Archive for July, 2010

99 Cents Store Sued For Raising Prices To 99.99 cents

99 Cents Stores Facing Lawsuit For Raising Prices To 99.99 Cents

Newscast Media — Shoppers have taken the 99 Cents store to court for unfair and deceptive business practices, after the chain store raised prices to 99.99 cents at 277 outlets in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas in 2008.

Dan Callahan, the lawyer for the shoppers, said: “If they call themselves 99 Cents Only, it should be 99 cents. The people they’re taking advantage of are the ones least able to discern the difference and least able to afford it.”

The store denies deceiving its customers, even though the price raise has brought in an extra $12 million at the cash registers annually. http://www.newscastmedia.com/99centstore.htm

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Speaks Out About Impending Lawsuit

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg sits with ABC news and talks about what it is like to own and run Facebook.

Zuckerberg said, “It’s really the people themselves who have gotten us to this state. I mean, we’ve built a lot of products that we think are good, and will help people share photos and share videos and write messages to each other. But it’s really all about how people are spreading Facebook around the world in all these different countries. And that’s what’s so amazing about the scale that it’s at today.”

He dismissed the impending lawsuit that alleges he signed over his rights to a business partner by saying, “If we said that we were unsure, I think that was likely taken out of context. Because I think we were quite sure that we did not sign a contract that says that they have any right to ownership over Facebook.”

http://www.newscastmedia.com/popculture.htm

Barack Obama Gives Shirley Sherrod A Ring

Obama apologizes to Shirley Sherrod

Newscast Media — Shirley Sherrod had earlier said she wanted to speak to Barack Obama. She finally got her wish when he gave her a ring. The White House released this statement:

The President reached Ms. Sherrod by telephone at about 12:35. They
spoke for seven minutes.

The President expressed to Ms. Sherrod his regret about the events of the
last several days. He emphasized that Secretary Vilsack was sincere in his
apology yesterday, and in his work to rid USDA of discrimination.

The President told Ms. Sherrod that this misfortune can present an
opportunity for her to continue her hard work on behalf of those in need,
and he hopes that she will do so.

http://www.newscastmedia.com/shirley-sherrod.htm

Barack Obama To Travel To Texas in August To Raise Funds For DNC

Gov. Rick Perry and Barack Obama

Newscast Media — Governor Rick Perry has expressed willingness to sit down and talk to Barack Obama about border solutions. Obama is scheduled to visit Texas on August 9, to raise funds for Democrats. The itinerary for the visit and logistics are still being worked out by White House officials but Obama is expected to make attend a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin.

Gov. Perry said, “I would sit down and meet with the president on border security. Absolutely.” Perry continued to say, “I want to talk to him about border security because Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw and our Texas Rangers and our local law enforcement have dealt with this issue. We have been able to show how you secure the border and would be happy to do that with Washington.”

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security said Perry brought up the conversation about border security last month, and he said she was being testy. Napolitano said, “He said I was testy. I thought I was firm.”

The White House hasn’t responded as whether or not Barack Obama will meet with Gov. Perry.

http://www.newscastmedia.com/perry-obama.htm

Inmates at Guantanamo Bay shipped to Africa for detention

Guantanamo Bay

Newscast Media — The Pentagon announced that two inmates from Guantanamo Bay have been repatriated to Africa, but human rights groups are afraid that the rights of the inmates will be violated. Abdul Aziz Naji has been shipped to Algeria while Abd-al-Nisr Mohammed Khantumani, of Syria, has been transferred to the island of Cape Verde, West Africa.

Naji had been held at Guantanamo since 2002 on alleged terrorism charges by the US government who say that at the time of his capture, he belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group in Pakistan. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights said, “We are deeply concerned that he (Naji) will disappear into secret detention and face the threat of persecution by terrorist groups in Algeria.”

Barack Obama vowed to shut the prison down within a year if he were elected president, but has been unable to fulfill that promise. Guantanamo still hosts 178 inmates.

http://www.newscastmedia.com/guantanamo.htm

Taxpayers Will Never Have To Bail Out Bankers Again Obama Promises

Barack Obama

Newscast Media — Barack Obama said that the newly signed Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will protect American taxpayers against any future bailout of the banking industry.

Obama said, “For years, our financial sector was governed by antiquated and poorly enforced rules that allowed some to game the system and take risks that endangered the entire economy. The American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes. There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period.”

The new act strengthens the powers of the Federal Reserve, turning the central bank into a systemic risk regulator focused on ensuring the sort of financial collapse seen in the global financial crisis cannot be repeated.

Of course what Obama doesn’t say is that the Federal Reserve, which is a privately held corporation, is operated by the same banking cartel that was responsible for the financial melt down. The banks that control the FED are: Rothschild Bank of London, Warburg Bank of Hamburg, Rothschild Bank of Berlin, Lehman Brothers of New York, Lazard Brothers of Paris, Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York, Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy, Goldman, Sachs of New York, Warburg Bank of Amsterdam and Chase Manhattan Bank of New York.

So how is it possible for them to regulate themselves? It would be just like placing a fox among chickens and assuring the hens that even though the fox previously harmed you, by sticking its paws through the wired fence, I am removing that fence that protected you, and giving the fox more access to you, but this time it will never harm you. I have signed an act, that will keep the fox from hurting you, so there is no need to sleep with one eye open. You’ll be safe in the fox’s midst.

http://www.newscastmedia.com/consumer-protection.htm

Houston attorney husband and wife team wage war against Gov. Perry’s re-election

Newscast Media — Houston based attorneys Steve Mostyn and Amber Anderson are planning to donate a substancial amount of money to displace Gov. Rick Perry and replace him with former Houston mayor Bill white. The husband and wife team have already donated $1.3 million to White’s campaign and will likely exceed $3 million.

Mostyn said, “My guts seem to be dictating this instead of my head. If my head was dictating it, I’d probably put the money into a trust fund for my kids.”

A political action committee geared toward Bill White’s election has an additional $1.1 million for them to spend, and these expenditures are heavily financed by Mostyn, who is also behind the negative ads airing against Gov. Perry.

To date, Rick Perry has outraised Bill White in funds which total $20 million compared to Bill White’s $16.6 million. Perry spokesman Mark Miner said, “It should be no surprise that a trial lawyer is supporting a trial lawyer.” http://www.newscastmedia.com/mostyn.htm

Mandatory RFID Chip and Electronic Health Records For All by 2014

The above video demonstrates how an RFID chip in electronic records works

By 2014, all Americans will be required to have electronic health records (EHR) which will include their height, weight and body mass index (BMI). This is part of the healthcare bill that Obama recently signed, and the Department of Health and Human Services has finally finished tying all the loose ends.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, “This will push our entire health care system forward,” as she compared the advent of electronic health records to electronic banking. “Health information technology promises to bring that same transformation, convenience and reliability to the health care system,” she said.

The Obama administration warned that health care providers, including doctors and hospitals, must establish “meaningful use” of EHRs by 2014 in order to qualify for federal subsidies. If they do not comply, they will risk getting penalized in the form of diminished Medicare and Medicaid payments. Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, eligible health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt certified EHR technology.

To give you a little insight into how this works is, everybody will be issued a National Healthcare ID that has an embedded RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip in it. This chip will have your biometric information in it like fingerprints, face recognition, iris recognition and so forth. It’s purpose is to tie together your health records, bank accounts, financial records, criminal history and can track your movements throughout the country. This will then give government more power to control the masses.

http://www.newscastmedia.com/electronicrecords.htm

Israeli Conversion Bill Meets Opposition From American Jews

Jerusalem

Newscast Media — Jewish leading figures in Israel have received opposition from American Jews who are against the conversion bill that is making its way through the Knesset. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said over the weekend, the disagreement over a controversial law that deals with conversion to Judaism could “tear apart” the Jewish community.

There is a big difference between American Jews and Jews in Israel. Most American Jews are secular Jews who belong to more liberal branches of Judaism, while in their homeland, the Orthodox Jews tend to live more conservative lives based on the Mosaic law. The Mosaic law includes numerous rules of religious observance given in the first five books of the Old Testament. The books are: Bereshit(Genesis), Shemot(Exodus), Vayikra(Leviticus), Bamidbar(Numbers) and Devarim(Deuteronomy). In Judaism, these books are called the Torah, or “the Law.”

Currently in Israel, conversions performed outside the country by the more liberal branches of Judaism are honored. American Jews are afraid that the status of newly converted Jews could be nullified if power is handed over to the rabbinate.

Rabbi Daniel Allen, director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America said, “We do not want to see a schism among the Jews of the United States and Israel. This will say to the Jews of the United States that they don’t have a serious place in this country, and that is unacceptable to us.”

American Jews are worried that if the Knesset passes this bill, it would give sole control over conversions to Israel’s chief rabbinate, which is dominated by Orthodox Jews.

Rabbi Allen said, “This would be an affirmative act of the Knesset to create a second class of Jewery. And therefore it is a much more important moment in time in terms of the sweep of Jewish history.”

http://www.newscastmedia.com/israeli-conversion-bill-meets-opposition-by-american-jews.htm

Why Republicans Are Against Extending Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment Benefits

Newscast Media — The GOP continued to filibuster against the extension of Unemployment Benefits for the jobless, but is there a method to the madness? Democrats have now passed a $33.9 billion in extra funds to aid jobless workers across the country who are in financial dire straits during this recession.

On Monday, in the Rose Garden, as he put pressure on the Republicans, Obama said, “A partisan minority in the Senate has used parliamentary maneuvers to block a vote, denying millions of people who are out of work much-needed relief. The same people who didn’t have any problem spending hundreds of billions of dollars on tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are now saying we shouldn’t offer relief to middle-class Americans like Jim or Leslie or Denise, who really need help.”

The vote was 60-40 and the 60th vote came from newly sworn in Democrat Carte Goodwin, who made the decisive vote. Goodwin was quickly sworn in before the vote, to replace the late Senator Robert Byrd. Other votes that helped pass the package came from Moderate Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

The Republicans have long argued that they are not against helping the jobless by extending their Unemployment Benefits, they are against going into more debt, to fund this bill. The GOP says that instead of adding an additional $33.9 billion to the deficit, the bill should be funded with the $210 billion unused TARP(Troubled Asset Relief Program) money that is leftover from last year’s stimulus package.

Several days before the final vote took place, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said, “The only reason the unemployment extension hasn’t passed is because Democrats simply refuse to pass a bill that doesn’t add to the debt.”

Democrats refused to touch the available funds, and have been accused of hoarding the $210 billion so they can use it to bail out Wall Street, and the Central bankers who operate in the shadows.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor said, “TARP funds borrowed from the taxpayer should not become a slush fund for the political whims of Washington. The TARP was passed last fall because most experts believed that our capital markets were on the verge of absolute collapse.”

So it only made sense to the Republicans that the taxpayers receive the money the government borrowed from them that is sitting around, and use it form of Unemployment Benefits, rather than borrow an additional $33 billion, which those same taxpayers will eventually have to pay back, for years and generations to come.

It takes roughly six to nine months for the average American in a recession to find new employment, since companies tend to shy away from those who don’t have jobs, but are more willing to hire people who are already employed and simply want to switch jobs.

Lisa Chenofsky Singer, a human resources consultant from Millburn, NJ, specializing in media and publishing jobs said, “Most executive recruiters won’t look at a candidate unless they have a job, even if they don’t like to admit to it. They think you must have been laid off for performance issues, this is a “myth” in a time of high unemployment.”

Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the National Employment Law Project says firms that hire unemployed job seekers could also benefit from a recently-passed tax break that essentially exempts them from paying the 6.2% of the new hire’s wages in Social Security taxes for the rest of this year.

http://www.newscastmedia.com/extending-unemployment-benefits.htm

Photos Of Uganda Suicide Bombers Released By Interpol

Kampala-Uganda Suicide Bombers. Photo by Interpol

Newscast Media — Interpol has released photos of the two men it believes carried out the bombings in Uganda’s capital Kampala. The two men are shown at different angles, and believed to be responsible for the deaths of over 70 people who were killed during the World Cup final soccer match.

Chief of police Kale Kayihura held a press conference in Kampala and said, “These attacks were carried out by suicide bombers. The evidence is overwhelming.Two heads have not been claimed, neither have they been identified. It can’t be a coincidence.”

More than 20 people have been arrested by Ugandan authorities for questioning regarding the tragic incident. Most victims included, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Congolese, Irish and some Ugandans.

Kayihura said, “By making these photos public, we believe someone, somewhere could recognize one or both of these men.”

Several people are still being treated for injuries that were incurred during the blast. Al-Shabbab, the Somali Islamic radical group, has taken responsibility for the bombings.

http://newscastmedia.com/ugandan-suicide-bomber-photos.htm

Hillary Clinton Pays Pakistan $500m As Good Faith Gesture

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Newscast Media — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has paid Pakistan $500m in disguise of an aid package, her reasoning being, the Pakistanis will finally lead her to Osama Bin Ladin’s secret hiding place.

In an interview with Pakistani journalists she said, “I believe Osama Bin Ladin and other Al Qaeda militants are hiding in Pakistan. It would be very helpful if we could get him.”

The monies are the most recent addition to the $7.5 billion five-year US aid package, designed to win over the Pakistani pubic and strengthen the ties between the U.S and Paksitan.

Clinton said, “Of course there is a legacy of suspicion that we inherited. It is not going to be eliminated overnight. It is, however, our goal to slowly but surely demonstrate that the United States is concerned about Pakistan for the long term and that our partnership goes far beyond security against our common enemies.”

Ms. Clinton said Washington wanted to show it cared about ordinary Pakistanis. She also promised that the US would complete two hydroelectric dam projects to supply electricity to more than 300,000 people in areas near the Afghan border.

One has to wonder if $7.5 billion wouldn’t be just as beneficial to ordinary Americans, if only Washington showed them the same kind of compassion they do people who are unwilling to cooperate with the U.S government as Clinton herself admits.

http://www.newscastmedia.com/hillary-clinton.htm

Gov. Rick Perry Behind The Scenes In Houston

Gov. Rick Perry

NewscastMedia — Governor Rick Perry is running for an unprecedented third term for office since Texas has no term limits. He’s up against former Houston mayor Bill White. Perry has never lost an election and is attempting to make History yet again.

PHOTO GALLERY OF RICK PERRY http://www.newscastmedia.com/rick-perry-governor.htm

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson With Supporters in Houston

K. Bailey Hutchinson

NewscastMedia — Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson is shown here behind the scenes meeting with her supporters during the gubenatorial race. She was up against Rick Perry and finished second. On election night she told her supporters to stand behind Gov. Perry as he faces challenger Bill White, the former mayor of Houston.

KAY BAILEY HUTCHINSON PHOTO GALLERY http://www.newscastmedia.com/kay-bailey-hutchinson.htm

Debra Medina Behind The Scenes With Supporters

Debra Medina

NewscastMedia – Tea Party candidate Debra Medina is shown here behind the scenes meeting with her supporters during the gubenatorial race. She ran against incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchinson and lost the race. Medina said throughout her campaign that if she were elected governor, she would get rid of property taxes which she referred to as ‘paying rent’ to the government for property people already owned.

PHOTO GALLERY OF DEBRA MEDINA http://www.newscastmedia.com/debra-medina.htm

Bill White With Supporters In Houston

Bill White

Former Houston mayor Bill White is attempting to unseat Gov. Rick Perry in the race for governor.Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat since the mid 90′s and White wants to change that. His biggest task is getting people to know him since Rick Perry already has statewide and nationwide name recognition.

VIEW PHOTOS OF BILL WHITE AND SUPPORTERS http://www.newscastmedia.com/bill-white.htm

Genetically engineered ‘Malaria Proof’ mosquito developed by scientists

Malaria-Proof Mosquito Developed By Scientists

Newscast Media — According to a report in the journal Public Library of Pathogen Sciences, a mosquito has been genetically created that has the ability to instantly destroy the malaria pathogen.

Dr. Michael Riehle a professor at the University of Arizona and a co-author of the new PLoS Pathogens paper said, “We were surprised how well this works. We were just hoping to see some effect on the mosquitoes’ growth rate, lifespan or their susceptibility to the parasite. But it was great to see that our construct blocked the infection process completely.”

If these mosquitoes are successfully introduced into the wild, they could prevent millions of people from developing malaria, a life-threatening disease. However, scientists say they are about a decade away from releasing the mosquitoes into the wild. http://newscastmedia.com/malaria-proof-mosquito-developed.htm

Rick Perry and Bill White in a battle for Austin

Newscast Media — Governor Rick Perry and former mayor of Houston now face their final stretch in the race for the Texas governorship. Perry, who has never lost an election, is currently ahead in the polls. A new Rasmussen Poll showed Perry leading White, 50 percent to 41 percent. The new poll numbers are more favorable for Perry than a Public Policy Polling survey last month that showed White and Perry tied with 43 percent each.

Bill White, is facing the greatest challenge of his political career since Texans traditionally tend to vote for Republican governors. As a Democrat, since White lacks name recognition, he has to convince Texans that he is a different kind of Democrat willing to embrace bipartisanship, and not play party politics. People have to first know who he is before they decide to switch to a different administration, so as far as name recognition is concerned, Rick Perry has the odds in his favor.

Perry has successfully been able to tie White to Obama policies and says if White were elected, he’d implement Obama policies in an effort to please his fellow Democrats, and those same policies have put America in the position it finds itself in today. Perry’s argument is that since Texas is already thriving, there is no need for radical change in leadership, which might only do more harm than good to the Lonestar state.

http://newscastmedia.com/perry-white.htm

Arizona shuts down all speed cameras after motorists refuse to pay fines

Arizona Speed Camera Program Shut Down

Newscast Media — After several complaints from citizens that the speed cameras installed in Arizona were used to generate profits rather than promote safety, the program has now ended and the cameras are coming down.

The state Department of Public Safety decided against renewing the contract they had with camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems after Gov. Jan Brewer at the beginning of 2010 indicated that she planned to shut down the program.

The program was spearhead by then governor Janet Napolitano and since September 2008, they have taken 2.7 million pictures of speeding motorists, but only about 16 percent of the motorists paid their tickets while the rest discarded them. http://www.newscastmedia.com/speed-cameras.htm

2.5million Muslims have threatened to leave Facebook

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

Newscast Media — Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been accused by 2.5 million Muslims of ignoring their feelings, and have threatened to leave if Facebook does not reinstate their pages that were taken down. The Muslims threatened to join the social newtwork ‘madina.com’ which is a Muslim network.

A letter written by the Muslims to Zuckerberg read, “Although you have attended the world’s best communication skills courses you have been most successful in growing great hatred and hostility between you and Muslims around the world, but seriously this time you have caused an almost unrepairable damage.”
The letter also accused Zuckerberg of “Ignoring the feelings of 2.5 million Muslims.”

The letter also accused Facebook of “irresponsible behavior” for allowing “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day”. According to Muslims, there is one line in the Quran which is commonly taken to mean that it is impossible for human hands to recreate their Prophet Mohammed’s likeness. To attempt to do so is an insult to Allah, it is believed.

A spokesperson for Facebook said that the Islamic pages, which included “I love Mohammed” and “Quran Lovers”, were taken down because they were being used to ‘spam’ users, which is against the company’s policy. http://www.newscastmedia.com/facebook.htm