In the closing days of Cash for Clunkers, car dealers were turning buyers away, the government website crashed trying to keep up with the paperwork, and even the purple cars were selling. So, what does it tell us about our national character when the most popular government program in years is an economically dubious, environmentally negligible, politically lazy handout from 99% of the population to the other 1%, all aimed at reviving the economy from its vegetative state
Tag Archives: a-few-months
Ibrahimovic and Eto’o complete transfers
Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has completed his 46 million euros ($65m) transfer to Barcelona from Inter Milan on a five-year contract, with Samuel Eto’o and Alexander Hleb moving to the San Siro as part of the deal. Ibrahimovic completed his medical on Monday and the deal was finalized despite scans showing the striker has a fractured bone in his left hand
Guinea-Bissau votes for new president
Guinea-Bissau will hold a runoff presidential election Sunday, five months after the leader of the West African nation was assassinated by a group of soldiers.
300 jailed in ‘flawed’ Saudi terror trials
More than 300 men convicted by Saudi Arabia for taking part in terror plots have been jailed following trials criticized by a rights group for their lack of transparency. Saudi Arabia reported last week that 330 people had been convicted of membership in a “deviant group” — a reference to the al Qaeda terrorist network, founded by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden. On Monday, a Justice Ministry spokesman released more details about the group, saying that 323 will serve time in jail “varying from a few months to 30 years, with 13 of them sentenced to more than 20 years,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Jolie describes passionate mission to help refugees
Angelina Jolie has been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees since 2001. The actress-humanitarian paid tribute at a ceremony Thursday to the 10.5 million refugees now recognized by the Commission. The ceremony was part of several events leading up to World Refugee Day on Saturday.
Human Trafficking Rises in Recession
2009 Trafficking in Persons Report Department of State, 324 pages Read full report here.The Gist: Mohammad Salim Khan woke up in a strange house and felt an excruciating pain in his abdomen.
Pregnant with girl or boy? At-home test may tell you
Expecting moms can determine whether they’re carrying a boy or a girl as early as 10 weeks after conception, according to an over-the-counter gender prediction test by a Plano, Texas, company.
Defense: Military missed soldier’s symptoms before rape, killings
Defense lawyers trying to save their client from the death penalty argued Tuesday that former U.S. soldier Steven Green exhibited clear symptoms of acute stress disorder in Iraq and that a military psychiatric nurse-practitioner failed to diagnose the troubled infantryman and pull him out of combat
Why the Economic Recovery May Be Disappointing
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday morning that the economy is likely to pull out of the recession and start growing later this year. This in itself isn’t news — Bernanke has been saying the same thing for months. What’s news is that people are starting to believe him
Obama asked: Ever regret running for president?
Following this week’s tough talks on the global financial crisis, President Obama on Friday shifted his tone to reflect upon his regrets, his frustrations and his hopes for the younger generation.