Just In Case You Questioned The Need For My Recent Posts on Spies…

U.S. Arrests 11 on Charges of Being Agents for Russia

“WASHINGTON — In what law enforcement officials portrayed as an extraordinary takedown of a Russian espionage network, the Justice Department on Monday announced charges against 11 people accused of living for years in the United States as part of a deep-cover program run by S.V.R. — the successor agency to the Soviet-era K.G.B. “

More Things To Come…and Much Closer.

American Cities Teeter on Brink of Bankruptcy

Economic Downturn, Mounting Debt Push Cities to the Brink; Maywood, Calif., Lays Off Everybody:

“Come Thursday, the small, working-class enclave of Maywood, south of downtown Los Angeles, will lay off all its employees, eliminate its police force and contract a neighboring city to run municipal operations.

How to prepare for the worst if the economy doesn’t turn around.

More than 100 city workers — the people who keep Maywood’s streets paved and parks clean, school crossing guards and police veterans — will get pink slips. The action is without precedent in the state of California. The police department, which had enjoyed a love-hate relationship with the mostly immigrant city of about 50,000, will account for 70 of those jobs, including 47 sworn officers.

“We’ve become the extreme example in that the city is now contracting all of its municipal services, absolutely everything, to another city that will now generate revenues off that,” Maywood Police Chief Frank Hauptmann told ABCNews.com. “Some ask the question, ‘Why even have a city anymore?'” From California to Pennsylvania, cities and towns are being pushed to the brink by the lingering economic downturn and mounting debt. The obligations of state and local governments have doubled to $2.4 trillion in the past decade, according to a recent report by the Federal Reserve. ..

…Tucked into the heavily industrial southeast part of Los Angeles County, Maywood is predominantly Latino and densely packed into just 1.2 square miles. Officials estimate about half of the city’s residents are illegal immigrants. Critics have blamed the city’s woes on what they call the ineptitude of local governments. In May, the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, a government agency made up of more than 120 cities to share costs, advised Maywood officials to end years of “passive administration.”

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/maywood-california-top-cities-overwhelmed-recession/story?id=11032953&page=1

A Preview of “Things to Come” by the Nanny State

EU to ban selling eggs by dozen

Shoppers will be banned from buying bread rolls or eggs priced by the dozen under new food labelling regulations proposed by the European parliament.

By Alastair Jamieson
Published: 7:30AM BST 28 Jun 2010

“Eggs are among many foods commonly sold by number, not weight Photo: REUTERS

Under the draft legislation, to come into force as early as next year, the sale of groceries using the simple measurement of numbers will be replaced by an EU-wide system based on weight.

It would mean an end to packaging descriptions such as eggs by the dozen, four-packs of apples, six bread rolls or boxes of 12 fish fingers.

The Government appeared to have been caught out by the change, but yesterday Caroline Spelman, the environment secretary, signalled Britain would now step in to prevent the rule being enforced.

MEPs last week voted against an amendment to new food labelling regulations that would allow individual states to nominate products that can be sold by number rather than by weight.

Individual countries are currently allowed to specify exemptions but the new rules under discussion make no such provisions.

The changes would cost the food and retail industries millions of pounds as items would have to be individually weighed to ensure the accuracy of the label.

Trade magazine, The Grocer, said food industry sources had described the move as “bonkers” and “absolute madness”. Its editor, Adam Leyland, said the EU had “created a multi-headed monster”….”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/7857516/EU-to-ban-selling-eggs-by-dozen.html

Filed Under: Glad There are Investigative Reporters Still Around

Filed Under: Glad There are Investigative Reporters Still Around

There Is a Free Lunch, and They’re Not Telling You About It

Posted: Sunday, June 27, 2010 6:37 pm

By EMILY ALPERT

“Top employees at the San Diego County Office of Education have been allowed to avoid reporting gifts despite a California law that is supposed to ensure that the public can peek at who is paying for meals, handing out baseball tickets or giving other gifts to influential government employees.

The office has allowed employees to report their income without revealing gifts, an exception that could obscure important information about who is wining and dining public officials. California law says that gifts are income, no different than the other earnings that top employees already must report on annual statements of economic interests.

The Fair Political Practices Commission urged the County Office of Education to change its guidelines after being alerted to the issue by voiceofsandiego.org earlier this month.”

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/education/article_a7b9da6c-8258-11df-9242-001cc4c03286.html

Comment: There is more to this story, so just click on the link. The voiceofsandiego.org is worthy of your contribution – they keep the Big Guys honest and scoop them regularly. I think they are the future of the news business, but they need your continuing financial support. They deserve it.