The Federal Government will introduce compulsory internet filtering to block overseas sites which contain criminal content, including child sex abuse and sexual violence.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy announced the changes today following a controversial trial to filter the internet which was conducted earlier this year.

Senator Conroy says some internet content is simply not suitable in a civilised society.

“It is important that all Australians, particularly young children, are protected from this material,” he said. Read the full story

What are your thoughts on this one? Fox News aired a segment suggesting the federal government lower the minimum wage to help workers and the economy. I’m not too sure this is something that would be called for during the economic times we are currently in.

Credit f0r the video to RawStory.com

Feds reject Army snub of Texas plant

GAO decision buoys Sealy plant’s effort to keep truck contract Read the full story

Marijuana’s addiction potential may be no big deal, but it’s certainly big business.

According to a widely publicized 1999 Institute of Medicine report, fewer than 10 percent of those who try cannabis ever meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosis of “drug dependence” (based on DSM-III-R criteria). By contrast, 32 percent of tobacco users and 15 percent of alcohol users meet the criteria for “drug dependence.”

Nevertheless, it is pot — not booze or cigarettes — that has the federal government seeing red and clinical investigators seeing green. As I reported for AlterNet last year, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which overseas more than 85 percent of the world’s research on controlled substances, recently appropriated some $4 million in taxpayers’ dollars to establish the nation’s first-ever Center for Cannabis Addiction. Its mission: to “develop novel approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of marijuana addiction.” Read the full story

The harshly worded legal ruling this week that held the Army Corps of Engineers responsible for much of the flooding during Hurricane Katrina could have far-reaching effects on national flood control policies and on the federal government’s long-held refusal to take responsibility for its errors.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval issued the stinging rebuke to the Corps late Wednesday for its failure to properly manage the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet and its levees. He ruled that those failures were directly responsible for much of the flooding that devastated New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish. Read the full story

ALBANY Almost 700 people who signed up to get H1N1 shots Sunday at a clinic at the Times Union Center didnt show up.

Albany County spokeswoman Mary Duryea said 2,157 people received the much sought-after influenza vaccine Sunday. Duryea said 2,855 appointments had been scheduled.

She said health officials believe people might have gotten the vaccine from their doctors at the last minute. More vaccine is being received in the community as it is produced by the manufacturer and released by the state Health Department. Read the full story

Broader Measure of U.S. Unemployment Stands at 17.5%

For all the pain caused by the Great Recession, the job market still was not in as bad shape as it had been during the depths of the early 1980s recession — until now. Read the full story

SCENARIOS-US Senate now in healthcare spotlight

WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) – After a narrow win in the U.S. House of Representatives, President Barack Obama’s fight for a sweeping healthcare overhaul moves to the U.S. Senate where it faces a difficult path to approval. Read the full story

For the past several years, Baby Einstein has been under attack by propaganda groups taking extreme positions that try to dictate what parents should do, say and buy. Our philosophy has always been to focus on creating products that parents and babies love, and to not get sidetracked and pulled down into their street fight.

Unfortunately, with Susan Linn’s latest stunt, we cannot be silent any longer. Linn’s obvious dislike for Baby Einstein has now turned into a sensational, headline-grabbing publicity campaign that seeks to twist and spin a simple, customer satisfaction action into a false admission of guilt. This is clearly not the case.

Linn’s moves are carefully crafted to prey on parental guilt and uncertainty. This time, she began by asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to go after Baby Einstein because, she said, we claimed that Baby Einstein was educational. But we do not make any such claim – and the FTC brought no action.

Not content to rely on the judgment of the federal government, her attacks continued and escalated despite the fact that her assertions have no merit.

That’s where we are today. However, we took a very different approach. We strongly believe that, unlike Linn, our consumers find value in our product, and rather than continue to fight with her, we decided it to leave it up to those consumers. That is why we extended a refund policy that was already in place. Although she would like to claim otherwise, there is nothing extraordinary about a company’s willingness to stand behind its product. To the contrary, it is the strongest possible show of confidence in it.

Baby Einstein announced this offer in a press release issued on September 4, 2009, which was largely ignored by the media. Linn’s latest public relations blitz simply distorts the facts and misleads the public. In the end, this smear campaign has everything to do with Linn trying to generate ink and funding for her cause, and not about the value that consumers find in our product.

Thank you for letting us set the record straight.

Sincerely,

Susan McLain
General Manager, The Baby Einstein Company

“Baby Einstein” Refund Program Expanded

UNDATED—Parents who purchased “Baby Einstein” videos hoping they would help make their children smarter can get a refund for the DVD’s.

This action follows complaints from a consumer group that claimed the videos overpromised their educational value.

The Walt Disney Company owns ‘Baby Einstein’ and has dropped the word “educational” from its ads.

In order to avoid a class-action lawsuit, Disney has agreed to refund the full purchase price to those who bought the videos from 2004 to 2009.

For more information, click the appropriate link below:

BabyEinstein.com/Refund

DVD Refund Info

Baby Einstein Refunds For Americans And Canadians

You bought a Baby Einstein DVD Collection  and Junior still has not transformed into little genius? Don’t worry, you can now request a refund from the Walt Disney Company.

The U.S. company recently announced it would reimburse Canadian and American parents dissatisfied who bought one or more videos in the collection between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009. It gives members and because of the campaign for a childhood without advertising have recently complained to the Commission Federal Trade to expose the pretensions of the educational product.

A DVD can not boost the IQ of a young baby, experts say. Although many babies are fascinated by the videos, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not allowing children under two years of watching television. At this age, it is the interaction with the parent who should be privileged.

Baby Einstein, founded in 1997, was one of the first players in this market. Disney acquired it in 2001 and the company has grown. It now offers books, toys and clothing, in addition to DVDs such as Baby Mozart, Baby Shakespeare “and” Baby Galileo “. The videos feature music, puppets, colorful and very few words.

According to a study published in 2003, one third of all American infants six months to two years had at least one video “Baby Einstein”.

Although many babies are fascinated by the videos, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not allowing children under two years of watching television.

Last year, lawyers threatened to start a class action lawsuit for deceptive practices unless Disney agreed to refund the purchase price of all videos sold since 2004.

Baby Einstein decided to pay a sum of $15.99 for a maximum of four Baby Einstein DVD per household. The videos must be purchased between June 5, 2004 and September 5, 2009 and be returned to the company.

Baby Einstein DVD refund – why television isn’t good for babies in the first two years of life

The Walt Disney Company is offering a full refund to people who purchased a Baby Einstein DVD between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009. No receipt is required and the offer is valid until March 2010. Click on this link for information on how to secure the Baby Einstein refund.

The Baby Einstein refund is different than the Baby Enstein recall, of Baby Einstein Discover & Play Color Blocks, which have been painted with lead paint.

Baby Einstein videos were marketed to parents of babies in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Prior to that DVD’s were not marketed to babies. The claim was that the Baby Einstein videos were “educational”, implying they would make babies smarter. The idea was  controversial at the time because many people, rightfully, did not buy into it.

Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood said she sees the refund as an acknowledgement that babies do not benefit from watching television, a fact that has been supported by the research.

The American Academy of Pediatrics statement on babies and television

Babies need plenty of face to face contact and verbal interaction. This helps them bond emotionally and develop their emotional intelligence. They need a stimulating environment to encourage them to develop their motor skills and intellect. Sitting as a passive observer to something like a television show does not do much for babies. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two years old not watch any television. The Academy has stated that, “…Babies and toddlers have a critical need for direct interactions with parents and other significant care givers (eg, child care providers) for healthy brain growth and the development of appropriate social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Therefore, exposing such young children to television programs should be discouraged.”

The first year of life is, first and foremost, about human bonding. Difficulties in early bonding can delay physical and emotional development, and can sometimes lead to the development of personality disorders in the future.

Bonding and personality disorders

A personality disorder is “an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates marketly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment.” (American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnositc and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

Some of the more commonly-known personaltiy disorders are borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. There are eleven personality disorders in all.

Babies need to learn to associate contact with people with feeling good and having their needs met. This helps them to bond with others. They need to have regular interaction with a secure person who will tend to their needs. This helps babies learn that they can have some control over their environment, and that people can be trusted. It helps them know what to expect and this gives them a sense of security that frees them up to explore further.

The characteristics of a personality disorder usually develop in late adolescence and early adulthood. They are rarely diagnosed in children because children may exhibit certain of these symptoms during normal development and later outgrow them.

Photo: Doriana S., Sxc.hu

Disney Offers “Baby Einstein” Refunds

Disney will be offering refunds to parents who have purchased “Baby Einstein” videos. If a parent believes that their child was not made smarter by the video they can contact Disney for a refund.

The American Academy of Pediatrics threatened to send a class-action lawsuit Disney’s way for “Deceptive-Advertising” of their product.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 2 should not watch television screens for long periods of time because they may develop attention disorders.

The White House Readies a Stealth Stimulus

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White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett was adamant on Sunday, when asked if President Obama was considering a so-called second stimulus to deal with the rising unemployment rate. “I think it’s too soon. It’s premature to say, ‘Is a second stimulus needed?’ ” she told David Gregory, the host of NBC’s Meet the Press.

But a moment later she said the White House was already looking at tax credits and other measures to further stimulate the economy. “There are a range of suggestions that are being considered right now by his economic team, and we’ll see what we come forward with,” she added. Read the full story

By Thomas Lahey

Forum Columnist

“Economic history is a long record of government policies that failed because they were designed with a bold disregard for the laws of economics.” These words, written by economist Ludwig von Mises, seem terribly pertinent in light of recent developments in the United States. Congress extends its reach over the economy daily with every new regulatory measure it can think up. In today’s world, where problems are a dime a dozen, that means a lot of new legislation. Unfortunately, the question is never “Should the government do something?” but always, “What should the government do and how quickly?” This is a recipe for bad policy. Read the full story