Jobless claims reduce somewhat and stock market gets slight increase

For the very first time in weeks, the number of new jobless claims has sharply dropped. Unemployment was slightly helped by winter retail hires and the United States of America census during a terrible lull in employment. The housing market is still within the basement; however some good news about employment is a welcome change. That said, it’s not cause to celebrate as unemployment is as bad as it has ever been, having held since November of 2009. On the plus side, it did cheer up stock markets. There was a slight boost on Wall Street as a result.

Fall with fresh unemployed claims

A drop was recorded in the quantity of brand new claims for unemployment benefits by the Department of Labor. The number of jobless claims still sits, adjusted seasonally, at 473,000, but that number dropped by 31,000 over the last week. That’s encouraging, however the past four weeks average to 486,750. As outlined by Forbes, that’s the highest since November 2009. That said, winter jobless claims have to be taken with a grain of salt, as holiday seasonal employment provides a slight spike for the busiest part of the retail year. There was also some temporary other employment. The Census was taken this year.

Stock exchange get a boost

The news of lower jobless claims led to an uptick in the stock exchange, according to the Wall Street Journal. The largest increase was .3 percent for Standard and Poor’s, a barely mentionable gain. The Nasdaq climbed only .2 percent, and also the Dow Jones managed a paltry .1 percent gain. The big news on Wall Street is really the Dell acquisition, though others try to stop it, of data storage company 3Par. A bidding war between Dell and Hewlett-Packard for 3 Par has been the huge story on Wall Street over the last week, after last week’s rampant coverage of Potash Corp.

Miles to go before we sleep

This was not a radical decrease in unemployment. You will find few indicators it is decreasing by much. Fewer employers are currently hiring. The real estate market has been nothing short of dismal, and it is estimated that 10 percent of all homeowners are at risk of foreclosure.

More on this topic

Forbes

forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/08/26/real-estate-industrials-us-economy_7879865.html

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100826-709681.html

The planet is almost gone from helium - be afraid

Helium is fun for voice changing at parties, but it has numerous more uses that are exceedingly important. From solar telescopes to rockets and MRI cryogenics to deep-sea diving, helium is a vital, non-renewable resource that numerous take for given. Regrettably, most people only know that it’s great for filling birthday balloons, so long as it is cheap. However it might not be cheap for long, reports The Independent – helium supplies are fading fast. The birthday balloons might fall to earth in our lifetime.

A shortage of helium can cause much more difficulties more than most recognize

Thanks to a 1996 law passed by the United States of America Congress entitled the Helium Privatization Act, helium’s price was ground to the dirt while the nation’s supply of birthday balloons headed for the stratosphere. Helium became a cheaper by the dozen resources, which has dipped severely into supply. The United States of America National Helium Reserve near Amarillo, Texas, could be required to sell off any remaining helium by 2015, even if they have to do it for pennies on the dollar. Similar circumstances exist worldwide for helium, making it seem as though humanity wants to cut off its nose to spite its face.

Why running out of helium isn’t good simply because?

Cooling MRI machines with liquid helium have been customary in hospitals for some time. Anti-terrorism forces use helium for their radiation monitors and infrared detectors. Nuclear reactors and wind tunnels also utilize helium, the former in helium-3 isotope form. NASA uses it to clean potentially explosive rocket fuel from fuel tanks. All of this, plus festive birthday balloons, could be gone in 25 to 30 years, according to experts surveyed by The Independent.

”Once helium is released into the atmosphere within the form of party balloons or boiling helium, it is lost to the Earth forever,” said Cornell physics Professor Robert Richardson, a Nobel laureate.

From where does helium originate?

The Sun’s nuclear fusion creates helium as a by-product. Not only that, but the radioactive decay of various rocks produces helium on Earth. Earth’s supply comes from the latter method, of course. It cannot be created in any artificial fashion. Considering that it has taken the Earth approximately 4.7 billion years to produce the world’s helium reserves, waiting for it to come back can be a marathon at best.

The $ 100 birthday balloon

To slow the depletion of the world’s helium supply, Professor Richardson suggests that the price for helium be raised considerably. If helium becomes 20 to 50 times more expensive than the current rate (15 cubic feet of helium cost about $40 in 2009), motivation to recycle the gas would greatly increase. Thus, in Richardson’s estimation, a helium-filled party balloon should currently cost about $100.

Further reading

Helium Privatization Act

helium.com/items/874929-understanding-the-helium-privitization-act-of-1996

The Independent

independent.co.uk/news/science/why-the-world-is-running-out-of-helium-2059357.html

University of Denver study on helium

mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/phys/helium.htm

Why give movies with smoking in it a rating that is R?

Ratings standards for American films have stirred no small amount of controversy. The clash between directors, studios and also the MPAA ratings board has touched off fiery debate (well-documented within the 2006 documentary This Movie is Not Yet Rated), and now Time Magazine reports there’s something new to fire up tempers in Hollywood. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made its stance by saying all movies with smoking in them shouldn’t be seen by young teens and children, therefore giving the movies an “R” rating.

Smoking product placing from tobacco industry illegal

The CDC study indicates that ever since 1998, tobacco companies aren’t allowed to place product in movies. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of smoking in movies today. The CDC made reports on the kids who see a lot of smoking versus those who see little. Thos who see a lot are much more likely to try smoking in their lifetime. Health troubles could get worse which is a common concern for public health officials. You will find many G, PG and PG-13 movies that have had smoking seen in them. This is why there has been the idea of changing ratings with smoking in them.

Stopping smoking other ways

In addition to the R rating suggestion, other ideas given by the CDC are to air anti-smoking ads onscreen before the start of a film and to specify in film credits that no person or business associated with the movie received financial compensation from the tobacco industry or any associated company. The CDC was not the first group to bring up the idea that smoking needs to make a movie R. The World Health Organization made this suggestion previously. Smoking in films marketed to kids and teens is socially irresponsible, says the WHO.

Smoking costs too much

Smoking appears to be costing increasingly more. Anti-smoking is encouraged by MSN Money. MSN Money explains this. Smoking costs are more than just cigarettes as it also involves the price of higher health insurance and dry cleaning your clothes to get the smell out. This means that in case you are 40 but quit smoking, you could possibly conserve in a 401 (k) over $ 250,000. Pay day loan and short term loan are needed by the numerous who determine unhealthy lungs is more significant than a nice retirement. The R-rated scene might really just be purchasing into the expense of smoking.

More on this topic

Center for Disease Control

cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5932a2.htm

MSN Money

articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourHealth/HighCostOfSmoking.aspx

Time Magazine

wellness.blogs.time.com/2010/08/19/rated-r-for-smoking/

World Health Organization

who.int/tobacco/smoke_free_movies/en/

Fox News report on removing cigarettes from movies

youtube.com/watch?v=FSxwPVUv7vY

Farmers in Missouri and Kansas get U.S.D.A. emergency money

The weather this summer has been detrimental to farmers in the lower Midwest. Flash flood damage left the area around Kansas city in a disaster state and help is coming from the U.S.D.A.. Emergency loans can be made available for any farmers in certain areas that need some advance cash because of damaged crops. The loans can be filed to receive in the next few months. The loans will be incredibly low interest loans. Tornados and rainfall hit the Midwest really hard this year.

Summer rain

Extensive rainfall has occurred throughout the Midwest. Many stormfronts from the Gulf region to the Great Lakes have wreaked havoc, such as the Oklahoma tornadoes and also the Milwaukee floods. Kansas city has seen a lot of pain also. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced six of seven counties in the Kansas City, Mo., metro area natural disaster areas, and those counties could use some quick payday to help rebuild.

Damage to farms

The area had many farms in it. The crops in these farms got hurt by the weather. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, wind, rain, and flash flood damage has wrecked a good portion of this summer’s crops, and emergency loans can be made available. The Department of Agriculture is where farmers who want a low cost loan should be applying. The rate of interest will be set at 3.75 percent, and also the amount could be up to 100 percent of losses. People can borrow money in amounts up to $ 500,000. Aside from the six counties around Kansas City, you will find 55 counties in Missouri and 47 counties in Oklahoma that are declared disaster areas due to extreme weather in that area.

Hurt comes from Mother Nature

Numerous say Mother Nature is not kind. Farmers do a good job of feeding us all, although too much rain means ruined crops for most areas.

Find more information on this subject

Business Journal

bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2010/08/23/daily12.html

Criminals John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch caught

Two of one of the most wanted criminals in the nation, Casslyn Welch and John McCluskey, have been arrested. For some reason, there are repeated comparisons to Bonnie and Clyde. They escaped from an Arizona State prison about a month ago. They’ve been on the run ever since. Places the two were thought to have been spotted in ranged from Yellowstone National Park to Arkansas. They were in an Arizona State Park when a Park Ranger called in their stolen vehicle’s license plate number, leading to their apprehension. Article source – Fugitives John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch taken into custody by Personal Money Store.

Spotted by park ranger

An unnamed Park Ranger made the catch. He was on patrol in Apache Sitgreaves National Forest. The park ranger found a campsite, with a suspiciously parked vehicle, as outlined by ABC, which he called in to have checked out. When it came back stolen, he alerted police. The identities of the two were discovered after SWAT showed up and caught them for grand theft auto. They were arrested peacefully. John McCluskey said that he would have fired on police had he not been caught off guard. McCluskey and his fiancé Casslyn Welch, who’s also his cousin, were taken without incident.

The actual search is out

After John McCluskey and Casslyn Welch broke out of Arizona State Prison with fellow inmates Tracy Province and Daniel Renwick, a massive manhunt went underway. Province and Renwick were captured soon after, and McCluskey and Welch were spotted in Yellowstone National Park and in Butte, Mon. Butte was the last sighting of the two. They are also thought, according to the Associated Press, to be linked to the murder of Gary and Linda Haas in New Mexico. The bodies of the Haases were found in their burnt trailer around Aug. 4. The stolen automobile Welch and McCluskey were driving had New Mexico plates.

Somewhat much less murderer compared to real Bonnie and Clyde

For some reason, people have a romantic notion about Clyde and Bonnie types. Clyde and Bonnie weren’t very romantic either; Clyde was gay, and they stole money from the people that cheered them before the FDIC existed. They are violent criminals, and it is better they go back to behind bars. There should be a medal for the Ranger who called them in. He should at least get a raise.

Find additional information about this topic

ABC News

acnews.go.com/US/bonnie-clyde-fugitives-john-mccluskey-casslyn-welch-captured/story?id=11442877 and page=1

Google News

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hB0B5qIFEqMDeeaj_JGZgZMr6klQD9HNA4E00

Something totally different using the Naruse Pedal

An actual risk is posed by the default set up of a brake and gas pedal right next to each other. A throttle like on a jet would be cool. Nevertheless, there just hasn’t been a good enough alternative yet. One of the current design flaws in modern automobiles is that if a person jams on the gas rather than the brake by accident, individuals can get hurt. They can get killed. Each and every now and again, someone comes up with a solution, and that’s where Masuyuki Naruse comes in. Article source – Naruse pedal aims to improve safety and foot room by Car Deal Expert.

Naruse pedal safer so that you can travel with as well as saves foot space

Within the 1980s, Masuyuki Naruse missed the brakes twice. He hit the gas instead, though at least one didn’t involve a crash. According to the New York Times, Naruse (Nah-roo-say) knew there had to be a better way. He thought that a single pedal would be better than the dual pedal system. So he began work on a pedal that could accelerate and brake without the potential mistake. The first prototype was finished in 1991.

You just cannot make Toyota happy

The pedal combines both brake and accelerator, but it’s a little different. There’s a normal pedal, which is the brake, and a lever on the side which you operate by moving your foot for the gas. To speed up, you move your foot to the right. Brake normally. Toyota got one about 10 years ago. They didn’t choose to purchase it. It isn’t the first time somebody has thought of it. A Swede named Sven Gustafsson invented something similar. It is being tested in Sweden.

Individuals perish from this problem

Dual pedals pose a real threat. In Japan, the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis found there were 6,700 accidents from people hitting the wrong pedal. 9,500 injuries and 37 deaths resulted from them. Individuals can forget which is which in emergencies. Richard A. Schmidt found that neuromuscular processes could be disrupted by emergency situations. You will find 130 vehicles that can legally have the Naruse pedal installed. Naruse personally invited Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota to try his pedal, but was refused.

Additional reading

NY Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/04/business/global/04pedal.html?pagewanted=2 and _r=1

Substantial late charges latest victim for brand new charge card rules

A year’s worth of credit card reform concluded Sunday as the last set of new credit card rules was enacted. Late payment fees and other penalties are the target of the most recent rule changes. Thus completes a sweeping credit card reform effort that started last summer with the Charge card Accountability, Responsibility and also Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. Late payment charges can’t exceed $25 under one for the newest federal laws.Over the past year as new credit card rules are rolled out, credit card companies are dramatically increasing interest rates. Another rule requires them to justify those increases to federal regulators.

Enforcement with reasonable rates as well as penalties

The final enactment with credit reform provisions on Aug. 22 means that consumers can’t be charged more than $25 for a late payment, they are no longer charged for putting their cards in a drawer and they could see the rate of interest hikes with the last year rolled back. Reporting on the final round of credit reform, CNN said that rate of interest jumps must be rolled back if the card-issuer fails to adequately explain the reasons for them. Federal regulators will review those reasons and enforce compliance with the law. However, the $25 penalty limit could be lifted in a way that credit card corporations will no doubt abuse as much as they can get away with. If a customer’s late repayments are deemed habitual, the penalty can be hiked as high as could be accre! dited to the cost to the card-issuer for dealing with past due payments. Another new rule prohibits penalty fees from exceeding the minimum payment or the amount charged over the credit limit.

Credit card corporations hooked on fee charges

Credit card corporations look at the new charge card rules as a threat to their bottom line. The latest round of provisions is projected to keep them from being able to penalize their customers to the tune for $3 billion. A Wall Street Journal report on the credit card industry’s response to the rules said that companies are busy upping the ante for balance transfers, cash advances, overseas charges as well as annual fees. Because of the new rules, credit card businesses are also expected to raise monthly minimum repayments due, which would enable them to increase the overdue penalty fee. Banks addicted to large cash for nothing via penalty charges will scramble to keep the money flowing . A credit industry executive told the Journal that before the new credit card rules, credit card corporations collected about $11.4 billion in overdue fees. That figure is expected to drop 29 percent to about $8.1 billion.

Credit card corporations know their customers

While the new credit card rules are giving consumers some protection from excessive late fees, credit card companies have been jacking up interest rates. Another CNN report said that within the second quarter, card companies raised rates of interest on existing card holders to an average of 14.7 percent — up from 13.1 percent a year ago . The current spread between the average credit card interest rate as well as the prime rate is 11.45 percentage points — the widest it has been in 22 years, as outlined by Synovate market research arm of Aegis Group. Synovate also said that credit card spending reached the second-highest level ever in the second quarter.

Further reading

CNN

money.cnn.com

Wall Street Journal

wsj.com

Overflowing potash demand is catalyst in BHP hostile takeover bid

It appears like there is going to be a push for more potash in agriculture. Potassium is one of the primary things potash is which helps with agriculture quite a bit. Fertilizer uses only potash as its source of potassium. The world desperately needs potash to make food. Because there is no futures market for potash, other minerals have outperformed it in a recent commodities market boom. However, a huge increase in demand for potash is within the forecast. This has inspired the hostile takeover of a Canadian potash company by an Australian minerals business.

Potash urges shareholders to resist BHP tender

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, known as Potash, has control over a big chunk of the world’s potash market. The Canadian fertilizer company should be concerned about a business in Australia. The big minerals extraction business in Australia, or BHP Billiton, is trying to get their hands on the company. As outlined by the New York Times, $ 130 a share was what BHP was willing to pay for the company. The Potash board rejected the offer as too low. A tender offer is getting used by BHP for a hostile takeover of Potash. This means shareholders get to see the cash directly in front of them. Potash is trying to get a better offer from one more while getting shareholders to stop selling to BHP.

Potash is crucial to the world’s food supply

Potash is produced in 12 countries. More than 75 percent of global supply comes from Canada, Russia, Belarus and Germany. As outlined by Reuters, fertilizers need potash. Potash is really just what you call anything that is potassium. Potash strengthens a plant’s resistance to disease, improves crop quality and boosts yields. It is important to get potassium in fertilizer. Potash is the only source for that. Potash hasn’t been very stable in price. The prices are volatile for years. Ten years ago it sold for under $ 150 a ton. Within the global food crisis of 2007-08, it went up to $ 1,000 a ton. Since then, it has crashed to about $ 350-$ 375 a ton.

Potash from Saskatchewan probably the most wanted

Until BHP has made all these moves, Potash hasn’t really been anything everyone cared about. According to Entrepreneur, by 2011, there won’t be enough supply of potash if the growth continues as it has in the last five years. There are numerous countries wanting more meat making it so potash is more needed. Examples of these countries are Latin America, China and India. Another factor is exploding growth in biofuels like ethanol, which the UN said could meet 25 percent of the worlds energy needs within the next 20 years. Wheat and corn prices have gone up through this already. Now seems like that potash demand has to go up as well. It is not all that easy to make more potash available. More than 85 percent of the world’s potash mines are more than 25 years old. It seems difficult to produce more potash. The Saskatchewan business experiences this problem.

Additional reading

New York Times

dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/bhp-begins-tender-offer-for-potash/?src=busln

Reuters

reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67J2SQ20100820

Entrepreneur

entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/166229304.html

General Motors IPO might generate some major payments for the installment loans Gm obtained via taxpayers

For a long time, this has been predicted that General Motors to file for an IPO. The exact facts probably will not be out for some time, but a General Motors IPO has recently been filed. Up to now, what exactly is for certain is that Gm will offer preferred shares, but how numerous shares is uncertain. The business will get some debt settlement relief from it, and also the U.S. Treasury is visiting the some of their debt from Gm wiped clean. It will get the company closer to freedom, and maybe get it some large time money quick.

General Motors Initial Public Offering filed for

On Wednesday, Aug. 18, GM filed for the General Motors IPO. The IPO might be quite the instant cash, as outlined by the New York Times. The company could be offering preferred shares. However, Gm hasn’t announced the total number of shares the business could be selling. Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre had previously announced that he would retire once the business was back on track, which he lately announced he was going to do by the end of the year. This initial public offering could settle an awful lot of debt.

Debt elimination a huge inspiration

Among the many benefits of this sale of shares, and re-listing of General Motors, will be paying down a large part of the installment loans from the Treasury. According to CNN Money, the Treasury has agreed to sell some of the government’s stake in General Motors. Currently, the U.S. Government holds 60.83 percent of General Motors shares, and also the Canadian government holds a further 11.67 percent. GM has paid the Treasury back about $7 billion so far.

Back in black

A good portion of GM’s debt will likely be wiped away with the IPO. GM is posting profits again, so it is not as if General Motors will need an additional cash till payday from the working class again. They nevertheless owe $67 billion though, and the IPO would have to clear at least that for the working class to break even.

Further reading

NY Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/19/business/19auto.html?_r=1

CNN

money.cnn.com/2010/08/18/news/companies/gm_IPO/

These personal finance tips can help you stay from all that debt

Avoiding debt is going to be your best change when dealing with debt issues. Credit cards, student loans and car loans are all ways people get to owing thousands of dollars in debt. You can change now if you haven’t been one to mess up your personal finance already. The best results are found for personal finance with a couple of key things. Identify and focus on those things. Avoiding debt issues could possibly be as simple as becoming more financially literate about credit card debt, saving money and buying wholesale.

Debt proof living in the start

One of one of the most basic tenets of financial literacy will help you one of the most: understanding credit card debt. Practical Money Skills explains what the “power of 50″ is. Eight years will be required to pay off a card that has a $ 3,000 balance with 18 percent APR which only required a 2 percent minimum pay of $ 60 a month. You will end up paying much more than $ 3,000, but rather $ 5,780. If you are able to lower the amount left on the credit card faster, say pay $ 50 more a month, or $ 110 a month instead, then the company won’t be able to charge you nearly as much interest. You will pay off the debt three years faster with the $ 1,800 you would normally have paid towards credit card interest.

Saving money – start small and watch it add up

It isn’t too hard to conserve your money. An emergency fund should be set aside to save money in things like car repairs. Saving money for something you really want is a good idea since you are able to better appreciate it. The best way to succeed, says ehow.com, is to start small and work up. Every time you get a paycheck, put $ 20 into your savings account. You’ll be amazed at how easily it adds up. Simple things like refilling your water bottle or brewing your own coffee can make a big difference. Add together how much it costs to purchase coffee and water bottles each single week. You may end up with some more money through it.

Buying at wholesale to stop with a middle man

Take out the middle man selling you the food by simply buying wholesale. Buy wholesale and conserve money at essorment.com with its tips. Go ahead and ask your local wholesalers if they sell to the general public. Sample sales can really help when you’re trying to get wholesale stuff. If you have friends who are interior designers, contractors or beauticians who can buy wholesale, offer to buy their lunch if you are able to go with them next time they shop. And always shop around. Prices get marked down on boxes if they are just torn. Just do your research and work just a little, and you’ll be able to discover quite great prices.

More on this topic

Practical Money Skills

practicalmoneyskills.com/personalfinance/creditdebt/debt/

Ehow

ehow.com/how_2205105_start-saving-money-have-none.html

Essortment

essortment.com/career/tipsbuyingwh_twqf.htm

$ 298 million paid by Barclays Bank because of sanctions violations

When it comes to power the within the world, the United States has a lot of it. The U.S. also had a considerable amount of say when it came to charges against England’s Barclays Bank because that U.S. has quite a bit of financial control in the world as well. Sanctions were made from the U.S. to Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Burma which were allegedly broken by Barclays between March 1995 and September 2006, reports the Washington Post. The New York branch cleared through Barclays over $ 500 million that went to all of the nations that are enemies to the U.S.. As outlined by Reuters, a $ 298 million settlement to U.S. criminal charges was agreed to be paid by Barclays Bank already because this happened.

Prosecutors believe Barclays was trying to conceal the truth

Barclays documents filed in the U.S. omitted the names of banks in those sanctioned countries. To make the connection to the other countries obscure, payments went through internal accounts. Jennifer Calvery, chief of the U.S. Justice Department’s asset forfeiture and money-laundering division, explained that Barclays was in trouble for violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and for trading with the enemy.

Cuba has had U.S. sanctions against them since Kennedy although the others came later such as Libya in 1986, Iran in 1995, Sudan and Burma in 1997.

Some transactions disclosed from Barclays

Barclays Bank decided it was better to just cooperate and give U.S. government investigators all the documents related to the case. The company has not done so as yet, at least not totally. $ 149 million will be given to the U.S. government right away while the last $ 149 million is given later for the $ 298 million settlement.

Americans violate human rights within the very same way

The past has shown Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Burma all having human rights violations against them in history. Supporting U.S. enemies through U.S. soul was a bad move for Barclays, although Barclays is not the only one who has made this mistake. Making things happen their way is what the United States is known for. As The Decemberists’ song “Sixteen Military Wives” puts it,

Cheer them on to their rivals
Cause America can, and America can’t say no
And America does, if America says it’s so
It’s so!

Additional reading at these websites

Reuters

reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67F36J20100816?utm_source=feedburner and amp;utm_medium=feed and amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/16/AR2010081602955.html

Barclays was previously fined £ 2.45 million ($ 3.8 million) for “poor reporting systems”

youtube.com/watch?v=zqsf3XswX4Q

Eat Pray Love movie reviews do not exactly worship the ground it walks on

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert was a sensation, spending a long time atop the New York Times bestsellers list. Lots of people have been awaiting the film version starring Julia Roberts. The critics have not warmed to it yet. The Sex and also the City sequel released earlier this year, also a quasi-feminist travel film, was also pilloried by critics, and it may be the genre is starting to wear thin.

An additional person’s self discovery is incredibly scintillating

The book is part self help guide, spiritual quest, and travelogue about how Elizabeth Gilbert dumped her husband out of blue to go travel and rediscover herself. She told her publisher about the idea before the film, and financed it with a huge advance she got for it. Ryan Murphy directed the film, which stars Julia Roberts, Billy Crudup, Javier Bardem, and James Franco.

Not numerous high marks in Eat Pray Love movie review scores

The day of release, Rotten Tomatoes had the film at around 36 percent. A review from PRI’s The World by Beth Accomando said “more like eat, pray for it to be over, gag.” Adam Graham from the Detroit News said the film amounted to “an ridiculous fantasy for rich people.” The Chicago Sun Times and famed critic Roger Ebert was not amused. He opined that in order to get the film “I guess you have to belong to the narcissistic subculture of Woo-Woo.” Andy Klein said, in the Christian Science Monitor that when Robert’s character learns to meditate, it “involves emptying her mind – which shouldn’t take much heavy lifting.”

Critics are generally critical

The negative reviews all have a similar theme, so it seems it isn’t just a case of authorities being mean for the joy of doing so. The book did very well, after all, for a reason. There’s an uplifting undercurrent to it, about trying to find a spiritual peace of mind and meaning in life. However, that general theme doesn’t capture everybody. It may actually have worked better in print. Some may discover it inspirational; others will find it trite. Eat, Pray, Love, seems to be so optimistic and uplifting that it becomes banal.

Read more on this topic here

Rotten Tomatoes

rottentomatoes.com/m/eat_pray_love/

Roger Bert

rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100811/REVIEWS/100819999

SC Monitor

csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2010/0813/Eat-Pray-Love-movie-review

What to do when reprogramming your engine computer

Flashing — or erasing and reprogramming — your engine’s computer is a legitimate way to keep a car’s engine control modules (ECMs) up to date. Microprocessors in the power train and fuel injectors have to have this done if cars are older newer than 1996 since the system won’t work properly otherwise. When programming is up to date with every little thing, your engine works much better. If you need somebody else to do it at a repair shop, it is likely going to cost between $ 80 and $ 120, reports Underhood Service. Your car can be flashed by you for those who have the right equipment around. Article resource – How to reprogram your engine computer by Car Deal Expert.

An engine computer reprogramming

If you would like to reprogram your engine computer yourself then you need to be able to find the diagnostic port under the steering wheel inside the car which you’ll attach a special scanner to. The auto manufacturer has put new programming into this scanner which erases the old and replaces with the new. It used to be that it was necessary to remove parts in order to complete the reprogramming process, but now all that’s necessary is a computer with an Internet connection, a USB cable and a scanning device that can connect with a car’s diagnostic port. The ECM is flashed with the new software direct from the manufacturer’s website.

How numerous times to flash an ECM?

If you were to ask your auto repair shop this question, they would suggest doing it each few years, which can be ok for you to do. However, it’s typically only something that needs to be addressed on a need-to basis, unless a sweeping pronouncement is issued by the manufacturer as part of a recall movement. Routine maintenance shouldn’t contain flashing when doing anything else to make certain your car works.

DAY flashers have to do this

It is simple to do usually. Consult with your car manufacturer’s website for software updates. Download the update into a flash programming device. Additional software for proper engine tuning may be necessary. Consult sources such as DIYEFI.org for more specific info. You should also consult with your state’s motor automobile authority, as more radical aspects of engine programming may not be street legal, which is the case in tough emissions states like California.

Get a new car with no ECM programming troubles with an auto loan for bad credit

More on this topic

Underhood Services

underhoodservice.com/Article/39556/flash_reprogramming_vehicle_computers.aspx

Scotty Kilmer on reprogramming your car’s computer

youtube.com/watch?v=Mc0aMxSdat4

DIYEFI

diyefi.org/index.htm

Kelly Blue Book says that new vehicle buyers are probably to consider a Ford

Kelly Blue Book, the main source for car purchasing and pricing info in the United States, has released its quarterly survey of new vehicle buyers. Though the study is not done scientifically, it is considered relatively authoritative. The preferences of vehicle buyers appear to be changing, with negative press having a significant effect. Shoppers ranked durability and reliability, driving comfort, fuel efficiency, driving performance and safety as the top five important factors when purchasing for a new vehicle.

Ford takes top honors

During this quarter last year, Toyota held the top spot in this survey. This quarter, the Kelly Blue Book survey shows that 29 percent of new automobile buyers are considering Ford cars. This is one more piece of proof that truck sales may well be increasing in the next few years.

Toyota drops to number 2

Toyota motors are showing the effects of numerous safety recalls over the last year. Even though these issues are well-known, 22 percent of people looking at a new car are considering a Toyota. High fuel efficiency is, in part, the reason for this very strong showing.Analysts also point to the “Swagger Wagon” advertising campaign as particularly successful.

Third place for Chevrolet

Just behind Toyota, 21 percent of new auto buyers are thinking about a Chevrolet vehicle. This increase in interest in Chevrolet could possibly be partially because of the Volt, despite the fact that there is a very high price tag. The reputation for safety in Chevrolet autos is a big part of the reason this brand did so well.

Fourth – Honda

Honda is doing very well on the list thanks to their reputation for saving fuel and being very reliable. One-fifth of people looking at purchasing a new automobile say they are considering a Honda car.

Hyundai sneaks into fifth place

South Korean carmaker Hyundai ousted competitor Nissan for the fifth place this year. Well-known fuel sippers, Hyundai cars are being considered by 13 percent of vehicle buyers.

Linda McMahon wins Republican nomination to run for Connecticut Senate

Linda McMahon is the champion of the Republican primary and can be their candidate for the open Senate seat. One of the two seats is open. Linda McMahon is indeed the wife of Vince McMahon Jr., and she is the previous CEO of WWE Entertainment. She quit the family business to run for the Senate seat, which Chris Dodd is retiring from as his term finishes.

Can you smell what the Linda McMahon is cooking?

Linda McMahon is making a big point of principle with her run for office by financing the entire thing herself, with no donations from taxpayer election funds, interest groups, or Political Action Committees whatsoever. She’s already spent $ 22 million of her own cash and is just fine with more having to be doled out by November, as outlined by ABC. Her opponent Dick Blumenthal, the Democrat candidate, has served as Attorney General of Connecticut since 1991, after serving terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives and Connecticut Senate.

What is her platform?

Linda McMahon is identified as a stringent neo-conservative. Fiscally conservative policies, with emphasis on deregulation and job creation, are big parts of her platform. She has come out in support of Obama’s strategy in Afghanistan, but is notably hawkish on Iran. She’s already created controversy with mainline Republicans, having donated money to a Republican pro-choice PAC, though opposed to partial-birth abortions. She also is far more friendly to LGBT rights than the President is, as she has stated Don’t Ask Don’t Tell should go and the marriage issue should be left to the states, according to an interview with the Connecticut Mirror.

So what is the bottom line?

An additional famous and rich person is running for office. It isn’t the first time somebody has done so, but in fairness her organizational skills as CEO took her company to being almost as popular as NASCAR and is now the only publicly traded pro-wrestling organization. (The McMahons do own most of the shares.) A few of her policies are incredibly popular, and voters may put her into office. Now all that remains to be seen is what you are going to do, brother, when Wrestle mania goes to DC?

Find more details on this subject

ABC News

abcnews.com/george/2010/08/linda-mcmahon-i-will-spend-what-it-takes.html

CT Mirror

ctmirror.org/story/5215/mcmahons-investment-produces-its-first-returns

Auto dealerships have drug trafficking happening

Auto dealerships are having a growing number of drug trafficking happen in them which are being allowed by either employees or owners. A new meaning is brought to the phrase “parts in parts” when marijuana is found amongst a shipment of parts. Article resource – Hire carefully- Drug trafficking at auto dealerships by Car Deal Expert.

Drug traffic ring found in a Honda/Volkswagen dealership in Maryland

DealershipForum.com reports that $ 1.6 million, or 120 pounds of marijuana was found in a Maryland Honda/Volkswagen dealership. An employee within the parts department reported to have been paid $ 100 for each delivery made. He was in charge of passing this to the dealer. As outlined by Automotive News, 10 pound blocks of marijuana were found in a box of wiper blades at a Detroit area Mopar Parts Distribution Center recently. How can it really be that hard to get some good help right now?

More auto dealership hijinks

Think these are isolated cases? Think again. As outlined by the Seattle Times, drug dealing happened at the previous Huling Brothers Auto Center of Seattle. According to Fox 29 WFLX of Hollywood, Fla., a “massive drug trafficking business” was happening in a Florida auto dealership that was run by Nova Motor Groups’ owner, Richard Carlson. SUVs were shipped to Sweden with cocaine in then. At Midway Motors of Abington, Mass., Finance Manager Duane Glenn and two others were arrested for selling cocaine to an undercover officer. Marijuana offenses were also involved in the arrests.

The story behind John DeLorean

The DeLorean Motor Company went bankrupt in 1982 after making luxury sports cars since 1975. John DeLorean had trouble maintaining operating capital although it the DeLorean DMC-12 was a gem of the 1980s. Drugs started to be sold be DeLorean as proved in a film. Because entrapment was supposedly used in this, DeLorean was cleared of all charges.

Conserve money with these auto loan application

Further reading

Automotive News

autonews.com/article/20100810/BLOG14/100819997/-1

Massachusetts Law enforcement Network

masscops.com/f79/police-make-drug-bust-abington-auto-dealer-38799/

Seattle Times

seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003563972_huling09m.html

WFLX

wflx.com/Global/story.asp?S=12740394″>WFLX.com

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_Motor_Company

Man sues Texas auto dealership that sold him ‘drug car’

youtube.com/watch?v=auVGmt9T4uk

Putting together the small company lending bill and partisan politics

The Small business Jobs and Credit Act was proposed to deliver cheap capital to community banks for small company lending. Unemployment creates a kind of pressure on the Obama administration to make more jobs available. That is why they made the Small business Jobs and Credit Act. The act has yet to go through or even be looked at because of partisan bickering. Business credit and tax relief has to wait until September now to be looked at by any politicians. September is when the Small business Association Arc Loan Program can be expiring.

Bill helps tax relief and small business lending

$ 30 billion can be put in a lending fund with the bill that is also called by some the Small business Jobs Act. Banks with less than $ 10 billion in assets tend to be the ones lending to small business, reports CNNMoney.com. By pumping capital into community banks, the idea is it will get in the hands of businesses. The bill also would make between 2010 and 2020 some tax relief for small businesses possible. It increases SBA loan limits and extends loan incentives through the end of the year. To encourage entrepreneurship, it offers numerous small companies tax cuts. $ 1.5 billion in grants will be given to many of the state governments with no money left to be seen.

Politicians make small business credit a game

The Small business Jobs Act wasn’t passed before July 30 when the House left for trip after bickering for days. According to Bizjournals.com, partisan maneuvering by Republicans about things that weren’t related to small company credit slowed the Senate. Republicans used their “another bank bailout” talking point to oppose the $ 30 billion small company lending fund. Two Republicans even voted with Democrats to give the lending fund a filibuster-proof 60 votes when it was considered as a separate amendment. Nevertheless, Republicans were strong in saying they didn’t want the whole bill to pass. They complained Democrats would not let them offer enough amendments to the bill.

September is when Interest-free SBA Arc loan program expires

Small businesses that have managed to survive the credit crisis can nevertheless get a little help, for a little when longer. SBA Arc loans could be received rather than waiting to hear from Congress. Helium reports that the SBA Arc Loan Program is only to available to established businesses and not start-ups, but it provides 100 percent guaranteed, interest-free loans of up to $ 35,000. Businesses dealing with immediate financial hardship that can show one year of profitability within the last two years are eligible for SBA Arc Loans. Five years are allowed to pay back the loan. In six months, the whole loan will be given out. The program will be ending at the end of December meaning businesses wanting SBA Arc loans should hurry.

Further reading

CNN Money

money.cnn.com/2010/08/06/smallbusiness/small_business_bill_stalemate/index.htm

Bizjournals

denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/08/02/daily78.html

Helium

helium.com/items/1915352-sab-arc-loan-program

A double dip recession could happen

Economists do make varied estimations, and some are rosy and others not. Recent economic data has given some experts reason to think that a double dip recession, where economic activity plunges, ticks up slightly, then plunges again before stabilizing, is beginning to look more probable. European analysts also as Wall Street are thinking it might happen, and that the fallout will be just as global.

Moody’s warns of possible second slide

Moody’s Analytics, a research division of credit rating agency Moody’s, has put the odds of a second dip at 25 percent, up from previous estimates of 20 percent. According to the Wall Street Journal, Moody’s has predicted that if a double dip recession does occur, real estate prices could fall a further 20 percent. The business believes that the real estate market will stabilize sometime in 2012. It is also estimated the economy will shrink a further 5 percent if it should come to pass.

Federal Reserve doesn’t see rainbows either

The forecast from the Federal Reserve is not one of days of wine and roses either. After a meeting Tuesday, the Federal Reserve stated the economy overall had not grown as fast as hoped, and that recovery would take longer than envisioned, as outlined by CNN Money. The Fed did not address the possibility of a double dip recession, but did announce it would keep the federal funds rate at or near 0 percent and purchase further Treasury securities.

Ripples across the pond

The recession will continue to be global. Europe may also feel the effects of a double dip recession. Fewer goods are being exported for sale, as American trade deficits have widened this year. That means less income is being received from overseas markets. The trade deficits along with a troubled housing market don’t make great bedfellows for economic recovery.

Further reading

Wall Street Journal

blogs.wsj.com/developments/2010/08/11/moodys-odds-of-a-double-dip-increasing-prices-could-fall-20/

CNN

money.cnn.com/2010/08/10/news/economy/fed_decision/index.htm

Pop-Tart Store opens with build-your-own Pop-Tart

Times Square saw the huge fanfare around opening the Pop Tart shop, called Pop-Tarts World, just this week. The brand store offers every little thing from Pop-Tarts cuisine to build-your-own Pop-Tarts. At $ 1,000 per square foot, Times Square rent is a huge expense for the business, which has not yet decided whether the Pop-Tart shop is going to be a permanent fixture.

Inside the Pop-Tarts store

There is just a little bit of every little thing offered up at the Pop-Tarts World. You are able to get just about anything at the Pop-Tarts café, including Pop-Tarts covered celery. A vending machine stocked with 23 Pop-Tarts flavors allows customers to create their own pack of Pop-Tarts, at $ 1 per pastry. Finally, the build-your-own Pop-Tarts bar lets you create just about any Pop-Tarts topping and flavor that you can think of.

Pop Tart store for brand visibility

Kellogg’s decided to open the Pop-Tarts shop in Times Square because they feel it is a “mature brand”. Sales lately have been flat for this breakfast bar pastry. Pop-Tarts sold $ 481 million worth of the pastries in 2009.

Baking your own Pop-Tarts

Customized Pop-Tarts are accessible outside of Times Square. Pop-Tarts at home are less expensive and healthier than the repurchased ones. Homemade Pop-Tarts could be made without the high fructose corn syrup and for less than 20 cents worth of ingredients per pastry. Combine 2 cups flour with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup butter, 1 egg and 2 tablespoons milk. Roll out the dough and cut it in Pop-Tart sized rectangles. Spread just about any filling you need on half of the rectangles. Use the un-spread half of the rectangles to top the filling, then seal it by pressing the edges with a fork. Fridge the filled dough when you preheat the oven to 350. Bake the Pop-Tarts for 20 to 25 minutes.

Details revealed in Skype IPO filings

As the start of an first public offering, Skype has filed financial forms with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Skype IPO has been long predicted, though some surprising numbers were uncovered in the filings. After the IPO, the ownership structure of Skype will be intricate — though users are hoping that Skype will keep the no cost services it has become well-liked for.

Skype IPO filings reveal financial health

The Skype IPO is proposed at a value of about $ 100 million. Some analysts are very worried about the income and revenue unveiled within the SEC filings. The revenue of the business for the last six months is about $ 406 million. Skype reported its net income at $ 13 million . A 3 percent net margin means that Skype is not growing easily, though it is growing. The nine percent of users that pay for the service pay an average of $ 96 per year.

Skype’s new ownership structure

Once the Skype IPO is completed, the ownership structure can be somewhat intricate. American shares are being offered in the business, although it is situated in Luxemborg. There could be 3 owners of the business – private investors, employees, and stock holders. Skype S.A. will issue the stocks and be owned by these groups. These stocks could be a part of Skype Global Holdco and Skype Global. These holding businesses can be split into Skype, Inc. and Springboard Finance, L.L.C. Springboard Finance, L.L.C., will own and operate 13 operating corporations like Skype Software and Skype Sweden .

The changes that might come following the Skype IPO

Skype claims that it is Initial Public Offering can be used mostly to raise funds. Some companies could be faced with fundamental changes after an IPO, though. The iPhone application is proving popular, and Skype is already making deals with many wireless carriers. Skype’s 500 million users will end up having to wait and see what effect the IPO has, because not even the IPO date is known for certain.

Trade deficit widens unexpectedly to record one-month increase

The Commerce Department reported a rise in the U.S. trade deficit in June on Wednesday causing Wall Street to freak out. Although the trade deficit within the U.S. had been narrowing, it was shown in June to widen by $ 7.9 billion. Stocks instantly went down. Last quarter the trade deficit had slowed more than analysts thought. As the trade deficit won’t become sustainable, economists are more concerned about the recession going into a double-dip. Article resource – Trade deficit widens unexpectedly to record one-month increase by Personal Money Store.

Trade deficit because of the dollar

As outlined by the Commerce Department, this change in the deficit happened in June because those within the U.S. started purchasing cheaper exports from China, making the U.S. dollar stronger. The gap widened to $ 49.9 billion, up from a revised $ 42.0 billion in May. The Washington Post reports that economists had been expecting a smaller gap after a recent drop in oil prices. There were more purchases of consumer products and auto parts from out of the country in June raising imports from the $ 194.4 billion it was in May to $ 200.3 billion. Exports fell to $ 150.5 billion from $ 152.4 billion. In June, companies had a hard time selling their industrial supplies, food and consumer goods to anybody outside of the country.

Trade deficits widens which was not expected

A Bloomberg News survey showed that June’s expected deficit was $ 42.1 billion as outlined by 73 economists. There was a 19 percent increase within the gap when it declined instead to $ 42.3 billion. As outlined by Bloomberg, the number used to calculate gross domestic product, or trade deficit, when adjusted for inflation increased 54.1 billion since 2008 in February. This has caused economists to reduce their estimates from 1 to 1.5 percent within the second quarter.

More work needed on unemployment issues}

You will find many debates on whether a double-dip recession is happening in the future with all of the numbers from June’s deficit. U.S. unemployment rates should be more of the focus instead of the trade deficit reports the Christian Science Monitor. Nobody cared as much about the deficit in years past when unemployment was not at all an issue. Consumer demand and business investment should be what we are focused on.

Numerous nevertheless think unemployment would decrease with better trade deficits

If global commerce is hurt since the U.S. fixes the trade deficit problem, economists are concerned that economic recovery might just take longer, reports the Monitor article. The trade deficit needs to be fixed if you ask others. China is responsible for almost the whole trade deficit considering all of the oil and consumer goods bought directly from them, and unemployment is bad enough as is at 10 percent in the U.S., as outlined by Peter Morici who’s an economist at the University of Maryland.

Find more information on this subject

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/11/AR2010081103472_2.html?sid=ST2010081102399

Debt indicators no longer available making it difficult to get refund anticipation loans

The IRS information all about debts owed including taxes are called debt indicators and will no longer be available. The IRS has sent debt indicators to tax preparers to let them know if their customer’s refund may be held to cover back taxes and other debt. Debt indicators are used by refund anticipation loan banks to choose whether to make short-term loans to customers backed by their tax refund.

Taxes in 2011 won’t have debt indicators

August 5, the IRS explained that there won’t be any more debt indicators beginning with 2011 taxes because they aren’t significant anymore. Electronic filing and direct deposit lets taxpayers get their refund in a matter of days. Because of the fast return, refund anticipation loans aren’t needed. Companies that profit from refund anticipation loans say the elimination of debt indicators limits an essential service they offer to the unbanked and underbanked.

Debt indicators help banks know who is delinquent

The debt indicator is a key underwriting tool refund anticipation loan banks use to determine whether they’ll loan, how much to loan and at what interest rate. Unpaid debts such as unpaid child support or school loans can be paid with one’s tax refund, and a debt indicator from the IRS shows that to the preparer if it is going to happen, the Journal of Accountancy reports.

Refund anticipation loans not like by the IRS

For giving someone cash just a few days before a tax refund arrives with high interest rates and fees, short term refund anticipation loans are criticized by numerous. In 2008, 8.4 million taxpayers paid more than $ 738 million in fees for refund anticipation loans, according to the National Consumer Law Center. The Associated Press talked to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman who said that those who are considered low-income are the ones targeted by anticipation loans. The longest it would take to get a tax refund would be 10 days when filing electronically and getting direct deposits. He also said:

“I think it’s unfortunate that there’s a lot of hardworking Americans that are in a financial situation where they have to pay a substantial fee to access their refunds a week or two before they can get it from the IRS.”

Refund anticipation lenders unhappy

Debt indicators are used by companies using refund anticipation loans to choose which individual that is strapped for cash is going to get a loan. Alan Bennett, president of H and R Block, told MarketWatch that taking away debt indicators only hurts those with low refund anticipation approval rates and will even give higher costs to other taxpayers. He said these consumers are often unbanked or under-banked and could be forced to seek more expensive and unregulated credit. H and R Block said the demise of debt indicators will dent 2011 profits 5 cents a share, sending its shares down 3 percent.

Additional reading

Journal of Accountancy

journalofaccountancy.com/Web/20103174.htm

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gZhidWFh-omq3dh3M486iDXA4JbAD9HDHDKG0

MarketWatch

marketwatch.com/story/hr-block-responds-to-irs-elimination-of-the-debt-indicator-2010-08-05?reflink=MW_news_stmp

Anti-taxation and also the de-evolution of America

Too numerous Americans fail to realize the essential role that taxation plays in creating earnings for necessary services. That’s what Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times, and it may be that such concerns are falling on largely deaf ears in America. Cities shut off streetlights that would help curb crime, roads local governments had already spent a good deal of cash on but can no longer manage to maintain are intentionally broken down into gravel and schools are laying off teachers at every turn. Cutbacks run deep, and not enough tea partiers seem to acknowledge that tax dollars could change those fortunes.

Governments are money strapped; where’s the taxation?

Opinions on taxation vary widely, but it cannot be denied that they can generate the necessary revenue for public services. Krugman bemoans a federal government that can manage to issue bonds at 1.04 percent, but not extend ample assistance to suffering local governments. The fed might be doing more to assist. Where is the priority, wonders Krugman. The able rich appear to be more interesting in barding for personal war than actually waging war on behalf of a disappearing America.

Cut out the tax, the service and also the jobs

State and local governments are spending less on nearly anything, which doesn’t bode well for families. America is moving backward, says Krugman, as local and state governments are locking down due to lack of tax dollars while the federal government begins to turn off the stimulus faucet. An employed teacher serves the community and creates a definite job. But you will find no guarantees when it comes to tax cuts for the rich; they may spend it or hide it away.

Assuming the worst about government cash management

There is a definite belief the public section can’t manage money to spite itself. Tea parties scream that waste and fraud are rampant. Krugman suggests it was never as bad as the right made it seem. Considering how far America has fallen in education and infrastructure when fear of new taxation has reigned, maybe taxation shouldn’t have been the focus of the fear. Now, writes Krugman, the fear of taxation may have us on the “road to nowhere”.

Further reading

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/09/opinion/09krugman.html?_r=1 and amp;partner=rssnyt and amp;emc=rss

Raging Russian fires add to the misery of a heat wave and drought

In a great portion of Russian territory, fires triggered by a record heat wave and drought are burning out of control. The death toll from Russian fires was 48 as of Aug. 6 and entire villages have been consumed by flames. The wildfires liberally covered Moscow under a thick blanket of smoke and have left 4,000 people homeless. In certain areas, nuclear contamination from the Chernobyl disaster locked up within the trees could be re-released by the fires. A rare does of criticism is being laid upon Russian government agencies for their slow response and lack of preparation to fight the fires. Article source – Raging Russian fires add to the misery of a heat wave and drought by Personal Money Store.

Russian fires, heat wave and drought ravage nation

More than 1.6 million acres in Russia have burned since the fires started, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said. To fight the fires, the government has enlisted more than 155,000 people. The Wall Street Journal reported that even as 293 fires were put out, more than 400 new fires ignited. A total of 520 fires were blazing across Russia on Aug. 6. The record Russian heat wave that sparked the fires-as well as the Russia’s worst drought in at least three decades-shows no sign of letting up. Searing heat will remain, with some parts of the country reaching up to 107 degrees, until at least Aug. 12.

Russian government feels the heat

As the Russian government fights to get the fires under control, public anger is boiling over. The Financial Times reports that the Russian fires underscore the Russian government’s inability to protect its citizens from both natural and man-made disasters. Russia still labors under corrupt governance, a sloppy safety precautions and a crumbling infrastructure, even with a trillion-plus dollar economy fueled by energy revenues. As the system is “absolutely dysfunctional,” Nikolay Petrov of the Carnegie Moscow Centre told the Times the death toll is much higher in Russia than in other nations where such fires occur. Petrov said communication was far too slow in the “super-centralized” political system put in place under Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.

Europe could expect drifting nuclear contamination

Concerns about nuclear contamination are being raised as Russia burns. AFP reports that radioactive cesium 137 from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster is locked up in the trees and dead leaves in forests in certain areas of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Philippe Renaud, head of the environmental radiation laboratory at France’s IRSN nuclear safety institute, said Russian nuclear contamination could possibly be breathed in by people as far away as France If trees in those areas burn.

Additional reading

wsj.com

ft.com

google.com/hostednews/afp/article

Michelle Obama faces criticism for costly vacation in Spain

The first lady, Michelle Obama, is at the moment under fire for taking an costly private getaway with daughter Sasha and a number of Obama family friends, as outlined by Fox News. Naturally, anything the first family does, whether private or not, is always a public affair, as the media is already towering over Mrs. Obama’s each and every movement. Now everybody wants in on everything the first lady’s private getaway entails.

First lady vacations in Spain, where travel warning was issued

When President Obama dined with talk show mega-star Oprah Winfrey in Chicago for his 49th birthday, first lady Michelle Obama took 9-year-old Sasha and various friends of the family on a vacation getaway in Spain. The getaway was described by the White House as a four-day “private trip” to the beautiful southern coast of the country. While some avoided talks regarding the overall price of the trip, others voiced worries of safety.

As outlined by Fox News, the State Department had issued a travel warning for Americans traveling to Spain, saying that “racist prejudices may lead to the arrest of Afro-Americans who travel to Spain,” a message that was posted on its site. The wording, nevertheless, can no longer be found, as it seems it was easily pulled when the first lady and daughter Sasha left on their trip. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, when asked if there was a travel warning for Spain, said, “I do not believe so.”

First lady’s getaway getaway to Spain — who pays for it?

The biggest worry concerning the first lady’s getaway trip to Spain is the overall cost of the trip and also the affect it has on taxpayer money. New York Daily News writer Andrea Tantaros trash-talked Michelle Obama on Thursday, calling her a “modern day Marie Antoinette” for going on such an expensive vacation when the majority of the United States is financially underwater. The first lady and companions are staying at Hotel Villa Padierna, often referred to as one of the world’s top 10 luxurious hotels, with rates that range from $ 500 to almost $ 3,000 for a single night, according to Yahoo News.

Regardless of who is responsible for choosing the location, whether it was the Obama delegation or Secret Service, who usually has the last say on where the protected resides, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stated the first lady, as well as the private entourage traveling with her, will pay for every personal expense. However, the entire trip’s cost will not be fully covered with personal cash, since the first lady always has Secret Service protection and has to travel on board an official Air Force charter plane, which is covered by taxpayer cash.

Discover more information on this subject

politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/08/05/first-lady-michelle-obama-and-daughter-sasha-vacationing-spain-amid-warnings-"racist-prej

news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100805/pl_yblog_upshot/first-lady-under-fire-for-her-glitzy-spanish-vacation

Public records now contain Melodi Dushane rampage video

In January, Melodi Dushane was caught on video tape rampaging through a McDonald’s drive-through window. Today, the video tape that shows Melodi Dushane attacking two McDonald’s employees was entered into public record. There were no chicken McNuggets accessible, and Melodi Dushane, who was admittedly drunk, is seen freaking out. Article resource – Video of Melodi Dushane McNugget rampage becomes public record by Personal Money Store.

Melodi Dushane’s crimes

Early within the morning on New Year’s Day 2010, Melodi Dushane visited a McDonald’s in Toledo, Ohio. The McNuggets she ordered weren’t available because it was breakfast hours. Dushane tried to convince the employees to give her McDonald’s McNuggets, but then attacked them. Melodi Dushane is shown punching and slapping two workers, then breaking the glass of the drive-through window.

Melodi Dushane sentenced to two months

Eventually, Melodi Dushane was changed with both vandalism and assault in connection with the attack. She originally pleaded not guilty to the charges. Dushane had to pay for the broken window, and had to spend two months in jail. Melodi Dushane also admitted that she was entirely drunk at the time of the attack. In the end, Dushane’s drunken rampage could very well cost her thousands of dollars.

The debate over making evidence public

There is a strong debate going on in some legal circles about the struggle between the public’s right to know and individual rights. It used to be that when evidence related to court cases was made public, people had to actively seek it out. The information that is entered into the public record is now transmitted across the world in moments. The right of the public to know information about their community is usually weighted above individual privacy, even when time has been served for their crimes.What do you think – how should the two competing things be weighed?

EUC Fix responsible for FluidNow?

Emergency cash loans are needed by thousands of Americans who are living off of emergency unemployment benefits because of job loss during the recession. Employers haven’t started to hire as easily as the government would have hoped, and hence extension of benefits has become a hot-button political issue. The website FluidNow, or www.fluidnow.com, is a website where more than 100,000 residents of Florida who are considered to be “long-term” jobless can get additional benefits. FluidNow appears to be not so fluid for some although numerous claim they have used the website just to have their expired benefits restarted again. Source for this article – Fluidnow is not so f! luid; will the EUC Fix it by Personal Money Store.

FluidNow needs to move faster to serve customer base

The answer you will get when calling fluidnow’s 800-204-2418 is a pre-recorded “call back later” message, as outlined by an unemployed individual in Florida. Eventually the intrepid citizen reached an AWI employee who had no information on whether they’d be eligible to receive an extension of unemployment benefits. The only reassurance Florida residents have received most recently on this front came from AWI Director Cynthia Lorenzo, who claims that once the U.S. Department of Labor sent fluidnow guidance, payments would be issued. When that guidance would come – two weeks, as Lorenzo suggested, or some other interminable governmental interval – was uncertain.

Fixing things with EUC

Many unemployed people are looking at getting loans or getting a part time job to help with their money issues. Some of the time this is not enough still. Plus, there’s fear that the benefits already being received would shrink upon signing up for part-time work. There could be some hope with the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Fix. The emergency unemployed benefits are part of the extension that Congress passed most recently, according to Michigan’s MLive.com. The point is to “remove the disincentive for people who take part-time jobs while collecting benefits.” Struggling citizens would not have to fear having their benefits reduced in their second year of benefits, reports the Michigan news portal.

EUC Fix won’t help those within the past

The National Employment Law Protection explains that the EUC Fix can only work if your benefits ended after July 22, 2010. Those who don’t fit that window are out of luck, much like scores of Florida unemployed who are waiting on fluidnow or at least some form of instant cash loan. Going to the National Employment Law Project site will help you get more information about the EUC Fix.

Discover more information on this subject

Examiner

examiner.com/x-41045-Miami-Unemployment-Examiner~y2010m7d27-Labor-Dept-yet-to-give-Florida-details-on-unemployment-extension

MLive

mlive.com/michigan-job-search/index.ssf/2010/08/latest_unemployment_extension_removes_di.html

National Employment Law Project

nelp.org/page/-/UI/2010/Final EUC Fix QA.pdf

Fluidnow

fluidnow.com/

Drug testing for unemployment in Florida

youtube.com/watch?v=RvSoZ1U3n30

Net neutrality ends with Google-Verizon deal

Net neutrality is when content can’t become favored. Numerous of the bigger companies would prefer net neutrality to no longer happen. Google and Verizon, the 800-pound gorillas of the Internet, are in collusion to provide content to Internet users at higher speeds for a higher price. Net neutrality crusaders want the Federal Communications Commission to nix the Google/Verizon axis. But the FCC’s hands were tied in court last April by the Comcast decision saying the FCC has no authority to enforce net neutrality.

Net neutrality compromises

Net neutrality has been a topic being discussed by Internet stakeholders and FCC officials. Skype, cable companies, the Open Internet Coalition, Google, Verizon and AT and T are all included when talking about Internet stakeholders. The New York Times reports the discussions involve the FCC’s legal authority to regulate Internet service. Many of the cable and telephone companies really hope a premium could be made for higher bandwidths. No regulation on wireless broadband is what wireless companies would like. Content providers prefer the thought of favoritism. The FCC can’t do anything about what they want, a level playing field, because of the FCC Comcast decision.

Google and Verizon are fighting the establishment

As net neutrality talks with Internet stakeholders and also the FCC dragged on, Google and Verizon eloped to make a deal. Google and Verizon both hate net neutrality, reports Bloomberg. Verizon wants to be able to charge more for their services. Google wants to remain the top dog within the business which means they’d hope for a little regulation in their favor. Google realizes net neutrality is dying off. Google may just be making a deal with Verizon to make certain they’re in with one more good company before anything goes crazy.

There may be a corporate takeover

The internet is supposed to be something free where consumers pick which companies are doing well, although some are afraid the Google-Verizon deal will change that. Save the Internet paints a nightmare scenario where Google products get priority depending on commercial deals. Chrome would be the best browser. Google Buzz would work better than Twitter. YouTube would get more bandwidth than competing video online websites. WordPress wouldn’t do also as Blogger from Google. Google’s GChat would work better than Sykpe … and the list goes on.

The Google Verizon deal makes for winners and losers

The Google/Verizon deal may lead to an Internet where you will find winners and losers among media giants, telecom firms and Internet users, as outlined by the Wall Street Journal. It is inevitable that content will be prioritized on the Internet into different streams. There will be higher charges for faster, prioritized content. The Internet won’t be controlled by FCC while being instead controlled by Internet service providers. Competition won’t be a problem for big media corporations anymore. Surfing the internet will never be as good after having to flip through so much junk to get what you really need.

The only thing standing in the way is the FCC and also the courts.

More on this topic

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/05/technology/05secret.html?_r=1

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-04/google-verizon-are-said-to-have-reached-deal-on-how-to-handle-web-traffic.html

Save the Internet

savetheinternet.com/blog/10/08/06/about-verizongoogle-deal-net-neutrality

Wall Street Journal

blogs.wsj.com/source/2010/08/09/winners-losers-from-the-new-net-neutrality/

Clearly wrong consumer causes Jet Blue Flight Attendant row

Steven Slater, a career flight attendant, came to the tipping point. During a day at the job, within the career field he had been in for more than two full decades, a traveler saw fit to abuse Steven Slater for doing his job. Slater, at the time a Jet Blue flight attendant, grabbed the intercom, went on a profane tirade of his own, opened the emergency chute on the side of the plane, hit the tarmac and took off. He was later imprisoned for reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, among other charges.

Plane to see he had enough

Jet Blue Flight 1052 was arriving at JFK International Airport from Pittsburgh according to CNN. As the plane taxied toward the terminal, a passenger stood up to retrieve his bag too early, and he was told by flight attendant Steven Slater he had to sit back down. The bag may have fallen from the overhead bin or the traveler struck him, but Slater was hit by something. The man refused to apologize and swore at him. Slater took over the intercom, cursed the cretin, and announced he was quitting. He opened the emergency chute, and took some beer from the galley before exiting the plane. Hours later, he was arrested at home.

Cabin pressure

When Slater was not working, as outlined by MSN, he was rarely home. Slater was often flying to Thousand Oaks to take care of his dying mother, according to his roommate, which Slater also did for his father. According to the New York Times, his mother had also been a flight attendant. His father, who passed away from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, had been a pilot.

Customers are wrong more often than they think

Individuals within the service trades should be treated better than they are. The general public could be absolutely horrid, as everyone who has ever worked a day in their life within the service industry knows. It costs nothing to be polite and cooperative, even if mistakes do sometimes get made.

Additional reading

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/38629517/ns/travel-news/

CNN

cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/08/10/new.york.escape.chute.opened/?hpt=C2

NY Times

nytimes.com/2010/08/10/nyregion/10attendant.html?_r=1 and hp

Vulture investors in down market turn from flipping to renting

Vulture investors are feasting on the depressed America’s housing market. Deflating home prices, rock-bottom mortgage rates and a rental market surging with people who have lost their homes are attracting swarms of vulture investors after distressed properties. Nevertheless, typical vulture investing strategies are changing with the bad economy.Vulture investors flipped homes for a quick payout in good times. In these troubled times, they are landlords raking in hefty, steady incomes.

Vulture investors scavenge what remains of housing market

Swooping down to buy distressed properties cheap is how vulture investors got their name. CNN reports that places wracked with foreclosures and short sales like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami are popular because home prices there have dropped as much as 70 percent. Vulture investors used to be known for flipping often and helping to bid up home prices to unsustainable heights. A more stable, long-term investment these days are potential rental profits. Neighborhoods may really become more stabilized by vulture investors today.

Vulture investors roll with the punches

The nature of the United States housing market today has changed the nature of vulture investing from flipping to renting. HSH.com, an online mortgage resource said the regularly increasing home prices that attracted house flippers are long gone. Getting cheap just to sell cheap doesn’t make sense. Also, millions of foreclosed borrowers become tenants for vulture investors who got into the properties for a song, because they have to wait years before they can get an additional mortgage.

Money flow a happy return for vulture investors

By paying in cash, rental returns start rolling in right away for vulture investors. Las Vegas, where prices have fallen nearly 70 percent and rents have only dropped about 20 percent, is held as an example in the CNN article. Las Vegas vulture investor Glenn Plantone told CNN he is getting money flow, or net return on investment, of 12-to-14 percent . Cash flow is the ultimate hedge against a further decline in prices, since the return on the investment just keeps rolling along.

Further reading

money.cnn.com

blog.hsh.com

Old issues with Civics, Elements and Accords spark a Honda recall

In 2003 and 2005, Honda recalled more than 1.4 million automobiles over a problem with the shift interlock system. The Honda recall for 2010 has been announced because of the very same problem. This recall covers some 2003 and 2004 Honda Elements, 2003 Accords, and 2003 Civics. Post resource – Honda recalls Accords, Civics and Elements over old problem by Automobile Deal Expert.

The Honda recall shift interlock problem

The 2003, 2005, and 2010 Honda recalls have been because of the shift interlock system. The shift interlock is the system that prevents the key from being removed if the shifter is not in park. If this system malfunctions, the auto can roll away. 17 separate accidents are attributed to this malfunction. Most often, the problem happens when the vehicle is parked and also the key removed, even though the shifter has not fully engaged the “park” setting. When left like this, cars will roll out of parking spaces, sometimes into traffic or other dangerous situations.

NHTSA investigation of Honda recall

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into the shift interlock problem. The agency upgraded their investigation from “query” to “engineering analysis” in 2009. Honda recalls are also being investigated for their “timeliness”. If the NHTSA finds that Honda has not responded “promptly, truthfully, and completely” to issues that are worthy of a recall, they could very well be facing civil fines. There is also an ongoing investigation, related to the expanded 2009 recall over air bag deployment.

Vehicles included within the 2010 Honda recall

The full list of recalled Honda vehicles could be released in September of 2010. There could be about 197,000 Honda Accords, 117,000 Civics, and 69,000 Elements included in this recall. This exact same issue has caused two previous recalls that included the 1998-2002 Accord, 1999 Odyssey, 1999-2000 Acura TL, 1997-99 Acura CL, and 1997-2001 Prelude. If you receive official notification of the recall from Honda, you are designed to take your car in to a Honda dealer. If you need more data about the recall, call 800-999-1009 or visit www.recalls.honda.com.

The Other Guys has nice reviews

”The Other Guys” is the new cop film that came out on Friday. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell and Steve Coogan. The reviews for “The Other Guys” tended to lean on the good side. ”The Other Guys” is really good for both Ferrell and Wahlberg considering they have both made some pretty bad movies in the last few years. Adam McKay, director of “Anchorman,” “Talledega Nights” and “Stepbrothers,” directed this film.

Old plot with new people in ‘The Other Guys’

Within the movie, after shooting Derek Jeter by accident, a cop (Wahlberg) is given work that he is way too good for. He starts working on white collar crime with a new partner, Will Ferrell, who’s an accountant in forensics. They get wise to an evil businessman (Steve Coogan) and his nefarious scheme and take him down. Hilarity ensues. The plot has been done already, but what plot hasn’t. The actors make all the difference between a good movie and bad movie.

The reviews are good

So far, the film has a rating of 79 percent good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Ferrell just lately starred in “The Goods,” and “Land of the Lost”, both of which got less than 30 percent in their ratings. Wahlberg, on the other hand, has not had a film get more than 32 percent since 2007. The critics are being fairly kind to this one, saying that when it is certainly a idiotic comedy/action flick, it is still good fun. According to Kurt Loder from MTV, the movie isn’t really all that intelligent but is a great comedy for summer.

Perhaps worth the watch

If you really have to see a goofy comedy, this is probably the movie to go for. One surmises that with the grim economic forecasts, oil spills, and anything else all of us could probably use a laugh or two.

Further reading

Rotten Tomatoes

rottentomatoes.com/m/other_guys/?page=1 and amp;critic=columns and amp;sortby= and amp;name_order= and amp;view=#contentReviews

MTV’s Kurt Loder

mtv.com/news/articles/1645213/20100805/story.jhtml

Drum brakes vs. disc brakes - turning up the heat

Although you may be more interested with your vehicle’s speed, stopping is more important. Drum brakes and disk brakes are the two choices you’ve for brakes inside your vehicle. Each one is used differently with both of them being effective for stopping. When getting a vehicle, you should know the braking system to conserve you money and time.

Drum brake facts

Drum brakes could be called a “rotating” braking system also. There is a “drum” rotating with the wheel. Press down on the brake pedal, and also the drum expands out, providing friction and slowing the wheel. When drum brakes are under pressure too often, they’re less effective as they get hot.

The basics of disc brakes

Disc brakes look like bikes on a bicycle really. The wheel is “squeezed” by calipers when you use the brake. The brakes don’t get as hot and work better.

Getting a disc or drum

When making the comparison between disc and drum brakes, you will find multiple things to consider. Simplicity and cheapness are what individuals think of when thinking of drum brakes. Disc brakes typically work better. The majority of the time, a cheap vehicle will have a disc brake. Disk and drum brakes are found in a lot of cars. Though disc brakes are more costly, they can be used as built-in emergency brakes at the same time. Drum brakes are less expensive to put in, but a separate emergency brake has to be installed. Drum brakes are less expensive to be replaced, though disc brakes tend to need replacement less often.

Karen Sypher guilty of extorting Rick Pitino

As outlined by Associated Press reports, former model Karen Sypher, 50, and Louisville University men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino, 57, are near the end of their year-long legal battle. Karen Sypher has been pronounced guilty on three counts of extortion, two counts of misleading the FBI and a single count of witness retaliation. The catalyst for the charges was Sypher’s series of attempts to extort millions in hush money from Pitino after a 2003 sexual encounter. Sypher had also claimed that Pitino raped her, but he denied her claim and avoided charge. Sypher faces a maximum sentence of 26 years in prison, but federal guidelines will likely decrease the penalty.

Pitino was harassed by calls and letters

According to reports, Rick Pitino received multiple phone calls and two letters. Demands for money and gifts were made in exchange for Karen Sypher’s silence. ”This was nothing more than a pure shakedown of Richard Pitino,” attorney Marisa Ford told jurors in the case. Attorney Marisa Ford said that “This was nothing more than a pure shakedown of Richard Pitino”. Sypher’s defense maintained that she was being unfairly demonized and that Pitino was receiving preferential treatment due to his fame.

Pitino and also the ‘unfortunate’ quarter-minute

In a emotionally charged six hours of testimony, Pitino described his late-night encounter with Sypher in a closed and deserted Italian restaurant. Pitino described his 15-second tryst with Sypher as “unfortunate” and consensual. Pitino held back tears when he described what it was like to confess his betrayal to his wife and family.

Sypher did not take the stand

Though Karen Sypher didn’t give testimony, a video interview was aired for the jury. The Pitino rape allegation came from that footage. She also corroborated Pitino’s story that he had later paid her future husband Tim Sypher – a one-time Pitino assistant – $ 3,000. Mr. Sypher delivered the cash to Karen Sypher (then Karen Wise), and the two eventually married. In the ensuing years, the couple bumped into Pitino numerous times at area functions. Karen Sypher insists the $ 3,000 was for an abortion, but Pitino has vehemently denied this was the case.

A man on Pitino’s line in ‘09

The AP indicates that Pitino’s testimony integrated talk of other menacing telephone calls he’s received beginning in February 2009. An unknown male threatened him in much the very same fashion he’d been threatened by Karen Sypher’s previous extortion tries. Rick Pitino recounted that “He mentioned the word rape. I got very sick to my stomach”. Yet in spite of this, he did not report the calls of the initial event with Karen Sypher to the police, because he wanted to contain the damaging information first.

Find more information on this subject

Associated Press

nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38574025/ns/sports-college_basketball/

Connecticut shooting at Hartford Distributors kills nine individuals

On Tuesday, a man walked into the Hartford Distributors in Manchester, Conn., at about 7 a.m. and opened fire, killing a total of nine individuals and leaving a few others wounded. The latest Connecticut shooting spree, as outlined by the New York Times, claimed the lives of truck drivers, union representatives also as a relative of the owner who worked there. Article source – Hartford Distributors Connecticut shooting leaves nine dead by Personal Money Store.

Did racism influence the Connecticut shooting?

The suspect in the latest Connecticut shooting spree was an employee of the Hartford Distributors, a beer and distributor business. Omar S. Thornton, who was 34-years old, was employed as a warehouse driver. He was allegedly caught on a surveillance camera stealing beer and was asked to resign from his post as he awaited a disciplinary hearing. According to ABC News, nevertheless, those close to the alleged gunman believe the Connecticut shooting may have been sparked by racism.

The mother of Thornton’s girlfriend of eight years, Joanne Hannah, said that Thornton had mentioned he was being racially harassed at work, saying he found “a picture of a noose and a racial epithet written on a bathroom wall.” Thornton, a black man, evidently went to his supervisors to report the problem, but nobody took action or responded to his complaints. “Everybody’s got a breaking point,” stated Hannah.

Disgruntled worker makes headlines with Connecticut shooting

The Hartford Distribution Connecticut shooting spree is the nation’s deadliest rampage since the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting that took place last November, an event that also involved a disgruntled worker. A military psychiatrist entered one of the largest military bases within the United States and killed 13 people and left 30 others wounded.

On Nov. 6, just one day following the shooting in Fort Hood, a gunman name Jason Rodriguez in Orlando, Fla., walked to the offices of Reynolds Smith and Hills and killed one person and left five others wounded. The shooter, who was a previous employee of the firm, was fired from his job two years before the incident. Rodriguez has since then filed for bankruptcy and began working for Subway. When asked why he committed such a terrible crime, as outlined by CNN, Rodriguez said, “Because they left me to rot.”

Additional reading

ABC News

abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local and id=7589506