tagged w/ Current News US
-
So much for keeping the federal government from blowing millions in taxpayer money.
The Senate quietly stripped whistleblower protections from the final stimulus package Wednesday afternoon, as the bill's authors bragged of a bipartisan compromise. The removal is particularly significant because of the bill's $789 billion price tag.
Despite the ugly record of federal spending in Iraq -- where auditors found problems with $88 million in federal contracts, and couldn't account for 8.8 billion dollars -- senators quietly nixed the measure from the bill, without explanation.
Talking Points Memo, which cited a source close to the final bill, said the provision was removed by Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), one of the senators brokering the compromise.
Some Republicans take umbrage with the idea of blanket whistleblower protections, saying they could damage the US's ability to collect intelligence.
Project for Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, blasted the removal.
"Accountability got mugged today when congressional leaders stripped federal whistleblower protections from their compromise stimulus bill," the group said in a release.
-This is a crock of shit. They are guilty of raping the US economy and robbing the taxpayer to cover it up. And now they are preventing the witnesses who would nobley sacrifice themselves for the greater good from doing so. I want t he TRUTH. And they expect us to believe removal of the whistleblower protection in an economic stimulis bill falls under the guise of "national security". Come on! The Bush Paulson TARP specificially proctects the Treasurer's (Paulson) actions with those funds from "prosecution in any US Court or review by any Federal Agency". They must really be scared about what they have done to us. Every American should be outraged. - Bansheewail, over and out.So much for keeping the federal government from blowing millions in taxpayer money.... more
-
-
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mounting a new push to expand in Chicago, hoping that its promises of jobs and sales-tax dollars will prove more tempting in the recession than when city leaders first rebuffed the discount chain earlier this decade.
The world's largest retailer, which so far has been able to build only one store in the nation's third-largest city, hopes to open a half-dozen more in the coming years, according to the company and politicians familiar with its plans. It has been heavily courting Chicago leaders and is studying a dozen potential sites.
Wal-Mart, whose stores are largely concentrated in rural and suburban markets, has long struggled to penetrate the largest American cities amid fierce opposition from politicians sympathetic to organized labor and small business groups concerned the discounter would steal sales from smaller retailers.Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mounting a new push to expand in Chicago, hoping that its... more
-
-
gooma2
-
added this
-
9 months ago
- |
-
Almost 40 percent of Americans support criminal investigations into the Bush Administration's use of harsh interrogations and warrantless wiretapping program, even after President George W. Bush left office, a USA Today/Gallup poll found Thursday.
Forty-one percent favor a criminal investigation into the Bush Administration's use of the Justice Department for political purposes; 38 percent favor an investigation for the Administration's warrantless wiretapping and 38 percent favor a criminal probe for the possible use of torture in terrorism investigations.Almost 40 percent of Americans support criminal investigations into the Bush... more
-
-
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Merrill Lynch quietly paid out at least one million dollars bonus each to about 700 top executive even when the investment house was bleeding with losses last year, a probe has revealed.
They were part of 3.6 billion dollars in the firm's bonus payments in December before the announcement of its fourth quarterly losses and takeover by Bank of America, the investigation by the New York state Attorney General's office showed.
"696 individuals received bonuses of one million dollars or more," New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said of the Merrill scandal in a letter to a lawmaker heading the House of Representatives financial services committee.
-"And Bush, McCain and Paulson forced us to bail them out!! We got jacked!"- Bansheewail, over and out.WASHINGTON (AFP) - Merrill Lynch quietly paid out at least one million dollars bonus... more
-
-
save the world again? The microscopic green plants cleaned up the earth's atmosphere millions of years ago and scientists hope they can do it now by helping remove greenhouse gases and create new oil reserves.save the world again? The microscopic green plants cleaned up the earth's atmosphere... more
-
-
Did this poll really just come out? How are these numbers even possible in 2009?!
I don't know what's more shocking: that 1 in 4 don't believe in evolution or that 36% just DON'T CARE. It makes me so happy that Obama fought to get the funding for education back into the recovery and reinvestment act because clearly America needs it...
"PRINCETON, NJ -- On the eve of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, a new Gallup Poll shows that only 39% of Americans say they "believe in the theory of evolution," while a quarter say they do not believe in the theory, and another 36% don't have an opinion either way. These attitudes are strongly related to education and, to an even greater degree, religiosity.
There is a strong relationship between education and belief in Darwin's theory, as might be expected, ranging from 21% of those with high-school educations or less to 74% of those with postgraduate degrees.
Those with high-school educations or less are much more likely to have no opinion than are those who have more formal education. Still, among those with high-school educations or less who have an opinion on Darwin's theory, more say they do not believe in evolution than say they believe in it. For all other groups, and in particular those who have at least a college degree, belief is significantly higher than nonbelief."
(click link to complete the article)Did this poll really just come out? How are these numbers even possible in 2009?!... more
-
-
The largest series of solar installations in history, more than 1,300 megawatts, is planned for the desert outside Los Angeles, according to a new deal between the utility Southern California Edison and solar power plant maker, BrightSource.
The momentous deal will deliver more electricity than even the largest nuclear plant, spread out among seven facilities, the first of which will start up in 2013. When fully operational, the companies say the facility will provide enough electricity to power 845,000 homes — more than exist in San Francisco — though estimates like that are notoriously squirrely.The largest series of solar installations in history, more than 1,300 megawatts, is... more
-
-
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals knows how to grab attention. And show off its laundry.
The animal rights group, which every year stages a protest at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, had two of its members dress in Ku Klux Klan garb outside Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Their goal, according to a post on the PETA website, was to draw a parallel between the KKK and the American Kennel Club. "Obviously it's an uncomfortable comparison," PETA spokesman Michael McGraw told the Associated Press.
But the AKC is trying to create a "master race" when it comes to pure-bred dogs, he added. "It's a very apt comparison."
The group passed out brochures implying the Klan and AKC have the goal of "pure bloodlines" in common.
"I can't speak for everyone, but the vast majority of the people exhibiting and handling and showing at Westminster are more interested in the health of dogs than anything else," Westminster spokesman David Frei told the AP.
"We want to produce the next generation of healthy and happy dogs," he said, "not just for the show ring but for the couches at home."
Bystander Fatima Walden told the AP the KKK imagery was inappropriate no matter what the message.
"They could have used something else as an example," she said. "You should be considerate to everybody."
Other than a shouting match during the hour-long protest, police said the scene remained calm...People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals knows how to grab attention. And show off... more
-
-
According to this study, the duration of sexual foreplay is not correlated to orgasm consistency, but the duration of sexual intercourse is. So this study suggests that the key to unlocking her big O is for guys to go long. What do you think? Is it all about the journey or the destination?According to this study, the duration of sexual foreplay is not correlated to orgasm... more
-
-
A small southwest Missouri village has passed an ordinance to allow the use of medical marijuana.
Mayor Joe Blundell said Cliff Village, with a population of about four dozen, wanted to show grass-roots support for Missouri to legalize medical marijuana as 13 other states have.
"This is symbolism, pure and simple," Blundell told The Kansas City Star for a story published Tuesday. "I would like to be the brave one who grows the first plant, but they've built a lot of cages for the people who stick their necks out."
Cliff Village's ordinance allows someone with a doctor's approval to possess a few ounces of marijuana and grow a few plants.
Cliff Village passed the ordinance on Feb. 1 by a 3-2 vote. The mayor's father was one of the council members to back him.
Columbia passed a similar ordinance in 2004.
Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland, whose deputies patrol Cliff Village, said he will continue to follow state law that says it's illegal to possess or grow or distribute marijuana.
"My advice would not to be run out and start growing marijuana, or you'll be a guest of mine," he said.
Cliff Village has no employees and levies no taxes. It gets about $1,300 a year in distributions of state fuel taxes for road repairs and $120 to $200 more in cable TV franchise fees.
The 30-year-old mayor said his interest medical marijuana comes from a painful past injury from a train accident that left him in a wheelchair.
"When I got introduced to this flower, it not only alleviated my pain, it got me out gardening," Blundell said. "I'm not just stoning myself out. It allowed me to function."A small southwest Missouri village has passed an ordinance to allow the use of medical... more
-
-
Many of you have probably already seen the Facebook group created by Robert Applebaum, a lawyer from New York who believes that forgiving student loan debt for people making less than $150,000 per year would help boost the economy from "the bottom up."
"Instead of funneling billions, if not TRILLIONS of additional dollars to banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and other institutions of greed that are responsible for the current economic crisis, why not allow educated, hardworking, middle-class Americans to get something in return? After all, they're our tax dollars too!"
As someone who is myself drowning in student debt, I love this idea... but I don't have the economic or financial expertise needed to say whether or not this would actually work. Anyone want to weigh in?
Here's the FB group
http://tinyurl.com/cy2bvr
Here's a petition to sign
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Real-Economic-Stimulus-Forgive-Student-LoansMany of you have probably already seen the Facebook group created by Robert Applebaum,... more
-
-
Meat cutter lost hand. science reattached it. i love science!
-
-
diode
-
added this
-
9 months ago
- |
-
Police arrested a man near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday after he drove up to one of the building's barricades with a rifle in his vehicle and told officers that he had a delivery for President Obama, a Senate spokesman said.
A man drove to the Capitol with a rifle and said he had a delivery for Preisdent Obama, police said.
1 of 2
The man was arrested and transported to Capitol Hill police headquarters for further processing. Charges against him are pending.
Threats against Obama have led to arrests in previous cases.
In one, federal prosecutors concluded that three people arrested with drugs and weapons in a suburban Denver, Colorado, motel posed a "true threat" to Obama during the Democratic National Convention.
In the second, a Florida man was charged with threatening bodily harm against the then-candidate in August. He has pleaded not guilty.Police arrested a man near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday after he drove up to one of the... more
-
-
gooma2
-
added this
-
9 months ago
- |
-
This treehouse by Swedish firm Tham & Videgard Hansson Arkitekter takes design to the next level with their invisible treehouse concept. Inside the mirrored box is a room with a kitchen, sleeping area, living area and a terrace.
I think this is a really interesting twist on the treehouse idea - what do you think?This treehouse by Swedish firm Tham & Videgard Hansson Arkitekter takes design to the... more
-
-
Radiohead have donated a song to the UK housing and homeless charity Shelter, to be used in a forthcoming TV advert.
The advert, which is called "House Of Cards", ironically doesn't feature the Radiohead track of the same name. Instead, the band's "Videotape", from their 2007 album "In Rainbows", provides the soundtrack.
Speaking of their involvement in the advert, Radiohead said they were pleased their music may help to encourage people to donate to the charity.
"We have always been big supporters of Shelter and believe that now more than ever Shelter urgently needs help and support to keep up its vital work," the band said in a statement.
"'Videotape' is the perfect track to support the ad so we decided to let Shelter use it in their new ad in the hope that it will help make a real impact."
Shelter's "House Of Cards" Radiohead-featuring advert is available to watch online now.Radiohead have donated a song to the UK housing and homeless charity Shelter, to be... more
-
-
KefKef
-
added this
-
9 months ago
- |
-
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Coca-Cola's Vitaminwater is a major marketing partner for the NCAA -- but its players shouldn't drink six of its varieties or they might test positive for banned substances.
Revive is the only Vitaminwater flavor that is directly affiliated with the NCAA, and it does not contained banned or impermissible substances.
Revive is the only Vitaminwater flavor that is directly affiliated with the NCAA, and it does not contained banned or impermissible substances.
The news came to light today after an e-mail, purportedly from Drug Free Sport, an organization that conducts drug testing for NCAA schools, found its way into the inboxes of athletic directors around the country. Drug Free sport denied sending the e-mail and referred calls to the NCAA.
NCAA officials could not be reached for comment.
In October, Coca-Cola inked a multiyear agreement to display Vitaminwater's Revive flavor on the sidelines during all college championship games. But only a month later, Vitaminwater was cited in a little-noted section on the NCAA website as producing six flavors containing banned or impermissible substances that could result in positive drug tests.NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Coca-Cola's Vitaminwater is a major marketing partner for the... more
-
-
Heidi Fleiss, best known as the Hollywood Madam, had always had plans of opening up an above-board brothel in the Las Vegas area. But the economy has changed, and so have her plans:
“I think I’m going to put all my property up for sale in Crystal,” Fleiss said recently by phone from her house in Pahrump. “I don’t want to work so hard … and deal with all the nonsense in the sex business.”
Continue Reading At: http://ping.fm/VaLcfHeidi Fleiss, best known as the Hollywood Madam, had always had plans of opening up an... more
-
-
And sometimes it just takes a princess to do a mans "work"
original article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090209/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_saudi_women_driving_2
The wife of one of Saudi Arabia’s richest men says she is ready to get behind the wheel as soon as the ban on women drivers is lifted.
Princess Amira al-Taweel, who is married to global tycoon Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, told the Saudi daily Al-Watan that she already drives when she travels abroad.
'Certainly I'm ready to drive a car,' said Amira, whose husband is a nephew of Saudi King Abdallah and is ranked as the world's 13th-richest person by Forbes magazine.
Women in Saudi Arabia are currently banned from driving because of the risk of creating 'sinful temptation'
Women in Saudi Arabia are currently banned from driving because of the risk of creating 'sinful temptation'
'I have an international driver's license, and I drive a car in all the countries I travel to.'
Women in Saudi Arabia have not been permitted to drive since the establishment of the state in 1932, but the government is set to lift its ban and issue a decree by the end of the year.
However if the ban is lifted, there are likely to be hurdles such as obtaining licences and insurance which must also be overcome.
Princess al-Taweel said: 'I prefer driving a car with my sister or friend next to me instead of being with a driver who is not (related to me).’
The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, and those who cannot afford the $300-$400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.
But change will be difficult in this ultraconservative society, where many believe that women at the wheel create situations for sinful temptation.
They argue that women drivers will be free to leave home alone, will unduly expose their eyes while driving and will interact with male strangers, such as traffic police and mechanics.And sometimes it just takes a princess to do a mans "work"
original article:... more
-
-
The Senate voted to pass its version of the $838 billion stimulus bill Tuesday afternoon, after overcoming a procedural hurdle Monday evening, despite strong Republican opposition.
Democratic leaders vowed to deliver legislation for President Barack Obama's signature within a few days.
Tuesday's sets the stage for possibly contentious negotiations with the House on a final compromise on legislation the president says is desperately needed to tackle the worst economic crisis in more than a generation.
The Senate vote occurred as the Obama administration moved ahead on another key component of its economic recovery plan. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined rules on Tuesday for $350 billion in bailout funds designed to help the financial industry as well as homeowners facing foreclosure.
Monday's vote was close but scarcely in doubt once the White House and Democratic leaders agreed to trim about $100 billion on Friday.
As a result, Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania broke ranks to cast their votes to advance the bill.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., battling a brain tumor, made his first appearance in the Capitol since suffering a seizure on Inauguration Day, and he joined all other Democrats in support of the measure.
"There is no reason we can't do this by the end of the week," said Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. He said he was prepared to hold the Senate in session into the Presidents Day weekend if necessary, and cautioned Republicans not to try and delay final progress.
He said passage would mark "the first step on the long road to recovery."
Moments before the vote, the Congressional Budget Office issued a new estimate that put the cost at $838 billion, an increase from the $827 billion figure from last week.
"This bill has the votes to pass. We know that," conceded Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican who has spoken daily in the Senate against the legislation.
As if to underscore its prospects for passage, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a prominent and powerful business group, issued a statement calling on the Senate to advance the measure.
Even so, in the hours before Monday's vote, Republican opponents attacked it as too costly and unlikely to have the desired effect on the economy. "This is a spending bill, not a stimulus bill," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
All 36 votes in opposition were cast by Republicans.
The two remaining versions of the legislation are relatively close in size — $838 billion in the Senate and $819 billion in the House, and are similar in many respects.
Both include Obama's call for a tax cut for lower-income wage earners, as well as billions for unemployment benefits, food stamps, health care and other programs to help victims of the worst recession in decades. In a bow to the administration, they also include billions for development of new information technology for the health industry, and billions more to lay the groundwork for a new environmentally friendly industry that would help reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
At the same time, the differences are considerable.
The measure nearing approval in the Senate calls for more tax cuts and less spending than the House bill, largely because it includes a $70 billion provision to protect middle-class taxpayers from falling victim to the alternative minimum tax, which was intended to make sure the very wealthy don't avoid paying taxes.
Both houses provide for tax breaks for home buyers, but the Senate's provision is far more generous. The Senate bill also gives a tax break to purchasers of new cars.
Both houses provide $87 billion in additional funds for the Medicaid program, which provides health care to the low income. But the House and Senate differ on the formula to be used in distributing the money, a dispute that pits states against one another rather than Republicans against Democrats...The Senate voted to pass its version of the $838 billion stimulus bill Tuesday... more
-
-
None of these kids think any of the politicians running should run Israel. Maybe if these kids DID run Israel, and Palestine, we would have an everlasting peace. These kids have been put together in a school that goes against the current segregated way Israel schools its children. Seems counterproductive if you want to foster peace between two totally different cultures. Here's what these kids do and say about their situation. --------
In Israel, nearly all educational institutions are segregated - Arabs in one school, Jews in another.
But at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand school in Jerusalem, each group makes up exactly half of the student population.
The school has recently grown in size, and now has 460 pupils attending its largest campus in the neighbourhood of Patt in southern Jerusalem. The Jewish and Israeli Arab children study side by side in both Hebrew and Arabic.
The school's philosophy is clearly producing a genuine affection and understanding.
"Kids need to meet the other side more," says Jamie Bregman, a Jewish Israeli who, now aged 15 and in ninth grade, was one of the school's original class intake.
"If you ask a kid from a regular neighbourhood "What's an Arab?", he'd say a worker or a suicide bomber, and that's not right at all. They're like us, they're human beings. They just need to meet each other."
The general election on Tuesday 10 February is clearly weighing on the children's minds.
Jamie's friend, 14-year-old Aboud Ayyad is particularly worried about what the outcome will mean for him and his Arab friends and family.
"The elections won't do a lot for either side," he says.
"If Tzipi [Livni] or Bibi [Binyamin Netanyahu] get in, they'll just do exactly the same and it will be bad for Arabs."
Difficult choices
Aboud predicts that in the next 10 to 15 years many Arabs will leave Israel and the Palestinian territories because it will become harder to move and work, especially in the West Bank and Gaza.
"They'll just go to Canada or America and Israel will become more Jewish," he says.
Avery Burrows, aged 12, is already fed up with politicians.
She says she doesn't talk about politics much with her parents who immigrated to Israel from America.
But as she sits playing with the hair of her Arab friend Areen Nasheef she is adamant about the quality of the country's politicians.
"No-one's really good enough to run this country," she says defiantly.
On the subject of Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, Jamie, Aboud, Avery and Areen are all agreed.
Avigdor Lieberman's hardline policies on security and the country's Israeli-Arab minority have grown in popularity amid a general swing to the right among an electorate strongly supportive of Israel's recent military operation in Gaza.
------------more at the linkNone of these kids think any of the politicians running should run Israel. Maybe if... more
-
