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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Shy?m NRJ Music Awards Fashion FAIL
Shy’m NRJ Music Awards Fashion FAIL deserves all caps because it is one of the worst fashion disasters I have seen in a LONG time. I almost have no words. Almost. Someone was not hugged enough as a child and is now craving some serious attention. I am all for being sexy but this looks like crap. She is wearing a towel wrapped around a fiberglass body. And are the nipple molds really necessary? What do they add to this outfit? Who designed this? Black Swan gone wrong. Very, very wrong. But hey, she got her 15 minutes and now people over here in the good ol’ US of A know who Shy’m is. Photos: www.wenn.com/Marta Szczesniak/Pat Denton
Camilla Williams, black opera pioneer, dies at 92
This photo provided Jan. 30, 2012, by the Indian University Jacobs School of Music shows African-American opera pioneer Camilla Williams in October 1985 at the school in Bloomington, Ind. Williams' attorney, Eric Slotegraaf, said in a statement that the soprano died Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Bloomington. She was 92. (AP Photo/ Indian University Jacobs School of Music)
This photo provided Jan. 30, 2012, by the Indian University Jacobs School of Music shows African-American opera pioneer Camilla Williams in October 1985 at the school in Bloomington, Ind. Williams' attorney, Eric Slotegraaf, said in a statement that the soprano died Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Bloomington. She was 92. (AP Photo/ Indian University Jacobs School of Music)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Camilla Williams, believed to be the first African-American woman to appear with a major U.S. opera company, has died. She was 92.
Williams died Sunday at her home in Bloomington, Indiana, her attorney, Eric Slotegraaf, said Monday. She died of complications from cancer, said Alain Barker, a spokesman for the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where Williams was a professor emeritus of voice.
Williams' debut with the New York City Opera on May 15, 1946, was thought to make her the first African-American woman to appear with a major U.S. opera company and came nearly nine years before Marian Anderson became the first African-American singer to appear at New York's more prestigious Metropolitan Opera.
In her City Opera debut, Williams sang what would become her signature role, Cio-Cio-San, in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly." She displayed "a vividness and subtlety unmatched by any other artist who has assayed the part here in many a year," according to a New York Times review of the performance.
She also appeared with the City Opera that season as Nedda, in Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci." The following year she performed the role of Mimi, in Puccini's "La Boheme," and in 1948 she sang the title role of Verdi's "Aida."
Williams first appeared overseas in 1950 on a concert tour of Panama, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. She also appeared as Cio-Cio-San with the London Sadler's Wells Opera in 1954 and later that same year as the first black artist to sing a major role with the Vienna State Opera.
Williams, the daughter of a chauffeur, was introduced to "Madama Butterfly," Mozart and other classical works at age 12 while growing up in Virginia. A Welsh voice teacher came to the segregated city to teach at a school for white girls and taught a few black girls at a private home. By that time she had been singing at Danville's Calvary Baptist Church for four years.
"My grandparents and parents were self-taught musicians; all of them sang, and there was always music in our home," she wrote for her entry in the first edition of "Who's Who in the World."
A graduate of Virginia State College, she was teaching third grade and music in Danville schools in 1942 when she was offered a scholarship from the Philadelphia Alumni Association of her alma mater for vocal training in Philadelphia, where she studied under Marion Szekely-Freschl and worked as an usher in a theater.
A lifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, she performed in her Virginia hometown in 1963 to raise funds to free jailed civil rights demonstrators and sang at the 1963 civil rights march on Washington, D.C., immediately before the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. She also sang at King's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony the following year. The Chicago Defender lauded her in 1951 for bringing democracy to opera.
In 1950 she married Charles Beavers, a defense attorney whose clients included civil rights icon Malcolm X. Beavers died in 1970. The couple did not have children.
Williams retired from opera in 1971 and taught at Brooklyn College, Bronx College and Queens College until becoming the first African-American professor of voice at Indiana University. In 1983, as a guest professor at Beijing's Central Conservatory, she became that school's first black professor. She retired from teaching in 1997.
A memorial service has been scheduled at the First United Methodist Church in Bloomington on Feb. 18.
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Euro, rich-poor gap proved key issues at Davos
The mountain resort of Davos pictured during the last day of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The overarching theme of the Meeting, that took place from Jan. 25 to Jan. 29 was "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone/Laurent Gillieron)
The mountain resort of Davos pictured during the last day of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. The overarching theme of the Meeting, that took place from Jan. 25 to Jan. 29 was "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". (AP Photo/Keystone/Laurent Gillieron)
Workers remove material during the last day of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott)
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? Europe's crippling debt crisis dominated the world's foremost gathering of business and political leaders, but for the first time the growing inequality between the planet's haves and have-nots became an issue, thanks largely to the Arab Spring uprisings, the Occupy movement and other protests around the globe.
The mood at the end of the five-day meeting in Davos was somber, and more than 2,500 VIPs headed home Sunday concerned about what lies ahead in 2012. Plenty of champagne flowed in this alpine ski resort ? but the atmosphere was flat and the bubbling enthusiasm of some past World Economic Forums was noticeably absent.
Despite some guarded optimism about Europe's latest attempts to stem the eurozone crisis, fears remain that turmoil could return and spill over to the rest of the world. And there were no answers to the widening inequality gap, but a mounting realization that economic growth must include the poor, that job creation is critical, and that affordable food, housing, health care and education need to part of any solution.
Just before the forum began, the International Monetary Fund reduced its forecast for global growth in 2012 to 3.3 percent from the 4 percent pace it projected in September. Many other economic forecasters also predict a slowing economy, including New York University's Nouriel Roubini, who is widely acknowledged to have predicted the crash of 2008 and who said he might be "even slightly more bearish" on the new IMF forecast.
Asia is expected to remain the engine for global growth though at a slower rate, with China leading the way at more than 8 percent, followed by India and Indonesia.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned that the eurozone crisis is not the region's problem alone.
"It's a crisis that could have collateral effects, spillover effects, around the world," she said. "What I have seen, and what the IMF has seen in numbers and forecasts, is that no country is immune and everybody has an interest in making sure that this crisis is resolved adequately."
The IMF is the world's traditional lender-of-last-resort and Lagarde is trying to increase its resources by $500 billion so it can help if more lending is needed in Europe or elsewhere. European countries have said they're prepared to give the IMF $150 billion, but that means the rest of the world will have to come up with $350 billion.
At a closing panel Sunday, Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, said a readjustment in Europe is essential "because, if you want to really simplify it, we've lived above our means, and we've done that for too long, and the moment of truth has arrived."
Vikran Pandit, CEO of the global bank Citi, said the euro crisis "is costing us about 1 percent in GDP around the world. You do the math. You do the math and say: 'How many jobs is that? How many people are not working because of that? What can we do to go after the biggest question we've got for this decade which is jobs?'"
The world needs 400 million new jobs between now and the end of the decade, not counting the 200 million needed just to get back to full employment, so "that should be our number one priority," he said.
To keep the spotlight on jobs and poverty at the forum, the Occupy movement that began on Wall Street and spread to dozens of cities around the world set up a protest camp in igloos in Davos. They demonstrated in front of City Hall.
In a separate protest, three Ukrainian women were arrested when they stripped off their tops ? despite temperatures around freezing ? and tried to climb a fence surrounding the invitation-only gathering holding banners saying: "Poor, because of you" and "Gangsters party in Davos."
Citi's Pandit said to create the conditions for growth, economic uncertainty must end and that means quickly resolving the eurozone crisis, ending regulatory uncertainty, and getting the public and private sector together to build infrastructure that can create jobs.
Unilever's Polman said it's unacceptable that more than 1 billion people are hungry every day while another billion are obese.
"How do we pull up the people that are excluded from the work force, at the bottom of the pyramid?" he asked. "That we haven't quite figured out yet."
Sheryl Sandberg, CEO of Facebook, said the Internet sector has been creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and to keep up innovations in technology "great scientists" need to be educated all over the world, investment in infrastructure is critical, and regulations must not stifle growth or access.
Nobel economics laureate Peter Diamond, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in an Associated Press interview that in the U.S. there is "an unemployment crisis," especially among young people who aren't accumulating experience. He said the government should fix the Social Security system, fix aging infrastructure, spend on research, and start fixing the education system.
When the forum opened, its normally upbeat founder Klaus Schwab said he remained a deep believer in free markets but that capitalism is out of whack and needs to be fixed "to serve society." He welcomed critics' ideas of how to fix it ? including from the Occupy protesters, though they walked out of a side event where a representative had been invited to talk.
This year for the first time, the forum invited about 60 "Global Shapers" ? young leaders under 30 ? to the forum to try to address issues confronting the generation that will be running the world in decades to come.
Among the younger generation also at Davos were Chelsea Clinton, daughter of the former U.S. president and present secretary of state, who moderated a panel on philanthropy and philanthropist Howard Buffett, son of Warren Buffett, whose foundation focuses on promoting agriculture and fighting hunger, especially in Africa.
The possibility of Iran developing nuclear weapons was among top concerns at Davos this year. There were also several follow-up panels on the Arab Spring and a session moderated by Schwab with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, which demonstrated the deep divisions over getting peace negotiations back on track.
But although the conflict in Syria ? where the U.N. estimates a crackdown on anti-government protesters has killed some 5,400 people over the past year ? came up in the Arab Spring panels, it wasn't a hot issue.
Julia Marton-Lefevre, director general of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, said that this year for the first time at Davos "the environment is not treated so much as separate topic, which I think is a good thing."
"We are moving towards a more integrated approach to the world's challenges," she said. "Environment is not a side issue, it's really a part of everything. For me, of course, nature is a life support system ? and finally it is being recognized as being a part of the solution."
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Oakland to assess damage after Occupy protests (AP)
OAKLAND, Calif. ? For weeks the protests had waned, with only a smattering of people taking to Oakland's streets for occasional marches that bore little resemblance to the headline-grabbing Occupy demonstrations of last fall.
Then came Saturday, which started peacefully enough ? a midday rally at City Hall and a march. But hours later, the scene near downtown Oakland had dramatically deteriorated: clashes punctuated by rock and bottle throwing by protesters and volleys of tear gas from police, and a City Hall break-in that left glass cases smashed, graffiti spray-painted on walls and an American flag burned.
More than 400 people were arrested on charges ranging from failure to disperse to vandalism, police spokesman Sgt. Jeff Thomason said. At least three officers and one protester were injured.
On Sunday, Oakland officials vowed to be ready if Occupy protesters try to mount another large-scale demonstration. Protesters, meanwhile, decried Saturday's police tactics as illegal and threatened to sue.
Mayor Jean Quan personally inspected damage caused by dozens of people who broke into City Hall. She said she wants a court order to keep Occupy protesters who have been arrested several times out of Oakland, which has been hit repeatedly by demonstrations that have cost the financially troubled city about $5 million.
Quan called on the loosely organized movement to "stop using Oakland as its playground."
"People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior," she said.
Saturday's protests ? the most turbulent since Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment in November ? came just days after the group announced a new round of actions. The group said it planned to use a vacant building as a social center and political hub and threatened to try to shut down the Port of Oakland for a third time, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.
After the mass arrests, the Occupy Oakland Media Committee criticized the police's conduct, saying that most of the arrests were made illegally because police failed to allow protesters to disperse, and they threatened legal action.
"Contrary to their own policy, the OPD gave no option of leaving or instruction on how to depart. These arrests are completely illegal, and this will probably result in another class action lawsuit against the OPD," a release from the group said.
Deputy Police Chief Jeff Israel told reporters late Saturday that protesters gathered unlawfully and police gave them multiple verbal warnings to disband.
"These people gathered with the intent of unlawfully entering into a building that does not belong to them and assaulting the police," Israel said. "It was not a peaceful group."
Earlier this month, a court-appointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included "serious concerns" about the department's handling of the Occupy protests. Police officials say they were in "close contact" with the federal monitor during the protests.
Social activism and civic unrest have long marked Oakland, a rough-edged city of nearly 400,000 across the bay from San Francisco. Beset by poverty, crime and a decades-long tense relationship between the police and the community, its streets have seen clashes between officers and protesters, including anti-draft protests in the 1960s that spilled into town from neighboring Berkeley.
Before the Occupy movement spawned violence, mass arrests and two shutdowns of the Port of Oakland, the city was disrupted by a series of often-violent demonstrations over a white Bay Area Rapid Transit officer's fatal shooting of an unarmed black man named Oscar Grant on New Year's Day 2009.
Occupy protesters have invoked Grant's memory, referring to the downtown plaza named after Frank Owaga, the city's first Asian-American councilmember, by renaming the former space they occupied with tents as Oscar Grant Plaza.
Police maintained a guard at City Hall overnight, and dozens of officers were on the scene Sunday.
"They were never able to occupy a building outside of City Hall," Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said Sunday. "We suspect they will try to go to the convention center again. They will get not get in."
City officials said they will call for mutual aid from other police jurisdictions if needed.
Quan, who faces two recall attempts, has been criticized for past police tear-gasing though she said she was not aware of the plans. On Saturday, she thought the police response was measured, adding that she has lost patience with the costly and disruptive protests.
She also said she hopes prosecutors will seek a stay-away order against protesters who have been arrested multiple times.
"It appears that most of them constantly come from outside of Oakland," Quan said. "I think a lot of the young people who come to these demonstrations think they're being revolutionary when they're really hurting the people they claim that they are representing."
Saturday's events began midday when a group assembled outside City Hall and marched through the streets, disrupting traffic as they threatened to take over a vacant convention center.
The protesters then walked to the convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and "destroying construction equipment" by the convention center shortly before 3 p.m., police said. The number of demonstrators swelled as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging up to 2,000 people, although city leaders say that figure was much closer to several hundred.
A majority of the arrests came after police took scores of protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown, with some entering a YMCA building, Thomason said.
Michael Davis, 32, who is originally from Ohio and was in the Occupy movement in Cincinnati, said Sunday that Saturday was a hectic day that originally started off calm but escalated when police began using "flash bangs, tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bags."
"What could've been handled differently is the way the Oakland police came at us," Davis said. "We were peaceful."
The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately. Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Clemson women lose 15th straight to No. 5 Duke (AP)
CLEMSON, S.C. ? Clemson coach Itoro Coleman doesn't expect to endure many more blowouts from No. 5 Duke.
In two seasons, the former Tiger standout guard has watched her program lose 92-37 and, on Friday night, 81-37. She swears better days are coming for Clemson women's basketball.
"We're not going to be this Clemson team forever," Coleman said. "I mean we have a lot of young kids on this team. We're in a unique situation where they're getting experience I don't think most kids around the world get."
The Tigers (5-13, 1-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) still have plenty to learn apparently after getting pounded by Duke (17-2, 8-0).
Clemson, trailing 25-22 with a little over five minutes left in the first half, were outscored 56-15 the rest of way. The Tigers couldn't score and couldn't stop the Blue Devils from scoring on the way to a 15th straight defeat in the series ? all but one of Duke's wins coming by fewer than 10 points.
Coleman remembers when she was a freshman for stellar coach Jim Davis on a Clemson team that was a regular contender for ACC titles. She gained her experience in practice against other, older standouts for the Tigers. Coleman's teams won five times against Duke during her four years. The Tigers have won only once since Coleman, then Itoro Umoh, left.
Her players ? Coleman starts three freshmen in Nikki Dixon, Chelsea Lindsay and Kelly Gramlich who each played 30 or more minutes ? don't have the luxury of watching and waiting. "They're kind of learning on job and that's just the reality of our team," she said. "We've got to continue to grow."
There are signs of improvement. Earlier this month, Clemson defeated North Carolina 52-47 to break a nine-year, 53-game streak of losses to top 25 opponents.
Tricia Liston scored 16 points and Elizabeth Williams 14 to lead Duke.
The Blue Devils will put their 34-game home winning streak on the line Monday when they host No. 3 Connecticut. The Huskies were the last team to beat Duke at home two seasons ago.
Duke made sure most shots by the Tigers didn't go in. Clemson finished 14 of 51 from the floor for 27.5 percent shooting, its second poorest performance this season. The Blue Devils had 12 steals and nine blocks, five of them by Williams.
Clemson didn't have a field goal over the last 13 minutes and didn't have a point in the final eight as Duke won its 15th straight over the Tigers (5-13, 1-6) and 11th straight this season.
"When they work really, really hard to get certain things done, then you feel pretty good about what you're doing out there," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I think that was exactly the case tonight."
Duke used a 15-2 run the last five minutes of the opening half to gain control and continued the surge after the break. It was the eighth straight game they've defeated Clemson by 24 points or more.
Williams, the 6-foot-3 freshman, said the Blue Devils' surge got the team going and possibly shook Clemson out of rhythm. "That's when we started playing our game," she said.
Quinyotta Pettaway had 12 points to lead the Tigers, who scored just 13 points in the second half.
Richa Jackson finished with 13 points and Haley Peters 12 for Duke, which finished 34 of 65 shooting from the field (52.7 percent) ? the third straight game it shot 50 percent or better.
The Tigers succumbed to Duke's defense in the second half. They didn't hit a field goal in the final 13:09 of the game and didn't have a point the last 7:51.
Duke came in the only undefeated team in ACC play this season. Clemson, though, did what it could to make Littlejohn as crazy Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tigers called it "Pack The House" night, offering $1 tickets and giving away bobble-head dolls of second-year coach Itoro Coleman, who won five games against Duke when she was a star guard for the Tigers from 1996-1999.
Duke's only lost once to Clemson in the 13 seasons since.
Clemson's pep band and students wore red and yellow flashing glasses. Yet, as you might expect from a program that won its 300th game all-time in the ACC over No. 8 Maryland, the Blue Devils weren't fazed by any of it.
Duke, which had made more than 55 percent of its shots the previous two games, kept up the hot shooting against Clemson in the opening half. The Blue Devils finished the period 18 of 32 from floor (56.2 percent) and made seven of their final nine shots as they closed the half on 15-2 run and continually beat the Tigers back on defense for several easy layups.
Williams led the way for Duke on offense and defense. She made 5 of 7 shots for 11 points and added five blocks in the opening half, surpassing her average of 4.7 blocks per game during ACC play.
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
It?s the end of the world, and Jericho feels fine
With the mere utterance of a single declarative sentence Monday night, Chris Jericho revved up a WWE Universe that has patiently waited since Jan. 2 to hear the former champion say something ? anything ? about his headline-grabbing return. (PHOTOS | WATCH)
Now that the silence has officially broken and it is known that Jericho will take part in the 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble Match, the WWE Universe moves on to the next step in demystifying his reappearance: figuring out what, exactly, his foreboding intimation on Raw SuperShow is supposed to mean.
As with everything else that Jericho has done since coming back, his curt proclamation Monday night posed more questions than it answered.
?This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it?s going to be the end of the world as you know it,? he concisely stated during his first ?Highlight Reel? segment on Raw in nearly four years.
Aside from paraphrasing the least karaoke-friendly song in R.E.M.?s catalog, Jericho?s apocalyptic prophecy served largely to befuddle viewers. It has not gone unnoticed that Jericho waited until the first month of a year packed with various end-of-the-world conspiracies to deliver his brief doomsday warning. Yet, with the purported end-time date, Dec. 21, 2012, still months away, smart money says the most incandescent thing the WWE Universe will see Sunday is Jericho?s jacket ? not killer solar flares.
Nor has it been forgotten that the cryptic videos trumpeting Jericho?s return shared a common tagline ? ?The End Begins? ? that seems to speak to whatever Armageddon Jericho has in mind for the Rumble.
So how in the world does one begin making sense of these snippets of information, and what do they portend for the Rumble Sunday?
Let?s begin with what is already known: On Jan. 29, live on pay-per-view, Jericho will enter the Royal Rumble Match, marking the first time in more than a year that the first Undisputed WWE Champion in history steps into the ring as an active competitor. With his legacy firmly intact, Jericho has made the bold, if not foolhardy, decision to shake off any lingering ring rust in one of WWE?s most trying and prestigious battling grounds ? the Royal Rumble Match.
By foretelling that the ?end of the world? will happen at the Royal Rumble, maybe Jericho was simply warning his fellow Superstars to not sleep on the cagey warhorse returning from a long layoff. ?It?s not outside the realm of possibility that Jericho believes life for WWE Superstars is easier without him in the picture; perhaps the Royal Rumble Match ? and a Jericho victory ? would signify the end of the cushy life for Superstars who?ve grown accustomed to a post-Jericho world.
Maybe Jericho?s remark Monday concerned all that has transpired in WWE during his absence. Since Randy Orton punted Y2J out of action in late 2010, Raw SuperShow has experienced Superstar walkouts and power grabs, not to mention a revolution started in earnest by WWE Champion CM Punk. Jericho sat on the sidelines while WWE underwent radical changes and an entirely new crop of talent blossomed. Could that be the ?world? to which Jericho?s referring?
Or, perhaps it?s wrong to assume it was other Superstars that Jericho was putting on notice with his comment last Monday.
In examining Jericho?s one-sentence promo, it is important to note the exact verbiage he used: ?the end of the world as you know it.? Could he have even been referring to the loyal WWE Universe, which has embraced Jericho?s sometimes-cheesy antics with open arms?
If so, Jericho?s remark would seem to imply that despite his gushing and, at times, tearful, response to the WWE Universe?s warm reception, Jericho?s worldview does not entirely dovetail with theirs. Maybe Jericho?s premonition foreshadows an end in sight for the good feelings?
With the 25th anniversary of Royal Rumble just around the corner, it is only a matter of days before the veil of mystery is lifted and the thrust of Jericho?s vague promise is revealed for all to see. What is clear in the present moment is that Jericho knows something, and the rest of us can only speculate as to what that something is.
Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/chris-jericho-doomsday-prophecy
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Activists and bloggers fear Twitter censorship
This screen shot shows a portion of the Twitter blog post of Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, in which the company announced it has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis. The additional flexibility is likely to raise fears that Twitter's commitment to free speech may be weakening as the short-messaging company expands into new countries in an attempt to broaden its audience and make more money. But Twitter sees the censorship tool as a way to ensure individual messages, or "tweets," remain available to as many people as possible while it navigates a gauntlet of different laws around the world. (AP Photo/Twitter)
This screen shot shows a portion of the Twitter blog post of Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, in which the company announced it has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis. The additional flexibility is likely to raise fears that Twitter's commitment to free speech may be weakening as the short-messaging company expands into new countries in an attempt to broaden its audience and make more money. But Twitter sees the censorship tool as a way to ensure individual messages, or "tweets," remain available to as many people as possible while it navigates a gauntlet of different laws around the world. (AP Photo/Twitter)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Bloggers and activists from China, the Middle East and Latin America said Friday they were afraid that new Twitter policies could allow governments to censor messages, stifling free expression.
Thursday's announcement that Twitter had refined its technology to censor messages on a country-by-country basis raised fears that the company's commitment to free speech may be weakening. Twitter is trying to broaden its audience and make more money by expanding around the globe.
"I'm afraid it's a slippery slope of censorship," said social media commentator Jeff Jarvis, interviewed at a gathering of business and government leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
"I understand why Twitter is doing this ? they want to be able to enter more countries and deal with the local laws. But, as Google learned in China, when you become the agent of the censor, there are problems there," he added.
Egyptian activist Mahmoud Salem, who tweets and blogs under the name "Sandmonkey," questioned in a tweet whether Twitter "is selling us out."
Twitter sees the censorship tool as a way to ensure individual messages, or tweets, remain available to as many people as possible while it navigates a gauntlet of different laws around the world.
Before, when Twitter erased a tweet it disappeared throughout the world. Now, a tweet containing content breaking a law in one country can be taken down there and still be seen elsewhere.
Twitter will post a censorship notice whenever a tweet is removed. That's similar to what Internet search leader Google Inc. has been doing for years when a law in a country where its service operates requires a search result to be removed.
Like Google, Twitter also plans to the share the removal requests it receives from governments, companies and individuals at the chillingeffects.org website.
The similarity to Google's policy isn't coincidental. Twitter's general counsel is Alexander Macgillivray, who helped Google draw up its censorship policies while he was working at that company.
"One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user's voice," Twitter wrote in a blog post. "We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent with users when we can't. The tweets must continue to flow."
Twitter, which is based in San Francisco, is tweaking its approach now that its nearly 6-year-old service has established itself as one of the world's most powerful megaphones. Daisy chains of tweets already have played instrumental roles in political protests throughout the world, including the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States and the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia and Syria.
It's a role that Twitter has embraced, but the company came up with the new filtering technology in recognition that it will likely be forced to censor more tweets as it pursues an ambitious agenda. Among other things, Twitter wants to expand its audience from about 100 million active users now to more than 1 billion.
Reaching that goal will require expanding into more countries, which will mean Twitter will be more likely to have to submit to laws that run counter to the free-expression protections guaranteed under the First Amendment in the U.S.
If Twitter defies a law in a country where it has employees, those people could be arrested. That's one reason Twitter is unlikely to try to enter China, where its service is currently blocked. Google for several years agreed to censor its search results in China to gain better access to the country's vast population, but stopped that practice two years after engaging in a high-profile showdown with Chain's government. Google now routes its Chinese search results through Hong Kong, where the censorship rules are less restrictive.
In China, where activists quickly caught on to Twitter despite it being blocked inside the country, artist and activist Ai Weiwei tweeted Friday: "If Twitter censors, I'll stop tweeting."
China's Communist Party remains highly sensitive to any organized challenge to its rule and responded sharply to the Arab Spring, cracking down last year after calls for a "Jasmine Revolution" in China.
Many Chinese find ways around the so-called "Great Firewall" that has blocked social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Nelson Bocaranda, a Venezuelan journalist, radio host and outspoken opponent of President Hugo Chavez, warned that Twitter's decision could prompt a government crackdown on critics' tweets ahead of the Oct. 7 presidential election.
"Twitter has become a weapon to preserve our embattled democracy," said Bocaranda, who has more than 482,000 followers.
Twitter is "an important tool" for Venezuelans to share information as local media resort to self-censorship as means of avoiding conflict with government officials, Bocaranda added.
Salem, the Egyptian activist, added in a tweet on his account: "This is very bad news."
"Is it safe to say that (hash)Twitter is selling us out?" he wrote.
"Clearly there is a huge user backlash against this latest move by Twitter," said blogger Mike Butcher, editor of Tech Crunch Europe.
"It was seen as one of the few platforms that was free of any kind of censorship, heavily used during for example Arab spring and even in Russia lately over protests over the elections. It is, to some extent, something that we could have predicted," Butcher said.
In its Thursday blog post, Twitter said it hadn't yet used its ability to wipe out tweets in an individual country. All the tweets it has previously censored were wiped out throughout the world. Most of those included links to child pornography.
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt declined to comment on Twitter's action and instead limited his comments to his own company.
"I can assure you we will apply our universally tough principles against censorship on all Google products," he told reporters in Davos.
Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, said it was a matter of trying to adhere to different local laws.
"I think what they (Twitter officials) are wrestling with is what all of us wrestle with ? and everyone wants to focus on China, but it is actually a global issue ? which is laws in these different countries vary," Drummond said.
"Americans tend to think copyright is a real bad problem, so we have to regulate that on the Internet. In France and Germany, they care about Nazis' issues and so forth," he added. "In China, there are other issues that we call censorship. And so how you respect all the laws or follow all the laws to the extent you think they should be followed while still allowing people to get the content elsewhere?"
___
Associated Press writers Christopher Toothaker in Caracas, Venezuela, Angela Charlton in Davos, Switzerland, Cara Anna in New York and Ben Hubbard in Cairo contributed to this story.
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Friday, January 27, 2012
New Zealand court bails two associates of Megaupload founder (Reuters)
WELLINGTON (Reuters) ? A New Zealand court granted bail on Thursday to two associates of the founder of online file-sharing website Megaupload, accused of being involved in a scheme that allegedly made more than $175 million from Internet piracy and illegal file sharing.
Dutchman Bram van der Kolk, 29, and Finn Batato, a 38-year-old German, who were arrested last Friday along with Megaupload's founder, Kim Dotcom, were freed on bail. A decision on another accused, Mathias Ortman, was put off until Friday pending further submissions on his bail application.
"I am satisfied that the risk of flight here is minimal and such risk as remains can be met by the imposition of strict bail conditions including electronic monitoring," Judge David McNaughton said in a written judgment.
A lawyer for the men had argued their role in the company was different from that of Dotcom, and they did not have secret sources of funds or multiple identities.
The United States wants to extradite all four on charges of Internet piracy, copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.
Dotcom, 38, was refused bail on Wednesday because the judge believed there was a significant risk he could try to flee New Zealand. He will reappear in court on February 22. His lawyer is preparing to appeal that decision, maintaining that Dotcom does not have the means to leave the country.
The defendants have said they are innocent of the piracy and other charges, asserting the company simply offered online storage.
An extradition application must be lodged within 45 days of an arrest, and the U.S. must show the alleged offences would be crimes in New Zealand punishable by at least 12 months in jail.
Legal experts have said the extradition process is likely to be long and complex.
(Reporting by Gyles Beckford; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
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States with the most, and least, credit card debt
AFP - Getty Images
Experts disagree on whether rising credit card debt is a good or bad indicator for a state's economy.
By Charles B. Stockdale, 24/7 Wall St.
Americans cut down their credit card debt by 11 percent last year, compared to 2010, according to a new report by Credit Karma. 24/7 Wall St. looked at the average credit card debt owed by the residents of each state to determine the five states with the most and the least debt as of December 2011.
Credit card debt is a measure of the economy, and some analysts are suggesting that the decrease in the debt is a positive sign. But not all agree. Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma, told CNNMoney that the drop in debt is the result of weak consumer confidence, resulting in slower spending, tighter lending on the part of banks and lower credit limits.
24/7 Wall St.: The eight beers Americans no longer drink
One of the driving factors for states whose residents owe the most in credit card debt is that they are wealthy states. Nine out of the 10 states with the most in credit card debt have among the highest median household incomes. Alternatively, six of the 10 states with the smallest amounts of credit card debt have among the lowest median incomes.
Other than high median income, many high-debt states also have high costs of living relative to other states. Seven of the 10 with the highest rates of debt are within the 15 states with the highest costs of living. When people must pay more for consumer goods, they often end up with larger amounts of debt. The opposite case is also true. States whose residents pay less for goods have less debt. Four of the 10 states with the lowest amounts of debt are within the 15 states with the lowest costs of living in the country.
Corresponding with wealth, many of the states with high levels of debt have above-average credit scores. In fact, six of the 10 states with the most debt are among the 15 states with the highest average credit scores. Six of the 10 with the least debt are among the 15 states with the lowest credit scores.
States with the least credit card debt
5. Louisiana
- ?Credit card debt: $5,856
- ?Median household income: $42,505 (10th lowest)
- ?Average credit score: 635 (3rd lowest)
- ?Cost of living: 20th lowest
Louisiana is a relatively poor state, with the 10th-lowest median household income in the country. The low income keeps spending levels low too. The average credit card debt among Louisiana residents is the fifth-lowest in the country. This does not prevent state residents from having financial troubles?? their average credit score of 635 is the third worst in the country. Two Louisiana cities? ? Shreveport and Monroe? ? were recently included in a list of the largest U.S. cities with the lowest credit scores in the country.
24/7 Wall St.: Worst product flops of 2011
4. Utah
- ?Credit card debt: $5,816
- ?Median household income: $54,744 (13th highest)
- ?Average credit score: 673 (5th highest)
- ?Cost of living: 5th lowest
Utah is relatively wealthy, with a median household income of nearly $55,000. Despite this, the cost of living in the state is the fifth-lowest in the country. With high incomes and a low cost of living, Utahns maintain conservative personal debt, illustrated by their fifth-highest average credit score.
3. Alabama
- ?Credit card debt: $5,770
- ?Median household income: $40,474 (5th lowest)
- ?Average credit score: 637 (5th lowest)
- ?Cost of living: 12th lowest
Alabama is another poor southern state. Each household makes approximately $40,500 ? the fifth-lowest median income in the country. A relatively low cost of living may have contributed to Alabama residents having one of the lowest levels of credit card debt in the country, but it did not help their credit scores. Alabama has one of the lowest average credit score in the country. Alabama was named by?U.S. News?as one of the most frugal states in the country.
2. Mississippi
- ?Credit card debt: $5,276
- ?Median household income: $36,851 (the lowest)
- ?Average credit score: 652 (18th highest)
- ?Cost of living: 10th lowest
Mississippi residents have the second-lowest amount of credit card debt in the country. They also have the lowest median household income, at $36,851. On top of this, the cost of living in the state is the 10th lowest. Unlike Alabama, however, residents manage to maintain relatively high credit scores ? the state average is the nation?s 18th highest. Mississippi also was named as one of the most frugal states by?U.S. News.
24/7 Wall St.: 10 states that cannot pay their bills
1. Wisconsin
- ?Credit card debt: $5,062
- ?Median household income: $49,001 (22nd highest)
- ?Average credit score: 662 (14th highest)
- ?Cost of living: 25th lowest
Wisconsin has the lowest average credit card debt in the country. This appears to be the result of frugality. The state has a higher median household income than many other states with low average credit card debts. The low level of credit card debt in the state cannot be simply explained by a low cost of living as it is not especially low in the state. The fiscal responsibility of Wisconsinites is fairly high, demonstrated by their average credit score, which is the country?s 14th highest.
States with the most credit card debt
5. Colorado
- ?Credit card debt: $7,533
- ?Median household income: $54,046 (15th highest)
- ?Average credit score: 669 (11th highest)
- ?Cost of living: 19th highest
Colorado is not quite as wealthy as the other states with the highest average credit card debt. But it still has the 15th-highest median household income in the country. The cost of living in the state is comparable to the state?s median income. Despite the high level of debt, residents are generally living within their means, as exemplified by the state?s high average credit score.
4. New Jersey
- ?Credit card debt: $7,608
- ?Median household income: $67,681 (2nd highest)
- ?Average credit score: 679 (the highest)
- ?Cost of living: 6th highest
New Jersey has the sixth-highest cost of living in the country. Residents, though, have the money to spend and accumulate debt. With a median household income that is the second-highest in the country, it is not surprising that residents have racked up such a high average credit card debt. Despite the high debt levels, however, personal finances are managed well the average credit score for New Jersey is the highest among all states.
3. Connecticut
- ?Credit card debt: $7,730
- ?Median household income: $64,032 (4th highest)
- ?Average credit score: 672 (9th highest)
- ?Cost of living: 4th highest
Connecticut is often recognized as one of the country?s wealthiest states. This is a well-earned reputation. The state has the fourth-highest median household income. The cost of living is also higher than that in all but three states. Residents, therefore, spend more than those in most other states. Average credit card debt is the third highest in the country, but not surprising, their credit scores are also high.
2. New Hampshire
- ?Credit card debt: $7,748
- ?Median household income: $61,042 (7th highest)
- ?Average credit score: 659 (19th highest)
- ?Cost of living: 10th highest
New Hampshire is another New England state with a high median household income and a high cost of living. Its median income is the seventh-highest in the country and cost of living is the 10th-highest. Residents of the ?Live Free or Die? state use this affluence to manage the high costs, racking up the second highest rate of credit card debt.
24/7 Wall St.: The 10 most-hated companies in America
1. Alaska
- ?Credit card debt: $7,937
- ?Median household income: $64,576 (3rd highest)
- ?Average credit score: 659 (21st highest)
- ?Cost of living: 2nd highest
Alaska is the third wealthiest state in the country by median household income. It is also the second most expensive state, due in large part to its distance from the continental U.S. Residents of the state had nearly $8,000 in average credit card debt as of December 2011. The average credit score in the state is not among the highest, but it is not exceptionally low either.
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Recon Instruments partners with Contour, makes MOD Live into ski slope viewfinder
Continue reading Recon Instruments partners with Contour, makes MOD Live into ski slope viewfinder
Recon Instruments partners with Contour, makes MOD Live into ski slope viewfinder originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/recon-instruments-partners-with-contour-makes-mod-live-into-ski/
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Lara Logan says Egypt assault left her with PTSD
Given the horrific sexual assault she survived at the hands of a mob in Cairo, Egypt, it's no surprise Lara Logan is still dealing with the aftermath.
The CBS News correspondent has revealed that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and that memories of the incident continue to haunt her nearly a year after the Feb. 11 attack.
MORE: Lara Logan Released From Hospital in "Remarkably Good Spirits"
"People don't really know that much about [post-traumatic stress disorder]," she told the New York Daily News. "There's something called latent PTSD. It manifests itself in different ways. I want to be free of it, but I'm not."
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Will 'War Horse' trample 'The Artist'?
The 40-year-old journalist said the nightmares come at unexpected times, for instance, when she's tucking her infant daughter in for bed at night.
"It doesn't go away," Logan noted. "It's not something I keep track of. It's not predictable like that. But it happens more than I'd like."
The battle-hardened war reporter was covering the celebrations in Tahrir Square the night the government of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak fell when she was surrounded by a group of men who tore her clothes off and, as she told "60 Minutes" in April, for more than 25 minutes "raped me with their hands." Logan admitted she thought she was going to die a "torturous death" and was only saved by some quick-thinking, courageous women who surrounded her until soldiers could pull her to safety.
MORE: Five Things to Know About Lara Logan
"When I'm lying there, waiting for my daughter to go to sleep, I have time to think about things. Those can be dark moments," the South African native recalled. "You ranger through, you have to. You're aware of how much you have and it's so much more than what you've lost. You have a responsibility. Life is not about dwelling on the bad."
After spending four days in the hospital and months recovering, Logan told the paper her family has been her greatest source of comfort and support, particularly her U.S. government defense contractor husband, Joe Burkett.
"He understands, he doesn't hide from it, from what happened. He knows everything, more than anyone, what they did to me," she noted.
Here's hoping she can put it all behind her one day.
PICS: Dangerous Reality TV
? 2012 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46116972/ns/today-entertainment/
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Moral imagination as a key to overcoming work-related stigmas
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 23-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Ana Herrera
oic@uc3m.es
Carlos III University of Madrid
This release is available in Spanish.
There are some jobs ("dirty work", in Anglo-Saxon terminology) that, because of their characteristics, produce a certain amount of social rejection towards the people who perform them, due to the fact that they are subjected to moral conflicts and ethical decisions related to performing those duties. "Paradoxically, these occupations are very necessary from a social perspective, as in the case of a police officer who hesitates before using force at a given moment, or an aide working with psychiatric patients who faces the dilemma of whether or not to use drugs with the patients, for example", comments the author of the study, Esther Roca Batllori, of the Department of Business Administration. She is doing research on how to help these "dirty workers" overcome the stigmas associated with their professions that make it more difficult for them to carry out their duties; these workers often feel a lack of motivation, which results in a high rate of absenteeism and staff turnover.
The article, which was recently published in the Journal of Business Ethics, proposes that one of the keys to solving this situation lies in "moral imagination". In general terms, this is defined as an ability that allows the individuals to make better decisions in contexts and situations characterized by conflicts that are moral in nature. "Moral imagination turns out to be a great help when one is facing these morally ambiguous decision-making processes, because it offers greater moral perception, critical capacity and individual moral conscience", the researcher states. "This greater consciousness that the moral imagination provides - she continues in turn, makes overcoming the social stigma easier ", she concludes.
Finally, the study analyzes how organizations with "dirty workers" can foment and create conditions that allow moral imagination to develop. To this end, companies can adopt measures such as "the use of narratives, which favor contact among different workers and stimulate moral inclusion, or designs of work stations that revolve around the worker's autonomy and critical capacity ", explains Professor Roca. From a more general perspective, these measures would be integrated into a company culture whose nucleus would be a commitment to the worker's individual values and critical thought, and that prioritizes ethical aspects over others.
The concept of moral imagination has been widely developed in the field of business management as well as in the field of philosophy. "I found it interesting to think about how this concept, initially a theoretical one, could be applied to an area that is so practical, like work", comments Esther Roca, who has received support for her research from the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Fundacin Ramn Areces (Ramn Areces Foundation).
###
More information:
Title: The Exercise of Moral Imagination in Stigmatized Work Groups
Author: Roca, Esther
Source: JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS 96 (1): 135-147 SEP 2010
ISSN: 0167-4544
Image: Flickr Thomas_Hawk
(www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01/6473509117/)
[ | E-mail | 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.
Public release date: 23-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Ana Herrera
oic@uc3m.es
Carlos III University of Madrid
This release is available in Spanish.
There are some jobs ("dirty work", in Anglo-Saxon terminology) that, because of their characteristics, produce a certain amount of social rejection towards the people who perform them, due to the fact that they are subjected to moral conflicts and ethical decisions related to performing those duties. "Paradoxically, these occupations are very necessary from a social perspective, as in the case of a police officer who hesitates before using force at a given moment, or an aide working with psychiatric patients who faces the dilemma of whether or not to use drugs with the patients, for example", comments the author of the study, Esther Roca Batllori, of the Department of Business Administration. She is doing research on how to help these "dirty workers" overcome the stigmas associated with their professions that make it more difficult for them to carry out their duties; these workers often feel a lack of motivation, which results in a high rate of absenteeism and staff turnover.
The article, which was recently published in the Journal of Business Ethics, proposes that one of the keys to solving this situation lies in "moral imagination". In general terms, this is defined as an ability that allows the individuals to make better decisions in contexts and situations characterized by conflicts that are moral in nature. "Moral imagination turns out to be a great help when one is facing these morally ambiguous decision-making processes, because it offers greater moral perception, critical capacity and individual moral conscience", the researcher states. "This greater consciousness that the moral imagination provides - she continues in turn, makes overcoming the social stigma easier ", she concludes.
Finally, the study analyzes how organizations with "dirty workers" can foment and create conditions that allow moral imagination to develop. To this end, companies can adopt measures such as "the use of narratives, which favor contact among different workers and stimulate moral inclusion, or designs of work stations that revolve around the worker's autonomy and critical capacity ", explains Professor Roca. From a more general perspective, these measures would be integrated into a company culture whose nucleus would be a commitment to the worker's individual values and critical thought, and that prioritizes ethical aspects over others.
The concept of moral imagination has been widely developed in the field of business management as well as in the field of philosophy. "I found it interesting to think about how this concept, initially a theoretical one, could be applied to an area that is so practical, like work", comments Esther Roca, who has received support for her research from the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Fundacin Ramn Areces (Ramn Areces Foundation).
###
More information:
Title: The Exercise of Moral Imagination in Stigmatized Work Groups
Author: Roca, Esther
Source: JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS 96 (1): 135-147 SEP 2010
ISSN: 0167-4544
Image: Flickr Thomas_Hawk
(www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01/6473509117/)
[ | E-mail | 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/2012-01/ciuo-mia012312.php
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Mesothelioma Cancer- Interesting Guidepost Pertaining to ...
chemical p manufacturing plant secrets and cheats . Cancer malignancy Situation Control Reports And also Asbestos Exposure Regarding Basic Human population
Asbestos fibers and Asbestos cancers australia wide
Lots of people are getting to be individuals with mesothelioma cancer most cancers. The events in the scarce sort of cancers, that is mostly acknowledged to exposure to mesothelioma, are supposed to enlarge inside a long time. The long latency duration of the problem tends to make acceptance very tough so that a person might be have contracted illness without their total comprehending.
Asbestos fiber and Mesothelioma cancer nationwide
Determined by many answers, mesothelioma cancer cancers is really a unusual sort of melanoma that Asbestosis Symptoms grows within the mesothelium (a lean covering of mobile or portable all over the chest muscles, abdomen, as well as the cardiovascular system). This cancer is regarded as a aggressive variety as it is often normally uncovered all through its overdue stages. Numerous clients who have contracted this complaint are persons who had been revealed to asbestos fibers a naturally sourced vitamin which was once significantly employed in the expansion and manufacturing industries.
Prior to its full do not allow around australia, you will discover already huge amounts of people who are relying on mesothelioma cancer cancer. On the list of noticeable motives was the use of a lot of mesothelioma mining websites in the usa. Depending on content released by Mesothelioma cancer melanoma Core, an assumed 10000 everyone has previously passed away from asbestos most cancers given that first 80?s. The dots per inch is expected to formulate to as much as 25000 yearly handful of many years. This screening machine is moored about the intensive reputation asbestos fiber use all through Australia.
Large quantities of residential and commercial companies preserved to obtain been created by using asbestos fiber-made up of components. Effects of Lung Cancer This scenario is exceedingly real designed for folks established before asbestos fiber mining websites were being let down and utilizing asbestos fibers was totally banned. Therefore, if you ever keep an eye on across the scenarios of mesothelioma cancer, you would probably realize that people who have labored in the mining internet sites have been people significantly afflicted with mesothelioma cancer cancer Symptoms of lung cancer malignancy along with other types of asbestos-triggered health problems.
Data revealed that about 85Per-cent of folks that have past away kind mesothelioma cancer most cancers are males. This evidently signifies that men tend to be liable to being determined while using illness being that they are greatly predisposed uncovered to mesothelioma of their offices.
In the final number of individuals discovered with mesothelioma melanoma, it turned out confirmed that 70Per cent from the fatalities occurred in men and ladies as their age group are 65 and over and above. Regardless of later years of large that happen to be saved, you will discover nonetheless speculations that massive as a consequence of asbestos fibers and mesothelioma cancer will probably impact youthful inhabitants. This is dependant on the simple fact you?ll discover residences and colleges that have been built by making use of asbestos-that Asbestosis Compensation contains roofs products, convertible top asbestos fiber floor coverings, and asbestos fiber concrete floor planks.
At the moment, these components are actually start to weaken in condition. It?s brought on the fibres to get air-borne. A growing number of Australians they fit at risk of battling unique asbestos-linked diseases, specifically mesothelioma cancers.
Qld is amongst the Aussie claims with all the ideal circumstances of mesothelioma cancers deaths. Should you be residing in Qld, you?ll find alternatives that the household might be designed by utilizing mesothelioma-which contains resources. Spare your household from the overall health hazards created by asbestos fibers fibres. Be ignored in the asbestos cancer malignancy stats. Get in touch with expert installers with mesothelioma removing providers.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Palestinian tax hike riles business, unions (AP)
RAMALLAH, West Bank ? Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has sparked a furor with a push to get Palestinians to pay more taxes and reduce reliance on the massive foreign aid that has kept their self-rule government afloat for a generation.
Long accustomed to minimal taxes, the most powerful groups in the West Bank ? private business, the civil servants' union and the main political party, Fatah ? are fighting back, including with threats of labor strikes.
It's unlikely weary donor countries will rush to the rescue. They've cut back aid, paying less than promised in the past two years and triggering a series of financial crises. The survival of the Palestinian Authority is key to any deal with Israel on setting up a Palestinian state, but donors have become more frugal because of the global financial crisis and paralysis in Mideast diplomacy over the past three years.
Fayyad says the showdown over taxes is as much about the obligations of citizenship as about balancing the books. "This transcends money and finance," Fayyad told The Associated Press.
The tax hike mainly targets the top earners, doubling the maximum rate from 15 percent to 30 percent. Business leaders complain that they're being burdened unfairly and are threatening to refuse to pay.
"We'll fight back," said Samir Hleileh, CEO of the $700 million holding company Padico, one of the largest firms in the West Bank. He argued that Fayyad's move will undermine his own policy of encouraging private investment as the main motor of growth in a fragile economy shackled by continued Israeli restrictions on trade and movement.
Fatah, the movement headed by Fayyad's boss, President Mahmoud Abbas, also opposes the tax increase, though Abbas himself has not yet taken a position. A leader of the civil servants' union, dominated by Fatah, argued that the tax hike will lead to higher prices for goods and services and eventually hurt the poor, still a majority of Palestinians, and a small but growing middle class.
"Everyone I know is against it , everyone I know is talking about it," said Omar Matar, a 28-year-old waiter in a Ramallah restaurant whose monthly salary of 3,000 shekels ($793) means that even under the new rules he'll only pay 5 percent income tax. Matar complained that living expenses are high, services substandard and that he is unable to save for a down payment for a home.
Jamal Muheisen, a senior Fatah official, said Palestinians cannot be expected to carry an additional tax burden as long as they live under Israeli rule, without a state of their own.
"The occupation is the main reason for our crisis. Once we get rid of the occupation, we will have no financial problems. In the meantime, the international community should handle this problem," he said.
Oussama Kanaan, a senior official in the International Monetary Fund, said donors should pay more and on time "so as not to force the Palestinian Authority to take fiscal measures that are too severe, especially given its already solid track record in reforms."
Aid started flowing when the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994, as part of interim Israeli-Palestinian peace deals that envisioned final agreement on the terms of Palestinian statehood by 1999. This and subsequent deadlines were missed as Israelis and Palestinians went through two turbulent decades, including repeated breakdowns in negotiations, two Palestinian uprisings and the violent takeover of Gaza by Fatah's rival, the Islamic militant Hamas.
Western and Arab donors initially hoped to underwrite peace efforts for just a few years but kept paying, in part because of fear that withdrawing funding would escalate the conflict. During the darkest periods, foreign aid was essential to helping the Palestinians survive, including in Gaza, which, though ruled by Hamas, receives almost half of Fayyad's budget in social services and salaries.
Still, donors paid less than promised in 2010 and 2011 for the day-to-day operations of Fayyad's government. Donors prefer to invest directly in development projects, such as roads and sewage treatment plants, and view such running costs ? the "pouring money down a hole" version of foreign aid ? to be less attractive.
In 2011 alone, donors contributed about 25 percent less than the nearly $1 billion promised for recurring costs in the $3.7 million budget, said Fayyad. The expected deficit in 2012 is $1.1 billion, and Fayyad said he needs to reduce that by at least $350 million, both by increasing revenues and slashing spending.
Fayyad said he's hit the limit in borrowing from banks and his government already owes the private sector hundreds of millions of dollars for unpaid goods and services.
"We just cannot continue like this," he said. Last year, major cash crises erupted repeatedly, including when Israel temporarily withheld the transfer of taxes and customs it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.
Fayyad has doubled the income tax rate for the wealthiest Palestinians ? those who earn more than 200,000 shekels ($53,000) a year ? to 30 percent, while those making more than 150,000 shekels ($40,000) are asked to pay 22.5 percent. The old tax regime was among the lowest in the region, and the changes don't hurt the poor and the middle class, he argues.
Hleileh, the Padico CEO, said Fayyad's policies are short-sighted and will lead to an economic downturn, after several years of growth, fueled in part by the easing of some Israeli restrictions.
Taking from the rich "means that less investment will be put in the market, less job creation," Hleileh said in an interview in Padico's new glass-fronted office tower, decorated with expressionist-style paintings by artists from Gaza.
"Less job creation means less taxes in two to three years, anyway. It basically means recession," he warned.
He said the tax increase will hurt Padico's 11,000 small shareholders and that a major foreign investor in the company is pulling out, in part over Fayyad's new measures.
Both sides are fighting for public opinion. The business community has taken out newspaper ads against the tax hike, while Fayyad has made his case on Palestinian TV and radio and in brochures distributed with daily newspapers.
Faced with the uproar, Fayyad has agreed to talk with the business leaders who say he should do more to cut spending, trim a bloated bureaucracy and find other ways to raise revenues, such as enforcing the collection of sales tax. Fayyad said he's open to ideas, but only if they don't burden the poor.
He insisted he's still on track for his ambitious goal of weaning his government off foreign aid for operating costs by 2013.
Nasser Abdel Karim, a Palestinian economist, said that under the current Israeli restrictions, the Palestinians will never be able to fund themselves.
"The donors won't abandon the Palestinian Authority ... and will provide money in critical moments. But the Palestinian Authority will always be in crisis," he said.
Women's Automotive Association Salutes 2012 Spirit of Leadership ...
Jodi Kippe, Crowe-Horwath; Cherie Watters, Puente Hills Hyundai; Audrey Zavodsky, Professional Racer, to Receive Top Honors
In recognition of their professional accomplishments and contributions to the automotive industry, three distinguished businesswomen have been chosen to receive the coveted Spirit of Leadership Award, presented annually by the Women?s Automotive Association International (WAAI).
?This year?s honorees are Jodi Kippe, partner at Crowe-Horwath,?a public accounting and consulting firm specializing in audit, tax, advisory, risk, and performance services; Cherie Watters, general manager of three southern California dealerships?Puente Hills Hyundai, Mazda of Puente Hills and South Bay Hyundai; and Audrey Zavodsky, PhD, professional race-car driver and head of human resources, leadership and professional development, for Ford Motor Company.
The women will be honored at the 13th?Annual Spirit of Leadership Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 4, 6:30 p.m. ? 10:00 p.m. at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards dinner, hosted by WAAI, is being held in conjunction with the 2012 NADA/ATD Convention.?Proceeds from the event will be contributed to the WAAI International Scholarship Program, which provides tuition assistance to qualified students pursuing careers in the automotive industry.
?The women selected as this year?s honorees have a proven track record of exceptional professional achievements and as role models and mentors in both the automotive industry and their communities,? stated Lorraine Schultz, WAAI founder and CEO. ?We are privileged to recognize these accomplished women.?
Founded in 1995, WAAI centers it efforts on recognizing the achievements of women in the automotive industry, providing networking and relationship-building opportunities, and encouraging growth through mentoring,??educational endeavors and scholarships.
For additional information on the awards dinner, including sponsorship and advertising opportunities, and to purchase tickets, visit the WAAI website,?www.waai.com. Or email to Lori Sousa, event coordinator,?lsousa@dealerriskservices.com.
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