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J203 Assignment #14

1. What is the purpose of MEMRI, and where does it have offices?
MERMI is an organization that sends high-quality translations of Arabic newspaers to journalists, politicians, and academics in the United States; free of charge. It has offices in Washington, London, Berlin and Jerusalem.

2. What reason does the organization give for its secrecy, and why does the author think it's strange?
The reason for this secrecy, according to a former employee, is that "they don't want suicide bombers walking through the door on Monday morning" (Washington Times, June 20). The author feels this is strange because, lets face it, all they are doing is translating languages, why do feel that suicide bombers would be coming for them?

3. What characteristics of MERMI lead the author to believe that is not a non-partisan organization?
Evidence from Memri's website also casts doubt on its non-partisan status. Besides supporting liberal democracy, civil society, and the free market, the institute also emphasises "the continuing relevance of Zionism to the Jewish people and to the state of Israel". The author says that MERMI has stated they have translated extremeist, violent quotes from Hebew publications, but he cannot remember receveing any. The wild quotes come only from Islamic publications.

4. Give some information about the Hudson Institute and Richard Perle not contained in this story.
Hudson mission statement: Hudson Institute is a non-partisan policy research organization dedicated to innovative research and analysis that promotes global security, prosperity, and freedom. We challenge conventional thinking and help manage strategic transitions to the future through interdisciplinary and collaborative studies in defense, international relations, economics, culture, science, technology, and law. Through publications, conferences and policy recommendations, we seek to guide global leaders in government and business.

It was founded in 1961 by the brilliant futurist Herman Kahn.

Richard Perle is a member of several conservative think-tanks, such as Project for the New American Century (PNAC), the Hudson Institute, and (as a resident fellow) the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He is also a Patron of the Henry Jackson Society. Perle has written extensively on a number of issues; his cited research interests including defense, national security and the Middle East.

5. Did Mr. Ahwad have any ulterior motive when he wrote about orders to cut off the ears of deserters?
According to a Washington Post report in 1998, the amputation claim formed part of his application for political asylum in the United States. At the time, he was one of six Iraqis under arrest in the US as suspected terrorists or Iraqi intelligence agents, and he was trying to show that the Americans had made a mistake.

7. What were MEMRI's two "propoganda successes against Saudi Arabia"?
The first was its translation of an article from al-Riyadh newspaper in which a columnist wrote that Jews use the blood of Christian or Muslim children in pastries for the Purim religious festival. Memri's next success came a month later when Saudi Arabia's ambassador to London wrote a poem entitled The Martyrs - about a young woman suicide bomber - which was published in al-Hayat newspaper. Memri sent out translated extracts from the poem, which it described as "praising suicide bombers". Whether that was the poem's real message is a matter of interpretation.

8. According to the author, how and why is MEMRI's objective mission being 'exploited'?
The danger is that many of the senators, congressmen and "opinion formers" who don't read Arabic but receive Memri's emails may get the idea that these extreme examples are not only truly representative but also reflect the policies of Arab governments.

9. According to the author, what could be done to offset MEMRI's allegedly slanted information.
The author states that small groups of Arabs could counter the articles posted by this Israelis and give the full article and the truth about the snipits that the Israelis.

Sources

Sean Michetti
Sources


Dave Romero- 805-594-1335

Deborah Linden-
City of San Luis Obispo
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
fax: 805-781-7109

Jonathan P. Lowell and J. Christine Dietrick
Address: Room 10, 990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249
Telephone: (805) 781-7140
Fax: (805) 781-7409

J203 Assignment #11

Company #1: Halliburton
The Public Relations Supervisor is Melissa Norcross. Her telephone number is 713-759-2608 and her e-mail address is: melissa.norcross@halliburton.com

The current CEO is David Lesar, he has been the CEO since 2000 following the departure of former CEO, Dick Cheney.
The company's address is not suprisingly located in Texas. It is:

5 Houston Center, 1401 McKinney, Ste. 2400
Houston, TX 77010

Phone: 713-759-2600
Fax: 713-759-2635
News of wars in countries where oil is prevelent (Iraq) is great news for this company, for they are makers of petrolum and gas related products. Both for pumping and drilling and everything in between. As we've seen in Iraq, Halliburton was awarded a huge contract to stabalize Iraq's oil fields. No big deal about Cheney's very direct connection.

Financially Halliburton earned 3.3 billion more dollars in 2005 than they did in 2003. They also spent 2 billion more, for a profit of 1.3 billion more in 05 than 03.

Contact: http://www.halliburton.com/






Company #2: Pepsi Bottling Group

The Public Relations is Amy Polacko. Her telephone is 914-767-6960.

Pepsi Bottling Group's Executive Chairman of the Board is John T. Cahill. He was elected to the position in 2006 after serving as CEO which he was elected to in 2001.

PBG Corporate Headquarters
One Pepsi Way
Somers, NY 10589
Phone: 914-767-6000

In the past two months, former president Bill Clinton has pushed for laws banning soda and junk food from being sold in school yards to help combat rising childhood obesity rates. PepsiCola sells and delivers near 200 million eight-ounce Pepsi-Cola beverages per day. When Clinton's law begins in 2008, this will be a big hit to Pepsi, who will have to find a new market to substitute for the school yard.

The Pepsi Bottling Group generates about 11 billion dollars per year. So far, in the 2006 Fiscal Year, Pepsi Bottling Group has generated 11,885,000,000 dollars.

Contact: http://www.pbg.com/pbg/servlet/index.do








Company #3: Boeing

The Public Policy senior vice president is Tod R. Hullin. His telephone contact number is 312-544-2002

The chairman of the board, president and CEO of Boeing is W. James McNerney, Jr. He has held the CEO position since July 1, 2005.

Boeings headquarters is located at:

100 N. Riverside Plaza
Chicago, IL 60606-1596

Phone: 312-544-2000

The type of news that would affect Boeing, would be rising gas prices, because with more expensive fuel companies, such as airlines, are less likely to expand their fleet. Also, with the push for more consertavtive energy options, Boeing may have to start rethinking their fuel types and modifying their planes to use it.

Boeings Third-Quarter net earnings was 694 million dollars, which is an increase of 0.89 cents per share.

Contact: http://www.boeing.com/

J203 Assignment #10

"My weirdly new favorite show is, 'What Not to Wear.'"
A story of reality T.V. and how the possibilities are now endless for show ideas. What are new ideas you say? How about who can commit suicide the quickest? Really up the stakes.

"And I can knit peoples Christmas presents this year, I'm so poor!"
How to accommodate to the poor on holiday's that require a lot of money to be spent on gifts?
Is Christmas getting out of hand? Are people expecting more and more for Christmas, so that the joy of smaller gifts is lost? How can Christmas be turned into a holiday centered on the family, instead of around the tree?

"Do you know how many years modeling has been going on and they only have overweight, not underweight.”
Do a comparison on the average body weight of average Americans in 1970 and runway models in the 1970's. Then compare that number to the body weight of average Americans in 2005 with the average body weight of runway models in 2005. Lets see if that gap, unlike models waist lines, has widened.

"He has to wear boxer briefs, I HATE boxers. I can't date boxer wearers. Boxer briefs just give guys a nice shape."
How to encourage the American population to eat healthier, exercise, and maintain a healthy looking body. Also, maybe a larger penis looks better in boxer briefs. So, lets find out how much size really matters to girls.

"Have you ever gone a month without a boyfriend or a crush?" "Oh I've always had crushes."
Do an article on the correlation of religious belief and boyfriends. Also look at length of relationships when religion is involved. I'm betting they have fewer partners, but hold on to them for longer.

J203 Assignment #9

#6. Proposition 13 in the 1970's.

Was it the initiative that “bankrupt” California? Or should it be hailed as a modern day Boston Tea Party? Ronald Regan rode its “success” to the White House. While California’s public school system sank to the bottom rankings in the nation. In January of 1980, a poll conducted by CSU Chico professors, Jon S. Ebeling and Frederica Shockely; found that Proposition 13 was viewed by 65.4 percent as a good idea, with 34.6 percent claiming it was a bad idea. That was Prop 13’s peak approval rating. Since that cold January day, three more polls were conducted and all showed the same thing. People’s attitude towards Prop 13 is now negative.

Joel Fox, a past president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, revealed, “Son Michael Reagan told a story of asking his father [Ronald Reagan] for an increase in his allowance. Father Ron said he would gladly give his son an increase in his allowance — as soon as the government stopped taking so much money out of his paycheck.” Reagan built his reputation on tax cuts, but in 1968, ten years before Proposition 13 was passed, Reagan actually tried the tax-increase path. In 1968 Reagan also realized how favorably Californians would react to a large scale tax cut, while he was throwing out the first pitch for California’s newest major-league Baseball team, the Oakland A’s. He was greeted with lusty boo’s, which one reporter said lasted for three minutes.

In his push to pass Proposition 13, Reagan used radio broadcasts to tell the people listening exactly what his stance was on lowering property tax. Reagan had a experienced supporter in Howard Jarvis, an opponent of property tax who tried four times to qualify a property-tax reduction plan for the California ballot and four times he failed to get enough signatures; which in one instance netted 1.2 million signatures. In a fifth attempt, Reagan and Jarvis, along with Paul Gann, a co-author for Prop 13, filed more than twice the number of signatures needed to put Prop 13 on the ballot. They didn’t have a hard time collecting names, as the property tax increased by as much as 50 percent to 100 percent in one year.

With the landslide passing of Prop 13, local state governments immediately felt the loss of 7 billion dollars of property tax annually. School systems, which in the mid-1970’s had the budgets to employ art consultants, schools nurses, counselors and more librarians and music teachers. As Prop 13 created an anti-tax atmosphere, schools found it near impossible to get the two-thirds vote pass bond measures. In an article by John Wildermuth, a San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer, California’s per-pupil spending among states dropped from 18^th in 1977 to 42^nd in 1995-96. ``Libraries, parks and recreation programs were all hammered,'' said John Maltbie, San Mateo County's county manager. ``They've never been able to recover from Proposition 13.''

J203 Assignment #8

1. Soft Lead: a List Lead.
Student Loan companies are offering incentives to administrative officials for steering college kids to their companies, in an increasingly competitive business.

2. Soft Lead
In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, white residents have received four times more in homeowners insurance than blacks, due to blacks general distrust with the government.


3. Soft Lead
Swedish mobster, Bo Stefan Eriksson, went on trail Monday morning; he is fighting embezzlement and auto theft charges.

4. Hard Lead
Snoop Dogg, the successful actor, singer and Girls Gone Wild contributor, was suspected Monday morning to be involved in a terror plot to hijack an airplane headed to New York. His weapon of mass destruction was a 21-inch collapsible baton, concealed in his laptop case. After being released without arrest, Snoop Dogg said the baton was a prop for a movie he was filming in New York and that it did not have cocaine hidden in the handle end, stored in a convenient, screw on cap which made it appear as if it were just part of the weapon. Mr. Dogg comes out with a new record in December labeled, "My Life as an Islamic Extremist."

5. Hard Lead
The citizens of America are beginning to hear the rumble. The free ground beneath their feet is starting to shift. The glorious winds of truth and persuasion are dying down, as the ship know as journalism is taken by the current, no longer as in control of it's own destiny. American journalism is slipping further from the freedom of press towards the torture racks of a Chinese prison.

6. Hard Lead
To combat illiteracy in urban schools, superintendents are introducing death as an insensitive. Not, of course, for the children who do not perform well, but in the reading material. How can a child who is five, be expected to read at the rate of an eight-year-old? Books with a backbone will encourage youngsters to read and succeed.