Mardi 19 avril 2011

businesses explore opportunities of electric vehicles

There are basically three ways of charging an electric nike cheap mens acg sandals vehicle. First is the slow charge option in which the car is charged at the office or at home, overnight. Second is a medium charger, which charges the car while the driver is at a shopping mall, or cinema. Last is the fast charger at the corner store or gas station.

The locations of these public charging points need to match the lifestyle of electric car buyers. A BMW trial using retrofitted Minis found the typical owner was over the age of 35 and already had a gasoline car for long-distance trips. Another trial, in Switzerland, found that electric vehicle owners had above average income and already owned on average 1.4 gasoline cars. Electric vehicle owners seem to be in the socio-economic group that would welcome charging points at up-scale shopping malls, restaurants, fitness centres, golf courses,nike cheap mens acg sandals  and cultural centres. Since they would typically spend an hour or more at those activities, the less costly medium chargers will suffice, and operators of those facilities can use charging points as a nike cheap mens acg sandals marketing technique to attract customers. The more costly fast chargers can be deployed at commuter roadside locations to dispel “range anxiety.”

Par 112111473 - 0 commentaire(s)le 19 avril 2011

Federal Liability Subsidies and Preemption

It’s clear that the U.S. nike mens acg sandals 2011 nuclear industry has a "consuming, all-pervasive need" for the federal government (one of the symptoms).  The Union of Concerned Scientists explained how the government satisfies this "need" with federal subsidies here.  On Democracy Now recently, renowned nuclear scientist, Dr. Michio Kaku, explained one of the biggest subsidies – drastic liability limits in the event of an accident, with the U.S. taxpayers on the hook for most of the cost:

You have to have what is called the Price-Anderson Act, having the United States government guarantee the insurance. Nobody will guarantee—nobody will sell an insurance policy for a nuclear power plant, because who can afford a $200 billion accident? That’s why the United States government has underwritten the insurance for every nuclear power plant. So the Price-Anderson Act is an act of Congress that mandates the U.S. government, the taxpayers, will underwrite the insurance, because nuclear power stations are not insurable.

Meanwhile in Japan, where a strong civil justice system does not exist, the industry apparently didn’t even need a subsidy like this to survive.  But now, of course, it looks like they do. The U.K.’s Guardian writes:

Residents and business owners in Japan who have been forced to leave their homes amid radiation fears on Wednesday demanded immediate damages from the company at the centre of the nuclear crisis.

About 20 people who have been evacuated from areas near the Fukushima Daiichi plant protested outside the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) headquarters,nike mens acg sandals 2011  calling for a quick decision on possible compensation.

The company's president, Masataka Shimizu, apologized during a rare public appearance and said he would compensate the tens of thousands of people whose lives have been disrupted by the nuclear emergency.

Despite the magnitude of the accident, and errors in Tepco's initial handling of the crisis, the government appears determined to ensure the firm's survival. Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that Tepco and the government were considering placing a £15bn to £28bn cap [about $24 to $45 billion] on the company's liabilities to avoid financial ruin in the face of compensation claims that could reach £80bn [$130 billion].

Under the proposals Tepco would be required to pay 100bn to 200bn yen a year for 15 years. Other utilities would contribute to a 2.7tn yen fund, with the remainder of the compensation coming from the state.

Meanwhile, back in the United States, today Vermont Yankee owner Entergy Corp. sued in federal court to make sure that only the federal government has a say as to whether the plant lives or dies, instead of the pesky state of Vermont that is trying to shut it down.  As the Burlington Free Press reports,

The plant last month won permission of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to operate for another 20 years after its license March 21, 2012, but it has nike mens acg sandals 2011 failed to win state permission amid concerns over tritium leaks and misinformation the company supplied to the state.

The 2006 state law, which Entergy did not actively oppose at the time, requires the Legislature to vote to allow the Public Service Board to grant a certificate of public good. The state Senate, led by then-Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin, voted 26-4 in 2010 against that. Shumlin was elected governor last fall.

Entergy said its lawsuit points to a 1983 U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled a state has no authority over a nuclear power plant relicensing.

This is going to be a tough fight because Congress, in writing the Atomic Energy Act, preempted the field of nuclear regulation, giving the federal government crushing authority essentially to harm the public with nuclear power even when states say "no" in order to protect their own citizens.  Now that’s love!

Par 112111473 - 0 commentaire(s)le 19 avril 2011
Lundi 18 avril 2011

Yemen Opposition Turns Down Gulf Plan as Police Fire on Crowd

Yemen’s opposition coalition rejected nike cheap mens acg sandals  a plan by six Gulf states to end unrest in the Arabian country, saying that the swift departure of Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh isn’t negotiable.

Before talks began in Riyadh yesterday, police in Yemen used live ammunition, tear gas and water cannon to disperse tens of thousands of protesters marching in the capital, Sana’a, injuring at least 100, according to Abdulmalik al-Yusufi, a doctor at a field clinic along the protest route.

Thirty more protesters were wounded in live fire attacks by armed government supporters in the city of Thamad, the online opposition publication al-Masdar reported.

“We are sticking to our position,” Mohammed Salem Basendwah, head of the Preparatory Committee for National Dialogue, told reporters in Riyadh after the meeting. Yemen’s six-party opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties, wants Saleh to step down immediately.

Protests in Yemen calling for an end to Saleh’s rule are entering their third month. The Gulf Cooperation Council, which joins the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman,  nike cheap mens acg sandals Qatar and Kuwait, wants the opposition to let Saleh hand power to his Vice President Abduraboo Mansur Hadi.

An April 3 plan by the GCC called for Saleh to step down immediately. The council on April 10 scaled back its demands, asking Saleh to cede power to Hadi, a plan rejected by the opposition.

Brotherly Dialogue

“The dialogue was brotherly and constructive, reflecting both parties’ wish to bring their points of view closer together and continue working and exert greater effort to preserve the Republic of Yemen’s safety, stability and unity,” the council said in a statement distributed after the meeting.

Asked after the Riyadh meeting if the opposition will seek to put Saleh on trial, Sultan Al Atwani, Secretary-General of the opposition Nasserite Unionist People’s Organization said: “We are not aggressive. We are not who will try him. If he wishes to stay, he can stay; if he feels he is not safe, he can stay in another country.”

Yemeni men and women yesterday nike cheap mens acg sandals  marched side-by-side in Sana’a and cities across the country to protest comments by Saleh, who said on March 15 that mixed-gender demonstrations violated Islamic law. Women chanted, “Hey, Yemeni woman revolt, Ali is a dictator.”

Saleh said his comment about mixed protests was prompted by “worry for our daughters, sisters and mothers from the mob and anarchists,” state-run Saba news agency reported.

Protesters were stuck inside al-Rahman mosque in Sana’a’s diplomatic zone, cleric Mohammed al-Hazmi said in a telephone interview. About 30 protesters were inside and suffered from tear-gas inhalation while troops surrounded the mosque, al-Hazmi said.

--With assistance from Mourad Haratounian in Riyadh and Vivian Salama in Abu Dhabi. Editors: Ann Hughey, Maura Reynolds.

Par 112111473 - 0 commentaire(s)le 18 avril 2011

Kufuor tours polling centre in Abuja

Former President, John Agyekum Kufuor,nike mens acg sandals leader of the 40- member African Union (AU) Observer Mission for Nigeria's Presidential elections, on Saturday, toured some polling centres, as the first phase of the polls got underway nation-wide. About 74 million people are voting to elect a president from a field of 20, including incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan.

A press statement, issued and signed by Frank Agyekum, Spokesperson, Office of former President J A Kufuor said, the first phase of Nigeria's polls, the electorate go through an 91accreditation= ' process, where they validate their names from the voter's registers at the polling centres.

The 91accredited' voter's finger is marked with indelible ink and given a ticket, which enables him to vote later on. This process lasts from 8am to 12 noon.

Actual voting starts in the second phase, which starts at 12:30 hours. Only those, who have been accredited earlier, are allowed to vote. All accredited voters must be in queue by 12 noon.nike mens acg sandals Anybody arriving after 12 noon is prevented from joining the queue and is not allowed to vote.

The statement said, Former President Kufuor, who was instantly recognized and hailed by many of the voters at the centres he visited, commended the smooth and orderly run of the polls, as voters waited patiently for their turn.

Security presence was high and an atmosphere of calmness prevailed, as the streets were empty of vehicular activity. nike mens acg sandalsFinal results are expected in 48 hours in Nigeria's third general elections, since returning to civilian rule in 1999, after which the AU mission will issue a statement 17 April 11
Par 112111473 - 0 commentaire(s)le 18 avril 2011
Jeudi 14 avril 2011

EU and France to inject $840 million

The bulk of that donation – $540 million – will come from France, the former colonial power in Ivory Coast. Reebok ZigTech

The French aid is meant “to finance emergency spending on the population, the city of Abidjan, and restarting essential public services,” according to a statement from Paris. “It is also to help restart the economy and to allow Ivory Coast to make its overdue payments to international institutions.”

Think you know Africa? Take our geography quiz.

The Ivorian economy – the second-largest in West Africa – has ground to a halt over the past few months, as the EU, the United States, the United Nations, and West Africa’s central bank slapped sanctions on the country and some of its elite.

Their goal: to force former president Laurent Gbagbo to relinquish power leave after losing an election to challenger Alassane Ouattara late last year.

The trade bans were largely successful in limiting Mr. Gbagbo’s access to cash. And on Monday, Gbagbo was finally captured in a presidential bunker. But the Ivorian economy has also felt the effects of the sanctions.

More than 400,000 tons of cocoa beans are now sitting in warehouses in Ivory Coast’s two major ports, and even more is Reebok ZigTech waiting to be transported from inland rural areas. In Abidjan, the commercial capital, ATMs have run out of cash, cooking gas is in short supply, and hospitals are low on medicine. Many government salaries haven’t been paid in weeks.

“Every morning, people have to take jerrycans to walk around the neighborhood and search for water,” an Abidjan resident told The Guardian. “As for food, there is nothing left. People have to queue up in long lines to buy even a single baguette.”

RELATED: Five key reasons Ivory Coast's election led to civil war

The EU announced on Friday that it would lift its sanctions, allowing the ports in both Abidjan and the city of San Pedro to reopen, as well as the state agencies that manage refining and coffee and cocoa exports.

"Things seem to be moving fast,” a senior bank analyst told Reuters. “The EU is moving on the sanctions front and there are reports that shipments are to move soon.”

But obstacles remain. A big one will be getting the banking system up and running again, analysts say. Without financing, exports won’t ship.

Ivory Coast is the world’s biggest cocoa producer, v Reebok ZigTechexporting more than a third of global supply.

The price of cocoa has jumped frequently since the trouble started in Ivory Coast late last year. It spiked again on Monday, hitting a one-week high, after news broke of Gbagbo’s capture. Traders, it seems, are betting that violence will continue to disrupt the flow of cocoa from the country’s ports.

“People want clarity on how and when exports will begin,” a senior trading adviser in Chicago told Bloomberg yesterday. “People want to be sure that there will be no more disruptions.”

Once the conflict dies down, the country should have an able financial leader in Mr. Ouattara, who worked for several years at the International Monetary Fund and is the former head of West Africa’s central bank.

The new president addressed his citizens on state television last night.

“After more than four months of post-electoral crisis, marked by so many human lives lost, we are finally at the dawn of a new era of hope,” he said.

Par 112111473 - 0 commentaire(s)le 14 avril 2011

businessman rescued in Ivory Coast

Clashes around the hotel district in Abidjan trapped Ambassador Yalçın Kaya Erensoy in the embassy building, part of a hotel compound, and stranded a Turkish business leader in his hotel in a separate location.

The businessman, who was already in poor health, was rescued by the Pakistani forces, which are serving under a nike cheap mens acg sandals  U.N. mandate, in the early hours Tuesday, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review has learned.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry took the initiative at the level of the United Nations in New York, as well as with the Pakistani Embassy in Ankara, to rescue Ambassador Erensoy and the businessman identified as Ali Ateş because Turkey does not have a peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast.

“The ambassador was trapped when the clashes escalated,” a well-informed source said. The Turkish request to rescue the stranded Turks was conveyed to the Pakistani forces by the Pakistani Embassy in Ankara.

The rescue coincided with a visit to Turkey by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who arrived in Ankara late Monday  nike cheap mens acg sandals and met Wednesday with President Abdullah Gül. The Turkish president thanked his counterpart during the meeting for Pakistan’s quick response to the crisis.

Turkish officials said the Pakistani move was a clear sign of the strong relationship and brotherly solidarity between the two countries. Turkey was one of the first countries to extend help to Pakistan during the catastrophic floods there last summer.

Ambassador secure now

Sources said the ambassador was currently in Abidjan and was secure, adding that the businessman was also secure and was likely receiving treatment.

An official at the Turkish Embassy in Ivory Coast told the Daily News that the ambassador was absent, but clarified that nobody was at work due to the extraordinary situation. The official said the ambassador had no security guard detailed to him.

News reports from Abidjan have revealed fresh outbreaks of gunfire on the streets. Fighting in the city has left streets littered with bodies and parts of Abidjan in the grip of looters, according to wire dispatches. The turmoil is expected to prevail in the cocoa-producing southwest, the main port and commercial center of Abidjan and the capital, nike cheap mens acg sandals  Yamoussoukro, even after the capture of former President Laurent Gbagbo, reports said.

The United Nations, which has more than 9,000 troops and police officers in Ivory Coast, will continue with its mission of helping to restore law and order in the African country. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has offered help coping with a “critical” humanitarian emergency.

According to the United Nations, at least 800 people have been confirmed killed in the fighting in Ivory Coast.

Par 112111473 - 1 commentaire(s)le 14 avril 2011
» dernière page

Recherche sur NoxBlog

Connexion à NoxBlog.com

Nom d'utilisateur
Mot de passe
Toujours connecté
 

Inscription sur NoxBlog


Adresse du blog
.noxblog.com

Mot de passe

Confirmation

Adresse email valide

Code de sécurité anti-spam

Code anti-bot

J'accepte les conditions d'utilisation de NoxBlog.com