Mosquitoes With Lethal Genes to Help Brazil Fight Dengue - Bloomberg

Mosquitoes With Lethal Genes to Help Brazil Fight Dengue - Bloomberg: "Some of the mosquitoes he saw “were like aliens -- I’ve never seen them that big before,” said the 32-year-old Londoner, who attended three games in Brazil before his England team was sent packing. Brazil’s stepped up spraying of insecticides didn’t seem to help matters.

Now Brazil is developing a more powerful weapon that may be ready when it hosts the 2016 Summer Olympics: genetically modified mosquitoes that self-destruct before doing any damage.

Brazil will probably be the first country to approve large-scale releases of male mosquitoes with a lethal gene that causes their offspring to die before reaching adulthood, according to Hadyn Parry, chief executive officer of Oxitec Ltd., a U.K. biotechnology company that has developed the technology."



'via Blog this'

Supply-side tax cutters in the fantasy land of Oz

Supply-side tax cutters in the fantasy land of Oz: "Two years ago Kansas embarked on a remarkable fiscal experiment: It slashed income taxes sharply without any clear idea of what would replace the lost revenue.
Sam Brownback, the governor, proposed the legislation – in percentage terms, the largest tax cut in one year any state has ever enacted – in close consultation with the economist Arthur Laffer. And Brownback predicted that the cuts would jump-start an economic boom. “Look out, Texas,” he proclaimed.
But Kansas isn’t booming. In fact, its economy is lagging both neighbouring states and America as a whole. Meanwhile, the state’s budget has plunged deep into deficit, provoking a Moody’s downgrade of its debt.
There’s an important lesson here – but it’s not what you think. Yes, the Kansas debacle shows that tax cuts don’t have magical powers, but we already knew that. The real lesson from Kansas is the enduring power of bad ideas, as long as those ideas serve the interests of the right people."



'via Blog this'

Is Work Killing You? In China, Workers Die at Their Desks - Bloomberg

Is Work Killing You? In China, Workers Die at Their Desks - Bloomberg: "Chinese banking regulator Li Jianhua literally worked himself to death. After 26 years of “always putting the cause of the party and the people” first, his employer said this month, the 48-year-old official died rushing to finish a report before the sun came up.

China is facing an epidemic of overwork, to hear the state-controlled press and Chinese social media tell it. About 600,000 Chinese a year die from working too hard, according to the China Youth Daily. China Radio International in April reported a toll of 1,600 every day."



'via Blog this'

Climate Forecast: A Heat More Deadly Than the U.S. Has Ever Seen - Bloomberg

Climate Forecast: A Heat More Deadly Than the U.S. Has Ever Seen - Bloomberg: "It’s not the heat. It’s the humidity. And the U.S. is on a path to regularly experience a deadly combination of the two the likes of which have only been recorded once on planet Earth.

That’s one of the findings in a report published today called “Risky Business,” commissioned by some of America’s top business leaders to put price tags on climate threats. For example, by the end of the century, between $238 billion and $507 billion of existing coastal property in the U.S. will likely be subsumed by rising seas, and crop yields in some breadbasket states may decline as much 70 percent.

But perhaps the biggest way Americans will physically experience global warming is, well, the warming. By 2050, the average American is likely to see between two and more than three times as many 95 degree days as we're used to. By the end of this century, Americans will experience, on average, as many as 96 days of such extreme heat each year."



'via Blog this'

Welcome to the New Warm Normal: Global Temps Break Another Record - Bloomberg

Welcome to the New Warm Normal: Global Temps Break Another Record - Bloomberg: "The average temperature of Earth’s surface last month exceeded all other Mays before it, since recordkeeping began in 1880, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

The monthly temperature was 1.33 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the average May. That may not seem like much, but on a planetary scale, it’s huge. It ties the highest departure from average for any single month, in weather records that predate electric lights in Manhattan.

But the truly disturbing part isn’t that we’ve hit a new record. It’s that we live in a season of new records. This may be the the new warm normal. To find previous hottest Mays, you don’t have to search far; four of the five hottest Mays on record have occurred since 2010. More difficult is finding a cool May. The last time the month fell below its 20th-century average was 39 years ago.

The planetary hot streak is driven by rapidly rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution. Global warming is already being felt around the world, resulting in bigger heat waves, rising seas and changing patterns of precipitation. No one under age 30 has been alive for a single month when the planet’s average surface temperature was below average."



'via Blog this'

Indian Jewelers Offer BMWs, Discounts to Lure Gold Buyers - Bloomberg

Indian Jewelers Offer BMWs, Discounts to Lure Gold Buyers - Bloomberg: "The monsoon season starting this month, usually considered a lean period for gold demand due to the lack of festivals and weddings, is threatening to deepen a sales slump caused by import curbs imposed last year. India raised duties on inbound shipments of the metal three times in 2013 to contain a record current-account deficit that pushed the nation’s currency to an all-time low.

“This is the first time we have come out with a single promotion for entire India and the Gulf countries to boost demand during the rainy season,” Joy Alukkas, managing director of Joyalukkas, said by phone from Kochi on June 18. “There are holidays in the Gulf countries during these months and non-resident Indians come back to their hometowns in south India. We are hoping to tap that market.”"



'via Blog this'

More than 11,000 Yoga Fanatics Unrolled Yoga Mats at Times Square | Maine News

More than 11,000 Yoga Fanatics Unrolled Yoga Mats at Times Square | Maine News: "In order to honour the summer solstice, more than 11, 000 yoga fanatics unrolled their mats at Times Square and stretched in the sun. The Times Square Alliance, a non-profit organization focused on improving Times Square, has organized the 2014 solstice in Times Square. Christina Cielusniak, 25 year-old yoga instructor from Wayne, N. J, said that the summer solstice is the longest day of the year in the yoga tradition.

Since ancient times, summer solstice has always been celebrated with rituals and celebrations around the world. People in ancient times celebrate solstice festivals by worshiping the sun, the rituals and revelries are still continued in modern world."



'via Blog this'

The way a story ought to be told: "Dough! Lorry sheds load of flour onto M50" - Ireland News Headlines | Latest News Ireland | The Irish Times - Sat, Jun 21, 2014

Dough! Lorry sheds load of flour onto M50 - Ireland News Headlines | Latest News Ireland | The Irish Times - Sat, Jun 21, 2014: Dough!

As if they haven’t enough on their plate, gardaí had to deal with an unseasonal snowstorm on the M50 motorway this morning after a lorry shed its load of flour onto the road.

One imagines it was the last thing they kneaded this morning.

The incident took place on the southbound carriage at the Blanchardstown junction at 10am.

It’s not known if the gardaí dusted the scene for prints.

It is understood the flour was not self raising, meaning it had to be lifted off the road manually.

Luckily, according to one of the wags operating the Garda Traffic Twitter account, “the clean up crews thought it was a piece of cake” and the road has since been returned to its pristine normal state.

At yeast nobody was hurt.

“An other photo from the site of our Mobile Great Irish bake off event on the M50 this morning,” tweeted our chums in Garda Traffic.

Good to see they’re putting their nose to the grindstone and not just loafing around.

(And yes, in case you are wondering, most of those dreadful puns have been shamelessly lifted from the witty folk on Twitter. So don’t blame me.)

Italy v Costa Rica: World Cup 2014 – as it happened | Football | theguardian.com

Italy v Costa Rica: World Cup 2014 – as it happened | Football | theguardian.com: "Time for England players to make a decision on that always-tricky moral dilemma: to sneak some hotel towels and toiletries into your case before check-out or not. Unless Italy change dramatically in the second half, England are homeward bound. Costa Rica don't look like letting this slip - they have been mostly solid at the back, dynamic all over and incisive going forward. They should really be two goals in front, Campbell having been refused a blatant penalty. "



'via Blog this'

The death of the American mall | Cities | The Guardian

The death of the American mall | Cities | The Guardian: "It is hard to believe there has ever been any life in this place. Shattered glass crunches under Seph Lawless’s feet as he strides through its dreary corridors. Overhead lights attached to ripped-out electrical wires hang suspended in the stale air and fading wallpaper peels off the walls like dead skin.

Lawless sidesteps debris as he passes from plot to plot in this retail graveyard called Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio. The shopping centre closed in 2008, and its largest retailers, which had tried to make it as standalone stores, emptied out by the end of last year. When Lawless stops to overlook a two-storey opening near the mall’s once-bustling core, only an occasional drop of water, dribbling through missing ceiling tiles, breaks the silence."



'via Blog this'

Tony Gwynn- tough hitter, hitting on smoking

Tony Gwinn gave us many memorable baseball moments in the eighties. Thanks, Mr. Gwinn! We miss you!





Tony Gwynn, Baseball Batting Champion, Dies of Cancer at 54 - Bloomberg: "Gwynn had surgery in February 2012 to remove a cancerous tumor inside his right cheek, and he had a malignant growth removed from the same spot in August 2010. Gwynn blamed smokeless-tobacco use for the cancer, saying that he used it throughout his professional career.

Gwynn took a leave of absence as the baseball coach at San Diego State University, his alma mater, in March. He held that position since the 2003 season. He retired from the major leagues in 2001 after being named to 15 All-Star Games and recording 3,141 hits, which rank 19th in major-league history."



'via Blog this'

Cameron's British Values versus ethical human values

Sorry, David Cameron, but your British history is not mine | Owen Jones | Comment is free | The Guardian: "My own values, on the other hand, are inspired by a variety of Welsh, Scottish, English and foreign socialists. Where modern Tories promote dog-eat-dog individualism, ruthless competition and the supremacy of private profit, I believe in solidarity, collective action and a fundamental redistribution of wealth and power. My opponents would characterise their own values rather more sympathetically and mine less so, but the point of agreement should surely be that there is a chasm between us. It will be said that we are united by a common belief in democracy, but this is hardly a specifically British value – and, in any case, my perception of a democracy that is continually imperilled by Tory-backed corporate and private interests is rather different to theirs.

Where the government's agenda becomes dangerous is if one side claims its values are those of the nation as a whole. This is an age-old strategy of authoritarian regimes and movements, used to exclude, ostracise or suppress dissidents. The instrument of McCarthyism to persecute the US left, after all, was the House Committee on Un-American Activities. But we've seen this at work in our own country recently. The Daily Mail declared that Ralph Miliband was the "man who hated Britain" because he was a Marxist who opposed institutions such as the monarchy, the Church of England and the army. Not deferring to the status quo, in its view, is not just un-British, but anti-British."



'via Blog this'

A guide to (mis)communication - FT.com

A guide to (mis)communication - FT.com: "And the miscommunications worsen in mixed teams, with, writes Meyer, “Americans who recap incessantly and nail everything down in writing, Japanese who read the air, the French who speak at the second degree [with secondary meanings], the British who love to use deadpan irony as a form of humour and the Chinese who learn as young children to beat around the bush”.
Is there any solution? Meyer suggests managers at multinational companies should use matrix planners that plot the position of different cultures on the “context” spectrum, to help them interpret each other. She also argues that everyone needs to keep international communication ultra “low context” – ie to spell everything out, as clearly as you can.
But personally, as a British person who has been trained in a mid-context culture to use humour as a social weapon (and mask), I prefer a less direct route. Instead of rewriting HR policies, why not just stick that “Anglo-Dutch guide” on to the walls of all company offices? Better still, replicate it with others cultural pairs? (Anyone want to write the Brazilian-Saudi translation guide? Japanese-Israeli?) Maybe that would cause offence. But the best way to avoid communication pitfalls is to keep remembering they exist – and then laugh together about the fact that nothing sounds quite as peculiar as when the English speak English."



'via Blog this'

A guide to (mis)communication - FT.com

A guide to (mis)communication - FT.com: "And the miscommunications worsen in mixed teams, with, writes Meyer, “Americans who recap incessantly and nail everything down in writing, Japanese who read the air, the French who speak at the second degree [with secondary meanings], the British who love to use deadpan irony as a form of humour and the Chinese who learn as young children to beat around the bush”.
Is there any solution? Meyer suggests managers at multinational companies should use matrix planners that plot the position of different cultures on the “context” spectrum, to help them interpret each other. She also argues that everyone needs to keep international communication ultra “low context” – ie to spell everything out, as clearly as you can.
But personally, as a British person who has been trained in a mid-context culture to use humour as a social weapon (and mask), I prefer a less direct route. Instead of rewriting HR policies, why not just stick that “Anglo-Dutch guide” on to the walls of all company offices? Better still, replicate it with others cultural pairs? (Anyone want to write the Brazilian-Saudi translation guide? Japanese-Israeli?) Maybe that would cause offence. But the best way to avoid communication pitfalls is to keep remembering they exist – and then laugh together about the fact that nothing sounds quite as peculiar as when the English speak English."



'via Blog this'

A guide to (mis)communication - FT.com

A guide to (mis)communication - FT.com: "And the miscommunications worsen in mixed teams, with, writes Meyer, “Americans who recap incessantly and nail everything down in writing, Japanese who read the air, the French who speak at the second degree [with secondary meanings], the British who love to use deadpan irony as a form of humour and the Chinese who learn as young children to beat around the bush”.
Is there any solution? Meyer suggests managers at multinational companies should use matrix planners that plot the position of different cultures on the “context” spectrum, to help them interpret each other. She also argues that everyone needs to keep international communication ultra “low context” – ie to spell everything out, as clearly as you can.
But personally, as a British person who has been trained in a mid-context culture to use humour as a social weapon (and mask), I prefer a less direct route. Instead of rewriting HR policies, why not just stick that “Anglo-Dutch guide” on to the walls of all company offices? Better still, replicate it with others cultural pairs? (Anyone want to write the Brazilian-Saudi translation guide? Japanese-Israeli?) Maybe that would cause offence. But the best way to avoid communication pitfalls is to keep remembering they exist – and then laugh together about the fact that nothing sounds quite as peculiar as when the English speak English."



'via Blog this'

Anti-World Cup protests in Brazilian cities mark countdown to kick-off | Football | The Guardian

Anti-World Cup protests in Brazilian cities mark countdown to kick-off | Football | The Guardian: "Riot police fired percussion grenades and teargas at anti-World Cup protesters in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on Thursday as the countdown to the kick-off was marred by demonstrations in at least 10 Brazilian cities. Just hours before the opening ceremony at the Itaquerão stadium, about 100 protesters started fires and threw rocks at police in an apparent attempt to block a road leading to the venue.

The confrontation led to at least one arrest and five injuries, including a suspected broken arm suffered by a CNN producer who was hit by a teargas canister.

Amnesty International accused the police of using excess force. "The Brazilian authorities must, without delay, investigate why excessive force was used against peaceful protesters, bring those responsible to justice and ensure this does not happen again," said Atila Roque, director of Amnesty International Brazil.

The "Our Cup is on the Street" protests are targeting the high cost of the stadiums, corruption, police brutality and evictions. Similar demonstrations have been organised via social networks in 100 cities, including several that host World Cup games, such as Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre and Recife."



'via Blog this'

Apple- taking a shark's bite out of its taxes, and out of its obligations

Here's How Much Money Apple Avoids Paying In Taxes By Pretending It's Based In Ireland - Yahoo Finance: "Nonetheless, it uses Ireland's tax laws to its advantage: Apple places certain corporate assets in Ireland and uses them as a pivot for international transfers that lower its taxes. In one example, a U.S. Senate subcommittee found that an Irish Apple entity named "ASI" was, in fact, the company that actually sold iPhones internationally:

In the case of Apple, ASI purchased finished Apple goods manufactured in China and immediately resold them to ADI or Apple Singapore which, in turn, sold the goods around the world. ASI did not conduct any of the manufacturing – and added nothing – in Ireland to the finished Apple products it bought, yet booked a substantial profit in Ireland when it resold those products to related parties such as ADI or Apple Singapore

But how much tax does Apple actually avoid when it does this? A lot, it turns out.

In 2012, Apple's "foreign base sales income" was about $25 billion, according to the Senate report, and it avoided paying $9 billion in taxes on that income:"



'via Blog this'

Ireland, EU and Tax Regimes

Core query on EC probe into Apple tax in Ireland is what power EU has - World News | Latest International News Headlines | The Irish Times - Thu, Jun 12, 2014: "Ireland has vowed to “vigorously defend” its tax regime in the face of the investigation. “Ireland is confident that there is no State aid rule breach in this case and we will defend all aspects vigorously,” a Department of Finance spokesman said yesterday.
It is also prepared to fight the case in the European Court of Justice should the commission rule against Ireland.
With the investigation potentially causing serious reputational damage to Ireland, Dublin will be hoping that it will be concluded within the next six to 12 months.
Many believe this is wishful thinking, given that EU anti-trust cases can run for years. The appointment of a new commissioner later this year may also delay things. Mr Almunia yesterday rejected the suggestion that the investigation could lose momentum when he goes in October.
“The day after I leave, my successor will continue with investigations that are on-going. The services of the commission will not stop . . . because their boss will change.”"



'via Blog this'

Smoking ban- the Irish Light

In Ireland, 10 Years of Fresh Air - NYTimes.com: "On the morning of March 29, 2004, global television crews gathered outside a Dublin restaurant stocked with celebrating lawmakers to witness what few thought possible in this welcoming land of brilliant but noxious pubs.

“We called it Ireland’s first smoke-free breakfast,” said Dr. Fenton Howell, Ireland’s national tobacco-control adviser. “It was the first day of our ban on workplace smoking — the first of its kind in the world — and there were some doubts that our cherished pubs would obey the law.”

But obey they did. Within a month, according to health-ministry studies, there was 97 percent compliance in all workplaces, including Ireland’s then-7,800 “public houses.” Polls even showed an 80 percent approval of the ban among Irish smokers.

The ban “absolutely” increased tourism, said the Irish minister of tourism, Michael Ring, a devout smoker 25 years ago. “But as an Irish person, I thought this ban would never happen. It was just part of our culture — a drink and a smoke.”

Ten years later, amid anniversary celebrations by Ireland’s health community, the ban appears to have unquestionably improved lives. It has also motivated dozens of countries to copy Ireland’s legislation and forever altered an Irish institution that some thought impervious to change."



'via Blog this'

Prawns- changed agriculture industry

Walmart, Tesco and Costco among retailers responding to revelations of slavery in prawn supply chains | Global development | theguardian.com: "The Thai food giant CP Foods says it sells prawns to many leading supermarkets in the US, UK and across Europe.

The Guardian identified several of its customers and traced CP prawns to all of the top four global retailers – Walmart, Carrefour, Costco and Tesco – and other big-name supermarkets including Morrisons, the Co-operative, Aldi and Iceland.

We asked those named in our investigation to comment on our finding of slavery in their supply chains.

All said they condemned slavery and human trafficking for labour and conducted rigorous social audits. Some appeared already aware that slavery had been reported in the Thai fishing sector and said they were setting up programmes to try to tackle it."



'via Blog this'

A good angle on taking part in religious rituals - | The Irish Times -

If you don’t approve of the church then don’t take part in its rituals - Social Affairs & News from Ireland & Abroad | The Irish Times - Sat, Jun 07, 2014: "And yet. Last month the streets teemed with dolled-up children making their way to and from First Communions. The average couple still gets married in church. The vast majority of newborn babies are baptised. Even secular cremations tend to take place in grey rooms decorated with stone crosses and images of the suffering Christ. The number of Mass-goers may have declined, but the church still stands by to legitimise our coming in, our coming together and our passing on.
Obviously, one can have no serious argument with people of faith – a self-definition that positively revels in rejection of logical thought – who marry, baptise, confirm and bury their dead within the bosom of the church. Wiccans, snake handlers and Jedi Knights are also welcome to their rites and superstitions. However, after all that has been revealed, the time has surely come to raise eyebrows at the agnostics, atheists and the loosely committed who go through these rituals because they “like the tradition” or don’t want to upset older relatives.
Many non-believers of my generation convinced themselves they were the last heathens who, terrified of fanged, rosary-swinging aunts, would feel compelled to marry in church. It still goes on."



'via Blog this'

MOOC from Trinity on Irish History

Trinity goes digital with first free online course in September - Education News | Primary, Secondary & Third Level | The Irish Time - Mon, Jun 09, 2014: "Trinity College Dublin is making its first foray in the realm of open-access digital teaching with a free history course going online in September.
The six-week MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) is aimed at giving people a “Trinity education experience” without having to attend the university.
MOOCs are growing feature of higher education internationally, and new report has called for greater co-operation between institutions here to avoid Ireland falling behind in the digital space.
The Trinity course, “Irish Lives in War and Revolution: Exploring Ireland’s History 1912-1923”, has been designed by staff at the school of histories and humanities."



'via Blog this'

Tar Heels- Fraud Deals?

New Evidence of Academic Fraud at UNC - Businessweek: "Huge college sports business news out of Chapel Hill: A star player on the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team that won the 2005 national championship has stepped forward to confess that he stayed academically eligible only because he took fake classes and had others write his term papers.

The admission by Rashad McCants, the second-leading scorer on the UNC team during the 2004-05 season, reinforces other findings over the past couple of years that from the 1990s through 2011, members of the Carolina football and basketball programs disproportionately enrolled in bogus courses. As discussed in this Feb. 27, 2014, Bloomberg Businessweek cover story, titled “No Class,” the long-running scandal in Chapel Hill has raised questions about whether the $16 billion-a-year college sports business is based on phony promises that top football and basketball recruits receive a legitimate education in exchange for their labor on the field and court."



'via Blog this'

Abenomics Spurs Most Misery Since ’81 as Senior Scrimps: Economy - Bloomberg

Abenomics Spurs Most Misery Since ’81 as Senior Scrimps: Economy - Bloomberg: "atsunami’s concerns stem from the price of food soaring at the fastest pace in 23 years after April’s sales-tax increase. Rising prices helped push the nation’s misery index to the highest level since 1981, while wages adjusted for inflation fell the most in more than four years.

With food accounting for one quarter of the consumer price index and the central bank looking to drive inflation higher, a squeeze on household budgets threatens consumption as Abe weighs a further boost in the sales levy. The prime minister may be forced to ease the pain with economic stimulus, cash handouts or tax exemptions championed by his coalition partner.

“Price hikes without confidence that wages are going to rise will hurt appetite for spending,” said Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo. “Abe has to raise people’s belief that the economy will improve.”"



'via Blog this'

Venezuela Sacrifices Drinking Water to Pay Bondholders - Bloomberg

Venezuela Sacrifices Drinking Water to Pay Bondholders - Bloomberg: "At a time when Venezuela’s record $25 billion in arrears to importers has its citizens waiting hours in line to buy drinking water and crossing borders in search of medicine, President Nicolas Maduro is using the nation’s dwindling supply of dollars to enrich bondholders.

Venezuela, which imports just about everything, and its state oil producer have paid $2.8 billion in interest to overseas creditors this year, according to Barclays Plc. Including debt principal, bondholder outlays will balloon to almost $10 billion by year-end, the London-based firm estimates."



'via Blog this'

Leaving Cert English paper 1: Where education is serious business...

Leaving Cert English paper 1: the verdict - Education News | Primary, Secondary & Third Level | The Irish Time - Wed, Jun 04, 2014: "Before the first English paper had even begun, students’ minds were already leaping ahead to the following day’s exam, and the all important question of which poets will appear on the paper. Today, over 37,000 students were shocked to discover an article by Seamus Heaney appearing on higher level English Paper One. Post exam, students immediately took to Twitter to indulge in fevered speculation about whether his poems are now less likely to appear on tomorrow’s English paper. Should they now focus on Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Bishop? Was this all just a cruel trick?
The answer, says Evelyn O’Connor, founder of leavingcertenglish.net and a teacher in Mount Saint Michael’s Secondary School in Claremorris, is that Heaney’s surprise appearance changes nothing. “Different examiners set the different papers. Predicting which poets will appear is a mug’s game.”"



'via Blog this'

Simplistic look at Globalization, the McKinsey Way

The New Look of Globalization - Bloomberg View: "The expanded scope of the report -- critically to include flows of information -- speaks to trends that are durable and consequential, if only because they are considerable enablers of human talent at both the individual and collective level. The good that comes of this, starting with more and cheaper choices for consumers and greater opportunities for entrepreneurs, will inevitably be associated with some bad, including transition costs and labor displacements.

The longer it takes us to understand the phenomenon, the more likely we are to be surprised by the range of outcomes -- and the greater will be the challenge of ensuring, as the McKinsey report puts it, that "economies are positioned to benefit." Policy makers would do well to pay attention to such efforts to better measure and understand the scale of what is at stake, so they can plan and respond accordingly."



'via Blog this'

Labour Party- what does it stand for?

In what direction should the new leader take the Labour Party? - Political News | Irish & International Politics | The Irish Times - Wed, Jun 04, 2014: "This can be defeated only by a counter-hegemony, by persuading people of the insidiousness of the prevailing ideology that privileges hugely a wealthy elite and privileges the upper middle class strata, enforcing exclusion and powerlessness on the rest. Labour is not interested in that exacting endeavour.
Maybe in this leadership contest at least the candidates might be forced to think through what the Labour Party is for; why, after its previous periods in office, was there greater inequality than there had been before (or at least no appreciable decline in inequality); whether this matters to what Labour is about; and what the candidates think Labour should do now?"



'via Blog this'

Panera to overhaul menu, ditch the fake stuff

Panera to overhaul menu, ditch the fake stuff: "The unveiling of Panera's sweeping "Food Policy" also underscores how positioning foods as natural has become a marketing advantage, regardless of whether it brings any nutritional benefits. Part of the attraction for customers is that they feel better about what they're eating, sometimes because they don't feel as guilty about how many calories they're consuming.

Read MoreFast food CEO: Minimum wage hikes closing locations

Chipotle, for instance, has gained in popularity in part by portraying itself as a more wholesome alternative to traditional fast-food chains like McDonald's. Even Subway recently said it would stop using azodicarbonamide in its breads. The ingredient was dubbed the "yoga mat" chemical after a petition by Vani Hari, who runs FoodBabe.com, noted it was used to make yoga mats.

Still, declaring foods as being natural or free of artificial ingredients has the potential to invite criticism and even legal troubles. A lawsuit filed in November, for instance, alleges that Whole Foods Market uses a "spectacular array" of artificial ingredients in some of its store-brand products, despite the grocer's promise that the products contain "nothing artificial.""



'via Blog this'

The size of new homes is ballooning - Yahoo Finance

The size of new homes is ballooning - Yahoo Finance: "Families across the country are demanding bigger and bigger homes, undaunted by the prospect of fillings rooms with furniture and generations of soon-to-be-born dust bunnies.

In 2013 the median floor area of new single-family homes sold in the U.S. rose 4% to hit almost 2,500 square feet, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

That compares to the median 1,700-square-foot size of a single detached and manufactured home, as reported in the 2011 American Housing Survey."



'via Blog this'

Pollution in CHina

European firms say ‘Golden Age’ in China is over - Economic News | Ireland & World Economy Headlines |The Irish Times - Tue, Jun 03, 2014: "The positive effects of entering the World Trade Organisation were diminishing “and you can only enter WTO once. Also we experienced the very unique China demographic sweet-spot where, because of the one-child policy, you had very few old people and many young people, but are now entering a period where China will have one of the fastest ageing societies in Asia, ” he said.
The problems were not just economic.
“Also interesting is the new topic of air pollution, which has given new challenges for companies attracting talents and retaining talents. Sixty-eight per cent have experienced problems attracting talent and 64 per cent retaining talent,” said Wuttke."



'via Blog this'

Ireland ‘needs to do more’ to address the issue of aggressive tax planning - Economic News | Ireland & World Economy Headlines |The Irish Times - Mon, Jun 02, 2014

Ireland ‘needs to do more’ to address the issue of aggressive tax planning - Economic News | Ireland & World Economy Headlines |The Irish Times - Mon, Jun 02, 2014: "In its review of the Irish economy, the European Commission called on Ireland to facilitate higher labour market participating by women, by improving access to more affordable and full-time childcare, particularly for low-income families. Ireland has one of the highest proportions of people living in households with low work intensity in the EU, the analysis found. Other countries with low female participation in the work place include Austria, Germany, Malta, Poland, and Italy.
While long-term unemployment has fallen gradually with the recent improvement in the labour market, the report noted that long-term unemployment continues to increase as a proportion of overall unemployment, representing 61 per cent of the total at the end of last year.
Similarly, the proportion of young people not in unemployment, education or training, increased by eight percentage points between 2007 and 2007 to 18.7 per cent. While this has now fallen to 16.1 per cent, it is still one of the highest in the EU."



'via Blog this'

A taste of the west: Galway pulls them in with food - Food & Drink | Recipes, Reviews | Restaurants, Wine & Healthy Eati - Mon, Jun 02, 2014

A taste of the west: Galway pulls them in with food - Food & Drink | Recipes, Reviews | Restaurants, Wine & Healthy Eati - Mon, Jun 02, 2014: "But just cooking and serving beautiful food is not enough, he believes, and anyone who is going to survive needs to be plugged into the social network. “It’s not enough to be a chef or a restaurateur any more. Social media is so important for bringing the international element to food culture here. The fact that you can communicate with anyone in the world, including chefs and critics you never would have access to before, creates new thought patterns and ways of thinking when it comes to food.”
And when McMahon thinks about food, respect is almost always the first ingredient that comes to mind. “People look to the apex of everything but we should always put as much effort into making more everyday food like sandwiches or burgers better.
“Chicken is so cheap in Ireland because we’re killing up to 100,000 of them a day. If we spent a little bit more and ate it a little bit less we’d be happier, because we don’t need to eat it in every meal. We can talk all we want about good practice, but if we go back to the supermarket and pick up the cheapest packet of chicken fillets, then what’s the point?”"



'via Blog this'