Sunday, September 9, 2012

Blog Archive ? Blue-sky-thinking for a greener, sky-full future

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Too Big To Jail: Wall Street Executives Unlikely To Face Criminal Charges

A last-ditch effort by federal and state law enforcement authorities to hold Wall Street accountable for nearly bringing down the U.S. economy is unlikely to lead to any criminal charges against big bank executives, according to a source close to the investigation.Barring a "hail mary pass," said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is still ongoing, the members of a task force President Barack Obama formed in January to investigate fraud in the residential mortgage bond industry will instead most likely bring civil lawsuits against some of the banks involved, though it isn't clear when these cases might come.That means any penalties for those accused of fraud or other misconduct would be measured in dollars, not jail terms.A spokesman for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a co-head of the task force and the driving force behind its formation, declined to comment.

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Miracle-Gro to pay big fine for fake pesticides, poison bird feed

Lawn and garden products company Scotts Miracle-Gro will pay $12.5 million in fines for poisoning bird feed and violating pesticide laws, officials said Friday.Scotts will pay record criminal and civilian penalties for a litany of pesticide violations, including ?illegally applying insecticides to its wild bird food products that are toxic to birds,? the Justice Department said in a statement.The company pleaded guilty in February to that violation as well as falsifying pesticide registration documents, distributing pesticides with misleading and unapproved labels and distributing unregistered pesticides.A Columbus, Ohio, federal court on Friday sentenced Scotts to pay a $4 million fine and perform community service for 11 criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

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US debt collectors cash in on $1 trillion in student loans

The nationwide student loan balance is more than $1 trillion. It?s a number that makes borrowers cringe.However, debt collectors are more than grateful for the astronomically high amount of debt among college graduates.Debt collectors used to receive a steady and reliable income from credit card debt, but the slowing economy has made collection a challenge.Now, student loans are filling that hole. In fact, many are calling students the ?new oil well? for the debt collection industry.

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Europe to Open Its Skies to Drones

In an obscure working document, the European Commission has announced it is working on plans to open European civil airspace to unmanned drones by 2016. This follows the signing by President Obama earlier this year of the FAA Appropriations bill which mandated that US airspace must be opened to drones by 2015.The European Commission (EC) plan was revealed in a Staff Working Paper published on September 4th 2012 entitled ?Towards a European strategy for the development of civil applications of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems?.The document summaries the conclusions of the year-long European Unmanned Air Systems Panel which began meeting in July 2011and recommends setting up a European RPAS [Remotely Piloted Air Systems] Steering Group (ERSG). The aim of the ERSG, writes Peter van Blyenburgh, President of UVS International, (the main European drone lobby group) on the UAVS Vision websiteis to ?foster the development of civil RPAS by planning and coordinating all the activities necessary to achieve the safe and incremental integration of RPAS into European air traffic by 2016?.

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China, Russia sound alarm on world economy at APEC summit

China and Russia sounded the alarm about the state of the global economy at a summit on Saturday and urged Asian-Pacific countries to protect themselves by forging deeper regional economic ties. Chinese President Hu Jintao said Beijing would do all it could to strengthen the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and boost prospects of a global recovery by rebalancing its economy, Asia's biggest. Russian President Vladimir Putin said trade barriers must be smashed down. He is hosting the event on a small island linked to the Pacific port of Vladivostok by a spectacular new bridge, a symbol of Moscow's pivotal turn to Asia away from debt-stricken Europe. "It's important to build bridges, not walls. We must continue striving for greater integration," Putin told APEC leaders seated at a round table in a room with a view of the $1 billion cable-stayed bridge, the largest of its kind. "The global economic recovery is faltering. We can overcome the negative trends only by increasing the volume of trade in goods and services and enhancing the flow of capital."

Source: http://oraia.co.uk/?p=24798

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