Month: August 2011

Virus therapy sparks hope for cancer patients

From ALJAZEERA: Researchers have shown for the first time that a single intravenous infusion of a genetically engineered virus can home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue. Scientists have been intrigued for decades with the idea of using viruses to alert the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. That interest has taken […]

How did corporate power get a stranglehold?

The memo was written to the director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and laid out a plan for corporations to gain control of the institutions that create public opinion, policy and law in the U.S. Powell was a corporate lawyer, tobacco lobbyist and counsel to the Richmond Chamber of Commerce at the time.

INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL / NEW YORK TIMES

In “Republicans Against Science” (locally “The anti-knowledge party”, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes:  “Jon Huntsman Jr., a former Utah governor and ambassador to China, isn’t a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. And that’s too bad, because Mr. Hunstman has been willing to say the unsayable about the G.O.P. — namely, that […]

AOL REAL ESTATE NEWS

An article “The Mortgage Fix That Can Save the Economy” opines:  “If lenders would reduce all underwater mortgages to their current market value, the nation’s banks could pump $71 billion per year into the economy, create more than 1 million jobs annually and save families up to $6,500 per year on mortgage payments, according to […]

US Military Deaths in Afghanistan at 1,640

From NEWSMAX: As of today, at least 1,640 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The AP count, coming at the end of the deadliest month for U.S. troops since the United States entered the […]

Study: CEO pay tops tax bill

From POLITICO: One-fourth of the highest-paid CEOs in the United States made more money last year than their companies paid in taxes, according to a report on Wednesday. For the 25 CEOs whose earnings exceeded their company’s federal income tax, pay averaged $16.7 million, a study by the left-leaning think tank the Institute for Policy […]

House freshmen push bills that benefit big donors

From USA TODAY: …Five months after taking office, Rep. Stephen Fincher, a cotton farmer from a mostly rural swath of Tennessee, introduced a bill to mandate swift federal approval of genetically modified crops for commercial sale. Fincher has received more campaign money from agribusiness than any other industry…. Other freshmen who have crafted legislation backed […]

Fed official makes plea for more stimulus

From the FINANCIAL TIMES: A leading Fed policymaker called for more monetary stimulus on Tuesday as it emerged that staff at the US central bank have permanently cut their growth forecasts. In an interview with CNBC, Charles Evans of the Chicago Fed said that he would “favour more accommodation” and became the first policymaker on […]

Important news from Black Box Voting

I’ve been absent from the public eye for nearly four months, involved one of the most comprehensive examinations of voting information since 2005. I analyzed a sequential set of 80 voter history lists, 1,000 electronic poll book reports, a dozen master electronic poll book records, 50 participating voter lists, internal worksheets on purges, transaction logs […]

State liquor stores’ profit misses state budget target

From the MORNING CALL: State wine and liquor store profits jumped $30.2 million in the last year, but fell short of a targeted contribution to the state’s budget for a third year in a row. As lawmakers prepare the latest push for legislation to auction off the state’s booze business, the Liquor Control Board released newly audited figures that show an $83.7 million operating profit on a record $1.6 billion in sales for its July 2010 through June 2011 fiscal year.

NEW ERA

Editorial “SDL holds back on taxpayers” opines: “School board members say results of a consulting firm’s study of the School District of Lancaster eventually will be released to the public. “What are they waiting for? To hear school board president Richard Caplan, immediate release of the study will invite ‘potential chaos’ from the people whose tax dollars paid for it…