Linking collective carbon insanities

Terry McCrann August 29, 2012 Herald Sun By linking Australia’s carbon tax to the struggling European economy, we are paying foreigners for the right to keep our own power stations operating. THE symbolism couldn’t be more deliciously appropriate: we are linking the collective insanity of our carbon tax to the collective insanity of Europe’s. It was made even more deliciously appropriate by the complete and utter unknowingness projected by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet in his press conference yesterday. Europe is the world’s basket case. Spain and Greece have unemployment rates of 25 per cent. Their youth unemployment rates are 50 per cent. To repeat, 50 per cent – one in every two young Spaniard and Greek is out of work and with precious little prospect of finding it. The overall jobless rate for the European Union – our new partner – is more than 10 per cent. Europe has…

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Roving cafe pioneer gives a new meaning to one for the road

Jo Stewart August 29, 2012 The Age WHILE food trucks appear to have stormed into Melbourne after taking cues from cities like Portland and Los Angeles, one enterprising Melburnian has been successfully working at the trade for almost 10 years. Michael Ibrahim, owner of the Soul Kitchen mobile cafe is a pioneer of the Melbourne food truck movement, which has recently seen its popularity explode with the likes of Taco Truck, Gumbo Kitchen and Dhaba joining the convoy of food trucks populating Melbourne’s streets. Starting nearly a decade ago, providing refreshments to Moonlight Cinema crowds on balmy nights in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ibrahim now owns a small fleet of customised vans and trucks that serve coffee and cafe-quality food at several locations. His passion for coffee is matched by his passion for Melbourne and with his memorable vans adding to the eclectic fabric of the city it’s no wonder…

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Accor to scrap wi-fi charges in 500 hotels

Oliver Smith August 29, 2012 The Age Accor, one of the world’s largest international hotel groups, is to scrap wifi charges at 500 of its properties. The French company, which owns the Ibis, Mercure, Sofitel and Novotel chains, made the announcement after a survey revealed that the availability of free wi-fi was a key factor when choosing a hotel for the majority of travellers. Despite the growing availability of free wi-fi at pubs, cafes, and even branches of McDonald’s and Starbucks, the hotel industry has appeared reticent to offer the service, but the move may encourage other firms to follow suit. A study carried out by London’s Telegraph earlier this year revealed that around two thirds of hotels around the world still charge guests for wi-fi access, with rates as high as £8.50 ($A13) an hour. Luxury hotels in London were found to be the worst offenders, with several charging…

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New York State Is Investigating Energy Drink Makers

NELSON D. SCHWARTZ August 28, 2012 The New York Times The New York attorney general has subpoenaed three large makers of so-called energy drinks as part of an investigation into whether the companies are misleading consumers about how much caffeine the drinks contain and the health risks they could pose. The 5-Hour Energy drink and other beverages, from Monster and Pepsi, are under scrutiny. Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, is investigating energy drinks. The attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, is also looking at whether the companies — Monster Beverage, PepsiCo and Living Essentials — violated federal law in promoting the drinks as dietary supplements rather than as foods, which are regulated more strictly. State authorities are also concerned about whether all of the ingredients that go into the beverages are properly disclosed, according to an official briefed on the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.…

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Ukraine plainly annoyed

Peter Martin September 3, 2012 The Age A box of cigarettes with generic packaging. AUSTRALIA has taken a hard line with Ukraine in the first round of an assault on our plain cigarette packaging rules at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. On Saturday, the former Soviet republic asked the WTO set up a panel to hear a dispute on ”measures concerning trademarks and other plain packaging requirements applicable to the tobacco products”. The Ukraine has next to no cigarette trade with Australia but is home to a Philip Morris International subsidiary employing 1400 people. Corporations are not permitted to appeal to the WTO in their own names. The Ukraine statement says Australia’s law requiring all cigarettes to be sold in plain packets is ”more trade restrictive than necessary to achieve the stated health objectives and constitute[s] an unnecessary obstacle to trade”. Rather than agreeing to the establishment of a…

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Shoppers wary as uncertainty rules

Jeff Whalley September 03, 2012 Herald Sun THE spending drought afflicting Victoria’s retail sector worsened in the past six months, just as the rest of the nation’s shopkeepers started tracking “outstanding” growth. Figures for the half year to June show that as the rest of Australia loosened its purse strings, Victorians were still refusing to spend. Experts say this was driven by the state’s increased unemployment, plunging house prices and a slowing economy. In the year to June, spending in Victoria sank from about 3 per cent to 1 per cent. And the global consultancy which crunched the data, Deloitte Access Economics, is projecting another year of little or no growth in retail spending in Victoria. “In sharp contrast to the national result, real retail sales in Victoria fell slightly in the June quarter,” the report says. “Underlying economic drivers for the state have weakened considerably of late. “The state’s…

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