OTHER NEWS

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CONSULTANT PAID TO SAVE MONEY, BUT COST MORE THAN MONEY SAVED

JASON CLAYWORTH DES MOINES REGISTER, IA - The state paid an
international consulting company $3.7 million to find ways to save
money, but the savings after more than two years has totaled only $2.9
million, Iowa's auditor said. The Department of Administrative Services
hired A.T. Kearney in 2005 to help the department reduce costs in its
large purchases of items such as office supplies, vehicle fuel and
natural gas. The plan was to save $10.6 million a year.

The contract said the consultant would be paid based in part on how much
money was saved. However, when it appeared the company wouldn't meet its
goals, Mollie Anderson, the department's director, agreed to change the
contract, allowing the company to meet less stringent goals.

That action made it possible for A.T. Kearney to collect nearly $400,000
in "performance-based compensation," which pushed its total earnings for
the project to $3.7 million, the audit reported.

http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20070725/NEWS10/707250395/1001/NEWS


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BREVITAS
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MONEY

SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE - Home foreclosures in San Diego County
continued their troublesome upward climb in June, but analysts say the
number has yet to reach a threshold that creates a drag on real estate
prices or the economy at large. . . . DataQuick reported on Tuesday that
during the first half of 2007 San Diego County had 2,896 foreclosures
compared to 445 during the first half of 2006, a 551 percent increase.
From May to June of this year, foreclosures increased from 532 to 657, a
24 percent increase.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070724-1131-bn24default.html


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HEALTH & SCIENCE

REUTERS -  A Finnish researcher is to study fish in an aquarium while a
rock group performs nearby, to see if the sound causes any ill-effects
or distress.
Bands including aging rockers Uriah Heep will perform to about 3,000
fans in a tent just a couple of dozen metres away from the aquarium. "I
will be looking for any abnormal behavior or activity," said researcher
Mikko Erkinaro. . . "It could be quite nasty to arrange such an aquarium
and a performance venue (so close)," Erkinaro said, "especially when the
(band) is a bit old-fashioned."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070720/od_nm/fish1_dc;_ylt=AjpM.DIFSj6jyHJdKiTHXN7MWM0F


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OUTLYING PRECINCTS

FORTY-ONE PERCENT of the nation's likely voters want Congress to
formally censure President Bush. The latest Rasmussen Reports national
telephone survey found that 47% are opposed while 12% are not sure.
Those figures are little changed from a survey conducted early in 2006
when 38% of the nation's adults favored censure and 45% were opposed.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/
41_want_congress_to_censure_president_bush


GLEN FORD BLACK AGENDA REPORT - Barack Obama attempts to position
himself as the Biblical Joshua. But he is, in fact, the anti-Joshua. The
Old Testament says Joshua fought the Battle of Jericho, "and the walls
came tumbling down." Barack Obama has fought no battles as a U.S.
Senator, except for his own political advancement. He has been rewarded
by the modern-day Pharaohs with the largest war-chest in the Democratic
presidential primary race - proof that he has convinced the corporate
rulers of the nation that he is safe, and will never assault the walls
of power. Instead, he wants to be an administrator of corporate power, a
protector of the status quo. Obama tells us that black folks are already
"90 percent of the way" to equality, when all the objective data say
differently. In this way, he most resembles the snake-oil salesman Bill
Clinton, who threw more Black people in jail than any previous
president, destroyed the very concept of governmental obligation to the
poor, and laid the institutional foundations for the
de-industrialization of America - all the while visiting black churches
and giving feel-good gospel-laden speeches. Clinton effectively opened
the door for George Bush, just as President Jimmy Carter's corporate,
anti-progressive politics opened the door for Ronald Reagan.

http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_
content&task=view&id=296&Itemid=34


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WAR DEPARTMENT

RESALAT, IRAN - A few weeks ago, 14 squirrels equipped with espionage
systems of foreign intelligence services were captured by [Iranian]
intelligence forces along the country's borders. These trained
squirrels, each of which weighed just over 700 grams, were released on
the borders of the country for intelligence and espionage purposes.
According to the announcement made by Iranian intelligence officials,
alert police officials caught these squirrels before they could carry
out any task. Fixing GPS devices, bugging instruments and advanced
cameras in the bodies of trained animals like squirrels, mice, hamsters,
etc, are among modern methods of collecting intelligence. Given the fast
speed and the special physical features of these animals, they provide
special capabilities for spying operations. Once the animals return to
their place of origin, the intelligence gathered by them is then
offloaded. . . ."

http://www.defensetech.org/

JUSTIN ROOD, ABC NEWS -  The Department of Homeland Security is three
years late in developing a plan to protect its own facilities from
terrorist attacks, according to a new report. Instead, the department
has relied on a patchwork of efforts by its many components, leading to
uneven results, the congressional watchdog office finds.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/

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FIELD NOTES

MICROCREDIT - The Self-Help Association for a Regional Economy is a
model community-based nonprofit that offers a simple way for citizens to
create a sustainable local economy by supporting businesses that provide
products or services needed in the region. SHARE makes micro-credit
loans available at manageable interest rates to businesses that are
often considered "high risk" by traditional lenders-usually because of
their credit ratings or the unique nature of their business ideas. Local
SHARE members make interest-earning deposits in a local bank, which are
used to collateralize loans for local businesses with a positive
community impact. SHARE depositors live in the same community as the
business owners they support-bringing a human face back to lending
decisions.

http://www.schumachersociety.org/share_microcredit.html

JOHN EDWARDS' NIFTY HAIR AD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1qG6m9SnWI

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FURTHERMORE. . .

MATT CHRISTENSEN, MAGIC VALLEY TIMES-NEWS, IDAHO - Firefighters are
calling the Murphy Complex fire, which has torched nearly 600,000 acres,
the largest Idaho wildfire since a 1910 blaze that burned three million
acres. The Murphy fire threatens 7,500 residences, 1,000 commercial
properties and 500 businesses from Castleford to Mountain City, Nev.,
and the scope of the blaze and the terrain it covers has firefighters
wringing their hands. "This is probably the biggest fire we've seen in
the U.S. since 1910," said San Diego-based Rich Hawkins of the Forest
Service, who is coordinating the firefighting efforts from a command
post in Castleford. "This fire has the potential to become one of the
worst fires in American history."

http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2007/07/24/news/top_story/116893.txt

AL KAMEN, WASHINGTON POST -  The Bush administration may be taking some
hits lately in the polls, but that doesn't mean it's going to let down
its sartorial standards. So signs have popped up at various White House
entrances -- including the press entrance and the staff and visitors'
entrance at the southwest gate -- along with e-mails to staff members,
to remind everyone, particularly tour groups, that, even in these times
of sinking poll numbers, proper attire is to be maintained. The e-mail
reminder was all in capital letters. It advised that there would be no
jeans, sneakers, shorts, miniskirts, T-shirts, tank tops and -- with
boldface added -- "NO FLIP FLOPS." . . . These prohibitions would be in
force "regardless of weather conditions."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/24/
AR2007072402132_pf.html


WHY YOU DON'T WANT TO RENT A STRETCH LIMO IN SAN FRANCISCO
http://www.ftlauderdalelimo.com/beach-limo.php

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