Wednesday, March 25, 2009

SPB News for Thursday.


Poll: Clinton has high job approval


Hillary Clinton: U.S. Shares Blame For Mexican Drug Wars

Report: Obama To Tell Bankers, 'We're All In The Same Boat
Federal govt. inks deal with YouTube, Flickr, to connect with citizens.
Arnold closes 'tent city,' invites homeless to state fairgrounds.
Pentagon exploring robot killers that can fire on their own --DoD financing studies of self-governing, armed robots that could find and destroy targets on their own The unmanned bombers that frequently cause unintended civilian casualties in Pakistan are a step toward an even more lethal generation of robotic hunters-killers that operate with limited, if any, human control. The Defense Department is financing studies of autonomous, or self-governing, armed robots that could find and destroy targets on their own. On-board computer programs, not flesh-and-blood people, would decide whether to fire their weapons.

US Iraq nominee issues Iran warning Iran remains the "real problem" for Iraq, the US nominee for ambassador to Baghdad has said, pledging to work to ensure Tehran respects Iraqi sovereignty. "The real problem in the region for Iraq is its ancient neighbour, Iran," Christopher Hill told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at a confirmation hearing on Wednesday

Australia's Web blacklist leaked --Data reveals government has blocked legitimate businesses The secretive Internet filter blacklist held by the communications watchdog ACMA has been leaked, revealing the government has understated the amount of banned Web pages by more than 1000. Multiple legitimate businesses and Web sites have been banned including two bus companies, online poker sites, multiple Wikipedia entries, Google and Yahoo group pages, a dental surgery and a tour operator.

Facebook could be monitored by the government --Facebook, Bebo, MySpace and other social networking websites could be monitored by the government in an attempt to tackle internet crime and terrorism. The Home Office is considering plans to force such sites to hold data about their users' movements to thwart criminals who use them to communicate. The information would then be stored on a central database as part of the government's proposed Intercept Modernisation Programme. The proposal follows plans to retain information about all telephone calls, emails, and internet visits made by everyone in Britain through a multi-billion pound system.

Anti-capitalist group boasts of attack on Sir Fred Goodwin's home --Many told The Times that they were upset by the "greed" of the man nicknamed Fred the Shred for his eagerness to cut jobs and costs. An anti-capitalist group calling itself Bank Bosses Are Criminals has claimed responsibility for an attack on the home of Sir Fred Goodwin, former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The organisation warned of further action against other targets minutes after police were called to Sir Fred’s house in Edinburgh.
Panama FTA: AIG Sues U.S. for Back Taxes Dodged in Panama Tax Haven (Public Citizen) We learn that American International Group (AIG) has the gall to sue the U.S. government demanding over $306 million back in taxes it paid - twice the amount of the now infamous executive bonuses. AIG is claiming that it overpaid taxes related to activities of an AIG-linked Panamanian corporation chartered in tax haven Panama. No surprise then, that none other than AIG - along with other bailed-out banks - supports a hangover Bush Free Trade Agreement with Panama.

Stimulus, bailout will lead to more fraud: FBI The FBI is bracing for a wave of fraud and corruption cases stemming from the government's multitrillion-dollar effort to get the economy moving again, the agency's chief told Congress on Wednesday. The expected surge in economic crimes will place further strain on an agency already stretched thin as it investigates mortgage fraud, terrorism and corrupt politicians, FBI Director Robert Mueller said.

IBM to shift 'large number' of US jobs to India Computer giant IBM plans to cut a "large number" of US employees in its business services unit and transfer their duties to India, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the situation," said that IBM generally [hides] avoids public disclosure of layoffs and the number of US jobs being eliminated could not be determined.

More companies cut or end 401(k) plan matches Several new surveys of company executives show that they plan to reduce or suspend their company's retirement-plan contributions this year. Dozens of employers in the past year have already slashed such costs.

Geithner 'open' to China proposal By Ben Smith Geithner, at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the U.S. is "open" to a headline-grabbing proposal by the governor of the China's central bank, which was widely reported as being a call for a new global currency to replace the dollar, but which Geithner described as more modest and "evolutionary."

U
.S. bill seeks to rescue faltering newspapers With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks. Senator Benjamin Cardin's Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.

Most electronic voting isn't secure, CIA expert says Appearing last month before a U.S. Election Assistance Commission field hearing in Orlando, Fla., a CIA cybersecurity expert said that voting equipment connected to the Internet could be hacked, and machines that weren't connected could be compromised wirelessly. In a presentation that could provide disturbing lessons for the United States, where electronic voting is becoming universal, Steve Stigall summarized what he described as attempts to use computers to undermine democratic elections in developing nations.

Palin's logo snowsuit draws an ethics complaint The second ethics complaint in a week filed against Gov. Sarah Palin alleges a conflict of interest when she wore Arctic Cat logo gear during this year's Tesoro Iron Dog snowmachine race. Arctic Cat sponsors Palin's husband, Todd, in the world's longest snowmachine race -- Big Lake to Nome to Fairbanks.

Peanut butter recalled in cancer scare Food watchdogs have warned that thousands of jars of peanut butter on British shelves are contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said that jars of Active Peanut Butter contain high levels of a fungus produced by an excess amount of aflatoxins, which can cause cancer. The FSA warned that the spread is "unsafe" for consumption.

Ed Henry's take on exchange with Obama — Ed Henry, CNN's senior White House correspondent, got a tough answer from President Obama when he asked Tuesday night why Obama waited days to express outrage on the AIG bonuses. “Because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak,” Obama said.

Palin unplugged in speech to Alaska GOP dinner — (CNN) - Sarah Palin is teeing off on the media once again. — In a little-noticed speech to a GOP dinner in Alaska last week, Palin riffed for nearly an hour on a variety of topics — including her relationship with former McCain staffers …
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