General Stuff: General NewsNews the General reads.CBO: Bush budget to cause $2.75T deficits- February 28, 2004 Feb. 27, 2004 WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's budget would produce deficits totaling $2.75 trillion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office projected Friday in the first authoritative look at the plan's longer-range implications. The nonpartisan budget office said Bush's tax and spending plans would, if enacted, add $737 billion to shortfalls otherwise expected over the period. Its massive numbers are sure to factor into this year's presidential and...http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/28.html#a144 Authorities Encountered Columbine Killers Several Times Before School Shooting- February 26, 2004 Columbine Killers and Police Had 15 Contacts, Official Says. Authorities had at least 15 contacts with the Columbine High School killers dating back two years before their murderous attack, the state attorney general said today. By The Associated Press. New York Times: NYT HomePagehttp://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/26.html#a140 Double, Double, Oil and Trouble- February 24, 2004 Forecast of Rising Oil Demand Challenges Tired Saudi Fields. Saudi Arabia's oil fields are in decline, raising questions about whether the kingdom will be able to satisfy the world's thirst for oil in coming years. By Jeff Gerth. New York Times: NYT HomePage For more on increased demand for oil, see The General's plans to retreat to the mountains and spend his days keeping the coppers at bay.http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/24.html#a137 US Soldier Seeks Refugee Status in Canada, Protesting Invasion of Iraq- February 24, 2004 The Guardian reports an interesting case of a US soldier seeking refugee status in Canada after refusing to go to Iraq. US army private Jeremy Hinzman fought in Afghanistan and considers himself a patriot. But when his unit was ordered to Iraq, he refused to go and embarked on a radical journey that could make legal history. Private first class Hinzman left the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, taking his wife and son to Canada. Officially, he is awol (absent without leave), and, instead of..http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/24.html#a136 Naomi Wolf accuses Harold Bloom of Sexual Harassment- February 23, 2004 NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) -- A feminist author has written a magazine article accusing a noted Yale University professor of sexually harassing her while she was an undergraduate in the 1980s, and alleging a long history of such events at Yale. Read the rest here.http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/22.html#a135 State-approved non-vaginal sex with benefits will destroy civilization, says Schwarzenegger- February 23, 2004 California bigot and governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the Attorney General to intervene to stop gay couples from getting married in San Francisco. Schwarzenegger said, and I kid you not, "Because the City and County of San Francisco's actions are directly contrary to state law and present an imminent risk to civil order, I hereby direct you to take immediate steps to obtain a definitive judicial resolution of this controversy." That's right. Gay marriage licenses are an "imminent risk to...http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/22.html#a134 Conan is sorry, but it's a bit too late, says Ontario government- February 18, 2004 Conan O'Brien has apologized for the racist Triumph the Insult Comic skit that aired last week during Late Night's visit to Toronto. The skit featured the sock puppet, a gimmick stolen from Toronto's own Ed The Sock, making disparaging remarks about French people while walking the streets of Quebec City. Ontario's Minister of Culture and Francophone Affairs said the apology came too late, but was better than nothing. In a related story, the Hollywood Reporter doesn't seem to understand that the.http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/18.html#a128 Protectionism: Good for politics, bad for business- February 18, 2004 A story at Dataquest India (subscription required) suggests that protectionist laws being passed in the US senate to prevent the offshoring of American government jobs to places such as India may be premature. Given the election year in the USA, it not hard to figures why candidates are actively taking up the outsourcing issue. We have seen enough of such stunts in India and expecting rational business sense would be far fetched at such times. However policy makers have to realize that..http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/18.html#a127 The Bible is older than Charles Darwin. It must be right!- February 18, 2004 Slanting Science to Make Political Points. Another Bush scandal: Top scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates and 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Science, say the administration is abusing science in service of politics. Dan Gillmor's eJournalhttp://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/18.html#a126 "Storied" Yankee Franchise Built With Lots and Lots and Lots of Money- February 17, 2004 Summer or Winter, the Yankees Show the Red Sox How to Win. In the end, the Yankees' trade for Alex Rodriguez is just another instance in which the Yankees beat the Red Sox. By Murray Chass. New York Times: NYT HomePage The people in New York who cover the Yankees are a joke. They prattle on about the pride and legacy of the Yankees, about this "storied" franchise and its legends. But the modern Yankees are just filthy rich. They've made a farce out of Major League Baseball by spending...http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/02/16.html#a124 |