Geopolitical chaos procreating a chaotic leaderless world is sucking the literal life out of human hope. The tentacles of austerity measures and quantitative easing are the primary catalyst of all the madness. One way or another every government financier around the world is determined to cultivate the appearance that the good times are still rolling. The only problem is that the natural rate of failure refuses to participate in the economic facade. Fiat currencies’ purchasing power dwindles, the pounding drum beat of war beckons, and an open ended hegemonic polarity struggle for commodities ensues.

While serving as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 2002, current U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave the world a glimpse into the past, present, and future all at once. In his speech, entitled “Deflation: Making Sure ‘It’ Doesn’t Happen Here,” Ben Bernanke stated:

“Although a policy of intervening to affect the exchange value of the dollar is nowhere on the horizon today, it’s worth noting that there have been times when exchange rate policy has been an effective weapon against deflation. A striking example from U.S. history is Franklin Roosevelt’s 40 percent devaluation of the dollar against gold in 1933-34, enforced by a program of gold purchases and domestic money creation.”

Today the infamous 40 percent strikes again, as Cyprus agreed to the terms of a European Union bailout in which banks will seize 40 percent of uninsured bank depositors’ wealth.

Moody’s Investors Service was quoted in Bloomberg as saying, “The seizure of larger deposits may spark tensions with Russia, the source of an estimated $31 billion in holdings in Cypriot banks.”

Proxy wars have gone beyond the spectrum of arming rogue militants and allied nations in dispersed pockets of the globe, graduating to the realm of state sponsored economic terrorism. As “Gerald Celente” consistently and aptly states, “Currency wars + Trade Wars = Real Wars.”

All of the economic wheeling and dealing continues on as the “Arab Spring” explodes into a caballing year round inferno engulfing the entire Middle East. Daily at the United Nations, permanent Security Council members China, Russia, France, United Kingdom, and the United States spar over regional influence with each passing veto and resolution.

This is most apparent in Syria where Russia opposes any intervention as it struggles to prop up the government of its last remaining ally in the Mediterranean region. Russian naval forces stationed at Tartus, Syria may be the last line of repellent preventing NATO intervention.

The lines of frienemy engagement get blurrier with every passing engagement.

Simultaneously as the United States prepares to implement its own austerity measure policy that has carefully been repackaged and marketed to the public under the label sequestration, it is arming rebels in Syria. All claims of being in financial dire straits gets immediately lost within the noise of controlling key choke points around the globe.

One cannot forget less than two years after watching the Al Qaeda flag being proudly raised in the Libyan city of Benghazi, that America’s new found ally the Free Syrian Army are the protégés of Al Qaeda.

The life cycle of keyboards do not possess the durability to correctly and fully analyze threats posed by the uncontrollable Kim Jong Un ruled North Korea. The isolated peninsula nation even managed to startle its longtime ally China into voting in favor of U.N. Security Council resolution 2094. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang was quoted as saying;

“China supports the UN Security Council’s necessary and moderate response to the nuclear test of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”

Barely beyond two weeks later newly appointed Chinese President Xi Jinping, warned the West not to meddle in Syria’s civil war while on his first visit to Russia.

Not even the mythical country of Chimerica can rescue the too big to fail world from the natural rate of failure. Governments around the world are taking sides now under the cloak of every global economic and geopolitical conflict, because nations know that a hegemonic storm is coming with no evacuation routes or shelter in sight. Once more, honesty of time is proving that which cannot last forever won’t.

Image courtesy: European Parliament

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Las Cruces, U.S.A. — Parents know that knowledge is power, and reading is the key to this power. However, many parents struggle to find ways to make their kids be avid readers. Children are more likely to read if parents let them decide what they read, however parents can give them directions and offer support, Scholastic suggests.

“… it’s your [the parents'] job–not the schools’–to find books to get your kids reading and to make sure they read them,” CNN suggests.

“Parents are powerful instruments when it comes to setting the tone for whether or not a child will be a reader, and certainly what their children read,” says L.A. Miller, the author of the new science-fiction and fantasy YA book series Quests of Shadowind, which includes “Sky Shifter,” “The Grounding Stone,” and “Veil.”

“Quests of Shadowind” is the story of a group of kids who are abducted to an alien world called Shadowind, which is inhabited by ghostly creatures, cyborg animals, and virtual humans–a land where anything is possible, including being downloaded into a cryptic, evil, role-playing game. In order to survive, the teens band together as they search for a way back home.

“Freedom of choice is key to getting them motivated and excited. Vampire sagas, comics, manga, books of sports statistics–terrific–as long as kids are reading,” says James Patterson, a father and a “New York Times” best-selling author. “Should they read on e-tablets? Sure, why not? How about rereading a book? Definitely. And don’t tell them a book is too hard or too easy.”

Learning to read does not always come naturally. This is a skill that must be taught, and it takes some work. Parents should show their children that reading can be fun and help to incorporate reading as part of the everyday activities the whole family enjoys.

“In many ways parents’ attitudes can inspire their children to love reading,” says L.A. Miller. “It’s important to create reading environments in and outside of the home, and to stick to it. I believe parents are good reading role models. If your child sees you and other family members reading, it’s more likely that he or she will pick up a book.”

The National Education Association offers some tips for choosing books for children:

• For beginning readers, select books that match their skill level.
• Find colorful books.
• Pick books based on the child’s interests (hobbies, nature, science).
• Let the child make his or her own choices.
• Support every book choice.
• Ask librarians and teachers for book suggestions.
• Encourage your child to try different kinds of books.

“Reading is one of the most important skills that parents can help to develop in their children,” says Mr. Miller. “It’s a fundamental skill that will help children to be as academically successful as possible.”

For more information, visit www.QuestsofShadowind.com.

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Nashville, U.S.A. — Released less than a month ago, Taylor Swift’s fourth studio album, ’Red’, is already approaching the 2.8 million album worldwide sales mark.

After debuting with music’s highest first-week album sales in over a decade, ’Red’ is currently in its third consecutive week in the #1 position atop Billboard ’s 200 top albums chart, and as of this week ‘Red’ will have scanned more than 1.8 million albums in the U.S. since its October 22 release.

‘Red’, released on Big Machine Records, has topped the sales charts in 42 countries worldwide, with international sales topping 920,000 albums thus far. Taylor now has worldwide career record sales in excess of 26 million albums and 75 million song downloads.

This weekend, tickets went on sale for Taylor’s two July ‘Red’ Tour stops at Foxborough, Mass.’s Gillette Stadium, with the back to back stadium shows selling out in just 5 minutes.

On Friday, Taylor sold out three stadiums: Toronto’s Rogers Centre (sold out in 5 minutes), Detroit’s Ford Field (sold out in 10 minutes), and Chicago’s Soldier Field (sold out in 25 minutes), as well as arenas in Los Angeles (2 shows in 1 minute), Washington DC (2 shows in 5 minutes), Atlanta (2 shows in 5 minutes), Miami, Tampa, Columbus, San Diego and Sacramento. Tickets for Taylor’s two August shows in Kansas City also sold out over the weekend.

Taylor Swift’s The ‘Red’ Tour will now include 11 stadium stops, for a total of 62 shows in 45 cities in 29 states and 3 provinces in 2013.  A complete listing of tour dates, including future onsale information, is available at www.taylorswift.com .

Last night, Taylor brought home her 11th career American Music Award, winning Favorite Female Artist (Country) for the fifth consecutive year. Just a week earlier, Taylor won three European Music Awards, taking top honors for Best Female Act, Best Live Act, and Best Look.

The fan response to Taylor’s ’Red’ album and tour has been matched by the project’s critical acclaim, with the album earning rave reviews from critics around the globe. Just this weekend, Vanity Fair dubbed Taylor “officially the new Mick Jagger,” calling her international chart-topper “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” “the year’s best pop song.” VF asks, “Who is more interesting in pop right now?” and praises Taylor’s “hooks and insouciance,” lauding her music as “canny and knowing.”

Lauded by The New York Times as “one of the most important pop artists of the last decade,” and byRolling Stone as “one of the few genuine rock stars we’ve got these days,” 22 year-old Taylor Swift is a six-time GRAMMY winner, and is the youngest winner in history of the music industry’s highest honor, the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Taylor is the only female artist in music history (and just the fourth artist ever) to twice have an album hit the 1 million first-week sales figure. She holds the record for the biggest digital sales week ever for a song by a woman, and for the second-largest song sales week overall, as well as the worldwide iTunes record for highest ever first-week album sales.

Taylor, who writes all of her own songs, has an album on Rolling Stone’s prestigious The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time (by women) list, and Time magazine has named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is Billboard’s youngest-ever Woman of the Year, and her more than 100 industry award wins have included the American Music Awards’ Artist of the Year, the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year and three European Music Awards.

Taylor’s two most recent albums are two of only 18 albums in the entire history of music to sell more than 1 million copies in a single week. She has had singles top both the country and pop radio charts around the globe, and has thus far scored 11 #1 singles across multiple radio formats. She is one of the top 5-selling digital music artists worldwide, and is the top-selling digital artist in country music history.

Image Courtesy : Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

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Xi Jinping, the presumed heir to the current General Secretary and President Hu Jintao, has been away from the public eye for ten days now, producing various rumors about his whereabouts. It is an urgent matter for China because Beijing is expected to hold its 18th party convention for transfer of power in a month.

Xi canceled meetings with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on September 5 and another meeting with the Danish Prime Minister on September 10, without notice. Yet the Chinese government has not explained why this happened and it is an unprecedented matter for China, which puts a lot of stress on the protocol.

Xi attended a speech held at the Central Party School on September 1, and that was the last time Xi was seen in public. Hong Kong’s Apple Daily reported that Xi might have health problems or might even be resigned because of pressure from the other party members.

Meanwhile, some foreign media, including the New York Times, reported that health issues may in fact be the case, but that they are not believed to be critical or in any position to cause problems for the transfer of power to Xi. However, the Chinese government has not said anything so far regarding this matter, making people more curious about what is happening in China.

Foreign media has suggested several scenarios of what could have happened to Xi. They range from recovering from an injury while playing soccer or swimming, to involvement in a car accident at the hand of supporters of Bo Xilai, Xi’s competitor, or having suffered a heart attack. Among these possibilities, many have emphasized the first one.

On September 13, Hong Kong’s Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy (ICHRD) said in a press release that Xi had surgery last month because of liver cancer at the People’s Liberation Army 301 Hospital in Beijing, and is currently recovering but otherwise has no problem with his health. However, there is no way of confirming this because the Chinese government is continuing its silence about Xi.

Xi Jinping, born on June 1, 1953, is a high-ranking politician of the People’s Republic of China. He studied at Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious schools in China, and started his early career serving mostly in the Fujian province. He currently serves as the country’s Vice President. He is supported by both right wings and left wings and considered as China’s future leader.

Image Courtesy of   Antonio Villaraigosa

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Washington, U.S.A. – While the nation awaits the imminent release of the latest numbers on poverty from the U.S. Census Bureau, broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Princeton University Professor Emeritus Cornel West, hosts of the nationally syndicated public radio program “Smiley & West” from Public Radio International (PRI), are once again bringing national attention to economic injustice by announcing “The Poverty Tour 2.0.”

“The Poverty Tour 2.0″ will be on the road September 12–15, 2012, visiting four battleground states: Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida, continuing the moral crusade to make the eradication of poverty a top priority in America—a clarion call to President Obama and Governor Romney as the race for the White House heats up.

“We expect that the forthcoming census data will reveal that poverty in America is not an abstraction; too many Americans are living hand to mouth,” said Cornel West. “Basic needs such as living-wage jobs, food, clothing, medicine, and shelter cannot be ignored by the major parties during the upcoming political conventions, or by their respective nominees on the campaign trail.”

Both Smiley and West have been consistent whistle-blowers on the topic of poverty. In addition to discussing this on their weekly radio show they have:

• Released the text, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto this past April, which debuted at #1 on The Washington Post Book World Best Sellers List and peaked at #7 on The New York Times Best Sellers List.
• Featured an all-woman panel focusing on the impact of poverty on women and children in America at “Made Visible: Women and Children in Poverty” on March 18, 2012, televised nationally on PBS, C-SPAN and PRI. The panel included U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten.
• Explored how to restore America’s prosperity in a live C-SPAN broadcast of “Remaking America: From Poverty to Prosperity” that included panelists such as Michael Moore, Suze Orman, and Barbara Ehrenreich on January 12, 2012.
• Examined the impact of the Great Recession on America’s poor in a white paper titled, “At Risk: America’s Poor During and After the Great Recession.” This paper served as a factual foundation for the original Poverty Tour and was released in collaboration with Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) on January 11, 2012. This white paper has since been expanded and will be published as a book, America’s Poor, this winter.
• Given voice to the plight of the poor during “The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience,” a week-long special television and radio series on both PBS and PRI that aired from October 7–14, 2011.
• Revealed the new face of poverty with their national 18-city, 11-state “The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience” that began on August 6, 2011.

According to last week’s Associated Press article, “Poverty is spreading at record levels across many groups, from underemployed workers and suburban families to the poorest poor. More discouraged workers are giving up on the job market, leaving them vulnerable as unemployment aid begins to run out. Suburbs are seeing increases in poverty including in political battlegrounds [states]…”

During “The Poverty Tour 2.0,” Smiley and West will host free and open to the public, solution-providing town hall meetings that will broadcast LIVE on multiple platforms including USTREAM, radio and social media. They will also upload podcasts. In addition to inviting local families, community organizers, job cooperatives, elected officials, war veterans, and religious leaders, the major presidential candidates will also be invited to participate.

“It is our intent that in the sprint from Labor Day to Election Day, poor people do not get trampled on or left behind,” said Tavis Smiley.

Image Courtesy of   Center for American Progress Action Fund

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Google is still facing many lawsuits related to its goal of digitalizing every book worldwide before 2020; however, on Monday June 11 they resolved pending cases in France.

Six years ago, the French Publishers Association and the authors’ association Société des Gens Lettres filed court cases against Google’s books project, claiming that the company was violating copyrights on out-of-print books. On Monda,y the groups dropped the claims against Google, as an agreement was made.

With the new terms, publishers get to decide which books can be digitalized. “The authors will be able to say yes or no to the indexing of their works,” said Antoine Gallimard, the president of publishers group SNE.

Google says that the chosen books will be sold in Google Play, which isn’t currently available in France.

Other details have not yet been released, but it has been said that part of the deal is that Google will donate money to a program that supports young children learning to read.

Google hopes this agreement will help advance their project in France and around the world. France is now the only country that has a book scanning accord that includes most books worldwide.

“Our hope is that these pathbreaking partnerships will help jump-start the emerging French electronic book market,” said Philippe Colombet, the CEO of Google Books France.

The New York Times reports that this isn’t the only digitalizing book proposal that France has going on. Parliament has given permission to the French National Library to digitalize “orphan works”. Orphan works are books that are out-of-print with an unknown copyright holder. Under this new law copyright holders are given six months to come forward and protest the digitalization of the book.

As progress is being made in France, US authors are still fighting Google on this subject. In Google’s opinion the authors should need to file individual law suits. However, last month the suit was given class-action status by Judge Denny Chin. The Author’s Guild is happy with this verdict.

“It is, without question, more efficient and effective than requiring thousands of authors to sue individually. Requiring this case to be litigated on an individual basis would risk disparate results in nearly identical suits and exponentially increase the cost of litigation,”  Judge Chin said.

Google hopes that an agreement similar to the one made in France can be made in the US and other countries. As of now, the company has scanned and digitalized 20 million books, and would like to continue on its ambitious goal to have all books online by the end of the decade. But for now the search engine is happy with the results they had in France.

“All conditions are now in place for Google to participate in developing digital books in France and contribute to spreading French culture,” said Colombet.

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WASHINGTON, U.S.A. – America’s Wire released a commentary by Jenga Mwendo, a community activist in New Orleans, who strongly objects to a New York Times magazine article that was titled “Jungleland” and depicted the city’s Lower Ninth Ward as wilderness overrun by wildlife and weeds.

Ms. Mwendo writes that while the article cites the city government’s futile attempts to improve the neighborhood, it barely mentions the overall lack of government support before and after Hurricane Katrina and the hard work by committed citizens to improve the community. “Yes, many parts of the Lower Ninth are overgrown and neglected,” she writes, “but what the article missed is that many are not. Moreover, the untold story is how city, state and federal government abandoned this community.”

Further, she adds, “the Times probably had good intentions — document the bad situation so our community can get help. But while writing about broken people, vacant lots and weeds may be sexy journalism, the community needs the outside world to understand how implicit and unconscious bias caused by a history of racism pummeled us.”

Ms. Mwendo, an urban-agriculture, community organizer in the Lower Ninth Ward and founder of the Backyard Gardeners Network, writes that “after Katrina, millions of dollars flowed into New Orleans, and the Lower Ninth was declared the glaring example of what needed rehabilitation. Yet, nearly seven years later, the French Quarter and other areas of tourism and affluence are sparkling, while few improvements have been made in the Lower Ninth.”

This commentary, as well as news articles, are available for publication free of charge from America’s Wire.  Go to www.Americaswire.org  and click the “Download” button in the right column.

“This commentary demonstrates that some minority communities have not recovered from Katrina and residents are feeling abandoned,” said Michael K. Frisby, president of America’s Wire. “The New York Times article exposed the conditions in the Lower Ninth Ward. But the residents, such as Ms. Mwendo, are looking for more. They want the nation to know that they are battling structural bias every day as they fight to save their community.”

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The recent brouhaha over pink slime (and other lovely mass meat production processes) is only the beginning. Here’s our roundup of some standout reporting about the food on your plate.

This is a multifaceted, perennial topic. If you think Propublica missed any, we’re happy to hear suggestions. Please email a link to MuckReads@propublica.org or tweet it with the hashtag #muckreads.

Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned, The New York Times, December 2009
A look at the development of Beef Product Inc.’s “novel” method of meat production that later became known as the infamous “pink slime.” Reporter Michael Moss won a Pulitzer Prize for his investigations into contaminated beef.

Our Dwindling Food Variety, National Geographic, July 2011
Our dwindling food variety, in a stride-stopping infographic.
Contributed by @kleinmatic

What the USDA Doesn’t Want You to Know About Antibiotics and Factory Farms, Mother Jones, July 2011
The U.S. Department of Agriculture appears to have repeatedly removed a report by a USDA-contracted researcher that summarized recent academic work, from “reputed, scientific, peer-reviewed, and scholarly journals,” on possible links between antibiotic-resistant infections and factory farm animals. Mother Jones got a permanent PDF of the researcher’s report, dubbing it the “document the USDA doesn’t want you to see.”
Contributed by @foodinteg

Asian Honey, Banned in Europe, Is Flooding U.S. Grocery Shelves, Food Safety News, August 2011

Some of the biggest U.S. honey packers knowingly bought honey of questionable quality so they could sell it on the cheap. Much of it was likely smuggled from China (honey the European Union has banned) and may have been laced with lead and illegal animal antibiotics — if it was really honey at all.

America’s Dangerous Food-Safety System, The Daily Beast/ Newsweek, September 2011
A shortage of inspectors in the U.S. food-safety system exposes Americans to the risk of illness and death.
Contributed by @StepShep

Nation’s Food Anti-terror Plans Costly, Unwieldy, Associated Press, September 2011 
An AP investigation into the United States’ $3.4 billion food counter-terrorism program found that progress had been slowed by a complex web of bureaucracy.
Contributed by @joannalin

On The Menu, But Not On Your Plate, Boston Globe, October 2011
A Globe-organized DNA test revealed scores of mislabeled fish in Massachusetts restaurants, grocery stores and seafood markets. Often, “local” fish was actually hauled from thousands of miles away, and while some chefs and store owners seemed to have no clue, others admitted to knowingly selling mislabeled food to boost profits. Experts said it reflects a nationwide trend that causes diners to unwittingly overpay, may make people sick and results in overfishing.

Contributed by @JoeYerardi

Dispute Over Drug in Feed Limiting U.S. Meat Exports, MSNBC, January 2012
The controversial drug ractopamine has sickened or killed more pigs than any other livestock drug on the market, leading the EU and China, which together produce and consume about 70 percent of the world’s pork, to refuse meat imports raised on the additive. The U.S. pork industry wants to change their minds.
Contributed by @NaomiStarkman

How Washington Went Soft on Child Obesity, Reuters, April 2012
The food and beverage industries have more than doubled their spending on lobbying in Washington in the last three years. And now Congress has declared pizza a vegetable.
Contributed by @mariancw

A History of FDA Inaction on Animal Antibiotics, ProPublica, April 2012
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Food and Drug Administration’s actions, or lack thereof, to keep antibiotics out of your food.

As Beef Cattle Become Behemoths, Who Are Animal Scientists Serving? The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 2012
A growing number of animal scientists employed by public universities are accepting payouts from pharmaceutical companies. They’re often hired to persuade farmers to use antibiotics that fatten up cattle but haven’t necessarily been proven safe. Some have been banned in the E.U. and China.
Contributed by @MelodyPetersen

Bonus points: In 1968, Nathan Kotz of the Des Moines Register and Minneapolis Tribune won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on unsanitary conditions in meat packing plants, which, according to the Pulitzer site, helped ensure passage of the Federal Wholesome Meat Act of 1967. Anybody have an online copy?

by Blair Hickman, ProPublica, May 7, 2012, 12:21 p.m.

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The sixth edition of the International Journalism Festival (IJF) in Italy has just started. For five days, from April 25 to 29, the city of Perugia will become “the capital of journalism” hosting journalists, bloggers and media organizations from all over the world, with over 200 volunteers and thousands of guests coming from every corner of Italy and from abroad.

More than 500 speakers, 250 accredited journalists, 200 free entry events, not to mention workshops, exhibitions, documentaries, awards;  the International Journalism Festival is a goldmine for enthusiasts of media and communications, and for those interested in and concerned about the future of journalism, freedom of speech and the right to information.

The issues to be discussed are plentiful, from journalism ethics to journalist activism, from civic media and citizen journalism to democracy, from the use of mobile phones and videocameras for reporting to economic sustainability, from hacking to social networking, and much more. A rich and varied program based on participation, discussion, free exchange of ideas, confrontation between experts and citizens, professionals and students, researchers and users.

The International Journalism Festival is a five day journey into the world of media and journalism, a look into the mass media of tomorrow, strategies, tools, and platforms of reporting and into the endless possibilities of civic engagement offered by new media and social networks.

Among the guests of the IJF 2012 are:

• Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson
• Aron Pilhofer, New York Times
• Robert Philomé, France 24
• Simon Rogers, The Guardian
• Dan Nguyen, Propublica
• David Aaronovitch, The Times
• Adam Baker, Blottr
• Tony Curzon Price, openDemocracy.net
• Clive Edwards, BBC
• Ibrahim Hamdan, Al Jazeera
• Hada Messia, CNN
• Riccardo Noury, Amnesty International Italy
• Mohamed Ali Zakaria, photo-reporter
• Wolfgang Blau, Zeit Online
•  Ali al-Bouazizi, political activist
•  Kristinn Hrafnsson, Wikileaks
• Martin Dawes,  UNICEF
• Herman Burt, Storify & Hacks/Hackers,
• Mark Johnson, The Economist
• Per Mikael Jensen, Metro International

For the complete list of speakers please visit http://www.journalismfestival.com/speaker-list/2012.

Founded in 2006 by Arianna Ciccone and Christopher Potter with the aim “to set up an event which would break the mould” and to create “an opportunity for you to engage with leading journalists from all over the world”, the IJF is an informal and accessible festival open to everybody completely free of charge. A chance to discuss a wide range of current interest topics, to aggregate and involve a broad variety of media organizations, journalists, aspiring journalists, experts, and all those curious persons interested in media and its role in society.

Located right in the heart of Italy, Perugia is a beautiful medieval city of Etruscan origins and an artistic center situated on a hilltop, with a reputation for fine cuisine, beautiful landscapes and rich history. The Umbria’s capital is also famous for its universities, University of Perugia and University of Foreigners, which host more than 40,000 students every year. The perfect perfect place to enjoy food, arts, landscapes and, why not journalism.

For more information on the International Journalism Festival visit www.journalismfestival.com.

To see the whole program www.journalismfestival.com/programme/2012

For updates you can follow IJF on Facebook and Twitter and if you want to watch IFJ events from the web, go to webtv.festivaldelgiornalismo.com/

Image Courtesy of   International Journalism Festival

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Out of the ashes of the Twin Towers emerged a group of survivors. They had all been through hell and back, but one survivor in particular stood out as inspirational: Tania Head.

Tania’s devastating story of narrowly escaping death from the 78th floor of the South Tower, badly burned and crawling through carnage and chaos, is one of true courage and a fighting will to survive. But while she made it out alive of one building, her life was essentially taken away by the other. Her fiance had perished in the North Tower.

Tania’s remarkable tale of recovery and loss catapulted her to being the face of the tragedy, earning her the respect of victims’ families, public officials like Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Americans everywhere.

Her story quickly traveled through the survivor community and in 2004 she became president of the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, tirelessly working to give the survivors support and a place of prominence in a post 9/11 landscape. But there was one problem with Tania’s story that wouldn’t emerge until September 2007, when a New York Times article blew the lid off of her seemingly miraculous tale: absolutely none of it was true.

An ID Films presentation of a film directed by Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr. and produced by Meredith Vieira Productions and 4235 Productions, The Woman Who Wasn’t There exposes the truth behind 9/11 “survivor” Tania Head.

With exclusive footage from interviews with Tania shot before her story crumbled, the documentary divulges the full circle of deception from before the truth and after the lies. The special Investigation Discovery presentation of The Woman Who Wasn’t There makes its world premiere on April 17, 2012.

“Despite the traumatic impact, those who lived through 9/11 have a yearning to feel connected, even in some small way. In an extreme example, Tania Head crafted her story in order to belong, making herself both a victim and a hero on that tragic day,” said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager, Investigation Discovery.

The Woman Who Wasn’t There is a chilling and enthralling look at how one person’s desire to be a part of America’s inspiring recovery can go to such deceptive lengths, and will likely leave viewers with more questions than answers.”

The Woman Who Wasn’t There began as a small advocacy film after Tania approached filmmaker Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr. in 2006, wanting to tell the resiliency of the 9/11 survivors. She was eager to film the issues they face and their painstaking road to recovery. Guglielmo not only filmed hours of exclusive interview footage with Tania, but he also became her friend and confidant. When it came to light that the facts of her astounding tale were completely fabricated, Guglielmo kept the cameras rolling.

With complete access and participation from The World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, the documentary is told from a unique inside perspective that has yet to be seen by audiences, allowing viewers to unravel the psychological mystery of Tania’s tale as her closest friends did in real time.

The Woman Who Wasn’t There follows the rise of Tania, the telling her story of survival and the eventual revelation of its fabrication as well as the reactions and repercussions from her closest colleagues, all in search of an answer to the biggest question of all: who is Tania Head?

The Woman Who Wasn’t There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception by New York Times bestselling author Robin Gaby Fisher and filmmaker Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr. will be published on April 3 by Touchstone Books.

Image Courtesy of   Ken Tannenbaum / Shutterstock.com

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Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, announced recently that it will publish a new four-book series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater, whose Shiver trilogy has more than 1.7 million books in print and whose most recent novel The Scorpio Races was just named a Michael L. Printz Honor Book by the American Library Association.

The Raven Boys (978-0-545-42492-9, $17.99 hardcover; 978-0-545-46979-1, $17.99 e-book; 978-0-545-46593-9, $39.99 audiobook; Ages 13 and up) will be published on September 18, 2012, to be followed by three additional novels in The Raven Cycle.

Scholastic holds world rights to the series, and The Raven Boys will launch simultaneously in English September 2012 in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

“When Entertainment Weekly called Maggie Stiefvater ‘one of the finest YA novelists writing today,’ it couldn’t have been more on the mark. Maggie has an extraordinary ability to balance epic storytelling and deeply personal truths, exploring both the mythology that surrounds us and the myths we tell about ourselves. The Raven Boys is a remarkable next step in an already remarkable career,” says David Levithan, Publisher and Editorial Director, Scholastic Press.

Author Maggie Stiefvater says, “I grew up on a diet of exceptional fantasy series for children—The Dark Is Rising, The Black Cauldron, A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia — and I’ve always wanted to write one of those sprawling epic sagas built from intimate moments. I sat on a draft of The Raven Boysfor a decade, but it wasn’t until I had the tools I learned from writing the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races that I knew how to do it.”

Filled with mystery, romance, and the supernatural, The Raven Boys introduces readers to Richard “Dick” Campbell Gansey, III and Blue Sargent. Gansey has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on the hunt to find Glendower, a vanished Welsh king.

Legend has it that the first person to find him will be granted a wish—either by seeing him open his eyes, or by cutting out his heart. Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love.

Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there—known as Raven Boys—can only mean trouble. When Gansey and his Raven Boy friends come into her life, Blue realizes how true this is. She never thought her fortune would be a problem. But now she’s not so sure.

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The producers of The Third Jihad: Radical Islam’s Vision for America have a direct response to media outlets that have referred to the critically-acclaimed documentary as an “anti-Islam” or “hateful” film.

“Claims that The Third Jihad is an anti-Islam film are ignorant and misinformed,” says Raphael Shore, Producer of The Third Jihad. “These claims are meant simply to defame the filmmakers and prevent the public from judging the film for themselves.”

The film opens with the following frame in bold letters for all viewers to read: “This is not a film about Islam. It is about the threat of radical Islam. Only a small percentage of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims are radical.” The film’s message urges the Muslim community to look within itself to root out the indoctrination that affects a minority of Muslims.

Narrator Dr. Zuhdi Jasser

“The New York Times and other media outlets are conveniently choosing to overlook the fact that the film isolates a small sector of the Muslim community, and more importantly that the film is narrated by Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, the founder and president of the American-Islamic Forum for Democracy [http://www.aifdemocracy.org ],” Shore added.

Dr. Jasser is a devout Muslim and a full-time physician and has served the United States of America admirably as medical officer in the US Navy and as an attending physician to the US Congress.

The documentary is founded on credible evidence presented by the FBI of a ‘Manifesto’ published by radicals calling for the implementation of extremist ideology-both violent and politicized-within the United States.

Yet the media are blasting the film’s usage by the New York Police Department in their counterterrorism training.

“There is a very good reason the NYPD selected to show The Third Jihad to nearly 1,500 police officers, and other law enforcement agencies have done the same,” Shore said. “The film deals with the very real process of radicalization and indoctrination of anti-American ideology taking place in some sectors of the Muslim community today.”

While many media outlets are presently taking a noticeably negative stance – before even watching the film – the film has been spotlighted in over 100 interviews since its release in 2009.

The film’s narrator, Zuhdi Jasser, has consistently appeared in mainstream media outlets including MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, and has published Op-Eds in numerous mainstream publications including the Wall Street Journal to point out concerning trends within the Muslim community.

Experts

Jasser is not the only credible expert to appear in The Third Jihad, nor is NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

The film’s producers conducted exclusive interviews with:

-Former Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge,

- Former Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey

- Former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani

- Former Associate Director of the FBI

- Former FBI Asst. Dir. of Public Affairs John Miller

- Senator Joseph Lieberman

- Professor Bernard Lewis

- New York Times Best-selling Author Ayaan Hirsi Ali

- Former CIA Officer Clare Lopez

- Former CIA Officer Wayne Simmons

- New York Times Best-selling Author Mark Steyn

- And more (http://tinyurl.com/about3J)

Screenings

Since its release in 2009, The Third Jihad has screened and continues to be screened at several hundred locations across the United States including at the Library of Congress, Museum of Tolerance, Directors’ Screen Guild, and the National Press Club.

The film previously aired on cable television’s AmericanLife TV Network, and is currently available on Netflix and Amazon OnDemand.

Praise

The film has also received notable praise from some of the nation’s leading policy makers.

“It is imperative that The Third Jihad reaches a mass audience in the U.S. so that the urgency of this threat becomes clear to the American public,” declared US Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Chairwoman of the House Foreign Relations Committee.

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (AZ) said, “The Third Jihad alerts Americans to the dangers of Islamic radicalization in our own communities. Zuhdi Jasser is sounding the alarm before it is too late.”

Rudy Giuliani called the film, “a wake up call for America.”

“Those that have blasted the film are attempting to stifle an important debate about the internal state of the Muslim community in America, and whether politicized Islam and indoctrination pose tangible security threats,” Shore added.

“We hope that the general public will consider the sensitive content in the film, and will not simply accept the baseless innuendos being made in the media. We invite the general public to watch and judge the documentary for themselves.”

The Third Jihad is now available for free viewing online at http://www.thethirdjihad.com.

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National Geographic Channel President Howard T. Owens announced recently that the network has partnered with Tony and Ridley Scott to produce the two-hour documentary of Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever, Bill O’Reilly’s New York Times best-selling book with co-author Martin Dugard. Media personality Mike Rowe is also on board to be part of the project.

“National Geographic has a great legacy of telling some of history’s most riveting stories,” said author Bill O’Reilly, who will also serve as an executive producer on the documentary. ”The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln is no exception, as it continues to be one of the most significant, life-changing events in America’s young history.

Ridley and Tony Scott are incredible directors, producers and amazing storytellers with the ability to bring this story to life in a way no one else can.” The two-hour special event will capture the riveting narrative style and intimate detail used by O’Reilly in the book, which has reinvigorated the story of Lincoln, engrossing readers around the world.

Production on the historical thriller will begin this spring, combining rare historical archives, emotionally engaging storytelling and feature-film quality re-enactments with CGI in the signature style of the Scott brothers. The special will premiere in early 2013 globally on the National Geographic Channel.

“National Geographic Channel is the perfect partner for us to bring Bill O’Reilly’s dynamic ‘Killing Lincoln’ to the screen. We are excited to share with audiences this epic and thrilling story surrounding Lincoln’s assassination, one of the most notorious crimes in American history,” said Ridley Scott.

Said Rowe, “As a closet history buff for most of my life, this is what you might call a ‘dream project.’ It’s an honor to participate, and I’m grateful to National Geographic and the Scott brothers for the opportunity.” Additional details about his participation will be announced at a later date.

“There is so much to this story that Bill O’Reilly captures in his book that I know will captivate our audience,” said Owens. ”Using contemporary storytelling methods that are the hallmark of what the Scott brothers are known for will transform this popular best-seller into a global television event for our network.”

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Craig Duff, former director of multimedia and chief video journalist at TIME, will join the Medill faculty in February as a clinical professor, Dean John Lavine announced recently.

Since 2008, Duff was responsible for overseeing multimedia, video and podcast production at TIME, where he also trained reporters to use video and produced his own visual work as the magazine and website expanded digital production, both online and in tablets. He was recognized with a News and Documentary Emmy for his series on “The Iconic Photo,” a project that explained the back-story of several famous works of photojournalism.

Prior to TIME, Duff worked for more than four years with The New York Times on documentary television projects and web video journalism, and for 10 years with CNN and Turner Broadcasting, where he co-created and oversaw production of two cultural news magazine series and visual specials. He was also senior producer of CNN’s environmental unit.

“As a working video journalist who wears all the hats – reporter, producer, photographer, writer and editor – I am a living example of what is possible and expected in journalism today,” Duff said. “Most importantly I think I bring a sense of optimism. The challenges are many in the news business right now, but the opportunities are still there for those who are curious and tenacious enough to pursue them and make them happen.”

Duff has built up his academic credentials during the past few years with the thought of eventually moving to academia full time. He currently is an adjunct associate professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. In 2008 he was a Ferris Professor of Journalism in residence at Princeton, where he taught a seminar on multi-platform journalism. In 2006 and 2007 he was a Knight International Journalism Fellow at the Center for Electronic Journalism at the American University in Cairo.

Duff holds a Master of Arts degree in Radio, Television and Film from the University of Texas at Austin.

“At Time, we regularly have Medill students interning in our newsroom, and I have been very impressed with the caliber of journalists the school produces,” Duff said. “I’m thrilled to come to Evanston to teach such smart young people and work with the strong Medill faculty.”

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Johnson&Johnson, manufacturer of various medical products including children’s Tylenol, reached an agreement with federal regulators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Thursday regarding the condition of three of its manufacturing plants. Regulators say that their manufacturing policies do not conform to the law.

According to the New York Times, the agreements were specifically directed to Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare division manufacturing sites situated in Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico. The plants’ policies have been criticized by lawmakers and regulators for over a year now.

“We’ve had a long engagement with McNeil over the last year with regard to their quality system,” Douglas Stearn, an F.D.A. official involved with the agreement said in an interview Thursday.

The agreement concerns a plant in Lancaster, Pa. that makes products in cooperation with Merck, a plant in Las Piedras, P.R. that has already received an agency warning last year, as well as a closed plant in Fort Washington, Pa. Johnson&Johnson was tabooed to reopen the plant until the independent inspector confirms the plants legal compliance.

Once approved by a federal judge, the agreement would require Johnson&Johnson to hire an inspection expert who would monitor and ensure the quality of the manufacturing processes in all three plants. With this F.D.A. would also be given the authority to shut down McNeil once manufacturing flaws were detected, and would be able to fine the company at least $15,000 per day, amounting up to $10 million a year.

Despite the extent of civil complaints covered by the agreement, F.D.A. officials would not comment on related criminal investigations, the New York Times reports. The F.D.A said last year in a Congressional session that the McNeil case was already referred to its office of Criminal Investigations. A spokeswoman confirmed the statement and said that other investigations are underway.

William C. Weldon, Johnson&Johnson’s chief executive, addressed the company’s employees in his statement released Thursday, saying that the company’s higher-ups have been taking care of the manufacturing problems of the specified plants. In spite of praising how the company has already advanced its manufacturing competence, Weldon continued to press the importance of this issue and how measures are being observed to eliminate these problems.

“[The agreement] requires additional quality assurance measures, and is a reminder that important work remains to be done,” Weldon said.

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