FROM THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW

SURVEY FINDS AMERICANS SIDE WITH JOURNALISTS ON CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES

AMERICAN JOURNALISM REVIEW - A First Amendment Center/AJR survey finds that 69 percent of the public thinks journalists should be allowed to keep a news source confidential. . . The survey offers one other encouraging finding for the media. Americans endorsed the press' watchdog role, with 74 percent agreeing with the statement: "It is important for our democracy that the news media act as a watchdog on government." But an unnerving 65 percent of those polled agreed with the statement: "The falsifying or making up of stories in the American news media is a widespread problem." And a mere 33 percent agreed that: "Overall, the news media tries to report the news without bias." That's down 6 percentage points from last year. http://www.ajr.org/Article.aspid=3909


LABOR


SAN FRANCISCO PUBLISHER PLANS TO BREAK STRIKE

SF BAY GUARDIAN - San Francisco Chronicle publisher Frank Vega, facing the possibility of a damaging strike, is doing some serious saber-rattling to intimidate employee unions and has sent a memo to managers describing dramatic procedures that will be put in place if there's labor action this summer. . .

Vega said he intends to continue publishing the Chronicle every day through any strikes or lockouts, and June 28 he issued a letter and detailed plan to the 300 management employees who would work through a job action. Despite stern warnings in the first paragraph that "your fellow employees could be jeopardized if this information becomes public," the documents were leaked to union members who furnished a copy to the Bay Guardian. "Do not worry about sleeping quarters or food. We have extensive plans in place to ensure our workforce's needs are more than adequately met," Vega wrote. "I don't want to sound too ominous, but this is serious stuff. We intend to publish and distribute the Chronicle no matter what. We intend to protect our employees and facilities. No matter what."

Hearst Corp. hired Vega in December. As president and chief executive of Detroit Newspapers, Vega continued to publish the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News during a brutal 20-month strike that began in 1995, during which the companies lost hundreds of millions of dollars. The papers never recovered the loss of about one-third of their 1.1 million readers.

Vega's memo calls for the "quick and efficient clear-out of on-site, represented employees whose unions call a strike," the activation of phone trees to bring in all exempt employees on shuttle buses from secret locations, and bringing in cots, bedding, and food so employees can remain in the building for days at a time. Other memos in the packet include "Tips for Crossing a Picket Line" (such as "drive very slowly as you approach and cross the line. Be prepared to stop quickly if a picketer steps in front of you to try to get your vehicle to touch him") and procedures for "If you are arrested or detained by law enforcement personnel, and that arrest or detention is as a result of you providing services to the San Francisco Chronicle." Vega encourages employees to call the paper's "Incident Command Center," at 764-2855, to report any problems or concerns. . .

That union's president, Tony Price, said the cameras, security, and unbending demands indicate Vega's desire to break the unions. "Our fear is that they are pushing us to lockout," he said. The pressmen union held a raucous rally in front of the newspaper on July 11, taunting the publisher, who earned the nickname "Darth Vega" in Detroit, and pledging to stand strong against what their signs labeled "Chronicle/Hearst Corp. Union Busting." . . .

Yet conspicuously absent were representatives from the paper's largest union, the Northern California Media Workers Guild, which represents 870 editorial, advertising, and circulation workers. http://www.sfbg.com/39/41/news_darth_vega.html


CIVIL LIBERTIES


GREAT MOMENTS IN CENSORSHIP
MARK FRAUENFELDER, BOING BOING -

PABBIS (Parents Against Bad Books In School) is a little too interested in in "bad" books. The following is an excerpt from its "SAMPLE BOOK REVIEW DOCUMENTATION FORM." For each type checked above also indicate level of vividness/graphicness using the following as a general guide:
- Basic (B): large breasts
- Graphic (G): large, voluptuous bouncing breasts
- Very graphic (VG): large, voluptuous bouncing breasts with hard nipples
- Extremely graphic (EG): large, voluptuous bouncing breasts with hard nipples covered with glistening sweat and bite marks

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/12/hot_erotica_on_paren.html

STUPID ECONOMIST TRICKS
JOHN TIERNEY, NY TIMES -

Professor Landsburg, an economist at the University of Rochester, has calculated the relative value to society of executing murderers and hackers. By using studies estimating the deterrent value of capital punishment, he figures that executing one murderer yields at most $100 million in social benefits. The benefits of executing a hacker would be greater, he argues, because the social costs of hacking are estimated to be so much higher: $50 billion per year. Deterring a mere one-fifth of 1 percent of those crimes - one in 500 hackers - would save society $100 million. And Professor Landsburg believes that a lot more than one in 500 hackers would be deterred by the sight of a colleague on death row.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/opinion/12tierney.html?hp


OTHER NEWS


CROATIAN BEAR LEARNS TO KNOCK FIRST
DEHAVILLAND INFORMATION -

A bear has become an unwanted guest in one Croatian town after learning how to knock on the door to trick people into letting it in. The 35-stone monster knocked at the door of the Loknar family from Gerovo in western Croatia three times and they are now refusing to answer the door, ananova reports. "I opened the door and saw him standing there and I didn't believe my eyes at first, then I ran for it as he walked in as if it was the most normal thing in the world," mother Nevenka Loknar said. . . It appears as though the bear got lucky when he nudged the door for the first time and has continued to do so since believing he will get an answer again.
http://www.dehavilland.co.uk/webhost.asp?


INDICATORS


HOMES GROW AS FAMILY SIZE SHRINKS
ROBERT J. SAMUELSON, WASHINGTON POST -

In 2001 about one in eight homes exceeded 3,500 square feet, which was more than triple the average new home in 1950 (983 square feet). . . In one marketing survey by the National Association of Home Builders, 36 percent of buyers under age 35 rated having a "home theater" as important or very important. Of course, homeownership (now a record 69 percent) symbolizes success in America. The impulse to announce more success by having more home seems to span all classes. In his book "Luxury Fever," Cornell University economist Robert Frank noted that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen built a 74,000-square-foot house. According to Frank, that roughly equaled the size of Cornell's entire business school, with a staff of 100. . . With hindsight, some homeowners may regret sinking so much money into ever-grander houses. One possible problem is future operating costs. Homes exceeding 3,500 square feet use about 40 percent more energy than those between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet, says the Energy Information Administration. . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/12/AR2005071201368.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns


The List

PERCENT OF THOSE OVER 21 DRINKING BEER IN PAST MONTH
Milwaukee, WI 54%
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 53%
Denver, CO 51%
St. Louis, MO 50%
Buffalo, NY 50%
Albany/Schenectady/Troy, NY 50%
Boston, MA 50%
San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, CA 49%
El Paso, TX 49%

[Scarborough Research]

The List

ANNUAL DEATHS FROM VARIOUS DRUGS IN BRITAIN

Tobacco: 100,000
Alcohol: 6,000
Heroin: 652
Methadone: 97
Ecstasy: 25
Crack: 20
Amphetamines: 12
Cocaine: 11
Marijuana: 0

[Government report]