“One of the reasons Pennsylvania is in this precarious financial position is state officials use antiquated budgeting and accounting rules to report Pennsylvania’s financial condition,” the report says…
5 differences between Gov. Corbett, opponent Wolf
Corbett, formerly the state’s elected attorney general, thinks taxes should be minimized as much as possible. Wolf views taxes as tools for shaping public policy…
NATO to Create New Force to Respond to Crises in Eastern Europe
NEWSMAX: NATO leaders will respond to the Ukraine crisis by agreeing this week to create a “spearhead” rapid reaction force, potentially including several thousand troops, that could be sent to a hotspot in as little as two days, officials said on Monday. The 28-nation alliance already has a rapid reaction force but U.S. President Barack […]
Sisi bolsters nationalist appeal with $8bn Suez Canal investment
FINANCIAL TIMES: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s president, has made the Suez Canal the centrepiece of a vast new public works programme designed to restart the country’s ailing economy and rally political support. The waterway is a cherished national symbol for Egyptians. Built by thousands of conscripted labourers it was inaugurated in 1869 and nationalised in […]
You are invited to spend an hour with Dr. Tom O’Connor
Many have read articles opposing the War on Drugs by Tom O’Connor, MD. Here is an opportunity to share his reminiscences and plumb his wisdom in depth, not only concerning marijuana but also police violence and the nature of ‘bad guys’ over the ages. According to Dr. Tom: “This is a story I’ve blogged about […]
Casino closing may be good for Atlantic City… and a warning to Lancaster
Three major casinos have or will close in Atlantic city over a one month period: The Showboat, the Revel, and the Trump Plaza. They follow the closing earlier in the year of the Atlantic Club.
Camden Turns Around With New Police Force
NEW YORK TIMES: It has been 16 months since Camden took the unusual step of eliminating its police force and replacing it with a new one run by the county. Beleaguered by crime, budget cuts and bad morale, the old force had all but given up responding to some types of crimes… Dispensing with expensive […]
Corbett could not have had worse week
WE.CONNECT.DOTS: No candidate – even running against the disorganized and incompetent Pennsylvania Democrat Party – could survive the hits Gov. Tom Corbett has taken in this last week of August 2014.
Coverage for End-of-Life Talks Gaining Ground
EDITOR: Often young people, children and grandchildren, have a much greater aversion to death than do the elderly who accept the inevitable and, because of ongoing illness and loss of control of their own lives, are ready to move on.
U.S. airstrikes help Iraqi forces break Islamic State’s siege
WASHINGTON POST: Irbil, Iraq— Iraqi troops aided by U.S. airstrikes entered the besieged town of Amerli Sunday, residents and Iraqi officials said, after a months-long blockade by Islamic State militants that had surrounded the Shiite Turkmen village and raised fears of an impending massacre… Jihadists had surrounded the town in June, preventing food and other […]
PA Charters still an issue
….The [Center for Rural Pennsylvania] study found that more than 80 percent of the students who leave a traditional public school to attend a charter school enroll in one whose performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests is inferior to the school they left.
Corbett team rails at F & M pollster
The poll takes into account the 12.7 percent registration edge Democrats have in the state, [Corbett Campaign manager Mike] Barley said, an edge unlikely to be reflected in turnout on Election Day.
Canada’s Marc Emery is a Man on a Mission
DRUG WAR CHRONICLE: Canada’s “Prince of Pot” Marc Emery has finally returned home after spending just over 4 ½ years in US federal prison for selling marijuana seeds over the Internet. From his base in Vancouver, BC, Emery parlayed his pot seed profits into a pro-marijuana legalization political juggernaut.
Can Israeli and Palestinian Teens Bond at Camp While Conflict Rages?
..[T]the well-funded summer camp, which plucks an elite group of teenagers out of the cauldron of the Middle East and sets them down in the wilds of Northern Maine each year, is taking place this August in the immediate aftermath of the third, and bloodiest, Israeli military incursion into Gaza since 2008…