Slowdown in Europe. Nearly a shutdown!
Volvo, Scania Miss Profit Estimates, Cut Truck Output (Update2)
By Chad Thomas and Marco Bertacche
Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Volvo AB, the second-largest maker of heavy trucks, and Scania AB reported lower-than-anticipated earnings and said they'll cut production after industrywide European sales fell for a fifth straight month.
Volvo plunged the most in at least 19 years in Stockholm trading. The Gothenburg, Sweden-based company won just 115 European orders in the third quarter, down from 41,970 a year earlier. Soedertaelje, Sweden-based Scania slipped 8.9 percent to a four-year low. ...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
USA Constitution-Free Zones
The government is assuming extraordinary powers to stop and search individuals within this zone. This is not just about the border: This " Constitution-Free Zone" includes most of the nation's largest metropolitan areas.
USA no-Constitutional rights zone map.
USA no-Constitutional rights zone map.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Security Theater
The Things He Carried
If I were a terrorist, and I’m not, but if I were a terrorist—a frosty, tough-like-Chuck-Norris terrorist, say a C-title jihadist with Hezbollah or, more likely, a donkey-work operative with the Judean People’s Front—I would not do what I did in the bathroom of the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport, which was to place myself in front of a sink in open view of the male American flying public and ostentatiously rip up a sheaf of counterfeit boarding passes that had been created for me by a frenetic and acerbic security expert named Bruce Schneier.
...
I couldn’t believe that what Schneier was saying was true—in the national debate over the no-fly list, it is seldom, if ever, mentioned that the no-fly list doesn’t work. “It’s true,” he said. “The gap blows the whole system out of the water.”
...
If I were a terrorist, and I’m not, but if I were a terrorist—a frosty, tough-like-Chuck-Norris terrorist, say a C-title jihadist with Hezbollah or, more likely, a donkey-work operative with the Judean People’s Front—I would not do what I did in the bathroom of the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport, which was to place myself in front of a sink in open view of the male American flying public and ostentatiously rip up a sheaf of counterfeit boarding passes that had been created for me by a frenetic and acerbic security expert named Bruce Schneier.
...
I couldn’t believe that what Schneier was saying was true—in the national debate over the no-fly list, it is seldom, if ever, mentioned that the no-fly list doesn’t work. “It’s true,” he said. “The gap blows the whole system out of the water.”
...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Visa Fraud
High Rate of H-1B Visa Fraud
A study finds that 13% of the visa petitions for U.S. employers to bring in skilled foreign workers are fraudulent
By Moira Herbst
A report released Oct. 8 by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reveals that 13% of petitions filed for H-1B visas on behalf of employers are fraudulent. Another 7% contain some sort of technical violations.
...
Critics say H-1Bs help U.S. companies replace American workers with less costly foreign workers. "The report makes it clear that the H-1B program is rife with abuse and misuse," says Ron Hira, assistant professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. "It shows the desperate need for an auditing system." However, both Presidential candidates, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), have said they support expanding the program.
...
A study finds that 13% of the visa petitions for U.S. employers to bring in skilled foreign workers are fraudulent
By Moira Herbst
A report released Oct. 8 by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reveals that 13% of petitions filed for H-1B visas on behalf of employers are fraudulent. Another 7% contain some sort of technical violations.
...
Critics say H-1Bs help U.S. companies replace American workers with less costly foreign workers. "The report makes it clear that the H-1B program is rife with abuse and misuse," says Ron Hira, assistant professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology. "It shows the desperate need for an auditing system." However, both Presidential candidates, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), have said they support expanding the program.
...
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Disappearing Bees
Bayer Pesticide Chemicals Linked to Devastating Collapse of Honeybee Populations
(NaturalNews) German government researchers have concluded that a bestselling Bayer pesticide is responsible for the recent massive die-off of honeybees across the country's Baden-Württemberg region. In response, the government has banned an entire family of pesticides, fueling accusations that pesticides may be responsible for the current worldwide epidemic of honeybee die-offs.
...
(NaturalNews) German government researchers have concluded that a bestselling Bayer pesticide is responsible for the recent massive die-off of honeybees across the country's Baden-Württemberg region. In response, the government has banned an entire family of pesticides, fueling accusations that pesticides may be responsible for the current worldwide epidemic of honeybee die-offs.
...
Saturday, October 04, 2008
You Broke It, You Bought It
While the mainstream media tells America the (fat-cat banker) bailout is needed to protect jobs and bank accounts, there are Americans that understand a bailout can't fix the problem. The problem will be fixed when asset prices move toward more reasonable levels, not by giving fat-cat bankers a few more meal tickets.
"Keep the panic pressure on."
"Here is the latest reality game. Let's play Wall Street bailout." "Privatize gains. Socialize losses."
"The Federal Reserve is not smart enough. Treasury is not smart enough. Congress is not smart enough."
"The real question is, 'Where does it [the money for bailout] come from?"
"There is no authority in the Constitution to make money and credit out of thin air."
"Keep the panic pressure on."
"Here is the latest reality game. Let's play Wall Street bailout." "Privatize gains. Socialize losses."
"The Federal Reserve is not smart enough. Treasury is not smart enough. Congress is not smart enough."
"The real question is, 'Where does it [the money for bailout] come from?"
"There is no authority in the Constitution to make money and credit out of thin air."
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