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Guess Who Saved the Buick?–China

By John Newcomer:

When GM filed for bankruptcy last year it agreed that in exchange for federal bailout money it would eliminate half of its brands. The Buick seemed like an obvious choice to move to the salvage yard.  After all, how many Buicks do you see on the roads here in America? But go to China, and it is a different story.

The last emperor of China –Henry P’uYi was a great fan of the Buick.  In China, the Buick is looked upon as an upscale auto and a favorite of the upper middle class of China. Demand is so strong in China that GM sells 4 times more Buicks in China than it does here in the U.S.  What??? Yes, in 2009 Buick sold only 102,300 cars in the U.S. compared to 447,000 Buicks sold  in China.

So what do the Chinese know that we don’t? Well for one, the Buick Lacrosse was voted most dependable car for 2009 and safest for 2010. But alas, apparently Buick suffers an image problem in the United States that it does not have in China.  Here we look at the Buick as an “old person’s” car.  Well, it’s not your grandmother’s Buick anymore.  In China, it is an upscale sedan to be looked upon in awe.

A tip of the hat to the Chinese for saving a great American automobile.

New Information On Safest and Worst Domestic and Foreign Airlines

By Terry Smiljanich:

In the year since Consumer Warning Network ranked the world’s airlines on their safety record, the top airlines have retained their safety record, but the list of worst airlines in the world has changed considerably. On July 28, a Pakistani Air Blue flight from Karachi to Islamabad, crashed on approach and killed all 152 passengers and crew. Let’s take another look at the record.

The fatality records of the top eight airlines in the United States (those having more than 2 million flights per year) have not changed in a year. The number of fatal events per million miles traveled remains as follows:

1. Southwest Airlines        0.00 (no fatalities in its history)
2. Delta Airlines                 0.17
3. Northwest Airlines       0.21
4. Continental Airlines     0.24
5. US Air                              0.28
6. United Airlines              0.31
7. Alaska Airlines              0.33
8. American Airlines        0.40

Similarly, the top foreign airlines with more than 2 million flights per year remains the same as last year:

1. British Airlines             0.17
2. SAS                                 0.19
3. Lufthansa                      0.22
4. All Nippon Airlines     0.22
5. Air France                     0.72

The worst commercial airlines in the world, based on fatalities, have a new cast of characters. The Hall of Shame is as follows:

1. Cubana 18.53
2. Air Zimbabwe 11.54
3. Aero Peru 9.74
4. Royal Jordanian 7.99
5. Egypt Air 7.60
6. TAM Brazil                           7.40
7. China Airlines (Taiwan) 7.16
8. Air India 4.89
9. Pakistan Airlines 4.55
10. Ethiopian Airlines 4.06

As last year, the People’s Republic of China still does not report airline fatality incidents, so it is not known where its safety record stands.

Thus, as we found last year, the major airlines have enviable safety records, while smaller national airlines of foreign countries generally have much poorer records.

That is not to say, however, that the major airlines are without dangerous incidents. A United Airlines flight on July 20, 2010, from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles encountered turbulence en route, injuring 26 passengers and 4 crew members. On July 27, 2010, a Lufthansa cargo flight crashed on landing and broke in two, although neither crew member was injured.

All in all, however, it remains true that the most dangerous part of air travel is the drive to the airport.

Ten Tips For Safe Picnicking and Barbecuing in the Summer Heat

By Terry Smiljanich:

We all love the great American tradition of outdoor picnics and barbecuing during the summer, with kids swimming and playing, while the smell of  hamburgers and hot dogs grilling on an open fire invite everyone to dinner. No one wants to ruin this idyllic scene with sick guests suffering from the effects of food poisoning due to toxic bacteria growing in the warm air.

Here are ten tips to help insure your picnic food stays safe for everyone:

1. Start off with clean food. As in all cooking, be sure that as you prepare the potato salad or shape the hamburger patties you first thoroughly clean your hands and all utensils, so the food starts out as free of bacteria as possible.
2. Separate the raw from the cooked. Raw meat or poultry already has some bacteria in it, hopefully held in check by storage in cold temperatures in your refrigerator. The juice from this raw food should never be allowed to mix with other food, or even with plates and utensils to be used in eating. That means you should never use the same plates to hold the raw food and then serve it when cooked.
3. Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. Bacteria grows best between 40 and 140 degrees. Cold food (eg. potato salad, deviled eggs) should be kept at or below 40 degrees from the time it is prepared to the time it is served. Hot foods (e.g., casseroles, mashed potatoes) should be kept above 140 degrees until served. This means using proper coolers or insulated containers to keep food at these temperatures from the time of preparation up to the time of serving.
4. Treat partially cooked food just like raw food. Sometimes you might want to partially cook a meat ahead of time in order to cut down on the cooking time at the park. Many safety experts recommend against doing this, as partially cooked food can become infected with bacteria which will start to grow. Heating up such foods later does not kill whatever bacteria established a foothold. If you must pre-cook, treat the food as though it were still raw, refrigerate it immediately, and keep it below 40 degrees until it reaches the grill.
5. Pack your coolers properly. Keep raw meats at the bottom of the cooler so that no juices can make their way to other foods. Keep drinks in a separate cooler. Cans and bottles contain bacteria on their surfaces that you don’t want to get onto your food. Pack your coolers as full as possible. Contrary to what you might think, a full cooler keeps food cooler than a partially filled cooler.
6. Is mayonnaise dangerous on a picnic? Mayonnaise has established a reputation as a condiment that is especially susceptible to bacteria on a picnic. This is not true, as mayonnaise is very acidic, just like  ketchup and mustard, and is not conducive to the growth of bacteria. It is the ingredients you mix with mayonnaise, such as potatoes, eggs, or prepared sandwiches, that can spoil quickly in the heat. It is best to keep condiments in smaller jars rather than large containers, but as long as they are kept in closed jars and separate from the food until used, they are safe at room temperature.
7. Transport your coolers properly. No matter how well built, coolers are not perfect insulators and will not retain their cold temperatures for long. Don’t put the coolers in the trunk of your car. Keep them in the air conditioned car during transport to help them maintain their internal temperatures. When unloaded, keep the coolers in the shade to further slow the process of warming up.
8. Follow recommended cooking temperatures on the grill. Just because you’re using a grill doesn’t mean you can ignore safe cooking temperatures. Hamburgers, for instance, have large surface areas and should never be cooked “rare” on a grill. They should reach an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees. Hot dogs should reach a temperature of 165 degrees (easy to do since they heat up rather quickly). Not many of us take a meat thermometer on a picnic, relying on a “sense” of when things are done, but if you want to be a safe cook, you might think about packing a thermometer.
9. Eat up! It’s hard on a picnic to have everyone sit down at the same time to eat. “Come and get it!” It’s OK to let food sit out for a small period waiting for people to serve themselves. If the outside temperature is below 90 degrees, food can sit out for up to two hours. If it is 90 degrees or above, however, food should not sit out longer than one hour.
10. Throw away the leftovers. It’s tempting to save some of Aunt Millie’s delicious potato salad to take home, but having sat out in the summer heat for an hour or so, it’s best to just throw away any leftovers. Bacteria will continue to grow long after the family has packed the car for home. When planning a picnic, this is why it is a good reason to carefully plan how much to prepare in order to cut down on leftovers. People can always fill up on cookies after the meal, which don’t spoil.

So prepare carefully, pack well, and head on down to the local lake for some summer fun.    

Consumer Protection Agency a Go in Financial Reform

It’s been a long time coming and listening to the political debate is down-right painful, but one good thing that’s come from the new financial reform bill is more protection for consumers.

The Senate voted 60-39 Thursday to pass the  financial reform bill, which would put in place broad federal authority to oversee Wall Street and attempt to prevent practices like those that led to the 2008 crash of the financial markets. It now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it next week.

The bill is an overwhelming 2,500 pages,which has drawn a great deal of criticism that lawmakers don’t really know what they’re voting for.   Perhaps, but several of the key provisions in the bill are clear, including more protection for consumers:

Create a consumer protection agency. A new bureau under the Federal Reserve, led by a presidential appointee, will oversee financial products that directly impact consumers — credit cards, bank fees, mortgages, car loans, pawn brokers — and weed out predatory practices. Currently, the work of protecting consumers is spread across various bank regulators. Existing regulators would enforce new rules on community banks.

Click here to read more from Reporter David Sessions of Politics Daily.

CWN Wins 2 Telly Awards

Congratulations go out to our CWN staff as the 2010 Telly Awards honored the Consumer Warning Network with two Tellys. The Telly Awards honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions, and work created for the Web.

Ordering Flowers: Do You Get Your Moneys Worth? compared several floral delivery services head-to-head and received a Bronze Award in the Information Category for Online Video Productions.

Our report exposing the mortgage industry catch-22 that leaves struggling families with no way out of foreclosure, Why Wont My Mortgage Company Help? also received a Bronze Award in the Social Issues category.

Both winning stories were written and produced by Angie Moreschi, featured video by Chad Soriano and editing and post production by Larry Wiezycki.

Goodbye Recession – Men are Buying Underwear Again!

By Angie Moreschi:

Good news.  Men’s underwear sales are up! Men’s briefs have long been considered a leading economic indicator.  So, breathe easy, the recession is certainly winding down.  MarketWatch reported a 7.9% increase in underwear sales for the first quarter of 2010.  Even more impressive, Hanesbrand, Inc. reported an 8.2% increase in first quarter sales and predicted robust sales for all of 2010.  So much for all those fears about a double-dip recession.

As CWN first reported back in the summer of ‘09, the dean of the financial markets, Alan Greenspan, points to the sale of men’s briefs as one of the most accurate predictors of economic conditions. Sagging sales reflect a sagging economy.  And, in turn, renewed sales show a pull-up in consumer confidence.

True to form, the American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Committee reports the US economy is slowly healing and will avoid a relapse into recession. More than 500,000 private industry jobs were created in the first five months of this year, and the committee is forecasting a total of 2.2 million new jobs in 2010, with another 2.5 million new jobs next year.  The committee unanimously agreed that a double-dip recession was very unlikely.

Adding to the optimism, more than half the consumers in a national survey said they think the recession will end before January 2012.  Those responding to the survey by PriceGrabber.com, an online shopping site that is part of Experian, found that 52-percent of consumers believe the recession will end before January 2012 and 56-percent have already purchased a big-ticket item this year.

So, don’t be shy.  Head to the store and pick up some brand new undergarments. It’s time to spend again on those little things, that no one sees.  Well, hopefully not no one.

How to Become a Millionaire

The answer:  act poor.  Truer words were never spoken. One of our favorite personal finance columnists, Kathy Kristoff, wrote about this age old lesson in a column for CBS Money Watch. Her message was directed to the college graduates of 2010, but it’s one we can all take to heart.  Click here to read more of  Kathy’s sage advice, from living with your parents and saving your money to investing early, so you can happily watch your compounding interest grow.

The Truth & Myths of Lightning – Get off the Phone? Out of the Shower?

By Terry Smiljanich:

With a hot summer in store for much of America, thunderstorm season is quickly approaching. Is it just an urban myth that you shouldn’t use a telephone, even a cell phone, during a thunderstorm, because a lightning strike could kill you? The Consumer Warning Network looks at the issue.

Lightning Strikes Can Kill

Lightning carries a mighty wallop, with a peak power of more than a billion kilowatts transmitted in one stroke, lasting 30 microseconds. Anything that conducts electricity can provide a path for this electrical surge, including anything plugged in at your home – corded telephones, plumbing, refrigerators, televisions, metal doors and window frames. By the time the surge reaches indoors, however, much of the power jolt has been reduced. This is why, getting a mild electrical shock touching such items during a storm is a frequent occurrence, whereas deaths or serious injuries are uncommon.

Surge protectors in your home can kick in when lightning attempts to travel through the power grid, but even the best can’t always provide complete protection from a direct and powerful hit.

Metal pipes in your home can carry a current as well. The “myth” about the dangers of showering or bathing during a storm is not really a myth. The plumbing can transmit a shock. There have been no reported lightning-related deaths resulting from bathing or showering at home in the past few years, but it remains a good idea to fore-go such activities during a storm.

Lightning doesn’t have to hit you directly in order to deliver a shock. More often, a nearby strike (on a tree, for example) can travel through the ground and reach you. Its power will be diminished, but still can be strong enough to give you a good jolt.

Lightning Statistics

Florida is the “lightning capital of America,” with more thunderstorms and lightning strikes than any other state. Annually, Florida leads the nation in deaths caused by lightning, with 15% of the total deaths occurring within the state. In terms of per capita deaths caused by lightning strikes, however, Florida ranks fifth. Leading the pack is New Mexico, followed by Wyoming, Arkansas, Colorado, and then Florida. The safest states are Alaska, Hawaii and California.

Lightning deaths are rare events. On the total list of the most common causes of accidental deaths in the U.S., lightning deaths aren’t even in the top 100 causes. You’re more likely to die from a slip in your bath tub, choking on a steak, or being bitten by a wasp.

Still, lightning is nothing to fool around with. Of the 34 fatalities caused by lightning strikes in 2009, 11 happened during an outdoor sporting activity such as golfing, fishing, jogging, and baseball. Six people were killed while doing yard work. The lesson is obvious: if a lightning storm is nearby, get indoors!

Get Off The Telephone!

But are you also safe indoors? Not always. In 2006, an unfortunate 15 year old girl was standing by the window in her room when a lightning strike killed her. That same year, a 64 year old man in Mississippi was killed when lightning struck his telephone line while he was on the phone. Yes, it can happen.

In the past 25 years, there have been at least five reports of serious injuries to persons using a telephone during a lightning strike. In 1985, for example, 17 year old Jason Findley of Piscataway, New Jersey, was electrocuted by a lightning strike while he was on the telephone in his home. In 1988, 22 year old Laura McDowell, eight months pregnant at the time, was killed instantly when lightning traveled through her telephone line while she was on the phone.

The danger may be small, but absent an emergency, a thunderstorm is not a good time to chat with your best friend on the telephone.

Cell Phones Too?

So what about cell phones? Can’t the electricity travel through the radio waves associated with the devices and deliver a shock to the person using them? No. Radio waves don’t conduct electricity. As long as the cell phone is not connected to an electrical outlet, no lightning can reach the user through the wiring in the house. And there’s no evidence that cell phones somehow “attract” lightning.

Interestingly, though, there is another danger posed by using cell phones during a storm, especially while outside and holding a metallic cell phone to your ear. Skin is a poor conductor of electricity. Most of the electricity from a strike is conducted over the skin rather than through the body. Add some metal in contact with that skin, however, and the impact is multiplied as the electricity has an easier entry into the body.

Even iPod’s Can be Dangerous in a Storm

Ask Jason Bunch of Castle Rock, Colorado. In 2006 the teenager was mowing his lawn listening to his iPod. He was struck by a lightning bolt from a nearby thunderstorm (you don’t have to be directly under a thundercloud to be struck). Aside from the obvious mistake of doing yard work with a storm nearby, he was also unfortunate that his iPod was plugged into his ears. When he woke up, blood was coming from his ears. His eardrums had busted, and he had deep burn lines where the headphone wires had draped down his body. “I’m just extremely blessed to be alive,” Jason said from his hospital room.

Similarly, the New England Journal of Medicine reported on a jogger in Vancouver, listening to his iPod, when a lightning strike on a nearby tree suddenly threw him 8 feet through the air. He survived, but had ruptured eardrums and two linear burns up his chest corresponding to the positions of his earphones.

The British Medical Journal reported on four incidents of similar injuries caused by using a cell phone outdoors during a storm – in London, Malaysia, South Korea and China.

There’s nothing special about cell phones and iPods when it comes to such lightning danger. You could just as easily be injured holding a toaster to your ear while either jogging or mowing the lawn with a storm nearby. The simple solution to protecting yourself from such dangers is to get indoors if a thunderstorm approaches. If you are outdoors, unplug your iPod from your ears and put the cell phone away. Lightning deaths and injuries are rare, but there’s no reason to tempt the fates.

As Air Travel Costs Increase, Are the Airlines Gouging Their Customers?

By Terry Smiljanich:

Remember when traveling by air meant free drinks and a meal, followed by a movie, while your luggage traveled for free? Remember cheap air fares? Those days are gone, as we stuff ourselves into crowded seats, pay extra luggage costs and higher fares, and munch on peanuts. With all of these cost savings, are airlines taking advantage of us by pocketing huge profits? Not yet, but stay tuned.

Airline Ups & Downs

The airline industry has had its financial ups and downs, with downs predominating of late. With vastly increased fuel costs during the past decade, and with a recession in 2008-2009, profits have been few and far between for struggling airlines. The global aviation industry operated in the red all but two out of the past ten years. In the face of this reality, airlines began cutting corners everywhere.

Read more

Lilly Lays an Egg

By John Newcomer:

Last week,  I got an excited call from my wife.  “You will never guess what just arrived?” she said.  What could it be?   Gutters for the garden shed?  No.  My new iPad?  No.  Our appliance rebate?  No.  What then??  “Our new chicken coop and four chickens!!” she shared enthusiastically.  What??!!  And so began our journey into the world of backyard farming.

We are now the proud owners of  Minne, Lilly, Ruby, and Abilene… clucking and foraging away. Apparently, I am not alone.

The Urban Chicken

The urban chicken is now mainstream America.  Cities large (Chicago, IL) and small (Asheville, NC) across America are adopting ordinances that allow residents to raise chickens in their backyards.  The national trend is driven not by economics, but by nutritional concerns about the food we eat.  However, given the cost of organic eggs it is also  very economical to raise chickens.

What does it cost and how hard is it raise chickens?

Russ and Polly Simmons of Hendersonville, North Carolina have been raising chickens for the last year. They bought their first chicks for only $2.00 a piece.  In just 5 months, the chicks were laying eggs.  If you are impatient you can buy a full grown egg laying chicken for $10.00.  Chicken feed is dirt cheap.  Only $10.00 for a 50 pound bag.  Chickens also like stale bread,  table scraps, pretty much anything that is going into the garbage.

According to Russ Simmons, three chickens will lay two eggs per day. Organic eggs sell for $4.00 for a dozen eggs.  Do the math.  It only takes a couple of months to cover the cost of your chickens and feed.  The wild card in the price equation is the cost of the coop. Russ Simmons built his, and he estimates that it cost him about $500. The good news, chickens are not fussy and any coop will do them just fine. A few pieces of scrap wood and cardboard boxes work just as well as a big fancy one.

Chickens are easy keeps.  They will not range very far and come back to their coop every night.  The really good news is they  lay their eggs in the roosting boxes in the coop.  Yes, no hunting the eggs.  Every few days you need to spread straw on the floor of the coop, and every few months remove the straw, which now makes great compost for the garden.

Health benefits of organic eggs

Eggs have gotten a bad rap on health benefits.  Yes, they contain cholesterol, but most of that cholesterol is not absorbed into the blood stream, and they contain a lot of good stuff like protein and choline.  According to a study by the Harvard Medical School, an egg a day is just fine for most people.

More important is the recent study of the President’s Cancer Panel.  It calls on America to rethink the way we deal with cancer and calls on a more rigorous regulation of chemicals.

This is the reason backyard chickens are becoming so popular.  As Polly Simmons points out, she knows for a fact that her eggs have no hormones, chemicals, and are 100% organic.  “And they taste better!”

To name or not to name your chickens

Yes, chickens will one day stop laying eggs.  Then what do you do?  Does Lilly become Sunday dinner? Or remain free to roam around the backyard clucking away.  After providing your family with so many delicious breakfast omelets, my vote is to let her cluck to her hearts content into her golden years.  And don’t get any silly ideas about finding out whether a chicken can really run around with it’s head cut off!

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