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Purveyor

Purveyor's Journal
Purveyor's Journal
December 20, 2012

Candanian Auto Wrks Pres Lewenza ‘Shocked’ GM Moves Chevy Camaro Production From Oshawa To Michigan

Source: StarPhoenix

The Canadian Auto Workers says a decision by General Motors to move production of its next-generation Camaro from Oshawa, Ont., to Michigan could potentially lead to the loss of thousands of jobs from the assembly plant and its suppliers.

Ken Lewenza, CAW president, said there was no earlier indication the Camaro work was at risk in Canada and he only was notified of the decision Wednesday morning as GM made its announcement.

“I’m still shocked,” he said during a press conference in Oshawa, where he urged the federal and provincial government to pressure GM to reverse its decision.

It’s too early to accurately predict what any employment impact would be, and so, at this stage we can’t give any speculative answers

General Motors of Canada Ltd. said it will shift assembly of the Camaro to its Lansing Green River plant in Michigan when the life cycle of the current model ends as part of an effort to consolidate its rear-wheel drive vehicle production alongside the Cadillac ATS and CTS.


Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/fp/build+Chevrolet+Camaro+Oshawa/7721817/story.html

December 20, 2012

Mayan Calender: Genesee, Lapeer County(Michigan) Schools Closed Rest Of Week Over Fear Of Violence

FLINT, MI -- Schools in Genesee County will be closed Thursday and Friday after threats of violence allegedly tied to the end of the Mayan calendar swirled around area school districts. The Genesee Intermediate School District offered this statement:

"It is clear that last Friday changed all of us. As educators, we acknowledge, and we believe our communities would agree, that schools are at the center of concern right now. As school district Superintendents we have been in constant communication with one another and there are too many unique factors that have influenced our unanimous decision to cancel school and all school activities for Thursday, December 20 and Friday, December 21."

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/12/genesee_county_schools_closed.html

Lapeer Schools cancel classes for the remainder of the week
LAPEER, Mich. (WJBK) -- Lapeer Community Schools will be closed for the rest of the week because of a potential threat of violence.

The superintendent says there is no credible threat at this time -- just rumors.

However, in light of the Connecticut school shooting last week and the Mayan's prediction of an apocalypse this Friday, school officials have decided to keep students at home.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/20388573/lapeer-schools-cancel-classes-for-the- remainder-of-the-week

December 19, 2012

Kristol-Founded Group Targets Hagel

By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 12/19/12 1:14 PM EST
The William Kristol-founded conservative Emergency Committee for Israel says it’s launching cable ads starting Thursday slamming Chuck Hagel, the latest in a spate of criticism over the man who’s said to top President Barack Obama’s list for Secretary of Defense.

The spot, which hits Hagel for voting against sanctions on Iran, is an indication of the next phase of attacks on the former lawmaker, whose past stands on Israel have gotten the most attention.

It’s set to air on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN in the Washington, D.C. market, the group says.

“Secretary of Defense Chuck ” the spot says. “President Obama says he supports Iran sanctions. Hagel voted against them. Hagel voted against labeling Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group.”


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/kristol-founded-group-targets-hagel-85310.html#ixzz2FWZ1YRwm

December 19, 2012

If Not Hagel, Flournoy?

Last night, we posted my story on some (some) pro-Israel objections to President Obama's rumored choice for defense secretary, former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.).

No one in the administration has formally touted Hagel, mind you -- not in the way that Obama himself made clear he was considering Susan Rice for the job at State, when he defended her against her attackers.

And one of the odd things about the emphasis on Hagel as a frontrunner is that another name kept cropping up, with not much less frequency -- Michele Flournoy, the current deputy defense secretary.

So now, the Hagel-dislikers (Hagel Haters works better phonically, but is inaccurate) are flooding my Inbox with cheers for Flournoy, who under Obama has been at the nexus of the U.S.-Israel defense realtionship -- the area of the relationship where close working relationships have flourished (as opposed to the diplomatic arena, where there have been tensions).

Naturally, one's conspiratorial mind begins to diagram jiu-jitsu plays -- Was Hagel an Obamatron decoy to make sure Flournoy gets a clear run? Are the neoconservatives on to this and preemptively embracing Flournoy so it looks like a win for their side?

MORE...

http://blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2012/12/19/3114926/flournoy-to-defense

December 19, 2012

New Orleans Schools Ban Creationism And ‘Revisionist’ History In Rebuke Of Texas

By Stephen C. Webster
Wednesday, December 19, 2012 9:56 EST

The school board for Orleans Parish in Louisiana voted Tuesday night to ban the teaching of creationism as science and what they called a “revisionist” history curriculum promoted by the state of Texas.

None of the six schools run by the board actually teach creationism, according to The Times-Picayune, but outgoing Orleans Parish School Board President Thomas Robichaux felt strongly about the measure (PDF) anyway, which passed in two parts.

The first policy change pertains to the selection of textbooks. “No history textbook shall be approved which has been adjusted in accordance with the State of Texas revisionist guidelines nor shall any science textbook be approved which presents creationism or intelligent design as science or scientific theories,” it reads.

--CLIP--

The school district is not alone in pushing back against growing religious and conservative influence on science and history curriculum. When education officials in Texas began altering textbooks to reflect right-wing and religious viewpoints, lawmakers in California acted quickly to pass a bill that bans the state’s revisionist standards in California schools.

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/19/new-orleans-schools-ban-creationism-and-revisionist-history-in-rebuke-to-texas/

December 19, 2012

Tax Filing Season at Risk of Delay as Budget Talks Drag

The Internal Revenue Service is tracking congressional budget squabbles as the agency tries to determine if it can start the tax filing season on time in mid- January.

With fewer than two weeks left in the year, Congress hasn’t prevented expansion of the alternative minimum tax for 2012. Unless lawmakers act, tax filing for more than one-third of taxpayers might be delayed until at least late March.

For one thing, 32 million taxpayers collectively would owe $92 billion more in taxes if a so-called AMT patch isn’t enacted. Further, inaction would require the IRS to reprogram and test its computer systems. Officials must gauge by early January whether Congress is likely to act on the AMT, as it routinely has done in past years.

“It’s a very challenging situation,” said Linda Stiff, a former acting IRS commissioner and now a managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Washington. “This country has a really strong system of voluntary compliance and that’s kind of built for decades around people knowing what’s going to happen from January to April.”

MORE...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-19/tax-filing-season-at-risk-of-delay-as-budget-talks-drag.html

December 19, 2012

Home Building Permits Near Four-And-Half Year High

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON |
Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:19am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Permits for future home construction touched their highest level in nearly 4-1/2 years in November, pointing to underlying strength in the housing market, even though starts dropped after three straight months of strong gains.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday building permits increased 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 899,000 units, the highest since July 2008.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected permits, which lead starts by at least a month to rise to an 875,000-unit pace last month from 868,000 units in October.

Though groundbreaking fell 3.0 percent to an 861,000-unit pace, that followed three consecutive months of solid gains. The three-month moving average of starts, which irons out month-to-month volatility, showed the firmer trend remained in place.

Read more: http://news.co.cr/home-building-permits-near-four-and-half-year-high/21503/

December 19, 2012

U.S. Rebukes Israeli Plans For New Settlements In East Jerusalem

Source: Washington Post

The Obama administration admonished Israel on Tuesday for approving 1,500 new Jewish homes in Arab East Jerusalem, saying continued building calls into question Israel’s commitment to peace talks and a separate, independent Palestinian state.

“We are deeply disappointed that Israel insists on continuing this pattern of provocative action,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

The unusually harsh rebuke to the closest U.S. ally in the Middle East reveals profound skepticism about whether the leadership of both Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank has the will to return to substantive talks.

“These repeated announcements and plans of new construction run counter to the cause of peace,” Nuland said. “Israel’s leaders continually say that they support a path toward a two-state solution, yet these actions only put that goal further at risk.”



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-rebukes-israeli-plans-for-new-settlements-in-east-jerusalem/2012/12/18/277f577a-494b-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html

December 18, 2012

Israel Poised To Build Thousands Of New Settler Homes

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, December 18, 2012 17:23 EST

Israeli authorities on Tuesday rejected a plan to build around 800 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, but were expected to approve more constructions elsewhere, triggering the ire of Washington.

Settlement watchdog Peace Now told AFP that authorities were due to endorse a far larger project on Wednesday and issue tenders for hundreds more buildings next week.

The Jerusalem regional planning committee turned down proposals for 813 housing units to be built under a plan known as “Givat HaMatos B” but approved a separate project for construction of homes for residents of the east Jerusalem Arab neighbourhood of Beit Safafa, the interior ministry said.

“Only one of the two plans discussed was approved, for 700 housing units for the Arabs of Beit Safafa,” spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said in an SMS message to AFP. She did not elaborate.

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/18/israel-poised-to-build-thousands-of-new-settler-homes/

December 18, 2012

Bushmaster's Shockingly Awful "Man Card" Campaign

Scott Lamb explains a "shockingly awful" campaign from Bushmaster:

The company that produces the semiautomatic rifle used in the Newtown, CT, shootings is currently running an online campaign based around virtual cards that "prove" the bearer's manliness. One specifically talks about how unmanly it is to be afraid of elementary-school kids.



More...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/scott/bushmasters-shockingly-awful-man-card-campaign

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