Today is Thursday, May 28, the 148th day of 2009. There are 217 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On May 28, 1934, the Dionne quintuplets — Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie and Yvonne — were born to Elzire Dionne at the family farm in Ontario, Canada. On this date: In 1533, the [...]
Archive for May, 2009
Today in History – May 28
Posted in History, This day in history, tagged May 28 on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Year of Bible Push Is Misguided
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Law, Religion on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Some religious Christians desperately want the nation to officially recognize Christianity as having a higher status than other faiths. Yet they realize that they can’t look like they’re rejecting religious freedom or pluralism. One approach has been to avoid the phrase “Christian nation” and instead say the country was founded on “Judeo-Christian values.” By including [...]
Today In History – January 14
Posted in History, This day in history, tagged January 14 on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 14, the 14th day of 2009. There are 351 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On Jan. 14, 1969, 27 people aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise were killed when a rocket warhead exploded, setting off a fire and additional explosions that ripped through the ship off Hawaii. [...]
Today In History – January 13
Posted in History, This day in history, tagged January 13 on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Tuesday, Jan. 13, the 13th day of 2009. There are 352 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On Jan. 13, 1794, President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union. The number of [...]
Today In History – January 12
Posted in History, This day in history, tagged January 12 on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Monday, Jan. 12, the 12th day of 2009. There are 353 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History Fifty years ago, on Jan. 12, 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown Records originally called Tamla Records in Detroit. On this date: In 1519, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died. In 1773, the [...]
Today In History – January 11
Posted in History, This day in history, tagged January 11 on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Sunday, Jan. 11, the 11th day of 2009. There are 354 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On Jan. 11, 1908, the Grand Canyon National Monument was created with a proclamation by President Theodore Roosevelt. It became a national park in 1919. On this date: In 1805, the Michigan Territory [...]
Today In History – January 10
Posted in History, This day in history, tagged January 10 on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Saturday, Jan. 10, the 10th day of 2009. There are 355 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On Jan. 10th, 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published his influential pamphlet, “Common Sense.” On this date: In 1810, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, divorced his wife, Josephine. In 1861, Florida seceded from [...]
Today In History – January 9
Posted in History, This day in history, tagged January 9 on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Friday, Jan. 9, the ninth day of 2009. There are 356 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On Jan. 9th, 1913, Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, was born in Yorba Linda, Calif. On this date: In 1788, Connecticut became the fifth state to ratify the [...]
Today In History – January 8
Posted in History, This day in history, tagged January 8 on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Today is Thursday, Jan. 8, the eighth day of 2009. There are 357 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On Jan. 8th, 1935, rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss. On this date: In 1798, the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was declared in effect by President John Adams [...]
US warship becomes Florida reef
Posted in Energy and Environment, Strange but true, tagged General Hoyt S Vandenberg on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Controlled explosions sank the Gen Hoyt S Vandenberg in minutes A series of controlled explosions has sunk a World War II US troop ship to create an artificial reef off Florida. The General Hoyt S Vandenberg sank in less than two minutes after experts detonated explosives off Key West. The ship, 523ft long (160m), settled [...]
Siberian child ‘raised by dogs’
Posted in Animals, Law, Strange but true on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Russian officials have taken a five-year-old Siberian girl into care, saying that she had apparently been “brought up” by cats and dogs. The girl, who is unable to speak, was discovered living in a squalid flat in the Siberian city of Chita. Police said she had never been allowed outside and had adopted the behaviour [...]
Beat the Dealer
Posted in Economy and business, Editorials and opinion, Law, tagged Chrysler, Patronage on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
Is the Obama administration turning Chrysler into a patronage machine? When people talk about the problems that have driven Chrysler to bankruptcy and General Motors to the brink thereof, they usually have in mind the companies’ excessive commitments to those who build their cars: the high wages, lavish benefits and irrational work rules written into [...]
GM Bondholders Are People Like You and Me
Posted in Economy and business, Editorials and opinion, Politics on May 28, 2009 | Comments Off
The government is punishing one group of workers to reward another. I am an American retiree. Like many small investors, I am relying on “safe” investments such as bonds backed by America’s largest companies to fund my retirement. One of these companies is General Motors. First, let’s set the record straight about who owns GM’s [...]
The U.S. Can’t Be the World’s Court
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Law, tagged Royal Dutch Shell on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
New York isn’t the right venue to sue for apartheid abuses. A federal judge in New York recently allowed a lawsuit to proceed against General Motors, Ford and IBM for aiding and abetting crimes against humanity committed by the apartheid government in South Africa. And a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell for alleged human-rights abuses [...]
A Victory for Democracy
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Law, Politics, tagged California, Same-sex marriage on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
California judges leave gay marriage to voters. “It bears emphasis . . . that our role is limited to interpreting and applying the principles and rules embodied in the California Constitution, setting aside our own personal beliefs and values.” That sigh of judicial restraint was actually issued by the California Supreme Court, which yesterday upheld [...]
Foregone Foreclosures
Posted in Economy and business, Politics, tagged Foreclosures, Mortgages on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
Some redefault rates may reach 75%. A central tenet of Washington economic policy for the past three years has been that the key to ending the recession is stopping mortgage foreclosures, whatever the cost. Well, another new study shows that mortgage-servicing companies are having a terrible time of it, not least because the mortgages are [...]
The GOP’s Feigned Outrage
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics, tagged Cheney, GOP, Tea parties on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
It takes chutzpah to protest what you’ve created. Those who followed news coverage of the “tea party” protests last month will recall that one target of the partiers’ ire was the TARP bailout of the banking system — a policy of the Bush administration that President Obama has carried on. And yet, in a television [...]
A Skeleton 4,000 Years Old Bears Evidence of Leprosy
Posted in Health, Natural sciences, tagged Leprosy on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
Possibly the oldest skeletal evidence of leprosy includes tooth loss and root exposure on this 4,000-year-old mandible. The oldest known skeleton showing signs of leprosy has been found in India and may help solve the puzzle of where the disease originated. The skeleton, about 4,000 years old, was found at the site of Balathal, near [...]
Obama in Netanyahu’s Web
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics, tagged Israel on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, won the first round over President Barack Obama. That’s not good for American interests or for Israel’s long-term security. All the overblown reciprocal compliments could not hide evident tensions — over Iran and Israel-Palestine and how the two are linked. In the end, Obama blinked. The president ceded to [...]
End Burma’s System of Impunity
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics, tagged Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has spent 13 years under house arrest in Myanmar. This week, the Burmese junta is likely to extend her detention for up to five years under the trumped-up charge of allowing a visitor into her compound. During eight years as United Nations Special Rapporteur on [...]
North Korea Misfires
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics, tagged North Korea on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
Lifting economic sanctions, full integration with the West, peace on the Korean peninsula — all are up for discussion if North Korea simply rejoins the Six Party Talks. And yet, in another provocative move, Pyongyang has test-fired more missiles and declared a second nuclear test a success, rattling not only the ground in China but [...]
Where’s Europe?
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics, tagged ASEAN, ASEM, Asia-Europe Meeting, Suu Kyi on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
Europe wants to be taken more seriously as a player in world affairs. But viewed from the perspective of the biannual meeting of foreign ministers of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) group held here this week the ambition is laughable. Here were the foreign ministers of China, Japan, South Korea and most of the 10 members [...]
Magna’s Bid for Opel Draws Berlin’s Attention
Posted in Economy and business, tagged General Motors, Magna, Opel on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
The day before a crucial meeting of German officials and auto executives, a bid by Magna International for the European operations of General Motors seemed to attract the most attention on Tuesday. Officials in Berlin expressed doubts about a competing offer from Fiat. The Fiat chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, traveled to Berlin on Tuesday for [...]
China Said to Threaten Licenses of Human Rights Lawyers
Posted in Law, Politics, tagged China, Human rights on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
In a marked departure from past practices, Beijing legal authorities have threatened to complicate or deny applications to renew the legal licenses of at least 18 of the city’s best-known civil-rights lawyers, two human-rights advocacy groups have charged. Many of the lawyers have taken on cases, involving such issues as Tibetan political activism and police [...]
Debt Exchange Falls Short; G.M. Moves to Sell Units
Posted in Economy and business, Politics, tagged Bankruptcy, General Motors on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
Bondholders at General Motors on Wednesday rejected an offer to exchange $27 billion in debt for a small amount of stock, as G.M. prepared for a bankruptcy filing that could come as soon as this weekend. In Europe, the company moved to combine its main operations under the umbrella of Adam Opel, its German business, [...]
Many readers who responded to Simon Critchley’s post, “Happy Like God,” commented on how time, whether passed in action or reflection, affects happiness. Excerpts from some are below. Krapp’s Trapped A fitting entry to read, after reading “Krapp’s Last Tape” by Samuel Beckett. Krapp in later age is habituated to reviewing and listening to reminisces [...]
Cancer drug erases fingerprints
Posted in Health, Strange but true on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
Inflammation and blistering may remove fingerprints A commonly-used cancer drug can make patients’ fingerprints disappear, potentially causing problems for foreign travel, a doctor warns. One patient was held by US immigration officials for four hours before they allowed him to enter the country. The case is highlighted in the journal Annals of Oncology. The patient’s [...]
N. Korea Says Truce No Longer Valid
Posted in Conflicts and wars, Politics, tagged North Korea on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
North Korea on Wednesday delivered an angry response to South Korea’s decision a day earlier to join an effort to halt atomic-weapons trafficking, saying it would no longer stick to the armistice agreement that halted fighting in the Korean War of the 1950s. “Any minor hostile acts, including cracking down on or searching our peaceful [...]
First Thoughts on Sotomayor
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics, tagged Sotomayor on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
A few thoughts on the Sotomayor nomination: * Conservatives need to understand that Sotomayor’s reputation for intellectual lightness and a fiery temperament — examined by Jeffrey Rosen of The New Republic — doesn’t really matter much. The only thing that counts in this regard is her performance before the cameras in the Senate Judiciary Committee [...]
Once Considered Unthinkable, U.S. Sales Tax Gets Fresh Look
Posted in Economy and business, Politics, tagged VAT on May 27, 2009 | Comments Off
With budget deficits soaring and President Obama pushing a trillion-dollar-plus expansion of health coverage, some Washington policymakers are taking a fresh look at a money-making idea long considered politically taboo: a national sales tax. Common around the world, including in Europe, such a tax — called a value-added tax, or VAT — has not been [...]
