Sunday, November 06, 2011

The World’s 10 Worst Countries for Business

The World’s 10 Worst Countries for Business - CNBC

No, Detroit isn't a country.

Argentina forcing carmakers to export wine, peanuts and chicken feed

Argentina forcing carmakers to export wine, peanuts and chicken feed
As long as Argentina's auto market is growing by about 30 percent per year, we'd expect automakers to do their best to keep dealerships stocked with vehicles.
Long term, though, this sounds like a plan that's nearly impossible to sustain.

Saturday, November 05, 2011

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Debate

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Debate
That is an article by Newt’s daughter entitled “Setting the Record Straight”.
It turns out that all of the stories about Newt’s first wife being served with divorce papers on her deathbed were false, on three counts.
One, Jackie Battley Gingrich is very much alive!
The tumor was benign.
Two, it was Jackie who sought the divorce.
Three, Newt did not abandon his wife.
In fact he took his children to the hospital to visit their mother.

The Case for Pessimism

The Case for Pessimism « Commentary Magazine
If you think like President Obama and believe nations are not defined by their differences, then China’s great leap forward is not that big a deal.
But if you think, like someone who has given it a moment’s thought, that nations are defined by their differences, it is a very big deal.
Most immediately, it means that the fellow elected next November will be the last president of the United States to preside over the world’s leading economy.
This should be a source of shame to every American.
It is not.
Not yet.
Instead, we battle over trivialities.

Penn St ex-coach, others charged in child sex case

Penn St ex-coach, others charged in child sex case
Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and another school administrator were charged Saturday with perjury and failure to report in an investigation into allegations that former football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused eight young men, state prosecutors said.
Sandusky, 67, of State College, was arrested Saturday and released on $100,000 bail, the attorney general's office said.

Curley, 57, and Penn State vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz, 62, both of Boalsburg, were expected to turn themselves in Monday in Harrisburg.
Schultz's position includes oversight of the university's police department.

The 10 Emptiest US Cities - CNBC

The 10 Emptiest US Cities - CNBC
The 10 Most Vacant Cities

Detroit isn't #1?
Devil's Night to the rescue?

How Grade Inflation Hurts Math and Science Education

The Volokh Conspiracy » How Grade Inflation Hurts Math and Science Education
If taking math, science and engineering courses requires students to sacrifice their GPAs and class standing, it should be no surprise that many choose other courses of study.

Traders From Chicago Board Of Trade Dump McDonald’s Applications On Occupy Chicago Protesters

Traders From Chicago Board Of Trade Dump McDonald’s Applications On Occupy Chicago Protesters Mediaite
In the middle of an Occupy Chicago teach-in this week, traders at the Chicago Board of Trade dumped several sheets of paper on top of the heads of protesters below.
Demonstrators were angered to find out they were showered with employment applications for McDonald’s

Friday, November 04, 2011

Mar 11, 2011: Japanese tsunami from the point of view of a car. [VIDEO]

Mar 11, 2011: Japanese tsunami from the point of view of a car. [VIDEO]

Unable to pay bill, Mich. city turns off lights

Unable to pay bill, Mich. city turns off lights - Yahoo! Finance
But when the debt-ridden community could no longer afford its monthly electric bill, elected officials not only turned off 1,000 streetlights.
They had them ripped out -- bulbs, poles and all. Now nightfall cloaks most neighborhoods in inky darkness.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

IL Taxpayers Cover Teacher Pension Contributions

IL Taxpayers Cover Teacher Pension Contributions Heartlander Magazine
Teachers in nearly half of Illinois’ public school districts contribute nothing from their weekly paychecks to their pensions, according to the Illinois Policy Institute (IPI).
Illinois law requires teachers to contribute 9.4 percent to their pensions and employers to contribute 9 percent.

New Words-Ineptocracy

New Words-Ineptocracy Points and Figures
The word is: Ineptocracy
1. Ineptocracy
*_Ineptocracy_****(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least
capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded
with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number
of producers
*
Use in a sentence:
The occupy protesters are part of the ineptocracy movement.

How Harrisburg Borrowed Itself Into Bankruptcy

Steve Malanga: How Harrisburg Borrowed Itself Into Bankruptcy - WSJ.com
Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, is drowning in debt. City officials have known for more than four years that they'd have to deal with the fiscal mess, but they punted.
The state has engineered a bailout plan, but the city council rejected it.
Instead it has asked creditors to forgo as much as $100 million of the debt.

Mayors, unions clash on COLAs; pension forecasts defended

Mayors, unions clash on COLAs; pension forecasts defended WPRI.com Blogs
As a partial alternative to the current proposal, Rhode Island AFL-CIO President George Nee suggested lawmakers should instead raise taxes to offset some of the proposed cuts in pension benefits, saying it’s time for Rhode Island to “tax the people who can best afford and can most afford it.”

The Euro Crisis

Edward P. Lazear: The Euro Crisis—Doubting the 'Domino' Effect - WSJ.com
In their case, and in ours, the solution is primarily a reduction in the bloated size of government expenditures that come about by making promises that cannot be kept.

READ THIS!

Pension Red Alert: 70% Of Pensions Are Never Audited

Pension Red Alert: 70% Of Pensions Are Never Audited - Forbes

Hawaii State Liabilities Climb by 60 Percent in Two Years; Expert Calls the News ‘Shocking’

Hawaii State Liabilities Climb by 60 Percent in Two Years; Expert Calls the News ‘Shocking’ Hawaii Reporter
Sheila Weinberg, founder and CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting, called the state’s liability in the report “shocking", particularly when it comes to the increase in costs for medical services for state employees.

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Global warming is over, says expert

Express.co.uk :: Global warming is over, says expert
But this last point is one which Prof Curry has furiously rebuttted.
In a serious clash of scientific experts Prof Curry has accused Prof Muller of trying to “hide the decline in rates of global warming”.
She says that BEST’s research actually shows that there has been no increase in world temperatures for 13 years.

Colorado voters reject raising taxes to support education

Colorado voters reject raising taxes to support education - latimes.com
In what could be a harbinger of the 2012 election, Colorado voters Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have raised nearly $3 billion for education by temporarily increasing state income, sales and use taxes.

Name one kid whose "education" would improve with more money to teachers and administrators.

Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street Arrest Records Mansions Housing The Daily Caller
Among addresses for which information is available, single-family homes listed on those police intake forms have a median value of $305,000 — a far higher number than the $185,400 median value of owner-occupied housing units in the United States.

$184,000 is the median?!!!!!