Thursday, November 29, 2012

Fiji - Fiji union body announces breakaway political party

SUVA, Fiji (RADIO AUSTRALIA) --- One of Fiji's two peak union bodies has announced it will form its own breakaway political party to stand at the 2014 elections.

One of Fiji's two peak union bodies has announced it will form its own breakaway political party to stand at the 2014 elections.

The Fiji Trades Union Congress has had an increasingly tense relationship with the Fiji Labour Party in recent years and FTUC President, Daniel Urai, confirmed to Pacific Beat on Tuesday that the new party will be formed.

Urai says the Fiji Labour Party has betrayed its foundation values.

?[Fiji Labour Party] has seemed more like only looking after one ethnic group and just one group of farming community,? Urai said.

The Fiji Labour Party was formed by the Fiji Trade Union Congress in 1985, but Urai says FLP leaders have lately announced that there is no link between the two organisations.

Urai denies he is giving Fiji?s government legitimacy by forming a party to stand at the 2014 elections.

Urai said he and his supporters are ?between the devil and the deep blue sea?.

?You don't partake, things still move on,? he said.

?If we partake, then we may be able to have some say in the formation of the next government.?

Urai says the name and office holders of the party will be announced in around two weeks time.

He says the party will be based on a multi-racial structure.

Source: http://www.islandsbusiness.com//news/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=130/focusContentID=30588/tableName=mediaRelease/overideSkinName=newsArticle-full.tpl

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Google Acquires Wireless Internet Network - Business Insider

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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-acquires-wireless-internet-network-2012-11

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Monday, November 26, 2012

Israel, militants begin talks on truce details

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel and Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip began indirect talks Monday in Egypt aimed at forging a new era of relations between the bitter enemies following a cease-fire that ended the heaviest fighting in nearly four years.

The talks, being mediated by Egypt, were the first negotiations since the cease-fire took effect last Wednesday, halting eight days of airstrikes targeting militant groups in the Palestinian territory and rocket attacks that reached deep into Israel.

Israel launched some 1,500 airstrikes in a bid to end rocket attacks out of Gaza, while the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant groups fired a similar number of rockets at Israeli cities. More than 160 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians were killed. Palestinian attacks killed Six Israelis, including four civilians and two soldiers.

Now that fighting has subsided, Egypt is working with the sides on carrying out the second phase of the agreement: negotiating new border arrangements for the impoverished coastal strip.

The negotiations will not be simple. The militants want Israel to lift what remains of its blockade of Gaza, imposed five years ago after Hamas seized control of the territory from its Western-backed rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. While Israel has eased the blockade in recent years, key restrictions remain in place on exports out of Gaza and the entry of badly needed building materials into the territory.

The Palestinians are hopeful that Egypt's new Islamist government will ease its own restrictions on movement in and out of the territory. Egypt still limits foot traffic through the Rafah border crossing. The militants also hope to turn the Rafah terminal into a major cargo crossing.

In return, Israel wants an end to arms smuggling into Gaza. Iranian-made weapons have made their way into Gaza through a circuitous route that ends with underground tunnels along the Egyptian border.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the negotiations with the media, said Israel is prepared to take steps to help Gaza's civilians but would be wary of doing anything that could strengthen Hamas. In particular, he said the issue of arms smuggling would be high on the agenda.

"Our assessment is that successfully preventing the rearmament of Hamas and other groups is an integral element of maintaining long-term peace and quiet," the official said.

Yasser Othman, Egypt's top diplomat in the West Bank, confirmed the talks had begun.

Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official in Gaza, said the group's economics minister, Ziad al-Zaza, was leading the Palestinian delegation. He gave no further details, and it was unclear whether any timeline was imposed for implementing the deal.

But militant leaders already have said they will not give up the vast arsenals they have accumulated. In the recent fighting, Hamas and Islamic Jihad unveiled new rockets capable of striking deep into the Israeli heartland, in addition to anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.

In an interview Monday, Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called him and Hamas' prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, to offer congratulations after their battle with Israel.

"Iran has been providing us with the support we needed to defend ourselves in the face of the Zionist occupation. Iran supported us militarily and financially and with everything we need to stand steadfast on our land," Shallah said. "We appreciate that and hope that all the Arab countries do the same."

He also said he hoped the latest fighting would inspire Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up against Israel as well.

Abbas, an outspoken critic of violence, has governed in the West Bank since Hamas overthrew his forces in Gaza in 2007. The rival governments repeatedly have failed to reconcile.

After four years of deadlock in peace efforts with Israel, Abbas this week is asking the United Nations to grant the Palestinians upgraded observer status and recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. The motion, largely symbolic, is expected to pass easily in the U.N. General Assembly.

In a statement, Hamas announced that its supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal, called Abbas to welcome the decision to go to the U.N.

Israeli officials ? backed by the Obama administration ? strongly oppose the move in the belief it is an attempt to bypass negotiations, but they have not said how they will respond.

___

Associated Press writers Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Cairo contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-militants-begin-talks-truce-details-142045782.html

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Report: Obama health law a good deal for states

(AP) ? A new report says states can receive more than $9 in federal money for every dollar they spend to cover low-income residents under President Barack Obama's health care law.

Expanding Medicaid to cover about 20 million more low-income people will cost a total of more than $1 trillion from 2013 to 2022, the report estimates. But states will pay just $76 billion of that, or roughly 7 percent of the cost.

Two nonpartisan groups, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Urban Institute, collaborated on the new analysis.

It also found that a few states might actually spend less than they do now.

The Supreme Court allowed states to opt out of the health care law's Medicaid expansion, an issue that will be hotly debated when state legislatures meet next year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-11-26-Health%20Overhaul-Medicaid/id-18ec44150e5d4b308ee0be7d3be1a8fd

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Friday, November 23, 2012

I used to use this URL for my home page - Family Woodworking ...

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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Prison Planet.com ? Government Website For Immigrants: Come To ...

Michael Snyder
The American Dream
Nov 20, 2012

A website run by the federal government (?WelcomeToUSA.gov?) encourages new immigrants to the United States to apply for welfare benefits.? This website is run by the Department of Homeland Security and it says that it ?is the U.S. Government?s official web portal for new immigrants.?? So your tax dollars were used to build and maintain a website that teaches immigrants how to come into this country and sponge a living off of federal welfare programs paid for by your tax dollars.? What in the world is happening to us?? Yes, we will always need some legal immigration.? We are a nation of immigrants and immigration has been very good to this country.? But at a time when there are millions upon millions of American citizens out of work and at a time when we are absolutely drowning in debt, do we really need to encourage millions more immigrants to come over and take advantage of our overloaded social welfare programs?? WelcomeToUSA.gov actually encourages new immigrants to apply for food stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.? Of course not all immigrants are eligible for all of those programs, but if an immigrant can get over to the U.S. and just get signed up for a couple of programs they can enjoy a higher standard of living doing nothing here than they can working at a low paying job back home.? We have created a perverse system of incentives that makes it very attractive to people all over the world to do whatever they can to hitch a ride on ?the gravy train? and take advantage of all of the benefits that they possibly can.? And once immigrants get on welfare, many of them never leave.? For example, one study discovered that?43 percent of all immigrants who have been in the United States for at least 20 years were still on welfare.? We can?t even take care of our own citizens, and yet more immigrants hop on to the safety net every single day.? At some point the safety net is going to break and then we won?t even be able to take care of the struggling Americans that really need it.

When I first discovered WelcomeToUSA.gov I was absolutely floored.? In particular, the page that encourages immigrants to apply for federal welfare benefits is just shocking.? Here is the?opening paragraph?

Depending on your immigration status, length of time in the United States, and income, you may be eligible for some federal benefit programs. Government assistance programs can be critically important to the well-being of some immigrants and their families. Frequently, however, there is a lack of information about how to access such benefits. Benefit programs can be complicated and you may be given misleading information about how they operate.

The page also contains a list of links where new immigrants can find instructions about how to apply for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families?

The links below will lead you to official government websites describing a range of assistance programs.

So why is the Department of Homeland Security doing this?? The following is?what the Daily Caller was toldwhen they asked?

USCIS spokesman Bill Wright told The Daily Caller that the site is not intended to advise individuals on their eligibility.

?The website seeks to improve access to federal government information on the Internet by consolidating information into helpful categories and highlight new resources available to immigrants and the organizations that serve them,? Wright explained in an email.

Well, isn?t that special?

Perhaps this could be their new slogan: ?Come To America And Take Advantage Of Our Free Stuff?.

Sadly, the truth is that our insane immigration policies are doing?an incredible amount of damage to this country.? Our current system makes it very difficult on those immigrants that want to do things the right way and that want to come into this country for the right reasons.? On the other hand, our current system makes things very easy on those that want to come into this country illegally and on those that want to take advantage of our generosity.

Posted below is a list of 10 things that are going to happen if the federal government continues to systematically legalize illegal immigration that comes from one of my?previous articles.? Illegal immigration is causing chaos in communities all over America, and it is going to get a lot worse if changes are not made?

#1 There Will Be Fewer Jobs For American Workers

In the United States today, 53 percent of all college graduates under the age of 25 are either?unemployed or underemployed.? Many of them are absolutely desperate for work.

Overall, there are?more than 100 million working age Americans that do not have jobs right now.

Meanwhile, millions of illegal immigrants are occupying jobs that could otherwise be held by American citizens.? Many employers prefer to hire illegals because they work for a lot less money.

Sadly, many prominent politicians actually support the ?right? of these ?undocumented workers? to steal our jobs as a recent article?by Devvy Kidd pointed out?.

In April 2008, the very popular, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, prostituted himself during a speech for votes at an event sponsored by the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey by assuring his audience illegal aliens were not really here illegally, but were simply ?undocumented.?

The ?unofficial? number of unemployed Americans is close to 25 MILLION. Those ?undocumented? criminals Gov. Christie refers to are illegally holding 11.5 MILLION jobs that belong to Americans and naturalized citizens. Shame on you, Gov. Christie for thumbing your nose at our federal immigration laws and encouraging even more criminals to break into our country. Roll out the welcome mat. Unemployment in New Jersey is holding at a steady 9.3%. Gov. Christie apparently doesn?t care if jobs go to illegal aliens instead of legal citizens in his state. After all, they?re simply ?undocumented?.

#2 Wages For American Workers Will Continue To Decline

When you have a lot more workers competing for the same number of jobs, what happens?

That is right ? wages go down.

We are seeing this happen in industry after industry.

For example, several decades ago a roofer could live a nice middle class lifestyle and support an entire family on one income.

But today that is no longer the case.

So what has changed?

A flood of illegal labor has entered the marketplace.

#3 Illegal Immigrants Will Overwhelm Our Welfare System

Every year, illegal immigrants receive tens of billions of dollars in welfare payments.? They get free food assistance, free housing assistance, free health care benefits and free education for their children.? Life is good if you are an illegal immigrant and you know how to game the system.

In fact, many cities in United States now openly advertise that they will help illegal immigrants with these things.

Unfortunately, according to?Devvy Kidd the cost to taxpayers is getting to be astronomical?.

Last year alone, the cost to taxpayers of LA County was whopping $600 MILLION dollars in welfare for children of illegal aliens. I guess it doesn?t bother the people there getting fleeced in taxes to pay for all that welfare because they continue to elect governors who refuse to lock down the border and sympathizers of the invasion across the southern border of California to their legislature.

Overall, it has been estimated that U.S. taxpayers spend?$12,000,000,000 a year on primary and secondary school education for the children of illegal immigrants.

#4 Mexican Drug Cartels Will Establish A Presence In Nearly Every City In The United States

Mexican drug cartels continue to expand their influence inside the United States at a frightening pace.? They are slowly taking over our communities.? How far do things have to go before we say enough is enough?

The amount of money that Mexican drug cartels bring in from selling drugs inside the United States is?absolutely staggering?.

In the sober reckoning of the RAND Corporation, for instance, the gross revenue that all Mexican cartels derive from exporting drugs to the United States amounts to only $6.6 billion. By most estimates, though, Sinaloa has achieved a market share of at least 40 percent and perhaps as much as 60 percent, which means that Chapo Guzm?n?s organization would appear to enjoy annual revenues of some $3 billion ? comparable in terms of earnings to Netflix or, for that matter, to Facebook.

Can you imagine that?

We are talking about serious money.

And Mexican drug cartels are not just operating in huge cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.? The truth is that they have become deeply embedded in many rural communities?as well?.

News of cartel machinations are common in cities near the border, such as Phoenix, and the far-flung drug hubs of New York, Chicago or Atlanta, but smaller towns bring business, too. In unsuspecting suburbs and rural areas, police are increasingly finding drugs, guns and money they can trace back to Mexican drug organizations.

The numbers could rise in coming years. The Justice Department?s National Drug Intelligence Center estimates Mexican cartels control distribution of most of the methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana coming into the country, and they?re increasingly producing the drugs themselves.

In 2009 and 2010, the center reported, cartels operated in 1,286 U.S. cities, more than five times the number reported in 2008. The center named only 50 cities in 2006.

#5 There Will Be Increasing ?Anti-American Violence? Inside The United States

These days a lot of Americans are being attacked (and sometimes killed) down in Mexico.

The following is from a recent?ABC News article?.

American travelers to Mexico should beware of possible violent retaliation for this week?s arrest of alleged Zetas drug cartel associates and family members inside the U.S., the U.S. State Department has warned.

Though the warning does not specify which ?Transnational Criminal Organization? might engage in ?anti-American? violence, on Tuesday federal authorities arrested seven alleged associates of the powerful Zetas drug cartel in New Mexico and Oklahoma for allegedly laundering millions in drug profits through breeding and racing quarterhorses in the U.S. Those arrested included Jose Trevino Morales, the brother of Zetas leaders Miguel Angel and Oscar Omar Trevino Morales, who were also indicted but remain at large in Mexico.

As Mexican drug cartels and criminal gangs expand north, it is inevitable that ?anti-American violence? will spread deeper and deeper into the U.S. itself.

The level of violence that we are seeing down in Mexico right now is absolutely frightening.? These drug cartels can be?absolutely brutal?.

Fourteen dismembered bodies were found in a truck in the center of a town in northern Mexico on Thursday in what appeared to be the latest atrocity committed by rival gangs battling over drug-smuggling routes, local media said.

The bodies of 11 men and three women were discovered in the sugar-cane farming town of Ciudad Mante in the south of Tamaulipas state, which borders on Texas, daily Milenio reported on its website.

Overall,?more than 55,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006.

Is that the kind of violence we want in this country?

Already the region along the U.S./Mexico border is an open war zone.

Just across the U.S. border, the city of Juarez, Mexico is considered to be?one of the most dangerous cities on the face of the earth.? In fact, Juarez is now?the murder capital of the western hemisphere.

But instead of strengthening security along the border, Barack Obama wants to make the border meaningless.

#6 Massive Bribes Will Corrupt Our Judicial System

When there are billions of dollars involved, it is inevitable that some members of the police and some members of the judiciary will take bribes.

Just look at what has happened down in Mexico.? The following is from a recent article?in the New York Times?.

When you tally it all up, bribery may be the single largest line item on a cartel?s balance sheet. In 2008, President Felipe Calder?n?s own drug czar, Noe Ramirez, was charged with accepting $450,000 each month. Presumably, such gargantuan bribes to senior officials cascade down, securing the allegiance of their subordinates. ?You have to recruit the high commands, so they can issue the information to lower ranks and order whatever they want,? the corrupt cop, Fierro M?ndez, testified. But in key jurisdictions, the cartel most likely makes payments up and down the chain of command. In a 2010 speech, Genaro Garc?a Luna, Mexico?s secretary of public security, speculated that together, the cartels spend more than a billion dollars each year just to bribe the municipal police.

What would you do if you were offered a bribe of $450,000 a month?

Don?t assume that Americans are so much more ?moral? than the Mexicans are.

#7 Gang Activity Will Continue To Grow In The United States By Leaps And Bounds

Gang activity is absolutely exploding inside the United States.

According to the FBI, there are now?1.4 million gang members involved in the 33,000 different gangs that are active inside the United States.

The number of gang members in America has increased?by 40 percent since 2009.

Those stats should be very alarming to all of us.

What are we going to do if gangs keep growing at this rate?

According to federal statistics, gang members are responsible for up to?80 percent of all violent crimes committed in?the United States every year.

A very large percentage of these gang members have entered the United States from Mexico, but the federal government refuses to do anything to stop it.

#8 The Decline Of Our Health Care System Will Continue To Accelerate

Illegal immigrants are overwhelming emergency rooms all over the country.? They walk in, receive high quality treatment and often never pay after they leave.

Things have gotten so bad in many areas of the nation that it is causing entire hospitals to go bankrupt and shut down.

In a?previous article, I described what unchecked illegal immigration is doing to the health care system in California?.

Thanks to illegal immigration, California?s overstretched health care system?is on the verge of collapse.? Dozens of California hospitals and emergency rooms have shut down?over the last decade because they?could not afford to stay open after being endlessly?swamped?by illegal?immigrants who were simply not able to pay for the services that they were receiving.? As a result, the remainder of the health care system in the state of California?is now beyond overloaded.? This had led to brutally long waits, diverted ambulances and even unnecessary patient deaths.? Sadly, the state of California now ranks?dead last out of all 50 states in the number of emergency rooms per million people.

#9 Legalizing Illegal Immigrants Will Cause A Huge Shift In Voting Patterns

Instead of looking out for the American people, many Democrats support legalizing illegal immigration because it will give the Democratic Party more support at the polls.

  • A d v e r t i s e m e n t

This is incredibly selfish and self-serving, but this is the way that the political game is played in 2012.

#10 There Will Be A Flood Of New Illegal Immigrants

Amazingly, far more people?move into the United States illegally than come in through the legal immigration process.

As word spreads of the ?Obama amnesty?, millions more will come on over.? After all, what would they have to lose?? If they get caught crossing over they will just get nicely sent back and can try again in a few days.

If they make it they can take advantage of all the free goodies here in the United States.? Thanks to Obama, the odds of deportation are now very slim.? And they can often make significantly more money in the ?underground economy? in the U.S. than they can back home.

**********

So what do you think about what our current immigration crisis?

Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below?

?


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Source: http://www.prisonplanet.com/government-website-for-immigrants-come-to-america-and-take-advantage-of-our-free-stuff.html

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Hostess, Union Agree To Mediate, Likely Helping Twinkie-Maker Avoid Shutdown

Hostess Brands and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union agreed to mediation on Monday, according to a tweet from CNBC. The agreement will reportedly prevent a Hostess liquidation, which the company announced Friday could be imminent.

The Bakers' Union had been fighting a proposal to significantly cut worker pay and pensions, and Hostess claimed that the striking workers made it impossible for the company to produce its products.

More from the Associated Press:

Twinkies won't die that easily after all.

Hostess Brands Inc. and its second largest union will go into mediation to try and resolve their differences, meaning the company won't go out of business just yet. The news came Monday after Hostess moved to liquidate and sell off its assets in bankruptcy court citing a crippling strike last week.

The bankruptcy judge hearing the case said Monday that the parties haven't gone through the critical step of mediation and asked the lawyer for the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, which has been on strike on Nov. 9, to ask his client, who wasn't present, if the union would agree to participate. The judge noted that the bakery union went on strike after rejecting the company's latest contract offer, even though it never filed an objection to it.

"Many people, myself included, have serious questions as to the logic behind this strike," said Judge Robert Drain, who heard the case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York in White Plains, N.Y. "Not to have gone through that step leaves a huge question mark in this case."

Hostess and the union are expected to begin the mediation process on Tuesday.

Irving, Texas-based Hostess, weighed down by debt, management turmoil, rising labor costs and the changing tastes of America, decided on Friday that it no longer could make it through a conventional Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring. Instead, it's asked the court for permission to sell assets and go out of business.

It's a far cry from when the maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Ho's filed for bankruptcy in January, its second Chapter 11 filing in less than a decade. The company had hoped to emerge with stronger financials. It brought on CEO Gregory Rayburn as a restructuring expert and was working to renegotiate its contract with labor unions.

But Rayburn wasn't able to reach a deal with the bakery union, which went on strike Nov. 9. Rayburn said that Hostess was already operating on razor thin margins and that the strike was the final blow.

The company's announcement on Friday that it would move to liquidate prompted people across the country to rush to stores and stock up on their favorite Hostess treats. Many businesses reported selling out of Twinkies within hours and the spongy yellow cakes turned up for sale online for hundreds of dollars.

Even if Hostess goes out of business, its popular brands will likely find a second life after being snapped up by buyers. The company says several potential buyers have expressed interest in the brands. Although Hostess' sales have been declining in recent years, the company still does about $2.5 billion in business each year. Twinkies along brought in $68 million so far this year.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/hostess-union-agreement_n_2160455.html

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Friday, November 9, 2012

Seth Baum: Hurricane Sandy Hints at the Perils of Global Catastrophe

This article was originally published at Scientific American.

It takes a lot to bump the United States election out of the national spotlight one week before election day. Hurricane Sandy was that big, a direct blow to the most heavily populated region of the country. But all the attention going to the northeastern U.S. has a sad consequence: we're overlooking the devastation Sandy caused in Haiti. This situation offers an ominous warning of what could happen if catastrophe were to affect the entire planet.

This story is very personal for me. I live in New York City, and I do research on global catastrophes. While my neighborhood (Harlem) never lost electricity, this past Thursday and Friday I ventured to the area of Lower Manhattan that did. The area was much quieter than normal -- clearly many people had left town. Of the remaining local residents, some reported enjoying the simpler life of "camping at home" and candlelit bars, while others were sick of it and wanted things back to normal. I even saw one woman frantically trying to care for an elderly neighbor who had run out of food and lacked the strength to go outside without her building's elevator. This is a difficult situation, but as I know from my research, it could have been a lot worse.

Meanwhile in Haiti, things may be worse. It seems sadly inevitable that we have the worst storm to hit the northeastern U.S. in a very long time, and it is disaster-stricken Haiti that may have been hit the hardest. At least 60 Haitians have died from Sandy. The U.S. has more deaths, but these are spread across a much larger affected population. Meanwhile Haiti may now have 200,000 homeless from Sandy, many of whom were still living in makeshift homes built following the 2010 earthquake. Its cholera outbreak could be worsened by the floods. But most worrisome is the large loss of crops. Haiti has an agriculture-oriented economy. The crop damage is prompting concerns about food shortages. For all the destruction in the U.S., it's not at risk of running out of food.

Despite the dire situation in Haiti, U.S. aid efforts are concentrated on the U.S. side of the storm. A giant benefit concert was held for the American Red Cross. Other domestic aid charities have also reported a spike in donations, whereas international charities report receiving much less. It is quite reasonable for the U.S. to focus on helping its own country, but it is nonetheless unfortunate that this focus could leave Haitians to suffer.

Haiti should get the aid it needs. The U.S. should even be able to help. Yes, we have our own recovery to attend to, but we are a large and wealthy country, most of which was not hit by the storm. Even if the U.S. does not contribute, the rest of the world could, just as it did following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and every other major disaster of recent years. The propensity for countries to help each other out in times of great need -- even when those countries are otherwise at odds -- is among the most uplifting features of the international system.

But a global catastrophe could thwart the international assistance paradigm. Just as the U.S. is now less able to aid Haiti, a global-scale event could leave each country devastated and with nowhere to turn for help. Each country would have to attempt recovery on its own. Each region within a country may be left to its own devices. Without external assistance, the challenge of recovery would be much more difficult.

No hurricane, however large, will ever cause so great of a global catastrophe. But other events could. Some come from nature, including supervolcano eruptions and large asteroid impacts. But these events are relatively rare, happening no more often than once every 50,000 years. The most urgent come from human activity, including nuclear war and pandemics. Pandemics could come from nature or from bioengineering, but either type of pathogen would be spread by human trade and travel. The worst-case nuclear war and pandemic scenarios are plenty bad enough to prevent international and inter-regional aid. Other processes like climate change and biodiversity loss can cause global disruptions and help trigger global catastrophes.

In the event of a global catastrophe, each region could be left on its own. There would be no benefit concert, no international aid. If a region runs out of food supplies, its residents simply start dying. Rural Haiti may actually fare better than urban New York City, since Haitians are able to grow their own food. New York City without food supplies is a scary thought. A societal breakdown and collapse of law and order is possible, though also not inevitable. Research on the effects of resource scarcities on conflict and violence paints a mixed picture: sometimes scarcities bring more conflict, but not always. Either way, this sort of global catastrophe poses challenges that go far beyond those of Hurricane Sandy.

Fortunately, we do have tools we can use to rise to the challenges of global catastrophe. Building local self-sufficiency can be crucial if external aid becomes unavailable. Preparations like stockpiling food and water help people endure catastrophes of all sizes. Research on specific threats and cross-cutting issues can clarify what we're up against and point to smarter opportunities to both prevent global catastrophes and recover from them if they occur. And experience with local catastrophes can often be extrapolated to the global scale, as is the case with Hurricane Sandy. As the recovery from Sandy proceeds, we should work towards building society's resilience to both local and global catastrophes.

?

Follow Seth Baum on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sethbaum

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seth-baum/hurricane-sandy-climate-change_b_2093515.html

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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Canada gets a huge raft of user-rights in copyright - Boing Boing

Michael Geist sez,

This morning, the majority of Bill C-11, the Canadian copyright reform bill, took effect, marking the most significant changes to Canadian copyright law in decades. While there are still some further changes to come (the Internet provider notice-and-notice rules await a consultation and their own regulations, various provisions related to the WIPO Internet treaties await formal ratification of those treaties) and digital lock protections are part of the package, all the consumer oriented provisions are now active. These include:

- The addition of education, parody, and satire as fair dealing purposes.
- The creation of a non-commercial user generated content provision that creates a legal safe harbour for creators of non-commercial USG (provided they meet four conditions in the law) and for sites that host such content.
- The adoption of several new consumer exceptions including time shifting (recording of television shows), format shifting, and the making of backup copies.

- Changes to the statutory damages rules that distinguish between commercial and non-commercial infringement. The law now includes a cap of $5000 for all non-commercial infringement. The change reduces the likelihood of lawsuits against individuals for non-commercial activities and would apply to educational institutions engaged in non-commercial activity and significantly reduce their potential liability for infringement.
- The inclusion of an exception for publicly available materials on the Internet for education. This covers the content found on millions of websites that can now be communicated and reproduced by educational institutions without the need for permission or compensation.
- The adoption of a technology-neutral approach for the reproduction of materials for display purposes. The current law is limited to manual reproduction or on an overhead projector. The provision may be applicable in the online learning context and open the door to digitization activities.
- The implementation of a distance learning provision, though use of the exception features significant restrictions that require the destruction of lessons at the conclusion of the course.
- The inclusion of a restrictive digital inter-library loans provision that will allow for digital transmission of materials on an inter-library basis, increasing access to materials that have been acquired by university libraries.
- A new exception for public performances in schools, which will reduce licensing costs for educational institutions.

Canadian Copyright Reform In Force: Expanded User Rights Now the Law

Source: http://boingboing.net/2012/11/07/canada-gets-a-huge-raft-of-use.html

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

California?s Proposition 37, GMO Labeling Mandate, Earns Support of Haute Chefs LA Founder Jeffrey Nimer

Los Angeles Celebrity Chef Jeffrey Nimer has added his name to the Chefs? Petition in Support of Prop 37, an initiative to label genetically-engineered foods, or GMOs. More than 300 celebrity chefs have pledged their support of California?s GMO labeling ballot initiative Proposition 37 in a strongly worded open letter written by Alice Water, a well-known chef, activist, and the founder of the organic food movement.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California?s Proposition 37 ? The Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act ? will be on the ballot November 6, and chefs from all over the country are joining in their support of the movement. More than 300 chefs have co-signed their names in what Alice Waters argues is ?the future of food? and ?the moment where we need to stand together as chefs, restaurateurs, and people who care about food to support Proposition 37.? Along with other celebrity chefs such as Mario Batali, Jacques Pepin, Dan Barber, and Floyd Cardoz, Los Angeles Chef Jeffrey Nimer has added his name in support.

?For those who oppose [Prop 37] they should know it?s simply a label and not a ban of GMOs.?

Genetically-engineered foods, or GMOs, have higher crop yields, as well as a longer shelf life, allowing them to be shipped to farther destinations. While genetically-engineered food has been present in the industry during the past 18 years, there is a lack of long-term studies on potential health hazards associated with their consumption. Numerous organizations, such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, have advocated for further testing before the approval of more GMOs to prevent possible health complications, and now a host of American chefs have added their names in support.

Celebrity Chef Jeffrey Nimer of Haute Chefs LA said it is important for Californians to become educated on genetically-engineered foods to better understand what they are eating.

?The U.S. does a lot of experimenting on these ?Frankenfoods? and we don?t have sufficient information to know what these foods will do to our bodies,? said Nimer. ?For those who oppose [Prop 37] they should know it?s simply a label and not a ban of GMOs.?

Opponents of Prop 37 have said that the labeling will pander to unjustified fears and raise grocery bills. According to official figures, opponents of Prop 37 have raised $34 million in a massive publicity campaign backed by agro-chemical and agro-food giants, such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Kellogg, and Heinz. The biggest contributor to the campaign against Prop 37 is Monsanto, having given $7.1 million and claiming that the move is aimed at ?stigmatizing modern food production.?

The American Medical Association (AMA) has stated that there is no scientific justification for special labeling of bioengineered foods and that labeling GMO foods has no purpose, unless it is accompanied by consumer education. AMA said that there are many potential benefits of GMO food and encourages ongoing research developments in food biotechnology.

However, defenders of Prop 37, such as Nimer, have said that supporting Prop 37 is simply about freedom of information.

?As a chef, it?s particularly important to know what goes in our food when we are feeding other people,? said Nimer. ?It?s important that the food system is honest and reliable.?

Stacy Malkan, Spokeswoman of the organization Yes to Prop 37, said that GMO labeling has been an ongoing effort for the past decade.

?Now, 61 countries have labeling laws for GMOs... much of the genetic engineering is happening in the US, we're the experimental ground for GMOs. And the experiment is not going well,? said Malkan, in a statement.

To read the Chefs? petition in its entirety, visit http://www.carighttoknow.org/chefs_petition.

Haute Chefs LA, established by Owner and Executive Chef Jeffrey Nimer in 2005, is a premier Los Angeles based catering company in high demand for Hollywood?s elite. Chef Nimer champions bold, modern and exquisite culinary arts combined with the best service to offer a scrumptious menu for any occasion. With his classic French training and collaboration with many talented and renowned chefs, Chef Nimer has received numerous awards and recognition as a world class facilitator of diverse, inspired services. Haute Chefs offers personal chef services, catering, restaurant consulting and cooking classes and is pleased to accommodate exacting requests to create a breathtaking culinary affair.

Photos/Multimedia?Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50465238&lang=en

Source: http://feeds.businesswire.com/click.phdo?i=7deab633e90a07d81c108b0a36a7b112

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Saturday, November 3, 2012

Off Radar Cruise News: Ky?sh? sees more cruise ship arrivals

By KAZUAKI NAGATA

Staff writer for The Japan Times Online

The Great East Japan Earthquake left in its wake, besides billions of yen worth of damage and thousands of dead and missing, a host of problems for the tourism industry.

But now, 18 months later, the resulting dropoff is showing signs of turning around and the number of foreign visitors this year has increased dramatically from 2011.

Among regions, Kyushu has shown particularly prominent growth.

Since the tracking of foreign visitor numbers began there in 2007, a record number of foreign visitors arrived between March and July this year. One of the main factors appears to be large cruise ships bringing in hundreds of Chinese tourists to the region's main ports, including Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture and Nagasaki.

Recently, cruises have become a popular means of travel among well-to-do Chinese.

Although there were some cancellations in September and October due to the rising tensions over the Senkaku Islands issue, people in the tourism industry say the cruise market is likely to grow further in the coming years as Western cruise lines woo the growing Chinese market, mainly targeting middle-class consumers who want to travel abroad on reasonably priced tours and cruises.

Many cruise ship visitors to Kyushu are from China and take tours that leave Shanghai to South Korea and Japan and then go back to China, said Hiroyuki Yoshida, a director of tourism promotion in the city of Fukuoka.

Source: http://www.offradarcruisenews.com/2012/11/kyushu-sees-more-cruise-ship-arrivals.html

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