"Major Libraries Rejecting Deals On Online Books: Some Shun Tech Giants"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/technology/22library.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

This article appeared on the front page of yesterday's NYT. It's by Katie Hafner. The gist of the article is that Google and Microsoft are offering to scan books--mostly old books past copyright protections--into internet databases for free. The catch is that, for each service, the information would only be searchable through that company's website.

So, if Google were to scan the entire collection of the New York Public Library, everyone could access the information, but only by using Google. Other search engines wouldn't have access to it.

A lot of libraries and librarians are balking at this; they worry that such a setup gives too much power over information to individual companies. The alternative to this setup is for libraries to use the Open Content Alliance, which costs libraries and users money. However, the cost is shared between members, so it still helps moderate the cost to libraries. Some libraries (with good funding) are opting to scan in their collections themselves, but this is the most expensive option. The upshot of their time and expense is that they can set their own rules about accessibility.

Some libraries that prefer the O.C.A. alternative are the Boston Public Library and the Smithsonian Institution. Others that see no problem with offers from Microsoft and Google are the New York Public Library, and the libraries at the University of Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford. The Library of Congress, with the help of a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is scanning its own collection.

Naval Hero Will Be Missed

Retired firefighter and Navy Ensign Jeffrey R. Ahson, 79, died last night at his home in Kalamazoo, according to Navy officials. He died of emphysema.
Ahson was promoted to ensign, and recieved the Purple Heart and the Navy Cross, while serving aboard the USS Emery during the Battle of Midway in June, 1942. He saved four wounded sailors and recovered the body of a gunner, assuming his post to shoot down three planes. “Ahson was a genuine American hero,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jeraldine Fyfe of U.S. Naval Public Relations.
Ahson was born in Chico, Calif., in 1926. He left the Navy in 1946. He moved to Kalamazoo, serving as a firefighter until 1966. Ahson worked as a new-car salesman until his retirement in 1985.
His enthusiasm for firefighting went far beyond a passion for his job. Known as a firefighter historian, he collected firefighting memorabilia, including a 1924 fire truck he restored with friends. Ahson used his collection to educate area children, driving his fire truck to elementary schools. He generously left his collection to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, where it is on permanent display.
Ahson was a commander of American Legion Post 702, a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4206, the Elks Lodge, the National Checkers Association, and Gideons International. He also ushered at John Calvin Presbyterian Church.
He is survived by his wife, Therese Alpert, and three children, Richard D. Ahson of Phillipsburg, Kan., Angela Molino of Omaha, Neb., and Lela Stalling of Pipe Creek, Texas. He is also survived by a brother and two sisters, five children, and five grandchildren.
Services will be held at Littleton Mortuary on Saturday at 10:30 am., followed by burial at Memorial Park Cemetery. Viewing will be at the mortuary from 4:00 to 5:30 pm and from 7:30 to 9:00 pm on Friday. The family requests no flowers.

Reduction of the German Welfare State

An article showed up last week in the Wall Street Journal. Here's the link:

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119273795569263815.html

It starts with an almost-Wall Street Journal lede, setting the scene with Germans hunched in the rain waiting for soup and bread from a handout-truck. It then details the story of Hans Martin, an older man who used to work in a factory but can't get a new job because of his heart condition.

A new welfare law in Germany, "Hartz IV," was designed and implemented in 2005. It has been controversial since its inception; on the one hand, it saves the government a lot of money by cutting stipends to the chronically or long-term unemployed. The idea is to try and get some who have become complacent to go back to work and to ease the strain on government tills in a time when Germany is undergoing more economic troubles.

The result has been that, while the government saves money, it is much more difficult for a lot of the unskilled and minimally-skilled unemployed to survive. Many are losing their jobs to outsourcing and cannot find new ones, nor can they feed their families (or themselves) on the smaller stipends. Since Germans are used to thinking of charity as coming from the state, they are reluctant to give to the poor beyond what they pay in taxes.

This puts the poor in a difficult position. However, some groups are stepping up, inspired by New York's City Harvest. The "table" movement, as it is being called, takes food given by grocery stores which is close to sell-by date, minimally damaged, or is extra, and sells it to the poor for a pittance. This trend is catching on in Germany, as over 700 towns across Germany have set up a "table." Some "tables" also have a canteen and/or food truck as well as a grocery store.

This article seemed well-constructed to me, giving background where needed, and using quotes effectively to convey people's feelings about the growing poverty problem in Germany.

"An Internet Jihad aims at U.S. Viewers"

From today's New York Times, news that there are an increasing number of English-language blogs that are spreading the message of Jihad. The apparent targets of these blogs are young English-speaking Muslims, especially Americans, who are discontented with the war in Iraq and the perceived war on Islam.

Here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/us/15net.html?hp

The article deals with several sources, including the parents of Samir Khan, who broadcasts from his parents' house in North Carolina, as well as Khan himself. Although Khan was born in Saudi Arabia, he is a U.S. citizen. He has only become interested in militant jihad in recent years. Khan's parents are deeply concerned about his views and have tried to talk him out of them, even asking an imam to come and speak to him. They are worried that he may take to militant action himself, as opposed to simply sending on Al Qaeda's message. Currently he is not breaking any laws. Khan's site has been taken down a few times, however, due to complaints by readers to his service provider.

The only difficulty I have with the article is with a quote on the first page, from Abu Saleh, a 21-year-old German. He says of viewing online Al Qaede videos, "It is as if you would watch a Hollywood movie...The Internet has totally changed my view on things." Is the reporter taking what he said out of context, or does Saleh not realize how little sense what he said makes? Such a dilemma.

Obituary

The Detroit Free Press ran an obituary on Friday, October 12, for Madeleine Thompson, an English teacher at Ann Arbor Huron High School. She was 66 and died of aortic dissection.

This obituary is really well structured. It goes from the lede right into the highlights and narrative before discussing survivors and services.

Most of it is well-written, too. It is succinct and to the point throughout most of the body. The lede seems poorly done, however. It might have been re-worded: "The decision to retire from teaching last spring wasn't an easy one for Madeleine Thompson. When the popular English and humanities teacher announced her retirement, it was met with..." The last sentence could even have been broken up, since it's very long.

Link to the obituary:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071012/NEWS08/710120428/1010&GID=uFmrQ4azsJUUIexFvmWR6ZO0MoQn+Y35FNBY0fxJ30I%3D

Cosmetic Surgery Gets More Invasive

'Recontouring' And Its Critics, by Natasha Singer, 10/4/07

Ads for cosmetic surgery of women's genitals are becoming more prevalent.

Procedures range from "Feminine Reconstructive Surgery" for "postpartum reconturing" to "labioplasty" and "vaginoplasty," which reduce the labia and tighten the vagina, according to ads found in September's New York magazine. These procedures claim to improve "sexual satisfaction, cosmetic appearance, and self-esteem."

These procedures have become more common as pornography has become more acceptable. Greater incidence of pubic hair removal is also responsible for greater scrutiny of this area.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists warned against these procedures last month, based on lack of medical evidence to support their claims and the danger involved in these procedures. Infection, scarring, and sexual pain are all side effects. Although there are few women signing up for these procedures, the numbers are increasing and doctors are concerned.

New York Times

Radar Guns Banned to Preserve Health of Officers

MERIDAN, Conn.--Connecticut State Police ordered a ban on hand-held radar guns yesterday, a state police spokesman said. Concerns that troopers might develop cancer due to long-term exposure to the radiation the guns emit drove the decision.
State police spokesman Adam Berluti said, "The feeling here is to err on the side of caution until more is known about the issue." The decision to withdraw the guns is unique among state police departments.
The precautionary ban will give researchers a chance to study the possible links between cancer and use of the devices without further risking danger to state troopers. This ban affects 70 guns, which will be withdrawn from service.
Since state troopers use radar units with transmitter mounted on the outside of their vehicles, those units will remain in use. Two months ago, three municipal police officers in Connecticut filed worker's compensation claims, saying they had developed cancer from using hand-held radar guns.

Hard News Lede

There's a great hard news lede on the article U.S. Jury Finds Against Knicks In Harassment from the NYT on Wednesday, Oct. 3rd.

"A federal jury in Manhattan found yesterday that Madison Square Garden and Knicks coach Isiah Thomas sexually discriminated against a former top executive and ordered that the company and its chairman--but not the team's coach--pay her $11.6 million in punitive damages."

It's timely--the news is from yesterday. The lede states who, what, why, and how (much). It emphasizes the magnitude of the case by telling us first that a federal jury reviewed the case. It also gives us the impact last, in the amount of money to be payed in damages.