Archive for January, 2010
Chertoff Shills for Body Scanner Manufacturer
January 5th, 2010Via: Boston Globe: Since the attempted bombing of a US airliner on Christmas Day, former Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff has given dozens of media interviews touting the need for the federal government to buy more full-body scanners for airports. What he has made little mention of is that the Chertoff Group, his security consulting […]
And Now… DARPA’s Flying Car Program
January 5th, 2010*chortle* Via: Network World: Military scientists are looking to ramp up research and development of a flying military vehicle that will hold up to 4 people and have the ability to launch vertically and soar when necessary. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will this month hold its first Proposers’ Day Workshop in support […]
British Pensioners Are Buying Cheap Used Books to Burn for Heat?
January 5th, 2010Via: CNBC: Some cash-strapped British pensioners are buying books from charity shops and burn them to keep warm as freezing temperatures gripped the UK, a London newspaper reported Tuesday. Workers at a charity shop in Swansea, in south Wales, told London newspaper Metro that pensioners were looking for thick books such as encyclopedias — which […]
Americans’ Job Satisfaction Falls to Record Low
January 5th, 2010Via: AP: Even Americans who are lucky enough to have work in this economy are becoming more unhappy with their jobs, according to a new survey that found only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work. That was the lowest level ever recorded by the Conference Board research group in more than 22 […]
Living on Nothing but Food Stamps
January 5th, 2010Via: New York Times: After an improbable rise from the Bronx projects to a job selling Gulf Coast homes, Isabel Bermudez lost it all to an epic housing bust — the six-figure income, the house with the pool and the investment property. Now, as she papers the county with résumés and girds herself for rejection, […]
Gunbattle at Las Vegas Courthouse
January 5th, 2010Via: Los Angeles Times: Reporting from Washington and Las Vegas – A 66-year-old retiree apparently upset over losing a lawsuit related to his Social Security benefits opened fire in a federal courthouse lobby Monday morning, killing one person and wounding another in a chaotic shootout. The gunman, identified by law enforcement sources as Johnny Lee […]
Japan: Homeless People Living in Plastic Capsule Hotels
January 4th, 2010Via: New York Times: For Atsushi Nakanishi, jobless since Christmas, home is a cubicle barely bigger than a coffin — one of dozens of berths stacked two units high in one of central Tokyo’s decrepit “capsule” hotels. “It’s just a place to crawl into and sleep,” he said, rolling his neck and stroking his black […]
Use of Potentially Harmful Chemicals Kept Secret Under Law
January 4th, 2010Via: Washington Post: Of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use in the United States — from flame retardants in furniture to household cleaners — nearly 20 percent are secret, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, their names and physical properties guarded from consumers and virtually all public officials under a little-known federal provision. The policy […]
Real Estate in Cape Coral Is Far From a Recovery
January 4th, 2010Via: New York Times: FELLOW adventurers, refugees from winter and armchair archaeologists, we are here on this shiny green tour bus to embark on a safari of sorts. We’ll be exploring the local habitat, as upended and reconfigured by an epochal real estate fiasco. Our guide, Marc Joseph, stalks wildlife of the white-elephant variety. A […]
U.S. Treasuries Post Worst Performance Among Sovereign Markets
January 4th, 2010Via: Bloomberg: Treasuries were the worst performing sovereign debt market in 2009 as the U.S. sold $2.1 trillion of notes and bonds to fund extraordinary efforts to bolster the economy and financial markets. Investors in U.S. debt lost 3.5 percent on average through Dec. 30, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes, the biggest […]
