Jeudi 17 mars 2011

Poverty to Dictate Future Power Play

There is no way for a poor country to become a rich country without a

big increase in energy consumption. The governments of China and India

still have to lift well over a billion people out of poverty. To do

that, they are going to have  toptoys2trade  to tap every conceivable source of energy

and they won't be able to achieve that without nuclear power.

China alone has 25 reactors under construction. Today it has 8.6

gigawatts of net installed nuclear capacity, according to the World

Nuclear Association. That is due to rise to 80 GW-equivalent by the end

of this decade and to 400 GWe by 2050. WNA assumptions see 20 GWe of

nuclear power online in India by 2020 and 63 GWe by 2032. Between them,

the two have plans to build 218 new reactors. That is an increase of

almost 50% on the current total worldwide.

On present trends, conventional sources of energy alone can't satisfy

that demand, and neither can renewables under any realistic scenario of

their future technological development. For these countries, the choice

is effectively between nuclear power and poverty. We know which one they will choose.

Hence, it would be amazing if China's suspension of new nuclear build,

announced Wednesday, lasts any length of time. Development, under

pressure from a thousand other  power balance  social and political angles, won't wait.

The government is, in any case, convinced that the current generation

of reactors is far safer than the Fukushima reactors, which were

commissioned 30 and 40 years ago, respectively.

The democratic process in India may retard the nuclear program

somewhat, but the end result will surely be the same. Anyone in the

West who feels like criticizing should try reducing their energy

consumption to Indian levels for a few months.

It is quite a different story in Europe, where the eternal trade-off

between cost competitiveness, security of supply, environmental

sustainability and risk varies strongly from one country to another.

France, which generates more than 80% of its electricity from nuclear,

is too deeply committed to the technology to renounce it. In the U.K.,

public opposition may be better organized, but both the Conservative

and Labour parties are committed to supporting nuclear and it will take

more than a nuclear disaster to rescue the ratings of the Liberal

Democrats, the only one of the major parties to oppose it. Given that

the U.K.'s current account (and fiscal position) is under long-term

pressure from the depletion of its own fossil fuel reserves, it can

hardly afford to refuse any option  cheap power balance  that allows it to generate domestically.

Things get more delicate in mainland Europe. The progress of nuclear is

more likely to be halted in Turkey and Italy, owing to the awareness

that it was an earthquake that caused the Fukushima disaster. Never mind that both have long-term current-account problems and no domestic

resources, Istanbul has averaged one earthquake every 17 years for the

past two millennia. That means any nuclear plant built in Turkey can

expect to experience at least two quakes in its lifetime.

 
Par xmboshi - 2 commentaire(s)le 17 mars 2011

With helicopters and live fire, Bahrain cracks down on protests

MANAMA, Bahrain -- Bahraini police and soldiers, firing live ammunition

and backed by U.S.-built Apache assault helicopters, drove protesters

from a key traffic square here  shop online 2011  Wednesday, then blocked wounded people

from reaching hospitals, in a brazen crackdown aimed at ending a month

of pro-democracy protests.

At least three people were killed and scores injured. Two members of

the police force also were reported killed. The government declared a 4

p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew.

It took troops no more than half an hour to clear Pearl Square of

hundreds of protesters who'd been entrenched there since protests began

in February.

First, the Apache helicopters came - six of them - at around 6:30 a.m.,

circling low over the square where protesters had spent the night in

anticipation of an attack. Troops also took up positions on the

rooftops of the surrounding buildings.

The helicopters fired tear gas at the protesters - men, women and

children - many of whom were sleeping in their tents.

Then they fired live ammunition into the crowd, witnesses said.

Shortly afterward, hundreds of riot police backed by army troops in

tanks and machine-gun-mounted vehicles swarmed the small roundabout in

the center of the capital. Most protesters retreated, though some threw

stones at the heavily armed troops.

Those who tried to resist were pushed to the ground and beaten.

President Barack Obama  power balance bracelet  expressed "deep concern" and urged "maximum

restraint" in phone calls to the king of Bahrain and the king of Saudi

Arabia, which two days ago dispatched troops to Bahrain, White House

press secretary Jay Carney said. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham

Clinton in Cairo criticized the crackdown.

"We think they're on the wrong track," she told the BBC. "We deplore

the use of force against demonstrators, and we deplore the use of force

by demonstrators. We want a peaceful resolution."

Human rights groups called on the U.S. to halt weapons sales to

Bahrain, home port to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

"It appears that the government has decided to deal with protests

through violent repression, a totally unsustainable position and one

which sets an ominous example in a region where other governments are

also facing popular calls for change," Amnesty International said in a

statement.

The Bahraini government denied that live ammunition had been used, and

said police moved only after they were attacked by demonstrators on a

nearby highway overpass with Molotov cocktails. It said retreating

protesters set fire to tents.

"The only fatalities during the operation were the deaths of two police

officers; killed after being repeatedly run over by three vehicles

containing protesters leaving the fringes of the scene," the government

statement said. "No other injuries were recorded."

The crackdown signaled a harsh new turn in the turmoil that has wracked

the Arab world since popular protests drove the president of Tunisia

from power in January. Egyptian   power balance  President Hosni Mubarak fell quickly

afterward, but since his resignation on Feb. 11, what seemed like an

unstoppable wave of popular revolts has receded in the face of

repression.

Libyan rebels appeared Wednesday to have lost the key city of Ajdabiya

to forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, whose troops were reportedly

preparing to assault the rebel capital of Benghazi after a week of

victories over ill-equipped and disorganized rebel forces.

   
Par xmboshi - 0 commentaire(s)le 17 mars 2011
Mercredi 16 mars 2011

Teacher reform bill set for final vote Wednesday

There is one thing that is conclusive on all sides of all educational

research, and that is that teacher  top toys  ffectiveness is the most

influential school-level variable that determines student learning,”

said Rep. Erik Fresen, the Miami Republican who pushed for the

legislation in the House.

 

His Democratic colleagues who oppose the proposal questioned how the

state would pay for the bill’s provisions, particularly the

development of exams and other criteria to evaluate teachers. Fresen

said most of the funding would come largely from Race to the Top, the

$700 million competitive grant the state won from the federal

government last year.

 

Democrats also said they fear teachers on annual contracts would not

have job security even if they  power balance  receive favorable evaluations. Rep. Rick

Kriseman of St. Petersburg suggested an effective teacher whose

contract may not be renewed could be “blacklisted” and find it

difficult to land another teaching position.

 

What’s the actual impact on that teacher for purposes of trying to

get a job at another school, at another district?” he asked.

 

On Tuesday, House leaders set aside nine hours to bring up questions

and amendments on the bill, with 12 more hours of debate scheduled for

Wednesday. They based the length of time on the marathon sessions held

to debate last year’s contentious Senate Bill 6, a similar teacher

overhaul that led to widespread protests and was ultimately vetoed by

then-Gov. Charlie Crist. (Critics have christened the new proposal

Son of Six.”)

 

But this time around, House members needed less than three hours to

review amendments and questions, a reflection of the quieter tone

surrounding debate on the bill this year.

 

To be sure, critics have still loudly expressed their discontent with

the overhaul. The Florida Education  cheap power balance  Association, the statewide teachers

union, asked its members to call and e-mail their lawmakers in protest,

and teachers took to the streets across Florida last week.

 

Yet those demonstrations were muted compared to last year’s high-

decibel outrage, in part because teachers and school districts gave

some input on the proposed reforms in hearings earlier this year and as

part of a work group Crist convened last year before leaving office.

 

Also contributing to the shift in tone: the GOP’s bolstered power in

Tallahassee. Scott’s election last November, along with a crop of new

Republican lawmakers who gave their party veto-proof legislative

majorities, made it all  power balance mixed colors  but certain that the GOP’s legislative

priorities would meet swift approval.

 

The House gave an initial go-ahead Tuesday to the Senate version of the

teacher overhaul bill — without amending it, a crucial move for

lawmakers to move the proposal directly to the governor’s desk.

 

House Republicans rejected four amendments proposed by Democratic

legislators that would have phased in the portion of a teacher’s

evaluation based on student test scores and given teachers more job

security by tweaking the annual-contract provision in the bill

   

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/15/2116933/teacher-

reform-bill-set-for-final.html#ixzz1GieGeXgw

Par xmboshi - 1 commentaire(s)le 16 mars 2011

Quake-prone California questions nuclear safety

The first test of the Golden State's support for nuclear power is coming soon, as the nuclear plants perched on the scenic but   shop online 2011   fault-laden California coastline since the early 1980s begin the process for 20-year license renewals.California banned construction of new nuclear power plants in the 1970s, when the then-governor Jerry Brown joined "no-nukes" activists in opposing construction of Diablo Canyon nuclear station on the Central Coast. Seismic safety worries played a prominent part in the campaign.But the plant went ahead and nuclear power today generates about 15 percent of California electricity, slightly more than the portion generated by renewable sources in a state known for its clean-energy drive to combat global warming.After the 9.0 quake and tsunami compromised reactors in Japan, lawmakers and activists have been quick to call for more seismic safety measures and monitoring for California's plants, considered the most vulnerable in the United States to major quakes. Brown, who is governor again, has so far been silent.That pressure could make matters difficult, particularly for the owners of Diablo Canyon, Pacific Gas & Electric, who have to renew their licenses that expire in 2024 and 2025.The licenses for California's other nuclear power plant, Edison International-owned San Onofre in between Los Angeles and San Diego, expire in 2022.Renewing licenses for nuclear power plants begins years in advance of their expiration so that plans can be made to replace them if the  power balance pulseira  application is denied. Diablo Canyon has already filed its renewal application, but San Onofre has not. Of the 104 operating U.S. reactors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed 62 licenses and denied none.That may not happen this time, however."The NRC has typically rubber-stamped these license renewal applications, but it's hard to see them turning a blind eye now," said Matt Freedman, an attorney with consumer group The Utility Reform Network in San Francisco. "The NRC will take a harder look and perhaps require additional measures, some of which will be expensive, to get those licenses."The Obama administration has said it will press ahead with nuclear energy as an integral part of the U.S. "clean energy" mix. The Energy Department's budget includes $36 billion for loan guarantees to help build new nuclear reactors. The more than 100 reactors nationwide provide about 20 percent of U.S. energy.'SEISMIC UNCERTAINTY'Both PG&E and Southern California Edison say their nuclear power plants are built to withstand earthquakes far greater than the nearby faults are capable of producing.A fault 5 miles away from San Onofre is capable of producing a quake up to a 7.0 magnitude, Edison spokesman Steve Conroy said, adding that the plant could withstand ground motions much greater than those  power balance  produced by the 9.0-magnitude quake in Japan.Diablo Canyon, meanwhile, could operate safely during up to a 7.5-magnitude earthquake, according to PG&E spokesman Kory Raftery. The four faults near the plant could potentially produce an earthquake of up to 6 to 6.5 magnitude, he said. 
Par xmboshi - 0 commentaire(s)le 16 mars 2011
Mardi 15 mars 2011

Exposure of the Queen Mother had possession of albums such as

The Queen Mother's private collection of music today Exposure: music

from the Caribbean to Rodgers and  toptoys2trade  Hammerstein musical, falsetto singing

and from Canada to the Paul Simon's songs can be described as Welcome

to Wikipedia.

 

It is understood that the Queen Mother died in 2002 at the age of 101

years. She had made a castle in the Scottish Highlands Mee (the Castle

of Mey) possession of nearly a hundred albums. The music covered a wide

range, some can be said to taste unique. In addition to classical music

and folk music, Winston - Winston Churchill's wartime speeches are also

included. It also includes lute music recordings and starred Tony

Hancock's comedy. Although the queen mother of the modern music

compared objectionable, but in 1986 the Paul Simon album "gift of the

land" is still her favorite album.

 

The most amazing collection should be a metal orchestra played

classical music, Trinidad and  power balance  improvisation of a band concert, the

Canadian country music played Anonymous, as well as Montana Slim famous

treble vibrato falsetto.

 

"I think she does not like pop music, but she loved listening to the

radio 2 sets of Tai Liwo root (Terry Wogan) hosted the program. Under

the front of the building every morning she would listen." The Queen

Mother's official biographer, Wei Lianxiao Cross (William Shawcross) to

her love of music attributed to his upbringing. He said: "Glamis

Castle, which is when she grew up in a place where World War II, the

total at the piano and singing.  power balance bracelet  At that time, the injured soldiers to

the castle and recuperate, she sang a good time with them. She grew up

like music. "

 

Shawcross said the Queen Mother after his visit to Jamaica, West Indies

beginning to enjoy the music. The Queen Mother has always been frugal

in the castle of the TV, VCR are all rented. And she never considered

the player into CD, or the very popular Apple music player iPod.

 
Par xmboshi - 0 commentaire(s)le 15 mars 2011

Arab League proposal to establish no-fly zone over in Libya

Arab League (AL) on March 12 in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Arab League foreign ministers held an emergency meeting headquarters, to  shop online 2011  discuss the situation in Libya, the Arab League and the next step to be taken countermeasures. Although the Libyan government, a 7 high-level delegation has arrived in Cairo, but eventually failed to be allowed to attend the meeting. According to media reports the Middle East, Egypt had also rejected the Libyan delegation asked Egypt to provide arms and ammunition requests.

 

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said the meeting made two important decisions: First, the Arab League will be officially presented to the UN Security Council, it is recommended to establish no-fly zone over in Libya, including military and civilian aircraft, to prevent mass casualties continue to occur ; Second, the Arab League will be located in the eastern city of Benghazi in Libya, "National Committee" to contact. Arab League stressed that all foreign forces against the armed intervention of Libya.

 

"Times" web site 12, commented that the Arab League, "asked the Arab countries of Western troops in the territory of the extremely rare invitation" to increase the pressure on Obama, but also requirements for the United States and Europe  power balance  through the relevant United Nations Security Council resolution "cleared the way." Article, Obama so far on the military intervention "reluctance" because of its prospects may mean that a "lasting and complex" war.

 

U.S. National Security Adviser Duo Nilun 11, said the U.S. government officials are the opposition through various channels in direct contact with the Libyan Secretary of State Bill Clinton will be in the coming week and met with representatives of the Libyan opposition. Duo Nilun also revealed plans for the establishment of no-fly zone within NATO will be submitted within the next week.

 

U.S. media that the world except Russia, the only Western countries to establish no-fly zone in the Libyan military capabilities. Obama 11, said, "The bottom line is I currently do not exclude any option", but the decision to send troops to be "to balance the costs and benefits", and should the international community's support.

 

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and commander of U.S. forces stationed in Europe, published an article 11, Wesley Clark, said the situation in Libya, the U.S. military intervention has not yet reached the standard.  power balance wholesale  Clark believes that once the U.S. military intervention, the conflict will be a war between the United States and Qaddafi, and U.S. troops have been conducting in Iraq and Afghanistan war two over-expenditure.

 Although France and Britain in the 11 EU emergency summit expressed support for the no-fly zones set up over in Libya and to support military intervention against Libya. But outside the EU presidency hairy Ertuo Ni Hungary said in a statement on the 12th, and only under strict
Par xmboshi - 1 commentaire(s)le 15 mars 2011
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