Cool stories not worthy of full threads thread

[choxorn]

It was already mentioned a couple of days ago in the OWS thread.

 

[Monsterzuma]

Global economic outlook grim, China tells U.S. trade

(Reuters) - Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan warned on Monday the global economy is in a grim state and the visiting U.S. commerce secretary said China would spend $1.7 trillion on strategic sectors as Beijing seeks to bolster waning growth.

Wang said an "unbalanced recovery" may be the best option to deal with what he had described on Saturday as a certain chronic global recession, suggesting Beijing would bolster its own economy before it worries about global imbalances at the heart of trade tensions with Washington.

"An unbalanced recovery would be better than a balanced recession," he said at the annual U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, or JCCT, in the southwest Chinese city of Chengdu.

The comments, echoed by Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao, stopped short of suggesting China would try to boost exports as it had done during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis when it pegged the yuan to the dollar.

Instead, U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson told reporters that China had confirmed to U.S. officials that it planned to spend $1.7 trillion on strategic sectors in the next five years.

Beijing has previously said these sectors include alternative energy, biotechnology and advanced equipment manufacturing, underlining its aim to shift the growth engine of the world's No.2 economy to cleaner and high-tech sectors.

The investment amount of 10 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) is more than two times bigger than the eye-popping 4 trillion yuan stimulus package launched during the global financial crisis, plans first reported by Reuters a year ago.

"Global economic conditions remain grim, and ensuring economic recovery is the overriding priority," said Wang, the top official steering China's financial and trade policy, at the start of the second day of talks with the Americans.

His comments suggested that Beijing should attend to bolstering China's own growth before it worried about global imbalances. In other words, a strong Chinese economy that brings a continued trade deficit with the United States would be better for the world economy than a slowdown in China itself.

"As major world economies, China and the United States would make a positive contribution to the world through their own steady development," Wang told dozens of trade, investment, energy and agricultural officials from each government seated in a conference hall.

ALARM OVER ECONOMIC RISKS

Policymakers globally have voiced alarm over economic risks, which mainly stem from the euro zone debt crisis.

Monday, Singapore and Thailand said their economies would shrink in the fourth quarter and Japan posted a bigger than expected fall in October exports. Some central banks, including those in Brazil and Indonesia, have cut interest rates.

On Saturday, Wang gave the most dire assessment on the world economy from a senior Chinese policymaker to date.

"The one thing that we can be certain of, among all the uncertainties, is that the global economic recession caused by the international financial crisis will be chronic," he was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.

The remarks weighed on Chinese and Hong Kong stocks, while world markets were also weak as investors fretted over the euro zone debt crisis.

China's growth slowed to 9.1 percent in the third quarter from 9.5 percent in the second-quarter and 9.7 percent in the first quarter, but the rate remains in Beijing's comfort zone.

After tightening monetary policy to fight the threat of inflation, the central bank has since loosened its grip on bank credit in a bid to support cash-starved small firms and pledged to fine-tune policy if needed as economic growth slowed down.

"It's clear now that Beijing is ready for policy fine-tuning (to support growth) at a time when the overall domestic and foreign economic situation is not optimistic," said Hua Zhongwei, an economist with Huachuang Securities in Beijing.

ON TRADE, FRICTION AND PROGRESS

U.S. officials said the discussions yielded progress on the question of forced technology transfers to Chinese companies, long a sore point for U.S. businesses, and on other trade irritants involving software, beef and cars.

In particular, China committed not to require foreign automakers to hand their new energy vehicle technology over to Chinese partners, or to establish Chinese brands as a condition for market access, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

"China also confirmed that foreign-invested companies will be eligible on an equal basis for any subsidies or incentive programs for electric vehicles," Kirk said, highlighting an issue that was a top concern for many U.S. lawmakers.

Robert Holleyman, president of the Business Software Alliance, said in Washington he was he was encouraged by a renewed Chinese commitment to ensure government agencies and state-owned companies are using only legal software.

"We are pleased that the State Council, China's chief governing body, has been put directly in charge. We need to see tangible results in the short term and long term, because the scale of piracy in China is enormous," Holleyman said.

Although the JCCT talks do not address exchange rate policies, U.S. officials at the talks warned Wang and his colleagues that they could not ignore rising American impatience with China's trade policies and investment barriers.

U.S. gripes about China's trade-boosting policies spilled into President Barack Obama's meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday in Bali, when Obama raised China's exchange rate policies, which many in Washington say keep the yuan cheap against the dollar in order to help Chinese exports.

However, Zhong Wei, an influential economist at Beijing Normal University, said the benefits to the United States of yuan appreciation "are nearly zero."

"Cheap Chinese goods have been a subsidy for the poor in the U.S., and now the U.S. government wants to eliminate such subsidy while it's having difficulty creating jobs," he said.

At the heart of the trade friction between the two countries is a U.S. trade deficit with China that swelled in 2010 to a record $273.1 billion from about $226.9 billion in 2009.

Bryson told the talks the United States welcomed more expanded trade and investment, on balanced terms.

"But a reality also is that many in the U.S., including the business community and the Congress, are moving toward a more negative view of our trading relationship, and they question whether the JCCT is able to make meaningful progress," said Bryson.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Yao, Zhou Xin and Langi Chiang in Beijing and Doug Palmer in Washington; Editing by Don Durfee, Neil Fullick and Vicki Allen)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/21/us-china-usa-economy-idUSTRE7AK0BD20111121

discussion:
http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthread.php/20974-China-announces-plans-for-1.7T-stimulus

$1.7 TRILLION?! one THIRD of their yearly national output?

 

[Narz]

Beijing has previously said these sectors include alternative energy, biotechnology and advanced equipment manufacturing, underlining its aim to shift the growth engine of the world's No.2 economy to cleaner and high-tech sectors.

We give money to the banks, China gives it to clean energy & technology industries. It's pretty clear China's leaders are alot smarter than ours.

 

[Monsterzuma]

Chinese Try to Return Newly Purchased Homes

Falling real estate prices in China have spread from major
cities to second and third-tier cities.
Many recent homebuyers are protesting and buyers in major
cities are trying to return their recent purchases.
Analysts point out that after the real estate bubble popped,
it caused a major public uproar in China.
Even though the government finally stepped in,
buyers had already been harmed.
Many small and medium-sized real estate developers in China
are facing bankruptcy.

According to mainland media reports, real estate prices
continue to drop in Beijing and Shanghai.
A number of purchases fell sharply,
causing a rapid increase in inventory.

On November 18, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics
released October's housing price trend for 70 cities.
Prices are on the decline in 34 cities, spreading faster than
what most people imagined.

At the same time, some recent buyers feel cheated seeing
the value of their home drop by 100,000 to 1 million yuan [US$15,700 to US$157,000] in less than a month.

On November 21, the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP)
mouthpiece, Xinhua News Agency, reported new housing data for Beijing, Shanghai, Nangjing, and other cities.
In the last two months, eight different developers reported disputes
or conflicts with recent buyers, due to a drop in housing prices.

A Shanghai homebuyer told local media
that she wants to cancel her recent home purchase.
She said the main issue was the problem with the government's
purchase polices, thus consumers shouldn't be held responsible.
She said, "We bought a house that's still under construction,
we don't even have the house, but house prices have already fallen this much.
I don't think we should be responsible for the developer's
unrealistically high selling prices."

Indonesia's Sin Chew Daily commentator, Yu Zhusheng,
told NTD TV reporter, the housing bubble in China has caused major public grievances.
Although the government finally stepped in,
buyers had already been harmed.

Yu Zhusheng, "There was collusion between officials and
businesses.
Those with connections got land for developers to
build on, but were not regulated by the government.
The government just started regulating things,
after public grievances poured in.
I think the government should take responsibility."

According to Voice of America, real estate commentator,
Yan Liang, from Jiangsu said, there are two reasons for this:
First, there are very few ways for consumers to protect
their rights.
Second, using illegal means, developers pay extremely low
building costs.
This means, even if the buyer sues the developer for false advertisement
and for not keeping his promise, and provides solid evidence,
according to the current Consumer Protection Laws,
it's hard to severely punish the developer.

However, real estate developers are also complaining
because the government's purchase-limit policy stopped their cash flow, forcing them to sell at lower prices.
Now with a sharp drop in purchase prices, a shrinking market,
and excessive inventory, many small and medium sized developers are near bankruptcy.

It was reported that the CEO of Greentown Real Estate,
Song Weiping was very pessimistic about the future.
He said, "If this continue for too much longer,
many developers might really face bankruptcy."

Experts pointed out that the fact that so many people
are trying to return their homes, shows many hidden injustices.
Loopholes in government regulations
leads to great suffering for the public.

NTD reporters Chen Han, Huang Rong and Xue Li

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P20zvAj700o&feature=feedu

looks like the bubble bursting is already being described in past tense.

 

[Narz]

Props to the Bolivan people!

http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews...loses-all-their-restaurants-in-bolivia/12787/

Edit : THink I'll made this into it's own thread in the light of the Congrats Brazil thread.

 

[Monsterzuma]

The Four Companies That Control the 147 Companies That Own Everything
There may be 147 companies in the world that own everything, as colleague Bruce Upbin points out and they are dominated by investment companies as Eric Savitz rightly points out. But it’s not you and I who really control those companies, even though much of our money is in them. Given the nature of how money is invested, there are four companies in the shadows that really control those companies that own everything.

the real power to control the world lies with four companies: McGraw-Hill, which owns Standard & Poor’s, Northwestern Mutual, which owns Russell Investments, the index arm of which runs the benchmark Russell 1,000 and Russell 3,000, CME Group which owns 90% of Dow Jones Indexes, and Barclay’s, which took over Lehman Brothers and its Lehman Aggregate Bond Index, the dominant world bond fund index. Together, these four firms dominate the world of indexing. And in turn, that means they hold real sway over the world’s money.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brendan...ontrol-the-147-companies-that-own-everything/

 

[Narz]

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/monkeys-found-have-used-tools-escape-zoo-brazil.html

 

[Narz]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...s-eating-McDonalds-chicken-nuggets-age-2.html

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

You've got a weird definition of "cool", that's all I'm saying.

Anyway, useful advice!

A Physics Professor Asks: Are No-Name Batteries a Better Value Than Major Brands?

If the batteries in question are used to power a simple device like a flashlight, the dollar store is probably where you want to shop. The power for these batteries will fade more quickly than the name brands, but dollar store batteries will provide enough juice to keep the flashlight functioning nearly as long as the pricier ones. Even if you have to replace the batteries a bit more frequently, the dollar store models are better overall values because they’re so much cheaper.

But, Allain explains, the equation changes when batteries are used for more complicated devices:
[...]
For devices such as these, then, in which a strong, steady, long-lasting power source sure does come in handy, it’s usually smarter to pay more upfront for brand-name batteries.

 

[Narz]

Well, I agree, the story is more sad than cool.

But if it raises awareness for others it's a good thing. She's sacrificing herself for the greater good.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

How many other people eat nothing but chicken nuggets and fries?

 

[Narz]

Probably not many but I know people who eat pretty much nothing but junk food. One of whom I forwarded the article to (because he's my friend and I don't want him to be dead at 40).

 

[Monsterzuma]

Yes you were right Charles: Plants really can communicate with one another

Researchers revealed how plants talk by modifying a cabbage gene which triggers the production of a gas emitted when a plant’s surface is cut or pierced.

By adding the protein luciferase – which makes fireflies glow in the dark – to the DNA the plants’ emissions could be monitored on camera.
One cabbage plant had a leaf cut off with scissors and started emitting a gas – methyl jasmonate – thereby ‘telling’ its neighbours there may be trouble ahead.

Two nearby cabbage plants, which had not been touched, received the message they should protect themselves. They did this by producing toxic chemicals on the leaves to fend off predators such as caterpillars.
It is the first time such a process has been caught on camera. Scientists say it raises the possibility that plants are all communicating with each other in a complex ‘invisible language’ which we know nothing about.
The footage will be shown as part of a three-part series called How to Grow a Planet, starting on Tuesday on BBC2 and presented by Professor Iain Stewart.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...really-communicate-another.html#ixzz1lOdMekYC

 

[Narz]

Cool article. I read a book years ago called "The Secret Life of Plants" which seemed a little hokey at the time & that I didn't even mention here on CFC as the knee-jerk wannabe scientist types would blast at me for even bringing it up. It was kind of neat though, albeit not particularly rigorously scientific.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

There's no point getting excited over something which hasn't been verified by evidence. That way lies such things as SCAM.

Anyway, the first step towards a drug to treat (not just alleviate symptoms) cystic fibrosis. And something that isn't SCAM.

January 31, 2012|Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer

The Food and Drug Administration approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Kalydeco for patients with a rare form of the disease that affects just 1,200 people in the U.S., about 4 percent of affected population nationwide. These patients have a protein defect that prevents their cells from properly absorbing and excreting salt and water. Studies of the drug showed it significantly improved lung function and reduced other symptoms of cystic fibrosis.

“Even though this drug isn’t for the majority of people, it proves that you can look at the mistake in the genes and design a drug in a rational way that will fix the problem,’’ said Dr. Drucy Borowitz of the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she directs the cystic fibrosis program.

 

[Narz]

There's no point getting excited over something which hasn't been verified by evidence.

Everything verified by science was once something not verified by science that someone was excited & curious enough to study (and of course they had to have money or sponsorship otherwise they could never get beyond "lol, SCAM" status).

That way lies such things as SCAM.

As long as you're not desperate & don't put blind faith in things you'll be fine. It's not good to hand over your authority & critical thinking to anyone.

Anyway, the first step towards a drug to treat (not just alleviate symptoms) cystic fibrosis. And something that isn't SCAM.

Because nothing that's been approved by the FDA is ever a scam (or harmful).

Hope it works though, Cystic Fibrosis sounds like a bad deal. I'm glad I don't have it or have any problem that requires drugs. 10% better than placebo is pretty depressing though I know in the drug world that's a huge deal.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Everything verified by science was once something not verified by science that someone was excited & curious enough to study (and of course they had to have money or sponsorship otherwise they could never get beyond "lol, SCAM" status).

But stuff like acupuncture is "lol, SCAM" when tested. Turns out you may as well just stick needles at random and still have the same effect.

Whatever works under testing is part of medicine. Anything that doesn't is not-medicine and deserves to be ridiculed and denounced.

It's not good to hand over your authority & critical thinking to anyone.

Jenny McCarthy seems to think the same thing.

10% better than placebo is pretty depressing though I know in the drug world that's a huge deal.

Certainly better than no treatment. Or not being able to diagnose the disease at all. Or not being able to know if your future children might have it. Genetics and medicine are pretty useful like that.

 

[Narz]

But stuff like acupuncture is "lol, SCAM" when tested. Turns out you may as well just stick needles at random and still have the same effect.

If you'd even read wikipedia you'd see it had some effectiveness for some conditions. Also on the plus side it's pretty harmless.

Jenny McCarthy seems to think the same thing.

Whatever works under testing is part of medicine. Anything that doesn't is not-medicine and deserves to be ridiculed and denounced.

Sure. That's why I blast crap that doesn't work all the time.

Certainly better than no treatment.

Not really for most people. Did you read your own article? "Even though this drug isn’t for the majority of people". It only aims to help a small subset on the CF population. A little over a thousand people according to your article. So if it works it maybe will help a few hundred, maybe. And what of the side effects?

I'm assume you've gone over the clinical trials yourself, being that you're certain it's legit so perhaps you can estimate some exact numbers & suggest ways to mitigate the side effects.

Or not being able to diagnose the disease at all. Or not being able to know if your future children might have it. Genetics and medicine are pretty useful like that.

Yeah, it sounds pretty bad, I'd abort in a minute if I thought my kid might have that (fortunately not that in my family that I know of). Modern medicine is great for diagnostics (except psychiatry of course which is mostly pseudo-science).

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

If you'd even read wikipedia you'd see it had some effectiveness for some conditions. Also on the plus side it's pretty harmless.

Really? From the same wiki article:

A 2011 review of fifty seven systematic reviews of the topic, published in the journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain found there is "little truly convincing evidence that acupuncture is effective in reducing pain."

Stimulation of a particular acupuncture point (P6, located on the underside of the forearm, several finger-widths from the wrist) is traditionally thought to relieve nausea. [...] more recent, better quality studies included in the review offered more negative results.

A 2011 review that included many case reports of injuries stated that "ninety-five cases of severe adverse effects including 5 fatalities" were evident in the literature reviewed. "Pneumothorax and infections were the most frequently reported adverse effects."[13]

Not really for most people. Did you read your own article? "Even though this drug isn’t for the majority of people". It only aims to help a small subset on the CF population. A little over a thousand people according to your article. So if it works it maybe will help a few hundred, maybe. And what of the side effects?

It's a first step. Unless you know an alternative treatment that targets the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator directly...? Side effects are in the article. I'd think I'd risk those than the guaranteed feeling of drowning in thick mucus.

Yeah, it sounds pretty bad, I'd abort in a minute if I thought my kid might have that (fortunately not that in my family that I know of). Modern medicine is great for diagnostics (except psychiatry of course which is mostly pseudo-science).

Or you know, don't have kids the usual way if the genetic counselor advises against it. Why would you rush to have kids if you have a family history of genetic conditions? That is just blatant lack of responsibility for a parent.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Anyway, a solution to ocean acidification in three words: sea cucumber poop.

"When they ingest sand, the natural digestive processes in the sea cucumber's gut increases the pH levels of the water on the reef where they defecate," says One Tree Island deputy director, Professor Maria Byrne. This works to counter the negative effects of ocean acidification, which is caused by carbon dioxide pollution dissolving in sea water.

One of the by-products when sea cucumbers digest sand is also calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which is a key component of coral.

"To survive, coral reefs must accumulate CaCO3at a rate greater than or equal to the CaCO3 that is eroded from the reef [by ocean acidification]," Maria says. "The research at One Tree Island showed that in a healthy reef, dissolution of calcium carbonate sediment by sea cucumbers and other bioeroders appears to be an important component of the natural calcium carbonate turnover."

The ammonia waste produced when sea cucumbers digest sand also serves to fertilise the surrounding area, providing nutrients for coral growth. Sea cucumbers are among the largest invertebrates found on tropical reefs.

 

[Narz]

Or you know, don't have kids the usual way if the genetic counselor advises against it.

But the usual way is fun!

Maybe I'll sign up for that site that analyzes your genetics, shows where your ancestors are from & all that. My dad was on it I think. Maybe my mom would sponsor me. I forgot the site name, I'll ask her. It's not perfect of course, it said my father was very unlikely to get Parkinsons for example & he got it fairly early.

Those sea cucumbers are cool looking!