Russians Told to Smoke and Drink More

Now THAT’S what I want to hear from my government!

“If you smoke a pack of cigarettes, that means you are giving more to help solve social problems such as boosting demographics, developing other social services and upholding birth rates,” Kudrin said, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

“People should understand: Those who drink, those who smoke are doing more to help the state,” he said, offering unconventional advice as the Russian government announced plans to raise excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes.

Young Childless Women Earning More Than Male Peers

Huh.

An analysis of census data by consumer research firm Reach Advisors found that women between the ages of 22 and 30, without children, had bigger paychecks in 2008 than their male peers in 47 of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Their wages were 8 percent higher, on average, but varied considerably from one city to the next.

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...Is currently the #1 search phrase bringing people to B&S. 

Why?

French Railway Company Faces Opposition For Transporting Jews to Nazi Camps

Do they have a point?

ORLANDO, Fla. – The French national railway’s hope to bid on the first high-speed tracks in the United States is running into resistance from Holocaust survivors because of the company’s role in transporting Jews to Nazi death camps.

[...]

“Why does this company deserve my tax dollars when they cooperated with the Nazis and let their trains transport people to be murdered?” said Goldstein, 71, who lives in Boca Raton.

SNCF stands for Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais. The company has argued that it had no control over operations when France was under Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944 and was under orders to transport Jews to death camps. The firm also has said the French government has made an apology and offered reparations, although survivors contend the company itself has never made such amends.

“We plan to have a full disclosure of our records and complete transparency,” said Peter Kelly, an American-based attorney for SNCF. “The fact is many railway workers were killed by Nazis, many were bullied and the company was under control of an occupied government.”

The Fundraiser That Wasn’t

Oops.

The Wisconsin Republican Party is blasting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett for a fundraiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that never happened.

The state GOP sent out a press release Wednesday saying Barrett hosted a “super secret” fundraiser with Pelosi on Tuesday night but didn’t want to admit it. Their release showed drawings of Pelosi handing Barrett a bag of money.

Problem is, there was no fundraiser. Spokesman for both Barrett and Pelosi confirmed to The Associated Press that it didn’t occur.

Republican Party spokesman Andrew Welhouse says he thought the fundraiser happened because he heard about it on Milwaukee talk radio.

Fewer Illegal Aliens

Good!

The number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. has dropped for the first time in two decades — decreasing by 8 percent as the sour economy dried up jobs and increased enforcement made it harder to sneak across the border with Mexico, a new study finds.

Much of the decline comes from a sharp drop-off in illegal immigrants from the Caribbean, Central America and South America attempting to cross the southern border of the U.S., according to the Pew Hispanic Center, which based its report on an analysis of 2009 census data.

K-12 Bailouts

Some school districts’ bailouts aren’t so much.

Lakeland Union High School, for instance, is getting $45. MHLT is hauling in $28. In these parts, Arbor Vitae-Woodruff was the big winner - it gets $125.