Sunday, March 31, 2013

Congestion in the Earth's mantle

Congestion in the Earth's mantle [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 31-Mar-2013
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Contact: Ute Schoenfelder
presse@uni-jena.de
49-364-193-1030
Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena

Mineralogists of the Universities Jena and Bayreuth explain in the science magazine Nature Geoscience why plate tectonics stagnates in some places

Jena (Germany) The Earth is dynamic. What we perceive as solid ground beneath our feet, is in reality constantly changing. In the space of a year Africa and America are drifting apart at the back of the Middle Atlantic for some centimeters while the floor of the Pacific Ocean is subducted underneath the South American Continent. "In 100 million years' time Africa will be pulled apart and North Australia will be at the equator," says Prof. Dr. Falko Langenhorst from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). Plate tectonics is leading to a permanent renewal of the ocean floors, the mineralogist explains. The gaps between the drifting slabs are being filled up by rising melt, solidifying to new oceanic crust. In other regions the slabs dive into the deep interior of the Earth and mix with the surrounding Earth's mantle.

The Earth is the only planet in our solar system, conducting such a 'facelift' on a regular basis. But the continuous up and down on the Earth`s crust doesn't run smoothly everywhere. "Seismic measurements show that in some mantle regions, where one slab is subducted underneath another one, the movement stagnates, as soon as the rocks have reached a certain depth," says Prof. Langenhorst. The causes of the 'congestion' of the subducted plate are still unknown. In the current issue of the science magazine 'Nature Geoscience' Prof. Langenhorst and earth scientists of Bayreuth University now explain the phenomenon for the first time (DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1772).

According to this, the rocks of the submerging ocean plate pond at a depth of 440 to 650 kilometers in the transition zone between the upper and the lower Earth mantle. "The reason for that can be found in the slow diffusion and transformation of mineral components," mineralogist Langenhorst explains. On the basis of high pressure experiments the scientists were able to clarify things: under the given pressure and temperature in this depth, the exchange of elements between the main minerals of the subducted ocean plate pyroxene and garnet is slowed down to an extreme extent. "The diffusion of a pyroxene-component in garnet is so slow, that the submerging rocks don't become denser and heavier, and therefore stagnate," the Jena scientist says.

Interestingly there is congestion in the earth mantle exactly where the ocean floor submerges particularly fast into the interior of the Earth. "In the Tonga rift off Japan for example, the speed of subduction is very high," Prof. Langenhorst states. Thereby the submerging rocks of the oceanic plate stay relatively cold up to great depth, which makes the exchange of elements between the mineral components exceptionally difficult. "It takes about 100 Million years for pyroxene crystals which are only 1 mm in size to diffuse into the garnet. For this amount of time the submerging plate stagnates," Langenhorst describes the rock congestion. It can probably only diffuse at the boundary of the lower Earth mantle. Because then pyroxene changes into the mineral akimotoite due to the higher pressure in the depth of 650 kilometers. "This could lead to an immediate rise in the rock density and would enable the submerging into greater depths."

###

Original Publication:

Van Mierlo VL et al. Stagnation of subducting slabs in the transition zone due to slow diffusion in the majoritic garnet. Nature Geoscience, DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1772

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Falko Langenhorst
Institute for Geosciences
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Carl-Zeiss-Promenade 10
D-07745 Jena
Germany
Email: falko.langenhorst@uni-jena.de



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?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Congestion in the Earth's mantle [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 31-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Ute Schoenfelder
presse@uni-jena.de
49-364-193-1030
Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena

Mineralogists of the Universities Jena and Bayreuth explain in the science magazine Nature Geoscience why plate tectonics stagnates in some places

Jena (Germany) The Earth is dynamic. What we perceive as solid ground beneath our feet, is in reality constantly changing. In the space of a year Africa and America are drifting apart at the back of the Middle Atlantic for some centimeters while the floor of the Pacific Ocean is subducted underneath the South American Continent. "In 100 million years' time Africa will be pulled apart and North Australia will be at the equator," says Prof. Dr. Falko Langenhorst from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). Plate tectonics is leading to a permanent renewal of the ocean floors, the mineralogist explains. The gaps between the drifting slabs are being filled up by rising melt, solidifying to new oceanic crust. In other regions the slabs dive into the deep interior of the Earth and mix with the surrounding Earth's mantle.

The Earth is the only planet in our solar system, conducting such a 'facelift' on a regular basis. But the continuous up and down on the Earth`s crust doesn't run smoothly everywhere. "Seismic measurements show that in some mantle regions, where one slab is subducted underneath another one, the movement stagnates, as soon as the rocks have reached a certain depth," says Prof. Langenhorst. The causes of the 'congestion' of the subducted plate are still unknown. In the current issue of the science magazine 'Nature Geoscience' Prof. Langenhorst and earth scientists of Bayreuth University now explain the phenomenon for the first time (DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1772).

According to this, the rocks of the submerging ocean plate pond at a depth of 440 to 650 kilometers in the transition zone between the upper and the lower Earth mantle. "The reason for that can be found in the slow diffusion and transformation of mineral components," mineralogist Langenhorst explains. On the basis of high pressure experiments the scientists were able to clarify things: under the given pressure and temperature in this depth, the exchange of elements between the main minerals of the subducted ocean plate pyroxene and garnet is slowed down to an extreme extent. "The diffusion of a pyroxene-component in garnet is so slow, that the submerging rocks don't become denser and heavier, and therefore stagnate," the Jena scientist says.

Interestingly there is congestion in the earth mantle exactly where the ocean floor submerges particularly fast into the interior of the Earth. "In the Tonga rift off Japan for example, the speed of subduction is very high," Prof. Langenhorst states. Thereby the submerging rocks of the oceanic plate stay relatively cold up to great depth, which makes the exchange of elements between the mineral components exceptionally difficult. "It takes about 100 Million years for pyroxene crystals which are only 1 mm in size to diffuse into the garnet. For this amount of time the submerging plate stagnates," Langenhorst describes the rock congestion. It can probably only diffuse at the boundary of the lower Earth mantle. Because then pyroxene changes into the mineral akimotoite due to the higher pressure in the depth of 650 kilometers. "This could lead to an immediate rise in the rock density and would enable the submerging into greater depths."

###

Original Publication:

Van Mierlo VL et al. Stagnation of subducting slabs in the transition zone due to slow diffusion in the majoritic garnet. Nature Geoscience, DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1772

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Falko Langenhorst
Institute for Geosciences
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Carl-Zeiss-Promenade 10
D-07745 Jena
Germany
Email: falko.langenhorst@uni-jena.de



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/fj-cit032713.php

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CrunchWeek: Amazon's Purchase Of Goodreads, YC's Smaller Demo Day And Bitcoin Hitting $1 Billion

It's time for CrunchWeek, that very special time each week when a few of us writers gather around the TechCrunch TV cameras to shoot the breeze about the biggest and most interesting stories from the past seven days.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/6U0Hlu5KC2c/

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Innovation by Asian business leaders no longer a luxury - The Nation

Home ? business ? Innovation by Asian business leaders no longer a luxury


The Nation March 30, 2013 1:00 am

Increasing globalisation is a given, with international competition likely to grow fiercer and markets even more diversified. The rise of India and China, coupled with the global economic power shift towards Asia, is reshaping the world before our very eyes. In the West, the number of jobs is falling; in the East, leaders have to learn how to manage in new markets as they expand westwards.

Technology convergence and the evolution of social media have raised the bar on customer engagement. Customers now expect an instant response to their queries - and even to be involved in the process of product development in such services as information technology and communication.

Additionally, advances in technology convergence will continue to blur the boundaries between private and working lives. More business is conducted "virtually", and power is shifting to employees - particularly the rising class of digital-knowledge workers, who can work anywhere.

However, while technological prowess can aid innovation, digital natives' over-reliance on technology and their lack of social skills make them unprepared for leadership roles. Hence talent will continue to be at a premium, and retaining employees with key skills will be a challenge.

The "youth bulge" in Asia poses significant leadership challenges. What will it take to accommodate and motivate the "me" generation that forms our next band of leaders? The hunger to capture Asia's abundant business opportunities is challenged by higher expectations, greater business risks and stronger market competition. Meanwhile, the growing scarcity of strategic resources such as water, minerals, metals and fossil fuels will cause price increases and lead to social instability.

Coupled with shorter economic cycles, hyper-connectivity and restless digital natives, the only way for companies to succeed is to innovate - not just in new products and services for customers, but also in the way they treat and motivate employees, groom leaders and conduct business. As we know, innovation is easy. Commercialising it and building organisational discipline around it is much more challenging.

While there is no silver bullet for success, Hay Group's study reveals specific organisational practices that market leaders have adopted to enable and encourage innovation. To establish and sustain a climate that is conducive to meaningful innovation, Hay Group has identified four business practices that organisations need to have:

1. Enable agility. Agile organisations are better able to respond to challenges with innovations, and capitalise on their successes. Good organisations structure their organisations for speed and flexibility.

2. Create the context. Smart innovations require a fundamental understanding of customer needs, and a willingness to risk rethinking them. Good organisations ensure that employees understand customer needs, and support new approaches to address them.

3. Broaden perspectives. New and different points of view are essential precursors to innovation. Good organisations encourage and embrace different cultural and generational perspectives, and work to broaden the viewpoints of their employees.

4. Reward collaboration. If innovation is the product of different perspectives, collaboration is the process that brings them together. Good organisations do not merely preach collaboration; they require and reward it.

"It's crucial to foster an atmosphere, environment and mechanism where people are encouraged and enabled to undertake creative problem solving, where people are not afraid of failure and are prepared to welcome and deal effectively with changes, and where people are trained and supported to undertake and manage risks with prudence," said Punyacha Teparakul, senior consultant at Hay Group.

To run globalised companies, Asian leaders must set the direction and discipline for innovation. Insights on individual leadership styles, ensuring strong leadership pipelines and so forth have been useful preludes, but they are no longer enough for sustainable success in the new economy.

Hay Group's research urges Asian firms to catch up to leading companies in the following ways:

? Develop an organisational structure that enables quick communication. This is fundamental to organisational agility, its decision-making frameworks and responsiveness to market changes.

? The Asian tradition of directive leadership will not work. Everyone is expected to lead, even if they have no formal position of authority, and Asian bosses must learn to delegate their authority and decision-making power. This, Hay found, leads to higher employee engagement and motivation.

? Create personally meaningful work. Having an innovation strategy is no guarantee of success, and the most innovative companies are interested in discretionary effort. Therefore, strategies must be decoded vertically and horizontally so that personal interests are aligned with corporate and interdepartmental goals.

"The challenge for today's leaders is to apply various leadership styles suitably, may they be coercive, pace-setting, democratic, coaching and so on, into different situations and employee groups," Punyacha said. "Leadership styles have significant impact on organisational climate and culture, which in turn has an impact on employee perception and engagement, which in turn has an impact on individual and company performance."

LEADERSHIP RELOADED

In an uncertain business environment of rapid and irrevocable change, innovation is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. To be successful, leaders need to be adept at conceptual and strategic thinking, have deep integrity and intellectual openness, find new ways to create loyalty, and relinquish their own power in favour of collaboration.

Leading in the new normal environment will test executives' virtuosity in switching between leadership styles. To envisage and then sell a concept of customers' future needs will require an authoritative style of leadership that many leaders in Asia already exhibit. However, to encourage and enforce discipline around innovation will require a more collaborative style of leadership - this is where Asian leaders need to step up.

In addition, keen influencing skills will prove to be the key ingredient for managing productivity in the "cloud", where leaders are responsible for multifunction and cross-border teams, some of whom may not even report to them.

Finally, leaders need to tap into their emotional maturity and lead their teams to bounce back from negative feedback and failure. This calls for both emotional and mental resilience.

Building discipline around innovation has become just as, if not more, important than innovation itself. And innovating leadership is perhaps the most critical step to survival.

Asia has made great strides in leadership competencies in the past 20 years. To meet the growing demands of business here, companies have done a great job of developing and accelerating talent. Is there more to be done?

Latest stories in this category


Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Innovation-by-Asian-business-leaders-no-longer-a-l-30203000.html

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Americans back preparation for extreme weather and sea-level rise

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Images told the story: lower Manhattan in darkness, coastal communities washed away, cars floating in muck. Superstorm Sandy, a harbinger of future extreme weather intensified by climate change, caught the country off guard in October.

Unprepared for the flooding and high winds that ensued, the East Coast suffered more than $70 billion in property damage and more than 100 deaths.

Will Americans prepare and invest now to minimize the impact of disasters such as Sandy, or deal with storms and rising sea levels after they occur?

A new survey commissioned by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Center for Ocean Solutions finds that an overwhelming majority of Americans want to prepare in order to minimize the damage likely to be caused by global warming-induced sea-level rise and storms.

A majority also wants people whose properties and businesses are located in hazard areas to foot the bill for this preparation, not the government. Eighty-two percent of the Americans surveyed said that people and organizations should prepare for the damage likely to be caused by sea-level rise and storms, rather than simply deal with the damage after it happens.

Among the most popular policy solutions identified in the survey are stronger building codes for new structures along the coast to minimize damage (favored by 62 percent) and preventing new buildings from being built near the coast (supported by 51 percent).

"People support preventive action," said survey director Jon Krosnick, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and professor of communication, "and few people believe these preparations will harm the economy or eliminate jobs. In fact, more people believe that preparation efforts will help the economy and create jobs around the U.S., in their state and in their town than think these efforts will harm the economy and result in fewer jobs in those areas. But people want coastal homeowners and businesses that locate in high-risk areas to pay for these measures."

The challenges posed by rising sea levels and increasingly severe storms will only intensify as more Americans build along the coasts. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report released March 25 predicts that already crowded U.S. coastlines will become home to an additional 11 million people by 2020.

Survey questions were formulated to assess participants' beliefs about climate change and gather opinions about the impact of climate change, sea-level rise and storms on communities, the economy and jobs.

The survey also gauged public support for specific coastal adaptation strategies and how to pay for them. "People are least supportive of policies that try to hold back Mother Nature," Krosnick said. "They think it makes more sense to recognize risk and reduce exposure."

Among the survey's respondents, 48 percent favor sand dune restoration and 33 percent favor efforts to maintain beaches with sand replenishment, while 37 percent support relocating structures away from the coast and 33 percent support constructing sea walls.

Eighty-two percent of the survey's respondents believe that Earth's temperature has been rising over the last 100 years. However, even a majority of those who doubt the existence of climate change favor adaptation measures (60 percent).

"The question is, how does public support for preparation translate to action?" asked Meg Caldwell, executive director of the Center for Ocean Solutions. "Our impulse is to try to move quickly to put communities back together the way they were after devastation. But that impulse often leads to doubling down on high-risk investments, such as rebuilding in areas likely to experience severe impacts. To move toward long-term resiliency for coastal communities, we need to seize opportunities to apply new thinking, new standards and long-term solutions."

Krosnick presented the survey results this morning at a policy briefing hosted by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The survey was conducted via the Internet with a nationally representative probability sample of 1,174 American adults, 18 and older, conducted by GfK Custom Research March 3-18, 2013. The survey was administrated in both English and Spanish. The survey has a margin of error of +/-4.9 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/vifyDohQlys/130329090624.htm

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Saturday, March 30, 2013

SEO oriented ITALIAN copywriter - repost | Academic Writing | Article ...

Tax Type Tax Rate Tax ID or Company no.

eg. VAT, GST ? Registration no.

Source: http://www.freelancer.com/projects/Copywriting-Translation/SEO-oriented-ITALIAN-copywriter-repost.html

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Guest Post: The Knowledge Economy's Two Classes of Workers ...

Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,

The knowledge economy has important implications for both workers and organizations.

?

Setting aside that our economy is by and large organized to benefit a State-financial Elite and the technocrat Caste that serves them,?let's consider the two classes of worker in what Peter Drucker labeled the Knowledge Economy in his 1993 book?Post-Capitalist Society.

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At the risk of simplifying Drucker's nuanced account, here is a precis:

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The Marxist class division of labor vs. capitalist/management no longer adequately describes the new economy, as knowledge workers own "the means of production" which is first and foremost knowledge. Corporations and government offer an organization within which workers can apply their knowledge (i.e. the means of production in a knowledge economy).

?

Since the new economy is no longer characterized by capital vs. labor, it is a post-capitalist economy.

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Knowledge workers are a minority of the workforce; the majority are service workers, either skilled or low-skilled.

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Economist Robert B. Reich divides the workforce into similar categories: "symbolic analysts" (knowledge workers) and two classes of service workers: "routine producers" and "in-person servers."

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Since the service workers own and leverage less capital (knowledge), their ability to create surplus value and thereby demand high wages is intrinsically lower than the knowledge workers.

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This creates a structural tension, as society has to establish a way to maintain the wages of the service workers in an economy where the value and income they can generate by their labor is capped.

?

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The other root cause of our present difficulties with the workforce might be termed a general lowering of employees' frustration tolerance.Many employees, particularly the younger ones, are increasingly reluctant to put up with factory conditions.?Despite the significant improvements we've made in the physical environment of our plants. Because they are unfamiliar with the harsh economic facts of earlier years, they have little regard for the consequences if they take a day or two off.

For many, the traditional motivations of job security, money rewards, and opportunity for personal advancement are proving insufficient.

Large numbers of those we hire find factory life so distasteful they quit after only brief exposure to it.?The general increase in real wage levels in our economy has afforded more alternatives for satisfying economic needs.

There is also, again especially among the younger employees, a growing reluctance to accept a strict authoritarian shop discipline. This is not just a shop phenomenon, rather is a manifestation in our shops of a trend we see all about us among today's youth.

More money, time and effort than ever before must now be expended in recruiting and acclimatising our quality control programs have been put to severe tests; large numbers of employees remain unmoved by all attempts to motivate them; and order in the plants is being maintained with rising difficulty.

That this is not simply a bosses' problem was expressed by youthful Gary Bryner, President of the Lordstown local of the UAW (July 25, 1972):

?

There are symptoms of the alienated worker in our plant-- the absentee rate, as you said, has gone continually higher. Turnover rate is enormous. The use of alcohol and drugs is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. So has apathy within our union movement towards union leaders and towards the Government ... (The worker) has become alienated to the point where he casts off the leadership of his union, his Government...?He is disassociated with the whole establishment.

Here's the key quote from this excellent historical essay:

?

Modern capitalism can, by and large, cope with the traditional type of economic problem, for instance those dealt with by Marx, it can continue to develop production.?It is in difficulties, however, when confronted with a massive resistance to its values, priorities and whole pattern of authority.

?

In the traditional labor vs. capital framework, we expect the resistance to come from labor;?in the knowledge economy, that resistance is arising from those who own and control the means of production, the knowledge workers themselves.

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This has important implications for corporations, non-profit organizations and government alike.?In Drucker's view,?"Every organization has to build in organized abandonment of everything it does. Increasingly, organizations will have to plan abandonment rather than try to prolong the life of a successful policy, practice or product."

?

In other words, creative destruction is the necessary result of constant, purposeful innovation. Any organization which fails to do so will become obsolete. The same can be said of those providing the knowledge capital to the organizations, the knowledge workers.

?

One consequence that none dare speak is the absolute reduction of any functional need for layers of management, or anything resembling traditional management.The Internet is a tool for eliminating management, along with generally needless/useless meetings and the other sources of unproductive friction in modern corporate and government organizations.

?

Management exists to minimize the problems created by its own hiring mistakes.Valve says the secret of their management-free environment is hiring good people. That sounds right to me. We don't have any weak contributors in our start-up so we have never felt a need for management.
One of the interesting aspects of better global communications, better access to information, and better mobility is that collectively it reduces the risk of making hiring mistakes. When employers were limited to hiring people who lived nearby, and the only information at their disposal was lie-filled resumes, every growing company would necessarily absorb a lot of losers. But now that entrepreneurs can hire the best people from anywhere in the world, we have for the first time in human history the ability to create teams so capable they require no management structure. That's new.

I think the manager-free model only works for a business that has high margins and depends more on creating hits than cutting costs. The videogame business fits that model, as do many Internet businesses. And in both cases entrepreneurs can hire from anywhere in the world.

So here's my summary: Management only exists to compensate for its own poor hiring decisions. The Internet makes it easier to locate and then work with capable partners. Therefore, the need for management will shrink - at least for some types of businesses - because entrepreneurs have the tools to make fewer hiring mistakes in the first place.

Management won't entirely go away, but as technology makes it easier to form competent teams without at least one disruptive or worthless worker in the group, the need for management will continue to decline.

Even organizations based on rigid command hierarchies such as the U.S. military are finding that decentralized command decisions based on proximity to information flow, field intelligence and detailed knowledge of local assets trump sclerotic centralized command structures in getting demonstrable results.

?

If this is true in sprawling bureaucracies, it is certainly true in smaller organizations.

This is the economy that every worker has to understand if they want to navigate it to their own benefit.?Every enterprise and organization that wants the most productive workers has to understand that their task is not "managing labor," it is offering workers of all levels opportunities to be effective and to contribute.

?

In my view, each worker is an enterprise, and the less time, energy and money wasted on management and friction, the more time and energy there will be for wealth creation or value creation, and as a result, more money available for wages.

?

Via correspondent Rui N.P.:?America: A Nation of Permanent Freelancers and Temps.

Your rating: None Average: 2.2 (13 votes)

Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-29/guest-post-knowledge-economys-two-classes-workers

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Iran, North Korea, Syria cause trouble for U.N. arms treaty

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran, Syria and North Korea on Friday objected to the adoption of the first international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, complaining that it fails to ban weapons sales to rebel groups.

Peter Woolcott of Australia, the president of the U.N. Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, adjourned the final session of the 10-day meeting to hold last-minute consultations with the dissenting delegates in an attempt to persuade them to join the consensus needed to approve the draft treaty.

U.N. diplomats said there was still a chance Woolcott could salvage the process and secure the required unanimity to adopt the treaty on Thursday. If the conference fails to adopt it, it can be put to a vote in the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.

Syria and North Korea voiced serious concerns about the draft treaty, though they did not formally block its adoption. Iran was the only one of the 193 U.N. members to formally block approval of the draft, diplomats at the conference said.

Earlier, Woolcott told the conference that North Korea and Iran had formally blocked adoption, but diplomats said he later revised his statement, saying it was only the Iranians.

United Nations member states began meeting last week in a final push to end years of discussions and hammer out a binding international treaty to end the lack of regulation over cross-border conventional arms sales.

Arms control activists and human rights groups say a treaty is needed to halt the uncontrolled flow of arms and ammunition that they say fuels wars, atrocities and rights abuses.

Delegates to the treaty-drafting conference said on Wednesday they were close to a deal to approve the treaty, but cautioned that Iran and other countries might attempt to block it.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Iran's Press TV that Tehran supports the arms trade treaty. But Iranian U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee told the conference that he could not accept the treaty in its current form.

"The achievement of such a treaty has been rendered out of reach due to many legal flaws and loopholes," he said. "It is a matter of deep regret that genuine efforts of many countries for a robust, balanced and non-discriminatory treaty were ignored."

One of those flaws was its failure to ban sales of weapons to groups that commit "acts of aggression," ostensibly referring to rebel groups, he said. The current draft does not ban transfers to armed groups but says all arms transfers should be subjected to rigorous risk and human rights assessments first.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari echoed the Iranian objections, saying he also objected to the fact that it does not prohibit weapons transfers to rebel groups.

"Therefore it can't be accepted by my country," he said.

A North Korean delegate voiced similar complaints, suggesting it was a discriminatory treaty.

Iran, which is under a U.N. arms embargo over its nuclear program, is eager to ensure its arms imports and exports are not curtailed, diplomats said. Syria is in a two-year-old civil war and hopes Russian and Iranian arms keep flowing in, they added.

The United States and other major arms producers like Russia and China - all three of which had prevented its adoption last July - along with Germany, France and Britain appear to support the draft treaty, U.N. diplomats said.

The point of an arms trade treaty is to set standards for all cross-border transfers of conventional weapons. It would also create binding requirements for nations to review all cross-border arms contracts to ensure arms will not be used in human rights abuses, terrorism or violations of humanitarian law.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-north-korea-cause-trouble-u-n-arms-214054470.html

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Friday, March 29, 2013

?260m a year wasted on home fitness equipment | Human Kinetics ...

Discarded Gym equipmentIn a bid to lose weight or tone up, UK adults spent more than ?1billion over the last five years on home health and fitness equipment they rarely, if ever, use, according to new research from Nuffield Health, the UK?s largest healthcare charity.

Three quarters of adults have bought at least one piece of equipment, ranging from treadmills to trampolines, so they can pursue health or fitness goals in the comfort of their own home.

However, just 21 per cent of these people use the equipment regularly and double that (41 per cent) admit to using it briefly when they first buy it, if at all, and then giving up.

The research suggests that the average home exerciser spends ?235 on equipment that doesn?t get results, with each person owning four items on average.

Fewer than a third (31 per cent) of the 2,000 UK adults surveyed achieved what they set out to and the most common reasons for ditching home health and fitness routines were ?not seeing benefits? (39 per cent) and ?preferring to use the equipment in the gym? (12 per cent).

In fact one in 10 people (eight per cent) hurt themselves using the equipment and had to stop.

The survey revealed there are around 82 million items of health and fitness equipment currently in households across the UK, with exercise bikes, weights and workout DVDs proving most popular.

Much equipment that doesn?t get used ends up cluttering up attics and spare rooms (60 per cent), while some ends up being put to other uses, including drying washing (6 per cent).

One respondent reported having to put up with a disused cross trainer in their dining room because it is too heavy to move.

The three most common reasons for buying equipment were to lose weight (47 per cent), to get fitter and healthier (45 per cent) and as an alternative to going to the gym (42 per cent). More than one in 10 (11 per cent) admitted to buying items because they got caught up in a fitness trend

Source: Nuffield Health

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Source: http://humankinetics.me/2013/03/28/260m-a-year-wasted-on-home-fitness-equipment/

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Eyeballs found in KC gas station trash not human

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Police say a pair of eyeballs found in a medical box in a Kansas City gas station's trash bin aren't human.

Police spokesman Steve Young said Thursday that the police lab examined the eyeballs and determined they likely came from a pig.

Young says a worker at a Conoco gas station in northern Kanas City called police after finding the cardboard box late Wednesday. The box was labeled, "Keep refrigerated."

Surveillance video shows two men in a blue Toyota leaving the package on the trash bin.

Young says police aren't investigating further because no crime appears to have been committed. Earlier, police had said that no eye banks or hospitals in the area were awaiting delivery of any eyeballs.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eyeballs-found-kc-gas-station-trash-not-human-193700873.html

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Self Improvement-Wealth -Attraction-Success | Self Help Success ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://selfhelpsuccessguide.com/self-improvement-wealth-attraction-success/

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S_47P::::10 Things to Know for Today

Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Yahoo!, try visiting the Yahoo! homepage or look through a list of Yahoo!'s online services.

Please try Yahoo Help Central if you need more assistance.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/10-things-know-today-101340019.html

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East Carolina joining Big East in all sports

East Carolina will join the soon-to-be-renamed Big East as an all-sports member, instead of just for football as originally planned.

East Carolina had already been set to join Cincinnati, Connecticut, South Florida and the rest of the Big East football schools in 2014. But with the recent split of the football and basketball schools, the football side is giving up the name Big East and needed to add more members for all sports.

Commissioner Mike Aresco called East Carolina "a valuable addition" in a statement announcing the move Wednesday.

"They have forward-looking leadership under Chancellor Steve Ballard and an outstanding and well-rounded athletic program," Aresco said. "Their men's and women's basketball teams have enjoyed excellent seasons and their Olympic sports are strong. East Carolina being made an all-sports member is another important step in strengthening our conference."

East Carolina, which has 19 sports, has been in Conference USA since joining that league as an all-sports member for the 2001-02 season, though its football program joined that league in 1997. It will stay there through the 2013-14 season and join its new league on July 1, 2014.

"East Carolina University is delighted to play all sports in this conference," Ballard said in a statement. "We appreciate the leadership of Mike Aresco and (South Florida) President Judy Genshaft and we look forward to working with each university."

A person with knowledge of the decision says Tulsa will also be added to the Big East soon. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because that move has yet to be announced.

Tulsa is expected to join by 2015, when Navy also comes aboard, and will give the league 12 schools.

___

AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/east-carolina-joining-big-east-sports-155338284--spt.html

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Certified stroke centers more likely to give clot-busting drugs

Mar. 26, 2013 ? Stroke patients are three times more likely to receive clot-busting medication if treated at a certified stroke center, according to a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency treatment for people who have ischemic (clot-caused) stroke. The durg can reduce stroke disability.

"The stroke center concept has rapidly taken off, and this data demonstrates one way that certified centers are doing better than non-certified centers," said Michael T. Mullen, M.D., the study's lead author and an assistant professor of neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The researchers examined hospital discharge data on 323,228 ischemic stroke patients from 26 states in 2004-09.

The clot-buster was administered to:

  • 3.1 percent of patients overall;
  • 6.7 percent of patients at primary stroke centers certified by the Joint Commission; and
  • 2.2 percent of patients at other facilities.

After researchers adjusted for patient and facility characteristics, they found the likelihood of receiving tPA was still almost twice as high in certified stroke centers.

Over time, tPA use increased from 6 percent to 7.6 percent at certified primary stroke centers and 1.4 percent to 3.3 percent at non-certified hospitals.

During a stroke, blood flow must be restored quickly and tPA can only be administered in the first few hours after symptoms start.

"Between 10 percent to 15 percent of patients arriving at the hospital with ischemic strokes are eligible to receive tPA," said Eric Smith, M.D., chair of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines?-Stroke quality improvement program and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary. "This research shows that the certification program seems to be working, and that treatment is improving over time. Unlike the improvement in the percentage of patients receiving tPA, we haven't seen comparable improvements in the speed at which patients are evaluated and treated, and that is a major factor in determining outcome."

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Target: Stroke program helps hospitals treat 50 percent or more of patients within the first hour after they arrive.

In conjunction with The Joint Commission, the association also offers certification to facilities that meet criteria as Comprehensive Stroke Centers.

"We need more complete systems of care to make sure patients are getting to the best facility to treat their stroke -- and getting there as quickly as possible," Smith said.

At the first sign of a stroke, call 9-1-1 to get to the facility that provides appropriate treatment. The American Stroke Association has more information and tools, including a new mobile app, that can help you recognize and respond to stroke symptoms.

Co-authors are Scott Kasner, M.D.; Michael Kallan, M.S.; Dawn Kleindorfer, M.D.; Karen Albright, D.O., M.P.H.; and Brendan Carr, M.D., M.S. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, National Institutes of Health, funded the research.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Heart Association.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/heart_disease/~3/mQGKCN8ctAY/130326162326.htm

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sony announces more indie partnerships, Blacklight: Retribution and Primal Carnage: Genesis for PS4

Sony announces more indie partnerships, Blacklight Retribution and Primal Carnage Genesis for PS4

At GDC 2013 Sony has decided to focus on its relationships with indie developers, revealing free-to-play PC shooter Blacklight: Retribution and episodic adventure Primal Carnage: Genesis are coming to the PlayStation 4. That makes three self-published games destined for Sony's next-gen console, including Jonathan Blow's The Witness. Blacklight: Retribution is also making use of Sony's Pub Fund for financial and marketing support, the first game on the platform to do so. Sony hasn't forgotten about its existing platforms however, also announcing Spelunky and Divekick for PS3 and Vita, Metrico for Vita, and the handheld debut of Limbo on Vita later this year. Check after the break for a press release that details the announcements, plus trailers for several of the new games.

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Via: Joystiq

Source: PlayStation.Blog

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/44A8Wapebsk/

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Kingpin Lane Leads Mobile Gaming Week 3-22 - Features - www ...

Interact in a unique bowling experience with Kingpin Lanes or play a boy determined to get his best friend back in Fetch. This week?s mobile games all deliver an exhilarating escapade.?

Kingpin Lanes

Price: $1.99

Developer: Speedbump

Platform: iOS

Utilizing the Unreal Engine and showcasing gorgeous graphics, Kingpin Lanes take mobile bowling to a whole new level. Roll a strike, save up and buy a fancy new ball, or even play the arcade games in the bowling alley. It?s a fully interactive environment aside from the game of bowling.?

Chopper Mike

Price: $1.99

Developer: VAMflax

Platform: iOS

A magically-tantalizing game where the object is to masterfully maneuver Chopper Mike through the several different levels and collect the gems. It?s not as easy as it sounds.?

Dream Tim

Price: $1.99

Developer: LovApps

Platform: iOS

Tim has fallen asleep, and his nightmares are worse than he could have ever imagined. In this endless runner, swipe everything you see and build up points while destroying enemies. It?s like Fruit Ninja on steroids.?

Fetch

Price: $4.99

Developer: Big Fish Games, Inc

Platform: iOS

An iPad game dedicated to the retrieval of man?s best friend, Fetch is an adventure game about a boy and the journey to get his dog back.?

Smash The Office

Price: $.99

Developer: Tuokio Inc.

Platform: iOS

Having a bad day at work? Take out your anger in this smash-em-up app. Destroy the office with bombs, mallets, and other destructive weapons. Need I say more? ?

Source: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/03/25/kingpin-lane-leads-mobile-gaming-week-3-22.aspx

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FDA delays approval of GSK bird flu vaccine

LONDON (Reuters) - Regulators have delayed approval of an H5N1 bird flu vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline, designed to be used in a pandemic.

A spokesman for Britain's biggest drugmaker said the delay was not related to recent controversy over links between a similar flu vaccine made by the company and narcolepsy.

Rather, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided it needed more time to assess the product "due to an administrative matter that has recently been rectified", GSK said in a statement on Monday.

"GSK and the FDA are actively working together to complete the review in a timely manner," it added.

There is growing evidence of a link between GSK's earlier H1N1 flu vaccine, Pandemrix, and an increase in narcolepsy cases among children who received it in Europe - a fact which has raised questions as to whether the FDA should approve the similar H5N1 product.

Both vaccines contain AS03, a new adjuvant, or booster, that turbo-charges the body's immune response to a vaccine.

A 14-member panel of advisers to the FDA voted unanimously in November to recommend the H5N1 vaccine to protect against bird flu. The panel considered early studies from Europe showing an increase in the number of narcolepsy cases but concluded that the potential benefit of the vaccine outweighed the risk.

Since then, however, new data, including study results from Britain, suggest the scale and strength of the narcolepsy link to Pandemrix during the 2009-10 H1N1 swine flu pandemic could be greater than first thought.

Officials at the FDA were not immediately available to comment on the case.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing Keith Weir)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fda-delays-approval-gsk-bird-flu-vaccine-131231093--finance.html

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Google clashes with Swedes over 'ungoogleable'

(AP) ? Sweden's language watchdog has accused Google of trying to control the Swedish language in a dispute over the definition of the colloquial term "ungoogleable."

The Swedish version of the word ? "ogooglebar" ? made the Language Council of Sweden's 2012 list of words that aren't in the Swedish dictionary but have entered common parlance. The council defined it as something "that cannot be found on the Web with a search engine."

But Google objected, asking for changes showing the expression specifically refers to Google searches and a disclaimer saying Google is a registered trademark, the council said Tuesday.

Rather than changing the definition, the council deleted the word from the list, while stressing "our displeasure with Google's attempts to control the language."

Google refrained from commenting on the matter directly.

"While Google, like many businesses, takes routine steps to protect our trademarks, we are pleased that users connect the Google name with great search results," Google spokesman Gustaf Brusewitz said in an email.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-26-EU-Sweden-Google-Spat/id-7cdd8b91a5f5443a845ef5bf8dbb4b28

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Golden age for pension lawyers? Public keen to ... - Financial Post

It is suddenly cool to be a pension lawyer.

?When you told someone you were a pension lawyer, you were the most popular person in the room for people over 50 and people under 50 would try to dodge you,? said Mitch Frazer, chair of the pensions and employment practice at Torys LLP.

?Suddenly it?s a topic of interest for a much wider group of people,? added Mr. Frazer, who is listed at Band 2 for pensions in the Chambers Global 2013 guide. ?If you would?ve said pre-2008 that you would have seen a federal election campaign where the word ?pensions? was uttered in the context of the top list of people?s promises, it would have been incredibly shocking.?

Ten years ago, pension lawyers were dealing with surplus disputes rather than deficits. After the global economic crisis and with an aging population, the public is keen to protect public pension plans. With the spotlight shining on pension law, could this be a golden age for pension lawyers?

Band 2-ranked practitioner Elizabeth Brown of Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP believes so.

?I?ve been doing this since 1990 and over the course of my career, I?ve seen the role and profile of a pension lawyer go from backroom techie to centre stage,? she said. ?People are very concerned about aging and living longer. There?s a concern that retirement money will run out. People are very concerned about how much money is available and have promises been kept.?

Defined-benefit (DB) pension plans are being replaced by defined-contribution (DC) pension plans as employers try to reduce their risk in volatile economies.

?It?s a time of transition and the transition is taking place over a long period of time,? said Ian McSweeney, a Band 1 ranked pension lawyer with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.

?We?ve gone from an era of surplus, what to do with excess money, to how to plan and maintain affordable and sustainable pensions. Sponsors are looking at their current DB plans and wondering whether they?re sustainable. You add on top of that general austerity measures that are affecting both private and public plan sponsors and it?s a difficult time.?

On the plus side, the word ?pension? is on the front of newspapers and is top of mind; on the minus side, the publicity and legal changes stem from pension plans being in dire straits, said Andrew Harrison, a Band 3 practitioner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

?The interest in [pensions] is the result of people not getting what had been promised or what they had hoped for through the pension system. As much as it?s interesting to be asked these questions and to be involved in trying to solve them, it?s within a constrained economic environment. There?s not [enough] money to do what needs to happen.?

Meanwhile, provinces are updating their laws and a recent court ruling has pension lawyers analyzing the implications. Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada released its long-awaited decision in Sun Indalex Finance LLC vs. United Steeworkers et al., a case that pitted the claims of pensioners against those of secured creditors in a corporate bankruptcy or restructuring. The decision reversed a lower-court ruling from Ontario that had ranked pension plans ahead of interim lenders during a supervised sale of the company under a federal law called the Companies? Creditors Arrangement Act or CCAA.

?This is the greatest time of challenge because so much is happening and there is so much change. Our pension funds are global players ? how do we deal with the regulatory hurdles in Canada? How do we deal with all of the changes that are coming through in legislation?? Mr. Frazer said.

?My hope is that in five years from now, we?re going to see much more consistency and a much more effective use of pensions. Hopefully, there will be more people who have pensions, or are more conscious about retirement.?

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/03/25/golden-age-for-pension-lawyers-public-keen-to-protect-plans-after-economic-crisis/

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Sunday, March 24, 2013

West Virginia Lawmaker Seeks To Ban Drivers From Wearing Head Mounted Displays Like Google Glass

puppy-glasses-(1)I don't see any problem with this. In short, a West Virginia lawmaker wants to make wearing head mounted displays while driving against the law in his state. The devices would join other banned electronic communication devices like cell phones. The bill, while perhaps a bit laughable at first, is logical and smart. It makes a lot more sense than banning the use of Google Glass in dive bars.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/TSRVzCNsFeE/

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China's Great Big Holey 'Twitter' Net

A recent study by researchers at the University of Hong Kong suggests that China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo -- which boasted in February that it had surpassed 500 million users -- might be overrun by zombie accounts. The study, which looked at a random sample of 30,000 Sina Weibo accounts, revealed that 57 percent of users had nothing in their timelines.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/29e70e29/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C77610A0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Cyprus racing to complete alternative rescue plan

People walk at the old city of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Politicians in Cyprus were racing Saturday to complete an alternative plan raising funds necessary for the country to qualify for an international bailout, with a potential bankruptcy just three days away. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

People walk at the old city of capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Politicians in Cyprus were racing Saturday to complete an alternative plan raising funds necessary for the country to qualify for an international bailout, with a potential bankruptcy just three days away. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

People buy goods from a vegetable market, in central Nicosia, on Saturday, March 23, 2013. Politicians in Cyprus were racing Saturday to complete an alternative plan raising funds necessary for the country to qualify for and international bailout, with a potential bankruptcy just three days away. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A man plays with his guitar as a woman passes at Ledras street in Nicosia, Cyprus, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Politicians in Cyprus were racing Saturday to complete an alternative plan raising funds necessary for the country to qualify for an international bailout, with a potential bankruptcy just three days away. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A elderly woman buys goods from a vegetable market, in central Nicosia, on Saturday, March 23, 2013. Politicians in Cyprus were racing Saturday to complete an alternative plan raising funds necessary for the country to qualify for and international bailout, with a potential bankruptcy just three days away. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A woman drinks a coffee and smokes in the old city of the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Politicians on Cyprus were racing Saturday to complete an alternative plan raising funds necessary for the country to qualify for an international bailout, with a potential bankruptcy just three days away. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

(AP) ? Politicians in Cyprus were racing Saturday to complete an alternative plan raising funds necessary for the country to qualify for an international bailout, with a potential bankruptcy just three days away.

Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said "significant progress" had been made, and that new legislation raising funds could be completed and debated in Parliament as early as Saturday evening, although the timing was not certain.

Cyprus has been told it must raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) in order to secure 10 billion euros in rescue loans from other European countries that use the single currency, and from the International Monetary Fund. The country's lawmakers soundly rejected an unpopular initial plan that would have seized up to 10 percent of people's bank accounts, and is now seeking a way to raise the desperately needed money.

But the idea of a deposit grab returned to the fore after Cyprus' talks with longtime ally Russia for help broke down. According to a finance ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to speak about the negotiations, new laws may not be needed if Cyprus' prospective creditors opt for a "voluntary contribution" from large depositors of as much as a quarter of their savings at the country's largest lender, Bank of Cyprus. Another option being considered is a tax of some 10 percent on all bank deposits above 100,000 euros.

Time is running out fast. The European Central Bank has said it will stop providing emergency funding to Cyprus' banks after Monday if no new plan is in place. Without ECB's support, Cypriot banks would collapse on Tuesday, pushing the country toward bankruptcy and a potential exit from the 17-nation eurozone.

Banks have been shut all week while the plan is worked out, and are not due to reopen until next Tuesday. Cash has been available through ATMs, but many run out quickly, and those machines for the troubled Laiki Bank are only dispensing 260 euros a day.

Nicosia made a significant step towards cementing a new plan Friday night, when its lawmakers approved nine bills, including three crucial ones that will restructure ailing banks, restrict financial transactions in emergencies and set up a "solidarity fund" that will act as the vehicle for raising funds from investments and contributions.

The bank restructuring will include the country's troubled second largest lender, Laiki, which suffered heavy losses after being exposed to toxic Greek debt.

Thousands of angry bank employees afraid of losing their jobs marched through the center of Nicosia to the Finance Ministry and Parliament, some with placards around their necks reading: "No to the bankruptcy of Cyprus." They marched up to the front of the ministry, calling on President Nicos Anastasiades to resign and chanting, "Anastasiades, you took our homes away from us."

"We are protesting for our jobs, and jobs of all in Cyprus," said bank employee Zoei Koiachi.

Worried about her job after 36 years at Laiki, Eleni Koutsourdou said lawmakers should have approved the initial plan for the deposit grab for the sake of protecting the financial sector that makes almost half of the country's euro economy.

"It's unfair, they pocketed everything and we end up paying for it," she said.

The restructuring of Laiki and the sale of the toxic-asset laden Greek branches of Cypriot banks is expected to cut the amount the country needs to raise to about 3 billion euros instead of 5.8 billion euros, officials have said.

Other banks may also be included in the restructuring, such as the country's largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, which was also exposed to Greek debt.

"We have to be clear to protect the financial system and for banks to open Tuesday with a clear picture," Sarris said.

Representatives of the IMF, ECB and European Commission ? collectively known as the troika ? met with Sarris and other officials in the Finance Ministry in the morning, negotiating several new proposals, including a crucial bill that would impose some form of a tax on bank deposits.

The details were still being worked out, but officials have said that the tax could apply to deposits in the country's top two lenders, which were most exposed to bad Greek debt, or even all banks.

Troika consent is essential as they will determine whether the plan that the Cypriots come up with would meet the requirements for the bailout before it is presented to the eurozone finance ministers for final approval.

A eurogroup meeting of the finance ministers will be held in Brussels Sunday evening. Anastasiades was also expected to fly there, though details of the timing was unclear.

Anastasiades was to meet party leaders later Saturday at the presidential palace in the Cypriot capital to brief them on where negotiations with troika stand.

"Significant progress has been made toward an agreement at least with the troika which will report to the Eurogroup," Sarris said earlier in the day after the initial morning meeting at his ministry.

"Two or three issues need further work, issues on banks, there are different calculations," Sarris said.

"We have a number of experts that are working from the private sector, at the Central Bank, at the Ministry of Finance trying to iron out these details so that when we do reach an agreement there will be no room for different understanding or misrepresentation."

____

Elena Becatoros in Nicosia contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-23-Cyprus-Financial%20Crisis/id-ef2e3cb1fde8404a8acd6b3147721446

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August Capital's David Hornik On How To Find ?Smart Money' For Your Startup [TCTV]

david hornikStartup founders just getting their projects off the ground can be so focused on finding money, period, that they don't think about being choosy about who it comes from. But according to August Capital partner David Hornik, founders should think just as much about the "who" as they do about the "how much" before inking a VC deal: Finding compatible investors personality-wise is just as important to the success of a startup as the dollar figures on the check, he says.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/JyPpLAimm0A/

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Bitcoin and Other Virtual Currencies Finally Get Some Regulation

Companies that distribute and exchange Bitcoin will now be subject to the same rules as Western Union. The hope is to crackdown on Bitcoin-related crime. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/bP_EHewqxRo/bitcoin-and-other-virtual-currencies-finally-get-some-regulation

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