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Today: 49 articles and 146 comments as of 22:05.
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Zanzibar: Acid attack on two British women volunteer teachers
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 6: Politix
14 17:29 regular joe [2] 
11 18:09 Ebbang Uluque6305 [6] 
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1 10:07 Frank G on the road [8]
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Page 2: WoT Background
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2 10:31 Pappy [3]
3 10:02 Ana [1]
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Page 3: Non-WoT
6 23:06 JosephMendiola [5]
19 19:59 Frank G on the road [7]
3 11:50 g(r)omgoru [1]
9 23:57 JosephMendiola [9]
1 10:36 Pappy [3]
2 12:06 Skidmark [2]
Page 4: Opinion
6 15:34 Procopius2k [1]
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3 11:49 g(r)omgoru [3]
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2 09:28 Jack is Back! [3]
Africa Subsaharan
Zim's new govt: Who is in who is out - Mail & Guardian
Political analysts believe that in appointing his Cabinet, Mugabe will try to balance his appointments along tribal and factional lines.

Zanu-PF has two main factions, one led by Vice-President Joice Mujuru and the other by out­going Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, although both deny leading any factions.
Nearly nose-snorted my rooibos. Those M&G political analysts, minds like steel traps.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Government
Santa Ana to pay new city manager more than $500,000 annually
[LATIMES] Santa Ana has hired away Phoenix's city manager and has agreed to an annual salary and benefits package of more than half a million dollars, instantly making him one of the highest paid city employees in California.

David Cavazos, a longtime Phoenix employee who rose through the ranks from intern to city manager during his 26-year tenure, would have a total compensation package of $558,625 in his first year in Santa Ana.
If they hired a person who was 80% as good for half the pay, wouldn't they be ahead?
Only the city manager in tiny Indian Wells is listed as having a higher salary and benefits package at $677,172, according to the state controller's office, which most recently released data for 2011. That paycheck included a severance payout to the city manager, who was stepping down .

In Santa Ana, Cavazos will earn a base salary of $315,000, the same basic salary he made as the chief executive in Phoenix, which has a population of 1.47 million. Santa Ana has a population of about 330,000.

With benefits, the city expects to pay Cavazos $558,625 in the first year of his contract, with the figure dropping to $515,000 in his second and third year, according to a report prepared for the City Council. Among the benefits Cavazos will receive are $36,000 for housing in the first year and $24,000 per year after that. In addition, he will receive $7,500 in moving expenses, several sick and vacation days, and insurance benefits.

In an interview with The Times, Cavazos said he doubts he'll reap all of the benefits allotted to him in his contract.

"I haven't taken a sick day in 10 years. Some of those costs are not going to occur," he said. "I'm not leaving for the money. I'm not going there for the money. Just like I came here for an opportunity, I'm going to Santa Ana for an opportunity."

Though much smaller than Phoenix, Santa Ana is the county seat in Orange County and a political power base. But the densely packed city has struggled with budget problems in recent years.

Cavazos noted that he helped Phoenix emerge from a $277-million budget deficit and that it now has "the highest contingency fund in city history."

Santa Ana leaders praised Cavazos for his experience and said they believe he will help bring in economic development and federal dollars.

"You get what you pay for," Councilwoman Michele Martinez said. "We wanted the best and we didn't want to shortchange our city. He's very qualified; we didn't want to nickel and dime."

Phoenix officials gave Cavazos a $78,000 pay raise late last year, boosting his base salary to $315,000. The raise sparked controversy there. Defenders argued it would help retain a talented manager and put his pay in line with cities similar in size to Phoenix.
Worked well...
Posted by: Fred || 08/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm not leaving for the money. I'm not going there for the money....'

Said every pro athlete... never.
Posted by: Raj || 08/09/2013 0:47 Comments || Top||

#2  For perspective, an installation commander, usually a colonel(O6), on a military post fills most of the same demands that a city manager does. The monthly pay is about $7,898, throw in housing (not something new and fancy), and medcare (military Tricare). That's a hell of a lot cheaper than 500K a year. Somebody doesn't know how to shop. Actually, they don't care. It's not their money. Play it safe, pay premium.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/09/2013 8:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Colonel, in computing the salary of the installation commander, you've forgotten to include the hidden overhead costs of TRADOC and FORSCOM. :-(
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/09/2013 8:29 Comments || Top||

#4  We're talking installation commander. Whether the installation (vice city) or higher command (vice state/fed) are additional factors are applicable to any perspective. Those costs are 'sunk' and are generally not negotiable in individual hiring and firings.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/09/2013 9:36 Comments || Top||

#5  Marine Corps installation, it's also a Colonel. Same thing: base housing, Tricare, etc. Not called an installation commander here; actually the senior non-star on the commanding general's staff.

The difference between an installation commander and a city manager is that the former's authority stems from ability, rank and position. The latter is based on ability, resume, and connections (social and political.)
Posted by: Pappy || 08/09/2013 11:17 Comments || Top||

#6  Installation commander assignments in the Army are generally ash & trash, cat herding jobs. Next stop, retirement. Not prime time.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/09/2013 11:25 Comments || Top||

#7  no civil employee is worth than their military counterpart.
Posted by: newc || 08/09/2013 11:44 Comments || Top||

#8  Unless its an installation with line troops, the post commander has security (MPs etc), facilities engineers, etc, the full community requirements. The difference that the uniform operator has over the civilian is the ability to administratively 'kick off post' destructive influences before they become a UCMJ issue (or federal law if you dealing with civies).
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/09/2013 11:44 Comments || Top||

#9  Unlike most installation commanders he will not be taking over a normally well run organization. He's taking on poorly run, in debt, politically created city. If he manages to turn it around he will have earned every penny. If not, I suspect there is a performance requirement for his employment.

Wonder how long it will take the politicians that hired him to start squealing about and resisting the measures he will have to take?
Posted by: tipover || 08/09/2013 11:59 Comments || Top||

#10  total compensation package of $558,625 in his first year in Santa Ana.

I'm giving him 15 days of vacation plus 4 legal holidays by California law - includes Cesar Chavez Day (Mar 31) and Black Friday ( day after Thanksgiving )

works 242 days in a year.... does not take sick days ... "I haven't taken a sick day in 10 years. Some of those costs are not going to occur," he said.

So works say 50 hour work week - 5 days a week @ 10 hours a day.

He is paid 2308.37 per day or 230.83 an hour or
3.84 a minute.
Posted by: Spanky Whutle5172 || 08/09/2013 13:25 Comments || Top||

#11  "He is paid 2308.37 per day or 230.83 an hour or
3.84 a minute."

And worth every penny of it, Sparkey!

/sarc
Posted by: Barbara || 08/09/2013 13:41 Comments || Top||

#12  Santa Ana should of hired the manager from Detroit... it least that guy has some experinece in managing a city into bankruptcy.
Posted by: airandee || 08/09/2013 14:42 Comments || Top||

#13  And worth every penny of it, Sparkey!

What's a packed Rolodex worth nowadays?
Posted by: Pappy || 08/09/2013 15:14 Comments || Top||

#14  Santa Ana is being run by the Yankees, and they've just signed A-Rod
Posted by: regular joe || 08/09/2013 17:29 Comments || Top||


IRS Agent: Tax Agency still targeting Tea Party
[Washington Examiner] In a remarkable admission that is likely to rock the Internal Revenue Service again, testimony released Thursday by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp reveals that an agent involved in reviewing tax exempt applications from conservative groups told a committee investigator that the agency is still targeting Tea Party groups, three months after the IRS scandal erupted.
"Remarkable"....to some possibly.
In closed door testimony before the House Ways & Means Committee, the unidentified IRS agent said requests for special tax status from Tea Party groups is being forced into a special "secondary screening" because the agency has yet to come up with new guidance on how to judge the tax status of the groups.

In a transcript from the committee provided to Secrets, a Ways & Means investigator asked: "If you saw -- I am asking this currently, if today if a Tea Party case, a group -- a case from a Tea Party group came in to your desk, you reviewed the file and there was no evidence of political activity, would you potentially approve that case? Is that something you would do?"

The agent said, "At this point I would send it to secondary screening, political advocacy."

The committee staffer then said, "So you would treat a Tea Party group as a political advocacy case even if there was no evidence of political activity on the application. Is that right?" The agent admitted, "Based on my current manager's direction, uh-huh."
The Nurenberg defense. Very impressive
Might want to ask the ghost of Anton Dostler how that turned out...
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/09/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Targeting has been proven effective in the past. They're getting away with it. So why should they discontinue the practice?
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 08/09/2013 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  This will only change when you fire people by the dozens & cut their budget by 20+ percent; I'm not holding my breath on either one happening.
Posted by: Raj || 08/09/2013 0:49 Comments || Top||

#3  That why you need blood on the floor, pour encourager les autres. Otherwise behavior never changes.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/09/2013 8:17 Comments || Top||

#4  A father walks into a restaurant with his young son He gives the young boy 3 nickels to play with to keep him occupied.

Suddenly, the boy starts choking, going blue in the face. The father realizes the boy has swallowed the nickels and starts slapping him on the back. The boy coughs up 2 of the nickels, but keeps choking. Looking at his son, the father is panicking, shouting for help.

A well-dressed, attractive, and serious looking woman in a blue business suit is sitting at the coffee bar reading a newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee. At the sound of the commotion, she looks up, puts her coffee cup down, neatly folds the newspaper and places it on it on the counter, gets up from her seat and makes her way, unhurried, across the restaurant.

Reaching the boy, the woman carefully drops his pants; takes hold of the boy's testicles and starts to squeeze and twist, gently at first and then ever so firmly. After a few seconds the boy convulses violently and coughs up the last nickel, which the woman deftly catches in her free hand.

Releasing the boy's testicles, the woman hands the nickel to the father and walks back to her seat at the coffee bar without saying a word.

As soon as he is sure that his son has suffered no ill effects, the father rushes over to the woman and starts thanking her saying, "I've never seen anybody do anything like that before, it was fantastic. Are you a doctor? "

"No," the woman replied, "I'm with the Internal Revenue Service
."
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/09/2013 9:35 Comments || Top||

#5  IRS Joke I heard years ago...
Big, burly, bigmouthed man in the bar is going around challenging people to things. Darts, Pool, whatever. Finally he takes an empty glass (and not a shot glass) and a single lemon. He squeezes the lemon over the glass - his muscles tighen, cords stick out of his neck and his face turns red but he finally manages to fill the glass with lemon juice from the single lemon.
People are astonished, "how he'd do that?" and the braggart went around challenging people to do the same - no-body takes him up on it. Finally he gets to this little wizzened old man at the end "I bet you can't fill a glass with lemon juice like that!" he challenges.
"Well I'll try...".
The burley man get another empty glass and lemon and slams it on the bar, "Lets see it. $50 says you can't do it!".
"Ok" says the wizzened old man who todders over to the bar. He takes the glass and the remains of the same lemon the big guy squeezed, positions it over the glass and gives it a slight little flex... and fills up glass easily. Everyone is flabbergasted!
"How the hell you do that?" the big guy demanded.
"Well, you see, Before I retired I worked for the IRS....".
Posted by: CrazyFool || 08/09/2013 10:08 Comments || Top||

#6  Tyrant, one who is unrestrained by law and constitution.
Posted by: Uneaper Spairong8790 || 08/09/2013 11:23 Comments || Top||

#7  Every organization takes on the personality of its leader. At the top our leader is corrupt, unapologetic, a racist, egocentric, and disregards the constitution while holding democracy in contempt. The DOJ, IRS, State Dept., democratic party, and other agencies are a mirror the Obama soul. By the end of his presidency our economic system, legal system, tax code, health care codes, foreign policy, diplomatic processes, and political processes will be so corrupted and so fragile they might not survive. He will have proven himself to be the largest risk to national security since Stalin.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 08/09/2013 11:32 Comments || Top||

#8  Well, there's another election coming up in 2014. What did you expect?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 08/09/2013 11:37 Comments || Top||

#9  This is just a trial - just wait until they start delaying approval of life-saving medical treatment based on one's 'associations' (via that huge NSA database...).
"Oh... you visited Rantburg 20 times last week.... well we'll have to route this to 'secondary screening'" (which has a 18-month backlog....)
Posted by: CrazyFool || 08/09/2013 12:19 Comments || Top||

#10  This is just a trial - just wait until they start...

Just wait until the government apparatchiks start being found headless. If they are found.
Posted by: Joth Untervehr3925 || 08/09/2013 14:15 Comments || Top||

#11  This is just a trial - just wait until they start...

Of course you know the IRS will be running ObamaCare. It is a "constitutional" tax after all. So it'll be the same people with the same database and the same lack of scruples.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 08/09/2013 18:09 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2013-08-09
  Zanzibar: Acid attack on two British women volunteer teachers
Thu 2013-08-08
  Rebels attack Assad motorcade
Wed 2013-08-07
  Kashmir: Five Indian soldiers killed in shooting
Tue 2013-08-06
  Clashes between Military, Insurgents Kill 35 in North Nigeria
Mon 2013-08-05
  Thirty killed in heavy fighting in Syrian mountains
Sun 2013-08-04
  9 Afghans killed in attack on Indian consulate
Sat 2013-08-03
  22 Police, 76 Taliban Killed in Afghan Battle
Fri 2013-08-02
  At least 40 killed in Syrian weapons depot blast
Thu 2013-08-01
  Qaida Chief Says Syria Exposed Hizbullah as Iran 'Tool'
Wed 2013-07-31
  Pakistan Elects Mamnoon Hussain President
Tue 2013-07-30
  Manning Acquitted of Aiding the Enemy
Mon 2013-07-29
  US drone kills 6 suspected militants in Yemen
Sun 2013-07-28
  Report: Hizbullah Wired Money To Bulgaria Bomb Suspects
Sat 2013-07-27
  Muslim Brotherhood claims its supporters massacred in Cairo
Fri 2013-07-26
  Officials: Cafe Bombings, Attacks Kill 42 In Iraq


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