Cited: New York Times

The mobile phone market in France is about to get a new player entering into the fray, well not a new player and one that is likely to raise some eyebrows with the other service providers. The company is Iliad, and its head, Xavier Niel, isn’t unfamiliar to the French as Iliad’s brand, Free, also offers Internet services, phone service, and television for one flat price of 29.99 euros per month, approximately $38.

Free now plans on introducing a flat rate of 19.99 euros per month for its new mobile phone service, which includes unlimited domestic and international calls, text messages, and mobile data. These rates are a far cry from those of other mobile phone providers in France which are among the highest in Europe.

The companies now operating in France’s mobile phone market; Orange, SFR, and Bouygues, may very well be forced to cut their rates now that Free is offering the same or similar services at a much lower price.

Its not like they didn’t see this coming since before the government allowed Mr. Niel’s company to become the fourth provider of mobile phone services in France, the other three, and in particular France Telecom, lobbied against allowing Free into the market fearing Neil’s reputation for cutting prices.

Orange took the bold step of sending their subscribers messages on Tuesday, assuring them that they the company was reviewing their calling plans to make sure that they had the appropriate plan for their needs and mobile phone usage.

One roadblock in the way of a mass exodus out of the existing mobile phone providers and to the Free network is the contracts that many users have signed with their old companies, which like those of providers in the U.S. are very strong and come with stiff penalties for breaking them before they are expired.

My take:

It won’t be long before the entire industry has to follow suit because now the big mobile phone companies are charging such exorbitant rates that they will force you to find cheaper companies once your contract expires.

Cited: MSNBC

The U. S. Postal Service always seems to be in a fiscal bind and things aren’t looking any better for the cash-strapped mail service. In order to stay afloat, the Postal Service says that it will be raising rates for delivery of its more profitable express mail and priority mail shipping later this month. It is hoped that these measures will help them to keep from having to go into bankruptcy.

The new prices will go into effect on January 22, 2012 and will be applied to overnight express mail boxes; $39.95 for up to 70 lbs., and express letters $18.95. Spokesmen for the postal service say that rates for priority mail will also be raised by approximately 3.1 percent.

The post office is taking the measures in order to stay solvent while still being competitive with other shipping businesses such as FedEx and UPS, which also adjust their rates from time to time.

The fiscal outlook for the Postal Service isn’t getting any better with losses last year at $5.1 billion due to a drop in revenue of almost 5.8%, and the rate hikes probably won’t do much to get their books in order. The new rates are part of a plan that has seen prices for shipping at the Postal Service rise by some 5% and come as part of earlier hikes to first class mail of 1-cent to 45 cents.

Head of the Postal Service, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe says that the post office will be faced with dire financial consequences next September unless Washington acts to give them greater ability to close offices, reduce delivery to five days, raise the price of stamps, and to cut health care and labor costs.

Lawmakers point to measures already taken by the Congress to help the Postal Service, such as bills that will give them more authority and liquidity to keep them out of bankruptcy, but Donahoe says that these measures don’t go far enough.

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My take:

The Postal Service always seems to be in financial trouble and you have to wonder why it isn’t just taken over by a completely private service. I don’t understand the rules governing the agency but there has to be a better way to financial solvency than just to keep screwing postal workers, who are already underpaid and have terrible benefits.

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Other Resources

Taking Grainy Pictures

When a camera takes a photograph the photograph that results is sometimes such that it appears grainy and this can happen whether a person is taking a photograph with a digital camera or is taking a picture with a traditional camera with 35MM film. There are many options for a professional Minneapolis commercial photographer to avoid such imperfections in a photograph but for the most part there are a lot of questions that the average amateur photographer might have when creating a grain-free photograph. Grainy photographs often result from low light conditions that the camera isn’t able to photograph properly.

Timeline in Lemon Cases

When a person is undergoing a particular fight with a vehicle manufacturer regarding a lemon law case, they might wonder just how long the case might take because of reports that some lawsuits end up taking years to complete. But it’s not generally common knowledge how much time a California lemon law lawyer will need to take in order to finish a particular case. Sometimes if the case is rather open-and-shut, the amount of time that a person must wait for it to be finished is quite short and may only be a few months after the initial filing.

Small Dental Niches

One of the interesting things about today’s dentists is that they have often gone far beyond the simple regular cleanings and cavity fillers that they might have been in the 1980s and have gone on to become a type of Springfield VA dentist that specializes in some very small facets of the overall world of dentistry. For example, some dentists decide to specialize in medicine related specifically to issues occurring in and around the mouth of which there are several that may develop due to various issues with the teeth that require some sort of surgical fix.

Cited: CNN

Goofy gift ideas always seem to get their fair share of attention from shoppers looking for something different. Some of these gifts don’t make much of an impact while others don’t stay on the shelves longer than it takes to restock, and restock, and restock.

One such unique gift that can’t stay on the shelves is the Red Neck Wine Glass, manufactured by Carson Home Accents in Freeport, PA. The glass, which is a basic Libby candlestick holder with a Ball Mason jar perched on top, has made over $5 million in sales for Carson Home Accents in less than ten months of sales. As vice president of sales at Carson John Hill says, “The Redneck Wine Glass has quickly become something of a phenomenon.”

This popular goblet, loved by the Tiffany crowd as well as those with less haughty taste, only came to Carson by chance after one of their sales people saw the glass displayed in a local Hallmark store. Carson then found the original maker of the product and signed a licensing agreement with her that allowed Carson to begin to manufacture and distribute the Red Neck Wine glass nationwide.

The inventor of the glass, Ms. Okie Morris, says that she is someone that re-purposes things, taking old things and giving them a new twist. She says that she simply saw a Mason jar in one room and a candlestick holder in the other and it just hit her to put one atop the other and call it a wine glass for the other class, so to speak.

The glass costs Carson about $6.50 to make and retails for $15. At first, Carson produced 2000 glasses but by last April, orders had soared to over 70,000 units.

My take:

What a great idea. It has a great look and one that everyone can identify with immediately. It just goes to show you that sometimes the biggest money-making ideas are the most simple ones.

Cited: MSNBC

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that ministers cannot sue their churches under employment discrimination laws should they be fired. In a case involving a minister at a church in Redford, Michigan, the high court overturned a U.S. appeals court decision which said that the minister’s role was secular, not religious and therefore was properly covered under employment discrimination laws.

However, the justices of the Supreme Court found that “ministerial exception” to employment discrimination laws should be the prevailing rule when it comes to these instances and that the federal government should have no say in examining the way in which a church goes about hiring and firing those with religious duties in their communities.

The case before the court had to do with a minister, Ms. Cheryl Perich, who taught secular and religious classes at the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Michigan. Ms. Redford wanted to come back to work after taking time off due to an illness known as narcolepsy, or sleeping disorder. The church refused to take her back saying that they had already found a replacement for Ms. Perich. She then sued the church citing unlawful discrimination and retaliation under the federal disabilities act.

On the other hand, the school said that the government had no jurisdiction in the case since it was indeed a religious school. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in Ms. Perich’s favor but today’s decision overturned that of the lower court, ruling instead on behalf of the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church.

In writing the opinion on the case, Chief Justice Roberts noted that the First Amendment of the Constitution barred these types of lawsuits, and that Ms. Perich was a  minister and that delving into a church’s employment decisions would improperly interfere with its internal affairs and infringe on a religious group’s constitutional right to shape its own faith and mission.

My take:

This is a tough one. Is Ms. Perich a minister or is she a teacher? The precedent now set by the U.S. Supreme Court should be looked at very closely by everyone that teaches at a religious school, and especially anyone considering teaching at one.

Cited: MSNBC

A study of pot smokers, one of the most extensive studies of its kind, seems to indicate that smoking pot does not hurt lung capacity; and in fact in some instances may very well improve lung capacity.

There have been  mixed signals over the years about the long term effects of smoking pot, and researchers are quick to point out that this study was all about lung capacity, not other problems such as lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. In the past some studies have shown no effects on the lungs from smoking pot while other have shown adverse effects, and yes others have even found that smoking pot can improve lung function.

Research conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Alabama wanted to see if marijuana has the same effect on the lungs as tobacco, which they know can lead to breathing problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD.

The study, conducted over a 20 year period on 5,100 men and women actually showed that pot did not appear to hurt lung function but that cigarettes do. The study also found that in some pot smokers lung functionality improved. Researchers say that the answer for this might lie in the fact that pot smokers inhale deeply when smoking, which might give their lungs something of a workout while they “turn-on.”

Researchers are also very clear about interpreting the results of their study and that this is by no means an endorsement of smoking marijuana. There are factors other than lung function to consider such as the risk of addiction.

Scientists associated with the study believe the answer for the lack of any lung capacity problems with pot might be because of the immunosuppressant properties of the chemical in marijuana, THC, which may interfere with the development of respiratory problems such as COPD.

My take:

Yet another reason why vilifying marijuana has always been a case of the b.s. from bureaucrats vs. the realities of weed. No reason in the world pot should be on the list of dangerous drugs, unless of course there is another agenda at work.

Cited: MSNBC

Without question, the hardest hit segment of the economy from the recent recession was the housing market, and it isn’t showing signs of coming around anytime soon. That is the view of at least two Fed officials, both of whom are lobbying to have more federal funds thrown at the problem. William Dudley, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, and Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank both believe that lawmakers need to consider additional action to rev-up the housing market, and by action, both think that stimulus funds will help.

Fed president Dudley from his prospective says that the government should be working in conjunction with the central bank to stabilize home prices and to get the housing market turned around within the next two years. Rosengren agrees and adds that the central bank should buy more mortgage-backed securities, which will also help to get the market moving in the right direction.

Both central bankers are said to come from the dovish wing of the central bank, which means that they would support more action to spur growth rather than focusing purely on keeping inflation in check and the checkbook balanced.

Quantitative easing by the Fed in the form of purchases of Treasury debt  more so than mortgages and mortgaged-backed securities has been going on since the stimulus measures enacted by both the Bush and Obama Administrations started to tackle the financial meltdown over two years ago. However, the purchase of mortgages did meet some resistance from lawmakers as it was seen as targeting one sector of the economy during the crisis while leaving others to the forces of the market. Fed president Dudley believes that purchases of mortgage securities and mortgages is the right plan of action and will go a long way to driving down long term interest rates and helping the housing market to recover.

My take:

The Fed is walking a dangerous tightrope between stimulus and driving up debt so high in the process that one crisis will lead to another. The housing market appears to be stabilizing with interest rates already at historically low levels so the central bank should be careful about pushing on this particular string.

Cited: New York Times

In his State of the State address, New York Governor Cuomo declared that he was going to become a lobbyist for the students of New York. Declaring that everyone else involved in education has a lobby behind them, teachers, bus drivers, administrators, but not students, the governor said that he would take on this role because no one else really has their best interests first and foremost on their agenda.

On the other hand, many have pointed out that the speech was more about job creation and the economy and short on details about how he planned on waging his battle on behalf of the students. One measure announced by the governor is his intention to create and education commission to put forward reforms in two major areas: teacher accountability and student achievement, and management efficiency.

The members of the commission will be approved by both the governor and the State Legislature, but the exact makeup and the rules and procedures governing the group were still  not clear.

The problem of teacher evaluations has gotten much more complicated lately because New York State had proposed such a system when applying for federal grants under the Race to the Top Program in 2010. But as of yet, this system has yet to be implemented and hasn’t even gotten off the ground. And now, the federal money promised under this program is at risk of being held back because of the lack of progress on this front.

Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers union, doesn’t agree with Governor Cuomo’s interpretation of the law mandating teacher evaluations saying that its going to take more time and discussions to find a method that works for everyone.

Governor Cuomo has also proposed a plan that would expand the grant program created last year for the New York State University system whereby the 60 campuses that make up the SUNY system would be abloe to compete for $20 million in grants.

My take:

Supporting the interests of students sounds nice but at the end of the day its always the kids that get the short end of the stick. Teachers are under the gun and politicians and administrators find it easy to put the kids in the middle of the fray instead of coming up with sensible ways to invest in the most precious resource we have, the minds of our children.

Cited: CNN

You’d expect to see the latest, greatest, and most gadget equipped cars at the North American Auto Show in Detroit. And no doubt you will. But as much as anything that catches your eye, fuel efficiency is driving these new models to the show and then into showrooms in your town.

One of the main reasons for the concern for fuel efficiency is obviously consumer demand for cars that won’t cost them an arm and a leg to gas-up. Another motivation for car makers to come up with vehicles that further on a tank of gas is stricter fuel economy regulations and the growing number of people concerned with the environment.

The emphasis on fuel economy at this year’s show is probably best evidenced on what you won’t see rather than what you will see – trucks and large SUV’s. Not a single one was unveiled at this year’s show, a far cry from other years when it seemed like nothing but massive trucks were rolling out from behind every auto makers curtain.

The engines that drive the vehicles, so to speak, are also getting smaller. Even the Bentley seems to be on a diet with this uber-luxury vehicle, the Continental GT V8 sporting a 4.0 liter V-8 rather than the 6.0 liter, V12 in its other models, which by the way also consume approximately 40% more fuel.

Other car maker such as Ford simply offering larger engine options for some of their lines. For instance, the Ford Fusion, which today has both a 6-cylinder or a 4-cylinder engine, will only come with a 4-cylinder option going forward. The same for the Dodge Dart.

Performance vehicles are also coming under something of a makeover with car makers not so much concerned about horsepower as much as getting the most power from the smallest possible block. This new approach is best seen in the Subaru and Toyota in their BRZ and Scion FRS models. These cars boast 200 horsepower out of a 2.o liter engine; pretty good considering the size of this engine and that it doesn’t have any super-charger or turbocharger to give it a little extra get-up and go.

Talk at this year’s  show is all about the awards won by Hyundai Elantra and the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. Both exhibited the ideal combination of high performance as well as top fuel economy, which this year is the way to go.

My take:

Everyone always knew that was possible to make high performance vehicles that are also easy on your wallet at the gas station. And even now the newer models seem to be moving in that direction but I think the auto makers could do even more to deliver vehicles that will get much better fuel efficiency.