skippy the bush kangaroo

a top u.s. business group stepped up efforts on friday to kill a "buy american" provision that has angered u.s. trading partners, and the white house said it was reviewing its position on the measure. - reuters canada

Labels: america, dc, economy

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the sharp contraction of the us economy accelerated in the last three months of 2008, with official figures showing gdp shrinking at an annualised rate of 3.8%.

with forecasters already predicting the worst us recession since world war ii, how big a danger is there that the us economy will slip into a depression similar to the 1930s?

the latest figures paint a gloomy picture of the us economy. - the beebs

the average tax rate paid by the richest 400 americans fell by a third to 17.2 percent through the first six years of the bush administration and their average income doubled to $263.3 million, new irs data show. - bloomberg and nytimes

Labels: bbc, depression, economy, recession

Labels: ecology, recession, workers

Redoubt at Sunset
Originally uploaded by jedibob

the alaska volcano observatory said in a statement friday "volcanic tremor" has increased in "amplitude."

..."i would not be surprised to see it erupt at anytime," cervelli said. "we're going to know it when we see it." - cnn

(you can monitor the mountain too, weather permitting. government scientists have set up webcams at two locations, here and here.) - christian science monitor

Labels: alaska, earth, earthquake, environment, science, volcano

exxon mobile corp. on friday reported a profit of $45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a u.s. company, even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33 percent from a year ago.

the previous record for annual profit was $40.6 billion, which the world's largest publicly traded oil company set in 2007. - yahoo news and wapo

Labels: energy, exxon, oil

the whole world is in recession. but the united states is the only wealthy country in which the economic catastrophe will also be a health care catastrophe — in which millions of people will lose their health insurance along with their jobs, and therefore lose access to essential care. - paul krugman at nytimes

Labels: healthcare, nytimes, public health, recession

the mother in california who gave birth to eight babies on monday has six children already, cbs news discovered. today on the early show, a segment on the now-doubled family aired. they took cameras to the home and neighborhood where the mom lives in a house with her parents, four older sons and two older daughters. - huffpo

Labels: california, healthcare, no child left behind, public health, womens issues

a report by the new york state comptroller revealed that wall street employees reaped an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year, “the sixth-largest haul on record.” despite billions lost in revenue this year, “wall street workers still took home about as much as they did in 2004, when the dow jones industrial average was flying above 10,000, on its way to a record high.” - think progress

Labels: financial markets, greed, wall street

Lift Off- Best Viewed Large
Originally uploaded by aussiegall

the co-op today became the first uk supermarket to ban the use of a group of pesticides implicated in billions of honeybee deaths worldwide.

it is prohibiting suppliers of its own-brand fresh produce from using eight pesticides that have been connected to honeybee colony collapse disorder and are already restricted in some parts of europe. - the guardian

Labels: bees, environment, food, food safety

for nearly a century, the boy scouts have worn a self-adorned badge as campsite conservationists and good stewards of the land.

"the boy scouts were green before it was cool to be green," said the organization's national spokesman, deron smith.

but for decades, local boy scouts of america administrations across the country have clearcut or otherwise conducted high-impact logging on tens of thousands of acres of forestland, often for the love of a different kind of green: cash.

a hearst newspapers investigation has found dozens of cases over the past 20 years of local boy scout councils logging or selling prime woodlands to big timber interests, developers or others, turning quick money and often doing so instead of seeking ways to preserve such lands. - seattle pi

Labels: ecology, environment, liars

peanut processor knowingly sold tainted products. the georgia peanut plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened 500 more across the country knowingly shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, federal officials said yesterday.- wapo

Labels: death penalty, food safety, recalls

the fbi was aware for years of "pervasive and growing" fraud in the mortgage industry that eventually contributed to america's financial meltdown, but did not take definitive action to stop it.

"it is clear that we had good intelligence on the mortgage-fraud schemes, the corrupt attorneys, the corrupt appraisers, the insider schemes," said a recently retired, high fbi official. another retired top fbi official confirmed that such intelligence went back to 2002. - seattle pi

Labels: corruption, fbi, financial markets, greed, mortgages

STS-51L / SCOBEE SMITH McNAIR ONIZUKA RESNIK McAULIFFE JARVIS / CHALLENGER
Originally uploaded by famille.sebile

Labels: disasters, nasa

in case you're thinking you missed the bottom of the real estate market, think again. forecasters from beacon economics told home builders last night that the "bottom" might be toward the end of 2011. - laist

Labels: california, economy, foreclosure

!Special Comment!
Originally uploaded by .ƒenster.

Labels: birthday, flickr, olbermann, teevee

the nation's current recession is likely to be the longest since world war ii, and by some measures could be the worst since the great depression, a new congressional budget office forecast said tuesday. - mcclatchy

Labels: depression, economy

cnbc's charlie gasparino just reported that new york attorney general andrew cuomo has subpoenaed former merrill lynch ceo john thain for testimony about merrill's awarding of billions of dollars in bonuses in december. - tpm

Labels: bailout, banking, financial markets, greed, new yawk

gov. paterson's decision to go nuclear on caroline kennedy was a hatchet job run by a pricey out-of-state consultant who specializes in political scandals, disgruntled administration sources said. - daily news

the appointment was destined to be a mess—how could it not be? the cast of characters involved in choosing a new junior senator for new york included a lapsed priest, three of the country’s most bare-knuckled political dynasties, and an imperious mayor. add to that a $15 billion budget deficit and a tainted plate of sushi. and start the whole crazy chain of dominoes with a hooker. - new york magazine

Labels: kennedy, politicians, scandals, senate

three pods of killer whales in the pacific northwest have now earned the unfortunate title of being the most contaminated wildlife on earth, according to a new study. these killer whales, known as southern residents, live in the coastal waters near the u.s. canadian border and survive almost exclusively on contaminated chinook salmon. the salmon contain high levels of polychlorinated biphenols (pcbs) and other industrial chemicals, which accumulate in even higher levels in the killer whales. - discover

Labels: animals, environment, ocean, pollution, whales

Labels: hollywood, jazz, music, skippy's music club, youtube

last friday, monster.com announced that their database had been attacked, and that account names, passwords, email addresses, and phone numbers had been stolen. unfortunately, they haven't sent out email alerts to anyone—they just put the announcement up on the security section of their site. - consumerist

Labels: internets, unemployment

even though she has spent much of her life searching for holistic methods of healing, when charlene penner was bitten by a rattlesnake, she knew she had to get to a hospital fast.

penner was soon immersed in some of the most vexing problems facing the country: the escalating costs of medical care and the millions of people with no insurance to pay for it.

penner's chance encounter with a snake resulted in medical bills totaling more than $150,000, most to cover the equivalent of about one day's treatment at a hospital. - sandy eggo union tribune

Labels: healthcare, hospitals, public health

Truly Australia (II) :: HDR
Originally uploaded by Artie | Photography

Labels: australia, holiday

housing prices are falling around the country, but this one sounds hard to believe: a seaside mansion on jupiter island in florida, bought for more than $13 million five years ago, was just sold for $10.

the seller, according to county records, was richard s. fuld jr., the former chairman and chief executive of lehman brothers. the buyer was his wife, kathleen.

...it is possible that he is now transferring properties because of his fears of investor lawsuits or a possible bankruptcy, lawyers in florida said. - nytimes

Labels: criminal, financial markets, florida, greed, housing bubble

beleaguered citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet - only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed. - nypost and think progress.

Labels: bailout, banking, bankruptcy, greed

concealing discoveries of contaminated imported honey is immoral, unethical and often illegal -- and it happens far too often, u.s. honey producers say.

"it doesn't take a wizard to determine whether there are bad things in the honey we handle, nor a hero to do what it takes to keep it from our food supply," said mark brady, a texas beekeeper who sits on the national honey board.

"if we buy chinese honey, as we do far too often, we know it may contain chloramphenicol or some other antibiotic that is illegal in any food product," said brady, who produces about a million pounds of honey a year. "to find it and not report it is criminal." - seattlepi

Labels: bees, china, food safety

just when you thought the greed and outrageous behavior of corporate america could get no worse, the leaders of companies have sunk to a new low: they are using workers' pension money to fund ceo pensions. no this is not a joke.

the evidence is laid out today in the wall street journal by reporters ellen schultz and theo francis. these two reporters have done an excellent job covering pension issues: more than two years ago, they clearly laid out the evidence that it was ceo pensions, not workers' pensions, that were causing headaches for corporate balance sheets. - working life

Labels: ceo, corporations, economy, wall street

Labels: bees, climate change, ecology, energy, environment, weather

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Labels: california, santa barbara, skippy's music club, youtube

restaurant owners across the country are facing a major dilemma: demand is up for buffalo wings, but supply is low. the lack of poultry is so bad in new york state, some owners are calling for a wing boycott on monday, january 26th - kwes newswest 9

the demand for the spicy little guys is way up but the supply is equally way down, partly because a major source of buffalo wings- a poultry farm in texas- recently filed for bankruptcy, blamed on the economic downturn. so now there may not be enough chicken wings for superbowl sunday. - wpec 12

a poultry producer's reorganization has contributed to a chicken wing crisis ahead of super bowl xliii, suppliers in chicken wing capital buffalo, n.y., say. - marketwatch

Labels: economy, food, food shortages, football, new yawk

fast-growing salmon. pork containing heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. these are two examples of products you might see in your local supermarket soon -- animals developed not through conventional breeding but through genetic engineering.

on jan. 15, the u.s. food and drug administration decided how it will regulate genetically engineered animals, for the first time paving the way for such animals or their products to be sold as food and medicine. the agency has decided to categorize genetically engineered farm animals, also called transgenic animals, as an "animal drug." they will be held to the same requirements already existing for conventionally bred animals treated with hormones or antibiotics. (in the case of transgenic animals, the "drug" is a snippet of dna.) products derived from them or containing them as an ingredient will not necessarily require labeling. - latimes

Labels: food, food safety, food supply

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the drought is withering california’s $36 billion-a-year agriculture industry, the biggest in the u.s. crop losses from the water shortage total $308.7 million as of dec. 17, the california department of food and agriculture estimates.

shawn coburn, who needs more water for his 1,500 acres of almonds and 300 acres of wine grapes in firebaugh, 150 miles
(240 kilometers) southeast of san francisco, is among those who may have to close down if the weather doesn’t improve.

“what are we going to do to keep those trees alive?” said coburn, 40. “i don’t know. the drought will put me out of business.” - bloomberg

Labels: california, drought, economy, farmers, water

the hits keep coming for john thain, whose stellar reputation has been badly
tarnished by the collapse of merrill lynch and some questionable decisions. the
latest: new york attorney general andrew cuomo has opened an investigation into
thain's decision to pay billions of dollars in bonuses days before the closing
of its sale to bank of america and the disclosure of $1 billion in operating
losses for 2008, according to the financial times. - fierce finance

mr cuomo will “examine closely disturbing reports of what appeared to be large,
secret last-minute bonuses”, a person familiar with the investigation said. - financial
times

Labels: bailout, banking, financial markets, greed

whether you loved or hated the classical music played at president barack obama's inauguration, what you heard was a recording made two days earlier unless you were sitting within earshot of the celebrated performers. - ap via yahoo news

Labels: dc, music

san francisco must upgrade its emergency water system to avoid a catastrophe like the fire that devastated the city after the 1906 earthquake, according to a report to be released friday.

improvements to the system - a network of pipes and storage facilities - won't be cheap, according to the report, which estimates that $86.7 million is needed to rehabilitate and replace facilities such as pump stations and tanks. an additional $13.3 million is needed for pipeline improvements, and a whopping $332 million more would be needed to expand the system to the west and south areas of town, the report concludes. - sfgate

Labels: disasters, infrastructure, san francisco, water

a dozen state legislators have challenged a proposal to drill for oil off the coast of santa barbara, saying it could set a precedent for more drilling along the 1,100 miles of california coastline. - forbes

Labels: california, offshore drilling, oil, santa barbara

bank of america this week continues to make job cuts in corporate and investment banking areas, including operations positions, and could start making reductions in the consumer banking unit next week, sources told the observer....the bank said in december it plans to eliminate up to 35,000 jobs as part of its acquisition of investment bank merrill lynch & co. - charlotte observer

when john thain became merrill lynch’s ceo in early 2008, he hired michael s. smith design to revamp his office suite, spending approximately $1.22 million according to documents. - cnbcand the consumerist.

Labels: bailout, banking, financial markets

..."some gay activists have organized web sites to actively encourage people to go after supporters of proposition 8," said frank schubert, the campaign manager for protect marriage, the leading group behind the proposition. "and giving these people a map to your home or office leaves supporters of proposition 8 feeling especially vulnerable. really, it is chilling."

so chilling, apparently, that supporters have filed suit in federal district court in sacramento seeking a preliminary injunction of a state law that requires donors of $100 or more to disclose their names, addresses, occupations and other personal information. in particular, the suit seeks to stop the final filing for the 2008 election, which is due jan. 31. that filing includes donations made in the closing days of the campaign, when the proposition surged to victory...

...

the election law in question, the political reform act of 1974, was approved by california voters as proposition 9, and gay rights advocates say there is rich irony in supporters of proposition 8 opposing the earlier ballot measure.

"they believe in the will of the people if it's in tune with what they believe," said jennifer c. pizer, marriage project director with lambda legal, the gay rights legal organization, in los angeles...

Labels: gay/lesbian, politics