Kent Ninomiya

9:31:22 PM EDT

Right now is arguably the worst time in memory for Americans to travel overseas. The dollar is at record lows against many currencies around the world. Gone are the days when you could travel to “cheap” countries where the mighty dollar pounded the “monopoly money” of an economically weaker nation. America’s bully currency is now itself being bullied. The humiliation is humbling. I recently had to change an airline ticket in Europe. Even though I originally purchased the ticket in dollars, the airline demanded I pay the change fee in a more stable currency… Polish zloty. Business in third world countries often takes place in “hard” currencies instead of the inflation prone local money. Until now the dollar was the gold standard of hard currency. No more. I spoke to a friend of mine in Africa the other day who says no one wants dollars anymore. I remember back in the early 1980’s when a dollar was worth ten francs and nearly equal to the British pound. Americans ran off to Italy then Greece then Turkey chasing cheaper and cheaper sunspots where they could lounge on the beach while their dollars stretched further and further. If you believe in karma then this is just America getting payback. The euro came and did away with the lire and drachma. Southern Europe was no longer cheap. Our economy is now in the toilet and the United States is suddenly the travel bargain for international tourists, not the other way around. Could the day be coming when we have droves of Europeans talking loudly in our restaurants demanding to know why we don’t speak French or Hungarian or Swedish? If you believe in karma, it would only be fair. *** Kent Ninomiya ***

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9:31:05 PM EDT
How many cellular phones have you owned in your lifetime? If you're like me you have no idea. When I got my first cell phone in the early 1990's it was the size of a brick, cost $500 and the calls cost 75 cents per minute. I felt cool carrying it around but was afraid to make calls fearing an outrageous bill. Fast forward a decade and a half and cell phones are like pants. Quite literally everyone has them. In fact I don't know a single person past puberty who doesn't have one. The once pricey phones are now given away "free" when you sign a contract and call minutes are conveniently packaged in monthly bundles for you. It would seem that we've made progress with cellular phones... but have we? Sure they're smaller and do cooler things, but we are paying more than we ever realized we would for something nearly all of us didn't have nor need 20 years ago. Cell phones are now a necessity of life. Even the eccentric families who don't have TV's have cell phones. The cellular phone companies realized that the key to raking in money was volume. Like the drug dealer on the corner, they started giving away the phones for "free" knowing you would be back for more and willing to pay for it. You see... cell phones are every bit as addictive as drugs and much harder to quit. You are encouraged to use them more and more with the minute bundles. When you don't think about the minutes that are ticking away, it's easy to forget you're paying extra for the convenience of a cell phone. Before you know it, a family is paying more than one hundred dollars a month on a cell phone bill. Multiply that by, well everybody, and you have a very lucrative business. Now the only thing the cell phone companies have left to do is fight over market share. They fight hard over that too. Once you are on the hook for a contract you can't get out without paying an outrageous penalty. Have you ever noticed that the cell companies push two year contracts but the free or discounted phone they gave you only lasts about a year and a half? It has happened to me and countless others I know more times than we can remember. When you call to complain they tell you the warranty expired at a year but they would be happy to give you a brand new phone... IF you sign a brand new 2 year contract. THIS IS THE SCAM! It is my hypothesis that the phones are deliberately designed to last less than two years so the cellular phone companies can trap you into renewing your contract. What do you think? Kent Ninomiya

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9:30:41 PM EDT
The world says goodbye to one of the few true legends of the silver screen. Charlton Heston was far more than a movie star. In the era of big epic films, Heston was an even bigger epic presence. He commanded the screen and your attention through the sheer power of his acting. Thousands upon thousands of extras could be buzzing around a scene but it was Heston who everyone zeroed in on. He was that kind of man. I had the privilege of meeting Charlton Heston in December 1995. The Northwestern alumnus appeared at events cheering on his team for the Rose Bowl. Although visibly pained by arthritis in his knee, Heston signed every autograph and posed for every picture he was asked for. He was still remarkably tall, chiseled, and commanding in his old age. The crowd behaved like Moses himself had just appeared before them. Of all Heston's magnificent roles, I'd have to say my favorite was his cameo in Wayne's World. I know most will scorn me for this, but let me make my case. Here we have a living legend willing to use himself as a fantastic punch line. When Mike Meyers stopped the movie to ask for a better actor for the gas station attendant, they brought in Charlton Heston to deliver a few lines. That promptly brought Wayne to tears. Talk about a better actor! They don't make movies anymore like the ones Charlton Heston used to do. They don't make movie stars like Charlton Heston anymore either. - Kent Ninomiya

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9:30:17 PM EDT
What is all this about the cover of Vogue being racist? Take a look at the image here on the right. The offended say LeBron James' expression combined with his arm being around Giselle Bundchen's waist “reinforces the criminalization of black men.” What?! Since when is an expression racist? People often see what they want. Perhaps the offended want to see racism here. It's not as though Giselle was in black face or LeBron was flashing gang signs. It's just a picture of two people on a magazine cover! There is enough REAL racism out there to worry about. When a big deal is made about imaginary racism like this magazine cover, it distracts from a real problem in our society. It also gives society an excuse to turn a blind eye when racism does rear its ugly head. When you cry wolf too many times, no one listens when the wolf really comes. Let's call racism what it is. Let's not call it racism when it isn't. Kent Ninomiya

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9:29:43 PM EDT
Since when does something someone else says automatically mean you endorse it? Since when do you have to agree with everything an authority figure believes in order to respect him? Since when does a stupid statement another person makes reflect on you?

All of us have friends and relatives who have beliefs different than our own. Think of all the elders, teachers, preachers, and role models you know. Do you agree with each and every thing that they all say? Of course not, but that doesn't mean they aren't important influences in your life.

Indeed, that is what we are supposed to do in life. We are influenced by others. We adopt beliefs we agree with and reject those we oppose. So why is Barack Obama being blamed for Reverend Jerimiah Wright's inflamatory statements? If you listen to someone making anti-American statements does that make you anti-American? Of course not. Obama's statement that he could no more disown his long time pastor than he could his racist grandmother is reasonable. Most of us can relate to that.

That's what makes Hillary Clinton's comments all the more disturbing. After staying out of the fray for a week enjoying the heat focused on Obama, Clinton decides to chime in on Rev. Wright. Could it be because she was caught exhaggerating the danger she faced during a visit to Bosnia? Clinton now says she would have disowned Wright. It guaranteed the issue would stay in the news another day and turn the focus back on Obama.

As strange as it might sound, Clinton is playing the race card. Obama enjoys wide support among white voters who see him as an unthreatning black man. The Rev Wright issue plants seeds of doubt in the minds of many white voters. Could Obama really be a radical black activist in politically correct clothing? Clinton would love for voters to think so.

I am disillusioned with the Clintons. I bring Bill into the equation because he is on TV every day as the blunt instrument of Hillary's campaign. The two are politically entwined and of like mind. That's a fact on the record, not my opinion. Throughout the Bill Clinton presidency they were outspoken advocates for equal rights. I remember doing a story about Bill being named the first "black" president for his tireless work for the African American community. However POWER seems to be a more tempting motivation for the Clintons. They are proving they are willing to sacrifice some of their core values just to get elected. Not only are they standing by while a black man is unfairly maligned, they are actively exploiting latent racist fears among white voters for their political advantage.

If Hillary Clinton suggests that Obama should be held accountable for Reverend Wright's comments then she should be held accountable for Geraldine Ferraro's comments. To suggest that Obama has it easy as a candidate because he's a black man is the height of idiocy. Since when do black men get anything easy in our society? If it was true, then we should have had lots of black male presidents by now. You can't have it both ways Hillary. Politics is a nasty game with few rules, but going to the racial game when you're a woman is a new low. It plays prejudices off of prejudices. A true advocate for civil rights speaks out against bias in all forms at all times. There is no free pass for presidential elections.

Kent Ninomiya

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3:16:23 AM EDT
Kent Ninomiya - If you watched TV or read a newspaper in the past week, you might be under the impression that we are no longer at war, the economy is no longer in a downward spiral and gasoline prices are no longer hitting all time highs. It would seem that the sexual habits of New York's governor, an off hand racial comment by a former vice presidential candidate to a small newspaper, and sermons by a pastor who knows a presidential candidate are the most pressing issues facing our nation. Journalists en mass are flocking to the scandalous and away from what's important. Sidebars about celebrities who cheat and debriefing so-called experts about why men go to prostitutes produces very little useful information for the average American. Convincing the public that a "scandal" results from comments made by people only slightly connected to a presidential campaign is a gross misrepresentation. Why are we not focusing on things the presidential candidates are actually saying? Why are the sexual activities of the Governor of New York important to anyone not living in New York? Journalists have a duty to put news in context. What we cover is considered important just because we cover it. When we skew public perception by chasing the tabloids. Meanwhile people are dying in war, families can't pay their mortgages and the price of everything is going up because gas prices are at an all time high. Compared to those things, who really cares about the New York governor's sex life? Kent Ninomiya

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1:17:57 AM EST
Kent Ninomiya - So how was your weekend? As good as it might have been, Barack Obama's was better. He swept all the primaries and caucuses this weekend, making an already tight race for the democratic nomination even tighter. Obama won the Maine caucus Sunday after taking Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington on Saturday. He now has all the momentum going into the Maryland, Virginia and D.C. primaries on February 12. Clinton did her best to brush it off and appear like a front runner. She didn't directly address her losses instead attacking Republican front runner John McCain. There is no question Hillary's campaign is in trouble, but don't count her out just yet. Remember when everyone did that in New Hampshire? The Clintons are survivors and Obama is running against two of them. It's looking more and more like this nomination may come down to a slug fest on the convention floor. The only thing certain here is that this is the most facinating presidential race of our lifetimes. Kent Ninomiya

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11:59:39 PM EST
Kent Ninomiya - Let me get this straight. Roger Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee now says he injected Debbie Clemens with HGH. Roger Clemens' wife is now an alleged doping fiend? The story from McNamee seems to get stranger and stranger by the day. As far as I can tell it's just his word against everyone else. Unless, of course, those bloody syringes he supposedly hung on to for 7 years turn out to prove something. What I find off about the story is that it is trickling out. It's as if it is being made up along the way. First it's a legendary pitcher being accused, then his wife. Who's next? His kids, his dog, his ham sandwich? The unfortunate part of all this is that Clemens may never get a chance to clear his name. Meanwhile he is being smeared weekly with fresh stories about his alleged drug use. It's time for McNamee to put up or shut up. Every day this drags on make it more of a travesty of justice. If Clemens is guilty prosecute. If he is innocent then clear his name. Trial by media benefits no one. The guilty have justice delayed. The innocent are unjustly tormented. The media loses its soul and credibility. Kent Ninomiya

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2:56:54 PM EST
Kent Ninomiya - Who would have ever guessed we would be where we are now? A few months ago all the political experts predicted Hillary Clinton had a lock on the Democratic nomination. No problem. Then they pronounced her campaign dead before the New Hampshire primary. Now she is in a virtual dead heat with Barack Obama. A few months ago John McCain was running out of money. All the political experts predicted he would drop out soon. Now he's the presumptive Republican nominee. Predicting politics is like predicting the weather. People who claim they can do it are usually wrong. Just like the weatherman, the "politicalman" can be wrong most of the time and isn't held accountable. The public expects them to be wrong, yet still listens to what he has to say. Funny how that is. I'm just glad that the race is interesting. Obama and Clinton could very well take their duel to the convention. Imagine the viewer interest in the Democratic convention if that happened. John McCain is a republican who arch republicans hate and many democrats like. Wont that make for an interesting general election. Kent Ninomiya

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12:06:07 AM EST

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