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Solving Construction Cases in Iowa City

August 31st, 2010. Published under Construction Discussions. No Comments.

What would be a good headline for this newspaper article?

August 31st, 2010. Published under Construction Articles. No Comments.

by ShashiBellamkonda

Question by Mazing: What would be a good headline for this newspaper article?
It is about Nixon’s Vice Pres. and the corruption during his term

As Spiro T. Agnew stepped into office as the 39th Vice President, it is true to say he had no intention of resignation. He was a born leader, he served in World War II, then became a lawyer. He Soon became interested in politics, running for Baltimore county executive, then Governor of Maryland. Richard M. Nixon chose Agnew for his Vice President, which was definitely a surprise to all, which prompted the saying “Spiro Who?”.

In office Spiro was taken under investigation by the Justice Department for Corruption. He was charged with taking bribes and failing to pay taxes. It went back to when he was in office for Governor of Maryland. He took bribes totaling $ 100,000 from a construction company. He was also charged with failure to report $ 29,500 in income tax. Instead of going on trial, he resigned pleading No Contest to the claims, he was the first Vice President to leave office because of criminal charges and only the second to resign.

Spiro is now under a three year probation and he is being ordered by the state of Maryland to repay more than $ 248,000 he took in Bribes while in office. Spiro Agnew will definitely be a Vice President no one will soon forget.

Best answer:

Answer by Bruce
I’d say to try to make a play on words, such as “Nixon’s right hand gets wrist slapped” or “Spiro spends 3 years on (white) house arrest”

Hopefully these can get you started. all you have to do is come up with something strange to entice the reader.

Give your answer to this question below!

Worrying News From Asia/russia/us Bailouts

August 31st, 2010. Published under Construction News. No Comments.

by Christiana Care

Worrying News From Asia/russia/us Bailouts

As the US moves towards passing an economic stimulus package and reshaping its banking bailout and assistance, there’s bad news from Asia that should cause tremors here.

The US Senate will vote on the $US872 billion package, the US Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner is due to outline the bank package overnight Tuesday and now there’s news that Russia is looking to reschedule debt.

That has already shaken currency markets in Asia and Europe after it was reported by the leading Japanese business paper, the Nikkei.

The move was then confirmed by this report on Bloomberg

“Russian banks asked the government to moderate talks to restructure $US400 billion of loans to foreign banks falling due within four years, said the head of the Russian Association of Regional Banks.”

“It would be most effective if the debt were restructured so it’s clear to everyone, creditors and borrowers, how the debt will be paid,” Aksakov said. “The government has the money. Some companies and banks have rather large hard currency liabilities on their balance sheets.”

Speculation of European bank losses on Russian loans drove declines in the euro against the dollar and yen today. Russia has pledged more than 0 billion in emergency funding as plunging oil prices push the world’s biggest energy supplier into its worst economic crisis since 1998 when it defaulted.

The euro fell sharply on the report, sliding against the US dollar and the yen. The Australian dollar also fell under 66 US cents, down nearly 2 cents in a day.

The newspaper quoted a Russian banking industry official as saying up to $US400 billion in debt was at stake.

Nikkei claimed that a proposal for postponing repayment had been submitted to the government and some foreign banks have already agreed to start negotiations.

The news overshadowed more worrying news from China, Taiwan and Japan.

Chinese inflation fell to its lowest pace in over two years at 1% in January and a senior researcher with the Bank of Japan, the country’s central bank, has warned that the country’s economy faces a severe contraction.

Chinese producer prices fell 3.3%, the lowest in around seven years as the slumping in oil and fuel prices, plus the slowing economy, continued to curtail price pressures seen for most of 2008.

The fall in price pressures came after exports fell in December and growth cooled to an average 6.8% in the 4th quarter (and in reality probably didn’t move at all). That was the weakest growth for 7 years.

Figures mentioned in media reports for January’s exports suggest a further fall after December’s weakness. We should know today or tomorrow.

The 1% rise in consumer prices in January from January 2008, when prices started rising after higher oil prices and the impact of huge winter storms pushed up food and power costs, was after they rose by 1.2% in December.

China’s economy grew 9% in 2008 after a 13% rise in 2007.

In Taiwan, a combination of the Chinese New Year and the global recession saw the country’s exports slump by more than 40% in January, a terrible outcome.

Taiwan is Asia’s sixth-largest economy and exports in January exports fell 44.1% from the same month of 2008, the biggest drop since government records began in 1972. It was also the fifth consecutive month that exports have fallen.

Japanese exports in December plunged 35%, South Korea’s by 32%.

In Japan the Bank of Japan’s top researcher warned on Monday of an “unimaginable” contraction in the Japanese economy in the current quarter after new figures revealed soaring bankruptcies and another fall in machinery orders.

The Financial Times said that the comments from Kazuo Momma, head of the central bank’s research and statistics department, “underscore the gloom surrounding the world’s second largest economy as export orders dry up, companies shut down production lines and consumers snap shut their wallets and purses”.

“From October to December the scale of negative growth (in GDP) may have been unimaginable – and we have to consider the possibility that there could be even greater decline between January and March,” Mr Momma warned in a speech yesterday.

It would be “quite a while” before inventories adjust.

Nissan this week revealed 20,000 job cuts and a loss of close to $US2.9 billion. Last Friday Toyota warned of its biggest ever loss in the year to March 31 of over $US4 billion.

On Friday, it cut its global production estimate for the year to March to 7.08 million, down 20%, as it put a third of its global assembly lines on a single shift.

“The sales environment has worsened dramatically in the past month and a half in the main markets of Japan, North America and Europe,” Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kinoshita told a news conference.

For the year to the end of March, Toyota now expects an operating loss of ¥450 billion ($US4.95 billion), three times what it forecast in late December
Car sales in Japan fell the most in 35 years last month.

Before Toyota on Friday Mitsubishi and Mazda revealed big loss estimates. Panasonic, Hitachi, Toshiba and NEC, giants of Japanese and global business in their sectors, all warned of losses of a size not even contemplated by the most pessimistic of forecasters four weeks ago.

Panasonic will lose around $US4 billion and is sacking thousands of workers, as is NEC and the other companies.

It’s no wonder the country is heading for its worst postwar recession as factory output slumped an unprecedented 9.6% in December (8.5% in November) and unemployment surged.

Japan announces fourth quarter gross domestic product data next week. Tokyo-based economists say GDP will have fallen more than 3% compared with the previous quarter – an annualised decline of well over 10%.

Many companies have suffered the effect of the domestic slowdown and the collapse of export markets in the US, Asia and Europe: cars and consumer electronics being prime examples.

The effect on corporate capital spending has been marked, with core private-sector machinery orders plunging 17% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to December, their fastest fall on record.

…….

The US has unveiled a three-part program to stabilise the financial system, a move that failed to meet the credibility test at first glance.
 
US sharemarkets fell sharply, down more than 4% as analysts and investors digested the details of the plan announced by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Oil prices plunged to well under $US38 a barrel.

It was the biggest fall of the year so far on Wall Street. Our market will open weaker today.
 
What analysts saw they didn’t much like, from initial comments. The general tone of the comments was ‘too little’ and not tough enough on so-called ‘zombie banks’ which are institutions still alive but not doing much business.

But there’s also an element of being reminded of the reality of the US financial system and economy: that it is essentially broke, along with most of the big names in banking (and perhaps insurance) .

An unrealistic bullishness had been around last week ahead of this plan being announced. Some reality has hopefully been restored, but the plan itself could have been more realistic as well.
 
The main components of the Treasury’s package are a joint public- and private-sector fund to buy as much as $US1 trillion of illiquid assets and a $US1 trillion program to supply new credit to consumers and businesses.

The plan also calls for additional taxpayer to be injected funds into banks, while imposing tighter restrictions that will include limits on dividend payments, acquisitions and executive pay.
 
An initial fund of $US500 billion to absorb toxic assets will be established and $US50 billion will be committed to prevent home mortgage foreclosures, which is still the driving force of the current instability.
 
Mr Geithner said in his speech revealing the plan’s outline, that the plan would “bring the full force of the US government to bear to strengthen our financial system so that we get the economy back on track”.

However, he did not put a price tag on the new plan, which is expected to exceed the remaining half of the original 0 billion TARP. The US Treasury will not ask Congress for more money right now.

The Treasury will also “stress test” the big banks to see how well they are placed to handle a further slowing of the economy, and provide additional funds as needed. Banks receiving money will have to provide details about their intended uses for the money.

A key element will be the public-private investment fund started with $US500 billion “with the potential to expand up to $US1 trillion” to help cleanse the banking system of toxic real-estate assets.

This will serve the role of an aggregator bank, or “bad bank” to help financial institutions value their mortgage securities and clean up their balance sheets.

A second element will include additional capital injections into banks.

“While banks will be encouraged to access private markets to raise any additional capital needed to establish this buffer, a financial institution that has undergone a comprehensive ‘stress test’ will have access to a Treasury-provided ‘capital buffer’ to help absorb losses and serve as a bridge to receiving increased private capital,” the Treasury said.

Thirdly, the Treasury and Federal Reserve will expand the existing program to boost lending for mortgages and other consumer and business loans to up to $US1 trillion.>

The Fed would lift the amount to $US1 trillion from the previously announced $US800 billion for its Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, which would accept mortgage-backed securities and securities backed by car loans, credit card loans, student loans, and some small business loans.

The expansion “would be supported by the provision by the Treasury of additional funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program”, the Fed said. The Treasury has already ‘seeded’ this fund with $US20 billion.

Meanwhile the US Senate has passed its version of the Administration’s fiscal stimulus bill by 61 votes to 27 on Tuesday, clearing the way for Congress to thrash out final legislation for President Barack Obama to sign into law, hopefully by the end of this week.

Democrats forced through the bill with support from only three moderate Republicans, hurting Mr Obama’s hope of bipartisan backing for the plan

The Senate bill now has to be reconciled with the House of Representatives version passed last month before sending final legislation to the White House.

The House version contains about $US 100 billion more spending than the Senate bill, which includes more tax cuts.

IMPORTANT: AIR reports about financial markets and investment products in the widest sense possible. The AIR website and all its contents is prepared for general information only, and as such, the specific needs, investment objectives or financial situation of any particular user have not been taken into consideration. Individuals should therefore talk with their financial planner or advisor before making any investment decisions.

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Construction Begins On Anne Arundel 9/11 Memorial

August 31st, 2010. Published under Construction Jobs. No Comments.

Construction Begins On Anne Arundel 9/11 Memorial
Construction began Monday on the Sept. 11 Memorial in Anne Arundel County.
Read more on WBAL-TV Baltimore

Orascom Construction Sees Strong Mideast Infrastructure Demand, CEO Says
Orascom Construction Industries, the biggest publicly traded builder, said it expects “strong demand” for infrastructure projects in the Middle East, especially after electricity blackouts in the region this month.
Read more on Bloomberg

Connecticut Construction Industry Officials Request OSHA To Toughen Safety Standards In Light Of Kleen Energy Plant …
(Hartford, CT) – As developments continue to unfold each month in regard to the Kleen Energy Systems plant explosion in February 2010 in Middletown, CT, several Connecticut construction industry officials gathered informally last week to review the official investigations, government findings and penalties.
Read more on dBusinessNews.com

Construction Begins On New Retail Center in Crookston
A private developer is hoping to have a new retail center open in Crookston near the first of the year.
Read more on WDAZ 8 Grand Forks

Denbury’s Green Pipeline Construction

August 31st, 2010. Published under Construction Discussions. 1 Comment.

We are in the process of building the Green Pipeline, which will run from the end of our NEJD Pipeline near Donaldsonville, Louisiana, southeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, westward to our Hastings Field, south of Houston, Texas. The 320-mile pipeline is designed to transport both natural and man-made carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2, a greenhouse gas, will be injected into oil reservoirs to recover additional crude oil from depleted fields. The US has limited methods to transport CO2. Denbury is currently installing the Green Pipeline to transport CO2 from both natural and manmade (anthropogenic) sources to petroleum reservoirs. We have currently entered into eight agreements with owners of potential sources of man-made CO2 and are in various stages of discussions with several other entities. To date, none of these potential industrial plants have started construction, so we are not certain that they will be built. Denbury plans to use this CO2 to recover oil that would not otherwise be economically produced. In addition to increased domestic oil production, our use of this CO2 will help reduce the release of this greenhouse gas into the earths atmosphere. FACTS ABOUT THE PIPELINE Size: 24 diameter pipeline Length: Approximately 320 miles (200 miles in Louisiana) Volume: Designed to transport up to 800 million standard cubic feet per day of carbon dioxide (CO2) Design and Operations: The pipeline has been designed to operate under the rules and regulation of the Department …
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Soweto (*not mine)

August 31st, 2010. Published under Construction Articles. No Comments.

Some cool building construction articles images:

Soweto (*not mine)


Image by coda
Uploaded for the 2010 FIFA World Cup group

"A surveyor on the construction site of the stadium on the outskirts of Soweto. Stadiums must be built or renovated in nine cities."

By Joao Silva
Johannesburg Journal: South Africa vs. Itself, in Race to Get Ready for World Cup
(via New York Times)

Soweto (*not mine)


Image by coda
Uploaded for the 2010 FIFA World Cup group

"Construction workers on the outskirts of Soweto, South Africa, worked earlier this month on preparing a stadium for the 2010 World Cup of soccer. In South Africa, a race is on to get ready for the games."

By Sharon LaFraniere
Johannesburg Journal: South Africa vs. Itself, in Race to Get Ready for World Cup
(via New York Times)

Grace Building – James Schouw & Associates_RonSombilonGallery


Image by Ron Sombilon Gallery
James Schouw photoshoot by Ron Sombilon Gallery

Ron Sombilon is proud to photograph Vancouver developer James Schouw.

www.RonSombilonGallery

For more info on James and his current projects, please visit

www.jamesschouw.ca

About James Schouw

Award winning Yaletown developer James Schouw is a designer, green-minded builder, philanthropist, and community visionary. A building by James Schouw looks unlike any other, anywhere else in the world. James is influenced by early Vancouver architecture with neo-classical elements but his designs are truly original and eclectic.

James oversees all aspects of his developments, from conception, to design, to construction. His timeless design with attention to detail and cutting edge construction, has created a devoted following. His buildings are on the ‘must-see’ list of Vancouver architecture and it’s a common site to see people taking pictures of his buildings. The beauty of his buildings have turned them into Habitable Art, art that people live in.

Best known for the dramatic style of his buildings, James is changing the way buildings are built and raising the bar for environmental sensitivity with his innovative designs. His landmark Grace building, at 1280 Richards, is the first high rise in the city to have been conceived with energy efficient geothermal heating, a technology that saves on heating costs, produces minimal greenhouse gases and has set the standard for other high end projects. The carbon emission reduction for Grace is the equivalent of taking 100 cars off the road annually. In addition to the Geothermal heating system, his projects incorporate a rainwater recovery system. He has also installed a fingerprint recognition security system that ensures only inhabitants gain entrance.

Creating buildings with a reduced environmental footprint is a reflection of James’ overall development philosophy. He has sense of responsibility to enhance the community and give back to society. A minimum of 50% of each year’s net corporate and personal income will be donated to humanitarian efforts over a ten-year period. Charity work is ingrained into his company’s values and culture.

Born in Winnipeg and raised in Vancouver, James studied physics at university but became fascinated with construction after spending time helping his architect father at a construction site. A natural entrepreneur he left school to start a successful ice cream distribution business and to pursue his interest in design and construction. His own dissatisfaction with what he saw on the market prompted him to build his first multifamily development, Iliad. James is a long time resident of Yaletown and always resides in the projects he creates so that they have the liveability that he would expect in a home.

James’ Grace building was awarded the 2008 Georgie Award for High Rise of the Year, was a nominee for best multi-family housing for the national SAM awards, and was a finalist for the international SPARK design awards. James is a past winner of Business in Vancouver’s 40 under 40 Award and he has been featured on CBC Television’s “Living Vancouver”, HGTV’s Lofty Ideas, and CKNW’s “Adler Online”. He is an occasional contributor to Business in Vancouver Magazine, writing articles giving his thoughtful perspective on Vancouver’s housing industry.

Construction Information Services.

August 31st, 2010. Published under Construction News. No Comments.

Construction Information Services.
Construction Management Related Software Including Scheduling, Estimating And Reporting Software And EBook(R)s As Well Public Interest EBook(R)s.
Construction Information Services.

Wanted: One ?bad Guy? for President

August 31st, 2010. Published under Construction Jobs. No Comments.

by aflcio

Wanted: One ?bad Guy? for President

The President of the United States has two roles to fulfill. One of those roles is being the Chief Executive of the United States and operating the day to day business of the country either directly or through his surrogates. Basically nothing happens within the mechanisms of government without the hand of the Chief Executive. And, if the president is any good at the job he or she holds, the president knows how to do what needs to be done.

Ultimately everyone that works for the government answers to the President, from the janitor who on a daily basis sweeps up the manure spewed from the mouths of those in the halls of Congress to the person that ultimately signs every check the government writes. And that later point is something that I want to address this week.

Congress has a great power and they often abuse it. Some would say they abuse it every few minutes and as long as they are in session. One of those often abused powers is the ability to, with a declaration written on a piece of paper, proclaim and demand the expenditure of funds from the treasury. Their ability to make law is awesome indeed. Based on current trends, Congress appears to believe that they have the ability to issue a piece of paper demanding funds for anything their little hearts desire.

Whether or not these funds are allowed under the strict and limited functions outlined under our Constitution is another matter entirely. Even though our Constitution is what gives the different branches of government their powers, and even severely restricts said powers, few people really care much about such limitations. All they truly care about is that they are elected to public office and that they get a nice, cushy, tax-payer funded job where they can sit around all day and sound important.

Congress believes that because they scribble their pens across some paper and then have that piece of paper in their grubby little hands that it means the Chief Executive must obey. If he vetoes their piece of paper and they then override that veto they become even bolder. But if the words on that piece of paper violate the limited powers entrusted to our federal government, the Chief Executive still has the upper hand – he or she can simply refuse to issue funds.

Why you ask? How can the president just ignore Congress? Because the Constitution trumps Congress by proclaiming itself the “Supreme Law of the Land.” This means that no piece of paper passed by Congress can command the president to undertake an unconstitutional activity. I can cite a myriad of case law that supports this fact too. For example, Norton vs. Shelby County comes to mind right off the top of my head. In that decision the Supreme Court ruled, “An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed.”

Even Alexander Hamilton, who during his own political career sought to violate the Constitution at times and rewrite the intent of his fellow founders, admitted to the same thing in Federalist 78 writing, “No legislative act contrary to the Constitution can be valid. To deny this would be to affirm that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above the master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people; that men, acting by virtue of powers may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid. It is not to be supposed that the Constitution could intend to enable the representatives of the people to substitute their will to that of their constituents. A Constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by judges as fundamental law. If there should happen to be an irreconcilable variance between the two, the Constitution is to be preferred to the statute.”

Just for the sake of being even more complete and backing up my opinion from the wails of those that disagree because they are ignorant, I can also cite other concurring opinions such as, “No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law, and no courts are bound to enforce it.” – Sixteenth American Jurisprudence, Second Edition. From the same legal encyclopedia you can find the following additional citation, “The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, though having the form and the name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void and ineffective for any purpose since unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enactment and not merely from the date of the decision so branding it; an unconstitutional law, in legal contemplation, is as inoperative as if it had never been passed … An unconstitutional law is void.”
In plain English? Well, Congress can pass a law all they want, but if it violates their powers assigned under the Constitution the President is not required to obey it. In fact he is required by his oath of office to not obey it.

The problem is that we do not have someone in the White House that will be the “bad guy” this country so desperately needs and who will tell Congress no at every turn that such a proclamation is necessary. We do not have that “bad guy” who will tell Congress the proper place to shove their unconstitutional requests for him or her to spend the tax payer’s money. And come November, sad to say, we will most likely still not have the “bad guy” in the White House that this country desperately needs. What we have today, and have had for many years and will continue to have, is just the latest in a long line of people in the White House who have either been willing accomplices of a renegade Congress or who have been too scared of what will happen when said renegade Congress goes out and whips up their constituency into a frenzy over some unconstitutional spending or another.

Our Constitution trumps anything Congress may want to do or believe that they should do – usually with the sole intent of getting their own members re-elected. Congress can wave a piece of paper in the face of the Chief Executive all they want, but if they do not have the authority to demand what is written on it then they do not have the authority no matter how loudly they and their constituents scream and stomp their feet. And it is up to the President to stand firm and uphold our Constitution.

We are not talking about a President standing in the way of legitimate government expenditures mind you. If Congress wants to build a post road (the authority for which is found under Article I, Section 8), constructs legislation to build that post road, passes said legislation, then the President vetoes the legislation only to have Congress override that veto, ultimately the President has no leg to stand on should he or she not fund it. What we are talking about here is when Congress steps outside of its powers assigned to it in the Constitution.

Say, oh I don’t know, Congress wants to force workers to pay into a fund out of which money will then be dispersed to other people over a certain age for what we will call “retirement”. There is no authority for this under the Constitution. Squint all you like. You will not find it.

The President has every right to refuse to fund this program regardless of what Congress says. I would go even further and say the President has a duty to not fund this program. Congress can kick. Congress can scream. They can even go running to the Supreme Court and demand the President be forced to fund the program. But they can do nothing of real importance.

The Supreme Court, perhaps because there are is a majority of justices on it who are not qualified to be there, may even side with Congress, finding some wording in the Constitution that does not exist to justify the program or they might just simply claim without evidence that such a program actually is constitutional. But they cannot do anything. And under our Constitution they cannot force the president to fund it.

The Chief Executive controls the purse because he controls the person who writes the checks.

Now, I understand that some of you believe, probably because you are benefiting from one program or another created by Congress to put money from the tax payers into your own pockets, that all that I have said is all wrong. You might believe that just because Congress passes a law that it must automatically be accepted as valid and funded regardless of whether there is anything at all in our Constitution that allows for such an act.

Ok, so let’s get a little crazy and look at how utterly stupid what you believe is. Alright? Here we go!

Congress decides tomorrow that the Jews are evil and the reason why America is not in as good of shape as Congress believes it should be. Maybe a lot of Americans agree with them too. So they craft legislation that calls for all Jews to be rounded up, placed onto trains and shipped to “resorts” where they will be “processed”. By “resorts” I mean concentration camps. And by “processed” I mean killed for their crimes against the people.

Would you say that just because Congress passed such a law that it should be followed? Would you even think about saying that the president should execute (in more ways than one) this law that Congress passed but has no authority to have passed? I sincerely hope that the answer from you on this topic is no.

You laugh? You claim that this is far too outrageous? Oh ye of little faith in power hungry bureaucrats! This sort of thing has already happened in the past and you know it. The only reason you scoff is because it forces you to confront the idiocy that you otherwise promote.

So I have a question to those of you with enough brain cells that are still functional and who understand that the answer to the previous question is “no”. Why, if this unconstitutional act should not be followed, should others be? Just because you benefit from them?

The NAZIs benefited from killing the Jews too. Just remember that.

Construction Project Manager Career

August 27th, 2010. Published under Construction Discussions. No Comments.

Construction Project Manager Career

A construction project manager is a qualified individual with a degree in construction management, civil engineering or construction science. Being in charge of construction projects, he has to ensure that the entire project is completed on time, without exceeding budgetary limits. It is a high pressure job. The manager has complete control and is responsible for everything related to the construction project.

The label Construction Project Manager is loosely used to define any supervisory level managers who direct supervisors in construction projects. He may also be called by other titles such as construction superintendent, general construction manager, executive construction manager, constructor or even contractor or sub-contractor. He could be a salaried employee of a construction company or engaged to manage a particular construction project.

The construction project manager has to be involved in the project from the beginning through to its completion. By employing his knowledge and expertise in terms of the efficient use of required resources, he has to ensure the achievement of predetermined objectives of cost, time, and quality. To make sure of these objectives, he has to decide which construction methods are appropriate for cost effective scheduling. He has to discuss architectural and engineering drawings with design engineers to effectively plan and harmonize every facet of the project. This may include preparation and use of complicated flow charts and bar charts, and various graphs for data representation. Nowadays, project managers use computers to analyze, conceptualize and implement plans and designs.

The construction project manager has to plan a logical, phase wise implementation of the project, assigning predetermined timeframes for the completion of each phase. He has to take all measures to see that the time frame is adhered to.

These days, there is a great demand for people with a good academic foundation in the field of construction management. Employers generally prefer a degree in construction science, with special focus on the management aspect. It is a four-year degree course offered by over 120 colleges in the country.

Coursework for a degree in construction science is very comprehensive. Some of the subjects covered would be engineering and architectural sciences, mathematics, statistics, computer science, project control and development, site planning, building design, construction methods, construction materials, value analysis, cost estimating, contract administration, building codes and standards and inspection procedures.

The American Institute of Constructors (AIC) and the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) also give certification after written examinations and verification of education. The AIC awards the Associate Constructor (AC) and Certified Professional Constructor (CPC) designations and the CMAA awards the Certified Construction Manager (CMM) designation.

There are better job prospects for candidates with work experience. The preference in the job market is for academically qualified people who have undergone internships and worked in the construction industry. They should be well versed in building technology.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers conducted a salary survey in July 2005 and found that candidates with a degree in construction management got an average annual salary figure of ,923.

There are bright career prospects for a professionally qualified construction project manager. Practical work experience is of vital importance before a position of independent functioning will be offered. A few years experience at a junior-grade position on construction projects is a prerequisite required by most employers. The position would fetch a handsome salary package and commands a respectable position in society.

Housing prices are crashing. Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Washington Mutual, have been acquired for pennies on the dollars. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are under Federal Government conservatorship. US Commercial banks have tightened lending standards, and a credit crunch threatens global financial markets. All of this stokes fears of an economic slowdown that many believe could result in a deep recession for the US and the rest of the world. The US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board developed a plan for a 0 billion bailout of Wall Street, and this bailout will be discussed by a panel of experts on the CSULB campus. The panel will discuss what caused the crisis, what the bailout means, what the implications of the bailout are, and how Main Street, not just Wall Street, is affected.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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NAFTA superhighway? What is the purpose of this?

August 27th, 2010. Published under Construction Discussions. 3 Comments.

by Ken Lund

Question by RonPaul Girl: NAFTA superhighway? What is the purpose of this?
Highway 407 toll-road helps provide proof that U.S. Ambassador is misleading Canadians on fascistic NAFTA superhighway agenda

by Paul Chen
U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins.

The Highway 407 toll-road, helps provide proof that U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David H. Wilkins, is misleading Canadians on the construction of a North American Free Trade (NAFTA) Superhighway, to enable the creation of a fascistic North American Union.

On 8 December 2004, the Canoe Network that is associated with the Sun Newspaper Chain, in Christina Blizzard’s article “Hwy 407: Que Pasa?”, reported that Cintra, witch is part of a Spanish Consortium, owns the 407 toll-road. It had been a public mystery, why would a company all the way from Spain, spend the time to own and construct a toll-road. Even more of a mystery to me, had been, why would government in Canada award a foreign Spanish bid over a Canadian company?

The Coalition to Block the North American Union revealed that the same Cintra company is behind the Trans-Texas Toll-Road Corridor.

Map shows apparent intent to eventually link the Spanish built 407 toll-road, to the Trans-Texas corridor, owned by the same Spanish consortium.

Maps accredited to the North American Forum on Integration (NAFI), which is a non-profit organization based in Montreal, clearly reveals an apparent intention to link Cintra’s Trans-Texas Corridor to the Hwy 407 Toll-Road, which clearly appears to be being built toward Ottawa, within a vast integrated continental toll network.

The 407 Toll-Road in turn was being planned since the late 1980′s, and supports the assertion by the Coalition against the North American Union, that the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), was a part of the agendas of both former Prime Ministers Mulroney and the U.S. President at that time, even before its formal signing in 2005.

Map of the Spanish corporate private owned 407 toll-road around the Greater Toronto Area.

The Trans-Texas Corridor is being designed to provide U.S. and certain Canadian Big Business interests, with easier access to the importing of the outsourced manufacturing of goods, from a further exploited Mexican labour pool, as well from a further exploited Chinese labour pool. U.S. and certain Canadian corporations which have also been exploiting Chinese labour, have been planning a NAFTA superhighway linked with enhanced port connections, to further increase the ability of Big Business interests to make exploitative commercial profit.

Spanish corporate built NAFTA-NAU Superhighway: Looking east from the Highway 50 overpass towards the Highway 407/427 interchange. This interchange is a large 4-level interchange.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David H. Wilkins wrote in the Ottawa Citizen on Monday, August 20, that “while conspiracy theories abound, you can take it to the bank that no one involved in these discussions is interested in, or has ever proposed a “North American Union”, a “North American super highway,” or a “North American currency”. The first thing to appreciate is that owners of CanWest Global that owns the Ottawa Citizen have been principal financial donors to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada. Mr. Harper who is a principal ally of the Bush administration, is also a signatory of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). Therefore, CanWest Global’s provision of editorial space to Mr. Wilkins can be seen as an attempt to manipulate the masses through political propaganda.

Spanish built NAFTA-NAU Superhighway: Looking east along Highway 407 from the Bathurst Street overpass in Thornhill. Bathurst Street is located roughly at kilometre marker 75. Notice Highway 7 running through the left-side of this photo. Between Dufferin Street and Bayview Avenue, Highway 407 parallels Highway 7 very closely.

Secondly, there is ample proof that a NAFTA superhighway is currently being constructed. The NAFTA superhighway is being constructed and developed to facilitate the Big Business agenda that indeed seeks to create an anti-democratic “North American Union”. The curiosity of the Hwy 407 toll-road under Spanish corporate ownership is apparent proof of in Canada, of such a SPP-North American Union (NAU) transportation network, that is to be linked with an American toll-road network, with the same ownership.

The “NAFTA superhighway”, is to become a series of very wide toll-roads to stretch all the way into Canada’s north, to rape and pillage Canada’s environmental heritage for elite interests connected to a U.S. political-military-industrial complex. NAFTA superhighway is to facilitate the planned consolidation of Canada as an American colony under the clandestine SPP-NAU agenda.

It was former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower who warned the American people upon his retirement from Office that the political-military-industrial complex constitutes a singular threat to democracy.

Dr. Ron Paul is among the critics of the NAFTA superhighway. The U.S. Ambassador to Canada does not seem to be demonstrating candour on the on-going construction of the NAFTA superhighway.

“This superhighway would connect Mexico, the United States, and Canada, cutting a wide swath through the middle of Texas and up through Kansas City. Offshoots, would connect the main artery to the west coast, Florida, and northeast. Proponents envision a ten-lane colossus the width of several football fields, with freight and rail lines, fibre-optic cable lines, and oil and natural gas pipelines running alongside,” says Ron Paul, who represents Texas in the U.S. Congress.

The NAFTA superhighway map and agenda appears to have been generated by leaked documents associated with SPP related proceedings, which various groups have sought to disseminate.

Best answer:

Answer by areallthenamestaken
The purpose is to create the North American Union. It is happening and no one seem to care.

Give your answer to this question below!