Israelis collect gas masks in East Jerusalem (Jim Hollander/European Pressphoto Agency)
ISRAEL: GET YOUR GAS MASK, YITZAK! SYRIA MAY BE ABOUT TO “TRANSFER” ITS CHEMICAL WEAPONS TO THE HEZBOLLAH MILITIA IN LEBANON.
Israeli warplanes, for the first time in six years, launch an airstrike keep inside Syria, allegedly targeting a convoy headed toward Lebanon with such weapons. Although analysts doubt that either Syria or its ally Iran will retaliate for the attack, people in East Jerusalem are taking no chances as a brisk business is being done in selling gas masks to civilians.
(New York Times)
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THE 1,000 DAYS OF PVT BRADLEY MANNING.
That is the amount of time that Manning has spent in a military prison “awaiting trial” on espionage charges of having passed state secrets to WikiLeaks operator Julian Assange. Michael McKee notes that this harsh treatment of whistle-blowers, along with lenience toward the people whose crimes have been whistled down, has become the procedure du jour for dealing with those like American soldiers who commit and allow those under their commands to commit acts of atrocity such as several killings and tortures of Afghan civilians.
(Counterpunch)
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AMERICAN LOW INCOME WORKERS ARE WORKING MANY MORE HOURS WITH VERY LITTLE INCREASE IN THEIR INCOME.
New report by Economic Policy Institute of hours and wages trends from 1979 to 2007 shows that, in that time interval, workers at lower wage levels increased their working hours by an average of 22% while their wages rose only by 7.7%. By contrast, those at high wage levels worked an average of 7.6% more hours while their wages rose by 30.2%.
(Common Dreams)
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COME ON JANE, LET’S JUMP IN THE SACK AND BURN SOME CALORIES.
Sorry, Zeke. you’ll need a better come-on line than that. Research at University of Alabama finds (get this) sex on average lasts 6 minutes and burns 21 calories. This is among several “myths” about weight reduction strategies that are deflated in the study.
(Washington Post)
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SHOULD FLORIDA CHARTER SCHOOLS THAT GET PUBLIC VOUCHERS BE REQUIRED TO ADMINISTER FCAT TESTS TO THEIR STUDENTS?
That may seem a no-brainer question (obviously the schools must be “accountable” like public ones if they are getting public support). But state policy-makers have not yet reached that “obvious” conclusion, as some fear the “consequences” (unspecified) if such accountability requirements were laid on charter schools.
(Tampa Bay Times)
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Quote of the day…
2013 promises to be an equally exciting year for the company with new destinations, new aircraft and more employees being planned.
Mark Dunkerley, CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, quoted in article noting company’s deficit in last quarter of 2012, partly because of “excess capacity in certain markets.”
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