Archive for March, 2009
Q1 2009: A Confidence Sourball
Analysis by Patrick Moynihan March 31, 2009 FONT SIZE Consumer confidence ends March in dismal condition, matching its lowest quarterly average on record in 23 years of weekly polls. Consumer Confidence Poll Chart, March 31, 2009. (ABC News) The ABC News Consumer Comfort Index, based on public views of current economic conditions, stands at -49 on its scale of +100 to -100, 5 points from its all-time low… Continue Reading
Dodd Foe: Senator Violated Public’s Trust
By TEDDY DAVIS and FERDOUS AL-FARUQUE March 31, 2009 FONT SIZE Former Republican congressman Rob Simmons says he voted for , a Democrat, in the 1980s. Former Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., says he voted for Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., in the 1980s. But now… Former Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., says he voted for Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., in the 1980s. But now that Dodd finds himself caught up in a string of controversies, Simmons is itching to take him out in 2010, arguing that Dodd… Continue Reading
Business Highlights
New GM CEO says more plants could close DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Corp.’s new chief executive said Tuesday that more of the automaker’s plants could close as part of GM’s effort to meet new, tougher requirements for government aid. In his first news conference as CEO, Fritz Henderson said he expects the company would “need to take further measures” in terms of plant closures. That’s beyond the five plants the company said it would shutter when it submitted a restructuring plan to the government last month. GM also is likely to offer another buyout program to workers as it looks to cut labor costs, Henderson said. ___ Consumer confidence holds steady in March NEW YORK (AP) —… Continue Reading
O’Brien: Web 2.0 Gathering Explores An Era When Less May Really Be More
By Chris O’Brien Mercury News ColumnistUpdated: 03/31/2009 02:40:41 PM PDT I’m willing to bet that just about everyone has probably heard some unimaginative middle-manager utter the following phrase at least once in the last six… Continue Reading
Only one bright spot from this year’s Arab Summit for Saudi King Abdullah
By The Daily Star Wednesday, April 01, 2009 – Powered by Editorial The Arab Summit of “reconciliation” concluded this week in Qatar and marked the first such event of a new era – an era marked by optimism about a possible change in Washington’s approach to this region and the world, and pessimism about the immediate prospects for progress amid international economic and financial crisis. Fittingly, the Arab Summit wrapped up its business before this week’s G20 meeting in London. As we have… Continue Reading
Bishop backs Kevin Rudd on climate change at bushfires service in London
AN Anglican Bishop has used a memorial service to victims of February’s Victorian bushfires to lavish praise on Kevin Rudd for acting on climate change. George Browning, the former Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, told more than 2000 people gathered in London’s Westminster Abbey that human activity was causing climate change and extreme weather conditions. In a sermon in the presence of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornnwall, as well as the Prime Minister, Bishop Browning said man must learn the… Continue Reading
How the Dow Jones industrials and other major stock indexes fared in Tuesday’s trading
Wall Street ended a tumultuous March on a high note, managing its first winning month this year and its best monthly performance in nearly seven years. Stocks finished off their earlier highs on Tuesday but resumed a three-week rally that has brought the Dow Jones industrials up 16 percent since hitting new 12-year lows in early March. The Dow logged a 7.7 percent gain for the month — its biggest monthly advance since October 2002. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 86.90, or 1.2 percent, to 7,608.92. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 10.34, or 1.3 percent, to 797.87. The Nasdaq composite index rose 26.79, or 1.8 percent, to 1,528.59. For the week: The Dow is down 167.26, or 2.2… Continue Reading
Forum Threads Of The Week: World Cup Qualifiers, Xavi vs Gerrard, 6+5 Rule And Much More
Ronaldinho – Milan (Grazia Neri) Registration for the Goal.com forums is quick, easy, and free so why not sign up today to join the discussions? World Cup qualification matches have caught the world’s attention in the last couple of days and our members discuss whether the action is hotter in Africa than it is in Europe In Serie A, Milan fans are asking themselves if Ronaldinho is going to leave the club in the summer. In England, the Arsenal contingent in the community discuss the controversial 6+5 rule. In Spain, Barca supporters are drawing up their shortlists for the upcoming summer. Further down the pitch, there is a debate brewing on whether or not… Continue Reading
Chelsea Skipper John Terry Claims He Will Never Shirk Penalties
Chelsea and England defender John Terry has asserted that he will continue to volunteer to take penalties in shoot-outs, even though his last such adventure ended in rain-soaked despair at last year’s Champions League final in Moscow. Terry missed his kick that night as the Blues lost the final to Manchester United, but the big-hearted skipper says he’d have no hestiation in… Continue Reading
Olbermann: ‘Dick Cheney Electrocution Showers’ Killing U.S. Troops in Iraq
On Thursday’s Countdown show, while recounting the story of shoddy electrical work done by Halliburton subsidiary KBR which has resulted in several American troops being electrocuted while taking showers in Iraq, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann referred to the dangerous showers as "Dick Cheney electrocution showers," and stated as fact his opinion that the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq partly to provide "no bid sweetheart contracts" to Halliburton. Continue Reading
Frank-ly Control Freaks: Congressional Committee Passes Bill Controlling ALL Pay at US-Involved Companies
And to think we were "only" worried about was having a known Tax Cheat overseeing everyone’s taxes. Continue Reading
FNC Highlights Pro-Gun Dems Opposing Eric Holder on Assault Weapon Ban
On Friday’s Special Report with Bret Baier, FNC correspondent Shannon Bream informed viewers of a letter written to Attorney General Eric Holder from 65 House Democrats who oppose the Attorney General’s recently expressed wish to "reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons" to try to reduce violence by Mexican drug cartels. Bream further relayed the recommendations of Democratic Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both from Montana, that the Obama administration should focus on enforcing current gun laws. Continue Reading
Hand washing: how much is enough?
The best way to contain the spread of germs is frequent hand- washing. Photograph by: Photo by Marianne Helm/Calgary Herald, Reuters We know the drill: Wash hands to keep from getting sick and spreading germs. But even government officials can’t agree on how long to scrub, according to internal government documents. Ten, 15 or 20 seconds? Long enough to sing Happy Birthday twice or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star once? Correspondence between senior Ontario and federal bureaucrats obtained under an access to information request reveal disparities in hand washing advice, as discovered by an Ontario health official who surveyed government health websites looking for advice. "The results are… Continue Reading
Japan PM orders fresh economic stimulus package
TOKYO – Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered his government today to compile fresh stimulus measures to help lift the country out of recession. Aso, who has repeatedly said that restoring Japan’s economy is the top priority of his government, had launched two stimulus packages since taking office in September. Yet a… Continue Reading
Hot debate as Obama’s war drones on
By Gareth Porter WASHINGTON – The argument for deeper United States military commitment to the Afghan war invoked by President Barack Obama in his first major policy statement on Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday – that al-Qaeda must be denied a safe haven in Afghanistan – has not been subjected to public debate in Washington. A few influential strategists in Washington have been arguing, however, that this official rationale misstates the al-Qaeda problem and ignores the serious risk that an escalating US war poses to Pakistan. Those strategists doubt that al-Qaeda would seek to move into Afghanistan as long as they are ensconced in Pakistan and argue … Continue Reading
India up Sir Creek without a paddle
By Sudha Ramachandran BANGALORE – Among the many victims of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November last year was a possible resolution to the India-Pakistan dispute over Sir Creek. The two countries were apparently making progress towards resolving their differences on demarcating a boundary along the creek when the terrorist attacks happened. An angry India suspended the composite dialogue with Pakistan, scuttling the possibility of the two sides hammering out a mutually acceptable solution to their conflicting claims. As a result, India and Pakistan will not be able to meet the May 13 deadline to submit to the United Nations a mutually acceptable … Continue Reading
Pakistan braces for more attacks
By Syed Saleem Shahzad KARACHI – A day after militants stormed a police academy in the eastern city of Lahore, security officials on Tuesday were still trying to make sense of conflicting details of the brazen operation. But on one issue there is consensus – more attacks are expected on high-profile targets, such as military installations, jails, the presidency and even parliament. A group of militants once associated with the Harkat-e-Jihad-i-Islami and the Lashkar-e-Taiba – groups with strong roots to the struggle over divided Kashmir – a few days ago traveled to Lahore from a militant camp in the North Waziristan town of Razmak, a year-round hill station situated at the crossroads of… Continue Reading
Consumer confidence holds steady in March
NEW YORK (AP) — Some slivers of hopes about the economy helped Americans’ feelings about the economy hold steady in March, after plummeting to historic lows in February. But Americans are still gloomy about their future given mounting layoffs and shrinking earnings. The… Continue Reading
Sun-Times Media Group files for bankruptcy
NEW YORK (AP) — The Sun-Times Media Group, owner of the Chicago Sun-Times and dozens of suburban newspapers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday, making it the fifth newspaper publisher to seek protection from creditors in recent months. The step, brought on by a precipitous decline in advertising… Continue Reading
Energy firm will pay ‘interest’
Scottish Power will pay "interest" to any customers whose direct debits put them more than £100 in credit. The payments, of £1 for every £33 someone is in credit, could benefit the firms’s 3.2 million customers who pay by direct debit from June this year. Energy firms have been accused of setting monthly direct debits too high. However, the energy… Continue Reading
US Corn Acreage Expected To Drop Slightly
Nation’s Corn Crop Expected To Drop For Second Straight Year; Still 3rd Largest In 60 Years BISMARCK, N.D., Mar. 31, 2009 E-Mail Story Print Story Sphere Share Text Size: A A A (AP) The government says the nation’s corn crop is expected to drop for the second… Continue Reading
AP Confuses Criticism of Obama With ‘Racial Slurs’
Proving that the left cannot tell the difference between “racism” and “criticism,” the AP posted a lengthy March 30 story confusing and conflating the two as it pertains to attacks on President Obama. As far as the AP is concerned it seems the whole country is running around with burning crosses and wearing pointy hoods aiming to cast racial epithets at Obama at every turn. It may as well still be the year 1860 around here. Continue Reading
NewsBusted 2-49
Topics in today’s show: The Obama administration renames the war on terror, The Afghanistan surge, Earth hour, and Rihanna and Chris Brown take a break. Continue Reading
NYTimes Killed Story on Crooked Obama Donor
According to election fraud lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh, The New York Times decided suddenly to drop all efforts last October to publish stories about the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) because it came to light that ACORN was a big donor to then presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign. The Times is said to have told ACORN insider Anita Moncrief that they were dropping the story because it was a “game changer” for the election and might hurt Obama’s campaign. Continue Reading
Debate: How will KG Basin gas alter India’s fuel economy?
Text: Anil K Jain, Former joint secretary, MOP&NG * Import dependence will fall from 60% at present to 45% The production of first gas from RIL-Niko KG basin field, India’s first deep-water project, will be a historic event, comparable to the beginning of oil production from the giant Bombay High fields in the year 1976. The initial production of 40 mmscmd of gas from the former will amount to 50% of India’s current gas production, while Bombay High had… Continue Reading
Greta Responds to Politico: 'I Have Never Given Gov. Palin Advice'- Interactive FIFA World Cup qualifiers come to Sydney
- LA mayor: City will not ask third parties to pay $1.4 million Michael Jackson memorial tab
- Google Chrome OS booting on the original Asus Eee PC (video)
- KASTOR WANTS TOUGHER PUNISHMENT
- Mixed results for Obama's first Moscow summit
- Energy firm will pay 'interest'