Posts tagged commission
European nations could lose powers, EC head’s memo says
Dec 7th
European nations could be penalized by being stripped of some powers if they fail to manage their budgets, according to a memo from European Commission President Herman Van Rompuy leaked Tuesday.
Read more: European nations could lose powers, EC head’s memo says
US Alarmed Over Japan’s Nuclear Crisis
Mar 17th
Hugh Pickens writes “The Washington Post reports that the US is urging Americans who live within 50 miles of Japan’s earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to evacuate as Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said that no water remains in a deep pool used to cool spent fuel at the plant and that radiation levels there are thought to be ‘extremely high.’ Jaczko’s testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee suggests that damage to the plant is worse than the Japanese government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., has acknowledged. On Tuesday, the company said water levels in three of the site’s seven fuel pools were dropping, but did not say that the fuel rods themselves had been exposed. Left exposed to the air, the fuel rods will start to decay and release radioactivity into the air and lack of water in at least one spent-fuel pool sparked fears of a worst-case scenario: the fuel could combust. ‘If there’s no water in there, the spent fuel can start a fire,’ says Eric Moore, a consultant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on nuclear plant design and safety issues. ‘Once you have that fire, there’s a high risk of radiation getting out, spewed by the fire.’ The power company says a reduced crew of 50 to 70 employees — far fewer than the 1,400 or more at the plant during normal operations — had been working in shifts to keep seawater flowing to the three reactors now in trouble. Their withdrawal on Wednesday temporarily left the plant with nobody to continue cooling operations.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Continued here: US Alarmed Over Japan’s Nuclear Crisis
PETA protesters block Atlanta City Hall
Feb 20th
Today, February 14, 2011, concerned citizens led by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) held a protest at Atlanta City Hall. Two protesters and a person dressed in an elephant costume blocked the doors to Atlanta City Hall while holding signs and chanting, “there’s no excuse for animal abuse”. PETA has tried repeatedly to set a meeting with Atlanta Mayor Reed to discuss the intensly cruel and abusive training methods routinely used on circus animals. The Mayor has refused to meet.
State panel: Arkansas birds died of blunt force trauma
Jan 27th
The mass deaths of thousands of blackbirds in Arkansas was caused by “blunt force trauma,” according to a new report by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Read more here: State panel: Arkansas birds died of blunt force trauma
BP Gulf of Mexico Rig Lacked Alarm Systems
Jan 8th
DMandPenfold writes “BP’s monitoring IT systems on the failed Deepwater Horizon oil rig relied too heavily on engineers following complex data for long periods of time, instead of providing automatic warning alerts. That is a key verdict of the Oil Spill Commission, the authority tasked by President Barack Obama to investigate the Gulf of Mexico disaster.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Continue reading here: BP Gulf of Mexico Rig Lacked Alarm Systems
EU wants to bring down mobile phone roaming charges (AFP)
Dec 15th
AFP – Mobile phone roaming charges are still too high in the European Union and efforts should be made to make them almost disappear, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
See the rest here: EU wants to bring down mobile phone roaming charges
(AFP)
Deficit panel leaders’ plan curbs Social Security (AP)
Nov 10th
AP – The leaders of President Barack Obama’s bipartisan deficit commission launched a daring assault on mushrooming federal deficits on Wednesday, proposing reducing annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security, gradually raising the retirement age to 69 and taking aim at popular tax breaks such as the mortgage interest deduction.
Excerpt from: Deficit panel leaders’ plan curbs Social Security
(AP)
Spill panel: No evidence of saving $ over safety (AP)
Nov 10th
AP – The BP oil rig explosion and spill wasn’t about anyone purposely trading money for safety, investigators on a special presidential commission said Monday. Instead it was more about seemingly acceptable risks adding up to disaster.
Read more: Spill panel: No evidence of saving $ over safety
(AP)
EU Commission Says People Have a ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ Online
Nov 6th
nk497 writes “The European Commission wants to strengthen data protection rules to give more power to consumers — including the right to be forgotten online. Legislation it’s looking to push through next year will let consumers know when and how their data is being used, and force companies to delete it when asked. ‘People should be able to give their informed consent to the processing of their personal data,’ the commission said in a statement. ‘They should have the “right to be forgotten” when their data is no longer needed or they want their data to be deleted.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
See the original post: EU Commission Says People Have a ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ Online
Denver Rejects UFO Agency To Track Aliens
Nov 5th
Republicans weren’t the only ones to win big yesterday. Aliens in The Mile-High City can breathe easier thanks to voters rejecting a plan to officially track them. From the article: “The proposal defeated soundly Tuesday night would have established a commission to track extraterrestrials. It also would have allowed residents to post their observations on Denver’s city Web page and report sightings.” Let the anonymous probings begin!
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
See the rest here: Denver Rejects UFO Agency To Track Aliens
Denver’s ET Vote: UFO Commission Proposed (LiveScience.com)
Nov 3rd
LiveScience.com – While midterm elections across the country are deciding between Democrats, Republicans and third-party candidates, voters in Denver, Colo., will get a unique opportunity to decide if they want to create a special government commission to study UFOs and extraterrestrial aliens.
See the original post: Denver’s ET Vote: UFO Commission Proposed
(LiveScience.com)
Tests warned of cement troubles before BP blowout (AP)
Oct 28th
AP – Tests performed before the deadly blowout of BP’s oil well in the Gulf of Mexico should have raised doubts about the cement used to seal the well, but the company and its cementing contractor used it anyway, investigators with the president’s oil spill commission said Thursday.
Follow this link: Tests warned of cement troubles before BP blowout
(AP)
Oil spill report sketches anatomy of a flawed US response in Gulf (The Christian Science Monitor)
Oct 8th
The Christian Science Monitor – The Obama administration lagged in its initial response to the BP oil spill, played down spill projections, ultimately overreacted, and injected politics into the spill response, according to a report by President Obama’s own oil spill commission.
Original post: Oil spill report sketches anatomy of a flawed US response in Gulf
(The Christian Science Monitor)
Safety Commission To Rule On Safety of Rulers In Science Kits
Oct 2nd
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been trying decide for weeks if science kits designed to teach children are safe enough for children to use without vigorous testing. It’s not just the chemicals or sharp items in the kits that they are troubled with however. They are also concerned about the dangers of paper clips, magnets, and rulers. From the article: “Science kit makers asked for a testing exemption for the paper clips and other materials. The commission declined to grant them a blanket waiver as part of the guidance the agency approved Wednesday on a 3-2 vote.” To be fair paperclips can cause a lot of damage, just look at what Clippy did to Microsoft Office.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read this article: Safety Commission To Rule On Safety of Rulers In Science Kits
EU Drops Two Apple iPhone Antitrust Investigations
Sep 28th
The European Commission has dropped its antitrust investigation into Apple’s iPhone policies after Cupertino relaxed restrictions on iOS development tools and altered its international warranty policy.
Read the original post: EU Drops Two Apple iPhone Antitrust Investigations
European Commission lays out new broadband plan, reserves spectrum for mobile broadband
Sep 23rd
It’s not quite the law of the land just yet, but the European Commission has just laid out some far-reaching new broadband rules that, if implemented, could have some wide ranging implications. Some of the basic rules were first announced earlier this year in the so-called Digital Agenda, including a mandate for basic broadband access across the EU by 2013, and a 30Mbps minimum by 2020. Perhaps most notably, however, is that the Commission has recommended that spectrum in the 800MHz band between 790-862MHz (being vacated as TV broadcasters make the switch to digital) be set aside for mobile broadband use by 2013. Just how much will it cost to implement the recommendations? Between 180 and 270 billion euros, or between 240 and 360 billion US dollars. That’s obviously not going to come easily, but the Commision apparently thinks its doable, and notes that a number of measures have already been put in place to increase funding
European Commission lays out new broadband plan, reserves spectrum for mobile broadband originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 07:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Christine O’Donnell: OK to use $20,000 in campaign funds to pay her rent? (The Christian Science Monitor)
Sep 23rd
The Christian Science Monitor – Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell used more than $20,000 in campaign funds to pay her rent and other personal expenses, according to a complaint filed Monday with the Federal Elections Commission.
Read more from the original source: Christine O’Donnell: OK to use $20,000 in campaign funds to pay her rent?
(The Christian Science Monitor)
Commission Affirms NVIDIA Violated Rambus Patents
Jul 28th
MojoKid writes “The International Trade Commission has announced its findings in the NVIDIA/Rambus patent infringement lawsuit, and it’s not the sort of ruling Team Green would’ve preferred. The commission found NVIDIA to be in violation of three Rambus patents. The trade panel also granted an injunction Rambus had requested, which theoretically prevents NVIDIA and the various companies attached to the lawsuit (Asus, HP, Palit, and MSI among others) from selling products that contain the infringing IP. The commission’s decision this week affirms a January ruling that saw NVIDIA in violation of three Rambus patents while dismissing two additional claims of infringement Rambus made.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read more from the original source: Commission Affirms NVIDIA Violated Rambus Patents
FCC must appeal ruling against its indecency regulations (The Christian Science Monitor)
Jul 16th
The Christian Science Monitor – Parents who want government help to protect their kids from vulgarity may also want to keep tabs on the Federal Communications Commission.
Follow this link: FCC must appeal ruling against its indecency regulations
(The Christian Science Monitor)
iPhone 4 Proximity Sensor Bug To Get A Fix Soon
Jul 16th
Good news for all of you who have been having issues with the iPhone 4 new proximity sensor. Steve Jobs just announced today at the special iPhone 4 event that a fix is coming up and it should clear the problem once and for all.
As you might remember, the new iPhone’s proximity sensor is placed in a different spot than it used to be on the iPhone 3GS and older models. Therefore, some users have been suffering from their screen turning on unexpectedly and having their face interact with the screen. Well, hopefully this will soon be just a bad memory.
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Nuclear Power Could See a Revival
Jul 14th
shmG writes “As the U.S. moves to reduce dependence on oil, the nuclear industry is looking to expand, with new designs making their way through the regulatory process. No less than three new configurations for nuclear power are being considered for licensing by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The first of them could be generating power in Georgia by 2016.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Visit link: Nuclear Power Could See a Revival
Debt commission leaders paint gloomy picture (AP)
Jul 12th
AP – The heads of President Barack Obama’s national debt commission painted a gloomy picture Sunday as the United States struggles to get its spending under control.
Here is the original post: Debt commission leaders paint gloomy picture
(AP)