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Naples Construction

By JUDITH BURNS

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule Monday aimed at reducing pollution from construction sites, saying that it will significantly improve the quality of water nationwide.

The rule will be phased in over four years, starting in February, and when it is fully in effect, the EPA estimates there will be four billion fewer pounds of sediment discharged from construction sites each year.

Nearly 82,000 home builders, commercial and industrial building contractors, and civil-engineering companies are expected to be covered by the rule, which the EPA estimates will impose about $953 million of annual costs.

Such costs could raise home prices and cause a small number of builders to go out of business, resulting in some job losses, the EPA said in a draft version of the final rule.  It said job losses may be temporary given the relatively high turnover in the construction industry, and acknowledged that the new rule is being introduced at a time when construction has fallen off sharply.

“However, the four year phasing process is expected to give the industry sufficient time to experience several years of growth before all the rule requirements are in effect,” the EPA draft said.

Construction site owners and operators covered by the rule will have to use best management practices, including soil stabilization and erosion control, to ensure that soil that is excavated, moved or otherwise disturbed by construction activity doesn't pollute nearby bodies of water. In addition, owners and operators at larger construction sites will be subject for the first time to federal monitoring requirements and limits on storm water discharges.  The monitoring requirements will take effect first at sites that disturb 20 or more acres and eventually at sites of 10 or more acres.

The EPA said the rule, which will establish minimum national standards, is intended to work in concert with existing state and local regulations that may be more stringent.

Adoption of the rule came in response to a court order in a lawsuit brought by a handful of states and nonprofit environmental groups alleging that the agency had failed to issue regulations required under the Clean Water Act.  A U.S. district court ordered the EPA to issue the rule no later than Dec. 1, 2009.

A spokesman for the National Association of Home Builders couldn't be reached immediately for comment. A spokesman for Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. said the group wouldn't be able to comment until the final rule is published in the Federal Register.

Spring is a great time to think about home improvement projects. Not only do people want to make their home look better for a 'new year' but, also, in times of economic downturn, some home improvement projects can uplift your spirits without killing your bank account. There are many home improvement projects you can do for spring, but these five home improvement projects are some of the best - they're fun, they're cheap and they'll make your home look great!

Paint Your Walls - One of the easiest home improvement projects for spring is to put a new coat of paint on your walls. You can paint just one room or your whole house. It's amazing what a new coat of paint can do to make your home look really pretty. I just spent New Year's Eve and New Year's Day painting my apartment. I only have 4 rooms, so it took me just the two days but my apartment now looks gorgeous. From a new dramatic color (deep red, bright green anyone?) to a simple ivory or light gray, painting your home's interior walls will really give your home a boost. All you need is a couple of paint brushes, a paint roller and a paint tray, some masking tape and paint (a gallon of paint will do one coat on an average size room). The total cost for me was $22, but I live in Thailand. The average cost in the US for all the supplies will run around $25 for a gallon of inexpensive paint, plus another $20 for paint brushes/rollers etc. I like Sherwin-Williams interior paints as they're great quality and are easy to clean with a damp cloth. Home Depot has tons of paints though, and the Home Depot website has great information on which paints are the best.

Clean Out Your Closets - A free home improvement project for spring is to clean out all your closets. Go closet by closet and sort through all your things. Make three piles, 'Keeping', 'Giving Away' and 'Throwing Away' and put each item in one of these piles. Then, put all your 'Keeping' things back in your cupboards and closets, but this time stack them neatly. If you don't mind spending a little bit of money, you can buy storage containers for as little as $4 that will make your closets and cupboards look even neater. Over the New Year, I organized all my closets. I can now find everything because it's all in its' place and, with only 6 storage containers that cost me less than $15, my closets and cupboards now look lovely. The Container Store has great products for storage at very reasonable prices.

Trim and Clean Out Flowerbeds - I'm always amazed at how many people let their flowerbeds go wild. Spring is a perfect time to clean out flower beds as the debris of winter can be pulled out of them and thrown away. You can also trim back all your plants in preparation for the new growing season and then plant some new bedding plants so that, by summer, your garden will be full of brightly colored flowers. Bedding plants for an average garden size run around $20-$30, depending on type and how many you buy, but just a few can really spruce up your garden.

Replace Light Switch Plates - One thing I noticed with my apartment was, over time, the covers or plates on my light switches were looking grubby. Some of them also had paint on from previous home improvement projects. So, this New Year, I decided to replace all the light switch plates with new ones. You can buy light switch plates for as cheap as $2 for the plain plastic ones or as expensive as $30 and up for designer switch plates with beautiful pictures or for hand painted ceramic ones. I bought some of the plain cheap ones and a few hand painted ceramic ones and, boy, does my apartment look nice!

New Backsplash in Your Kitchen - A really fun spring home improvement project can be to add a bright backsplash to your kitchen. All you need are some ceramic tiles, a tube of grout, some tile adhesive, a tape measure, a notched trowel and a tile cutter. Also don't forget the rubber gloves, unless you want your hands to be full of grout. For instructions on how to lay grout and tiles, you can't get better than Lowe's website. Lowe's has some excellent how-to home improvement articles that tell you step-by-step how to do many home improvement projects.

These five home improvement projects for spring can make any home look brighter, prettier and can even help you sell your home if that's one of your projects this year.

The US as Failed State

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

The US has every characteristic of a failed state.

The US government’s current operating budget is dependent on foreign financing and money creation.

Too politically weak to be able to advance its interests through diplomacy, the US relies on terrorism and military aggression.

Costs are out of control, and priorities are skewed in the interest of rich organized interest groups at the expense of the vast majority of citizens. For example, war at all cost, which enriches the armaments industry, the officer corps and the financial firms that handle the war’s financing, takes precedence over the needs of American citizens. There is no money to provide the uninsured with health care, but Pentagon officials have told the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the House that every gallon of gasoline delivered to US troops in Afghanistan costs American taxpayers $400.

“It is a number that we were not aware of and it is worrisome,” said Rep. John Murtha, chairman of the subcommittee.

According to reports, the US Marines in Afghanistan use 800,000 gallons of gasoline per day. At $400 per gallon, that comes to a $320,000,000 daily fuel bill for the Marines alone. Only a country totally out of control would squander resources in this way.

While the US government squanders $400 per gallon of gasoline in order to kill women and children in Afghanistan, many millions of Americans have lost their jobs and their homes and are experiencing the kind of misery that is the daily life of poor third world peoples. Americans are living in their cars and in public parks. America’s cities, towns, and states are suffering from the costs of economic dislocations and the reduction in tax revenues from the economy’s decline. Yet, Obama has sent more troops to Afghanistan, a country half way around the world that is not a threat to America.

It costs $750,000 per year for each soldier we have in Afghanistan. The soldiers, who are at risk of life and limb, are paid a pittance, but all of the privatized services to the military are rolling in excess profits. One of the great frauds perpetuated on the American people was the privatization of services that the US military traditionally performed for itself. “Our” elected leaders could not resist any opportunity to create at taxpayers’ expense private wealth that could be recycled to politicians in campaign contributions.

Republicans and Democrats on the take from the private insurance companies maintain that the US cannot afford to provide Americans with health care and that cuts must be made even in Social Security and Medicare. So how can the US afford bankrupting wars, much less totally pointless wars that serve no American interest?

The enormous scale of foreign borrowing and money creation necessary to finance Washington’s wars are sending the dollar to historic lows. The dollar has even experienced large declines relative to currencies of third world countries such as Botswana and Brazil. The decline in the dollar’s value reduces the purchasing power of Americans’ already declining incomes.

Despite the lowest level of housing starts in 64 years, the US housing market is flooded with unsold homes, and financial institutions have a huge and rising inventory of foreclosed homes not yet on the market.

Industrial production has collapsed to the level of 1999, wiping out a decade of growth in industrial output.

The enormous bank reserves created by the Federal Reserve are not finding their way into the economy. Instead, the banks are hoarding the reserves as insurance against the fraudulent derivatives that they purchased from the gangster Wall Street investment banks.

The regulatory agencies have been corrupted by private interests. Frontline reports that Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Larry Summers blocked Brooksley Born, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from regulating derivatives. President Obama rewarded Larry Summers for his idiocy by appointing him Director of the National Economic Council. What this means is that profits for Wall Street will continue to be leeched from the diminishing blood supply of the American economy.

An unmistakable sign of third world despotism is a police force that sees the pubic as the enemy. Thanks to the federal government, our local police forces are now militarized and imbued with hostile attitudes toward the public. SWAT teams have proliferated, and even small towns now have police forces with the firepower of US Special Forces. Summons are increasingly delivered by SWAT teams that tyrannize citizens with broken down doors, a $400 or $500 repair born by the tyrannized resident. Recently a mayor and his family were the recipients of incompetence by the town’s local SWAT team, which mistakenly wrecked the mayor’s home, terrorized his family, and killed the family’s two friendly Labrador dogs.

If a town’s mayor can be treated in this way, what do you think is the fate of the poor white or black? Or the idealistic student who protests his government’s inhumanity?

In any failed state, the greatest threat to the population comes from the government and the police. That is certainly the situation today in the USA. Americans have no greater enemy than their own government. Washington is controlled by interest groups that enrich themselves at the expense of the American people.

The one percent that comprise the superrich are laughing as they say, “let them eat cake.”

While we’re still digesting the news of Bing adding Twitter to its search engine, Google has some news of their own: they’re about to do the same exact thing.

The search giant has just announced that they have reached a deal with Twitter to include tweets in search results.

From the Google blog:

“Given this new type of information and its value to search, we are very excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results. We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you’ll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.”

In other words, so much for Bing () getting the upper hand in the battle for real-time search. Absent from Google’s () announcement, however, is Facebook (). That said, the vast majority of status updates on Facebook are not public, so how much of an advantage that will be to Bing is dependent largely on how Facebook is able to change user behavior.

For Twitter though, today marks significant validation of its business. Just two weeks ago, it was rumored that the company was working on search deals worth “several millions dollars,” and today, they delivered, by partnering with the two biggest players in the game. With a fresh $100 million in the bank and both Google and Microsoft implementing tweets in search, it looks like Twitter () is in it for the long haul.

By PAUL THARP

Last Updated: 3:16 AM, October 13, 2009

Posted: 1:44 AM, October 13, 2009

Ben Bernanke's dollar crisis went into a wider mode yesterday as the greenback was shockingly upstaged by the euro and yen, both of which can lay claim to the world title as the currency favored by central banks as their reserve currency.

Over the last three months, banks put 63 percent of their new cash into euros and yen — not the greenbacks — a nearly complete reversal of the dollar's onetime dominance for reserves, according to Barclays Capital. The dollar's share of new cash in the central banks was down to 37 percent — compared with two-thirds a decade ago.

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Fed boss Ben Bernanke may be forced to raise rates in order to restore faith in the dollar — and help bring the euro and the yen back to earth.

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Currently, dollars account for about 62 percent of the currency reserve at central banks — the lowest on record, said the International Monetary Fund.

Bernanke could go down in economic history as the man who killed the greenback on the operating table.

After printing up trillions of new dollars and new bonds to stimulate the US economy, the Federal Reserve chief is now boxed into a corner battling two separate monsters that could devour the economy — ravenous inflation on one hand, and a perilous recession on the other.

“He's in a crisis worse than the meltdown ever was,” said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital. “I fear that he could be the Fed chairman who brought down the whole thing.”

Investors and central banks are snubbing dollars because the greenback is kept too weak by zero interest rates and a flood of greenbacks in the global economy.

They grumble that they've loaned the US record amounts to cover its mounting debt, but are getting paid back by a currency that's worth 10 percent less in the past three months alone. In a decade, it's down nearly one-third.

Yesterday, the dollar had a mixed performance, falling slightly against the British pound to $1.5801 from $1.5846 Friday, but rising against the euro to $1.4779 from $1.4709 and against the yen to 89.85 yen from 89.78.

Economists believe the market rebellion against the dollar will spread until Bernanke starts raising interest rates from around zero to the high single digits, and pulls back the flood of currency spewed from US printing presses.

“That's a cure, but it's also going to stifle any US economic growth,” said Schiff. “The economy is addicted to the cheap interest and liquidity.”

Economists warn that a jump in rates will clobber stocks and cripple the already stalled housing market.

“Bernanke's other choice is to keep rates at zero, print even more money and sell more debt, but we'll see triple-digit inflation that could collapse the economy as we know it.

“The stimulus is what's toxic — we're poisoning ourselves and the global economy with it.”

euro, yen, usd, dollar, united states, financial crisis, economy

There was what President Obama likes to call a teachable moment last week, when the International Olympic Committee rejected Chicago’s bid to be host of the 2016 Summer Games.

“Cheers erupted” at the headquarters of the conservative Weekly Standard, according to a blog post by a member of the magazine’s staff, with the headline “Obama loses! Obama loses!” Rush Limbaugh declared himself “gleeful.” “World Rejects Obama,” gloated the Drudge Report. And so on.

So what did we learn from this moment? For one thing, we learned that the modern conservative movement, which dominates the modern Republican Party, has the emotional maturity of a bratty 13-year-old.

But more important, the episode illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America.

To be sure, while celebrating America’s rebuff by the Olympic Committee was puerile, it didn’t do any real harm. But the same principle of spite has determined Republican positions on more serious matters, with potentially serious consequences — in particular, in the debate over health care reform.

Now, it’s understandable that many Republicans oppose Democratic plans to extend insurance coverage — just as most Democrats opposed President Bush’s attempt to convert Social Security into a sort of giant 401(k). The two parties do, after all, have different philosophies about the appropriate role of government.

But the tactics of the two parties have been different. In 2005, when Democrats campaigned against Social Security privatization, their arguments were consistent with their underlying ideology: they argued that replacing guaranteed benefits with private accounts would expose retirees to too much risk.

The Republican campaign against health care reform, by contrast, has shown no such consistency. For the main G.O.P. line of attack is the claim — based mainly on lies about death panels and so on — that reform will undermine Medicare. And this line of attack is utterly at odds both with the party’s traditions and with what conservatives claim to believe.

Think about just how bizarre it is for Republicans to position themselves as the defenders of unrestricted Medicare spending. First of all, the modern G.O.P. considers itself the party of Ronald Reagan — and Reagan was a fierce opponent of Medicare’s creation, warning that it would destroy American freedom. (Honest.) In the 1990s, Newt Gingrich tried to force drastic cuts in Medicare financing. And in recent years, Republicans have repeatedly decried the growth in entitlement spending — growth that is largely driven by rising health care costs.

But the Obama administration’s plan to expand coverage relies in part on savings from Medicare. And since the G.O.P. opposes anything that might be good for Mr. Obama, it has become the passionate defender of ineffective medical procedures and overpayments to insurance companies.

How did one of our great political parties become so ruthless, so willing to embrace scorched-earth tactics even if so doing undermines the ability of any future administration to govern?

The key point is that ever since the Reagan years, the Republican Party has been dominated by radicals — ideologues and/or apparatchiks who, at a fundamental level, do not accept anyone else’s right to govern.

Anyone surprised by the venomous, over-the-top opposition to Mr. Obama must have forgotten the Clinton years. Remember when Rush Limbaugh suggested that Hillary Clinton was a party to murder? When Newt Gingrich shut down the federal government in an attempt to bully Bill Clinton into accepting those Medicare cuts? And let’s not even talk about the impeachment saga.

The only difference now is that the G.O.P. is in a weaker position, having lost control not just of Congress but, to a large extent, of the terms of debate. The public no longer buys conservative ideology the way it used to; the old attacks on Big Government and paeans to the magic of the marketplace have lost their resonance. Yet conservatives retain their belief that they, and only they, should govern.

The result has been a cynical, ends-justify-the-means approach. Hastening the day when the rightful governing party returns to power is all that matters, so the G.O.P. will seize any club at hand with which to beat the current administration.

It’s an ugly picture. But it’s the truth. And it’s a truth anyone trying to find solutions to America’s real problems has to understand.

Choosing the right plants is the key to success for beginners. You probably don't want to start right off with Orchids or other tricky plants like that. Here are a few plants that you should be able to grow with beautiful results. You may just find that once you have had a little success, you just can't resist beautifying your house with more.

A Few Key Items

It really isn't hard to grow beautiful house plants. If you keep the basics in mind, your plants will thrive. Plants have few requirements: water, light, fertilizer and a good pot. If you place the right plants in the right spots, you will be rewarded with lovely greenery.

Peace Lily

This is a very common house plant for beginners. It has very many dark green, sword shaped leaves which grow out from the soil. As your plant thrives, it will fill up the entire pot. A Peace Lily is also called a Spathiphyllum. It will occasionally produce white flowers, or Spathes.

Peace Lilies are easy plants to grow. They require low light and are not fussy. You may be able to grow a Peace Lilly in a bright spot which is not near a window. I have mine about six feet from an East window and it does very well. They will not like to be in a South facing window, however. It is way too bright and they will burn.

Keep your Peace Lilly somewhat moist, but do not over water it. That is the leading cause of death of houseplants. If in doubt, do not water. The Peace Lily will get a little droopy when it is dry. Generally, you will want to water it when the top of the soil feels pretty dry. You can add in some all purpose fertilizer at half strength every time you water.

You will know your Peace Lily is truly thriving when it starts to flower. It will put up green spathes which turn white. They are quite lovely and resemble Calla Lilies. If you don't get any flowers from your Peace Lily, try moving it to a location with a little more light. You might have more success. For more information about Peace Lilies, try www.thegardenhelper.com/peacelily.htm.

Snake Plant

Another easy to grow plant is the Snake Plant. These are hard to kill, except with over watering. Again, the rule is that when in doubt, wait to water. The top of the soil should feel fairly dry.

The Snake Plant is also called the Mother In Law's tongue, as it has long sword shaped leaves with pointy tips. The leaves will emerge directly from the soil and the plant will multiply to fill the pot.

Keep Snake Plants in low light areas, similar to the Peace Lily. You can have them a few feet away from a window. A North facing window may not get as much light, so it's best to put them right in the window. Keep them further away from South facing windows as they do not like this much light.

Again, some diluted fertilizer every time you water will help your plant thrive. Try taking a break from it now and then in the winter months. For more information about Snake Plants, you can visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansevieria_trifasciata.

Dieffenbachia

Dieffenbachia are lovely plants. There are many varieties and they are easy to grow. The usually have long oval shaped leaves and may be variegated. If you have pets or small children, be careful. These plants can be poisonous. They are also called Dumb Cane. If they are ingested, they release toxins which my cause altered behavior and throat swelling. This can even lead to death. I have three cats, so I keep my Dieffenbachia out of their reach.

Dieffenbachia are low to medium light loving plants. They will do fine in almost any window. If they are in a South facing window, make sure they get sun which is filtered, such as through a sheer curtain. They will burn if they get too much sunlight.

I have seen dieffenbachia grow to ten feet tall over time with great growing conditions. However, most are much smaller. With a little care, your Dieffenbachia will thrive too. Again, do not over water it and give it some diluted fertilizer. It will reward your for years to come. For more information on these house plants, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieffenbachia.

Spider Plant

One last house plant that I will mention which is good for beginners and easy to grow is the Spider Plant. The Spider Plant looks lovely as a hanging plant and is easy to care for and propagate. It will send off long shoots with little plantlets which can be rooted and grown as new plants.

Spider plants will like more light than any of the others I have mentioned so far. If you must put them in a South facing window. Be sure to shield them by filtering the sun with a sheer curtain. Otherwise the plant will become very light green and may die. This is a sign that your plant is getting too much light.

A West or East facing window is probably a good spot for a Spider Plant. If yours is in a hanging basket, it will look great hanging in the window. Again, water carefully and don't over water. You will soon have a bushy plant with long narrow variegated leaves. You can get more information at /www.thegardenhelper.com/spiderplant.htm.

Get Growing

So, if you have gotten a new plant for the holidays, or have always admired some one else's green thumb, give these easy to grow house plants a try. You might just find out that you have the knack and can grow beautiful plants. Good luck!

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By Nick Wingfield

Microsoft’s top brass took a pay haircut last year because of the weak economy, but one executive got a nice perk as part of his hiring by Microsoft, according to a company proxy filing with securities regulators.

That executive, Microsoft business division president Stephen Elop, received a whopping $4.1 million in relocation expenses for the fiscal year ended June 30. That amount included the usual travel, shipment of household goods and other costs, but it also reflected a deal Elop cut with Microsoft when he joined the company in January 2008 under which Microsoft agreed to purchase Elop’s former home in pricey Silicon Valley, where the executive was previously chief operating officer at Juniper Networks.

As part of the agreement, Microsoft agreed to purchase Elop’s old house at a price equal to the average of three independent appraisals if he couldn’t sell the place within an agreed upon time. If the average appraisal came in below what Elop originally paid for the house, adjusted for home improvements, Microsoft promised to pay Elop the difference. He got another sweetener in the form of a “tax gross up” from Microsoft–a reimbursement from the company on any individual income stemming from the real estate transaction.

Since the California real estate market tanked during that time, Microsoft ended up as the owner of Elop’s house, later selling it at a price “significantly below” Elop’s original purchase price, Microsoft said in its proxy. In addition to the $4.1 million Elop got last fiscal year in relocation expenses, the filing says he received a $1.2 million tax gross up.

Microsoft said in the filing that it also purchased and resold the former homes of its CFO Chris Liddell and COO Kevin Turner in previous years, though its expenses related to those transactions were significantly less than they were for Elop.

In their pay, Microsoft’s executives felt the sting of the weak economy, which was a big factor in the company’s first-ever decline in annual sales last fiscal year. All of its top executives saw drops in total direct compensation in fiscal 2009, mainly because of a decline in stock awards. COO Turner was the hardest hit, seeing a 37% decline to $8.6 million in total direct compensation in fiscal 2009 from $5.4 million the prior year. (Mr. Elop’s compensation rose between fiscal 2008 and 2009, but only because he joined Microsoft midway through fiscal 2008.)

In its filing, Microsoft said its “compensation decisions for fiscal year 2009 reflect the difficult economic environment, the impact of that environment on company financial performance, and the degree of success each executive officer achieved in meeting these challenges.”

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