Arab troops should be sent to halt Syria’s violent crackdown on anti-government protesters, the emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, said in an interview to be broadcast tonight on the U.S. television network CBS.
Elsewhere in the region, attacks on demonstrators continued in Syria yesterday.
“Some troops should go to stop the killing” in Syria, the Qatari emir said in the interview with the program “60 Minutes,” according to the CBS website.
-----------------
Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei said he wouldn’t run for president of Egypt.
In Egypt, ElBaradei said his withdrawal as a candidate for president was to protest the continued military control of the country, according to The New York Times.
“My conscience does not permit me to run for the presidency or any other official position unless it is within a real democratic system,” he said, according to the Times.
ElBaradei won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for his work as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Social Justice: Current Affairs, Business, Politics, and all the reasons in the world to Thrive on Creative Discontent!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Sybil for President; one of the many persons buried in Romney!!!
Romney publically endorsed Mississippi’s attempt to pass a personhood amendment. (Can't use Condoms!!!) It was soundly defeated by the voters, as were previous attempts in Colorado and other states. After going on TV saying he endorsed the amendment, Romney tried to soft peddle that after voters rejected the measure. Now he denies it ever happened. Thank goodness for video.
Romney underscored a previous flip flop on Roe V Wade. When running for office in liberal Massachusetts, Romney saying in many recorded interviews that he would defend Roe v Wade. At the debate, he made it clear that he would work to have it over turned. Which Romney would show up in the White House, or in general election debates?
Romney underscored a previous flip flop on Roe V Wade. When running for office in liberal Massachusetts, Romney saying in many recorded interviews that he would defend Roe v Wade. At the debate, he made it clear that he would work to have it over turned. Which Romney would show up in the White House, or in general election debates?
US Citizens have a right to vote!!! (A right that should be encouraged and not infringed upon)
Voting rights cannot be denied or abridged based on the following:
Birth - "All persons born or naturalized" "are citizens" of the US and the US State where they reside (14th Amendment, 1868)
"Race, color, or previous condition of servitude" - (15th Amendment, 1870)
"On account of sex" - (19th Amendment, 1920)
In Washington, DC, presidential elections after 164 year suspension by US Congress (23rd Amendment, 1961)
(For federal elections) "By reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax" - (24th Amendment, 1964)
(For state elections) Taxes - (Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966))
"Who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age" (26th Amendment, 1971).
According to news reports, James O'Keefe (Radical Right Republican) sent undercover operatives to commit fraud in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. They went to polling stations, falsely presented themselves, and requested ballots under the names of recently deceased voters — a violation of state and federal law.
O'Keefe badly wants to convince Americans that voter fraud — an extremely rare phenomenon — is a pressing threat to our democracy. So badly, in fact, that he reportedly sent his own agents out to commit fraud. The reason is simple — he wants fewer Americans to vote.
Fortunately we already have state and federal laws that prevent and punish voter fraud while allowing eligible Americans to cast their ballots. We call on you to enforce these laws and thoroughly investigate the actions of James O'Keefe and his operatives.
Birth - "All persons born or naturalized" "are citizens" of the US and the US State where they reside (14th Amendment, 1868)
"Race, color, or previous condition of servitude" - (15th Amendment, 1870)
"On account of sex" - (19th Amendment, 1920)
In Washington, DC, presidential elections after 164 year suspension by US Congress (23rd Amendment, 1961)
(For federal elections) "By reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax" - (24th Amendment, 1964)
(For state elections) Taxes - (Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966))
"Who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age" (26th Amendment, 1971).
According to news reports, James O'Keefe (Radical Right Republican) sent undercover operatives to commit fraud in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. They went to polling stations, falsely presented themselves, and requested ballots under the names of recently deceased voters — a violation of state and federal law.
O'Keefe badly wants to convince Americans that voter fraud — an extremely rare phenomenon — is a pressing threat to our democracy. So badly, in fact, that he reportedly sent his own agents out to commit fraud. The reason is simple — he wants fewer Americans to vote.
Fortunately we already have state and federal laws that prevent and punish voter fraud while allowing eligible Americans to cast their ballots. We call on you to enforce these laws and thoroughly investigate the actions of James O'Keefe and his operatives.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Fairtrade’s then-chief executive, Rob Cameron, resigned within one week of publication of Bloomberg’s Dec. 15 story.
Fairtrade International turns blind eye to child labor...now that doesn't seem FAIR at all!!!
Bloomberg reported last month on the use of child labor in the Burkina Faso program, focusing on the plight of so-called foster children who are kept out of school and forced to work the fields. Their potential vulnerability on fair-trade farms across the country was highlighted in a 2008 unpublished study commissioned by the program’s sponsors in Burkina Faso. Victoria’s Secret has said it never saw the report.
The U.S. government’s preliminary inquiry is being done by the ICE Homeland Security Investigations division, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on such matters.
The department is responsible for enforcing Section 307 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, a 1930 law banning the importation of goods manufactured by forced labor. Those powers were strengthened by a 1999 executive order and anti-human trafficking laws passed in 2005 and 2008. The government can seize goods and impose fines.
Under regulations separate from those being examined by homeland security, the U.S. Department of Labor had determined the problem of forced child labor in Burkina Faso’s cotton sector was serious enough to ban its fiber from the federal government’s procurement system. It’s one of just 29 products from a total of 21 countries that U.S. agencies are forbidden from buying under those rules.
Bloomberg reported last month on the use of child labor in the Burkina Faso program, focusing on the plight of so-called foster children who are kept out of school and forced to work the fields. Their potential vulnerability on fair-trade farms across the country was highlighted in a 2008 unpublished study commissioned by the program’s sponsors in Burkina Faso. Victoria’s Secret has said it never saw the report.
The U.S. government’s preliminary inquiry is being done by the ICE Homeland Security Investigations division, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on such matters.
The department is responsible for enforcing Section 307 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, a 1930 law banning the importation of goods manufactured by forced labor. Those powers were strengthened by a 1999 executive order and anti-human trafficking laws passed in 2005 and 2008. The government can seize goods and impose fines.
Under regulations separate from those being examined by homeland security, the U.S. Department of Labor had determined the problem of forced child labor in Burkina Faso’s cotton sector was serious enough to ban its fiber from the federal government’s procurement system. It’s one of just 29 products from a total of 21 countries that U.S. agencies are forbidden from buying under those rules.
IFRS: Who Commits Financial Fraud and Why? (The why is simple = self interest)
There are three groups of business people who commit financial statement frauds. They range from senior management (CEO and CFO); mid- and lower-level management; and organizational criminals.
CEOs and CFOs commit accounting frauds to conceal true business performance, to preserve personal status and control and to maintain personal income and wealth. Mid- and lower-level employees falsify financial statements related to their area of responsibility (subsidiary, division or other unit) to conceal poor performance and/or to earn performance-based bonuses. Organizational criminals falsify financial statements to obtain loans or to inflate a stock they plan to sell in a "pump-and-dump" scheme.
Methods of financial statement schemes range from fictitious or fabricated revenues; altering the times at which revenues are recognized; improper asset valuations and reporting; concealing liabilities and expenses; and improper financial statement disclosures.
CEOs and CFOs commit accounting frauds to conceal true business performance, to preserve personal status and control and to maintain personal income and wealth. Mid- and lower-level employees falsify financial statements related to their area of responsibility (subsidiary, division or other unit) to conceal poor performance and/or to earn performance-based bonuses. Organizational criminals falsify financial statements to obtain loans or to inflate a stock they plan to sell in a "pump-and-dump" scheme.
Methods of financial statement schemes range from fictitious or fabricated revenues; altering the times at which revenues are recognized; improper asset valuations and reporting; concealing liabilities and expenses; and improper financial statement disclosures.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Republicans want to send your jobs overseas; you will be outsourced!!!
Senate Republicans successfully blocked a bill from coming to the Senate floor that Democrats claim would help keep American jobs from going overseas.
The Democratic bill would have ended certain tax breaks for companies expanding overseas while giving new tax incentives to businesses bringing jobs home.
The Democratic bill would have ended certain tax breaks for companies expanding overseas while giving new tax incentives to businesses bringing jobs home.
Warren Buffett to match $ for $ with Republicans to pay down the national debt...sadly NO republicans have put their money where their MOUTH is....surprised Naaahhhhhhhh!!!
Warren Buffett is willing to put his money where his mouth is, if only congressional Republicans would join him.
The American billionaire investor, in the new issue of Time magazine, says he would donate $1 to paying down the national debt for every dollar donated by a Republican in Congress. The only exception is Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell - for whom Buffett said he would go $3-to-$1.
The idea stems from a New York Times opinion piece Buffett wrote last August in which he said the rich ought to pay more taxes. It sparked an instant controversy, with some Washington conservatives calling on the 81-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" to voluntarily pay extra.
McConnell said at the time that if Buffett felt "guilty" about paying too low a tax rate, he should "send in a check." This was quickly followed by introduction of a bill to give taxpayers an option on tax forms to make voluntary donations.
"It restores my faith in human nature to think that there are people who have been around Washington all this time and are not yet so cynical as to think that can't be solved by voluntary contributions," the Buffett told Time for an article hitting newsstands on Friday.
The American billionaire investor, in the new issue of Time magazine, says he would donate $1 to paying down the national debt for every dollar donated by a Republican in Congress. The only exception is Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell - for whom Buffett said he would go $3-to-$1.
The idea stems from a New York Times opinion piece Buffett wrote last August in which he said the rich ought to pay more taxes. It sparked an instant controversy, with some Washington conservatives calling on the 81-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" to voluntarily pay extra.
McConnell said at the time that if Buffett felt "guilty" about paying too low a tax rate, he should "send in a check." This was quickly followed by introduction of a bill to give taxpayers an option on tax forms to make voluntary donations.
"It restores my faith in human nature to think that there are people who have been around Washington all this time and are not yet so cynical as to think that can't be solved by voluntary contributions," the Buffett told Time for an article hitting newsstands on Friday.
"SCENES OF HORROR" = Syria = Middle East
Scratch the surface of any Middle Eastern nation and you will find scenes of horror. Syria is merely capturing our attention today. But change comes by cutting one piece of cancer at a time from the body human...
The mission hit more trouble when one monitor accused Syria of war crimes, saying the mission was a "farce," a day after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said a U.N. official had told the Security Council the killings had gathered pace since the monitors arrived.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four people had been killed in Kafr Nabouda, in Hama province, where troops staging raids fought army deserters. The British-based group put Tuesday's civilian death toll at 27, including 15 in the city of Deir al-Zor and 10 in Homs, plus four army defectors.
The Arab League monitor, Anwar Malek, said he had resigned because the mission was powerless to prevent what he said were the "scenes of horror" he had seen in the restive city of Homs.
"The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled," the Algerian told Al Jazeera English television. "The regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw to stop the Arab League from taking action against the regime ...
"The regime isn't committing one war crime but a series of crimes against its people," he added.
The mission hit more trouble when one monitor accused Syria of war crimes, saying the mission was a "farce," a day after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said a U.N. official had told the Security Council the killings had gathered pace since the monitors arrived.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four people had been killed in Kafr Nabouda, in Hama province, where troops staging raids fought army deserters. The British-based group put Tuesday's civilian death toll at 27, including 15 in the city of Deir al-Zor and 10 in Homs, plus four army defectors.
The Arab League monitor, Anwar Malek, said he had resigned because the mission was powerless to prevent what he said were the "scenes of horror" he had seen in the restive city of Homs.
"The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled," the Algerian told Al Jazeera English television. "The regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw to stop the Arab League from taking action against the regime ...
"The regime isn't committing one war crime but a series of crimes against its people," he added.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
26 States waste taxpayer money fighting Universal Healthcare for Americans!!!!
The Obama administration brief on the Medicaid issue is due by February 10. Administration attorneys previously have rejected any suggestion the Medicaid provision was unconstitutional. A federal judge and an appeals court ruled against the states.
The Obama administration filed its main brief in the legal battle on Friday and said Congress was within its constitutional powers in requiring Americans to buy insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. Known as the individual mandate, it is the centerpiece of the health care law.
The 26 states and an independent business group challenging the law both argued in their submissions to the court on Friday that the entire law must fall if the mandate is struck down.
The Supreme Court has scheduled three days of oral arguments in the legal battle for March 26-28, with an election-year ruling expected by the end of June.
The Supreme Court cases are National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, No. 11-393; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, No. 11-398; and Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services, No. 11-400.
The Obama administration filed its main brief in the legal battle on Friday and said Congress was within its constitutional powers in requiring Americans to buy insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. Known as the individual mandate, it is the centerpiece of the health care law.
The 26 states and an independent business group challenging the law both argued in their submissions to the court on Friday that the entire law must fall if the mandate is struck down.
The Supreme Court has scheduled three days of oral arguments in the legal battle for March 26-28, with an election-year ruling expected by the end of June.
The Supreme Court cases are National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, No. 11-393; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, No. 11-398; and Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services, No. 11-400.
R.I.P. February 2012 Keystone Pipeline XL a bad idea that died a timely and early death….
Fresh off its win helping delay the Keystone XL oil pipeline in the United States, the Natural Resources Defense Council is directing its star-studded cast against the $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline.
The U.S.-based environmental group, which raised $94 million in 2010, will bring its expertise and 1.3 million members to an already formidable array of largely B.C.-based environmental groups actively campaigning to stop the controversial project.
It will also bring a new element - celebrity power. The defence council counts among its directors the actors Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Its senior lawyer is Robert Kennedy Jr.
Redford has already written publicly about his concerns regarding the Northern Gateway pipeline.
And when the defence council wanted to educate its members about the Northern Gateway project, actor Kevin Bacon narrated a short video about it.
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) international program director Susan Casey-Lefkowitz said the group has entered the Northern Gateway campaign because delaying the Keystone XL project means there will be even more pressure on the Northern Gateway pipeline to proceed.
U.S. President Barack Obama postponed a decision on the $7-billion Keystone XL pipeline until 2013, pending further environmental review.
The Republicans have tried to force an earlier decision, but Obama has said there is not enough time for a review, which could cancel the project.
Environmental opponents wanted the 2,700-kilometre Keystone XL pipeline halted because it would deliver "dirty oil" from the Alberta oilsands to the U.S., and also over concerns a spill would harm a major water aquifer in Nebraska.
Casey-Lefkowitz said the Northern Gateway pipeline and tankers threaten a beautiful landscape, the spirit bear (rare white black bear) and the greatest fishing rivers in the world.
The 1,172-kilometre Northern Gateway pipeline is meant to open up new markets for Alberta oilsands' bitumen in Asia.
A second, smaller pipeline would transport condensate - a kerosene-like liquid used to thin bitumen for transport in pipelines - from the coast back to the Alberta oilsands.
"These are all things of global interest," said Casey-Lefkowitz, who is based in Washington, D.C. "We are bringing an international community that cares very much about the B.C. coast."
The NRDC is no stranger to environmental battles in B.C., having pushed to protect areas along the central and north coast now known as the Great Bear Rain Forest. In November, the NRDC partnered with the Calgary-based Pembina Institute and B.C.-based Living Oceans Society to release a report that argues bitumen from the oilsands is more corrosive and heavier than conventional oil, making a pipeline failure or tanker leak more likely. Calgary-based Enbridge has said it will build and operate the Northern Gateway pipeline to the highest safety standards.
The NRDC's members have also sent 60,000 emails opposing the project to B.C. Premier Christy Clark, and another 40,000 to Enbridge president and CEO Patrick Daniel.
The mostly B.C.-based environmental groups have been fighting the proposed Enbridge pipeline for years.
There are about a dozen such groups, including the Dogwood Initiative, ForestEthics (with offices in B.C. and the U.S.), West Coast Environmental Law, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, the SkeenaWild Conservation Trust and the T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation.
All have similar concerns: the risk and the potential catastrophic effects of a pipeline or tanker spill on the environment and communities; and the expansion of the Alberta oilsands and increases in greenhouse gas emissions.
The Victoria-based Dogwood Initiative has an active campaign to halt the project.
Recently it ran a campaign that helped sign up 1,600 people to testify at the National Energy Board's regulatory hearings that begin Jan. 10 in Kitimat.
Although the Dogwood group says the decision on Northern Gateway should be made by British Columbians, it has no problem with the addition of the American-based NRDC to the campaign. "The more attention that can be placed on this issue, the better," said Dogwood Initiative official Eric Swanson, who heads the group's no-tanker campaign.
"We all share the planet, and we share the Pacific coast with many others," he added.
And groups such as Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and the Pembina Institute have focused their opposition on the oilsands. The Pembina Institute, which advocates transitioning away from a fossil-fuel economy, has called for a halt in developing Northern Gateway until the upstream effects of the oilsands are addressed.
While Pembina is concerned about the risks of the Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker spills, its main concerns are over oilsands tailings seepage, industrial air emissions, greenhouse gas emissions and reclamation of wetlands.
"Our perspective is that oilsands development could proceed responsibly if it was being developed in accordance with science-based environmental limits," said Jennifer Grant, director of Pembina's oilsands program.
"[But] limits on oilsands development are not being addressed," she said.
The fight against the Northern Gateway project is also being carried out by a coterie of recently created, locally based groups in northern B.C.
Those include the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance in Prince George, the Douglas Channel Watch in Kitimat, Lakes District Clean Waters Coalition in Burns Lake and the Fort St. James Sustainability Group.
Some of the homegrown groups, which operate on shoestring budgets, are using social media to get their message out.
The Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance has more than 900 members on its Facebook site.
The Douglas Channel Watch has more than 550 fans.
Margaret Stenson, a representative of the Douglas Channel Watch, said the group started after like-minded friends starting talking to each other.
Now, about a dozen to 20 people attend its meetings, which have increased in frequency to once or twice a week in preparation for the regulatory hearings.
"I think we have a lot of support, but there are a lot of people who haven't found out that much about [the Northern Gateway project]," Stenson said.
"You think they would. Our Douglas Channel is so important to us. And the Kitimat River is our drinking water, and this pipeline goes about 70 kilometres, I believe, along the river."
The U.S.-based environmental group, which raised $94 million in 2010, will bring its expertise and 1.3 million members to an already formidable array of largely B.C.-based environmental groups actively campaigning to stop the controversial project.
It will also bring a new element - celebrity power. The defence council counts among its directors the actors Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Its senior lawyer is Robert Kennedy Jr.
Redford has already written publicly about his concerns regarding the Northern Gateway pipeline.
And when the defence council wanted to educate its members about the Northern Gateway project, actor Kevin Bacon narrated a short video about it.
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) international program director Susan Casey-Lefkowitz said the group has entered the Northern Gateway campaign because delaying the Keystone XL project means there will be even more pressure on the Northern Gateway pipeline to proceed.
U.S. President Barack Obama postponed a decision on the $7-billion Keystone XL pipeline until 2013, pending further environmental review.
The Republicans have tried to force an earlier decision, but Obama has said there is not enough time for a review, which could cancel the project.
Environmental opponents wanted the 2,700-kilometre Keystone XL pipeline halted because it would deliver "dirty oil" from the Alberta oilsands to the U.S., and also over concerns a spill would harm a major water aquifer in Nebraska.
Casey-Lefkowitz said the Northern Gateway pipeline and tankers threaten a beautiful landscape, the spirit bear (rare white black bear) and the greatest fishing rivers in the world.
The 1,172-kilometre Northern Gateway pipeline is meant to open up new markets for Alberta oilsands' bitumen in Asia.
A second, smaller pipeline would transport condensate - a kerosene-like liquid used to thin bitumen for transport in pipelines - from the coast back to the Alberta oilsands.
"These are all things of global interest," said Casey-Lefkowitz, who is based in Washington, D.C. "We are bringing an international community that cares very much about the B.C. coast."
The NRDC is no stranger to environmental battles in B.C., having pushed to protect areas along the central and north coast now known as the Great Bear Rain Forest. In November, the NRDC partnered with the Calgary-based Pembina Institute and B.C.-based Living Oceans Society to release a report that argues bitumen from the oilsands is more corrosive and heavier than conventional oil, making a pipeline failure or tanker leak more likely. Calgary-based Enbridge has said it will build and operate the Northern Gateway pipeline to the highest safety standards.
The NRDC's members have also sent 60,000 emails opposing the project to B.C. Premier Christy Clark, and another 40,000 to Enbridge president and CEO Patrick Daniel.
The mostly B.C.-based environmental groups have been fighting the proposed Enbridge pipeline for years.
There are about a dozen such groups, including the Dogwood Initiative, ForestEthics (with offices in B.C. and the U.S.), West Coast Environmental Law, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, the SkeenaWild Conservation Trust and the T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation.
All have similar concerns: the risk and the potential catastrophic effects of a pipeline or tanker spill on the environment and communities; and the expansion of the Alberta oilsands and increases in greenhouse gas emissions.
The Victoria-based Dogwood Initiative has an active campaign to halt the project.
Recently it ran a campaign that helped sign up 1,600 people to testify at the National Energy Board's regulatory hearings that begin Jan. 10 in Kitimat.
Although the Dogwood group says the decision on Northern Gateway should be made by British Columbians, it has no problem with the addition of the American-based NRDC to the campaign. "The more attention that can be placed on this issue, the better," said Dogwood Initiative official Eric Swanson, who heads the group's no-tanker campaign.
"We all share the planet, and we share the Pacific coast with many others," he added.
And groups such as Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and the Pembina Institute have focused their opposition on the oilsands. The Pembina Institute, which advocates transitioning away from a fossil-fuel economy, has called for a halt in developing Northern Gateway until the upstream effects of the oilsands are addressed.
While Pembina is concerned about the risks of the Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker spills, its main concerns are over oilsands tailings seepage, industrial air emissions, greenhouse gas emissions and reclamation of wetlands.
"Our perspective is that oilsands development could proceed responsibly if it was being developed in accordance with science-based environmental limits," said Jennifer Grant, director of Pembina's oilsands program.
"[But] limits on oilsands development are not being addressed," she said.
The fight against the Northern Gateway project is also being carried out by a coterie of recently created, locally based groups in northern B.C.
Those include the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance in Prince George, the Douglas Channel Watch in Kitimat, Lakes District Clean Waters Coalition in Burns Lake and the Fort St. James Sustainability Group.
Some of the homegrown groups, which operate on shoestring budgets, are using social media to get their message out.
The Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance has more than 900 members on its Facebook site.
The Douglas Channel Watch has more than 550 fans.
Margaret Stenson, a representative of the Douglas Channel Watch, said the group started after like-minded friends starting talking to each other.
Now, about a dozen to 20 people attend its meetings, which have increased in frequency to once or twice a week in preparation for the regulatory hearings.
"I think we have a lot of support, but there are a lot of people who haven't found out that much about [the Northern Gateway project]," Stenson said.
"You think they would. Our Douglas Channel is so important to us. And the Kitimat River is our drinking water, and this pipeline goes about 70 kilometres, I believe, along the river."
Canadian Natural Gas Prices Forecast to be below $4 for a decade!!!
One of Canada’s key energy producers (Canadian Natural Resources) is warning that natural gas prices will continue to sag for a very long time – perhaps as long as a decade.
Gas prices have been depressed for the past few years, amid a surge of supply from newly accessible shale-gas reservoirs that has created a substantial glut. Prices below $4 (U.S.) per million British thermal units (BTUs) are so low that most conventional wells are operating at a loss.
And the bad times may be here for a while.
“We now expect gas prices to be low for the next five to 10 years,” Steve Laut, president of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ-T39.780.421.07%), said Thursday, when the company reported third-quarter earnings of $836-million, up 40 per cent from the same period last year, but down 10 per cent from the second quarter.
He pointed to the huge amounts of natural gas that have been discovered with new drilling techniques, such as horizontal wells and underground fracturing. By some estimates, North America now has enough gas to maintain current supplies for a century.
That is an “overwhelming” amount of gas “that can come at relatively low cost. And it doesn’t look like the economy is going to drive demand too much higher, in a big way, to make up for that oversupply,” Mr. Laut said.
The dire outlook comes amid broader industry moves that suggest increasing skepticism about a North American price recovery. Weak gas prices are a boon to consumers, who benefit from lower heating and electrical costs, and to the manufacturing and petro-chemical industries that use gas a major input.
Encana Corp., the largest independent producer, has backed away from a five-year plan to double its output, and is selling billions in assets this year to avoid a cash-flow pinch. Industry is also seriously looking at alternative markets.
Encana, Apache Corp. and EOG Resources Inc. are months away from a decision to build an LNG terminal on the West Coast that would enable exports to Asia, where prices are substantially stronger. Global giants such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Malaysia’s Petronas are looking at similar plans.
Talisman Energy Inc., meanwhile, is looking to convert natural gas to petroleum products such as diesel, an expensive plan that depends on gas prices lagging oil far into the future. Low prices, however, will hurt the company’s dive into new gas plays, and on Wednesday, chief executive John Manzoni acknowledged a recovery could be some time in coming.
“Maybe we are here or hereabouts for a while,” he said. If that happens, the company will “re-examine” some of its strategies, Mr. Manzoni said.
Gas prices have been depressed for the past few years, amid a surge of supply from newly accessible shale-gas reservoirs that has created a substantial glut. Prices below $4 (U.S.) per million British thermal units (BTUs) are so low that most conventional wells are operating at a loss.
And the bad times may be here for a while.
“We now expect gas prices to be low for the next five to 10 years,” Steve Laut, president of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ-T39.780.421.07%), said Thursday, when the company reported third-quarter earnings of $836-million, up 40 per cent from the same period last year, but down 10 per cent from the second quarter.
He pointed to the huge amounts of natural gas that have been discovered with new drilling techniques, such as horizontal wells and underground fracturing. By some estimates, North America now has enough gas to maintain current supplies for a century.
That is an “overwhelming” amount of gas “that can come at relatively low cost. And it doesn’t look like the economy is going to drive demand too much higher, in a big way, to make up for that oversupply,” Mr. Laut said.
The dire outlook comes amid broader industry moves that suggest increasing skepticism about a North American price recovery. Weak gas prices are a boon to consumers, who benefit from lower heating and electrical costs, and to the manufacturing and petro-chemical industries that use gas a major input.
Encana Corp., the largest independent producer, has backed away from a five-year plan to double its output, and is selling billions in assets this year to avoid a cash-flow pinch. Industry is also seriously looking at alternative markets.
Encana, Apache Corp. and EOG Resources Inc. are months away from a decision to build an LNG terminal on the West Coast that would enable exports to Asia, where prices are substantially stronger. Global giants such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Malaysia’s Petronas are looking at similar plans.
Talisman Energy Inc., meanwhile, is looking to convert natural gas to petroleum products such as diesel, an expensive plan that depends on gas prices lagging oil far into the future. Low prices, however, will hurt the company’s dive into new gas plays, and on Wednesday, chief executive John Manzoni acknowledged a recovery could be some time in coming.
“Maybe we are here or hereabouts for a while,” he said. If that happens, the company will “re-examine” some of its strategies, Mr. Manzoni said.
IAS 36 Impairment Testing (Forecasts & Discount Rates)
Relies on forecasts and discount rates for impairment testing both can be heavily influenced by board’s/management to the detriment of shareholders.
Unlike the cash flows used in an impairment test that are entity specific, the discount rate is supposed to appropriately reflect the current market assessment of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset or CGU (cash generating unit).
When a specific rate for an asset or CGU is not directly available from the market, which is usually the case, the entity’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), the entity’s incremental borrowing rate or other market rates can be used as a starting point. While not prescribed, WACC is by far the most commonly used base for the discount rate.
Cost of equity
The cost of equity is the most difficult component of the cost of capital to determine and one that is subject to considerable debate by experts.
One issue is the financial crisis and recession has increased equity risk. This is an element of the WACC for which it is advisable to obtain independent expert advice on to ensure consistency with the other assumptions in the impairment test.
For Example regarding Forecasts
Management has recently approved a stretch forecast that shows production rising from 14,000 units to 20,000 units over five years. Recent years have demonstrated a track record of undershooting stretch forecasts. Analysts covering the sector are assuming that production will only rise marginally over the next few years due to forecast weaknesses in demand, together with oversupply in the market. Should the most recently approved forecast be used without adjustment?
Solution
The approved forecast appears to be neither reasonable nor supportable. The forecasts will need to be adjusted based on the entity’s historic record of meeting projections and external evidence.
For Example regarding Discount Rates
How is the appropriate pre-tax discount rate for a VIU (Value in Use) calculation determined from a post-tax starting point?
The following two-step approach can be applied to derive iteratively the implicit pre-tax discount rate from post-tax data. This pre-tax rate is applied to the discounted cash flows that are the basis of the VIU:
Step 1
From pre-tax cash flow projections, the expected actual tax cash payments are calculated to arrive at post-tax cash flows. These post-tax cash flows are discounted at an appropriate post-tax discount rate derived using information observable on the capital markets.
Step 2
The pre-tax discount rate is derived by determining the rate required to be applied to the pre-tax cash flows to arrive at the result obtained in step 1 (ie, same methodology used for computing an internal rate of return).
Fair value less costs to sell
When there is neither a binding sale agreement nor an active market, FVLCTS may be estimated as the amount that the entity could obtain from disposal of the asset in an arm’s length transaction based on data from recent market transactions. Discounted cash flow techniques may be used in estimating the fair value of the asset.
Unlike the cash flows used in an impairment test that are entity specific, the discount rate is supposed to appropriately reflect the current market assessment of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset or CGU (cash generating unit).
When a specific rate for an asset or CGU is not directly available from the market, which is usually the case, the entity’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), the entity’s incremental borrowing rate or other market rates can be used as a starting point. While not prescribed, WACC is by far the most commonly used base for the discount rate.
Cost of equity
The cost of equity is the most difficult component of the cost of capital to determine and one that is subject to considerable debate by experts.
One issue is the financial crisis and recession has increased equity risk. This is an element of the WACC for which it is advisable to obtain independent expert advice on to ensure consistency with the other assumptions in the impairment test.
For Example regarding Forecasts
Management has recently approved a stretch forecast that shows production rising from 14,000 units to 20,000 units over five years. Recent years have demonstrated a track record of undershooting stretch forecasts. Analysts covering the sector are assuming that production will only rise marginally over the next few years due to forecast weaknesses in demand, together with oversupply in the market. Should the most recently approved forecast be used without adjustment?
Solution
The approved forecast appears to be neither reasonable nor supportable. The forecasts will need to be adjusted based on the entity’s historic record of meeting projections and external evidence.
For Example regarding Discount Rates
How is the appropriate pre-tax discount rate for a VIU (Value in Use) calculation determined from a post-tax starting point?
The following two-step approach can be applied to derive iteratively the implicit pre-tax discount rate from post-tax data. This pre-tax rate is applied to the discounted cash flows that are the basis of the VIU:
Step 1
From pre-tax cash flow projections, the expected actual tax cash payments are calculated to arrive at post-tax cash flows. These post-tax cash flows are discounted at an appropriate post-tax discount rate derived using information observable on the capital markets.
Step 2
The pre-tax discount rate is derived by determining the rate required to be applied to the pre-tax cash flows to arrive at the result obtained in step 1 (ie, same methodology used for computing an internal rate of return).
Fair value less costs to sell
When there is neither a binding sale agreement nor an active market, FVLCTS may be estimated as the amount that the entity could obtain from disposal of the asset in an arm’s length transaction based on data from recent market transactions. Discounted cash flow techniques may be used in estimating the fair value of the asset.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Romney: 'I like being able to fire people' = Oh Tea Party you will be outsourced too!!!
Mitt Romney's position on top of the medal podium in the GOP race to be the top outsourcer. Mitt Romney went to China during 2008 to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and, we imagine, to visit the hundreds of thousands of American jobs that have been shipped overseas as a result of failed GOP economic policies.
"Mitt Romney's record in the private and public sector has set the gold standard for undercutting American jobs," said Mark Brewer.
Gold medalist Mitt Romney made a career out of dismantling companies when at the firm Bain Capital, and while Governor of Massachusetts he consistently took policy positions that undercut American jobs, including vetoing a bill that would have stopped the outsourcing of state jobs overseas.
Silver medalist John McCain has called himself an "unapologetic" supporter of NAFTA, a policy that has ravaged Michigan and cost us countless manufacturing jobs.
Bronze medalist George Bush, until recently the undisputed champion of outsourcing, has overseen an administration that has been disastrous for American manufacturers, cost us thousands of manufacturing jobs.
"Mitt Romney, John McCain and George Bush may be championship outsourcers, but their wins have been America's losses," continued Brewer.
The thrill of victory for Romney ticket would certainly spell the agony of defeat for working families and manufacturers in the USA!!
"Mitt Romney's record in the private and public sector has set the gold standard for undercutting American jobs," said Mark Brewer.
Gold medalist Mitt Romney made a career out of dismantling companies when at the firm Bain Capital, and while Governor of Massachusetts he consistently took policy positions that undercut American jobs, including vetoing a bill that would have stopped the outsourcing of state jobs overseas.
Silver medalist John McCain has called himself an "unapologetic" supporter of NAFTA, a policy that has ravaged Michigan and cost us countless manufacturing jobs.
Bronze medalist George Bush, until recently the undisputed champion of outsourcing, has overseen an administration that has been disastrous for American manufacturers, cost us thousands of manufacturing jobs.
"Mitt Romney, John McCain and George Bush may be championship outsourcers, but their wins have been America's losses," continued Brewer.
The thrill of victory for Romney ticket would certainly spell the agony of defeat for working families and manufacturers in the USA!!
Doctors call for ban on hydraulic fracking for natural gas!!!
The U.S. should declare a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in populated areas until the health effects are better understood, doctors said at a conference on the drilling process.
Gas producers should set up a foundation to finance studies on fracking and independent research is also needed, said Jerome Paulson, a pediatrician at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington. Top independent producers include Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and Devon Energy Corp. (DVN), both of Oklahoma City, and Encana Corp. (ECA) of Calgary, according to Bloomberg Industries.
“We’ve got to push the pause button, and maybe we’ve got to push the stop button” on fracking, said Adam Law, an endocrinologist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, in an interview at a conference in Arlington, Virginia that’s the first to examine criteria for studying the process.
Fracking injects water, sand and chemicals into deep shale formations to free trapped natural gas. A boom in production with the method helped increase supplies, cutting prices 32 percent last year. The industry, though, hasn’t disclosed enough information on chemicals used, Paulson said, raising concerns about tainted drinking water supplies and a call for peer- reviewed studies on the effects. The EPA is weighing nationwide regulation.
“We don’t know the chemicals that are involved, really; we sort of generally know,” Vikas Kapil, chief medical officer at National Center for Environmental Health, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the conference. “We don’t have a great handle on the toxicology of fracking chemicals.”
The government has found evidence that drilling can contaminate water supplies. In December, the EPA reported that underground aquifers and drinking wells in Pavillion, Wyoming, contained compounds that came from gas drilling, including glycols, alcohols, benzene and methane. The CDC has detected “explosive levels of methane” in two wells near gas sites in Medina, Ohio, Kapil said.
A moratorium on fracking pending more health research “would be reasonable,” said Paulson, who heads the Mid- Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment in Washington, in an interview. His group is funded in part by the CDC and Environmental Protection Agency, he said, and helped sponsor the conference with Law’s organization, Physicians Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy.
Gas producers should set up a foundation to finance studies on fracking and independent research is also needed, said Jerome Paulson, a pediatrician at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington. Top independent producers include Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and Devon Energy Corp. (DVN), both of Oklahoma City, and Encana Corp. (ECA) of Calgary, according to Bloomberg Industries.
“We’ve got to push the pause button, and maybe we’ve got to push the stop button” on fracking, said Adam Law, an endocrinologist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, in an interview at a conference in Arlington, Virginia that’s the first to examine criteria for studying the process.
Fracking injects water, sand and chemicals into deep shale formations to free trapped natural gas. A boom in production with the method helped increase supplies, cutting prices 32 percent last year. The industry, though, hasn’t disclosed enough information on chemicals used, Paulson said, raising concerns about tainted drinking water supplies and a call for peer- reviewed studies on the effects. The EPA is weighing nationwide regulation.
“We don’t know the chemicals that are involved, really; we sort of generally know,” Vikas Kapil, chief medical officer at National Center for Environmental Health, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the conference. “We don’t have a great handle on the toxicology of fracking chemicals.”
The government has found evidence that drilling can contaminate water supplies. In December, the EPA reported that underground aquifers and drinking wells in Pavillion, Wyoming, contained compounds that came from gas drilling, including glycols, alcohols, benzene and methane. The CDC has detected “explosive levels of methane” in two wells near gas sites in Medina, Ohio, Kapil said.
A moratorium on fracking pending more health research “would be reasonable,” said Paulson, who heads the Mid- Atlantic Center for Children’s Health and the Environment in Washington, in an interview. His group is funded in part by the CDC and Environmental Protection Agency, he said, and helped sponsor the conference with Law’s organization, Physicians Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Musharraf to be arrested over assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto
Pervez Musharraf, who resigned as Pakistan’s president in 2008, will be arrested on arrival in the country later this month, the Press Trust of India reported, citing a prosecutor.
Musharraf is a “proclaimed offender” and there’s no need for a warrant for this arrest, PTI reported today, citing Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, prosecutor at the Federal Investigation Agency. Musharraf lives in Dubai and London and plans to return to Pakistan on Jan. 25 or Jan. 27, according to the report.
A Pakistani court issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf in February over allegations he played a role in the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the AP reported at the time, citing prosecutors. He hadn’t been charged in the case, AP said.
Musharraf is a “proclaimed offender” and there’s no need for a warrant for this arrest, PTI reported today, citing Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, prosecutor at the Federal Investigation Agency. Musharraf lives in Dubai and London and plans to return to Pakistan on Jan. 25 or Jan. 27, according to the report.
A Pakistani court issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf in February over allegations he played a role in the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the AP reported at the time, citing prosecutors. He hadn’t been charged in the case, AP said.
Alcoa to Close or Curtail 531,000 Metric Tons of Aluminum Smelting Capacity as Aluminum Prices are off 27% from 2011 peak.
Alcoa (NYSE: AA) announced today that it intends to close or curtail approximately 531,000 metric tons, or 12 percent of its global smelting capacity, to lower the Company’s position on the global aluminum cost curve and improve Alcoa’s competitiveness.
The Company will permanently close its smelter in Alcoa, Tennessee, which was curtailed in 2009, along with two of the six idled potlines at its Rockdale, Texas smelter. Together, these closures will reduce Alcoa’s global smelting capacity of 4.5 million metric tons per year by 291,000 metric tons, or about 7 percent.
The curtailments, to be announced in the near future, will reduce Alcoa’s global smelting capacity by an additional 240,000 metric tons, or about 5 percent.
“These are difficult but necessary steps to improve Alcoa’s competitiveness, preserve and grow shareholder value and protect jobs in the rest of the Alcoa system,” said Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld.
Aluminum prices have fallen more than 27 percent from their peak in 2011. In addition to the curtailments, the Company will accelerate actions to reduce the escalating cost of raw materials.
Kleinfeld added that Alcoa will work with all affected communities to explore ways to redevelop closed facilities and will consult with employees and work unions/councils impacted by curtailments. “We recognize our responsibility to the people and communities of the affected facilities,” he said.
The curtailments are expected to be complete by the first half of 2012. Alcoa’s alumina production will be reduced across the global refining system to reflect the final curtailments in smelting as well as prevailing market conditions. The curtailments will contribute to the Company’s long-term goal of lowering Alcoa’s position on the world aluminum production cost curve by 10 percentage points.
Total restructuring-related charges for fourth quarter 2011, principally composed of the above actions, are expected to be between $155 million and $165 million after-tax, or $0.15 to $0.16 per share, of which approximately 60 percent is non-cash.
The Company will permanently close its smelter in Alcoa, Tennessee, which was curtailed in 2009, along with two of the six idled potlines at its Rockdale, Texas smelter. Together, these closures will reduce Alcoa’s global smelting capacity of 4.5 million metric tons per year by 291,000 metric tons, or about 7 percent.
The curtailments, to be announced in the near future, will reduce Alcoa’s global smelting capacity by an additional 240,000 metric tons, or about 5 percent.
“These are difficult but necessary steps to improve Alcoa’s competitiveness, preserve and grow shareholder value and protect jobs in the rest of the Alcoa system,” said Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld.
Aluminum prices have fallen more than 27 percent from their peak in 2011. In addition to the curtailments, the Company will accelerate actions to reduce the escalating cost of raw materials.
Kleinfeld added that Alcoa will work with all affected communities to explore ways to redevelop closed facilities and will consult with employees and work unions/councils impacted by curtailments. “We recognize our responsibility to the people and communities of the affected facilities,” he said.
The curtailments are expected to be complete by the first half of 2012. Alcoa’s alumina production will be reduced across the global refining system to reflect the final curtailments in smelting as well as prevailing market conditions. The curtailments will contribute to the Company’s long-term goal of lowering Alcoa’s position on the world aluminum production cost curve by 10 percentage points.
Total restructuring-related charges for fourth quarter 2011, principally composed of the above actions, are expected to be between $155 million and $165 million after-tax, or $0.15 to $0.16 per share, of which approximately 60 percent is non-cash.
IFRS IAS 36!!! The big bad COP of the accounting world drives into town on North American Natural Gas Reserves.
North American Natural Gas reserves will be under serious pressure this closing fiscal year. For those firms with all-in FD&A costs in excess of $18/boe or $3/mmbtu the need to apply IAS 36 strictly is a certainty.
The purpose of the impairment review, which applies to all intangible and tangible oil and gas assets, indefinite life assets and goodwill, is to ascertain that the carrying value of the assets does not exceed their recoverable amount. Under IAS 36, “recoverable amount” is defined as the higher of fair value less costs to sell (FVLCTS) and value in use (VIU). If either recoverable amount exceeds the asset’s carrying value, no impairment exists and no write-down is necessary.
FVLCTS is generally recognized as a valuation based on the potential sale of an asset, i.e., the amount that would be obtained from the sale of the asset in an arm’s length transaction betweenknowledgeable willing parties less disposal costs.
VIU is defined in terms of discounted cash flow, i.e., the present value of the future cash flows to the entity generated through utilization of an asset throughout its life plus proceeds from eventual disposition. Selection of an appropriate discount rate under IAS 36 definitions is an important consideration in completing a VIU impairment test. VIU is an entity-specific value that permits consideration of synergies; however, IAS 36 is restrictive in the cash flows and other inputs that may be used in the valuation.
Principles
There are two standards that address impairment within the upstream oil and gas industry:
• IFRS 6 “Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources”, which is applicable only in respect of exploration and evaluation (E&E) assets — see Section 1, and
• IAS 36, which is applicable to intangible and tangible oil and gas assets (except E&E assets), intangible assets with an indefinite life and goodwill.
The purpose of the impairment review, which applies to all intangible and tangible oil and gas assets, indefinite life assets and goodwill, is to ascertain that the carrying value of the assets does not exceed their recoverable amount. Under IAS 36, “recoverable amount” is defined as the higher of fair value less costs to sell (FVLCTS) and value in use (VIU). If either recoverable amount exceeds the asset’s carrying value, no impairment exists and no write-down is necessary.
FVLCTS is generally recognized as a valuation based on the potential sale of an asset, i.e., the amount that would be obtained from the sale of the asset in an arm’s length transaction betweenknowledgeable willing parties less disposal costs.
VIU is defined in terms of discounted cash flow, i.e., the present value of the future cash flows to the entity generated through utilization of an asset throughout its life plus proceeds from eventual disposition. Selection of an appropriate discount rate under IAS 36 definitions is an important consideration in completing a VIU impairment test. VIU is an entity-specific value that permits consideration of synergies; however, IAS 36 is restrictive in the cash flows and other inputs that may be used in the valuation.
Principles
There are two standards that address impairment within the upstream oil and gas industry:
• IFRS 6 “Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources”, which is applicable only in respect of exploration and evaluation (E&E) assets — see Section 1, and
• IAS 36, which is applicable to intangible and tangible oil and gas assets (except E&E assets), intangible assets with an indefinite life and goodwill.
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