Pre-spill tests showed concrete flaw

According to an article by BBC, there is proof that shows BP lied about test results that should have raised doubts about its strength before the tragedy occurred.  This is really bad because it shows the company didn't really want to take the time to fix things, which led to this environmental disaster. Companies need to be aware of their actions because they never know when things can get out of control.

Nissan Recalling Cars in the U.S.

According to this article by the New York Times, Nissan is recalling 747 000 cars in the U.S and about a million in some other countries including Japan, Canada, etc.Apparently there is an ignition problem in several Nissan models built between 2004 and 2006.There had been no reports of accidents caused by the fault, but they have told owners to take their vehicle to a dealer for checks.

Indonesia welcomes aid shipments

According to this article by BBC, Indonesian tsunami zone welcomes aid shipments. A 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake triggered the tsunami three days ago. Hundreds are missing and at least 340 people died. Indonesia is also struggling with the devastation caused by the eruption of Mt. Merapi, which 


 Indonesia also struggles with the devastation caused by this week's eruption of Mount Merapi in central Java, this has probably complicated things for authorities because they have to help the people affected by both disasters.

The relief effort was limited, said Hartje Robert Winerungan, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency, as helicopters and aid ships were taking hours to reach affected areas.

"Some villages in the remote island can't be reached so far," said Mr Winerungan. "We're working on it.'

MENTAL HEALTH BREAK!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmP4z4CIkCQ

Chilean Miners

As we all know the 33 Chilean miners that were trapped for 2 months, were finally rescued day before yesterday. According to an article by CNN all of them will be out of the hospital by Sunday.

"Today, Chile is a country much stronger and more united, and a country much more respected in the world"

I believe this is a great example for many nations in a way because the Chilean authorities and people from many other countries that specialize in mining, helped to bring them back alive.

Space Tourism

According to this article by CNN hundreds of travelers have signed up and trained to be among the first paying passengers aboard Virgin Gallactic's trips to suborbital space -- 62 miles above the Earth. I think this is really cool because it shows that we are going outside the boundaries and I honestly never thought traveling  this way would be possible. Even though the price ranges from $100 000 to $ 200 000 per ticket I  think it is a big step and perhaps prices will go down eventually as more companies start doing it and the clientele grows.

"I remember thinking how strange it was that after man had conquered the moon, we appeared to have given up afterwards," said King, who built and sold his Clockworks International software company during the booming 1990s. "I think a lot of people imagined there would have been more progress in terms of space flight."

Let's catch up!!!!

According to this article by the New York Times Silicon Valley's solar innovators like Solyndra, Nanosolar and MiaSolé dreamed of transforming the economics of solar power by reinventing the technology used to make solar panels and deeply cutting the cost of production. Billions of dollars have been invested in an attempt to make these companies the Apples and Intels of solar global industry. However, they have found out that the economics of the industry have already been transformed, by the Chinese.  As a result, California companies are struggling to survive.

“The solar market has changed so much it’s almost enough to make you want to cry,” said Joseph Laia, chief executive of MiaSolé. “We have spent a lot more time and energy focusing on costs a year or two before we thought we had to.”

This is a big wake up call, it shows that our society really needs to change to be able to stay ahead. Solar power is just one of the many areas where the U.S is loosing the battle against other nations such as China and India. We need a turning point.

Mortgage Disaster

According to an article by the New York Times the mortgage mess is going to cost big banks billions of dollars. The problem is nobody knows exactly how much money they are going to lose. This is causing great uncertainty for everyone, which led investors to get out their calculators to tally the potential costs — and sent bank stocks plunging.

“The market never likes uncertainty, and it seems like every day we’re adding to the list of things we need to worry about with the financials,” said Jason Goldberg, an analyst. “The industry needs to work quickly to put this issue behind them.”

It is sad to see how nobody thought, or nobody cared about the consequences that the irresponsible way banks lent money. Now all we can do is hope that things won't get worse and learn from this mistakes to avoid this in the future

The Quiz

The following are your scores. They are based on a gradual range of 0 to 12. For instance, a Conservative/Progressive score of 3 and 0 will both yield a result of social conservative, yet 0 would be an extreme conservative and 3 a moderate conservative

Conservative/Progressive score: 3
You are a social conservative. You believe in traditional values, and care first and foremost about your country, your family, and your religion. You dislike the agenda of the left because you see them as trying to destroy these things.

Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score: 11
You're a Social Capitalist, you think that, left to its own, Capitalism leaves a lot of people behind. You think that Health Care should be free to all, that the minimum wage should be raised, and that the government should provide jobs to all that are capable of having them. You likely hated the Bush tax cuts, and believe that the middle class has gotten poorer, and the rich have gotten richer over the past several years. The far extreme of social capitalism is socialism.

Libertarian/Authoritarian score: 4
You're a Moderate. You think that we all have certain inalienable rights that must be protected, but that sometimes laws need to be made to protect the majority's lives or quality of lives. You might think that the 2nd amendment isn't necessary anymore because letting everyone a gun is extremely dangerous to the community. You might also be against illegal drug use or public pornography because of its possible harmful effects to society.

Pacifist/Militarist score: 1
You're a Pacifist. You are angered that the United States thinks it should dominate the world through its military force. You think that the only time war is necessary is when we are in direct danger of being attacked. You also believe the US spends way too much of its money on defense, as we can practically cut it in half and still easily defend ourselves, and use that money to fix all our economic problems.

Overall, you would most likely fit into the category of Democrat