators including births to mothers with less than a high school degree and babies born at low birth weight. Yet greater reliance on public programs, including child care subsidy and health coverage, points to an escalation of families turning to the government for help in lean economic times. Full-day kindergarten enrollment grew seven percent from 2008 to 2009 to its current level of nearly 66 percent. And the expansion in pre-K is a strong sign of the state's continuing commitment to early education. When public resources are made available to improve achievement, public schools and other programs are taking advantage, and it is making a difference. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, nearly every child (99 percent) showed age-appropriate or emerging age-appropriate proficiency in literacy, numeracy, and social skills after attending a PA Pre-K Counts program in the 2008/09 school year. Full release.

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