Jan Ole Peek

Terror-free Gas? Proof of American Stupidity?

I bet people will buy into this, too:

Claiming U.S. dollars used to purchase gasoline made from Middle East oil funds terrorism, a group called the Terror-Free Oil Initiative opened the nation’s first “terror-free” gas station.

By the way, later in the story it says that the first contributor of this group buys some of its oil from the same place that every other company does…

Oh and just to make another point… 80% of Americans didn’t buy or read a book last year. Sad.

Olympic Villages Open in Turin

Newsvine – Olympic Villages Open in Turin
A partial view of the Olympic village that was officially unveiled in Turin, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006.The village includes some 52 thousand square meters of residences with 750 apartments and 40 thousand square meters dedicated to village services. The Village will host over 2,500 people, including athletes and technicians. A logistic centre, medical services, shops, restaurants, gyms and reception areas for athletes and their staff will be provided here, as well as a large parking area. The opening ceremony of the XX Winter Olympic Games is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2006 in Turin. (AP Photo/Massimo Pinca)

Google execs keep $1 salaries

Google execs keep $1 salaries | Tech News on ZDNet

Top executives of Google have once again agreed to be paid annual salaries of $1 each in 2006, counting instead on stock options and grants of the company’s volatile stock for their pay.

In a regulatory filing on Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Web search leader said it had approved a base salary of $1 for Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt and its two co-founders and co-presidents, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

The three were paid $1 a piece in salary during 2005.

The action–which was approved by Google last Tuesday but only disclosed this week–occurred ahead of the 14 percent decline in the company’s stock price last week amid investor concerns over the Internet sector’s growth outlook and revelation of a legal spat with the U.S. Justice Department.

But before anyone offers to spring for bus fare for Google executives, note that the 7 percent rebound in the price of the company’s stock on Monday alone means that Schmidt’s shares had recovered $413.8 million in value during the one-day trading session, according to CNET’s CEO Wealthmeter site. As a result, his total wealth in shares is roughly $6.3 billion.