2008 December | FendyBt2 Official Website

Bush revokes developer’s pardon

December 25th, 2008 by FendyBt2

Article Source: FendyBt2 Official Website

President George W Bush, 23 Dec 2008

US President George W Bush has taken the unusual step of reversing a pardon he had announced only a day earlier of a New York property developer.

Isaac Robert Toussie, convicted of making false statements to a government department and mail fraud, was one of 19 people Mr Bush pardoned on Tuesday.

But the next day, the White House said the president was reviewing the move in light of new information on Toussie.

This included details of his crimes and political donations made by his father.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the decision to revoke the pardon was “based on information that has subsequently come to light” on the extent and nature of his offences.

She also said that neither the White House counsel’s office nor the president had been aware of a political contribution by Toussie’s father that “might create an appearance of impropriety”.

Once that became known, rescinding the pardon was the “prudent thing to do”, she added.

Mr Bush’s move followed a report in the New York Daily News that Toussie’s father, Robert Toussie, had donated $28,500 to the Republican National Committee in April.

New York media also published reports that Toussie had been taken to court accused of deceiving poor, minority homebuyers and selling low-quality homes at inflated prices with hidden extra costs.

Toussie pleaded guilty in 2001 to charges of mail fraud and making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

He was sentenced in 2003 to five months in prison, five months home detention and three years supervised release, court papers show.

Mr Bush has granted far fewer pardons than did Presidents Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan during their terms in office

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation

Track-Ready KTM X-Bow Takes To Snow Like Duck To Water [KTM X-Bow]

December 20th, 2008 by FendyBt2

Article Source: FendyBt2 Official Website

The rear-engined, 240 HP, 1,700 Lbs KTM X-Bow is one of the fastest ways to lap a racetrack. But with no ABS, traction control or even a windscreen, how does it handle…in the snow?

Some crazy Scandinavian motorcycle journalists had booked the up-specced, all carbon fiber KTM for a review, but when the car arrived, it started to snow. Rather than be put off by the inclement weather, they suited up in full winter riding gear and took it for a spin. The results are simply epic.

This KTM X-Bow retails for about $130,000 in Sweden, but doesn’t include a heater, even on the options list.

The biggest problem proved to be the lack of a windscreen. Not only was the full-face helmet necessary for warmth, but for keeping the constant spray of road-salt and slush thrown up by the snow plow-like front splitter out of the driver’s eyes. The test driver reported “limited visibility” as his greatest issue.

We’ll let them tell you the rest:

The car is actually doing fine on the snow. It runs on winter tires, but no studs. Compared to an old Porsche 911 with a similiar set-up (rear engine, rear wheel drive and no weight on the front wheels) it’s a beauty for winter driving.
The steering is “ultraquick” and there’s no ABS, ESP or any other three letter electronic devices. The same goes for power steering and servo-assisted braking. Feedback from the steering wheel is excellent. Steering, gearing and braking is direct, precise and “distinct” – although it’s hard to tell how powerful the brakes are.

[via MC24]

Motor industry bailout ‘due soon’

December 20th, 2008 by FendyBt2

Article Source: FendyBt2 Official Website

Jaguar emblem

Ministers are discussing a Â£667m loans package to help Jaguar and the UK motor industry, a Labour peer has claimed.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown had said on Friday there was “no promise of support” for the car maker, despite action to shore up the US motor sector.

But manufacturing expert Lord Bhattacharyya told the Financial Times he expected the government to arrange the loans “fairly soon”.

Unions say tens of thousands of jobs are at risk without government help.

Lord Bhattacharyya, who is said to be close to both Mr Brown and Ratan Tata, chairman of Jaguar Land Rover’s owner the Tata group, said Britain should follow America’s lead.

President George W Bush agreed to lend $17.4bn over three months to keep General Motors and Chrysler afloat, saying that allowing the firms to fail would not be “a responsible course of action”.

"It is simply no good bailing out the banks if the banks won’t then bail out business"
Derek Simpson
Unite

And Lord Bhattacharyya said: “If the government fails to act to help the car industry, the UK will be the only major country not to safeguard its vehicle sector.”

However, he said he understood the government was already discussing the loan package, along with an unspecified amount of support for other car companies.

The peer is head of Warwick Manufacturing Group research organisation.

He said Jaguar Land Rover was a “special case” in that it conducted almost all its research in Britain – employing 2,500 of its 15,000 UK workforce in that field.

Confederation of British Industry director-general Richard Lambert said taxpayers could afford to provide short-term loans for ailing firms, given that 800,000 UK jobs are reliant on car-making.

Mr Lambert said: “The whole industry needs access to credit and I think this is something the government could do and should do with urgency.

“This is not money that’s being given away, it’s money that will be repaid.”

Instant liquidity

Meanwhile, joint leader of the Unite union Derek Simpson said the industry needed financial aid “within days”.

“It is simply no good bailing out the banks if the banks won’t then bail out business,” he said.

“By providing short-term loans, repayable with interest, the Treasury could instantly restore some liquidity to this system and save the tens of thousands of skilled jobs that are at this moment hanging by a thread.”

Mr Simpson described the UK motor industry as world-class, having undergone a massive modernisation process in recent times, but said it had been hit hard by the global credit crunch.

Unite has been pressing for a Â£13bn strategic support package from the government, similar to support provided by the German, French and Swedish governments.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has warned that the government does not have an “open chequebook” to help struggling companies.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders this week showed production slumped by a third last month.

The number of cars built in factories in the UK was 97,604, down by 33% on November last year, while commercial vehicle production fell by 50%