Greg's View of Todays News - 02/05/2009

• Pentagon: Blackwater Guards Immune Under Law
  

  The U.S. Defense Department concluded in 2007 that Blackwater Worldwide contractors can’t be prosecuted under federal law for a shooting incident in Iraq that left 17 civilians dead.

  • 
    • The use of Blackwater Securities in Iraq and Afghanistan is one of the dirtiest aspects of the war on terror.
      They are dead-set mercenaries being employed to do the dirty work outside the Geneva Convention and the accepted ethical behavior of soldiers at war. They are a reflection of the distorted minds of Cheney/Rumsfeld/et al. The new administration should take them to task if it ever wants to earn civilian respect again. - post by gnaylor

• Now, an "aphrodisiac" chocolate to boost men's libido

  Melbourne, Feb 4 : A Kiwi businesswoman is trying to spice up the romance of Valentine's Day by offering chocolates fortified with Tongkat Ali - a potent herb from South-East Asia which is claimed to stimulate testosterone production in men.

  • 
    • This would be a POISON to those of us with Prostate Cancer. You see, the cancer feeds on testosterone, and we are treated with female hormones to try and prevent the testosterone production.
      
      In fact, I think the whole idea is dangerous. If a man needs an aphrodisiac, there is a good chance there is something already wrong in the reproductive system. - post by gnaylor

• Credit Card Finder Releases Australian Credit Card Debt Repayment Calculator

  Online credit card company Credit Card Finder launches its online credit card debt repayment calculator. The free calculator is designed to help users estimate and manage a budgeted credit card and debt consolidation strategy.

  • Comment: Here is a great online tool that compares credit cards and calculates payment plans to get of debt faster. - post by gnaylor

• Executive salaries don't need to be capped: AIM

  The Australian Institute of Management (AIM) has questioned the need for a cap on executive salaries in Australia.
  
  The Greens are urging the Government to follow the lead of the Obama administration, which is moving to limit the salaries paid to executives of companies that have been bailed out.

  • AIM's chief executive Susan Heron says well-structured incentives are important, but salaries do not need to be capped.
    • Well, we may have a more regulated financial system in Australia, but - the mood of the public is not with executives pulling exhorbitant salaries - and I think the government might see that - post by gnaylor

• US Senate vote may trigger world trade war: Crean
  

  THE Federal Government has warned of a damaging world trade war after the US Senate voted against an amendment to strip the Buy American clause from the US stimulus package.
  “This is the wrong course of action, they have got to reverse their decision,” Trade Minister Simon Crean said.
  
  “It will result in retaliatory action, it will result in a trade war,”

  • The Buy American clause bans spending on stimulus package projects unless all of the iron, steel and manufactured goods used are made in the United States.
    • There is nothing wrong in this. The US government is insuring that American Jobs are not diminished its infrastucture rebuilding stimulus package.
      Here in Australia, Kevin Tudd is stressing the importance of local jobs and local contractors in our Rebuilding Australia package.
      If our contractors start buying cheap imported building materials, we would expect the government to act to stop such a practice.
      Is there a real difference. - post by gnaylor

• Cheney warns of new attacks

  Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration’s policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.

  • Now, he would say that, wouldn't he?
    And John Howard would probably agree with him.
    The rest of us, fortunately, have moved on tfrom the politics of fear to the politics of hope. - post by gnaylor
  • 
    
  • 
  • 
    
  • Protecting the country’s security is “a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business,” he said. “These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.”
    • ... and we sure as hell cannot continue to indoctrinate our children with a return to the Bush/Cheney brutality - breeding a neo-conservative (neo-nazi) ruthlessness as our future leaders. - post by gnaylor
  • Cheney called Guantanamo a “first-class program,” and “a necessary facility” that is operated legally and with better food and treatment than the jails in inmates' native countries.
    • Utter crap! That facility is located in another country because such measures fall outside the American Justice system and It operates outside the Geneva Conventions for prisoners of war. - post by gnaylor

• Pulling Cargo Ships With Parasails To Save Energy

  DÜSSELDORF, Germany, Feb 4 (Tierramérica) - They say that faith can move mountains. Now, faith in the wind has led to a new way to move ships. The technique, developed in Germany, is powerful enough to move today's deep-draught cargo vessels and can reduce fuel consumption by 50 percent.

  • 
  • But now, instead of a tall mast with a mainsail attached to it, the large parasail - like a giant parachute - can move in all directions. Its function does not replace, but rather complements the power produced by the engines.
  • There would be great advantages to its widespread use, given that 90 percent of the goods traded in the world is transported by boat along at least one portion of its path from producer to consumer.
  • Currently, there are more than 100,000 ships on the world's seas. The global fleet is predicted to increase 75 percent by 2020. Average fuel consumption of a 100,000-horsepower ship is 12 to 15 tonnes per hour.
    • This great source of sustainable alternate energy
      100,000 ships @ 12 tonnes per hour = 28.8 million tonnes per day.
      A savings of 30% represents 8.64 million tonnes a day - that's gotta be worthwhile. - post by gnaylor

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.