Has anyone made a gadget or machine to seal drinking straws in bulk.

hi. my names ziyaad and i am from south africa.i recently started making a pixie stick, honey stix type candy in south africa.but i am having one problem which is sealing the straws in bulk.have no time to seal few at a time.need to seal like 2000 an hour.any ideas or help in this would be highly ap...
By: mzminty

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Now-Tragically-Ironic Oscar Pistorius "Bullet" Nike Ad Campaign Removed From His Website

In the wake of being charged with murder, Olympic hero Oscar Pistorius' Nike ads suddenly look different.

This unfortunate Nike advertisement has been removed from Oscar Pistorius' website in the wake of the shooting death of a woman believed to be his girlfriend.

Screenshot via The Mirror

Pistorius has been charged with murder and has a hearing this afternoon.

This other ad, still on his website, refers to his body as his "weapon."

Here is the ad on Oscar Pistorius' website.

According to South African website Business Day, here is Nike South Africa's comment: "This is a very unfortunate story and it is still under investigation. We'll not make any decision until we hear from Oscar or his agent."

If China catches a cold…

China has defied predictions of a hard economic landing for some time now so it is somewhat unsettling to see  investors positioning for a sharp slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

Over the last 10 years, the world has become accustomed to Chinese annual GDP growth of above 9 percent. A seemingly insatiable demand for commodities from soya beans to iron ore has catapulted the Asian giant to near the top of the global trade table. China is the biggest trading partner for countries on nearly every continent, from Angola to Australia.

But many are now fretting that an unhappy coincidence between stuttering global demand and domestic strains in the property and banking sectors could knock Chinese growth to below 7 percent (the level commonly identified as a ‘hard landing’), with grave implications for the rest of the world.

“It used to be the case that if the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. But with the US already confined to the emergency room since 2008 thequestion is what happens if China catches a cold,” says Citi in a recent report.

Many are now preparing for the first sneeze.

Commodity exporters are expected to bear the brunt of a sharp Chinese slowdown. Investors have pared back exposure to Brazil, Russia, Chile and South Africa, citing fears over China.

On the flipside, Turkey, Mexico, Israel and India have been identified as less vulnerable.

List of countries by central bank interest rates

1 Zimbabwe 975.00 31 December 2007
2 Venezuela 28.50 31 December 2007
3 Sao Tome and Principe 28.00 31 December 2007
4 Turkey 6.75 31 December 2010
5 Guinea 22.25 31 December 2005
6 Paraguay 20.00 31 December 2007
7 Angola 19.57 31 December 2007
8 Costa Rica 17.00 31 December 2007
9 Tanzania 16.40 31 December 2007
10 Iceland 15.25 31 December 2007
11 Iraq 15.00 31 December 2008
12 Malawi 15.00 31 December 2007
13 Pakistan 15.00 31 November 2008
14 Uganda 14.68 31 December 2007
15 Botswana 14.50 31 December 2007
16 Ghana 13.50 31 December 2007
17 Tajikistan 13.50 30 September 2008
18 Maldives 13.00 31 December 2008
19 Russia 8.75 14 February 2010
20 Lesotho 12.82 31 December 2007
21 Laos 12.67 31 December 2007
22 Rwanda 12.50 31 December 2007
23 Barbados 12.00 31 December 2007
24 Belize 12.00 31 December 2007
25 Burma 12.00 31 December 2007
25 Lebanon 12.00 31 December 2007
27 Sri Lanka 11.75 12 February 2009
28 Zambia 11.73 31 December 2007
39 Kazakhstan 11.00 31 December 2007
30 Swaziland 11.00 31 December 2007
31 South Africa 11.00 31 December 2007
32 Ecuador 10.72 31 December 2007
33 Namibia 10.50 31 December 2007
34 Burundi 10.12 31 December 2007
35 Belarus 10.00 31 December 2007
36 Uruguay 10.00 February 2009
37 Gambia 10.00 31 December 2007
38 Mozambique 9.95 31 December 2007
39 Mongolia 9.75 31 December 2008
40 Serbia 9.57 31 December 2007
41 Colombia 9.50 31 December 2008
42 Hungary 9.50 1 January 2009
43 Nigeria 9.50 31 December 2007
44 Fiji 9.25 31 December 2007
45 Brazil 8.75 22 July 2009
46 Indonesia 7.00 4 June 2009
47 Egypt 9.00 31 December 2007
48 Croatia 9.00 31 December 2008
49 Cape Verde 8.50 31 December 2007
50 New Zealand 8.25 31 December 2007
51 Azerbaijan 8.00 31 December 2008
52 Ukraine 8.00 31 December 2007
53 Georgia 8.00 25 December 2008
54 Papua New Guinea 7.38 31 December 2007
55 Armenia 7.25 2 December 2008
56 Trinidad and Tobago 6.94 31 December 2008
57 Antigua and Barbuda 6.50 31 December 2007
58 Bolivia 6.50 31 December 2007
59 Vietnam 6.50 31 December 2007
60 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6.50 31 December 2007
61 Saint Lucia 6.50 31 December 2007
62 Saint Kitts and Nevis 6.50 31 December 2007
63 Peru 6.50 December 2008
64 Nepal 6.50 31 December 2008
65 Macedonia 6.50 31 December 2007
— Montserrat 6.50 31 December 2007
66 Guyana 6.50 31 December 2007
67 Grenada 6.50 31 December 2007
68 Dominica 6.50 31 December 2007
— Anguilla 6.50 31 December 2007
69 Albania 6.25 31 December 2007
70 Jordan 6.25 31 December 2008
71 Kuwait 6.25 31 December 2007
72 Chile 6.00 31 December 2007
73 Latvia 6.00 31 December 2007
74 Philippines 6.00 31 December 2008
75 Vanuatu 6.00 31 December 2007
75 Iran 12.5 01 June 2011[4]
76 Bulgaria 5.77 31 December 2008
77 India 5.75 [1] 31 August 2010
78 Comoros 5.36 31 December 2007
79 Bahamas 5.25 31 December 2007
80 Cambodia 5.25 31 December 2007
81 Chad 5.25 31 December 2007
82 Gabon 5.25 31 December 2007
83 Equatorial Guinea 5.25 31 December 2007
84 Central African Republic 5.25 31 December 2007
85 Democratic Republic of the Congo 5.25 31 December 2007
86 Seychelles 5.13 31 December 2007
— Aruba 5.00 31 December 2007
87 Bangladesh 5.00 31 December 2007
88 Cyprus 5.00 31 December 2007
89 Poland 5.00 31 December 2007
90 Lithuania 4.85 31 December 2007
91 Benin 4.25 31 December 2007
92 Burkina Faso 4.25 31 December 2007
93 Togo 4.25 31 December 2007
94 Senegal 4.25 31 December 2007
95 Guinea-Bissau 4.25 31 December 2007
96 Niger 4.25 31 December 2007
97 Mali 4.25 31 December 2007
98 Cote d'Ivoire 4.25 31 December 2007
99 Algeria 4.00 31 December 2007
100 Denmark 1.25 25 September 2009
101 Slovakia 4.00 February 2009
— European Union 1.00 May 2009
102 Libya 4.00 31 December 2007
103 Canada 0.50 April 2009
104 Sweden 0.25 28 October 2009
105 Israel 3.25 May 2011
107 Morocco 3.25 31 December 2007
108 China 3.06 17 December 2007
109 South Korea 3.00 31 December 2008
110 Norway 1.50 2st quarter 2009
111 Saudi Arabia 2.50 31 December 2008
112 Switzerland 2.05 31 December 2007
113 Thailand 2.00 14 January 2009
114 Oman 1.98 31 December 2007
115 Taiwan 1.50 January 2009
116 Czech Republic 1.25 31 December 2008
— Hong Kong 0.50 31 December 2008
117 United States 0.50 31 March 2009
118 United Kingdom 0.50 March 2009
119 Japan 0.10 19 December 2008