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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Settlement reached on lead in toys



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It seems like a very low settlement number considering how dangerous lead is for children. The legal costs had to be significant but neither amount sounds like it would have much of an impact on safeguarding children in the future. Shouldn't companies be responsible for knowing what is in the products they are selling? Is ignorance really a valid excuse in such cases?
An Illinois firm agreed to pay a $1.25 million settlement for importing and selling the popular Thomas & Friends children's toys that contained lead levels above legal limits and risked sickening children.

In agreeing to the penalty settlement, RC2 Corp. denied that it knowingly violated federal law as alleged by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency said in a statement Monday evening.
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US had intel "about a possible Al Qaeda attack around the holidays"



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The story gets more intriguing by the day:
The United States government had intelligence about a possible Al Qaeda attack around the holidays and had more information about where the suspect had been and what some of his plans were, an official said.

Some of the information at the time was partial or incomplete and it was not obvious that it was connected, the official said, but in retrospect it now appears clear that had it all been examined together it would have pointed to a pending attack involving the Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Mr. Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to carry out a bombing on a Detroit-bound flight Christmas Day.

The official said the administration is “increasingly confident” that Al Qaeda had a role in the planned attack, as the group’s Yemeni branch has publicly claimed.
Something didn't work. Someone better fix it. Read the rest of this post...

Just how well is TSA really searching our luggage?



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So I arrive from Chicago O'Hare on my usual 4pm United flight into DCA and what do I find for the second time this month? My luggage is unzipped. And I mean, really unzipped (see photo above). Both compartments (you'll notice the top right corner, that zipper is open too). And just like the last time I flew in on United from DC, both zippers were open that time as well, but I didn't complain because I figured it was a fluke. Now I'm not so sure.

Usually when I fly to and from Chicago, I get that nifty little white TSA card in my bag letting me know my bag has been searched. And good for them. Having some stranger checking out my boxers is a small price to pay for safety. I do, however, object to airport security being in such a rush that they not only don't have time to re-zip my bag, but this time around, I got the impression they didn't even go into my bag at all. I had things packed in a very precise way - mom gave me a ceramic rolling pin she'd picked up in England, and it, and a few other Xmas gifts, were gingerly packed inside and around clothes in order to protect them. Nothing was moved. Things are always moved when I fly in and out of DC. Not this time. I have the distinct impression that someone unzipped my bags, copped a cursory feel inside through the zipper, and then moved on to the next bag, without actually opening my bag.

And even if they did open my bag all the way to search it, airport security was in such a rush to get to the next bag that they couldn't even take the time to rezip my bag? And this is happening repeatedly, meaning there's a pattern of behavior here. Is O'Hare security also this rushed when they're inside my bag, and your bag, looking for explosives? Hard to believe they take their time looking for bombs in my luggage, then are so rushed they can't even find time to close the zippers, then they slow down again to meticulously check the next suitcase for plastique.

Someone's airport security, either United's or TSA's, appears to have a sloppiness problem. And it isn't reassuring four days after a guy tried to blow up a plane.

PS The other possibility is that there's a thief going through United's luggage at either O'Hare or National, and they're not rezipping the bags. Read the rest of this post...

Snowstorm actually BOOSTED holiday sales (online shopping to the rescue)



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Kind of a fascinating factoid. Last week's east coast blizzard, coming days before Christmas, actually boosted retail sales, because people shopped at home online. Raises a fascinating question about voting online. Usually you worry that bad weather will lower turnout (because people don't really like trudging through feet of snow in sub-zero weather to stand in voting lines). But if you can vote online, then bad weather actually plays to your advantage - or at least levels the playing the field. We know from running the blog that traffic peaks while people are at work during the weekdays. At work they have the time to surf, at home they're busy being parents, or whatever. Read the rest of this post...

I care about my life more than your Kindle



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Just me?
“I flew 265,000 miles last year,” said Bruce Schneier, a cryptographer and security analyst. “You know what really pisses me off? Making me check my luggage. Not letting me use my laptop, so I can’t work. Taking away my Kindle, so I can’t read. I care about those things. I care about making me safer much, much less.”
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Another multi-million dollar payout at AIG?



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Incredible. Whatever bunch of idiots are allowing this need to be fired - without severance - today. Every day there's yet another surprise like this. Let the entire damned thing collapse and start over because obviously the rescue plan is not functioning for anyone other than the greedy bunch who drove the company into the ground. It's true that the Obama team inherited this mess though they could have changed the direction of this process. Instead, it's more of the same once again.
American International Group Inc is preparing to pay its departing general counsel several million dollars in severance after she resigned over federal pay curbs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The insurer determined that Anastasia Kelly was entitled to the money under the company's severance plan, whose terms say certain executives can resign and collect severance if their pay is reduced significantly, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
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This guy used the same explosives that the shoe bomber used in 2001



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That raises the question of just exactly what the Bush administration did the past seven years to put a system in place to stop these explosives from coming on planes. Not much, it seems.
But Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism analyst at Georgetown University, called the suspect's ability to smuggle the device on board profoundly disturbing, given that the TSA has spent more than $30 billion on aviation security since 2004, the world's airlines collectively spend an additional $5.9 billion a year, and PETN is well-known as a favored material for terrorist suicide bombers.
I can appreciate the privacy issues involved in using those devices that basically show you 100% nude. And spare me the explanations about how the guys watching you are in a secure room with no ability to copy your nude photo - it's called a cell phone camera. But what I can't abide is all this talk about the "cost" being prohibitive." The cost? You mean the Bush administration was happy to spend a couple of trillion on unnecessary tax cuts, another trillion on two wars, one of which was unnecessary, but they chose not to spend money on making sure another shoe bomber didn't try to blow us up, partly because of concerns about costs?

Just to give you an idea of how "expensive" these devices are:
The machines currently cost $100,000 to $200,000 apiece, though they could replace other equipment. Deploying them throughout the U.S. aviation system could cost about $150 million.
Ooh, $150m. I've seen bigger earmarks written by children on the Hill. In Washington terms, $150m is nothing. This is not about money. And I have a hard time believing that the Bush administration gave a lick about anyone's privacy. So why didn't George Bush and Dick Cheney go ahead and make the airways safer? Read the rest of this post...

It's the change, stupid



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Steve Rosenthal writes about how Democrats can win in 2010 and beyond:
In Florida in October 2008, candidate Obama talked about a new set of priorities, investing $15 billion a year in renewable energy resources to create 5 million new green jobs in the next decade; putting 2 million people to work rebuilding schools, roads, communications networks - "an American infrastructure for the 21st century." He talked about early childhood education, an army of new, higher-paid teachers, and money for tuition assistance to any young person willing to serve the country. Candidate Obama stood for change, for rebuilding the economy from the bottom up, with "an economic recovery plan not just for the CEOs but for the secretaries and the janitors." He gave a worried and anxious America hope and a plan that called for restoring America's middle class. Remind yourself Democrats, THAT was the winning agenda; THAT was what attracted Independents and base Democratic voters in record numbers to the polls to vote for Democrats in 2008....

The frustration voiced by independents and Obama surge voters in 2009 should be of real concern. These voters are still looking for change to happen and will keep voting for change — regardless of party — or not voting at all, until something real happens. In the 2008 election what mattered most to voters was the candidate's ability to "bring change," and the 34 percent of voters who cited this quality in exit polls nationally voted 89 percent for Obama. Only a year later, in the New Jersey governor's race, 39 percent of voters cited the ability to "bring needed change" as the most important candidate quality, but these voters delivered a sharp rebuke to Democrats and 67 percent voted for Republican Chris Christie.

Listening to these "change" voters (or as a Republican acquaintance of mine calls them, "fix it" voters) it is clear they are frustrated, stressed, and just want things in the country to get back on track. They are not interested in political expediency. Independents, Democratic base voters and the Obama surge voters want action, and they want the change they voted for in 2008. They want to see real leadership, not legislative gridlock. They don't want their elected officials to go back to the days of legislating "small things" - school uniforms comes to mind. To win them back - to engage them at all in 2010, Democrats need to pass real health care reform, then move aggressively on a job, jobs, jobs (it cannot be said enough) program with strong workers' rights. Do as candidate Obama said, put people to work immediately to fix our schools, rebuild our transportation infrastructure and invest in green technology, energy efficiency and create more green jobs.
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No one is running TSA, thanks to a GOP Senator



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This Republican Senator may very well have played a role in several hundred Americans nearly getting blown up on Christmas day. If a Democrat had done this, the GOP would make this entire issue about that Democrat. From McClatchy:
An attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there were one.

The post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has held up President Barack Obama's nominee in opposition to the prospect of TSA workers joining a labor union.
It's not really going to matter if you can join a union if you're dead. Read the rest of this post...

GOP Congressman Mark Kirk's gay nightmare



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Welcome to what it's like to be gay in the military, Congressman Kirk (R-IL). To be more precise, welcome to what it's like for any military member, gay or straight, living under the military's anti-gay Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. People talk. And you spend a lot of time worrying what people are saying about you, whether you're going to lose your job, whether your career is now in doubt, rather than focusing on your job. Wouldn't it be nice if no one cared if you were gay, Congressman?

Then again, you care if people are gay, Congressman. You think that gay people shouldn't serve in the military. But you're an officer in the Navy Reserves. And now some people are saying that you're gay. If you are gay, you're quite possibly violating the DADT policy, Congressman. A policy you defend. That puts us in the uncomfortable position of not caring if you're gay, but caring very much if you're a hypocrite.

So which is it, Congressman Kirk? Is your sexual orientation irrelevant to your job performance in the military, or are you, Congressman Kirk, a potential threat to the morale and cohesion of the United States armed forces during a time of war? By your own standards, the American people deserve a straight answer. Read the rest of this post...

Palin's daughter is suing for custody



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Alaska Dispatch:
The custody battle between Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin became public last week when two Superior Court judges issued orders unsealing the court record and denying the use of pseudonyms to protect the feuding parents' identities.

A Dec. 23 order from Judge Kari C. Kristiansen denied Palin's motion to close the proceedings and opened the case file to public access, while an order issued the same day by Presiding Judge Sharon Gleason denied Palin's request to use John and Jane Doe in place of Johnston's and her own real names.

On Nov. 4, Palin filed for sole custody of Tripp Johnston-Palin, the former couple's son, who celebrates his first birthday today. Kristiansen initially issued temporary orders limiting access to the case file and allowing the parties to file under pseudonyms.
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Obama campaign operation sending emails to "bandage the wounds" with his base



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There's an article in Roll Call (sub. req.) titled, White House Hopes to Soothe Liberals’ Angst, which begins:
President Barack Obama is confronting a threat to his re-election as members of his base increasingly voice concern about his policies.

Obama has faced a mini-rebellion from liberals after he went along with a decision to drop a public insurance option — and then its substitute, a “buy-in” expansion of Medicare — from the Senate health care bill. Liberals are also concerned about the climate change deal that he agreed to in Copenhagen and his decision to inject 30,000 additional troops into Afghanistan.

But the White House has been taking steps to bandage the wounds.
It is, however, unclear from this article what exactly those steps are, besides a couple of emails sent to the DNC's Organizing for America list:
The president and his aides are also moving to ensure that the activists who made up his own populist campaign organization — called Obama for America in 2008 and now housed in the DNC under the banner Organizing for America — do not stray from the fold.

Just two days after Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) sealed the Senate health care bill’s eventual passage by announcing on Dec. 19 that he would become the 60th Senator to back it, Obama fired off an e-mail to OFA members assuring them that this was the kind of legislation that they had worked hard to help him pass.
I don't think most of the OFA members expected Pharma and the insurance companies to be big winners.

To be clear, the President and his team are worried about the base for his reelection in 2012, not the congressional races in 2010. I think it's safe to say that it's going to take more than email messages from the President and David Plouffe to fire up the base. Words won't be enough. Actions are required. And, the best action the President could take would be to follow through on his campaign promises.

No one is expecting Obama to do more than he promised, but we are expecting him to do what he promised. At this point, it's clear Obama is not going to fight for a better health care bill, but he could actually put some presidential muscle behind repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell or passing the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The base is watching and waiting -- and grumpy. Read the rest of this post...

With Yemen as base for Al Qaeda, Afghanistan deteriorates



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I know this is on Obama's plate now, but for eight years, Bush and Cheney ignored the war in Afghanistan to pursue the unnecessary war in Iraq. They failed to take out the leadership of Al Qaeda -- despite repeated promises to do just that. Now, Yemen has become the latest haven for the terror group. According to Reuters, it's an "attractive alternative base." Over the weekend, Joe Lieberman was already making noises about launching a war there:
"Somebody in our government said to me in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, Iraq was yesterday's war. Afghanistan is today's war. If we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war," Lieberman said, during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday". "That's the danger we face."
Lieberman was one of the biggest cheerleaders for the "yesterday's war" in Iraq -- and it's still not over. Thanks to Joe's buddies in the Bush/Cheney administration, we never finished "today's war" in Afghanistan. And, that long-ignored conflict is apparently deteriorating:
As the U.S. and its allies try to overcome logistical hurdles and rush some 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan in 2010, intelligence officials are warning that the Taliban-led insurgency is expanding and that "time is running out" for the U.S.-led coalition to prove that its strategy can succeed.

The Taliban have created a shadow "government-in-waiting," complete with Cabinet ministers, that could assume power if the U.S.-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai fails, a senior International Security Assistance Force intelligence official said in Kabul, speaking only on the condition of anonymity as a matter of ISAF policy.
I know we can't change history, but we can't ignore it. The U.S. should have finished the job against Al Qaeda eight years ago. Instead, Bush, Cheney, Lieberman and the rest got side-tracked by Iraq. Al Qaeda has moved on, but we're now bogged down in two wars, one that should never have been fought and one that should have ended years ago. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread



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Good morning.

Two more days left of the year and the decade. I keep seeing lists of the best and worst not only of 2009, but the decade that ends Thursday night. This was the decade when George Bush, Dick Cheney and the rest of their GOP gang did their best to ruin the country and the world. For some reason, that seems like a long time ago, but it wasn't. And, we suffered through it for eight long, painful years. For me, the Bush/Cheney regime was the worst event of the decade -- an eight year long event. Let's hope it was the worst event of the century so we have the ugliest part behind us. Cleaning up their messes will take up a good part of the century.

It's wicked windy in the nation's capitol today. We have a "wind advisory," which "means that wind gusts over 45 mph are expected." And, that's making it feel pretty darn cold. The wind chill is in the teens. I'm sure the wind is making flying even more annoying today.

Start threading the news.. Read the rest of this post...

JPMorgan CEO phones UK Finance Minister over bonus tax



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And remember, JPMorgan's CEO is Jamie Dimon who is also closely tied into the Obama team. He is often listed as one of the lead candidates to replace Geithner or take over other leading economic positions within the Obama administration. Remember this the next time his name is floated to replace someone. He's obviously terrified of the impact the tax will have on his business, but he's also again showing how he is part of the global problem in the banking industry. Where is their sense of responsibility for the problems they created? If only this crowd worried as much before the crisis as they do now we may have avoided such a deep recession.

Making veiled threats after having the industry rescued - that included healthy and weak banks alike - is yet another cheap shot from this industry. Wouldn't it be nice is someone in authority called them out and actually followed through? Reuters:
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon expressed concerns to UK Finance minister Alistair Darling about the country's 50 percent tax to be levied on bankers' bonuses over 25,000 pounds, London's Telegraph reported.

In a recent phone call, Dimon spoke about the bank's plans to build its European headquarters in London's Canary Wharf for 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) as a way of demonstrating the bank's commitment to the city, the paper said.
This amount is definitely a substantial sum. Of course, so are the trillions of dollars spent rescuing the industry. In that light, a couple of billion is chump change so get over it and quit yapping about it. Where else would JPMorgan go for their European HQ? It's not as though the continent is any more friendly to this industry. Read the rest of this post...

Outrage as China executes Briton with mental health issues



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The death penalty is once again delivered in China despite pleas from the UK as well as medical records that detailed the history of mental health problems with the convicted British drug smuggler. There are so many problems with the death penalty including executing the wrong person as well as executing people who have mental health issues. Unfortunately the US is unable to join the criticism since the death penalty is so widely used. The Guardian:
China was this morning condemned for its human rights record after a British man who, his supporters say, had mental health problems, was executed for smuggling drugs.

Akmal Shaikh, 53, was shot dead by a firing squad at 10.30am local time (2.30am British time) after frantic last-minute pleas for clemency by the Foreign Office failed.

Britain had demonstrated its anger with Beijing over the treatment of Shaikh, who had smuggled 4kg (8.8lb) of heroin into China, when it summoned the Chinese ambassador for a diplomatic dressing down at the Foreign Office.
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New paper plane record set



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It's all about the origami technique. In case you are wondering, this is from a flat surface without wind assistance.
With a bend of the knees and an arch of the back, a Japanese engineer today set a world flight record for a paper plane, keeping his hand-folded construction in the air for 26.1 seconds.

Using a plane specially designed for "long haul" flights, Takuo Toda narrowly failed to match his lifetime best of 27.9 seconds, a Guinness world record set in Hiroshima earlier, but achieved with a plane that was held together with cellophane tape.
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