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October 2009
Climate change map unveiled at London museum
LONDON (AFP) –
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband unveiled an interactive map Thursday demonstrating the impact of global warming in decades to come, to underline the looming threat.
The map, presented at London's Science Museum, shows graphically how climate change could lead to water and food shortages, mass migration and conflict if action is not taken at a landmark summit in Copenhagen in December.
"The reason for publishing this map is that for many people, not only in our own country but around the world, the penny hasn't yet dropped that this climate change challenge is real, it's happening now," Miliband said.
The effects of climate change are not in "some far flung future" but would affect hundreds of millions of people within his lifetime, he added, unveiling the map with his brother Ed, Britain's climate change minister.
A four-degree Celsius increase could happen in his children's lifetime, Miliband warned. "The penny hasn't dropped that Copenhagen is the chance to address -- on a global scale -- the challenge," he said.
The map shows sea level rises and storm surges with temperatures rising up to 15 degrees, bringing increased risks of forest fires and droughts in Europe, and slashing harvests by up to 40 percent in southeast Asia and Africa.
Vicky Carroll of the Science Museum said: "We thought it was important for visitors to understand the whole picture.
"There's so much information about climate change but many people are still confused, so this gives them the evidence in a clear and accessible way."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned on Monday that the world faces "catastrophe" if action is not agreed to curb the greenhouse gases held responsible for global warming at the UN talks in Copenhagen.
Dash Covers
A car seat is the chair used in automobiles. Most car seats are made from cheap, but durable materials, made to withstand as much beating as possible. The material for these seats is usually used for the back of the seat, as well as the part where one's posterior goes.
This kind of seats prevent forward movement of the occupant in case of collision. It is a safety feature, important for front seats over rear seats.
Obama 'ought to do a lot more' on climate: Pachauri
STOCKHOLM (AFP) –
US President Barack Obama should do more to push for a US climate deal, Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said Thursday.
"I personally feel he ought to be doing a lot more," Pachauri told reporters after a debate on climate change in Stockholm, adding the president "really has to assert himself to see that the US passes legislation" prior to the Copenhagen summit.
The high-stakes conference in the Danish capital from December 7-18 will see nations attempt to hammer out a new global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.
The US Senate on October 27 is scheduled to take up a climate change bill sponsored by Democratic Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer, but the White House recently recognized the improbability of a Senate vote before Copenhagen.
Pachauri however stated he was "cautiously optimistic" that the Americans could agree on legislation in time for the summit, underlining it was "critically important that the US be part of this world deal."
"He (Obama) has to get the Senate to legislate the Kerry-Barbara Boxer bill," Pachauri insisted during the debate, adding he felt the president had not "put his weight behind it."
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Mario Molina, an advisor to Obama on climate change, also took part in the debate.
The US, which has not ratified Kyoto, is along with China the world's highest emitter of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming and the two nations are seen as key to the success of global negotiations on climate.
A US bill on climate "could make all the difference to the negotiations," Pachauri said.
World markets drop on China growth worrries
LONDON – World stock markets fell sharply Thursday as investor optimism was dented by a broker downgrade of U.S. bank Wells Fargo and concerns about future Chinese economic growth.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 75.01 points, or 1.4 percent, at 5,182.84 while Germany's DAX fell 97.13 points, or 1.7 percent, to 5,736.36. The CAC-40 in France was 67.36 points, or 1.7 percent, lower at 3,805.86.
Earlier in Asia, markets tracked Wall Street lower after influential banking analyst Dick Bove downgraded Wells Fargo over concerns about its loan book.
"After a good earnings season for the banks so far this served to remind investors that we shouldn't be reaching for the Champagne bottles just yet as there are still lingering problems in our financial system," said Tom Salmon, a trader at Spreadex.
And though government figures showed that China grew by a year high of 8.9 percent in the third quarter of 2009, investors were worried that much of the growth stemmed from a domestic stimulus package that can't last forever. Exports and private investment continued to lag.
"Disappointment on the back of this numbers this morning was sufficient to bring risk appetite off the boil," said Jane Foley, research director at Forex.com.
The Chinese growth figures came after the country's Premier Wen Jiabao told a Cabinet meeting Wednesday that policy will focus on balancing economic growth while managing inflation — raising worries the government may cut back on its lavish stimulus efforts.
China has been the world's major driver through the recession and any suggestion that it won't be growing as fast in the months ahead could spook investors, especially if the global recovery is not as strong as many in the markets have been expecting.
The rally in stocks since March's lows have been predicated on hopes that the global economic recovery will be quicker and more substantial than valuations were implying. So far, most U.S. companies have reported better-than-expected earnings and painted a fairly rosy picture for the coming months, helping major indexes push back above the levels they were over a year ago before Lehman Brothers collapsed.
Many now think that the valuations could be too optimistic, especially if governments and central banks think their job is done and start withdrawing some of the stimulus measures they have enacted over the last year or so.
"There's no escaping the simple fact that stocks have been starting to look increasingly overbought for some time now.," said Ben Potter, research analyst at IG Markets. "As always the question is just how protracted any sell-off will be."
The sell-off is set to continue when Wall Street opens. Dow futures were 21 points, or 0.2 percent, lower to 9,880 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures fell 3.5 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,074.60. On Wednesday, the two main U.S. indexes fell around 1 percent.
Once again, the focus of attention in the markets will be on the latest batch of third-quarter U.S. corporate earnings. Among those due to report later are Amazon, American Express, AT&T and Merck.
Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 66.22, or 0.6 percent, to 10,267.17, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 107.59 points, or 0.5 percent, to 22,210.52.
In China, the Shanghai index lost 19.18 points, or 0.6 percent, to 3,051.41. South Korea's benchmark fell 1.4 percent, Australia's index was off 0.5 percent and India's market shed 1.2 percent.
Oil prices slipped to near $80 a barrel Thursday as a wobbly U.S. dollar steadied. Benchmark crude for December delivery fell $1.24 to $80.13 a barrel. The contract jumped $2.25 overnight after the dollar fell to a 14-month low against the euro.
The fall in stocks has provided the dollar with some relief Thursday. As investors grow more willing to take on risk, stocks have rallied and the dollar has dropped against the euro. Conversely, when shares have fallen, the dollar has tended to rise as it is widely considered a safe haven asset
The euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.4979 while the dollar rose 0.3 percent to 91.23 yen.
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AP Business Writer Jeremiah Marquez in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Negotiators mull public option in health care bill
WASHINGTON – Health care legislation taking shape in the House carries a price tag of at least $1 trillion over a decade, significantly higher than the target President Barack Obama has set, congressional officials said Friday as they struggled to finish work on the measure for a vote early next month.
Democrats have touted an unreleased Congressional Budget Office estimate of $871 billion in recent days, a total that numerous officials acknowledge understates the bill's true cost by $150 billion or more. That figure excludes several items designed to improve benefits for Medicare and Medicaid recipients and providers, as well as public health programs and more, they added.
The officials who disclosed the details did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
Some moderate Democrats have expressed reluctance to support a bill as high as $1 trillion. Last month, Obama said in a nationally televised address before a joint session of Congress that he preferred a package with a price tag of around $900 billion.
Obama also said he would not sign a bill that raised deficits, and the CBO estimates the emerging House bill meets that objective. Officials said the measure would reduce deficits by at least $50 billion over 10 years and perhaps as much as $120 billion.
Democrats also said the bill would slow the rate of growth of the giant Medicare program from 6.6 percent annually to 5.3 percent.
"The bill will be paid for over 10 years. It will reduce costs but also will not add a dime to the deficit" in future years, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at a news conference.
Still, Obama's speech provoked enough concern among House Democrats that senior presidential aides were called to a meeting in the Capitol to explain precisely what the president had in mind when he set the $900 billion target.
The figure of $871 billion "is a coverage number. I think the White House has made that very clear. It is a number about coverage," Pelosi said recently when asked about the size of the measure.
Linda Douglass, a spokeswoman for the White House, said, "The speaker is working on a plan that meets with the president's price tag of around $900 billion for health insurance reform and will not add a dime to the deficit."
House Democrats took steps to fulfill another of Obama's goals during the day, announcing their legislation would completely close a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage within a decade, five years faster than originally contemplated.
In addition, Pelosi said, "as of Jan. 1, 2010, our legislation will give a 50 percent discount for brand-name drugs to recipients in the donut hole and it will reduce the size of the donut hole by $500."
After months of delay, Democrats in the House and Senate are aiming for votes next month on legislation to fulfill Obama's goal of expanding coverage to millions who lack it, banning insurance industry practices such as denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and slowing the growth in health care spending nationally. The House bill will also lift the insurance industry's exemption from federal anti-trust laws, a provision under consideration in Senate negotiations as well.
With time growing short, Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are struggling independently with the most controversial of all issues involved with health care, proposals for a government-run insurance option to compete with private industry.
In the House, Democrats have tentatively concluded they cannot win passage of the provisions favored by most liberals, one calling for a nationwide government-run plan with payments to doctors and hospitals linked to rates paid by Medicare. It was unclear what fall-back plan was under consideration, but the internal disagreement cast doubt on plans to publicly unveil legislation early next week.
Across the Capitol, Reid, D-Nev., assessed support for a nationwide government-run insurance option that would allow states to opt out of the system. While the plan evidently enjoys a clear majority, it is uncertain whether it can command the 60 votes needed to overcome a threatened Republican filibuster.
Democrats hold 60 votes in the Senate, but one, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has spoken out strongly against a so-called public option. A few other members of the rank and file have been non-committal.
One, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., met with Reid during the day and later issued a statement saying she was encouraged that a compromise might be possible. She also added pointedly that she had told Reid about "the unique challenges Louisiana is facing in terms of Medicaid and the special concerns I have about teaching hospitals," a possible signal that easing home-state concerns could influence her vote on the larger, national question of a government-run insurance option.
Also opposed is Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, the only Republican this year who has voted for a Democratic-drafted health care bill in committee. As an alternative, she favors allowing the government to step in only if there is insufficient competition in the private insurance industry.
Nor was it clear whether Democrats would be able to enlist additional Republicans. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, frequently mentioned by Democrats as a potential convert, said in an interview, "We can't afford the health care system that we have right now. And if we can't afford the one we have right now, how are we going to afford another one that's going to cost more money."
For Reid, the question of a government-run option is one of a many thorny issues to be settled before he can bring health care legislation to the Senate floor. He and senior committee chairmen have been meeting with top White House aides in recent days to produce a bill, and hopes of largely wrapping up the work by the end of the week went unfulfilled.
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Eds: Associated Press writers Chuck Babington, Laurie Kellman and Erica Werner contributed to this story.
Ravens' Ray Lewis fined for leveling "defenseless" Ochocinco
NEW YORK (Reuters) –
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has been fined $25,000 for "violations" on two separate plays against the Cincinnati Bengals, including a helmet-to-helmet hit on receiver Chad Ochocinco.
Lewis leveled "a defenseless" Ochocinco, an NFL spokesman said on Friday, and the ensuing 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty helped keep the Bengals game-winning drive alive.
The veteran linebacker was also cited for kicking one of the Bengals during a pass play.
Both infractions took place during the fourth quarter of the Bengals' 17-14 victory last Sunday.
(Writing by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Photo Ornament
A bauble is a spherical decoration that is commonly used to adorn Christmas trees. It is one of the most popular Christmas ornament designs, and you can find at least one bauble on virtually any Christmas tree. Baubles can have various designs on them, from "baby's first Christmas," to a favorite sports team. Baubles have been in production since 1847.
By the 1920s, traditional handblown methods gave way to mass production and before long there was competition from other regions of Germany and from abroad as well. The demand for the decorative items grew steadily, especially as new colours regularly became fashionable.
Berlin brothel cuts rates for 'green' customers
BERLIN – Part of Berlin's red-light scene is going green.
One bordello, hoping to stave off falling demand in the economic crisis, has begun offering discounts to customers who pedal bicycles to the door.
"It's very difficult to find parking around here, and this option is better for our environment," said Thomas Goetz, who owns the brothel Maison d'Envie, or House of Desire.
Local residents in Prenzlauer Berg — a part of former East Berlin now home to scores of trendy boutiques, restaurants and clubs — had staunchly supported the Green party in recent elections and have welcomed the bordello's offer to emphasize the environment.
The bordellos in the capital of Germany, where prostitution is legal, have seen business suffer with the global financial crisis. Patrons have become more frugal, and there are fewer potential customers coming to the city for business trips and conferences.
But Maison d'Envie has seen its business begin to return since it began offering the euro5 ($7.50) discount in July, Goetz said.
To qualify, customers must show the receptionist either a bicycle padlock key or proof they used public transit to get to the neighborhood. That knocks the price for 45 minutes in a room, for example, to euro65 from euro70.
Those who arrive on foot, however, are out of luck.
"We haven't found a way for people to prove they have walked here," Goetz explained.
Other brothels have tried different incentives to cope with the economic downturn. One Berlin bordello offered a flat-rate for an unlimited time before officials' concerns over prostitutes' rights and cleanliness in the club forced them to rescind the offer.
The 450,000 prostitutes working in Germany, some 10,000 of whom are in Berlin, have the same legal rights and social benefits as people in other professions.