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Auctioning off the last of Madoff’s treasures
U.S. Marshals are set to auction off the last of Bernie Madoff’s seized assets next Saturday, with proceeds going to the U.S. Department of Justice fund and to compensate the victims of his Ponzi scheme. Items include everything from watches to alcohol to paintings. The Marshals claim that roughly $100 million worth of assets have been recovered from Madoff, although the damage Madoff caused — estimated in the billions — is much greater. Nevertheless, every bit helps. Authorities say the auction is to be shown online, so anyone who was cheated by this criminal can watch as his illegally obtained treasures are used to repay them.@@http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/05/27/florida.madoffs.auction/index.html@@
Community out in force to save school sports
Extracurricular activities are what keep many students in school, whether we like it or not. So when the Springfield school board met to discuss cutting several sports from Springfield’s high schools, people showed up in force to defend them. Education is a holistic, communal endeavor, and we need to approach every problem in our schools like this.@@http://www.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/26298968-41/budget-district-sports-springfield-june.html.csp@@
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Commissioner’s budget savings plan bad for Lane County
The Register-Guard ran an article on Sunday about Lane County’s budget problems, and one thing is clear: Commissioner Faye Stewart’s plan is the wrong way to solve them. Asking working-class employees to bear a majority of the cuts is unconscionable and won’t address the real problem. If the county isn’t making enough money to match rising costs of health care and increasing wages, it needs to figure out how to make more money, because health care definitely isn’t getting any cheaper.@@http://special.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/26255567-41/county-budget-health-percent-stewart.html.csp@@
Martial law imposed in China
Amnesty International, a human rights organization, has reported that numerous regions in northeastern China have been put under martial law — imposed military rule — by Chinese authorities after some 2,000 Mongolian student protesters took to the streets. Reports indicate the students were demonstrating against the death of a Mongolian truck driver who was killed by a coal truck driven by Hans, China’s majority ethnic group. The Inner Mongolia region of China is an autonomous region, though many Mongolians living there wish to see the region merged with Mongolia or even secede, which explains, but does not justify, the harsh measures the Chinese government has taken against the demonstrations. Amnesty International reports that so far 18 individuals have been injured. Hopefully Chinese authorities will not have to black out Internet searches for “May 2011” like they have for “June 4, 1989.”@@http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/28/china.martial.law/index.html@@
Thumbs: Last of Madoff’s treasures, martial law in China
Daily Emerald
May 29, 2011
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