WGA strike

Gabe hadn't heard about the strike yet, and it doesn't seem to be getting a huge amount of press yet, but, here, for those who hadn't heard yet.

As showrunners start to flex their muscle with plans for a major rally today, sitcom and drama sets are going dark -- in some cases sooner than the nets and studios had anticipated.

...

Meanwhile, latenight TV remained dark Tuesday as word leaked out that "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" have told their support staffs they would be laid off in two weeks, barring a strike settlement. "Late Show with David Letterman" has also put its staffers on notice.

...

Meanwhile, at 20th Century Fox TV, insiders said assistants and other show staffers will be informed of their fate shortly.

"It will be true across the board, and not just ‘24,' " one exec said, referring to rumors that "24" staffers had already been let go. "There will be layoffs."

Studio reps said they'll attempt to keep workers on as long as there is work to do, but that might not be much longer.

"As those jobs become obsolete and shows finish up their final script, we can't keep those jobs," one exec said.

[ full article ]

WGA strike

Gabe hadn't heard about the strike yet, and it doesn't seem to be getting a huge amount of press yet, but, here, for those who hadn't heard yet.

As showrunners start to flex their muscle with plans for a major rally today, sitcom and drama sets are going dark -- in some cases sooner than the nets and studios had anticipated.

...

Meanwhile, latenight TV remained dark Tuesday as word leaked out that "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" have told their support staffs they would be laid off in two weeks, barring a strike settlement. "Late Show with David Letterman" has also put its staffers on notice.

...

Meanwhile, at 20th Century Fox TV, insiders said assistants and other show staffers will be informed of their fate shortly.

"It will be true across the board, and not just ‘24,' " one exec said, referring to rumors that "24" staffers had already been let go. "There will be layoffs."

Studio reps said they'll attempt to keep workers on as long as there is work to do, but that might not be much longer.

"As those jobs become obsolete and shows finish up their final script, we can't keep those jobs," one exec said.

[ full article ]

News

Sometimes, you have to share...

In Tests, AIDS Vaccine Seemed to Increase Risk

This is heartbreaking, isn't it?

In a puzzling and potentially troubling development, an AIDS vaccine tested in a closely watched trial might have increased the risk among vaccine recipients of becoming infected with H.I.V., researchers reported yesterday at a scientific meeting in Seattle.

But the researchers said not enough data existed to determine the meaning of the findings about the vaccine, which is made by Merck.

[ more ]

Surge Seen in Number of Homeless Veterans

This just makes me cry.

Experts who work with veterans say it often takes several years after leaving military service for veterans’ accumulating problems to push them into the streets. But some aid workers say the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans appear to be turning up sooner than the Vietnam veterans did.

“We’re beginning to see, across the country, the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters,” said Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village of San Diego, a residence and counseling center. “But we anticipate that it’s going to be a tsunami.”

[ more ]

2007 Is Deadliest Year for U.S. Troops in Iraq

Mexican Floods Push Families to Last Islands of Home

There are thousands of people living like this on the roofs and the top floors of their houses in Villahermosa, much of which is underwater after rain-swollen rivers and lagoons flooded the gulf state of Tabasco last week.

...

Most of those on the roofs said they were there to protect against looters who cart off the television sets and washing machines that were carried up there as the floodwaters rose.

[ more ]

As Japan Ages, Prisons Adapt to Going Gray

The prison population is aging in the United States, too, but that is a result mostly of long mandatory sentences and restrictive parole practices. In Japan, by contrast, the rise is being driven by crime, mostly nonviolent.

From 2000 to 2006, the number of older criminals soared by 160 percent, to 46,637, from 17,942, according to Japan’s National Police Agency. Shoplifting accounted for 54 percent of the total in 2006 and petty theft for 23 percent.

[ more ]

News

Sometimes, you have to share...

In Tests, AIDS Vaccine Seemed to Increase Risk

This is heartbreaking, isn't it?

In a puzzling and potentially troubling development, an AIDS vaccine tested in a closely watched trial might have increased the risk among vaccine recipients of becoming infected with H.I.V., researchers reported yesterday at a scientific meeting in Seattle.

But the researchers said not enough data existed to determine the meaning of the findings about the vaccine, which is made by Merck.

[ more ]

Surge Seen in Number of Homeless Veterans

This just makes me cry.

Experts who work with veterans say it often takes several years after leaving military service for veterans’ accumulating problems to push them into the streets. But some aid workers say the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans appear to be turning up sooner than the Vietnam veterans did.

“We’re beginning to see, across the country, the first trickle of this generation of warriors in homeless shelters,” said Phil Landis, chairman of Veterans Village of San Diego, a residence and counseling center. “But we anticipate that it’s going to be a tsunami.”

[ more ]

2007 Is Deadliest Year for U.S. Troops in Iraq

Mexican Floods Push Families to Last Islands of Home

There are thousands of people living like this on the roofs and the top floors of their houses in Villahermosa, much of which is underwater after rain-swollen rivers and lagoons flooded the gulf state of Tabasco last week.

...

Most of those on the roofs said they were there to protect against looters who cart off the television sets and washing machines that were carried up there as the floodwaters rose.

[ more ]

As Japan Ages, Prisons Adapt to Going Gray

The prison population is aging in the United States, too, but that is a result mostly of long mandatory sentences and restrictive parole practices. In Japan, by contrast, the rise is being driven by crime, mostly nonviolent.

From 2000 to 2006, the number of older criminals soared by 160 percent, to 46,637, from 17,942, according to Japan’s National Police Agency. Shoplifting accounted for 54 percent of the total in 2006 and petty theft for 23 percent.

[ more ]