All posts by Admin

Thursday, March 5, 2009

US stock markets dropped to twelve-year lows on Thursday, amidst falling confidence in the financial sector and worries over whether the US automobile manufacturer General Motors will be able to keep operating.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 4.08%, or 280.52 points, at the closing bell, reaching a level of 6595.32, a new 12-year low. The Nasdaq Composite lost 54.15 points, or 4%, to 1299.59, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 plunged by 30.27 points, or 4.25%, closing at 682.60.

Every stock in the Dow Jones, other than Wal-Mart, either lost ground or remained even, and all stocks in the S&P 500 index lost ground.

General Motors’ shares lost 15.5% after the auto firm announced that its auditors had “substantial doubt” over whether it would be able to keep operating.

Shares of financial companies were lower by nine percent, with Bank of America losing 11.7% and Citigroup falling by 9.7%.

“What’s most worrisome is that we haven’t hit the crescendo yet,” said Bill Groeneveld, the head trader for vFinance Investments. “Asset-management divisions are getting calls to just liquidate everything, and we haven’t seen the big players come back in at all.”

“This is one of the worst bear markets in the last 100 years; it started out with the credit crisis and the subprime [loans], but it is like a forest fire that has raced across the clearing and ignited other parts: Autos, auto parts, the insurance companies have been hit very hard. The credit crisis is causing an unraveling of industry after industry because the banks don’t lend,” said David Dreman, the chief investment officer of Dreman Value Management.

European markets were also lower today, with the London’s FTSE index losing 3.2% and the DAX index of Germany falling by five percent.

Monday, August 29, 2005

On July 18, 2005 CN Rail notified the CAW that they intend to cancel the CN-CAW previously Negotiated Health & Safety Plan. The CAW will be going to arbitration this fall to address the issue. The CAW has asked that employees notify their Health and Safety Rep about any safety concerns at the work place.

One terminal has lost 5-6 full-time positions. CN Rail used to have part-time positions filled as well, but at this time there are no part-time employees to cover work if a full-time employee is absent. Overtime is necessary to keep the trains running on time. Intermodal traffic goes up, but staff goes down. CN Rail expects the trains to go out on time, and in a safe condition, but staff is overworked, because there are not enough of them. In fact, one worker noticed that most of the rail cars that contained 40 foot overseas containers did not have their loading guides in place. Trains are not allowed to go out without these guides placed into the cars (the guides stop the loads from swaying from side to side in the cars), important for safety with double stacked containers, but it seems that in this case the lack of employees forced the train to leave without them.

Some recent derailments have come to the attention of the media and politicians.

On August 3rd 2005 there was a derailment in Wabamun Lake Alberta that spilled toxins into the lake. 2 days later there was a derailment in Cheakamus River near Squamish BC. Both derailments spilled hazardous materials into the water. Many are saying that CN took too long to notify people of the toxic spills.

The Conductor on each train carries with him the shipping manifest with him and has access to that information at all times. Almost any CN terminal that has a clerk working at it with access to the CN Intranet can get this information within minutes.

CTV news has said that this is the 5th derailment for CN this month.

Friday, December 3, 2010

On Tuesday the U.S. Army released its revised solicitation for the Ground Combat Vehicle infantry fighting vehicle three months after scrapping its previous plans.

The United States Army retracted its first solicitation for the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) on 25 August. It was decided by the army to begin anew after a “red team” recommended that the army either upgrade the existing ground vehicle fleet or rewrite the requirements. Program officials choose to end evaluations of vehicle submissions and to begin again in two months with new requirements.

The previous design requirements emphasized modularity, affordability, rapid design and low risk technology. The infantry fighting vehicle variant would have carried a crew of three and nine infantry dismounts. It was initially to be compatible with the current Battle Command Control and Communications Suite but would gradually use a more revolutionary network. The system would support networking between external systems, vehicles and soldiers. It was to be transportable by C-17 cargo aircraft, rail, and ship and be as logistically deployable as the Stryker. The army officials were open to tracked or wheeled submissions but suggested that it be tracked due to the weight stemming from the requirements. The vehicle had an off-road speed requirement of 30 mph (50 km/h) and was required to deliver improved maintainability and consume less fuel than the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The army wanted the vehicle to leverage an autocannon, a anti-tank guided missile system and non-lethal weapons. The army wanted the vehicle to have the blast protection level equal to the MRAP and supplement armor with active protection systems.

The army wanted the first vehicle variant to be a troop carrier that would displace the aging M113 APCs and M2 Bradleys. Later, other variants of the GCV would appear.

There were four known competing contractors for the Ground Combat Vehicle contract. BAE Systems led a team consisting of Northrop Grumman, QinetiQ, and Saft Group. BAE offered a tracked vehicle with a hybrid-electric engine, a baseline weight of 53 tons and a maximum weight tolerance of 75 tons for modular armor and various countermeasures including a V-hull and active protection systems. General Dynamics led a team consisting of Lockheed Martin, Detroit Diesel, and Raytheon. General Dynamics offered a vehicle using diesel and leveraging an active protection system. SAIC led a consortium called Team Full Spectrum which included Boeing, Krauss-Maffei, and Rheinmetall. SAIC offered a vehicle based on the Puma. Advanced Defense Vehicle Systems (ADVS) submitted its proposal for a wheeled vehicle but was rejected for being non-compliant.

The predecessor to the GCV, the Manned Ground Vehicle family, was canceled in April 2009. Similar programs like the M8 light tank and XM2001 Crusader have also been scrapped in the past. The Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, and Ground Combat Vehicle programs have been targeted for cancellation by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

After the final match of the season, Galatasaray became the champions of Turkish Super League with 79 points in 34 games, six points ahead of rivals Besiktas and Fenerbahce.

The 50th season of the top-flight football league in Turkey ended Saturday as Galatasaray and Fenerbahce qualify for next season’s Champions League, third-place Be?ikta? J.K. and Federation Cup winner Kayserispor qualify for the UEFA Cup. There was disappointment for Sivasspor, who came fourth by having same points with Besiktas but less goal average.

Galatasaray trainer Cevat Guler stated that, “There may have been times in recent weeks when the fans didn’t think we would be champions… but we are delighted and thank everyone for their support.”

The Istanbul-based club started season with German coach Karl-Heinz Feldkamp, who resigned at the start of April, citing differences with the management. Galatasaray were two points behind Fenerbahçe when Cevat Guler took over in a caretaker role. Also, the team hit by number of injuries, including two key foreign players of this season – Linderoth and Lincoln. However they accomplished five victories in last five games of season and clinched the 17th title for Galatasaray S.K.

After the match, thousands of Turks of all ages rallied at Istanbul’s central Taksim Square to celebrate with fireworks, flags and slogans, singing the club anthems. Similar celebrations took place in big cities like Ankara and ?zmir in the huge outdoor parties, organized on the spot, letting them join their voice with millions of fans around the country celebrating the 17th title of the club.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

A bomb exploded near the house of the Greek Culture Minister,Georgios Voulgarakis, in Lycabettus Hill, Athens, wrecking a number of cars.

The device, which the police said consisted of 2-3 kg (4-7lb) of dynamite, had been placed on a bike left between two cars.

The explosion at 7:42am (GMT +2), close to the home of Minister Voulgarakis, is the second time the former Minister for Public Order has been the target of a bomb attack.

While the perpertrators are not yet known, Giorgos Voulgarakis, who had been receiving death threats, is unpopular with leftist parties over questions of immigration.

A trained dog of a Greek anti-terrorist unit had been sniffing around the area of the Minister’s home each morning. The September 2003 attack nearly burned down his house.

Two primary schools and a kindergarten nearby were slightly damaged but there were no reported injuries.

As bomb technicians searched the school grounds, frantic parents rushed to take their children home.

The leftist “Epanastatikos Laekos Agonas”(Revolutionary popular rally), is the group which some Greek media have accused for today’s bomb attack. No official claim of responsibility has yet been made and the police investigation continues.

All the Greek parties, including the major opposition party, PASOK; the Communist Party (KKE), Synaspismos and LAOS parties, have strongly condemned the terrorist attack.

Friday, December 10, 2021

On Wednesday, India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat died in a helicopter crash in the hills near the Coonoor city of Tamil Nadu. The general was flying to Wellington, Tamil Nadu with 13 others. Among the dead were his wife and other top defence personnel. The aircraft involved in the crash was a Mil Mi-17 v5. The Indian Air Force later confirmed the death of all but one of the 14 persons on the flight.

The helicopter took off from Sulur Air Force Station and was headed to the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington, Tamil Nadu. General Rawat, his wife and his staff were travelling to the DSSC, where Rawat was to address the college’s faculty and student officers. At 12:08 PM local time (0638 UTC), the helicopter lost contact with the Sulur Air force base. It subsequently crashed near a residential colony of private tea estate employees on the outskirts of the hamlet of Nanjappachatiram, Bandishola Panchayat, in the Katteri-Nanchappanchathram area of Coonoor Taluk, Nilgiris district.

Krishnaswamy, an eyewitness told the BBC, “Even the electric poles shook. Trees toppled. There was smoke everywhere, there was a raging flame above the trees. I saw just one person with my own eyes, he was burning, and he fell down.” Reportedly, the crash victims were burnt beyond recognition. The only survivor Group Captain Varun Singh is undergoing treatments in the military hospital in Wellington. The cause of the crash remains unknown but is suspected to be bad weather and poor visibility. The Indian Air Force has initiated an inquiry about the crash to ascertain the reason.

The Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh expressed deep condolences about the incident and stated, he was “deeply anguished by the sudden demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other Armed Forces personnel in an extremely unfortunate helicopter accident today in Tamil Nadu. His untimely death is an irreparable loss to our Armed Forces and the country.” Rawat was the first Chief of Defence Staff of India who was appointed in December 2019 by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

In Edinburgh, capital of Scotland, part of an underground water piping system has exploded, forcing local residents to be evacuated. The pipe broke around 03:30 BST (0230 UTC) today, within Allan Park Road, causing flooding in the Slateford area of the city.

A spokesperson for Scottish sewerage and water corporation Scottish Water explained: “Early this morning reports were received of flooding in Allan Park Road and Scottish Water operatives attended the scene. A large diameter water main had burst. The water was shut off and re-routed via other pipes to keep supplies flowing to households in the area. Repairs are under way and the customers affected by the flooding are being offered assistance.”

Stating that repairs to resolve this problem had commenced and would take a few hours to conclude, Lothian and Borders Police have advised that the floods may disrupt the supplies of water and other utilities, as well as transportation on roads and railways in the west of Edinburgh. Hospitals and rest homes in the region have been notified of the incident and bottled water is now anticipated to be supplied at these buildings.

According to local residents, Slateford Road (A70), a major throughway, was closed for several hours this morning. Telephony and broadband in the area is disrupted, with local residents and businesses having to rely on cellphones. Further work, such as digging up the road and using temporary traffic lights, will be required to restore these services in the area.

As of 13:15 BST (1215 UTC), Scottish Water has excavated around the burst main, but has not yet begun work on replacing the damaged section of pipe.