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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

News analysis Netanyahu's housing plan not to satisfy critics

News analysis Netanyahu's housing plan not to satisfy critics

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented Tuesday his plan to deal with the housing crisis as demonstrations throughout the country continued for a second straight week.

Netanyahu, who has been criticized by the opposition and within his own party for his handling of the situation, convened a special press conference to outline emergency measures aimed to alleviate the housing distress.

Under the proposed plan, the state will subsidize a 50-percent discount on government-controlled lands designated for the construction of low-cost housing projects for both purchase and renting. Other measures include lowering public transportation fares and persuading commercial real estate owners to convert their properties into residences via incentives.

Netanyahu estimated that some 50,000 new housing units would become available within 18 months, 10,000 of which are dormitories for university and college students.

Rent control is uncommon in Israel as most people lease their apartments from private landlords without any official regulation on prices.

Analysts said Netanyahu's plan would alleviate the housing crisis more or less, but only in three to five years, which wouldn 't be enough to satisfy the protesters. However, some new legislation the demonstrators demand may not solve the problem at all due to the lack of implementation.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Class of ’96 U.S. Hall Inducts Five

Class of ’96 U.S. Hall Inducts Five
All five of the 2011 inductees into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame — three players, an announcer and a team owner — played central roles in one of America’s biggest hockey triumphs.Defensemen Chris Chelios and Gary Suter, forward Keith Tkachuk,
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the longtime announcer Mike Emrick, and the Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider make up the induction class for the Hall, in Eveleth, Minn. Chelios, Suter and Tkachuk were on the ice when the United States won the 1996 World Cup of Hockey with a come-from-behind, 5-2 upset victory over Canada in Montreal. It is one of only four championships won by the United States at the senior men’s level, and is considered the most significant victory after the 1980 Miracle on Ice at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. Emrick called the victory over Canada and, under Snider, Philadelphia served as the Americans’ home base for the 1996 tournament.
The induction announcement was made in Colorado Springs by Dave Ogrean, the executive director of USA Hockey. The inductees spoke on a conference call.online gift store
“That 1980 team pretty much paved the way for our generation of players,” said Chelios, who retired in 2010 after a 26-year career in which he played more games than any other defenseman in N.H.L. history. Tkachuk, one of only four Americans to score more than 500 N.H.L. goals and who in 1996-97 became the first American to lead the league in goal scoring, also cited the 1980 team as his inspiration.
“If it wasn’t for those guys, I probably wouldn’t have played hockey,” said Tkachuk, who retired in 2010.
Suter retired in 2002 after 17 years in the N.H.L. In 1986, he became the first American to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
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Emrick’s induction makes him the first broadcaster in the United States Hall, capping a year in which he became the first hockey announcer to win an Emmy award as the nation’s top play-by-play man.
The Hall of Fame induction announcement came on his 65th birthday, and after his 39th year as a hockey announcer. This summer, he said he was stepping down after 21 seasons as the Devils’ play-by-play voice to concentrate on covering the N.H.L. for NBC and Versus.
“I remember as a child, watching on a grainy television, the U.S. beating the Czechs at Squaw Valley,” said Emrick, recalling the Americans’ 1960 Olympic gold medal, the nation’s second senior-level men’s title, after the 1933 world championship. He said he was not able to watch the 1980 Lake Placid victory because he was calling a minor league game in Nova Scotia.
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Snider, 78, has owned the Flyers since the team joined the N.H.L. in 1967 and was recognized in part for his foundation that builds and renovates rinks in Philadelphia and teaches hockey to inner-city children.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Obama to announce new fuel economy standards tomorrow

Obama to announce new fuel economy standards tomorrow

THE Obama administration has reached a compromise with automakers on a new fuel economy target for cars and trucks,police sunglasses wholesale ending months of negotiations on this pivotal mandate for the auto industry.

Automakers' fleets will now have to average 54.MAC Loose Powder Foundation5 miles per gallon by 2025, according to people familiar with the plan.

US President Barack Obama will officially announce new guidelines tomorrow, the White House said.

The compromise is slightly less than the administration's original proposal for corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standards. But it is a major step up from current standards that require automakers to achieve 35.5 mpg by 2016.

Earlier, the administration had proposed increasing the CAFE target to 56.Roger Vivier flat shoes2 mpg between 2017 and 2025, but that plan ran into opposition from the industry and some lawmakers.

The push to boost fuel efficiency has forced automakers to redesign vehicles and use lighter but more expensive materials. These efforts are likely to raise the cost of vehicles and may pinch automakers' margd&g sunglasses wholesaleins.

That has caused resistance from lawmakers in states with a heavy auto manufacturing presence, as well as the United Auto Workers union, which is concerned about jobs.

The new proposal includes average increases in fuel economy of 5 percent for cars and 3.5 percent for light trucks through 2021, with a 5 percent increase for all vehicles after that.