It’s a wonder anyone sleeps well at night. If you’re taking ADHD drugs like Ritalin, antidepressants like Paxil and Prozac, or sleep pills like Ambien—and a host of antibiotics, blood-pressure medications, antihistamines, and statins in between—that prescription could be giving you nightmares. The Wall Street Journal reports on…
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Beijing threatens legal action as Burma halts dam because it is ‘against the will of the people’ Burma’s decision to suspend the country’s biggest hydroelectric project has shocked and enraged China, the government’s most influential backer on the international stage. Senior officials in Beijing have castigated their south-east Asian ally and threatened legal action. It emerged that they were not consulted before President Thein Sien of Burma announced last Friday a halt to building the $3.6bn (£2.3bn) hydropower dam on the Irawaddy – known as the Myitsone project – because it was “against the will of the people”. China is the impoverished nation’s second-largest trading partner and biggest foreign investor. Such public displays of discord are unusual. Its reaction contrasted sharply with the response of the US government, which praised Burma’s “significant and positive step” towards listening to public concerns and promoting national reconciliation. This may be because Beijing has more at stake. China Power Investment is the primary funder of the project. Its manager, Lu Qizhou, told domestic media that he was astonished by the announcement . “I hear about this through media reports. I was very shocked. Before this, Burma did not communicate with us about plans for a suspension,” he said, in a warning that a halt to construction would precipitate legal action. Lu said the project had received the necessary approval in both countries. He described the sudden suspension as “incomprehensible” and the cost for both countries as “immeasurable”. He said the loss was not just about the direct investment, but it was also a missed opportunity to generate electric power and there was damage to the country’s reputation because of a breach of contract. In total, he calculated that the cascade of hydropower projects – of which Myitsone is just one – would have earned the Burmese government $54bn in tax revenues, shared profits and free electricity. Lu downplayed the human and environmental impact of the dam, saying the Myitsone reservoir would necessitate the relocation of only 2,146 people in five villages. He said the Chinese company had provided them with two-storey houses, 21in colour televisions and a 100,000 kyat living allowance. At the weekend, Hong Lei, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, called on Burma to hold consultations over the dam and noted that both countries agreed to move ahead with the project after a thorough assessment of the impact. Opponents of the dam accuse China of being disingenuous. The Burma Rivers Network , which represents communities affected by the hydropower project, said Beijing had negotiated its investments with the military government without considering the will of the people. “The villagers at the dam site, numerous political and community organisations, international human rights organisations have attempted to contact China Power Investment and discuss the concerns about the impacts and process of the project. Even though CPI never responded to all these attempts at dialogue, they cannot claim to be unaware of the feeling about this project by the people of Burma,” the group said. Far from benefiting Burma through flood control, the group argue that the dam would put the demands of power generation for China before the needs of local people. “Chinese engineers running the dams will decide how much water to release downstream according to orders from Beijing … As seen with the Mekong, this can cause unexpected and devastating water surges and shortages,” it said. Wave, tidal and hydropower Burma China Energy Renewable energy Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Beijing threatens legal action as Burma halts dam because it is ‘against the will of the people’ Burma’s decision to suspend the country’s biggest hydroelectric project has shocked and enraged China, the government’s most influential backer on the international stage. Senior officials in Beijing have castigated their south-east Asian ally and threatened legal action. It emerged that they were not consulted before President Thein Sien of Burma announced last Friday a halt to building the $3.6bn (£2.3bn) hydropower dam on the Irawaddy – known as the Myitsone project – because it was “against the will of the people”. China is the impoverished nation’s second-largest trading partner and biggest foreign investor. Such public displays of discord are unusual. Its reaction contrasted sharply with the response of the US government, which praised Burma’s “significant and positive step” towards listening to public concerns and promoting national reconciliation. This may be because Beijing has more at stake. China Power Investment is the primary funder of the project. Its manager, Lu Qizhou, told domestic media that he was astonished by the announcement . “I hear about this through media reports. I was very shocked. Before this, Burma did not communicate with us about plans for a suspension,” he said, in a warning that a halt to construction would precipitate legal action. Lu said the project had received the necessary approval in both countries. He described the sudden suspension as “incomprehensible” and the cost for both countries as “immeasurable”. He said the loss was not just about the direct investment, but it was also a missed opportunity to generate electric power and there was damage to the country’s reputation because of a breach of contract. In total, he calculated that the cascade of hydropower projects – of which Myitsone is just one – would have earned the Burmese government $54bn in tax revenues, shared profits and free electricity. Lu downplayed the human and environmental impact of the dam, saying the Myitsone reservoir would necessitate the relocation of only 2,146 people in five villages. He said the Chinese company had provided them with two-storey houses, 21in colour televisions and a 100,000 kyat living allowance. At the weekend, Hong Lei, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, called on Burma to hold consultations over the dam and noted that both countries agreed to move ahead with the project after a thorough assessment of the impact. Opponents of the dam accuse China of being disingenuous. The Burma Rivers Network , which represents communities affected by the hydropower project, said Beijing had negotiated its investments with the military government without considering the will of the people. “The villagers at the dam site, numerous political and community organisations, international human rights organisations have attempted to contact China Power Investment and discuss the concerns about the impacts and process of the project. Even though CPI never responded to all these attempts at dialogue, they cannot claim to be unaware of the feeling about this project by the people of Burma,” the group said. Far from benefiting Burma through flood control, the group argue that the dam would put the demands of power generation for China before the needs of local people. “Chinese engineers running the dams will decide how much water to release downstream according to orders from Beijing … As seen with the Mekong, this can cause unexpected and devastating water surges and shortages,” it said. Wave, tidal and hydropower Burma China Energy Renewable energy Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Beijing threatens legal action as Burma halts dam because it is ‘against the will of the people’ Burma’s decision to suspend the country’s biggest hydroelectric project has shocked and enraged China, the government’s most influential backer on the international stage. Senior officials in Beijing have castigated their south-east Asian ally and threatened legal action. It emerged that they were not consulted before President Thein Sien of Burma announced last Friday a halt to building the $3.6bn (£2.3bn) hydropower dam on the Irawaddy – known as the Myitsone project – because it was “against the will of the people”. China is the impoverished nation’s second-largest trading partner and biggest foreign investor. Such public displays of discord are unusual. Its reaction contrasted sharply with the response of the US government, which praised Burma’s “significant and positive step” towards listening to public concerns and promoting national reconciliation. This may be because Beijing has more at stake. China Power Investment is the primary funder of the project. Its manager, Lu Qizhou, told domestic media that he was astonished by the announcement . “I hear about this through media reports. I was very shocked. Before this, Burma did not communicate with us about plans for a suspension,” he said, in a warning that a halt to construction would precipitate legal action. Lu said the project had received the necessary approval in both countries. He described the sudden suspension as “incomprehensible” and the cost for both countries as “immeasurable”. He said the loss was not just about the direct investment, but it was also a missed opportunity to generate electric power and there was damage to the country’s reputation because of a breach of contract. In total, he calculated that the cascade of hydropower projects – of which Myitsone is just one – would have earned the Burmese government $54bn in tax revenues, shared profits and free electricity. Lu downplayed the human and environmental impact of the dam, saying the Myitsone reservoir would necessitate the relocation of only 2,146 people in five villages. He said the Chinese company had provided them with two-storey houses, 21in colour televisions and a 100,000 kyat living allowance. At the weekend, Hong Lei, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, called on Burma to hold consultations over the dam and noted that both countries agreed to move ahead with the project after a thorough assessment of the impact. Opponents of the dam accuse China of being disingenuous. The Burma Rivers Network , which represents communities affected by the hydropower project, said Beijing had negotiated its investments with the military government without considering the will of the people. “The villagers at the dam site, numerous political and community organisations, international human rights organisations have attempted to contact China Power Investment and discuss the concerns about the impacts and process of the project. Even though CPI never responded to all these attempts at dialogue, they cannot claim to be unaware of the feeling about this project by the people of Burma,” the group said. Far from benefiting Burma through flood control, the group argue that the dam would put the demands of power generation for China before the needs of local people. “Chinese engineers running the dams will decide how much water to release downstream according to orders from Beijing … As seen with the Mekong, this can cause unexpected and devastating water surges and shortages,” it said. Wave, tidal and hydropower Burma China Energy Renewable energy Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk
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The actor explains how he had heated words with the Chancellor when they met at a dinner party before the 2010 election It is not often you get a chance to have a really good discussion about conditional fee agreements and how they play into the Jackson review of civil litigation costs, and it is even less often you get to have that discussion with Hugh Grant. But since the actor took up the cause of phone hacking, touring the party conferences and meeting party leaders at each, Grant admits he has “mugged up”. In his early days of righteous anger at the way in which it had intruded into his life, Grant called for the entire tabloid press to be shut down. He also sometimes came across as a man who only wanted publicity on his terms. Now, attending the Conservative conference to speak at a fringe meeting, and to meet David Cameron, he has refined his take on how to deal with media malfeasance – but has not lost any of his outrage, much of it directed at the Conservatives for trying to airbrush the phone-hacking issue out of the conference. He reveals that his hatred of News International is longstanding; and indeed before the election he had a bust up with George Osborne over the appointment of Andy Coulson as director of communications at No 10. “I happened to meet George Osborne at a dinner party before the election. I said: ‘I tell you what, you have made a catastrophic mistake in hiring Coulson.’ And he pooh-poohed me completely. It actually got a bit awkward and our hostess had to calm us down.” He said he wanted to hear directly from Cameron on why he appointed Coulson, and why the prime minister accepted Coulson’s explanation that a lone rogue employee had hacked phones under his editorship at News of the World. “I really want to know the answer: did he allow Coulson into No 10, and get involved with the Murdoch empire generally speaking, a) out of naivety, b) out of reluctant pragmatism – ‘we know they are monsters, but it is the only way to get into power and stay in power’, or c) out of unreluctant pragmatism, ie, this is what politicians weaned on the teeth of spin do?” He finds it inconceivable that Cameron did not know Coulson had overseen a culture of phone hacking at the paper. “If I knew – and pretty well everyone I knew,
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A slimmed-down, faster version of last year’s iPhone 4 aims to cement Apple’s as the world’s largest phone maker by revenue Apple unveiled a slimmed-down and faster version of last year’s iPhone 4, dubbed the iPhone 4S, as new chief executive Tim Cook aimed to cement its position as the world’s largest phone maker by revenue. The phone is expected to go on sale from all five UK networks from 14 October, though none was able to give details of pricing. The Guardian understands that no one knew precisely what was coming until it was unveiled. Apple also said that a new version of its “iOS” software, iOS 5, to run existing iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPad models will be available from 12 October, bringing its “iCloud” system which synchronises pictures, documents and user video across devices without needing a PC. While the rumour mill – and the name of Apple’s software – had led many to expect that the phone would be called the “iPhone 5″, Philip Schiller, the head of marketing, demonstrated the 4S and insisted that it was a complete overhaul of the iPhone 4 released 14 months ago. A key element in the iPhone 4S is a “voice assistant” called Siri which Scott Forstall, head of the iOS division, demonstrated. It answered complex queries asked by voice such as “what’s the weather like today?” and responded in real time with a synthesized voice. “There’s so much you can ask. Compose and dictate emails, ask questions about the weather, stocks, set timers. It’s not perfect, but there’s a huge amount it can do,” said Forstall. The launch was the first for Apple, the highest-valued company in the world, without Steve Jobs as chief executive after he stepped down in August. Apple is seeking to stay ahead of its South Korean rival Samsung, which is challenging Apple for the crown of the company selling the most smartphones worldwide. The two are expected to be neck-and-neck when figures for the third quarter, to the end of September, are announced. The majority of Samsung’s smartphones run Google’s Android software. Apple is aiming to bolster its position in the mobile business, where Cook pointed out that despite its position in the smartphone market it only has 5% of the total market by volume, by targeting the fast-growing Chinese market as well as European and US buyers. The iPhone 4S includes the A5 processing chip also used in the iPad 2 released earlier this year, making it significantly faster than its iPhone 4 predecessor. Schiller said that the antennas – the subject of a bitter row when some customers claimed that the external antenna led to worse reception – have been redesigned to improve call quality. The camera had also been improved compared to the iPhone 4. One other change is that the phone will work on any phone network in the world through the inclusion of chips which boost compatibility. Speaking in the room where ten years before Steve Jobs launched the iPod – the music player which revived Apple’s fortunes and helped it gain a dominant position in consumer electronics – Cook said that “I consider it the privilege of a lifetime to have worked here almost 14 years.” Apple also updated two of its 10-year-old iPod line, the internet-enabled iPod Touch and the miniature iPod nano, which will now be offered in watch form – something that a number of Apple fans had demanded last year when it was released. But the “classic” iPod and the tiny “shuffle” were not mentioned, though they are still on sale. iPhone Apple Mobile phones Smartphones Charles Arthur Juliette Garside Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Wall Street is getting nervous, and not because of protesters. Stocks have been plummeting hard, and are now just inches above the threshold for what traders consider a bear market. The Dow dove 240 points on Friday and another 258 yesterday, leaving it down 16.8% from its April highs,…
Continue reading …Has Moe polished his last glass? Has Homer slammed his last Duff’s? Has Krusty made his last small child cry? It’s all possible. Fox is threatening to pull the plug on history’s longest-running sitcom after the current season—its 23rd—if its core voice actors won’t accept a whopping 45%…
Continue reading …First they got support from the Marines , and now labor unions are coming to back up the Occupy Wall Street protesters. A transport workers union went to court to stop the NYPD from commandeering city buses for use in transporting arrested protesters. A healthcare workers union is sending food and…
Continue reading …It’s a big day in the tech world as we await the 1pm EDT iPhone announcement from Apple HQ. What do we think we know? It will be faster, slimmer, and have a larger screen : Pretty much everyone agrees on these points. It will run on both GSM and CDMA…
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