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20 Aug 2010 18:34

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Politics: The real sticking point that Park51 is facing? Not controversy, money

  • They could have obviously done a lot better in explaining who they are if they really wanted to get approval. There’s a real question as to whether there’s money behind this.
  • New York publicist Ken Sunshine • Describing the real issue the “Ground Zero Mosque” is facing – and it’s purely logistical. They simply don’t have the money to build a $100 million community center. In fact, the group behind the development only raised $18,255 in 2008, the last statement available for them. The controversy isn’t helping, either, of course. “They are in the process of hiring an architect — but here’s the thing,” said Park51 spokesperson Oz Sultan, “you’re not going to get the architect or the engineer because they don’t want to be involved in this.” Wouldn’t it be funny if this was all over nothing? source

14 Aug 2010 15:02

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U.S.: Google Earth stakeout: Because illegal swimming pools are bad

  • See any pools down here, guys? They’re kinda like handing out parking tickets for Riverhead, N.Y., which forces pools to have inspections. But since not everyone does it, they’ve resorted to using Google Maps to find out who’s breaking the rules. It’s netted them $75,000 so far. Not a bad way to nickel-and-dime your residents. source

09 Aug 2010 21:40

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Offbeat: Idiotic Krispy Kreme employee gives away the day’s revenue

  • $5,000 the amount of money a customer drove off with
  • zero the number of donuts the customer got source
  • » What the heck happened? To put it simply, the employee, unaware of the drop procedure the donut shop used, gave away the money, thinking they were donuts. Idiot.

09 Aug 2010 21:00

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U.S.: Robert Gates does the unthinkable: He proposes cutbacks

  • 10% cut in Defense Department contractors proposed source
  • 3,000 jobs could disappear thanks to the massive contractor cuts and other proposed cuts
  • $530B the size of the Defense Department’s budget, which usually increases 2-3 percent yearly
  • 1% the amount the budget will increase next year, which is why they need to make cuts

09 Aug 2010 09:46

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Biz: BP updates its massive oil spill tab: It’s pretty darn massive

  • $6.1 billion spent on the Gulf Oil Spill so far; they’ve made over 100,000 payments as of August 7th
  • $319 million paid out in compensation to people negatively affected by the spill –around 145,000 claims source

03 Aug 2010 00:00

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Biz: Newsweek’s sale was for a bargain-basement price (and lots of debt)

  • $1 the amount Sidney Harman will pay the Post for Newsweek
  • $70M the amount of debt Harman will take on in exchange for the price
  • 250 the number of the mag’s 325 employees Harman will keep source

26 Jul 2010 20:22

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Biz: BP drama: Tony Hayward’s heading to Russia – with his pension!

  • $930k the amount he gets from his pension when he quits in October
  • 1 yearthe amount of salary he takes with him, or $1.4 million dollars
  • $15Mthe total value of his pension – plus his life back! source
  • » Plus, there’s more: Hayward also has a sizable amount of stock, and whenever he cashes that out, he’ll be an extremely rich man – he’ll be worth several million.
 

23 Jul 2010 14:29

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Biz: Kenneth Feinberg: Wall Street gave out a lot of ill-timed bonuses

  • 17 number of firms that made “ill-advised” executive payments during a bailout period
  • $1.6B the amount these firms reportedly paid in the late 2008 and early 2009 periods
  • no pay czar Kenneth Feinberg won’t ask for it back; it’ll open up a can of worms source

22 Jul 2010 11:17

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U.S.: The good and the bad of the latest unemployment extension

  • plus Unemployment checks will be retroactive to June 2, when the benefits first ran out. Yay lump sums!
  • minus The month and a half off will still count against those hitting their 99-week employment limit.
  • plusTemp work will now be allowed without a future reduction in benefits. Good for the temps!
  • minusUnemployment benefit checks will be $25 lower than before –including the retroactive ones. source

17 Jul 2010 03:25

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U.S.: We’re hiding from the arrest-happy feds because we bilked Medicare

  • $251M was reportedly bilked by these major fakers
  • 94 people have been charged with the crimes
  • 36 are in custody; 58 are still being sought source