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19 Mar 2011 22:51

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U.S.: New Mexico: Undocumented immigrants can still get licenses

  • 3 states let undocumented immigrants get licensed, including New Mexico
  • pushed New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who made a hardcore push against illegal immigrants a cornerstone of her campaign, pushed to block undocumented immigrants from getting driver’s licenses.
  • blocked However, Martinez’s plan stalled in the state senate, where Democrats hold control. While concessions were made, members couldn’t agree, and the bill died on the vine without a vote. source
  • » Immigrants’ rights groups cheer: While Martinez, a Republican, is licking her wounds, advocates for undocumented immigrants have a right to cheer today. “This goes to show that you come in with a radical, extremist agenda, you’re going to get push-back because New Mexico is not a radical extremist state,” said Somos un Pueblo Unido head Marcela Diaz. By the way, amongst border states, New Mexico is the only one that allows immigrants to get licenses.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 19:50

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World: Operation Odyssey Dawn’s cost (already!): Over $62 million

  • 110 number of Tomahawk missiles that have been fired by U.S. forces over Libya so far
  • $569,000 the cost of each of those missiles, according to the U.S. Navy’s own fact file on the missiles source
  • » Oh, and there are other costs, too: It costs a fighter jet thousands of dollars an hour just to get off the ground — for example, according to a 2009 estimate from The Washington Post, an F-22 (one of the types of fighter jets in use over in Libya) costs around $44,000 per flying hour. And that’s not even discussing manpower or intelligence or other technologies in use. War is expensive. Even a couple of hours in.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 16:20

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World: Hugo Chavez: Nations in airstrikes “care nothing” about Libyans

  • For those who wanted to see Chavez in a hard hat, here you go. Enjoy. The Venezuelan leader, a key ally of Gaddafi, took some time off from his tour of a road-building project in Caracas to let everyone know what he thinks of the Libyan airstrikes: “They want to seize Libya’s oil and they care nothing about the lives of the Libyan people. These are the men of war … what irresponsibility. Behind this is the hand of the United States and its European allies, instead of taking the path that we have modestly proposed.” In case you were wondering, that peace mission Chavez wanted to make didn’t go anywhere because Saif Gaddafi essentially said Chavez wouldn’t have any idea what was going on. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 15:52

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World: Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei: I was attacked

  • Went 2 vote w family attacked by organized thugs. Car smashed w rocks. Holding referendum in absence of law & order is an irresponsible act.
  • Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei • Explaining what happened to him today as he attempted to vote in a referendum on the constitution. While ElBaradei’s brother confirms the Nobel laureate was attacked, the Egyptian military denies the incident. “There have not been any incidents of violence or clashes,” said spokesperson Major Alla al Iraqi. “Any minor arguments I witnessed between those who were voting yes or no were resolved between one another. Today, has been a model for democracy.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 13:24

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U.S.: CBO report: Obama’s deficit balloons, and tax cuts to blame

  • $9.5 trillion the size of the deficits that will be required under current policies through 2021, the CBO says
  • $2.7 trillion the increase over the previous expected budget numbers – a huge leap, to say the least source
  • » Why is this? The CBO’s report says that in regards to what’s behind all this, “Of the various initiatives that the President is proposing, tax provisions would have by far the largest budgetary impact.” In layman’s terms, tax cuts — especially those for the middle class — are the largest factor affecting deficits. While he’s pushing for tax increases on the wealthy and corporations, they won’t offset the effect of the tax cuts. You know what’s funny though? Even though the CBO’s report specifically says this, the Washington Times reported this story as if spending was the culprit.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 12:56

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World: Japan: Officials find radiation in milk, spinach and drinking water

  • water Officials discovered safe but high levels of radioactive iodine in the drinking water of five Japanese cities, including Tokyo, during a radiation test. They were trace amounts that were within acceptable legal limits, however.
  • food Officials also discovered high radiation levels in milk and spinach near Fukushima. In the case of the spinach, eating it every day for a year would be equal to 20 percent of the level of radiation you’d get from a CAT scan. source
  • » What happens next: Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says that they’ll continue to test food products, and if they find contaminated products, they’ll ban them from the market. Some experts are understandably skeptical. “They should seriously think about restricting any agricultural products in that area,” said Lam Ching-wan of the University of Hong Kong School of Medicine. “It seems that the whole ecosystem could be affected, so they shouldn’t take any chances.” The radiation factor of milk and spinach is important to note, because after Chernobyl, many cancer cases resulted from children who ingested high levels of radiation in milk.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Mar 2011 03:34

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U.S.: RIP Warren Christopher: Clinton Secretary of State dies at 85

Christopher, who served during Clinton’s first term, “died from complications of kidney and bladder cancer.” That’s his signature on the Oslo Accords. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
 
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