| Fresh faces looking to boost economy
Mike Dever, the top vote-getter in Tuesday's City Commission election, said city commissioners, Douglas County commissioners and leaders with the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce need to meet soon to discuss ways to boost economic development. “We need to figure out how to prime our economic development engine and get it running down the road," Dever said. Dever said he wants to ensure that the city, county and chamber — the three groups that provide funding for economic development operations — believe that the proper system is in place to attract jobs. He said the three must discuss what each can do better. He also said he would like the Lawrence-Douglas County Economic Development Board to become more prominent and meet more often. Once everyone is on the same page, Dever said, clear goals must be set, with an expectation that they'll be met.
200th Anniversary Sermon on the Abolition of the British Slave ...
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'we see,' your sin remains." (John 9:41)As we gather to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade, there is much to be thankful for. That Atlantic trade of slaves deprived millions of people - the estimates range from 5 million to 20 million - of their dignity, freedom, and ultimately of their lives.The physical and psychological horrors of this, the greatest relocation, enforced and cruel, of human beings in the history of the world, are beyond imagination for us. 1807, for all its limitations, marked a decisive step in the redemption of human degradation. There has been a proper concern, however, during this anniversary, that it not become a self-congratulatory affair. Not only was the entire process of abolition, of which 1807 was only a moment (however significant) fraught with deep moral ambiguities.
Compliance with standards
The automotive industry complies by 181 out of the more than 2,600 industrial standards currently overseen by the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI). These standards based on the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) benchmarks cover just about every aspect of the automobile and motorcycle components - from batteries to leaf springs and exhaust emissions. What then is the importance of automotive standards, one might ask? TISI secretary general Pairoj Sanyadechakul summed it up perfectly: "Initially we used the standards as a tool to protect the consumer and develop the automotive industry. Now the standards are also used to protect the industry against low quality competition." TISI, which is under the Ministry of Industry, was incorporated in the second National Economic Social and Development plan in 1966 and upgraded to a department in 1979.
The Global Impact of Taiwan's Future
Much has been discussed about China and its growing power. The awakening dragon, the poised-to-be super nation, the astonishing economic growth rate, and the laughable human rights records -- all these aspects have been receiving extensive attention. However, what could be the most important factor in the future of China, or even the world, is mainly neglected: the Taiwan issue.
East Asia has played a key role in globalization, thanks to its rapid economic development. Five of the world's top 20 economies are East Asian nations. Yet it is far from the peaceful region one would like to see. Japan, the second largest economy in the world, has been a historical rival of China, the third largest economy. Both are thirsty for energy resources, and efforts of the two governments to ease hostilities remaining from World War II can be said insufficient at best.
IMF, OECD see signs of slowdown in US economy
BERLIN (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund has revised down its forecast for U.S. economic growth by 0.4 percentage points, a German newspaper reported in its online edition on Friday. A report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development also pointed to a slowdown in the world's largest economy, and signaled a weaker outlook for G7 economies as a whole. The Financial Times Deutschland said it had seen a draft of the IMF's World Economic Outlook, to be published next Wednesday, which said the U.S. economy is likely to grow by about 2.2 percent this year. This compared with growth of 2.6 percent predicted in preliminary IMF figures last month. The newspaper said the draft sees U.S. growth picking up in 2008 to about 2.8 percent, down from 3.0 percent given in the previous figures.
FXCM: Currencies Quiet Awaiting NFP Data
Majors hugged very tight ranges in Asian and European sessions as trading was particularly quiet ahead of the US Non-Farm payroll numbers. In addition, capital markets in Europe and US are closed today for the Good Friday holiday. Therefore, given the lack of liquidity, currency trading may be even more volatile than the typical NFP Friday. In Japan today, the Leading Indicator index slipped further down to 30 from 40.9 the month prior. The index has spend the last eight months below the 50 boom/bust level but during that time has been woefully inaccurate in predicting an actual economic slowdown as Japan’s GDP expanded at a healthy 3.8% - far stronger than most analysts predicted. Nevertheless, the LEI news should not be dismissed out of hand, especially if consumer sentiment begins to waver once again.
Fighting For Air: Frontline Of War On Global Warming
In the most polluted city on earth, the smog is so thick that it seems to consume its source. Iron foundries, smelting plants and cement factories loom out of the haze then disappear once more as you drive along Linfen's roads. The outlines of smoke stacks blur in the filthy mist. No sooner are the plumes of carbon and sulphur belched out than the chimneys are swallowed up again. "We only see the sun for a few days each year," said Zhou Huocun, a doctor in the outlying village of Liucunzhen. "The colour of our village is black. It is so dirty that nobody airs their quilts outside any more so we are getting more parasites. I have seen a steady increase in respiratory diseases as the air quality gets worse and worse." Outside Dr. Zhou's hospital, shoes leave marks in the black dust.
Lloyd Best and the Caribbean intelligentsia
Few Jamaicans would know of Lloyd Best who died last week. Best was a Trinidadian economist and Caribbean thinker who became prominent among the first generation of radical post-colonial intellectuals who had graduated from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in the 1950s and 1960s. Their ideas influenced politics throughout the region in the 1960s and 1970s. We better know some of those names, like Trevor Munroe, George Beckford and Walter Rodney. Best was different from most in three main respects. He felt that the Caribbean was a unique region and needed a unique solution. Political ideologies and economic theories from other parts of the world were to be taken suspiciously. He therefore also felt that the Caribbean intellectual, especially the new generation coming out of UWI, had a special role to play in understanding what was different about the Caribbean to craft creative solutions.
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