USNEWSLINK/December 26, 2001 Happy New Year everyone! Maverick and I made it through Christmas. We watched re-runs of "A Christmas Story", "The Godfather", "Animal Planet" (his favorite show), played online bridge, listened to Christmas music, slept, read the latest theories about who/what/why the shoe bomber did what he did. Mav received a fresh pot of brown rice and chicken as his "main" Christmas present. I had my favorite ice cream. All in all, it was a great day. For some unknown reason I felt guilty about leaving the Christmas stories up on the main page instead of news. Oh well. I'll get over it. USNewsLink lost its appeal to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals for the transcripts of the FBI recordings of the Ku Klux Klan members who bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963. Read the OPINION. It appears we lost on a procedural issue, therefore, the merits of our case were never properly presented nor considered by the Court. Our failure to obtain the transcripts is a loss to Americans who mourned the loss of four little girls who were killed in Birmingham in 1963. The transcripts reveal the murderers plot and serve as unique documentation of racial violence during that period of American history. Had we been successful in obtaining the transcripts, they would have been donated, in their entirety, to the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, AL, which is located directly across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church where the crime took place on a Sunday morning in 1963. We are still recruiting a buyer for USNewsLink.com. The site is a top level domain that has unlimited potential for earnings. The total number, and amount, of ALL Internet sales in 2001 is expected to prove what the soothsayers predicted, i.e., buyers are becoming comfortable with Internet buying and will increase their usage of the Internet for small and large purchases in the coming years. Since its inception in 1997, USNewsLink has purposely avoided sponsorship. However, we are actively pursuing sponsorship. Toward that end, we will begin to offer streaming media (video and audio) advertisement along with print ads within the first quarter of 2002. USNewsLink is not a political site. It is a general source for domestic news. International news will be posted when it has a direct bearing upon the United States. USNewsLink's strength is its diversity of coverage. We are committed to increasing the quality of Internet publishing through careful selection of items gleaned from reliable news sources. What sets USNewsLink apart from other independent sites is that it is owned and operated by a recognized journalist with 30+ years of hands-on experience who subscribes to a code of ethics. USNewsLink Business Journal will grow in 2002 with the inclusion of original content. In lieu of the Enron debacle, we intend to pay particular attention to the manner in which business analysts present their findings and conclusions. Currently there is a credibility gap in and among analysts. It will be interesting to watch developments unfold in 2002 as the financial reporting industry attempts to distance itself from Enron. Charting the industry's overall findings and conclusions within the past 24 months is of particular interest to us. And uncovering the various conflicts of interest that exist between the reporting companies and their subjects is a worthwhile publishing goal of ours. USNewsLink does not accept unsolicited material. If journalists want to write for USNewsLink, contact us via email for a preliminary discussion. We hope your holidays have been peaceful, enjoyable, and inspiring. Ours certainly have been. Thanks for reading USNewsLink. Email us your reactions and responses to our content.
READ OTHER "WINDOW TO A LIFE" STORIES BY JUDITH HANEY |
