The US economy grew at an annual pace of 3.5% between July and September, its first expansion in more than a year.Here's hoping they are right. I have a lot of friends and family members who could use an improved economy. Then again, it may be a while between the first small improvements and an economy that produces jobs for most of us.
The growth was helped by a substantial government spending plan, including a scheme to boost car sales.
The official figures indicate recession has ended, but some economists think there could be further setbacks...
The return to growth of the world's largest economy also sent shares on Wall Street sharply higher. The main Dow Jones index closed up 200 points, or 2.1%, at 9,962.58.
Happy 5th anniversary Ward & Muse. May the next 5, 10, 25, 50...be even better.
When dealing with a subject as inherently "fuzzy" as economics, it is hard to draw hard conclusions based on "what if?" scenarios. Every push and prod is balanced and opposed by unforeseen events and forces. It remains as much an art as a science.The bad news: People have been told if they had H1N1/Swine Flu that they do not need the vaccine, because they are already immune. But many who were told they had it, did not and may be avoiding life-saving or epidemic-controlling treatments.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/21/cbsnews_investigates/main5404829.shtml
Expect there to be a lot of talk about this news, as it appears the CDC's efforts to keep people informed really made them increasingly misinformed.
The Nook has one gee-whiz technology in a small multi-touch screen instead of the Kindle's keyboard. But what may be really revolutionary (and easy for Kindle to copy) is the ability to "borrow" a book from a friend with a Nook. This would eliminate one of the main remaining reasons to stay away from eBooks - the forced re-buying of titles for every reader.
It found that about half the customers noticed the calorie counts, which were prominently posted on menu boards. About 28 percent of those who noticed them said the information had influenced their ordering, and 9 out of 10 of those said they had made healthier choices as a result.This speaks poorly for human nature, and even worse for well-meaning policies. It may go to show that you can not mandate better behavior, without doing away with liberty. And I'd rather have liberty and obesity, than have neither.
But when the researchers checked receipts afterward, they found that people had, in fact, ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer had before the labeling law went into effect, in July 2008.
“What if we force this snow to fall beyond Moscow? The Moscow region will have more water, bigger harvests, while we will have less snow,” he said at an award ceremony for Moscow’s best-kept yard.The idea has a certain panache. But one can't help wondering what unintended consequences this may lead to. Specifically, I wonder what the villagers in the suburbs of Moscow thing of being purposely covered by artificial blizzards.
He said that using the Air Force to prevent massive snowfall would be three times cheaper than using the regular system of trucks and snow-melting stations.
The city approved the proposal in record time.
A spokesman at the public utilities department could not explain how a “big and serious snowfall” would be identified or be deemed worthy of deploying the Air Force.
“The mayor has said it will only be a couple of times per winter,” he said, without further explanation. The department declined to provide information on how much the city budget allocates to cleaning and processing snow.
By the time employees realized Brown didn't have any cash to pay, police said, she already had taken off in the limo.So, person A wrong me, and I feel this gives me the right to take vengeance upon person B. Is it any mystery why this world is so messed up?!
That's when angry customers, realizing they weren't getting free coats, began throwing merchandise on the floor and grabbing clothes without paying for them, Nace said.
"Everybody was like, 'I still want my free stuff,' and that started the riot," he said. "It looks like (Hurricane) Katrina went through the store."
Police said they have no way of tracking down the customers who stole items and fled, but they're reviewing surveillance video.
I think for so long the art of legislating has been lost here in Congress and it’s all about just moving it along on the fast track, and I think that unfortunately the big issues have been set aside.I think this hits the nail on the head about a major problem with the current Congress. Rather than taking on an issue, having a full public hearing and debate, and then a vote, everything in the "Democratic One Party Congress" is rushed through. This has lead to cases where Congresspeople of both sides are required to vote on multi-thousand-page legislation without any time to read it. And has allowed no opportunities for bipartisanship.
At my work, the arrival of autumn meant one thing - the simultaneous arrival of many, many sick people. And of that mob of sickos, many are quite afraid that they may have H1N1, because of the many news reports. Paranoia and hypochondria truly know no bounds.
The committee said it attached special importance to Obama's vision of, and work for, a world without nuclear weapons.This seems awfully nebulous to me. Aren't Nobel Prizes supposed to recognize great achievements done by great men? President Obama may be judged as a "great man" someday, but it seems too early in his tenure to be sure now. It seems more like either (1) they had no other contenders, or (2) the Committee has decided the prize is simply a political tool to further their own agenda without regard to its intended use.
"Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play," the committee said.
So, does this mean parents should ban sweets entirely?I am sure that we'll see a contradictory study soon sponsored by the Nestle corporation conducted in the vicinity of Hershey, PA.
Not necessarily, Moore said. A possible explanation for the candy-violence association is that giving children sweets and chocolate regularly may prevent them from learning to delay gratification. That, in turn, may encourage impulsivity, which is linked to delinquency.
"We think that it is more to do with the way that sweets are given to children rather than the sweets themselves," Moore said. "Using sweets to quiet noisy children might just reinforce problems for later in life."
http://www.ktvb.com/news/nearyou/woodriver/ktvbn-oct0509-wood_river_power.1e96b181a.html
Of course, I am just as happy that CT is still clear of snow when I wake up in the morning and have to face my work commute.
I couldn't help think of this when reading this article on tensions between Afghanistan's commander and President Obama.
I want to warn my fellow Conservatives to be careful about taking too much joy in seeing the president struggle with one of his generals. While we want honest, frank men in such positions of authority, it is key that we also have men who understand the chain of command and that ultimately their commander in chief is the president. Even when they disagree with him, they must both obey orders *AND* make it clear to the men underneath them that it is never acceptable to undercut your commander.
Generals who do not understand this principle tend to be the ones who utlimately invoke that horrible word, "Coup", when they do not get their way.
This week started out very poorly for weight loss, despite a return to the bike on Saturday. I was up and actually got above 210 lbs for a few days, something I have not done outside of holidays and vacations (i.e. free days when I eat what I want). I ate nothing out of the ordinary. I think it was the inability to get much exercise due to back pain. Sigh. But by the end of the week, I was back to normal levels.
