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New Year Marks Half-Century of Broken Promises by Cuban Government and Abuse and Repression of Cuban People, Writes Gutierrez
Washington (Dec. 30)—“…the Cuban people have experienced the most tyrannical regime in the modern history of the Western Hemisphere, with the same political elite in power for the past 50 years, “wrote U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez in an opinion editorial printed in the Washington Times. “The prosperity Castro promised was never realized as the economy stagnated under the weight of communism.” (Opinion Editorial)
Census Bureau Projects U.S. Population of 305.5 Million on New Year’s Day
Washington (Dec. 29)—As our nation prepares to ring in the new year, the Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau projected the Jan. 1, 2009, total U.S. population will be 305,529,237—up 2,743,429, or 0.9 percent, from New Year’s Day 2008. In January 2009, one birth is expected to occur every eight seconds in the United States and one death every 12 seconds. Meanwhile, net international migration is expected to add one person every 36 seconds to the U.S. population in January 2009, resulting in an increase in the total U.S. population of one person every 14 seconds. (U.S. Population Clock)
NIST Atomic Clock Adds Leap Second for 2008
Boulder, Colo. (Dec. 24)—The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says the spin of the Earth is slowing down, adding a “leap second” to 2008 (also a “leap year”), thanks to the highly accurate atomic clocks developed by NIST and others around the world. No special adjustments need be made by us humans because most of the gadgets we use—computers, cell phones, GPS units, etc.—adjust themselves automatically. There have been 24 leap seconds added since the practice was begun in 1972, the last being in December 2005. (More)
- Last Updated:
- December 30, 2008
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