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28 Oct 2011 08:04

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Biz, World: Thailand flooding has devastating effect on major industries

  • 4.1% the projected growth forecast in Thailand prior to the floods
  • 2.6% the projected growth forecast after the devastating floods source
  • » A harsh effect, a long reach: With the Thailand floods causing billions of dollars in damage and putting numerous people out of work, Among other industries, the auto industry and the computer industry could suffer significantly due to the Thai flooding. Hard drives could rise in price by up to 40 percent, and car manufacturing plants as far away as North America have had to shut down as a result of the floods — and it’s so bad, some companies are considering sending Thai workers to Japan to continue their work. Many expect the drop in Thailand’s growth forecast to be a sign that the country plans to enact measures to support the economy.

27 Oct 2011 23:20

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Politics: Tea party group: Michele Bachmann riding our coattails

  • It’s time for Michelle [sic] Bachmann to go.
  • Tea party training group American Majority’s president, Ned Ryun • Offering up an assessment of the GOP candidate for president. Ryun doesn’t seem too pleased with Bachmann’s campaign thus far, claiming that she “has ridden her tea party credentials from obscurity to a national platform like no other.” With a wide reach — the group is active in seven states and trains thousands of budding activists — the group could prove dangerous to her presidential run. Even though Bachmann’s campaign manager claimed in response that Ryun is a Rick Perry supporter (Ryun denies the endorsement), American Majority has not endorsed any candidate, saying they “don’t care which one of the personalities wins, as long as they’re conservative.” We’re assuming they’d prefer if the winner wasn’t Bachmann, however.  source

27 Oct 2011 23:04

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Culture: Popular webcomic “Hyperbole and a Half” returns — with a lesson

  • Allie Brosh is back, guys! After a six-month hiatus, beloved webcomic “Hyperbole and a Half” (a popular MS Paint specialty with a huge fanbase) returned with a fresh update. In it, Brosh talks about why it’s been so long since the last post: A case of depression. Give it a read, folks, and send some love her way. Welcome back, Allie! source

27 Oct 2011 22:51

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Politics: Leon Panetta’s expensive New Year’s toast, thanks to Osama bin Laden

  • The oldest bottle in his friend’s restaurant? an 1870 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Years ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made a bet with a restaurateur around his CIA-led mission to find Osama Bin Laden: If Panetta’s team caught Bin Laden, Ted Balestreri would open up a bottle of wine that predates the first automobile. Now that time’s come. With Bin Laden dead, Balestreri will uncork that 141-year-old bottle around New Year’s Eve. Did we mention the bottle costs between $10,000 and $15,000? Careful to walk a line, though, one of Panetta’s spokespeople notes that this gesture isn’t meant to celebrate Bin Laden’s death. “Secretary Panetta has had New Year’s Eve gatherings with toasts with friends for years and this year there will be a special toast,” noted Douglas Wilson, the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. source

27 Oct 2011 19:40

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Biz, U.S.: Barbara Walters interviews Bernie Madoff from jail

  • For our interview, I was permitted only to bring in pen and pad. I was also allowed to bring in $20 in quarters since there were vending machines near our meeting room, which prisoners and guests are permitted to use during the visit. As it turns out, Madoff didn’t want anything, but I did mention it during the meeting in case we were hungry.
  • Barbara Walters • Delivering a first-hand account of her jailhouse interview with convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. The interview, which airs on ABC during ‘World News’ and ‘Nightline,’ comes several days after a short segment was released from an upcoming episode of ’60 Minutes’ in which Madoff’s wife Ruth admitted the pair had attempted suicide. source

27 Oct 2011 15:36

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Politics: Occupy Oakland calls for general strike

  • We mean nobody goes to work, nobody goes to school, we shut the city down. The only thing they seem to care about is money and they don’t understand that it’s our money they need. We don’t need them, they need us.
  • Occupy Oakland organizer Carl Brooks • Very much obeying the will of the Occupy Oakland protesters, as reports indicate the general assembly last night voted 96.9% in favor of the idea. What effect this will have is yet unclear — it depends on a lot of things, such as how many protesters there actually are, what percentage of them are employed, and whether non-participants will get on board with the idea. That said, this was the primary issue on the tongues of nearly everyone we heard from last night (Editor’s note: The author of this piece, Chris Tognotti, was at Frank Ogawa Plaza to see the protests in action), even moreso than any reflection on the brutal police crackdown the night before. For those who criticize the Occupy movement for lacking coherent plans or goals, this is pretty demonstrative action. source

27 Oct 2011 15:24

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Politics: Wide gap between Democrats, Republicans on deficit cuts

  • $2.2 trillion in cuts offered by super committee GOP source
  • » Cut spending, or do a little of everything? The above figure is, in fact, about $800 billion less than the deficit reduction the Democratic plan would have achieved, which relied on a nearly even mixture of spending cuts and tax increases (including some politically tough cuts to Medicare). The GOP plan, conversely, offers no such tax increases, instead relying on heavier spending cuts to Medicare, Social Security, and low-income welfare programs such as food stamps, along with lowering tax rates which they’re claiming will stoke hundreds of billions of extra economic activity. So, basically, the same argument is playing out exactly like it does every time, though now there’s only twelve people instead of a full Congress.
 

27 Oct 2011 14:54

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World: UN Security Council votes to end Libyan no-fly zone

  • This marks a really important milestone in the transition in Libya. It marks the way from the military phase towards the formation of an inclusive government, the full participation of all sectors of society, and for the Libyan people to choose their own future.
  • British ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant • Speaking on the UN Security Council unanimously voting to end the no-fly zone that they had previously approved in Libyan skies. The no-fly zone will be lifted on October 31st, marking the official drawing down of NATO’s military involvement in the country. The Security Council also implored the new Libyan government “to refrain from reprisals” against foreign nationals and African immigrants who were targeted by the rebels as being supporters of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. source

27 Oct 2011 14:20

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Biz: Nintendo hurting over first projected annual loss in company history

  • ¥20 billion loss projection for Nintendo this fiscal year source
  • » That’s about $264 million: The iconic video game company has been struggling recently, suffering from a critical lack of technology advancement in their console market (those Wii graphics looked behind the times when it first came out, and now… yikes), as well as their Nintendo 3DS handheld underperforming against corporate estimates. It’ll be a while Nintendo will have to ride out before they actually launch a proper, new console system — the Wii U isn’t slated to launch until sometime next year (this fiscal year ends March 2012).

27 Oct 2011 10:02

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Politics: Herman Cain’s tone-deaf campaigning style turns people off

  • This is his first rodeo, so people make mistakes. But I wish he would have called and said ‘Bill, I’m going in another direction.’ But he never did.
  • Tea Party supporter Bill Hemrick • Discussing how Herman Cain blew him off during a fundraising event a few months back … and in the process cost Hemrick a position in his campaign. The way it happened is super tone-deaf: First, Cain spoke at an event, and was supposed to show up a private club dinner for businessmen, where roughly 200 rich guys were planning to donate the maximum $2,500 each to Cain’s campaign. (Do the math.) When Hemrick called and said “I’ll see you upstairs,” Cain responded, “Well, I’m at the airport.” That’s right, he didn’t show up. “I thought, wow, good communication there,” Hemrick noted. Not long after Hemrick, learned he wouldn’t be the financial chair of Cain’s campaign in Tennessee, a position promised to him by Cain. That’s just one example of Cain’s apparent poor campaigning style, according to The New York Times. source