Some thought-provoking news stories...
The mystery of the numerous bat deaths near wind turbines, in which many bat carcasses appeared uninjured, has apparently been solved. The explanation to this puzzle is that the bats' lungs effectively blow up from the rapid pressure drop that occurs as air flows over the turbine blades. See Wind Turbines Kill Bats Without Impact.
According to the BBC, "North Korean scientists have developed a new kind of noodle that delays feelings of hunger, a Japan-based pro-Pyongyang newspaper has reported.The noodles were made from corn and soybeans, the Choson Shinbo said.They left people feeling fuller longer and represented a technological breakthrough, the newspaper said. " These noodles, if as good as advertised, should work wonders in many countries.
The Kansas City Star has a rich piece titled "Average taxpayers subsidize executive pay, report says" in which it outlines how "Tax and accounting loopholes allow top executives and businesses to avoid paying about $20 billion a year in taxes." Here are some extracts.
"The Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy each year peg an “Executive Excess” report to Labor Day, zeroing in on an aspect of CEO compensation and corporate profits, both of which have grown far faster than average worker pay.
The 15th annual report, “Executive Excess 2008: How Average Taxpayers Subsidize Runaway Pay,” criticizes five tax loopholes that Congress has looked at but not plugged.
The authors note that the compensation of the S&P 500 CEOs in 2007 averaged 344 times the average U.S. worker’s pay. Thirty years ago, the ratio was about 35 to 1."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment