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By MARTIN SCHRAM, Scripps Howard News Service

There are many ways to introduce a controversial topic -- even today's about the most private tool of public diplomacy and its role in President Obama's troop decision on the Afghanistan war.

But first I need to make sure I don't make the same mistake an aspiring television news host made while trying to switch subjects in midstream, so to speak.

Resumania: On your cover letter or resume -- be straightforward

By MAX MESSMER, Scripps Howard News Service

When crafting a resume or cover letter, remember this piece of wisdom from author E.B. White: "Use the smallest word that does the job."

Fla. middle-school students suspended for "kick a Jew" day

By KATHERINE ALBERS, Scripps Howard News Service

NAPLES, Fla. - Ten Naples middle school students have been suspended after participating in what they called "kick a Jew day," school district officials said.

District Spokesman Joe Landon said a student told the North Naples Middle School dean of students at dismissal last Thursday that she was kicked because it was "kick a Jew day."

Try this Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Spread

By ELLEN FOLKMAN, St. Petersburg Times

Kelly Cook of Dunedin, Fla., shares an appetizer dip recipe for Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnut Spread.

Comics: Reveling in the 'Turok Archives'

By ANDREW A. SMITH, Scripps Howard News Service

My name is Andrew Smith, and I am a comic-book junkie.

Of course I've always suspected it. But with "Turok, Son of Stone Archives" Vol. 4 ($49.95, Dark Horse), I can no longer deny it.

Calif. state debt burden mushrooms, thanks to voters, recession

By KEVIN YAMAMURA, Sacramento Bee

Before the economy went bust, California voters authorized multibillion-dollar charges on the state's infrastructure credit card.

They approved generational investments in roads, schools and levees, as well as hospitals and stem-cell research. At the time, fiscal experts projected that California at most would have to spend roughly 6 percent of its annual budget on payments.

Even in China city once called Canton, Cantonese language fades

By MARK MACKINNON, Toronto Globe and Mail

GUANGZHOU, China - At first, Rao Yuansheng didn't even realize he was doing it. He was sitting in the bustling newsroom of Guangzhou Television, worrying aloud about the declining use of Cantonese here in the land of its birth, and he was speaking in Mandarin.

TV: PBS special revives '60s music acts from a really big shoo

By ROB OWEN, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

T.J. Lubinsky, the PBS pledge-program producer who created the doo-wop-themed pledge specials that proved enormously popular for public TV stations nationwide, has continued to create several PBS shows each year since striking out on his own with TJL Productions.

Mexican gangs bring drugs, violence to Native American lands

By LAURA MISJAK, Scripps Howard News Service

Skedded, wash.

Mexican gang leaders have found new territory to conquer -- expansive American Indian reservations where populations are often low-income and police presence low.

Methamphetamine use has skyrocketed in tribal communities where addiction rates to alcohol and other substances are traditionally high.

Profile: Talking with Viggo Mortensen of 'The Road'

By BARBARA VANCHERI, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In "2012," doomsday is the draw.

In "The Road," the post-apocalyptic world is simply the canvas to see how people behave. Do they turn into thieves and cannibals, or do they "carry the fire" -- and therefore hope, love and decency -- with them in this extreme environment?

ACORN founder fears group will not survive another year

By CHRISTOPHER CONLEY, Scripps Howard News Service

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The scandal-plagued grassroots group ACORN may not survive another year, its longtime leader says.

Wade Rathke, who began the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now in 1970 and stepped down last year from its help, spoke at the University of Memphis Monday night.

Video Patrol: 'Life on Mars: Series 2,' 'William Castle Collection'

San Francisco Chronicle

"LIFE ON MARS: SERIES 2." (2007. NOT RATED. ACORN MEDIA. $59.99. FOUR DISCS.)

To the depressingly short list of shows you wish had never ended, prepare to add the original British version of "Life on Mars."

The end is near as Hollywood does the apocalypse

Sacramento Bee

The end of the world has come to a theater near you, and more apocalyptic visions are due:

"2012": A Roland Emmerich special-effects doomfest, starring John Cusack. It opened Nov. 13.

"The Road": Based on Cormac McCarthy's tale of a father and son on a grim trek in post-apocalypse America, the movie stars Viggo Mortenson. It opens Nov. 25.

The end is near. Again.

By JENNIFER GARZA, Sacramento Bee

Dene McGriff wants to make sense out of the last days -- the end of times. He has turned to the Bible. Others have turned to ancient calendars, prophecies and even movies.

All see the same message: The end is near.

Dear TripAdvisor: Be a generous host ... Painting nails on plane

By LESLEY CARLIN, TripAdvisor.com

Q: My husband's 50th birthday is coming up. I want to invite about 20 people to a dinner party at his favorite restaurant, but given the economy, I can't afford to foot the bill. How do I word the invitation so everyone knows they need to pay their own way?

A: How about something like this?

Please come to my husband's

50th-birthday party

At Swanky Restaurant

Feeding the Game Addiction

Submitted by Michael L Berman on Wed, 12/17/2008 - 14:56

I know you've been waiting all year for this.

Get comfortable. Feet up!

It's time for a list of games you have to rush out and buy before Christmas (or as soon as humanly possible). Our panel of experts has taken a year to sift through the tons of console and PC-based games released this year and, although it's been a tough choice, we've survived the ordeal.

Best RPG or Action Game: Bioshock ($39.99) from 2K and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Underworld ($49.99) from Eidos. These games are available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and we give a slight edge to the Xbox versions for graphics. The storyline for both games were extremely tight and well thought out (unlike many games on the market today). Graphics are awesome, as we immerse ourselves into their worlds. In fact, these games are worth playing just for the high def graphics and effects. And gameplay? I think "addictive" is a good word to use.

Best Sports Game: Madden NFL 09 ($56.99) from Electronic Arts appears to have little or no competition as EA signs an exclusive contract with the National Football League through 2012. This means no other game software manufacturer (including 2K) can use NFL player or the league's logo. So, by default, Madden wins. For those of you that are avid 2K fans, the new NHL 2K9 ($32.99) and NBA 2K9 ($59.99) games still dominate the market and, truthfully, no one comes even close to the realistic gameplay, plus the "live" ESPN sports ticker at the bottom of the screen.

Best War Game: I'm torn here between Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway ($59.95) from Ubisoft and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ($49.95) from Activision. Both immerse you into battle with authentic weaponry and a great story line. Backgrounds and weapons featured in call of Duty resemble those being used today in "global hotspots." And Brothers in Arms is faithful to the WW II era.

Best games the Elude Definition: Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy ($19.99) and Lego Batman ($49.99, both from TT Games, really have no reason to exist - - - except they're FUN to play and extremely addictive.

Michael L. Berman can ve reached via email at jocgeek@earthlink.net or through his website at www.jocgeek.com.

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Dead Wrong

A seven-month investigation into federal mortality records reveals hundreds of thousands of death certificates filed every year in the United States are wrong, meaning we don't really know what's killing Americans. A first-of-its-kind study also found that younger, well-educated and wealthy people are more likely to be autopsied when they die. More men than women are autopsied. And blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans are more likely to be autopsied than whites.

Autopsy rates differ by race, age, sex, education

Cause of death investigations often dead wrong

Accurate death certificates challenged by poor training

Poll: Doubts persist over accuracy of death certificates

Survey results among different groups

Death poll findings, by questions

What to do if you distrust the death diagnosis

Where to find death records

Deaths by heart disease by state

Editorial: We don't know what's really killing Americans

Editorial: Water puts moon in a new light

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Market decides if you set the right price for a house

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Erbe: Stupak-Pitts shoves women to back of bus

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Controversial herb may have medicinal benefits

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Autos: Range Rover gives the world a comfort zone

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Chinese drywall investigation could be released Monday

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Autos: Lincoln's flagship these days is the MKS sedan

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Editorial: Cracking down on free speech in name of religion

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Recycled Radiation

Thousands of everyday products and materials containing radioactively tainted metals are surfacing across the United States and around the world. But because of haphazard screening, an absence of oversight, and substantial disincentives for businesses to report contamination, no one knows how many tainted goods are in circulation.

Recycled radioactive metal contaminates consumer products

NRC wants to tighten oversight of often-lost radioactive devices

Same batch of radioactive metal from Mexico enters Calif. for 25 years

Radioactive cheese grater case shows lack of oversight

36 states have nowhere to dump low-level radioactive material

Radioactive mesh from China used to make 30,000 filters in Florida

Authorities scrambled to corral radioactive La-Z-Boy recliners

Only U.S. effort to collect radioactive material has 9,000-object backlog

Mandatory screening, reporting needed to stop recycling radiation

Radioactive materials surface in Tennessee scrap yards

Texas has highest number of radioactive metal incidents

Editorial: The hidden radiation around us

Scripps Howard News Service response to comments from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on SHNS' "Recycled Radiation"

The Doctor is Out

A special report by Scripps Howard News Service finds as many as one in five Americans does not have a family doctor. And this translates directly to higher rates of illness and death and higher costs.

Docs: In ERs, more sore throats than cardiac arrests

Interactive database showing U.S. doctors by county

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