And people complain about the Chinese goods at Wal-Mart…
The NY Times reports that the Chinese government has placed a trade embargo on all exports to Japan of a crucial category of minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles.
China mines 93 percent of the world’s rare earth minerals, and more than 99 percent of the world’s supply of some of the most prized rare earths, which sell for several hundred dollars a pound.
Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert is slated to testify at a congressional hearing Friday on immigration titled “Protecting America’s Harvest.”
One Republican source said Colbert will be testifying “in character,” the Bill O’Reilly-like muse Colbert uses for his show.
Your facility is tasked with the storage of a mountain of gold and you’re not subject to periodic auditing?
How does that work, exactly?
24 hour update:
Heh. I’ll bet it is.
Next time, everyone gets a vote.
Berlin ‘cannibal’ restaurant calls for diners to donate body parts for menu.
Six Months On, Haiti Remains Covered in Rubble”
A half a year after a devastating earthquake claimed at least 222,570 lives, the work of rebuilding Haiti is still in the early stages. Helpers have traveled to the country from around the world, but reconstruction has barely progressed. In many parts of the country, people have simply moved on with their lives amidst the rubble.
Indeed.
h/t Maz2
Robert Werner;
Every day I listen to an excellent 4-hour podcast (minus commercials) of John Batchelor from WABC in NYC. Just heard him talking with Bob Zimmerman about this story. The actual segment can be found here beginning at 18:45. It’s an absolutely beautiful thing to hear Michael Mann squirm!
(Update: Video no longer available)
Jon Stewart: “Andrew Breitbart may be the most honest person in this entire story”
(Via Daily Caller, where you can watch the video from the US, or link through to Comedy Central.)
Related – “We must stop the white man and his Uncle Toms from stealing our elections.”
“Poll based on the responses of 1,177 Canadians. Results are considered accurate within 2.99 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.”
Related…
With Kate also in mind:
Squirrel stew (or soup)
(Update from Kate: You can drop your “get well soon” notes in the comments, and I’ll be sure to send them on.)
Uh oh…
The Ontario government is dropping its short-lived and controversial eco fee in the face of growing consumer and retailer malcontent.
Environment Minister John Gerretsen will announce on Tuesday that fees attached to thousands of household items will be eliminated, according to government sources. The fees went into effect on July 1, the same day as the Harmonized Sales Tax, without the knowledge of most Ontarians. They were attacked by politicians of all stripes, along with retailers, including Canadian Tire, which announced on Monday it was refusing to collect the fee.
More of this please.
Previous – Nova Scotia emissions climb down.
I’d make a surprise appearance in Washington, just to announce my retirement.
Louisiana State University Endowed Chair of Banking and nationally-renowned economist Dr. Joseph R. Mason estimates that the first six months of the Obama administration’s moratorium on oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico will trigger a loss of more than 8,000 jobs, nearly $500 million in wages, and over $2.1 billion in economic activity in the Gulf region alone.
[…]
According to the study, the United States will see a net loss of 12,000 jobs in the six months – a number which could grow to 36,000 over the next year. Additionally, Dr. Mason estimates that the U.S. economy will lose about $2.8 billion in economic activity and the federal treasuries will lose about $220 million in lost tax revenue.
You can download the paper here (word doc.)
Related: “Where did the jobs go?” Bepuzzlement at the New York Times. Not so much in the comments.
Via
From the comments; “Wow.. I think I’d be tempted to start booby -trapping all those trails.”
Think that’s far fetched? Think again: Car bomb in Mexican drug war changes ground rules
Now remember – it’s our “legal obligation” to send them cheap drugs.
h/t
