Archive for September, 2012
U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan Hit 2,000
September 30th, 2012Via: AP: The killing of an American serviceman in an exchange of fire with allied Afghan soldiers pushed U.S. military deaths in the war to 2,000, a cold reminder of the perils that remain after an 11-year conflict that now garners little public interest at home. The toll has climbed steadily in recent months with […]
Air Force Might Move X-37B Operations to Florida
September 30th, 2012Via: Florida Today: The military’s mysterious mini-shuttle operations might be consolidated on Florida’s Space Coast, and the upcoming third flight of the Air Force vehicle might land at Kennedy Space Center’s three-mile shuttle runway. In what could be an economic boon for an area still reeling from the 2011 retirement of the U.S. shuttle fleet, […]
China: 50ft Tsunami of Foam Sweeps Through Village After Chemical Spill
September 30th, 2012Harmless. Nothing to see here. Carry on. Via: Daily Mail: This wall of foam sparked widespread panic among locals as it rushed along a river in southern China. The mass of soapy suds blanketed the water in Xintang, in China’s Guangdong province, leading to evacuations along the banks of the river. But officials have now […]
Robert McKeon
September 29th, 2012Via: Bloomberg: Robert McKeon, the founder of private-equity firm Veritas Capital and a former chairman of Wasserstein Perella Management Partners, died Sept. 10 at his home in Darien, Connecticut. The cause of death was suicide, according to the office of Connecticut’s chief medical examiner. Darien police in an e-mail confirmed McKeon’s death and said the […]
‘It’s Like the Gardener’s Version of Graffiti’
September 29th, 2012Via: Los Angeles Times: Today, Hui is the force behind Guerrilla Grafters, a renegade band of idealistic produce lovers who attach fruit-growing branches to public trees in Bay Area cities (they are loath to specify exactly where for fear of reprisal). Their handiwork currently is getting recognition in the 13th International Architecture Biennale in Venice, […]
Big Sis Doesn’t Use Email
September 29th, 2012Via: National Journal: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who is a key player in national cybersecurity efforts, said on Friday she doesn’t use e-mail. “Don’t laugh, but I just don’t use e-mail at all,” she said during a discussion at a Cybersecurity Summit hosted by National Journal and Government Executive. She didn’t explain what communications […]
Comedy Gold: Force Protection Vehicle 60 MPH Brake Test
September 29th, 2012Via: YouTube:
Justice Department’s Warrantless Spying Increased 600 Percent in Decade
September 29th, 2012Via: Wired: The Justice Department use of warrantless internet and telephone surveillance methods known as pen register and trap-and-trace has exploded in the last decade, according to government documents the American Civil Liberties obtained via a Freedom of Information Act claim. Pen registers obtain, in real time, non-content information of outbound telephone and internet communications, […]
The One About the Unemployment Rate Dropping in Los Angeles
September 28th, 2012Via: CNN: The unemployment rate has been falling lately in Los Angeles County, but not for the right reasons. Last month, the jobless rate for the county fell to 11%, down from 12.4% a year earlier. While that’s far higher than the 8.1% unemployment rate for the nation as a whole, it nevertheless seems to […]
75% Tax on Top Incomes in France
September 28th, 2012Via: Reuters: President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government unveiled sharp tax hikes on business and the rich on Friday in a 2013 budget aimed at showing France has the fiscal rigor to remain at the core of the euro zone. … To the dismay of business leaders who fear an exodus of top talent, the government […]
