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You can reach the person managing the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Medianews digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Bridge Collapse, Radio Feedback... (TeckStuff Steve) 2. Speeding drivers face DNA swabs under new Big Brother powers (Rob) 3. Microchips in humans: High-tech helpers or Big Brother surveillance? (Rob) 4. Music Piracy At All Time High (Rob) 5. Comcast: Human Contact Costs Extra (Rob) 6. Do Not Call Registry gets wake-up call (Williams, Gregory S.) 7. The Chicago Spire is officially under construction (Williams, Gregory S.) 8. Hit man's bullet finds newspaper editor (Williams, Gregory S.) 9. Legendary Irish singer Tommy Makem dies (Williams, Gregory S.) 10. Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday August 11-12 (Monty Solomon) 11. YES network for sale (Greg Williams) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 09:35:14 -0800 From: "TeckStuff Steve" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Bridge Collapse, Radio Feedback... To: medianews@twiar.org, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" *From: The Morning Mouth* ** *Minneapolis Bridge Collapse - Radio Feedback:* Following yesterday's horrific bridge collapse in Minneapolis, The Mouth quickly put calls out to various personalities there in the city. *Cindy Barton*, morning host at Lite 105.9/Minneapolis told us: "Just a total catastrophic collapse. The bridge is less than a mile from the station, so I cross it 2-4 times a day coming and going to work. I was just on it at 2pm and it caved at 6pm, so I'm shook up and everyone in the Twin Cities are in a state of shock. I didn't do any of our normal programming today, we just wanted to talk about what happened, share thoughts and info etc.... 4 people dead, but there will be more because they are counting over 50 cars in the water that they can see. They fell over 64 feet. A lot of heroic efforts from people that were walking by. Part of the bridge fell on a train below carrying toxic material, so they had to evacute some people from their homes. It's just horrific.* ----------- " *I first heard about the bridge collapse via text message and hoped it was something minor. Bit by bit, I found out it was anything but minor. Everyone's first reaction was to call their friends and family to make sure they weren't on the bridge. We had a big promotion last night with strippers and booze but everything was a little more somber than usual as word spread of what had happened. This morning, we dropped all music and contesting and dedicated the entire show to talking to people who saw the bridge collapse, had loved ones injured or had just driven over the bridge seconds before. It was a very powerful and moving morning and something no iPod or syndicated program could have provided. *Dave Ryan, *KDWB. More feedback to come. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://twiar.org/pipermail/medianews_twiar.org/attachments/20070802/6d7d3b11/attachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:51:43 -0500 From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Speeding drivers face DNA swabs under new Big Brother powers To: Tom and Darryl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Media-News <medianews@twiar.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Speeding drivers face DNA swabs under new Big Brother powers JAMES SLACK UK Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=472515&in_page_id=1770&ct=5 Drivers stopped for speeding - or even for failing to wear a seatbelt - could soon be placed on the 'Big Brother' DNA database for life. The most trivial offences, such as dropping litter, would also lead to samples being taken under sweeping new powers which police are demanding. The samples would stay on the database, alongside those of murderers and rapists, even if the people involved were later cleared of any wrongdoing. Campaigners condemned the plan as a step too far which could affect someone's job prospects for many years. Under current rules, a person can have his or her DNA and fingerprints taken only if stopped for a 'recordable' offence - a crime serious enough to carry a jail term. Minor offences such as allowing a dog to foul the footpath are excluded. But police - backed by the Crown Prosecution Service - want to take DNA samples, fingerprints and even imprints of footwear for all offences. They argue that, just because a person initially commits a low-level misdemeanour such as dog fouling, it does not mean they will not progress to the gravest crimes. A chance to take their DNA - making any future crime far easier to solve - would be missed without new powers. Police also want to take samples - usually a mouth swab - at the scene of the "crime". They say having to take offenders to the police station, as happens now, is too "bureaucratic". The Home Office suggested the new powers to police in a consultation document earlier this year. Ministers are now under pressure to confirm the change. There are already four million samples on the database - including those of a million suspects who turned out to be innocent. Helen Wallace of GeneWatch UK said last night: 'There is significant potential for the loss of public trust in extending the taking and use of biometrics. They pose a serious threat to individual privacy and are unlikely to be an effective way to tackle crime. "Any attempt to take DNA samples outside a police station is clearly unworkable." Sonia Andrews of the Magistrates' Association said: 'We would find it difficult to justify extending the ability to take biometric data to cover nonrecordable offences.' The Information Commissioner's Office warned of the danger of people being turned down for jobs if checks reveal details of minor offences committed many years ago. Under the current system records of such offences are deleted after time. But if they are tagged to a DNA sample on the database they could remain 'active'. But the idea is backed by police across the country, according to consultation responses published yesterday. Inspector Thomas Huntley, of the Ministry of Defence Police, said failing to take samples 'could be seen as giving the impression that an individual who commits a nonrecordable offence could not be a repeat offender. "While the increase of suspects on the database will lead to an increased cost, this should be considered as preferable to letting a serious offender walk from custody." Pete Hutin, of Sussex Police, said the "taking of DNA samples in custody is unnecessarily bureaucratic". David Evans, of the CPS, argued that the move would allow a 'more comprehensive database'. The Home Office said: 'The DNA database has revolutionised the way the police can protect the public through identifying offenders and securing more convictions. "The database provides police with, on average, over 3,500 matches each month and in 2005-6 alone led to matches against 422 homicides, 645 rapes, 1,974 other violent crimes and over 9,000 domestic burglaries. "The consultation is about maximising police efficiency and ensuring that appropriate and effective safeguards are in place. No decisions have yet been made and any detailed proposals will be subject to a further public consultation next year." The police demand was revealed as the Human Genetics Commission, the Government's independent DNA watchdog, launched an inquiry into the database. Panels across the country will gather evidence on public opinion. ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:52:46 -0500 From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Microchips in humans: High-tech helpers or Big Brother surveillance? To: Media-News <medianews@twiar.org>, Tom and Darryl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Microchips in humans: High-tech helpers or Big Brother surveillance? AP http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/08/01/chips.humans.ap/ CityWatcher.com, a provider of surveillance equipment, attracted little notice itself -- until a year ago, when two of its employees had glass-encapsulated microchips with miniature antennas embedded in their forearms. The "chipping" of two workers with RFIDs -- radio frequency identification tags as long as two grains of rice, as thick as a toothpick -- was merely a way of restricting access to vaults that held sensitive data and images for police departments, a layer of security beyond key cards and clearance codes, the company said. "To protect high-end secure data, you use more sophisticated techniques," Sean Darks, chief executive of the Cincinnati-based company, said. He compared chip implants to retina scans or fingerprinting. "There's a reader outside the door; you walk up to the reader, put your arm under it, and it opens the door." Innocuous? Maybe. But the news that Americans had, for the first time, been injected with electronic identifiers to perform their jobs fired up a debate over the proliferation of ever-more-precise tracking technologies and their ability to erode privacy in the digital age. To some, the microchip was a wondrous invention -- a high-tech helper that could increase security at nuclear plants and military bases, help authorities identify wandering Alzheimer's patients, allow consumers to buy their groceries, literally, with the wave of a chipped hand. To others, the notion of tagging people was Orwellian, a departure from centuries of history and tradition in which people had the right to go and do as they pleased without being tracked, unless they were harming someone else. Chipping, these critics said, might start with Alzheimer's patients or Army Rangers, but would eventually be suggested for convicts, then parolees, then sex offenders, then illegal aliens -- until one day, a majority of Americans, falling into one category or another, would find themselves electronically tagged. Thirty years ago, the first electronic tags were fixed to the ears of cattle, to permit ranchers to track a herd's reproductive and eating habits. In the 1990s, millions of chips were implanted in livestock, fish, pets, even racehorses. Microchips are now fixed to car windshields as toll-paying devices, on "contactless" payment cards (Chase's "Blink," or MasterCard's "PayPass"). They're embedded in Michelin tires, library books, passports and, unbeknownst to many consumers, on a host of individual items at Wal-Mart and Best Buy. But CityWatcher.com employees weren't appliances or pets: They were people, made scannable. "It was scary that a government contractor that specialized in putting surveillance cameras on city streets was the first to incorporate this technology in the workplace," says Liz McIntyre, co-author of "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID." Darks, the CityWatcher.com executive, said his employees volunteered to be chipped. "You would think that we were going around putting chips in people by force," he told a reporter, "and that's not the case at all." Implants in humans spark outrage Yet, within days of the company's announcement, civil libertarians and Christian conservatives joined to excoriate the microchip's implantation in people. "Ultimately," says Katherine Albrecht, a privacy advocate who specializes in consumer education and RFID technology, "the fear is that the government or your employer might someday say, 'Take a chip or starve."' Some critics saw the implants as the fulfillment of a biblical prophecy that describes an age of evil in which humans are forced to take the "Mark of the Beast" on their bodies, to buy or sell anything. Others saw it as a big step toward the creation of a Big-Brother society. "We're really on the verge of creating a surveillance society in America, where every movement, every action -- some would even claim, our very thoughts -- will be tracked, monitored, recorded and correlated," says Barry Steinhardt, director of the Technology and Liberty Program at the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington D.C. In design, the tag is simple: A medical-grade glass capsule holds a silicon computer chip, a copper antenna and a "capacitor" that transmits data stored on the chip when prompted by an electromagnetic reader. Implantations are quick, relatively simple procedures. After a local anesthetic is administered, a large-gauge, hypodermic needle injects the chip under the skin on the back of the arm, midway between the elbow and the shoulder. John Halamka, an emergency physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, got chipped two years ago, "so that if I was ever in an accident, and arrived unconscious or incoherent at an emergency ward, doctors could identify me and access my medical history quickly." (A chipped person's medical profile can be continuously updated, since the information is stored on a database accessed via the Internet.) Hazards and benefits But it's also clear to Halamka that there are consequences to having an implanted identifier. "My friends have commented to me that I'm 'marked' for life, that I've lost my anonymity. And to be honest, I think they're right." Indeed, as microchip proponents and detractors readily agree, Americans' mistrust of microchips and technologies like RFID runs deep. Many wonder: Do the current chips have global positioning transceivers that would allow the government to pinpoint a person's exact location, 24-7? (No; the technology doesn't yet exist.) But could a tech-savvy stalker rig scanners to video cameras and film somebody each time they entered or left the house? (Quite easily, though not cheaply. Currently, readers cost $300 and up.) What's the average lifespan of a microchip? (About 10-15 years.) What if you get tired of it before then -- can it be easily, painlessly removed? (Short answer: No.) How about thieves? Could they make their own readers, aim them at unsuspecting individuals, and surreptitiously pluck people's IDs out of their arms? (Yes. There's even a name for it -- "spoofing.") The company that makes implantable microchips for humans, VeriChip Corp., of Delray Beach, Florida, concedes that's a problem -- even as it markets its radio tag and its portal scanner as imperatives for high-security buildings, such as nuclear power plants. "To grab information from radio frequency products with a scanning device is not hard to do," Scott Silverman, the company's chief executive, says. However, "the chip itself only contains a unique, 16-digit identification number. The relevant information is stored on a database." VeriChip Corp., whose parent company has been selling radio tags for animals for more than a decade, has sold 7,000 microchips worldwide, of which about 2,000 have been implanted in humans. The company's present push: tagging of "high-risk" patients -- diabetics and people with heart conditions or Alzheimer's disease. In an emergency, hospital staff could wave a reader over a patient's arm, get an ID number, and then, via the Internet, enter a company database and pull up the person's identity and medical history. To doctors, a "starter kit" -- complete with 10 hypodermic syringes, 10 VeriChips and a reader -- costs $1,400. To patients, a microchip implant means a $200, out-of-pocket expense to their physician. Presently, chip implants aren't covered by insurance companies, Medicare or Medicaid. For almost two years, the company has been offering hospitals free scanners, but acceptance has been limited. According to the company, 515 hospitals have pledged to take part in the VeriMed network, yet only 100 have actually been equipped and trained to use the system. Some wonder why they should abandon noninvasive tags such as MedicAlert, a low-tech bracelet that warns paramedics if patients have serious allergies or a chronic medical condition. "Having these things under your skin instead of in your back pocket -- it's just not clear to me why it's worth the inconvenience," says Westhues. Silverman responds that an implanted chip is "guaranteed to be with you. It's not a medical arm bracelet that you can take off if you don't like the way it looks..." In fact, microchips can be removed from the body -- but it's not like removing a splinter. The capsules can migrate around the body or bury themselves deep in the arm. When that happens, a sensor X-ray and monitors are needed to locate the chip, and a plastic surgeon must cut away scar tissue that forms around the chip. The relative permanence is a big reason why Marc Rotenberg, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, is suspicious about the motives of the company, which charges $20 a year for customers to keep one its database a record of blood type, allergies, medications, driver's license data and living-will directives. For $80 a year, it will keep an individual's full medical history. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:21:58 -0500 From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Music Piracy At All Time High To: Media-News <medianews@twiar.org>, Tom and Darryl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Music Piracy At All Time High Suing grandmothers and kids not helping? http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Music-Piracy-At-All-Time-High-86310 Though you'll never hear an ISP admit it, music and film piracy has been the primary driver of broadband adoption worldwide. And despite the best legal efforts by the entertainment industry, a new survey (pdf) by Entertainment Media Research says illegal music trading has reached an all time high. Click for full size In turn, the company saw a slowdown in the growth rate of legal music downloaders. There's some interesting numbers in the report, such as the fact that the majority of users still find new music via FM radio. There's also a lot of unsurprising data, such as respondents stating their major reason for downloading music illegally is that it's free (go figure). Interestingly, when asked what could deter them from downloading music illegally, the majority of those surveyed said they were more worried about computer viruses than being prosecuted. The report's primary focus is on how social networking sites are revolutionizing consumer exposure to music ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:23:13 -0500 From: Rob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Comcast: Human Contact Costs Extra To: Media-News <medianews@twiar.org>, Tom and Darryl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Comcast: Human Contact Costs Extra Cable ops now charging in-person payment fee http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Human-Contact-Costs-Extra-86306 Users in our Comcast forum note that as of July 1, the company is now charging customers in many markets a $1.99 fee if they want to pay their bills in person. Yes, you can mail, electronically transfer your payment or even leave it in a drop box at the payment center for free -- but some people are just annoyed on principle: "Some folks do not like to pay things by mail and like the opportunity to get it done right there and then with a receipt in hand. Sure $1.99 is not really a big deal, but dammit anyway, like I said originally, Comcast is already getting a buttload of my money, and now they want want to charge me to give it to them, that's ridiculous." Resident cable technicians justify the decision by noting it's an extra expense to have an already busy human being process the payment (apparently that's not part of what you're already paying for). Users claim that Time Warner Cable also now charges a fee to pay in person, and an Ohio TWC user tells us the company charges an extra fee if you want to pay your bill over the phone with a credit card. ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 17:29:23 -0400 From: "Williams, Gregory S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Do Not Call Registry gets wake-up call To: <medianews@twiar.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Submitted by Layer 8 on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 1:52pm. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/18066 If you signed up for the federal or your state's Do Not Call Registry a few years ago, you might want to think about refreshing it. Pennsylvanians this week got a wake up call, so to speak from the state's Attorney General Tom Corbett who kicked off a public awareness campaign designed to remind people what many have forgotten or never knew - that the 2002 law set registrations to expire after five years. That is of course unless you want to start hearing from those telemarketers as you sit down to dinner. Corbett said about 2 million people signed up in the immediate aftermath of the law taking effect and those who do not act by Sept. 15 will have their numbers dropped from the registry on Nov. 1. The Pennsylvania action is a reminder that the National Do Not Call Registry has a five year life span as well. The Federal Trade Commission is set to being a nation campaign in Spring 2008 to remind all US citizens to refresh their federal Do Not Call Registry standing.The FTC has also warned landline and cell users to be on the lookout for Do Not Call Registry scams. A recent report said emails have been circulating saying cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and a separate cell phone registry has been set up in conjunction with the national Do Not Call Registry. The FTC says neither of these actions are true. In congressional testimony this week the FTC said of the Do Not Call Registry: While the Commission appreciates the high rate of compliance with the Do Not Call provisions, it vigorously enforces compliance to ensure the program's ongoing effectiveness. Violating the Do Not Call requirements subjects telemarketers to civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation. Twenty-seven of the Commission's telemarketing cases have alleged Do Not Call violations, resulting in $8.8 million in civil penalties and $8.6 million in redress or disgorgement ordered. A Harris Interactive Survey released in January 2006 showed that 94% of American adults have heard of the Registry and 76% have signed up for it ."The testimony states that the committee is in the process of reauthorizing the Do Not Call Implementation Act. "The Commission believes that the bill can be strengthened by statutorily mandating the fees to be charged to telemarketers accessing the National Registry, and specifically mandating such fees in an amount sufficient to enable the Commission to enforce the registry." Gregory S. Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ? ? ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 17:31:51 -0400 From: "Williams, Gregory S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] The Chicago Spire is officially under construction To: <medianews@twiar.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" http://www.newcityskyline.com/TheChicagoSpireisofficiallyunderconstruction.html Wednesday, August 01, 2007 Chicago, IL, US (NCS) - The Chicago Spire is now officially under construction, according to Tom Murphy, the lawyer for developer Garrett Kelleher, president of Shelbourne Development, Ltd. of Ireland. "We broke ground on June 25th pursuant to a permit issued by the City for the deep rock caissons which with the concrete core are the main support for the building," Murphy said. "The permit was issued to our contractor the Case Foundation Company." The sales office will open on the 18th floor of the NBC Tower at 455 North Cityfront Plaza Drive in late September, and international marketing will begin soon after. According to Murphy, the team will not seek financing for the project until the first quarter of 2008. Final plans for the twisting, 150-story residential tower, which will include 1,200 condominiums and an underground parking garage, were approved by the Plan Commission on April 19th and the City Council on May 9th. Now that the infamous tower has finally broken ground, residents can witness the awe as it climbs to the sky and becomes the tallest building in North America. Gregory S. Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ? ? ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 20:04:13 -0400 From: "Williams, Gregory S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Hit man's bullet finds newspaper editor To: <medianews@twiar.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/02/editor.shot.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview OAKLAND, California (AP) -- The outspoken new editor of the Oakland Post was shot to death Thursday near a downtown courthouse in what police believe was a deliberate hit. Chauncey Bailey, who had been a reporter for The Oakland Tribune before moving to the Post in June, was killed around 7:30 a.m., Oakland Police spokesman Roland Holmgren said. He said witnesses told police that a single gunman shot Bailey and then fled. Police had no motive for the killing but said it did not appear to be random. Holmgren said investigators would look into any possible connections with Bailey's work. "I've spoken with him several times," Holmgren said. "I know him as being a somewhat outspoken type individual, assertive in his journalistic approach when trying to get at matters at hand." Bailey grew up in Oakland and worked with several area media outlets, including KDIA radio and Soul Beat TV, a local cable channel. He wrote for the Tribune for more than 10 years before being named editor of the Post, a weekly community newspaper. Oakland Tribune managing editor Martin G. Reynolds said Bailey was "a friend, a valued colleague and a loving father" whose coverage of Oakland's black community was "a tremendous asset." At the Oakland Post, Gwendolyn Carter, the paper's advertising manager, said the staff of about 10 was shocked by Bailey's death. "He was a good man," Carter said. "He always took care of me. He would say I was his little sister and he was my big brother." Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland offered up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the gunman's arrest. Gregory S. Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ? ? ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 20:03:02 -0400 From: "Williams, Gregory S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Legendary Irish singer Tommy Makem dies To: <medianews@twiar.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/02/obit.makem.ap/index.html I starting to feel like the Grim Reaper - Greg DOVER, New Hampshire (AP) -- Irish singer, songwriter and storyteller Tommy Makem, who teamed with the Clancy Brothers to become stars during the folk music boom, has died of cancer. He was 74. Makem died Wednesday in Dover, where he lived for many years, his son Conor said Thursday. He had battled lung cancer. The Irish-born Makem, who came to America in the 1950s to seek work as an actor, grew to international fame while performing with the band The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. The brothers, also from Ireland, were Tom, Liam and Paddy Clancy. Armed with his banjo, tinwhistle, poetry, stagecraft and his baritone voice, Makem helped spread stories and songs of Irish culture around the world. He brought audiences to tears with "Four Green Fields," about a woman whose sons died trying to prevent strangers from taking her fields. Other songs included "Gentle Annie" and "Red Is the Rose." "He just had the knack of making an audience laugh or cry. ... holding them in his hands," Liam Clancy told RTE Radio in Dublin, Ireland. The New York Times wrote in 1967 called them "an eight-legged, ambulatory chamber of commerce for the green isle they love so well. ... At one point, Irish teenagers were paying as much homage to them as to the Beatles." After touring for about nine years as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, he struck out on his own, but he remained friends with the brothers. Tom Clancy died in 1990 and Paddy in 1998. Back in the 1950s, Makem and his friends, saw their first few albums -- "The Rising of the Moon" and a collection of drinking songs -- as a fluke. In a 1994 Associated Press interview, Makem recalled he was astonished when a Chicago club offered him more money to sing for a week than he was getting for acting with a repertory company. "I was the opening act for Josh White. I felt sort of silly, coming out and singing unaccompanied, and then Josh coming out and almost making the guitar talk," he said. As their fame spread, they appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and other major TV shows, and headlined concerts at Carnegie Hall and London's Royal Albert Hall. A young Bob Dylan was one of the folk singers who got to know Makem and the Clancys during the early 1960s. "Topical songs weren't protest songs," Dylan wrote in his memoir "Chronicles Volume One." "What I was hearing pretty regularly, though, were rebellion songs, and those really moved me. The Clancy Brothers -- Tom, Paddy and Liam -- and their buddy Tommy Makem sang them all the time." In 1992, Makem and the Clancys were among the stars performing in a gala tribute to Dylan at New York's Madison Square Garden. Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Tracy Chapman and Dylan himself also took part. President Mary McAleese of Ireland led the tributes to Makem after his death. "Always the consummate musician, he was also a superb ambassador for the country, and one of whom we will always be proud," McAleese said. Even while battling cancer, he was maintaining a performance schedule, and he visited Belfast last month to receive an honorary degree and returned to his native Armagh. "He had very much wanted to get over there," said his son Conor. "I think he knew it might have been his last time over." Gregory S. Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ? ? ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 00:10:25 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday August 11-12 To: undisclosed-recipient:; Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" TIR 07-12: The 2007 Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday Weekend I. Introduction A recently enacted statute provides for a Massachusetts "sales tax holiday weekend," i.e., two consecutive days during which most purchases made by individuals for personal use will not be subject to Massachusetts sales or use taxes. St. 2007, c. 81, ?? 1-6 ("the Act"). The Act provides that the sales tax holiday will occur on August 11 and 12, 2007 and on those days, non-business sales at retail of single items of tangible personal property costing $2,500 or less are exempt from sales and use taxes, subject to certain exclusions. The following do not qualify for the sales tax holiday exemption and remain subject to tax: all motor vehicles, motorboats, meals, telecommunications services, gas, steam, electricity, tobacco products and any single item whose price is in excess of $2,500. The Act charges the Commissioner of Revenue with issuing instructions or forms and rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of the Act. ... http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dorterminal&L=7&L0=Home&L1=Businesses&L2=Help+%26+Resources&L3=Legal+Library&L4=Technical+Information+Releases&L5=TIRs+-+By+Year(s)&L6=2007+Releases&sid=Ador&b=terminalcontent&f=dor_rul_reg_tir_tir_07_12&csid=Ador ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2007 02:24:14 -0400 From: Greg Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Medianews] YES network for sale To: medianews@twiar.org Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/01/news/companies/yes_sale.fortune/index.htm?eref=rss_topstories The dismantling of the Yankee empire YES Network is the MVP of Steinbrenner's business empire, and it's for sale, report Fortune's Jon Birger and Tim Arango. Will the team end up on the block too? His son Hal says no. FORTUNE Magazine By Jon Birger and Tim Arango, Fortune August 2 2007: 6:28 AM EDT NEW YORK (Fortune) -- The New York Yankees' cable network, the YES Network, is for sale, Fortune has learned. And some baseball insiders and Yankees limited partners are wondering whether the team itself might be next. The highest-rated regional sports network in the country and the cable home of the Yankees and the NBA New Jersey Nets, YES is jointly owned by the Yankees, investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co. (Charts, Fortune 500) , and former Nets owner Ray Chambers. Goldman and Chambers would like to cash out, YES and Yankees insiders say, and one source says to expect a deal by summer's end. Some possible bidders: Cablevision, Comcast (Charts), News Corp. (Charts, Fortune 500) and Verizon (Charts, Fortune 500). Publicly, Yankees and YES officials are noncommittal. "Absolutely not," Yankees president Randy Levine replies when asked whether YES is for sale - though not before acknowledging some "testing of the market." Gerry Cardinale, a Goldman managing director and YES board member, is more forthcoming, conceding that YES is in fact being shopped. "We're testing the waters with a limited universe of quality buyers," says Cardinale. "We would consider selling only if we receive a full and fair price." And what might a "full and fair" price be? Try a cool $3 billion to $3.5 billion. At that price, one could argue that the true gem of the Yankees business empire isn't the team itself but YES. The team hasn't distributed profits to owners in about 10 years, two Yankees insiders say. (Responds Yanks chief operating officer Lonn Trost: "There have been distributions in the past and the expectation is there will be more in the future.) Meanwhile, YES brought in $340.5 million in revenue in 2006, up about 6 percent from the prior year, according to Kagan Media Research estimates. (YES doesn't release official financial data.) Kagan believes that 40 percent of that revenue - about $136 million - translated into cash flow. The cash flow, of course, is the key to YES's valuation. John Mansell, a prominent sports-industry analyst, notes that stakes in other regional sports networks have traded hands recently at 19 times cash flow. So if YES, which is the cable home of the Yankees and Nets, can grow its cash this year by 8 percent or more - as Mansell thinks it will - a $3 billion valuation seems well within reach. Drama in the owner's box News of a possible YES sale comes at a crucial time for the Yankees. On the field, a team loaded with All-Stars and future Hall-of-Famers is struggling to keep pace with the American League East-leading Boston Red Sox. Off the field, an even weightier drama is playing out. George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' demanding, combustible, and usually larger-than-life principal owner, has been strangely silent. This silence is feeding rumors of the Boss's failing health. He also lost his well-regarded number two - son-in-law and Yankees Global Enterprises chairman Steve Swindal - in March when Jennifer Steinbrenner, Swindal's wife and George's daughter, filed for divorce. And the team is building a new $1.2 billion ballpark across the street from existing Yankee Stadium in the Bronx - a somewhat risky venture given skyrocketing construction costs, but one that comes with a potentially huge payoff. Details about the new stadium and its value to the Yankees will be examined further in the next issue of Fortune. Some highlights: The new stadium will add a minimum of $100 million annually in extra ticket-and-luxury box revenue. The rent the Yanks are paying New York City for the new stadium will drop to $10 a year (from $10 million a year for the old stadium). And the cherry-on-top: City officials get their own luxury box. With Swindal gone, George's youngest son appears to have stepped in as his father's chief lieutenant. An executive with another club tells Fortune that Harold "Hal" Steinbrenner, 38, was the Yankees' surprise representative at Major League Baseball's owners meeting in May - something which the Yankees confirm. Hal runs the family's hotel business, and associates describe him as bright, capable and driven - much like his father. "Hal is probably more like George than any of his other children," says one Yankees limited partner. "He's a very strong businessperson," adds John Swart, a Florida real estate developer who worked with Hal on a hotel project. "If Hal says he'll get something done, you know he will." In an interview with Fortune, the usually press-shy Hal is forthcoming to a point. He declines to put a label on his stepped-up role: "That's a decision for George." Nevertheless, he acknowledges that his Yankees responsibilities did expand significantly following Swindal's exit. "When he left, of course there was a void," he says. "Let there be no doubt that I will fill that void enthusiastically." Hal won't discuss his father's health, which is the subject of much speculation and little certainty. George Steinbrenner himself declined an interview through his spokesman. Yankees president Randy Levine says he talks to Steinbrenner "ten times a day" and insists the Boss is still making the important decisions. Daniel McCarthy, a Yankees limited partner and a long-time Steinbrenner friend, says Steinbrenner seemed "100 percent sharp" when he saw him in the spring. However, such assurances conflict with what other well-placed sources say - reluctantly - about the Boss's health. A baseball executive - someone who has seen Steinbrenner this year and talks with Yankees officials - describes him as "inconsistently lucid." A New York businessman who knows Steinbrenner reports "George is very sick." Are the Yankees next? On the subject of a possible sale, Hal is emphatic. "There's no thought of selling the team," he says. "It's been in the family for 35 years, and it's going to stay that way." Indeed, selling YES could well be part of a long-term plan to keep the Yankees in the Steinbrenner family. The windfall from YES, of which the Yanks own 36 percent, would provide a cushion to pay off any future estate taxes as well as provide the money needed to sign expensive free agents, pay draft picks and otherwise run a business heavy on fixed costs. "The reason they're cashing out is in very large part so they'll have enough cash to continue to own the team," says one source. Even so, there remains speculation among the Yankees limited partners and other baseball insiders that Hal is simply echoing the wishes of an ailing father - that the Steinbrenners do not intend on keeping the team long term. The topic of a sale "comes up all the time" in conversations with the other partners, says Yanks minority owner Edward Rosenthal, a retired steel executive. Adds another Yankees limited partner: "If I were handicapping it, I think we're looking at a sale of the team within three or four years." Were the Yankees to be auctioned off, the price tag for the team alone (in other words, not including the Yanks' stake in YES) could easily soar past $1 billion, given the global reach of the Yankees brand, the benchmark that will be set by the upcoming sale of the Chicago Cubs (for a sum that could approach $1 billion), the untapped revenue sources (a Yankees hotel or restaurant chain?), and the fact that many if not most of Wall Street's heavy hitters are Yankees fans (or have children who are). "My golden retriever could sell the Yankees," jokes one sports banker. "It would be the greatest bidding war in the history of bidding wars." A banker with the firm helping to sell the Cubs - J.P. Morgan managing director Richard Walden - believes the Yankees would fetch "at least" $1.5 billion. "I actually think three years from now," says Walden, "that will look conservative." -- Gregory S. Williams gregwilliams(at)knology.net k4hsm(at)knology.net http://www.etskywarn.net http://www.twiar.org http://www.icebearnation.com ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list Medianews@twiar.org http://twiar.org/mailman/listinfo/medianews_twiar.org End of Medianews Digest, Vol 343, Issue 1 *****************************************