April 2012
2 posts
European Banks Are Deleveraging Big-Time: Is... →
Last December there was a lot of concern that European financial chaos could kill the American economy. Then came several months of strong growth in the United States. But more recently, America’s economic numbers have turned sour again. What explains it? I’m beginning to worry that it may be the return of Euromageddon. Specifically, the latest IMF financial stability report...
Russia backs U.S. nominee to head World Bank →
(Reuters) - Russia will back Jim Yong Kim, the U.S. nominee for the next World Bank head, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday after meeting the candidate, who is in Moscow on his world tour to drum up support.
March 2012
7 posts
Medvedev to GOP: Cold War is over →
“I always get very cautious when I see a country resort to phrasings such as ‘No. 1 enemy.’ It is very reminiscent of Hollywood in a certain period of history,” Medvedev said, through a translator, at the nuclear security summit in Seoul, South Korea. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74523.html#ixzz1qKNSWKJ7
Which is the world's biggest employer? →
McDonald’s makes it into fourth position, with 1.9 million employees. However, 80% of the restaurants are franchises so, strictly speaking, 1.5 million of these people are employed by other companies, although they all wear the uniform.
Continue reading the main story
Third is the US supermarket chain Walmart, which employs 2.1 million staff - including almost 200,000 who work for the Asda...
Sweden moving towards cashless economy →
Sweden was the first European country to introduce bank notes in 1661. Now it’s come farther than most on the path toward getting rid of them.
“I can’t see why we should be printing bank notes at all anymore,” says Bjoern Ulvaeus, former member of 1970’s pop group ABBA, and a vocal proponent for a world without cash.
FBI looking at Murdoch operations in Russia →
The company’s activities in Russia are being looked at as part of a broader FBI investigation into possible violations by News Corp of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - an inquiry fueled by allegations that journalists for Murdoch newspapers in Britain for years systematically made questionable payments to public servants, including police and military officials, in return for story...
Rick Santorum pledges to nullify 130,000+ legal... →
Senate Votes 51-48 To Kill Blunt Amendment →
The Democratic-led Senate voted on Thursday to table the Blunt amendment aimed at rolling back the Obama administration’s birth control mandate. The tally was 51-48 to strike it down.
February 2012
9 posts
Qatar says wants Arab force to impose Syria peace →
TUNIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - An Arab force should be created to impose peace in Syria and allow in aid, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said on Friday.
“There is a need to create an Arab force and open humanitarian corridors to provide security to the Syrian people,” he said in a speech at the “Friends of Syria” international meeting in Tunisia....
All WH reporters could learn something from... →
From Danger Room: How America's Top Killers Became... →
q29e:
An interview I did with Wired’s Spencer Ackerman.
Assad forces mull use of chemical weapons in Homs,... →
January 2012
8 posts
Veteran wins lottery for $14.3 Million →
But the lucky man won’t be spending his cash on flashy cars or a huge new house. Instead, the ailing veteran, who’s spent five years on dialysis, plans to buy health insurance to help him get a kidney transplant, according to LimeLife.com.
WatchUnseen Injury - After his third deployment, Sgt. Matthew Pennington, 28, returned to his home in Dexter, Me., where he is recovering from both physical and psychological traumas.
300 Foxconn Workers Threaten Mass Suicide Over... →
According to the report, the workers asked for the raise, but were flat out denied by Foxconn. Instead, they were given the option of keeping their jobs with no pay raise, or to quit and receive compensation. Most decided on the latter option, wanting out of the Foxconn environment with a little cash in their pocket.
But the agreement was supposedly terminated, and those who quit and expected...
The Founding Fathers Were Not Libertarians →
While I welcome a good verbal spar with an Ayn Rand acolyte, I have no stomach for the heaping helping of historical revisionism that has been appended to the libertarian cause by its leaders. It’s one thing to argue on, ahem, principle that the federal government should not be allowed to control carbon emissions or which races of people get to eat in which restaurants, but it is quite another...
December 2011
2 posts
Awesome 17-Year-Old Girl Invents Nanoparticle That... →
soupsoup:
Zhang said the particle she designed improves on current cancer treatments because it delivers a drug directly to tumor cells and doesn’t affect healthy cells around it. The particle is also able to release a drug when activated by a laser.
November 2011
3 posts
Gingrich paid as a historian or a revisionist? →
Newt Gingrich was paid $300,000 by Freddie Mac to consult about how to bridge a conservative message and allies with the company, not to advise on their business model says Bloomberg and sources familiar with the contract.
Gingrich’s skeletons are pretty much out — his affairs and mishaps as a Speaker of the House. Adding new ones might doom him faster than the end of this month.
Oops.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6an4zSj8LhU
Yes it was bad. Interesting to see these types of moments happen in the primary instead of a general election. Case in point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xSbb7MEmZ98
October 2011
4 posts
Mitt Romney is the luckiest man in GOP politics. →
Politico dropped a bomb Sunday night, reporting that 2 women have accused Herman Cain of inappropriate behavior.
Unlike the Washington Post-Rubio story where Rubio’s comm team had plenty of room to go on the offensive and be the victim, I doubt there will be much room to debate this.
Cain doesn’t have the campaign infrastructure to deal with this. The longer they put this off and...
Malaria vaccine on the way? →
Malaria killed 781,000 people in 2009 alone. The drug is said to be a promising start to controling Malaria rather than completely curing it.
Read the full story from Reuters by clicking on the title.
Montana looks to single payer system modeled on a... →
Fascinating breakdown of the similar demographics between Montana and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
Governor Schweitzer who plans to craft the plan, has been studying different health care systems for years. He says for how things are being run now, they’re over paying $4 billion and not living as long.
Imagine if you went to a gas station, and you looked over at a car with a...
Not your typical Koch conspiracy..
Koch Industries have sold millions of dollars of petrochemical to Iran and engaged in bribing and other criminal acts according to Bloomberg.
These types of news pieces require a lot of dot connecting which might explain the unusual way the entire story is broken up. The good thing for Bloomberg though is it looks like they have found enough evidence to back it up.
“It sounds like a smoking...
July 2009
21 posts
“The Iowa Republican and Democratic parties together announced Tuesday that they...”
– Politico:
Iowa caucuses move to Saturday in ‘10
Why Are Banks Holding So Many Excess Reserves? →
crazynutjob:
I worry when someone from the Fed says something that I agree with. However, this paper does a decent job of addressing the concerns that the growth in the base money supply and the banks’ excess reserves is inflationary (it isn’t because the money multiplier isn’t taking hold. Banks are not lending). It also gives a reasonable explanation that the Fed liquidity programs do not have...
“Members of Congress have come up with one idea after another to pay for covering...”
– NYTimes: Health Care Reform and the Unpopular T-Word
Traders Blamed for Oil Spike →
brooklynmutt:
soupsoup:
Ianthe Jeanne Dugan and Alistair Macdonald at The Wall Street Journal
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission plans to issue a report next month suggesting speculators played a significant role in driving wild swings in oil prices — a reversal of an earlier CFTC position that augurs intensifying scrutiny on investors.
In a contentious report last year, the main...
"Reid backs Baucus, expects health bill by recess" →
“Reid stepped out to defend Baucus at a mid-afternoon press conference, but avoided details. Asked if he was confident that a bill will reach the Senate floor by the time the recess begins on Aug. 7, Reid simply said, “Yes.”
Click the link to read more.
Huckabee for President? →
From Politics1.com “P2012. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee leading the GOP race for President for 2012. Huckabee leads with 26%, followed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 21%, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin at 19%, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at...
"Just One Republican Sides With Democrats in... →
Another interesting tidbit, “The six GOP senators who stood against her included two from states with heavy Hispanic populations and two veteran senators who had never before voted against a Supreme Court nominee.”
Though because the Democratic Majority is behind her, there will be no more bumps in the road for her confirmation.
Read the Washington Post article for more.
What do you...
Anti-stimulus Republicans get attack ads →
Democrats argue that the stimulus money has funded road projects in overwhelming GOP districts, and also plugged state budget deficits.
The other is countering that it didn’t stop unemployment from rising from 8% and shock us back into a recovery and will pay a trillion dollars in return as well.
DNC has jumped on their argument first by airing ads in the Republican leader districts. Read...
Lobbyists successfully slowing down Obama? →
Obama planned to go head force into the special interest battle but lately is losing ground.
Read more from the Hill above.
"Obama 2004: Bush Rushed Legislation Through... →
Which is right? Pass something through quickly before the attacks pile up because Americans need this, says Obama..or debate and slow down?
Click the above link to read more.
"Cutting Repeat Hospital Trips -- Simple Idea,... →
A necessary component to us saving some dough during this healthcare overhaul will be preventative medicine.
Read in the above link why that could prove to be difficult.
Maine and the Governor's Race →
Would you like to make an informed decision on voting for the next governor in Maine?
It might take longer than reading the Bible.