| TheStar.com | columnists | The needle and the damage done
Which means it has taken 27 years for oil to recover to its previous peak price – six years longer than it took for stock prices to regain their losses during the Great Depression. If anything, the sticker shock motorists have experienced at the pumps in recent years doesn't yet reflect the enormity of a crisis in oil that even industry and pro-industry government agencies are beginning, finally, to acknowledge. The world is not running out of oil. But, sooner than expected, it will run short of the kind that is easily and cheaply tapped, a day of reckoning some experts predict will be upon us early next decade – in the blink of an eye for a capital-intensive industry that thinks decades into the future. Long before that point, before pools of conventional oil already in decline are depleted altogether, consumers, governments and the industry will have to make some very tough decisions (see "What").
The Edwards Lifesciences Fund Awards More Than $2.5 Million in ...
IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) , a world leader in products and technologies to treat advanced cardiovascular disease, announced today the 2007 grant recipients from The Edwards Lifesciences Fund, a philanthropic, donor-advised fund the company established in 2005. As part of the Fund's third annual grant cycle, more than 60 charitable organizations received grants between $5,000 and $100,000, bringing the yearly total to more than $2.5 million. "We are proud that this year we are more than doubling the amount of money granted in 2006, and are also increasing the number of organizations supported by our Fund by nearly 40 percent," said Michael A. Mussallem, Edwards' chairman and CEO. "The Edwards Lifesciences Fund is supporting a growing number of organizations that strengthen our communities and help us in the fight against cardiovascular disease, further extending Edwards' reach and impact around the world." Gifts from The Edwards Lifesciences Fund are categorized as either strategic or community grants.
CNN Invites Charles Barkley to Trash Conservative 'Fake Christians'
Then the conversation turned to John McCain, and that's where Barkley unloaded his attack on conservatives: BARKLEY: Hey, I live in Arizona. I have got great respect for Senator McCain. Great respect. But I don't like the way the Republicans are taking this country. Every time I hear the word "conservative," it makes me sick to my stomach, because they're really just fake Christians, as I call them. That's all they are. But I just — I'm going to vote Democratic no matter what. Barkley discussed how he plans to run for Governor of Alabama in 2014. He's been talking about running for that office for years. Does Barkley have any idea that it might be a little tougher to win in Alabama now that he's trashed all the "fake Christians" in that state who disagree with him on the social issues? (Is this the kind of help Obama needs in allegedly bringing people together?) Blitzer gently brought Barkley back around to the "fake Christians" issue, and basically waited until Barkley had tried to explain himself before noting at the very end that perhaps some (or, perhaps, most) Christians are sincere: BLITZER: All right.
Preparing for Global Warming's Health Crisis
Hurricanes pound the Gulf Coast with unrelenting force. Floods deluge the Midwest. Wildfires rage out of control in California and Florida. A "red tide" of algae blooms off the West Coast, endangering marine and coastal wildlife. Dengue fever spikes in Mexico and looms over the United States. No one can say with certainty that any single one of these events is due to global climate change. But there is little doubt among scientists that we are making unprecedented changes to our environment, with grave potential consequences already upon us and others on the horizon. Global climate change is more than a weather phenomenon; it is also a major public health issue. The environmental threats are increasingly appreciated, but the human health effects have received less attention.
Says Superdelegate Carter: ‘We’ll try to hold the party together ...
The former U.S. president said he has his favorite, but declined to make it public during Presidential Day festivities in Plains. (Remember that Carter appeared at a John Edwards event last year.) But Carter seems to think that the 790 superdelegates, who will make up about one-fifth of the votes at the Democratic National Convention, will make sure the final tally is decisive enough to avoid any split. "One of the main candidates, either Clinton or Obama, will be a big majority," Carter said. "We'll try to hold the party together." Permalink | Comments (28) | Post your comment | .
Ups and Downs
It is about a woman who, along with her husband and son, comes to live in the former orphanage where the wife (played by Belén Rueda) once lived. Bad things happened here under the Franco regime. Her son begins to see children who may or may not be in his imagination. When the boy disappears, his obsessed mother is sure the house has something to do with it and is determined to find him, even when her husband has given up hope. Belén Rueda is terrific as the mother, and the film has several excellent jolts for those who prefer suspense to gore. However, the movie is not quite as good at the end as it was at the beginning. n The Kite Runner **½ Directed by Marc Forster; rated PG-13 The Orphanage** Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona; rated R OPENING THIS WEEK Cloverfield The partying people in Manhattan get a rude shock when a monster starts tearing up the town.
Economic Concerns Drive More Consumers Online, According to Prospectiv Survey
As a threat of recession weighs heavily on the minds of consumers, they're turning to the Web for some relief -- in search of savings on consumer products and tips for managing their lifestyles on a budget, according to a recent survey by Prospectiv. Prospectiv (http://www.prospectiv.com), a provider of online customer acquisition solutions to leading consumer brands, is the owner of the online properties Healthier.com and Eversave.com, and operates a lead generation platform used by publishers across the Web. Economic Fears Force Consumers to Adapt Of those polled, 84 percent said they have changed their shopping habits due to concerns about a possible recession. Rising fuel prices, fears about the real estate market and consumer debt topped consumer's list of concerns. What are consumers doing differently? .
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