الثلاثاء، 29 نوفمبر 2011

Lincoln Tribune

Lincoln Tribune

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Texas Couple Becomes Goat-farming Entrepreneurs

Posted: 28 Nov 2011 06:39 PM PST

Most people hold on to their jobs for security and whatever benefits they might provide. But some adventurous souls follow a more challenging path, becoming entrepreneurs, working for themselves with no safety net to catch them if they fail.  VOA's Greg Flakus tells the story of one urban couple who moved to the country in Waller County, Texas, northwest of Houston, to begin a new life and business, with goats.

Part of the daily routine for Christian Seger at the Blue Heron Farm is milking the goats at feeding time.

His wife, Lisa, maintains the kitchen they built to meet state specifications.

And they had to buy these expensive machines to pasteurize the milk. "It is not something you can do as a hobby. When we decided to do this, we had to make the investment and treat it like a business," said Lisa.

Both of the Segers were city dwellers five years ago. She worked in advertising. He handled sound systems for entertainers.

But Christian says he wanted to go into business for himself. "Working for other people my whole life, I felt I had given them more than I had gotten from them. No one is ever going to take a loss to pay you more," he said.

The Segers bought this four-hectare property in 2006 and the equipment they needed for their enterprise.

Working as a team, they process the milk, make the cheese and sell some of it to restaurants and special clients.

And they sell cheese at weekly farmers markets, like this one in a parking lot at Rice University in Houston that attracts urban residents who want locally produced, healthy food. "With Houston, we have a big city full of a lot of adventurous foodies and so there really is quite a market for it," she said.

Neither of the Segers had any experience in agriculture or food production before they began this enterprise. But Lisa says that didn't stop them. "We have learned in this amazing age we live in that you can learn anything from the Internet, anything! So we Googled everything," she said.

One thing Christian says they have learned through their rural experience is to live by nature's cycles.

"When it is wintertime, the goats eat at 5:00 p.m, we milk them at 5:00, they are done and go to bed by 6:00.  In the summertime, it gets dark so late that we are out until 9:00 or 9:30. You just kind of get on their cycle," said Lisa.

Lisa says they care for their goats almost as if they were family. "Stewardship of the animals is a huge thing, stewardship of the animals and the earth, and if we cannot take care of them in a way that we think is appropriate, then we cannot do this," she said.

Christian and Lisa Seger are now fully immersed in their business and their life in the country, and they're not looking back.

Obama: Euro Crisis Solution of ‘Huge Importance’ for US

Posted: 28 Nov 2011 04:30 PM PST

At the White House on Monday, President Barack Obama met with European Union leaders, focusing on the European debt crisis and efforts by governments to preserve the eurozone amid recession worries.  Mr. Obama called a solution to European fiscal problems "of huge importance" to the United States.

President Obama's message for a troubled Europe has been consistent, voicing confidence that leaders on the continent have the capacity to resolve their debt crisis, but urging them to find the political will for an effective solution.

He repeated those themes in his two hours of talks and a working lunch with three officials - European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton.

In his statement to reporters, Mr. Obama again emphasized the connection between European problems and the United States.

"This is of huge importance to our own economy. If Europe is contracting or Europe is having difficulties then it is much more difficult for us to create good jobs here at home because we send so many of our products and services to Europe, it is such an important trading partner for us.   So we have got an important stake in their success and we will continue to work in a constructive way to try to resolve this issue in the near future," he said.

The annual summit came amid new worries about Europe falling into recession, as governments implement an agreement reached in October, and members such as Italy, Greece, and Spain work to solve their fiscal crises.

It also came amid ongoing concerns about problems in Europe, a major U.S trading partner, potentially kicking the U.S. economy back into a full recession.

In his remarks, Van Rompuy said European governments have taken decisions that he called "unthinkable" a year ago, but know they must do more and pointed to a plan he will present next month. "We are aiming for binding rules to ensure strong fiscal and economic discipline in our countries to go hand in hand with fiscal and economic integration, not only discipline but also integration in the Euro area as whole," he said.

Barroso said European leaders are determined to deal effectively with the crisis, but added that "some decisions take time." "I want to reassure President Obama and also I want to reassure the Americans.  Europe is going through rough times, yes, but we are determined to overcome the current difficulties," he said.

In an interview with VOA, Jonathan Story, a professor of International Political Economy at France's INSEAD business school, said the U.S. is limited in what it can do to move Europe forward. "The U.S. has an interest in its resolution that is for sure because Europe is a very big market for U.S. businesses who are the main investor in Europe and European investors are the main investors in the United States, so the two economies are very intertwined but there is actually very little the U.S. can do because the resolution of the problem is in European hands," he said.

Also attended by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the U.S. - EU talks also covered the Arab Spring, the situation in Syria, Iran's nuclear program, and political and human rights issues in Ukraine and Belarus.

Noting the first post-Mubarak election in Egypt, and events in Tunisia and Libya, a joint statement said considerable challenges lie ahead but the U.S. and EU are committed to supporting democratic transitions and economic growth in the region.

It called on the Assad government in Syria to end violence immediately, permit the immediate entry of human rights observers and international journalists, and allow for a peaceful and democratic transition.

The U.S. and EU shared "deep concern" about "possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program, saying they are committed to working toward a diplomatic solution but will consider additional measures given Iran's continued failure to abide by its international obligations.

President Obama and EU officials also looked ahead to next week's conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany, with Mr. Obama saying both sides have a "shared stake" in continued progress in Afghanistan.

Ecuador urges villages near the Tungurahua volcano to evacuate

Posted: 28 Nov 2011 04:28 PM PST

QUITO, ECUADOR (BNO NEWS) -- Authorities in the South American nation of Ecuador on Monday afternoon urged residents near the Tungurahua volcano to evacuate after a rapid increase of volcanic activity.

Ecuador's Geophysical Institute of the National Technology School said the Tungurahua volcano had three pyroclastic boulder flows toward the south at around 7:35 a.m. local time on Monday. Its loud roars have reportedly shook residential windows up to 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) away.

Previously, at around 2 a.m. local time, the institute registered an explosion as incandescent material covered all of the volcano's slopes. Some three hours later, intense and moderately strong roars were also registered, accompanied with incandescent material, as well as lava blocks and fluid lava, descending about one kilometer (0.6 mile) down its crater.

The Institute warned that the 5,023-meter (16,480-feet) tall Tungurahua continued its strong seismic activity throughout Monday and spewed out thick ash clouds of up to 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) high into the northeastern, southeastern and eastern regions.

The Tungurahua Province Emergency Operation Committee subsequently raised its alert level from yellow to orange, immediately activating its emergency protocols. Officials have urged four villages nearby to evacuate in fear of a full eruption.

The Tungurahua volcano is located about 135 kilometers (84 miles) south of Quito, the nation's capital. Its eruptive phases began in 1999 and, since then, it has experienced both calm and highly active periods.

(Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)


Colombia and Venezuela sign commerce and energy deals

Posted: 28 Nov 2011 04:14 PM PST

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (BNO NEWS) -- The leaders of Colombia and Venezuela on Monday agreed to a series of arrangements in a number of sectors such as commerce, energy, culture, science, and technology.

After five hours of meetings and reunions, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed the agreements at the Miraflores Palace, which is located in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

Among the agreements endorsed by officials from both nations is the installation of an aluminum formwork production plant and industrial scaffolding for housing projects. An exchange of electricity supply between San Fernando de Atapo in Venezuela and Puerto Nibia in Colombia was also agreed to.

In addition, a joint study will be carried out by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. and Ecopetrol of Colombia at the Maracaibo Lake in Venezuela and the Venezuelan state of Apure. The governments further agreed on the extension of an oil duct into Panama to distribute fuel in the region.

Other agreements included a memorandum of understanding for academic exchange programs and research projects into hunger and poverty. A Colombia-Venezuela strategic partnership was also agreed on in which home appliances will be manufactured as part of the Venezuela Housing Mission.

Venezuela's Health Ministry, meanwhile, also agreed to set up, with the help of Colombian industries, a factory to produce generic pharmaceuticals in the state of Carabobo. In the agricultural sector, the two countries signed a letter of commitment to deliver 1,200 milk cows, 200 breeding bulls and other farming animals to Venezuela.

(Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)


Russia launches last Glonass-M navigation satellite of the year

Posted: 28 Nov 2011 04:09 PM PST

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- The Russian Space Forces, which is responsible for military space operations, on Monday announced that the year's last Glonass-M navigation satellite has been launched on a Russian Soyuz rocket.

The Glonass-M launch was carried out on schedule at 12:25 p.m. Moscow time from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, which is located in the country's Arkhangelsk Oblast. The satellite will join a group of 30 Glonass satellites already in orbit.

Alexei Zolotukhin, a spokesperson for the Russian Space Forces, confirmed to the RIA Novosti news agency that Monday's launch was the last one of the year.

Russia's Glonass satellites are designed for both military and civilian use and are considered the country's response to the United States' Global Positioning System, which is better known as GPS. Both satellite systems allow users to determine locations and positioning to within a few meters (feet).

In order for the Glonass system to provide a global coverage, it needs a total of 24 operational satellites. With Monday's launch, the system will have 23 operational satellites.

In 2010, three Glonass-M satellites were destroyed during a failed launch from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. On November 4, three reserve Glonass-M satellites were launched from the same center.

(Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)


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