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The late, great Arnie Kanter, attempts to explain nuclear weapons policy to a very dim student.

Arnie Kanter passed away over the weekend. I am disconsolate.

When I arrived at the New America Foundation, my first task was to convince Arnie to co-chair our Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative with Mort Halperin. Little did I know that they were old friends and that this would be an easy task.

In fact, I was terrified to call up a former Number 3 official in the State Department, and then Principal at the Scowcroft Group, in an attempt to convince him we might be able to do something interesting with his very valuable time.

Of course, I needn’t have worried. If you knew Arnie, you know he didn’t take himself nearly so seriously. He would later reflect on his first day in that august position as Undersecretary for Political Affairs by explaining that, on the day he was sworn in, both James Baker and Lawrence Eagelburger were out for one reason or another — leaving the newly sworn in Undersecretary as the Acting Secretary. As he told the story, when he got home, the conversation with his wife, Anne, went something like:

How did you first day go, Mr. Under Secretary?

Mr. Acting Secretary!

That’s nice Mr. Acting Secretary, now please take out the trash.

That was Arnie. He spends a day as Acting Secretary and it becomes a set-up for a gag about domestic bliss.

Once I had found the courage to call Arnie, he readily agreed to co-chair our effort. None of us had any idea what we were getting into — a two-year effort to unite a very fractious group of policy wonks that Arnie, with just the lightest touch of sarcasm, called “our merry band.”

Indeed, there were moments when it seemed like the only thing that we could agree on within the group was a shared respect, admiration and affection for Arnie. It says something, given Arnie’s formidable intellect, that it was his sense of proportion and humor that I came appreciate most during a series of dinner meetings that sometimes turned for the worse.

Over the course of the past year, Arnie and Mort churned out a series of memoranda designed to provide advice for the new Administration on a range of issues, from START negotiations to declaratory policy. Watching them reminisce, joke and argue — and then trying to write it up — was a challenge, but ultimately extraordinarily rewarding.

You could convince Arnie to change his mind — though more often than not, I found he was the one with the convincing argument. I still remember him bristling at the idea of “reducing the role of nuclear weapons” — the role was declining, he argued, because of external factors. Our goal, he said, is to align our forces, policies and posture with that reality. It was a little observation with big implications. And I think he was right.

Almost every day I find myself repeating something Arnie said, though with a little less eloquence and wit than he did. Those little reminders will make me miss him all the more.

I suspect that there are many, many people whose lives Arnie touched in the same way he touched mine. If you would like to make a donation in memory of Arnie, his family asks that you consider Clearbrook, where his brother lives, or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Sony has refreshed its B-Series of Walkman portable music players with the new NWZ-B150 series. 2GB (NWZ-B152) and 4GB (NWZ-B153) models will be available in black, blue, pink and red and around early June 2010. Despite the tiny size at three inches long, Sony notes that “its presence is felt with full, rich sound” and is compatible with WP3, WMA files. A 3-line LCD shows track and artist information amongst other settings. Apparently these also have a “Bass boost button” with flashing red LEDs, obviously intended for youths who like to feel the beat. For the rest of us, an EQ is available to fine tune your favored sound.

The built-in USB connection links the B150 directly to your computer with no cables or extra software needed: just drag and drop to load up your favorite tracks. I’ve always admired Sony’s simplicity in the last few years with this drag n’ drop method of transferring.

Returning once again in this series, ZAPPIN technology scans through stored tracks, playing a short sample from each song to help you pinpoint the right track. There is also a FM tuner (with 30 presets) and you can ever store voice notes or radio broadcasts with the on-board recorder. Neat.

Optional accessories for the NWZ-B150 series include the CKA-NWU10 sports armband – an ideal addition for keeping Walkman secure while you’re exercising or just hanging out.

UK-based CPV developer Circadian Solar has appointed the founder of German thin-film photovoltaic company Johanna Solar Technology, Jeroen Haberland, as its new CEO. He replaces acting CEO Dr Robin Godfrey, who plans to remain at the Company in a business development role.

Robert Bosch GmbH acquired Johanna Solar earlier this year.  Prior to launching Johanna, Haberland was a senior sales and marketing executive with Siemens.

Circadian is one of a growing number of cleantech companies reshuffling their senior management (or here) to grow sales and mature into full-fledged commercial companies.

In a prepared statement Haberland said:

The company has reached a point of maturity following extensive technical development. The technology upon which the systems are based is at once robust and innovative, and I believe that it has the potential to make a significant contribution to the solar market worldwide. The work that I have done in the past complements the company’s existing strengths and position, and I look forward to leading it to the next stage.

Image: Solar Plaza

A Lotus anunciou o lançamento da Exige S Type 72, uma versão comemorativa a um dos carros de F1 mais belo e conhecido no mundo automobilístico, inclusive por nós brasileiros, a Lotus F1 Type 72 “John Player Special” preta e dourada, pois ela também foi pilotada e deu um título mundial de F1 para o piloto brasileiro Emerson Fittipaldi.

Um dos ícones na historia da F1, o modelo também deu a Lotus três títulos de construtor nos mundiais de 1970, 72 e 73 da Formula 1. Dessa forma, a exclusiva Lotus Exige S Type 72 vem pintada com as exclusivas cores do F1, toda em preta e com vários detalhes em dourado em sua aberturas laterais, entradas do capô, para-choques dianteiros e traseiros e em seu aerofólio.

Além disso, a série especial do superesportivo ainda conta com um interior personalizado com bancos esportivos com costuras douradas, dois intercoolers de óleo, suspensão dianteira com sistema anti-rolamento e controle de tração ajustável. Com todos os equipamentos, essa série acrescenta mais dois quilos ao modelo, totalizando 935 kg brutos.

Lotus Exige S Type 72

Sua motorização Toyota com supercharger não foi alterada, e possibilita uma aceleração de 0 a 100 km/h em 4,7 segundos e uma velocidade máxima de 233 km/h, além de um excelente consumo médio de 11,76 km/k no ciclo misto cidade/estrada. Como opcional o Lotus Exige S Type 72 conta um pacote opcional que inclui o sistema de freios AP Racing, entradas de ar no teto e o sistema de controle de largada.

Lotus Exige S Type 72

Fonte: TheMotorReport

Here’s a quick view of where speculation is huge right now, based on data we pulled from Morgan Stanley.

Net speculative positions (as a % of open interest) are more than two standard deviations above the mean for oil and the Nasdaq, as shown below. Copper has substantial speculator activity as well.

Moreover, Morgan Stanley has done a back-test to give the most recent data perspective, and this is where it gets most interesting.

As shown below in the top section of the table, the average six-month performance for the Nasdaq under similar speculative conditions as today (with speculator open interest over 2 standard deviations, ‘>2SD’) has been a horrendous -20.7%.

Looking at the bottom section of their back-test table, the Nasdaq has never risen over the next six months (0 hit observations) after having such speculator activity as we have today. To get further and important detail on this back-test, such as the exact time period covered and the number of observations used, you’ll have to chase up Morgan Stanley.

It’s also just a back-test, it’s not gospel and the future can be far different than the past. Also note we’re not describing a specific Morgan Stanley market call right now. But we still can’t ignore how bad this looks, below. If the Nasdaq ends up doing well over the next six months, it will be a historic rally given current speculator activity:

(Via Morgan Stanley, 12 April 2010)

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average has surpassed 11,000 today for the first time since September 2008. Yet, the U.S. could still be in recession, according to a statement released today by the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee. The group of academic economists declined to declare the recession over. According to the stock market, however, Wall Street would beg to differ. Who’s right? Possibly neither.

Those Conservative Economists

The economists cited above have reason to be reluctant in asserting that the U.S. is in recovery: they don’t want to be wrong. Their discipline is coming out of a very difficult time period when a near-depression caused them to question some of their very base assumptions. The last thing academics want to do is wave a “Mission Accomplished!” flag, only to look absurd again if they’re wrong.

But it’s also reasonable to remain cautious. Unemployment hasn’t shrunk by much; underemployment remains frighteningly high. Although those are lagging indicators, they have an effect on consumer spending. The housing market also remains fragile. Foreclosure rates are still stubbornly high, and it’s hard to gauge how much demand there will be for home buying when the government credit expires in April. Finally, GDP has increased significantly, but much of that could be due just to government stimulus, so it’s hard to determine how much sustainable economic growth has occurred.

With that said, it’s sort of crazy to say the U.S. isn’t in recovery.* GDP growth has been positive for several quarters, some of which appears to be driven by legitimate business activity not directly related to government spending. The financial markets are far healthier than they were 18 months ago. And even the jobless numbers went positive in March, which looks more like a reasonable tick in the trend than a blip. If the U.S. economy sunk again to negative GDP growth in late 2010 or early 2011, would anyone really doubt that the U.S. experienced a double-dip, as opposed to concluding that the 2007 recession is still underway?

Those Crazy Traders

On the other hand, equities have experienced an incredible bull market over the past 13 or so months. On March 9, 2009 it hit a low of 6,547. Today, it soared to 11,020 around noon. That marks a whopping 68% rise over that period. Clearly, traders are betting the recession is well behind us.

But the stock market is a strange beast. It’s not as much about fundamentals as it is about expectations. That should be pretty obvious through the fact that the U.S. economy isn’t 68% better now than it was 13 months ago. Expectations, however, have gotten considerably cheerier. Only the most pessimistic forecasters predict a double-dip at this point. Last week, some economists also began revising their views that unemployment would be as prolonged as was initially thought. They believe the U.S. could be in for a steeper recovery than anticipated.

An argument against that view can be found here. Even if the U.S. is in recovery, structural changes in the economy could prolong joblessness. The unusually high underemployment should also be considered. Although optimism that the U.S. is in recovery seems warranted, a 68% rise in equity prices could involve some irrational exuberance, as the fundamentals aren’t likely to pick up to match such growth in the near-term.

Somewhere In-Between

So Wall Street and the academic economists may both be wrong. The truth may be somewhere in the middle. While the worst appears to be behind the U.S. economy, a steep recovery doesn’t seem particularly likely, given the indicators explained above. So there’s probably reason to be optimistic about the improvement in the economy, if not yet reason to be ecstatic.

* Update: Just to be clear, the economists aren’t saying that we’re still in a recession, just that they aren’t ready to declare that it’s over yet. They generally have a significant lag time between when a recession actually ends and when they declare it over. So their stance isn’t altogether surprising. But it is notable that they certainly aren’t jumping on the runaway recovery train that Wall Street appears to be riding on.

Three months after the catastrophic earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, an in-depth survey of over 1,700 Haitians shows people’s top priorities for reconstruction are jobs and schools. The survey, carried out by an independent Haitian polling consultant and funded by international agency Oxfam, also shows that Haitians have little confidence in their government to lead the recovery phase. Only 6.6 percent of Haitians believe their government alone should be responsible for rebuilding the country. Sixty-four percent of Haitians believe international NGOs did a ‘very good,’ ‘good’ or ‘decent’ job in the emergency earthquake response.

 

Additional key findings include:

ü      Haitians’ top priorities for reconstruction are (in order of priority): jobs, schools, shelter, and a strong agricultural sector

ü      Unemployment was the no. 1 problem before and after the earthquake.

ü      The top four problems now (in order of severity) are unemployment, corruption, violence and insecurity, and irresponsibility of the government.

 

The survey was administered over a three-day period in March. University students with specialized training in one-on-one survey interviews made home visits with respondents across a range of age, regional and socioeconomic groups. The final survey report provides extensive analysis of the results of the 16-point questionnaire and provides an explanation of the survey methodology.

 

Full survey as a pdf file available here:

English – http://bit.ly/cOFf2P

French – http://bit.ly/9ztGCC

 

***NOTE: The opinions expressed and shared in the survey are those of the people only. They are not the positions of Oxfam.

 

The guys over at Droiddog leaked the picture below a few days ago. We had a discussion on the validity of this device in the forum. The story behind the leak was so odd that I assumed it was a fake. Now the screenshot below has surfaced and it seems to validate the existence of this ugly device.

Android France got a hold on the screen shot above, this device is called the Twist and is rumored to be released on June 10th. This device is 67×67mm, and is 16mm thick, with a 2.8-inch screen at 320×240 pixels. Quad-band EDGE and dual-band HSPA is listed with North American 3G bands. Also, there’s a 3MP camera, 512MB ROM/256MB RAM, Wi-Fi b/g, aGPS, a TI OMAP 3410 processor at 700MHz and a 940 mAh battery. The device listed in the spec sheet does have a square shape like the leaked picture and it is MotoBlur, 1.5 device.

You’re really into MMORPGs when you spend hours repeating the same tasks over and over again to acquire gold. You’re way, way too into MMORPGs when you create a custom six-computer setup to do it that much faster. More »

Filed under: Car Buying, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Audi

There are good problems and there are bad problems. Audi dealers across the U.S. are having trouble selling vehicles, but not because of uncompetitive product or industry-wide sales woes. Automotive News reports the reason for Audi’s sales troubles have everything to do with a supply shortage that stems from strong first quarter sales. Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen reportedly told AN that U.S. dealers are “short of everything,” with Q5 and Q7 supplies running especially low.

Last year, Audi cut U.S. deliveries by 6,000 units due to weak sales here in the States, but the German luxury automaker saw brisk sales in December followed by a first quarter that bested the first three months of 2009 by 35 percent. Audi now has a 29 day supply of product for U.S. dealers; about half the typical 60 day reserve and a third of the 88 day supply of March, 2009. De Nysschen says Audi has allotted an additional 3,000 vehicles to the U.S. for 2010, which should help dealers a bit. That said, we’re thinking Audi isn’t looking to beef up inventories too much considering the fact that the Four-Ringed automaker managed to keep incentives in check at a time when other automakers are dumping truckloads of cash on the hood to boost their sales.

Photos by Dan Roth / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: Audi U.S. sales suffering due to supply shortage originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi announced today that no other luxury automaker sells as many vehicles with all-wheel drive throughout the world as it does. In 2009 alone, Audi built 316,824 cars with quattro drive, which means around a third of all the cars leaving the factory in 2009 were equipped with the all-wheel-drive technology.

Top seller among the all-wheel-drive models last year was the Audi Q5, with 109,117 produced.

Click here to get prices on the 2010 Audi Q5.

In Germany, Audi’s quattro drive outperformed its competitors, delivering 72,049 all-wheel-drive vehicles to customers in 2009.

“Back then it was a truly pioneering act to venture along a new engineering path and launch the original quattro,” says Michael-Julius Renz, Head of Sales Germany at AUDI AG. “But the true secret of the success achieved by quattro is that we have regularly reinvented it. For example, we recently introduced the crown-gear center differential on the RS 5. The quattro drive may be thirty years old – but it’s still very much a future oriented technology.”

Click here to read our review on the 2010 Audi Q5.

– By: Omar Rana

Acaban de ser publicadas nuevas imágenes del nuevo Ford Focus que verá la luz en Enero del año 2011. En total, podrá ser adquirido en 122 países. En cuanto al diseño, los cambios son notables y todos ellos a mejor.

En el lateral del modelo se encuentran las mayor parte de las novedades estéticas asi como en el habitáculo interior que resalta por un nuevo tono gris/plateado no usado hasta la fecha en el Focus.

En lo que respecta a la motorización, saldrá a la venta junto a dos motores de gasolina Ecoboost, uno de 1,6 litros y otro de 2,0 litros. Ambos contarán con inyección directa y un turbocompresor. A continuación os dejo con las imágenes publicadas:

Related posts:

1. Fotos del Ford Focus RS
2. Ford Focus X-Road ya a la venta en España
3. Ford C-Max 2010, imágenes oficiales

Por si fueran pocas las posibilidades de distracción que un conductor tiene para poner aún más en peligro la conducción del coche, ahora nos llega la novedad de que en ciertos salpicaderos es perfectamente posible la instalación de un iPad, el último grito de la moda de Apple y sobre el cual nuestros compañeros de Tengo un Mac están ofreciendo información día a día.

Volviendo al caso que nos ocupa, un negocio de instalación de audio y multimedia en el coche, en EEUU, ha logrado una perfecta sincronía entre el salpicadero de un Toyota y el iPad. Por ahora, las funciones de audio de esta instalación no están finalizadas (prometen un segundo video con la instalación completa), pero al menos el iPad es perfectamente funcional, como puede verse en el video después del salto.

Nada más comentaros una impresión muy particular sobre el uso del iPad dentro del coche. Por si no teníamos suficiente en contestar llamadas y mensajes del móvil u operar navegadores mientras conducimos , ahora se viene a agregar el uso del iPad (o cualquier otro tablet que caiga en nuestras manos), un motivo más para desviar la atención de la conducción. No creo que demore mucho tiempo algún tipo de legislación que restrinja o directamente prohíba el uso de estos dispositivos en el coche.

¿Crees que debería prohibirse su uso en el coche o estoy siendo demasiado radical al respecto?

Vía | egmCartech

Federal safety regulators have launched an investigation into reported brake problems that could affect as many as 6 million model year 1999 through 2003 GMC and Chevrolet pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUV).

The investigation, launched on March 30, was announced late last week in a preliminary investigation report (pdf) by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The report says that it’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 110 owner complaints regarding the trucks, which are all made by General Motors. There have been at least three automobile accidents that may have been related to the potential GM brake problems, according to the ODI preliminary report.

Included in the investigation are the Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado and Chevrolet Suburban trucks, as well as the GMC Sierra, GMC Tahoe and GMC Yukon. According to ODI, the complaints from drivers include reports that they lost braking effectiveness after brake lines ruptured due to corrosion. ODI investigator Chris Lash noted in his report that 37 of the complaints were confirmed by a dealer inspection.

The inspection was announced just weeks after GM issued a recall for 1.3 million Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac vehicles sold in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The recall was issued after the NHTSA received more than 1,000 reports of power steering failing in the vehicles, resulting in at least 14 crashes.

That GM recall affects the 2005-2010 model year Chevrolet Cobalt, the 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, the 2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit, and the 2005-2006 G4. The Pursuit is sold in Canada and the G4 is sold in Mexico. GM said it has been investigating the problem since 2009, and determined that in rare cases, the power steering motor on the vehicles can die and cause difficulty steering at speeds under 15 m.p.h.

[JURIST] Thailand’s Election Commission on Monday called for the dissolution of the ruling party for failing to report donations and alleged misuse of those donations. The Commission’s decision comes amid some of the deadliest political clashes Thailand has experienced in nearly two decades, as Thai protesters, or red shirts, call for new elections and the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Thailand’s chief of the army, General Anupong Paojinda, has given his support to the opposition’s call for new elections in a hope that dissolution will provide an end to the current standoff between the Abhisit government and the opposition. The Commission’s decision requires the approval of the Constitutional Court to become final, and a date for the hearing is yet to be set.
A Thai court on Friday issued arrest warrants for at least 17 high-profile protesters in an attempt to put down violent protests. Among the accused are top leaders of the red shirt opposition. Warrants were also issued Thursday for seven members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship for their role in allegedly breaking into Parliament during protests Wednesday. After the break-in, Abhisit declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and several nearby provinces. Abhisit said he hopes that the arrest of the high-profile leaders will cause other protesters to disperse.

Cities are the last place to recover from a recession.

Unlike national governments, town halls have a slim margin for debt. Most cities are required to pass a balanced budget for FY2011, which begins in October. A few cities must close a deficit for the current year.

The only option is total war on the budget.

City hall must take on the unions and special interests, while the mayor cuts into his own budget and eliminates hundreds of jobs.

Budget bloodshed is flowing across the country. From frightening to terrifying, here’s…

America’s Most Bankrupt Cities >

Mayor Jerry Sanders — San Diego

Deficit through FY2011: $30,000,000

per capita: $20

A $30 million deficit wouldn’t look so bad if San Diego had not just filled a $179 million hole. 

Three months ago, the mayor dipped into reserves, cut services, and axed 200 jobs to cancel the last deficit. Now he will pursue options like renegotiating contracts with private vendors and reducing the budget for replacing city-owned vehicles, according to Union Tribune.

Mayor Paul Fraim — Norfolk

Deficit through FY2011: $26,000,000

per capita: $110

City Manager Regina Williams has whittled down a deficit of up to $46 million (including $10 million in current-year shortfall) in a few months. But the rest of the way is an uphill fight. City departments have dismissed her request for 20% budget reductions. Schools are asking for a $6 million budget increase. Someone’s getting disappointed in the April 20 proposal.

Mayor Chuck Reed — San Jose

Deficit through FY2011: $116,000,000

per capita: $120

San Jose’s city managers released a draconian budget proposal, which eliminates almost 900 jobs and cuts back heavily on services. Seven out of nine city pools are getting the axe this summer.

But for the budget to pass, the mayor must get unions to accept a 10% wage and benefit cut. “We’ve got 11 unions we have to bargain with and so far we have no proposals for concessions,” Reed said.

Mayor Oscar Goodman — Las Vegas

Deficit through FY2011: $79,700,000

per capita: $140

The mayor plans to take $53 million from a rainy day fund, which will leave fund at ten percent full. The depleted reserves would give the city about five weeks of cash flow in case of an emergency, said city manager Betsy Fretwell.

Goodman’s proposal includes 8% salary cuts across the board and a $30 million renegotiation with the unions. But the latter won’t be easy: The unions are offering only ten.

Mayor Phil Gordon — Phoenix

Deficit through FY2011: $241,000,000

per capita: $150

Gordon PASSED a balanced FY2011 budget, but the locals are not happy. Thousands are signing a petition to protest a 2% tax on groceries — even though the tax will keep hundreds of police and firefighter jobs from being eliminated.

The city is still cutting 520 jobs, forcing 3.2% pay cuts on union members, and cutting $64 million out of services. Police jobs getting the axe include special forces — the Violent Criminal Syndicate Crime Suppression Unit and the Career Criminals Squad — that police say are battling Arizona gangs, neo-Nazi, and career criminals.

Mayor Bob Cashell — Reno

Deficit through FY2011: $35,200,000 (INCLUDING $5.2 million current-year deficit)

per capita: $160

Another deficit that keeps getting worse. Reno’s $15 million deficit surged to $35 million due to below-estimate tax receipts.

The mayor was prepared to cut all 150 jobs and all department budgets at 7-12%. Facing the new deficit, he may have to increase budget cuts, fire 300, and “restructure management,” according to RGJ.

As for the current year deficit, city council meets today to authorize dozens of layoffs.

Mayor Richard Daley — Chicago

Deficit through FY2011: $520,000,000

per capita: $180

Chicago’s deficit would be MUCH higher if not for a one-time fix. The mayor pocketed $1.15 billion last year for privatizing parking meters, and will use up most of the windfall payment in several years.

Daley hasn’t proposed a budget yet, but he has ordered a general hiring and spending freeze. Expect another dose of heavy furloughs. This year, the mayor is already going 29 days without pay.

Public schools — which most cities fund separately — are another story, and have deficits approaching $1 billion.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake — Baltimore

Deficit through FY2011: $121,000,000

per capita: $190

Rawlings-Blake has admitted her latest proposal is unacceptable: “Let me be clear: some of the cuts we would be forced to make are unacceptable and simply go too far, especially cuts to Police, Fire, Recreation, and infrastructure.” She promised to release another proposal this month that will include revenue increases.

In the latest proposal, Baltimore will eliminate marine, helicopter, and mounted units from the police force; knock out 900 city jobs; close 29 recreation centers; decrease hours at 311 call centers; and end the Fourth of July firework display.

Mayor Phil Amicone — Yonkers

Deficit through FY2011: $61,500,000

per capita: $300

Amicone revealed a FY2011 budget proposal more as a threat than an actual suggestion, counting on the state government to cough up the lion’s share.

Said the Mayor: “There are only three ways we can close this gap. One is to make cuts to the budget through layoffs that would be so severe, we would have to literally shut down parts of city government and the school system. The second is to raise taxes an astronomical amount, which our taxpayers cannot afford. Both of those are unacceptable. The only way to avoid these scenarios is for New York State to restore their funding cuts for the city, and to finally provide our school district with the recurring equitable funding our children and taxpayers deserve.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann — Honolulu

Deficit through FY2011: $140,000,000

per capita: $370

Hannemann is sticking it to the Honolulu residents who don’t vote: renters. The Mayor’s proposal for 2011 includes a controversial rental tax hike and tax hikes and frugality across the board, with two-day-a-month furloughs for government workers.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg — New York City

Deficit through FY2011: $4,900,000,000

per capita: $590

At least Bloomberg is proactive. The mayor began drastic agency cuts in 2009, pocketing a nice $2.9 billion surplus, to prepare for the incredible deficit in 2011.

Next step is another $1.6 billion cuts from city agencies. That means eliminating four swimming pools, a homeless center, fire alarm boxes (to stop hoax calls), according to the Economist. He’s also cutting 4,286 jobs.

Mayor Gavin Newsom — San Francisco

Deficit through FY2011: $483,000,000

per capita: $600

San Francisco is extremely liberal. That’s the only explanation for how the city can run a deficit every year in the past decade and not set off widespread panic. As for the mayor, he would rather please all his constituents and then get out of dodge, next year, when he runs for lieutenant governor

 But with a deficit soaring to $787 million by 2012, the young mayor may finally confront the budget. “We’ve go to make the tough choices this year,” Newsom told the Chronicle. “It’s so easy to kick the can down the road … but for every delayed decision, we will pay the price year after year.” Newsome’s budget plan includes seizing half of a $25 million reserve fund — the maximum allowed — and save $100 million through extensive furloughs. Job cuts are likely and pension cuts will be on a June ballot.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — Los Angeles

UPDATE: Fridays March tax revenues came in $30 million higher than expected, making the gap slightly smaller.

Deficit through FY2011: $697,000,000 (INCLUDES $212 million current-year deficit)

per capita: $180

Facing a $212 million deficit for this year, Villaraigosa threatened closing city departments that don’t make money for two days a week for the rest of the year. The mayor backed down within days and admitted he doesn’t have the power to close anything without city council’s approval. Therefore he’s back at the hell’s bargaining table, with a council that won’t allow an electricity rate hike and a power utility that won’t hand over $73 million until the rates go up. If neither side gives in, LA faces the threat of insolvency.

As for next year’s $485 million gap, Villaraigosa wants to cut 4,000 city jobs, but there’s another paradox here. City councilmen worry whether the city could function after such a cut, “even if we were to do a 24-7 operation with three shifts and pull every person in.” But others worry that 4,000 won’t be enough to balance the budget, according to myFOXla.

Mayor Dave Bing — Detroit

Deficit through FY2011: 710,000,000 (INCLUDES $450 million current-year deficit)

per capita: $780

Bing drops his budget proposal next week. To keep Detroit out of bankruptcy or state receivership, the Mayor plans to bulldoze vast neighborhoods of derelict homes, which will cut down the cost of services. Other solutions for the disasters include eviscerating city pensions, letting the private sector compete for trash and other services, and merging services with the county government — all suggested by The Detroit News.

Mayor Linda Thompson — Harrisburg, PA

Deficit through FY2011: $70,300,000 (INCLUDES $68.7 million current-year deficit)

per capita: $1,500

Blame it on a horrible FY2010 budget. Harrisburg missed an April 1 loan payment to the operator of a local trash incinerator. Bankruptcy is possible, though the city is close to reaching a 90-day reprieve with Covanta Holding Corp. Next step may be the sale of city assets.

Don’t miss…

20 Cities That Have Completely Missed The Recovery >

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It wasn’t enough that some Looney Bird Johnson videotaped her naked through a peephole, now ESPN’s Erin Andrews is waltzing into some drama for her turn on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars.

In an article titled “Erin Andrews Looks More Ballroom Bimbo, Less Reporter” and published last week, Toronto Sun sports columnist Rosie DiManno bashes the “comely blonde” for her sexed-up image on the TV talent show (where Andrews is paired with Russian Maks Chmerkovskiy), as well as the devastating effects she believes the beautiful vamp role can have on women in the world of sports reporting.

“She’s made a fool out of herself and a sham of her profession….” she writes.

DiManno argues that Erin’s decision to appear as a contestant on the ballroom dancing series harms the reputation of women in sports reporting — who already have their work cut out for them trying to earn respect among their male colleagues.

“I want to grab Andrews by the shoulders and shout: ‘What are you thinking, woman?!’” DiManno wrote. “I’m appalled by the damage she is doing to her profession and her own reputation as a journalist — a term albeit used lightly in the realm of sports,” the column said.

Thoughts? Does the columnist have a point? Erin has plenty of thoughts on DiManno’s blog blast. Check out with the sideline reporter had to say on the subject in her new interview with Sports Illustrated…..

by Brad Johnson

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room.

The death toll from Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine explosion last week has reached a total of 29 miners, the worst coal disaster in 40 years. When the disaster occurred, Massey was contesting millions of dollars in major safety violations levied against the mine. At his Labor Day anti-union rally last year,
Massey CEO Don Blankenship attacked the Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA), claiming it “seeks power over coal miners.” He
mocked both “Washington politicians” and local elected officials who
attempt to ensure miner safety, calling their efforts “as silly as
global warming:”

We also endure a Mine Safety and Health Administration that seeks power over coal miners versus improving their safety and their health. As someone who has
overseen the mining of more coal than anyone else in the history of
central Appalachia, I know that the safety and health of coal miners is
my most important job. I don’t need Washington politicians to tell me
that, and neither do you. But I also know—I also know
Washington and state politicians have no idea how to improve miner
safety. The very idea that they care more about coal miner safety than
we do is as silly as global warming.

Watch it:

Don Blankenship—who uses his position on the boards of the National
Mining Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to promote his conspiracy theories about global warming—said he spent one million dollars to put together the “Friends of America”
right-wing rally and rock concert in Holden, W.Va. on Sept. 7, 2009,
which starred Ted Nugent, Hank Williams, Jr., and Fox News host Sean
Hannity. In 2009, Blankenship also complained that “politicians get emotional” about disasters and establish “nonsensical” safety rules.

Related Links:

Before the Massey mine disaster, there was Crandall Canyon

Grist: hating on Don Blankenship before hating on Don Blankenship was cool

What does coal mining have to do with geoengineering?