Dateline: Nanny State, Hawaii: Now they want to ban pocket knives! [1] What is next, pencils? (“You might put your eye out!”) And speaking of over-reaching paternalism, Chad from Colorado spotted this: Schoolteacher Suspended for Facebook Gun Photo. [2] My, how times change! My maternal grandfather, an Army Reserve Major, was a Junior ROTC [3] instructor that taught marksmanship at a California public high school, before his untimely death in 1943. It was not uncommon for students to bring their own rimfire rifles from home to shoot at the high school’s indoor shooting range. And nobody blinked an eye…
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Reader D.S. mentioned a useful resource for diesel vehicle owners. [4]D.S. says: “They have a great frame-by-frame how to tutorials on how to work on your Mercedes and other diesels and have produced a set of DVDs on the many facets of restoring, repairing, maintaining your diesel.”
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Sam A. sent us this link: President wants U.S. nuke arsenal slashed 80% [5].
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In economic news: The silver rally continues [6]. There’s that “D” word again: GE chief warns on US depression threat [7]. (Thanks to several readers, led by John S., for that link.) Ben H. sent us this: Worker Anger Sees Brown Facing Winter of Discontent [8]. Here is a quote: “They’ve sold us down the river,” said Charles Hilton, 61, an electrician from Hull in northern England who was out on strike yesterday with local oil-refinery workers. “We’re going to see civil unrest in this country. It’s already started. It will grow unless things are sorted.” Cheryl found all these for us: Wall Street Shrugs Off Unemployment Data; Dow Up 200 Points [9] — States Can’t Go Bankrupt [10] — Bush Overpaid Banks in Bailout, Watchdog Says [11] — Banks Sitting on Inventory Timebomb [12] — US Unemployment Expected to Rocket [13] — UBS Predicts Gold to Hit $1,000 [14] — UK Company Collapses are Up 124% in Three Months [15] — UK: Personal Bankruptcies Hit New Record [16] — Jobless Claims Surge to 626,000 [17] — Grim January for Most US Retailers [18] — Bill Gates Sees 3-5 Tough Years [19] — Biggest Job Loss Ever for Retail Sector [20] — News Corps $6.4 Billion Loss; Cuts Looming [21] — Jobs Problems You Don’t Know About [22] — Six Companies Born During Downturns [23]