Vatican: Gene technology enables new racism

GENEVA (Reuters) - Technology allowing parents to choose the genetic characteristics of their babies threatens to breed new forms of racism, the Vatican told a United Nations race conference on Wednesday.

Wait...since when did this technology exist?

Pope Benedict earlier this week said the heated U.N. forum, which several Western powers are boycotting to avoid giving legitimacy to criticism of Israel, was an important initiative to confront all forms of modern discrimination.

"The Holy See is also alarmed by the still latent temptation of eugenics that can be fueled by techniques of artificial procreation and the use of 'superfluous embryos'," Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Vatican observer to the U.N. in Geneva said.

Wait...since when did this technology exist?

Armed robber receives year in Concord

Christopher Johnson received a sentence of one to two years in the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Concord for armed robbery on Thursday.

Johnson has a “history of drug abuse related to crime,” Judge Judith Fabricant said before giving a reduced sentence.

The commonwealth had recommended a sentence of more than two years, but Johnson’s lawyer, Deborah Shopteese, briefly spoke with Fabricant to reduce it. The sentencing took place at Suffolk County Courthouse, and comes after a guilty plea from Johnson at a Mar. 16 hearing. Johnson appeared in court after serving 38 days before his family bailed him out with $1,500.

The casually dressed trio of Johnson and his relatives appeared tired as they waited for the sentencing. They sat through a few pre-trial conferences between Fabricant and some attorneys before their session began. The family quietly asked officers how they could get their bail money back, and that matter was settled at session’s end.

As Johnson was cuffed and escorted to Concord, he mumbled “I have a broken wrist,” as his upset family watched.

The family learned it had to pay a $150 legal fee before getting the bail money back, and was visibly upset as they could not pay the fee at that time.

100 countries declare end to racism

From VOA News...

More than 100 countries with delegates at a global conference on racism have agreed on a declaration calling for an end to intolerance and xenophobia.

WOO! Racism's officially over!

...

That's what this means, right?

The declaration, adopted Tuesday in Geneva, reaffirms a 2001 statement issued at the first United Nations conference on racism in Durban, South Africa.

The decision Tuesday by consensus came a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stirred controversy with an address in which he described Israel as "cruel, repressive and racist." Mr. Ahmadinejad's address sparked a walkout by delegates from 23 European Union nations.

The United States and eight other Western countries boycotted the conference over fears that it would become a forum for anti-Semitism.

...

...speaking of racism...

Republicans devour book criticizing New Deal

From Politico...

There aren’t any sex scenes or vampires, and it won’t help you lose weight.

But House Republicans are tearing through the pages of Amity Shlaes’ “The Forgotten Man” like soccer moms before book club night.

Shlaes’ 2007 take on the Great Depression questions the success of the New Deal and takes issue with the value of government intervention in a major economic crisis — red meat for a party hungry for empirical evidence that the Democrats’ spending plans won’t end the current recession.

That's the thing...there's no way of telling if the New Deal really worked because WWII came along and ended the Depression. And of course the Democrats' economic policy is GD dirty socialism - but in these times it's worth a shot. Or even better...let's start World War Three!

Iran convicts American journalist of espionage

From Politico...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday called for the immediate release of Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi — convicted two days ago of spying by a court in Tehran — saying “the charges against her are baseless.”

“We hope that the actions will be taken as soon as possible by the authorities in Iran, including the judiciary, to bring about the speedy release of Ms. Saberi and her return home,” Clinton told reporters, adding that her trial was “nontransparent, unpredictable and arbitrary.”

Saberi, a 31-year-old freelancer who has worked for several news organizations, including National Public Radio and the BBC, was convicted of espionage on Saturday and sentenced to eight years in prison during a one-day, closed-door trial. She was initially detained about three months ago for working as a journalist without proper credentials.

Gotta have one of these.

Otherwise you're no journalist...you're just a damn spy.

School security ten years after Columbine

(CNN) -- In the wake of the tragic shootings at Columbine High School, some schools across the country turned themselves into near-fortresses.

They installed metal detectors and security cameras, banned backpacks, required students to carry IDs and posted police in the hallways -- all in the name of keeping students safe.

Now, 10 years after those highly publicized shootings in which two young men killed 13 people and themselves, school security has taken another dramatic turn.

Some of the noticeable security measures remain, but experts say the country is exploring a new way to protect kids from in-school violence: administrators now want to foster school communities that essentially can protect themselves with or without the high-tech gear.

Give the kids guns so they can defend themselves. I'm going to Hell.

Obama to visit CIA amid criticism

(CNN) -- President Obama on Monday will visit CIA headquarters amid criticism from an ex-CIA chief that he compromised national security last week by releasing Bush-era memos on interrogation tactics.

What was in that memo that people didn't already know about? Do we interrogate suspected terrorists by peeing on their faces?

Clinton: US policy towards Cuba failed

Eh! Ooh! Damn commies![/old man]

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that US policy towards Cuba has failed, welcoming an offer to talk from the Cuban president.

She said the US was "taking a serious look" at how to respond to President Raul Castro's comments, which she called an "overture".

Mr Castro had said he was ready for discussions covering human rights, political prisoners and press freedom.

The US passed a law this week easing restrictions on Cuban Americans.

The move will allow Cuban Americans to visit relatives in Cuba and send money home more easily.

Thailand revokes passport of former premier

Another blow for anti-government protesters in Thailand.

BANGKOK (AFP) — Thailand revoked the passport of Thaksin Shinawatra on Wednesday, escalating a campaign against the fugitive former premier and his allies for allegedly inciting deadly anti-government protests.

Police said they were also hunting the main organisers of the demonstrations that left two people dead and 123 injured this week, after a court issued arrest warrants for Thaksin and 12 top supporters.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has vowed to prosecute all leaders of the rallies, which broke up on Tuesday after troops threatened to use force against thousands of demonstrators camped outside his offices.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Thaksin's passport was withdrawn for inciting protests that forced the cancellation of a summit of Asian leaders on the Thai coast on Saturday.

"The ministry can cancel or recall a passport if it can prove that a person has caused damage to the country," he told AFP.

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and lives in exile to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption. He has made a series of speeches to his supporters in Thailand in recent weeks calling for a "revolution".

In a television interview filmed in Dubai before the passport announcement, the billionaire tycoon denied the official charges that he had incited violence.

"I feel very tragic on what is happening among the Thai people. But I am not instigating it," he told Al-Jazeera English. "I keep telling them every day, the message is peaceful, peaceful, peaceful."

The 59-year-old added that he would be prepared to return to Thailand to face justice if numerous cases against him, which also include previous charges of graft, were investigated by a "neutral body".

The government cancelled Thaksin's diplomatic passport in December.

Thai police said earlier they were searching for the other protest leaders named in arrest warrants. Three have been charged and are in detention while the others remain at large.

The warrants accuse them of breaching the emergency measures put in place in Bangkok on Sunday, threatening acts of violence and inciting others to break the law.

"An investigation team is looking for them and checking their home towns to present warrants," said Bangkok police commander Lieutenant General Worapong Shewpreecha.

"Police have checked with immigration and found that there are no records of them leaving the country," he said.

Troops and police on Wednesday manned security checkpoints around the capital but Panitan said Abhisit wanted to lift the state of emergency "as soon as he can" to help local businesses.

Bangkok residents celebrated the end of the protests with the traditional pastime of soaking each other with water on final day of Buddhist New Year celebrations Wednesday.

Demonstrators loyal to Thaksin, known as "Red Shirts" because of their trademark attire, surrounded Abhisit's offices three weeks ago to demand his resignation before moving to the resort of Pattaya to disrupt the Asian summit.

They accuse British-born Abhisit of being a stooge of Thailand's military and of coming to power illegally after Thaksin's allies were removed from government by a court in December.

Somali pirates attack another U.S. ship

Somali pirates have attacked and damaged an American ship carrying humanitarian aid. But the ship and crew are safe under Navy escort.

A US Central Command spokesman says the Liberty Sun reported being attacked around 11:30 yesterday morning. The vessel's owner, Liberty Maritime Corporation, said the pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. The ship was en route from Houston to Mombasa, Kenya.

The military spokesman, Navy Captain Jack Hanzlik, says the Liberty Sun has a crew of about twenty.

New investigation into Easter jam

Governor Deval Patrick and Transportation Secretary James Aloisi are calling for an investigation into Sunday night's huge traffic jam on the Mass Turnpike. Traffic was bumper to bumper at the Weston tolls, backing up for five to seven miles at times.

Some suggest the backups were caused by a toll-collector sickout, but the Turnpike Authority says it was more likely caused by a change in policy combined with heavy holiday traffic.

Accused Nazi accessory remains in U.S.

John Demjanjuk, who is accused of being a Nazi death camp guard is back home after his deportation to Germany was stopped by a federal court.

Family spokesman Ed Nishnic, who's also Demjanjuk's former son-in-law, says his family will continue to fight the deportation.

"Don't forget he was extradicted back in 1986 wrongfully for something he didn't do by the very same people that tried to have him extradicted again," Nishnic says.

The arrest warrant in Germany claims Demjanjuk was an accessory to about 29,000 deaths.

Obama names "border czar"

A former federal prosecutor will oversee issues on the US-Mexico border, including drug violence and illegal immigration through the Southwest.

An anonymous Obama administration official says Alan Bersin will be named the so-called border czar today. Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to announce his appointment.

The Obama administration has promised to crack down on border violence and drugs and arms trafficking.

Bay State faces more budget cuts

More tough times are ahead for the Bay State.

Governor Deval Patrick says the state is facing a budget deficit of $156 million - costing the state more than 750 jobs. It may even grow by another $400 million before June.

During a news conference Tuesday, the governor said he would close the current gap with federal recovery funds, budget cuts, and spending controls. Included are mandatory unpaid furloughs, and Patrick will take a five day leave himself.

This marks the third round of budget cuts in Massachusetts.

Tax day - with hours to go

It's tax day, and procrastinators have one day to file federal income tax returns or seek an extension.

But if you haven't done it yet, you can do it online for free. Internal Revenue Service spokesman Eric Smith says many people are eligible to file their taxes electronically, for free, through the IRS website.

"You can do your return for free, fill it out for free, send it to the government for free," Smith says. "If your income is $54,000 or less, you qualify."

The IRS also says if it's been tough financially, failing to file will just make things worse.

Here in Boston, only the Fort Point Post Office branch near South Station will remain open until midnight for last-minute paper filers.

Rescued ship captain returns home today

Capt. Richard Phillips, the American cargo ship captain rescued by the American Navy from Somali pirates, will return to the United States on Wednesday with his crew after reuniting with them in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, his company said.

Good job, troops.

Italy earthquake death toll reaches 283

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) — This quake ravaged medieval city took a limping step toward normalcy Thursday as butchers, bakers and other shopkeepers reopened for business, three days after a deadly earthquake made the historic center uninhabitable and halted nearly all economic activity.

The death toll from Italy's worst quake in three decades reached 283, including 20 children and teens, police said.

Sad that so many people died, but it's good to hear that the city is rebuilding.

Families move away to find work

Unable to find work in Keosauqua, Iowa, Dustin and Michelle Wellman took their last $200, packed their belongings into a 1999 Dodge Neon and drove 1,000 miles with their four-year-old son back to Robertsdale, Ala., the town where Mr. Wellman grew up.

Sucks that jobs are harder to find.

China staying calm after Korean launch

China on Tuesday repeated its call for calm after North Korea's latest test of a multistage rocket, attempting to defuse anger in the U.S. and elsewhere at a time when its own economic interest in the neighboring state is soaring.

Buyout?

Kim Jong-Il launches rocket, is crazy

North Korea's state-run media reported Tuesday that Kim Jong-Il shed tears of regret during the country's controversial rocket launch because he could not use the launch funds to provide aid to his people, the AFP reported.

And you used that money on a rocket instead of people because...

The country on Tuesday also released footage of the weekend launch, along with the first video of Kim since his reported stroke in August, according to South Korean media.

Kim "felt regret for not being able to spend more money on the people's livelihoods and was choked with sobs," AFP quoted ruling communist party paper Rodong Sinmun as saying.

"Chants of jubilation are reverberating throughout the country on the news that our satellite is beaming back the 'Song of General Kim Il-Sung' and the 'Song of General Kim Jong-Il,'" the paper said, according to AFP.

Because a satellite radio channel of two songs about you and your father is WAY more important than providing for a financially struggling country.

Alleged bank robber caught in taxi

Cabbie Sharad Aryal may have been in line for a hefty tip this morning when he picked up an impatient, out-of-breath man in the Fenway. The fare ended abruptly after a few blocks, however, when police stopped the white taxi and dragged the man out of the backseat, spilling $20 bills onto the street.

Police say the man had just robbed a bank.

Crime doesn't pay. Especially if the passenger gets pulled out before the fare ends.

G20 leaders work to reach agreement

From BBC NEWS...

World leaders will strive to reach an agreement on how to confront the worst global financial crisis since the 1930s at the G20 summit in London.

So far they only agree that they should listen to what fiscally conservative authorities or pundits say should be done about the economy, and then do the opposite.

Second day of G20 protests expected

From BBC NEWS...

A second day of protests are expected as world leaders gather for the G20 summit at the ExCel Centre in London.

Because governments should stay out of private enterprise's business! Wait...that's why they're protesting, right?

From 0700 BST there are plans to disrupt traders at the London Stock Exchange, and from 1100 BST anti-war protests are planned near the summit.

Or not.

President Obama Faces Busy Schedule in London

President Barack Obama will have a busy day in London. He has already made a joint appearance with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

In that conference, the morning before the G-20 economic crisis summit, Obama urged world leaders to take action for the economy, saying, "We can only meet this challenge together."

"I came here to put forward ideas," Obama said, "but I also came here to listen, not to lecture. Having said that, we must not miss an opportunity to lead."

The president disputed criticism that the US was feuding with other nations about the need to pump more money into economic stimulus policies, saying any differences are vastly overstated.

"I am absolutely confident that this meeting will reflect enormous consensus about the need to work in concert to deal with these problems," Obama said.

Obama urged nations to spur growth and work together on regulation reform, and not to fall into the protectionism that helped fuel the Great Depression.

"That is a mistake we cannot afford to repeat," Obama said.

He assured reporters that he still believes in the country's economic system.

"I think that there is a vibrancy to our economic model, a durability to our political model, and a set of ideals that has sustained even through the most difficult times."

Brown emphasized unity as well, saying never before has the world come together in this way to deal with an economic crisis.

"We are within a few hours, I think," Brown optimistically added, "of agreeing a global plan for economic recovery and reform."

Obama will also squeeze in talks with Brown's main rival, David Cameron, the leader of Britain's conservative party. The president will also have face-to-face talks with the leaders of China and Russia. Officials in both of those countries have called for a global currency to end the dollar's dominance.

Finally, an Answer on Bank Lending

How are banks using the aid they have received from the federal government? A chief investigator, Neil Barofsky, told Congress in a hearing yesterday that banks are providing new loans to customers, retiring debt, or buying mortgage-backed securities. This answer is the first of its kind since the government launched the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Barofsky dismissed the doubts that banks could disclose such information.

"One thing is clear," he said. "Complaints that it was impractical, impossible, or a waste of time to require banks to detail how they use TARP funds were unfounded."

Barofsky told the Senate Finance Committee that some responses were general, but others provided granular detail on spending, including identification of specific loans made possible with TARP money.

The government has given some $300 billion to the banks so far, and has committed to spending billions more. Barofsky's testimony came as the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, released its own assessment of the bailout and called on the Treasury Department to increase transparency and oversight.

Treasury's Neel Kashkari, manager of the bailout, called these recommendations a thoughtful step forward in a letter to GAO.

But some lawmakers are frustrated with the freedom that TARP has given banks. Barofsky estimated that $2.9 trillion in taxpayer money is at risk.

This is a huge, unprecedented financial commitment, said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the committee's chair.

"It strains the comprehension of taxpayers and policymakers alike," Baucus said.

Lawmakers showed willingness to increase G.A.O.'s power to follow the money wherever it goes. Baucus and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, have introduced legislation that would give GAO access to financial records and other data of banks participating in the aid program.

"I start with the premise that the public's business ought to be public," Grassley said, "and the expenditure of this money Ive put in the category of public."

April Fool's Virus Prompts Concern

Officials are worried about a computer virus that could take effect later today.

"The big concern right now is that there's a date inside of it, that something may or may not happen sometime on April 1st," said Mark Shavlik, computer security expert, president, and CEO of Shavlik Technologies in an AP interview.

"Now maybe, sometimes, nothing happens, maybe a lot of things happen."

Shavlik says the Conficker worm is already on millions of computers and can hijack computers without users even noticing. Among other things the worm blocks PCs from accessing the web sites of antivirus vendors and Microsoft. That keeps its victims from getting updates about the worm and downloading removal tools. If you can surf the Internet freely except for those websites, that's a good sign your computer is infected. Mac users so far seem to be immune.

"[I]t spreads by no password or very, very simple ones," said Mark Harrison, global director of SophosLabs in an interview with eWeek.

Microsoft has also issued a patch for the flaw targeted by the worm, so PC users who downloaded Microsoft's automatic updates recently should be protected.

Botnet detection company Damballa said Conficker is not a major problem in the typical enterprise.

"We do see Conficker compromises in enterprises," said Tripp Cox, Damballa's vice president of engineering, "but they comprise a minority of the total number of compromises we see in these environments. The majority is the long tail of small botnets."

Cox said Conficker was neither targeted nor "low-and-slow", so existing defenses performed well.

"Our experience with enterprises has been that they tend to do a good job of patch management," Cox said, "which diminished the propagation effects of Conficker in the networks. What compromises did occur, most enterprises were able to quickly track down based on their noisy, brute-force attempts to guess employee passwords."

New GM chief says bankruptcy "probable"

DETROIT — The new chief executive of General Motors, Frederick A. Henderson, said Tuesday that bankruptcy was “more probable” than ever for the automaker but that he still hoped to successfully restructure the company out of court.

I'm surprised and glad that they aren't getting bailed out. If the American automakers aren't willing to make better cars, their industry deserves to die. Hopefully the big three will get their act together so the employees can keep their jobs.

Obama takes new budget to Capitol Hill

by Seth Graham and Ben Tan

Up yours, not spending!
President Barack Obama makes his way to Capitol Hill as House and Senate committees begin work on a budget for the coming fiscal year.

Amid a growing deficit, the budget tops $3.6 trillion. House Minority Leader John Boehner believes the president's plan takes the country down the wrong path. "The president's budget spends too much, taxes too much, and it borrows too much," Boehner said. "It raises taxes on every American family and small business," he added.

Both the House and Senate plan to slash his proposed 11 percent increase in discretionary spending.

Obama's New Strategy for Afghanistan

by Seth Graham and Ben Tan

The President continues his preparations for his first European trip, including a meeting with NATO's secretary-general.

Meanwhile Mr. Obama is readying a new strategy for Afghanistan.

General John Craddock, the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, says security results in the country are skewed.

Craddock said gunfire in outdoor markets "counts the same as a suicide bomber killing thirty people [...] so we have to get more refined in that."

This follows thousands of new U-S troops who will soon roll into the region to reverse the Taliban gains.

President Obama's Online Meeting

Smoking is very bad for you okay.
President Barack Obama has announced an online, town hall style meeting on the White House's web site this Thursday.

In a new video, Obama says he wants Americans to ask him questions directly.

"One of my priorities as president is opening up the White House to the American people," the President said, "so that folks can understand what we're up to and have a chance to participate themselves."

Obama will take questions on the economy and other topics at WhiteHouse.gov.

Men do not like older women

Maureen Trickett, an event organizer for 8minuteDating.com, had an idea based on all the hype surrounding younger men dating older women. She decided last year to plan an event specifically for that demographic - a night of speed dating for women-of-a-certain-age and the boyish men who love them.

Trickett posted the event online, and women quickly signed up. But the men - they were slow to show interest.

Understandable...it's not like they all look like Demi Moore.

Fire evacuates New Haven elementary school

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - New Haven officials say a smoky fire has forced the evacuation of an elementary school.

Luckily everyone got out alive.

A city spokeswoman says the small fire Tuesday morning at the Lincoln-Bassett School prompted the city to use buses to take the children to the Celentano School.

Jessica Mayorga says while the fire was minor, it was smoky. She says four people did complain of asthma symptoms and were taken to a city hospital.

Actress Natasha Richardson dies at 45

Some sad news...

Acclaimed actress Natasha Richardson, the wife of actor Liam Neeson and daughter of acting legend Vanessa Redgrave, died Wednesday of a critical head injury resulting from a skiing accident; she was 45.

Barney Frank: "We own this company"

CNN) -- As the tide of outrage over AIG bonuses continued unabated Wednesday, a congressional committee became the epicenter of the issue as Edward Liddy, CEO and chairman of the troubled insurer, prepared to answer questions about executive bonuses.

On Wednesday's "American Morning," Rep. Barney Frank, who chairs the House Finance Committee, shared what was legally and legislatively within the government's power on recovering the AIG bonuses and reforming the whole financial incentive system.

Kiran Chetry, CNN anchor: When he appears before your committee today, what type of assurances are you guys seeking from Mr. Liddy with regard to these bonuses?

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts: Well, I don't have a lot of confidence in Mr. Liddy's view at this point. When he said that first he couldn't get the money back because they had contractual rights but also that he was worried about not retaining them, it left me unconvinced he's really going to be trying.

The notion that we want to retain these people, that we want to pay the people who messed it up in the first place so they don't leave, is just backward to me. I think we would probably be better off if they did leave.

We are going to ask him to fully be cooperative in our effort, but I think the federal government has to take the lead on the lawsuits. We own this company in effect, and we're not asking that these bonuses be rescinded because we have lent money to the company.

I'd love to see the government rip AIG a new one.

AIG Executive Faces Grilling on Capitol Hill

AIG chief Edward Liddy will testify on Capitol Hill later this morning about almost $200 million in bonuses at the financial giant.

He will defend the payments that have caused outrage among politicians and taxpayers.

The bonuses went out in an effort to keep employees from fleeing the troubled financial products department. Liddy though still admitted the bonuses are probably distasteful in talks with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Geithner said he will deduct the cost of the bonuses from the pending $30 billion cash infusion to the insurance giant, bringing the total amount of taxpayer money to AIG to around $200 billion.

Geithner's statement was an attempt to calm the general publics outrage over the bonuses. AIG has beefed up security outside its suburban Connecticut office, amid reports of death threats and irate phone calls to employees, some of whom have submitted resignations.

Meanwhile, NYU finance professor Roy Smith said AIG can't afford to lose the top talent that received those payments.

"To risk having many of those people walk out of you, and have to replace them with people who are postal workers, is probably a foolish thing to do."

Liddy himself did not get a bonus. They range from $1,000 to $6.5 million.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo reported that 73 AIG employees nabbed $1 million or more in bonuses, all of them in the derivatives unit that brought the company down.

Something is deeply wrong with this outcome, Cuomo wrote to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Frank now urges the Obama administration to fight the bonuses, more of which may be owed to AIG executives under various contracts.

Some Congressmen are threatening to slap such bonuses with a 60-100% tax.

President Barack Obama said Monday that the bonuses were an outrage, and has ordered Geithner to take all legal measures to block them.

Other members of Congress have taken shots at the AIG executives. Representative Sam Johnson (R-TX) said they should be "turned over to the marines," and Charles Grassley (R-IA) is raising eyebrows too.

"They need to either do one of two things...resign or go commit suicide."

Grassley also said the corporation is acting irresponsibly by giving bonuses made of taxpayer money in a Fox News interview yesterday.

And he's not the only one. Other lawmakers are working on a bill to tax those bonuses at one hundred percent. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said if the executives don't give the bonuses back, then they'll take them by force.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT), chair of the Senate Banking Committee is also calling for the repeal of the bonuses.

Connecticut lawmakers said yesterday they hope to change a state law thats being partially blamed by AIG as a reason for the bonuses.

The Wage Act allows employees to sue for twice the full amount of contractually owed wages in this case $330 million as well as attorneys fees if the employer refuses to pay.

One administrative worker said Financial Products has a reputation for paying out huge bonuses.

In her first year after being transferred there from another branch, the woman's annual bonus jumped from $12,000 to $40,000.

Kremlin to Push Global Currency at G-20

The Kremlin will pitch a new currency at an upcoming meeting of the G-20. The Kremlin published its priorities Monday for the meeting, calling for a supranational reserve currency to be issued by international institutions. This is part of a reform of the global financial system.

The International Monetary Fund should investigate the possible creation of a new reserve currency, widening the list of reserve currencies, or using its already existing Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, as a superreserve currency accepted by the whole of the international community, the Kremlin said in a statement on its web site.

The IMF created SDRs in 1969 to supplement the existing official reserves of member countries.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have repeatedly called for the ruble, rather than the dollar, to be used as the regional reserve currency, although the idea has received little support outside Russia. The Kremlin has repeatedly criticized the dollars status as the dominant global reserve currency, and has lowered its dollar holdings in the last few years.

Analysts said the Kremlins proposal will not elicit excitement at the meeting.

This is all in the realm of fantasy, said Sergei Perminov, chief strategist at Rye, Man and Gore. There was a situation that resembled what they are talking about. It was called the gold standard, and it ended very badly.

Alternatives to the dollar are still hard to find, he said.

Recently, there have been other calls for a common currency. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed a global currency at an economic conference in Astana, Kazakhstan.

New Yorkers celebrate St. Patty's Day

From NYTimes.com...

Tens of thousands of marchers proceeded up Fifth Avenue on Tuesday for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, the festive mood of the procession — believed to be the 248th — tempered by the deteriorating economy in both the United States and Ireland.

New York City ranks behind Boston, Philadelphia, Tampa, Cleveland, Baltimore, Chicago and other cities in the proportion of residents who list Irish as their primary ancestral group, but the St. Patrick’s Day parade is nonetheless a political rite of passage for politicians and notables.

Even as the parade began at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street at 11 a.m., a group of lesbian and gay Irish organizations demonstrated 13 blocks away, at 57th Street, criticizing the organizers for their policy barring gay groups (though not individuals) from marching.

The City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, who is the city’s most prominent openly gay official, has stayed away from the parade since being told she could not wear even a pin, button or sash indicating gay pride. She plans to take part in a large St. Patrick’s Day reception in Washington on Tuesday evening, at the invitation of President Obama.

For many spectators, the attention was on the sacrifice of service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

My plan for today is, of course, to get drunk, go to South Boston carrying a boom box playing "I'm Shipping Up to Boston", walk into a bar and punch the first guy I see.

Cuomo reveals details on AIG bonuses

From NYTimes.com...

Seventy-three employees were paid more than $1 million in the newly minted bonuses at the insurance giant, American International Group, according to the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo.

THAT's where your tax money is going.

Obama outraged over AIG bonuses

Work on the angry face, Barry.
Try calling Obama a corporate shill and socialist NOW!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that American International Group Inc's payment of $165 million in bonuses is an "outrage" and ordered the treasury secretary to take all legal measures to block them.

FINALLY! Finally the government stops taking...spit...from A.I.G.

El Camino wins CA quiz relay

From the Los Angeles Times...

Reporting from Sacramento — You could have cut the tension with some really sharp repartee, this being a room full of very smart people.

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the theater?" tried emcee Amy Lewis after some technical glitches threatened to gum up the finale of the state Academic Decathlon on Sunday night.

That didn't entirely soothe the more than 500 competitors from 60 California high schools, or their coaches and parents, who half-filled the cavernous Sacramento Memorial Auditorium for the last event in a grueling two-day match to select the brainiest team of high schoolers in the state.

"Amateur hour," groused Marshall High coach Larry Welch.

But after discarding a rogue PowerPoint presentation that was displaying the wrong answers to quiz questions, the competition went on. ("We do truly apologize," state director Ken Scarberry said later.)

The unofficial winner of Sunday night's Super Quiz Relay, the only portion of the Decathlon waged in public, was no surprise. Perennial champ El Camino of Woodland Hills scored 58 of a possible 60 points.

Congratulations, but come on, perennial champ? Nobody likes an overachiever.

Discovery finally takes off last night

From the Los Angeles Times...

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven rocketed into orbit Sunday evening, setting off on a mission cut short by launch delays that dragged on for more than a month.

To the moon, Alice. TO THE MOON.

Discovery rose from its seaside pad at 7:43 p.m. EDT just as the sun was setting. As the shuttle sped away from Kennedy Space Center like a brilliant star, part of the launch plume glowed a brilliant mix of pink, peach and gold. Clear skies allowed the shuttle to be visible for several minutes.

A hydrogen leak prevented Discovery from lifting off Wednesday. Before that, the shuttle was grounded for weeks in February as NASA ran tests to determine whether newly installed valves would cause serious damage if they broke during liftoff. Launch pad repairs took care of the leak.

Commander Lee Archambault and his crew, which includes two former schoolteachers, should reach the International Space Station on Tuesday.

Correction: To the International Space Station, Alice. TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. It just doesn't have the same ring.

Opposition leader: Pakistan's security has collapsed

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — The Sri Lankan cricket team ambush shows the security system has collapsed in Pakistan since the pro-Western government took office a year ago, a leading opposition politician charged Thursday.

Huh?

The fallout from Tuesday's attack is adding to political problems facing the shaky government just as Washington wants it to stay focused on the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Under intense pressure to show progress in the investigation, authorities claimed to have identified the heavily armed terrorists and were questioning several people, but appeared to have made no major arrests. The gunmen escaped into the teeming city of Lahore following the ambush.

The country's cricket chief, meanwhile, dismissed as "totally fabricated" claims by British referee Chris Broad that police abandoned him and other match officials during the ambush by between 12 and 14 gunmen close to a stadium in Lahore in eastern Punjab province.

With a punishing economic slowdown and a looming political showdown on the horizon, some commentators have taken the brazen assault as fresh evidence the nuclear-armed nation is on a path to becoming a failed state.

Opposition parties and other critics used outrage over the ambush as ammunition against the government.

"The security system in Pakistan under this regime has collapsed because this government is too busy doing other things, they are too busy in their quest for power," opposition politician Mushahid Hussain told a televised news conference.

Oh. Well, you do know bin Laden is in Pakistan, right?

Emerson's gay rights activists speak out

Today, Emerson freshman Adriana Guida serves as GLBT Commissioner in student government. The openly gay Writing, Literature, and Publishing major is proud to be going to what the Princeton Review calls the most gay-friendly school in the United States. She also enjoys the contrast between Emerson and her more conservative hometown of Tewksbury, MA.

“When I was growing up and when I was in high school,” said the member of EAGLE - Emerson's Alliance for Gays, Lesbians, and Everyone, “there wasn’t any sort of support for gay rights. Not that anyone was actively homophobic, but nobody was really part of the movement.”

That's can't be said of the active movement for gay rights on this campus.

Fellow freshman Maura Lyons has also been an outspoken gay rights advocate for the last few years, joining her school’s Gay Straight Alliance and taking part in the National Day of Silence for her last few years at Wakefield High School. When assigned a rhetorical analysis in a speech class last semester, she gave a speech praising the rhetoric of gay rights activist Urvashi Vaid. A native of Wakefield, MA, she also finds more tolerance for alternative lifestyles here at Emerson.

“There’s definitely more intolerance there than around here and that’s partly due to intolerance and stereotypes,” she said when contrasting Wakefield and Emerson.

The many gay rights supporters at this school have recently scored a few victories, one being the Student Government Association’s approval of a gender-neutral housing resolution.

“It’s not a matter of whether we want it or if we should have it,” Guida said.

“It’s really more a matter of how to organize it now, the logistics,” Guida said, “and hopefully we’ll see it by 2010, 2011.”

Guida also praised Sean Penn’s victory for his performance as California’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, at the Oscars on Sunday. Many observers and gay advocates interpreted the win as the Academy’s declaration of support for gay rights.

“It’s a validation,” Guida remarked.

Guida felt the Academy was saying, “Like, ‘okay, yes, this is a valid movie, you guys have a valid point, and this is a thing you can get recognized for just by its subject matter.’”

The victory of “Milk” is also a win for the opponents of Prop 8, which was passed 51-49 in November. The controversial law changed California's state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Prop 8’s opposition hopes to get the new law reversed, but as Guida said, “Now we have to work backwards because now it’s passed. We have to either get it un-passed or we have to prove that it’s an unconstitutional proposition, and that’s going to be a long court battle in itself.”

Local gay rights supporters are also speaking out off campus. They will be protesting an upcoming display of intolerance in the suburb of Reading. On March 13 Reading will stage “The Laramie Project”, a play based on Matthew Shepard, a gay man killed in a hate crime, and as they have with previous productions, the Westboro Baptist Church plans to travel to Reading and protest the production. Local students are planning a counter-protest against the church.

“You have the right to voice your opinion,” Lyons said of the controversial church. “We’re not telling you ‘you can’t’, but I feel like what they do is just stomping on people, and basically…it’s a group of people who just hate. Religion should be about loving your God, God loving you, and that’s how the relationship should go, at least that’s how I feel anyway, and if your God is telling you to hate people, why would you follow that?”

US to send envoys to Syria

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday the Obama administration would this week send two senior U.S. officials to Damascus to work on bilateral ties, in a further sign of thawing U.S.-Syria relations.

Syria, huh?

"We're going to dispatch a representative of the State Department, a representative of the White House, to explore with Syria some of these bilateral issues," Clinton said, announcing another step that could help Damascus improve its standing in the West after years of tensions.

"We have no way to predict what the future with our relations concerning Syria might be," she told a news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

U.S. officials said the two emissaries would be Jeffrey Feltman, a former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon and now acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and Dan Shapiro of the White House's National Security Council.

The administration of President Barack Obama has been reviewing U.S. policy toward Syria, including whether to return an ambassador to Damascus, a move the former Bush administration had been considering in the final months in office.

The move also indicates a wish to lessen Iran's influence over Syria as part of broader regional peace plans and follows up on a campaign promise by Obama to talk to U.S. enemies rather than isolate them.

Oh. Iran. That's what this is about.

Democrats optimistic on health care summit

From TIME...

As President Barack Obama prepares to convene a health-care summit at the White House later this week, Administration officials are signaling that he intends to pursue a very different strategy for getting reform passed from the one used by his Democratic predecessor in office. Unlike the failed effort of 1994, when Bill and Hillary Clinton presented Congress with a detailed blueprint for reform — and never saw a bill reach the floor of either the House or Senate — Obama is outlining broad principles, with a bottom line of universal coverage, and leaving it up to lawmakers to fashion a plan for meeting them.

What this means is that the next few months will see a wide range of options under consideration, including ideas that go well beyond the health-care plan Obama proposed in his campaign, which centered on effort to expand coverage by requiring employers to provide health insurance to their workers. "Everything has got to be on the table — everything," says Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, who will be one of the key figures leading the effort on Capitol Hill. (See who's who in Obama's White House.)

At a breakfast with reporters on Tuesday morning, Baucus predicted that his committee could have legislation on the Senate floor as early as June, adding, "The conversation is going great guns." Among the ideas the six-term Montana Senator said he is willing to consider is one that has significant support among Republicans: changing the tax treatment of employer-provided health benefits, so that they might not be fully deductible for companies that provide them, and would be treated as income for the workers who receive them. Health-care experts say this would have the effect of encouraging more people to buy their insurance individually, rather than getting it where they work. This approach has been criticized by many Democrats — including Obama, when John McCain embraced a version of it during the election campaign — who contend that relying on the individual market would put health-care consumers at a disadvantage to big insurance companies.

But one proposal apparently not on his table is the dream of many liberals — a government-run system known as single-payer.

I'm split on Obama's health care stance just as I am on his economic policy. "Sicko" made a great argument for universal health care, but there are also arguments out there for keeping the system we have, or for other alternatives.

Darfur update

From TIME...

If the prognosticators are correct, the International Criminal Court will issue its first arrest warrant for a sitting head of state on Wednesday afternoon. That's when the court will announce whether Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir ought to be brought to trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for his alleged role in orchestrating the Darfur conflict. Regardless of what one makes of the idea of international justice, the arrest warrant, if it comes, will be a historic move that many human rights experts believe will further erode that sense of impunity shared by dictators the world over.

As a result, it is perhaps no surprise that Sudanese officials have become more bellicose about the prospect of an arrest warrant.

Clinton goes to Israel, promises support

From The Christian Science Monitor...

JERUSALEM - Embarking on her first trip to the region as secretary of State, Hillary Clinton pledged that the Obama administration will unshakably support Israel's security and vigorously pursue the creation of a Palestinian state.

I'm sure the administration will do just that...once it takes care of its priorities.

Jury finds Barros guilty of manslaughter

Chiara Levin
From BostonHerald.com...

A jury has found Casimiro Barros guilty of voluntary manslaughter - but not first-degree murder - in the 2007 death of Chiara Levin during what the district attorney called a “Wild West” shootout in the city.

Good to see that our justice system works as long as celebrities aren't involved.

Lots of Darfur updates

I'm still in a certain mindset...as soon as I saw this story I went to post it on my blog...only to start typing "wak" in the URL box. Though they could use *my* sense of news judgment.

TRIPOLI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the current African Union president, on Tuesday accused "foreign forces" including Israel of being behind the Darfur conflict.

Huh?

Judges from the International Criminal Court are due to announce on March 4 whether they will issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir over allegations that he masterminded genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. U.N. diplomats have told Reuters the warrant will be issued.

But Gaddafi, addressing a meeting on ways to expand cooperation between the United Nations and African Union, urged the Court to stop its proceedings against Bashir:

"Why do we have to hold President Bashir or the Sudanese government responsible when the Darfur problem was caused by outside parties, and Tel Aviv (Israel), for example, is behind the Darfur crisis?"

Gaddafi suggested, without presenting any evidence, that the Israeli military was among those stoking the conflict:

"It is not a secret. We have found evidence proving clearly that foreign forces are behind the Darfur problem and are fanning its fire," Gaddafi said, according to the Libyan state news agency Jana.

"We discovered that some of the main leaders of the Darfur rebels have opened offices in Tel Aviv and hold meetings with the military there to add fuel to the conflict fire."

Not sure what to make of this. I understand why the US hasn't gotten involved much, and why China hasn't intervened, but I have no idea what Israel has to gain from this genocide. Somebody enlighten me, because I'm skeptical of Gaddafi.
Good to see that the President and Vice President are showing concern. From BostonHerald.com...

The country’s economy is in shambles, but President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden found the time the other night to meet privately with George Clooney to discuss Darfur.

Gotta put Clooney here to make up for the bikini post.
Also good to see that negotiations to end the fighting are still going on.

CAIRO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will pay a visit to Egypt on Sunday for consultations with Egyptian leaders on means of ending the prolonged Darfur crisis, a diplomatic source said Saturday.
During the visit, al-Bashir is expected to have talks with President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday on various issues that include both the Darfur crisis and bilateral relations, said the source who declined to give his name.

Obama braces for controversy over budget

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama sends his first budget proposals to Congress on Thursday bracing for fights over how best to heal the economy, create a new healthcare system and still cut out-of-control deficits.

I'm still split on Obama's economic policy, but I *am* convinced of one thing: the President is not, as certain pundits would have you believe, a socialist. Just ask some actual socialists!

Greg Pason, National Secretary of the Socialist Party USA: “Barack Obama's programs are not socialist. The vast majority of his proposals are anti-worker (or he might say ‘pro-business’). His health care proposals are more to save the for-profit insurance industry and do not have the goal of ending for-profit insurance. He has refused to support a Senate version of HR676, which would create a single-payer program (not socialist but much better than we have, and [which has] the support of labor and community organizations across the US). Many of his other economic proposals are pro-corporate.

A socialist program (even a reformist one) would not be a program that props up capitalism when it fails, but one that transforms the economy. None of Senator Obama's proposals do that. Senator Obama’s tax plan is regressive and even less ‘progressive’ than programs put forward under such conservative administrations like the one of Richard Nixon.”

F.N. Brill, National Secretary of the World Socialist Party (US): “Obama is as much a socialist as the Pope is an atheist. Income redistribution isn't a socialist act. It might aid in ameliorating income disparities within a capitalist economy for a limited time. But the logic of capitalism demands the rich grow richer (more capitalization is needed) and the poor grow poorer (their work creates the needed capital used by the rich).”