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09 Jul 2009 23:36

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Biz, U.S.: The cash-for-clunkers plan is making auto salespeople excited

  • Are we excited about it? Absolutely! We think it is a great opportunity for people to get rid of their clunkers.
  • Cliff Johnson • President of Texas Motors Ford, on the cash-for-clunkers program the Obama administration implemented this year. The plan, which gives consumers up to $4,500 in credit to swap aging vehicles for newer, more fuel-efficient vehicles, has fans all over the map: Consumers, environmentalists, automakers and guys that sell cars for a living. Only the latter category talks like Cliff Johnson, though. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2009 23:18

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U.S.: Ah, coastal Maine: A beautiful, serene front for the heroin trade

Mexican drug cartels, looking for a new front to push coke and heroin, are pushing out of cities and into small towns with quaint lighthouses like this one. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2009 23:03

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U.S.: Dumping graves to sell the plots ranks pretty high on the soulless list

  • I don’t even know what to tell you about the heartbreaking stories that I’ve been hearing from people, crying hysterically that they’re going through the burial for the second time today.
  • Cook County, Ill. Sheriff Tom Dart • On the effect the excavation of 300 grave sites (for the purpose of reselling the plots) is having on families of the deceased. Four people were arrested for the scheme, which happened at a historic black cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. If you think what he’s saying is bad, just consider the harsh words the families of those affected by the dumping. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2009 22:32

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U.S.: Sen. John Ensign’s parents spent lots of money on their son’s mistress

  • $96,000 last year to quell family drama source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2009 22:21

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U.S.: Yo, Roland, glad to hear you aren’t being a jerk anymore

  • Dude won’t run for Senate in 2010. Whew. Roland Burris, who played an incredibly lame game of hokey pokey with Obama’s old Illinois Senate seat with the help of impeached governor Rod Blagojevich, finally gets the hint. Nobody wants him there. As a result, he plans to announce that he won’t run next year, according to party officials. (Not like he’d have a chance anyway, considering all the questions about how he got the seat.) We still think the guy’s a douche, but he’s at least going to be out of everyone’s hairs in a year and a half. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2009 22:14

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U.S.: Everyone makes out like a bastard in the N.Y. State Senate drama

  • The defector Sen. Pedro Espada, who sided in the Republicans in a coup a month ago, finally agreed to side with the Democrats once again – but not without perks. Espada, who was one of two drama-creating Democrats to defect, is now the party’s majority leader in the Senate. Nice deal, bro. source
  • The defector Sen. Pedro Espada, who sided in the Republicans in a coup a month ago, finally agreed to side with the Democrats once again – but not without perks. Espada, who was one of two drama-creating Democrats to defect, is now the party’s majority leader in the Senate. Nice deal, bro.
  • The defectees While the Republicans didn’t get control of the State Senate like they tried to, they did push some reforms through in June which are staying put, as part of the agreement to stop the gridlock. All this stuff happened a day after Richard Ravitch was appointed lieutenant governor. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2009 19:47

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U.S., World: Phone call from US reporter imprisoned in North Korea a “relief”

  • It was a tremendous relief to hear Laura’s voice last night. It was only the first time I have heard her voice in weeks. That silence has been just so terrifying and deafening.
  • Lisa Ling • On hearing from her sister, American TV reporter Laura Ling, who is currently being detained in North Korea. Laura and her colleague Euna Lee were arrested March 17 near the China-North Korea border while researching a story. On June 8 they were sentenced to 12 years of “reform through labour.”  • source
Posted by Nathalie Heiberg • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

09 Jul 2009 10:20

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U.S.: Coming soon: Obama Stimulus Plan II, Electric Boogaloo?

  • With unemployment still really high, it might just be necessary. The first stimulus plan convinced die-hard fiscal conservatives everywhere to make total tea bags of themselves. Would a possible round two have a similar effect? That’s what Obama administration officials get to have fun deciding over the next little while. If things continue to suck in the economy, we could in fact see another stimulus package sold to the American people. The question is, when, if at all, would it be safe for Obama to pull that fairly unpopular trigger? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2009 09:52

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Politics, U.S.: Dems to CIA Director Leon Panetta: Apologize for lying to us

Letter to Leon Panetta
  • Six members of Congress signed this letter. All of them Democrats. All on the House Intelligence Committee. A seventh is also on board. Panetta acknowledged this dishonesty, and word from the Huffington Post is that they’re talking about torture.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

08 Jul 2009 23:25

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Tech, U.S.: That DOS attack may not have come from North Korea after all

  • This is not something that your average ‘script kitty’ can do. On the other hand it doesn’t require it to be state-sponsored.
  • Security expert Mark Rasch • Who’s currently of SecureITExperts and led the Department of Justice’s computer crimes unit during the George H.W. Bush administration. Rasch raised doubts over whether it was a definite slam dunk that these attacks, which hit major financial, government and media sites in the U.S., came from a North Korean source. At this time, we’d like to point your attention to this Wired article from back in the day about the Estonian denial of service attacks. This graphic in particular provides some good explanation about what’s happening now. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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