Archive for November, 2009
Maniac British Nanny State: Health and Safety Inspectors to Enter Homes; It’s for the Children
November 17th, 2009Via: Times Online: Health and safety inspectors are to be given unprecedented access to family homes to ensure that parents are protecting their children from household accidents. New guidance drawn up at the request of the Department of Health urges councils and other public sector bodies to “collect data” on properties where children are thought […]
China Questions Costs of U.S. Healthcare Reform
November 17th, 2009Via: Reuters: Guess what? It turns out the Chinese are kind of curious about how President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform plans would impact America’s huge fiscal deficit. Government officials are using his Asian trip as an opportunity to ask the White House questions. Detailed questions. Boilerplate assurances that America won’t default on its debt or […]
Silicon Sweatshops
November 17th, 2009Via: Global Post: Despite strict “codes of conduct,” labor rights violations are the norm at factories making the world’s favorite high-tech gadgets. Hourly wages below a dollar. Firings with no notice. Indifferent bosses. Labor brokers that leech away months of a worker’s hard-earned wages. A corporate shell game that leaves no one responsible. Such conditions […]
Meredith Whitney: Very Bearish on Stocks; Next Leg Down in Real Estate Coming Soon
November 17th, 2009Florida: Fines for Too-Tall Grass Could Rise to $1,000 a Day in Jupiter
November 17th, 2009Via: Palm Beach Post: An overgrown lawn could cost a homeowner $1,000 a day. A plan to quadruple the penalty from the current maximum of $250 per day for a first violation is scheduled for consideration at Tuesday night’s town council meeting. A repeat violation by the same person would be boosted to $5,000 a […]
Roubini: Worst Yet to Come
November 17th, 2009For your Captain Obvious file folder. Via: New York Daily News: Think the worst is over? Wrong. Conditions in the U.S. labor markets are awful and worsening. While the official unemployment rate is already 10.2% and another 200,000 jobs were lost in October, when you include discouraged workers and partially employed workers the figure is […]
And Now… The Fear Sniffing Magic 8 Ball Terrorist Detector
November 17th, 2009Via: PhysOrg: British scientists are aiming to develop a device that can detect the smell of fear, and that could one day identify terrorists, drug smugglers, and other criminals. The 18-month project to develop two sensor systems is being carried out at the City University London, and is being led by Professor Tong Sun. The […]
U.S. Job Losses Demystified
November 17th, 2009Via: Seeking Alpha: As the unemployment rate crossed the double digit barrier for the first time since Michael Jackson learned to moonwalk, President Obama announced that he will convene a “jobs summit” to finally bring the problem under control. Using all the analytic skill that his administration can muster, the President is determined to figure […]
Chevron Sued for Billions After Poisoning Waterways in Ecuador; One of the Largest Environmental Damage Cases in History
November 17th, 2009Via: Sydney Morning Herald: Tens of thousands of Amazonians are suing Chevron, the American oil company, for poisoning their waterways in what is billed as one of the biggest environmental cases in history. The Ecuadorean claimants said the company illegally dumped toxic waste from its oil production, which filtered into the lakes used by thousands […]
U.S. Special Forces Tracking and Countertracking Manual TC 31-34-4
November 17th, 2009I thought I’d just take a quick look, out of curiosity, because it’s a restricted manual… Don’t click through unless you have at least an hour to blow. Can you tell the difference between male and female footprints? Want to know what footprints left by someone walking backward over vegetation look like? Wonder how weather […]
