Jeff's NewsCloud Journal

Iraq PM: Troops out ‘as soon as possible’

jeff — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:54:49 +0000

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says U.S. troops should leave Iraq "as soon as possible," according to a magazine report in which he also called presidential candidate Barack Obama’s suggestion of 16 months "the right timeframe for a withdrawal."

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New Hampshire To Accept Free Oil From Chavez

jeff — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:04:06 +0000

Two years ago, New Hampshire refused to accept heating oil from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the pro-Castro U.S. critic who once called President Bush "the devil." But with fuel prices rising, well, free oil is free oil. With the state’s blessing, New Hampshire residents will be receiving some of the fuel this winter.

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There’s no stairway to heavens? Take the elevator

jeff — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:01:25 +0000

Before jumping to the conclusion that anyone trying to build an elevator into space must be a little crazy, consider that NASA has put up $2 million for a related contest and several new Seattle-area businesses have started working toward this lofty goal. Many who have long been stubbornly devoted to the idea — which is simple, based upon an elevator climbing a cable up to a space station — are meeting through Sunday on the Microsoft campus to consider signs of progress and future challenges.

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You, Too, Could Be Batman In 10 To 12 Years

jeff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:00:59 +0000

"You could train somebody to be a tremendous athlete and to have a significant martial arts background, and also to use some of the gear that he has, which requires a lot of physical prowess… In terms of the physical skills to be able to defend himself against all these opponents all the time, I would benchmark that at 10 to 12 years." The problem is, even after that amount of training, no one could remain on top of their game for more than a few years. And "Batman can’t really afford to lose. Losing means death - or at least not being able to be Batman anymore."

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Freddie Mac CEO gets $19.8 million in ‘07

jeff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:21:02 +0000

Corporate CEO pay is a scandal no one wants to touch…here another example: If Syron stays at the helm of Freddie Mac through the end of next year, he will receive nearly $20 million in stock awards if the board says he has met certain goals. This year, he is guaranteed to get $8.8 million in stock grants regardless of performance.

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Anonymous GOP cyber-security expert suggests Diebold tampered with 2002 election

jeff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:04:54 +0000

In discussions with RAW STORY, the whistleblower — who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation — said that he became suspicious of Diebold’s actions in Georgia for two reasons. The first red flag went up when the computer patch was installed in person by Diebold CEO Bob Urosevich, who flew in from Texas and applied it in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds. The source states that Cox was not privy to these changes until after the election and that she became particularly concerned over the patch being installed in just those two counties.

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Another nuclear leak in France

jeff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:03:01 +0000

Uranium-bearing liquid has leaked from a broken underground pipe at a nuclear plant in southeastern France, the national nuclear safety authority said Friday. It was the second leak discovered at a French site this month. The Nuclear Safety Authority said experts were trying to determine how much leaked uranium was present at the plant, which is owned by the electricity company Areva.

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Microsoft shares fall after earnings news, analysts react

jeff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:42:51 +0000

Microsoft’s continued series of dubious acquisitions, sloppy pursuit of google and failed technical execution may finally be catching up to the company. Stock down to $25.00 a share. The stock has failed to show growth from its heights in 99 and 00 (like many other tech boom stocks).

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Record number of babies born last year

jeff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:57:25 +0000

"What this really reflects is that the population has grown so much in the United States, so you naturally expect more births," Ventura said. "It’s hard to call this a baby boom at this point."

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‘Phenomenal’ oil and gas rights sale sets stage for exploration push in B.C.

jeff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:02:27 +0000

British Columbia has raked in a record-breaking $610-million in an oil and gas rights sale, the latest in a series of windfalls driven by a rush of natural gas producers looking to lock up land in the northeastern part of the province. The tally from the one-day sale smashes the old record of $441-million set in May, and puts B.C.’s total land sale proceeds so far this year at $1.58-billion. That surpasses last year’s record mark of $1.04-billion, and ranks as among the biggest to date in Canada.

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