" href="https://www.crgeng.com/australian-government-considers-controlling-fuel-supplies/" rel="bookmark">
Australian government considers controlling fuel supplies

Monday, June 16, 2008

The gas crisis in Western Australia continues to deepen with more businesses standing people down without pay. Businesses have been instructed to turn off non-essential items including limiting the number of lifts and reduced lighting; domestic customers are also urged to reduce energy use.

In the Federal parliament today Resources Minister Martin Ferguson raised the prospect of activating the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act. “During such a situation, I can control the production, transfer and stock levels of crude and liquid fuel…While I sincerely hope that this will not be required, the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act provides authority for the Australian Government to prepare for and manage a national liquid fuel supply emergency,” he said.

Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter called on all Western Australians to reduce energy usage, saying that the situation could be managed with on going co-operation, while reassuring everyone that the crisis will be short, with the Apache Corporation expected to begin partial operations in two months. Supplies were interrupted after a fire at Apache’s Vanarus Island refinery, which supplied 30% of the state’s natural gas requirements.

An Alinta spokesman has said that with the expected cold weather during the next week demand will put further pressure on supplies, advising that it is critical that all consumers limit energy usage.

Alinta requests that residential customers;

  • use only essential heating and limit it to one room
  • turn down hot water system by 10 degrees
  • reduce shower times
  • wash in cold water.

While suggesting small businesses;

  • shift production schedules
  • bring forward maintenance and shut down schedules
  • turn off equipment not essential to the business.
" href="https://www.crgeng.com/united-states-senate-prepares-for-floor-vote-on-net-neutrality/" rel="bookmark">
United States Senate prepares for floor vote on net neutrality

{{tasks|news|re-review}}Tuesday, January 9, 2018

On Monday, Democrats in the United States Senate announced they had gained enough sponsors to perform a congressional review of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s December 2017 reversal of previous rules regulating Internet service providers, commonly called Net Neutrality.

Under the Congressional Review Act, if 30 senators co-sponsor the action, United States Congress can vote on whether to overrule a decision made by a federal agency such as the FCC. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate would have vote in favor, and President Donald Trump would have to sign the review.

On Monday, Claire McCaskill of Missouri announced she was the 30th senator to agree to sponsor the floor vote. “What I’ve heard from the thousands of Missourians who’ve contacted my office is simple — consumers should have protected, free, and open access to the online content of their choosing,” she said in a statement.

The Obama-era Net Neutrality rules were revoked last month. On December 14, as protesters gathered in Washington D.C., the United States Federal Communications Commission under Chairman Ajit Pai voted 3-2 to overturn the 2015 decision, which forbade Internet service providers (ISPs) such as Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T from blocking individual websites or charging websites or customers more for faster load times.

Specifically, the 2015 decision placed the Internet under Title II of the 1934 Telecommunications Act, which established that Internet access must be regulated under the same rules as a utility. Currently, in the U.S., telephones are regulated in this way, but cable television is not. Cable providers can offer bundled services and otherwise select which channels to offer customers; they do not have to offer access to every channel the way ISPs have offered access to the whole Internet. The new rules voted on December 14 transfer the Internet from the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission to the Federal Trade Commission, which means instead of being forbidden from blocking websites or offering different access speeds, ISPs will only be required to disclose having done so.

Telecom analyst Gigi Sohn, who worked with Pai’s predecessor Tom Wheeler in 2015, said, “There are going to be fast lanes and slow lanes[…] As a consumer, that means some of your favorite websites are going to load more slowly, and it also may mean some of your favorite content goes away because the provider just can’t pay the fee.”

Former Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson said, “Net neutrality allowed something like Etsy to hang out a shingle on the web and give it a try”.

Supporters of the new rule argue Net Neutrality regulations were unnecessary. Commissioner Michael O’Reilly pointed out the Internet “has functioned without net neutrality rules for far longer than it has without [sic] them.”

“Quite simply, we are restoring the light-touch framework that has governed the internet for most of its existence,” said Chairman Pai, who argued removing the rules would make the Internet freer and more open.

“[T]he internet will continue to work tomorrow just as it always has,” promised AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Bob Quinn, who said his company would not block websites or discriminate with respect to content.

Opposition was organized almost immediately and was not limited to plans for congressional review: The Attorneys General for the states of New York and Washington have both announced plans for lawsuits against the new rules.. The United States Congress also has the authority to overrule the FCC’s decision by passing legislation. One such bill, House Resolution 4585, or the “Save Net Neutrality Act of 2017,” was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on December 7.

According to a poll conducted the week of December 6 by the University of Maryland, more than 80% of registered U.S. voters opposed the repeal of Net Neutrality, 75% of registered Republicans, 89% of registered Democrats, and 86% of independents, those not registered to either party. Before the vote, the FCC had accepted comments on the measure from the public through its website, FCC.gov. However, there have been allegations that many of the comments offered in support of the rollback were fakes. Before the vote took place, attorneys general from seventeen states and the District of Columbia sent a letter to the FCC asking the vote be delayed until the matter could be investigated.

The FCC’s decision must be published in the U.S. Federal Register before congressional review can take place or any lawsuits filed.

[edit]

US charges homeless man after plane stolen and crashed in Maryland

" href="https://www.crgeng.com/us-charges-homeless-man-after-plane-stolen-and-crashed-in-maryland/" rel="bookmark">
US charges homeless man after plane stolen and crashed in Maryland
Author:

8 Oct

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Police from Frederick in Maryland, US have charged a homeless man with three offenses after a light aircraft was stolen from Frederick Municipal Airport early yesterday morning. The single-engine aircraft crashed as its thief tried to take off.

51-year-old Calvin Cox was arrested near the scene in the nearby woods after officers arrived. He was discovered by dog handlers. The Piper Super Cub came off the runway and ran onto grass, sustaining damage to its fuselage and propeller as well as possibly its engine. The crash occured at 2:15 a.m.

Cox has been charged with felony theft, burglary, and trespassing. The plane was removed from an airport hangar and belonged to the Mid-Atlantic Soaring Association, who uses it to tow gliders. Michael H. Higgins, the association’s president, said it would be difficult for someone unfamiliar with the aircraft to start it, as several buttons and switches are required. He described the incident as “a very unusual situation.”

Police described Cox as familiar with aircraft. They say that while they have yet to determine any motive, they believe Cox’s “intention was to leave the Frederick area.” Nobody was injured in the crash.

News briefs: February 12, 2014

" href="https://www.crgeng.com/news-briefs-february-12-2014/" rel="bookmark">
News briefs: February 12, 2014
Author:

7 Oct

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Wikinews Audio Briefs
Dateline
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Listen to this brief

Problems? See our media guide.

This article mentions the Wikimedia Foundation, one of its projects, or people related to it. Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Wikinews Shorts: March 7, 2007

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Wikinews Shorts: March 7, 2007
Author:

7 Oct

A compilation of brief news reports for Wednesday, March 7, 2007.

The European Union has banned the 35 planes in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) 45 aircraft fleet from flying in EU airspace. The reason provided by EU was that these plans do not fulfill the safety requirement for international planes and thus were banned. PIA has redeployed its Boeing 777 jets from US to EU flights to facilitate passengers in Europe. Flights PK 782 and PK 790 are still running on time from Toronto in Canada.

Sources

The Oklahoma Senate approved a bill introduced by lawmaker Patrick Anderson of Enid that enables police to seize vehicles when drivers fail to produce proof of insurance. The bill was tacked onto a measure to prohibit inserting microchips into people without their permission. 91,000 drivers have been ticketed for lack of insurance in Oklahoma to date.

Sources

The New Orleans Saints have released All-Pro wide receiver Joe Horn because of money issues. The Saints hope to draft LSU (Louisiana State University) wide receiver DeWayne Bowe in the NFL Draft to fill Horn’s place.

Sources

Sadr City suicide bomber uses fruit truck to kill 66 on market day

" href="https://www.crgeng.com/sadr-city-suicide-bomber-uses-fruit-truck-to-kill-66-on-market-day/" rel="bookmark">
Sadr City suicide bomber uses fruit truck to kill 66 on market day
Author:

6 Oct

Sunday, July 2, 2006

A suicide bomber exploded a truck bomb in the crowded Al-Ula market in Sadr City in Baghdad on Saturday, killing 66 people and injuring over a 100.

‘At the beginning of this market, the criminal blew up his dynamite-packed truck after trying to go over the pavement,’ said Iraq’s Deputy Health Minister Sabah al-Hussein.

The explosion happened when a police patrol was passing by and caused heavy casualties in the morning market rush. Some shoppers were sent flying on top of nearby two-storey buildings.

The force of the blast left a large crater and wreckage of blown-out cars and windowless buildings. Rescuers were left to pick through a sickening scene of human remains mixed in with exploded vegetable matter and dead animals.

Sadr City, a Shiite city of two million in which religious leader Moqtada Sadr has found popular support, had many times before been targeted by Sunni terrorists who were blamed by some residents for this attack.

It was the deadliest bombing of civilians since Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki‘s government assumed responsibility for domestic security in May 2006.

Experts said the truck bomb was a lethal concoction of explosives, shells and shrapnel hidden under a consignment of fruit. The driver of the truck blew himself up in the explosion.

‘Twin Towers’ warship set to enter New York

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‘Twin Towers’ warship set to enter New York
Author:

5 Oct

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A warship built with steel from the World Trade Center is set to enter New York and travel up the Hudson River to the site of Ground Zero. 7.5 tons of steel from the buildings have been used in the construction of the USS New York. When the ship reaches Ground Zero it will fire a 21-gun salute. The ceremony will be viewed by relatives of those who lost their life during the September 11 attacks as well as rescuers and the public.

The official commissioning ceremony takes place on Saturday.

The crest of the ship features the images of the Twin Towers and the colours of the departments that first responded to the attacks.

The ship has 361 sailors serving aboard of which around 1 in 7 is from New York. A spokeswoman for the U.S Navy said that there had been many requests to serve on the ship.

The USS New York departed from Mississippi on October 14. This is the sixth ship to be named after the State of New York.

Tax evasion investigators raid Google’s Paris headquarters

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Tax evasion investigators raid Google’s Paris headquarters
Author:

5 Oct

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Dozens of tax investigators raided Google’s offices in French capital Paris yesterday as part of a probe into the company’s alleged tax evasion.

The raid was conducted by investigators from the state financial prosecutor’s office assisted by 25 information technology (IT) experts, according to officials. “The investigation aims to verify whether Google Ireland Ltd has a permanent base in France” the prosecutor’s office said, “and if, by not declaring parts of its activities carried out in France, it failed its fiscal obligations[…]”.

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., reports most of its sales in Ireland. Google claims most sales contracts are closed in its Dublin offices. If investigation finds sales are being concluded in other countries, Google may need to pay additional taxes in these countries.

In 2014 Google reported a total yearly revenue in France of €225.4 million with a profit of just €12.2 million, paying only €5 million in corporate tax according to the Financial Times. A Google spokesperson said the company is co-operating with French authorities and fully complies with French law.

According to Reuters, a source from the French finance ministry said French tax authorities are also separately pursuing Google for €1.6 billion in back taxes.

A Two Year Olds Adorable Little Toddler Halloween Costume

By Susan G West

One of the best times I’ve ever had was making Halloween costumes for my children, nieces and nephews. Finding something that was both safe, easy to put on and take off and within our limited budget wasn’t all that easy to find.

The simplest and the safest toddler Halloween costumes or those suited for infants, should not interfere with their movement, their eyesight or their halting walk. They will invariably want to practice this on the steepest of steps leading to a home at which they trick or treat, or that party you permitted them to attend.

The ability to wear clothing under the costume is helpful when the climate is not so warm during this time of year, particularly if the costume will be worn over a jacket and additional clothing. Be certain that neither infant nor toddler Halloween costume impedes the movement of the children’s extremities; bunching or gather outfits will make it difficult to walk.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdf1jDWo-Mk[/youtube]

Toddler costumes which are purchased or made should be checked over completely to assure that safety comes first. This includes the review of masks as to not obstruct vision. Far better would be face painting, which in no way interferes with their ability to see what they are walking toward or what may be coming toward them. Flowing costumes which are lengthy should be inspected to be certain that they are not too long and will create hazards when walking or running. Wonderful new toddler Halloween costumes are available which include the use face paints rather than a mask.

Among some of the more inventive I’ve seen recently included a leopard, a dinosaur and a cheetah, which incorporated two piece costumes, with face painting, that allowed for ease of use when the little one invariably had to shed the costume to use the bathroom, or found it necessary to readjust clothing beneath it.

Infant Halloween costumes should have no small parts which may come loose and placed in a child’s mouth while you aren’t looking, nor should they have any type of heavy hood materials which might slip down over a child’s face while they are placed in the rear of a car in the car seat.

Both infant and Toddler Halloween costumes have become far safer than they once were. Materials used are normally flame retardant. Be certain that yours are, as it is difficult to be constantly aware that a child adheres to safety rules with regard to the candles placed in the jack o’ lanterns. Swap candles for glow sticks to be safe.

Toddler Halloween costumes and infant Halloween costumes should be fun and interesting, not a hazard which may take what is a night of magic and fun to something far less than that. With a bit of care and inspection of what your child is wearing, your Halloween will be safe and fun for you and your child.

About the Author: Susan writes about

Halloween Costumes

and offers advice for

Infant Halloween Costumes

&

Toddler Halloween costume

s.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=182431&ca=Family+Concerns