US, EU, and Japan challenge China?s rare earth export restrictions

In a tripartite challenge against China's export restrictions on rare earth materials, the US, European Union, and Japan filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization.?

The United States, the European Union and Japan, lodged a joint complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Tuesday regarding?China?s export restrictions on rare earth exports, materials critical for the production of numerous high-tech products.?

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The three trade powers aim to increase the pressure on Beijing?s export quotas of raw materials, asking the WTO for dispute settlement consultations, which is the first step in a longer process.

The US, EU, and Japan argue that by setting export restrictions such as quotas and taxes, China artificially lowers domestic prices and boosts domestic supply, thus granting local manufacturers an advantage against foreign competition. As a result, Chinese companies have access to more and cheaper rare earth materials, and foreign firms have to grapple with smaller and more expensive supplies.

"China's restrictions on rare earths and other products violate international trade rules and must be removed," said EU Trade Commissioner?Karel De Guchtin a?EU statement.

Rare earth minerals consist of a group of 17 elements with widespread applications in hi-tech businesses, cell phones, computers, light bulbs, and green products such as wind turbines and hybrid cars.?

China currently monopolizes the rare earths trade, holding approximately 30 percent of the global reserves and producing?97 percent share of the world supply,?according to?the ruling Chinese Communist party's official organ, the?People?s Daily. ?For instance,?China accounts for 91 percent of the world production of Tungsten, a chemical element used in the electronics, aerospace, medical, and automotive sectors. ?

Facing re-election later in the year, and with the US economy already dominating the campaign, the Obama administration seems to assume a more confrontational stance on Beijing?s trade policies amid Republican accusations of being too soft with China.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/va3TH40mYZw/US-EU-and-Japan-challenge-China-s-rare-earth-export-restrictions

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Colon Cancer Screening-Tube Cancer

Description:
March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

Dr. Lily Tran of Advanced Gastroenterology and Surgical Associates dispels the myths about colonoscopy screening and explains that in most cases, colorectal cancer develops from precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) in the colon or rectum.
Collected from?youtube.com

Labels: Abnormal, Advanced, Awareness, cancer, Colon Cancer, Colonoscopy, Colorectal Cancer, Develop, Gastroenterology, Growths, Rectum, Screening, Surgery

Source: http://www.tubecancer.com/2012/03/colon-cancer-screening.html

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Bipartisan Bill Prohibiting Private Possession of Big Cats introduced ...

To: ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATIONAL EDITORS

WASHINGTON, Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ ? Today, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives that would prohibit breeding and private possession of captive big cats. The ?Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act,? introduced by Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez, (D-CA), would ensure that lions, tigers and other dangerous big cats?which are kept as pets in the U.S. in alarming numbers?do not threaten public safety, diminish global big cat conservation efforts, or end up living in deplorable conditions where they can be subject to mistreatment and cruelty. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) is expected to introduce a companion bill in the Senate within the next few weeks.

?No matter how many times people try to do it, wildcats such as lions, tigers, panthers and cheetahs are impossible to domesticate for personal possession and require much higher living standards compared to a domestic house cat,? said Rep. McKeon. ?When accidents happen and these wild cats are released into our neighborhoods, it causes panic, puts a strain on our local public safety responders and is extremely dangerous. This bill is a step forward in protecting the public and ensuring that wildcats reside in proper living conditions.?

It is estimated that there are 10,000 to 20,000 big cats currently held in private ownership in the U.S., although the exact number remains a mystery. In the past 21 years, U.S. incidents involving captive big cats?tigers, lions, cougars, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs and lion/tiger hybrids?have resulted in the deaths of 21 humans, 246 maulings, 254 escapes, 143 big cats deaths and 131 confiscations.

?It?s a little hard to believe that there?s a crazy patchwork of regulations governing people who try to keep wild cats as pets. I know it sounds like something you just read about when there?s a tragic news story, but it?s all too real for first responders who respond to a 911 call and are surprised to come face to face with a Bengal tiger,? said Sen. Kerry. ?This bill will ensure that these endangered creatures are kept in secure, professional facilities like wildlife sanctuaries rather than in small cages in someone?s backyard or apartment building.?

The debate over private ownership of big cats garnered national attention last October when the owner of a backyard menagerie in Zanesville, Ohio, opened the cages of his tigers, leopards, lions, wolves, bears and monkeys before committing suicide. Local police, who were neither trained nor properly equipped to deal with a situation of that magnitude, were forced to shoot and kill nearly 50 animals?38 of them big cats?before they could enter populated areas.

?The events in Ohio last year showed the tragedy that can occur when exotic animals are privately owned by individuals, with little to no oversight,? said Rep. Loretta Sanchez. ?Wild animals are dangerous and we clearly need better laws limiting their ownership. Exotic species should be regulated to high quality facilities with the ability to properly care for them.?

The bill would make it illegal to possess any big cat except at adequate facilities like accredited zoos and wildlife sanctuaries where they can properly cared for and sheltered, and would only allow breeding at accredited zoos, along with some research or educational institutions. Violators of the law could have their animals confiscated along with any vehicles or equipment used to aid in their activity, and could face stiff penalties including fines up to $20,000 and up to five years in jail.

In addition, any persons who currently possess big cats would be required to register those animals with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the new bill. Presently, very little information is kept by the US Department of Agriculture, state agencies or local authorities regarding how many big cats are being kept in private hands, under what conditions and where.

The proposed legislation is being supported by a number of animal welfare and wildlife conservation groups including the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Born Free USA, Big Cat Rescue, the Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF), Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), the ROAR Foundation and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

?We applaud Reps. McKeon and Loretta Sanchez [and Sen. Kerry] for their foresight in bringing this important issue before Congress,? said Paul Todd, Campaigns Manager, IFAW. ?Big cats are not meant to be pets, and this legislation will help to protect the public from danger while protecting these beautiful creatures from improper and inhumane care.?

In 2003, Congress passed the ?Captive Wildlife Safety Act,? which prohibits interstate trade of big cats, but the ban only applies to big cats for use as pets. Licensed exhibitors, which make up the majority of private owners of big cats, are exempt, even though many USDA licensees are just pet owners. Currently, two states have absolutely no regulations or permits regarding private ownership of exotic animals including big cats. Seven other states have little to no regulations of private ownership of exotic animals including big cats. Another 14 states allow big cat possession only with a state permit, and 27 states and the District of Columbia have enacted full bans on private ownership of big cats, though all of those exempt Federally-licensed exhibitors.

About IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare)

Founded in 1969, IFAW saves animals in crisis around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE International Fund for Animal Welfare

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Source: http://www.petproplus.com/2012/03/01/bipartisan-bill-prohibiting-private-possession-of-big-cats-introduced-in-house-with-senate-bill-to-follow/

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The Status of Health Insurance Exchanges | The Health Care Blog

By Nicole Fisher

With less than two years before state-based health insurance exchanges are to be operational, most state legislators and health policy experts still cannot come to an agreement on how to set up, operate, monitor or fund state exchanges. However, despite persistent confusion and concerns surrounding health insurance exchanges, the White House recently released a?report on the progress of state-level health insurance exchanges. This publication took a favorable and possibly misleading view of the headway being made by states that are creating their online insurance marketplaces.

The Administration claimed that there are currently 28 states making great progress in establishing an exchange. Even if that were true, this indicates that 22 states ?-or about 40 percent- are refusing to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Although the report does not lie, it also doesn?t exactly accurately portray where most states stand either? The Administration chose to furtively count states that fall into a grey area as making progress toward setting up an exchange. Many states have, in actuality, refrained from any legislative activity or the state legislature has merely set up a committee to ?study options?. What this really indicates is that many states are purposefully not complying with the PPACA mandate to create an exchange, but also managing not to violate it so that they are allowed to keep federal funding, at least until the January 2014 deadline.

The figure illustrates exchange status more accurately by categorizing, into six categories, where states stand in terms of state-based exchange implementation. These classifications range from states that have already established an exchange to states who have taken legislative action not to create an exchange.

As the White House rightly exhibited, there are a few states that have made significant progress in setting up an exchange and benefited greatly from the extra federal dollars. Rhode Island recently received an additional $60 million from the federal government for their collaboration with Massachusetts and Vermont to improve system integration associated with health insurance exchanges. California, Colorado and Washington have also seen legislation signed into law following the passage of PPACA to implement a state health insurance exchange.

In contrast, based on a February 2012 analysis of all states, Figure 1 shows that five states have no legislative activity whatsoever related to a health care exchange; and several states such as Wisconsin, Louisiana and Florida not only rejected setting up an exchange, but returned the grant money bestowed to them from the federal government to establish an exchange. More common scenarios, and where Figure 1 differs from the White House, are that many states are merely ?investigating options? or allowing an exchange bill to bounce around legislative committees but never go to a vote. These alternatives allow states to keep their federal funding, but take no action to set up an exchange.

For example, the state of North Carolina had a Republican majority who drafted an exchange bill. That bill, however, was moved from one committee to another over than span of months for ?reading.? For the past year, that same bill hasn?t seen the light of day and the Republican majority has no intention of ever letting it. This way, the state is allowed to spend federal exchange dollars, but not actually carry out the Administration?s plans. New Hampshire also had an exchange bill written, but after passing the Senate, that bill failed to pass the House of Representatives. In doing so, New Hampshire was allowed to keep exchange funding, but use the stalemate as a way of not having to revisit the idea of exchange implementation until a future session. South Carolina on the other hand used the original Exchange Planning Grant from the federal government to create an exploratory committee on exchanges, but decided after its creation that no legislation should be written.

As the economic crisis continues, unemployment remains high and the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments for various provisions of PPACA in March, the number of states moving forward with enacting an exchange should become stagnant. This could further undermine the ?progress? being made by states that fall into the grey area. Regardless, whether states are stalling efforts to create state-level exchanges, ?studying? alternative options and costs, or flat out rejecting the idea, it?s safe to say that the optimism demonstrated in the White House report is a bit rosier than the real state of state-level health insurance exchanges.

Nicole Fisher is the senior policy director at Health Systems Innovation Network where she focuses on Medicare, Medicaid and health reform. She is a PhD?student at the University of North Carolina in the Health Policy and Management Department. This post appeared at Wright on Health.

Source: http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2012/02/28/the-status-of-health-insurance%C2%A0exchange/

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Source: http://tuanz.org/areas-for-your-own-home-business-advertising/

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US futures trim early gains on durable goods drop

In this Feb. 27, 2012 photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks pulled back Monday from some of their highest levels in three and a half years. Stock markets shrugged off another credit rating downgrade of Greece and eked out some modest gains Tuesday, Feb. 28, as oil prices dipped for the second day running and investors awaited another offering to banks of super-cheap long-term loans from the European Central Bank. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Feb. 27, 2012 photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks pulled back Monday from some of their highest levels in three and a half years. Stock markets shrugged off another credit rating downgrade of Greece and eked out some modest gains Tuesday, Feb. 28, as oil prices dipped for the second day running and investors awaited another offering to banks of super-cheap long-term loans from the European Central Bank. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stock futures have trimmed their early gains after a report showed weaker-than-expected orders for long-lasting products.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 16 points to 12.85, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures are flat at 1,367. Nasdaq composite index futures added 4 points to 2,612.

The gains come as Europe is having a mostly positive day after a dip in oil prices. Germany's DAX is up 0.43 percent to 6,879. France's CAC 40 is up 0.43 percent to 3,456. Britain's FTSE 100 edged down 0.33 percent to 5,915.

Oil prices are down to $108.50 a barrel on weaker Asian demand.

The Commerce Department says January orders for durable goods fell by a steeper-than-expected 4 percent.

U.S. stocks to watch include Hovnanian Enterprises. The homebuilder says first-quarter contracts climbed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-02-28-Wall%20Street/id-c4f6a32ed556402ca2961dca72517ebb

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