| Columns - Situation Report
The truth, they say, is the first casualty of war. In more than two decades of the separatist war in Sri Lanka, this axiom has been proved right many a time. If one were to add up the casualty figures put out by Government officials since inception, it would have wiped out the population of Jaffna twice over. There would be no one left. On the other hand, if all the casualty figures for the Security Forces, given by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are added up, a sizeable segment of the Security Forces would have been wiped out. That is not true either. However, in the dissemination of information on the Government side, there has been a rapid transformation. At first the military fought the war and the Department of Information disseminated the information to the media, both local and foreign.
Heidi Hodges Column: It’s a good world the way it is
Ilike the world and the way it is, said my 8-year-old son absentmindedly. He was putting together a puzzle, and, as usual, turning things over in his mind. What do you mean? I asked.
Everything, he said. How nature works. How humans think. How we have a moon. Stuff like that.
Thats a lot of ground to cover.
It was our last day housesitting at the farm. At the moment, I was on a chair, taking a break from packing up, and having plenty of thoughts myself.
First of all, I was looking forward to not doing chores anymore.
The simple life is not that simple, really. Its hard work, and Im not really cut out for it. Not for the long term, anyway.
A couple of months? Sure. But a lifetime? Well, let me just say I admire farmers even more than I did before.
Fear Of Flying
Well, I guess this is what you'd call 'gettin' Shanghaied,' " a passenger said, the moment captured on another passenger's video camera. AS THE FIASCO of Flight 857 made worldwide headlines, Dunn delivered his waylaid passengers to Shanghai and began leaving phone messages with United headquarters in Chicago. The tools from his emergency-situation training — known in United jargon as Command Leadership and Resource, or CLR — did not work. But no one called back. After more fruitless calls, he gave up and sent an e-mail to the vice president of flight operations: . . . Outside of the immediate crew and help from Capt. Dave Laubham, it appears as though no one really gives a rat's ass about what took place . . . This is a safety issue, and it is the proper time for the folks making the big bucks to step forward and do their jobs.
Day of reckoning in the US glasshouse
There is a growing consensus: America is going into a marked slowdown, if not a downright recession. There will be a large gap between potential growth – usually estimated at 3 per cent to 4 per cent – and actual growth, meaning lost output of hundreds of billions of dollars. America actually faces three separate but related problems; a credit crunch, a debt crisis and a macroeconomic problem. A decade ago, America roundly criticised the countries of East Asia for their lack of transparency and inadequate regulation. But, as the old aphorism goes, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Money was lent to hundreds of thousands of Americans beyond their ability to pay. What was called financial innovation meant that borrowers didn’t even have to pay the accrued interest; at the end of the year, they owed more than at the beginning.
Reverse mortgage workshop informs public about the pros and cons
Local residents gathered at the Kernville Chamber of Commerce Jan. 16 to learn more about reverse mortgages. The Prince Financial Corporation representative, Barbara Prince, Bankers First representative Rylan Rozell and Patty Nash of McKenzie and Nielsen provided those in attendance with large packets of information on the ins and outs of reverse mortgages including the negative aspects of entering into a reverse mortgage. The purpose of the presentation was to educate as well as provide financial opportunities for seniors. According to the Reverse Mortgage Page website over 50,000 Americans applied for reverse mortgages in 2006. A reverse mortgage is a way to borrow against the equity in your home rather than a forward mortgage where you are attempting to purchase a home and build home equity by making mortgage payments.
The Politics of An Economic Nightmare
A possible economic meltdown is worrisome enough, but a possible meltdown in an election year is downright frightening. For months now, Republicans have been pushing the White House to take some action that looked and sounded big enough to give them some cover if and when things got worse. President Bush has now responded with a stimulus package more than twice as large as the one Bill Clinton briefly entertained at the start of 1993 but couldn't get passed. Not to be outdone, Democrats want to appear at least as bold, which means they'll suspend pay-go rules and throw fiscal responsibility out the window. In other words, hold your noses, because the "bipartisan" stimulus package that's about to be introduced could be a real stinker, including tax cuts for everyone and everything under the sun — except, perhaps, for the key group of lower-income Americans.
Clinton’s College Plan
Ensure that the U.S. Education Department collects and publishes information about "the outcomes produced by all colleges and universities, including the four-year and six-year graduation rates and the percent of the senior class that is employed upon graduation or enrolled in further education, including information on earnings and field of employment." Require "state and local" colleges and universities to "set multi-year tuition and fee levels for each cohort of students at the beginning of each student’s freshman year, so students and families will have a sense of how much their costs will be in the coming years." Have colleges submit information to the Education Department about the financial aid awarded to a "typical range of low to high income students" in their freshman and sophomore years, so that the federal agency can develop a "cost calculator" to help students and families anticipate their likely out of pocket costs at a particular institution.
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