We all have heard of Netflix. It is a DVD by mail rental company that for a flat fee will deliver movies directly to your home. In order to economically be able to do this it had to set up an arrangement with the United States Postal Service that basically charges them a flat fee to deliver DVD's to its customers through the mail. The problem is that the flat fee they are charged does not cover the costs the United States Postal Service incurs to deliver those dvd's and so the taxpayers have been covering the difference.
The problem is the size of the envelopes. The size of a DVD is what it is and it has to be placed in a package or envelope that can accommodate it. These envelopes are too unusual in size to be sorted by machines at the U.S.P.S. and so an additional cost is incurred when they have to be sorted by hand by postal service workers. In a report issued by Tammy L. Whitcomb, who is the Deputy assistant Inspector General for revenue and systems, Auditors at the U.S.P.S. state that "Because these mail pieces are not machinable, the Postal Service pays significant additional labor costs to manually process them." Currently they estimate that it is costing in the neighborhood of 20 million dollars a year and they project that by the year 2009 it will top 30 million to sort and deliver these DVD's. Your taxpayer dollars hard at work again.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
President Bush has set new record for most time off
If you have ever been curious about why there are so many images of President Bush either speaking from or walking around or falling off his bike on his now famous ranch in Crawford Texas its very simple really, your Commander in Chief likes to take lots of time off.
The lack of interest that he has in the day to day responsibilites of the office he now holds has been the subject of hushed conversation in Washington since early in his administration. In addition to the general disinterest in details and lackadaisical approach that he brings to the work he also is known for his two hour midday exercise breaks and his disinclination for working nights and weekends. He never fails every summer to take the entire month of August off. He was in fact on his first August off period of his presidency when he recieved that infamous P.D.B. (Presidential daily Brief) In August of 2001 that warned about Al Queda and its intent on striking inside the United states.
Before Bush it was Republican icon Ronald Reagan Who held the record for most days off duty by a president. Reagan of course had his famous ranch in Santa Barbara, California to which he retreated while President for a total of 335 days during his two terms. Bush surpassed the 335 figure years ago when he spent his 336th day as president on his ranch with 3 and 1/2 years left to go in his second term. To date he is well over 420 days and he still has over a year left before he leaves office. This figure does not included all vacation days that he has spent in places other than his ranch in texas. Places like Camp David and or his father's seaside compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. It is summed up best by critics of Bush who claim there is a bright side to this. The more time he spends on vacation the less damage he can do to the country.
The lack of interest that he has in the day to day responsibilites of the office he now holds has been the subject of hushed conversation in Washington since early in his administration. In addition to the general disinterest in details and lackadaisical approach that he brings to the work he also is known for his two hour midday exercise breaks and his disinclination for working nights and weekends. He never fails every summer to take the entire month of August off. He was in fact on his first August off period of his presidency when he recieved that infamous P.D.B. (Presidential daily Brief) In August of 2001 that warned about Al Queda and its intent on striking inside the United states.
Before Bush it was Republican icon Ronald Reagan Who held the record for most days off duty by a president. Reagan of course had his famous ranch in Santa Barbara, California to which he retreated while President for a total of 335 days during his two terms. Bush surpassed the 335 figure years ago when he spent his 336th day as president on his ranch with 3 and 1/2 years left to go in his second term. To date he is well over 420 days and he still has over a year left before he leaves office. This figure does not included all vacation days that he has spent in places other than his ranch in texas. Places like Camp David and or his father's seaside compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. It is summed up best by critics of Bush who claim there is a bright side to this. The more time he spends on vacation the less damage he can do to the country.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Venezuelan President Chavez is "Hugo" on nepotism
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been busy lately. He has already served 8 years in his office and is attempting to extend his term even further with a constitutional referendum. it is not the only thing that has kept him busy while in office. Among other things he has had to spend a lot of time handing out jobs in the government to his many family members. In one instance even creating a government position that never existed before.
First off his father, Hugo De los Reyes Chavez. Currently Governor of the state of Barinas which is a state in Venezuela. Then you have his brother Anibal. Currently Mayor of Sabaneta, which is a rural villiage near Barinas. His brother Narciso ran a failed campaign to become mayor of Bolivar. He was then appointed to important posts at the Venezuelan embassies in both Canada and Cuba. Brother Adelis is a senior banker at Banco Sofitasa. This bank surprisingly enough does a large amount of government business with the state. Brother Argenis is the secretary of State in Barinas. This was the position that was created that had never existed before. And lastly his brother Adan. In addition to being the education minister of Venezuela he is also ambassador to Cuba and the private Secretary of the President himself. His Mother Alena, who runs a state Childrens foundation, can often be seen wearing her designer clothes and being escorted about in her motorcades consisting of new Black S.U.V.'s. The locals have taken to sarcasm and often refer to the Chavez clan as "The Royal family of Barinas".
First off his father, Hugo De los Reyes Chavez. Currently Governor of the state of Barinas which is a state in Venezuela. Then you have his brother Anibal. Currently Mayor of Sabaneta, which is a rural villiage near Barinas. His brother Narciso ran a failed campaign to become mayor of Bolivar. He was then appointed to important posts at the Venezuelan embassies in both Canada and Cuba. Brother Adelis is a senior banker at Banco Sofitasa. This bank surprisingly enough does a large amount of government business with the state. Brother Argenis is the secretary of State in Barinas. This was the position that was created that had never existed before. And lastly his brother Adan. In addition to being the education minister of Venezuela he is also ambassador to Cuba and the private Secretary of the President himself. His Mother Alena, who runs a state Childrens foundation, can often be seen wearing her designer clothes and being escorted about in her motorcades consisting of new Black S.U.V.'s. The locals have taken to sarcasm and often refer to the Chavez clan as "The Royal family of Barinas".
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Obesity: The dark side of western Affluence is rising in China
When a country develops economically its wealth and prosperity rises to levels it had never known before. It's standard of living increases and so to usually does it's collective waistline. The nation of China is in the middle of experiencing this downside to success right now and it only seems to be getting worse.
With a population of almost 1.5 billion people it is currently estimated that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 million people who are now classified as either overweight or obese. That is the same size as the entire population of the United States. This figure includes the more than 10 million children who fit this categorization. This represents an eight fold increase since 1992.
The culprits are all the usual suspects. The more the economy expands in China the more people work. The more they work the less time they have to eat right and the more likely they are to just duck into a local fast food place and quickly and cheaply load up on unhealthy choices to eat that are fast and convienient. The rapid modernization that is occuring there is also leading to fewer opportunities for the average Chinese to get any kind of exercise. As their wealth increases they choose to live in more modern apartment buildings with elevators and parking garages for their new cars and larger rooms in their apartments into which they can fit new couches that can be located nicely in front of the new wide screen tv's that are flying off the shelves of the electronic stores in all their major modern cities.
The government is aware of the growing problem and in an attempt to stem the tide it is limiting the number of fast food places in the country. Franchises like McDonalds and K.F.C. currently have about 1000 and 700 locations in China respectively. The government is attempting to limit the number of new places that it allows to open but it does not want to hurt economic expansion too much so it is finding itself in a position of having to make a choice between the health of its citizens and the well being of its economy.
Another factor adding to the problem is the policy in China, due to the fact that the country is overpopulated, of only allowing a couple to have one child. That one child tends to get spoiled by parents who are old enough to remember the bad old days when food was not as plentiful and so they tend to provide more for their children then they had when they were young. Many chinese feel that it is a good sign of prosperity to be overweight. There are movements in China both cultural and governmental that are attempting to dispell this growing belief and replace it with the social stigma that exists in the west about being overweight in an attempt to turn the tide.
With a population of almost 1.5 billion people it is currently estimated that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 million people who are now classified as either overweight or obese. That is the same size as the entire population of the United States. This figure includes the more than 10 million children who fit this categorization. This represents an eight fold increase since 1992.
The culprits are all the usual suspects. The more the economy expands in China the more people work. The more they work the less time they have to eat right and the more likely they are to just duck into a local fast food place and quickly and cheaply load up on unhealthy choices to eat that are fast and convienient. The rapid modernization that is occuring there is also leading to fewer opportunities for the average Chinese to get any kind of exercise. As their wealth increases they choose to live in more modern apartment buildings with elevators and parking garages for their new cars and larger rooms in their apartments into which they can fit new couches that can be located nicely in front of the new wide screen tv's that are flying off the shelves of the electronic stores in all their major modern cities.
The government is aware of the growing problem and in an attempt to stem the tide it is limiting the number of fast food places in the country. Franchises like McDonalds and K.F.C. currently have about 1000 and 700 locations in China respectively. The government is attempting to limit the number of new places that it allows to open but it does not want to hurt economic expansion too much so it is finding itself in a position of having to make a choice between the health of its citizens and the well being of its economy.
Another factor adding to the problem is the policy in China, due to the fact that the country is overpopulated, of only allowing a couple to have one child. That one child tends to get spoiled by parents who are old enough to remember the bad old days when food was not as plentiful and so they tend to provide more for their children then they had when they were young. Many chinese feel that it is a good sign of prosperity to be overweight. There are movements in China both cultural and governmental that are attempting to dispell this growing belief and replace it with the social stigma that exists in the west about being overweight in an attempt to turn the tide.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Stock in Monsanto has soared in last five months
Here is another company that is in the food business sort of. Monsanto (MON) is into bioengineering crops. They help farmers grow more and bigger crops by applying biotechnology techniques. The results are larger harvests that resist bugs. The company also produces the worlds #1 herbicide that goes by the brand name Roundup. Monsanto has aquired two new companies in the last few years, Delta and Pineland. A little bit of proof that it is moving more towards becoming a bigger boitech company and less focused on agrochemicals.
By the end of 2002 the stock was at $10 a share. By the beginning of 05 it was at around $30. By early 06 it was at $50. In the last five months of 07 it has gone from about $60 to about $100 a share. It seems to be growing as fast as its bioengineered crops.
By the end of 2002 the stock was at $10 a share. By the beginning of 05 it was at around $30. By early 06 it was at $50. In the last five months of 07 it has gone from about $60 to about $100 a share. It seems to be growing as fast as its bioengineered crops.
Effects of global warming coming on sooner than expected
It may in fact be the most pressing issue that is facing mankind in the near future. How to deal with the issue of global warming and the threat that it may well wipe out life on this planet if it is not soon addressed. Many scientists are warning that the effects of global warming are coming on at a rate that is faster than initially predicted.
The way global warming occurs is subtle at first. The Earth gets its heat from the sun. The sun is the only heat source in our galaxy. It is believed that the suface temperature of the sun is about 11,000 degrees. When those rays hit the Earth they cause the temperature on the planet to increase. This heat in the past would normally bounce off of the surface of the earth and then escape back out into space. This is how it worked for the first few millions of years that the earth has existed. But lately somethings have changed. In the last 200 years or so there has been an industrial revolution on the earth. Mankind has built many machines that never existed before like cars and planes and factories that make all kinds of things that consumers in a modern economy demand. These factories and machines all spew out pollutants into the atmosphere when they are being used. This pollution or smog makes the atmosphere thicker and it prevents the suns heat from escaping out into space and causes the temperture on the planet to rise over time. If the planets temperature rises enough it may melt the polar ice caps in the north and south poles. If those ice caps melt the water levels in the oceans will rise greatly and the flooding that would result would be biblical in terms of the level of devastation.
In 2006 satelite images of the north pole were taken and they were compared to images of the pole taken in 1979. The images indicate that the ice caps at the north pole have shrunk by about 25% in that time. If this rate of loss in maintained or increased it is predicted that the earth may begin to suffer serious climate changes as early as 2030.
Right now The United States is the world's lagest pollutor of the atmosphere. It is estimated that in about three years China, With its economy growing at a rate of over 10% a year, will overtake the U.S. and become the worlds newest and greatest pollution emitter in the world. With a population that is almost 5 times larger than that of the U.S. it is likely that China will not only surpass America's pollution emissions but exponentially increase the levels of corbons in the earths atmosphere and do so in record time.
The way global warming occurs is subtle at first. The Earth gets its heat from the sun. The sun is the only heat source in our galaxy. It is believed that the suface temperature of the sun is about 11,000 degrees. When those rays hit the Earth they cause the temperature on the planet to increase. This heat in the past would normally bounce off of the surface of the earth and then escape back out into space. This is how it worked for the first few millions of years that the earth has existed. But lately somethings have changed. In the last 200 years or so there has been an industrial revolution on the earth. Mankind has built many machines that never existed before like cars and planes and factories that make all kinds of things that consumers in a modern economy demand. These factories and machines all spew out pollutants into the atmosphere when they are being used. This pollution or smog makes the atmosphere thicker and it prevents the suns heat from escaping out into space and causes the temperture on the planet to rise over time. If the planets temperature rises enough it may melt the polar ice caps in the north and south poles. If those ice caps melt the water levels in the oceans will rise greatly and the flooding that would result would be biblical in terms of the level of devastation.
In 2006 satelite images of the north pole were taken and they were compared to images of the pole taken in 1979. The images indicate that the ice caps at the north pole have shrunk by about 25% in that time. If this rate of loss in maintained or increased it is predicted that the earth may begin to suffer serious climate changes as early as 2030.
Right now The United States is the world's lagest pollutor of the atmosphere. It is estimated that in about three years China, With its economy growing at a rate of over 10% a year, will overtake the U.S. and become the worlds newest and greatest pollution emitter in the world. With a population that is almost 5 times larger than that of the U.S. it is likely that China will not only surpass America's pollution emissions but exponentially increase the levels of corbons in the earths atmosphere and do so in record time.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sun Life can brighten an investors portfolio over time.
Do you know the nice safe feeling you get when you know you have insurance and you know your covered? Sun Life Inc. (SLF) is a company that provides that feeling for millions worldwide. It is a company that offers life insurance and wealth management services in North America, Europe and Asia. In the U.S. it is known as Sun Life Financial Corp. The U.S. market accounts for about half of its sales.
In January of 2003 the stock was going for about $20 a share. One year later $25. One year after that $35. In the spring of 06 $45. In november of 07 it reached almost $60 a share. Lately it had lost a bit and it is down to about $52. From $20 a share less than 5 years ago to over $50 now is still good growth. During this period it has not suffered any serious dips either with the exception of this last month really. Sooner or later all of the stocks in the market should start rising again and Sun Life will likely go up with them.
In January of 2003 the stock was going for about $20 a share. One year later $25. One year after that $35. In the spring of 06 $45. In november of 07 it reached almost $60 a share. Lately it had lost a bit and it is down to about $52. From $20 a share less than 5 years ago to over $50 now is still good growth. During this period it has not suffered any serious dips either with the exception of this last month really. Sooner or later all of the stocks in the market should start rising again and Sun Life will likely go up with them.
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