Saturday, April 12, 2008

The Nightowl Newswrap

Political Rallies Banned in Zimbabwe As tensions mount around the countries contested presidential election, police have prohibited political gatherings and rallies, and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai accused Mugabe of dispatching the military to the countryside to influence electoral results.

Colombian court blocks extradition to US
of a drug trafficking warlord who has been accused of funding terrorist groups. The court has stayed his extradition while it decides whether or not Carlos Mario Jimenez, also known as Macaco, should serve out his sentence in Colombia before he is extradited to the U.S. to face charges.

Bees are in trouble in Washington State, and that means agriculture is, too Beekeepers in Washington escaped the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder that wiped out thousands of hives nationwide over the last two years, but they appear to have dodged that bullet only to be hit by a different one. This year many Washington beekeepers are reporting a devastating new pathogen — with no reliable cure — that is killing their bees. Beekeepers are reaching into their own pockets and paying for a crash-course in research into the mysterious malady. A lot of the food that finds it's way to our tables is grown in Washington and pollenated by bees. Think about the bee and say a little "thank you" the next time you eat a peach.

Boeing pushes back the 787 yet another Friedman Unit One more time, Boeing has pushed the introduction date of the luxury airliner ahead six months, making the new tentative date the third quarter of 2009. The project has been plagued with delays and highlighted problems with heavy reliance on contractors to do jobs that Boeing used to do in-house.

256 point slide in the DJIA caps a week of economic turmoil First quarter earnings reports landed with a splat and twitched like gasping fish. General Electric reported earnings that were off by 5.8 percent. GE is considered a bellwether company, and news that GE earnings were off precipitated the slide in the Dow.

Just when you think there is no integrity left in the M$M
, along comes a Barry Nolan to remind the world that Bill O'Reilly is a lot of things - propagandist, blowhard, bully, douchebag, jackass, "mental case" - but journalist isn't one of them.

"Godfather of Green" my ass...The League of Conservation Voters has named Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to it's 2008 "Dirty Dozen" list of congresscritters. The LCV is waiting to see if the old goat allows debate on environmental legislation to go forward before deciding what kind of funds to pump into unseating him this fall.

Misfired artillery shell claims the life of a family pet in New Jersey
An errant artillery shell crashed through the roof of a home several miles away from the Picatinney Garrison. The round landed on a young girls bed and gravely injured her cat, but the girl was not home at the time and no human beings were injured in the incident. The cat had to be euthanized after the incident.

A farm bill that could override a veto House negotiators outlined a bipartisan compromise that has enough republican support to override a veto if the White House goes that route.

Pope will not attend State Dinner in his honor
He will take part in other scheduled events with the current occupant, but sit down and break bread? No. That is some damned fine snubbin' there, Bennie. Damned fine snubbin' indeed.

No comments: