Archive for February, 2009

Rush Limbaugh Used in Ad Bashing GOP

A George Soros-funded political action group has created a new advertisement bashing Republicans for having the nerve to pay attention to conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Continue Reading

Weekend Captionfest II

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Bozell Column: A Commercial For Adultery?

Everyone who enjoys NFL football games knows they’re going to be sitting through an avalanche of those awkward ads for erectile-dysfunction drugs, and ads soaked in sex and violence selling new movies or prime-time TV shows. Despite this barrage, the NFL has managed to show some standards, believe it or not. Continue Reading

Buffett optimistic despite Berkshire’s worst year, prospects for more economic turmoil

OMAHA, Neb. – Warren Buffett says the economic turmoil that contributed to a 62 percent profit drop last year at the holding company he controls is certain to continue in 2009, but the revered investor remains optimistic. Buffett released his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders Saturday morning, and detailed the worst performance in his 44 years leading the Omaha-based insurance and investment company. Buffett wrote he’s certain “the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 — and, for that matter, probably well beyond — but that conclusion does not tell us whether the stock market will rise or fall.” In between the news of Berkshire’s sharply lower profit… Continue Reading

Georgetown upsets Nova, 56-54

By Joe Juliano INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Villanova struggled through its worst offensive game of the season yesterday and Georgetown upset the 10th-ranked Wildcats, 56-54, in a Big East Conference game played before a crowd of 20,378 at the Wachovia Center. The Wildcats (23-6 overall, 11-5 in the Big East) established season lows for points scored, field goals made (15) and field-goal percentage (33.3 percent) while committing a season high 20 turnovers. Villanova forced the Hoyas (15-12, 6-10) to commit 25 turnovers, but Georgetown shot 49 percent from the field, including an incredible 62.1 percent from inside the three-point line. The Georgetown defense was strong, limiting Dante Cunningham,… Continue Reading

Pass stimulus plan fast: Obama

Pass stimulus plan fast: Obama WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama attempted to take back command of the acrimonious debate over his 900-billion-dollar stimulus plan Thursday, warning squabbling lawmakers the "time for talk is over." During a turbulent week, the president has seen Republicans dominate news coverage of the package as they complain that many of its spending provisions are a waste of money and will do little to create jobs.U.S. President Barack Obama said, “The time for talk is over, the time for action is now because we know that if we do not act, a bad situation will become dramatically worse.”Saul LoebMore pictures: | But the president said in a speech at the… Continue Reading

Facebook turns five — without a business plan

Facebook turns five — without a business plan WASHINGTON – Facebook has celebrated its fifth birthday with 150 million guests but no clear path to profitability. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who co-founded the social networking website with two Harvard University roommates five years ago, marked the occasion in low-key fashion with a blog post urging members to send a virtual gift to their online friends.Facebook has been touted as a force for good, serving as bridge between people and even as a tool to counter terrorism and repressive governments.canada.com "In the spirit of celebrating connections between people, we encourage you to use this gift to give thanks to your… Continue Reading

$ 190-B ASEAN fund urged

HUA HIN, Thailand â?? Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called on nine other member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to strengthen “regional resilience” in the midst of the global financial turmoil and other issues affecting the region, saying that the bloc is “at the frontier of an economic battle and recovery.” In his opening address marking the official opening of the 14th ASEAN Summit at the Dusit Thani Hua Hua Hin Hotel, the Thai Prime Minister said he is hopeful that under the Thailand leadership, a 0-billion rescue package will be launched to help address the impact of the global financial crisis in the region. “From the adverse impact of the global… Continue Reading

Cleaner air equals longer lives: Study

Cleaner air equals longer lives: Study BOSTON (Reuters) – Dramatic improvements in U.S. air quality over the last two decades have added 21 weeks to the life of the average American, researchers reported on Wednesday. Reducing fine particles given off by automobiles, diesel engines, steel mills and coal-fired power plants have added as much as 15 percent of the 2.72 years of… Continue Reading

Michael J. Fox rescues Rescue Me

Michael J. Fox rescues Rescue Me UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Michael J. Fox will appear in the first five episodes of the new season of Rescue Me, the series’ star Denis Leary told reporters earlier this week. Fox, who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, will play the new romantic interest for Leary’s character’s estranged wife, Janet Gavin, played by Andrea Roth. Leary plays Tommy Gavin in the series…. Continue Reading

Demong takes Nordic combined gold at worlds

LIBEREC, Czech Republic — Bill Demong bounced back from his blunder in the team competition to earn his first world title, winning gold in the Nordic combined large hill event on Saturday. Demong erased a 52-second deficit to Jason Lamy Chappuis of France and then pulled away from Bjoern Kircheisen of Germany near the end to finish in 23 minutes, 36.6 seconds at the world championships. Kircheisen was 12.8 seconds back for silver, while Lamy Chappuis finished 31.4 back in third. Demong’s first world title comes two days after he was disqualified for losing his bib ahead of his… Continue Reading

Vatican: number of priests slowly rises

VATICAN CITY (AP) – The Vatican says the number of priests worldwide is slowly but steadily rising. The Holy See presented its yearbook filled with statistics to Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday. Since 2000, the number of priests has gone up by several hundred each year. The two decades before that had witnessed a marked decline. The… Continue Reading

Gordon Brown threatens legal action over Sir Fred Goodwin’s pension

GORDON BROWN has vowed to take all legal action necessary against Sir Fred Goodwin’s pension payout. The Prime Minister made his threats to the former Royal Bank of Scotland chief ahead of a meeting with Labour activists in Bristol today. Goodwin refused calls from the government to give up his £693,000 pension,… Continue Reading

Value of antiques, heirlooms dropping

CINCINNATI – People trying to sell their prized possessions these days are finding that ? as with homes or stocks ? the market value of everything from baseball cards to antique furniture has sunk. Across the country, collectibles dealers and antiques appraisers are delivering bad news, and feeling pain themselves. The reason is simple: potential buyers are outnumbered by desperate sellers. That’s been dashing dreams of an “Antiques Roadshow” moment in which the TV show’s hosts appraise family heirlooms many times higher than the owner expected. In suburban Chicago, Ron Anderson put his treasured 1985 Bears’ Super Bowl game ball up for sale online through Craigslist. “Instead of sitting… Continue Reading

Judge upholds $15.85M award in JCP&L case

A federal court judge has upheld an arbitration panel’s $15.85 million award to 1,381 Jersey Central Power & Light workers who were told to be on call 24 hours a day. The award was affirmed Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Stanley R. Chesler. On average, it amounts to more than $11,400 per employee, ranging from meter readers to line workers, said David Grossman, a Kenilworth… Continue Reading

Economy shrinks at rate not seen since 1982

WASHINGTON – The economy contracted at a staggering 6.2 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in 26 years, as consumers and businesses ratcheted back spending, plunging the country deeper into recession. The Commerce Department report released Friday showed the economy sinking much faster than the 3.8 percent annualized drop for the October-December quarter first estimated last month. It also was considerably weaker than the 5.4 percent annualized decline economists expected. A much sharper cutback in consumer spending ? which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity ? along with a bigger drop in U.S. exports sales, and reductions… Continue Reading

Global economic crisis hangs over ASEAN summit

HUA HIN, Thailand (Reuters) – Southeast Asian leaders gathered for their annual summit on Saturday, aiming to enact plans to create a single EU-style community in the years ahead, while dealing with a deepening global economic crisis. The 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations has started on the road toward becoming a single community embracing 570 million people with a combined GDP of $2 trillion in six years, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said. “ASEAN will continue to be centrally located between growing poles of growth and power in the… Continue Reading

Cuche leads World Cup giant slalom

Posted  | Comment  | Recommend | | | KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Didier Cuche of Switzerland led a men’s World Cup giant slalom race Saturday after the opening leg. Cuche finished his run on the Podkoren course in 1 minute, 7.10 seconds to lead Massimiliano Blardone of Italy by 0.25. Ted Ligety of the… Continue Reading

Slumdog sweeps the Oscars

Slumdog sweeps the Oscars It is a low-budget movie made in the exotic slums of Mumbai, partly in Hindi, and with a no-name cast. But it won the hearts of moviegoers and on Sunday night, it won the heart of Oscar as well. Slumdog Millionaire – the rags-to-riches story of a young man who overcomes the odds to rescue the love of his life and walk away with a fortune in a TV game show – was on the verge of sweeping the 81st Academy Awards by winning eight of the 10 awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle.Slumdog Millionaire won eight of the 10 awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle.Kevin… Continue Reading

Pregnancy pounds predict kids’ weight as teens

Pregnancy pounds predict kids’ weight as teens NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women who gain too much weight during pregnancy may not only have bigger babies, but bigger teenagers as well, a study suggests. Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that among nearly 12,000 children and teenagers they studied, those whose mothers gained more than the recommended amount of weight during… Continue Reading

Vitamin D touted in battle against cold, flu

Vitamin D touted in battle against cold, flu This week brings fresh evidence that Canadians need more vitamin D, this time because it appears to prevent colds and flu. The latest study adds to mounting evidence that the vitamin from sunshine boosts the immune system and helps prevent some cancers and heart disease. Vitamin D comes mostly from strong sunshine or pills, with smaller amounts in milk and some fish. Most Canadians have very low levels of the vitamin. The new study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, shows that people with the lowest levels of vitamin D in… Continue Reading

Nina Totenberg’s Friend: ‘Oh My God, We Have a President Again!’

NPR’s Nina Totenberg revealed Friday, not surprisingly, that she was enchanted by President Barack Obama’s address earlier in the week to a joint session of Congress. “It made me feel pretty good. I thought it was a great speech,” she enthused before relaying a contrast with former President George W. Bush: “A friend of mine said, ‘oh my God, we have a President again!’” Totenberg added that “in some ways, that’s not fair to Bush,” but she insisted: “That’s the way you felt. You felt this was a guy who was totally in charge.” Continue Reading

Only ABC Credits ‘Surge’ for Allowing Obama’s Troop Draw Down

In Friday night stories on President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce troops in Iraq by 90,000, neither the CBS Evening News nor NBC Nightly News mentioned a key factor raised by ABC reporters Jake Tapper and Martha Raddatz. Continue Reading

Essay: The Durbin Amendment – The New ‘Fairness’ Doctrine with a Kicker

Law may allow preemptive, premature rescission of broadcast licenses

By Any Other Name Still Stings

Yesterday by a whopping 87-11 vote, the Senate added as a rider to the passed DC voting rights bill the Broadcaster Freedom Act (BFA).  The BFA, if also passed by the House and signed by the President, would kill once and for all the Censorship Doctrine — also mis-known as the "Fairness" Doctrine.  Continue Reading

Dow in talks to sell stake in agri business: Report

              Text: NEW YORK: Dow Chemical Co is in talks with a group of private-equity firms about an investment in its agricultural-sciences unit, said a Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter. Dow is in early-stage discussions with a group of firms including Blackstone Group Inc. and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. about a… Continue Reading