Thursday, May 11, 2006
The Australian House of Representatives heard the traditional right-of-reply to the Budget released May 9, from the Australian Labor Party, led by Kim Beazley (Labor, Brand), plus Budget replies from minor parties in the Australian Senate.
While the Budget is politically popular, having as one of its main features significant tax reform, Beazley focused on the omissions in the Budget, such as the failure to address a skills shortage.
Friday, January 19, 2007
In November 2006 Pensacola, Florida evangelist Kent Hovind and his wife, Jo, were found guilty on 58 federal counts of “willful failure” to payroll taxes, structuring bank withdrawals, and obstructing federal agents. On January 19, 2007 Hovind was given ten years in federal prison, ordered to pay $640,000 in owed funds to the Internal Revenue Service, pay prosecution’s court costs of $7,078, and serve three years parole once released. Originally in November, Hovind was ordered to forfeit $430,400 and faced a maximum of 288 years in prison.
Sunday, January 24, 2021
The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in favour of South Korea on Thursday over what it deemed excessive US tariffs on some of its products.
The eight duties, covering large power transformers and four grades of steel, were enacted in 2012 and 2016, during the Barack Obama administration. The US Department of Commerce defended the high rates, ranging from 9.49 to 59.72% on steel and 60.81% on transformers, by citing the “adverse facts available” (AFA) provision.
The AFA calls on accused companies to provide comprehensive information, or otherwise face significant anti-dumping and countervailing tariffs. After negotiation failed, South Korea formally filed a suit with the global trade body in February 2018.
A three-person WTO panel concluded the US Commerce Department had failed to specify in detail what information South Korean companies were to supply, and improperly ignored or rejected some of what was submitted. The tariffs imposed on Hyosung Heavy Industries, Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems, Hyundai Steel, and POSCO, therefore, were considered inconsistent with WTO guidelines.
However, the panel did not uphold South Korea’s claim US authorities had an “unwritten measure” encouraging its use of adverse facts to justify higher duties.
The United States may appeal within 60 days. However, due to restrictions imposed by former President Donald Trump on the Appellate Body, it has less than a quorum.
The European Union joined the case, citing as justification the plight of British, Dutch, and Italian steelworkers under US practice.
A 2018 ruling between the United States and Canada also found evidence of negligence involving the provision.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Mixed martial arts fighter Alex Reid, nicknamed “The Reidenator”, has been voted the winner of UK Celebrity Big Brother 2010. He won what is the last series of the programme in the final on Friday night, having received 65.9% of the votes from the public.
Musician Dane Bowers finished in second place, while Vinnie Jones, a former British soccer player and now a film actor, came in third place. After his departure from the Big Brother house, he commented about Alex: “I taught him everything I know.” Vinnie had become unpopular with fans as he was said to have been bossy to other celebrities inside the house. Speaking to presenter Davina McCall, he stated: “I was just trying to keep order in the house because a lot of people were selfish. I was just trying to keep some stability in the house.”
Musician Jonas Altberg, better known by his stage name Basshunter, finished in fourth place. Actress Stephanie Beacham left the Big Brother house in fifth place.
Alex Reid has been the girlfriend to former glamour model Katie Price since July 2009. Fellow housemate Dane has also previously been Katie’s boyfriend. When Davina McCall mentioned Price during the interview with Alex, the crowd gave out a negative reaction of booing. In response, he said: “Come on guys, don’t do that. I’m sorry guys… I’m not sorry, I really love Katie Price.”
During the interview with Davina McCall, Alex commented about his victory. He said: “What an amazing, fantastic start to a new year. Vinnie has been very inspirational to me. He’s transitioned from athletic to actor, which is what I want to do. I’m not getting booed now. That’s amazing… I’m speechless. My whole agenda in here was to be myself.” Alex also spoke of contestant Dane. “I was surprised by what a cool dude he is. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of Dane,” Alex said.
Friday, January 26, 2018
Fire broke out on Friday morning and destroyed the bottom two floors of a six-story hospital in Miryang, South Korea, killing at least 37 people, most of them elderly. More than a hundred injuries were reported, with eighteen people in critical condition. This is the highest death toll from fire in South Korea in almost a decade.
The fire is believed to have started at about 7:30 local time, according to fire chief Choi Man-woo. It originated on the ground floor in the emergency room as per various officials. The hospital has 98 beds and a medical staff of about 35, and specializes in long-term care of elderly patients. It adjoins a nursing home, all of whose 94 residents were evacuated. Staff carried some patients out of the hospital on their backs.
One patient, Jang Yeong-jae, who told his story to JoongAng Ilbo, said he escaped by removing a screen from a window to get to a ladder placed by firefighters. He described people “running around in panic, falling over and screaming as smoke filled the rooms”. The majority of the victims died from smoke inhalation and are believed to be elderly, said the head of the city’s public hospital, Chun Jae-kyung. A doctor, a nurse, and a nursing assistant have died, according to the fire service; it took three hours to put out the fire.
In a press briefing, Seok Gyeong-sik, the director of the hospital, apologized to patients and their families. Son Kyung-chul, its chairman, stated that there were no sprinklers because the facility was small. Sprinklers are being installed in the nursing home, where a new law requires them by June 30.
Last month, 29 people died in a fire in a gym in Jecheon; the owner and the manager were arrested for safety violations. In 2014, a blaze in a nursing home in Jangseong left 21 dead. The President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, responded to the Friday fire by calling an emergency meeting of his staff, and promised that the cause would be found rapidly “to prevent the recurrence of the fire in the future”.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Chinese officials have said that their country’s exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world’s biggest exporter.
The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 total Chinese exports reached US$1.2 trillion, above Germany’s forecast $1.17 trillion.
Huang Guohua, a statistics official with the customs administration, said the December exports rebound was an important turning point for China’s export sector. He commented that the jump was an indication that exporters have emerged from their downslide.
“We can say that China’s export enterprises have completely emerged from their all-time low in exports,” he said.
However, although China overtook Germany in exports, China’s total foreign trade — both exports and imports — fell 13.9% last year.
By Duncan Freer
The Construction Industry operates on a global scale with many opportunities to work abroad. The developed world maintains many types of project, including continuation, decommissioning and environmental work, much of which is implemented by some of the industry’s leading companies, who are diversifying into new markets. Factors such as tourism and the continuing rise in the global population have increased the demand for housing, commercial buildings, high-rise constructions, industrial processing plants and new and improved transport infrastructures.
New markets are arising in countries with unused natural resources. Countries such as South Africa, South America and Russia are providing budding opportunities in this area, whilst countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia and Dubai are plowing billions of pounds worth of investment into housing, hospitals as well as residential and tourist developments. Other industries are having a positive effect on the construction industry; India has achieved an almost overnight success within its IT sector. As outsourcing and the off-shoring of international business have grown in conjunction with the development of this IT industry so, too, has the demand for commercial, residential and retail constructions. China is also offering substantial opportunities for jobs in construction as its changing infrastructure demands new housing and power developments.
UK qualifications are well-respected worldwide by construction recruitment organizations, offering British workers considerable opportunities to work overseas. Whilst overseas project tend to favour more experienced graduates, many multinational companies will readily take on more-recently qualified graduates into their ranks. Contracts overseas can mean long periods of time away from the UK and, in some cases, working longer hours than UK contracts stipulate. However, in these circumstances, many companies offer employees additional pay allowances and extra money to assist the costs of intermittent flights back to Britain. Many consider this to be a career for single people, as the long periods away from home and the frequent lack of facilities to cope with dependants often take a toll on married couples or those in relationships.
Construction jobs overseas require a variety of employees with a variety of skills, such as site managers, site engineers, plant engineers, electricians, quantity surveyors, structural engineers, store managers, finance personnel, personnel managers, catering staff and procurement managers. Working abroad can also present language and cultural challenges, whilst trying to oversee a large build, but this leaves extra room for graduates to use their qualifications to their best advantage.
Of course, British engineers and specialists are not confined to finding construction jobs overseas; with the advent of the 2012 Olympics in the UK. Since 2006, the Olympic Committee has been sourcing the best candidates for the required builds and competition between companies is fierce for the relevant contracts. As the Games approach, there will be more and more opportunities for qualified candidates to consider making their mark on British soil, as well as taking into account the benefits offered by working overseas. The Olympics are being heralded as a showcase for the talents of UK construction companies, which is hoped to generate further work abroad.
About the Author: Duncan freer – Director – Construction Jobs Search is a job site dedicated to the specific needs of candidates who work in the building services and construction industry in the UK. We also provide recruiters with an online service that is effective in terms of cost and ease of use. Contacts For interviews, images or comments contact: John Roberts Marketing Manager Email: john@thejobsearchgroup.com
Source: isnare.com
Permanent Link: isnare.com/?aid=306030&ca=Jobs
Sunday, April 8, 2012
According to press releases from the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), Unit 2 of the Penly Nuclear Power Plant in France shut down Thursday afternoon after operators were alerted to “small quantities of burning oil.” The plant is operated by Électricité de France (EDF). Emergency crews were dispatched to the 1,330-megawatt French reactor following an alarm triggered there at 11:20 UTC Thursday. According to EDF, there were “no consequences for the environment” and no one was injured.
The ASN said in a statement the anomaly had been provisionally placed at level 1 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, which ranks occurrences at nuclear power plants on a scale ranging from 1 to 7, with 7 representing an event with lasting consequences for health and the environment such as the Fukushima Daiichi disaster following a Tsunami in Japan in March 2011.
The alarm was triggered after two fires broke out in the reactor building. The fires are reported to have been caused by leaks in one of the cooling pumps that are part of the reactor’s cooling system. The source of the fire was determined to be one or more pools of oil which had leaked from one of a pump’s joints, catching fire. They were quickly suppressed and the reactor remains shut down due to damage to the cooling pump.
After the fires were put out, radioactive water was then discovered to be leaking from the pump into the reactor’s drainage bin.The ASN released a statement at 05:00 UTC saying they had received “confirmation by EDF that the leak in the primary pump n°1 of the reactor n°2 at the Penly NPP had stopped.” ASN has undertaken an investigation into the causes of the incident which will later be published on their website. The reactor will remain shut down until the damage is repaired and the cause of the incident is known.
The Penly nuclear site, located on the coast to the northwest of Paris, is home to two Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) units and is cooled using water from the English Channel. PWRs are a common variety of nuclear reactors named for their use of highly pressurized water in their primary cooling systems. All of the 58 nuclear power plants which supply France with over 75% of its energy, are of this type.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
A firm in Oxford, United Kingdom has recently released plans for a hypersonic passenger airplane able to travel at speeds up to Mach 5 with a range of 20,000 km. Reaction Engines of Oxfordshire says the A2 plane could be in service within 25 years, carrying 300 passengers at a top speed of almost 4,000 mph, which is twice the speed of the Concorde. It would be able to reach Australia from Brussels Airport, Belgium non-stop in just five hours.
It is 143 meters (469 feet) long, which is approximately twice the length of the Airbus A380 and would be the first man-made object to cruise for extended periods at such speeds within the Earth’s atmosphere. Man-made aircraft have travelled this fast before; they, however, were inefficient rocket powered aircraft, that were only capable of short range.
The cost of a trip on the A2 is expected to be comparable with current first class tickets on standard flights, of around US$6,900 (£3,500), although it is possible prices will drop in the future.
“The A2 is designed to leave Brussels international airport, fly quietly and subsonically out into the north Atlantic at Mach 0.9 before reaching Mach 5 across the North Pole and heading over the Pacific to Australia,” said Alan Bond, the head of Reaction Engines.
Due to the heat generated in high-speed flight, the plane would have no windows. Instead, television screens connected to video cameras on the outside of the plane will be placed in front of passenger seats.
The jet may be more environmentally friendly than other planes because it uses liquid hydrogen for power rather than fossil fuel, and thus would not necessarily produce any pollution during the flight. The energy to produce the liquid hydrogen could come from an environmentally friendly source.
“Our work shows that it is possible technically; now it’s up to the world to decide if it wants it,” Bond said.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
In the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation,researchers announce that they have found that cannabinoids promoted a generation of new neurons in rats’ hippocampi. The study held true for both a plant-derived and a synthetic cannabinoid. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that contributes to learning and memory. In particular, it has been shown that the hippocampus is essential for the formation of new episodic memories.
“This is quite a surprise, chronic use of marijuana may actually improve learning memory when the new neurons in the hippocampus can mature in two or three months,” said Xia Zhang, with the Neuropsychiatry Research Unit of the University of Saskatchewan.
“Our results were obtained from rats, and there’s a big difference between rats and humans,” added Zhang, “So, I really don’t know yet if our findings apply to humans. But our results indicate that the clinical use of marijuana could make people feel better by helping control anxiety and depression.”
Zhang and his co-workers performed behavioral tests on two purified cannabinoids. The test results indicated that these two cannabinoids have anti-anxiety and antidepression-like effects in rats that may depend on the ability of cannabinoids to promote the production of new neurons in the hippocampus. Marijuana contains a complex mixture of chemicals including cannabinoids and may have somewhat different behavioral effects than the purified cannabinoids tested so far.
Previous studies examining the effects of cannabis have highlighted negative aspects of the drug’s use, such as short term memory difficulties, increased heart rate, nausea, and (in a very small percentage of people) hallucinations. Long term studies about cannabis use tend to be controversial as the data is seen to be biased or flawed. The most agreed upon effect of long term cannabis use is lung damage. However, proponents argue that the correlation between cannabis consumption and lung cancer is misleading suggesting that cannabis use may correlate with tobacco use or that the data is not being properly analyzed.