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U.S. Accuses Stanford of Running Huge Ponzi Scheme

Gov’t says ‘mass layoffs’ soared in January
WASHINGTON (AP) – Employers took a large ax to their payrolls in January, the government said Wednesday, and the cuts are likely to get worse over the next few months. The Labor Department reported…

Cable companies want a way to win with online TV 
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – HBO on your PC? It could happen sooner than you think. Wary of the growing number of consumers watching TV shows online for free – and yet reluctant to upset viewers by yanking shows from the Internet – the nation’s largest cable operators are in talks with media conglomerates…

Regulators pledge to shore up financial system 
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal regulators said Monday they will launch a revamped program to shore up the nation’s troubled banks that includes the option of increasing government ownership in financial institutions. The new plans are the Obama administration’s latest attempt to bolster the strength of…

America’s Municipal Meltdown: It’s Tough Times for Troubled Towns

Microsoft explores educational link to video games 
FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Devin Krauter sits on the end of his bed, tapping buttons on his video game controller to shoot down alien beasts while chatting with other players through a headset, texting on his cell phone and talking to a visitor. The 17-year-old high school junior is ranked by a video game…

What Facebook’s Stumble Can Teach Your Company

Obama treads lightly in meeting with Canada’s PM 
OTTAWA (AP) – President Barack Obama courted warmer relations with America’s snowy northern neighbor Thursday, declining to ask war-weary Canada to do more in Afghanistan, promising he won’t allow a protectionist creep into U.S. trade policy and talking reassuringly around thorny energy issues….

Foreclosure fix could affect 9 million

The845Club.com – Video Based E-courses

Juliana Redding was 21, an aspiring actress and model who, like so many others before her, had moved from Arizona to southern California in pursuit of the Hollywood dream. She wound up the victim in a real life murder mystery — one few people are willing to talk about in any detail.

Slain actress found dark side of Hollywood dream

Asian markets fall as Japan’s recession deepens 
HONG KONG (AP) – Most Asian stock markets fell Monday, as new figures showed Japan’s economy contracted at its quickest pace in 35 years and Group of Seven finance ministers warned the global slump will drag on through most of the year. European shares opened lower. Japan’s worse-than-expected…

JIM CONRAD’S NATURALIST NEWSLETTER
Written and issued from the woods near Natchez,
Mississippi, USA

February 16, 2009

*****

BAYOU WALKING
In most of the US bayous are thought of as small,
slow-moving streams or creeks, or lakes associated
with the Deep South’s swamps and rivers. Around here
bayous are something else entirely. Most people
outside the region would refer to our bayous as deep,
steep-walled, sandy-bottomed gullies or ravines that
usually are dry, except after rains. You can see Karen
hiking down the bayou below her house at
http://www.backyardnature.net/n/09/090216by.jpg

Feb 16

Obama adviser: Auto industry must restructure 
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama’s senior adviser said Sunday that any plan to shore up the auto industry will need to require sacrifice by all involved, from auto workers and industry executives to shareholders and creditors. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are expected to submit…

Microsoft to launch its own retail stores

Congress, Obama clear way for huge stimulus    photo
WASHINGTON (AP) – Moving with lightning speed, the Democratic-controlled Congress and White House agreed Wednesday on a compromise $790 billion economic stimulus bill designed to create millions of jobs in a nation reeling from recession. President Barack Obama could sign the measure within days….

Noca.com – The Next PayPal Arrives

Geithner bank plan short on detail

Chris Brown’s squeaky clean image falters 

At this point, Chris Brown would have been better off getting caught with a bong. At least then, the scandal enveloping his white-hot career could have been dismissed by some as a youthful indiscretion. But Brown’s arrest in connection with an alleged assault of a woman has…

JIM CONRAD’S NATURALIST NEWSLETTER
Written and issued from the woods near Natchez,
Mississippi, USA

February 9, 2009

*****

A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW ALL FLUFFED OUT
Nowadays around here temperatures bounce between
extremes. This week during a couple of dawn breakfasts
it was 25°F (-4°C) but on recent afternoons the
thermometer showed 75°F (24°C) and now frogs are
calling all night long. On one of our frosty mornings
earlier this week a White-throated Sparrow,
ZONOTRICHIA ALBICOLLIS, took up a perch beside my
trailer as I built my campfire and for me his demeanor
and fluffed-out feathers reflected the morning’s
hunkering-down-but-satisfied feeling, as shown at
http://www.backyardnature.net/n/09/090209zn.jpg

Feb 9