Here is the 13th conversation I had with money manager Andrew Horowitz…. new insights for anyone who invests in anything. What to do? This chat is not produced and is presented as-is for anyone who wants to listen in. We discuss the new Obama Market. What to expect.
Whatever it was, it was cruising. Probably checking up on their boy Wolf.
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Authorities at a North Carolina college say a huge snowball fight got out of control, forcing campus police to use pepper spray on some students to contain the rowdy crowd.
Police were called to a dormitory at East Carolina University three times Tuesday as hundreds of students pelted each other with snow, The Daily Reflector of Greenville reported. The college is in a part of the state which doesn’t get snow often, but a rare storm dropped several inches on campus that day.
Police said some students were getting too aggressive and an officer used pepper spray on a group that rushed officers trying to make an arrest.
Junior Brandon Davis said “it all started in good nature, but then people were throwing them as hard as they could at each other.” Junior Matt Lunchick said an officer chased and arrested a student after being hit in the back with a snowball.
Ha!
WARWICK, R.I. – A man who abandoned 280 white rats found dead and dying in crowded carriers was ordered to pay $1,000 restitution and perform 50 hours of community service. Toby Duffany pleaded no contest Wednesday to a single count of animal abandonment. Authorities say the 22-year-old Duffany left the rats crammed into aquariums and cages by the side of a road in Foster last month. By the time they were discovered on Dec. 30, the animals had been there several days, 72 were dead and the survivors had resorted to cannibalism. The living rats were euthanized by the state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Duffany’s mother had started with one or two pet rats that multiplied quickly, said David Holden, inspector for the group.
Duffany said in court he got rid of the rats because he and his fiancee just had a baby. The couple share a small house with his mother. He said that at his mother’s request, he tried without success to get various pet stores to take the rats before abandoning them. Veterinarian E.J. Finnocchio, the group’s president, said he was disappointed with the sentence. Duffany could have faced charges of malicious injury to animals. “I’m waiting for the day to come when the message is sent that in Rhode Island, you will not get away with doing these things,” Finnocchio said.
I love animals as much as the next guy…maybe more so. But is this insane or what? I mean I have paid people to kill the little bastards, does that make me an accomplice?
Daylife/Reuters Pictures
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Merrill Lynch paid billions of dollars of bonuses to its employees, three days before completing its life-saving sale to Bank of America, reports the Financial Times.
The money was paid as Merrill’s losses were mounting, forcing Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis last month to seek additional government support for the deal. Merrill’s compensation committee agreed to pay bonuses on December 29, at least one month earlier than usual, the paper said.
Bank of America said Merrill had a $21.5 billion operating loss in the fourth quarter. Despite the massive losses, Merrill set aside $15 billion for 2008 compensation, 6% lower than a year earlier. About $3 billion to $4 billion of that compensation were annual bonuses.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for the world’s first study of human embryonic stem cell therapy, Geron Corp has said in a milestone for such research and a marked political shift. The move came three days after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, a Democrat who had been expected to rescind some of the federal funding restrictions placed on such research.
The California biotechnology company plans to initiate a clinical trial in patients with acute spinal cord injury.
“This marks the beginning of what is potentially a new chapter in medical therapeutics – one that reaches beyond pills to a new level of healing: the restoration of organ and tissue function achieved by the injection of healthy replacement cells,” Geron Chief Executive Thomas B. Okarma said in a statement…
Stem cells are the body’s master cells, giving rise to all the tissues, organs and blood. Embryonic stem cells are considered the most powerful kinds of stem cells, as they have the potential to give rise to any type of tissue…
“The neurosurgical community is very excited by this new approach to treating devastating spinal cord injury,” said Richard Fessler, professor of neurological surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.
“If safe and effective, the therapy would provide a viable treatment option for thousands of patients who suffer severe spinal cord injuries each year,” he said in a statement.
Congratulations to the FDA for standing up on their hind legs – now that everyone’s job is safe while doing so.
South Korea might be one of the most wired places in the world, but it’s not necessarily the most Internet friendly. Park Dae Sung, 31, an unemployed blogger now finds himself in hot water for allegedly being “Minerva,” a web guru who posted his thoughts on the state of the economy and the government’s economic policies. Those thoughts generated huge attention in Korea, particularly following Minerva’s prediction that Lehman Brothers would fail. Those musings, however, have not sat well with Seoul. Now Park has been taken into custody by the government and, according to his lawyer, faces a maximum five-year prison sentence for allegedly spreading false information with the intention of harming or threatening public interest. Late last week, Park was denied bail.
Found by Scott Diaz.
President Obama has announced new strict lobbying rules that “could usher in an era of openness in federal government.” For example, administration officials are banned from accepting gifts from lobbyists and will have to wait two years before lobbying the government when out of office…
Senate Republicans have tasked Conference Vice Chairman John Thune (S.D.) with beefing up the party’s outreach to K Street, business groups and grass-roots organizations, hoping to maintain critical alliances built up over eight years of White House control…
The previous version of the K Street Project, established by Tom DeLay and his cronies, set up a pay-to-play machine that self-admittedly operated by the old adage of “punish your enemies and reward your friends.” Lobbyists were given influence over legislation in return for donations to Republicans and a refusal to hire Democrats. DeLay’s influence is still felt on K Street, where there remains a “collective griping” at the dominance of Republicans.
Lobbyists “willing to pay a $25,000 fee will mingle with House Republicans at their annual winter retreat” next week in Hot Springs, VA. Only some of the lobbyists — on the board or advisory committee the nonprofit Congressional Institute — are listed on the group’s website, so it’s not clear who will be attending the GOP retreat. One lobbyist who has attended the retreat for years told the Hill, “Of course it’s about access and building relationships — that’s what this town is all about.”
Some congressional Democrats may also be getting in on the action…On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) invited top lobbyists to join him for an inaugural brunch where he pledged that he will still do plenty of business with them. “People should understand that lobbyists, per se, are someone’s father, mother, son, daughter,” said Reid. “They work for a living.”
The corruption kicked off to a new level by the Gingrich “Contract on America” has adherents in both parties. The battle for honesty and openness has just begun. Though the Republicans are still the most openly greedy and corrupt, old guard Dems like Reid should be sent a message that voters count for more than country club buddies.
Other reports suggest that over 24 RAF bases and 75% of Royal Navy ships — including the aircraft carrier Ark Royal — systems were infected/impacted. Unconfirmed reports implied that the stations attacked by the worm were ones that would be used to scramble aircraft for Russian bomber intercept. Sources inside the MoD have stated they are investigating the computer virus/worm. However, they firmly denied any knowledge of any e-mails being sent to a Russian.
This attack came on the heels of a similar attack on the Pentagon in the United States. Could this be the same bug? Cyber security experts say they appear to be similar but are not willing to say they were identical. The computer virus caused the Pentagon to ban the use of USB memory sticks or flash drives.
Although the US Department of Defense has not provided any official comment on the attack on their UK ally, one thing is clear, cyber attacks have accelerated and many believe we are on the verge of an all-out cyber war.
Found by Teagon Murray.
Trees are dying faster than ever in the old-growth forests of California and the mountains of the West, a phenomenon scientists say is linked to rising regional temperatures and the destructive forces of early snowmelt, drought, forest fires and deadly insect infestations brought on by global warming.
Over the past 17 years in some regions – and 25 to 37 years in others – the death rates of mature trees have doubled, the scientists said, raising concerns that the problem goes well beyond tree deaths alone.
Of course global warming is blamed. How about the effects of clear cutting and bad forest management? Could that have something to do with it? Nah.
I hate to beat a dead horse, but how often do you get to see photos of a crashed airliner this intact? It’s worth viewing the photos here.
A Mississippi lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require textbooks to include a disclaimer describing evolution as a “controversial theory” and advising students to keep an “open mind” to other explanations for the origin of life.
Rep. Gary Chism introduced the legislation, House Bill 25, earlier this month. The bill has been referred to two committees, Education and Judiciary A.
The proposal, if enacted, would require the State Board of Education to include the 200-word disclaimer on the inside front cover of textbooks that include evolution topics.
“The word ‘theory’ has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles,” the opening paragraph of the bill states. “Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.”
“This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life’s origins should be considered a theory,” the proposal continues.
Former National Security Agency analyst Russell Tice, who helped expose the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping in December 2005, has now come forward with even more startling allegations. Tice told MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann on Wednesday that the programs that spied on Americans were not only much broader than previously acknowledged but specifically targeted journalists.
“The National Security Agency had access to all Americans’ communications — faxes, phone calls, and their computer communications,” Tice claimed. “It didn’t matter whether you were in Kansas, in the middle of the country, and you never made foreign communications at all. They monitored all communications.” Tice further explained that “even for the NSA it’s impossible to literally collect all communications. … What was done was sort of an ability to look at the metadata … and ferret that information to determine what communications would ultimately be collected.”
We took an informal poll in my office about this issue. Most agreed that unlimited wiretapping is a good thing as long as its for “National Security”. But then most everyone I work with are drooling idiots. And yes, they do read my posts.
Found by Ian Warner
For Kindle and with free ePub version. Only $9.49 Great reading.
Here is what Gary Shapiro CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said: Dvorak's writing sings with insight and clarity. Whether or not you agree with John's views, he will get you thinking and is never boring. These essays are worth the read!
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