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Community > Posts By > crickstergo
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100520/ap_on_re_as/as_skorea_ship_sinks
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea warns that it will wage "all-out war" if punished for the sinking of a South Korean warship. Investigators in Seoul said Thursday that evidence proves a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo that sank a South Korean naval ship on March 26. The civilian and military investigation team included experts from South Korea, the U.S., Australia, Britain and Sweden. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency quoted a spokesman from the National Defense Commission as refuting the findings as a "fabrication." The report says Pyongyang will react to any punishment or sanctions with warfare. |
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Topic:
I'm Done with "Survivor"
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I could not stand Russell...he lied on the life of his kids to win a game...No I am glad he did not win.. It just doesn't make any sense though.....you have to betray and backstab people "NICELY" to win....who wants to watch that show.... Think about the game.....deceiving people is one of the main themes....without lying there is no deceit. I hated what Russell did too sometimes....but that is the essence of the game. Pavarati and Russell were the biggest deceivers...the most hated...but they ended up in the final three because that's how to best play the game. Sandra only ended up in the final three because she was not a threat to anybody. And she only won because the jury was bitter that they were made to look like fools by Russell and Pavarati for trusting them....and the game is not about blind trust. |
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Topic:
I'm Done with "Survivor"
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What a huge dissappointment...Sandra was crowned the winner.
What did she do....nothing, basically....she didn't lead her team into winning a single challenge or ever win individual immunity. Heck, she couldn't even find an immunity idol on her own. And socially, she was BORING. The whole intrigue of the game is to form alliances, use those alliances to survive, and then backstab an unsuspecting person. And in the end, the jury should not be bitter but say "hey, u got me good" and vote for the person that played the game the best. The fans have spoken though (Sprint winner Russell) and declared a mistrial!!! |
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Below is a copy of section 834b of the California Penal Code that deals with immigration law enforcement at the local level. (a) Every law enforcement agency in California shall fully cooperate with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service regarding any person who is arrested if he or she is suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws. (b) With respect to any such person who is arrested, and suspected of being present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws, every law enforcement agency shall do the following: (1) Attempt to verify the legal status of such person as a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted as a permanent resident, an alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time or as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. The verification process may include, but shall not be limited to, questioning the person regarding his or her date and place of birth, and entry into the United States, and demanding documentation to indicate his or her legal status. (2) Notify the person of his or her apparent status as an alien who is present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws and inform him or her that, apart from any criminal justice proceedings, he or she must either obtain legal status or leave the United States. (3) Notify the Attorney General of California and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service of the apparent illegal status and provide any additional information that may be requested by any other public entity. (c) Any legislative, administrative, or other action by a city, county, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with jurisdictional boundaries, or by a law enforcement agency, to prevent or limit the cooperation required by subdivision (a) is expressly prohibited. http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2010/may/15/audio-interview-la-city-councilman-attacks-ariz-la/ |
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Ok, the drawing did post....the more I read about this, I'm thinking BP is more interestred in saving the well than stopping the leak.
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Edited by
crickstergo
on
Sun 05/16/10 12:03 PM
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couldn't get drawing to post but looks like well head is still intact....it is the riser pipe broken off
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/05/03/2292747.aspx scroll down and see drawing 
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Looks to me that BP is more interested in finding a way to re capture the oil than stopping the leak....surely a large box over the pipe filled up with something could immediately stop the leak or at least slow it down. They are drilling a new well - so why not just block off the oil coming out of the pipe as best u can until the relief well is finished? Too simple?
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This video is making the rounds in the news....very young scantily clad girls performing "Single Ladies" dance routine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dc6u92boyw Is the video appropriate or not? |
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Topic:
The New, 'Improved' GM ...
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As of March 31, 2010, the U.S. Treasury had committed approximately $52.4 billion to GM.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/apr/27/ed-whitacre/ceo-says-gm-has-repaid-government-loans-full/ "rated as a half truth"... You see, that loan doesn't exist anymore so in that regard, yes it has been paid off. "the loans were repaid not with GM earnings (in fact, SEC filings show GM expected to have negative net cash flows in the fourth quarter of 2009) but rather from GM tapping into a multi-billion-dollar TARP-funded escrow account." The commercial makes me want to slap the fool....but I use the remote. |
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Schwarzenegger Preps ‘Terrible Cuts’ to Close Deficit
By Michael B. Marois and William Selway May 11 (Bloomberg) -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will seek “terrible cuts” to eliminate an $18.6 billion budget deficit facing the most-populous U.S. state through June 2011, his spokesman said. Schwarzenegger, 62, who will introduce his revised budget plans on May 14, has said he won’t seek tax increases to bolster California’s finances. The Republican’s forecast for the budget gap may rise after revenue fell short of his targets last month. “We can’t get through this deficit without very terrible cuts,” Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear told reporters in Sacramento. “We don’t believe that raising taxes right now is the right thing to do.” California’s revenue in April, when income-tax payments are due, trailed the governor’s estimates by $3.6 billion, or 26 percent. The gap wiped out gains from the previous four months, leaving collections $1.3 billion behind projections for the budget year that ends in June. Schwarzenegger’s newest plan will revise the proposals introduced in January to account for the tax-collection shortages. In January, the governor said California may have to eliminate entire welfare programs, including the main one that provides cash and job assistance to families below the poverty line, without an influx of cash from the federal government. Since then, the Democrat-controlled Legislature has made few strides toward closing the budget hole. Legislation adopted during the emergency session ordered by Schwarzenegger knocked about $1.4 billion from the deficit. Tax Measures Democrats this week introduced a package of bills that would raise as much as $2.9 billion annually by imposing a 10 percent severance tax on oil production in the state, repealing corporate-tax breaks approved last year to spur job growth and assessing commercial property taxes differently. Schwarzenegger is girding for his final fight over California’s budget before leaving office in January. Over the last two years, he and lawmakers have had difficulty redrawing the budget fast enough to make up for revenue lost amid rising unemployment. By the beginning of 2010, Schwarzenegger and the lawmakers had closed a $60 billion deficit partly by slashing spending on schools, temporarily raising taxes and borrowing from local governments. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aMHZOCQK9hC4 |
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Fannie And Freddie May be "Losing Money as a Matter of Policy"
Posted May 12, 2010 by Peter Gorenstein The Senate on Tuesday rejected a Republican sponsored measure that would effectively cut off support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in two years. The government-sponsored enterprises, now in conservatorship, have already cost the government about $145 billion. And there's no limit to how much more they can ask for for the next two years! Fannie Mae lost $11.5 billion in the first quarter while Freddie Mac lost more than $6.7 billion. After posting those massive losses, they asked for a combined additional sum of nearly $20 billion in government assistance. "Are they losing money as a matter of policy or are they losing it as bad judgment?" asks Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who calls the Fannie and Freddie the elephant in the bailout room. Baker and Fusion IQ's Barry Ritholtz are convinced the government is effectively sponsoring a backdoor bailout of the banks via the GSEs. "This is a conscious, willful decision," says Ritholtz, author of The Big Picture blog and Bailout Nation. "Fannie And Freddie act as a conduit for taking all this junk off the banks' balance sheets." And Congress is along for the ride, says Baker. "To some extent the wool's been pulled over their eyes but I'd just say it's willingly. They just don't want to deal with it right now," he notes. The fear is cutting off aid to Fannie and Freddie could kill the housing industry. In the first quarter, the government backed more than 96% of all residential mortgages. Whatever the reason, taxpayers will continue to pay the price. Ritholtz estimates Freddie and Fannie could easily cost us $400 billion combined; judging by the continued carnage "maybe that's way on the low side?" he concedes. http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/483857/Backdoor-Bank-Bailout%3F-Fannie-%26-Freddie-May-be-%22Losing-Money-as-Matter-of-Policy%22 So Obama's Treasury department has found a way to get those "toxic assets" off the Bank's balance sheets afterall. Stay tuned for more....the feds just extended a credit line to Europe and California may be the next to get a bailout...20 billion at least. |
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Its well past time to cut and run in Iraqnam and Afghanistan. Both wars are the reasone for our massive spending. Thank Bush/Cheneye for that one. So why doesn't Obama get added to your "thank you"????? Brilliant....that's exactly what Obama is doing.....so include him in your "thanks"! |
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Its well past time to cut and run in Iraqnam and Afghanistan. Both wars are the reasone for our massive spending. Thank Bush/Cheneye for that one. So why doesn't Obama get added to your "thank you"????? |
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we r doomed unless we pass a constitutional amendemnt that limits spending....the overspending is now consuming states one by one. Let's look for Califiornia to lead...
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WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. tax burden has shrunk to its lowest level in 60 years, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Including state, federal and local taxes -- with sales tax and property tax thrown in -- the average tax bill came out to 9.2 percent of personal income in 2009, USA Today reported Tuesday. That's down from an average of 12 percent over the past 50 years. The tax burden has not been this low since 1950, the newspaper said. "The idea that taxes are high right now is pretty much nuts," said Michael Ettlinger, head of economic policy at the Center for American Progress. The tax rate has fallen 26 percent since 2007, a sharp drop that reflects progressive tax rates passed during the Clinton and Bush administrations and the 2009 federal stimulus bill that cut taxes by $800 for married couples earning up to $150,000. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2010/05/11/US-tax-burden-at-lowest-point-in-years/UPI-74091273594893/ Tuesday, May 11, 2010 American's Taxes Hit 60 Year Low Amid complaints about high taxes and calls for a smaller government, Americans paid their lowest level of taxes last year since Harry Truman's presidency, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data found. Some conservative political movements such as the "Tea Party" have criticized federal spending as being out of control. While spending is up, taxes have fallen to exceptionally low levels. Federal, state and local taxes — including income, property, sales and other taxes — consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last half-century. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8.% of income before rising slightly in the first three months of 2010. "The idea that taxes are high right now is pretty much nuts," says Michael Ettlinger, head of economic policy at the liberal Center for American Progress. The real problem is spending,counters Adam Brandon of FreedomWorks, which organizes Tea Party groups. "The money we borrow is going to be paid back through taxation in the future," he says. Individual tax rates vary widely based on how much a taxpayer earns, where the person lives and other factors. On average, though, the tax rate paid by all Americans — rich and poor, combined — has fallen 26% since the recession began in 2007. That means a $3,400 annual tax savings for a household paying the average national rate and earning the average national household income of $102,000. I think someone needs to tell FreedomWorks that their teabag followers don't know the difference between current taxation and future taxation. Consider this CBS report that indicated people really don't know how much they pay in taxes, particularly the Tea Party people, where 44 percent believe their taxes have gone up, and it seems FreedomWorks has done nothing to dispel the idea that Obama is taxing America out of house and home. Considering Republican talking points, it would appear that the administration is doing its part to lower the overall tax burden of America. I'm sure conservatives will argue that when the Bush taxcuts expire, Obama will have effectively raised taxes, but they would still be at a historical low point, and with Americans paying less in taxes, they would be able to do more for the economy, right? http://www.themidnightreview.com/2010/05/americans-taxes-hit-60-year-low.html  Anytime someonme tries to prove something using percentages one should always be suspicious of the results...... "The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8.% of income before rising slightly in the first three months of 2010." Geez....wasn't unemployment extremely high then....I"m sure that in itself greatly biased the percentages..... |
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I suspect more of these will be dropped as courts start citing that the law does not go against the constitution. Apparently only DemocRATS can do that as they showed us with health care. I think healthcare could successfully have been argued as constitutional as well,,but I suspect this effort against AZ immigration law will fade just like the efforts against healthcare reform,,,,, just wait until those that had healthcare before Obamacare get their new premium renewal notices for 2011......I think hollering will be the more appropriate word....and those notices usually will come just before voting in 2010!  |
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No-More-Bailouts Bill Springs a Leak:
Fannie and Freddie Ask for More Posted May 10th Sen. Chris Dodd’s financial regulation bill say it will end financial bailouts. In fact, the Senate — anxious to reassure Americans on that fact — even added an amendment last week, with a stated purpose “To prohibit taxpayers from ever having to bail out the financial sector.” But someone forgot to tell the folks across town at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Freddie last week announced it had lost $8 billion in the first quarter of the year, and would be asking for another $10.6 in taxpayer help. And today, its twin Fannie announced a $11.5 billion loss, and asked for a further $8.4 billion in aid from taxpayers. That’s in addition to the nearly $145 billion in aid to Fannie and Freddie have already received. So did the two government-sponsored enterprises slip this bailout in under the wire before Congress stopped them? Not quite. In fact, the plan does nothing to reform either Fannie or Freddie. That apparently is not a priority. Sen. Mark Warner, in fact, said that a plan for reform of these out-of-control firms will have to wait until next year. Sens. John McCain, Richard Shelby and Judd Gregg are planning to introduce an amendment to the Senate legislation to require action to address Fannie and Freddie. It’s not expected to pass. This is a serious hole in the USS Dodd. And it’s the American taxpayer who will be drenched as a result. http://blog.heritage.org/2010/05/10/no-more-bailouts-bill-springs-a-leak-fannie-and-freddie-ask-for-more/ How can those pompous a$$ members of Congress sit up there and drill the Goldman Sach executives when their baby Freddie/Fannie is the fuse that created the whole problem. Crooks don't have any respect for crooked sheriffs. I don't know how any of them sleep at night to tell u the truth. If u really want to know who is the blame for most of this financial crisis....it's Freddie and Fannie...Go here http://ezinearticles.com/?Fannie-Mae-and-Freddie-Mac---Two-Culprits-in-the-Economic-Meltdown,-But-Not-the-Major-Culprit&id=4190809 The major culprit being the democratic party. |
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So the question is....Did the feds just bailout Europe???
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Topic:
Texting while driving
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Yup...I call em drifters.....lollygagging at variable speeds....left laners too...oblivious to other people spotting them talking or texting and driving eratically ....And when I blow the horn at em they look at me like I'm crazy or something. Put the cell phone away people before u kill somebody.
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Federal Reserve opens credit line to Europe
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa, Ap Economics Writer – Sun May 9, 11:35 pm ET WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve late Sunday opened a program to ship U.S. dollars to Europe in a move to head off a broader financial crisis on the continent. Other central banks, including the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan also are involved in the dollar swap effort. The move comes after the European Union and International Monetary Fund pledged a nearly $1 trillion defense package for the embattled euro, hoping to calm jittery markets and halt attacks on the eurozone's weakest members. The ECB also jumped into the bond market Sunday night, saying it is ready to buy eurozone bonds to shore up liquidity in "dysfunctional" markets. The Fed's action reopens a program put in place during the 2008 global financial crisis under which dollars are shipped overseas through the foreign central banks. In turn, these central banks can lend the dollars out to banks in their home countries that are in need of dollar funding to prevent the European crisis from spreading further. The Fed said action is being taken "in response to the reemergence of strains in U.S. dollar short-term funding markets in Europe," and to prevent the spread of that strain to other markets and financial centers. A so-called "swap" line with the Bank of Canada provides up to $30 billion. Figures weren't provided for the other central banks. The arrangements are authorized through January 2011. The debt crisis first erupted in Greece. Fears that it could spread to Spain, Portugal and other eurozone countries. The crisis has pushed up demand for the U.S. dollar and has sharply weakened the value of the euro, the currency used by 16 European countries. Eurozone ministers and the IMF this weekend approved a $140 billion rescue package of loans to Greece for the next three years to keep it from imploding. The Fed had wound down these crisis-era programs with other central banks in February, along with other emergency programs to get lending flowing more freely again and return stability to financial markets. At that time, financial strains in the United States were easing, and the Fed began to take steps to move policy closer to normal. It also had begun to lay out a plan to reel in the unprecedented stimulus money pumped out during the crisis. The Fed's balance sheet ballooned to $2.3 trillion, more than double where it stood before the crisis struck. The program reopened on Sunday will expand the Fed's balance sheet, economists say. However, the program poses little credit risk to the Fed because the arrangements are with other central banks, they added. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100510/ap_on_bi_ge/us_europe_financial_crisis_fed |
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