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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: altair19 who wrote (160811)	2/15/2009 7:22:30 PM
From: koan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 362386

I wish more people were like you.

To: altair19 who wrote (160811)	2/15/2009 7:58:37 PM
From: SiouxPal	Respond to of 362386

Girl Would Be Terrified If She Knew Teacher Had Crush On Her Too BOISE, ID—Seventh-grader Rebecca Hodgson—who recently developed a crush on her English teacher Douglas Patterson—would very likely be horrified to learn that the 47-year-old has similar romantic feelings toward her. Hodgson wouldn't be smiling if she knew what Mr. Patterson does in her desk chair after class. "Mr. Patterson is so smart and nice," said the Lakeland Academy student, completely unaware that the man five years older than her own father not only finds her equally attractive, but also has long and involved fantasies about her. "I really like his smile. And his eyes are gorgeous." "I know it's silly, but I think Mr. Patterson is kind of sexy," continued Hodgson, blushing with embarrassment and not nearly as frightened as she might be upon discovering that her teacher has a well-worn copy of her yearbook photo next to his bed. A two-time member of her school's honor roll, Hodgson was placed in the entry-level course at the beginning of the year. Since then, she has been charmed by her teacher's passion for the English language, a passion that pales in comparison to his late-night longing for her. ENLARGE IMAGE Mr. Patterson "Not only is he handsome, but Mr. Patterson is funny as well," said Hodgson, who would never laugh again were she to guess what the 230-pound adult does with her class assignments in his car. "He's not like all the other lame teachers we have at Lakeland. Mr. Patterson is different." "He doesn't treat us like kids, you know?" added Hodgson. According to sources, this is only the second crush the seventh-grader has ever had, and the first to be reciprocated by a man who, sometimes after class, likes to sit down at her desk and slowly close his eyes. Excited as she is by her new crush, Hodgson has thus far informed only a few of her classmates about her amorous feelings. "I told Cynthia that I bet he's a really good kisser and she agreed," Hodgson said less than an hour after field-hockey practice—a practice run by the team's new head coach, Douglas Patterson. "I shouldn't have said anything, though. If he ever found out, I'd probably be in big trouble." While she remains blissfully unaware of his secret desire for her, Hodgson has expressed excitement over recent events that suggest she might be Patterson's favorite student. According to a smiling Hodgson, her teacher has complimented her dress at every school dance this year and, just last week, held her after class to extol the qualities of her writing, which, Patterson said, shows she has "maturity beyond her years." In addition, Hodgson reportedly noticed Patterson staring at her from his classroom window during lunch on Monday, but ultimately dismissed the strange incident, claiming that the 47-year-old was "probably just seeing if there were kids smoking on school property." "I must be completely infatuated with him or something. It's like, everywhere I go, I think I see Mr. Patterson," Hodgson said. "Just yesterday, I looked out my window before going to bed and I could've sworn I saw his Honda Civic parked right across the street. Isn't that crazy?" When asked how he feels about his students, Patterson said that he loves shaping young and inquisitive minds, enjoys preparing the next generation for the challenges that lie ahead, and has been very happily married for 23 years. "Rebecca is a very bright and enthusiastic student," Patterson said. "I look forward to following her development at Lakeland Academy for years to come."

To: altair19 who wrote (160811)	2/16/2009 12:10:43 AM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 362386

And now the collision of the subs. Drunk driving, maybe. ============================= Nuclear subs crashed in Atlantic: report February 16, 2009 - 1:54PM A British and a French submarine, both of them nuclear-powered and carrying nuclear weapons, collided in the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, the Sun newspaper reported on Monday. The British tabloid said HMS Vanguard and France's Le Triomphant were both damaged in the incident, but there were no reports of damage to the nuclear parts. The British sub has now been towed to Faslane in Scotland for repair. Both vessels - between them carrying about 250 sailors - were reportedly submerged and on separate missions when they crashed on February 3 or 4. The UK Ministry of Defence refuses to comment on submarine operations but a spokesman said: "We can confirm that the UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety." HMS Vanguard is one of four nuclear submarines operated by the British military as part of its Trident system, and one is always on deterrent patrol. Each vessel is 150 metres long and 13 metres in diameter, and can carry up to 48 nuclear warheads on a maximum of 16 missiles. news.smh.com.au

To: altair19 who wrote (160811)	2/17/2009 6:09:43 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 362386

Berkshire Reduces Stakes in J&J and Procter & Gamble (Update1) By Erik Holm and Linda Shen Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reduced holdings of Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest maker of health-care products, and Procter & Gamble Co., the biggest consumer products company. Buffett’s firm cut its holdings of New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson by 54 percent to 28.6 million shares in the three months ended Dec. 31, Berkshire said today in a regulatory filing disclosing U.S. equity investments. The stake in Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble fell by 9 percent. Buffett, said to be America’s richest man by Forbes magazine, is betting on U.S. companies by funding buyouts, purchasing corporate debt and acquiring preferred shares in private deals. Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire, where Buffett is chairman and chief executive officer, made deals in the past six months to purchase $8 billion of preferred shares of General Electric Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. paying 10 percent. “When you’re getting fixed-income returns of 10 and 15 percent, why be in equities?” said Gerald Martin, a finance professor at American University’s Kogod School of Business in Washington who has studied Buffett’s investment history. “It could very well be he’s rebalancing the portfolio.” Berkshire cut its stake in U.S. Bancorp, the largest bank based in Minnesota, by 7.4 percent to about 67.6 million shares. The lender’s fourth-quarter profit plunged 65 percent on investment impairments and reserving against bad debt. The bank, which bought the deposits of failed lenders Downey Financial Corp. and PFF Bancorp Inc., agreed to sell the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program $6.6 billion in preferred shares. Wells Fargo Berkshire’s holding in Wells Fargo & Co., the second- biggest U.S. home lender, dropped by less than 1 percent. The San Francisco-based lender in January posted its first loss since 2001 after acquiring Wachovia Corp. Berkshire remains the largest investor in Wells Fargo Buffett’s firm also disclosed a stake in Nalco Holding Co., the Naperville, Illinois-based water treatment company expected to benefit from a surge in demand for clean water in emerging markets. The company makes chemicals that prevent corrosion, contamination and the buildup of harmful deposits in water. Berkshire owned 8.74 million shares as of Dec. 31, or about 6.4 percent of the stock, according to Bloomberg data. Oracle of Omaha Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett, 78, has become a cult figure among investors, drawing 31,000 people to that city’s Qwest Center arena for his annual shareholders meeting last year. He makes most of the investment decisions at Berkshire, while Lou Simpson, 72, manages the portfolio for car insurance unit Geico Corp. Buffett has cautioned investors against assuming all moves in the equity portfolio are his. Mutual funds and individual investors mimic the firm’s stock picks in an effort to duplicate Buffett’s investing success, and an academic study by Martin in 2007 found that using this strategy for 31 years would have delivered annualized returns of about 25 percent, double the return of the S&P 500. Investors can’t be certain they have full information on Berkshire’s stock holdings because Buffett often receives U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission permission to delay disclosure to avoid copycat investing. Today’s filing only lists equities traded on U.S. exchanges. Buffett discloses other holdings in filings with non-U.S. regulators. Buffett separately made deals in the past four months to buy debt of wallboard manufacturer USG Corp., motorcycle-maker Harley-Davidson Inc. and Sealed Air Corp., the maker of Bubble Wrap shipping products. The yields on the securities range from 10 percent to 15 percent. Berkshire had more than $30 billion in cash as of Sept. 30. Debt Markets “Buffett has shown a preference over the past couple years toward buying whole companies, the debt markets or other private deals,” said Mohnish Pabrai, founder of Irvine, California- based Pabrai Investment Funds, in an interview before the filing was released. Procter & Gamble has suffered amid the recession as consumers bought fewer premium versions of staple items such as Tide laundry detergent and Olay skin cream. The company, which gets about half of its revenue outside the U.S., also has been hurt by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against other currencies. The shares hit a 52-week low today. Johnson & Johnson’s fourth-quarter profit rose 14 percent on job cuts and increased sales of Listerine and Tylenol. The company said sales fell for pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and earlier this month failed to win approval to market a drug as a maintenance treatment to curb mood episodes in bipolar disorder patients with frequent lapses. To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Holm in New York at eholm2@bloomberg.net; Linda Shen in New York at lshen21@bloomberg.net Last Updated: February 17, 2009 17:44 EST