Tuesday, September 30, 2008

George W. Bush vowed to get the USD 700 billion economic rescue plan through congress in a statement to the media made today.

“Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted on a financial rescue plan that had been negotiated by Congressional leaders of both parties and my administration,” Bush reminded the audience. “Unfortunately, the measure was defeated by a narrow margin. I’m disappointed by the outcome, but I assure our citizens and citizens around the world that this is not the end of the legislative process.”

“Producing legislation is complicated, and it can be contentious. It matters little what a path a bill takes to become law,” he continued. “We’re at a critical moment for our economy, and we need legislation that decisively address the troubled assets now clogging the financial system, helps lenders resume the flow of credit to consumers and businesses, and allows the American economy to get moving again.”

Market Data

“I recognize this is a difficult vote for members of Congress. Many of them don’t like the fact that our economy has reached this point, and I understand that. But the reality is that we are in an urgent situation, and the consequences will grow worse each day if we do not act. The dramatic drop in the stock market that we saw yesterday will have a direct impact on the retirement accounts, pension funds, and personal savings of millions of our citizens. And if our nation continues on this course, the economic damage will be painful and lasting.”World and US markets today are up after severe declines yesterday. Most have recovered 30% of their previous losses, meaning that the potential government expenditure was similar to the market losses.

Bush then said that he knows “many Americans are especially worried about the cost of the legislation.” He then attempted to justify the cost. “The bill the House considered yesterday commits up to 700 billion taxpayer dollars to purchase troubled assets from banks and other financial institutions. That, no question, is a large amount of money. We’re also dealing with a large problem. But to put that in perspective, the drop in the stock market yesterday represented more than a trillion dollars in losses.”

If passed, the bailout plan would have allowed for the United States government to purchase devalued mortgage backed securities, resulting from the subprime mortgage crisis, from troubled financial institutions. The US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the plan could cost up to $700 billion.

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

In an eerie echo of the Wendy’s chili finger case, a man found a severed finger tip in his frozen custard on Monday in North Carolina, USA. However, unlike the Wendy’s case, agriculture and labor officials have confirmed with Craig Thomas, the owner of Kohl’s Frozen Custard, that an employee had lost the finger tip while working with the custard dispensing machine at the location.

“I thought it was candy because they put candy in your ice cream … to make it a treat,” Clarence Stowers told Wilmington WWAY TV. Stowers continued, “OK, well, I’ll just put it in my mouth and get the ice cream off of it and see what it is.”

The Kohl’s Frozen Custard outlet is located on South College Road in Wilmington, North Carolina.

“We are still trying to ascertain what exactly happened,” owner Thomas told WRAL Raleigh-Durham. “But in the seconds that it took for the accident to happen, and for (the employee) to tell the manager that it happened, a pint was being scooped out,” he said.

“I’m sick at my stomach, I just can’t get that taste out of my mouth,” Stowers told WECT TV6 in Wilmington. Stowers is keeping the finger tip in his freezer and said he plans to hire a lawyer.

This is the second time that an employee has lost a finger tip at Kohl’s Frozen Custard. Former employee William Franklin lost a finger tip last summer, but an investigation by the Department of Labor placed the blame on Franklin for that incident.

Kohl’s Frozen Custard was permitted to re-open after state inspectors monitored the disassembly and sterilization of the custard dispensing machine.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Today, David Paterson, the governor of New York, appointed Kirsten Gillibrand as the replacement in the United States Senate for Hillary Clinton, who left the position to become Secretary of State in Barack Obama’s administration.

Gillibrand, 42, was a member of the House of Representatives from Hudson and is, like Clinton, a member of the Democratic Party.

“I believe I have found the best candidate to become the next senator from the state of New York. She is dynamic, she is articulate, she is perceptive, she is outspoken,” said Paterson at a news conference.

This selection came after Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy and leading candidate for the job, withdrew from the consideration for the seat on January 21 due to unspecified personal reasons. Kennedy was one of approximately 20 candidates that Governor Paterson said he considered for the position, including fellow New York Congressmen Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler.

New York’s attorney general Andrew Cuomo was also considered. Cuomo was the top choice in voter opinion polls, according to CNN.

Clinton expressed approval of the appointment in a statement: “Kirsten is an intelligent and dedicated public servant and a dear friend. I’m pleased that this seat, which has been my great honor to hold, and which has in its history been held by leaders like former Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Robert F. Kennedy, will be in such capable hands.”

President Obama also approved of her, stating, “Kirsten has been a strong voice for transparency and reform in government and shares the belief that government should be open, accessible and work for all our citizens.”

In statements, Gillibrand said that she will be a supporter of same-sex marriage and an advocate for women’s rights. She has also promised a state economic stimulus package that would support New York’s education as well as put forth funding for the environment and a new project that would create a high-speed rail system linking New York City with Albany, the state capital.

The appointment has been criticized by gun-control and immigration advocates. In particular Gillibrand’s opinion on gun control laws has been rebuked, including her stance opposing restrictions on parts of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlines the right of citizens to bear arms, earning her support by the National Rifle Association.

“When I heard Gillibrand was his pick, I thought it was a joke. This is an insult to the families of gun violence victims across the state. Shame on Governor Paterson,” stated Gloria Cruz of the Million Mom March which promoted tighter restrictions on the private ownership of firearms.

Gillibrand is set to be officially sworn in on Sunday, January 25.

Monday, November 28, 2005

U.S. Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R–CA) pled guilty today to conspiring to take bribes in exchange for using his influence as a member of the House Appropriations Committee to help a defense contractor get business. In total he pled guilty to one count of income tax evasion and four counts of conspiracy, namely mail fraud, wire fraud, bribery of public official and accepting bribes. U.S. District judge Larry A. Burns scheduled Cunnigham to be sentenced on February 27. He is facing up to 10 years in prison and nearly $500,000 in fines, as well as forfeiture of unspecified amounts of cash and property.

In the court hearing, Cunningham admitted to accepting “bribes in exchange for performance of official duties” between “the year 2000 and June of 2005”, taking “both cash payments and payments in kind” and following up by “trying to influence the Defense Department”.

The federal investigation against Cunningham was triggered by his sale of his California residence to defense contractor Mitchell Wade in late 2003. However, Wade never moved in and sold the house at a $700,000 loss three quarters of a year later. At the same time Wade’s company MZM won tens of millions of dollars in defense contracts. Subsequent investigations discovered more questionable business transactions, including interactions with the defense contractor ADCS. In his plea agreement he testified that, among other charges, he “demanded, sought and received at least $2.4 million in illicit payments and benefits from his co-conspirators in various forms, including cash, checks, meals, travel, lodging, furnishings, antiques, rugs, yacht club fees, boat repairs and improvements, moving expenses, cars and boats.”

Cunningham announced his resignation after the hearing. In a written statement released by his law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP he declared “The truth is — I broke the law, concealed my conduct, and disgraced my high office. I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions, and most importantly, the trust of my friends and family.”

Thursday, October 18, 2007

It can be difficult to be John Reed.

Christopher Hitchens called him a “Bin Ladenist” and Cathy Young editorialized in The Boston Globe that he “blames the victims of terrorism” when he puts out a novel like Snowball’s Chance, a biting send-up of George Orwell‘s Animal Farm which he was inspired to write after the terrorist attacks on September 11. “The clear references to 9/11 in the apocalyptic ending can only bring Orwell’s name into disrepute in the U.S.,” wrote William Hamilton, the British literary executor of the Orwell estate. That process had already begun: it was revealed Orwell gave the British Foreign Office a list of people he suspected of being “crypto-Communists and fellow travelers,” labeling some of them as Jews and homosexuals. “I really wanted to explode that book,” Reed told The New York Times. “I wanted to completely undermine it.”

Is this man who wants to blow up the classic literary canon taught to children in schools a menace, or a messiah? David Shankbone went to interview him for Wikinews and found that, as often is the case, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

Reed is electrified by the changes that surround him that channel through a lens of inspiration wrought by his children. “The kids have made me a better writer,” Reed said. In his new untitled work, which he calls a “new play by William Shakespeare,” he takes lines from The Bard‘s classics to form an original tragedy. He began it in 2003, but only with the birth of his children could he finish it. “I didn’t understand the characters who had children. I didn’t really understand them. And once I had had kids, I could approach them differently.”

Taking the old to make it new is a theme in his work and in his world view. Reed foresees new narrative forms being born, Biblical epics that will be played out across print and electronic mediums. He is pulled forward by revolutions of the past, a search for a spiritual sensibility, and a desire to locate himself in the process.

Below is David Shankbone’s conversation with novelist John Reed.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Parts of a body belonging to a child have been discovered at the Haut de la Garenne in Saint Martin, Jersey, a United Kingdom Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France.

The Victorian building, which was originally built as a children’s care home and is now a youth hostel, has been under investigation recently as part of an inquiry into child abuse which occurred during the 1960s. The investigation has now been refocused with the aim to excavate further the grounds of the building, under the command of a specialist team from the UK who will use ground scanners and sniffer dogs to detect any other possible remains.

The body is believed to date from the early 1980s though further information about the identity of the child has not yet been released. The remains were found buried underneath a concrete floor inside the building. Today, the Guardian newspaper revealed that there are fears of a possible six further bodies buried on the site.

“There could be six, but it could be higher than that,” according to lead investigator Lenny Harper, who further said, “Allegations range from physical assaults right through to rape. It is difficult to envisage more horrific crimes than some of those that are alleged to have been carried out here.”

A helpline set up to find more information about alleged child abuse at the Haut de la Garenne and Jersey Sea Scouts has garnered a total of 140 contacts, made up of those claiming to be witnesses or victims to the crimes. The information gathered from the telephone inquiry triggered the search of the grounds.

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, the San Jose, California-based joint venture of Japanese storage vendor Hitachi and U.S. technology giant IBM, has set a new record for storage density at 230 gigabits per square inch (Gb/in²). The company has developed technology to implement a recording method known as perpendicular recording, which allowed the increase in density above the current ~130 Gb/in² limit.

Techworld claims there is a race between Hitachi and Toshiba for who will get the first drives to market which use the technology. According to Hitachi, they expect, “to ship [their] first perpendicular recording product in 2005 on a 2.5-inch hard drive”. Toshiba is also planning to ship a drive in 2005 that uses perpendicular recording.

According to Techworld, Toshiba will ship an 80 GB, 1.8″ drive in 2005. Toshiba’s 1.8″ drives are used in portable electronic devices such as Apple’s iPod, which is currently available in sizes 60 GB and smaller.

While all commercially available hard drives to date use longitudinal recording, perpendicular recording has roots in research done in academic circles over 100 years ago.

Hitachi Tech has produced a Flash animation that explains the rudiments of perpendicular recording in a music-video style.

Inspired by the 1970s Schoolhouse Rock series of educational animation shorts, the flash movie features whimsical moments with data bits and disk platters that speak and sing (not possible with today’s technology), it also contains realistic details. Of no importance to the viewer, but perhaps of interest to some, the animation shows Texas Instruments’ UC5608DWP chips visible briefly in the background. While TI’s UC5608DWP 18-line SCSI terminator chips have been made obsolete by the new UCC5618, the chips are indeed designed for use in hard drives.