Propeller.com Stories submitted by JamesMarcus

Sex For Gasoline

JamesMarcus — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:48:46 EDT

A Kentucky woman is facing prostitution charges for allegedly trading sex for gasoline. Angela Eversole, 34, was nabbed last weekend during a police stakeout at a Days Inn, where she allegedly trysted with customer Kenneth Nowak and as paid with a $100 gas card.

Channel: News Tags: gas prositition kentucky

Colleges Promote Faux Diversity

JamesMarcus — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:43:25 EDT

According to a new study, more than 75 percent of colleges appeared to overrepresent black students in their promotional literature. Why? "Black equals diversity for many people. If you show African American students, people think that means your institution is diverse," said Timothy D. Pippert, an assistant professor of sociology.

Channel: News Tags: diversity colleges

Inmate released after 22 years on death row

JamesMarcus — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:58:51 EDT

A former death row inmate was freed from a Nashville prison on Wednesday for the first time in nearly 23 years after an anonymous donor paid his bail. Paul House, 46, is set to be retried in October in the 1985 slaying of Carolyn Muncey.

Channel: News Tags: death row nashville paul house carolyn muncey

Video: On the Waterboard

JamesMarcus — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:58:30 EDT

How does it feel to be "aggressively interrogated"? Christopher Hitchens found out for himself, submitting to a brutal waterboarding session in an effort to understand the human cost of America's use of harsh tactics at Guantanamo.

Channel: News Tags: waterboarding christopher hitchens

Oil Making "Overnight Millionaires" in North Dakota

JamesMarcus — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:12:31 EDT

Landowners in western North Dakota have a much better chance of striking it rich from oil than they do playing the lottery. A surprising number of people in Beulah (population 120), from bartenders to Tupperware salespeople, have become "overnight millionaires" from oil royalty payments.

Channel: News Tags: oil north dakota beulah

Clay Felker, Magazine Pioneer, Dies at 82

JamesMarcus — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:54:56 EDT

Clay Felker, a visionary editor who was widely credited with inventing the formula for the modern magazine, giving it energetic expression in a glossy weekly named for and devoted to the boisterous city that fascinated him--New York --died on Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 82.

Channel: News Tags: clay felker

Starbucks to close 600 stores in the U.S.

JamesMarcus — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:34:08 EDT

Starbucks, known for its kudzu-like proliferation, will now close 600 of its US outlets. The company has acknowledged that it may have lost some of its luster during a long period of rapid store openings and expansion into everything from breakfast sandwiches to movie promotions.

Channel: Money Tags: starbucks closures coffee

Crossing Lines

JamesMarcus — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:35:51 EDT

Fletcher lies at the heart of what is perhaps the most dangerous section of what is perhaps the most dangerous city in America: Detroit, Michigan. Yet a small group of bloggers is trying to resuscitate this bombed-out neighborhood, one small step at a time.

Channel: News Tags: fletcher cjr blogging

Obama and Bill Clinton finally speak

JamesMarcus — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:05:58 EDT

The silence between Barack Obama and Bill Clinton has been broken, with the Democratic White House hopeful on Monday asking the former president to campaign for him during their first conversation since the heated primary. Bill Clinton was often Obama's harshest Democratic critic.

Channel: News Tags: obama clinton telephone

Propeller Week In Review: June 27, 2008

JamesMarcus — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:36:40 EDT

A spike in white supremacist activity caught the attention of the Propeller community this week. But so did stories about abstinence, defense spending, and the death of the late, great, and hilarious George Carlin.

Channel: News Tags: propeller week in review wir

Twitter Gets Help from Bezos

JamesMarcus — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:17:50 EDT

When the news broke on June 24 that microblogging sensation Twitter picked up new venture investors, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the company--as luck would have it--was suffering a service outage. "Twitter is stressing out a bit right now, so this feature is temporarily disabled," read the message.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: twitter jeff bezos microblogging

Oil Mania, Anybody?

JamesMarcus — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:32:03 EDT

Two cheers for the Saudis. Not so much for agreeing to boost oil production a bit--a move that in the short term seems unlikely to ease summer gas prices. But because there's nothing like the Saudi version of straight talk to put in perspective the tongue-twisting of American politicians.

Channel: News Tags: oil energy crisis saudi arabia

Wasteful Weapons and the Politicians Who Love Them

JamesMarcus — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:25:33 EDT

In one of his better performances as a senator, John McCain distinguished himself by challenging a swindle that would have rewarded the Boeing company with a contract worth $100 billion for leasing Boeing aircraft that were converted to refueling tankers from a model that was not selling in a depressed market.

Channel: News Tags: boeing swindle mccain defense budget

Propeller Week In Review: June 20, 2008

JamesMarcus — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:40:04 EDT

The death of Tim Russert prompted an outpouring of sadness and sympathy from the Propeller community. But other hot topics this week included the Supreme Court, George W. Bush, hoop dreams, and a spot of plastic surgery.

Channel: News Tags: propeller week in review wir

Propeller Week In Review: June 13, 2008

JamesMarcus — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:08:18 EDT

Dennis Kucinich's failed attempt to impeach George W. Bush ignited this week's lengthiest conversation at Propeller. But the community also sounded off on oil prices, Michelle Obama, and the dark side of working at Hooters (the job seems to be a total bust).

Channel: News Tags: propeller week in review wir

Officials fell trees inscribed by US soldiers who fought for France

JamesMarcus — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:41:14 EDT

Although the trees grew and the graffiti swelled and twisted, this most peculiar memory of one of the 20th century's defining moments remained visible--until now. Amid bureaucratic indifference and a dispute between officials and the forest owner, most of the trees have been felled, chopped up and turned into paper.

Channel: News Tags: france normandy invasion name trees

CJR: Free Tunes! Not

JamesMarcus — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:21:36 EDT

A penny-stock company called Brilliant Technologies Corporation recently suckered several business-news desks with an announcement that its Qtrax unit had signed a deal with all four major-label record companies to give consumers all the music they wanted--for free. Great story, if true. Except it wasn't.

Channel: News Tags: qtrax fib business news

AFP: Microsoft Surface computers hit Las Vegas party scene

JamesMarcus — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 08:33:03 EDT

Microsoft's touch-screen Surface computers have debuted in a Las Vegas casino bar giving Sin City partiers high-tech tools for flirting and concocting cocktails. The technology essentially turns table tops into touch-controlled computer displays.

Channel: Gadgets & Tech Tags: microsoft surface las vegas

Problem gamblers hit Ontario casinos with $3.5B lawsuit

JamesMarcus — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:44:24 EDT

A $3.5-billion class action lawsuit has been launched on behalf of thousands of addicted gamblers who say they asked to be barred from Ontario's casinos, but were still allowed in.

Channel: News Tags: casino gambling lawsuit

Security scans will show sex organs

JamesMarcus — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:11:47 EDT

Security scanners that can see through passengers' clothing and reveal details such as their sex organs, colostomy bags and breast size, are being installed in 10 US airports. A random selection of travelers will be enclosed in the glass booths while a 3-D image is made of their body beneath their clothes.

Channel: News Tags: airport scanners

He's Taking Law Into His Own Hands To Help Broke Homeowners

JamesMarcus — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:55:39 EDT

With the economy soft and thousands of Philadelphians delinquent on their mortgages, Sheriff Green this spring refused to hold a court-ordered foreclosure auction. His move raised eyebrows on the bench and dropped jaws among lenders and their attorneys, who accuse him of shirking his duty to enforce legal contracts.

Channel: News Tags: philadelphia foreclosures

CJR: What We Sow

JamesMarcus — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:29:05 EDT

Over the past couple of decades, American companies and American state and city governments have descended into financial purgatory just the way, in "The Sun Also Rises," Mike Campbell says he went bankrupt: "gradually, and then suddenly." James Surowiecki on the pension-fund crisis and its potential to hobble us for decades.

Channel: Money Tags: pension funds james surowiecki roger lowenstein

Traces of anti-anxiety drug found in Texas tap water

JamesMarcus — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:09:42 EDT

Traces of the anti-anxiety drug meprobamate were found in Arlington's tap water, according to a report released Monday. Tests on the city's water were conducted in October 2006, but the city did not release results or reveal that it commissioned the tests until recently.

Channel: News Tags: arlington tap water medication