Prop. 23 would effectively repeal California’s landmark clean energy and emissions law and is a bad deal for consumers
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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – The federal government of Canada will announce on Thursday that it will lift the freeze on Employment Insurance premiums. The freeze was part of the economic stimulus package offered by Ottawa to battle the recession.
The lifting of the freeze was originally scheduled Jan. 1, 2010, but the federal government listened to the warning from business leaders, labor representatives and the political opposition that the move would stymie Canada’s recovery.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Ottawa is still reviewing how much the EI rates would go up, but he hinted it would be less than the amount recommended by a rate setting board established by the federal government.
The current rate is $2.42 for employers and $1.73 for employees for every $100 income of the worker. The board recommended a 21 cents hike for employers and 15 cents increase for employees.
On Wednesday, Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff withdrew his support for a bill that would improve EI benefits. Ignatieff explained his change of stand to the enhancements being too expensive and no longer needed because it was a product of the recession.
Ignatieff used the EI reforms last year to push for a federal election. His withdraw of support for the bill filed by Bloc Quebecois MP Yves Lessard is a personal stand, not a party stand, Ignatieff clarified.
Lessard’s bill proposed reducing the qualifying period for EI from the present 420 hours minimum to 360 hours, hiking the weekly earnings from 55 percent to 60 percent of past earnings and increasing the length of time benefits could be collected.
View full post on Labor Stories
Germany marks 20 years since reunification with pomp and ceremonies Sunday – and a final payment for outstanding interest due on loans dating back to the end of World War I.
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In current scenario, bad credit is no longer an obstacle for availing finance from banks or lenders. To provide equal opportunities to people with bad credit score, lenders have designed the bad credit loans so that they can also tackle the unexpected expenses nicely. By making the repayments on or before date one can repair the credit score and achieve the good financial position. Consumers with different credit problems like CCJs, bankruptcy, IVA, defaults, arrears etc. can easily avail the finance without facing any trouble for emergency purpose. Applicants are free to use the money for various purposes like home improvements, wedding, debt consolidations, business, education, car, paying off debts etc.
Bad credit loans are available in two forms secured and unsecured and borrowers are free to choose either option. It is advisable to select the option as per the repayment capability and pocket. In secured loans, borrowers get huge amount at low interest rate against any valuable asset or property. It is risky for consumers because lenders can sell the collateral in case you do not repay the money back. In unsecured loans, you do not need to pledge any collateral against the cash as results you get small amount at high interest rate. This option is risky for lenders. Through secured loans, applicants can take away the amount up to £75000. Generally, approval amount depends upon the value of security deposit. The repayment tenure is quiet good that easily goes up to 25 years.
On the other hand, unsecured bad credit loans help people to grab the amount up to £25000 for the time frame up to 10 years. These funds are easily available in UK finance market through online mode. Internet is the best platform which provides easy, fast and convenient funds on simple terms. Here, people get numerous quotes in order to obtain best deal that can suit financial condition. By filling a simple application, individual can get good number of quotations to compare and choose best deal.
DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – The World Bank has approved $115 million in concessionary loans to Tanzania to help fight poverty in east Africa’s second biggest economy, a statement of the bank said on Wed…
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The misdiagnosis of the housing bubble drove Congress to overreact and ban useful tools, according to a report from the Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate at San Diego State University. The report discussed how built-in payment holidays used in the United Kingdom can help borrowers with irregular income. Another report from Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University said that lenders made the mistake of opening up loans to people who had already proven themselves unable to pay.
View full post on Mortgage Stories
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ — With access to capital among their biggest challenges, cash-strapped small businesses got some good news today from AT&T*. Through its financing subsidiary, AT&T Capital Services, the company is now providing loans to small businesses looking to deploy ne
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Gaza, Palestinian Territory Omar Ghraieb – In Gaza city, you’ll rarely see a woman riding a motorbike, bicycle or car, and you definitely won’t see a woman riding a truck.
Gaza city has a small, closed and conservative society, where traditions and religion control residents’ lives and social relations. Women in Gaza often get the brunt of it, complaining that they aren’t allowed to exercise equal rights and freedoms.
But all that might be slowly changing.
Leena Ibrahim, 22, did the unthinkable when she recently applied for a truck driving license in Gaza, making her the first ever female driver to apply for one.
Ibrahim wears the Niqab (Islamic veil that covers all but the eyes), dressing head-to-toe in black. Although you can only see Ibrahim’s eyes, it is enough to illustrate her strong personality and persistence.
Ibrahim also comes from a well-to-do family. So what is motivating this young woman to take this difficult route and take on a career in truck driving?
Ibrahim describes Gaza’s future as “foggy” and “uncertain”, seeing as the lives and fate of Palestinians are controlled by many local, national and international factors, which could change at any moment.
This worry of an uncertain future has led Ibrahim to use her summer break from university to learn skills that could help her get a job in the event that her family’s financial status deteriorates or she doesn’t find a husband soon. Ibrahim is majoring in optics at the Islamic University – Gaza, but doesn’t believe she will find work in her field after she graduates, so she decided to turn to truck driving as a fall back.
Driving instructor Shady Abdul Hak says that driving trucks is strictly a man’s job since trucks are very heavy, requiring masculine qualities like strength to control the trucks and to unload heavy cargo. He says that he doubts Ibrahim will ever actually get a job driving a truck.
Ibrahim, however, strongly disagrees, saying that she is already training and has become a skilled driver, which will enable her to work as a professional truck driver soon. “There is nothing wrong in that,” she says.
Ibrahim has faced many troubles from the beginning of this pursuit, including rejection from her father and brothers. Her male family members told her that Gaza’s closed society wouldn’t accept her choice to be a truck driver and people wouldn’t cut her or her family any slack. But Ibrahim has insisted on learning how to drive, defying her whole family, who has eventually come around to the idea, accepting her decision, at least for now.
Ibraheem, Leena Ibrahim’s father, says that despite his initial rejection, he is very proud of his daughter. He says the job will help her when she gets married, since the cost of living is so expensive these days, making raising children one of life’s greatest challenges.
“Palestinian women have proven how strong they are. Whenever life faces them with troubles and force them to do the undone they stand up for it,” says Ibraheem.
She says Gaza’s first female car mechanic also stirred a wave of rejection from society at first, but then later every woman who owned a car went to this woman for repairs.
Ibrahim resents the idea of becoming famous, saying that she doesn’t want to bring more trouble on herself, since everyone already looks at her strangely when they see her driving a truck.
“Usually men and women come up to me asking me ridiculous questions like: ‘Are you crazy?’ Or, ‘Are you a man disguised?’ And women usually show their resentment, saying that a female should never do what I do. I just answer back, saying that women are no longer defined like the past. Nowadays women are capable of doing anything. We are equal to men, whether our society like it or not.”
Sabreen Abu Lehyah, the director of the driving school where Ibrahim is training to get her commercial driving license said that she is the first Gazan woman to ever want the license, never mind actually obtain one and drive trucks.
Abu Lehyah supports Ibrahim and congratulated her for her courage, saying that she should be a role model for Gazan women so they know that they can achieve anything they put their minds to.
Riding a truck with Ibrahim is not any different than driving a truck with a skilled male driver. She knows what she is doing, using the skills she has learned to drive. She knows every sign on every street and knows how to beat traffic in rush hour.
Ibrahim can’t wait for her last evaluation test, which will enable her to work more freely and pursue truck driving as a profession.
Walking with Ibrahim in Gaza city’s streets, people passing by have varied opinions of Ibrahim’s interest in truck driving. Some are encouraging, while many others are opposed the idea of a woman driving a truck, saying that a woman’s natural place is at home cooking, cleaning, bearing and raising children, and taking care of her husband.
What shocks Ibrahim most is that many men have supported her actions while women have not. She says she supports the fight for women’s rights in Gaza, so is saddened to see women speaking out against her. However, she says this won’t stop her because her message is about more than just driving a truck; it is about women’s equality.
“I promise you that one day soon you will be seeing me driving a truck as a profession and the next strong girl that will decide to go through this will see easier times than I did, because then it wouldn’t be as weird as now. I started this and many females will follow, just mark my words,” says Ibrahim.
View full post on Social Issue Stories
Gaza, Palestinian Territory Omar Ghraieb – In Gaza city, you’ll rarely see a woman riding a motorbike, bicycle or car, and you definitely won’t see a woman riding a truck.
Gaza city has a small, closed and conservative society, where traditions and religion control residents’ lives and social relations. Women in Gaza often get the brunt of it, complaining that they aren’t allowed to exercise equal rights and freedoms.
But all that might be slowly changing.
Leena Ibrahim, 22, did the unthinkable when she recently applied for a truck driving license in Gaza, making her the first ever female driver to apply for one.
Ibrahim wears the Niqab (Islamic veil that covers all but the eyes), dressing head-to-toe in black. Although you can only see Ibrahim’s eyes, it is enough to illustrate her strong personality and persistence.
Ibrahim also comes from a well-to-do family. So what is motivating this young woman to take this difficult route and take on a career in truck driving?
Ibrahim describes Gaza’s future as “foggy” and “uncertain”, seeing as the lives and fate of Palestinians are controlled by many local, national and international factors, which could change at any moment.
This worry of an uncertain future has led Ibrahim to use her summer break from university to learn skills that could help her get a job in the event that her family’s financial status deteriorates or she doesn’t find a husband soon. Ibrahim is majoring in optics at the Islamic University – Gaza, but doesn’t believe she will find work in her field after she graduates, so she decided to turn to truck driving as a fall back.
Driving instructor Shady Abdul Hak says that driving trucks is strictly a man’s job since trucks are very heavy, requiring masculine qualities like strength to control the trucks and to unload heavy cargo. He says that he doubts Ibrahim will ever actually get a job driving a truck.
Ibrahim, however, strongly disagrees, saying that she is already training and has become a skilled driver, which will enable her to work as a professional truck driver soon. “There is nothing wrong in that,” she says.
Ibrahim has faced many troubles from the beginning of this pursuit, including rejection from her father and brothers. Her male family members told her that Gaza’s closed society wouldn’t accept her choice to be a truck driver and people wouldn’t cut her or her family any slack. But Ibrahim has insisted on learning how to drive, defying her whole family, who has eventually come around to the idea, accepting her decision, at least for now.
Ibraheem, Leena Ibrahim’s father, says that despite his initial rejection, he is very proud of his daughter. He says the job will help her when she gets married, since the cost of living is so expensive these days, making raising children one of life’s greatest challenges.
“Palestinian women have proven how strong they are. Whenever life faces them with troubles and force them to do the undone they stand up for it,” says Ibraheem.
She says Gaza’s first female car mechanic also stirred a wave of rejection from society at first, but then later every woman who owned a car went to this woman for repairs.
Ibrahim resents the idea of becoming famous, saying that she doesn’t want to bring more trouble on herself, since everyone already looks at her strangely when they see her driving a truck.
“Usually men and women come up to me asking me ridiculous questions like: ‘Are you crazy?’ Or, ‘Are you a man disguised?’ And women usually show their resentment, saying that a female should never do what I do. I just answer back, saying that women are no longer defined like the past. Nowadays women are capable of doing anything. We are equal to men, whether our society like it or not.”
Sabreen Abu Lehyah, the director of the driving school where Ibrahim is training to get her commercial driving license said that she is the first Gazan woman to ever want the license, never mind actually obtain one and drive trucks.
Abu Lehyah supports Ibrahim and congratulated her for her courage, saying that she should be a role model for Gazan women so they know that they can achieve anything they put their minds to.
Riding a truck with Ibrahim is not any different than driving a truck with a skilled male driver. She knows what she is doing, using the skills she has learned to drive. She knows every sign on every street and knows how to beat traffic in rush hour.
Ibrahim can’t wait for her last evaluation test, which will enable her to work more freely and pursue truck driving as a profession.
Walking with Ibrahim in Gaza city’s streets, people passing by have varied opinions of Ibrahim’s interest in truck driving. Some are encouraging, while many others are opposed the idea of a woman driving a truck, saying that a woman’s natural place is at home cooking, cleaning, bearing and raising children, and taking care of her husband.
What shocks Ibrahim most is that many men have supported her actions while women have not. She says she supports the fight for women’s rights in Gaza, so is saddened to see women speaking out against her. However, she says this won’t stop her because her message is about more than just driving a truck; it is about women’s equality.
“I promise you that one day soon you will be seeing me driving a truck as a profession and the next strong girl that will decide to go through this will see easier times than I did, because then it wouldn’t be as weird as now. I started this and many females will follow, just mark my words,” says Ibrahim.
View full post on Social Issue Stories
The economic slowdown has shattered economies of almost all the countries in the world. But, one good thing which it has done is that, the introduction of bad credit loans. There are several banks in the UK who are giving unsecured loans. The best part of such type of loans is that, you can have hard cash at the time of emergency. Also, these are very easy to avail and you are supposed to keep any security or sign any collaterals. The bad credit loans borrowers have a great advantage with these unsecured loans. They can apply for personal as well as commercial loans with minimal formalities and in a quick time.
Loans for people with bad credit history is generally of small amount up to $ 1500. You should always keep in mind that, there are various websites which have false promises regarding the loans. So, you must always check with the banks even after checking the details online about the loans and their interest. Sometime, the rate of interests of these loans are very high, so you must ensure that, you pick the best deal according to your necessity and capacity to pay back.
Poor credit loans history is not a problem with these banks. They give you an opportunity to improve your repayment record which you can do by returning the amount of money taken on time and thereby, winning the trust of the bank for lending you more money in future. There are many private lenders in the market who have lot of money and are looking for variety of business dealings. The bad credit history is not an issue with these lenders as the only important thing for them is to make more money. They will always be interested in investing in your business provided they find it interesting and profitable.
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