FINANCIAL TIMES: Brussels will on Wednesday give its clearest signal yet that it is moving away from a crisis response based on austerity, allowing three of the EU’s five largest economies to overshoot budget deficit limits and pushing instead for broader reform… The European Commission will make these moves on the condition that national governments […]
Month: May 2013
LETTER: Convention Center debt too highly leveraged
Re: “In Pennsylvania, swaps are a $17.2 billion problem” “The convention center as designed by Cooper Carry is far too much facility for the amount of money that could have realistically been expected from the “hotel tax”. Consequently, the construction debt is so highly leveraged that the only way this integrated facility could have been […]
Online Service Is Accused in Laundering of $6 Billion
NEW YORK TIMES: The operators of what the authorities described as one of the world’s largest online money laundering organizations, a central hub for criminals trafficking in everything from stolen identities to child pornography, were charged in an indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors on Tuesday… The organization, Liberty Reserve, was responsible for laundering over $6 […]
Chaotic mayoral election, key finance staff turnovers, and environmental concerns in Harrisburg complicate LCSWMA incinerator bond bailout
The proposed sale of the Harrisburg incinerator to the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) grew more complicated, and perhaps less certain, with last week’s mayoral and city council elections in Harrisburg.
Nuclear accidents relating to mining or uranium not reported
Re: “Nuclear Power Falters, Engulfed by ‘Cauldron’ of Bad Luck” Reality of the risk, costs and slowness of coming online is hitting the nuclear energy. Major accidents will pop up now and then, but there are lots of constant environmental problems with nuclear. We just did a radio show yesterday with native Indians from the […]
Every editor’s dilemma
‘Letters to the Editor’ allow alternative and often opposing view to be expressed and most editors welcome them. But the question arises to what standards should the letter writers be held? Below is a case in point from the May 28th New York Times posted under a general heading “A Time When Marijuana Is Legal” […]
In Terror Shift, President Obama Took a Long Path
NEW YORK TIMES: …For nearly four years, the president had waged a relentless war from the skies against Al Qaeda and its allies, and he trusted that he had found what he considered a reasonable balance even if his critics did not see it that way. But now, he told his aides, he wanted to […]
Attorney General can push Trust to meet Milton Hershey’s goals
The Hershey trustees have acknowledged the school has an obligation to enroll more students, setting a modest goal of 2,000 students. But according to the school’s 2011 non-profit IRS tax filing, the school’s revenues of $335 million exceeded its expenses by $130 million. That’s a lot of money going unspent.
Halfway-house system on radar of Pa. corrections chief
PHILLY.COM: …”I can’t figure out stuff behind my desk,” [Corrections Department director John] Wetzel said, piloting his black Dodge Charger down Harrisburg streets on a rainy morning, en route to surprise visits at four facilities. “I go out looking for bad news. I want to understand what’s not working so we can restructure the system.” […]
In Pennsylvania, swaps are a $17.2 billion problem
PA INDEPENDENT: It all started in 2003 when the state passed a law legalizing interest-rate swap transactions for local governments. Marketed as a way to help local governments manage borrowing costs, swaps are deals made between investment banks and local governments.
A ‘Women’s Viagra’ May Finally Be Available By 2016
Dr [Adriaan] Tuiten says that up to 43 per cent of women suffer from a low sex drive at some point in their lives and that, far from turning women into sex maniacs, the drug will simply raise a low libido to normal levels…
McCain Makes Secret Trip to Syria to Visit Rebels
NEWS MAX: Republican Sen. John McCain has quietly slipped into Syria for a meeting with Syrian rebels. McCain has been a leading proponent of arming the rebels and other aggressive military steps against the Assad regime. He has criticized Obama administration policy there while stopping short of backing U.S. ground troops in Syria. McCain met […]
Republicans See Obamacare Issues as Key to 2014
NEWSMAX: If Republicans were writing a movie script for next year’s congressional elections, the working title might be “2014: Apocalypse of Obamacare.”
Median CEO pay rises to $9.7 million in 2012
USA TODAY: …The head of a typical large public company made $9.7 million in 2012, a 6.5% increase from a year earlier that was aided by a rising stock market, according to an analysis by the Associated Press using data from Equilar, an executive pay research firm… But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. […]