THIS ISN?T ALL THAT SHOCKING: Los Angeles Is The Model For Food-Truck Freedom, Washington, D.C. Is Protectionist Hell. It?s protectionist Hell for most things. That?s how they think there.
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Leap Wireless International Inc.'s second-quarter loss sharply widened as the pay-as-you-go wireless provider recorded a steep loss tied to a debt payment and lower revenue as the number of subscribers declined.
The company added 283,066 gross customers, compared with 492,720 additions a year earlier. Leap ended the quarter with 4.8 million
...Source: http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=482634
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MANILA, Philippines?A multi-use development project on a proposed reclamation site on Manila Bay is expected to provide up to 600,000 jobs that would help ease unemployment in the country, particularly in Metro Manila.
In a statement, the Manila Gold Coast Development Corp. (MGCDC), owned by the family of businessman William Tieng, said that up to 100,000 jobs would be generated during the construction phase of the project and up to 500,000 jobs once it becomes operational.
The project, envisioned to become a world-class commercial, residential and tourism center 600 meters into Manila Bay, has been touted by MGCDC to be a rich revenue source.
In its statement, MGCDC said the project would generate up to P17 billion in taxes every year on top of P10 billion in real estate taxes for the local government of Manila, which has jurisdiction over the reclamation site.
The project reportedly has the support of the Manila City government.
The statement quoted Mayor Joseph Estrada as saying that the project, called Manila Solar City, would be crucial to reversing the deterioration of the city.
?Right now, studies show that Manila has the most jobless people. A hungry stomach knows no law. Through this we can provide employment and (thus) eliminate criminality,? Estrada was quoted as saying.
Source: http://business.inquirer.net/136637/manila-bay-reclamation-project-will-bring-jobs-revenue-says-firm
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? New Zealand authorities have triggered a global recall of up to 1,000 tons of dairy products across seven countries after dairy giant Fonterra announced tests had turned up a type of bacteria that could cause botulism.
New Zealand's Ministry of Primary Industries said Saturday that the tainted products include infant formula, sports drinks, protein drinks and other beverages. It said countries affected beside New Zealand include China, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
Fonterra said its customers were urgently checking their supply chains.
One New Zealand company has locked down five batches of infant formula and China is asking importers to immediately recall products.
Fonterra is the world's fourth-largest dairy company, with annual revenues of about $16 billion.
The news comes as a blow to New Zealand's dairy industry, which powers the country's economy. New Zealand exports about 95 percent of its milk.
Consumers in China and elsewhere are willing to pay a big premium for New Zealand infant formula because the country has a clean and healthy reputation. Chinese consumers have a special interest after tainted local milk formula killed six babies in 2008.
The Centers for Disease Control describes botulism as a rare but sometimes fatal paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin.
Fonterra said it has told eight of its customers of the problem, which dates back more than a year, and they were investigating whether any of the affected product is in their supply chains. Fonterra said those companies will initiate any consumer product recalls.
At a news conference Saturday, Fonterra repeatedly refused to divulge the companies, countries or specific products affected. Gary Romano, the managing director of Fonterra's New Zealand milk products, said his company supplies raw materials to the eight companies and it is up to them to inform their consumers of what products might be tainted.
The company did acknowledge its chief executive, Theo Spierings, planned to fly to China Saturday, in part to deal with the fallout from the botulism scare.
New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries said Saturday that New Zealand company Nutricia had used some of the tainted product in its Karicare line of formula for infants aged over 6 months. Nutricia had locked down all five batches of infant formula it believed contained the tainted product, the ministry said. But it advised that parents should buy different Nutricia products or alternative brands until it verified the location of all tainted Nutricia products.
China's product quality watchdog issued a statement urging importers of Fonterra dairy products to immediately start recalling the products.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine also told quality agencies around China to step up inspections of milk products from New Zealand.
Romano said the problem was caused by unsterilized pipes at a Waikato factory. He said three batches of whey protein weighing about 42 tons were tainted in May 2012, adding that Fonterra has since cleaned the pipes.
The New Zealand ministry says the tainted product has been mixed with other ingredients to form about 1,000 tons of consumer products worldwide.
The company said in a release it identified a potential quality problem in March when a product tested positive for the bacteria Clostridium. Many strains of the bacteria are harmless, the company said, and product samples were put through intensive testing over the following months. It said that on July 31 it discovered the presence of a strain of the bacteria that can cause botulism.
Romano said Fonterra hasn't received reports of anybody getting sick and added that the problem hasn't affected any fresh milk, yoghurt, cheese or long-lasting heat-treated milk.
New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries said it was working with the company to investigate.
Spierings, the chief executive, said in the release that food safety was the company's top priority.
"We are acting quickly," he said. "Our focus is to get information out about potentially affected product as fast as possible so that it can be taken off supermarket shelves and, where it has already been purchased, can be returned."
Earlier this year, Fonterra announced it had discovered trace amounts of the agricultural chemical dicyandiamide in some of its products, prompting a ban on the chemical's use on New Zealand farms.
Rabobank's 2012 Global Dairy Top 20 report ranked Fonterra as the world's fourth-largest dairy company by revenue behind Nestl?, Danone and Lactalis. The company is a cooperative, partially owned by thousands of farmers.
In 2011 the company collected 15.4 billion liters (4.1 billion gallons) of milk in New Zealand, representing about 90 percent of the country's total.
In 2008, six babies in China died and another 300,000 were sickened by infant formula that was tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical added to watered-down milk to fool tests for protein levels. Fonterra at the time owned a minority stake in Sanlu, the now-bankrupt Chinese company at the center of the scandal.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zealand-botulism-scare-triggers-global-recall-054121333.html
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This is the first in a short series where I?ll take a look at the National Flood Insurance Program, some of its failings, and how it might better support preparations for our climate future.
As we look towards a future where climate change will bring rising sea levels and more frequent and severe storms, we also expect to see more frequent and severe flooding along our rivers and coastlines. That means property owners will increasingly turn to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its National Flood Insurance Program to bail them out.
But why does the federal government underwrite 5.6 million flood insurance policies, in many cases at highly subsidized rates??
Originally, the National Flood Insurance Program was intended to provide insurance to people who could not get flood insurance from private insurance companies. In the past, flood insurance was not easy to come by, since private insurers had largely left this market.? Beyond providing insurance, the program was also tasked with mapping out the nation?s most flood prone areas and helping communities prepare for and avoid damage from flooding. In a sense, the program was intended to manage the nation?s risk from flooding.
But in practice, it has not managed that risk very well.? One could argue that it has, in part, incentivized the development of floodplains and coastal areas. At best, it has failed to provide a disincentive.
Just last week the National Academy of Sciences published a report about the National Flood Insurance Program.? The report looks specifically at how levees are addressed by the program and we?ll return to that topic in a future post.? But this report also includes a very good overview of the program since its inception and its many past problems, which include those described below.
Discounts for the riskiest structures:? Nineteen percent of policy holders receive discounts on federal flood insurance simply because the property was built before the first flood insurance maps were produced or because no elevation data existed.
Grandfathering:? When flood maps have been updated to reflect greater flood risks, current policy holders often pay the same premiums, or a discounted rate, even if they?ve been found to be at higher risk of flooding.
A short-sighted system for balancing the books:? the federal government calculates its potential financial exposure by looking at the average flood losses from previous years, while discounting damages from major events that they consider to be statistical outliers, like Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. This ?Average Historical Loss? is then used to adjust premiums to balance the books for a given year, while overlooking the longer-term financial risk.
Outdated maps: The flood maps used to determine the areas most likely to flood are outdated, although FEMA is in the process of updating them. The new maps rely on more up-to-date hydrological data, elevation data and land use information. Not surprisingly the newer maps show that a larger area is at risk of flooding. But even these updated maps fail to incorporate climate related impacts like sea level rise or more intense storms, which would expand the extent of the flood prone area even further.
Treatment of levees: Problems have existed and persist with how the program treats properties behind levees.? Essentially, if a levee is certified to provide protection against a 100-year flood, then properties behind the levee can purchase flood insurance at a lower price or not purchase it at all. This has created a perverse incentive to build levees, which convey a false sense of security to property owners. Also, there?s the question of whether a levee built to withstand the 100-year flood is adequate, given that 100-year floods have an annoying way of occurring more frequently than once every hundred years and that?s probably going to get worse as the climate warms.
Given these shortcomings it?s not surprising that the program will be between $25 billion and $30 billion in debt once all claims from Hurricane Sandy are paid out. It?s a program that is almost designed to fail.
Reforms have been made. Just last year the Biggert Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act put in place much needed reforms that begin to address some of the problems described above, but a lot more needs to be done.? These common sense reforms (which we?ll look at in a future post) are getting a lot of push back as property owners find out that they will pay higher premiums that more accurately reflect their flood risk.
We should ask, ?What is the purpose of the National Flood Insurance Program??
The way the program has evolved it?s purpose seems to have less to do with fixing problems associated with flooding, than prolonging those problems.
It?s purpose should be to prepare us for a future where flooding is going to be more frequent and severe. It should provide a social safety net for flood victims.? It should be there to help people get their lives back together and to perhaps relocate to a safer location, outside the area where floods are most likely.? It should be guiding the nation to a place where we are less at risk, particularly as our climate warms.
But so far it has failed to deliver.
?
Next Week:? The Biggert Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act?and the backlash
Source: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/rmoore/what_is_the_purpose_of_the_nat.html
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Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chants slogans against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi during protest in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chants slogans against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi during protest in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi stand near a barricade in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi shout slogans and hold his posters during a rally at a camp near Cairo University in Giza, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug.2, 2013. Arabic reads, "yes to legitimacy." An international human rights group has warned of a "bloodbath" if Egypt's new leadership uses force to end sit-ins by loyalists of the country's ousted president. The statement by Human Rights Watch came as Mohammed Morsi's followers called for new mass rallies across the country on Friday in defiance of a government order to disband.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi waves a national flag as he stands on a barrier recently set up where protesters have installed their camp near Cairo University in Giza, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. An international human rights group has warned of a "bloodbath" if Egypt's new leadership uses force to end sit-ins by loyalists of the country's ousted president. The statement by Human Rights Watch came as Mohammed Morsi's followers called for new mass rallies across the country on Friday in defiance of a government order to disband.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi enter a barrier recently set up where protesters have installed their camp near Cairo University in Giza, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. An international human rights group has warned of a "bloodbath" if Egypt's new leadership uses force to end sit-ins by loyalists of the country's ousted president. The statement by Human Rights Watch came as Mohammed Morsi's followers called for new mass rallies across the country on Friday in defiance of a government order to disband. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
CAIRO (AP) ? Authorities outlined plans Friday to break up two sit-ins by supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi, saying they would set up a cordon around the protest sites, and riot police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators threatening a TV complex.
Morsi backers also showed their defiance by briefly setting up a third camp near the airport, but later folded their tents and left.
The military-backed interim government seeks to end a political stalemate that has paralyzed Egypt and deeply divided the country. Supporters of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood say they will not disperse until he is returned to power.
The second-ranking U.S. diplomat arrived in the Egyptian capital for talks on the political crisis, as Secretary of State John Kerry warned both sides that "the last thing we want is more violence."
Also Friday, Amnesty International reported cases of alleged killings and torture at the hands of Morsi supporters inside the protest camps, saying that one man had his throat cut and another was stabbed to death.
In southwestern Cairo, police fired tear gas at Morsi supporters who rallied in front of Media City, a site housing most of Egypt's private TV stations, a security official said. A second official told the state news agency that protesters tried to "obstruct traffic in an attempt to affect work at the complex."
The rally was "a desperate attempt by rioters from the (Islamist) current," Maj. Gen. Abdel-Fattah Othman, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told the private TV station Mehwer. "There was reinforcement from police and army that will not allow any reckless person to get close to the Media City or storm it."
He described the protesters as "brainwashed" to attack broadcasters perceived as secular opponents of the Islamists. Last year, Morsi supporters held a sit-in near Media City, often harassing TV personalities and forcing many of them to sneak into the studios from other entrances.
The new unrest came as state-controlled TV reported that security forces will establish a cordon within 48 hours around the two main protest sites in Cairo where thousands have been camped out since before Morsi was ousted by the military on July 3.
The government offered protection and "safe passage" to those willing to leave the two main camps ? a large one outside the Rabaah al-Adawiya Mosque in eastern Cairo and a smaller one near Cairo University's main campus in Giza. The leadership had earlier given orders to police to end what it described as "threat to national security" and sources of "citizens' terrorism."
Authorities will let people leave without checking their identities or arresting them, but they will not allow anyone into the protest camps, the report said. It did not elaborate on the next steps, but the government earlier said it will use water cannons and tear gas in dispersing the crowds.
The Morsi supporters are also planning rallies late Friday outside security headquarters near one sit-in site, including the Republican Guard club, where they had staged a protest that turned bloody last month, and another army building.
The security cordon around the protest camps raises the possibility of new violence, which has killed more than 130 Morsi supporters and injured hundreds since the military coup. The ouster followed mass demonstrations calling for Morsi to step down after a year in office, saying his policies had failed and he had put power in the hands of his Islamist group.
Facing domestic and international pressure to avoid bloodshed, authorities have taken the unusual step of going into details of its security plans.
Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim told a newspaper that police have finalized plans for breaking up the sit-ins, and were awaiting orders from prosecutors to start the second phase of its operation.
Police have given authorities information about weapons in the protest camps and the "dangers emanating" from there, and that the next phase of the plan, which includes surrounding the sites, would begin within hours, he was quoted as saying.
"The forces have established their presence in various areas with the aim of protecting security and stability," Ibrahim said, adding that the ministry was awaiting legal action from the prosecutors. He said a prosecution team will accompany the security forces to monitor how they deal with the protesters.
Ibrahim told the newspaper that he was awaiting approval from the National Defense Council on measures relating to the final phase of the operation, which would be the use of force while trying not to injure anyone.
The Amnesty International report quoted a survivor of an attack by Morsi supporters near the Cairo University sit-in as saying that he saw one bloodied man have his throat cut and another stabbed to death.
The report also cited accounts from survivors that Morsi backers also abducted and tortured their political opponents with beatings and electric shocks at or near the protest sites.
The Interior Ministry last weekend had said 11 bodies were found near one of the protest sites, with some showing signs of torture, apparently by members of the sit-ins who believed the victims were spies.
Near the Rabaah protest camp, people armed with sticks and makeshift body armor stood guard behind walls of sandbags, tires and bricks.
One speaker defiantly told the crowd that the military leader, Gen. Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi, appeared reluctant to carry out his promise to break up the sit-ins.
"This man is about to fall now in the face of all these retractions," the speaker said to thousands of people who gathered for a meal to break their daytime fast for the holy month of Ramadan.
Ahmed Madani, 26, was installing a new tent at one of the camp entrances, saying the facilities will have a kitchen and toilets.
"We are here to show them that we are determined to stay and we won't give up," he said. "Even if I have to die, I will not leave. We are thousands ready to die for our cause."
The pro-Morsi camps have disrupted daily life in Cairo, blocking traffic and antagonizing some residents already suffering under Egypt's economic woes.
"A peaceful sit-in does not block roads, it doesn't terrorize people, it does not kill people and it does not attack people," said Wahid Idris, an opponent of the Muslim Brotherhood. "I want them to use any means to put an end to that sit-in."
In addition to the smaller sit-in across town, a new vigil sprung up briefly near Cairo's international airport, on the outskirts of the suburb of Heliopolis, in a neighborhood known as "The Thousand Houses."
An Associated Press reporter saw thousands of protesters, many of them are families and women in conservative Muslim dress, occupying a square and laying prayer rugs on the asphalt. They raised banners with Morsi's portrait saying, "Down with military rule," waved Egyptian flags and chanted, "Go away Sissi! Morsi is my president."
About six hours later, however, the camp was dismantled because organizers believed it to be insecure, said Adel Hassan, a protester who folded his tent.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns arrived in Cairo, and an Egyptian Foreign Ministry official said he would meet with interim leadership officials and representatives from the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies Saturday.
Amr Darag, one of the Brotherhood negotiators who will meet with Burns, told the AP that the group and its allies are looking for "confidence-building measures" in order for them to sit at the table with their rivals.
Such measures include releasing detained Brotherhood leaders, unfreezing the group's assets, lifting the ban on its TV stations and ending violence against its protests. Darag said the group can't order its protesters to go home because they are fighting for their rights and the reinstatement of Morsi as president.
It was unclear if Burns would see Morsi during his second visit to Cairo since the coup. On Monday, top European Union diplomat Catherine Ashton saw Morsi for two hours at the facility where he is being held by the military. An African Union delegation also briefly met the ousted president a day later.
In London, Kerry sought to clarify controversial remarks he made Thursday about the crisis when he told Geo TV in Pakistan that the Egyptian military was "restoring democracy."
The comment was seen by some as a signal the U.S. was siding with the military, even though the State Department has repeatedly said the U.S. is not taking sides.
Kerry said Friday that all parties ? the military as well as the Morsi supporters ? should be inclusive and work toward a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
"The last thing that we want is more violence," he said. "The temporary government has a responsibility with respect to demonstrators to give them the space to be able to demonstrate in peace. But at the same time, the demonstrators have a responsibility not to stop everything from proceeding in Egypt."
A spokesman of Egypt's Mulim Brotherhood, Gehad el-Haddad, denounced Kerry's remarks, asking if Kerry would similarly approve of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel deposing President Barack Obama if large protests took place in the United States.
Rights groups have warned against using force to end the protests. The New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the interim leadership to take all measures to avert bloodshed.
"To avoid another bloodbath, Egypt's civilian rulers need to ensure the ongoing right of protesters to assemble peacefully, and seek alternatives to a forcible dispersal of the crowds," said Nadim Houry, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch.
The Muslim Brotherhood has opposed all measures taken by the military since the coup, including the appointment of an interim president, the suspension the constitution and the disbanding of the Islamist-dominated legislative council.
___
Associated Press writer Tony G. Gabriel contributed to this report.
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