“We are enabling China to exploit our gold and silver deposits, strategic raw materials of tungsten, molybdenum, copper and vanadium. It’s all will come back to Russia in the form of tanks, planes, missiles. The housing built by Chinese in Siberia will be used in future by Chinese citizens. Because China comes here strong and forever.”
Month: September 2014
Where political activism is unlikely to succeed
Support for most issues bundled into the War on Drugs had support a mile wide and a quarter of an inch thick. It took a couple of decades of informing the pubic, but over time and bombardment of factual information, national attitudes changed.
California Defelonization Initiative Appears Poised for Victory
The initiative would attempt to address the state’s chronic over-incarceration problems by moving six low-level, nonviolent crimes from felony/wobblers to misdemeanors. A “wobbler” is an offense that can be charged as either a felony or misdemeanor. Among the included offenses is simple drug possession. (The others include shoplifting under $950, check forgery under $950, and petty theft or receipt of stolen property under $950.)
Hong Kong student democracy strike ends in chaos
USA TODAY:…Organizers said those arrested at government headquarters included Joshua Wong, a 17-year-old leader of the activist group Scholarism, who was dragged away by four officers. Wong, a recent high school graduate, gained prominence two years ago after he organized protests that forced the Hong Kong government to back off plans to introduce a Chinese […]
Pennsylvania hit by 5th debt downgrade in 2 years
The credit ratings agency said Thursday that it downgraded Pennsylvania’s approximately $11 billion in general obligation debt from AA to AA minus.
Fatah-Hamas agreement gives unity government control over Gaza
DAILY BEAST / RETUERS: A unity government is to take control of the Gaza Strip, after a breakthrough in talks between Palestinian factions on Thursday which could strengthen their hand in talks with Israel next month. The Gaza ceasefire struck in August between Israel and the Palestinians called for the Palestinian Authority, led by President […]
Richard Branson tells staff: take as much holiday as you like
FINANCIAL TIMES: Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group, has told 170 staff working for its head office that they can take as much annual leave as they like, providing it will not damage the business. “Flexible working has revolutionised how, where and when we all do our jobs,” Sir Richard said on […]
Putin demands reopening of EU trade pact with Ukraine
FINANCIAL TIMES: … The demand, made in a letter to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, reflects Russia’s determination to put a brake on Ukraine’s integration into Europe and other Euro-Atlantic organisations such as Nato, even after annexing Crimea and creating a pro-Russian separatist entity in the east of the country. It also comes amid […]
The need to ration health care for the elderly, an example
At such time again that I consider it inadequate for driving safety or other purposes, I will have the second cataract operation. But it is not realistic for this decision to be left up to altruism.
Longwood to begin restoring its most popular garden
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square is about to embark on its most extensive – and expensive – project ever: a $90 million restoration of the five-acre Main Fountain Garden, where shows featuring shooting water, and sometimes music, lights, and fireworks, have delighted visitors since 1955… When it reopens in the spring of 2017, […]
Education top priority for Pa. voters, poll shows
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE: …[Candy Eslinger a retired secretary and registered Democrat, is] among 520 registered Pennsylvania voters polled by Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster for its latest survey, conducted Sept. 15-22.
LETTERS: Re “An individual spent over $100,000 for a two page ad in the NYT to share his views”
…too many people forget that approximately twenty minutes to a half hour beforehand Begin called the British commander and warned him ahead of time that a bomb was to go off and to get his troops out of there, which he managed to laugh off.
Kushner’s bold bet on newspapers teeters
USA TODAY: …When he boldly invaded the turf of the Los Angeles Times to launch a new newspaper in the City of Angels in April, the print-loving [Aaron] Kushner told me he had a “10-year plus” plan for the fledgling Los Angeles Register. This week he shut it down. Eight months before the L.A. Register’s […]
Marijuana Tax Revenue May Top $3 Billion A Year With Legalization
NEWSMAX / HUFFINGTON POST: Money may not grow on trees, but it apparently does grow on marijuana plants. If all 50 states legalized cannabis today, they’d be collectively raking in more than $3 billion a year in taxes. That’s according to NerdWallet, a personal finance site, which forecasts a total $3.1 billion annual windfall for […]