http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/that-flawed-stanford-study/?hp
I think suspicion of G.M. foods is paranoid.
However Monsanto is not our friend.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoundUp
Glyphosate Toxicity
Glyphosate has a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxicity Class of III (on a I to IV scale, where IV is least dangerous) for oral and inhalation exposure.[45] Nonetheless, as with other herbicides, the EPA requires that products containing glyphosate carry a label that warns against oral intake, mandates the use of protective clothing, and instructs users not to re-enter treated fields for at least 4 hours.[45][46] Glyphosate does not bioaccumulate and breaks down rapidly in the environment.[47]Human
The EPA considers glyphosate to be noncarcinogenic and relatively low in toxicity.[45] The EPA considered a "worst case" dietary risk model of an individual eating a lifetime of food derived entirely from glyphosate-sprayed fields with residues at their maximum levels. This model indicated that no adverse health effects would be expected under such conditions.[45]Effects on fish and amphibians
Glyphosate is generally less persistent in water than in soil, with 12 to 60 day persistence observed in Canadian pond water, yet because glyphosate binds to soil. persistence of over a year have been observed in the sediments of ponds in Michigan and Oregon.[45] In streams, maximum glyphosate concentrations were measured immediately posttreatment and dissipated rapidly.[45] Glyphosate is "practically nontoxic to slightly toxic" for amphibians and fish.[48]Soil degradation, and effects on micro-organism and worms
In soils, half-lives vary from as little as three days at a site in Texas to 141 days at a site in Iowa.[49] In addition, the glyphosate metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid has been found in Swedish forest soils up to two years after a glyphosate application.[51] Glyphosate adsorption to soil varies depending on the kind of soil.[52]
It has been suggested that glyphosate can harm the bacterial ecology of soil and cause micronutrient deficiencies in plants,[53] including nitrogen-fixing bacteria,[54]
It is not the Round Up that causes pain but the patent enforcement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-03/u-s-europe-nowhere-close-to-ending-crisis-krugman-says.html
The U.S. and the European Union are “nowhere close to ending” the financial crisis and German-led austerity efforts may lead to a 1930s-style economic depression, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman said.
Five years into the crisis, the U.S. needs “another round of stimulus” and Federal Reserve officials “should be doing whatever they can” to aid the recovery, while Europe needs a fiscal union to save its single currency, Krugman said in a speech in Belgrade today.“Europe must accept there are limits to austerity and that additional austerity won’t do anything but bring societies on the verge of collapse,” said Krugman, an economics professor at Princeton University. “No country will have prosperity until Germany and the ECB have decided that too much pain has been inflicted.”
The European Central Bank and the Fed have unveiled plans to fight the crisis and reduce borrowing costs. ECB President Mario Draghi last month announced an unlimited bond-buying program for distressed euro-area nations, while Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has committed to another round of so-called quantitative easing.
Stabilizing Yields
Europe needs to “contain immediately the financial threat to troubled countries and stabilize yields on their borrowing, which in the end requires the ECB to be ready to be the lender of last resort and buy sovereign bonds,” Krugman said. “And that is now sort of happening,” he said, adding “there are 60 percent odds that they’ll save the euro.”In the U.S., where the recovery is struggling to gain traction, new fiscal stimulus should be “directed to distressed individuals” rather than companies, Krugman said.
In Europe, the risk of protracted and extreme austerity measures may lead to “political upheavals, radicalization” and “terrible things happening,” he said. “It’s not difficult to see the decades ahead looking like the 1930s.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Gordana Filipovic in Belgrade at gfilipovic@bloomberg.net
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/romneys-sick-joke/
Romney’s Sick Joke
OK,
so Obama did a terrible job in the debate, and Romney did well. But in
the end, this isn’t or shouldn’t be about theater criticism, it should
be about substance. And the fact is that everything Obama said was
basically true, while much of what Romney said was either outright false
or so misleading as to be the moral equivalent of a lie.
Above all, there’s this:
I guess you could say that Romney’s claim wasn’t exactly a lie, since some people with preexisting conditions would retain coverage. But as I said, it’s the moral equivalent of a lie; if you think he promised something real, you’re the butt of a sick joke.
And we’re talking about a lot of people left out in the cold — 89 million, to be precise.
Furthermore, all of this should be taken in the context of Romney’s plan not just to repeal Obamacare but to drastically cut Medicaid.
So enough with the theater criticism; Romney needs to be held accountable for dishonesty on a huge scale."
Above all, there’s this:
MR. ROMNEY: Let — well, actually — actually it’s — it’s — it’s a lengthy description, but number one, pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan.No, they aren’t. Romney’s advisers have conceded as much in the past; last night they did it again.
I guess you could say that Romney’s claim wasn’t exactly a lie, since some people with preexisting conditions would retain coverage. But as I said, it’s the moral equivalent of a lie; if you think he promised something real, you’re the butt of a sick joke.
And we’re talking about a lot of people left out in the cold — 89 million, to be precise.
Furthermore, all of this should be taken in the context of Romney’s plan not just to repeal Obamacare but to drastically cut Medicaid.
So enough with the theater criticism; Romney needs to be held accountable for dishonesty on a huge scale."
Fed: QE3 could lead to excessive risk taking
04 Oct 2012
| 3 Comments
Spain's forecasts 'optimistic', says Governor
04 Oct 2012
| 43 Comments
Mario Draghi: ECB bond-buying bazooka 'ready'
04 Oct 2012
| 57 Comments
Debt crisis: as it happened, Oct 4
04 Oct 2012
| 270 Commentshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19837459
4 October 2012 Last updated at 12:25 ET
ECB: Outright monetary trepidation
"In his monthly press conference on Thursday,
European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi didn't go back on anything he
said at the last one. I'm afraid that's about as exciting as it got.
He left most of the gaps in his September statement intact.
And he refused to engage in any speculation about Spain - a
disappointment for the many investors and analysts who can think of
little else. Mr Draghi cultivated an air of ambiguity on how and when, exactly, the central bank might start to buy the sovereign bonds of other troubled economies. And where he did add details, they did not sound very encouraging to those who are keen for the ECB to stop talking and start buying.
Notably, he said that to qualify for support from the ECB, a country would not just have to request a bailout, but have signed a memorandum of understanding. That usually takes at least a month.
He also said that countries such as Ireland would need to regain "full market access" before the ECB would consider buying their bonds in the secondary market to help push up the price, and so push down the implied cost of borrowing for the government.
To critics, this highlights a tension that has been at lurking at the heart of the new bond-buying programme since it was first announced: that the ECB seems to be offering "unlimited" support only to countries that don't really need it.
The countries who can comply with Mr Draghi's conditions - who are able to finance themselves in the market and are sticking to their deficit reduction programmes - are not the ones that investors are most worried about.
The ECB president's use of the word "unlimited" understandably thrilled the financial markets, and gave a warm feeling to many embattled governments on the periphery.
Putting the word "conditional" next to it provided a different kind of reassurance to those inside the ECB - and inside Germany - who saw outright monetary transactions, or OMTs, as a dangerous sop to governments.
Some have argued that the two terms will be contradictory in practice, because countries in trouble may not have the capacity, or the time, to meet all the conditions. Mr Draghi's careful appearance on Thursday will have done little to change their mind."
Mario Draghi has not fixed anything.
-
4 Oct 2012: Francesco Bongiovanni: The eurozone crisis can be eased by bringing back the national currencies of troubled economies to run alongside the euro 92 comments
This will not work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gresham%27s_lawGresham's law is an economic principle that states: "When a government compulsorily overvalues one type of money and undervalues another, the undervalued money will leave the country or disappear from circulation into hoards, while the overvalued money will flood into circulation." It is commonly stated as: "Bad money drives out good", but is more accurately stated: "Bad money drives out good if their exchange rate is set by law."
| Former Pasok minister found hanged | |||
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Leonidas Tzanis, a former Pasok deputy interior minister, took his own life at his home in Volos, Mega TV has announced.
Tzanis was found hanged by his wife, a Mega reporter said.
The former Pasok MP was named last week as one of the 36 politicians under investigation by the Financial and Economic Crime Unit (SDOE) for financial irregularities and suspicious acquisition of wealth.
According to the list, the SDOE in Thessaloniki launched an investigation into his accounts on 31 May 2012. (Athens News)
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Last in, first out.
I think "Notification" a promotion for a work at home business is truly spam.
Sent at 10:18
I will be self supporting. I will also be very busy for some time.
The only problem with Dish service is the telephone.
I think email is a reasonable emergency contact.
If the telephone is necessary a trip to town may be required.
If the distance is modest, on the order of half a mile, a remote router and possibly a repeater can be used.
These days I use my cell phone for time. I did a watch band that with better
craftsmanship would be classic. I am heir to my great grandfather's preaching watch. I have been casing five dollar electric movements.
Clocks are easy if they just need a box.
My vehicle is long out of warranty. I fix cars because I can and it fits my budget. I have an excellent mechanic here who is almost as cheap as I am.
Debt is not my way.
Debt slavery is far too real.
Home repair is one of the things I do. I work cheap. I try to work to code.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/a-test-of-the-system/
A Test of the System
At
this point two things are clear about the debate: 1. Romney won the
night by being confident and aggressive while Obama was hesitant and
passive 2. Romney said many things that simply weren’t true — and not
just about budget math, which he might be able to obfuscate (although he
shouldn’t get away with it). These ranged from the just plain dishonest
assertion that he has a plan to cover preexisting conditions, to his completely false claims about government energy loans.
The question now is whether the revelation that he was making stuff up matters. Is our system shallow enough — and in particular, are our media so much into appearances rather than reality — that it’s OK to lie to win an argument, with no further consequences?
Time will tell."
The question now is whether the revelation that he was making stuff up matters. Is our system shallow enough — and in particular, are our media so much into appearances rather than reality — that it’s OK to lie to win an argument, with no further consequences?
Time will tell."
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2012/08/10/miami-beach-gets-rising-seas-sticker.html?page=all
- Paul Brinkmann
- Reporter- South Florida Business Journal
- Email | LinkedIn | Twitter
Co-written by Oscar Pedro Musibay
"The city of Miami Beach is vetting a $200 million storm water concept that is one of the first in the nation to respond to sea level rise resulting from global warmingAs part of the process, global storm water engineering firm CDM Smith is going to explain its methodology at the Sea Level Rise Public Meeting & Discussion at 10 a.m. on Aug. 17.The CDM Smith plan was created to address storm water-related issues in Miami Beach over the next 20 years. It lays out various strategies that include New Orleans-style pumps and sea walls to combat higher water levels and increased flooding.
The city’s finance committee was reviewing the plan, which could be funded by bonds and backed by an increase in water and sewer bills.
Interim City Manager Kathie G. Brooks told the Business Journal she is still evaluating the plan.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first storm water master plans in the state of Florida that considers potential impacts of sea level rise,” she said in an email response to questions. “The draft plan presents projections of sea level rise from various sources; however, sea level rise studies are still ongoing, and we will need to continue to evaluate any future studies.”
A mix of residents has come out against the plan, including retired engineers serving on city committees. The most surprising opposition comes from environmental activists who believe climate change is causing sea level rise – and that the plan either doesn’t go far enough or is too little, too late.
“This plan minimizes and downplays the cost and seriousness of this problem,” said Dwight Kraai, a retired engineer on the city’s capital improvements committee. “Simply put, the city is planning for 4 inches of sea level rise when they know it will be more than that.”
Brooks said the plan is fluid.
“The $200 million planning estimate is flexible and will allow the city to incorporate additional solutions for challenges concerning sea level rise in the future,” she said. “The plan recommendation is focused on storm water management; however, the city will continue to monitor and review studies and reports on the sea level rise that are anticipated to be released in the next few years.”
Miami Beach is considered one of the most vulnerable cities in the world to sea level rise. Most of it is 4 feet above sea level. The sea level estimate is important because it determines whether water can be drained by gravity or if it must be pumped up to the bay or into an aquifer.
Kraai said the plan starts with a faulty assumption that seas have not risen at all, or only by tiny increments, in the past two decades.
“This is contrary to all current evidence,” he said.
The city hired Cambridge, Mass.-based CDM to write the plan, which cites sea level projections from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But the plan uses the Corps’ most conservative estimates.
The plan identifies 17 additional pump stations needed, but also notes “as sea level rises, pumping may become more frequent or will require replacement with larger pumps.”
Some of Miami Beach’s swankiest neighborhoods are in the plan for improvements, including Star Island, La Gorce, Palm and Hibiscus islands.
Kraai and other activists recently addressed the Miami Beach Breakfast Club during a neighborhood meeting. With café con leche flowing, 50 people watched a video about rising seas and heard from local fishing boat captain Dan Kipnis, an environmental activist and member of the Miami-Dade County Climate Change Task Force. He noted news of rapidly melting ice packs in Greenland.
Asked what the city should be doing, Kipnis said he wants to live in Miami Beach as long as possible, but “we need to be making an escape plan for 2.5 million residents, rather than spending millions on projects that won’t be enough to address the problem.”"
They will abandon the city but not before they must.
This money and more is spent.
The foundations are porous.
This is like putting a dam around the edge of a sieve to make it water proof.
.
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