Employees at the Regal Brandywine Cinemas say the vice president-elect and his wife, Jill, tried to attend the 7:45 showing of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" at the theater on Concord Pike but left after they were told the movie was sold out.
There's been no confirmation from the Biden camp, but the theater employees say they are sure it was him.
It would be hard to miss Biden and his wife surrounded by several secret service agents.
Link
A business leader who helped launch a free shuttle program to prevent drunken driving is facing charges that he drove under the influence on a night the shuttle was available.
It would be his third drunken-driving conviction, following incidents in 1990 and 1999, if he is found guilty.
The Waukesha County district attorney's office alleges that Manders failed a sobriety test after he was stopped while driving a vehicle emblazoned with the shuttle program's logo.
Mr. Obama and his aides were trying to mend damage done on Monday when news of Mr. Panetta’s selection leaked before it had been shared with senior senators, and some Democrats responded with surprise and skepticism because Mr. Panetta lacks much intelligence experience.
Leaking the selection of the CIA head may make the confirmation of Panetta a little more difficult.
The president-elect may need to put out several other fires during his on-the-job training.
Link
Jesus Delgado and Cesar Beccera entered no contest pleas Wednesday to misdemeanor charges over an incident in Half Moon Bay in December.
Prosecutors say the 18-year-old Delgado and the 20-year-old Beccera are known gang members.
They were accused of threatening the electricians because the red company shirts they wore while working at a McDonald's restaurant resembled the colors of a rival gang.
As reported at the link below, this is causing surprise and a bit of consternation by several individuals involved in the intelligence community.Panetta is a surprise pick since he has no experience in the intelligence world.
Taken by surprise was Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., incoming chairwoman of the Select Senate Intelligence Committee.
The report says that Senator Sen. Dianne Feinstein said: “I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA director. I know nothing about this, other than what I've read. My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time."
(Sarcasm on) It could have been worse. Obama could have picked William Ayers as CIA Chief. After all, Ayers knows a lot about terrorism.
But why stop there - why not pick disgraced Governor Rod Blagojevich to head the FBI? (sarcasm off).
It seems that the president-elect has only two groups to choose from: friends from his community organizing days in Chicago or the regurgitation of people from the old Bill Clinton administration.
Link
Under the Constitution, Reid said, "We determine who sits in the Senate. And the House (of Representatives) determines who sits in the House. So there's clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do. This goes back for generations."
Reid also said there is “room to negotiate.”
So, why do we bother with elections? Just let Harry Reid appoint Senators.
Maybe, if the country is lucky, Reid will lose his bid for re-election in 2010.
A Wall Street Journal article here reports that:
Sen. Reid … faces a potentially tough fight. A recent Research 2000 poll of likely voters put his approval rating at 38% and his disapproval rating at 54%, a possible reflection of voters' displeasure with gridlock and partisanship in Washington.
Oprah Winfrey blames the mild depression she suffered after gaining so much weight last year on working too much at the expense of taking the time to relax.
She said on her television show that she was miserable. Not admitting she had depression, she vowed to change her attitude towards food.
The 54-year-old, who at one point tipped the scales at 14.3 stone (200 pounds), said she was determined to change in 2009.
It’s not about food. It’s about “using food - abusing food.”
Oprah posed next to a picture of her thinner 2005 self on the cover of January's O Magazine (lower photo).
Link
Looks like we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.The president-elect (pictured) says he wants to "create three million new jobs" -- this is a change from a few weeks ago, when he said he wanted the plan to create OR SAVE two million jobs.
He says the "No. 1 goal of my plan ... is to create three million new jobs, more than 80 percent of them in the private sector.”
If you do the math: 20 percent of three million means 600,000 new government employees.
Obama has a name for his new plan -- the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan."
His dream is to be another FDR. Let’s hope he doesn’t bankrupt the country in the process!
Link
The new U.S. Senate is set to convene in a swirl of allegations of corruption, and dynastic nepotism that threatens to dog the early days of Barack Obama's presidency.
The class of 2009 could face a chaotic swearing-in ceremony.
In the most high-profile standoff, Obama's designated replacement for Illinois, Roland Burris, could be stopped from taking his seat by fellow Democrats.
The Democrat claiming victory in Minnesota faces serious allegations of voter fraud. Some Minnesota precincts show more votes than registered voters. Some votes for the Minnesota Democrat candidate were mysteriously found in a poll workers car (the poll worker was a Democrat) and that is just two discrepancies in the Minnesota election fiasco.
Last, but not least, is the New York Senate seat occupied by Hillary Clinton. A member of the legendary Kennedy clan is determined to get that seat.
The senatorial to-and-fro is an unwelcome distraction for Obama as he prepares to take office on January 20, reliant on a focused Congress to enact his ambitious plans including a mammoth economic stimulus package.
Since the original iPhone was launched in June 2007, Apple has struck partnerships with wireless carriers world-wide, such as AT&T Inc. in the U.S. and France Telecdom SA's Orange unit.
Under the agreements, the iPhone can generally be used only by subscribers to those carriers.
A group called the iPhone Dev Team released a free piece of software called "yellowsn0w" that unlocks the iPhone 3G.
The software lets users reprogram the phones so they can work on any wireless network based on the same technical standard.
The development could lead to a loss in revenue for Apple's wireless partners. International travelers would be able to buy airtime for their iPhones on local wireless networks when they travel abroad, so they don't have to incur steep roaming charges.
An AT&T spokesman said, “the iPhone is meant to be used exclusively on the AT&T network. Any other use of the device is inappropriate and would void the warranty.”
This indicates that using the iPhone on networks other than AT&T with the “patch” is not illegal.
Maybe Apple Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs is getting his comeuppance.
Before Apple, Steve Jobs (pictured above) went into business building and selling “blue boxes” that allowed free illegitimate phone calls by faking the signals used by AT&T.
Jobs once ripped off AT&T and now a group of geeks are ripping off Apple and Apple’s wireless contractor.
What goes around, comes around.
Link
It all began when a Starbucks gift card mysteriously arrived in my mailbox.
I took the card to the nearest Starbucks hoping to pick up a few cans of their Italian roast iced coffee. Come to find out, Starbucks no longer makes the product. No wonder I haven’t been able to find it on grocery store shelves for the last six months or so.
Now Starbucks stores are closing almost as fast. And that was before the economy downturn that hit hard in the summer of 2008.
Starbucks, known for sometimes going so far as to open stores across the street from one another, has recently acknowledged that it may have lost some of its luster during a long period of rapid store openings.
Starbucks Corp. said it has drastically increased the number of stores it plans to close and could eliminate as many as 12,000 full- and part-time positions as a result.
The company said it now plans to close 600 company-operated stores in the United States.
Commuters in some locations could buy their first coffee of the day at their suburban train station, a second at a Starbucks one block from the downtown train station and a third in the lobby of their office building while walking by two others on the way.
Link
Excellent Sen. Harry Reid likeness don’t you think?
Richardson withdrew amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract.Richardson's withdrawal was the first disruption of Obama's Cabinet process and the second "pay-to-play" investigation that has touched Obama's transition to the presidency.
The president-elect has remained above the fray in both the case of arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the New Mexico case.
A federal grand jury is investigating how a California company that contributed to Richardson's political activities won a New Mexico transportation contract worth more than $1 million.
Richardson said in a statement issued by the Obama transition office that the investigation could take weeks or months but expressed confidence it will show he and his administration acted properly.
The Obama transition team was caught flat-footed on the Richardson impropriety. One wonders why Richardson agreed to accept a post he is unqualified for even without the cloud of his “pay-to-play” scandal back in New Mexico?
The media worked hard to elect Barack Hussein Obama. The Richardson fiasco is a reminder that the media will need to work even harder to gloss over Obama’s miss steps once he occupies the oval office.
Link
The war has gone on longer than a lot of news organizations’ ability or appetite to cover it.
Translation:
“No appetite to cover Iraq” means now that the war is being won and news from Iraq can no longer be spun into bad news for the Bush administration.
Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid (pictured) made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones.
Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis and Emil Jones are all three black. Reid’s choices are Lisa Madigan who is white and Tammy Duckworth is Vietnamese.
Harry Reid says he is concerned about the ability of the appointee to win election in 2010. However, there will always be claims that Reid wants to go back to an all-white Senate as it was before Obama became a Senator.
Link
Relatives of Dr. Harold Carr found an extremely rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante -- a Holy Grail for car collectors -- as they were going through his belongings after his death.
The dusty two-seater, unused since 1960, didn't look like much in the garage in Gosforth, near Newcastle in northern England.
But only 17 were ever made, and when it's cleaned up and auctioned in Paris next month, experts believe it will fetch at least 3 million pounds ($4.3 million) and possibly much more.
This particular car is even more valuable because it was originally owned by Earl Howe, a prominent British race car driver, and because its original equipment is intact, so it can restored without relying on replacement parts.
The Chicago Public Schools, whose superintendent, Arne Duncan, has been tapped by President-elect Barack Obama to be the next education secretary, failed to meet the Illinois state standards set under the No Child Left Behind Act for the last five years.
The Chicago school district is currently on “Academic Watch” status, based on its failure to make adequate progress for four consecutive years--and in year two of academic watch for failure to make required improvements.
Arne Duncan, whom President Obama will nominate as secretary of education, was superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008.
Link
*Generalized, the Peter Principle states that in a hierarchically structured administration, people tend to be promoted up to their “level of incompetence.”
An extract from grape seeds can destroy cancer cells, US research suggests.
In lab experiments, scientists found that the extract stimulated leukaemia cells to commit suicide.
Within 24 hours, 76% of leukaemia cells exposed to the extract were killed off, while healthy cells were unharmed.
The study specifies grape seed extract not grapes or grape juice.
Some people will probably think that wine would work. There are people looking for any excuse to use an alcoholic beverage.
They will probably select cabernet sauvignon if they can afford it - otherwise they can always pick up a jug of muscatel.
Link
As the plane cruised somewhere over Canada, the doctors laid the woman across a row of seats in coach class while a husband and wife from Danvers held up a blanket to create a makeshift delivery room.
The woman gave birth to a 6-1/2 pound baby girl she named Sasha.
Customs officials said that Sasha was deemed a Canadian citizen, because she was born over Canadian airspace.
A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work.
Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.
“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”
A similar taxing scheme was tentatively planned for the UK but was abandoned because it was found to be too difficult to administer.
Link
The annual Gallup Poll's Most Admired Women of 2008 poll puts Hillary Clinton (upper picture) on top again. Sarah Palin (lower picture) was voted second.This is the seventh consecutive year that Hillary Clinton has rated first place as Americans' Most Admired Woman and is also the 13th year Clinton has made the top ten.
Sarah Palin was John McCain's 2008 vice presidential pick and the first woman to run on a Republican presidential ticket. Palin earned a strong second place debut. She was named by 11% of Americans as Most Admired Woman.
Palin bumped TV Talk Show Host Oprah Winfrey out of second place, a position Winfrey has held each year from 2002 through 2007. Winfrey now ranks third, mentioned by 8% of Americans (down from 16%) a year ago.
Hillary Clinton 20%
Sarah Palin 11%
Oprah Winfrey 8%
Condoleeza Rice 7%
Margaret Thatcher 2%
Laura Bush 2%
Angelina Jolie 2%
Nebraska had an equally dramatic turnaround compared to their 7 loss 2007 season.
Spending billions on trying to reduce carbon emissions is one giant con that is depriving third world countries of vital funds to tackle famine, HIV and other diseases.
Wilson has been heavily criticized by environmentalists for claiming that ongoing climatic shifts are caused by nature and not mankind.
He claims most commentators on the matter don't have a clue what they are talking about and are only going along with the consensus because the issue is popular.
Cleanup crews hit the streets shortly after midnight to began the massive task of removing the nearly 40 tons of confetti and countless noisemakers left behind by the one million revelers.
1. bailout
2. from wall street to main street
3. under the bus
4. it is what it is
5. green, including going green, greenie, etc
6. carbon footprint and carbon offsets
7. yes we can
8. not so much
9. iconic
10. in and of itself
11. dude
12. maverick
13. sub-prime
14. macho
15. game changer
A picture of my cave
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..
