Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/rick-perry-disgusted-by-booming-business-cartoon/
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Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Scotty hits the bottle in a brand new Star Trek 2 featurette
How has Scotty been keeping himself busy since the last Trek movie? With whisky, of course. Simon Pegg brings out the booze for the return of Montgomery Scott, in this exclusive new featurette about the world's greatest starship engineer, and what he gets up to in Star Trek Into Darkness.
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Monday, April 29, 2013
NYC exhibition depicts ancient Buddhist caves
NEW YORK (AP) ? The China Institute Gallery has been transformed into an ancient cave, taking visitors back more than a millennium to a dazzling world where Buddhist worshippers adorned the walls with colorful frescoes, silk prayer banners and lavishly painted life-size clay sculptures.
"Dunhuang: Buddhist Art at the Gateway of the Silk Road" features a replica of an 8th century cave carved into the limestone cliffs at the edge of the Gobi Desert southeast of the oasis town of Dunhuang from 366 to about 1300.
It is one of 735 Mogao Caves constructed during what is known as the high Tang period (705-781), designed for devout Buddhists to gather and worship. Nearly every inch is covered in art, with a canopy ceiling resplendent in floral and diamond shapes. One end is filled with life-sized sculptures of a Buddha flanked by two monk disciples wearing luxuriously patterned robes, two bare-chested figures and two ferocious-looking guardians in military armor.
While there have been exhibitions that have featured individual pieces from the Mogoa Caves, this is the first exhibition in the United States to put all the elements of the cave shrines into context, said Annette Juliano, a professor of Chinese art history at Rutgers University.
It shows the "relationship between the architecture, the pictures, the subject matter and the (ritual) practices . the actual use of the cave, rather than just an abstraction," added Juliano, who visited the caves for the first time in 1980.
Many of the caves are exquisitely preserved but others are fragile due to neglect over the centuries and the conditions of the surrounding desert and sand dunes. To protect them from further erosion, tourist access is limited to several dozen caves a day that are rotated regularly.
The exhibition also features a 6th-century replica of an elaborate square altar called the Central Stupa Pillar that highlights the religious ritual of circumambulation ? an act of veneration ? in which the faithful walk clockwise around the altar that contains four niches, each holding a Buddha.
"Walking around the stupa pillar helps to empty your mind to allow visualization, to focus on the images of the Buddhas," said Juliano, who contributed an essay to the exhibition catalog.
Exact, hand-painted reproductions of wall motifs and story scenes complete the exhibition space in this gallery. Among the highlights is a Thousand Buddha pattern that covers an entire wall and is symbolic of the deity's omnipresence. Among the narrative paintings is the tale of the Deer King and his journey toward enlightenment.
Authentic silk prayer banners, a handwritten Buddhist scripture in near mint condition, a Yuan dynasty fragment of a mathematical document, small clay figurines, Persian silver coins that bear witness to foreign travelers on the Silk Road, patterned floor tiles and oil lamps used to light the dark caves round out the small two-gallery exhibition.
The Mogao Cave shrines, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, were largely unknown in the West until they were discovered in 1900 by a Hungarian archaeologist, Sir Aurel Stein.
Dunhuang, located at the north and south crossroads of the Silk Road, was a strategic hub of trade and religion. Stein, who made several treks through Central Asia, had heard rumors of a cave room sealed in the 11th century containing tens of thousands of manuscripts, scrolls, silk paintings and textiles dating in Chinese, Tibetan, Sanskrit and other languages.
A local caretaker had uncovered the treasure trove after discovering a crack in the wall of a corridor leading to a larger cave. It's not clear why the room was sealed, but scholars speculate they were walled up to protect them from the threat of invasion from nomadic people.
Stein was able to persuade the caretaker to sell a portion of the material in exchange for money for the cave's upkeep. In subsequent years, almost 80 percent of the contents were taken out of the country by foreign adventurers. Today, the treasures are found in various museums and libraries around the world.
The exhibition, organized by the Dunhuang Academy, runs through July 21. A second exhibition in the fall will focus on paintings and sculptures by contemporary artists inspired by the caves.
__
Online: www.chinainstitute.org
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nyc-exhibition-depicts-ancient-buddhist-caves-063312779.html
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Boston suspects' father postpones trip to US
MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) ? The father of the two Boston bombing suspects said Sunday that he has postponed a trip from Russia to the United States because of poor health.
"I am really sick," Anzor Tsarnaev, 46, told The Associated Press. He said his blood pressure had spiked to dangerous levels.
Tsarnaev said at a news conference Thursday that he planned to leave that day or the next for the U.S. with the hope of seeing his younger son, who is under arrest, and burying his elder son, who was killed. His family, however, indicated later Thursday that the trip could be pushed back because he was not feeling well.
Tsarnaev confirmed on Sunday that he is staying in Chechnya, a province in southern Russia, but did not specify whether he was hospitalized. He is an ethnic Chechen and has relatives in Chechnya, although he and his family spent little time in Chechnya or anywhere else in Russia before moving to the U.S. a decade ago.
He and the suspects' mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, returned to Russia last year and settled in Makhachkala, the capital of neighboring Dagestan, where Tsarnaeva's relatives live.
During the past week, they were both questioned extensively by U.S. investigators who had traveled to Makhachkala from Moscow. They also were besieged by journalists who staked out their home.
Tsarnaev's family said last week that he intended to get to the U.S. by flying from Grozny, the Chechen capital, to Moscow. He and Tsarnaeva left Dagestan on Friday, but their whereabouts were unclear.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boston-suspects-father-postpones-trip-us-124041600.html
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In China and US, a values upheaval as economies slow
As the economy slows, Beijing leaders try to push a 'China dream.' In the US, the 'American dream" has shifted to a desire for economic security. The two global giants need watching as their values norms shift.
People walk along a pedestrian street in downtown Shanghai April 26. As China's economy has slowed, its leaders talk of a "China dream" to unite the country for a new era.
Reuters
EnlargePersonal values in a society, such as the levels of trust and hope, often determine the health of an economy more than government. That?s why it is worth watching as the world?s two largest economies, China and the United States, each appear to be adjusting the value norms that have sustained their prosperity.
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In the US, according to polls, the American dream has shifted from the pursuit of individual opportunities to simply seeking economic stability. This means trying to hold down a job as well as hold down one?s debt.
Credit-card debt has fallen since 2010 and the virtue of savings has returned. The Great Recession reversed the idea that increasing one?s debt is a guaranteed ticket to the middle-class lifestyle. According to a new Allstate-National Journal survey, more than half of Americans say there is less ?opportunity to get ahead.?
And a similar proportion doubt whether a college degree is worth taking on student loans. Only 51 percent of workers feel comfortable with their finances for retirement, down from 70 percent just six years ago, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Avoiding risk is apparently the new moral norm in the US. This downsizing of aspirations is a long way from the description of the American dream as first defined by historian James Truslow Adams in a 1931 book: ?It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.?
In China, the values upheaval is different. After decades of growth above 10 percent, the economy has slowed to about 7.7 percent and may stay near that level for a long time. Yet the gross domestic product per capita remains below $10,000. And people are fed up with rising income inequality, corruption, pollution, and unfairness in the job market.
Revitalizing and reforming the economy will be difficult. As a result, President Xi Jinping has tried to define a new set of economic values by coining the slogan ?China dream? last fall. But he hasn?t been very specific about what he means other than to use phrases like ?revitalization of the nation.? The new prime minister, Li Kequiang, only speaks of ?equal opportunities for everyone.?
It is noteworthy that the official phrase is not ?the Chinese dream,? meaning a dream for the individual Chinese. Instead, Mr. Xi has tied the interests of the Communist Party and the state ? or ?China? ? to any hopes of the individual. Managing social stability remains the party?s key concern.
?We must meld together the country?s dream and the dream of the [Chinese] race with each individual?s dream,? stated the conservative Beijing Daily. Political freedoms and government accountability are not part of the official dream.
In both countries, an economic slowdown has forced a serious look at how individuals and their values contribute to the general welfare. Yet each is doing it differently. China?s approach is from the top down, or government driven; America?s changes are bottom up as individuals adjust. Either way, the world cannot ignore this transformation of values in two giant economies.
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Deal of the Day ? Best Gear for Multitasking
Instead of a single product for Saturday’s Deal, LogicBUY has information about some of the Best Tech Gadgets for Multitasking. ?With increased work efficiency, we can get more done in less time, leaving more time to spend with our families and still have some time to work on our health. Check the above link for [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/04/27/deal-of-the-day-best-gear-for-multitasking/
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Homeland security chairman: FBI checking training angle in bombing
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday that the FBI is investigating in the United States and overseas to determine whether the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing received training that helped them carry out the attack.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is charged with joining with his older brother, Tamerlan, who's now dead, in setting off the shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs. The bombs were triggered by a remote detonator of the kind used in remote-control toys, U.S. officials have said.
U.S. officials investigating the bombings have told The Associated Press that so far there is no evidence to date of a wider plot, including training, direction or funding for the attacks.
A criminal complaint outlining federal charges against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev described him as holding a cellphone in his hand minutes before the first explosion.
The brothers are ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago with their parents.
"I think given the level of sophistication of this device, the fact that the pressure cooker is a signature device that goes back to Pakistan, Afghanistan, leads me to believe ? and the way they handled these devices and the tradecraft ? ... that there was a trainer and the question is where is that trainer or trainers," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on "Fox News Sunday."
"Are they overseas in the Chechen region or are they in the United States?" McCaul said. "In my conversations with the FBI, that's the big question. They've casted a wide net both overseas and in the United States to find out where this person is. But I think the experts all agree that there is someone who did train these two individuals."
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he thought it's "probably true" that the attack was not linked to a major group. But, he told CNN's "State of the Union," that there "may have been radicalizing influences" in the U.S. or abroad. "It does look like a lot of radicalization was self-radicalization online, but we don't know the full answers yet."
On ABC's "This Week," moderator George Stephanopoulos raised the question to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee about FBI suspicions that the brothers had help in getting the bombs together.
"Absolutely, and not only that, but in the self-radicalization process, you still need outside affirmation," responded Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.
"We still have persons of interest that we're working to find and identify and have conversations with," he added.
At this point in the investigation, however, Sen. Claire McCaskill said there was no evidence that the brothers "were part of a larger organization, that they were, in fact, part of some kind of terror cell or any kind of direction."
The Missouri Democrat, who's on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told CBS' "Face the Nation" that "it appears, at this point, based on the evidence, that it's the two of them."
Homemade bombs built from pressure cookers have been a frequent weapon of militants in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen once published an online manual on how to make one.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was an ardent reader of jihadist websites and extremist propaganda, officials have said. He frequently looked at extremist sites, including Inspire magazine, an English-language online publication produced by al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate.
In recent years, two would-be U.S. attackers reported receiving bomb-making training from foreign groups but failed to set off the explosives.
A Nigerian man was given a mandatory life sentence for trying to blow up a packed jetliner on Christmas Day 2009 with a bomb sewn into his underwear. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had tried to set off the bomb minutes before the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight landed.
The device didn't work as planned, but it still produced smoke, flame and panic. He told authorities that he trained in Yemen under the eye of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American-born cleric and one of the best-known al-Qaida figures.
A U.S. drone strike in Yemen killed al-Awlaki in 2011.
In 2010, a Pakistani immigrant who tried to detonate a car bomb in New York's Times Square also received a life sentence. Faisal Shazad said the Pakistan Taliban provided him with more than $15,000 and five days of explosives training.
The bomb was made of fireworks fertilizer, propane tanks and gasoline canisters. Explosives experts said the fertilizer wasn't the right grade and the fireworks weren't powerful enough to set off the intended chain reaction.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmaker-fbi-checking-training-angle-bombing-154952300.html
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Sunday, April 28, 2013
Maverick operator Digicel takes on the big boys in Myanmar
By Jeremy Wagstaff
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Cellular operator Digicel Group Ltd jumped into Myanmar early and big, hiring staff, funding local sports, negotiating land deals for thousands of cell tower sites and signing up hundreds of partners for retail outlets.
The strategy helped propel it onto the shortlist for a mobile license in one of the world's last mobile frontiers, putting an operator that ranks 65th globally in terms of customers up against giants such as Vodafone Group Plc.
Whether its strategy pays off or not, industry insiders say, Digicel, largely unknown outside the Caribbean and some Pacific islands, has shaken up a usually conservative industry.
"They have been a disruptive force," said Roger Barlow, a Hong Kong-based telecommunications consultant who has worked in Asia for more than 25 years. "Some of the big guys tend to look down their noses at them but they shouldn't because they're becoming a credible player."
Myanmar this month short-listed 12 consortia for two licenses it plans to grant foreign operators in late June. The government wants to expand mobile penetration from less than 4 percent to up to 80 percent by 2015-16.
While Digicel is up against behemoths such as Vodafone, China Mobile Ltd and Telenor ASA, several other big players failed to make the list - among them South Korea's SK Telecom Co Ltd and Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding SAE.
It's a vindication of sorts for Digicel's long-term approach. Business development director Frank O'Carroll led the charge into Myanmar in 2009. In early 2012 he persuaded the company to commit funds to build a local brand and prepare the ground so that if it did get the go-ahead it could roll out a service in a matter of months.
That entailed deploying hundreds of workers across the country to negotiate thousands of leases for base station sites, months before the government had even begun the tender process.
"There's not one square inch of the country we haven't been in," O'Carroll said in an interview in Singapore.
Its sponsorship of the national football federation has built brand awareness - of sorts. Lots of locals have heard of Digicel, O'Carroll said, though at least initially they were as likely to think it's a brand of battery as a cellphone operator.
It's a strategy, he said, that Digicel has been pursuing in much smaller markets for more than a decade.
"What we are doing in Myanmar is not unique to Myanmar," said O'Carroll. "The first country that Digicel as a company looked to get a license was Trinidad and Tobago. We did very the same thing. We were there, we leased the land, we rented local offices, we started a local team, sponsored big sports."
SMALL AND NIMBLE
Digicel has since set up shop in 31 markets, gaining 13 million customers. While none boasts a population above 10 million people, the company has taken on some major rivals, including America Movil SAB, Vodafone, Telefonica and Cable & Wireless.
"I don't think there's any fantastic science to it, but I do think it's our ability to move fast because we're small, we don't have this complex machinery that takes months and months to make decisions," said Vanessa Slowey, Singapore-based CEO of Digicel Asia Pacific, in an interview.
Making those decisions is Digicel owner Denis O'Brien, an Irish billionaire who first focused on small markets in the Caribbean after noticing that spectrum was being auctioned off in Jamaica. Eventually the Pacific beckoned.
Telecoms executive David Borrill recalls meeting O'Brien in his office after three years working for the incumbent operator in Samoa. "He went straight over to his library and opened the biggest atlas he had, turned to the Pacific and said, 'Tell me about this, where would you put an office here?'"
A few weeks later Borrill was back in Samoa, this time working for Digicel. The company bought out Telecom New Zealand's stake in the incumbent operator in 2006, and within six months had more than doubled its customer base.
Last financial year the company reported revenue of $2.5 billion, year-on-year growth of 14 percent and EBITDA of $1.08 billion, up 13 percent. It has 87 percent market share in Haiti, at least 75 percent in Jamaica and 92 percent of Papua New Guinea, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
"Digicel is very astute in selecting the markets it enters," said John Hibbard, an Australia-based telecoms consultant. "It has to be convinced it will win a reasonable market share."
When it isn't, it's prepared to abort. In East Timor, for example, Digicel went so far as building cell towers, and assured the government that if granted a license it could cover more than 90 percent of the population within four months.
But, Digicel said, the government dragged its feet and ignored advice to issue only one license. So when it did eventually win one of the two on offer last year, Digicel turned it down. "Why would we invest $50 million to compete with two other operators, for the 40 percent that is left? It's crazy. So we handed our license back," said O'Carroll.
Digicel sold its assets to the other licensee Telin, a unit of Indonesia's PT Telkom. The company broke even on its Timor investment, said Digicel's Slowey, without giving details.
Such an approach is at odds with the industry's more conservative approach, where investment decisions must be highly rational and based on certain outcomes.
"Digicel doesn't have the institutional memory of other telcos," said Rob Bratby, a Singapore-based telecoms lawyer with Olswang LLP. "It's an example of a company with a different mental framework."
SOROS PARTNERSHIP
Digicel, however, has not had a free ride in Myanmar. The government turned down its proposal in 2012 to set up a joint venture with the incumbent operator, Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications, in favor of an open tender.
That has meant facing the diplomatic and financial muscle of some of the world's biggest and best-connected operators, prompting Digicel to take on its own partners: Yoma Strategic Holdings, owned by Serge Pun, a powerful businessman who, unlike many tycoons in Myanmar, isn't entangled in Western sanctions. The other member of the consortium: Quantum Strategic Partners, owned by financier George Soros.
The Soros-funded Open Society Foundations have long worked with exiles, refugees and dissidents, according to its website. Last year Soros said he would set up an office in Yangon.
Digicel shrugs off criticism that it lacks the experience of working in big markets like Myanmar, arguing that it's harder to work in lots of countries, whatever their size. Among the shortlistees, only France Telecom SA matches Digicel in the number of markets covered.
"Whether it's the smallest country in the world you deploy in or the largest, it's still the same building blocks, still the same issues that you must go through," said O'Carroll. "A lot of those same things, whether it's Nauru's 9,000 people or Myanmar's 60 million, we think are going to be identical."
(Additional reporting by Jason Szep in Bangkok; Editing by Emily Kaiser)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/maverick-operator-digicel-takes-big-boys-myanmar-210540502.html
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New excavations in Sweden indicate use of fertilizers 5,000 years ago
Apr. 26, 2013 ? Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have spent many years studying the remains of a Stone Age community in Karleby outside the town of Falk?ping, Sweden. The researchers have for example tried to identify parts of the inhabitants' diet. Right now they are looking for evidence that fertilisers were used already during the Scandinavian Stone Age, and the results of their first analyses may be exactly what they are looking for.
Using remains of grains and other plants and some highly advanced analysis techniques, the two researchers and archaeologists Tony Axelsson and Karl-G?ran Sj?gren have been able to identify parts of the diet of their Stone Age ancestors.
'Our first task was to find so-called macrofossils, such as old weed seeds or pieces of grain. By analysing macrofossils, we can learn a lot about Stone Age farming and how important farming was in relation to livestock ranching,' says Axelsson.
Another aim has been to collect animal bone material -- or simply 5,000 year old food remains. The researchers know that pieces of bones from cattle, pigs and sheep can be found at the site.
'By studying the levels of isotopes in the bones, we can for example find out where the animals were raised, which in turn can give important information about their role in trade,' says Sj?gren.
The results of the first grain analyses have now been presented, and besides revealing that both barley and wheat were farmed at the site, they point to elevated levels of the isotope N15 (nitrogen 15). The elevated levels may indicate that fertilisers were used in the area of Karleby already 5,000 years ago.
'We will continue our analyses both in the field and in the lab, and are hoping to find more macrofossils. Hopefully we'll find some weed seeds, as they may help confirm that fertilisers were indeed used since the type of weeds found in a field can signal whether fertilisers or some other method was used,' says Axelsson.
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93% The Sapphires
All Critics (120) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (112) | Rotten (8)
The harmonies they strike in this reality-inspired charmer are sweetly sublime.
You could drive an Abrams tank through the film's plot holes, but you'll likely be too busy enjoying yourself to bother.
"The Sapphires" feels like a movie you've already seen, but it's nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable, like a pop song that's no less infectious when you know every word.
"The Sapphires" sparkles with sass and Motown soul.
Sapphires is hardly a cinematic diamond mine. But this Commitments-style mashup of music and melodrama manages to entertain without demanding too much of its audience.
A surefire crowdpleaser with all the ingredients for the type of little-movie-that-could sleeper success that Harvey Weinstein has nurtured in years and award seasons past.
You've seen this story before, but never pulled off with so much joie de vivre.
They can put a song across just like the Dreamgirls. What's not to like?
Exuberant but fairly formulaic.
Doesn't always mix its anti-prejudice message and its feel-good nostalgia with complete smoothness. But despite some ragged edges it provides a reasonably good time.
Director Wayne Blair -- another veteran of the stage show -- finds his footing during the film's many musical numbers.
Despite the prosaic plot and reserved approach taken by Blair, Briggs, and Thompson, it's tough to get cynical about such a warmhearted picture that strives to tell so uplifting a story.
A movie with enough melody and camaraderie to cover up its lack of originality.
Draining most of the blood, sweat and tears from a true story, this music-minded movie capably covers a song we've heard a hundred times before.
"Sapphires," which was inspired by a true story, is propelled by a strong sense of music's power to connect people and change lives.
Fires on all cylinders when it drops all pretense and allows its talented cast to simply belt out a series of pure, unfiltered slices of ear candy.
A rousing soundtrack helps to compensate for some of the historical embellishments in this Australian crowd-pleaser.
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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_sapphires_2012/
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Saturday, April 27, 2013
NKorea says verdict soon for American citizen
North Korean soldiers tour the park surrounding Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, in Pyongyang on Thursday, April 25, 2013. North Korea on Thursday marked the 81st anniversary of the founding of its military, which began as an anti-Japanese militia and now has an estimated 1.2-million troops. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
North Korean soldiers tour the park surrounding Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, in Pyongyang on Thursday, April 25, 2013. North Korea on Thursday marked the 81st anniversary of the founding of its military, which began as an anti-Japanese militia and now has an estimated 1.2-million troops. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
A North Korean soldier hurries along a sidewalk covered in fallen cherry blossoms in Pyongyang on Friday, April 26, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? North Korea says it will soon deliver a verdict in the case of a detained American is accuses of trying to overthrow the government, further complicating already fraught relations between Pyongyang and Washington
The announcement about Kenneth Bae comes in the middle of a lull after weeks of war threats and other provocative acts by North Korea against the U.S. and South Korea.
Bae, identified in North Korean state media by his Korean name, Pae Jun Ho, is a tour operator of Korean descent who was arrested after arriving with a tour on Nov. 3 in Rason, a special economic zone bordering China and Russia.
"The preliminary inquiry into crimes committed by American citizen Pae Jun Ho closed," the official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief report. "In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it. His crimes were proved by evidence."
DPRK is the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It is not known what sort of sentence Bae faces, but under North Korea's criminal code, terrorist acts include murdering, kidnapping and injuring the country's citizens can lead to a death sentence or life in jail.
In 2009, American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for trespassing and unspecified hostile acts. They were freed later that year after former President Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang to negotiate their release.
Including Ling and Lee, Bae is the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009. The other Americans were eventually deported or released after high-profile diplomatic interventions, such as by Clinton.
North Korea has expressed rage over U.N. sanctions over a February nuclear test and ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills, though analysts say Pyongyang's motive is to get its Korean War foes to negotiate on its own terms.
"For North Korea, Bae is a bargaining chip in dealing with the U.S. The North will use him in a way that helps bring the U.S. to talks when the mood slowly turns toward dialogue," said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul's Dongguk University.
North Korea and the United States fought the 1950-53 Korean War and don't have diplomatic relations. The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the United States.
KCNA didn't say when Bae's verdict will be announced.
North Korea's state media and the U.S. government have made little information about Bae public.
But his friends, colleagues and South Korean activists specializing in North Korea affairs said Bae is a Christian missionary based in a Chinese border town who frequently made trips to North Korea to feed orphans there. It is not known whether he tried to evangelize while in North Korea.
Officially, North Korea guarantees freedom of religion. In practice, authorities crack down on Christians, who are seen as Western-influenced threats to the government. The distribution of Bibles and secret prayer services can mean banishment to a labor camp or execution, defectors from the country have said.
Meanwhile, South Korea is pulling its citizens from a joint factory park in North Korea after Pyongyang rejected Seoul's demand for talks on the inter-Korean symbol of detente. The park was shuttered earlier this month after the North pulled its workers out of it, objecting to views in South Korea that the complex is a source of badly needed hard currency for Pyongyang.
__
Associated Press reporter Sam Kim contributed from Seoul, South Korea.
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Sea surface temperatures reach highest level in 150 years
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Public release date: 26-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
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NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Sea surface temperatures in the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem during 2012 were the highest recorded in 150 years, according to the latest Ecosystem Advisory issued by NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC). These high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are the latest in a trend of above average temperature seen during the spring and summer seasons, and part of a pattern of elevated temperatures occurring in the Northwest Atlantic, but not seen elsewhere in the ocean basin over the past century.
The advisory reports on conditions in the second half of 2012.
Sea surface temperature for the Northeast Shelf Ecosystem reached a record high of 14 degrees Celsius (57.2F) in 2012, exceeding the previous record high in 1951. Average SST has typically been lower than 12.4 C (54.3 F) over the past three decades.
Sea surface temperature in the region is based on both contemporary satellite remote-sensing data and long-term ship-board measurements, with historical SST conditions based on ship-board measurements dating back to 1854. The temperature increase in 2012 was the highest jump in temperature seen in the time series and one of only five times temperature has changed by more than 1 C (1.8 F).
The Northeast Shelf's warm water thermal habitat was also at a record high level during 2012, while cold water habitat was at a record low level. Early winter mixing of the water column went to extreme depths, which will impact the spring 2013 plankton bloom. Mixing redistributes nutrients and affects stratification of the water column as the bloom develops.
Temperature is also affecting distributions of fish and shellfish on the Northeast Shelf. The advisory provides data on changes in distribution, or shifts in the center of the population, of seven key fishery species over time. The four southern species - black sea bass, summer flounder, longfin squid and butterfish - all showed a northeastward or upshelf shift. American lobster has shifted upshelf over time but at a slower rate than the southern species. Atlantic cod and haddock have shifted downshelf."
"Many factors are involved in these shifts, including temperature, population size, and the distributions of both prey and predators," said Jon Hare, a scientist in the NEFSC's Oceanography Branch. A number of recent studies have documented changing distributions of fish and shellfish, further supporting NEFSC work reported in 2009 that found about half of the 36 fish stocks studied in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the past four decades.
The Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) extends from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The NEFSC has monitored this ecosystem with comprehensive sampling programs since1977. Prior to 1977, this ecosystem was monitored by the NEFSC through a series of separate, coordinated programs dating back decades.
Warming conditions on the Northeast Shelf in the spring of 2012 continued into September, with the most consistent warming conditions seen in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank. Temperatures cooled by October and were below average in the Middle Atlantic Bight in November, perhaps due to Superstorm Sandy, but had returned to above average conditions by December.
"Changes in ocean temperatures and the timing and strength of spring and fall plankton blooms could affect the biological clocks of many marine species, which spawn at specific times of the year based on environmental cues like water temperature," Kevin Friedland, a scientist in the NEFSC Ecosystem Assessment Program, said. He noted that the contrast between years with, and without, a fall bloom is emerging as an important driver of the shelf's ecology. "The size of the spring plankton bloom was so large that the annual chlorophyll concentration remained high in 2012 despite low fall activity. These changes will have a profound impact throughout the ecosystem."
Michael Fogarty, who heads the Ecosystem Assessment Program, says the abundance of fish and shellfish is controlled by a complex set of factors, and that increasing temperatures in the ecosystem make it essential to monitor the distribution of many species, some of them migratory and others not.
"It isn't always easy to understand the big picture when you are looking at one specific part of it at one specific point in time," Fogarty said, a comparison similar to not seeing the forest when looking at a single tree in it. "We now have information on the ecosystem from a variety of sources collected over a long period of time, and are adding more data to clarify specific details. The data clearly show a relationship between all of these factors."
"What these latest findings mean for the Northeast Shelf ecosystem and its marine life is unknown," Fogarty said. "What is known is that the ecosystem is changing, and we need to continue monitoring and adapting to these changes."
###
Ecosystem advisories have been issued twice a year by the NEFSC's Ecosystem Assessment Program since 2006 as a way to routinely summarize overall conditions in the region. The reports show the effects of changing coastal and ocean temperatures on fisheries from Cape Hatteras to the Canadian border. The advisories provide a snapshot of the ecosystem for the fishery management councils and also a broad range of stakeholders from fishermen to researchers.
The Spring 2013 Ecosystem Advisory, covering the fall of 2012 with supporting information, is available online at http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/ecosys/advisory/current/advisory.html.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 26-Apr-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Shelley Dawicki
shelley.dawicki@noaa.gov
508-495-2378
NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Sea surface temperatures in the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem during 2012 were the highest recorded in 150 years, according to the latest Ecosystem Advisory issued by NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC). These high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are the latest in a trend of above average temperature seen during the spring and summer seasons, and part of a pattern of elevated temperatures occurring in the Northwest Atlantic, but not seen elsewhere in the ocean basin over the past century.
The advisory reports on conditions in the second half of 2012.
Sea surface temperature for the Northeast Shelf Ecosystem reached a record high of 14 degrees Celsius (57.2F) in 2012, exceeding the previous record high in 1951. Average SST has typically been lower than 12.4 C (54.3 F) over the past three decades.
Sea surface temperature in the region is based on both contemporary satellite remote-sensing data and long-term ship-board measurements, with historical SST conditions based on ship-board measurements dating back to 1854. The temperature increase in 2012 was the highest jump in temperature seen in the time series and one of only five times temperature has changed by more than 1 C (1.8 F).
The Northeast Shelf's warm water thermal habitat was also at a record high level during 2012, while cold water habitat was at a record low level. Early winter mixing of the water column went to extreme depths, which will impact the spring 2013 plankton bloom. Mixing redistributes nutrients and affects stratification of the water column as the bloom develops.
Temperature is also affecting distributions of fish and shellfish on the Northeast Shelf. The advisory provides data on changes in distribution, or shifts in the center of the population, of seven key fishery species over time. The four southern species - black sea bass, summer flounder, longfin squid and butterfish - all showed a northeastward or upshelf shift. American lobster has shifted upshelf over time but at a slower rate than the southern species. Atlantic cod and haddock have shifted downshelf."
"Many factors are involved in these shifts, including temperature, population size, and the distributions of both prey and predators," said Jon Hare, a scientist in the NEFSC's Oceanography Branch. A number of recent studies have documented changing distributions of fish and shellfish, further supporting NEFSC work reported in 2009 that found about half of the 36 fish stocks studied in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the past four decades.
The Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) extends from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The NEFSC has monitored this ecosystem with comprehensive sampling programs since1977. Prior to 1977, this ecosystem was monitored by the NEFSC through a series of separate, coordinated programs dating back decades.
Warming conditions on the Northeast Shelf in the spring of 2012 continued into September, with the most consistent warming conditions seen in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank. Temperatures cooled by October and were below average in the Middle Atlantic Bight in November, perhaps due to Superstorm Sandy, but had returned to above average conditions by December.
"Changes in ocean temperatures and the timing and strength of spring and fall plankton blooms could affect the biological clocks of many marine species, which spawn at specific times of the year based on environmental cues like water temperature," Kevin Friedland, a scientist in the NEFSC Ecosystem Assessment Program, said. He noted that the contrast between years with, and without, a fall bloom is emerging as an important driver of the shelf's ecology. "The size of the spring plankton bloom was so large that the annual chlorophyll concentration remained high in 2012 despite low fall activity. These changes will have a profound impact throughout the ecosystem."
Michael Fogarty, who heads the Ecosystem Assessment Program, says the abundance of fish and shellfish is controlled by a complex set of factors, and that increasing temperatures in the ecosystem make it essential to monitor the distribution of many species, some of them migratory and others not.
"It isn't always easy to understand the big picture when you are looking at one specific part of it at one specific point in time," Fogarty said, a comparison similar to not seeing the forest when looking at a single tree in it. "We now have information on the ecosystem from a variety of sources collected over a long period of time, and are adding more data to clarify specific details. The data clearly show a relationship between all of these factors."
"What these latest findings mean for the Northeast Shelf ecosystem and its marine life is unknown," Fogarty said. "What is known is that the ecosystem is changing, and we need to continue monitoring and adapting to these changes."
###
Ecosystem advisories have been issued twice a year by the NEFSC's Ecosystem Assessment Program since 2006 as a way to routinely summarize overall conditions in the region. The reports show the effects of changing coastal and ocean temperatures on fisheries from Cape Hatteras to the Canadian border. The advisories provide a snapshot of the ecosystem for the fishery management councils and also a broad range of stakeholders from fishermen to researchers.
The Spring 2013 Ecosystem Advisory, covering the fall of 2012 with supporting information, is available online at http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/ecosys/advisory/current/advisory.html.
[ | 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/2013-04/nfnf-sst042613.php
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Curry leads Warriors past Nuggets in Game 3
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) reacts as Denver Nuggets' Ty Lawson watches, right, at the end of Game 3 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series on Friday, April 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) reacts as Denver Nuggets' Ty Lawson watches, right, at the end of Game 3 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series on Friday, April 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) lays up a shot against Denver Nuggets' Wilson Chandler, right, during the second half of Game 3 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series on Friday, April 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Denver Nuggets' Kenneth Faried (35) scores against the Golden State Warriors during the first half of Game 3 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series on Friday, April 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Denver Nuggets' Andre Iguodala (9) lays up a shot against Golden State Warriors' Jarrett Jack (2) during the first half of Game 3 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series on Friday, April 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) guards Denver Nuggets' Andre Iguodala, right, during the first half of Game 3 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series on Friday, April 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) ? Playing on a sprained left ankle, Stephen Curry has the Golden State Warriors on firm footing in the playoffs.
Curry overcame his latest ankle injury to score 29 points, and the Warriors outlasted the Denver Nuggets 110-108 on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead.
Curry also had 11 assists, Jarrett Jack added 23 points and seven assists, and Harrison Barnes and Carl Landry each scored 19 points to help the Warriors rally from 13 points down in the third quarter. Golden State still had to sweat out Andre Iguodala's missed 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded, setting off a gold-confetti celebration throughout the announced sellout crowd of 19,596.
"Feels good. Just thankful to be able to get through the game without any incidents," Curry said.
Ty Lawson had a career playoff-high 35 points to go with 10 assists, and reserve Corey Brewer scored 16 points as Denver dropped its second straight game ? and its grip on the best-of-seven series.
Game 4 is Sunday night in Oakland.
"There was a lot of good tonight," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "I told the team after the game, 'The process of the NBA playoffs is to get better. We got better tonight. We didn't win tonight. But there's a process going on, and it's just two wins. They're only halfway there.'"
The teams traded spectacular shots for most of the game, especially in the closing moments.
Curry crossed over Kenneth Faried, then dropped in a high-arching lefty floater. Curry added another on the next possession ? only with his right hand, and this time hitting almost all net to keep the Warriors up four.
Faried, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, followed with a reverse layup. A few plays later, Curry stole the ball from Andre Miller from behind and then nearly dropped in another floater as Wilson Chandler fouled him. Curry's free throws gave Golden State a 108-102 lead with 1:54 remaining.
After Denver called timeout, Lawson's layup over Draymond Green started a three-point play. Denver got a stop before Lawson's 3-pointer hit the front iron and Curry corralled the rebound ? but then missed a layup on the other end.
Twice given a chance to either tie or take the lead, Denver blew both.
Iguodala got caught in the air trying to make a pass, Jack batted it away and hit 1 of 2 free throws for a 109-105 lead with 21.5 seconds to play. Chandler stunned the crowd with a quick 3 from the corner, the Nuggets covered Curry on the ensuing inbound and Jack was called for a rare 5-second violation.
Klay Thompson and backup center Festus Ezeli trapped Lawson off a pick-and-roll, and Lawson dribbled the ball off his leg and out of bounds under heavy pressure. Officials confirmed the call with a video review.
After Barnes made just the second free throw, Denver inbounded the ball to Iguodala. He took a few dribbles and heaved a shot from around half-court, hitting the front iron and letting the home fans exhale.
The Warriors outshot the Nuggets 52.5 to 46.5 percent and won the rebounding battle for the third straight game, 42-34.
Golden State followed its 64.6 percent shooting performance ? the highest in an NBA playoff game in 22 years ? during its 131-117 win at Denver on Tuesday night with another gem befitting the Bay Area's basketball party.
Ushers and parking lot attendants greeted fans with "welcome to the playoffs." Almost every fan wore a gold shirt read "We are Warriors" on the front, and the 33rd straight sellout that packed Oracle Arena often yelled so loud even players had a hard time hearing whistles.
"I've never seen anything like it," Jack said.
Curry, who wore a large white brace around both ankles, made 8 of 17 shots and often provided reason to cheer in his first home playoff game. Warriors coach Mark Jackson said he didn't know if Curry had taken, or would take, a pain-killing injection as the guard suggested he might for the first time in his career.
No matter.
Jackson stuck with his smaller lineup for the second straight game since David Lee went down with a season-ending tear of his right hip flexor. Guards Curry, Jack and Thompson started alongside small forward Barnes and center Andrew Bogut, who had nine rebounds and six points and was a constant paint presence.
Karl countered with an even smaller lineup for Game 3: forward Faried started at center in place of struggling big man Kosta Koufos, Chandler was at power forward, Iguodala at small forward, Evan Fournier at shooting guard and Lawson at point guard.
The athletic Nuggets constantly swarmed Curry and Jack ? or whoever dribbled off pick-and-rolls ? with double teams as soon as they crossed midcourt, forcing Golden State into 23 total turnovers. Even with all the aggressiveness from both sides, the defensive nuances never slowed the frenetic and flamboyant pace.
Every time Curry lined up to shoot, the crowd's collective inhale could be heard. The silence was usually followed by a remarkable roar ? and until the final quarter and a half, often by another avalanche of Denver offense.
After going down by 13 points early in the third quarter, the Warriors answered with a 16-2 run capped by Curry's 3-pointer near Denver's bench. The shot gave Golden State a 74-73 lead and sent owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber jumping out of their courtside seats, screaming, clapping and motioning to the stands to shout even louder.
The Warriors outscored the Nuggets 33-18 in the third quarter.
NOTES: Bogut was called for a technical foul in the third quarter after a verbal exchange with Denver's JaVale McGee. ... McGee grabbed his right shoulder when he was fouled in the first quarter. He grimaced in pain but stayed in the game after a timeout. He had four points and one rebound. ... Lee was in a suit and often engaged in the huddle.
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Friday, April 26, 2013
AOL Music Is Dead
| |
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/i-iJvTsP7Qk/aol-music-is-dead
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And Now It's Time to Read Way Too Much into Apple's WWDC Invite
Apple sent out invitations Wednesday morning to its annual Worldwide Developer's Conference, and, this being Apple and its fanboys, the invite signals a lot more than just an official notice of a nerdfest this June ? it's thought to reveal details about the new operating systems for the iPhone and Mac computers. Just look at that thing up there: it's so... bright purple, and it is so shaped like an app icon. Last year's WWDC logo was bright, too, but it came in the form of a variation on the standard Apple apple ? albeit with squares inside, which signaled "Live icons" to some fanboys...
RELATED: All of Apple's Big News Today: The iPhone 4S
RELATED: Why Google Pays Apple $1 Billion a Year
But a rounded square with some texture around the outside? That's symbolic, of course. Maybe it has something to do with apps!?"These are in the shape of app icons, so it's possible these shapes indicate a new function of the iOS operating system," writes the very savvy John Brownlee over at Cult of Mac. This is a developers conference in San Francisco, after all, where Apple will talk about "new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC," according to Phil Schiller, Apple?s senior vice president of worldwide marketing. We don't want to jump to too many conclusions that WWDC will be home to announcements about apps or anything ? this is an event all about the software that runs?the apps ??but, guys, come on, the tea leaves are super vivid on this one.
RELATED: Apple's Big Event: Skinny Laptops, Smarter Siri, and Maps
Speaking of which, let's get back to those colors. Apple often uses this exact palette in its invites, but it's different this time because there's a totally unsubstantiated rumor that Apple might release some different colored iPhones. Of course, WWDC has nothing to do with hardware. But color is only way to extract meaning out of a one-page invitation to a conference. You could always?somehow connect?it to the Apple TV that's never coming!
RELATED: It Takes Forever to Download iOS 5 But It's Worth It
Oh, and there's that. Yes, of course?Its flatness must indicate a totally new design, clearly. And wouldn't that be something so much more exciting to look forward to than, say, a conference all about boring software updates? Especially when there are no new products coming until the fall, as Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed Tuesday night? Yeah, that'd be pretty exciting. The wait is almost over, guys. Almost.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/now-time-read-way-too-much-apples-wwdc-151035051.html
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These Stocks Benefiting as Rich Lavishly Spend at High-End Retail
Thursday, April 25th, 2013
By George Leong, B.Comm. for Profit Confidential
Spending on luxury goods appears to be back, and it?s full steam ahead.
Never mind the higher taxes on the rich and those earning over $400,000 annually; the more affluent members of our society appear to be spending lavishly in the retail sector.
Recall a recent discussion I had about the Shullman Luxury and Affluence Monthly Pulse and the fact that a majority of the luxury and affluent spenders are not influenced by the tax increases. (Read ?Higher Taxes: Who Cares? Not the Rich.?)
Well, guess what? Based on the results, high-end handbag maker Coach, Inc. (NYSE/COH) delivered strong numbers to shareholders, resulting in a surge in the stock?s price.
For the readers of Profit Confidential, I advised looking at Coach as a contrarian play in the retail sector after the stock fell to near its 52-week low.
The spike in the share price confirms this.
Take a look at Coach?s stock chart below. Notice the downside trading gap in January, when the stock plummeted to a low of $45.87 on February 24. The opening gap on Tuesday, as indicated by the blue oval in the chart, shows the jump and the move back toward the $60.00 level, according to my technical analysis.
Chart courtesy of?www.StockCharts.com
The thing about stocks like Coach and why I was intrigued by the prior valuation is the company?s strong global brand awareness in the luxury retail sector, which is critical. Companies, especially retailers, will always have bumps in the road, but as long as the brand is strong, buying on weakness when the masses of investors are dumping makes sense.
Driven by strong sales in China and other markets, Coach delivered excellent results in the retail sector. (Source: ?Coach Reports Third Quarter Earnings of $0.84, up 10% on a 7% Sales Increase,? Coach, Inc. web site, April 23, 2013.)
For Coach, sales in the North American retail sector jumped seven percent to $792 million in spite of a somewhat soft same-store sales increase of just one percent.
In the international retail sector, which accounted for about 32% of total sales, sales increased 14% on a constant currency basis.
What was intriguing was the strong growth in China?s retail sector in spite of what we had been hearing from other companies with exposure in China.
Sales in China surged 40% year-over-year, while the critical same-store sales reading was impressive with double-digit growth. According to the company, Coach has 118 locations in China, which will generate sales of about $425 million this year, or about 8.4% of the estimated $5.04 billion in sales based on Thomson Financial estimates.
While Coach is now worth a closer look with potentially more upside, the ?Best of Breed? in the luxury retail sector continues to be Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE/KORS).
Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com
Michael Kors is estimated to grow its revenues by 63.4% in fiscal 2013, versus 6.9% for Coach in fiscal 2013, according to Thomson Financial consensus estimates. In fiscal 2014, Michael Kors is estimated to see revenues accelerate 32.6%, versus eight percent for Coach. The stock chart for Michael Kors above shows a downtrend, which I believe is not warranted and is worth a serious look.
So, happy shopping?and don?t forget your credit card.
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Thursday, April 25, 2013
Spain's unemployment rate rockets to 27.2 percent
MADRID (AP) ? With more than 6 million unemployed for the first time ever, Spain's jobless rate shot up to a record 27.2 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the National Statistics Institute said Thursday, in another grim picture of the recession-wracked country.
The agency said the number of people unemployed rose by 237,400 people in the first three months of the year, a 1.1 percent increase from the previous quarter. The total out of work stood at 6.2 million people, the first time the number has breached the 6-million mark.
The number of people considered long-term unemployed ? out of a job for more than a year ? increased to 3.5 million, while the unemployment rate for those aged under 25 was a staggering 57 percent. The government body also said its survey found the number of households without anyone working rose by 72,400 to a 1.91 million.
"The situation is really bad, with all the cuts that there have been, there are families that are going through a bad time because a lot of families have all the members unemployed and they don't have any income," said shop assistant Rodrigo Limpias, 30.
Labor Ministry employment secretary Engracia Hidalgo described the figures as "dramatic" but said the government was working non-stop to try make Spain a job creator once again.
Spain has been in recession for much of the past four years as it struggles to deal with the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector in 2008. In the previous decade its economy was thriving, generating millions of jobs.
In just over a year in office, the conservative government has launched a series of financial and labor reforms and pursued a raft of spending cuts and tax increases that have managed to reduce a swollen deficit. Even so, the country had the highest budget deficit among the 17 European Union countries that use the euro in 2012.
"This is getting worse every day. (The government) has no solution, there are more and more people unemployed, and we don't have enough to eat," said Maria Carmen Huerta, 55, an unemployed IT worker.
The government's handling of the crisis has sparked almost daily protests.
Hours after the jobless data release, police clashed briefly with demonstrators after some 1,000 people held an anti-establishment rally close to Parliament.
Riot police made several baton-charges after a group of youths began to throw bottles and rocks at the officers following an otherwise peaceful rally. Several trash containers were set on fire. At least 15 people were arrested and 14 officers slightly injured.
Some 1,400 police were deployed around the Parliament building and barricades were set up on all side streets to prevent demonstrators from getting near the building.
Parliament cancelled its session for the day but blamed reasons other than the rally.
Several previous rallies close to Parliament have also ended in clashes with police.
Earlier, the Interior Ministry said police arrested four people and confiscated material they believe was to be used to start fires at bank offices in the city. The ministry claims violent, anti-establishment groups were behind the rally.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has acknowledged that 2013 will be a bad year but insists that it would have been worse without the reforms. The International Monetary Fund indicated last week that Spain's economy will contract by 1.6 percent this year.
The government is predicting that Spain will return to growth, which should help the labor market. Rajoy has promised reforms to be presented Friday that will "make the economy more flexible, more competitive and will turn those predictions around."
Opposition parties said the unemployment figures highlight how Rajoy's austerity policies are damaging the economy.
"Six million people unemployed is 6 million reasons for the government to withdraw the labor reform and change its economic policy," said Oscar Lopez of the leading opposition Socialist party.
But the EU's top economic official, Commissioner Olli Rehn, said, "Spain should maintain the reform momentum by including comprehensive and concrete policy measures" in its programs.
He said that "despite significant progress in 2012, there are still excessive macroeconomic imbalances," with high domestic and external debt continuing to pose risks for growth and financial stability.
____
Associated Press writer Juergen Baetz in Brussels contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spains-jobless-above-6-million-first-time-111922081--finance.html
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Venezuela's Maduro sends conciliatory message to U.S.
By Pablo Garibian
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro named a new acting head of its U.S. diplomatic mission in Washington on Tuesday and sent an offer of dialogue after attacking the United States for "interference" in a row over his election.
Disputes between Venezuela and the United States were common during Hugo Chavez's 14-year socialist rule of Venezuela, leaving both nations without ambassadors in each other's capitals.
Maduro, who won an election this month to replace Chavez after his death from cancer, has wavered between reaching out to the U.S. government and condemning its policies in the same uncompromising terms as his predecessor.
In an address on live on TV, Maduro called for "respect" and "dialogue" while naming Calixto Ortega, an ally and member of Venezuela's delegation to the Latin American parliament, to the post of charge d'affaires in Washington.
"We want to have the best ties with all the world's governments, and the U.S. government, but on the basis of respect. There can be no threats," said Maduro.
Last week, Maduro blasted the United States for "brutal" and "vulgar" meddling in supporting opposition calls for a vote recount after the April 14 election.
Maduro won the vote by less than 2 percent, leaving opposition leader Henrique Capriles fuming at what he said were thousands of irregularities that skewed the result.
"As we don't have ambassadors, we have for a while been considering naming a new charge d'affaires to our embassy in Washington," Maduro said.
"I have decided to name Calixto Ortega so that dialogue with U.S. society may increase, with the universities, the academic world, the social and union world, the Afro-American community, the Latino community, Congress, senators, representatives, the economic, trade and energy sectors."
Despite the years of diplomatic spats, oil has continued to flow north unabated.
Venezuela, an OPEC member with the world's largest oil reserves, sends between 900,000 and one million barrels per day to the United States, its biggest export market.
"We hope one day to have respectful relations with the United States, a dialogue between equals, state-to-state," Maduro said. "Sooner rather than later, the elites running the United States will have to realize there is a new, independent, sovereign and dignified Latin America."
While filling in for the cancer-ridden Chavez last year, Maduro had opened a back-channel with a U.S. State Department official, but ended that after perceived criticism by Washington of Venezuela's democratic credentials.
Chavez came to replace Cuba's Fidel Castro as Latin America's main U.S. critic in the region - a mantle up for grabs since his death.
(Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga.; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; editing by Christopher Wilson)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-maduro-sends-conciliatory-message-u-235954058.html
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