Fed: Toddlers overdo calories and salt: survey

AAP General News (Australia)
02-27-2008
Fed: Toddlers overdo calories and salt: survey

By Tamara McLean, Medical Writer

SYDNEY, Feb 27 AAP - Australian toddlers are eating too much salty, calorie-rich food
and missing out on fibre and some essential nutrients, a landmark diet study has found.

The nation has its first clear picture of what children under two are eating, with
researchers behind a new major survey saying there are obvious areas where parents are
falling short.

A public health team tracked the diets of about 430 toddlers aged 16 to 24 months over
three days and found almost all were exceeding the recommended daily …

SA:SA in 'crisis' as job ads fall: Libs

AAP General News (Australia)
05-09-2011
SA:SA in 'crisis' as job ads fall: Libs

ADELAIDE, May 9 AAP - South Australia is in an "unemployment crisis" with job advertisements
falling, the Liberal opposition says.

Opposition employment spokesman David Pisoni said the latest ANZ job advertisement
survey showed advertisements fell by 2.2 per cent in SA last month.

Mr Pisoni said it was the largest fall of any state and put total advertisements down
15 per cent over the past year.

"South Australians are sick and tired of the woeful state of employment under Labor,"

Mr Pisoni said.

"Labor's failure to manage the state's economy is stifling employment opportunities
for South Australians and making businesses nervous.

"Labor has placed South Australia in an unemployment crisis."

The ANZ said nationally job advertisements on the internet and in newspapers increased
one per cent in April to be 20.5 per cent more than the same month in 2010.

However, newspaper job ads fell 3.4 per cent, while internet job ads rose 1.2 per cent.

AAP tjd/jl/nb

KEYWORD: JOBS ANZ SA

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:Abbott seeks 'level field' for industry

AAP General News (Australia)
08-29-2011
FED:Abbott seeks 'level field' for industry

MELBOURNE, Aug 29 AAP - The federal opposition says it will consult with Australian
industry on how to ensure manufacturers hurt by the strong dollar are competing on a level
playing field.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the review of Australia's industries would be co-chaired
by opposition industry spokeswoman Sophie Mirabella and opposition resources spokesman
Ian Macfarlane.

The review will canvass views from sectors that are expanding and contracting under
the influence of the mining boom, Mr Abbott told a Committee for Economic Development
of Australia luncheon on Monday.

"The objective won't be to protect parts of the economy from legitimate competition
but to try to ensure that Australian manufacturers face a genuinely level playing field
when they compete for orders," he said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard met on Monday with industry representatives and unions
following last week's announcement of 1000 jobs axed at steel giant BlueScope Steel.

Mr Abbott conceded it had never been easy to manufacture in Australia's small domestic
market with high wages policies and vast distances to overseas markets.

But he said adjustment packages adopted under a carbon pricing scheme that moved workers
out of productive jobs could easily become a form of "corporate welfare".

Ms Gillard should be talking to everyone involved in manufacturing - "not just union
officials", Mr Abbott said.

"Any meeting to address the problems in manufacturing industry that doesn't address
the carbon tax is nothing more than a desperate PR stunt."

Findings of the review are due to be released by December.

AAP ees/mn/jl

KEYWORD: MANUFACTURING ABBOTT (PIX AND VIDEO AVAILABLE)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

For February 16, 2011, CBS

Chris Wragge, Erica Hill, Marysol Castro, Jeff Glor
CBS The Early Show
02-16-2011
CHRIS WRAGGE: And welcome back to THE EARLY SHOW. Chris Wragge and Erica Hill looking at this beautiful picture of Fort Lauderdale.

ERICA HILL: Fort Lauderdale, looking longingly at that beautiful picture.

It`s supposed to be what-- sixty?

CHRIS WRAGGE: Well, it`s sixty-one now which means-- ERICA HILL: Sixty-one now?

CHRIS WRAGGE: --it`s going to be a beautiful day in Fort Lauderdale. Good morning everyone.

ERICA HILL: Could be eighty today. So there you go enjoy that shot if you`re somewhere cold.

CHRIS WRAGGE: Possibly. It has been a long tough road for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and it is far from over. She was shot in the head six weeks ago. And over the past few weeks, we`ve heard snippets of how well she`s doing. Well, this morning we`ll speak exclusively with Giffords` chief of staff and find out just how well she is, in fact, doing.

ERICA HILL: We`re going to get to that in just a moment as Chris mentioned.

But first, we do want to check in with Jeff at the news desk for a closer look at some of the morning`s top stories we`re following for you. Jeff, good morning.

JEFF GLOR: Hey, Erica, good morning to you. Bernie Madoff says big banks and hedge funds willfully ignored signs of his massive fraud. In his first interview for publication since being in prison, Madoff told The New York Times, quote, "They had to know. But the attitude was sort of if you`re doing something wrong, we don`t want to know." Madoff says he`s helping to recover efforts-- helping to recover billions of dollars for victims of his Ponzi scheme but he won`t discuss criminal cases or provide evidence.

ALLAN DODDS FRANK (Financial Investigative Reporter, The Daily Beast): Bernie, in this interview, has been taking the classic, old-fashioned Mafia stance I`m not going to rat anybody out to the feds.

JEFF GLOR: Madoff is serving a hundred-and-fifty-year sentence for stealing sixty-five billion dollars from investors.

The political monsoon that`s rolled over the Middle East has reached Libya, it appears. This internet video appears to show last night`s antigovernment protests, apparently triggered by the arrest of a government opponent.

CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan is back in the U.S.

now, continuing her recovery at home this morning after she was attacked while covering the events in Egypt. Logan was separated from her crew and surrounded by a mob the night Hosni Mubarak stepped down. She was badly beaten and sexually assaulted.

It is still unclear why two U.S. immigration and customs agents were shot in northern Mexico yesterday. One agent was killed. They were ambushed when they stopped at a roadblock.

And finally Borders, this country`s second-largest bookstore chain, filed for bankruptcy this morning. The filing shows Borders is nearly 1.3 billion dollars in debt. It plans to close thirty percent of its stores while reorganizing.

Time now for weather. It`s thirty-two minutes past the hour. Here`s a look at what`s happening outside your window.

(LOCAL WEATHER BREAK) ERICA HILL: We want to get you the very latest now on the recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who as you`ll recall, was shot pointblank nearly six weeks ago in the head, critically injured, and yet we keep getting snippets about what some are calling a miraculous recovery. In just a moment, we will speak exclusively with Giffords` Chief of Staff for a closer look at how she`s doing. First, though, CBS News correspondent Don Teague is in Houston this morning with more on this story. Don, good morning.

DON TEAGUE: Good morning, Erica. Gabrielle Giffords has been undergoing intense rehabilitation here in Houston for most of the last month. She can now communicate with and speak with her family and friends. It`s great progress but experts say only time will reveal how much long-term damage she has to suffer.

In the nearly six weeks since Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, doctors have called her progress nothing short of remarkable. Just last week, Giffords spoke, asking for toast with breakfast. Then, she mouthed the words to twinkle, twinkle little star. She also took part in a birthday celebration for her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, who is currently training for his upcoming shuttle mission.

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (Giffords` Friend): She was able to sing Mark, happy birthday. You know, mouthed him happy birthday and they`re using the singing therapy which uses a little bit different part of the brain to help sort of retrain her brain to speak again.

DON TEAGUE: But as encouraging as Giffords` progress appears, doctors caution the long-term damage is still difficult to measure.

DOCTOR JONATHAN FELLUS (Neurologist & Neuro-Rehab Specialist): The long- term issues are-- are really going to be focused on-- on her language, her communication abilities, reading, writing, and, of course, moving that right arm as well.

DON TEAGUE: Yet for Giffords, friends say these long-term issues are obstacles she`s determined to overcome.

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You could see she wanted to engage and she wanted to be responsive, and she really responds with facial expressions and smiles and frowns. But, you know, I also saw a little frustration in her wanting to try to respond because she understood and, you know, she just wasn`t yet able to.

(End VT) DON TEAGUE: Well, Giffords still has a long recovery ahead of her, but so far her doctors have repeated that her healing has been nothing short of miraculous. Erica.

ERICA HILL: Don, thanks.

And joining us now exclusively this morning from Washington is Pia Carusone who is Gabrielle Giffords` chief of staff and has been very close to the congresswoman both before and as she is going through this recovery. Thanks for being with us this morning.

PIA CARUSONE (Chief of Staff to Representative Gabrielle Giffords): Good morning, Erica.

ERICA HILL: As we just heard from Don, the congresswoman is able to communicate, even speak in some respects with her family and with her friends. Does she understand at this point the full extent of what happened on-- on that Saturday morning in Tucson, not just to her, but to everyone else?

PIA CARUSONE: She certainly knows that there`s been a traumatic event here.

The-- the details of the-- the severity of the injuries to others, you know, she doesn`t-- she doesn`t know yet about. But she will in time when-- when she`s, you know, at a higher level of communication. It`s that, you know, doctors have said it`s not-- not really fair as you can imagine to tell someone-- ERICA HILL: Mm-Hm.

PIA CARUSONE: --something so tragic and not-- you know someone that might not have the ability to ask the detailed questions that someone will have when-- when they hear this news.

ERICA HILL: How much is she able to ask? We heard-- we heard from her dear friend there, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, talking about the fact that she really noticed express-- her facial expressions and even some sort of frustration and not-- perhaps not being able to get out everything she wanted to say. I mean can she answer simple yes or no questions? Or can she give more elaborate answers with several words?

PIA CARUSONE: It-- it`s a combination. I mean, you know, there`s various words in her vocabulary that are-- that are coming back and new words everyday that we hear, short phrases, simple thoughts. She-- there`s no doubt that she understands what`s happening around her. She laughs at the appropriate times. She, you know, when the conversation turns serious she, you know, she I think can sense that. So fully recognizes people that come in to visit her. So we-- we no one that has-- that has seen her has any doubt that-- that she can understand everything around her. And, you know, she`s just working really hard and progressing. It`s paying off and everyday there`s new progress that-- that you see. And so, you know, we-- we feel very hopeful at-- at her recovery.

ERICA HILL: What-- what is her day like there in rehab? And what kinds of signs are you seeing on daily basis be the physical or-- or even perhaps something you notice in her internally?

PIA CARUSONE: Her days are busy. I mean, you know, part of the reason she`s at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston is because they`ve got a track record for putting together a really great rehab program. So it`s-- it`s multi- faceted. I mean it`s-- you know, there`s different teams of therapists that work on speech and physical and-- and occupational therapy. Obviously, eating is-- is a big part of getting better and sleeping. I mean that`s-- ERICA HILL: Mm-Hm.

PIA CARUSONE: --you know basics that-- that we all know, so she does lot of those things. You know and-- ERICA HILL: Just practicing in terms of like feeding herself, for example?

PIA CARUSONE: Yeah or, you know, just-- you know, she-- we all-- it`s-- it`s, you know, nice to eat. It`s like making you feel like a normal person.

ERICA HILL: Mm-Hm.

PIA CARUSONE: So she-- you know, she`s fortunately got time for all her meals and Mark`s ordered in some food that she likes. And the-- the folks at TIRR have been great. You know-- you know, they-- they-- they just-- they really know what they`re doing, top-notch facility. And so she`s got busy, busy days.

ERICA HILL: All right. Well, we-- we will continue to follow the progress.

We do appreciate you taking some time to keep us updated this morning. Pia, thanks.

PIA CARUSONE: Happy to.

ERICA HILL: Just ahead from shoes to groceries, the cost of many household items are going up. You`ve likely noticed it. But do you know why those prices are rising? We will give you the back story and also help you save money. You`re watching THE EARLY SHOW on CBS.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS) CHRIS WRAGGE: In this morning`s MarketWatch, rising prices. It seems the cost of just about everything is going up and that has a lot of consumers worried, especially as they head to the grocery store or the mall. So what`s behind it? And more importantly, what can we do about it? Well, joining us once again is CBS News business and consumer correspondent Rebecca Jarvis. Rebecca, good to see you again.

REBECCA JARVIS: Hey, Chris.

CHRIS WRAGGE: So we`re going to talk about a couple of things here. Why the prices are going up and what the people at home can of course do to save a few dollars? And let`s start with ground beef.

REBECCA JARVIS: Mm-Hm.

CHRIS WRAGGE: Because they`re actually raising the price on ground beef at the grocery store.

REBECCA JARVIS: Yeah, and you`re really seeing it go up as a result of the fact that companies are paying much more for the input, the-- the cattle input on these commodities has been going up since the summer. And finally, you`re seeing it passed along to the consumer. You pay for ground beef about nine thirty.

CHRIS WRAGGE: Yeah.

REBECCA JARVIS: Nine dollars thirty cents for a pound. You`re going to see that go up about 6.2 percent this year. The way that can you save on it if you go and shop at the grocery store is to shop early. Because sometimes when it`s closer to its expiration date, you can get a better deal on it.

You shop earlier in the day, you get the fresher meat and you get a better deal on it. Also buy in bulk-- CHRIS WRAGGE: Yeah.

REBECCA JARVIS: And put it in the freezer. You can you put it there for four months, it`ll save.

CHRIS WRAGGE: Buy a big bulk of-- of ground meat there. Some appliance companies like Whirlpool, say a giant when it comes to refrigerators, washing machines and things like that. The prices of steel and aluminum going up in April right now. So they`re going to start raising their prices on washing machine.

REBECCA JARVIS: Yeah, well and the primary inputs into washing machines, steel and aluminum are the commodity costs that are rising. You see for an average washing machine will run you about four-hundred dollars.

CHRIS WRAGGE: Yeah.

REBECCA JARVIS: That price is set to rise about ten percent this year to four dollars four-- four hundred and forty dollars, rather. And what you can do is shop in September and October when they clear out the floors because they put the new models in, you get a much better deal on the sale models.

CHRIS WRAGGE: All right. So save your-- your washing machine shopping until the fall. That`s the best tip you have for them.

REBECCA JARVIS: Yeah.

CHRIS WRAGGE: Okay.

Cotton right now at fifteen-year high. Just in the last year alone, it was at fifty-five cents a pound, now it`s over almost a dollar and ninety a pound?

REBECCA JARVIS: Yeah, it`s a huge increase over the last year and you are finally seeing it in the cost of clothing. For example, we spoke with Hanes. And a pack of three T-shirts there is going to run you about seventeen dollars depending on where you`re shopping-- CHRIS WRAGGE: Mm-Hm.

REBECCA JARVIS: --in the country right now. We could see that rise this year by even more than ten percent. Hanes right now is saying they`re looking at the cost of cotton going forward, if it stays stable maybe you`ll see a ten-percent increase in the cost. But if it doesn`t stay stable and say it goes up more, you could see even-- even larger increase.

CHRIS WRAGGE: So what would you recommend?

REBECCA JARVIS: The recommendation is to shop now for back-to-school because-- CHRIS WRAGGE: Yeah.

REBECCA JARVIS: --that increase could be coming in the back-to-school season time. If you buy now, you`re going to get a better deal on it. But make sure if you`re shopping for your kids, buy in multiple sizes.

CHRIS WRAGGE: Okay. Rebecca Jarvis. Thank you very much.

REBECCA JARVIS: Thanks, Chris.

CHRIS WRAGGE: Up next, there`s still no cure for the common cold but a new study says help may be on the way. We`re going to tell you what the help is all about when we come back right here on THE EARLY SHOW.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS) ERICA HILL: We love to bring you good news, especially when it happens in the fight against the common cold. So get ready. A just released study has found over-the-counter supplements containing zinc can reduce the severity- - severity and actually the duration of a cold. Children, it turns out get between six and ten colds a year; adults between two and four. That accounts for forty percent of missed work days. So maybe it`s a mixed bag for you if you wanted a day off. Medical correspondent Doctor Jennifer Ashton is here with the details. There have been all of these studies done for a long time looking at zinc that found pretty much the opposite, that it didn`t do anything.

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON (EARLY SHOW Medical Correspondent): Right.

ERICA HILL: So what has now changed with these findings?

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: Well, the controversy continues. And we`re always looking for the cure for the common cold. This might not be the cure but it certainly looks like it`s a promising treatment. This was a-- a study that looked at fifteen other studies, a little over thirteen-hundred people and found that those who took zinc in supplement form every one and a half to two hours reduced the severity of their cold symptoms and shortened the duration of the cold. Not by a lot, by one day, but still if you`re suffering from a cold that one day means something.

ERICA HILL: And that`s fantastic news. How do you have to take the zinc?

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: Well, in this study, you could take it in any form.

So, you can take it in liquid drop form, in tablet form, in the lozenge form. We have to remember when we`re talking about zinc, like any other supplement, you can take too much of it.

ERICA HILL: Mm-Hm.

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: So the side effects that were seen were a little upset stomach, nausea, abdominal pain. You can get some mouth irritation. But again they found that it did help them a little bit with their cold symptoms.

ERICA HILL: So then the take away for all of us, if you feel a cold coming on should you just reach for the zinc?

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: Well, right now, the-- there`s not conclusive evidence to support that. It can`t hurt you if taken in moderate amounts. So again that`s what the study really showed.

ERICA HILL: Mm-Hm.

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: But the-- the old standbys when you`re talking about treatment for the cold, because it`s a virus so there`s no cure for it, the basics. You want to rest. You want to drink plenty of liquids. You can reach for the over-the-counter cold remedies, pain medications, things like that. Chicken soup one of the best things you can take for a cold and let it run its course. But if you want to shorten it by a day, zinc right now according to the study-- ERICA HILL: All right.

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: --looks like it will help.

ERICA HILL: We`ll take it and wash your hands and if you`re really sick, stay home-- DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: Stay home.

ERICA HILL: --as you tell us all the time.

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: Absolutely.

ERICA HILL: Jen, thanks.

DR. JENNIFER ASHTON: You bet.

ERICA HILL: We`ll be right back with more. You`re watching THE EARLY SHOW on CBS.

(ANNOUNCEMENTS) END

Content and programming Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2011 Voxant, Inc. (www.voxant.com), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.

FED:Accounts exec ordered to pay $14m to govt

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2010
FED:Accounts exec ordered to pay $14m to govt

BRISBANE, Dec 2 AAP - A former accounts executive has been ordered to pay the federal
government more than $14 million in alleged proceeds of crime.

Former director and tax agent Steven Irvine Hart from accounting group Harts Fidelity
Ltd was convicted in the Brisbane District Court in May 2005 of nine counts of defrauding
the Commonwealth in 1990 and 1991.

During his trial, the court was told the offences occurred during Hart's promotion
to clients of investment schemes which would minimise tax.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) also alleges that Hart committed
further similar offences for which he has not been charged.

Hart denies the allegations.

In a lengthy hearing in 2009, the CDPP took Hart to the Brisbane District Court in
an attempt to seize the benefits he made from the nine offences for which he was convicted.

They also sought to freeze up to $18 million they claim he made during the further
alleged offences.

But in a judgment published on Thursday, Judge David Andrews ordered Hart pay the CDPP
$14,757,287 under the Commonwealth Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

AAP cf/crh/msk/cdh

KEYWORD: HART

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Unions launch new workplace campaign

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2010
Fed: Unions launch new workplace campaign

CANBERRA, April 27 AAP - A new advertising campaign slamming the previous Liberal government's
industrial relations policy will be launched by unions on Tuesday.

The television ads will feature people negatively affected by Work Choices, talking
about their experience of the policy and why they don't want it brought back.

The campaign will be launched before more than 500 unionists at the ACTU's organising
conference in Sydney later today.

ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence said unions would continue to push for improvements to
workers' rights, and that it was essential Work Choices was not revived.

"The Australian public voted at the last election to get rid of Work Choices," he said
in a statement.

"Today our message to (Opposition Leader) Tony Abbott is clear and simple: 'Work Choices:
whatever the name, never again'."

AAP bsb/maur

KEYWORD: WORKPLACE

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:30, Dec 13 = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
12-13-2009
HighLights of the AAP National Wire at 14:30, Dec 13 = 2

MELBOURNE - A coroner's finding this week that a self-help course was to blame for
a 34-year-old woman jumping to her death from a Sydney office window has raised questions
about the regulation of such courses. (Selfhelp AAP Newsfeature)

SYDNEY - A study in an Australian hospital has identified a spike in out-of-control
"werewolf" patients when a full moon is out. (Werewolf)

SYDNEY - Pulling a bandaid off slowly is more painful that doing so quickly, Australian
research has confirmed. (Bandaid)

LOS ANGELES - Sure, Tiger Woods has been doing it tough since his sexual exploits became
page one news around the globe. (Postcard LA)

LONDON - Miss Havisham shuffles along the high street in full wedding regalia, her
face stark white, pausing every few steps to pose for photographs. (Postcard London)



CANBERRA - The Rudd government has moved to streamline the Medicare Benefits Schedule
(MBS). (Medicare) (Embargoed until 0100 AEDT on Monday, Dec 14)

CANBERRA - The Rudd government is outlining proposals to make investment easier in
the managed funds and life insurance industries. (Rationalise) (Embargoed until 0001 AEDT
on Monday, Dec 14)

SYDNEY - NSW police officers have been attacked twice by a man they attempted to serve
with papers on the state's north coast. (Bite)

SYDNEY - A carjacker has taken a mother and her two-year-old daughter on a terrifying
ride in Sydney's southwest. (Ride)

SYDNEY - A pregnant woman seriously injured when a bus rolled in Sydney's south remains
in hospital in a stable condition. (Bus to come)

MELBOURNE - China's Party Secretary Liang Baohua of Jiangsu Province to meet Premier
John Brumby at reception to mark 30th Anniversary of sister state relationship between
Jiangsu and Victoria.(China Vic)

MELBOURNE - One person is dead and another is fighting for his life after an allegedly
stolen car crashed in Melbourne's east early on Sunday. (Toll Vic)

GOLD COAST - The toughest road safety campaign in Queensland's history is about saving
lives - not raising revenue, according to Premier Anna Bligh. (Speeding)

BRISBANE - It was a merry Mary Valley in southeast Queensland at the weekend as hundreds
celebrated people power. (Traveston)

BRISBANE - Queensland's public watchdog has seized $100 million from criminals in six
years. (Crime)

ADELAIDE - New panda exhibit officially opened, with Wang Wang and Funi on display
to the public at last. (Pandas to come)



AAP bwl

KEYWORD: HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL 2 SYDNEY

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Man in court charged over terror plot =2

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2009
Vic: Man in court charged over terror plot =2

The charge relates to the period between February 1 this year and August 4.

El Sayed sat in the docks between two security officers behind glass and refused to
stand when asked by magistrate Peter Reardon.

"He would decline to stand on religious grounds," his lawyer Anthony Brand said.

Following the filing hearing, the big, bearded man was remanded in custody to re-appear
in court in October.

Prosecutors will apply for an extension of time to interview two other men arrested
in the raids later on Tuesday afternoon.

MORE mi/pmu/cdh

KEYWORD: TERROR VIC ELSAYED 2 MELBOURNE

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Parliament extends condolences for fires, floods

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2009
Qld: Parliament extends condolences for fires, floods

Queensland MPs have made a sombre return to parliament for the year .. reflecting on
the unprecedented loss of life in the Victorian bushfires .. as well as the state's own
flooding victims.

Premier ANNA BLIGH says Queensland has burns specialists and fire crews ready to help
in Victoria if needed .. and the government's made a one million dollar donation to the
national appeal.

Queensland police have dispatched eight forensic officers to Victoria .. who begin work today.

Parliament's also remembered the seven people who've died in flooding across Queensland
since November.

AAP RTV gd/pjo/af

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC QLD (BRISBANE)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: You must sell your water: Senators

AAP General News (Australia)
08-23-2008
Fed: You must sell your water: Senators

Farmers could be forced to sell their water to the government as momentum grows for
compulsory acquisitions.

With the crisis in the Murray-Darling Basin worsening .. the government has more than
three billion dollars available to buy water rights .. so it can return more water to
the parched river system.

Currently .. farmers only have to sell if they want to .. and if they like the government's price.

But the Greens and Independent Senator NICK XENOPHON plan to join forces in the Senate
.. where they hold key seats .. to make the water buy-backs compulsory.

The government has repeatedly rejected compulsory acquisition and some farmers and irrigators
strongly oppose such a move .. but Senator XENOPHON says it's the best way forward.

AAP RTV ca/wz/fdf

KEYWORD: MURRAY (CANBERRA)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Two charged with kidnappings in Sydney's west

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2008
NSW: Two charged with kidnappings in Sydney's west

SYDNEY, April 17 AAP - Two men will face court today charged over kidnappings and robberies
in Sydney's west.

The charges relate to three incidents in which three men were robbed and two of them
kidnapped near Westmead train station.

On December 4, a man was forced into a car at knifepoint and had a number of items
stolen. He was then dropped off in another street in Westmead.

On January 12, a man was attacked by several men near the train station. He told police
the men tried to force him into a car but he was able to break free and escape, suffering
a cut to his finger.

On January 15, a man was forced into a car at knifepoint and taken to a number of locations
over a period of 17 hours during which cash was taken from his bank account.

Two men were arrested at their homes in Auburn and West Pennant Hills yesterday.

A 19-year-old man was charged with detaining a person for advantage in company and
robbery whilst armed with an offensive weapon.

A 20-year-old man was charged with two counts each of detaining a person for advantage
in company and robbery whilst armed with an offensive weapon.

Both men were refused bail and are to appear at Parramatta Local Court today.

AAP stu/wjf/apm/mn

KEYWORD: KIDNAP

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Drug operation smashed, $200,000 of drugs seized: Police

AAP General News (Australia)
12-13-2007
NSW: Drug operation smashed, $200,000 of drugs seized: Police

Police have arrested 12 people and seized 200 thousand dollars worth of the drug ice
in a major sting operation in New South Wales and the ACT.

Heavily armed police arrested two men and a woman about midday (AEDT) yesterday outside
a licensed premises at Tumblong .. south of Gundagai .. in southern NSW.

A 41-year-old man was charged with 22 counts of supplying a prohibited drug and a 36-year-old
man and an 18-year-old woman were questioned and released pending the investigation.

Another eight people were arrested after police simultaneously raided four houses at
Young .. north of Gundagai.

Three men aged between 22 and 31 were charged with offences ranging from possessing
.. cultivating and supplying a prohibited drug.

They were refused bail and are due to appear in Wagga Wagga Local Court later today.

The other five were released pending other inquires.

Then at one o'clock yesterday afternoon .. local and Federal Police officers raided
a property at Tharwa .. southwest of Canberra.

A 49-year-old man was arrested and police allegedly seized 50 thousand dollars in cash.

NSW Police will seek his extradition from the ACT to face charges of knowingly taking
part in supplying a prohibited drug.

AAP RTV vpm/crh

KEYWORD: ICE (SYDNEY)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Garrett not a celebrity recruit: Gillard

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-2007
Fed: Garrett not a celebrity recruit: Gillard

CANBERRA, April 30 AAP - Labor's environmental spokesman Peter Garrett has proved he's
a team player and not a mere celebrity recruit, by accepting the ALP's new policy on uranium
mining, deputy leader Julia Gillard says.

Following a two-hour debate, delegates at Labor's national conference over the weekend
backed their leader's proposal to lift Labor's 25-year-old no new uranium mines policy.

Ms Gillard said although Mr Garrett, a longtime anti-uranium advocate, spoke forcefully
about his views at the conference he had accepted the new policy was a team decision.

"He (Mr Garrett) has held views passionately across his lifetime and he spoke very
well in pursuit of them," Ms Gillard told Southern Cross Broadcasting today.

"But Peter has also said, as a Labor member, that he understands that it's about decision
making across the team."

Ms Gillard said Mr Garrett's reputation as a rock star has not overshadowed his reputation
as an environmental advocate.

"I think Peter will continue to do what he does best, which is talking about climate
change solutions, talking about our environment and talking about how we can manage our
country better when it comes to protecting our precious environment," she said.

"Australians look to Peter Garrett for those sorts of solutions.

"He has certainly been a rock star, we all remember that and many of us have still
got the CDs to prove it. But apart from being a rock star, he came into politics with
a formidable reputation as an advocate for our environment and that continues."

AAP sld/cp/bwl

KEYWORD: GARRETT GILLARD

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NT: Police appeal for information on murder victim

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-2006
NT: Police appeal for information on murder victim

Northern Territory police have identified the body of a man found in the Katherine
River earlier this month.

The body of 45 year old MICHAEL STREET was found about one kilometre downstream from
the Low Level Bridge on December 12.

An autopsy's revealed injuries to Mr STREET's head had been caused by a crocodile and
he had died from asphyxiation.

Acting Superintendent SCOTT POLLOCK says information from the community has revealed
a vehicle had been sighted in the same area at the time of Mr STREET's death .. believed
to have been on December 10.

Superintendent POLLOCK has appealed for more information to help solve the case.

Mr STREET's believed to have been camping in the area for at least a month.

AAP RTV jmm/crh

KEYWORD: STREET (DARWIN)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Budget to be in surplus says SA treasurer

AAP General News (Australia)
08-22-2006
SA: Budget to be in surplus says SA treasurer

ADELAIDE, Aug 22 AAP - South Australian Treasurer Kevin Foley says next month's state
budget will be in surplus.

Mr Foley said the government had received a report from former federal treasury official
Greg Smith who was called in to review the state's finances and make recommendations on
potential savings.

"What Mr Smith has done is give to government a whole array of options should we choose
to take what he's advised us on," the treasurer told ABC radio.

"That gives us mechanisms by which we can redirect money from some government activities
into other government activities.

"At the end of the day, this budget will be a balanced budget, a budget in surplus.

"There has been much speculation that the budget is heavily in the red - it will not be.

"But what it will be is a budget that gives us capacity to meet the pressing health
needs, in particular, that are ever-present in our community."

After the March state election, Mr Foley announced that the budget would be delayed
several months, with the government now to bring it down on September 21.

That delay was to allow Mr Smith to conduct his review and was also a consequence of
the election which delayed budget preparations.

Mr Foley today described Mr Smith's report as a "detailed, quality piece of work" but
declined to comment on what recommendations might be implemented.

"I'm confident that it will be a very good budget, a balanced budget and one that meets
the demands of our state," he said.

"It is a budget that identifies where efficiencies and savings can be made and also
gives us the opportunity to redirect that money."

"Bringing down a state budget is an exercise in getting the priorities right.

"That is, spending the money where the community expects and wants the money spent
and that means you have to cut back in other areas.

"That's what this budget will do."

AAP tjd/goc/ks/sd

KEYWORD: BUDGET SA

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Search for missing fisherman to be scaled back

AAP General News (Australia)
04-15-2006
Qld: Search for missing fisherman to be scaled back

BRISBANE, April 15 AAP - A search for a teenage fisherman missing in far north Queensland
will be scaled back today.

Eighteen-year-old Matthew John Kinneally, a crew member aboard the fishing trawler
Santiego, was last seen leaving a party at Hay Island north of Cairns on Wednesday night.

Other crew members raised the alarm early on Thursday when they discovered he was missing
from the vessel, anchored in Princess Charlotte Bay.

Two planes, two helicopters, several trawlers and water police searched the area on
Thursday and yesterday.

Cairns water police would coordinate a final aerial sweep of the coastline where Mr
Kinneally went missing before stopping the search, police said today.

AAP lb

KEYWORD: SEARCH DAYLEAD

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: Barnes entertains outback kids

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2004
SA: Barnes entertains outback kids

Australian rocker JIMMY BARNES has performed some of his classic hits during a concert
on the edge of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia.

An audience of more than 100 people from local Aboriginal communities have driven for
up to three hours to watch the concert.

The show, at Watson, a railway siding, is an annual event, now in its fifth year, is
organised by the Indian Pacific railway.

AAP RTV afc/nf/jo/rt

KEYWORD: BARNES (WATSON)

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Congress Reintroduces Bill to Ban Internet Gaming.

By Tony Batt, Las Vegas Review-Journal Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jan. 9--WASHINGTON--On the first day of the new congressional session, Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, re-introduced a bill to ban Internet gambling.

Meanwhile, the 15-member House Gaming Caucus on Wednesday named Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Ill., to succeed Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., as its new chairman.

Leach's bill would prohibit the use of credit cards, wire transfers or any other bank instruments to pay for online gaming transactions.

Leach re-introduced the bill Tuesday night. The House passed the ban by voice vote last September, but the Senate adjourned without taking action.

"Congressman Leach has been told that the House Financial Services Committee plans to make his bill a high priority early in this session," said Bill Tate, Leach's chief of staff.

The American Gaming Association, the casino industry's lobbing arm, has not taken a position on the Leach bill. Last year, some gaming companies expressed concern that payment restrictions in Leach's bill might be applied to brick and mortar casinos as well as online wagering sites.

Leach issued a statement saying Internet gambling is a potentially powerful vehicle for criminals to launder money and evade taxes.

"Internet gambling serves no legitimate purpose in our society," Leach said. "It is a danger to family and society at large. It should be ended."

Rep. Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is an aggressive advocate of an Internet gambling ban. He pressured House leaders to schedule a floor vote on Leach's bill last year.

A former FBI agent, Oxley said in a news release Wednesday that the Internet gambling ban should be passed without delay.

"The (Leach) bill protects families and gives terrorists one less place to hide their illicit funds," Oxley said.

In another gamlng development, Weller, whose district includes the riverboat casino community of Joliet, Ill., becomes chairman of the 13-member House Gaming Caucus. The chairmanship is rotated every two years.

The newest member of the Nevada delegation, Republican Jon Porter, announced he has joined the Gaming Caucus.

"I look forward to being another voice in the caucus, not only to fight for Nevadans but to help educate members about issues that are vital to our state," Porter said in a statement.

The caucus was founded in 1995 to protect gambling interests in legislation pending before Congress.

To see more of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lvrj.com.

(c) 2003, Las Vegas Review-Journal. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

Introgen Invites You to Join Its Fourth Quarter Conference Call on the Web.

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ --

Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN), in conjunction with its fourth quarter financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2001, invites you to listen to its conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet on August 7, 2001 at 4:30 p.m. EDT with David Nance, president and chief executive officer, Jim Albrecht, chief financial officer, James Merritt, M.D., vice president of clinical affairs, and Tom Finnegan, vice president of finance.

What: Introgen Therapeutics quarterly earnings conference call

When: August 7, 2001, 4:30 p.m. EDT

Where: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=627

How: Live over the Internet -- Simply log on to the Web at the

address listed above or access through Introgen's Website

Contact: Channing Burke, Introgen Therapeutics, 512-708-9310, Ext. 322

Introgen is a leader in the development and production of gene-based drugs for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Introgen's product candidates engage precise molecular targets to produce a highly specific therapeutic effect. Introgen specializes in combining appropriate gene delivery systems and therapeutic genes to make its gene-based drugs. Introgen's lead product candidate, INGN 201, is currently in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of head and neck cancer. INGN 201 has been used in numerous clinical trials worldwide either alone or in combination with conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Introgen is also conducting a Phase II clinical trial for INGN 201 in lung cancer and Phase I trials for INGN 201 in additional cancer indications including prostate, ovarian, bladder, brain, and breast cancer. In an announcement earlier this year, Introgen published results of preclinical studies which indicate a possible application of INGN 201 whereby the human immune system may be directed to attack tumor cells. Introgen's second product candidate, INGN 241 (Adenoviral-mda7), for the treatment of solid tumors, is in Phase I clinical development. Introgen controls a broad intellectual property portfolio that includes more than 200 pending and issued patents for a variety of gene therapy technologies. Introgen owns a fully staffed and validated Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) production facility that is producing Phase III and commercial inventory of INGN 201. Introgen has received a U.S. patent for the commercial scale production of adenovirus.

If you are unable to participate during the live web cast, the call will be archived for 30 days at: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=627 or at http://www.introgen.com in the Investor Relations section.

Minimum Requirements to listen to broadcast: The WindowsMedia Player software, downloadable free from http://www.microsoft/com/windows/windowsmedia/EN/default.asp , and at least a 28.8Kbps connection to the Internet. If you experience problems listening to the broadcast, send an email to isproducers@prnewswire.com.

MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here

http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X36342266

Tide of online messages 'is harming our family life'.(News)

Byline: Simon Neville

FAMILY life is being disrupted because parents and children are overwhelmed by the tide of online messages they are receiving each day, claim researchers.

As a result one in three of us is now trying to cut down our use of Twitter, Facebook and email.

Surprisingly the Cambridge University study found children as well as adults preferred communicating face to face.

More than half of all families said it was important to keep some time 'technology-free', and a third of parents said technology had disrupted family life.

Among 25 to 34-year-olds, some 34 per cent admitted to feeling overcome by the volume of messages.

Perhaps surprisingly, the problem was more common among those aged ten to 18, who have grown up with social networking technology, with 38 per cent feeling overwhelmed.

The survey also discovered that 43 per cent of children and 33 per cent of adults are taking steps to reduce their reliance on social media. Professor John Clarkson, director of the Engineering Design Centre at Cambridge University, who conducted the survey, said: 'Communications technology is seen by most as a positive tool but there are examples where people are not managing usage as well as they could be - it is not necessarily the amount but the way in which it is used.' More than 1,250 adults were questioned in the study, which was paid for by BT - the country's biggest broadband provider.

The company recommended that parents limit family internet usage and ensure they know what their children are viewing online.

Justine Roberts, founder of parenting website Mumsnet, warned: 'Social media is something we have to keep a watch on because it can eat into your life.

'We encourage our members to switch off because otherwise you can't give your kids and husband the time they need.'

Altcharge.com is Proud to Announce a new E-signature System for Online Check Payments.

(PRWEB) May 26, 2011

In the payment industry, checks can be processed as electronic items and transmitted via the ACH (Automated Clearing House) network or through paper items (check21). Altcharge is one of the leading paper conversion processing companies in the payments industry. Typically, companies such as altcharge, rely on check21, which has a no signature required rule. However, Altcharge has decided to change this model for the convenience of its clients, and offer an electronic based signature system. Consumers in the past have been used to purchasing products over the internet and signing their signature with a pen, their finger, and more increasingly with a mouse.

Altcharge has created an improved method for digitally signing checks online. Using Altcharge's newest feature, clients will be guided to an online store checkout page where they will safely enter their standard checking account routing number as well as their checking account number. The client will then be prompted to sign their name on the order page. All of this data is transmitted to Altcharge's state of the art gateway product and converted into a regular paper check which will then be ready for submission to a bank.

No signature required checks are often rejected by smaller banking institutions. By depositing signed checks, the merchant has a lower risk of the check being returned before they ship the product or fulfill the service to the customer. This is due to the signature that has been added to the check.

Altcharge is a payment processing company that specializes in processing checks for internet and telephone based businesses. Altcharge is the first company to offer this feature. Altcharge was founded in 2008 and is currently signing up over 150 small to large sized merchants per week.

###

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/E-signature/Altcharge/prweb8494297.htm

Associated Materials, LLC To Hold First Quarter Earnings Conference Call.

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Associated Materials, LLC (the "Company") today announced that its first quarter earnings conference call will be held on Monday, May 16, 2011 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. You are invited to listen to the call, which is available for telephone dial-in and will be broadcast live over the Internet. Company President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas N. Chieffe, and Chief Financial Officer, Stephen E. Graham, will participate.

What:	Associated Materials, LLC First Quarter Earnings Conference Call
When:	May 16, 2011 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time
Where:	Live over the Internet: www.associatedmaterials.com Simply log on to www.associatedmaterials.com, click on Investor Information, and then click on the Conference Call icon, which will appear at the top of the Overview page and at the top of the Calendar of Events page.
	Conference call dial-in number: (866) 469-0038
	Conference call identification number to join the call: 65633387
	Contact: Sherry Wharton (330) 922-2033

If you are unable to listen to the live webcast, the call will be available for replay on both the above website and at the following number: (800) 642-1687 with the above conference call identification number through May 23, 2011.

Associated Materials, LLC is a leading, vertically integrated manufacturer and distributor of exterior residential building products in the United States and Canada. The Company produces a comprehensive offering of exterior building products, including vinyl windows, vinyl siding, aluminum trim coil, and aluminum and steel siding and accessories, which are produced at the Company's 11 manufacturing facilities. The Company also sells complementary products that are manufactured by third parties, such as roofing materials, insulation, exterior doors, vinyl siding in a shake and scallop design and installation equipment and tools that are primarily distributed through its company-operated supply centers.

SOURCE Associated Materials, LLC

WE HAVE TO RAISE THE DEBT CEILING BECAUSE BUSH LOWERED TAXES?

COLUMBIA, SC -- The following information was released by the South Carolina Republican Party:

By John Cox

I constantly hear the president blaming the Bush tax cuts (and everything else besides his own actions) for our current deficits today. Is there any truth to that? The media will have you believe that the Bush tax cuts were mostly for the wealthy and that because of them, the rich aren't paying their fair share. That sounds plausible, doesn't it? Let's examine a few facts first.

The Bush tax cuts were enacted in 2001 and 2003. Together they lowered the effective individual income tax rates for most taxpayers and were phased in over three years 2001, 2002 and 2003. Since 2003, the individual income taxes rates have remained the same, which consists of six tax brackets having rates of 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33% and 35%. Before 2002, there were only 5 brackets, with the lowest being 15%.

So how did these tax cuts affect individuals? Well, if you had a summer job and earned $8,000 dollars in 2000, your tax rate was 15%. In 2009, it would have only been 10%. Your rate would have been reduced by 1/3.

Suppose you earn $30,000. In 2000 you paid 28% and in 2009 you only paid 15%. That's almost cut in half (46%). For an $80,000/yr earner, the rate dropped from 31% to 25%. The table below shows some examples of how taxpayers at different income levels have benefited from the Bush tax cuts.

You should be able see from this table that the tax cuts weren't just for the rich, they were for almost everyone. In fact, those making under $34,000 had the largest reductions percentage-wise.

What was the purpose of the tax cuts anyway? The idea was that in 2000, the government had overtaxed Americans. In that year, the IRS collected more taxes than the government actually spent. What? How did that happen with a democrat (Clinton) in the white house? Aren't democrats supposed to be big spenders? Well, I'd argue that the reason we had a surplus was two-fold. First, the republicans took control of the US House of Representative for the first time since 1953, which, in my opinion, curtailed spending growth. Second, and more importantly, income tax revenues were at an all time high due largely to the internet bubble of the late 1990's. The economic impact of the Internet was tremendous. It created thousands of new companies and jobs, provided new markets for others, and gave individuals easier access to investment (online stock brokers), which flooded capital into the markets causing stocks to soar.

Much debate was given over what to do with the tax surplus for 2000. Bush and most republicans decided that since the tax money came from taxpayers in the first place, then they would give it back to them by gradually lowering the tax rates such that future tax collections would be on par with spending.

It was a sound plan, despite the controversy. But then a few unexpected things happened, which were not related to the tax cuts at all. The dot-com bubble burst. The investment fury into new technology companies lead to overvalued stock prices which ultimately collapsed. Many companies and investors went broke. The Nasdaq fell from a record high of $5,132 in March 2000 to just $1,720 a year later. Even today, the Nasdaq still hasn't recovered at only $2,800.

As if the dot com bubble bursting wasn't enough, something else happened. American was attacked on September 11, 2001. This also had a devastating impact on our economy. Ten days after the attack, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a 12 year low at $8,235 on September 21, 2001.

Ok, so our income tax collections were hit by three major factors in the first few years of the Bush term: the lower tax rates, the internet bubble, and the 9/11 attacks. In fact, with the economy slumping, the Bush tax cuts were accelerated. Originally, they were supposed to the phased in over a longer period but were enacted in full in 2003 due to the downturn in the economy. Why? Well, the idea behind this strategy is highly debated. As I understand it, the philosophy was that a lower tax burden would encourage businesses to invest (instead of paying higher taxes) and individuals would have more money to spend, thus creating more economic activity. In short, the result was to be more people paying tax on higher incomes, thus offsetting the reduced rates. If this were true, then our government would receive more tax, not less.

Did it work? Despite the dot com collapse and 9/11, yes it did. Huh? By 2006, our income receipts were MORE than they were in 2000, before the tax cuts. America had record setting tax years in 2006 and 2007. In fact, 2006, 2007 and 2008 all had higher income tax revenues than in 2000. But I thought Obama said the tax cuts were bad?

Source: Table 2.1, Historical Tables, FY2012 Budget

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist.pdf

Did the Bush tax cuts favor the rich? If that was true, then wouldn't it be fair to say that the rich are paying less now than they did before the tax cuts?

In 2000, the US population was 281,421,906. According to the IRS, only 37.4% of those people actually paid any income taxes at all. That's right, 62.6% of all Americans didn't pay ANY income taxes...zero. Of course, this number includes children, but still. So what about the 105 million people who did pay? Let's call the top 1% of earners the "super-rich" as Obama likes to say. There were about 1 million people in this category, which was only about 0.37% of the total population. That group paid a whopping 1/3 of the total income taxes reported that year.

If you expand that group to the top 5%, let's just call them "rich". Now we're talking about 2% of the total population. This group paid about half of the total taxes reported. That's leaves the other 95% of taxpayers to pay the rest.

Now let's look at the lower earners, say the bottom 50% of taxpayers. This accounted for about 81% of the total US population. This huge group only paid less than 8% of the total tax bill.

Ok, so that was in 2000. What about 2008, after the Bush tax cuts were in full effect? If these were so skewed towards rich people, shouldn't these numbers be drastically different?

Let's see. In 2008, the US population had grown by about 20 million to 301,621,157. The IRS reports that only 35.8% of Americans paid any income tax that year. That's a smaller percentage than in 2000. The top 1% of those taxpayers (about 0.36% of the population) again paid about 1/3 of the total tax bill. That's right; the "super rich" paid the same share as they did in 2000. What about the top 5%? In 2008, they paid... wait for it... 51%. Huh? Under the Bush tax cuts the richest 5% had to pay MORE? The Top 5% paid 50% in 2000 and 51% in 2008.

This can't be right. Surely, somebody got screwed. How about the bottom 50%? Remember, the bottom 50% of taxpayers, represented 82% of the total population in 2008. The group again paid just under 8% of the bill, slightly smaller than they did in 2000. (7.9% vs. 7.6%)

Source: IRS.gov Statistical Tables for 2000 and 2008

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/00in02mt.xls

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/08in02tr.xls

Ok, so if the tax cuts aren't to blame for the current deficits, what is? Well, something rather significant happened in 2008 (besides electing Obama). The nation had been experiencing a housing boom. By 2006, the average price of a home was more than double (124%) the price it was just ten years earlier. The cause of this boom is also controversial. Interest rates being too low, banks lending to risky borrowers with little or no down payment, and increased foreign investments are just some of the common causes being thrown about today. However, the eventual bust of this housing bubble has a much clearer culprit - defaults.

As the Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates, people with adjustable mortgages could no longer afford their mortgage payments (if they could even afford them in the first place). Home foreclosures began to increase. This led to fewer buyers and more homes on the market, which caused home prices to drop. As folks witnessed their home equity dry up, many even became "under water," which means home owners owed more on their home than it was worth. This triggered an even greater number of defaults and foreclosures, perpetuating the problem. With all of the foreclosures going on, lenders were in a panic. The falling home prices meant that their collateral for the loans no longer covered their risk. Credit markets froze. Banks stopped lending. This affected not only the housing market but everything else. Business couldn't borrow money to expand or make capital improvements. Individual couldn't borrow to buy new cars or make home improvements. Credit card rates skyrocketed. It was an economic Armageddon.

Get the picture? The crisis led to TARP (government loans to bail out the banks), and provided an excuse for the incoming president to open up the spending gates. After spending $787 billion in a "stimulus" package the first month in office, Obama and the democrat-led house and senate felt that our only solution was to pump loads of money into the economy with more bailouts, government rebates for buying new cars and houses, more government jobs (i.e. bigger government) and health care. All the while, blaming Bush and the republicans for letting it happen.

I'll save my analysis of why this happened and who's to blame for another post. But as a result, the stock market crashed. The Dow hit bottom at $6,626 in March of 2009, losing half of its value in less than 10 months. Investments soured, retirement savings vanished, and jobs were lost. The unemployment rate went from 4.5% in April 2008 to a high of 10% by January 2010 and has remained above 9% ever since. This is why our tax revenue dropped after 2008. Fewer people were working.

Source: Table 1.1, Historical Tables, FY2012 Budget

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist.pdf

The real reason that we have huge deficits every year is because of spending. We spend too much. This is not a partisan problem; it has happened under both parties. Some may like to take credit for deficit reduction initiatives, but the guilty ones have both D's and R's after their names.

Source: Tables 1.1 and 2.1, Historical Tables, FY2012 Budget

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist.pdf

The chart above shows our total individual income tax receipts (the green bars) compared to how much MORE money we borrowed (deficit) that same year (the red bars). As you can see, we have been borrowing more than we collected in income tax since 2009. That means that if ALL of the individual income tax rates were doubled (for everybody) to 20%, 30%, 50%, 56%, 66% and 70%, it STILL wouldn't be enough to cover the deficit! And that's assuming that those exorbitant rates wouldn't crimple the economy any further (which they certainly would). In fact, the 2009 income rates would have to have been astronomical to cover our deficit that year (27%, 40%, 67%, 89%, 94%). Would you like to pay those rates? Would you like for your children or grandchildren to pay those rates? Because today's deficits are simply future taxes.

The chart below shows an even more alarming view. Each bar represents the total amount of money that our federal government actually spent each year. The different colors within each bar show from where the government got the money. A portion of each budget came from several different taxes. The remaining amount (deficit) was borrowed which is shown in red.

Source: Tables 1.1 and 2.1, Historical Tables, FY2012 Budget

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist.pdf

[c]A

What are we spending all of this money on? Well, spending levels have increased in almost every category. Have a look.

Source: Table 3.1, Historical Tables, FY2012 Budget

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist.pdf

Where has all of this gotten us? Deep in debt. Our current debt around $14.3 trillion and is bumping against the current debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is the statutory limit authorized by Congress. This chart shows our growing national debt over the past 15 years and the red lines indicate the past times that the debt ceiling was raised. The debt is growing out of control.

Source: Table 7.1, Historical Tables, FY2012 Budget

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt#Debt_ceiling

Now the debate is whether or not we should raise the debt limit yet again. But why do we even have one at all? I mean, if everyone in Congress says that we absolutely MUST raise it this month - I ask, raise it to what? $15 trillion? 18 trillion? And when we borrow and spend our way to that limit, is the consensus going to be that we MUST raise it again to avoid a government default, world-wide financial chaos, and another depression? If the answer is always going to be that we MUST raise the debt limit whenever we reach it, then what in the World is the dang thing for? When does it stop?

Failing to raise the debt limit should not be viewed as an empty threat. That's because world-wide collapse is not hinging on our default, but on our reckless fiscal policy. Once "tax and spend" liberals run out of our tax dollars, they become "borrow and spend" liberals. All of that borrowing is simply future taxes...taxes on our children. Where is the outrage on having trillion dollar deficits when all of the income tax paid in the U.S in a year is barely over a $1 trillion.

Raising the limit without meaningful fiscal reform only kicks the can down the road and digs the hole deeper for our children. Our generation allowed this to happen. It's our generation that should face the consequences.

The World needs to know that we are serious about getting our fiscal house in order. We've gone a 10 year bender, and now we are surprised that we're broke and have a hangover. If Obama feels the need to apologize for America, then he should apologize for that! Let's just hope we didn't "drunk call" anyone.[c]A

Emtec Enriches Services Portfolio with Acquisition of Information Management Capabilities and Expands Management Team.

Emtec, Inc. (OTCBB: ETEC), a systems integrator, announced that it has acquired the Information Management practice capabilities and other assets of Xcellor, a premier leader in high-performance business intelligence and data warehousing solutions and consulting services. The company's founders, Peter LePine and Saj Patel, will manage Emtec's newly formed Information Management practice, which is based on Xcellor services and will expand the core offerings for Emtec's Application Services portfolio.

Through this acquisition, Emtec has added services to its portfolio including data warehousing, data Integration, information management and business intelligence. Furthermore, it broadens the ability to offer a larger portfolio of services across a customer's entire IT landscape.

"The capabilities from Xcellor provide a vast number of new opportunities for Emtec clients," said Dinesh Desai, Emtec Chairman, CEO, and President. "Emtec is continually focused on further enhancing our services and solutions and this acquisition demonstrates our ability to align our offerings with client demands. In working with Saj and Peter, two very talented executives, we look forward to providing best-in-class offerings in the information management area across our verticals."

Peter LePine and Saj Patel, both IT industry veterans, are responsible for growing the practice from the Chicago area office and provide consulting services nationwide for Emtec's current clients.

"We are pleased to join Emtec," said Peter Le Pine. "This exciting new development represents an opportunity to build an enterprise-scale Information Management practice and offer customers an integrated solution set."

Saj Patel added, "We have known Emtec for quite some time and are looking forward to the opportunity to take our Information Management offerings to the next level under the Emtec umbrella. Our clients have been asking for a more complete set of IT capabilities and solutions and integrating with Emtec's offerings will be very instrumental in delivering just that." Emtec, Inc. Emtec, Inc. established in 1964, is a niche systems integrator providing IT services and products to the federal, state, local, education and commercial markets. Emtec helps clients identify and prioritize areas for improvement and then implement process, technology and business application improvements that reduce cost, improve service and align the delivery of IT with the needs of their organization. Emtec's market leading value based management methods, coupled with best-in-class IT technology, consulting and development services, allow us to address a wide range of specific client needs, as well as support broader IT transformation initiatives. Emtec's service capabilities span the USA, Canada and countries around the globe. For more information visit: www.emtecinc.com.

Keywords: Data Management, Data Warehouses, Data Warehousing, Information Management, Information Technology, Internet Software & Services, Emtec Inc.

This article was prepared by Information Technology Newsweekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2010, Information Technology Newsweekly via VerticalNews.com.

Signed, sent, delivered. (use of wireless data technology by courier services in Chicago, Illinois)(Special Report: Business Technology)

To improve service, courier companies embrace wireless data technology

Timothy Menard is cruising up Interstate 55, en route to his Lisle pickup, when a female voice breaks over the black, paperback-sized wireless data terminal on the seat next to him.

"New job. Please acknowledge job."

The driver for Chicago-based Cannonball Courier Services has 30 seconds to respond before the digital message is repeated. He hits the acknowledge key, and job No. 1673 scrolls across the screen: a pickup in Plainfield, close to his current location, for delivery in Naperville. He pulls off the expressway and heads for Plainfield.

Less than an hour later later, Mr. Menard hands a receptionist at a Naperville design firm an envelope; she signs on the tiny signature window of the terminal's message pad, and Mr. Menard hits the transmit button, sending the digitized signature to Cannonball's downtown message server. The data are time-stamped, entered into the job database and routed to a fax server, where a letter notifying the customer of the delivery is queued for transmission.

Two of these $1,200 terminals named "Acknowledger" are being field-tested by Cannonball. Management believes they will revolutionize the courier business.

A handful of Chicago-area couriers are moving beyond the traditional tools of the trade - radios and one-way pagers - and toward a new generation of wireless data technology. In doing so, they hope to streamline delivery operations, offer customers timely proof of delivery and improve their bottom lines.

The technology enables dispatchers to send to and receive from their drivers delivery information, replacing the industry-standard pagers and walkie-talkies.

Until recently, wireless data technology was limited to large international carriers such as Memphis, Tenn.-based Federal Express Corp. and Atlanta-based United Parcel Service of America Inc.

But falling hardware costs and off-the-shelf software are making the technology accessible. to a broader market.

"Before, only big guys like Fed Ex or UPS could afford it. Now, it's available to smaller companies," says Joseph Shayovitch, president of Wireless Links Inc. of Rutherford, N.J., which introduced Acknowledger and a $15,000 dispatch software program last August.

In the Chicago market, nearly 125 courier services compete for $100 million annually in same-day deliveries. They employ an army of bike messengers and drivers who deliver everything from time-sensitive contracts to human organs. Larger courier companies handle up to several thousand packages a day.

The industry's pace can be daunting.

"The biggest challenge is keeping on top of the technology - it's changing so rapidly," says Phyllis Appelbaum, president of Chicago-based Arrow Messenger Service Inc., who founded her company in 1974. "Before, all you needed was a bike and phone."

Says Cannonball President John Rozran, "Business people are under tremendous time pressure. They don't want to wait for things. The question we're asked all the time is, 'What's the latest I can work and still get it there at such-and-such time?'"

Technology is a critical component in this business.

"People think of (courier service) as a low-tech business, but the coordination involves a lot of technology," says Cannonball Management Information Systems Director James Gorman, a former Citicorp vice-president.

According to Edward Moreland, executive director of the Messenger Courier Assn. of the Americas in Washington, D.C., which represents roughly 9,000 same-day couriers nationwide, the industry has made major strides over the last five years to computerize dispatch centers, which typically operate with pagers and radios.

But if Mr. Shayovitch has his way, radios and pagers may soon become a thing of the past.

Carriers have embraced wireless data technology to meet the demands of their customers - who have come to expect proof of delivery and other information about their shipments - and handle increases in delivery volume.

Demand falls short

"Information about a delivery has become as important as the delivery itself," says Eric Field, Cannonball's sales manager, a 20-year industry veteran. "Our public has been educated by Federal Express. They're more sophisticated and more aware of what they can get."

Originally developed to provide communications for computer service technicians, wireless data networks like RAM Mobil Data of Woodbridge, N.J. (recently acquired by Atlanta-based BellSouth) and Ardis - a subsidiary recently put on the block by Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. - are built on a nationwide network of radio transmitters.

But demand for both services, which have been operational since the early 1990s, has fallen short of expectations.

Mr. Shayovitch believes dispatch represents the ideal use of wireless data services and hopes Acknowledger will become the "Netscape of mobile data," referring to the world's most popular Internet browser.

He foresees a day when customers will place Internet orders that will be automatically routed to the nearest driver by a courier service's server, eliminating the need for a human dispatcher.

But a successful wireless system requires all of the pieces to be in place - a mobile terminal with a radio modem, communications software and the network itself.

"We're the last ones to eat on the mobile data food chain," says Richard Miller, a transportation account manager for RAM.

Until recently, it's been slim pickings. The cost of wireless terminals has made it cost-prohibitive for all but the largest carriers.

But the advent of notebook computer technology has driven down both the size and cost of computers, modems and other hardware. This breakthrough led to Acknowledger and a $650 clam-shaped wireless terminal called the Interactive Pager manufactured by Ontario-based -Research in Motion, which also offers text-to-voice, fax and e-mail communications. Unlike Acknowledger, which captures and transmits a digital pickup signature, with the Interactive Pager, a driver must key in the name.

Randy Seiler, president of Schaumburg-based Quick Delivery Services Inc., began experimenting with wireless technology five years ago. The 15-year-old company was the first to deploy the Interactive Pager in the U.S. last year. Mr. Seiler has subsequently equipped his 65 drivers with the RAM-marketed device.

"It's not so complicated that drivers can't use it and not so simple that it doesn't have features," says Mr. Seiler.

According to Mr. Seiler, the hand-sized, two-way pager is the answer for proof of delivery.

"Our dispatchers see a world of difference. They point and click and it's done. It saves a tremendous amount of time and money," he says.

The pager works with Windows-based dispatch software that Mr. Seiler developed at Quick Delivery and began selling to other courier companies through his QuickComm Inc. subsidiary. The software package starts at around $21,000.

One of QuickComm's Chicago customers, Apex Courier Ltd., upgraded to the Interactive Pager and Mr. Seiler's software four months ago.

"The new unit gives us instantaneous paging, time stamps communications and enables us to key in messages," says Denise Mahmud, who started Apex with her husband, a former bike messenger, four years ago. "It all goes back to service. We offer 15-minute delivery, so we need to get to our drivers instantaneously."

Not problem-free

The transition to new technology is not without problems.

At Cannonball's office, near the end of its field test, Cannonball's custom Unix-based dispatch system has stopped communicating with the Acknowledger terminals in the field. The link has been down all week, and the atmosphere in the operations center is harried.

Technologist Mr. Gorman, who has tested a plethora of devices over the years, is determined that the problem is at Cannonball's site and is down on his knees checking cable leads.

"I'm just glad we're in a test mode and I don't have 60 of these things out in the field," he says.

"When it's working, it will be far superior to anything else," says operations manager John Mucci. "It's what we've dreamed about."

NEW MAPCO ORGANIZATION TO SUPPORT NEW STRATEGY

TULSA, Okla., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- MAPCO Inc. (NYSE: MDA) today announced a new organization structure designed to support implementation of the Company's new strategy of "Growth Through Targeted Market Leadership." Effective August 1, the new organization will eliminate the operating segment structure and create a new Executive Office which will oversee the MAPCO enterprise.

James E. Barnes, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of MAPCO Inc., said, "Our new Executive Office structure will focus our energies on our business operations and facilitate the enterprise-wide implementation of our strategy to become the leading marketer of products and services in targeted energy markets worldwide."

In addition to Mr. Barnes, the new Executive Office will include Robert G. Sachse, who will be promoted to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Philip W. Baxter, who will be promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. All MAPCO business operations will report to Mr. Sachse and all financial, information technology and strategic planning services will continue to report to Mr. Baxter. Jack D. Maynard, Senior Vice President - Human Resources and Administration, and David W. Bowman, Senior Vice President - Legal, will report to the Executive Office. W. Jeffrey Hart, Senior Vice President Petroleum, will retire as of November 1, 1996.

MAPCO Inc., a diverse energy company, is the fourth largest retail propane marketer in the United States and also markets petroleum products and other merchandise through a network of convenience stores and interstate travel centers. In addition to operating refineries in Tennessee and Alaska, it is one of North America's largest operators of natural gas liquids and ammonia pipelines. It also operates fractionation and storage facilities and produces and markets natural gas liquids.

MAPCO press releases are also available through the Internet: http://www.mapcoinc.com.

     -0-                        7/24/96 

/CONTACT: Rick J. Neal, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, 918-599-3650, or Don R. Wellendorf, Vice President, Treasurer And Investor Relations, 918-581-1503, both of MAPCO/

(MDA)

CO: MAPCO Inc. ST: Oklahoma IN: OIL SU: PER

EQ-MO -- LAW080 -- 3240 07/24/96 18:50 EDT