Reforms Could Combat Rising Student Loan Defaults

The most recent student loan default rates released by the Department of Education show that sadly, but not surprisingly, default rates rose for the sixth year in a row.

Each default is not an abstraction, but a person experiencing personal distress and real financial hardship. Much of this is needless, because small tweaks to already existing programs could go a long way toward eliminating it, in the Student Loan Ranger's opinion.

The cohort default rates measure the percentage of a school's borrowers who default on their loans over a specified period of time. The two-year rates measure the percentage of borrowers who enter repayment on their federal student loans during a particular federal fiscal year and default prior to the end of the next fiscal year.

The more accurate three-year rates - which Congress mandated as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 - calculate the percentage of defaults prior to the end of the second fiscal year after borrowers enter repayment.

[Get information on student loan repayment options.]

Starting next year, only the three-year rates will be calculated. But in the meantime, the Department of Education is releasing both sets of rates. Both indicate that borrower distress is still rising, with the two-year rate rising from 9.1 percent in fiscal year 2010 to 10 percent in 2011 and the three-year rate rising from 13.4 percent in fiscal year 2009 to 14.7 percent in 2010.

The department's rates also put numbers on the human toll. The three-year default rates indicate that 600,545 borrowers who entered repayment in 2010 defaulted before the end of 2012. That's more than half a million borrowers who are facing some of the consequences of defaulting on federal student loans, including seizure of tax refunds, garnishment of wages and the partial taking - without a court order - of Social Security payments.

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The Student Loan Ranger argues it is imperative that Congress take affirmative steps to end this needless misery. It should begin, as President Barack Obama has requested, by allowing all borrowers to enroll in Pay As You Earn, the new income-driven repayment plan that caps payments at 10 percent of a borrower's income and provides for forgiveness after 20 years.

Congress should then require all federal student loan servicers to personally contact borrowers who are delinquent, in a hardship deferment or in forbearance and offer to enroll them in Pay As You Earn. This should help greatly reduce the number of defaults.

After accomplishing this, Congress can get to work on the more complex job of simplifying student loans.

Of course, the default rate is also a way to ensure institutions of higher education are held to a level of accountability. Starting in 2014, institutions where 30 percent or more of borrowers default for three consecutive years or where the default rate exceeds 40 percent in the most recent three-year period will lose their eligibility for federal financial aid. As the Chronicle of Higher Education reports, 104 institutions are on track for sanctions next year.

[Learn how to take control of your student loan debt.]

This accountability would be lost if at-risk borrowers are enrolling in highly protective income-driven repayment plans like Pay As You Earn and therefore are not defaulting.

However, there are other means of ensuring accountability. The Student Loan Ranger feels the president's plan to tie college financial aid to performance should be pursued with vigor. And the Department of Education's revised gainful employment rules, under which career-oriented programs would lose the ability to receive federal student aid if graduates' debt-to-income and debt-to-discretionary-income ratios are too high, should be extended to all institutions of higher education.

These could increase accountability for institutions while providing much needed protections for millions of suffering borrowers.

Isaac Bowers is a senior program manager in the Communications and Outreach unit, responsible for Equal Justice Works's educational debt relief initiatives. An expert on educational debt relief, Bowers conducts monthly webinars for a wide range of audiences; advises employers, law schools, and professional organizations; and works with Congress and the Department of Education on federal legislation and regulations. Prior to joining Equal Justice Works, he was a fellow at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP in San Francisco. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/reforms-could-combat-rising-student-loan-defaults-151122476.html
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'War' ends, park service Gettysburg ceremony next

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) ? Sweat soaking their wool uniforms, the Union and Confederate soldiers met near the stone wall to exchange handshakes, pleasantries and even a few jokes.

On this warm, sticky Sunday afternoon, both the North and the South went home happy after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Thousands of Civil War buffs recreated the Confederate Army's ill-fated Pickett's Charge to end the first of two massive re-enactments held in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War's pivotal conflict.

But the events to remember the battle that took place July 1-3, 1863 are far from over. The National Park Service holds its commemoration ceremony Sunday night, followed by a procession to Soldiers National Cemetery. The graves of the Union dead were to be adorned with luminarias.

Up to 10,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died at Gettysburg, considered the war's turning point after federal soldiers rebuffed what had been the northernmost advance of the South.

"This has been unbelievable. The scale of it and the intensity of those men must have gone through," said Union re-enactor William Hincks, 40, of East Hampton, Conn. "It's intense without flying lead."

More than 200,000 visitors were expected to swarm the south-central Pennsylvania town of roughly 7,500 residents over the 10-day milestone anniversary period ending July 7. Organizers said things were going smoothly so far.

A different group is holding a second re-enactment, described by local organizers as even larger in scale, set to begin on Independence Day. Re-enactments are held on private properties, miles from the actual battlefield.

In between, the Park Service hosts most of the spotlight events on the actual anniversary days of battle, including popular battlefield historical tours led by rangers.

"We expect to be ramping up as we head into July 1," said Carl Whitehill, spokesman for the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The re-enactment at the end of the week is expected to be the big, big event."

Yet another opportunity to see Pickett's Charge ? the famous attack named after Gen. George Pickett, the Virginia-born U.S. military officer who went on to become one of the most recognizable names of the Confederate military.

The Confederate commander, Gen. Robert E. Lee decided to use Pickett's men to lead the assault on Union lines on July 3, 1863.

On Sunday, across an open stretch of grass as long as two football fields, Confederate re-enactors gathered in orderly lines and marched on federal counterparts as thousands of spectators snapped pictures and took video.

"I got total, complete chills when I saw the Rebel line approaching," said Jackie Ulloa, 47, of Atlanta, who cheered on a friend taking part in the re-enactment. "It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen."

That Confederate soldier who played "dead" but sneaked an iPhone out of his pocket to snap a picture? Not realistic.

For rookie re-enactor Hincks, Pickett's Charge was a chance to follow in the footsteps of his great, great grandfather, Congressional Medal of Honor winner William Bliss Hincks. Fighting for a unit from Connecticut, Hincks' ancestor grabbed the colors of a Tennessee infantry unit during the "high-water mark" of battle, which was also the northernmost advance by Confederates on Union soil.

In a bit of cooperation unseen during the actual war, the Connecticut group contacted the Confederate re-enactors portraying the Tennessee soldiers to play out the scene again with Hincks grabbing the flag. Kierran Broatch, 30, of Milford, Conn., also raced out with Hincks for the flag ? just like his great, great grandfather, John C. Broatch, did 150 years ago.

A proud Hincks has his great, great grandfather's sabre, too. It's highly unusual for a first-time re-enactor to be granted such a key role.

"It's history, you want to understand your family and your past," Hincks said when asked why took part this week.

Months of preparation later, Sandy Andrews, 55, of Hagerstown, Md., pronounced the scene a smashing success. He heads the group portraying the Tennessee unit.

"It worked to perfection," he said. "To be on the field with two descendants of the original men, you don't get more special than that. On this day, on this field."

___

Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/war-ends-park-gettysburg-ceremony-next-203853784.html

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19 firefighters unaccounted for in Ariz. blaze

YARNELL, Ariz. (AP) ? A fire information officer says 19 firefighters are unaccounted for while battling the Yarnell Hill Fire in a central Arizona community.

Mike Reichling told the Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/158NjWp ) that 20 firefighters were involved in a "serious incident."

The newspaper reports that one of the firefighters has been located.

The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office has notified residents in the Peeples Valley area and in the town of Yarnell to evacuate.

Roxie Glover, spokeswoman at Wickenburg Community Hospital, told The Associated Press that the hospital has been told to expect residents with injuries and firefighters.

Earlier Sunday, the fast-moving fire prompted evacuations of 50 homes in the Buckhorn, Model Creek and Double A Bar Ranch areas about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix.

In the afternoon, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office expanded the evacuations to include residents in the Peeples Valley area and in the town of Yarnell.

The wildfire also forced the closure of parts of state Route 89, the Arizona Department of Transportation announced. The department did not have an estimate of how long the closure would last but advised drivers to use U.S. 93 or Interstate 17 as alternate routes.

The Red Cross has opened a shelter at Yavapai College in Prescott, the sheriff's office said.

The Yarnell Hill Fire now covers nearly 2,000 acres, according to the newspaper.

The fire started Friday but picked up momentum Sunday as the area experienced high temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions.

About two hundred firefighters are now working at the fire, but an additional 130 firefighters and more water- and retardant-dropping helicopters and aircraft are on their way.

In another Arizona fire, a 2-acre blaze that started at a motorcycle salvage yard and spread to a trailer park has destroyed five mobile homes in the Gila County community of Rye, located more than 130 miles east of Yarnell.

Gila County Health and Emergency Services Director Michael O'Driscoll said no one was injured in Rye.

The fire was ignited Saturday night at All Bikes Sales located off Highway 87. It spread to neighboring federal Forest Service land but was fully contained within 12 hours of its start.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Seven adults and two children were staying at a shelter set up for people who were evacuated, the Red Cross said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/firefighters-unaccounted-battling-ariz-blaze-020159739.html

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Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy in Canada

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? A Christian girl who was accused of burning Islam's holy book in a case that focused international attention on Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws was forced to move to Canada over security concerns, her lawyer said Saturday.

The girl left Pakistan with her parents, three sisters and a brother on March 14, attorney Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said.

A Muslim cleric who lobbied for her release, Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, said she had been facing threats and was moving constantly.

"I am sad that this innocent girl had to leave Pakistan. She had been acquitted by the court, and despite that it was not possible for her to live freely," he said.

Canada's immigration service said privacy concerns prevented them from saying whether she was in the country.

The girl was arrested in August in Islamabad after a Muslim cleric accused her of burning the Quran.

The cleric was later accused of fabricating evidence, and the girl was acquitted.

The case received attention in part because of her young age and questions about her mental abilities. An official medical report at the time put her age at 14 although some of her supporters said she was as young as 11. The medical report also said her mental state did not correspond with her age.

The Associated Press is withholding the girl's name because it does not generally identify underage suspects.

Even though the case against her was thrown out, people accused of blasphemy in Pakistan are often subject to vigilante justice. Mobs have been known to attack and kill people accused of blasphemy, and two prominent politicians who have discussed changes to the blasphemy laws have been killed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-29-Pakistan/id-ac6f94c11e934b4789da423efecaad59

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Reinventing The Games Console Half Way Won't Work - TechCrunch

Editor?s note:?Tadhg Kelly is a veteran game designer, creator of leading game design blog?What Games Are?and creative director of Jawfish Games. You can follow him on Twitter?here.

In some ways you?ve got to feel bad for Microsoft. The company has spent years trying to find ways to expand its Xbox idea. It put together a very interesting camera peripheral that many people bought into, but not too many games. It?s tried, on several occasions, to use the games console as a way to win access into the living room. Yet now it?s at the point of having to roll back many of its big ideas because the market reacted so negatively. The company has run into a hard truth: In the minds of the market ?console? means something specific, and is not inclined to expand its thinking.

In essence what Microsoft wanted to do was similar to what Apple did for phones. Long before iPhones there were many years of terrible feature phones. They had Java games, shambolic web interfaces and data plans that charged per megabyte. They?stuck resolutely to sticky keys and small screens, and at best some of them had styluses that pretended to be able to recognize handwriting.?Apple managed to leapfrog that mess by reinventing how it controlled, how it looked and what it felt like. Mobile phones went from being cellular devices to something else, something with sexy touch-screen effects and whatnot, and that in turn opened the door to many other innovations.

That, in essence, was Microsoft?s big idea with Kinect. If the company could redefine control to be much broader than stuffy old joypads, then that opened the door to lots of other avenues. In a sense it was trying to take ?console? into the realm of ?smartconsole? but it had an unwillingness to really go for that. Like Sony and Sega before it, Microsoft has attempted to achieve its vision by expanding the metaphor of what ?console? is supposed to mean rather than defining a new type of product from the ground up. And the market has yet again said no.

Unlike in the computing space where one machine acts as arbiter and translator of all content toward multiple screens, the living room has never really been able to unify. We have several smaller devices that all plug into one big screen. And often they have duplicate functions.?The games console seems like it should solve that. It should be a point of access for content and functionality, roles already filled by computers but in the living room.?So much more could be brought to the living room?if only the audience would get behind that idea. Throw out all your confusing boxes, it seems to say. Bring back some sanity to your life. One box to rule them all and make your life elegant.

Yet no company can really get there. No one company can strike deals with all cable-box makers to essentially cut them out of a key part of their value chain. Nobody is yet able to convince television manufacturers to get behind one standard control method. And since that means there will always be fragmentation,?players really just want consoles to play games. They view consoles as essentially gaming CD players, and preferably cheap ones at that, and steadfastly refuse to buy into the bigger picture.

Their resistance is with good reason:?Transitioning from cheaper many-box to expensive one-box means giving up a lot. It means forfeiting the chance to play games on other systems. It means disconnecting from a pre-existing media service and converting or dumping a lot of material in the process. (Could you ever see iTunes on your Xbox?) The argument has not yet been made strongly enough to the market that the trade-off is worth doing. While smartphones show that dramatic evolution is possible,?a platform holder like Microsoft needs to go much further than it already has if it?s going to change how gamers think.

Several commenters have lamented that Microsoft?s recent reversal on DRM is caused by players being short-sighted, putting immediate value (used games) ahead of long-term potential gains (digital connectedness). To me this reflects a key dissonance.?It?s rare that the market gets educated, and instead much more common that it gets fixated on an idea of what a product category is. It hears ?PC? and it thinks ?powerful desktop computer.? It hears ?console? and it thinks ?shiny games deck.? It sees one sort of trying to act like the other and resists. No no, it says. The device is supposed to be like this.

Even though every PC, smartphone and tablet in the world has a front-facing camera, for example, the market finds something weird about consoles doing likewise because that doesn?t seem to add much to what it believes??shiny games deck? is supposed to be. Even though Nintendo has a great idea for how second screen gaming could work, the market fundamentally regards it askance. A shiny games deck is supposed to be about joypads and such. The tribe only understands ?console? as one thing and is only really interested in features that bolster that vision. All else is viewed with suspicion.

There?s some kind of smart-TV idea trying to be born at Microsoft, an interesting technology which seems just out of reach. There?s something to its Minority-Report-esque idea of swiping, swishing and talking to your television. There?s some notion in the middle of that with tablets and interactions and second screens.?But to get there needs a deep reinvention, and the road toward it does not lead through changing everyone?s minds about the meaning of ?console.? Instead it needs to be a new product, even a whole new category, and its adoption has to go slow.

Rather than adapting a product into something that is complicated, confusing and suspicious, the right approach would be to create something new. One example would be a Kinect standard that could be licensed to television makers and integrated into sets. A standalone camera, irrespective of gaming, that perhaps makes all sorts of remote control tasks easier. And not called ?Xbox? at all. Not called ?console? either.?Or, if the vision mandates that gaming still be involved, a gaming deck that gets beyond the joypad.

Much as the iPhone managed to sell itself by walking away from keypads, arguably the gaming machine that moves beyond ?console? as a product category needs to move beyond the joypad. This is very hard to do. Nintendo almost managed it with Wii before running out of steam and then trying to create a joypad/tablet combo that few people really like.?Kinect tried too, but gestural games are somewhat limited in their scope. Perhaps through SmartGlass or some haptic variant of that in combination with Kinect, Microsoft could get us all into the idea of a new product category like ?smartconsole.?

Or maybe the reason that this product struggles to come to life is simply that there is no place for it. There isn?t anything fundamentally wrong with the games console as a device.?If you like to shoot stuff, jump on platforms, race, and play sports or roleplaying games, the console form factor that we have right now does that. All of the sector?s problems are about how it runs as a business rather than a form factor (which is why microconsoles are a big deal, as they primarily innovate on the business).?Much like the computer or the car, the form factor for doing all those things has not significantly changed in 30 years ? and there?s precious little need for them to.

Blaming the market is all well and good, but there?s no reason for it to change its idea about what a games console is.?And that?s a hard truth. That?s the sort of truth that makes games executives depressed. That?s the kind of truth that, after years of working on grand visions game makers often realize (and become bitter about) that they have to lower themselves back down into the muck. Rather than change the fundamentals the market consistently tells game makers to lean in. Make it bigger. Make it better. Make it play well. Make it feel right. Make it cool. Make it, you know, a great game. That?s all the gaming market cares about, and as yet no one?s made a compelling case for it to think differently.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/23/reinventing-the-console/

Kenny Vaccaro

Eat Away Your Carbon Footprint With This Eco-Friendly Edible Spoon

The idea of an edible utensil isn't exactly new, but nothing's been quite as convenient (and non-sticky) as Triangle Tree's brilliant if not entirely appetizing-appearing Eco-Spoon. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/H6G_RJ5KnkQ/eat-away-your-carbon-footprint-with-this-eco+friendly-edible-spoon

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Kebede wins London Marathon amid tight security

LONDON (AP) ? Tsegaye Kebede claimed a second London Marathon title on Sunday, cheered through the streets by thousands of spectators reassured by enhanced security at the first major race since the twin bombings at the Boston event.

A race that started with tributes to the Boston victims with a moment of silence ended with a thrilling conclusion under clear blue skies.

With a black ribbon pinned to his chest, Kebede chased down Emmanuel Mutai in the closing stages, and overtook the tiring Kenyan to cross the line first in front of Buckingham Palace.

Kebede clocked 2 hours, 6 minutes and 15 seconds to emulate his 2010 triumph in London, while compatriot Ayele Abshero was third.

The victory in the British capital came after Kebede was denied a shot at glory here at the Olympics last year after being overlooked by Ethiopian selectors.

The women's race saw Olympic silver medalist Priscah Jeptoo go one better in the annual London race.

The Kenyan cruised over the line in 2:20:15 seconds, the fastest time this year, ahead of compatriot Edna Kiplagat, while Yukiko Akaba of Japan was third.

"Today I'm very, very happy, I couldn't believe I could be the winner," Jeptoo told the BBC. "It is a very tough race because everybody who comes here is really prepared."

It was a miserable day for Olympic champion Tiki Gelana, who finished 16th after seeing her hopes thwarted by a collision about a third of the way in.

The Ethiopian collided with Canadian wheelchair racer Josh Cassidy as she went to get a drink.

"Every year we come to overtake the women, there's 10 chairs going at 20 mph and the poor women are scrambling to find their feet," said Cassidy, who finished 20th. "I have a brand new $2,000 pair of wheels that are damaged, who's going to pay for them? Things have to change."

It was the one blot on a day marked by the defiance of athletes and spectators in the bright London sunshine in a difficult week for the athletics community.

The specter of the bombings near to the Boston Marathon finish line, which killed three people and injured more than 180, loomed in London.

And it was apt that Tatyana McFadden, who won the wheelchair race in Boston just before the explosions, shrugged off security concerns in London to win her second title in a week.

London organizers pledged to donate 2 pounds ($3) for every finisher to The One Fund Boston set up to raise money for the bomb victims.

Before a minute's silence at the start of the marathon, event commentator Geoff Wightman urged athletes to "remember our friends and colleagues for whom a day of joy turned into a day of sadness."

Prince Harry mingled with the crowds and said he had never thought about canceling his visit following the bombings.

"It's fantastic, typically British," he said. "People are saying they haven't seen crowds like this for eight years around the route. It's remarkable to see."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kebede-wins-london-marathon-amid-tight-security-112244397--spt.html

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3 Places to Know to Understand the Boston Bombing

Chechnya

The two brothers identified as the Boston marathon bombing suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar, are ethnic Chechens who probably lived in nearby areas in Central Asia before immigrating legally to the United States. Because the region is known as a breeding ground for radical Islamic terrorists?Chechens have been connected with terrorist attacks in Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa?this connection will be a focal point of the investigation into their motives, if indeed the brothers are confirmed as the Boston bombers.

The brutal Russian suppression of Chechnya in 1995 and 2000 did two things: radicalize a generation of Chechans and spread hundreds of thousands of refugees across the globe. It would appear that these two were among the young diaspora from that conflict. Would the brothers have taken their grievances with them, or were they radicalized here in the United States? It's impossible to know, but it's probably a mix of both. The connectedness of the globe has ensured that anyone with interest can hear a terrorist message, become involved, research bomb making, and learn evasion tactics. You don't need to travel overseas to get terrorist training.

The brothers have been in the United States for many years, including their most formative ones. Dzhokhar, 19-year-old resident of Cambridge, Mass., immigrated legally to the United States as a child. He was on the high school wrestling team; one classmate told a local NESS station, "We didn't think he was anywhere near capable of anything like this?He wasn't a loner or anything." His older brother Tamerlan was 26 and may have had more direct experience with the refugee experience; fewer people are rushing forward to describe him and he has fewer public records.

It's easy to suppose that the older brother was not as well adjusted, and may have led his younger sibling into a radical path. That is all guesswork for now, but the reason this theory is easy to swallow is that it's familiar. Many terrorists are motivated by family ties, and cells routinely recruit family members because they are trustworthy and reliable.

Boston

The homeland security debate will be reinvigorated, and much of the talk will center on Boston. One area of interest is the use of video cameras, and this event showcases the uses and limits of current video technology. In short, camera are great for solving crimes but, as currently used, inefficient at preventing them. The pro-camera side will argue for even more cameras, possibly imbued with algorithms that employ facial recognition, or can alert law enforcement to anomalies like a backpack that has not moved for a while. In fact, the ACLU says, the camera network in Boston was installed with such upgrades.

But those enhancements would not have prevented the Boston bombing. Big crowds make smart video ineffective, and the brothers were not on a terrorist watch list (that we know of). The use of explosive-sniffing dogs, a more observant police presence, and a hyper-aware population are more obvious improvements.

Another part of the security debate is guns. The pair had access to firearms, killed at least one person with them, and got in a shootout with police. This could cast a national security shadow on the current gun control debate?however, these two would have cleared any gun checks that exist or are proposed. Expect the pro-gun advocates to argue that when terrorists run amok through the streets, carjacking vehicles, holding up convenience stores, and killing people, an armed populace could make soft targets a little harder.

Mumbai

The Boston bombings are reminiscent of the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India. And that's bad news. The Mumbai attacks involved bombings followed by a shooting spree. The attackers had no exit strategy except a violent death. It was a new way of pulling off terrorist acts, as opposed to hijackings and assassinations.

Terrorist attacks that come in waves are more complex to plan and require pretty steely discipline to execute. A suicide bomber is scary because he can infiltrate anywhere, but after that singe act, their part is over. In an odd way it's an easier attack to pull off, psychologically. A spree terrorist has a more aggressive, damaging outlook. These kinds of attackers will spread the chaos and fear as long and far as possible. The antidote for Mumbai-style attacks are heavily armed, quick reaction teams of police officers. The way to bust a cell before it strikes is a local police intelligence network of informants and surveillance. Neither of these are comfortable for the public in a democracy.

It may be that the Tsarnaev brothers had a poor plan, or none at all, for after the marathon bombing. But security forces must prepare for these organized waves of attacks.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/news/3-places-to-know-to-understand-the-boston-bombing-15367725?src=rss

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G20 gathers for debate on debt, monetary stimulus

By Jan Strupczewski and Anna Yukhananov

(Reuters) - Finance leaders of the G20 economies gathered on Friday to debate how best to rein in debt levels and the potential dangers from the latest round of aggressive easing of monetary policy from the world's biggest central banks.

They were also poised to demand swifter resolution to setting guidelines for financial benchmarks like the Libor interest rate in the wake of a global rate-rigging scandal.

But a rethinking of the austerity push among the world's biggest economies loomed as the biggest talking point. Advanced economies, particularly in Europe, have undertaken sharp austerity drives in recent years to curb growing debt, but those efforts have at times damaged economies already suffering from capital flight and under-investment from the private sector.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that a period of reduced spending and borrowing was necessary to calm markets concerned about out-of-control debt levels, particularly in peripheral European countries. That time has passed, he said.

"Decisive action was taken. Now as we have restored the credibility in the short-term, that gives us the possibility of having a smoother path of fiscal adjustment in the medium-term," he said.

Among the topics finance officials from the G20 were debating was whether or not numerical targets should be set for debt reduction.

The United States and Japan have opposed committing to any targeted level of public debt, but Russia - this year's G20 chair - has hoped to secure an agreement on targets by the time G20 leaders meet in St. Petersburg in September.

Arriving for a second and final day of talks among G20 finance officials, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters on Friday that the discussion was revolving a "general goal" for deficit reduction rather a specific target.

"Colleagues said that if we make strict targets for fiscal consolidation, it reduces the room for maneuver for fiscal policy," he said. "I believe we will find a compromise about the formulation, that it should be a general goal we'll all be striving for, and not a strict parameter. ... All countries will have different ones."

In a 2010 study frequently cited by policymakers, Harvard professors Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart found that on average, economies contract when the debt-to-GDP ratio surpasses 90 percent - a level G20 officials were discussing.

However, the study's results were disputed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who said growth for countries with those ratios was actually 2.2 percent.

The austerity argument has also been undercut by weakness in economies that undertook the most severe measures to cut deficits, including Britain, which is suffering its third recession in the last five years.

SPILLOVER CONCERNS

The unprecedented level of monetary stimulus designed to reinvigorate struggling large economies, including the United States, the euro zone and Japan, has raised concerns about excessive capital flight to developing nations.

In a communique on Thursday, the Group of 24 developing nations, whose ranks include Brazil, India, South Africa and Mexico, called on the advanced economies to "take into account the negative spillover effects ... of prolonged unconventional monetary policies including on inflation and the volatility of capital flows and commodity prices."

The Bank of Japan is attempting to end decades of stagnation by pumping $1.4 trillion into its economy, some of which is expected to find its way into emerging markets. Local currency funds have pulled in $16.7 billion in the first quarter of 2013 worldwide, the most in more than two years, according to Lipper, a unit of Thomson Reuters.

"There is a call from the G24 members to have clear coordination and better communication between advanced economies and emerging markets ... towards using coordination as a way to mitigate these potential asset appreciation bubbles. The consensus is that this is something that has to be closely monitored," said Mexican Finance Minister Luis Videgaray.

Videgaray has cause for concern.

In the days following the Bank of Japan's announcement, for example, the Mexican peso jumped 2.5 percent against the dollar to its strongest in 20 months. Against the yen, the peso surged over 9 percent.

But delegates to the gathering, including Siluanov, said the BOJ did not face criticism during a dinner meeting on Thursday. "Everyone was understanding about Japan's policies," Siluanov said. "After 15 years of deflation, 15 years of no growth, they need to kickstart" the economy.

Nevertheless, officials held to their previous line that the BOJ program must stick to domestic targets.

Jens Weidmann, president of Germany's Bundesbank central bank, said Japan should not use its monetary policy to manipulate exchange rates and set off a round of competitive devaluations.

The G20 finance ministers and central bankers are due to release their formal communique around midday on Friday. They plan to task the Financial Stability Board, a coordinating body of global financial regulators, with overseeing the reform of financial benchmarks such as Libor, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Thursday.

An early draft of a communique G20 asks the FSB to take on the role after a global interest rate-rigging scandal that involved some of the world's largest banks.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions came out with a report this week saying that financial benchmarks should be based on actual transactions rather than estimates, such as is the case with Libor.

(Additional reporting by Louise Egan, Krista Hughes and Douwe Midema; Writing by David Gaffen; Editing by Dan Burns and Tim Ahmann)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/debt-levels-big-monetary-stimulus-tap-g20-051914375--business.html

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Pink Floyd album cover designer dies at 69

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY

Storm Thorgerson, the Engish album-cover designer most famous for his iconic work with Pink Floyd, died Thursday after battling cancer, his family announced. He was 69.

Yui Mok / AP file

Storm Thorgerson stands next to his album cover artwork for Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" at a 2008 art exhibit.

"His ending was peaceful and he was surrounded by family and friends," Thorgerson's family said in a statement. "He had been ill for some time with cancer though he had made a remarkable recovery from his stroke in 2003."

Pink Floyd members remembered him on the band's official website. Drummer Nick Mason described Thorgerson as a "scourge of management, record companies and album sleeve printers; champion of bands, music, great ideas and high, sometimes infuriatingly high, standards."

Mason also described Thorgerson as a "tireless worker?right up to the end," saying, "Two days before he passed away, and by then completely exhausted, he was still demanding approval for art work and haranguing his loyal assistants."

Capital Records

He went on to praise the designer as a "dear friend to all of us, our children, our wives (and the exes). Endlessly intellectual and questioning. Breathtakingly late for appointments and meetings, but once there invaluable for his ideas, humour, and friendship."

Pink Floyd lead singer David Gilmour wrote on the band's site that he first met Thorgerson when the two were young teenagers.

"We would gather at Sheep's Green, a spot by the river in Cambridge, and Storm would always be there holding forth, making the most noise, bursting with ideas and enthusiasm," Gilmour wrote. "Nothing has ever really changed. He has been a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on and a great friend. The artworks that he created for Pink Floyd from 1968 to the present day have been an inseparable part of our work. I will miss him."

His work with Pink Floyd, especially the prism reflecting a rainbow that graces the "Dark Side of the Moon" album cover, was Thorgerson's most famous. But he also created album covers for bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Muse.

In 2011, Thorgerson told Rolling Stone that the idea of the prism related to Pink Floyd's traveling light show.

"They hadn?t really celebrated their light show," he told the magazine. "That was one thing. The other thing was the triangle. I think the triangle, which is a symbol of thought and ambition, was very much a subject of Roger (Waters)'s lyrics.?

Thorgerson is survived by?his mother, Vanji, his son Bill, his wife Barbie Antonis and her two children Adam and Georgia.

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/04/19/17827605-pink-floyd-album-cover-designer-dies-at-69?lite

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Dick Van Dyke, 87, suffers mysterious disorder

Getty Images file

By Ree Hines, TODAY contributor

Updated at 5:52 p.m. ET: Actor Dick Van Dyke has been forced to cancel an upcoming public appearance due to a suspected neurological problem.

The 87-year-old star was set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Bettering Humanity through Comedy from New York's 92Y on April 26, but a rep for Van Dyke told Entertainment Tonight that he wouldn't be able to make it due to "fatigue and lack of sleep resulting from symptoms of a yet-to-be diagnosed neurological disorder.?

92Y confirmed the cancellation in a statement to the New York Post.

"Due to a medical condition, Mr. Van Dyke is unable to travel to New York for the program,? the statement read.

There could be more cancellations in the future for the film and television legend. According to his rep, he's currently unable to attend any events requiring air travel.

"This is a guy that never gets sick. ... He doesn't smoke, drink or pop pills," Bob Palmer, Van Dyke's publicist, told NBC News. "Its very frustrating that doctors cannot find out what is going on."

But Van Dyke isn't leaving all of the comments about his condition to his rep. He's looking for answers about his health and reaching out to fans on Twitter for help.

"My head bangs every time I lay down. I've had every test come back that I'm perfectly healthy. Anybody got any ideas?" he wrote on Wednesday.

He later explained that the problem has been going on for seven years and that he's had "every test you can think of (CAT Scan, MRI, Spinal tap etc)," and that he also has "very low blood pressure."

While he's received plenty of feedback from fans, for now his ailment remains a mystery.

Nbc / Getty Images Contributor

Related content:

This story was originally published on Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:30 AM EDT

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/04/18/17810247-dick-van-dyke-sidelined-by-yet-to-be-diagnosed-neurological-problem?lite

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How GE is boosting its oil and gas portfolio

GE's acquisition of a Lufkin?significantly boosts GE?s oil and gas portfolio, which was worth $15.2 billion of its total $147 billion in revenues for 2012, Alic writes. Over the past three years, GE?s oil and gas segment has realized annual growth of 16 percent due to an ambitious acquisition drive.?

By Jen Alic,?Guest blogger / April 17, 2013

The General Electric (GE) logo is shown on a microwave oven at Best Buy in Mountain View, Calif. GE announced last week that it would acquire Lufkin, whose primary business is providing artificial lift technology used in almost all oil wells worldwide.

Paul Sakuma/AP/File

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General Electric (NYSE: GE) has announced plans to expand its oil and gas business by acquiring Lufkin Industries (LUFK) in a $3.3 billion deal that boost its market share for oil and gas equipment and strengthen its turbo-machinery supply chain.

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GE announced last week that it would acquire Lufkin, whose primary business is providing artificial lift technology used in almost all oil wells worldwide, and whose secondary business is industrial gears and bearings used in energy applications.

The acquisition significantly boosts GE?s oil and gas portfolio, which was worth $15.2 billion of its total $147 billion in revenues for 2012. Over the past three years, GE?s oil and gas segment has realized annual growth of 16% due to an ambitious acquisition drive. ?(Related article:?GE to Buy Oil Pump Makers Lufkin for $2.98 Billion)

For Lufkin, we?re looking at $1.3 billion in revenues last year, up 37% from the previous year. The $3.3 billion acquisition price tag on Lufkin represents about 13 times its 2013 estimated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to?Forbes.?

Spirited 8-year-old among Boston Marathon victims

This undated photo provided by Bill Richard shows his son, Martin Richard, in Boston. Martin Richard, 8, was among the at least three people killed in the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Bill Richard)

This undated photo provided by Bill Richard shows his son, Martin Richard, in Boston. Martin Richard, 8, was among the at least three people killed in the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Bill Richard)

This undated photo provided by the family shows Krystle Campbell. Campbell, 29, a restaurant manager from Medford, Mass., was among the people killed in the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 15, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Campbell Family)

Medical responders run an injured man past the finish line the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. Two explosions shattered the euphoria of the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

This undated photo provided by Bill Richard, shows his son, Martin Richard, in Boston. Martin Richard, 8, was among the at least three people killed in the explosions, Monday, April 15, 2013, at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. (AP Photo/Bill Richard)

"Pray for Martin" is written in chalk at a park near the home of Martin Richard in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston,Tuesday, April 16, 2013. 8-year old Martin was killed in the bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON (AP) ? Third-grader Martin Richard had just gotten ice cream and was near the Boston Marathon finish line, eagerly watching for friends to run by. Krystle Campbell was enjoying the race with her best friend, hoping to get a photo of the other woman's boyfriend after he conquered the last mile.

Then the unthinkable struck. The spirited 8-year-old, pictured on Facebook in his classroom holding a sign that read "No more hurting people," was dead, along with the outgoing 29-year-old woman and a graduate student from China ? victims of twin bombs that turned a scene of celebration into chaos.

More than 170 others suffered injuries that included severed limbs, shrapnel wounds, broken bones and head trauma.

Jeff Bauman Jr., a man pictured in an Associated Press photo being rushed from the scene Monday in a wheelchair, lost both legs. Rescuers took the 27-year-old to Boston Medical Center, where doctors found extensive vascular and bone damage.

"Unfortunately my son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," his father, Jeff Bauman, wrote in a Facebook post.

The younger Bauman, who had been at the race to cheer on his girlfriend, had further surgery because of fluid in his abdomen.

"I just can't explain what's wrong with people today, to do this to people," the father wrote. "I'm really starting to lose faith in our country."

While mourning the dead Tuesday, friends and neighbors tried to focus on positive memories of cherished ones whose deaths still seemed unreal to them.

"I just can't get a handle on it," said Jack Cunningham, a longtime friend of little Martin and his family. "In an instant, life changes."

Cunningham recalled how, as a pint-sized preschooler, the boy had insisted on getting out of his stroller during a 5K race in South Boston. As soon as his mom let him out to run with the rest of the family, Martin took off along the rainy race course.

"He was just having a ball, splashing in every puddle," Cunningham said.

The boy's father, Bill Richard, released a statement thanking friends, family and strangers for their support.

Richard's wife, Denise, and the couple's 6-year-old daughter, Jane, suffered serious injuries in the blasts. Their older son, Henry, wasn't hurt. Two neighbors said Jane lost one of her legs in the attack.

"My dear son, Martin, has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston," Richard said. "My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries. We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin."

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a family friend, said Martin and his family were trying to get over the race barriers and into the street after the first blast, when the second bomb struck.

"They were looking in the crowd as the runners were coming to see if they could identify some of their friends when the bomb hit," said Lynch, who has known the Richards for 25 years.

Bill Richard, a runner and cycling enthusiast who did not run the race, had to have several ball bearings removed from his leg, Lynch said.

On Tuesday, a candle burned on the stoop of the family's single-family home in the city's Dorchester section, and the word "Peace" was written in chalk on the front walkway. A child's bicycle helmet lay overturned near the front lawn.

At a nearby park, "Pray for Martin" was written in large block letters on the pavement.

Next-door neighbor Betty Delorey said Martin loved to climb trees and play sports with his brother and sister and the other children in the neighborhood.

"I can just remember his mother calling him, 'Martin!' if he was doing something wrong," the 80-year-old said. "Just a vivacious little kid."

A photo of the three Richard children on Halloween in 2009 showed a smiling Martin dressed as Woody from the "Toy Story" films, complete with cowboy hat and sheriff's badge. Beside him stood Jane, dressed as the film character Jesse, and Henry, dressed as Harry Potter.

"He had that million-dollar smile and you never knew what was going to come out of him," said Judy Tuttle, a family friend. "Denise is the most spectacular mother that you've ever met and Bill is a pillar of the community. It doesn't get any better than these people."

She recalled having tea recently with Denise Richard, a librarian at the children's elementary school, while Martin did his homework.

"What a gift," Tuttle said of Martin. "To know him was to love him."

Kevin Andrews, headmaster at the Neighborhood House Charter School, said the school community was heartbroken by the loss of the third-grader, whom he called "a bright, energetic young boy who had big dreams and high hopes for his future."

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Boston, said a Mass on Tuesday in Israel for victims of the bombing, archdiocese officials said. He also called the pastor of St. Ann parish in Dorchester, where the Richards attend church, to say he was praying for them.

Boston University said one of the victims was a graduate student who was watching the race with friends at the finish line, which is not far from the school. The Chinese Consulate in New York said the victim was a Chinese national, though it did not identify the student. A Hong Kong broadcaster reported the student was a woman from Shenyang studying statistics. The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported her relatives have requested she not be identified.

In nearby Medford, William Campbell described his daughter, Krystle, as the light of his life, "a very caring, very loving person."

"Daddy's little girl," the 56-year-old said.

Her mother, Patty Campbell, her voice breaking into tears, said the couple was "heartbroken at the death of our daughter."

"She was a wonderful person. Everybody that knew her loved her. ... She had a heart of gold. She was always smiling. You couldn't ask for a better daughter," the mother said. "This doesn't make sense."

Their daughter's best friend, Karen Rand, suffered a severe leg injury in the blasts. "She's very badly hurt. She's all messed up," William Campbell said. "Her leg was all destroyed."

A friend and co-worker at the restaurant where Krystle Campbell was a manager described her as hardworking yet fun-loving, someone who knew how to live life to its fullest.

"We'd go out drinking and she'd work a double the next day," Sheba Parent said. "But she was still career-oriented and focused on her goals."

____

Associated Press writers Bob Salsberg, Jay Lindsay and Pat Eaton-Robb in Boston, Katie Zezima in Arlington, Mass., Michelle Smith in Providence, R.I. and Michael Astor in New York contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-16-Boston%20Marathon-Victims/id-30d2cd07e59e4f629de873478ce11b59

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Bamboo Family Tree mystery finally solved after 5 millenniums ...

For over 5 millenniums, scholars have studied the bamboo plant: its growth patterns, its peculiar flowering cycles, how it interacts with other plants in its environment, its usage and potentials. The relationship among the lineage of bamboo, termed ?tribes?, was not clearly ascertained, until now. But a recent paper published in the journal of Molecular Phylogenetics and?Evolution?unearths the past history of bamboo with the help of DNA analysis, proves the most compelling evidence of the long evolutionary history, to date.

?Higher level phylogenetic relationships within the bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) based on five?plastic?markers,? is the title given to the new paper and is authored by Scot Kelchner; an associate professor of systematic and evolution at the Idaho State University?s. He is also member of a global research unit known as Bamboo Phylogeny group. Albeit the plant being relatively unfamiliar with most American inhabitants, its significance to the sustenance and the economies of the tropical nations globally is difficult to rate. In most third world economies, bamboo stalks offer a sturdy building material for homes, furniture, tools and a plethora of other innovative uses it, in paraphernalia, kitchen utensils and fencing. Bamboo plays a very vital duty in the fragile tropical Eco-systems, more so, the mountainous habitats and the cloud forests where the species is diverse. They have shown central importance philosophical and cultural history and art of china, japan, India and the greater part of Southeast Asia. This recently published paper remonstrate the huge contribution By the Idaho State University to the ken of vital bamboo plant collection, one of close to the heart of many communities in the world.

Kelchner and his professor colleague Lynn Clark, formed the Bamboo Phylogenic Group (BPG) in 2005 at Iowa State University. The group intended to tackle the unrelenting questions about bamboo?s evolution. The group consists of team of 30 research members spread in 12 countries in the world. Kelchner arrived at Idaho state university in 2004 with an experience in bamboo research and a chance to finally tackle his queries concerning the evolutionary process of these wonderful and fascinating grass species. ISU has, with time, become one of the biggest contributor to the world?s bamboo research albeit the harsh climatic conditions in the state, that provides a difficult environment for some bamboo species (none of the bamboo species are originally from this region) to thrive. Nonetheless, Idaho has made a favorable place to carry out the data gathering and analysis part of the project.

The DNA analysis is done using leaf material from the bamboo collected by members from remote distant regions of the planets including Indonesia, Brazil, Africa, India and China. Once the tissues arrives the at the university, Kelchner and Amanda Fisher, his doctoral student, begin to work on them, unveiling a substantial portion of the DNA Sequence and their consequent computational Data analyses from the study. With an elaborate and cautious scientific methods, the contrast of DNA from distinct species can clearly show a ?Family tree? of relationships known as a phylogeny. This newly found phylogeny can be interpreted as the guide to understanding evolutionary history of the Bamboo species. The phylogeny information coupled with more data can help researcher find the region and the period of origin from a given species, the changes that took place to the bamboo bodies with time, and the spread patterns of the bamboo species throughout the tropical regions of the earth.

The two major part of this research was greatly assisted by the Idaho State University?s MRC Facility which handled the DNA Sequencing, and invaluable input from Dr. Michael?s EGG bioinformatics Department, particularly, Dr. Luobin Yang, a bioinfomaticist who played an essential role in starting up and running Kelchner?s project Database. Madagascan sample proved hard to get, but all in all the paper was the first ever to include this species in its analyses. This implies that the paper is first ever paper to include the complete and comprehensive Bamboo genealogical relationship at the most intricate tribal level. They phylogeny includes a few tested stunners. Unexpected or new formed relationship unveiled from the study necessitated altering the scientific names for a number of Bamboo groups. BPG published another paper to accompany the new paper, making a valid scientific note for the new Plant?s nomenclature used globally for the Bamboo plant. For the very first time in a long time, a taxonomical classification that stabilizes the scientific names of the bamboo species at a higher level. This was the principle reason NFS Funded the grants that enabled Kelchner and his partner Clark, to create the (BPG) to conduct the study. There are 1400 species of bamboo that are indigenous to five continents globally, with more than 40% of the species occurring southern and the central America, a surprising fact, especially to us in north America who largely assumed that Bamboo grows mainly in Asian countries mainly japan and china.

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Source: http://newscience.com.au/bamboo-family-tree-mystery-finally-solved-after-5-millenniums.php

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Analysis: Beijing to US on North Korea _ talk

BEIJING (AP) ? Embedded within Chinese leaders' convoluted, yet vague statements to Washington about North Korea is a simple message: Talk with Pyongyang.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's weekend discussions with officials in Beijing offered up the usual encouraging but familiarly noncommittal language on North Korea, emphasizing Beijing's desire to strike a balance between easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula while not appearing to side against its prickly communist ally Pyongyang.

But while neither side offered details of their exchanges, Beijing is communicating its strong desire for some form of direct contact between the U.S. and North Korea as a means of defusing the ongoing crisis over North Korea's nuclear threats that have prompted a massive show of force by the U.S. and South Korea.

"North Korea wants to talk, so why not talk?" said Shen Dingli, a regional security expert and director of the Center for American Studies at Shanghai's Fudan University. The question for China, Shen said, is how to make such discussions come about, adding that China is unlikely to make such calls too explicit for fear of putting either side in an embarrassing quandary.

Highlighting the difficulties of getting North Korea to talk with the U.S., the North rebuffed last week's proposal by Seoul to resolve the tensions through dialogue. North Korea dismissed the proposal as a "crafty trick" to disguise what Pyongyang calls the South's hostility, and said it won't talk unless Seoul abandons its confrontational posture.

Chinese media reports on Kerry's Saturday talks largely downplayed North Korea, and the Foreign Ministry's official statements were predictably blurry. In its account of his meeting with Kerry, the ministry quoted Premier Li Keqiang as referring only to "those who stir up trouble on the peninsula only harm their own interests, like moving a stone only to drop it on one's own foot."

That was a near echo of President Xi Jinping's own comment in a speech earlier this month that "no one should be allowed to throw the region, or even the whole world, into chaos for selfish gains" ? seen as much as a rebuke to the U.S. and its allies as to North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un. The ministry's account of Kerry's meeting with Xi didn't mention the Korean Peninsula even obliquely.

While China has grown more critical of North Korea since the latter's third nuclear test in February, Beijing remains highly wary of pushing the hardline communist regime too far. China says it wants a Korean Peninsula free from nuclear weapons, but that all sides must play a role in that.

The stakes are high for China, with a potential conflict threatening its economic development and stability in the northeast along its long, meandering border with North Korea. Beijing abhors the prospect of a pro-U.S. unified Korean state on its border as well as internal North Korean conflict that could spark an outflow of refugees.

China was already displeased by Kim's lack of outreach and lack of concern for Beijing's interests, and signed on to tighter U.N. sanctions following the North's latest nuclear test in February. It's also stepped up customs checks along their border, slowed some deliveries of equipment to the North and cracked down on suspect financial transactions by North Korean banks.

That's had little apparent effect on Kim's behavior, and he seems emboldened by China's lack of a forceful response to past crises and Pyongyang's perceptions of China's fear of a collapse of the regime. While North Korea's population is starving and impoverished, the leadership gets by on Chinese food and fuel, along with growing investment, and imports of North Korean iron ore and other raw materials.

Despite that, it's not clear what, if any, further pressure China is willing to exert, and if Xi, Li or others offered any further commitments, neither side was saying.

"Theoretically, there is more that China can do, but we're very worried that doing so could stimulate Kim to do even more dangerous things," said Shi Yinhong, an international relations expert at Renmin University in Beijing.

"Be prudent, don't go too far" is China's message to Washington and South Korea, Shi said.

While direct Washington-Pyongyang communication may offer a start, the ultimate key to easing tensions long-term lies in involving the other regional players, said Zhang Liangui, a researcher with the ruling Communist Party's main research and training institute in Beijing.

That would mark a return to Beijing's preferred format of six-nation talks involving the two Koreas, China, the U.S., Japan and Russia, a process stalemated since 2009 over how to ensure North Korean compliance with denuclearization measures. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi again communicated Beijing's preference for the Chinese-hosted talks in his Saturday meeting with Kerry.

"This is not an issue for the two sides only," said Zhang, who is close to the Chinese leadership but said he had no direct knowledge of Kerry's meetings. "It concerns the entire region, so all the countries involved should take part."

China is not the only one suggesting a phone conversation between the sides. Flamboyant former NBA player Dennis Rodman made the same point following a bizarre trip to Pyongyang and meetings with Kim in March.

Both Kim and President Barack Obama love basketball "and there is even more they could talk about if Obama would just pick up the phone and call him," Rodman said following the trip.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-beijing-us-north-korea-talk-090502853.html

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At Least the Nanobot Apocalypse Has a Nice Soundtrack

The nanobots are coming, and hopefully they'll do more harm than good. but if they do decide to destroy the world, I hope it's even half as catchy. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/iuDLd9uOzc4/at-least-the-nanobot-apocalypse-has-a-nice-soundtrack

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World military spending dips in 2012, first fall since 1998

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Global military spending dropped in 2012 for the first time in more than a decade thanks to deep cuts in the United States and Europe which made up for increases in countries such as China and Russia, a leading think-tank said on Monday.

Big powers the United States and its European allies face tight budgets in an economic downturn and have scaled back involvement in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The world's second biggest economy China, however, is ramping up spending and registered 7.8 percent growth in 2012 from the year before, up 175 percent from 2003.

Military expenditure as a whole fell 0.5 percent to $1.75 trillion last year in the first decline in real terms since 1998, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which carries out research on international security, armaments and disarmament, said in a statement.

"We are seeing what may be the beginning of a shift in the balance of world military spending from the rich Western countries to emerging regions," said Sam Perlo-Freeman, director of SIPRI's Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.

Military expenditure in the United States, the world's biggest spender by far with a budget about five times that of China, fell 6 percent and stood below 40 percent of the global total for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 20 years ago, SIPRI said.

The United States pulled its troops out of Iraq more than a year ago and is winding down its war in Afghanistan under a plan for a pull-out by the end of 2014.

The Pentagon is seeking to cut hundreds of billions of dollars in costs and this month, new Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel warned the U.S. military to brace for a new round of belt-tightening.

In Europe, austerity measures prompted by the financial crisis that started in 2008 have forced NATO members to cut back spending by 10 percent in real terms.

"All the indications are that world military spending is likely to keep falling for the next two to three years ? at least until NATO completes its withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of 2014," Perlo-Freeman said.

"However, spending in emerging regions will probably go on rising, so the world total will probably bottom out after that."

RISE OF CHINA

Global military spending fell significantly after the Cold War ended, reaching a nadir in the mid-1990s, but picked up pace sharply after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The global total remains above the Cold War peak.

While the United States and its allies still account for most of the expenditure - NATO members spent more than a trillion dollars last year - regions such as Asia and eastern Europe ramped up outlays, SIPRI said.

In the works for China's military are new submarines, ships, missiles, a stealth fighter and aircraft carrier combat groups.

China has repeatedly said the world has nothing to fear from its military spending, but governments from Tokyo to Mumbai are worried about the capabilities and what appears to be the greater belligerence of China's military.

Over the past six months, China's stand-off with Japan over a series of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea has become more acrimonious, and has already led to calls in Tokyo for Japan to alter its pacifist constitution.

At the same time, Vietnam, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations have challenged Beijing over claims to swathes of the South China Sea that could be rich in oil and gas.

China is now the world's fifth-largest arms exporter, replacing Britain in the list of the top five arms dealing countries between 2008 and 2012, SIPRI said in a March report. Pakistan was the main recipient of its goods, the report said.

The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama says it is shifting its security focus to the Asia-Pacific region.

Military spending is up around 8 percent in the Middle East and North Africa. In a region transformed by popular uprisings and reeling from a bloody civil war in Syria, Western allies such as Saudi Arabia and Oman have accounted for much of the increase in their efforts to counter the strategic challenge posed by Iran.

In North Africa, countries such as Algeria have bolstered spending in the face of rebel threats, SIPRI said.

Russia's military spending rose 16 percent in 2012, which analysts said reflected President Vladimir Putin's efforts since he returned to power last May to bolster the armed forces and improve weaponry.

(Reporting by Niklas Pollard; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sonya Hepinstall)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/world-military-spending-dips-2012-first-fall-since-220456642.html

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Want Information About Personal Finance? Try These Great Tips!

Money alone will not make you happy, but having it can give you a sense of security. Money can help us get a good night?s rest and reduces stress in our lives. A lot of people have trouble managing their money. In a way, money can buy happiness and to find out how to shape up your personal finances, read this article.

Buying lean protein in various bulk amounts can help you save a lot of time and money. It will always save you money if you can buy in bulk as long as you are able to use all that you purchased. A lot of time will be saved by cooking everything in one day which will leave you with food for the rest of the week.

Avoid excessive fees when investing. Long-term investment comes with a variety of fees. These fees majorly affect your total return. Keep your investing costs down by staying away from funds with pricey management fees and brokers that take large percentages in commissions.

TIP! Don?t waste your money on get-rich-quick schemes or any other instant cash program. Too many Internet marketers let their desire for instant gratification cloud their judgment.

Sometimes your score will actually drop for no good reason. Don?t worry, though, you haven?t done anything wrong. Continue to add positive information to your report and your score will continue to rise.

Some people say that ?if you don?t play the lottery, you won?t win.? In fact, the only way to win the lottery is not to play and put the money in a bank account instead. This will let you save quite a bit of money over time instead of wasting it for no reason.

Find out if anyone in your family or amongst your friends has worked in finance, as they can give you great advice for your business. If one doesn?t know anyone who works in the financial sector, a family member who manages their own money well could be helpful.

TIP! In order to make your credit situation better, you will need to first get out of debt. You must cut back on your spending, save some money and pay off your loan and credit card debts.

Get the family involved in purchases that may be outside the household budget. If everyone in the family can benefit, like a new tv, you might be able to get your family members to help pay for it!

Use a filing system that is ongoing instead of waiting until the very last second to prepare the financial documents needed for income taxes. Keep all your receipts and other tax documents organized in the same place throughout the year, and you will be ready when tax time rolls around.

Pay Check

TIP! Make sure you always have a small envelope handy. Use it to preserve any receipts or business cards you receive.

It is important to live within your means and never spend more than you make. Those who spend all or most of their earnings will always end up living pay check to pay check, or worse, need to borrow constantly. Figure out how much you make, and spend less than that.

Opt for a spending account that is flexible. You?ll save money by not having to pay taxes on this amount.

Select cheaper and less popular brands. National brands often cost more because they need the money to advertise their brand. You can save money by buying cheaper store brands. There are very little differences in performance, quality, and taste.

TIP! Stay out of debt as much as you can. While you may need to get into debt for mortgages or student loans, try to stay away from things like credit cards.

Take a hard look at how you think about your money and make your financial decisions. If you want your financial situation to improve, you must first be honest with your own financial past. Create a list outlining how you think about materials or money so you can figure this out. By doing this, you can move on and form better feelings about money.

Real Estate

All debt is not bad. Think of some debts as an investment in your future, such as real estate investments. For example, owning a home or commercial real estate is generally tax-deductible in terms of interest on the loans, even without taking future appreciation into consideration. Good debt can include paying for college. There are many loans out there for students that have lower interest rates that don?t have to be reimbursed until graduation.

TIP! A sale at a grocery can be a good deal, but only if you get as much as you know you will be able to use. You will only save by stocking up on groceries if you eat everything before it spoils.

Be sure to stay on top of your credit report. You can look at your credit report absolutely free! Request a free credit report two or three times per year and look for charges you didn?t make, accounts you didn?t open, or other suspicious activity that suggests someone has stolen your identity.

Some people believe that by not doing maintenance on their homes and vehicles they are saving money. Preventative maintenance is necessary in order to take proper care of your possessions. By doing this you will save money in the larger picture.

When it comes to sound personal finance decisions, one of the best things one can do is to avoid debt altogether. It is acceptable to take out a loan for large, necessary purchases, such as a house or a vehicle. When it comes to the smaller, everyday expenses, though, credit is a bad way to meet your needs.

TIP! To make sure your credit cards are paid on time, set up automatic bill pay at your bank. Not being able to pay your credit card bill in full each month is not as important if you are at least paying the minimum on time to establish a good payment history.

Hopefully, you have gained useful information and insight into managing your finances, which will enhance your quality of life. Staying in control of your finances has plenty of long-term gains that make the patience, effort and upheavals required to fix financial problems worth it. These factors will help add to you having improved happiness.

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Want Information About Personal Finance? Try These Great Tips!

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