Second tornado might strike Joplin, Mo.

More than a hundred individuals are dead in Joplin, Mo., due to a savage tornado touchdown in the town, and a second one might soon be on the way. More tornadoes are probably going to hit, as another storm front is heading toward the lower Midwest. A five state area is presently at risk of tornado outbreak.

Risk of a tornado increases with state

About 116 individuals were killed on Sunday, May 22 in Joplin, Mo., where a twister hit and is beginning to form once again. According to MSNBC, the storm system has been producing tornadoes in the United States after starting in the south. A thunderstorm advisory is in effect for Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and the northeast corner of Texas, and individuals are told to view for tornadoes, hail and strong winds throughout the region. The risk of tornado outbreaks is “not through … not by a long shot,” according to a National Weather Service official. As the storm progresses in the week, the chance of another tornado just like the one that hit Joplin occurring will decrease, although the chance is still there, reports USA Today.

Huge storms during the La Nina year

Tornadoes are the reason for several fatalities. Just this year 482 individuals have perished from them. Due to La Nina, or a time when the tropical Pacific Ocean gets cooler, the strength of the storms goes up. When the Pacific cools, jet streams become stronger because of more cool air increasing to the atmosphere, causing storm systems to become more severe and increasingly prone to tornadoes. Meteorologists, according to Yahoo News, are noting that while the tornado outbreaks in the Midwest have been devastating, none of these events are out of the ordinary. Weather patterns, for instance low pressure systems conducive to tornadoes, can form in areas and stay for long periods of time. Last month, several tornadoes tore across several states and killed more than 300 individuals.

Paying out all the insurance

Insurance companies are projected to post losses in the billions, according to Reuters. The recent Mississippi river flooding and other natural disasters in the United States for instance tornado outbreaks are anticipated to cost various insurance companies up to $10 billion this year, compared to a normal year’s outlays of $2 billion to $4 billion. All of the insurance companies in the world may have to pay up to $55 billion this year. This is just for the damage the New Zealand and Japan earthquake have brought on. In just 2011, there have been 1,151 tornadoes that have hit. Building towns back up is what the Federal Emergency Agency is working on. Since 1947, the Joplin tornado is the deadliest one that has hit. In 1947, 181 people were killed in Woodward, Okla., from a tornado. At one point during the storm, the Joplin tornado was three-quarters of a mile across. Speeds of 200 miles per hour came from it.

Citations

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/43147795/ns/weather/

USA Today

usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2011-05-23-tornadoes-hit-plains_n.htm

Yahoo News

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_sci_midwest_storms_science;_ylt=AjjcCUBXXogIBRiQGeOupzqs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNjM21oOHRnBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNTI0L3VzX21pZHdlc3Rfc3Rvcm1zBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDNgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDcmVsYXRlZA–

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/05/24/us-insurance-disasters-idUSTRE74M6GH20110524

Should zombies attack, the CDC is ready

The CDC is tasked with a large job. The agency is supposed to inform citizens of public health dangers. In a blog posted on Monday, May 16, the head of the Centers for Disease Control provided recommendations for how to get ready for a zombie apocalypse. The post is intended to be a tongue-in-cheek consideration of zombies. The preparedness advice, however, is entirely legitimate.

Ways to get ready recommended by the Centers for Disease Control

In the case of a zombie apocalypse, the Centers for disease control recommend keeping some basic preparedness supplies around. At the very least, the supplies should hold you over for a while. Eventually you’ll “find a zombie-free refugee camp” though. It is essential to have water. One gallon per person, per day is the recommended amount to have. Non-perishable food items, clothing, important documents, tools, first aid materials and other basic emergency preparedness items are important to keep around. The CDC’s job during this event was also outlined to be to offer assistance and investigate.

Why the CDC has brought it up

The director of the CDC first started considering putting out zombie apocalypse suggestions a few months ago. In a web chat about the nuclear power difficulties in Japan, a participant asked whether that nuclear leak would create a zombie apocalypse in Japan. The head of CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Dr. Ali S. Khan, realized at this point how many people were concerned with the idea of a zombie apocalypse. Dr. Khan is always attempting to find ways to get the public interested in preparedness with the CDC mission, as a fan of “Resident Evil” himself.

Using pop culture to spread a significant message

Whether you are thinking about zombies or 2012 disaster, people are very worried. It has become a popular thing to be concerned about. Since Dr. Khan took over the CDC’s OPHPR, the office has put out “official recommendations” for both a zombie strike and a meteor hitting the earth. These things probably won’t take place. It is more likely that there will be a flu outbreak or a tornado. There are still the same preparedness steps. Now, the CDC has taken advantage of live web chats, social media, public interaction and pop culture to teach about preparedness. Hopefully this will help individuals to be more prepared for disasters in the future.

Citations

CDC

emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp

CNN

cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/19/zombie.warning/index.html?npt=NP1

Planet Gliese 581d could be habitable by humans

They had a term on “Star Trek” for planets capable of sustaining human life. They were named “class m” planets. That classification system is fiction, hut the reality it represents may be true. The planet Gliese 581d may soon earn the title of the first non-Earth planet to be capable of supporting humans.

Only 20 light-years away from Earth

Earth’s closes neighbor is red-dwarf star Gliese 581. It is 20 light years away from Earth though. That means it is too far away for visiting. It would take 300,000 years to make it there. That is assuming we are using our current technology still.

Atmosphere examined

The extraterrestrial world was examined by scientists with a computer model. It looked at the atmosphere. The planet is not so chilly that it stays frozen or so hot that it boils every little thing on it at the edge of the “Goldilocks zone” which is an excellent spot. It is the perfect climate. Water on it will stay liquid.

System has other planets that humans could live on

The Gliese 581 system continues to be a popular system to look to while searching for habitable planets. Of the planets checked out in the system, Gliese 581d was the only one that passed the tests. Two others were checked and failed. It was too cold on Gliese 581e. Another one was Gliese 581g that got attention last year. It was also known as “Zarmina’s World” to some. Scientists declared that it was roughly the same mass as Earth and was also within the Goldilocks zone. Some scientists don’t believe the planet even exists saying it was a “hiccup” in starlight. The find is still supported by those who discovered it.

An alien but supportable world

Gliese 581d, first spotted in 2007, has a mass at least seven times that of Earth and is about two times our planet’s size. The planet does not have defined days or night. They aren’t there at all in fact. Half of the planet is light and half is dark. This never changes though. The planet regulates heat well though since it has got red light and a heavy carbon atmosphere creating an impact like a greenhouse, according to French scientists at the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique at the Institute of Pierre Simon Laplace. It is lit by a perpetual red twilight, and its gravity is two times that of the Earth. Though it would make moving around difficult, human life could possibly exist under such conditions.

Information from

Huffington Post

huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/17/first-habitable-planet-2030_n_862785.html

Discovery

news.discovery.com/space/exoplanet-gliese-581d-human-habitation-110516.html

Yahoo news

news.yahoo.com/s/space/20110517/sc_space/istherockyalienplanetgliese581dreallyhabitable

After scandal, Strauss-Kahn can't get out of jail

During the arraignment of International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sexual attack charges, the judge found he was a flight risk and denied him bail. Strauss-Kahn was arrested on suspicion of sexual attack and false imprisonment. He is supposedly attempted to rape a hotel worker. He is in custody at Riker’s Island.

Accused in a court room

The IMF head was brought into a NYC courtroom on Monday, May 16 and arraigned on charges of sexual assault and false imprisonment, states the Guardian. This will be one of the highest profile sex scandals in years to come out. Strauss-Kahn was arrested on Saturday for sexual attack and false imprisonment after he was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid at Sofitel, the Times Square hotel he had been staying at. He went before a judge on Monday after being arrested while boarding a plane for France, Reuters reports. If he had left, France wouldn’t extradite him while attorneys said he was a flight risk. He is at the Riker’s Island Correctional Facility right now after being denied bail.

Still having International Monetary Fund operations in his absence

Despite the head of the organization’s imprisonment, the International Monetary Fund is still carrying on, according to the Los Angeles Times. Kahn missed a meeting with several finance ministers in Europe in Brussels because he was in arraignment. This meeting discussed the chance of a joint bailout package for the Portugal debt crisis between the European Union and IMF. There is still a Greece debt crisis. The topic of sending more aid was to be discussed also. A newspaper in Athens carried the headline “the chambermaid blocks Greece!” in reaction to the scandal, and Strauss-Kahn is already a reviled figure there for forcing austerity measures to give the country emergency financial assistance. The Guardian states that Strauss-Kahn is in The Tombs holding cells near Riker’s Island Courthouse while all of this is occurring.

Future lost from scandal

Strauss-Kahn is a prominent figure in the Socialist party in his native France and had been expected to challenge current president Nikolas Sarkozy in the coming elections. He will most likely be exchanged. Francois Hollande or Martine Aubry could both do the job. The Telegraph states that his job at International Monetary Fund is up for grabs. Many individuals are ready to take the position too. The previous English prime minister Gordon Brown is said to covet the job, however it is said that current P.M. David Cameron won’t endorse him. Axel Weber as a former finance minister of Germany is a possibility for the job. Christine Lagarde is also in the running as the current France finance minister.

Citations

The Telegraph

telegraph.co.uk/finance/dominique-strauss-kahn/8517119/Christine-Lagarde-and-Axel-Weber-front-runners-for-Dominique-Strauss-Kahns-IMF-role.html

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/05/ron-paul-imf-dominique-strauss-kahn.html

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/05/16/us-strausskahn-arrest-idUSTRE74D29F20110516

Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-euro-talks-20110517,0,2339845.story

The Guardian

guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/17/dominique-strauss-kahn-court-appearance

The Guardian

guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/15/strauss-kahn-arrest-hits-french-elections

North Carolina H810 ups fees on personal financing

The North Carolina General Assembly has introduced a bill that would enable installment loan companies in the state to adjust loan fees to compensate for the ravages of the recession. The Jacksonville Daily News states that N.C. H810 would amend the North Carolina Consumer Finance Act to allow lenders to increase the processing fee on installment loans of $2,000 or less by as much as $100. A handling charge of $3 per month per $100 borrowed would also apply.

Fees on loans worry Marines

Marine Corps Installations East director of Legal Assistance Michael Archer took aim at the suggested changes to North Carolina quick installment loans, claiming that higher loan fees would "encourage usurious lending" and lead borrowers straight into a squalid debtors’ prison, straight out of Charles Dickens. In the process, he also denounced payday lending, which is already illegal in the state and not currently slated to return.

"We have a lot of businesses, particularly lenders, that target military installations, large places like Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg," said Archer. "We have a very unsophisticated population as well. They have crosshairs on their backs and they are vulnerable."

Even though the installment loan and military loan corporations near the military base already have very tight restrictions on them near installations for instance Camp Lejeune, Archer still felt he needed to express concern. Whenever a customer needs a loan, they will discover it. It does not matter what restrictions are there.

"It's very difficult, both procedurally and practically, to put a place off limits," Archer told the Daily News.

Instruction center of fight

Marines and families of the Marines will be able to go to some educational workshops if H810 is put into law. These will be started by Camp Lejeune financial counselor Lewis Summerville. Added instruction would enable military consumers to make informed decisions concerning the use of private loans.

Such would be the case if educators like Summerville even considered adopting an even-handed approach to the military lending issue. According to the Jackson Daily News, the education that Marine families in North Carolina receive most likely won't be this instruction. They’ll most likely be taught the "just say no" approach that isn't really an instruction.

"We can only educate and make sure they make the right choice in not taking that loan," said Summerville.

Discover out for yourself

Private loans do not trigger poverty. They actually contribute to financial well-being, according to independent studies. If Michael Archer and Lewis Summerville had taken the time to read existing research, perhaps they’d have valuable information to add to the installment and military loan dialogue.

Information from

Jacksonville Daily News

jdnews.com/news/-91125–.html

eLobbyist

new.e-lobbyist.com/gaits/text/250150

North Carolina Consumer Finance Act

ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_53/Article_15.html

North Carolina professionals support installment loans

youtube.com/watch?v=gmDwppf-tGQ

Visa Digital Wallet quickens mobile payment race

Paying with cash, check or credit is almost entirely out of date now, if you believe the large numbers of iPhone and Android supporters. With some help from Visa, we might be that much closer to the utopia of the cashless society. According to Wired, the charge card giant will launch Visa Digital Wallet this fall.

Near Field Communication technology is the key

The announcement from Visa for Digital Wallets will change the phone payments race. More people will try and go faster with it. Most consumers, charge card companies and retail companies have been waiting for the day when they could do a transaction with a phone. With secure Near Field technology short-range communication, that day is almost upon us.

“The widespread adoption of Internet and mobile technology is changing the way people connect and transact across the globe,” said Visa chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders in a statement. “We’re focused on delivering locally tailored payments products and services.”

The plan with Visa Digital Wallet

Experts predict that not only will NFC technology make cell payments the preferred method of transaction, but other technology that Visa and others are developing will streamline the one-click purchasing experience online and allow customers to consolidate accounts from multiple financial institutions in one place.

In this and other ways, Visa is becoming more of a commerce-focused technology company than ever before.

“When you think about what’s impacting commerce, you have one overarching trend: the continued adoption of electronic forms of payments,” said Visa executive Jennifer Schulz to Wired. “People are migrating away from cash and check and using electronic capabilities. … We’ve seen the use of and ubiquity of mobile devices really driving consumer behavior.”

Get in Google

According to MocoNews.net, Google plans to launch its own cell payments service within the next few months. Retailers that use cash registers developed by VeriFone Systems in New York and San Francisco will benefit from the NFC-backbone system. Both Android smartphones and the iPhone 5 will support NFC. The future versions of the iPad will also have it.

Connection with Visa Digital Wallet needed by financial institutions

U.S. Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and PNC Bank are just a few of the big-name financial institutions that will be throwing their hats to the ring with Visa on the Digital Wallet project, states Schulz. More partners are expected to be declared before the fall launch.

Citations

Moco News

moconews.net/article/419-googles-mobile-payments-venture-heats-up-with-mastercard-citigroup/

Visa Media Center

corporate.visa.com/media-center/press-releases/press1124.jsp

Wired

wired.com/epicenter/2011/05/visa-digital-wallet-nfc/

‘What would the ideal payment experience look like?’

youtube.com/watch?v=Y80tSc1b8UI

NFL lockout loans: Money for players without salaries

For every $100 loaned to consumers via same day loans, a 15 to 25 percent fee is added for the convenience. This amounts to $50 or $60 in most cases, which is hardly earth-shattering. According to Yahoo! Sports, now there’s a high-dollar variant of such instant pay day loans for disenfranchised athletes: the NFL lockout loan. In this case, lending agents are coming to the players with offers, knowing the salaries aren’t coming and cash needs continue to exist. Article resource – NFL lockout loans: More money, more problems by MoneyBlogNewz.

The problem with 36 percent Annual Percentage Rate on lockout loans

A 36 percent Annual Percentage Rate on a loan as little as $300 to $400 will not mean much while it can cost quite a bit for NFL lockout loans of over $60,000. Yahoo! Sports states that there have been players from 16 NFL teams that got these loans.

Some players have been better off with the NFL Players Association lockout while others have had a very difficult time keeping up with finances. Hardly any players listened when the National Football League Players Association advised players to save three game checks. This was given as advice to players in preparation of the 2011 lockout. The NFLPA told players to do other things to make money such as refinance homes, fly coach and do things for instance autograph signings, MSNBC states.

Paying NFL players a lot just to have them waste it

From a young age, star athletes are surrounded by enablers, according to psychologists. By the time players reach the professional ranks, it is not uncommon for them to lack real world financial knowledge, as they’ve never had to take responsibility for such things. Millions being given to someone who was poor might also be an issue. These individuals might just spend it all up. This is perhaps why as much as 80 percent of retired NFL players have declared bankruptcy, according to a Sports Illustrated estimate. MSNBC indicates that as many as 380 of the NFL’s 1,700 players live from paycheck to paycheck, even though the average NFL annual salary in 2010 was $1.87 million. About $320,000 was paid on average to a rookie. Nevertheless, after taxes and agent payments, players could end up poor.

Rogers supports lockout loans for players

Sherard Rogers, a financial adviser to numerous NFL athletes, told Yahoo! Sports that lockout loans are a legitimate product that meets player demand. It might be really hard for any players that are used to spending.

“Every NFL team was valued at over $1 billion, so they can weather the storm of a lockout. But could players if there weren’t resources to cover this short-term labor dispute?” asked Rogers. “The key is to figure out how to solve the short-term liquidity issue and put the pieces in place to ensure they don’t have this liquidity issue again.”

Information from

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/41855264/ns/business-personal_finance/41855226

Philly Sports Column

philly.sportscolumn.com/showthread.php?t=11751

The Real Athlete Blog

accessathletes.com/blog/blogDisplay.cfm?/Education-is-Key-for-Pro-Athletes-596

The Post Game

thepostgame.com/features/201104/tpg-exclusive-cash-strapped-nfl-players-seeking-high-risk-lockout-loans

Both sides are feeling the ‘deal heat’

youtu.be/CQD7MvhD3sI