North Carolina: Homeschoolers ordered into public classrooms worldnetdaily.com 3/13/9 ["The judge, when contacted by WND, explained his goal in ordering the children to register and attend a public school was to make sure they have a "more well-rounded education."  ...According to Williams' website, the judge also ordered a mental health evaluation for the mother – but not the father – as part of the divorce proceedings, in what Williams described as an attack on the "mother's conservative Christian beliefs." "]
Illinois "FOCA" Moves to House Floor - Would Eliminate All Abortion Restrictions in State lifesitenews.com 3/13/9 ["An Illinois bill enshrining abortion as a "right" and introducing explicit sex education was approved by the Illinois House Human Services Committee yesterday in a 5-2 vote. HB 2354, proposed by state House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, states that the government shall not "deny or interfere with an individual's right" to abortion and contraception. The bill would nullify or prevent all common-sense legal restrictions on abortion, including health and safety regulations for abortion facilities, informed consent, and parental notification laws."]
Half of Americans Are Two Paychecks Away from Hardship usnews.com 3/13/9 ["Without a steady paycheck, 50% of Americans say they could not meet their financial obligations for more than a month — and, of that, a disturbing 28% couldn’t support themselves for more than two weeks of unemployment."]
Obama Urges Global Economic Coordination voanews.com 3/13/9 ["The president said his goals for the finance ministers' meeting are to ensure that there is a "concerted effort around the globe to jump-start the economy," and to move forward on regulatory reform, to prevent future crises."]
Obama family looms large at women's panel launch breitbart.com 3/13/9 ["as he signed an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. ... The council will meet regularly, he said, and will include Clinton, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Attorney General Eric Holder among other members, Obama said. "  Editor: Horse Hockey. You would think these people would have enough matters on their own plate. Ear candy for the masses.]
Dollar defies recipe for currency collapse telegraph.co.uk 3/13/9 ["Let us count the woes. The banks have big foreign liabilities, the deficit-ridden UK government has taken on most of the risk in the banking sector, and the Bank of England is going to add £75bn in fresh notes to the pool of sterling assets. Who wants them? Not foreign investors. "]
 

Senate-Backed Stimulus Bill Contains Birth Control Bailout for Planned Parenthood lifenews.com 3/12/9 ["The so-called economic stimulus bill the Senate approved on Tuesday contains a bailout package for Planned Parenthood that will give the abortion giant the ability to make hundreds of millions of dollars selling birth control at an inflated rate."]
Obama Administration Promotes Pro-Abortion Agenda at UN Women's Meeting lifenews.com 3/12/9 ["At the Commission on the Status of Women meeting at UN headquarters, Obama representatives are pushing language that can eventually be used to promote an international right to abortion."]
Mexico Succumbs to International Pressure to Provide Abortions in Public Hospitals lifesitenews.com 3/12/9 ["Mexican health officials have acceded to the demands of international pro-abortion organizations to require public hospitals to provide abortions in cases of rape. Abortion is not penalized in cases of rape in most Mexican states. However, because of the high value placed on the sanctity of human life in Mexican culture, such abortions rarely occur in practice."]
Congress May Need to Fund Another Stimulus, Pelosi Says washingtonpost.com 3/12/9 ["Still, all four told lawmakers that there is a high probability that more money will be needed later this year to stabilize the banking system and, perhaps, to stimulate economic activity more generally. "]
Canada: Military readies reservists for threats to 'domestic front' nationalpost.com 3/12/9 ["The creation of seven units within each region of the country -- including unusual all-terrain vehicle (ATV) squadrons and perimeter security teams to cordon areas of potential devastation -- prepares reserve soldiers for operations on the "domestic front" while freeing regular force soldiers to concentrate on foreign battlefields."]
Scalia: You need 4 votes for Obama eligibility case worldnetdaily.com 3/12/9 ["latest effort is a case of Quo Warranto submitted to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. The legal phrase essentially means an explanation is being demanded for what authority Obama is using to act as president. An online constitutional resource says Quo Warranto "affords the only judicial remedy for violations of the Constitution by public officials and agents." The plaintiffs allege Obama failed to submit prima facie evidence of his qualifications before Jan. 20, 2009. "]
Bernanke Says Regulatory Overhaul Needed cnbc.com 3/12/9 [""We must have a strategy that regulates the financial system as a whole, in a holistic way, not just its individual components," Bernanke said in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations. "]
Number of U.S. millionaires falls by a quarter reuters.com 3/12/9 ["The number of American millionaires fell by more than a quarter last year as the financial crisis decimated their investments across the board, a report said on Wednesday."]
Despite Critics, Tax On Mileage Gaining Speed courant.com 3/12/9 ["A bipartisan commission that Congress created said last week that lawmakers should increase the gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon but begin shifting to a mileage tax."]
New York skips Internet, soda and other tax hikes reuters.com 3/12/9 ["New York has scrapped a plan to impose taxes on Internet downloads, clothing over $100 and non-diet sodas, a move that had been aimed at closing a $14 billion state budget deficit, Governor David Paterson and legislature leaders said on Wednesday."]
Google ad service raises privacy fears timesonline.co.uk 3/12/9 ["Google’s influence over our lives is set to grow further after it anounced today that it will track millions of people as they move through the internet in order work out what their interests are. Using that information, it will then provide targeted advertising to suit users' individual tastes. "]
Obama decries earmarks, signs law with 9,000 of them miamiherald.com 3/12/9 [" He said, however, that it was crucial for him to sign the $410 billion bill as soon as it arrived at the White House from Congress because it's needed to finance much of the government for the rest of this fiscal year. It was largely written last year but was held back while Republican George W. Bush was president because he opposed it."]
 

Specter Says Nation on 'Brink of a Depression' abcnews.go.com 3/11/9 ["Specter, R-Pa., said the nation's economic situation is more dire than the public has been told, but did not elaborate. "Our economic problems are enormously serious — more serious than is publicly disclosed."]
Australia Also Drops Ban on Foreign Aid to Abortion Providers after Obama Decision lifesitenews.com 3/11/9 ["President Obama's decision to rescind the Mexico City Policy left Australia as the only first-world country refusing to fund international abortion promoting organizations with taxpayer funds."]
President Obama Also Kills Bush Executive Order for Adult Stem Cell Research lifenews.com 3/11/9 ["Instead of signing the bill, President Bush issued an executive order to press for more research into ways of obtaining embryonic stem cells without harming human life. The order was intended to ultimately fund research into alternatives" to destructive embryonic stem cell research such as altered nuclear transfer (ANT), "regression" (reverting differentiated cells into stem cells), and other methods."]
A Ghostly Commercial Sprawl Drains Municipal Funds businessweek.com 3/11/9 ["Empty offices, malls, and factories blight U.S. communities just when they most need commercial real estate revenues the sites once provided "]
Cracks in auto supply chain spreading detnews.com 3/11/9 ["The next company to fall could be Van Buren Township-based Visteon Corp., which owes $16 million today on a bond payment and is widely believed to be on the bankruptcy bubble. But hundreds of smaller suppliers could be forced into bankruptcy court, too, as they struggle in the worst auto market in decades. "]
Gordon Brown's G20 summit risks global financial meltdown telegraph.co.uk 3/11/9 ["Lord Malloch-Brown, a Foreign Office minister involved in the preparations for next month's London summit of the G20 countries, said that meeting must produce a substantive plan to rescue the world economy or there will be "disastrous" financial consequences. "]
U.S. dollar replaced by ... digital gold? worldnetdaily.com 3/11/9 [""A key concern is that the Obama administration's multi-trillion dollar deficit spending could cause the dollar to collapse on world currency markets since Obama has no alternative but to finance federal budget deficits by instructing the U.S. Treasury to sell debt securities, largely to foreign nations such as China, Japan and the petrodollar nations of the Middle East," he continued. Private-bank digital gold is a move away from traditional fiat currencies issued by nation-states, such as the dollar, where there is no backing by gold or silver, and the currency has a floating value determined by world currency exchanges. "]
Wikipedia scrubs Obama eligibility wnd.com 3/11/9 ["Wikipedia, the online "free encyclopedia" mega-site written and edited entirely by its users, has been deleting within minutes any mention of eligibility issues surrounding Barack Obama's presidency, with administrators kicking off anyone who writes about the subject..."]
Debunking The Obamatoids newswithviews.com 3/11/9 ["The squall of the obamatoids is getting louder and louder as we learn more and more about Also Known As (AKA) Obama; as though they can, by sheer volume, drown out the facts. With this in mind, let’s look at the claims of the obamatoids."  Editor: Good review and overview of the subject.]
 

Next shoe to drop for U.S. job seekers: lower wages reuters.com 3/10/9 ["Job seekers -- already coping with the highest unemployment rate in a quarter century, their savings mugged by a plunging stock market -- can also expect lower pay once they land a new job, labor market experts say, because the current downturn shows no signs of turning around anytime soon."]
More Americans say they have no religion google.com 3/10/9 ["The current survey, being released Monday, found traditional organized religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and 27 percent of respondents said they did not want a religious funeral."]
Obama Unleashes Taxpayer Funds for Embryo-Destructive Research lifesitenews.com 3/10/9 ["The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. government's medical research agency, is expected to provide final guidelines for the research within 120 days, after which point funding may begin.  The executive order came only days after nine Congressmen urged congressional leaders to abandon embryonic stem-cell research, which has proved dangerous and yielded no therapeutic results. Instead, they said, the government should invest in adult stem cells, a field that has shown enormous potential and already cured or treated scores of ailments."]
Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 thomas.loc.gov 3/10/9 [""]
Senate Committee Ignores Outcry, Confirms Porn Lawyer citizenlink.org 3/10/9 ["The Senate Judiciary Committee dealt a blow to cultural morals last week by approving David Ogden's nomination for deputy attorney general, meaning the full Senate could vote anytime. Sen. Arlen Specter, the committee's ranking Republican, reportedly told National Public Radio he had never seen so much opposition from voters — 11,000 phone calls, letters and other contacts with the committee."]
Pontiac [Michigan] may lay off all teachers detnews.com 3/10/9 ["Nearly 500 teachers in the Pontiac Public School District are reeling as they prepare for layoff notices to all employees next week as the struggling system tries to erase a deficit."]
Too big to fail? 5 biggest banks are 'dead men walking' miamiherald.com 3/10/9 ["Citibank, Bank of America, HSBC Bank USA, Wells Fargo Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase reported that their "current" net loss risks from derivatives - insurance-like bets tied to a loan or other underlying asset - surged to $587 billion as of Dec. 31. Buried in year-end regulatory reports that McClatchy Newspapers has reviewed, the figures reflect a jump of 49 percent in just 90 days."]
NK Threatens War Over Satellite Shootdown koreatimes.co.kr 3/10/9 ["The statement comes as South Korea and the United States began their annual war drill Monday, in what could be an indication that North Korea may try to launch the supposed satellite during the joint exercise that will continue through March 20, Yonhap News Agency reported."]
Statician says US joblessness near Depression highs reuters.com 3/10/9 ["he noted that the Depression peak itself may have been underestimated because it was restricted to "non-farm" payrolls at a time when agricultural labor still represented more than a quarter of the economy."]
 

Famed pastor predicts imminent catastrophe worldnetdaily.com 3/9/9 ["David Wilkerson, author of "The Cross and the Switchblade,"  ...What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written, "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?""]
Never waste a good crisis, Clinton says on climate reuters.com 3/9/9 ["ecretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience Friday "never waste a good crisis," and highlighted the opportunity of rebuilding economies in a greener, less energy-intensive way."]
Obama's Radicalism Is Killing the Dow  wsj.com 3/9/9 ["Mr. Obama's $3.6 trillion budget blueprint, by his own admission, redefines the role of government in our economy and society. The budget more than doubles the national debt held by the public, adding more to the debt than all previous presidents -- from George Washington to George W. Bush -- combined. It reduces defense spending to a level not sustained since the dangerous days before World War II, while increasing nondefense spending (relative to GDP) to the highest level in U.S. history. And it would raise taxes to historically high levels (again, relative to GDP). And all of this before addressing the impending explosion in Social Security and Medicare costs."]
Court's ruling avoids detainee showdown freep.com 3/9/9 ["The Supreme Court bowed out Friday of deciding whether the president has the power to imprison people in the United States indefinitely without a trial -- avoiding a showdown the Obama administration did not want."]
UK: Parents face prosecution over school gay week protest  telegraph.co.uk 3/9/9 ["Under current laws parents can be prosecuted for failing to ensure their children attend school. "]
 

Obama to Sign Executive Order Monday Opening Public Funding of Embryonic Stem Cell Research lifesitenews.com 3/7/9 ["President Barack Obama plans to rescind the Bush policy limiting federal funding for embryo destructive research on Monday. The Bush policy had allowed federal funding for experiments on already existing lines of embryos, but forbade the funds from being used to create new embryos for experimentation. "]
U.S. moves to rescind healthcare "conscience" rule reuters.com 3/7/9 ["The Obama administration moved formally on Friday to rescind a Bush administration rule to protect health workers who refuse to provide services and information on moral grounds, which had inflamed abortion-rights advocates."]
Clinton: There will be a Palestinian state, Jerusalem will be its capital israeltoday.co.il 3/7/9 ["On Wednesday Clinton all but guaranteed that her government will clash with Netanyahu's when she suggested in a joint press conference with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that for Washington, the division of Jerusalem is a foregone conclusion. "]
Alternative measures of labor underutilization bls.gov [i.e. unemployed]  3/7/9 ["14.8[%]"]
Congress OKs stopgap bill to keep government open google.com 3/7/9 ["The stopgap measure was needed because on Thursday night, Senate Republicans unexpectedly put the brakes on the sweeping measure. The so-called omnibus bill would award domestic agencies with big spending increases and it also contains about 8,000 pet projects sought by lawmakers."]
The United Shame Of America newswithviews.com 3/7/9 [By Nancy Levant  "We blame the democrats, we blame the republicans, we blame the housing market, we blame imported oil — fools that we are. We were given a governing structure, we were told that would be hard to keep, and that people, in order to remain free, were required to be the governing and responsible parties to ensure liberty and freedom for all. We didn’t want the job. So, once again, human history repeats its constant pattern of constant theft. Government, once more, takes everything from everyone and again recreates the slave-based economy of power and force over most."]
Stimulus Cash to Spur Inflation, Commodity Rally: Chart of Day bloomberg.com 3/7/9 ["“The government has created a massive increase in the monetary base, and it means we are entering a massive inflation cycle,” Pento said in a telephone interview from Holmdel, New Jersey. “Inflation will be intractable. All of these commodities will start to act as an alternative to currency and start to pick up. Gold should be the primary investment, and energy and base metals should be secondary.” "]
Toyota Shock May Spur Supplier Failures Without Aid bloomberg.com 3/7/9 ["Toyota Motor Corp.’s production cuts will cause bankruptcies among suppliers if Japan restricts aid to large manufacturers, the country’s main car parts group said."]
Barack Obama's Teleprompter Addiction associatedcontent.com 3/7/9 ["Barack Obama apparently cannot do off the cuff speaking and needs the teleprompter to do the kind or oratory that used to make giddy college coeds swoon during his campaign speeches. When Barack Obama lacks the teleprompter, his speeches tend to be halting and awkward."  Editor: He is just a puppet, one with charisma, but still a puppet.]
Supreme Court Strikes Down FDA Pre-Emption newswithviews.com 3/7/9 [By Byron J. Richards, CCN  "The FDA knows full well that when a drug is approved for the market the full extent of the side effects won’t be known for years. History shows us time and again that Big Pharma actively hides risk data from the FDA and pays for “science” that distorts reality. This irresponsible behavior goes along with closed-door negotiations with the FDA, and has resulted in numerous drug disasters like Vioxx."]
Speaker Pelosi Backs Senate Amendment to Regulate Talk Radio cnsnews.com 3/7/9 ["Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNSNews.com on Thursday that she supports an amendment to a Senate bill that would force the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest.”"]
Bank of England Cuts Rates, Starts Asset Purchases bloomberg.com 3/7/9 ["Bank of England Governor Mervyn King will take the unprecedented step of printing money to buy assets after reducing the benchmark interest rate by a half point to almost zero. "]
 

No alternative to hiking bank fees -- FDIC's Bair reuters.com 3/6/9 ["The FDIC last week passed an interim rule to further increase the fees it charges banks to insure deposits and also approved a one-time special assessment fee that will cost the industry $15 billion."]
Planned Parenthood Ups Number of Abortion Centers, More Sell Abortion Drug lifenews.com 3/6/9 ["While Planned Parenthood cuts its total number of centers providing non-abortion services, the number of abortion facilities is in the rise. It jumped to 295 last year from 287 the year prior."]
One in 8 US homeowners late paying or in foreclosure reuters.com 3/6/9 [" "While California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan continue to dominate the delinquency numbers, some of the sharpest increases we saw last quarter in loans 90 days or more delinquent were in Louisiana, New York, Georgia, Texas and Mississippi, signs of the spreading impact of the recession," said Jay Brinkmann. Duress is no longer isolated to borrowers with lower credit quality. As joblessness grew, so did late payments on prime fixed-rate loans that represent two-thirds of mortgages."]
More U.S. consumers, businesses file for bankruptcy: reports uk.reuters.com 3/6/9 ["The number of U.S. consumers filing for bankruptcy jumped 29 percent in February from the year earlier, and the number is expected to keep rising as economic troubles deepen, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute on Tuesday."]
President Obama's czar system concerns some latimes.com 3/6/9 ["He has 'super aides' for healthcare, the economy, energy and urban issues, with more to come -- prompting some lawmakers and groups to worry that he may be concentrating power and bypassing Congress."]
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank America Face Ratings Cuts  bloomberg.com 3/6/9 ["the three largest U.S. banks by market value, may face credit-rating downgrades by Moody’s Investors Service amid signs they’ll set aside additional cash for loan losses. "]
Venezuela's Chavez seizes U.S. food giant unit reuters.com 3/6/9 ["seized a unit of American food giant Cargill on Wednesday and threatened to take over Venezuela's largest private company, renewing a nationalization drive as the OPEC nation's oil income plunges."]
Second Liens Forgiven: Are You Kidding Me? cnbc.com 3/6/9 ["paragraph vi. Second Liens: While eligibly loan modifications will not require any participation by second lien holders, the program will include additional incentives to extinguish second liens on loans modified under the program in order to reduce the overall indebtedness of the borrower and improve loan performance. Servicers will be eligible to receive compensation when they contact second lien holders and extinguish valid junior liens. Servicers will be reimbursed for the release according to the specified schedule, and will also receive an extra $250 for obtaining a release of a valid second lien. "]
Europe’s banks face a $2 trillion dollar shortage telegraph.co.uk 3/6/9 ["The BIS said European and British banks have relied on an “unstable” source of funding, borrowing in their local currencies to finance “long positions in US dollars”. Much of this has to be rolled over in short-term debt markets. "]
 

Russian scholar says US will collapse _ next year google.com 3/5/9 ["he is a dean at the Foreign Ministry's school for future diplomats and a regular on Russia's state-guided TV channels.  ...Panarin argued that Americans are in moral decline, saying their great psychological stress is evident from school shootings, the size of the prison population and the number of gay men. Turning to economic woes, he cited the slide in major stock indexes, the decline in U.S. gross domestic product and Washington's bailout of banking giant Citigroup as evidence that American dominance of global markets has collapsed."]
Baxter Sent Bird Flu Virus to European Labs by Error bloomberg.com 3/5/9 ["Baxter International Inc. in Austria unintentionally contaminated samples with the bird flu virus that were used in laboratories in three neighboring countries, raising concern about the potential spread of the deadly disease. "]
ADP: Private Sector Sheds 697,000 Jobs wsj.com 3/5/9 ["Private sector jobs fell 697,000 in the U.S. in February, according to a national employment report published Wednesday by payroll giant Automatic Data Processing Inc. and consultancy Macroeconomic Advisers."]
Brown's call to US: Seize the moment to tackle world crisis guardian.co.uk 3/5/9 ["The prime minister's 36-minute speech won 19 standing ovations but was, at crucial moments, received in silence on the Republican side of the aisle as he made the case for a united global effort to revive economies and to turn away from the Bush doctrine on the environment. Brown said that during this peacetime crisis it was the task of government as "the representatives of the people to be the people's last line of defence"."]
Oil producers running out of storage space msnbc.msn.com 3/5/9 ["Supertankers that once raced around the world to satisfy an unquenchable thirst for oil are now parked offshore, fully loaded, anchors down, their crews killing time. In the United States, vast storage farms for oil are almost out of room. As demand for crude has plummeted, the world suddenly finds itself awash in oil that has nowhere to go."]
Bernanke Says U.S. May Need to Expand Bank Rescue bloomberg.com 3/5/9 ["Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said policy makers may need to expand aid to the banking system beyond the $700 billion already approved and take other aggressive measures even at the cost of soaring fiscal deficits. "]
Should the Govt Be Allowed toTrack You Via GPS? pcmag.com 3/5/9 ["Should the government be able to surreptitiously install GPS tracking devices on your vehicle without a warrant? The San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation argued this week that such activity is a violation of civil liberties."]
Radio chip coming soon to your driver's license? worldnetdaily.com 3/5/9 ["Privacy advocates are issuing warnings about a new radio chip plan that ultimately could provide electronic identification for every adult in the U.S. and allow agents to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies simply by walking through the assembly. The proposal, which has earned the support of Janet Napolitano, the newly chosen chief of the Department of Homeland Security, would embed radio chips in driver's licenses, or "enhanced driver's licenses." "]
 

Fallen Idols newswithviews.com 3/4/9 [By Sheriff Jim R. Schwiesow, Ret.  "Where they have known plenty they will know hunger and starvation, where they have known wellness they will know pestilence and disease, where they have known peace they will know strife and mind numbing violence, where they have known prosperity they will know abject impoverishment and wrenching want and where they have known safety a holocaust and fiery destruction now awaits them. These are the wages due a sin-laden people.  ...Every outward and visible sign is that Barack Hussein Obama has been predestined to preside over the absolute destruction of this nation. "]
Grocers, name-brand food producers at odds over prices latimes.com 3/4/9 ["The nation's big grocery chains contend that food manufacturers have raised prices too fast and too far, considering large drops in prices for fuel, corn, wheat and other important commodities in recent months."]
HSBC to end US consumer lending, cut 6,100 jobs denverpost.com 3/4/9 ["The U.S. market was at the heart of the company's decline in net profit last year to $5.7 billion from $19.1 billion a year earlier. "]
Pension bombs going off chicagobusiness.com 3/4/9 ["Exploding pension fund shortfalls are blowing billion-dollar holes in the balance sheets of some of the Chicago area's biggest companies, forcing them to make huge contributions to retirement plans at a time when cash flow and credit are already under stress."]
Hidden Pension Fiasco May Foment Another $1 Trillion Bailout  bloomberg.com 3/4/9 ["The misleading numbers posted by retirement fund administrators help mask this reality: Public pensions in the U.S. had total liabilities of $2.9 trillion as of Dec. 16, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Their total assets are about 30 percent less than that, at $2 trillion. With stock market losses this year, public pensions in the U.S. are now underfunded by more than $1 trillion. "]
6 months in, Freddie Mac CEO resigns denverpost.com 3/4/9 ["Freddie reiterated Monday that it may ask for $30 billion to $35 billion in Treasury capital as the company, along with larger competitor Fannie Mae, struggles with deteriorating credit quality. Freddie, which has reported about $30 billion in losses over five quarters..."]
Obama suggests buying stocks, defends econ plan google.com 3/4/9 ["The stock market slipped ever lower, and Republicans suggested Obama was "cooking the books" in rosy recovery predictions."]
Plunging traveler demand sends air fares into free fall detnews.com 3/4/9 ["For domestic travelers, round-trip tickets are running about half of what they were last summer. San Francisco beckons at a $240 round-trip; New York at $136, taxes included. Internationally, flights are far off their usual summer peaks, as well. ..."Historically, we'd be in the booking cycle for summer right now," he said. "Not so anymore. Consumers are nervous about their jobs. They're waiting longer to book that vacation." "]
NASA's Chief Climate Scientist Stirs Controversy With Call for Civil Disobedience foxnews.com 3/4/9 ["But critics say Hansen's latest call to action blurs the line between astronomer and activist and may violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from participating in partisan political activity.  ...Horner claimed that Hansen doctored temperature data on two occasions in 2001 and once in 2007 in attempts to show an impending climate catastrophe. "He's creating an upward slope that really wasn't there," Horner said. "At some point you have to say these aren't mistakes.""]
Japan prepares to shoot down North Korean missile  telegraph.co.uk 3/4/9 ["The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force has equipped a number of its Aegis destroyers with the Standard Missile-3 interceptor system, which has proved successful in tests conducted with the US military. Pyongyang has stated that it plans to launch a satellite into orbit from a site on the east of the Korean Peninsula, claiming it has the right to do so."]
Reports: Toyota asking for Japan government loan detnews.com 3/4/9 ["Toyota has asked for a 200 billion yen ($2 billion) Japanese government loan, local media reports said Tuesday, as the world's top automaker projects its first yearly net loss in nearly six decades."]
 

US hospital profits fall to zero reuters.com 3/3/9 ["Plunging revenues from investments have forced median profit margins for U.S. hospitals to zero, according to a Thomson Reuters analysis of hospital finances published on Monday. And half of the more than 400 hospitals studied are losing money, the analysis found."]
What Happens When The Whole Economy Sinks Underwater? jonchristianryter.com 3/3/9 [By Jon Christian Ryter  "The tsunami-like impact will closely resemble what happens to a home owner with a mortgage that is construed to be underwater—only on a much grander, and much more devastating, scale. When the balance owed on the home's mortgage exceeds the appraised value of the home, that mortgage is said to be underwater. Conversely, when the aggregate sum of the debts owed by a nation to its creditors exceed the ability of the nation to repay those debts, one can honestly say that nation is "underwater" and risks becoming a 21st century version of Atlantis."]
States mull 'skin tax' on porn, strip clubs to help budgets, but free-speech impact questioned startribune.com 3/3/9 ["In Washington state, a half-dozen cash-strapped legislators recently endorsed a huge sales tax increase on explicit movies, magazines and other sex-themed products."]
Rough Recession Tests Brothel Boundaries abcnews.go.com 3/3/9 ["Nevada State Sen. Bob Coffin said there is a $2 billion budget shortfall and proposed cuts that include teacher salaries have left Nevada with little choice but to get creative. "People are licensed to gamble," Coffin said. "They are licensed to sell cigarettes. They are licensed to sell alcohol. Why not license everything we consider a vice.""  Editor: Proverbs 6:26 reminds us, "For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life."]
Congresswoman wants to end 'don't ask, don't tell' mercurynews.com 3/3/9 ["Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a Walnut Creek Democrat with close ties to the military, is introducing a bill this week to end the restriction on gays in the armed services. Under current policy, gays may serve only if they keep their sexual orientation private, and commanders and recruiters are barred from asking questions about their sexuality."]
Obama's Plan For Gun Control newswithviews.com 3/3/9 [By Jim Kouri  "CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, reacting to Thursday's remarks by Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder that the president will seek to reinstate the ban on semi-automatic firearms, said Obama "knew he was lying to the nation because his own web site touted his plan to revive the gun ban and make it permanent." "]
Dallasites turn in 147 guns in exchange for grocery cards dallasnews.com 3/3/9 ["Those who came had various reasons for participating. Some said their guns had been handed down but never used. Others didn't want the guns around their kids. And some wanted money for groceries. "]
Dow finishes below 7,000 for first time since '97 google.com 3/3/9 ["The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted below 7,000 at the opening bell and kept driving lower all day, finishing at 6,763 — a loss of nearly 300 points. Each of the 30 stocks in the index lost value for the day.  ...For the year, the Dow has lost 23 percent of its value."]
China Goes on a Smart Shopping Spree time.com 3/3/9 ["Recent deals with Brazil and China highlight Beijing's ability to use loans a means of securing energy supplies.  ...China offered large cash amounts in a tight credit market, but rather than require that the loans be serviced and repaid in cash, Brazil and Russia will repay the loans in crude oil supplies to China over the next two decades."]
Cost of locking up Americans too high - Pew study reuters.com 3/3/9 ["One in every 31 U.S. adults is in the corrections system, which includes jail, prison, probation and supervision, more than double the rate of a quarter century ago, according to a report released on Monday by the Pew Center on the States."]
Microsoft goes intercontinental via cloud and Surface google.com 3/3/9 ["Surface computers feature multi-touch and object-sensing screens in table-top designs, allowing people to work collaboratively. They can also allow businesses to automatically track what comes and goes. For example, a bottle of wine could be placed on a surface computer table in a cafe, with the price instantly posted to a customer's tab."]
Ukraine teeters as its citizens blame banks and government iht.com 3/3/9 ["Steel and chemical factories, once the muscle of Ukraine's economy, are dismissing thousands of workers. Cities have had days without heat or water because they cannot pay their bills, and Kiev's subway service is being threatened. Lines are sprouting at banks, the currency is wilting and even a government default seems possible."]
 

EU leaders open door to fast-track euro membership google.com 3/2/9 ["Several EU leaders on Sunday opened the door for the first time to the possibility of fast-track membership of the eurozone, while ruling out a relaxation of the tough rules for adopting the currency."]
Washington state to allow `dignity' deaths google.com 3/2/9 ["Terminally ill patients with less than six months to live will soon be able to ask their doctors to prescribe them lethal medication in Washington state. ...It became the second state, behind Oregon, to have a voter-approved measure allowing assisted suicide."]
California used to check prez candidates' eligibility worldnetdaily.com 3/2/9 ["A California lawsuit seeking documentation from Occidental College that could verify the nationality under which Barack Obama entered the school points out that the state formerly reviewed presidential candidates and disqualified those who were ineligible. "]
U.S. Is Said Set to Offer A.I.G. Up to $30 Billion More nytimes.com 3/2/9 ["The federal government is preparing to loosen the terms of its huge loan to the American International Group and provide another $30 billion to the insurer as it prepares to report the biggest quarterly loss in history on Monday, $62 billion, people involved in the discussions said Sunday night."]
Brown seeks 'global grand bargain' to save world economy google.com 3/2/9 ["He said there was European "consensus" that united action was required to tackle the deepening recession. The grand bargain should include new regulatory standards for financial markets and cross-border supervision of financial institutions, including hedge funds, he told reporters in Brussels."]
Feds will help with COBRA payments bizjournals.com 3/2/9 ["The federal government will subsidize 65 percent of the cost of health insurance through COBRA for workers who lost their jobs between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2009."]
Might U.S. workers come to like a shorter workweek? iht.com 3/2/9 ["In California, 235,000 state workers are taking off two days a month. In Atlanta, City Hall is now closed on Fridays. In January, 6.9 million Americans were working part time "because of slack work or business conditions," more than double the number two years earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics."]
EU leaders hold economic crisis summit google.com 3/2/9 [" The financial and economic turmoil has clobbered eastern and central European countries particularly hard because their economies are highly dependent on a steady stream of credit from western sources, which has all but dried up recently."]