The Federal Trade Commission won a preliminary legal victory against what it called one of the largest spam gangs on the Internet, persuading a federal court in Chicago on Tuesday to freeze the groups assets and order the spam network to shut down.
The group, which used several names but was known among spam-fighting organizations as HerbalKing, sent billions of unsolicited messages to Internet users over the last 20 months, promoting replica watches and a variety of pharmaceuticals, including weight-loss drugs and herbal pills that supposedly enhanced the male anatomy, according to the commission.
This is pretty major. At one point these guys delivered up to one-third of all spam, said Richard Cox, chief information officer at SpamHaus, a nonprofit antispam research group. . . .
The security firm Marshal Software, which assisted the F.T.C. with the investigation, estimated in court documents that the groups Mega-D botnet named after one of its pill products was made up of 35,000 computers and could send 10 billion e-mail messages a day. In January, the botnet was the leading source of spam on the Internet, the firm estimated. . . .
A French court has accused a top Algerian diplomat of complicity in the 1987 killing of a dissident in Paris, prompting sharp words from Algeria's government yesterday.
Ali Mecili, a lawyer active in Algeria's human rights movement, was killed by three gunshots in the foyer of his Paris apartment, and colleagues at the time accused the Algerian government of involvement. This August, more than 20 years after the killing, Algerian diplomat Mohamed Ziane Hasseni was arrested at an airport in the French port city of Marseille, based on an international arrest warrant issued by a French judge.
A Paris court confirmed Tuesday that preliminary charges have been filed against Hasseni, the chief of protocol at Algeria's Foreign Ministry. Hasseni is no longer in custody but he is under judicial supervision and barred from leaving France.
The next day, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci paid an urgent visit to France to express Algeria's "disapproval" and "deep preoccupation" over the charges. Algeria's foreign minister pressed his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner to make sure French authorities "take all necessary measures to settle this issue rapidly," the Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued to The Associated Press.
They could shoot Hasseni tomorrow ...
Algeria "awaits a just verdict that will confirm the evident innocence of a high-ranking civil servant (who has been) unfairly questioned," the ministry said.
The French Foreign Ministry confirmed Wednesday's meeting but would not comment on what was said.
This article starring:
Mohamed Ziane Hasseni
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Renewed fighting between the Congolese army and forces loyal to a renegade general has displaced more than 100,000 people in the eastern part of Congo since August, according to U.N. officials, who described the situation as "catastrophic."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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The only thing catastrophic is that nobody's giving those 100,000 people guns and ammo to fight back.
The Useless Nitwits in non-action again.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/17/2008 20:18 Comments ||
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Power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe between Robert Mugabe, the president, and Morgan Tsvangirai, his rival the prime minister designate, have again become deadlocked over control of the country's ministries.
After nearly eight hours of talks on Thursday, Nelson Chamisa, a spokesman for Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MC), said negotiations had stalled. "We have reached a deadlock over key ministries," Chamisa said. "What we seek to achieve is the equitable distribution of key ministries," he said. "There has been some movement, but not enough to seal the deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Zimbabwe Power Sharing is now the African equivalent of Palestinian Unity.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to exempt 250 graft-accused including 11 former ministers and lawmakers in 121 cases from charges due to lack of enough evidence.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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It appears that 250 checks have cleared. I'll bet being on the Anti-Corruption Commission is a pretty lucrative gig.
Various political and socio-cultural organisations yesterday condemned the removal of the five sculptures of bauls (folk singers) in front of the Zia International Airport (ZIA). They urged the people to launch movement against the fundamentalists who are posing threats to Bengali culture and heritage.
Meanwhile, Bimanbandar Golchattar Murti Protirodh Committee that forced the authorities concerned to remove the sculptures said the government has to begin the task of erecting a hajj minar by October 23 in place of the sculptures removed on Wednesday. They also demanded removal of Mahbub Jamil, special assistant to the chief adviser, for taking initiative to erect the sculptures.
Committee Chairman Mufti Nur Hossain Nurani, also the chairman of Khatme Nabuwat Andolon, at a press conference at a city restaurant said if the government fails to meet their demands they would hold a grand rally at the north gate of the hajj camp on October 24.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) were forced to remove the five sculptures in the face of protests of the Murti Protirodh Committee on Wednesday.
"We will not accept anything but a hajj minar at that place and its design must be finalised upon our consent," said Mufti Nur Hossain. He said all khatibs across the country will bring out processions from mosques today demanding punishment of those who took the initiative to erect the sculptures in front of ZIA.
Sculptor Mrinal Haque said the task of erecting the sculptures began about three and a half months back. Almost 50 percent work of the project had been finished at a cost of Tk 50 lakh, said Mrinal, who was supposed to sign an agreement with United Commercial Bank Ltd on Wednesday for getting funds.
A CAAB official said they removed the five sculptures of bauls holding ektara on instructions of the ministry concerned.
Ain O Salish Kendra in a statement expressed concern over the removal of the sculptures and said such incidents raise questions about the present government's commitment to protecting Bengali culture, upholding non-communal spirit and democratic values.
Workers Party of Bangladesh President Rashed Khan Menon and its General Secretary Bimal Biswas in a joint statement also condemned the removal of the sculptures. They said the present caretaker government has compromised with the fundamentalists on various issues but the people will thwart all attacks on the Bengali culture.
Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi, Charan Sangskritik Kendra, Jaybangla Sangskritik Oikya Jote and Bangladesh Students' Union also condemned the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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RUSSIA > Attempts to remove statues of LENIN is also causing a ruckus.
Also as per RUSSIA, KOMMERSANT > GEORGIAN THREAT [Covert via Georgian Spec Services operatives = Abkhazian refugees]TO MOSCOW DISCOVERED, PLanned destruction of Russ Govt-Public Buildings, to also includ in SOCHI + ST. PETERSBURG.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - Former Argentine President Carlos Menem was a no-show Thursday at the opening of his trial on charges of illegally selling arms to Ecuador and Croatia in the early 1990s. Defense lawyer Omar Daer presented a medical certificate attesting to the poor health of Menem, 78, who has been hospitalized three times this year for bronchial and urinary tract infections.
Lawyers did not make opening arguments against Menem, but prosecutors accuse him and 17 former government officials - including his defense minister and air force chief - of violating international arms embargoes by selling artillery, anti-tank missiles, mortars and rifles to Ecuador and Croatia. At the time, a U.N. ban prohibited arms sales to warring parties from the former Yugoslavia, while the Organization of American States banned sales to Ecuador and Peru amid a brief, armed border conflict.
Prosecutors say the defendants conspired to funnel the arms to the countries by illegally redirecting legitimate shipments to Venezuela and Panama. Menem and the others deny the allegations, saying private companies diverted the shipments without their knowledge. "We didn't have a clue about the final destination of the arms," former Defense Minister Oscar Camilion told reporters Thursday.
Menem was arrested in 2001 in the arms case, then freed six months later by a Supreme Court panel largely made up of his appointees. He faces up to 12 years if convicted. But congressional privileges mean that as an elected senator from La Rioja province, Menem would not see jail as long as he holds his seat.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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CARACAS, Venezuela -- Carmen Godoy is sure the Yankees are plotting an invasion. She's heard her president say so over and over again in the decade he has been in power.
So at yet another pro-government rally -- one at which a band played a rousing version of "Yankee Go Home" -- Godoy expressed relief that four Russian naval vessels will arrive in Venezuela next month for joint exercises with Venezuela's military. "We need help," said Godoy, 52. "We cannot wait and watch what happened to Iraq happen to us."
The message that the Bush administration has evil designs on Venezuela has been a cornerstone of state policy here, frequently repeated in speeches by President Hugo Chavez and other officials, as well as on news shows and in documentaries by the omnipresent state media. But with the president's socialist party facing tough regional elections in November, the government is ramping up the warnings like never before and taking the requisite actions against what officials say are shadowy assassination plots and U.S.-orchestrated destabilizing plans.
Nothing Chavez has done in the past, though, compares to Venezuela's $1 billion weapons deal with Russia and military exercises that are bringing Russian warplanes and ships to the Caribbean for the first time since the Cold War.
Former officials in the Chavez administration, pollsters and political analysts say the president is trying to raise the specter of U.S. meddling and whip up his followers in order to deflect attention from such issues as mounting crime, high inflation and a shaky economy. "This is something Chavez has used to his favor," said Milos Alcalay, who was Chavez's ambassador to the United Nations until 2004, when he resigned. "President Chavez has used his anti-Americanism as a form of government policy, not only internationally but also when faced with a series of errors that he cannot explain."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds about like time for a fly over and doing some leaflet dropping.
#2
I'm not really pro-American, I'm rather anti-anti-american, as I've found and believe that anti-americanism not only blinds those who follow it, but it's also used to hide false ideologies from being exposed to the light of truth (to use a pretentious wording).
IE, I'm not opposed to anti-americans (and God know they are A-PLENTY here in France) per se, but because of what lurks behind their anti-americanism, be they useful idiots or aware of it.
All this to say that chavez is a perfect illustration of that... his anti-americanism both stem from and hides his marxist (and anti-white) core, and is used to fool the rubes, blinding at least some of them to the fact that the real and worst ennemy of the venezuelan people is, well, hugo the (dangerous) buffoon himself.
#3
America had a chance to remove Chavez when they had their coup. we didn't care enough so why would we bother now that we're invested in Iraq? I think a few Venezuelans have an over-inflated view of their importances.
(AKI) - At least 600 illegal immigrants arrived to the southern Italian coast on Thursday aboard three vessels. The would-be migrants arrived to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, said Palermo's port authorities and were being rescued by Finance Police and Italian Coast Guard authorities.
The arrival of the immigrants follow a previous one on Wednesday, when at least 250 immigrants arrived to Lampedusa.
More than 22,500 illegal immigrants have landed on Lampedusa so far this year - more than twice the number that arrived over the same period of 2007, according to remarks by Italian Interior Ministry Roberto Maroni.
Last week, hundreds of illegal immigrants were airlifted from the southern Italian island of Lampedusa to temporary reception centres on the mainland. The move was taken after the arrival on Lampedusa of over 1,000 illegal immigrants in 12 separate landings, which left the island's identification and holding centre overflowing.
The number of illegal migrants heading for southern Mediterranean countries such as Italy aboard people traffickers' boats surges during the warmer months from April to October.
Lampedusa is a tiny island that is closer to Africa than the European continent and a favourite drop off point for the people smugglers. Hundreds arrive each week in search of a better life in Europe aboard people smugglers' boats which mostly set sail from North Africa.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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First, execute the captain and crew of the vessel that brought them there for piracy. Then, run 'em back and dump them on the Libyan shore and tell Libya that they'll be held responsible for any other vessels sailing from their ports that bring illegals over.
A pro-Obama group of rabbis says recent statements by the McCain-Palin campaign are "creeping toward hate speech."
In a statement released Thursday, the group of 562 rabbis said that "increasingly those speaking on behalf of the McCain campaign have been demonizing Senator Obama as not being like us."
As an example, the organization notes that a sherriff recently emphasized Barack Obama's middle name of Hussein when warming up the crowd at a campaign rally and that Palin recently said Obama has been "palling around with terrorists."
The statement criticizes the Republican Jewish Coalition for putting "forward a list of people known to be hostile to Israel" and then "dishonestly" suggesting that these people shaped Obama's views on the subject. "The RJC approach harkens back to the classic Republican red baiting tactics of Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon from the early fifties," the group said in a statement.
Barack Obama's campaign asked the U.S. Justice Department to expand a special prosecutor's investigation to include possible improprieties surrounding reports the FBI is looking into voter fraud in the presidential race.
Obama's campaign attorney said the investigation should look into a leak to the news media that the FBI is probing allegations of voter registration fraud by a grassroots organization called ACORN. The group's activities were denounced by Republican nominee John McCain in the Oct. 15 presidential debate.
Robert Bauer, general counsel to the Obama campaign, wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey a day after the Associated Press, citing unidentified law enforcement officials, reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating ACORN. The name is short for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
A special prosecutor appointed by Mukasey already is looking into whether improper political considerations influenced the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. At least one prosecutor was fired following Republican complaints that he didn't aggressively pursue allegations of voter fraud against ACORN.
Bauer said the news leaks are part of a coordinated effort by McCain's presidential campaign and Republicans. They are ``fomenting specious vote-fraud allegations and there are disturbing indications of official involvement or collusion,'' Bauer said.
``It is apparent,'' he wrote, that law enforcement officials are serving ``improper political objectives'' that could inhibit voter participation in the Nov. 4 election. The aim is to ``suppress the vote and to unduly influence investigations and prosecutions,'' Bauer wrote.
Mukasey appointed special prosecutor Nora Dannehy to look into the U.S. attorney firings in 2006.
Ireland's biggest bookmaker said Thursday it would pay out more than 1 million euros (782,776 pounds) on bets that Barack Obama will be the next U.S. president, three weeks before the election.
Dublin-based bookmaker Paddy Power said it made the "unprecedented decision" to pay on bets taken so far, following Wednesday's final campaign debate between Obama and his Republican rival John McCain , which polls judged the Democrat to have won.
"We declare this race well and truly over and congratulate all those who backed Obama," Power said in a statement.
"Although he seemed a little out of sorts in last night's final debate we believe he has done more than enough to get him across the line on November 4."
The bookmaker said the overall betting trend had shown "one-way traffic" for the Illinois senator since the start of the summer, with odds shortening to 1-9, meaning a bet of 9 euros is required to make 1 euro profit.
The odds on McCain winning are 5-1.
Power said it had taken more than 10,000 bets on the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the majority in support of Obama.
In June a wager of 100,000 euros was placed on Obama to win at odds of 1-2, it added.
However, the bookmaker does not always get it right.
In June it paid out more than 80,000 euros in bets that Irish voters would back the European Union's Lisbon treaty in a referendum shortly before the electorate returned a resounding "no."
"The response from Senator Obama and his campaign yesterday was to attack Joe. People are digging through his personal life and he has TV crews camped out in front of his house," McCain told a rowdy crowd at Florida International University. "He didn't ask for Senator Obama to come to his house. He wasn't recruited or prompted by our campaign. He just asked a question. And Americans ought to be able to ask Senator Obama tough questions without being smeared and targeted with political attacks."
Joe Biden and Barack Obama ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/17/2008 16:22 ||
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Joe Biden and Barack Obama ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Ought to be, but they are better than you, me and Joe remember.
#2
That's in a poll with a 13% advantage for Dems in party identification. IIRC, the Dems have not had more than a 6% advantage in party ID on election day in twenty-five or thirty years.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/17/2008 14:39 Comments ||
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Having quickly scanned the pdf, this seems to be a poll not of likely voters, nor of registered voters, but of all adults. If so, this is actively BAD for Obama.
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
10/17/2008 15:08 Comments ||
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#4
Kittens hell, should be shitting porcupines after he sees himself on TV acting the total jackass. Flanked by biden and murtha, palosi asking for another random $300big. Second, buying a 30 minute infomercial and trying to bump a world series game to show it is disgusting. Third, guy should have been gonged on his NAFTA flip around "Oh don't believe it, I just said that because I am campaigning"
I'm a registered Independant. In the local there are candidates who are democrat who I will most likely vote for because they are the best for the job - I also know them to be honorable and competent unlike obama who just laughed at me.
#5
yeah it looks like more demos are voting mccain than republicans for obama, but what I find interesting is that even at this late datethere's still 14% undecided or going for a minor candidate....
Posted by: Marilyn Elminter8499 ||
10/17/2008 16:13 Comments ||
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#6
People who are undecided at this point just don't want to admit they're not voting PC.
Pushing back the world series is not a smart move. Obama's people bought up a bunch of adds within some videogames, that's a smart move. They should have done something similar with the world series. buy up the greenscreen space so that when cameras show the batter Obama is behind the plate but the game is not interupted.
I think his spread the wealth around comments might have hit home to a few people.
#7
When someone mentions the "undecided voter" my mind immediately defaults to........
Sir, this is Colonel Glover. I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour, sir, but we're at Q-2 status. It looks like we've found that lost consignment of Easter eggs. Yes, sir, pretty sure. They've turned up in Louisville. I'm getting confirmations on this from the Louisville Police Department. Louisville, Kentucky, sir. Well, sir, it would be good news, except that the eggs have hatched.
Kofi. So irrelevant I can't even find his picture in the archives...
DUBLIN (AFP) A US presidential poll victory for Barack Obama would be "phenomenal," former UN chief Kofi Annan said Thursday, adding that whoever wins needs to learn the lessons of the last eight years. Like...what? How to not prevent genocides?
Speaking at a conference on hunger in Ireland, he underlined the need for the United States to work in "partnership" with the rest of the world. ...and asked the waiter for a menu.
When asked if the United States and the world was ready for a black US president, he said: "I think it would be a phenomenal change for the US and for the world. It would introduce a new dynamics (sic) and a new relationship between the US and the world. Whoever wins this presidency will have to come out prepared to work in partnership with the rest of the world," he told reporters. ...and pay for the privilege. Through the nose. And Barry's just the guy to do it.
And he added: "I think we have learned some lessons in the past eight years and I hope whoever wins will bear that in mind." But, now...dinner!
"We live in an inter-related world, we live in the same boat and we are facing problems that are so enormous that no one country, however powerful, can tackle them alone," said Annan. "The only way we can be secure, safe and prosper together is by working together," he added, speaking at a Dublin conference to mark World Food Day. This lobster thermidor is cold! Do you think I'm a Darfurian or something!
Scratch one more ship funded from the 313-ship fleet. For the third time in 2008, a Littoral Combat Ship previously funded by Congress has been canceled, and funds will pay for cost overruns.
#1
Lockheed doesn't know how to build boats. Need to leave it with Northrop (who doesn't know either in the main part of the company, but they bought the companies that did know, in MIss and Va)
#2
ION WAFF.com > US EYES REACTION FORCE THAT ROCKETS INTO SPACE [space assault].
IIRC, ROGER MOORE as James Bond 007 in MOONRACER [astro-suit laser space battle scene]???
*TOPIX > AIR FORCE TIMES > seems GUAM's AAFB may expect to see UAV units here. among other, as per the much-anticipated MIL BUILDUP. THE USDOD-USAF is still considering dev of LR "PERMANENT ORBIT" OR NEAR-PERM UNMANNED STRIKE BOMBERS FOR STRATEGIC MISSIONS.
IIRC again, SPACEWAR > PTERODACTYL-LIKE UAVS TO CONTROL AIR, LAND, AND SEA; + SCIENCE USES ADVANCED NANO-TECHNOLOGIES TO DEFEAT MILITANTISM AND GLOBAL WARMING.
T-REX to FLIPPER and SNAKES, VOLTRON SUITS to ROBO-INSECTS.
D *** NG IT, MORIARITY, don't mess wid FLIPPER - he's armed wid LASERS + HELLFIRE LOWBOWS, etc now!
#3
SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE NO **** > JIMMY's LITTLE GREN PET TURTLE IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS, besides also being unregistered in the OWG Patriotic Turtle = Hero of the USSA Database???
#4
The Pentagon is programming both Obama and a recession into the equation, and is funneling money into protected high value programs. They figure they might have to weather four or eight lean years.
Hopefully, in the boom years, they created a huge reservoir of black budget accounts that they can feed from now.
Posted by: online poker ||
10/17/2008 10:25 Comments ||
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I wish it were that easy Anonymoose. The services are budgeting via a Planning Programming Budgeting and Execution System (PPBE) for the produces a Program Operating Memorandum or POM for short. It's a five year projection document. There is some latitude for shifing funds but the system is pretty closely monitored. The services are betting on a McCain victory. If McCain loses, well, all bets are off on the entire DoD budget. Remember Obama's promise to "look carefully at ALL governemnt programs?" The midnight basketball dollars have to come from somewhere.
#9
can anyone explain too me what in the hell Joseph Mendiola is talking about in ANY of his post. please
Posted by: chris ||
10/17/2008 17:23 Comments ||
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#10
I wish it were that easy Bseoeker. The Navy doesn't have a flippin strategy. They want to build a fleet to fight an enemy that doesn't exist and won't build a fleet to attack the one that does. The are lost at sea without an astrolab. It appears their sole purpose in life is to make the Air Farce look good.
#11
I'm kind of wondering why we have a navy anyway if they can't/won't take down a bunch of scurvy Somali pirates. If they won't take those clearly delineated bastards/threats to civilization down, who in Hell will they fight?
#12
can anyone explain too me what in the hell Joseph Mendiola is talking about in ANY of his post. please
Poor chris. There are lots of special contractions in JosephM posts, many of which I suspect he learnt in the Service, others of which are from mathematics, I believe. From #2:
ION = in other news
WAFF.com > = at the site waff.com he saw an article about...
IIRC = if I recall correctly, a standard internet abbreviation
then he talks about one of the James Bond movies. JosephM has an encyclopedic memory of films and television shows.
I'm not sure what *TOPIX refers to, that may be a news amalgamation web site.
AIR FORCE TIMES = the AF newspaper, presumably on-line
seems GUAM's AAFB may expect to see UAV units here. among other, as per the much-anticipated MIL BUILDUP. THE USDOD-USAF is still considering dev of LR "PERMANENT ORBIT" OR NEAR-PERM UNMANNED STRIKE BOMBERS FOR STRATEGIC MISSIONS.
JosephM lives on Guam. The air force base may get UAV 'pilots' if there is a hoped-for military build-up that the US Dept. of Defence/Air Force is pondering. Long range there may be bombers in permanent orbet flying out of there (I think -- that's something I know absolutely nothing about).
The last bit, addressed to Moriarty, is just JosephM being silly.
JosephM, please correct where my attempted translation of your dense prose style is incorrect. Thank you!
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to conduct joint military patrols after Wednesday's border clashes left two Cambodian soldiers dead.
The move comes after both sides held lengthy emergency talks in the aftermath of skirmishes at the disputed border area near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple. General Wiboonsak Neeparn, the Thai regional commander, said both countries would keep troops and artillery in the region. Marga Ortigas, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from the disputed border, said there was no formal ceasefire agreement.
Several soldiers on both sides were also wounded during Wednesday's gun battles. Thousands of Cambodian villagers in the area near the Preah Vihear temple have fled their homes amid fears of more violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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I remember when TV Guide was in every house. But I also remember rabbit ears and having to get up off my ass to change the channel...
A dollar won't buy you a cup of coffee these days, but it will buy you TV Guide. No, not an issue of the weekly mag -- those go for $2.99 -- but the entire publication.
Yep, $1. The eye-popping sale price was disclosed Thursday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from TV Guide owner Macrovision, which revealed it had struck a deal to sell the magazine to venture capital firm OpenGate Capital on Monday.
In fact, the deal is even sweeter for OpenGate because Macrovision has also agreed to give the firm a $9.5 million loan to help it run the magazine for the next few years. And who said the credit markets were tight? The loan comes with a 3% interest rate and is due in 2014 -- not exactly stringent terms.
The $1 sale price for TV Guide brings to mind the sale of another once-venerable journo brand: United Press Intl., which was unloaded for a buck by Scripps to two private investors in 1982.
The generous deal with OpenGate underscores Macrovision's stated goal of buying Gemstar-TV Guide Intl. strictly for the technology that fuels its electronic listings guide and the TV Guide brand name. The magazine is projected to lose about $20 million this year, after incurring heavier losses in the recent past.
Once the most widely distribbed mag in the country, TV Guide now has a subscription base of about 3.2 million.
Macrovision is also in the process of unloading the TV Guide Channel cabler, which has failed to drum up any interest among major media players.
#2
I remember when TV Guide was in every house. But I also remember rabbit ears and having to get up off my ass to change the channel...
And three major channels and the local college or university's signal that would eventually morph into PBS. If you were in a major metro area you might even get a couple independents. However, it was when you could compress the event info into a small little publication and cover nearly everything in still readable type that didn't require a magnifying glass.
Oil prices have slumped further, with Brent crude sliding under 67 dollars a barrel -- the lowest level for more than 15 months. That's $1.675 per gallon for crude. Add 50 cents for refining and transport, taxes and tags, and it translates to $2.18 a gallon for gasoline.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Getting there.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
10/17/2008 7:58 Comments ||
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#2
No worry. It'll rise back once the plans for offshore drilling, etc. are dumped.
#3
Still several hundred thousand barrels per day of production from the Gulf of Mexico off line from the hurricanes. Supply is down, prices are dropping, what does that say about demand? Dropping faster. Both US and foreign demand. And of course speculative demand - somebody got left holding that $140/barrel bag (probably we taxpayers as part of the bailout.)
#5
I keep asking and nobody can tell me, where did those speculators keep all that oil they were hoarding? There sure must be a lot of empty oil tanks right now.
#7
Where's that tariff I've been calling for to hold imported oil at a $60 baseline? (And put the resulting revenue into energy infrastructure?)
Nah, let the cartels take it to $25 again and wipe out all the companies that have been investing in alternatives. Don't forget the cartels pump oil for less than $5, they can hold it down for six months and then jack it back up. That should do it.
The only bright spot is that Iran and Chavez might not survive the oil crash. The Saudis will be fine (and pleased with the outcome).
Posted by: Fred ||
10/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Iff the Globalists, etc. desire SOCIALIST WORLD ORDER IN THE ABSENCE OF LESS-THAN-ABSOLUTE/TOTAL VICTORY GEOPOL CONDITIONS, then America = Amerika should expect the econ morass to continue BEYOND the 2009-2016 POST-DUBYA PERIOD.
IMO THIS MEANS ISLAMIST MILITANTISM AND OTHER RADICALISMS MUST BE GENER EMPOWERED, NOT WEAKENED!
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Federal Trade Commission won a preliminary legal victory against what it called one of the largest spam gangs on the Internet, persuading a federal court in Chicago on Tuesday to freeze the groups assets and order the spam network to shut down.
A French court has accused a top Algerian diplomat of complicity in the 1987 killing of a dissident in Paris, prompting sharp words from Algeria's government yesterday.
BNP has taken an initiative to resolve internal disputes as part of its preparation for the upcoming parliamentary election slated for December 18.
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Carmen Godoy is sure the Yankees are plotting an invasion. She's heard her president say so over and over again in the decade he has been in power. 
(AKI) - At least 600 illegal immigrants arrived to the southern Italian coast on Thursday aboard three vessels. The would-be migrants arrived to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, said Palermo's port authorities and were being rescued by Finance Police and Italian Coast Guard authorities.
A pro-Obama group of rabbis says recent statements by the McCain-Palin campaign are "creeping toward hate speech."
NEW YORK TIMES to endorse Obama in Sunday editions...
Oil prices have slumped further, with Brent crude sliding under 67 dollars a barrel -- the lowest level for more than 15 months.
