• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

OT: The News Thread

Re: OT - The News Thread

I think most by now will realize that Bush wasn't as far off as many believed. I still think that his legacy will improve over time. Similar to Regan, who at the time when he was in office was hated more than Bush.
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

no he wasnt'- reagan was beloved by a large segment of the american population and his legacy was secure as soon as he left office. reagan was "hated" by those who you would have expected would hate him- left wing pantywaistes and members of the media. reagan's immortality as a great president was assured by the time he left office in '89.
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

Barack Obama Does Play-by-Play at Georgetown - Duke
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaBn3cVmQo0"]YouTube- BusterSports.com Barack Obama Does Play-by-Play at Georgetown - Duke[/ame]
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN049998320100204

NEW YORK/ORLANDO, Fla., Feb 4 (Reuters) - New York's attorney general charged Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), former Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis and former Chief Financial Officer Joe Price with fraud for allegedly misleading shareholders about the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission separately said Bank of America agreed to pay a $150 million civil fine and bolster disclosure and governance practices to settle its two lawsuits alleging poor disclosure of Merrill's losses and $3.6 billion of bonus payouts. That accord requires court approval.

Thursday's civil lawsuit by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo may distract new Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan from efforts to improve performance at the largest U.S. bank. He replaced Lewis, who retired under pressure at the end of 2009 after four decades at the bank.

Lewis, 62, joins Countrywide Financial Corp's Angelo Mozilo among major U.S. financial services chief executives to face civil regulatory fraud charges over conduct since a global credit crisis began in the middle of 2007.

Invoking a powerful state law used to combat securities fraud, Cuomo accused Bank of America, Lewis and Price of intentionally failing to disclose massive losses at Merrill prior to a Dec. 5, 2008 shareholder vote on the merger.
Click to expand...
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/04/baby.dna.government/index.html?hpt=C2

CNN) -- When Annie Brown's daughter, Isabel, was a month old, her pediatrician asked Brown and her husband to sit down because he had some bad news to tell them: Isabel carried a gene that put her at risk for cystic fibrosis.

While grateful to have the information -- Isabel received further testing and she doesn't have the disease -- the Mankato, Minnesota, couple wondered how the doctor knew about Isabel's genes in the first place. After all, they'd never consented to genetic testing.

It's simple, the pediatrician answered: Newborn babies in the United States are routinely screened for a panel of genetic diseases. Since the testing is mandated by the government, it's often done without the parents' consent, according to Brad Therrell, director of the National Newborn Screening & Genetics Resource Center.

In many states, such as Florida, where Isabel was born, babies' DNA is stored indefinitely, according to the resource center.

Many parents don't realize their baby's DNA is being stored in a government lab, but sometimes when they find out, as the Browns did, they take action. Parents in Texas, and Minnesota have filed lawsuits, and these parents' concerns are sparking a new debate about whether it's appropriate for a baby's genetic blueprint to be in the government's possession.

"We were appalled when we found out," says Brown, who's a registered nurse. "Why do they need to store my baby's DNA indefinitely? Something on there could affect her ability to get a job later on, or get health insurance."
Click to expand...
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

http://gizmodo.com/5464320/improved...modo/full+(Gizmodo)&utm_content=Google+Reader

Eamex, a Japanese company, claims to have figured out how to greatly increase the lifespan of the high-capacity lithium-ion batteries that run hybrids and electric vehicles.

The new batteries can supposedly survive 10,000 charge cycles and 20 years, which is quite a bit better than what we've got now. How do they work?

The main idea is to stabilize the electrodes and prevent the deterioration of tin, making the batteries withstand repeated charges. The batteries have a negative electrode that incorporates a tin-coated resin and accumulates lithium ions coming from the positive electrode. The positive electrode is made of silicon and tin and swells while generating the ions.

As a result, the repeated charging and discharging causes the binding between particles in the tin to weaken, but Eamex's technology helps to effectively maintain the bonding among those particles.

Neat! If the tech lives up to the claims, we should see these guys in electric vehicles within a few years. [CrunchGear]
Click to expand...
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

Just a sick sick story.

Wonder how the defense for the rapist will play out.

http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-craigslist-rape-020410,0,6704069.story

Prosecutors: Marine arranged ex-girlfriend's rape through Craigslist

John Romero Reporter

9:28 PM MST, February 4, 2010
Jebidiah Stipe

Jebidiah Stipe (Casper Star-Tribune)
CASPER, Wyo. - Even in the Craigslist "Casual Encounters" section -the red light district of the Internet- it was a shocking offer.

A woman named 'Sara,' looking for a "real aggressive man," asking him to rape her inside her home. Even more shocking, however, was that at least one man, 26-year-old Ty McDowell answered the ad, saying he was willing to be the woman's attacker.

But the biggest surprise was yet to come.

The author of the dark fantasy, police say, was really the woman's ex-boyfriend, a U.S. Marine named Jebidiah Stipe. And it was Stipe, police say, who was e-mailing with McDowell as he planned the break-in and rape.

Police say Stipe provided an address, a picture, and then waited for the brutal assault to happen.

On Dec. 11th, Ty McDowell broke into the woman's home in Casper, Wyoming, gagged her, tied her up and raped her, according to police.

When investigators from the Natrona County Sheriff's Office sorted everything out, they charged McDowell with sexual assault and Stipe with being an accomplice.

Both men are still in the Natrona County jail as their cases move forward. Stipe was formally charged this week.

"The aspect of the internet being involved and the technological part of recovering evidence, computer sources, phone sources, multimedia sources, does create some issues for investigators," District Attorney Mike Blonigen told us. "It's not the kind of case I would have seen 10-years ago."

Blonigan is still charging McDowell with rape, even if McDowell contends he thought he was just acting out a fantasy.

"We anticipated that. We'll be ready to answer that with our evidence," Blonigen said.

Computer security expert Charles Tendell says there is little you can do to stop something from happening, but some measures can help.

"Every now and then Google-ing yourself will give you a good sense of your Internet presence, and if you see something fraudulent you can report it," Tendell told us.
Click to expand...

And how the hell would googling yourself stop this from happening to you? Its not likely that the craigslist ad used real names....
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

Right: 3.5 on the scale

Authoritarian: 2.6 on the scale

that HARDLY makes me an "extreme right winger". not even close.
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

good thing there's no way to influence the test results for yourself there.
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

I'm stuck on this one: People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce.

pretty tough question.
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

What are the chances that KB realizes the irony in him decrying Obama as "Big Brother" when he himself is so Authoritarian?
 
Re: OT - The News Thread

My reading was similar to Ghandi's.

pcgraphpngphp.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top