‘United we stand, divided we fall’

This is a response to “My history is part of your history” [Leonard Pitts column, Opinion, May 16].

Although blacks may have suffered the most, not counting holocaust victims exterminated in Europe, many of us have ancestors who suffered some level of oppression at some time in history before coming to the United States.

The hard truth should be uttered, but it should include the whole truth. Part of history is always ignored. I refer to the fact that slavery was not “invented” here in America. It was “ended” here. Slavery was the way of the world for several centuries before our country was ever dreamed of, starting in 1400s by Spain and Portugal.

Yet in less than a century after this country was born, we “ended” slavery and for one fundamental reason: There were simply more white people against it than for it. It could not have been any other way because majority ruled and still does.

Despite what Pitts wrote, I believe the United States is itself and not composed of other nations and cultures. It is composed of people who left behind those other nations and cultures for a better life here. We all came from elsewhere in our lineage, but now we should get back to unity.

— Clark Chase, Monroe

below, release from the Justice Department….

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES DIVESTITURES IN AMC’S ACQUISITION OF KERASOTES THEATERS

Divestitures Will Preserve Movie Theater Competition

in Chicago, Denver and Indianapolis Metropolitan Areas

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it will require AMC Entertainment Group Inc. to divest movie theater assets in Chicago, Denver and Indianapolis in order to proceed with its proposed $275 million acquisition of most of the theaters operated by Kerasotes Showplace Theatres. The department said that the transaction, as originally proposed, would likely substantially lessen competition among movie theaters that show first-run, commercial movies in the Chicago, Denver and Indianapolis metropolitan areas, resulting in higher ticket prices and decreased quality viewing experience for moviegoers.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division filed a civil lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Washington to block the proposed acquisition. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the lawsuit and the department’s competitive concerns. The states of Illinois, Colorado and Indiana joined the division’s enforcement action.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, AMC must divest the following movie theaters: AMC Gardens 13 and Kerasotes Glen 10 (North Suburban Chicago); AMC Cantera 30 (Upper Southwest Suburban Chicago); Kerasotes Showplace 12 Bolingbrook (Lower Southwest Suburban Chicago); Kerasotes Colony Square 12 (Upper Northwest Denver); Kerasotes Olde Town 14 (Lower Northwest Denver); AMC Castleton Square 14 or Kerasotes Showplace 12 Glendale Town (North Indianapolis); and AMC Greenwood 14 (South Indianapolis).

In addition, for the next 10 years, AMC must inform the Antitrust Division if it proposes to acquire movie theatre assets in those markets.

AMC, a Kansas City-based company, operates 304 U.S. theaters housing 4,574 screens, most of which are located in megaplexes (units with more than 14 screens and stadium seating). AMC had U.S. revenues of approximately $2.26 billion in 2009.

Based in Chicago, Kerasotes develops, owns and operates Kerasotes ShowPlace Theatres LLC throughout the United States, with most locations in the Midwest. The privately held company operates 96 movie theaters with 973 screens in the United States and earned revenue of approximately $327.7 million in 2009.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement and the department’s competitive impact statement will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to John R. Read, Chief, Litigation III Section, Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice, 450 5th Street, N.W., Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20530 (telephone: 202-307-0468). At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the proposed settlement upon finding that it serves the public interest.

###

O famoso veículo do personagem Batman , o Batmóvel, chega em Guarulhos, pela primeira vez, para comemorar os 75 anos da DC Comics. A partir de hoje, dia 21, sexta-feira, o Batmóvel estará em exposição gratuita por uma semana no Internacional Shopping Guarulhos.

O veículo é um dos dois únicos exemplares no mundo – o segundo está em exposição pela Europa – e foi construído em fibra de vidro, baseado no desenho animado Batman: Bravos e Destemidos. Fãs de todas as idades, inclusive os mais velhos, poderão se encantar pelo Batmóvel, que pesa 150 kg, tem 4 metros de comprimento e 2 metros de largura.

Miniaturas de carros antigos

Além do Batmóvel, o shopping recebe a exposição de carros em miniatura nos dias 22 e 23 de maio. A iniciativa conta com 20 associados do Clube dos Colecionadores de Veículos em Miniatura que vão exibir cerca de 800 exemplares. Haverá na mostra, versões folhadas a ouro e de séries americanas customizadas. Também contará com exemplares raros da Drag Bus e de outras coleções limitadas produzidas no mundo.

O grupo, criado em 2004, realiza diversas exposições em eventos e inclusive já quebrou um recorde mundial: enfileirou 22 mil carrinhos em miniaturas.

Serviço
Exposição Batmóvel
Data: de 21 à 28/05
Horário: das 10h às 22h
Local: Internacional Shopping Guarulhos
End: Rod. Presidente Dutra, km 230 – Itapegica – Guarulhos/SP
Site: www.internacionalshopping.com.br

Fonte: Publicom

Published May 21, 2010
By Sara Schilling, Tri-City Herald staff writer

An event aimed at helping students prepare for college or other education beyond high school is from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Pasco.

“College Bound Day” will include information on financial aid and presentations from Columbia Basin College and Washington State University Tri-Cities officials.

Seventh- and eighth-graders also will be able to sign up for the state College Bound Scholarship program, which provides tuition and books to students from low-income families who meet certain requirements.

Students must sign up for the scholarship by June 30 of their eighth-grade year.

“It motivates them to do well and plan for their education beyond high school,” said Janie Morales-Castro, a College Bound Scholarship counselor who covers the Tri-City area.

The event is being put on by the College Success Foundation, CBC and WSU Tri-Cities. About 200 students and their families are expected to attend.

Even if students aren’t eligible for the College Bound Scholarship, they’re encouraged to show up because there’s plenty of college readiness information to share, Morales-Castro said.

The College Bound Scholarship provides tuition and book money for students from low income families who keep up their grades and stay out of trouble through high school.

The scholarship can be used at public or private universities, community colleges or technical colleges in the state.

More than 3,300 students from the Tri-Cities already have taken the College Bound pledge.

Saturday’s event is at the Gjerde Center at CBC. There’s no charge.

For more information about the College Bound Scholarship, go to www.hecb.wa.gov/collegebound

Additional news stories can be accessed online at the Tri-City Herald.

Published May 20, 2010
By Briefs, Tri-City Herald

The first-ever LINKS Day at Columbia Basin College in Pasco is planned from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Gjerde Center.

Lunch will be provided and there will be a DJ.

People who register as LINKS members will get LINKS bucks that can be used to bid on donated items, from restaurant gift baskets to $500 in tuition credit for a current and returning student.

The LINKS program aims to reach CBC alumni, current and former CBC faculty and employees, community partners and others with connections to the college.

Additional news stories can be accessed online at the Tri-City Herald.

Published May 20, 2010
By the Editorial Board, Tri-City Herald

In some ways, higher education is used as a bank by the Washington Legislature – at least by the Democratic caucus.

Sometimes the Democrats make a little extra deposit, but then, like the past two years, they yank it back.

It’s a heck of a way to run universities and colleges.

To deal with the shortfall this year, Columbia Basin and other community colleges are raising tuition 7 percent.  CBC is cutting 100 classes taught by part-time faculty.
In other words, students will pay more and have fewer classes to choose from.

Adjunct instructors make their living doing something besides teaching.  Conducting classes is an extra in their financial lives.

But they are more than that to the students.  And to the Tri-Cities.

Around here we have long crowed about the high level of academic achievement and thought represented by the number of engineers at Hanford and advanced degrees at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

They help provide a ready source of brainpower to fill adjunct faculty positions at CBC.  That’s an asset that ought to be preserved.

Tuition raises, of course, mean students or their families must dig deeper into their pockets.

Democrats have to take responsibility for this.  They will, logically, shift the blame to a faltering economy.

That’s fair, but it leaves out the fact that Democrats have had a majority in both houses of the Legislature for years and excluded Republican ideas for meeting revenue shortfalls.
Democrats consequently must take the blame for themselves.

Plus whatever credit there is.

CBC President Rich Cummins told Herald reporter Sara Schilling that the college is doing its best to keep cuts as far from the classroom and instruction as possible.

“We’re open for business, and we’re doing the best we can to ensure we’re serving all the students,” he said.

We certainly agree the schools, all of them, are doing what they have to do and making the best of a bad situation.

But the Legislature turns so readily to higher education whenever there’s a shortfall that it’s tough for schools to lay out long-range plans.

It’s not just CBC, of course.  Washington State University, the University of Washington and all the others in the state college and community college systems are being squeezed to the same degree CBC faces.

Meanwhile, enrollment is growing.

The need for higher education opportunities has never been greater than right now.

Education is near the top of every lawmaker’s priority list.  In the next session, we only ask that deeds match words.

Additional news stories can be accessed online at the Tri-City Herald.

[JURIST] The Spanish National Court on Friday convicted [judgment, PDF; in Spanish] three members of the Basque separatist group ETA [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive] on charges relating to a 2006 bombing in Madrid. Mattin Sarasola, Igor Portu, and Mikel San Sebastian were found guilty of murder, attempted murder, and taking part in a terrorist attack and were each sentenced to 1,040 years in prison. The men were also ordered to pay 1.2 mil euro (USD $1.48 mil) in damages to the families of their victims. The lengthy sentence is largely symbolic as Spain imposes a 40-year limitation on prison sentences for terrorism convictions. The 2006 Madrid bombing ended a ceasefire [AP report] that had been declared by ETA. ETA is listed as a banned terrorist group by the European Union and has been held responsible for more than 800 deaths over the past 40 years.

The Spanish government continues to actively pursue charges against ETA. In March, the court accused [JURIST report] the Venezuelan government of aiding ETA in a plot to assassinate members of the Colombian government in Spain. In February, the Interior Ministry of Spain [official website, in Spanish] said that it took into custody the suspected ETA leader [JURIST report], along with two other people who are believed to be senior members of the group. In January, Spanish Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska ruled [JURIST report] that ETA had tried three times to assassinate former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar in 2001 but had failed. Last June, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] upheld [JURIST report] Spain’s ban of Basque political groups Batasuna and Herri Batasuna for their alleged ties to ETA.

CHICAGO- Senator Dick Durbin’s hope for a transfer of some of the Guantanamo Bay detainees to Thomson Illinois may not even be discussed until next year.

A question was asked to Mr. Durbin about the transfer being blocked by the House Armed Services Committee, and whether a delay of the comprehensive plan and discussion until “after the election” was at hand. Durbin said, ” That’s a pretty cynical view…and very accurate.”

The debate on whether the Thomson Correctional Facility in Thomson Illinois will be taken over by the feds and if GITMO detainees will be housed there has been a hope of the Senator and the Obama administration since last year, but its run into opposition from both local and national leaders. The House Armed Services Committee has asked for a more detailed plan and as of now bans spending money to build or modify a facility within the United States.

Watch the comments here.

By ABDON M. PALLASCH
Sun-Times Political Reporter

CHICAGO–Gov. Quinn said today that the Thomson Correctional Center in Northwest Illinois might not be used for Guantanamo Bay-transferred enemy combatants after all.

But it would still be used as a federal prison, the governor said.

The state would sell the mothballed state prison to the federal government. The money would be used to help pay off the bonds sold to build the prison. Any leftover money would be used to help the state budget, Quinn said.

Recent votes in congressional committees show “the mood in Congress” seems to be against moving accused terrorists to the mainland, Quinn said.

“I think it’s less likely given the mood in Congress on this issue of detainees,” Quinn said.

But whether it’s filled with detainees or garden-variety federal prisoners, the state of Illinois can still make money selling the never-opened facility to the federal government, Quinn said.

“We are doing the appraisal process now,” Quinn said. “We anticipate having a federal prison in Thomson this year. They are overcrowded at the federal level. The proceeds of the sale will be used to retire some of the bonds. The remainder will be devoted to capital.”

Simon Cowell will bid farewell to American Idol on next Wednesday night’s Season 9 finale, and the tough-talkin’ music mogul has good reason for jumping ship on television’s most watched talent show after eight years: It bores him….

“After a while, you start to go on automatic pilot,” Cowell explained in an appearance Oprah on Thursday. “Too many times, I was sitting there [at the judges’ table] bored. The audience deserves more than that … and I can’t hide when I’m bored.”

Of course that doesn’t mean Simon’s done with reality competitions — he’ll launch an American adaptation of his UK hit, The X Factor in 2012.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission put out a bulletin this afternoon extending last year’s recall of HP and Compaq Li-Ion notebook batteries that were prone to overheating.

The recall in May of last year included 70,000 potentially defective batteries, and today that has been extended to approximately 54,000 more.

The extension of the recall is due in large part to consumer complaints of overheated and rupturing batteries. The commission said that HP has received 38 more reports of overheated batteries; with 31 resulting in minor property damage, and 11 resulting in minor human injury.

The following notebooks are affected in this battery recall:

HP Pavilion: dv2000, dv2500, dv2700 (body style pictured below), dv6000, dv6500, dv6700, dx6000, dx6500, dx6700, dv9000, dv9500, dv9700

Compaq Presario: A900, C700, F500, F700, V3000, V3500, V3700, V6000, V6500, V6700
HP: G6000, G7000
HP Compaq: 6510b, 6515b, 6710b, 6710s, 6715b, 6715s, 6270s.

Consumers with an affected battery should check out HP’s Battery Replacement Program site for further information.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Having cold feet with your iPhone will cost you $325 starting June 1. AT&T is increasing the fee for breaking early two-year smartphone contracts from $199. The carrier is also decreasing the early termination fee for “dumb” phones by $25 to $150. [AP] (Thanks to Jim!)

Toyota Motors Corp and Tesla Motors last night announced a historic partnership in which both automakers will mass produce electric-vehicles. As a part of the partnership, Toyota will purchase a $50 million stock in Tesla. Tesla also said it will purchase the NUMMI factory in Fremont, California to produce electric-vehicles starting off with the Model S sedan.

Reuters is now reporting that the United Auto Workers are urging Toyota and Tesla to hire union workers when they reopen the doors to the closed NUMMI plant. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said that the news of Toyota and Tesla’s partnership to build EVs in Fremont was “welcome new.”

“Our union’s hope is that this venture will give first hiring preference to former NUMMI employees who are already trained and highly skilled,” Gettelfinger said.

The NUMMI factory originally produced the Toyota Corolla and Tacoma and the Pontiac Vibe for GM before closing its doors after GM pulled its stake during its bankruptcy process in 2009. The plant employed about 4,500 workers represented by the UAW.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Reuters

Sony Australia has announced the release of a Billabong special edition VAIO W, available in Australia this June at $749SRP. The funky “Imperial Lime” colored lid has splashes of lime green, blue, and black and is the first product collaboration between Sony and Billabong. The notebook comes with Billabong content, including images and video from a new TV series featuring a selection of Billabong’s key surfing athletes. And if your wondering, the color scheme is taken from Billabong’s 2010 Summer board short range destined for retail stores in Australia this July.

Kent Tanigaki, VAIO Marketing Manager Sony Australia, said the product collaboration with Billabong highlighted the focus by both brands on the development of relevant product for the youth market.

“The average age of notebook users is getting younger as they are increasingly used in schools and universities.” Tanigaki said.

“Teaming up with Billabong, the world’s leading action sports and lifestyle company, on this new VAIO notebook is a fantasytic way for us to create a product that really appears to a younger tech savvy audience. Like Sony, the billabong name commands huge respect all around the world and the VAIO W series Imperial Lime will connect with fans of both brands. Together we chose the Imperial Lime design for our first join product because it utilizes bold colors and a story that will resonate with Billabong’s audience.”

The specs of this netbook are pretty appealing to. It has a Intel Atom N450, which has hyperthreading and runs Windows 7 Starter. I have a VAIO W myself and upgraded it to Windows 7 Professional after installing 2GB of RAM. It runs the Aero theme like a dream and the display is quite crisp. It’s a shame however that the right shift key is smaller than usual which can be a minor irritant. The isolation keyboard keys are always nice to use.

Nonetheless, as I said before the 10.1 LED backlit widescreen display (1366×768) can’t play 1080P video on YouTube, but is still very strong. I can run Photoshop, Office 2010 and other applications you wouldn’t really think to run on a netbook with relative ease. It’s mostly due to the aforementioned 1.6GHz Intel processor. It also has a huge 250GB hard drive, which is really quite insane for such a small laptop.

And finally it has an Ethernet port, 2 USB ports, and good quality built-in webcam and microphone that’s useful for Skype or even recording lectures.

Mesmo antes de a Opel iniciar as vendas do nova Meriva, que ocorrerá daqui a algumas semanas na Europa, o monovolume compacto já emplacou um título na Europa, sendo elegido por consumidores como o veiculo de melhor design da categoria.

O evento foi idealizado pela revista alemã Auto Bild, que ouviu 100.000 consumidores locais que elegeram o Opel Meriva como o principal destaque entre as categorias de veículos SUV, Monovolume e 4X4, enfrentando e vencendo 16 concorrentes. Isso mostra a força do design do novo Meriva, que seguiu as mesmas linhas do também aclamados novo Opel Astra e Insignia.

A Opel comemorou o título recebido por seu veiculo, dizendo através de seu vice-presidente, Mark Adams que: “Este prêmio demonstra, uma vez mais, que o público reconhece que alcançamos o nosso objectivo. O Meriva tem um design inovador, desportivo e elegante”. Adams ainda ressalta o fato de o prêmio ter sido escolhido pelos próprios consumidores: “O fato de terem sido os próprios consumidores a votar (…) torna este prêmio muito mais especial”.

Veja logo abaixo as fotos divulgadas da nova Opel Meriva, que realmente conta com um visual totalmente rejuvenescido e muito interessante para sua categoria.

Nova Meriva 2010

Fonte: AutoPortal

Dear Readers,

Our founder, a digital warrior and friend to many of you, Rafat Ali, is stepping down after eight years building and growing ContentNext. As many of you know, Guardian News & Media acquired ContentNext, and Rafat has decided this is a good time for him to take a break and think about the next chapter. This is the statement the Guardian released today.

Caroline Little
CEO, ContentNext
CEO, Guardian North America

—

Guardian News & Media and ContentNext today announced that ContentNext Founder and Editor Rafat Ali will be leaving the company at the beginning of July. Rafat Ali started paidContent as a blog in 2002, and later added three other sites, paidContent.uk, mocoNews and contentSutra, before the business was purchased by Guardian News & Media in 2008. ContentNext now has some 600,000 unique users and its websites, with their blend of news and analysis, are a must read for senior executives in the media, entertainment, publishing, advertising, mobile, marketing and technology sectors.

Tim Brooks, Managing Director of Guardian News & Media, said: ” As anyone who follows the company and reads our sites knows, Rafat has done an amazing job of building ContentNext from the ground up and we wish him every success in the future.” 

Ernie Sander, who has been the managing editor at ContentNext for the past 18 months, will assume a wider strategic role. Co-editor Staci Kramer, Rafat’s first hire at the company, will continue to be a thought leader on and off the site.

Pininfarina suma un modelo más al concepto del Bluecar que desarrolla en forma conjunta con los franceses del grupo Bolloré y que se promete como una opción realmente accesible para quien quiera internarse en el terreno de los eléctricos. Pero mientras tanto, el Nido EV es presentado como una opción más y es parte de los festejos del 80º aniversario del famoso estudio de diseño.

El Nido EV es un coche destinado para un uso en ciudad por su reducido tamaño y su bajo peso. Es un concepto biplaza solamente un poco más grande que un Smart, con un peso total de unos 900 kilos.

Según los datos que acompañan a esta presentación, cuenta con un motor eléctrico de 40 caballos, con 92 libras de par motor. El rango anunciado es de unos 135 kilómetros, con una velocidad máxima de 120 km/h. Acelera hasta 100 km/h en 6,7 segundos y puede recargarse por completo en 8 horas.

Pininfarina tiene en mente desarrollar este coche como parte de un diseño modular que agrupe a diferentes tipos de eléctricos e incluso híbridos, de cuatro puertas, coupé y vehículos comerciales. Según parece una variante de cuatro puertas está en marcha y será mostrada oportunamente. Todo indica que es un proyecto que tiene muchas posibilidades de no quedarse en el camino y que promete mucho para Pininfarina como futuro fabricante de eléctricos.

Vía | Autocar

 Blame state for financial distress

If you pay into Social Security, your employer is required by law to contribute a matching amount into the system on your behalf.

PENSION CONCERNS: Evanston teachers grill lawmakers

Evanston teachers grilled lawmakers Monday about reports the cash-strapped state may skip a $4 billion payment to the state’s pension systems, including the teachers’ plan that provides monthly income during retirement.

STATE AFFAIRS: Throw lawmakers into ;’debtors’ prison’?

Illinois has more than $120 billion in debt and unfunded obligations, or roughly $10,000 for every man, woman and child in the state.

Illinois House to resume budget work Monday

The Democratic-dominated legislature will renew its push for a new budget next week, trying to finish ahead of a deadline that would bring Republicans into the mix.

Brady misses hundreds of votes; Quinn criticized for absence

SPRINGFIELD – GOP nominee for governor Bill Brady recently missed more than 200 votes as a state senator during the waning weeks of the legislative session, a Daily Herald review of voting records found.

District 204 pushes idea of ‘deadbeat’ state

Hoping to change state law to allow the school district to legally withhold income tax payments from Springfield, Indian Prairie District 204 will consider a resolution urging lawmakers to approve a “deadbeat amendment.”

“Lessons Learned” Part II: Dr. Sheffield’s initiatives

ROCKFORD (WREX) – The job description: reform Rockford’s school system and, in essence, alter the city’s future. Community leaders have long stressed the two are tied together. So as Dr. LaVonne Sheffield ends year one of her superintendent contract, 13 News focuses on her initiatives in part two of our series “Lessons Learned.”

U-46 announces plans to recall 200 teachers

Two hundred Elgin Area School District U-46 teachers will be getting an extra nice start to their weekends.

Career center faces $200,000 in proposed tuition cuts

Nearly 70 students would be denied spots under District 186 plan

High school juniors and seniors will be fighting for fewer slots in Capital Area Career Center programs if the Springfield School District approves $200,000 in tuition cuts that would limit the number of students it sends there next fall.

CUSD 201 avoids increasing class sizes, at least for now

Community Unit School District 201 in Westmont will not have to increase class sizes to balance its budget, but school officials left the door open for more crowded classrooms in the fall.

Music student fee to help retain teachers in Indian Prairie schools

Ten dismissed music teachers will be restored to the District 204 payroll this fall, but parents will directly pay some of the cost.

Nine years later, HBR to get state funding

HINCKLEY — When Hinckley-Big Rock School District officials won a state grant for nearly $2 million of a $5.5 million construction project, they didn’t know they would be waiting nine years for the money.

University of Illinois trustees approve tuition increase, $620,000 salary for new president

CHICAGO (AP) — University of Illinois trustees voted Thursday to raise tuition for new students by 9.5 percent and approved a contract that pays the school’s incoming president approximately $620,000 a year — about $170,000 more than the man he’ll replace 

Ed Dept: $437 million in teacher incentive grants

The U.S. Department of Education will give $437 million in competitive grants to districts that reward teachers for improving student achievement in high-need schools.

Service Above Self awards going to six people in Rockford area

ROCKFORD (WREX) – Downtown Rockford Rotary will present its Annual Service Above Self Awards to six people this afternoon.

Golden Apple names Chicago-area winners

Golden Apple has announced its recipients of the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching in the Chicago area

Give Quinn the power to stave off meltdown

The state Legislature plans to return to work Monday to slap together a lot of half-baked schemes to paper over a $13 billion deficit.

Who Wears the Pants in Illinois? It’s Not Quinn

Pat Quinn is learning something every governor should know from the moment he takes the oath of office: he’s not the most powerful elected official in Illinois. Not even close.

Disunity is the American way

Politics lately seems about as appetizing as an old canine chew toy, one of those pockmarked rawhide bones covered with doggie drool and bits of regurgitated kibble. The baying pack fights over the bone, yanking it from one pair of slavering jaws to the next. It flips into the air, tumbles at my feet. And I’m supposed to fall to the ground and chomp down on that?

Can States Fix Their Pension Problems?

An article in The Times today details how “errors, misunderstandings and wishful thinking” have caused public pension costs in New York State to explode.

Bill requires diversity in Calif. pension funds

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s public pension funds would have to report the ethnicity and gender of some of the outside investment managers they hire under a bill that passed the state Assembly on Thursday.

Word of the Day for Friday, May 21, 2010

baksheesh \bak-SHEESH\, noun:

1. A gratuity, present or tip.
2. A gratuity, tip, or bribe paid to expedite service.

verb:
1. To give a tip.

Michael Giberson

News headlines say, “Orlando wants to prevent gas price gouging,” though the practice Orlando politicians want to stop isn’t price gouging, per se. Rather, the target of the proposal is gasoline retailers near Orlando International Airport who charge substantially higher gasoline prices than neighboring stations. The proposal would require gasoline stations near the airport to post prices in a standardized manner.

Normally, competition between gasoline retailers keeps prices from getting too far apart in a region because at least some customers engage in comparison shopping.  Not all customers will comparison shop, and not even all price-aware customers will switch brands or delay refueling for a few pennies a gallon, so retail gasoline markets usually sport a range of prices.

But most of the time the difference between high and low is on the order of 15 or 20 cents a gallon.  A station near the Orlando airport has had gasolines prices that almost doubled the prices of other gasoline retailers in Orlando (for example, as noted here before, prices at $4.99 a gallon with competitors asking $2.59 to $2.75 a gallon).

It is an interesting little business niche.  Likely most of the sales go to tourists returning a rental car to the airport before hopping a flight home.  Likely the tourists are in a rush, they want to refuel near the airport to avoid paying a refueling charge, and they don’t have a good idea on where to buy cheap fuel around the airport. The price isn’t posted on a roadside sign, but the tourist likely assumes, based on general market experience, that the price isn’t too far out of line with neighboring stations.  Many start pumping the gas without checking the price on the pump – a few gag at the price but pump anyway – and a very few get back into the car and go in search of cheaper fuel.

The principled libertarian in me objects to imposing the price posting requirement as an infringement on the station owners’ freedom to operate his business the way he sees fit.  The consequentialist in me, though, finds it hard to oppose the proposal.  It seems a relatively targeted proposal to help consumers avoid paying the high prices that otherwise flourish in this little niche.

Maybe I should worry not so much about this narrowly targeted proposal itself, this minimalist nudge, but rather I should worry about a government that wants to expand its authority over voluntary deals between retailer and consumer.  Is this the sort of nudge that eventually shoves society onto a slipperly slope down the road to serfdom?

The principled libertarian in me objects, but the overwhelming majority of the voices in my head say the benefits of this proposal will exceed the costs: targeted in scope and aimed at helping the consumer make an informed choice. Why not?

Belle Centre is the witness to the revival of their own Montreal Canadiens on its 3^rd game con Philadelphia Flyers. Thursday’s match has been dominated by the Habs from beginning to end where the final board has 5-1 which is adjusting the series scale to 2-1, Flyers still on the lead.

Much of what the Flyers have done in the past two games seem to have stayed in the Wachovia Center. Michael Leighton is not anymore the unbreakable wall that never allowed 58 attempts from the Canadiens. But what made the Flyers sunk lower in the game are the turnovers that sum up to 11.

Adding another defeat much more a blank score while on their home arena are amongst the reason the Canadiens said after their first win. Captain Mike Richards sees the rally of his team as “an ass-kicking” match.

Evident desperation on the part of the Canadiens worked for them all throughout the game. Both goalie and defensemen is able to contain their counterparts before they face another stuck up minutes.

What can only be called as a seamless victory in the part of Montreal Canadiens will go through a validation come Tuesday where they still enjoy home edge.

Related posts:

1. NIT Tournament Results
2. Wayne Rooney’s Cold Move
3. Chicago Cubs and Bruney of the Nationals