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Boomer near Sri Lanka mosque kills 15
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-Obits-
Navy Changes Speicher Status To 'Missing In Action'
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter determined March 10 that the status of Capt. Michael Scott Speicher is changed from "missing/captured" to "missing-in-action" (MIA).

This determination was made after a review of available information, including the report and recommendation of a Status Review Board and comments provided by the Speicher family, as well as a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment.

"The Navy appreciates the challenges Captain Speicher's family has faced these past 18 years," Winter said. "Captain Speicher is an American hero, and bringing him home to his family and his country will remain a top priority for the Navy and our nation."

Speicher was the first casualty of Operation Desert Storm. His F/A-18 Hornet was downed by hostile action Jan. 17, 1991 during the first manned air strike of the war. He was placed in an MIA status the next day. His status was changed to "killed in action/body not recovered" (KIA/BNR) May 22, 1991, following a Secretary of the Navy Status Review Board that found "no credible evidence" to suggest he had survived the shoot down.

In December 1995, working through the International Committee of the Red Cross, investigators from the Navy and Army's Central Identification Laboratory entered Iraq and conducted a thorough excavation of the crash site. In September 1996, based on a comprehensive review of evidence accumulated since the initial KIA/BNR determination, the Secretary of the Navy reaffirmed the presumptive finding of death.

In January 2001, following the emergence of new evidence and further assessment by the intelligence community, the Secretary of the Navy concluded that Speicher's status should be "missing in action." A working group was established in July 2002, and in October of that year, the Secretary of the Navy changed the status from "MIA" to "missing/captured." This status was continued following another review in September 2005.

In October 2008, the intelligence community concluded that Speicher is deceased, though his remains are unlocated. Based on that assessment, the Secretary of the Navy convened a Status Review Board to consider whether Speicher's status should remain missing/captured or should be changed.

Although the Status Review Board rejected the DIA assessment, the Secretary of the Navy concluded that there was no credible evidence that Speicher is "captured." However, in the abundance of caution, Secretary Winter determined that Speicher's status should be changed to MIA.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/11/2009 14:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Godspeed CPT Speicher, wherever you are.
Posted by: Anon4021 || 03/11/2009 15:46 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Hell freezing over?
Actual headline in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Satan, Penguins working on new deal

(It's actually about a hockey player named Satan. And here I thought he played for the new jersey Devils!)
Posted by: Mike || 03/11/2009 16:55 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Satan, Penguins working on new deal

Gotta love the headline.....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/11/2009 17:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Having the name Satan must make for some interesting cocktail conversation. It would be hard to just get past the introductions.
Posted by: JohnQC || 03/11/2009 18:54 Comments || Top||

#3  "hey! Is it cold in here, or is it just me?"
Posted by: Frank G || 03/11/2009 18:55 Comments || Top||

#4  They will trade him to New Jersey for future considerations.
Posted by: Skunky Glins 5*** || 03/11/2009 22:43 Comments || Top||


Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz tells Jim Cramer - F U
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/11/2009 16:02 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Military rule looms in Madagascar after ultimatum
Madagascar's army chief warned on Tuesday his troops would take control if leaders failed to resolve the political crisis within 72 hours.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yesterday there was an article saying the opposition leader was under UN protection.

Wonder what the futures mkt is saying about his life expectancy?
Posted by: Wheagum Protector of the Antelope2443 || 03/11/2009 15:08 Comments || Top||


UN guards Madagascar opposition leader
The United Nations is guarding Madagascar's opposition leader and the country's defence minister quit on Tuesday after just a month in the job.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "...country's defence minister quit on Tuesday after just a month in the job."

Did Obama win the Madagascar election, too?
Posted by: Ebbomoper Dark Lord of the Swedes3164 || 03/11/2009 15:14 Comments || Top||


Britain
UK: House prices 'could fall by further 55 per cent'
Posted by: tipper || 03/11/2009 19:58 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
China hit by massive drop in exports
Chinese exports slumped 25.7 per cent in February as the collapse in global demand caught up with the country’s exporters and overshadowed a sharp rise in domestic investment.

China’s exports have decreased since November, but until last month the rate of decline had been much slower than in other Asian countries with large export sectors.

Economists said the headline figure for last month, which was already much worse than expected, probably masked an even steeper decline given that there was a shorter number of working days in February 2008 due to new-year holidays.

“Weakness in final demand has fed along the Asian supply chain and is only now having its full impact on China,” said Mark Williams at Capital Economics. Taking into account holidays, he said, the real decline in last month’s exports was around 40 per cent.

If such a rapid deterioration in exports continues the government will face ever-louder demands from Chinese companies to depreciate the currency.

However, analysts said that if the drop in the trade surplus continued, having collapsed from $39.1bn in January to $4.84bn last month, international pressure to move in the other direction and appreciate the renminbi would weaken. Few economists expect China to move into a trade deficit this year, however some said they might scale back projections for the size of the likely trade surplus.

After dropping 43 per cent in January, imports fell by 24 per cent last month, which some analysts said was a sign that the government’s fiscal stimulus measures were beginning to have an impact.
Posted by: ed || 03/11/2009 19:08 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Gunman kills 10 in German school shooting rampage
TEN people have been killed in a school shooting in Germany, according to local television reports.

The editor of a local newspaper has told television channel N-TV that eight schoolchildren and two adults have been killed, reports said. "The attacker just started shooting wildly," N-TV quoted a witness as saying.

Police said the reports were of an attack in Winnenden, northeast of Stuttgart. The gunman, who was wearing a black combat uniform, fled after the attack and was seen heading for the town centre.

CNN reported that the attacker remains at large.
Posted by: tipper || 03/11/2009 06:40 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Update
POLICE have shot dead a teenage gunman who killed at least 11 people at a school in southern Germany, police sources says.

Police said that several others were wounded in today's shooting spree at the secondary school in Winnenden, near the southern city of Stuttgart.

An earlier media report said the gunman had shot himself in the car park of a shopping centre.
Posted by: tipper || 03/11/2009 8:23 Comments || Top||

#2  A not dis-similar tragic event in South Alabama yesterday.
Ala. man kills at least 9, including 4 relatives

It doesn't seem to make a lot of difference whether or not the location has strict gun control laws.
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/11/2009 9:15 Comments || Top||


Captive Afghan freed from kebab house
(AKI) - Police have freed a 30-year-old Afghan man allegedly being held hostage by two Turks in a kebab house in Rome's central Trastevere district (photo). The man was dehydrated and weak, police said, quoted by media on Tuesday.

Four unnamed individuals who worked at the kebab house and a Romanian woman are currently being questioned by police over the Afghan's suspected abduction in Germany and transfer to Italy.

Police said they also seized several knives and a suitcase stuffed with cash from the kebab house, as well as "other items of interest to the investigation."

Local shopkeepers said the kebab house staff seemed respectable and said they had never noticed any suspicious comings and goings, cries or arguments.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In the nick of time?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/11/2009 3:54 Comments || Top||

#2  OK, I have to ask.
"What's so suspicious about Knives in a Kebab house"?
You gotta have something to cut meat.
Or were they swords?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/11/2009 6:17 Comments || Top||


Muslim music channel Islamizes pop culture
A newly launched Egyptian music channel that aims to bring Islamic values to the MTV generation arrived on satellite channels across the Middle East and Europe in a bid to help young Muslims make the connetion between their Islamic way of life and contemporary art forms. The channel called, 4Shbab or for the youth, is Egypt's first contribution to the music television industry. It aims to create a Muslim domain out of the predominantly western art form of pop music as well as hip hop and is seen as an alternative to music video networks that do not promote values compatible with Muslim culture.

At the center of 4Shbab's goals is defining the Muslim identity for young generations who strive to find a medium in pop culture that speaks to their values and experiences, something which Muhammed Abu Haiba, the founder of 4Shbab, says is very hard to do given the lack of Islamic pop culture venues.

"A divided identity is what Muslims are experiencing in these times," Abu Haiba told AlArabiya.net. "Young Muslims are bombarded with a slew of non-Islamic cultural values through music that contradicts their life styles, and forces them to believe one thing and watch another," he explained.

Twenty-three-year-old Sameh Ali concurs and told AlArabiya.net that he rarely finds an art form that is both respectful of Islamic Arab culture and has a modern appeal. "It is either I watch anasheeds--traditional religious songs--or I watch 50 cents and other rap and hip hop that clashes with my values," he told AlArabiya.net. "Muslim youth want to find something cool to engage with without compromising their Islam."

This is where 4Shbab comes in. "It makes it possible to be Muslim and have a unique pop culture that promotes Muslim values," Abu Haiba said.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  4Shbab videos consist mainly of burning CD and DVD stores.
Posted by: ed || 03/11/2009 0:39 Comments || Top||

#2  "Muslim youth want to find something cool to engage with without compromising their Islam."

-hate to break it to ya Sameh, but islam & cool are pretty much mutually exclusive.
Posted by: Andy Ulusoque aka Broadhead6 || 03/11/2009 7:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Abu Haiba is a Muslim, and his Muslims values do speak for themselves.
Posted by: Dave UK || 03/11/2009 8:16 Comments || Top||

#4  dat new muzzo-hop artist "4 wives" is da shizzle--word tuh ya mullah
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI || 03/11/2009 15:36 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
"Range of options" on N.Korea missile: Clinton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday there was "a range of options" that could be pursued against North Korea if it tests a long-range ballistic missile, including taking the issue to the U.N. Security Council.
Oooooooooooooooooh...
So who's waffling more and more quickly, Bambi or the Hildebeast?
Clinton said the United States still hoped to dissuade North Korea from a "provocative" missile launch and convince the isolated state to re-engage in six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear arms program.

North Korea is reportedly preparing to test-fire a missile with the potential to reach U.S. territory, although Pyongyang says it is making preparations for launching a satellite as part of a peaceful space program.

"We will discuss a response if we are not successful in convincing them not to go forward with what is a very provocative act," Clinton told reporters at the State Department after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. "There are a range of options available to take action against the North Koreans in the wake of a missile launch if they pursue that," she said, adding a launch would be in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution.
So...how about you maybe, I dunno, shoot it down?
Hmmmph. War-monger.
China is part of six-party talks to end North Korea's nuclear arms program that have been stalled for months. "Our partners in the six-party talks are concerned about the missile launch, they are willing to address it if it does happen, with us in a variety of ways, including the Security Council," she said. "But I don't want to talk about hypotheticals, we are still working to try to dissuade the North Koreans," she added.
I seem to recall another guy who defied all sorts of UN resolutions. He'd still be doing it too if it weren't for one man ...
Six-party talks stalled after Pyongyang complained that aid given in return for crippling its nuclear plant at Yongbyon was not being delivered as promised in the deal it struck with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The secretive North has balked at a demand by the other powers that it commit to a system to verify claims it made about its nuclear program, leaving the talks in limbo.

Clinton noted that missiles were not part of the six-party talks but said she would like to see the issue become part of discussions with North Korea.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/11/2009 16:23 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday there was "a range of options" that could be pursued against North Korea...

I for one miss the "Bring it on" rhetoric. Besides it tended to drive the liberals (read socialists) nuts.
Posted by: JohnQC || 03/11/2009 18:58 Comments || Top||

#2  TOPIX > VARIOUS - NORTH KOREA ACCUSES OBAMA ADMINISTRATION/US OF PLOTTING WAR [INTERFERENCE in NoKor affairs].

Also from TOPIX - US, CHINA NAVAL CONFRONTATION MAY HAVE BROADER IMPLICATIONS [economic deals/treatises]; + US, CHINA SEE THE NEED TO REDUCE SEA TENSIONS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/11/2009 19:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday there was "a range of options" that could be pursued against North Korea...

0. Blame Bush for any progress on Nork Nukes.

1. Make frowny faces in their direction.

2. Issue the "sternly worded letter".

3. Do the "I double-dog dare ya!"

4. Hide under the bed.

....
Posted by: WTF || 03/11/2009 20:35 Comments || Top||

#4  WORLD NEWS/TOPIX > NORTH KOREAN MISSLE MAY BE SATELLITE LAUNCH [Kimmie = NK trying to beat SOKOR in the space race]; + US SECRETLY/QUIETLY MONITORING NORTH KOREAN MISSLE ACTIVITY FROM JAPAN + US SENDS SECRECY BOMBERS TO GUAM [first time overseas combined deployment of B-2 + F-22 StealthWar Aircraft].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/11/2009 22:38 Comments || Top||


Flashback: Carville Wanted Bush to Fail
The press never reported that Democratic strategist James Carville said he wanted President Bush to fail before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But a feeding frenzy ensued when radio host Rush Limbaugh recently said he wanted President Obama to fail.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just minutes before learning of the terrorist attacks on America, Democratic strategist James Carville was hoping for President Bush to fail, telling a group of Washington reporters: "I certainly hope he doesn't succeed."

Carville was joined by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who seemed encouraged by a survey he had just completed that revealed public misgivings about the newly minted president. "We rush into these focus groups with these doubts that people have about him, and I'm wanting them to turn against him," Greenberg admitted. The pollster added with a chuckle of disbelief: "They don't want him to fail. I mean, they think it matters if the president of the United States fails."

Minutes later, as news of the terrorist attacks reached the hotel conference room where the Democrats were having breakfast with the reporters, Carville announced: "Disregard everything we just said! This changes everything!"

The press followed Carville's orders, never reporting his or Greenberg's desire for Bush to fail. The omission was understandable at first, as reporters were consumed with chronicling the new war on terror. But months and even years later, the mainstream media chose to never resurrect those controversial sentiments, voiced by the Democratic Party's top strategists, that Bush should fail.

That omission stands in stark contrast to the feeding frenzy that ensued when radio host Rush Limbaugh recently said he wanted President Obama to fail. The press devoted wall-to-wall coverage to the remark, suggesting that Limbaugh and, by extension, conservative Republicans, were unpatriotic.

"The most influential Republican in the United States today, Mr. Rush Limbaugh, said he did not want President Obama to succeed," Carville railed on CNN recently. "He is the daddy of this Republican Congress."

Limbaugh, a staunch conservative, emphasized that he is rooting for the failure of Obama's liberal policies. "The difference between Carville and his ilk and me is that I care about what happens to my country," Limbaugh told Fox on Wednesday. "I am not saying what I say for political advantage. I oppose actions, such as Obama's socialist agenda, that hurt my country.

"I deal in principles, not polls," Limbaugh added. "Carville and people like him live and breathe political exploitation. This is all a game to them. It's not a game to me. I am concerned about the well-being and survival of our nation. When has Carville ever advocated anything that would benefit the country at the expense of his party?"

Carville told Politico that focusing on Limbaugh is a deliberate strategy aimed at undermining Republicans. "The television cameras just can't stay away from him," he said. "Our strategy depends on him keeping talking, and I think we're going to succeed."

Greenberg added: "He's driving the Republican reluctance to deal with Obama, which Americans want."
Posted by: Beavis || 03/11/2009 13:08 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Banjo Player from Deliverance...
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/11/2009 15:57 Comments || Top||


Conrad: Obama budget lacks votes
President Obama's budget doesn't have enough support from lawmakers to pass, the Senate Budget Committee chairman said Tuesday.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said he has spoken to enough colleagues about several different provisions in the budget to make him think Congress won't pass it.

Conrad urged White House budget director Peter Orszag not to "draw lines in the sand" with lawmakers, most notably on Obama's plan for a cap-and-trade system to curb carbon emissions. "Anybody who thinks it will be easy to get the votes on the budget in the conditions that we face is smoking something," Conrad said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, when asked Tuesday about the Democratic criticism of the budget, told reporters that it wasn't unusual. He noted that lawmakers and the president often have competing agendas. "I don't think, ultimately, the criticism is surprising," Gibbs said. "That certainly happens and is all part of a process."

Conrad joined Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), the top Republican on the Budget Committee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in criticizing the administration's cap-and-trade proposal for not doing enough to counterbalance increases in energy costs that will be felt by consumers and companies, especially those in energy states such as North Dakota.

Conrad said that it would be a "distant hope" to expect the climate change plan to pass unless it includes help for industries that would be hit hard by limits on carbon emission production.

Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If the Dems insist on paying more for their energy, how about an export surtax levied by the energy producing states instead? The people of Wyoming deserve gold faucets just as much as those in Saudi Arabia.
Posted by: ed || 03/11/2009 0:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Trouble in Paradise? The end of the honeymoon?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/11/2009 4:11 Comments || Top||

#3  0 got all he wanted in the porkulus bill and the just passed Omnibus earmark and spend bill. If the budget doesn't pass, he'd gotten what he wanted, welfare returned, socialized medicine, earmarks for all, etc. Maybe the unions can get card check, maybe not.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/11/2009 7:22 Comments || Top||

#4  Budget? Who needs a stinking budget when its spend, spend, spend....
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/11/2009 9:38 Comments || Top||

#5  the one The One's going to sign today or tomorrow? Thanks Nostradamus Senator Conrad. Genius
Posted by: Frank G || 03/11/2009 17:33 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Video of the Indian missile interceptor test
Video from India's DRDO of the March 6th test of their interceptor missile

Direct download link here
Posted by: john frum || 03/11/2009 16:33 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


India Politics - Not Good News For Muslims
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Non-stupid kuffrs are always bad news for Muslims.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/11/2009 3:57 Comments || Top||

#2  There will never be "living together in peace" with muzzies until they completely and irrevocably forswear violence in all forms. Until then, they are a cancer on the societies they live in.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/11/2009 7:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Darth, that's a bit much. Self-defense and legally sanctioned police action are, after all, forms of violence. But agreement to the common terms of the society in which they live would be a good starting point. Specifically, an agreement that murder or threats of murder as a response to infractions upon familial, religious, or personal notions of honour are illegitimate.
Posted by: Mitch H. || 03/11/2009 10:30 Comments || Top||

#4  until they completely and irrevocably forswear violence in all forms

Can't. On anything even remotely resembling a level playing field they're dead.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/11/2009 10:58 Comments || Top||

#5  Can't - not if they're good musselmen and follow the teaching of Koran and Hadith. "The only good musselman is a bad one".
Posted by: mercutio || 03/11/2009 15:05 Comments || Top||

#6  ISLAM IS A MENTAL DISORDER
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI || 03/11/2009 15:42 Comments || Top||

#7  Christianity went through a stage when they believed forcible conversion was a duty the faithful owed to the souls of the unconverted. Judaism went through a brief stage under the Maccabees when they forcibly converted those they conquered, which is why Herod the Great was Jewish, and why his subjects distrusted him so deeply. Both religions got past it, and no longer accept converts who do not actually believe what they profess. So presumably Islam, too, could get past the need for forcible conversion and all that honour killing nonsense. Let's don't forget that the the figure Muslim leaders proclaim, of 6 million conversions to apostasy per year, not to mention the uncounted numbers who have just quietly drifted away from fanatical belief and observance. There are moderate Muslims out there; they just aren't the ones marching and making faces... or killing their self-liberating daughters.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/11/2009 23:14 Comments || Top||


Forced eviction of Iftikhar Chaudhry will be criminal act: Minallah
Spokesman of deposed chief justice Athar Minallah Advocate said if Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry evicted from his residence by force it will be a criminal act and its responsibility will fall on district administration, Interior Advisor Rehman Malik and President Asif Ali Zardari. Athar Minallah has submitted an application in Police Station Secretariate, Islamabad in which he has stated that a plan has been made to evict the deposed CJ along with his family from the government residence and to send them to Quetta. Â"If this is done, it must be considered abduction,Â" he further stated.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Govt mulls crackdown against lawyers, political leaders
The government is considering a strategy to launch crackdown against political leaders and lawyers, sources said Tuesday. The house arrest of key lawyers and political leaders is also under consideration. Sources further said that strategy in this connection would be finalized soon. Besides, an emergency meeting of the Lahore police is also underway.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Shahbaz asks police, admin to defy ''unconstitutional'' orders
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged police and administration to defy unconstitutional orders. Speaking to newsmen at Raiwand here, he said that people would fully take part in long march as per schedule. Sharif said that the government could not stop the people from joining the long march. The people shall reach Islamabad at all costs, he added.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Was it the Chinese who suggested the name "Long March", by any chance?...
Posted by: mojo || 03/11/2009 16:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Shahbaz will send his fodder out and he and Fester will airdrop in at the end. Nice time for a "sunroof handle" incident
Posted by: Frank G || 03/11/2009 18:19 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Israeli company to generate electricity from under highway generators
An Israeli energy start-up wants to turn irritating rush-hour traffic into a source of electricity. Innowattech,
Wonder if they have TPS reports and Mr. Lundberg
an energy company affiliated with Israel's Technion Institute of Technology, said special generators placed under roads, railways and runways can harvest enough energy from passing vehicles to mass-produce electricity.

... the first pilot program would begin in the coming months on a 30 meter (90 foot) strip of highway outside Tel Aviv and that similar projects could start internationally in 2010.

One of the hurdles was finding a way to package the generators so they are effective when buried in the road. The company's chief scientist, Eugeny Harash, developed a casing that acts like asphalt. The generators are then put in the road during scheduled maintenance in 30 cm (11 inch) squares.

"The asphalt is elastic and the pressure of each tire that passes is picked up by the generator, which is buried about 3 cm (1 inch) below the road's surface," Harash said. "The drivers won't even feel a difference."

The piezoelectric material lasts for at least 30 years, which is longer than most roads, Harash said.
this might have problems in countries that use deicing chemicals during the winter
Posted by: mhw || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Now, that's very unGreen approach.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/11/2009 3:54 Comments || Top||

#2  It's called "Induction" and markedly slows the cars (Or whatever) Passes, that's gonna be reeel popular. (S)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/11/2009 6:24 Comments || Top||

#3  The correct link is this

btw, it converts mechanical energy into electricity so it shouldn't slow the cars.
Posted by: mhw || 03/11/2009 8:05 Comments || Top||

#4  It can't create energy from nothing. The cars compress the piezoelectric material -- that's what generates the electricity. So the cars sink into it a minuscule amount and then require a minuscule bit of extra energy to move off it. That's why it says "harvest enough energy from passing vehicles". The amounts of energy have to be small, but perhaps they can do something useful like illuminate some LED traffic control devices.

This is NOT renewable energy.
Posted by: Darrell || 03/11/2009 10:14 Comments || Top||

#5  100 kW will not power 40 typical American houses. That's 2.5 kW per house or 2,500 watts per house. You'll have to turn off everything else to turn on either the electric clothes dryer or the electric water heater or the electric stove.
Posted by: Darrell || 03/11/2009 10:26 Comments || Top||

#6  1. The road compresses every time it gets a compressive load. Assuming the piezos compress similarly as does pavement, there is no loss to the cars.

2. A typical Israeli home corresponds to a 2 or 3 bedroom American apartment. Many of them do not have in home washer/dryers.
Posted by: mhw || 03/11/2009 10:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Bad assumption, mhw. The piezos do nothing to strengthen the ribbon of pavement, so they are an extra layer of compression requiring extra energy to traverse. You don't get energy out of nowhere. There has to be a loss to the cars and even the article says it is harvested from the cars.

Why would we want to power homes with cars at all, let alone through this highly expensive method? Cars are far less efficient than any type of commercial power plant.

If it works at all, this will be a novelty item that is only good for powering some remote traffic devices for which running power lines is prohibitive. Even then, it will have to stand up to solar which is renewable and doesn't require embedding in the road.
Posted by: Darrell || 03/11/2009 11:52 Comments || Top||

#8  maybe I'm being dumb.. but I'm just not following you Darrell...
Cars use energy to move forwards or backwards. They do not use energy to press downward.

At what point does burning the gas in the tank become responsible for the effects of gravity?
(I think you are confusing your energy sources)
Posted by: Dcreeper || 03/11/2009 13:38 Comments || Top||

#9  Why is your car less efficient with partially-deflated tires?

Think of riding over the piezoelectric as riding over a rubber mat. Riding over a rubber mat is like riding with partially-deflated tires: you lose energy by using it up in the flexing of the rubber.

It's called "rolling resistance" and can be due to the deformation of the tires, the deformation of road surface, or both.
Posted by: Darrell || 03/11/2009 14:03 Comments || Top||

#10  BTW, if there were not deformation issues, they could just put two layers under there and power 80 homes instead of 40, right? Or 20 layers? Or 200 layers?
Posted by: Darrell || 03/11/2009 14:11 Comments || Top||

#11  they could just put two layers under there and power 80 homes instead of 40, right? Or 20 layers? Or 200 layers?

Wait till Japanese get hold of that.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/11/2009 14:23 Comments || Top||

#12  Oh, and this guy's talking $6,500 per kilowatt for an intermittent power source. Nuclear plant capacity goes for $2,000 to $3,000 per kilowatt and it's output is continuous.
Posted by: Darrell || 03/11/2009 14:23 Comments || Top||

#13  This is gonna make solar seem downright affordable. File under Rube Goldberg.
Posted by: ed || 03/11/2009 14:45 Comments || Top||

#14  The 'produced' energy has to come from somewhere. I think its called the law of conservation. In this case the energy is coming from less efficiency (or additional drag) of the cars traveling over the road.

Isn't this kind of like walking or rolling on a giant mattress. You are always having to exert extra energy for each step (or roll in this case) to 'push' down the matress with each step (to compress the piezos). In effect you are always going 'uphill' - adding kenetic energy - (over the uncompressed stuff) even if its a minute amount - this energy is used to compress the matter which this device collects.

This is just converting the energy your car uses to 'climb' the side of the compression into electricity. Probably at a high cost of loss of energy in heat (of the surface) etc....

It may produce energy - but the cars will use more more additional energy then this will ever produce.

Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/11/2009 15:11 Comments || Top||

#15  "they could just put two layers lawyers under there "

There, fixed
Posted by: Herb Unetch6843 || 03/11/2009 15:19 Comments || Top||

#16  Better 200, Herb.
Posted by: Darrell || 03/11/2009 15:20 Comments || Top||

#17  Just to simplify things. The energy loss isn't from the car moving downward so much as when the car has to fight gravity to come back up.
Posted by: Mike N. || 03/11/2009 20:44 Comments || Top||

#18  What he said :)
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/11/2009 23:25 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
$25b stimulus for M'sia
MALAYSIA on Tuesday unveiled a RM60 billion (S$25 billion) stimulus package to avert a deep recession, while offering a helping hand to both companies and workers. The so-called mini Budget was unveiled in Parliament by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak as he painted a gloomy economic picture of a country hit by weaker exports, falling crude oil and palm oil prices, and rising job losses.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iranian TV show scrapped after child calls toy monkey Ahmadinejad live on air
When the presenter of Amoo Pourang (Uncle Pourang), a programme watched by millions of Iranian children three times a week on state TV, asked the name of the toy the boy had been given as a reward for behaving himself, the child replied: "Well, my father calls him Ahmadinejad."

The father's likely unease at his son's honesty was matched by the programme makers after the state broadcaster, IRIB, immediately responded by removing the show from viewing schedules, The Guardian reported.

The popular show has been running for a very successful seven years but is now due to screened for the final time next week, the paper added.

Jahan News, a conservative website, said the decision was sparked by "the high financial and spiritual damage" caused by live broadcasts.
The surest way to demonstrate that someone is a thug is to watch their response when ridiculed.
Eluding to the naming of the monkey, the statement highlighted an incident in which "a child in a live telephone line compared its doll to one of the well-known authorities and managers".

The incident is the latest in a series of embarrassing admissions by children on live Iranian television.

Once, the presenter, Dariush Farziayi, was left speechless after asking a participant to hand the phone to his mother or father, only to be told, "They are in the shower," The Guardian said.
Posted by: tipper || 03/11/2009 19:54 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What will happen when the same thing occurs in the US. Sorry I forgot. We've already had the cartoon.
Posted by: Omoter Speaking for Boskone7794 || 03/11/2009 20:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Kids say the darnedest things. Could be a format for comedy gold, if it wasn't a in a fanatical muslim dictatorship.
Posted by: ed || 03/11/2009 20:52 Comments || Top||

#3  ION MOUD > WORLD NEWS > IRAN [Moud] SAYS CAPITALISM IS ON THE VERGE OF [total/complete]COLLAPSE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/11/2009 22:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Can you blame them? Insulting a monkey like that -- PETA will be pissed!
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/11/2009 23:25 Comments || Top||


Syria launches first stock exchange
Syria launched its first stock exchange on Tuesday after three years of delay and in the midst of a worldwide financial crisis, in the latest step to liberalize the country's largely state-controlled economy.

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Hussein rang the trading bell at a formal launch ceremony for the Damascus Securities Exchange, which will be open for trading two days a week and currently includes six companies.

Although it began trial operations in late January, its official inauguration Tuesday marked the culmination of a decree issued in October 2006 by president Bashar al-Assad to establish the bourse as part of the government's move to a market economy.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I bet you it bombs
Posted by: Lftbhndagn || 03/11/2009 0:53 Comments || Top||

#2  I'll stand in for Pappy:

Lftbhndagn, go to your room!

;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/11/2009 8:31 Comments || Top||

#3  what a marvelously inopportune time to start a stock exchange.

This seems like the inverse corollary to the line about Palestinians _ "They never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity".

The Syrians in this case are taking an opportunity that doesn't exist.
Posted by: Chaviper McCoy1397 || 03/11/2009 15:12 Comments || Top||


Home Front Economy
Panel questions Treasury's oversight of TARP funds
Posted by: tipper || 03/11/2009 18:35 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Some Banks, Feeling Chained, Want to Return Bailout Money
WASHINGTON -- The list of demands keeps getting longer.

Financial institutions that are getting government bailout funds have been told to put off evictions and modify mortgages for distressed homeowners. They must let shareholders vote on executive pay packages. They must slash dividends, cancel employee training and morale-building exercises, and withdraw job offers to foreign citizens. As public outrage swells over the rapidly growing cost of bailing out financial institutions, the Obama administration and lawmakers are attaching more and more strings to rescue funds. The conditions are necessary to prevent Wall Street executives from paying lavish bonuses and buying corporate jets, some experts say, but others say the conditions go beyond protecting taxpayers and border on social engineering.

Some bankers say the conditions have become so onerous that they want to return the bailout money. The list includes small banks like the TCF Financial Corporation of Wayzata, Minn., and Iberia Bank of Lafayette, La., as well as giants like Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. They say they plan to return the money as quickly as possible or as soon as regulators set up a process to accept the refunds. On Tuesday, Signature Bank of New York announced that because of new executive pay restrictions in the economic stimulus package, it notified the Treasury that it intended to return the $120 million it had received from the government only three months ago. Other institutions like Johnson Bank of Racine, Wis., initially expressed interest in seeking bailout funds but have now changed their minds. Bank executives told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that one reason they rejected the government money was to avoid any disruption in the bank's role in the local community, including supporting the zoo or opera company if they chose to.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/11/2009 14:33 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The real problem is that delaying foreclosure will result in the banks becoming even more insolvent, as prices on homes continue to plunge to affordable levels, eroding the prices they can get for foreclosed properties.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 03/11/2009 16:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Importantly, some banks are now refusing to foreclose. When a mortgage fails at a Sheriff auction, the bank can then refuse to take it back. This is done to stick the mortgage holder with any taxes or fines levied on the property.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/11/2009 16:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Never trust Greeks bearing gifts.
Never trust a smiling government giving you money.

Too late guys. Obama and Uncle Sam own your asses now.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/11/2009 17:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Government puts onerous conditions on government handouts?

Johnson! Stop the presses!
Posted by: Steve White || 03/11/2009 20:25 Comments || Top||


Madoff heads to court with plea in the works
Bernard Madoff, expected to plead guilty this week to charges of running Wall Street's biggest fraud, will appear in court on Tuesday for a judge to assess a potential conflict of interest for his lead attorney. Madoff, out on $10-million bail but under 24-hour house arrest and electronic surveillance in his luxury Manhattan apartment, last appeared on January 14 for a bail hearing. Tuesday's hearing is scheduled for 3pm (19:00GMT).

Manhattan federal court officials have reserved an assembly room with an audio/visual feed in anticipation of hosting some of his former investors and frenzied media coverage on Thursday when the disgraced financier attends a plea proceeding. Metal barricades were erected on the sidewalk across the street from the courthouse to establish an area for TV crews.

A court document signed last Friday by prosecutors and Madoff's attorney indicated Madoff would waive an indictment by a grand jury and plead guilty to criminal charges before Judge Denny Chin in the United States District Court.

Other court filings showed the judge approved a government request for bilked victims to be heard in court, but they must give the prosecutor's office 24-hour notice, by 10am (14:00GMT) on Wednesday.

Madoff was charged with one count of securities fraud when he was arrested on December 11, but has yet to formally answer it. Under the terms of his bail, the former Nasdaq stock market chairperson who authorities say confessed to running a "giant Ponzi scheme" over decades, may leave his penthouse for court appearances only.

It will be several weeks or even months before Madoff is sentenced, but given his age (70) he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is he the one who gave his wife 45 Mil?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/11/2009 6:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Ummm, the only "Plea" that has a chance is

"I'll give you all 5 million apiece to forget all about this'.

But the Dems will probably say "Too little".
Of course they might let him go if he shows them how he got away with it for so long.

(So they can too, pack of thieves all of them, but might have grudging admiration for one who outdid them)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/11/2009 6:31 Comments || Top||

#3  Madoff, his lovely bride, and possibly his sons and a host of others should spend the remainder of their lives in the slammer. As for the greedy rich, who let someone whisper Bernie's name in their ears at Temple and threw their entire life's savings at it.... tough egg bread. Live with it!
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2009 8:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Why does a private ponzi scheme attract such ire, when the public ponzi schemes in the form of Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare get a pass? The latest budget is also a massive ponzi scheme.
Posted by: Omoter Speaking for Boskone7794 || 03/11/2009 9:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Why does a private ponzi scheme attract such ire

Because he wasn't doing it "for the children"?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/11/2009 9:39 Comments || Top||

#6  Mrs Madoff does have a lot of money and will be claiming that it does not derive from her husband's fraud.

However, she and her kids worked in the company. They will probably be charged subsequent to getting complete post sentencing testimony from Madoff.
Posted by: mhw || 03/11/2009 9:49 Comments || Top||

#7  Lets hope so mhw. One man don't run a sawmill that big without helpers, lots of helpers.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2009 9:51 Comments || Top||

#8  Money given to a spouse with the purpose of hiding same, is common property. That's easy to litigate.
Posted by: Injun Hupaique4861 || 03/11/2009 15:47 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2009-03-11
  Boomer near Sri Lanka mosque kills 15
Tue 2009-03-10
  33 dead as Iraq tribal leaders attacked
Mon 2009-03-09
  Iraq suicide bomber kills 30, wounds 57
Sun 2009-03-08
  Palestinian PM submits resignation making way for unity govt
Sat 2009-03-07
  US taps Delhi on Lanka foray: Marines to evacuate civilians
Fri 2009-03-06
  Marwan to be 'freed' as part of Shalit deal
Thu 2009-03-05
  ICC issues arrest warrant for Sudan's president-for-life
Wed 2009-03-04
  Lanka troops in last Tamil Tiger Towne
Tue 2009-03-03
  Lanka cricketers shot up in Lahore
Mon 2009-03-02
  Hariri tribunal gets underway in The Hague
Sun 2009-03-01
  Mighty Pak Army claims famous victory in Bajaur
Sat 2009-02-28
  Bangla sepoy mutiny: Mass grave horror stuns nation
Fri 2009-02-27
  Paleofactions agree to form unity govt
Thu 2009-02-26
  Bangla: At least 50 feared dead in sepoy mutiny
Wed 2009-02-25
  Lanka: Troops enter last Tamil Tiger-controlled town
Tue 2009-02-24
  Mulla Omar orders halt to attacks on Pak troops


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