Posts
Hitler had lovechild who fought against Nazis: report
NEWSCORE
Staff Reports
New York Post
February 18, 2012
PARIS -- Intriguing evidence that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler may have fathered a child with a young French girl while fighting in World War I has been published in France. Material from both France and Germany including paintings, photos and German army records apparently add weight to Jean-Marie Loret's claim that he was the son of the Nazi dictator, Le Point magazine reported Friday. Loret never met his father and died in 1985 -- but he did serve in the French Army then the Resistance, fighting occupying Nazi forces during World War II. Loret's story, published in the magazine, is that he was conceived by Hitler and 16-year-old French girl Charlotte Lobjoie on a night out as the then-ordinary soldier took a break from the trenches in June 1917. Lobjoie apparently met Hitler when she [....]
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/hitler_had_lovechild_who_fought_OOqb50QF8vQ93Jdr4hWtRL
[Related Content:] Adolf Hitler’s long-lost collection of paintings discovered
by Eric Pfeiffer
The Sideshow
February 27, 2012
A piece of lost German artwork stolen during World War II, recovered last year (AP/Michael Sohn)A Czech historian has discovered a long-lost collection of paintings belonging to Adolf Hitler. The Telegraph reports that the unearthed works of art include a "massive" painting entitled "Memories of Stalingrad." Even though the battle of Stalingrad was one of the German army's most brutal defeats in World War II, the painting is said to have been one of Hitler's favorites. Historians tell the Telegraph that the collection could be [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/adolf-hitler-long-lost-art-collection-paintings-discovered-184351309.html
[Related Content:] Inside Hitler's Private World
Never-before-seen pictures show how the Fuhrer spent his time at home.
by Eric Pfeiffer,
yahoo.com
SlideShow
January 27, 2012
Several never-before-seen photographs have emerged from Adolf Hitler's personal photographer, giving a first time look at Hitler's Berlin apartment and Bavarian estate. The Mirror reports that photographer Hugo Jaeger was one of the few photographers working with color photography at the time and was granted access to Hitler's living and study quarters, showing artwork and furnishings estimated to be worth millions even in pre-adjusted dollars. The pictures were taken in the two years leading up to the beginning of World War II.
It is rumored that Jaeger took as many as 2,000 photographs of Hitler and his possessions. However, in 1945 Jaeger is thought to have hid the photographs in a leather suitcase. As Life magazine reported: [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/newly-discovered-color-photos-inside-hitler-private-home-163857939.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,339540,00.html
Detection Points in the Terrorist Attack Cycle
by Scott Stewart
STRATfor.com
March 1, 2012
Last week's Security Weekly discussed the fact that terrorism is a tactic used by many different classes of actors and that, while the perpetrators and tactics of terrorism may change in response to shifts in larger geopolitical cycles, these changes will never result in the end of terrorism. Since that analysis was written, there have been jihadist-related attacks in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Yemen and Pakistan, an assassination attempt against the president of Abkhazia, and a failed timed-incendiary attack against the Athens subway. (The latter incident, which militant anarchists claimed, reinforces that jihadists are not the only ones who practice terrorism.)
But while terrorism is a continuing concern, it can be understood, and measures can be taken to thwart terrorist plots and mitigate the effects of attacks. Perhaps the most important and fundamental point to understand about terrorism is that attacks do not appear out of nowhere. Individuals planning a terrorist attack follow a discernible cycle -- and that cycle and the behaviors associated with it can be observed if they are being looked for. We refer to these points where terrorism-related behavior can be most readily observed as vulnerabilities in the terrorist attack cycle.
The Attack Cycle
Many different actors can commit terrorist attacks, including sophisticated transnational terrorist groups like al Qaeda; regional militant groups like India's Maoist Naxalites; small, [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/detection-points-terrorist-attack-cycle?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20120301&utm_term=sweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=d8f1a4fcb9d14419b2e769b7c6b339da
'Band of Brothers' soldier dies at 90 in Washington
Associated Press,
February 28, 2012
BURLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — Lynn D. "Buck" Compton, a veteran whose World War II exploits were depicted in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died, his family said. Compton died Saturday in Burlington, Wash., after having a heart attack last month, the family told the Los Angeles Times in a story Tuesday.
In January, nearly 200 guests, including actors from the miniseries, attended his 90th birthday party, the Skagit Valley Herald reported. "To us he wasn't really a war hero, he was just a hero, period," Tracy Compton told the Herald. Lynn Compton also is remembered for his legal career in California. He headed the team that prosecuted Sirhan B. Sirhan for the slaying of Robert F. Kennedy and was appointed to the 2nd District Court of Appeal in 1970 by Gov. Ronald Reagan. He retired from the bench in 1990.
He was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart during World War II. But it wasn't until later [....]
http://news.yahoo.com/band-brothers-soldier-dies-90-wash-172718718.html
When You’re Holding a Hammer... Everything Looks Like a Nail!
Words and Music by Kyle Hill and Bryan Glover
He was a little man, just turned three
Took the present from his daddy’s hand
A genuine toy hammer
He started beatin’ to beat the band
He hit the floors and the wall, broke a lamp in the hall,
Started swinging at the puppy’s tail
When you’re holding a hammer
Everything looks like a nail [....]
http://www.holdingahammer.com/lyrics.htm
[Performance:] http://holdingahammer.com/
[The "Putz of Park Avenue"]
Sen. Schumer tells Clinton to pressure Saudi Arabia to pump more oil
by Ben Geman,
thehill.com
February 26, 2012 Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to press Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s dominant oil producer, to boost output as rising prices are hitting consumers at the gasoline pump.
A letter to Clinton on Sunday from Schumer, a top political strategist for Senate Democrats, comes as Democrats are trying to blunt constant GOP attacks over soaring gasoline prices.
“These skyrocketing fuel prices are directly linked to the global energy market, particularly Iran’s recent efforts to manipulate oil prices and the worry of impacts on supply from an escalation of regional hostilities,” Schumer writes.
“To address this situation, I urge the State Department to work with the government of Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production, as they are currently producing well under their capacity,” adds the letter, which was first [...]
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/212595-schumer-to-clinton-push-saudi-arabia-to-pump-more-oil
[Related Content] Why Does the White House Want to Keep Gas Prices High?
Staff Report,
askHeritage.org
date unknown
With the national average of gas prices hitting $3.65 a gallon, nearing $6 in some parts of the country, and poised to head even higher, America’s families are wondering when the bleeding at the pump will stop. But for Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, those steep prices aren’t even a concern. In fact, he says his goal is not to get the price of gasoline to go down. Chu delivered those stunning remarks in testimony before Congress yesterday. When Rep. Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss.) asked Chu whether it’s his “overall goal to get our price” of gasoline lower, Chu said, “No, the overall goal is to decrease our dependency on oil, to build and strengthen our economy.” As shocking as his remarks are, they shouldn’t come as a surprise. Chu has a [....]
http://www.askheritage.org/why-does-the-white-house-want-to-keep-gas-prices-high/?utm_source=AH_Weekly&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=2012-03-02&utm_campaign=2012_Brand
[The "Putz of Park Avenue"]
['Putz' Related Content] Outsourcing Energy Jobs?
Chuck Schumer Willing To Sell Out America
ARRA News Service,
February 27, 2012
When reading the following comments by Sen Charles Schumer, consider the following: "Of the nineteen hijackers who attacked this nation on September 11, 2001, fifteen were Saudi Arabian. Moreover, each and every one of the nineteen hijackers was personally chosen and provided with training and financing by yet another Saudi native – Osama bin Laden."
Is This "Chucky" Satire Or Reality?
Top Democrat Senator Demands Increased Energy Production, Jobs In Saudi Arabia Rather Than Increasing American Energy And American Jobs
Sen. Schumer Wants Saudi Arabia – Not U.S. – ‘To Increase Its Oil Production’
“U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer Sunday called on the U.S. State Department to press the government of Saudi Arabia to publicly and unequivocally promise to increase its oil production...” (“Schumer Calls For Saudis To Increase Oil Production,” WKBW News [Buffalo, NY], 2/26/12)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “These skyrocketing fuel prices are directly linked to the global energy market… To address this situation, I urge the State Department to work with government of Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production…” (Sen. Schumer, Letter To Sec. Clinton, 2/26/12)
SCHUMER: “… lower production levels have a negative impact on global markets.” (“Schumer Calls For Saudis To Increase Oil Production,” WKBW News [Buffalo, NY], 2/26/12)
“Schumer shepherds his party’s messaging on a range of issues including economic stimulus and election themes that square off with the Republican Party.” (“Schumer’s Wall Street Backers Targeted In Tax Fairness Standoff,” Bloomberg, 2/27/12)
Unemployed Americans Would Like An Energy Production Job, Too
The unemployment rate is currently 8.3%. (“The Unemployment Situation – January 2012,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 2/3/12)
The unemployment rate has stood above 8% for 36 months (Feb. 2009 – Jan. 2012). (BLS, Accessed 1/24/12)
Average duration of unemployment was 40.1 weeks in Jan. 2012. (“Table A-12. Unemployed Persons By Duration Of Unemployment,” Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 2/3/12)
Gas Prices ‘Rising For The 20th Day In A Row’
“Gas prices continued their march toward $4 on Monday, rising for the 20th day in a row. The nationwide average rose to $3.70 a gallon, up one cent from a day earlier, according to the motorist group AAA. Only a month ago, the nationwide average was $3.39 a gallon…” (“Gas Prices Climb For 20th Day,” CNN Money, 2/27/12)
“The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped 18 cents over the past two weeks. That’s according to the Lundberg Survey of fuel prices, released Sunday...” (“18-Cent Increase In Gas In 2 Weeks,” The Associated Press, 2/27/12)
http://arkansasgopwing.blogspot.com/2012/02/outsourcing-energy-jobs-chuck-schumer.html
[Cartoon:] http://www.comicallyincorrect.com/devil%20sm.jpg
[Related Content] The Dis-United States of Gas Prices: Why Fuel Is So Cheap in Denver
by Jordan Weissmann,
contributors@theatlantic.com
February 23, 2012
Thanks to America's overwhelmed oil pipelines, some lucky drivers in the Rockies are getting a big discount on gas.
Gas prices have been on the rise for the past two months, as the international game of chicken between the West and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program has sent global price of crude oil up above $120 a barrel. In California, an average gallon of fuel now costs more than $4. In New York, it's about $3.90. Even in Houston, the gas-pumping heart of U.S. refining capacity, motorists are paying more than $3.50. The run-up has many contemplating whether gas prices could break the U.S. economic recovery, as they nearly did in 2011.
Yet up in the Rockies, as well as in parts of the Midwest, motorists have been getting spared, relatively speaking. As this map from Gas Buddy shows, prices in states such as Colorado, Idaho, and Utah are lagging well behind the national average of $3.65. As the U.S. Energy Information Administration points out, prices in the Rocky Mountain region were actually falling towards the end of January, even as the rest of the country saw average fuel costs tick up. It's not unusual for U.S. gas prices to vary by region, sometimes drastically. All sorts of [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dis-united-states-gas-prices-182602059.html
[Related Content] How High Gas Prices
Affect the Number of Layoffs in the U.S.
Political Calculations,
Townhall.com
March 3, 2012
How do high gasoline prices affect the pace of job layoffs in the United States? We now have the ability to answer this question thanks to a recent break in the trend for seasonally-adjusted initial unemployment insurance claim filed each week in the United States. Here, we note that the data for these new jobless benefit claim filings reflect major changes have occurred in the business outlook for U.S. employers making employee retention decisions. This delay corresponds to the typical weekly or biweekly pay periods that most U.S. employers have, where employers allow their current pay period to run out, with any changes they might make with respect to their staffing levels being implemented at the beginning of their next pay period.
For the most recently broken trend in U.S. layoff activity, we observed that average fuel prices in the U.S. rose above $3.50 per gallon in the week between 19 March 2011 and 26 March 2011, which showed up in the data for new jobless benefits being filed in the week ending 9 April 2011, which marked the beginning of the trend. The effect on U.S. layoffs was to derail the pace [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2012/03/03/how_high_gas_prices_affect_the_number_of_layoffs_in_the_us/page/full/
4 Leadership Styles to Masterby Glen Blickenstaff,
The Turnaround Specialist
February 16, 2012
It's not enough to have just one way of leading: Different circumstances require separate management styles. When it comes to leadership it doesn't matter if you manage a company with 500 employees or one where you are the only employee. Either environment will disprove the myth that leaders should stick to just one leadership style that they have perfected. In a dynamic setting several styles will be necessary and the ability to adapt is key. There's a lot to learn from each leadership style and when to use it. Here's the four that basic styles:
1. Directive: One of the oldest styles and frequently described as autocratic. Someone using this style tells people what to do and expects them to jump to it.
2. Participative: This style seeks input from others and participates with those they are leading in the decision making process.
3. Laissez-faire: Typically a hands-off approach allowing for both initiative and the latitude to determine process to affect an outcome.
4. Adaptive: A fluid style that takes into consideration the context of the environment and the individual being led.
When we are highly stressed and up against tight deadlines we frequently act a little out of character. Have you ever been [....]
http://www.inc.com/glen-blickenstaff/4-leadership-styles-to-master.html?partner=yahoo-smb
The Geopolitics of the United States,
Part 1: The Inevitable Empire
Staff Report,
STRATfor.com
August 24, 2011
Editor's Note: Originally published Aug. 24, 2011, this installment on the United States, presented in two parts, is the 16th in a series of Stratfor monographs on the geopolitics of countries influential in world affairs.
Like nearly all of the peoples of North and South America, most Americans are not originally from the territory that became the United States. They are a diverse collection of peoples primarily from a dozen different Western European states, mixed in with smaller groups from a hundred more. All of the New World entities struggled to carve a modern nation and state out of the American continents. Brazil is an excellent case of how that struggle can be a difficult one. The United States falls on the opposite end of the spectrum.
The American geography is an impressive one. The Greater Mississippi Basin together with the Intracoastal Waterway has more kilometers of navigable internal waterways than the rest of the world combined. The American Midwest is both overlaid by this waterway and is the world's largest contiguous piece of farmland. The U.S. Atlantic Coast possesses more major ports than the rest of the Western Hemisphere combined. Two vast oceans insulated the United States from Asian and European powers, deserts separate the United States from Mexico to the south, while lakes and forests separate the population centers in Canada from those in the United States. The United States has capital, food surpluses and physical insulation in excess of every other country in the world by an exceedingly large margin. So like the Turks, the Americans are not important because of who they are, but because of where they live.
The North American Core
North America is a triangle-shaped continent centered in the temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is of sufficient size that its northern reaches are fully Arctic and its southern reaches are fully tropical. Predominant wind currents carry moisture from west to east across the continent. Climatically, the continent [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/geopolitics-united-states-part-1-inevitable-empire
The Geopolitics of the United States,
Part 2: American Identity and the Threats of Tomorrow
Staff Report,
STRATfor.com
August 25, 2011
Editors Note: This installment on the United States, presented in two parts, is the 16th in a series of Stratfor monographs on the geopolitics of countries influential in world affairs. We have already discussed in the first part of this analysis how the American geography dooms whoever controls the territory to being a global power, but there are a number of other outcomes that shape what that power will be like. The first and most critical is the impact of that geography on the American mindset. The formative period of the American experience began with the opening of the Ohio River Valley by the National Road. For the next century Americans moved from the coastal states inland, finding more and better lands linked together with more and better rivers. Rains were reliable. Soil quality was reliable. Rivers were reliable. Success and wealth were assured. The trickle of settlers became a flood, and yet there was still more than enough well-watered, naturally connected lands for all. And this happened in isolation. With the notable exception of the War of 1812, the United States did not face any significant foreign incursions in the 19th century. It contained the threat from both Canada and Mexico with a minimum of disruption to American life and in so doing ended the risk of local military conflicts with other countries. North America was viewed as a remarkably safe place. Even the American [....]
http://stratfor.com/analysis/geopolitics-united-states-part-2-american-identity-and-threats-tomorrow
The 11 Brands With the Most Loyal Customers
by 24/7 Wall St.
February 28, 2012
When it comes to shopping, there are products we'll buy based on price, and there are products we won't. That generic ketchup may be on sale for 30% less, but you're still probably going to put the bottle of Heinz in your cart. It's called brand loyalty, and it's something every company that sells anything is striving to induce in its potential customers. Last week, research consultancy Brand Keys revealed which American companies do it best.
The 2012 Brand Keys report examines the customer loyalty and brand satisfaction of nearly 600 brands in 83 major product categories. Consumers surveyed were asked to rank the brands based on quality, level of enjoyment, ease of use, respectability, and other category-specific factors. Brand Keys gave [....]
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/02/28/the-11-brands-with-the-most-loyal-customers/
How The Khan Academy Works
[Website Content]
A free world-class education for anyone anywhere.The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We're a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.
All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.
How it works for students
Students can make use of our extensive video library, practice exercises, and assessments from any computer with access to the web.
Complete custom self-paced learning tool
A dynamic system for getting help
A custom profile, points, and badges to measure progress
Coaches, parents, and teachers
Coaches, parents, and teachers have unprecedented visibility into what their students are learning and doing on the Khan Academy.
Ability to see any student in detail
A real-time class report for all students
Better intelligence for doing targeted interventions
Over 3000 videos
Our library of videos covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with playlists on finance and history. Each video [....]
http://www.khanacademy.org/about
Soon You’ll Be Able to Buy a NASCAR Vehicle—
Or at Least One That Looks Like That
by Steve Goldberg,
time.com
February 29, 2012
In this week’s Daytona 500, the race consisted of 16 Chevy Impalas, 13 Ford Fusions, 11 Toyota Camrys, and 3 Dodge Chargers. But you’d have been hard-pressed to even tell them apart. That’s because ever since 2007, when the safety and competitive parity-inspired Car of Tomorrow, with its homogenous sheet metal, was introduced, brand identity in NASCAR has had as much individuality as fashion choices in Maoist China. Save for sponsor paint schemes and numbers, all of the Sprint Cup cars look identical, and none of them look like their namesake counterparts parked on car dealer lots and in showrooms.
This wasn’t always the case. During the early years of NASCAR, the race cars were modified versions of the production vehicles that everyone drove. Back then, in fact, it wasn’t uncommon for professional drivers to travel to competitions in the same cars that they’d race around the track. (A wreck could mean more than losing — it might necessitate finding another way home.) And the auto industry actively [....]
http://business.time.com/2012/02/29/soon-youll-be-able-to-buy-a-nascar-vehicle-or-at-least-one-that-looks-like-that/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Fbusiness+%28TIME%3A+Top+Business+Stories%29
Hybrid maker Bright Automotive goes bust
by James O'Toole,
CNNMoney.com
February 29, 2012
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hybrid vehicle maker Bright Automotive has announced plans to close, blasting the Department of Energy for failing to finalize a loan that the firm says would have kept it afloat.
In a letter dated Tuesday to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Bright CEO Reuben Munger and COO Mike Donoughe said they were withdrawing their application for a $314 million loan and winding down their operations. The executives claimed they had been strung along for the past few years as the government insisted on increasingly stringent loan requirements.
"The actions -- or better said 'lack of action' -- by your team means hundreds of great manufacturing and technical jobs ... and thousands of indirect jobs in Indiana and Michigan will not see the light of day," the letter said.
The Indiana-based company was founded in 2008 and had developed a prototype for a plug-in hybrid van, but had not yet begun manufacturing. Energy Department spokesman Damien LaVera said [....]http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/29/autos/bright_automotive/index.htm?iid=HP_LN
[Related Content] Chevy Volt, Perfect Car for the One Percent, Suspends Production
by John Ransom,
Townhall.com
March 3, 2012
General Motors reached another Obama milestone when they announced late on a Friday afternoon that they were suspending production of the Obama-inspired Chevy Volt for five weeks due to lack of demand.
Presumably the Volt was an attempt by GM to help Obama with his pledge to put 1 million electric cars on the road in return for the tens of billions of dollars in forgivable “loans” that the company got from the Obama administration from the TARP bailout. The hybrid gas-electric vehicle gets 25 miles on a full, overnight charge and costs around $40,000. To date, GM has sold around 10,000 vehicles. To put it in perspective, the Chevy Corvette has a sticker price of $49,600.
If the Volt’s not in the federal witness protection program, it ought to be.
“Sales also took a hit last fall when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into why two Volts burst into flames days or weeks after severe NHTSA crash testing,” reports USA Today. Leaks from the cooling system were caused by shortages in the electrical system that prompted the fires. But the discovery came only after weeks of bad press for GM. Eventually the car company offered to buy back every single Volt for any consumer who was unhappy.
But lack of sales- and production- hasn’t stopped the government-owned car company from mapping out a marketing strategy that might have been fashioned by the marketing geniuses of the IRS and the United States Postal Service combined: “The Volt’s technology and its recent accolade from Consumer Reports make the Volt a marketing tool for Chevy,” said Alan Batey, vice president for Chevrolet U.S. sales, at the beginning of December according to Bloomberg. “This vehicle is about more than how many we sell,” Batey said. “This vehicle is a magnet around everything we are trying to do to showcase our brand.”
If that’s the case, it looks like a poor [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2012/03/03/chevy_volt_perfect_car_for_the_one_percent_suspends_production
Iran's Conservatives Grapple for Power
Staff Report,
STRATfor.com
March 1, 2012
Summary
Iran's parliamentary elections are scheduled for March 2. With most of the reformist politicians banned from participating, the elections are shaping up to be a competition between Iran's two dominant conservative camps: the populists, led by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and candidates supporting the clerical establishment, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Though it is unlikely that even a large win for Ahmadinejad's faction would threaten the nature of the clerical regime in the near term, Ahmadinejad is trying to build a movement that can eventually wrest more control from the clerical elite. This election may indicate whether Ahmadinejad has made progress toward that goal.
Analysis
Iran will hold elections for its parliament, known as the Majlis, on March 2. These will be the first nationwide elections since the disputed 2009 presidential contest that saw the rise and swift fall of the reformist Green Movement. With many reformist leaders under house arrest or imprisoned and with the majority of the reformist parties barred from participating, the upcoming elections will be a political competition fought among Iran's conservatives.
The populist conservatives, led by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been challenging the clerical elite, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, since the 2009 election for ultimate control of the state. While the supreme leader's pre-eminent role in the government does not appear to be at risk in the near term -- even if Ahmadinejad's populist faction manages to take the majority of parliamentary seats -- Ahmadinejad hopes to build a movement that can sustain his push for a government less captive to an unelected clerical elite, and the Majlis has become a key battleground for this effort.
Intra-Conservative Rift
Iran's conservatives can be roughly divided into two camps: those who believe the supreme leader [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/irans-conservatives-grapple-power
Sheriff Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse Uncovers “Systematic Effort To Obscure The Truth”
by Doug Book,
westernjournalism.com
March 2, 2012
Since first announcing the formation of a “cold case posse” to investigate the legitimacy of Barack Hussein Obama’s claim to Constitutional occupation of the White House, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been at once the object of legacy media smears and new media encouragement. And although the information gathered in the 6 month effort will probably not change the minds of many dedicated Obamabots, it has provided stark and irrefutable evidence that “person or persons unknown” worked long and hard in a systematic effort to obscure the truth about Barack Obama’s birth, heritage, and qualifications to serve as President of the United States.
Consisting of law enforcement officials and attorneys with law enforcement experience, Joe Arpaio’s Posse has turned up the following information: [....]
http://www.westernjournalism.com/sheriff-arpaios-cold-case-posse-uncovers-systematic-effort-to-obscure-the-truth/
Congressional staff bonuses plummet in 2011
Staff Report,
LegiStorm.com
March 1, 2012
Traditional fourth-quarter staff bonuses plummeted in the House of Representatives as budget cuts have taken their toll. The average congressional aide earned a 3.6% salary increase in the fourth quarter of 2011, an almost two-thirds drop from last year's rate and nearly half the previous low since LegiStorm started tracking salaries in 2000. LegiStorm added the House's 2011 fourth quarter salaries to our site today following yesterday's release by the House of Representatives. The new data allowed us to take our first look at the bonus habits of the 112th Congress. Many Republican members of Congress were swept to power on promises to cut spending, and the House imposed cuts to the amount that members could spend. Overall spending and bonuses were both down compared to previous years. In some cases, the bonuses were more than modest. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) more than doubled his staff's average salary in the fourth quarter last year. The average aide in Moran's office made $26,750 in the fourth quarter, compared to an average quarterly salary of $12,160 in the first three quarters of the year, a jump of 120%.
Oklahoma representatives took the next two spots in the list of members handing out the greatest year-end pay increases. Both Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) increased their average staff salary more than 65% for the final quarter. However, the average House aide made [....]
http://www.legistorm.com/blog/congressional-staff-bonuses-plummet-in-2011.html
How Can Chrysler Help Detroit?
Staff Report,
askHeritage.org
March 2, 2012
Did you know that there are no Volkswagen manufacturing plants in the Detroit area? Or Mercedes-Benz? Or Kia? Or Hyundai? Or BMW, for that matter? The Motor City has a well-earned reputation for having the greatest auto workers in the nation, yet honorable Michiganders largely build cars for only three companies. Apart from having their cars assembled in Michigan, it turns out that those three companies have something else in common: the United Auto Workers union (UAW). It also turns out that every other car manufacturer has something in common, too: not wanting the UAW to do to them what it did to the Big Three.
Today, President Obama will address the UAW, and he should receive a rousing welcome. After all, his terms of the auto bailout richly rewarded his union allies at the expense of non-union employees and private investors, giving them, among other prizes, a very large stake of ownership in Chrysler. And together, they stand adamantly opposed to “right-to-work” laws that would empower the nation’s unemployed to find economic security with a non-union job. Right-to-work legislation protects employees from being fired for not paying union dues. Without that protection, workers are forced to support a union financially even if they’d rather spend their hard earned dollars at home, if the union contract harms them, or if they’re opposed to the union’s agenda. And if they don’t, they lose their jobs. Obviously, when given the freedom of choice, many workers choose not to unionize. Twenty-three states have [....]
http://www.askheritage.org/how-can-chrysler-help-detroit/?utm_source=AH_Weekly&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=2012-03-02&utm_campaign=2012_Brand
Is Obama’s Regime In Panic?
by Doug Book,
westernjournalism.com
March 1, 2012
Although Nancy Pelosi responded with a glib “Are you serious?” to a reporter’s question about the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act shortly after the measure’s passage, her leftist comrades in the Department of Justice are not being dismissive of the issue any more. In August, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unconstitutional the “minimum coverage provision” or individual mandate which requires everyone purchase Obama-approved health insurance and penalizes those who do not. Judges Frank Hull and Joel Dubina of the 11th Circuit ruled that such an arrangement exceeds the power of Congress to regulate “commerce among the several states,” in this particular instance, commerce being the sale and purchase of insurance.
Obama’s legal brain trust had perhaps hoped the powers of Congress under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause would be enough to safely see ObamaCare through a flock of waiting appeals and into full operation. But Judges Hull and Dubina ended that bit of wishful thinking, writing a brilliant, decisive and thorough rebuke of the individual mandate in their 300 page opinion. And as their ruling conflicted with that of the 6th Circuit Court, a grant of certiorari by the Supreme Court to review the case was guaranteed.
The facts summoned up by Hull and Dubina will naturally have no effect on the 4 members of the Supreme Court Marxist left, but must carry great weight with thinking Court Justices. And it for this reason that [....]
http://www.westernjournalism.com/is-obamas-regime-in-panic/
Why the Electric Car Is Doomed to Fail
by Stacy Curtin,
Daily Ticker
March 2, 2012Auto sales for the month of February rocked.
Despite rising gasoline prices, consumers bought more cars last month than in any month since 2008. Estimates for total 2012 car sales rose from 14.1 million in January to 15 million in February. Chrysler's sales were up 40% for the month, while Ford (F) reported a 14% increase and GM (GM) a 1.1% increase, which is comparably small, but better-than-expected. The rise in sales comes as drivers are buying more fuel-efficient vehicles. Sales of the Ford Focus more than doubled month-over-month and truck sales for GM, Ford and Chrysler jumped more than 20% as consumers traded up for more models with better gas mileage.
With gasoline prices on the rise, it is no surprise [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/why-electric-car-doomed-fail-150050289.html
Watch Out! 10 Interview Questions Designed to Trick You
by Jenna Goudreau,
Forbes.com
Secrets to Your Success
February 27, 2012
For the long-term unemployed or those workers looking for a change, getting an interview in today's market may feel like a win in itself. But once you're in the door, interviewers often put you through an obstacle course of deceptive questions with double meanings or hidden agendas. Do you know how to read the subtext?
"On the other side of the desk, hiring managers spend countless long hours interviewing candidate after candidate," says Joyce Lain Kennedy, a nationally syndicated careers columnist and author of Job Interviews For Dummies. "A tricky question may be used as a time management tool to quickly eliminate a less qualified candidate." Kennedy says that even if job hunters have rehearsed anticipated topics, an unexpected question may jar loose an authentic answer that exposes hidden problems. She outlines the top [....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/secrets-toyour-success/watch-10-interview-questions-designed-trick-194733833.html
Somalia: AMISOM, Government Troops Seize Al Shabaab Base
Staff Report,
STRATfor.com
March 2, 2012
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali government troops seized control of al Shabaab's Masiah base in northern Mogadishu on March 2, Reuters reported. The capture gave AMISOM and Somalia's Transitional Federal Government control over the main road linking Mogadishu to central Somalia. The operation extended the city's defenses and will deny al Shabaab important ground from which the Islamist militant group has been attacking the population, according to statement by AMISOM Force Commander Maj. Gen. Fred Mugisha. [~~]
http://www.stratfor.com/situation-report/somalia-amisom-government-troops-seize-al-shabaab-base
Mexico Security Memo: Degrading Security in Puerto Vallarta
Staff Report,
STRATfor.com
February 29, 2012
Puerto Vallarta Robbery
Twenty-two tourists were robbed at gunpoint Feb. 23 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco state, while returning to their cruise ship from a nature preserve as part of planned activities for their Carnival cruise. Masked gunmen stopped their bus and forced the passengers to hand over cash, cameras, watches and other valuables. Though no one was injured in the incident, the robbery demonstrates the degradation of security as a result of the ongoing drug wars in Mexico.
Targeting a group this large is unusual for the area for a number of reasons. Transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), commonly referred to as cartels, typically do not target tourists in Mexico's popular resort areas in order to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Local organized criminal groups try to avoid attacking tourists, and the citizens of resort areas try to prevent attacks on tourists, since all residents benefit from the revenue tourists bring to the area through the purchase of goods and through tour packages.
Local organized crime and TCOs may avoid targeting tourists, but the insecurity resulting from the drug wars helps individual criminals and small cells of criminals thrive. This robbery is likely the act of an isolated group of criminals. Since several competing criminal groups, such as Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Federation, are engaged in drug trade-related violence throughout Jalisco state, fewer law enforcement resources are available to deal with individual criminal actors.
CJNG Leader Arrested
Mexican authorities announced Feb. 23 the arrest of Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) plaza boss Adolfo Solis Bejarano in Veracruz, Veracruz state. Mexican marines reportedly [....]
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/mexico-security-memo-degrading-security-puerto-vallarta
Until Next Sunday....
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