Yearly Archives: 2012

Postal Service losses tripled to $16 billion from previous year

"The US Postal Service tripled its losses in 2012, bleeding $15.9 billion as the state-owned enterprise faces tough competition and what it calls onerous and unfair retirement funding requirements. The US mail said its losses rocketed in the year to September 30 from a $5.1 billion loss last year, with more than $11 billion sucked off to pre-fund health benefits for service retirees long into the future. Overall mail volume continued to shrink, by 5.1 percent, and operating revenues fell nearly one percent, to $65.2 billion." Continue reading →

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Hostess, maker of Twinkies, to go out of business after nationwide strike

"Hostess Brands Inc., the company that makes Twinkies and Wonder Bread, has asked a judge for permission to go out of business and lay off 18,500. The company is blaming its decision to shut down on a labor strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, but Americans’ appetite for junk food has been waning in recent years. 'We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,' Gregory F. Rayburn, Hostess' chief executive, said in a statement." Continue reading →

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The Crack-Up of the Eurozone Detailed in One Chart

"Keep in mind that Greece is in such bad shape that it didn't even make this chart. Only Germany of the Eurozone Big 5 is showing positive industrial production [growth] over the last 7 plus years. Germany will not be able to bail everyone else out. It comes down to European Central Bank money printing which will result in a devalued euro, making the debt easier to payoff in the cheaper euros, or it is collapse of the Eurozone." Continue reading →

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Canada: Privacy Commissioner Blasts License Plate Readers

"Commissioner Elizabeth Denham opened her inquiry after receiving a number of requests from concerned members of the public. She focused on determining whether use of cameras to track and store license plate data from all passing vehicles, even when their occupants were not suspected of any crime, was permissible under Canada's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)." Continue reading →

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Immigration Patterns in the Eurozone

"Watching immigration patterns is a very good way to get a sense for where the more vibrant economies are. There's a lot of immigration, legal and otherwise, into the US from Mexico. Not so much from Canada. People don't immigrate when they are content, which is why the immigration patterns within the eurozone are another signal of the problems in the southern eurozone countries. The number of Greeks moving to Germany jumped 78% in the first half of 2012 from a year earlier, Germany's statistics office reports. Spanish, Portuguese moving into Germany was up 53%." Continue reading →

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Congressman Ron Paul’s Farewell Speech to Congress

"After over 100 years we face a society quite different from the one that was intended by the Founders. In many ways their efforts to protect future generations with the Constitution from this danger has failed. Skeptics, at the time the Constitution was written in 1787, warned us of today's possible outcome. The insidious nature of the erosion of our liberties and the reassurance our great abundance gave us, allowed the process to evolve into the dangerous period in which we now live." Continue reading →

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Rand Paul Slaps Hold on ‘Defense’ Bill

"Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is holding up consideration of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill over an amendment he plans to offer that would require a jury trial for Americans detained in terrorism investigations. Paul’s demand for a vote comes as Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Arizona Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the panel, are working behind the scenes to limit debate on the sprawling policy measure (S 3254) to ensure it receives floor time during the lame-duck session." Continue reading →

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Public Health Proposal Considers Mandatory ‘Smokers License’

"A public health proposal suggests that tobacco smokers should be required to apply and pay for a 'smoker’s license' in order to continue buying cigarettes, writing that it could discourage young people from picking up the habit. In a controversial move, the smartcard would allow the government to limit how many cigarettes a smoker could buy. Professor Chapman suggests 50 per day averaged over two weeks to accommodate heavy smokers." Continue reading →

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Maker of Airport Body Scanners Suspected of Falsifying Software Tests

"A company that supplies controversial passenger-screening machines for U.S. airports is under suspicion for possibly manipulating tests on privacy software designed to prevent the machines from producing graphic body images. The TSA sent a letter Nov. 9 to the parent company of Rapiscan, the maker of backscatter machines, requesting information about the testing of the software to determine if there was malfeasance. The company previously had problems with a 'calculation error' in safety tests that showed the machines were emitting radiation levels that were 10 times higher than expected." Continue reading →

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