Tuesday, February 12, 2013

North Korea




Going Rogue

Kim Jong un / AP
North Korea carried out its third underground nuclear test in defiance of United Nations sanctions and reported pressure from China, according to western diplomatic sources.

 

Obama: 57 Vacation Days Since Vowing He 'Will Not Rest Until Anyone' Can Find A GOOD Job


February 12, 2013
Unemployment still stands at 7.9 percent, actually higher than when he took office in 2009.
It's time for the State of the Union address, which means the president is pivoting back to jobs once more. It's an annual game where President Obama pretends to be focused on employment and many in the media pretend to believe him.
Back in 2009, the president promised never to "rest" until the job situation was fixed. Nearly four years later, he's done a lot of resting.
According to The Weekly Standard, Pres. Obama has had 83 vacation days overall and Factcheck.org says he took 26 of those in 2009. That means the president has taken at least 57 vacation days since his vow not to "rest."
On Sept. 15, 2009, Obama spoke to General Motors plant employees in Warren, Ohio, about the "economic crisis." That's when the president made his promise. "But I want you all to know, I will not rest until anybody who's looking for a job can find one -- and I'm not talking about just any job, but good jobs that give every American decent wages and decent benefits and a fair shot at the American Dream," he told an applauding crowd. Obama has made the same promise (either as "I" or "we") since then, but that was the first evidence of his promise.
Dictionary.com gives several definitions for "rest." and one of the more generous of those is "a period or interval of inactivity, repose, solitude, or tranquility." By most definitions, that would include vacation.
But 1,245 days later, including at least 57 days off, millions of Americans are still out of work with unemployment at 7.9 percent, 0.1 percent higher than when he took office.
Now, the White House is deflecting criticism by saying jobs have always mattered. According to the Feb. 11 USA Today, "He will not be 'pivoting' back to the topic, [aides] add." The paper then cited spokesman Jay Carney and told readers "Obama has made jobs and the economy his primary emphasis since he began seeking the presidency in 2007."


Terence Corcoran: The price of Keystone may be a carbon tax
Terence Corcoran
Monday, Feb. 11, 2013

Barack Obama may placate ­activists with a carbon tax. Bloomberg
Tax could provide cover for approval of oil sands pipeline
Hello Canada! Are you ready — ready for a new national tax on carbon that will ding pocketbooks across the country? My bet is that a new carbon tax is coming, made almost inevitable by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s full-bore push to secure Washington’s approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.

For early clues on the carbon tax/Keystone trade-off, tune in Tuesday night to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. As the president speaks, he will be alert to the chorus of Hollywood stars, environmental activists, editorial writers and industry leaders who are pushing for him to make the biggest climate-change decision he can possibly make: Impose a carbon tax.

It is time Canadians became aware of the giant trap being set in Washington over Keystone. The short version is this: The president approves Keystone, greatly expanding the flow of Canadian oil sands production into the United States. In return, however, Canada has no choice but to accept a carbon tax at home as part of a grand bargain.

I first mentioned the likely Obama pipelines-for-taxes strategy in comments at the annual Financial Post forecast luncheon at the New Year. “I see new taxes coming in the United States, including an energy or carbon tax, to try to cover the deficits. The new energy tax would serve as partial cover for President Obama’s approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.”


Snow-Weary Residents On L.I. Say Some Neighborhoods Still Not Plowed

Suffolk County Executive Bellone: 'People Have Every Right To Be Frustrated'

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Crews in Huntington, NY use a Sno Go -- a special blower capable of moving tons of snow at once on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. (credit: Mona Rivera/1010 WINS)
Crews in Huntington, NY use a Sno Go — a special blower capable of moving tons of snow at once on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. (credit: Mona Rivera/1010 WINS)



 
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Four days after a massive snowstorm, many snow-weary residents on Long Island say their neighborhoods have yet to see any major plowing.
Residential roads in portions of Brookhaven, Huntington, Smithtown, Islip and Ronkonkoma still remain covered in snow and ice after Friday’s storm dumped up to 30 inches of snow on Suffolk County.


Noel Sheppard | February 12, 2013 | 16:06
A Washington Post contributor published an article Tuesday amazingly citing as true claims by a - wait for it! - satirical website that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has taken a job with Al Jazeera.
For her part, the former vice presidential candidate is having a good old time on Twitter at the author's expense:

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