Uncategorized

UN summit results in pledge to mitigate food crisis

by Admin

Friday, June 6, 2008

A three-day United Nations (UN) summit, bringing together leaders from 181 countries, has wrapped up with a pledge by all attending countries to address the global food shortage crisis. Key actions cited include doubling the world’s food production by 2030, providing resources for farmers in poor countries and increasing humanitarian aid in times of crisis.

Protests and violent riots have resulted in parts of the world in recent months due to increasing unaffordability, and sometimes unavailability, of food. It is estimated that 862 million people, or just over one eighth of the world’s population, are malnourished.

According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, up to US$20 billion will be required annually to avert crises in the most hard-hit areas. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has put the figure closer to US$30 billion. Pledges made just at the summit amounted to more than US$5 billion, according to the UN.

Despite the largely positively-received outcome of the summit, held in Rome, Italy, there were some who felt that the proceedings could have gone better. Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) pointed to the fact that they were not invited to partake in the discussions. Food and hunger policy adviser Magda Kropiwnicka of ActionAid commented on the strength of the final pledge: “There were no quantifiable financial commitments. Apart from the existing UN Food and Agriculture Organisation funds, no money has been given to address the key problem of boosting capacity.”

While most delegates agreed that biofuels have been one of the causes of the food crisis, no actions were agreed upon to address this hot topic. Biofuels have been increasingly in demand in recent years, meaning that many crops that would have previously been used for food are now being used as fuel.

The impact that biofuels has goes further than simply increasing the demand of food crops. As fuel prices increase, so do the costs of fertilisers, farm vehicle use and the transport of foods. All of this adds up to a large increase in the cost of food.

Some UN officials say that biofuel use has caused up to 30% of the global food price inflation of late. The United States estimates that figure to be closer to just 3%. The Globe and Mail newspaper indicates that some estimates go as high as 60%. The only consensus that could be reached on biofuels is that they provide both “challenges and opportunities”, and need to be looked into further for a conclusive analysis on their impact on food production.

Other factors increasing food prices are increased consumption of meat and dairy products in developing nations like China and India. Argentina noted that subsidies granted to farmers from the US, the European Union and other Western countries have also been a major player in the increase.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=UN_summit_results_in_pledge_to_mitigate_food_crisis&oldid=901027”
Uncategorized

Canadian government announces major tax reductions

by Admin

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced a five-year program that could reduce taxes by a total C$60 billion.

The planned tax reduction measures include:

  • Low-end personal income tax rates would be reduced from 15.5% to 15%, taking retroactive effect to the start of 2007;
  • The basic personal exemption, the amount at which income is taxable, is raised from C$8,929 to C$9,600, also backdated to January 2007;
  • Business tax rates are expected regularly drop from the current 20.5% to 15% in 2012;
  • The Goods and Services Tax that applies to most purchases would be reduced from 6% to 5% as 2008 begins. This rate was previously reduced from 7% July 2006, shortly after Prime Minister Stephen Harper took office.

These measures will be brought before the House of Commons in Ottawa on Wednesday as a confidence motion. In Canada’s minority government situation, opposition parties could defeat these measures and likely prompt an election. However, opposition leader Stéphane Dion has expressed an unwillingness to defeat the government on this matter.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Canadian_government_announces_major_tax_reductions&oldid=4228917”
Accounting Firm

Small Business Accounting Made Easier Via Software

by Admin

By Chickie Maxwell

For any business of any size, accounting is critical to know where assets are, how money is being spent, and to be able to explain the business activity for tax reporting and planning. Even a small business needs to have a good accounting process in place for many of the same reasons.

Small business accounting is unique in the fact that the owner or partner of a business is typically involved at a personal level in managing the details. Many small and micro businesses dont have the luxury to employ a dedicated accountant or bookkeeper to manage the dollar numbers. Further, many small businesses dont trust outsiders to manage their numbers either. With too many stories of part-time employees embezzling cash due to the immense power of having a business checkbook, small business owners are rightfully paranoid.

Given the number of aspects a small business accounting task involves, one would think the process is extremely hard and accounting degree is necessary. Fortunately, with todays off-the-shelf software packages, small business accounting is actually as easy as managing a personal checkbook. Todays package offerings such as Intuits Quickbooks, for example, make the process simple from the beginning. All the user needs to know is four things:

1.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfcZpAVXfew[/youtube]

Enter every transaction daily or as close to daily as possible since this cuts down the work and keeps the information current.

2.

Make sure to code each transaction with the appropriate cost or income category.

3.

Reconcile the various accounts with the real accounts they represent as often as possible.

4.

Dont fudge the numbers entered.

Following these basic rules, the information that can be generated from such software programs is immensely powerful as it is simple to use.

For taxes the software can generate tax reports that track every revenue, expense, and potentially deductible charge that occurs in a given tax year. The program simple takes all the income or cost categories and places the data in the report accordingly. It also crunches the math as well for the totals which then transfer to tax forms. The only way the information is incorrect is if the user entered the data incorrectly in the first place.

For business management, software packages use the same processes for taxes to generate additional reports small business accounting cash flow, income and expense statements, and dissection reports on which vendors or cost drivers pull the most money. Depending what particular information is desired, theres probably a report that can be generated at a basic level to data mine the entered cost figures. Such reports give a small business immediate status checks on whats going on with the operation. However, the information is only as good as the data entered, which is why its so important to keep the data fresh and up-to-date.

Business owners need to keep in mind using software to track small business accounting makes such systems official records of the business. As such, they have to be preserved in case the business is reviewed, for example in a tax audit. Additionally, the data in the software needs to match the figures in actual receipts, checks, statements, and balances. If the data is different, then the software tool become useless and it can create problems later on if questions arise. Reconciliation is critical for small business accounting to be useful and correct.

About the Author: MyReviewsNow offers information regarding

small business accounting

. To learn more about

small business accounting

, visit our website at

MyReviewsNow.net

.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=1325016&ca=Business

Uncategorized

UK seeks pardon for executed World War I soldiers

by Admin

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

The UK Defence Secretary Des Browne has announced a plan to seek approval from Parliament to grant a group pardon to more than 300 British soldiers executed during the First World War for offences such as cowardice and desertion.

The proposed pardon will include the case of Pte. Harry Farr, whose family had appealed to the Defence Secretary to grant a full, posthumous pardon. The Ministry of Defence informed the family lawyers of the decision hours before making a public announcement.

Farr’s family members said in a statement that they were “overwhelmed”.

The government proposes to pardon all those executed in World War I under the Army Act 1881 and the Indian Army Act 1911, for what are considered “battlefield offences”, such as cowardice or desertion, which may have been influenced by the stress of the battle. The proposal involves several Commonwealth and former colonial countries whose troops also fought alongside British troops. Mr. Browne said that he intends to introduce a suitable amendment to the current Armed Forces Bill to request Parliament’s approval.

Announcing the plan, Mr. Browne said, “I am conscious of how the families of these men feel today. They have had to endure a stigma for decades. […] I believe it is appropriate to seek a statutory pardon.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=UK_seeks_pardon_for_executed_World_War_I_soldiers&oldid=1979396”
Uncategorized

Wikinews interviews U.S. Libertarian presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root

by Admin

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Wikinews held an exclusive interview with Wayne Allyn Root, one of the candidates for the Libertarian Party nomination for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Root is the founder and chairman of Winning Edge International Inc., a sports handicapping company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, he is an author and a television producer, as well as an on-screen personality both as host and guest on several talk shows.

Root, a long-time Republican, declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party on May 4, 2007.

He says he is concerned about the qualities of many who run for president, and fears that they do not know the needs of American citizens. He also says that they cater to big businesses instead of small ones.

He has goals of limiting the federal government and believes that the US went into Iraq for wrong reasons. A strong supporter of the War on Terror, he feels that it was mishandled. He has conservative values and came from a blue collar family in New York. He graduated from Columbia University with fellow presidential hopeful Barack Obama in 1983.

Root believes that America is in trouble and hopes to change that if elected.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Wikinews_interviews_U.S._Libertarian_presidential_candidate_Wayne_Allyn_Root&oldid=4579227”
Uncategorized

Saturn moon Enceladus may have salty ocean

by Admin

Thursday, June 23, 2011

NASA’s Cassini–Huygens spacecraft has discovered evidence for a large-scale saltwater reservoir beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The data came from the spacecraft’s direct analysis of salt-rich ice grains close to the jets ejected from the moon. The study has been published in this week’s edition of the journal Nature.

Data from Cassini’s cosmic dust analyzer show the grains expelled from fissures, known as tiger stripes, are relatively small and usually low in salt far away from the moon. Closer to the moon’s surface, Cassini found that relatively large grains rich with sodium and potassium dominate the plumes. The salt-rich particles have an “ocean-like” composition and indicate that most, if not all, of the expelled ice and water vapor comes from the evaporation of liquid salt-water. When water freezes, the salt is squeezed out, leaving pure water ice behind.

Cassini’s ultraviolet imaging spectrograph also recently obtained complementary results that support the presence of a subsurface ocean. A team of Cassini researchers led by Candice Hansen of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, measured gas shooting out of distinct jets originating in the moon’s south polar region at five to eight times the speed of sound, several times faster than previously measured. These observations of distinct jets, from a 2010 flyby, are consistent with results showing a difference in composition of ice grains close to the moon’s surface and those that made it out to the E ring, the outermost ring that gets its material primarily from Enceladean jets. If the plumes emanated from ice, they should have very little salt in them.

“There currently is no plausible way to produce a steady outflow of salt-rich grains from solid ice across all the tiger stripes other than salt water under Enceladus’s icy surface,” said Frank Postberg, a Cassini team scientist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

The data suggests a layer of water between the moon’s rocky core and its icy mantle, possibly as deep as about 50 miles (80 kilometers) beneath the surface. As this water washes against the rocks, it dissolves salt compounds and rises through fractures in the overlying ice to form reserves nearer the surface. If the outermost layer cracks open, the decrease in pressure from these reserves to space causes a plume to shoot out. Roughly 400 pounds (200 kilograms) of water vapor is lost every second in the plumes, with smaller amounts being lost as ice grains. The team calculates the water reserves must have large evaporating surfaces, or they would freeze easily and stop the plumes.

“We imagine that between the ice and the ice core there is an ocean of depth and this is somehow connected to the surface reservoir,” added Postberg.

The Cassini mission discovered Enceladus’ water-vapor and ice jets in 2005. In 2009, scientists working with the cosmic dust analyzer examined some sodium salts found in ice grains of Saturn’s E ring but the link to subsurface salt water was not definitive. The new paper analyzes three Enceladus flybys in 2008 and 2009 with the same instrument, focusing on the composition of freshly ejected plume grains. In 2008, Cassini discovered a high “density of volatile gases, water vapor, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as organic materials, some 20 times denser than expected” in geysers erupting from the moon. The icy particles hit the detector target at speeds between 15,000 and 39,000 MPH (23,000 and 63,000 KPH), vaporizing instantly. Electrical fields inside the cosmic dust analyzer separated the various constituents of the impact cloud.

“Enceladus has got warmth, water and organic chemicals, some of the essential building blocks needed for life,” said Dennis Matson in 2008, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

“This finding is a crucial new piece of evidence showing that environmental conditions favorable to the emergence of life can be sustained on icy bodies orbiting gas giant planets,” said Nicolas Altobelli, the European Space Agency’s project scientist for Cassini.

“If there is water in such an unexpected place, it leaves possibility for the rest of the universe,” said Postberg.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Saturn_moon_Enceladus_may_have_salty_ocean&oldid=4453704”
Pipes

Checking A Second Hand Gas Scooter}

by Admin

Checking a second hand Gas Scooter

by

Roberto Bell

Fixing your scooter.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwdI6dKtd34[/youtube]

If you own a scooter and cannot get it to start-up, you know how absolutely frustrating this can be. If you find you are in this position keep with us for effective tips and insight.Check to see whether your exhaust pipe is blocked. Two stroke scooters are especially susceptible to this problem. Over time, carbon and the unburned fuel and oil mixture form up and clog the exhaust pipe. Blockages in the exhaust pipe will adversely impact the performance of your scooter, or cause it to not run at all. It is not easy to say whether the exhaust pipe is congested. Removing it and starting the scooter is the easiest way to tell if it is bunged or not. The sound may be a little loud – two strokes may resound like a chain saw. If the scooter runs now that the exhaust is removed, you know where the problem will be found. Think back to when you drained the old gas. How old was it? Did the petrol have an old smell? petrol in a scooter left idle for a year or so will transform into a varnish-like substance. Then you have a lot of cleaning to do. The gas will commonly evaporate, imparting a sludgy, substance in the gas tank,petcock, fuel line and carb that is like to molassas. Completely flush the gas tank and lines with new gas. If the gas tank is not too corroded or filthy, it may be ok to simply flush it out. Now put in some new gas. However, if you aren’t sure how old the petrol is, (even if it smells all right), drain the gas reservoir, carburetor float bowl, and fuel lines,and restock with fresh petrol. Some time ago I worked on an Hond 50 with quite clean-smelling gas. I could make it go with starting fluid, but I couldn’t do it with existing gas. At last I had to drain out all the old gas and top it up with new gas. After that, the scooter started at once and ran well. Take the fuel and vacuum lines from the petcock to the carb. Put an appropriate receptacle beneath the fuel line, and draw air on the vacuum line to the petcock, (if equipped with one), and witness how well the petrol flows. There should be sufficient flow. A dribble is not good enough. If you are able to get this flow, then you are alright. Flush the system by running a minimum of a pint of gas through it. If there is still no flow, it possibly means your petcock is bunged. You will need to take it out and take it to pieces to clean it. Return it with attention on the gas tank or the gas might leak. start the scooter after repairing everything. The gas needs a few seconds of cranking to make its way from the gas tank to the carb. If you are fluky, it may start up right away. If you still have troubles at this point try the following. install a new spark plug, particularly if it is a two stroke engine. The air filter should be cleaned or replaced when necessary. The carb, air cleaner, and exhaust system should all be inspected and adjusted to work together. If you change any of these items randomly or haphazardly, most scooters will not run correctly. Check all the connections again. After that, turn over the engine for 10-15 seconds. Is it activated? Do you hear any popping sounds, as though the engine is attempting to run? Do not concern the throttle while cranking; many scooters do not start when you do this. In general, for Honda scooters if you utilize thethrottle just when the engine catches, they tend to fire-up easier. virtually all Yamaha scooters have to warm up awhile before you can use the throttle. If it seems the scooter is catching, but still will not start, stay about fifteen seconds and try again. If the speedometer is not effective, it’s typically because the speedometer cable is crushed. check it about 5-6 inches from its link at the front wheel. This is typically where it breaks because of the twist in the cable and being vulnerable to the elements such as water and dirt close to the front wheel. New speedometer cables are inexpensive (generally under $20) and you can trade them easily.Now inspect the center stand of your scooter. Getting it parked on this stand can be demanding unless you practice. It’s all in the technique. Even the center stand of a large motorcycle can be deployed by a small person if correct method is followed. Now you are ready to drive and may wish to know how to raise the top speed of your scooter. This question is asked most often about the 50cc scooters, but also can be asked about the better scooters as well. The real queston that is of most importance is, how much money are you disposed to spend? If you own a 50cc, and you desire the top rate to jump from 25 mph to 50 mph, you might want to think simply ofbuying a superior scooter. As you increase the acceleration, you will notice that the brakes, suspension, and frame are not up to par. It is somewhat expensive to trade all the parts. If you merely want a little better speed, modifications to your 50cc scooter’s carburetor, exhaust pipe, and the variator may result in augmented performance. possibly you can get a big bore kit and this will lift the engine displacement from 50cc to approximately 70cc. Generally, adding a performance clutch or performance variator is the easiest thing to do. They may present you with better acceleration and/or advanced speed. You can also attain a new performance carb, a new exhaust pipe or both. These two components (and possibly the air box) would need to be changed together for optimal performance. mostly, the engine is an air pump. You get more power when you move more air through the engine. By adding a better carburetor, you will draw more air and more fuel into the engine. By not changing the air box, you are restricting the total of added air. You also restrict the total of air out of the engine if you fail to trade the exhaust pipe with one that is either superior or freer flowing. Additionally, also changing the carburetor changes the fuel to air ratio inside the engine. The changes that you make may or may not be liked by your engine. For example, the new carb should give you more top end power, but may lead to starting troubles or the performance might be good at low RPMs but modest at higher ones. It can be hard work to tune your scooter to get the best performance. attempt to obtain a kit that includes a carb, air box and an exhaust pipe that are all planned for your scooter. It will make things much less demanding. finally, use the big bore kit. This will increase the torque and acceleration, but will not enhance the top speed unless gearing modifications are made. There aren’t very many performance parts for large scooters readily available in the United States (except for certain new scooters).Still want more performance? You can try some of the additional tweaks to additionally improve your gas scooter. You can try to get another drive belt. This will give you a little gain on the mph; new belts ride higher in the pulleys. You can also amend your roller weights (you can use heavier rollers for more top speed), adjust your valves, try a new air filter, and keep your tires pumped correctly. Next check your idle. Is it too high? This can be caused by a throttle cable that is too tense or not routed correctly. It could also suggest that you need to twist the idle screw on the carb the reverse direction ~1/4 turn. A vacuum leak may also be a grounds for a high idle. The rubber manifold connecting the carb and the cylinder head may break after a while. try to start the engine and spray some water around the carb, manifold and vacuum hoses. If there is a reduction in the idle, it means that there is a vacuum leak somewhere. Finally, one last thing to ponder is elevation. This may not happen very frequently, but it’s good to know anyhow. Your scooter will have trouble getting enough air at heights above 4000 feet. You will need to place a lesser main jet in the carburetor. A good decree to track is to decrease the size of the main jet by about 10 percent, and then see if that helps performance.Hopefully these tips will help you enjoy your scooter for years to come. Don’t give up, contact us if you have further questions.

Tiger Motion Inc. DBA Neo Scooters is a team found at Gas Scooters, electric Scooters, Electric Mopeds. You can find more information at http://www.neoscooters.com/large_mopeds.asp. Visit

Checking a used Gas Scooter

.

Article Source:

Checking a second hand Gas Scooter}

Uncategorized

5-year old American girl dies after visiting the dentist

by Admin

Friday, September 29, 2006

Diamond Brownridge, a 5-year old girl from Chicago, Illinois, has died after a visit to the dentist. Children’s Memorial Hospital officials say that the girl was rushed to the hospital when she never woke up after being sedated for a dental procedure. She had been in a coma, on life support, since being admitted to the hospital early in the weekend.

“She passed very peacefully and beautifully,” said the hospital in a statement that the family issued.

Ommettress Travis, the mother of the girl, was asked not to remain inside the room while dentists were operating on the girl to repair two cavities and to have at least two caps replaced. Travis says after thirty minutes she was asked to come back in and found Brownridge not breathing, in the dentist chair.

Hicham Riba, a specialist and professional in anesthesia, who was also licensed, was the dentist in charge of the procedure.

“My family and I are so sad. May God bless Diamond and her family. Every time you have a tragedy like this, you pray more. I don’t think I will ever go back to a normal life after an experience like this,” Riba said in a statement on Wednesday, September 28.

According to the family, the girl had been given at least a triple dose of medicine that sedated her. Those drugs include: nitrous oxide gas, a single dose of an “oral agent” and an IV.

A judge has ordered that all equipment and materials used during the operation be protected and examined. The girl’s medical records have also been ordered to be examined.

There is no word on whether or not any charges will be filed against Riba or any of the dentist’s staff.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=5-year_old_American_girl_dies_after_visiting_the_dentist&oldid=434213”
Uncategorized

IBM Releases 500 patents to open source community

by Admin

Saturday, January 15, 2005

United States —”IBM hereby commits not to assert any of the 500 U.S. patents listed below, as well as all counterparts of these patents issued in other countries, against the development, use or distribution of Open Source Software.” [1]

So begins the pledge IBM has made to “any individual, community, or company” writing or using software defined as “open source” by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).

The patents include software for text recognition and database management.[2]

“True innovation leadership is about more than just the numbers of patents granted. It’s about innovating to benefit customers, partners and society”, said Dr. John E. Kelly, IBM senior vice president, Technology and Intellectual Property. “Our pledge today is the beginning of a new era in how IBM will manage intellectual property.”[3]

“This is not a one-time event”, said Dr. Kelly. “While IBM will continue to demonstrate leadership in patent output, through measures such as today’s pledge, we will increasingly use patents to encourage and protect global innovation and interoperability through open standards and we urge others to do so as well.”

Lawrence Lessig, law professor at Stanford Law School and free software proponent commented: “This is exciting. It is IBM making good on its commitment to encourage a different kind of software development and recognizing the burden that patents can impose.”[4]

Not all are confident of IBM’s motives, though.

Florian Mueller, campaign manager of anti-patent website,NoSoftwarePatents.com, accused IBM of hypocrisy because of lobbying in the European Union to push through theComputer Implemented Inventions Directive.

“IBM is just being hypocritical because they want to appease the open source community and make themselves popular,” said Mueller.

“In Europe, IBM is a driving force behind the extension of the scope of patentability with respect to software. If IBM wants to assume the role of a post-Christmas benefactor, they’d better stop their aggressive patent lobbying in the EU and their shameless squeezing of small and medium-sized companies with its patent portfolio.” [5]

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=IBM_Releases_500_patents_to_open_source_community&oldid=2290312”