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Last week I wrote about a delicious Japanese hotpot called sukiyaki, which requires a block of beef suet to oil the pan before cooking the meat and vegetables. Most people understand that suet is beef fat, but what exactly is it, and what do you do with it?

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More than 3,000 El Dorado Irrigation District customers have so far filed protests objecting to the EID board’s proposal to raise water and sewer rates a whopping 79 percent over five years.

If the rate increases go through as proposed, the average EID household would pay $336 more for water and sewer services this year and in excess of $600 more annually by 2015. Increases of that magnitude will be difficult for struggling families to absorb. For some businesses, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce CEO Laurel Brent-Bumb says, the increases will be “catastrophic.”

Last Friday, the chamber wrote a letter asking EID to suspend all rate increase activity for 90 days and to appoint a blue-ribbon panel to study the proposal and consider alternatives. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors has unanimously endorsed the chamber’s request.

The size of the rate hike was not the only thing that troubled supervisors and business leaders. The rate hike notification went out in mid-December and arrived in most customers’ mailboxes between the busy Christmas and New Year holidays when many were too busy to notice. But now that the word is out, tough questions are being raised and rightfully so.

To its credit, the irrigation district appears to have heard its critics and is moving to respond. EID General Manager Jim Abercrombie says district staff will unveil proposals for a scaled-back rate increase when the board meets Monday.

The newest EID proposals will seek to soften the blow on ratepayers in several ways. These include possible salary and benefit reductions for district employees, higher charges for the district’s big hydroelectric customers, and restructuring debt in ways that allow the district to reduce payments to bondholders, at least over the short run.

The changes proposed may not be enough to head off protests aimed at forcing the district to rescind all increases, but they are a necessary first step.

With Netflix caving in to Warner Bros. and agreeing to delay offering DVDs for 28 days after release in order to get movies to stream online, it certainly pissed off a bunch of Netflix subscribers. But, you’ve apparently got it all wrong. A Netflix exec is now trying to explain how the deal is pro-customer because it will keep demand down for the DVDs, meaning that when they finally do come out, you may have a better chance to rent them. Seriously:

The most practical reason is that the savings derived from this deal enable us to be in stock completely on day 29. Remember that we’re a subscription service and the way that you manage the economics of a subscription service is to manage the demand of any disc, depending on the economics of the disc. In the case of the most expensive disc, which in this case is a Warner Bros. disc, purchased through a 3rd party, those discs were out of stock for far longer than 29 days for most Netflix subscribers.

So what were able to is create a deal with them that gave them a little open running room in terms of creating a sell-through window ahead of rental, for us, and hopefully that they’ll find enough value in that it’ll extend to other retailers and other studios will take note and it’ll extend across other studios as well. The net savings derived from technically creating a better customer experience have been redeployed in additional streaming content for all customers.

I’m still trying to parse this, but it really does sound like he’s saying that Netflix couldn’t handle the demand for new releases before, so by getting rid of them entirely, it may be able to handle them on the 29th day, since fewer people will care about renting that movie then. Now, you could claim that’s a better customer experience if you ignore the 28 days in which no one on Netflix can rent the movie (though they can get it elsewhere). But if you realize that you’re now taking away the ability to serve all of your customers for nearly a month at the point when their demand is likely to be the highest… well, that doesn’t seem very customer friendly at all.

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Amputation patients only receiving Motrin for pain.

Doctors in Haiti are in critical need of medical supplies. Like so many, I am heartbroken and wish there were more I could personally do to help. Please join me in making a donation to the relief effort and encourage others to do so as well.

Organizations where you can contribute:

American Red Cross International Response Fund
AmeriCares Help For Haiti
Direct Relief International
Doctors without Borders
HaitiArise
Haiti Emergency Relief Fund
Mercy Corps
Oxfam
Partners In Health
UNICEF
Yele Haiti

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

The Safer Chemicals Healthy Families campaign, of which EDF is a founding member, is releasing an important report today: "The Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act." This report connects the growing number of dots linking chemical exposures to a number of serious chronic diseases that are rising in incidence. These include certain types of cancer, including childhood cancers; learning and developmental disabilities; Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease; reproductive health and fertility problems in both women and men; and asthma.

The report provides a succinct review of the state of the science in each of these areas, and argues that the U.S. has an opportunity to help ameliorate both the rise in these chronic diseases and their associated health care costs — by enacting comprehensive reform of our nation's policies addressing the safety of chemicals.

Check out the report and news release.

Ryan McBride wrote:

The FDA has told Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme (NASDAQ:GENZ) that the agency plans to make a decision on its application for approval of Pompe drug alglucosidase alfa (Lumizyme) made in 4,000-liter batches by June 17, according to the company. The agency decided not to approve the treatment in November, citing lingering issues at Genzyme’s Allston Landing plant in Boston, where the drug is no longer manufactured. Genzyme plans to manufacture the treatment—which is marketed outside the U.S. as Myozyme—at its facility in Geel, Belgium.

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Filed under: Etc., Videos, Bugatti, Humor

You might have heard about a little, but very expensive, storm in a teacup involving NBC, Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno. A quick summary for those of you doing other things with your lives, Jay left The Tonight Show to do a 10PM show, and Conan took over The Tonight Show. Seven months later, Jay’s show isn’t working out for NBC, so Jay gets to go back to late night TV, and NBC tells Conan he can push the The Tonight Show back a half hour, or he can walk.

So Conan’s walking. But before he does he’s going to spend all the NBC money he can, saying, “We’re going to introduce comedy bits that aren’t so much funny as they are crazy expensive.” Hence the Bugatti Veryon mouse. And its really expensive theme music. Follow the jump to watch the video. Thanks to all who sent this in!

[Source: Earsucker]

Continue reading Conan O’Brien gets Satisfaction from latest character: $1.5 million Bugatti Veyron Mouse

Conan O’Brien gets Satisfaction from latest character: $1.5 million Bugatti Veyron Mouse originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YESTERDAY, Buttonwood mused on the problems facing the Greek economy:

It is rare for a government’s bond yields to rise almost a percentage point in the course of a single day. But that has happened in Greece, where two-year yields have jumped 88 basis points to 4.6%, according to Bloomberg; almost four times the yield paid by the German government to borrow for the same period.

It was my case, at the start of the year, that we would see currency crises associated with government debts and it seems to be coming true quite rapidly. Most commenators think Greece will not leave the euro and I think they are probably right; the main reason to leave the euro would be to devalue. But since Greek debt is denominated in euros, that would make it harder to repay. One suspects the Greek government will try to muddle through by a)implementing some deficit reduction measures and b)making the domestic banks buy more of the debt. 

But a lesson of the Reinhart/Rogoff book (This Time is Different) is that debt crises can occur at levels well below 60% of GDP. The Greeks owe 89% and not everyone trusts their figures. The problem is that, as has been seen today, the markets drive up the costs of servicing the debt which makes it even more difficult to get their finances in order. And as Martin Wolf points out in today’s FT, austerity measures tend to slow the economy so that even a determined government can find deficit reduction is a case of two steps forward, one step back.

Greece is in a pickle, in other words. But I think that there is probably only one way this can end (assuming Greece fails in its muddle through approach)—the rest of the eurozone will bail them out. They have to. Perhaps some action will be taken to guarantee Greek debt and reduce funding costs. But one thing is nearly certain: Greece won’t be leaving the eurozone.

Barry Eichengreen explains:

In 1998, the founding members of the euro-area agreed to lock their exchange rates at the then-prevailing levels. This effectively ruled out depressing national currencies in order to steal a competitive advantage in the interval prior to the move to full monetary union in 1999. In contrast, if a participating member state now decided to leave the euro area, no such precommitment would be possible. The very motivation for leaving would be to change the parity. And pressure from other member states would be ineffective by definition.

Market participants would be aware of this fact. Households and firms anticipating that domestic deposits would be redenominated into the lira, which would then lose value against the euro, would shift their deposits to other euro-area banks. A system-wide bank run would follow. Investors anticipating that their claims on the Italian government would be redenominated into lira would shift into claims on other euro-area governments, leading to a bond-market crisis. If the precipitating factor was parliamentary debate over abandoning the lira, it would be unlikely that the ECB would provide extensive lender-of-last-resort support. And if the government was already in a weak fiscal position, it would not be able to borrow to bail out the banks and buy back its debt. This would be the mother of all financial crises.

That’s clearly something everyone involved would prefer to avoid. The bottom line is that states locked in a currency union have each other over a barrel, to a certain extent. A situation in which monetary policies are coordinated while fiscal policies are not is not sustainable. The European Union will intervene if it has to, and it may begin to realise that its institutions need to mature to address these problems, which will not have occurred for the last time.

Amazon has released a kit to let developers create apps for the Kindle — just a week before as techies expect Apple  to debut its much-ballyhooed, but never before seen, tablet-slate-thing. It’s impossible to know what kind of Kindle apps an army of third-party developers will produce, but it’s likely that Amazon is hoping that the wisdom of the techie masses will help their product keep up with the lightspeed rumors about Apple phantom product.

I know that my colleague Megan has trouble seeing what need the Apple
device is supposed to satisfy. And I agree, to an extent. But I think
it’s also premature to decide we have no need for a product whose only
known feature is its flatness. Last night the Wall Street Journal
reported that the Apple Tablet could be a player for magazines, newspapers, books, text books, music, games, and video.
Hey that sounds cool! But again, if all the Apple Tablet rumors ever
were true, the device would be able to stream movies while typing your
dictated emails while curing your restless leg syndrome. Also, it would
have been released two years ago.

But the broader point is that even though the Apple Tablet doesn’t even exist
yet, the rumors swirling around its non-existence have generated a kind
of gravitational force that’s pushing Amazon to turn its own device
into an e-reader-plus. Megan and I might have no use for the
Apple Tablet, but if the e-reader wars only improve the utility of the
Amazon Kindle, it’s a win.

It’s not a big secret how much I adore Tarte cosmetics; especially their excellent lip gloss. Right now there’s even more to love at Tarte including Valentine’s Day date night makeover advice, free lip gloss, and other special Valentine’s Day treats too.

First up a cool freebie – with any purchase over $50 you get a free Jack & Rose double ended lip gloss – just use the code above.

If Jack & Rose aren’t your fave love couple then you’re in luck because all of Tarte’s double ended lip glosses are on a killer sale – just $10. Choose your favorite couple and snag them in a lip gloss – some fun couple flavors and colors include Fred & Ginger, Jake & Samantha, Anthony & Cleopatra, Mimi & Roger, Luke & Laura, and more.

Other special Valentine’s Day products from Tarte…

• natural cheek stain – true love – I love their cheek stain by the way (read my review).
• eye couture day-to-night eyeshadow palette
• slide-tin lip balm with SPF 15

Last up some last minute date night makeover advice for a flawless Valentine’s Day. Watch the video below for tips.

[all images via Tarte]

Post from: Blisstree

Tarte Goodies for Valentine’s Day

artist and motion graphics designer/animator based in los angeles, castleforte has designed lovely paper trojan horses for nintendo america. more of his work can be viewed on his website. he is also the creator of nicepapertoy.com, a social network for paper toy artists and fans who love paper toy!

Analysis by Moyiga Nduru JUBA, South Sudan, Jan 19 (IPS) Sudan is at a crossroads. Its future looks grim. "Only a miracle can save it from disintegrating. The signs are already on the wall," says Khamis Lako, a petty trader in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

It's a far cry from the euphoria that greeted the 2005 north-south peace deal that ushered in a new era of optimism. The agreement, at least from the point of view of the north, offered the last chance to prevent Africa’s largest country from disintegrating like the former Yugoslav republics.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), brokered by outside powers, ended a 21-year conflict between the Arab Muslim north and the black Christian south. According to human rights groups, more than 2 million people perished during the 1983-2005 war.

The fifth anniversary of the deal, is being commemorated on Jan. 19 in Yambio, the capital of South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Even for skeptics like Lako, the deal CPA has produced some concrete results. "The guns have gone silent," he said. "People can now move freely, doing their business without harassment or intimidation."

The south has its own government, flag and a standing army – the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). Virtually all northern troops have been withdrawn from the territory. The semi-autonomous region also maintains a string of liaison offices (embassies in all but name) in most key capitals of the world.

Right now, the north and the south only share nationality and currency – nothing else.

Challenges ahead

Despite the progress made, Sudan’s challenges remain enormous. The peace partners, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in the north, have yet to define the north-south border as it stood at independence in 1956.

At stake here is Sudan’s oil which straddles the north-south border, although most of it lies in the south.

Earlier this month NCP’s Ghazi Salaheddin, an advisor to President Omar al-Bashir, warned that the referendum on South Sudan’s independence, which is scheduled for January 2011, would lead to a new war if key issues such as the north-south border, nationality and responsibility for external debts of over $30 billion dollars were not addressed.

The NCP suggested recently that the estimated five million southerners living in the north would automatically lose their citizenship if the south opts for independence in 2011. The same would apply to northerners living in the south.

Oil

Disagreements also continue over the oil revenue which the south shares equally with the north. The south complains of lack of transparency in the distribution of oil revenue. The north has rejected the allegations.

The north fears that an independent south will deprive it of the badly needed oil revenue. "Secession will leave the north in a difficult situation. Oil accounts for 90 percent of the north’s exports," said John Luk Jok, South Sudan’s minister of energy, at a symposium on 'Southern Sudan: Preparing for 2011 and Beyond’, in Juba on Dec. 5-6.

The north considers oil as a strategic commodity. "The north want their interests protected in a future independent South Sudan, or they’ll sabotage it," Elijah Malok, the head of the Bank of Southern Sudan, told the symposium.

Sudan's foreign friends are encouraging both the SPLM and NCP to start discussing the post-2011 arrangements.

"I believe that we need to come up with a process now so that we can work with the parties and the parties can work between themselves to come up with solutions on citizenship, on the north-south border demarcation, on the sharing of resources – and that includes the oil – grazing rights, the Nile waters," said Scott Gration, special envoy for Sudan, at a news conference in Washington on Jan. 11.

He added, "There’s so many issues that have to be decided that we cannot wait until the referendum is here, until the people have made their will known. It will be too late at that point. These must be done right now, and we’re encouraging the process to start and we are in constant communication with the parties to help them come up with a process and a methodology to get these talks started."

Violence continues

One contentious issue which may unravel the fragile peace deal is the growing culture of ethnic conflict in the south. Since 2008, at least 2,500 people have been killed and 350,000 displaced from their homes by ethnic conflict and cattle rustling, according to a January 2010 report compiled by aid groups including the British charity Oxfam.

Prior to the outbreak of conflict in 1983, cattle rustlers used archaic weapons such as spears, and bows and arrows. But now they carry automatic assault weapons, particularly AK-47s.

Recent consignments, confiscated by South Sudanese security agents, are of brand new weapons.

The sources of these weapons remain an open secret, although the north has distanced itself from supplying them. SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum believes "the enemies of peace" are supplying the weapons to disrupt the referendum.

"The referendum must be conducted on January 9, 2011 as stipulated in the peace agreement," he told journalists in Juba.

Fifty tonnes of aid equipment, which will help thousands of people in Haiti devastated by last week’s earthquake, will be packed up at Oxfam’s warehouse today, ready to be flown out tomorrow.

The aid – including tools, wheelbarrows, latrine slabs and water tanks – will be loaded onto lorries at the international agency’s warehouse in Bicester, Oxfordshire, to be transported to Stansted Airport. The aid will be flown to the Dominican Republic tomorrow morning on a flight generously donated free of charge by British Airways. The aid will then go by truck to Haiti.

The emergency equipment paid for by public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee Haiti Earthquake Appeal, which has so far raised £31.5m in just one week. Increasing amounts of Oxfam aid is being distributed on a daily basis.

Oxfam is starting to work in seven sites across the Haitian capital targeting 92,000 people with life-saving aid – clean water, safe sanitation, hygiene kits and plastic sheeting for temporary shelters. The equipment from Stansted will boost the humanitarian effort further.

Oxfam’s Humanitarian director Jane Cocking said: “It is encouraging to see more and more aid being flown out so our team in Haiti can give the humanitarian support needed by thousands of people in Haiti. As well as looking at their immediate needs Oxfam will be putting its long-term work back on track so that people can put their lives back together for the future. This is being made possible by the tremendous support from the British public.”

The aid will be packed onto a British Airways flight at Stansted, along with aid from the Red Cross. Additional aid from the World Food Programme and Unicef will be loaded on the plane in Denmark, before being flown into Santa Domingo airport on Saturday evening.

Yesterday, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairwoman Sheila Bair gave a speech at the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association Annual Conference. In it, she said a lot of what we already know about Bair’s intentions for regulation going forward. But she also summarized some data the FDIC had compiled on the commercial real estate market. One item particularly caught my attention: the big banks’ exposure.

For some time now, commercial real estate has been characterized as what may be the next shoe to drop. If anything threatens to cause a double-dip recession, it’s a widespread deterioration in commercial mortgages. I’ve written about this several times. Megan’s magazine column this month in The Atlantic also addressed the topic.

But up to now, most of what I’ve read and heard about the upcoming commercial real estate doom had been mostly isolated to smaller, regional banks. They were said to hold greater CRE risk than the bigger banks. While bad news for the FDIC’s insurance fund, at least it would imply that the big banks might not need another bailout due to commercial mortgages going bad.

But yesterday, Bair said:

Despite what you may be hearing, CRE credit problems are affecting big and small banks alike. In fact, CRE noncurrent and charge-off rates are higher at banks with over one billion dollars in assets than at community banks. Industry analysts expect CMBS delinquency rates to continue climbing.

That’s pretty disturbing. Big banks are actually exposed to uglier commercial mortgages than smaller banks. But what does this mean in a broader context?

First, if we do see enormous losses from CRE, they’ll probably hit big banks first, since their delinquency and charge-off rates are initially higher. Then regional banks’ CRE losses will follow. Even if the smaller banks’ mortgages are a tad cleaner than those the bigger banks hold, it might not matter: just as we saw with residential mortgages, even prime loans can experience deterioration in an environment like this.

I think this is actually worse news than if the situation was reversed, and the losses began at regional banks first instead. If the big banks begin to encounter problems again before an economic recovery is well underway, this would almost certainly throw the financial markets back into disarray. A fragile economy couldn’t handle it.

But if regional banks got hit first, then the pain would initially be more dispersed and less front-page. That would more likely allow the economic recovery to slowly continue, without too strong a shock to the market or sentiment. Then, if it hit the big banks later, the economy might have recovered enough to better endure it.

We still don’t know how much pain CRE will bring. It could be a false alarm. But the sobering information Bair provides above at least provides some clue of how to know when we’re in the early bands of the storm. If large banks begin reporting big CRE losses, then we’re likely in for a heap of trouble.

The Dacia Duster light SUV will, most probably, be launched in May as Jack Chauvet, Executive Council President of the automaker revealed in a statement for Mediafax.

He added that the car’s production version will almost certainly be reveled to the media one month earlier.

According to Chauvet, we will have to wait until the Geneva Auto Show to get some information about the all-important price of the car. The Duster will offer excellent value for money,, Chauvet was quoted as saying by M… (read more)