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10 Feb 2011 23:54

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U.S.: GOP budget plan: How 2% can save you $626 billion or more!

  • 15.4% GOP’s proposed cuts to non-defense spending for the rest of 2011
  • 2.2% GOP’s proposed cuts to defense spending, under the same plan source
  • » Here’s the interesting part: Despite those numbers, the cuts to defense spending actually net about $165 billion more in savings than the non-defense cuts. Why? Simple: We spend a crapload of money on defense. (Bonus chart with more information here.)
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 23:17

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U.S.: New rules pose problems for cigarette-loving surgeons

  • If you’re an unemployed smoker, don’t bother trying to be a nurse. Around the country, hospitals are implementing no-smoking-allowed policies for their employees, subjecting new applicants to urine tests and treating smoking as a terminable offense. This isn’t entirely without merit: an average smoker costs their employer about $3,391 per year in health costs and lost productivity. On the other hand, it may set a troublesome precedent for other lifestyle choices that result in higher-than-average health costs (skiing, eating meat from Taco Bell). Oddly, though both the SEIU and the tobacco lobby have voiced opposition to the law, neither are aggressively campaigning against it. (thanks for the tip, toutlejour)  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 22:25

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U.S.: Spider-Man joins The Fantastic Four, but with two downsides

  • cool Following the death of the Human Torch, Marvel is shaking things up with The Fantastic Four. First and foremost, they’re adding a new member to the team: Spider-Man. Intriguing!
  • stupid They’re also giving the troupe lame new costumes and an awful new name, “The Future Foundation,” that sounds more like a political action committee than a team of crime-fighters. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 22:21

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World: What’s happening in Egypt, though an American’s words

  • What Americans should fear is the possibility of an increasingly illegitimate regime continuing to control one of the most strategically important countries in the Mideast.
  • Phoenix resident Max Mattern • In an article talking about his time in Egypt in the wake of the recent protests. Mattern was there studying as a Fulbright scholar, but the situation in the country has complicated those plans and put him in the middle of a major crisis zone. Mattern, writing in a piece for the Arizona Republic, says that the people of Egypt want change, but the protests are taking a lot out of them. “Although a sizable majority dislikes Mubarak and his policies,” he writes. “after a week of fear and violence they have had enough.” Mattern says that the protesters are sincere and have no evil plots to bring theocracy to the society. The current regime, however, troubles them. (thanks missmaestra, who has been covering her friend’s situation on Tumblr) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 21:52

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Biz: Did Mubarak’s insane speech help Wall Street today?

  • YES the speech helped stocks make a late-day rally source
  • » Why did that happen? Simply put, the stock market liked the fact that Mubarak said he was giving up much of his authority in Egypt to Omar Suleiman – not enough for protesters, but apparently enough for money managers. “The moment Mubarak said he would be giving up duties to his vice president, the market said it was a good thing and rose,” said Michael Holland, whose company manages billions in funds on the market.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 21:37

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Politics: Mubarak’s speech made Obama, Leon Panetta look like fools

Uh-oh, someone bought into the narrative. (At a speech in Michigan, Obama suggested Egypt’s transition was imminent. Panetta did the same earlier in the day.) But so did everyone else. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 21:21

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World: “The Worst Speech Ever”: Where do we go from Mubarak’s rant?

  • He offered a vaguely worded delegation of power to Vice President Omar Suleiman, long after everyone in Egypt had stopped listening. It is virtually impossible to conceive of a more poorly conceived or executed speech.
  • Foreign Policy writer Marc Lynch • Scoring the speech at home and saying the obvious. We could have made a better speech than Hosni Mubarak, and we suck at public speaking! That’s why we use the internet! Lynch notes that the speech from Omar Suleiman was as damaging, if not moreso than Mubarak’s, because it inextricably tied an unpopular figure to his potential successor – especially since he implicitly blamed Al Jazeera for his problems. “It solidified the already deep distrust of his role among most of the opposition and of the protestors,” Lynch wrote, “and tied his fate to that of Mubarak.” From here, things will only get worse for everyone involved – especially the United States, who have a hard game of chess ahead, and the protesters on the ground, who may grow more unruly and already have a protest planned for tomorrow. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

10 Feb 2011 20:57

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World: Mubarak’s speech: Why the United States needs to look inward

  • “I can not and will not accept to be dictated orders from outside, no matter what the source is.” What makes a leader, in the face of international, media and local scrutiny, choose not to listen to repeated calls to resign? Who essentially shames his allies? A man whose statements are so transparent that not even his own people believe them? And why is it that the world allowed him to gain so much authority that he can’t easily be toppled from his position? There are a lot of questions tonight, and we’ve been parsing through them all afternoon. The fact that Mubarak was effectively supported by the United States makes the question marks much more pointed. As Americans, we need to learn how to encourage democracy at all costs, and focus less on what we gain – leverage in Israel, influence in a region, whatever. We can’t support another military state created by the United States. It’s ended in tears multiple times, and every time, Americans lose out monetarily, civilians lose their rights, and our world becomes a little more unstable. No more. This has to stop. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 13:36

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World: Might all this Muslim Brotherhood hand-wringing be overdone?

  • 15% reported support for Muslim Brotherhood, poll claims source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Feb 2011 13:25

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World: Mubarak may go, but what will Egypt’s military do with the power?

  • yes Hosni Mubarak is expected to announce his long-awaited resignation tonight. Hats off to the Egyptian people, who’ve displayed astonishing resolve and spirit.
  • but The Egyptian military is rumored to be taking over the reins, which especially in light of recent reports of torture is causing some valid concern for the protesters. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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