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About Me
- Laura LePage Tarlo
- Assistant Principal by day, design blogger by night - thanks for stopping by!
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Jazzing-up Your Holiday Gift Wrap This past week I have put several gift wrap ideas on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/theuniquene...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/06/turkey.assassination.plot/index.html
ReplyDeleteThis article is about a man appeared to have press credential, planned to stab Obama.Obama was in France on day of man's arrest, and arrived in Turkey on Sunday. The officials also noted that while Obama gets more threats than usual as the first African-American U.S. president.
This article is very scary because Obama has just became president and I think if anything happened there would be a huge crisis and the world would become chaotic. The fact that Obama became president shows how far are country has come, but the fact that this plot was found shows that the world as a whole still has a lot of work to do as far a racism is concerned.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/06/news/economy/currency_swaps.reut/index.htm?postversion=2009040610
ReplyDeleteFive central banks from Europe, Japan, and the U.S. have decided to swap currencies. They have agreed on currency swap lines that enable the Federal Reserve to provide euro, yen, sterling, and Swiss francs to U.S. financial institutions. Under the agreement, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan would offer their domestic currencies to the Fed for lending to U.S. financial institutions, should the need arise.
I think this is a good thing for the United States. It will help us stay out of severe debt with other countries, and will also hopefully help us stay away from a depression. It will at least help the depression last shorter if the economy does get that bad.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/28/earth.hour/index.html?iref=newssearch
ReplyDeleteLights Go Out Across the Planet for Earth Hour
At 8:30 pm on Saturday, March 28, lights went out across the world for one hour for what was called "Earth Hour." It spanned 83 countries and 24 time zones. In New York, the Empire State Building went out, and in London, the Big Ben clock tower went out as well. Also, the lights of Sydney, Australia's opera house went out. In China, the birds nest and the water cube also went out at 8:30 local time. The birthplace of this event was actually in Sydney, Australia three years ago. The goal of "Earth Hour" is to cause the world to want to prevent such drastic climate change. In some respects, "Earth Hour" was a type of global vote, signifying the world's stand on taking control of climate change.
In my opinion, I believe that having an event like "Earth Hour" is very important. It unites the world under a common cause and a common goal of the people. Climate change is a big issue currently, so if this is the first way to help prevent it, then this event is definitely worth participating in. It is unbelievable to think that 83 countries all participated in the same event at the same time with the same intention.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/business/global/09yen.html?_r=1&ref=global
ReplyDeleteJapan's government has just passed the largest economic stimulus plan which is set at 154.4 billion dollars. The country is feeling the effects of its largest recession since World War II. Prime Minister Aso believes that this will help the economy and hopefully get Japan out of its recession. Mr. Aso's popularity has been dropping since the country began to have economic problems.
This is interesting because as the USA has spent many dollars for economic recovery, other countries seem to be following suit. This is the first large recession in many years and many different countries are feeling its effects. By pumping the money into the economy, hopefully the country can come out of the recession on top yet with the way the market is right now, many consumers are wary to spend their savings.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30125386/
ReplyDeleteThis article is about how the U.S. NAVY captured and stopped a pirate vessel with an American hostage on board. The pirates tooke control of a cargo ship off the coast of Somali. The ship was taken over by pirates and then retaken eventually by the ship's crew and the U.S. NAVY. Piracy off the coast of Somali is becoming an increasingly big problem and last year it is estimated that over 250 million dollars was stolen and over 20 ships stolen.
This is a big problem because it is expensive for companies to ship their products all over the world and with thier merchandise being stolen it drives the prices up and costs consumers more.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0954039320090409
ReplyDeleteThis March, the stores are suffering because people are only buying necessities. The Easter holiday being later hasn't helped them either. Costco was hurt by the decline of selling in their nonfood products and gasoline. However they profited byu 4% with the Easter sale. Zumiez and Wet Seal have lost large amounts of money and blame it on people not buying spring clothing and shoes.
Many companies are suffering because of the economic crisis. I think that this is happening because people are only hearing of the negative things with the stock market. The government and large corporations need to inspire consumer confidence if they want to get people spending again.
Starting right now Obama has started looking at the immigration policies in the U.S and wants to change them. He wants to create a policy that would legalize 12 million immigrants in the next few years. However, he said that this policy wont take precedence over his health care and energy plans. Furthermore Republicans are up in arms on this topic because why give millions of jobs to illegal workers and foreigners when so many American are currently out of work?. Nevertheless there are immigrants who are over here right now waiting for loved one to be able to come back because they were deported back to Mexico.
ReplyDeleteIt is in my firm belief that if you are here illegally you should have to go back to your own country. If it was an American citizen who did something illegally they would be punished almost immediately, but your saying because these people arent American that we cant punish them for doing something illegal. They want to be American citizens so bad, so I think that we should treat them like citizens of the country that they want to be a part of. If they still want to be a part of our country after that then i say more power to them. But until they are punished for their wrong doings as Americans then, they should just be sent back home.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=787235&category=NATIONAL
ReplyDeleteThis article is about a standoff between a small town in England and mighty Google. Since last year, Google has been roaming the streets of the country taking pictures for its "Google Street View," and putting them online. The car, which contains a pole-mounted revolving camera protruding from the top, was seen as invasive in the town of Broughton, in Southern England. The residents locked arms to form a human chain blocking the road, and preventing the car from advancing.
While this story is a bit comedic, there is some serious things to consider. Google takes pictures of the homes of resdients without thier consent, which they claim is legal, but dubious at best. Also, although they allow requests for images to be taken down, there are also instances of people being photographed doing less than noteworthy things. In my opinion, people should be able to choose whether they want thier home to be entered into the Google Earth database.
For years, credit card debt has been a huge problem in the United States. Well, President Obama might change that. Many bills have gone through Congress, but according to Obama’s agenda, this one could change the fate of the credit card debt. The bill is trying to protect the consumer and give them more rights and awareness programs. This way, the sellers cannot scam the consumer like the companies try to do. The credit card companies will no longer be able to raise the price on a consumer automatically, based on their credit score. It could also possibly stop any young adults (under the age of 21) from acquiring a credit card. These precautions are meant to bring the economy out of the current crisis that we are in.
ReplyDeleteI think that helping out the citizens of America is a good idea, but I think the people should be responsible enough to take care of their own credit cards. Debt should not be a problem if you use your card correctly and stay on top of your credit score and your spending limits. Granted, the credit card companies to sometimes take advantage of the consumer, but the consumer should know that this happens when you get a credit card. The people of America haven’t been responsible with their money in a long time, and that is how our country has dug ourselves into this crisis.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/07/news/economy/credit_card_protections/index.htm?postversion=2009040713
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123924391065103933.html
ReplyDeleteThe Australian unemployment level has reached an all time high for the last 5 years. It is up to 5.7% in March from 5.2% in February. It has increased more now because there are so many more people out there looking for jobs. Its the biggest jump in unemployment in 8 years. There is also less job advertisement that is going on.
I think this would be an article that would summarize how most countries economies are at this point in time. There are so many people out there looking for jobs, but there are more and more people losing jobs every day. How our economy is right now is very similar to how it has been in previous years during previous depressions. I just hope that the countries can work together and get us all out of debt because otherwise, our life styles will be much different than they ever were before.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=794192&TextPage=1
ReplyDeleteHealth Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said late Sunday that the number of suspected swine flu cases in Mexico had climbed to 1,614, including 103 deaths. This new strain of influenza is not limited to Mexico, however. Cases have been reported in the United States as well. President Obama declared a medical emergency on Monday.
This is a scary thing to hear, because influenza seems to be something that is usually under control. However, it has crippled Mexico. Last weekend residents stayed in thier home, restaurants and bars were empty. People didn't show up to work, and hospitals were past overcrowded. The fact that our President declared a medical emergency shows just how global our dependency is.
GM said Monday it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the U.S. government to take company stock in exchange for half GM’s government debt as part of a major restructuring effort needed to get more government aid.GM said in a press release that it also will ask the government to take 50 percent of its common stock in exchange for canceling half the government loans to the company as of June 1.
ReplyDeleteI think that this shows just how incompetant the executives at GM are. I don't believe that they should try to trade debt for stocks becasue we don't know if they are going to make it through the recession. Laying off 21,000 people is also a big problem becasue thats a lot of workers that service the auto industry and the business' that those people frequent will also take a hit.
http://www.infoplease.com/world/events/2009/business-science_mar.html
ReplyDeleteGM is cutting 23,000 jobs by 2011, and most are coming from the ending of the Pontiac Brand. It also wants to cut its dealer network by 40%. The company feels this is its only way to avoid bankrupcy after losing billions of dollars over the last few years and losing Rick Wagoner, chief executive of U.S. auto giant General Motors by resignation.
I find this to be really scary because it shows that they don't have much hope for the future. They are already planning ahead to 2011 to be bad enough that they still will have to cut jobs. It also makes you think how the smaller car businesses are going to survive, if something as big and old as G.M. can't make it through. Also why should the government keep trying to bail them out if they haven't been able to improve and obviously don't plan on it anytime soon.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/business/29auto.html?_r=1&ref=global
ReplyDeleteThis article is showing just how much trouble the American car industry is really in. The Obama administration is trying to save Chrysler from bankruptcy yet they need 100% cooperation from banks in order to do so. Chrysler must also cut costs or they might be bought by Italian automaker Fiat. An agreement also must be struck between the autoworkers union and Chrysler in order to cut some costs.
This article is very interesting because it shows that even something as essential as a car is having trouble. Car companies seem to always make out, yet one as big as Chrysler is having trouble staying afloat. Without drastic changes to our economy, many American businesses might soon be gone.
WHO fears swine flu pandemic imminent?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/29/swine.flu.international/index.html
The swine flu, a contagious respiratory disease, has turned into a pandemic practically overnight; starting in Mexico and currently spreading around the world. Germany and Austria have recently reported cases, and Spain and the United Kingdom have had a number of cases. In the United States, this past Wednesday, the number of infected individuals in our country grew to 91! Also, this past Monday the first fatality occurred at a hospital in Texas. With this flu now spreading from person to person instead of animal to person, the mutation rate is higher. Therefore, this strain of the flu is very hard to suppress. Health officials have sent out a list of symptoms to be aware of: fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms seem fairy common, so people are being told to stay on high alert.
Personally, I can fully understand why most of the world is concerned with the swine flu. Although it has not broken out to extreme levels just yet, there is the possibility for it to spread fast. Also, we were told that it started in Mexico, yet there are cases of it all over the world right now!
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/obama-announces-chrysler-bankruptcy-plan/?scp=3&sq=chrysler%20bailout&st=cse
ReplyDeleteChrysler Bailout
Chrysler has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but has constructed an alliance to join with Fiat motors. This alliance is very helpful to the economy because another auto industry bailout would bring us into a deeper hole than we are already in. There is still about $3 Billion going into the company to keep it functioning at a normal rate, but this is nothing compared to the cost it would’ve been if the alliance hadn’t been formed. The Canadians had also mentioned that they would contribute $1 for every $3 that America spends. This bailout is necessary for the American economy because our auto industry creates a large part of the country’s GDP. It also creates an ample amount of jobs for the citizens. Even after the bailout, though, confidence in the consumer is the main thing that needs to build to recover the economy from this recession.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/business/20markets.html?ref=global
ReplyDeleteThe markets in Asia seem to be doing better following the rise of the American markets.Stock markets in Japan, Singapore, Australia, and Korea all rose between 2%-4%. This shows the renewed optimism in the markets and the world possibly slowly gaining on the economic front. All over the world markets began to rise varying amounts.
This new market rise is really increasing optimism in the world and people are happier investing. This also takes a lot of stress off of families that were hit the hardest during the recession that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. People can now take a breathe and see that nothing will be permanant and that there is always a solution.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090519/pl_nm/us_pakistan_usa;_ylt=A0wNdP3byRJKdoMBbmKs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJoYmYwNWE2BGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMDkwNTE5L3VzX3Bha2lzdGFuX3VzYQRjcG9zAzUEcG9zAzEzBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3VzdG9naXZlcGFraQ--
ReplyDeleteThis article is about the United States planning to give Pakistan about $100 million in humanitarian aid to help people who have fled fighting between government forces and Taliban militants in the Swat Valley. The money would come from existing government resources, meaning the Obama administration would not need to seek special permission from the U.S. Congress to spend it, and was to be disbursed immediately.
It kind of makes me wonder how much money the government actually has if it has 100 million dollars ready to just give another country. It doesn't make sense to do this because we don't even have enough money to help out our own country. I understand that the U.S. has always trired to be the hero and take care of otehr countries, but who is going to help out us, when we need it.
New York Times "Toyota, Challenging Honda, Offers Its New Prius in Japan" May 19, 2009
ReplyDeleteThis article was about how Toyota is releasing a new model of the Prius. This car gets 50 miles a gallon, 9 percent better than the older model and would have a more powerful engine and roof top solar cells. With this car, Toyota plns to compete with Honda's Insight and again become the leader in green cars in the world. Though Toyota has experienced difficulites because of the economic crisis that is effecting Japanese trade as well, they plan to introduce the new Prius into Japanese markets first and then with a few adjustments, introduce it into the American markets. But currently in the United States, the Insight by Honda is smaller and $1,200 cheaper. So Toyota has a challenge ahead of them.
I liked this article because I am a fan of Toyota and Honda cars even though they are competitors. I also liked reading about the intense competition that they do have to become the most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly cars. The technology that both companies are coming up with is amazing to me. Though it is disappointing that the economic crisis is negatively effecting the success of these great technologies but they have set good goals for themselves that seem reasonable. But overall I'm excited to see where Toyota goes with these cars and more interestingly, how Honda will react.
Israel warns citizens to beware Facebook spy requests.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/05/18/israel.facebook.spies/index.html
Israel's security agency, Shin Bet, is currently issuing warnings to Israeli citizens about terrorists who are threatening to divulge valuable information in exchange for money. Israeli officials have said that these threats have been traced back to Facebook in some instances. This may lead to kidnappings by terrorist organizations, so the security agency is trying to contact their citizens and protect them.
I was surprised to read this article because most of our generation is hooked on Facebook and other social networking websites. It is scary to think that a site we thought was safe is also a site where terrorist threats are taking place abroad. This threat only concerns Israeli citizens, but it is still surprising to hear.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/Cash-for-your-gas-guzzler.aspx
ReplyDeleteThe article above is an advertisement from the government trying to pass a bill to give the people money to trade in old cars for more fuel efficient vehicles. If the new car got 4 to 9 more mpg, then you will receive $3500. If the new car gets 10 or more mpg, you will receive $4500. Also the article says how the trade in vehicle will be demolished to get the "gas guzzlers" off the road.
I believe that this is a very positive idea to reserve our oil consumption as a country. I also think that this bill will make the people more motivated to buy vehicles which will stimulate the economy. This will allow more money to be put back into the government which will hopefully come back to the people. I personally have a very fuel efficient car which makes this bill not directly aimed towards me but hopefully will help save our oil shortage.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=801930&category=NATIONAL
ReplyDeleteThis article is about Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano saying she would halt delays in implementing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires Americans and Canadians to present passports or other secure documents proving citizenship before crossing the U.S. border with Canada. "This is a real border," Napolitano said at a breakfast meeting with reporters. "The law is the law and it's not going to be postponed anymore." The new requirements are set to take effect June 1 for all citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda — who previously were allowed to travel between their countries without stringent proof of identity.
I think this is a very good idea. Following 9/11, this was supposed to happen right away. Although it is a little concerning it took this long to happen, I believe our country needs to be protected. There doesn't need to be trade barriers, but it is in fact a border and should not have been allowed to have been crossed so easily before.
Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park on Tuesday opened an interactive game-based exhibit aimed at teaching kids ages 8 to 13 basic lessons in personal finance.Participants start by choosing on a video screen the financial goals they want to achieve. The choices are redecorating a bedroom, saving for a vacation, putting money away for a college education and saving enough for retirement. They're given a plastic piggy bank which digitally keeps track of the money they're either saving or spending at each of the three video game stations.At the end of the exhibit, participants place their piggy banks in a detection box which measures whether they have met their financial goals.
ReplyDeleteThis article shows how Disney is taking a pro-active to teach kis the value of money.
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE54I7GV20090519
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about how Brazil is expecting to boost their more environmentaly freindly energy movement. They are beginning to use more wind energy now and they expect it to be a big success. They are a part of a group of nations that are involved in this happening. Brazil is investing about $840 billion dollars to build 5 wind parks which can generste 342 MW and they are develpoing more projects for the 2009 auction. Citigroup, Liberty Mutual and Black River are owners of SIIF Energies do Brasil who is funding this project.
I like that they are trying to become more environmentally aware and trying to be a part of the solution to a healthier planet. I ove how everyone is so many countries is becoming so involved with trying to make this a better world for the future generations and how the government is playing such a big role in it as well to try and help because this is a problem that everyone has to deal with, not just any one country or people. And it will continue to be a problem for a long time so the sooner we can figure out ways to solve it, the better off we will be.
http://change.gov/agenda/energy_and_environment_agenda/
ReplyDeleteThe Obama- Biden administration is creating a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly plan for the future. Their plan includes creating 5 million new jobs for the unemployed in the “green” energy field. These jobs include weatherizing houses, creating clean coal designs, and designing the Alaskan pipeline. They also plan to conserve more oil and have over 150 million hybrid cars on the road by 2015. These cars will use more electricity and will conserve the oil for the countries’ businesses. They are beginning a new energy conservation program and a cap on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and to raise the standards and regulations that businesses and industries use.
I think the new plan for the energy crisis is definitely necessary and it will help some of the economic crisis as well. These plans for hybrid cars will force people to become involved in the solution. The plan could still use more ideas for the common household, so that more people get involved, not just businesses.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/13/technology/intel/index.htm?postversion=2009051310
ReplyDeleteThis article is about how intel is being fined 1.45 billion dollars by the EU. The European Commission said Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, violated European antitrust laws by unfairly paying computer makers to delay or even cancel products that contained chips made by rival AMD. This was an 8 year investiagtion and it was for the consumers. That is because it would only allow intel into the European countries not any of its rivals. Bush made no effort when AMD first came out with this problem in 2001. President Obama acted right away by cracking down on antitrust violations. The ruling serves as the latest setback for Intel. Last month, the company reported its first quarter profit fell 55% and revenue fell 26% on PC sales.
This article shows one that Obama is getting involved with more of the business world and not letting companies get away with illegal things. It also shows that Intel is going to be paying a huge price not just in the fine but in loss in slaes and now they have competetors in the European countries.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/19/news/companies/tesla_daimler_electric/index.htm?postversion=2009051915
ReplyDeleteGerman companies Daimler AG and Tesla Motors have announced that they will work together to make electric cars. They hope to not only make more money off of these battry powered cars, but also to help people get more involved in going green. Both companies have been trying to beat one another at making the most effective battery powered vehicle, and now they will work together to make the most efficient car they have to offer.
I think it's a good thing that these companies are working together. It will help to produce a more low-emission vehicle, and hopefully will help people jump into going green. I think the idea of bettery powered cars is good, at least until they can find a better way to travel with less pollution.
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japan's GDP fell 4 percent last quarter, the fastest pace on record, the government said on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteThe January-March quarter for Japan was 15.4 percent lower than the same time period last year, according to figures released by the Cabinet Office. Exports fell 26 percent on quarter, while imports were down 15 percent.
The GDP slide in the world's second-largest economy is the greatest drop among the world's leading economies. By comparison, GDP in the United States fell 6.1 percent on an annual basis.
This was the fourth straight quarter the Japanese economy contracted. Analysts say the drop reflects cuts in domestic spending with job cuts, factory closings and less capital spending as a result of spiraling sales abroad.
The news punctuates a month of poor economic news out of Japan in recent weeks. Panasonic, one of the world's largest makers of electronic devices, announced it lost nearly $4 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. Hitachi lost $8 billion in the fiscal year, with consolidated revenues down 11 percent from last year, the largest loss ever recorded by a Japanese manufacturer.
NEC Corporation lost $3 billion in the past fiscal year, down nearly 11.5 percent from last year. Meanwhile, Nissan lost $2.3 billion for the year.Sony Corp. announced net losses of $1 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, finishing a year in the red for the first time in 14 years
Response:
Japan fell 4 percent last quarter, the fastest pace on record.
The January-March quarter for Japan was 15.4 percent lower than the same time period last year
Exports fell 26 percent on quarter, while imports were down 15 percent.
Not surprising, it is happening to everyone but Japan has lost tons of money. It worries many people and makes them think how long this will last