Month: August 2007
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Maybe US Needs a Recession
From The Economist: Some economists argue that this could create a much wider form of moral hazard. If long periods of uninterrupted expansions lead people to believe that the Fed can prevent any future recession, consumers, firms, investors and borrowers will be encouraged to take bigger risks, borrowing more and saving less. So a safety […]
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600,000 Year Old Bacteria Extracted From Ice Core
Carol Channing has competition: The oldest living thing has been discovered in the form of 600,000-year-old bacteria extracted from ice cores, scientists claim. The trick, the discovery suggests, is for organisms to keep some metabolism going over the millennia, so that they can keep their DNA in repair while awaiting a more favorable environment in […]
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VA Cuts Off Soldier's Benefits: You're Dead
And she answers ‘no I’m not dead’: The V.A. approved her for 10 percent disability, but two months ago, her $115 monthly checks stopped coming. She called the Army for an explanation. “And I called them because it wasn’t there and they said, ‘You’re dead,’ and I said, ‘No, I’m not dead.’ And they kept […]
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Chicago Lawyers: Gay Not Protected by 14th Amednment
Whittle, whittle, whittle away: Ruppert was expelled from a bar and then arrested by Chicago police officers who then, according to Ruppert, pulled their cruiser over, forcibly removed Ruppert from their vehicle, and proceeded to assault him while uttering homophobic slurs, The Advocate reported. Ruppert was then taken to the hospital, where he received 16 […]
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Blackwater USA Adds Air Power
Everybody’s favorite private army gets an upgrade: Security and training company Blackwater USA confirmed that it has applied for a license to acquire one Embraer Super Tucano light attack trainer. The Super Tucano programme would be limited to providing for US personnel only, the spokeswoman adds, and the aircraft would not be allowed to leave […]
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Bird Flu Pandemic Averted
Put back your face mask for now: A mathetmatical analysis has confirmed that H5N1 avian influenza spread from person to person in Indonesia in April, US researchers reported today.
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In Canada, Gay Politicians Get Married – Not Arrested
The think that drives me nuts about the Larry Craig thing is he was obviously powerful and rich and had the resources to hire an escort in an anonymous hotel room. But he thought he’d never get caught. And when you aren’t out and honest about your sexuality then you think that being gay is […]
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Condi Rice Puts the Proles in Their Place
“Coit Blacker, a Stanford professor who is one of the secretary of state’s closest friends, recalls going into a shop where Rice asked to see earrings. The clerk showed her costume jewelry. Rice asked to see something nicer, prompting the clerk to whisper some sass under her breath. Blacker remembers Rice tearing the woman to […]
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An Actuarial Nightmare: GAO Comptroller on 60 Minutes
Ignore the intro and outro music. [youtube]KGpY2hw7ao8[/youtube]
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9/11's Hidden Victims – Ground Zero Exposure
“I’d like my wife to be remembered as a person who wasn’t afraid to do her job, and her most important thing was the kids. Really, everything she did was for our two kids. When it came time to do her job she did her job, no questions asked. She was a very good mother, […]