Tuesday, April 30, 2013

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.

By the Monitor's Editorial Board / April 29, 2013

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

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Personal 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.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/m6SE9EjjnF0/In-China-and-US-a-values-upheaval-as-economies-slow

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Park Tag Wants To Make It Easier To Find Your Next Parking Space By Creating A Space-Swapping Community

Park TagFinding a parking space next to your favourite caf? is always a lottery but Park Tag wants to change all that. The startup, which is exhibiting at Disrupt NY's Startup Alley, wants to make parking social so it's easier to find your next space. The Park Tag app lets users invite their neighbours and colleagues to form a community of drivers who can help each other out by posting parking spaces.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/iJt4f2SxO6w/

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'What Would Ryan Lochte Do?': Ryan Lochte Explains How His Brain Works (VIDEO)

  • "666 Park Avenue"

    <strong>"666 Park Ave.," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Canceled <strong>Why</strong>: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/666-park-avenue-canceled_n_2147290.html">ABC pulled the plug</a> on this supernatural drama earlier in the season.

  • "The Bachelor"

    <strong>"The Bachelor," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: While ratings may have dropped, "The Bachelor" will likely see another season on ABC as tabloids and viewers still care about the comings and goings of contestants.

  • "Body of Proof"

    <strong>"Body of Proof," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: On the bubble <strong>Why</strong>: ABC is keen on this Dana Delany drama, but the ratings for this upcoming third season will be the true test.

  • "Castle"

    <strong>"Castle," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed. <strong>Why</strong>: Strong ratings and a dedicated viewership will keep "Castle" on the schedule.

  • "Dancing With the Stars"

    <strong>"Dancing With the Stars," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: The series is hurting in the ratings ... by "DWTS" standards. It's still a strong player for ABC, but the new season hasn't premiered yet.

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    <strong>"Don't Trust The B---- In Apt. 23," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Canceled <strong>Why</strong>: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/22/apartment-23-canceled-dont-trust-the-b_n_2528858.html">ABC pulled the low-rated comedy</a> from it schedule and the stars took to Twitter to announce the cancellation.

  • "Family Tools"

    <strong>"Family Tools," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Too soon to tell <strong>Why</strong>: This ABC comedy has yet to debut, but a May 1 premiere date doesn't look great.

  • "Grey's Anatomy"

    <strong>"Grey's Anatomy," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: America still loves McDreamy and the goings on at Seattle Grace. Expect "Grey's" to return.

  • "Happy Endings"

    <strong>"Happy Endings," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: On the bubble <strong>Why</strong>: Always the bubble show, never the surefire renewal hit. "Happy Endings" has suffered from many ratings ailments, including bad scheduling (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/happy-endings-friday-abc_n_2683091.html">it's moving to Friday night</a>) and lack of promo. But this ahmahzing show has some serious fans that could keep it afloat for another season ... maybe on another network (a la "Cougar Town.")

  • "How To Live With Your Parents (For The Rest Of Your Life)"

    <strong>"How To Live With Your Parents (For The Rest Of Your Life)," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Too soon to tell <strong>Why</strong>: The ABC comedy starring Sarah Chalke has yet to debut, but its late season bow doesn't exactly bode well for its future.

  • "Last Man Standing"

    <strong>"Last Man Standing," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: Viewers still love Tim Allen! Paired with "Malibu Country," "Last Man Standing" has been performing well on Friday nights and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/jonathan-taylor-thomas-last-man-standing-home-improvement_n_2686307.html">will soon see Allen's "Home Improvement" co-star Jonathan Tyler Thomas</a>.

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    <strong>"Last Resort," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Canceled <strong>Why</strong>: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/last-resort-canceled-abc_n_2147316.html">ABC killed the Shawn Ryan drama</a> in late 2012.

  • "Malibu Country"

    <strong>"Malibu Country," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: "Malibu Country" has been performing well on Friday nights. Lesson: Never underestimate the star power of Reba.

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    <strong>"The Middle," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: Now in its fourth season, "The Middle" is still pulling in more than 8 million viewers an episode as the anchor of ABC's Wednesday comedies.

  • "Mistresses"

    <strong>"Mistresses," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Too soon to tell <strong>Why</strong>: The drama, which is based on the UK series of the same name, just got a Monday, May 27 premiere date. Though the scheduling struggle doesn't bode well, the ABC drama does have Alyssa Milano and "Lost" alum Yunjin Kim leading the foursome.

  • "Modern Family"

    <strong>"Modern Family," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: A fan favorite and Emmy darling, "Modern Family" will be back and will make ABC lots of money in syndication.

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    <strong>"Nashville," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: On the bubble <strong>Why</strong>: Critical acclaim doesn't always equate to rating success. The show has stabilized in Nielsen ratings, but its future really depends on the strength of ABC's drama pilots.

  • "The Neighbors"

    <strong>"The Neighbors," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: One of the few "hits" of the season, "The Neighbors" has found an audience and kept it pretty steadily week after week (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/abc-shows-fall-tv-2012-2013_n_1581796.html">much to our dismay</a>).

  • "Once Upon a Time"

    <strong>"Once Upon a Time," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: A ratings hit in its second season, "Once Upon a Time" is almost sure to be back for a third season full of fairytale adventures.

  • "Private Practice"

    <strong>"Private Practice," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Ended <strong>Why</strong>: The "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff said goodbye in January 2013.

  • "Red Widow"

    <strong>"Red Widow," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Too soon to tell <strong>Why</strong>: The show has a late February debut on ABC.

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    <strong>"Revenge," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: On the bubble <strong>Why</strong>: "Revenge" has fallen out of critical favor and seen lower ratings in its new Sunday night home. But none of ABC's freshman dramas are doing well, so that works in the show's favor.

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    <strong>"Rookie Blue," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: The Canadian co-production will return for a fourth season on ABC during the summer of 2013.

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    <strong>"Scandal," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: Shonda Rhimes has another hit on her hands. Now in its second season, "Scandal" has benefited from word-of-mouth and has been rising in the ratings (even recently beating out its lead in "Grey's Anatomy"). A likable star -- Kerry Washington -- and continued buzz will keep "Scandal" on the schedule.

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    <strong>"Suburgatory," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: On the bubble <strong>Why</strong>: The series started Season 2 off strong in the ratings, but its audience has slowly eroded. Its not the worst-performing ABC sitcom, but its buzziness has died down as well.

  • "Zero Hour"

    <strong>"Zero Hour," ABC</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Canceled <strong>Why</strong>: The Anthony Edwards vehicle debuted to 6.3 million viewers with a 1.3 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, making it <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/15/zero-hour-ratings_n_2695800.html">the least-watched premiere for a scripted series in ABC's history</a>. Things only got worse from there.

  • "2 Broke Girls"

    <strong>"2 Broke Girls," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: CBS renewed "2 Broke Girls" in March of 2013.

  • "The Amazing Race"

    <strong>"The Amazing Race," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: As an Emmy and fan favorite, "The Amazing Race" has been a strong player for CBS.

  • "The Big Bang Theory"

    <strong>"The Big Bang Theory," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: Now in its sixth season, "Big Bang" is reaching series-high ratings. Even up against reality powerhouse "American Idol," "The Big Bang Theory" has been delivering with crazy high numbers in the 18-49 demographic, beating out what was once Fox's juggernaut.

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    <strong>"Blue Bloods," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: The Tom Selleck-fronted police drama is a strong ratings performer for CBS on Fridays.

  • "Criminal Minds"

    <strong>"Criminal Minds," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: As one of CBS's strong procedural players, the series has been steady in the ratings and will likely be renewed to help anchor a night and launch a new drama.

  • "CSI"

    <strong>"CSI," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: Of the two "CSI" shows on the air, "CSI" is the stronger player in the TV landscape. The show is nowhere near its earlier ratings, but Ted Danson signed on for more and the show will be back.

  • "CSI: NY"

    <strong>"CSI: NY," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: On the bubble <strong>Why</strong>: The spinoff series will be entering Season 10 in the 2013-2014 season. The ratings have faded over the years, but they're still pretty stable, especially for Fridays. It's a toss up, depending on how well CBS's development slate goes.

  • "Elementary"

    <strong>"Elementary," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: One of the very few freshman series hits during the 2012-2013 TV season, CBS is very keen on this modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes. The audience has been steady and the network even gave it the post-Super Bowl timeslot.

  • "Golden Boy"

    <strong>"Golden Boy," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Too soon to tell <strong>Why</strong>: CBS certainly has a handsome star at the front of this cop drama, but its late season entry and Friday timeslot could be a hint toward CBS's confidence in the show.

  • "The Good Wife"

    <strong>"The Good Wife," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: A former ratings champ, "The Good Wife" has slipped to series low ratings on Sunday nights. Blame football overrun, fan-detested storylines or too many guest stars, but "The Good Wife" has star power and critical praise, plus its nearing a good syndication sweet spot.

  • "Hawaii Five-0"

    <strong>"Hawaii Five-0," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: In March, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/the-good-wife-renewed-season-5_n_2965829.html" target="_hplink">CBS announced "Hawaii Five-0" received an early renewal along with several of its other popular programs</a>.

  • "How I Met Your Mother"

    <strong>"How I Met Your Mother," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: CBS handed out a ninth and final season to this comedy with the entire cast returning. Expect to meet the mother, finally.

  • "Made In Jersey"

    <strong>"Made In Jersey," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Canceled <strong>Why</strong>: CBS pulled the plug on this legal drama very early on in the season because of low ratings.

  • "The Mentalist"

    <strong>"The Mentalist," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: "The Mentalist" has fallen to mediocre ratings -- by CBS standards -- but it was nonetheless renewed in March of 2013.

  • "Mike & Molly"

    <strong>"Mike & Molly," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: The ratings are down a little bit from last year, but Melissa McCarthy's star continues to rise.

  • "NCIS"

    <strong>"NCIS," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: CBS reached a deal with series star Mark Harmon in early 2013, keeping the No. 1 show in America around for a Season 11.

  • "NCIS: LA"

    <strong>"NCIS: LA," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: Viewers love their "NCIS," in any form. The ratings have been strong and the network is producing a backdoor spinoff pilot for this spinoff show. A full night of "NCIS" could be in CBS's future.

  • "Partners"

    <strong>"Partners," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Canceled <strong>Why</strong>: Low ratings and unfavorable reviews led to the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/partners-canceled-cbs_n_2145832.html">early demise</a> of this CBS comedy.

  • "Person of Interest"

    <strong>"Person of Interest," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: The series has developed a nice-sized audience, bigger than its first season.

  • "Rules of Engagement"

    <strong>"Rules of Engagement," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Honestly, who knows <strong>Why</strong>: This comedy has been on the bubble since it premiered ... yet is now in its seventh season. It's too soon to look at the numbers for this season, but the show has been a midseason success for CBS in the past. However, series co-star <a href="http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/02/07/cbs-orders-comedy-pilot-starring-patrick-warburton/">Patrick Warburton is attached to star in a new pilot</a> ... for CBS.

  • "Survivor"

    <strong>"Survivor," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: A strong player for the last 13 years, "Survivor" will be back. But due to its <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/survivor-ratings-lowest-premiere-ever_n_2687591.html">most recent premiere ratings</a>, we might not see it during the fall season, though a midseason or summer return -- with some new gimmick -- is definitely in the cards for the reality series.

  • "Two and a Half Men"

    <strong>"Two and a Half Men," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Likely to be renewed <strong>Why</strong>: CBS wants another season of this bawdy hit, it's just a matter of getting its stars to sign back on.

  • "Undercover Boss"

    <strong>"Undercover Boss," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Renewed <strong>Why</strong>: The show is enjoying life in syndication and its Season 4 numbers are better than most of its third season.

  • "Unforgettable"

    <strong>"Unforgettable," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: Uncanceled <strong>Why</strong>: CBS canceled the Poppy Montgomery drama last season ... and then revived it! Season 2 premieres Sunday, July 28.

  • "Vegas"

    <strong>"Vegas," CBS</strong> <strong>Status</strong>: On the bubble <strong>Why</strong>: Despite star power, the series hasn't been a breakout hit in the ratings. CBS previously canceled "Unforgettable" (then uncanceled it) last season when it was doing about the same as "Vegas."

    • Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/what-would-ryan-lochte-do-brain-banana-video_n_3176327.html

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    Monday, April 29, 2013

    Pyongyang glitters but most of NKorea still dark

    PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? The heart of this city, once famous for its Dickensian darkness, now pulsates with neon.

    Glossy new construction downtown has altered the Pyongyang skyline. Inside supermarkets where shopgirls wear faux French designer labels, people with money can buy Italian wine, Swiss chocolates, kiwifruit imported from New Zealand and fresh-baked croissants. They can get facials, lie in tanning booths, play a round of mini golf or sip cappuccinos.

    Nearly 2 million people are using cell phones. Computer shops can't keep up with demand for North Korea's locally distributed tablet computer, popularly known here as "iPads." A shiny new cancer institute features a $900,000 X-ray machine imported from Europe.

    Pyongyang has long been a city apart from the rest of North Korea, the showcase capital dubbed a "socialist fairyland" by state media.

    But a year after new leader Kim Jong Un promised publicly to bring an end to the "era of belt-tightening" and economic hardship in North Korea, the gap between the haves and have-nots so far has only grown with Pyongyang's transformation.

    Beyond the paved main streets of the capital, life remains grindingly tough. Food is rationed, electricity is a precious commodity and people get around by walking, cycling or hopping into the backs of trucks. Most homes lack running water or plumbing. Health care is free, but aid workers say medicine is in short supply.

    ___

    For decades, North Korea seemed a country trapped in time. Rickety streetcars shuddered past concrete-block apartment buildings with broken window panes, chipping pastel paint and crumbling front steps.

    But since 2010, as part of the campaign to build a new city for their new leader, Pyongyang has been under construction. Scaffolding covers the fronts of scores of buildings across the city. Red banners painted with slogan "At a breath" ? implying breakneck work at a breathless pace ? flutter from the skeletons of skyscrapers built by soldiers.

    Often, the soldiers are scrawny conscripts in thin canvas sneakers piling bricks onto stretchers or hauling them by hand. In 2011, they set up temporary work camps along the Taedong River, makeshift shantytowns decorated by red flags.

    Their work focused on downtown Changjon Street, where ramshackle cottages were torn down to make way for department stores, restaurants and high-rise apartments.

    Today, the street would not look out of place in Seoul or Shanghai. Indeed, many of the goods ? Hershey's Kisses, Coca-Cola and Doritos ? on sale at the new supermarket were imported from China and Singapore.

    "What is a 'delicatessen'?" a North Korean asked as a butcher in a white chef's hat sliced tuna for takeaway sashimi beneath a deli sign written in English. Upstairs, baristas were serving Italian espressos, bakers were churning out baguettes and white wedding cakes.

    ___

    One new Changjon Street resident, Mun Kang Sun, gave The Associated Press a tour of the apartment she and her husband were granted in recognition for her work at the Kim Jong Suk Textile Factory.

    A framed wedding portrait hangs on the wall above their Western-style bed. There's a washing machine in the bathroom, an IBM computer in the study and a 42-inch widescreen TV. AP was not allowed to visit other apartments to compare whether the furnishings are typical for Pyongyang residents.

    Orphaned as a child, Mun said she began working in factories at age 16. She earned the title "hero of the republic" after exceeding her work quota by 200 percent for 13 years. She says she accomplished that by dashing around the factory floor operating four or five machines at once.

    "When we heard the news that we'd get a nest where we can rest, and we got the key for our apartment and took a look around, we were totally shocked because the house is so nice," said her husband, Kim Hyok. "It's still hard to believe this is my home; it still feels like we're living in a hotel."

    Though the apartment has faucets, old habits die hard. The bathtub was still filled with water, a bucket bobbing in the tub, as in countless homes across the country where water is pumped from a well, carried in by hand and used sparingly.

    ___

    Elsewhere in the city, aging buildings are getting upgraded. But most are still drafty, the walls poorly insulated, even in the capital. Elevators and heat are rare. North Koreans are accustomed to wearing winter jackets and thermal underwear indoors from October to April.

    Power cuts have been less frequent in Pyongyang since the opening of a hydroelectric power station to the northwest, but it's still common for the lights to go out in the middle of dinner. Most people just carry on drinking and eating.

    Outside Pyongyang, nightfall comes early. In Ryonggang, west of the capital, lights were out as soon as the sun set. At one inn, two women stood chatting quietly in a lobby lit with a candle as a shrill voice from a radio broadcast chortled from loudspeakers nearby.

    Kim Jong Jin's farm cottage in Hamhung has a generator, allowing him and his wife to watch DVDs at night on a TV they carefully cover during the day with a frilly lace veil.

    Their thimble of a home is simple but spotless, the papered floors clean enough to eat from. Water is piped into a well in the kitchen. Heat comes from the traditional Korean "ondol" system of feeding an underground furnace with wood. Waste is turned into methane gas for cooking. Food for the household comes from the garden outside.

    But not everyone lives in such relative comfort as the Kims, whose home government officials are willing to show off. There are stark signs of poverty across the country. A mother huddles over a child as she sits shivering by the side of the road. Barefoot boys in a village destroyed by floods scamper about dressed in little more than underwear. Sharp shoulders and splotchy faces betray the gnawing hunger of young soldiers.

    Beyond the paved, pocked highways that radiate from Pyongyang, there are few roads between the denuded mountains, just dirt paths that become dangerously muddy with rainfall and treacherously slippery in winter. Villagers struggle to clear snow with makeshift shovels crafted out of planks of wood.

    Private cars are a rarity outside the capital, and gasoline is scarce. In Hamhung, North Korea's second-largest city, soldiers cram into the backs of trucks powered by wood-burning stoves that send smoke billowing behind them.

    Goods are strapped to the back of bicycles, from firewood to dead pigs. Old men sit crouched by the side of the road with bike pumps, offering to fix flats. Oxen, and people, plod past pulling carts.

    The closest most may get to the capital in their lifetime is by seeing it on state TV. For them, Pyongyang would truly seem like a fairyland.

    ___

    Life in the North Korean countryside would be familiar to South Koreans old enough to recall the poverty in their nation just after the Korean War. Indeed, into the 1970s, North Korea was the richer of the two Koreas.

    Today, newly affluent South Korea has the world's 15th-largest economy. In North Korea, meanwhile, two-thirds of people struggle to find their daily meal, according to the World Food Program.

    North Koreans acknowledge the devastating economic loss of the Soviet safety net in the early 1990s. But they blame the county's growing international isolation on the U.S., its Korean War foe, which has led efforts to punish North Korea for developing its nuclear weapons program.

    Pyongyang instead has turned to fledgling trade with companies in China, Singapore, Indonesia, Italy, Egypt and elsewhere. These joint ventures keep the shelves in the capital stocked with goods, computer labs filled with PCs, streets crowded with VWs, in spite of sanctions.

    For years, foreign goods and customs were regarded with practiced suspicion, even as they were secretly coveted. Kim Jong Un has addressed that curiosity by encouraging trade and by quoting his father in saying North Korea is "looking out onto the world" ? a country that must become familiar with international customs even if it continues to prefer its own.

    Kim has not made it significantly easier for North Koreans to travel, channel surf or read travelogues posted online, but he is arranging to bring the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben to them in the form of a miniature world park slated to open later this year.

    The flow of cash and goods has created a burgeoning middle class in the capital. Pyongyang now has a parade of fashionistas in eye-popping belted jackets, sparkly barrettes clipped to their hair, fingernails painted with a clear gloss. At one European-style restaurant last week, a young couple on a date sipped cocktails topped off with Maraschino cherries and feasted on pizza, their cellphones laid on the table.

    At one beauty salon, the rage is for short cuts made popular by singers from the all-girl military Moranbong band who have jazzed up North Korea's staid performance scene with their bobbed hair, little black dresses and electric guitars.

    "There are so many young women asking to get their hair done like them," hairstylist Chae Cho Yong said.

    ___

    While the differences between the showcase capital and the hardscrabble countryside are growing starker, one thing remains the same: the authoritarian rule and the intricate web of laws governing life in the Stalinist state.

    Even as they laugh, North Koreans calibrate their words. Criticism of the state and leadership is not only taboo but dangerous; when asked for their opinion, most people parrot phrases they've heard in state media, still the safest way to answer questions in a country where state security remains tight and terrifying.

    Very few have access to the Internet, cable TV, international phone lines. It's still illegal for them to interact without permission with foreigners, who are kept on a tight leash and discouraged from making impromptu visits to homes, shops, restaurants and offices.

    Around Chae, the cavernous barber shop was empty, not a single customer in the brand new swivel seats.

    An employee explained that most North Koreans are at weekly ideology study sessions on Saturdays, the only day of the week foreigners are allowed inside.

    ___

    Follow AP's bureau chief for Pyongyang and Seoul at www.twitter.com/newsjean.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pyongyang-glitters-most-nkorea-still-dark-050645191.html

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    Sunday, April 28, 2013

    Dot Earth Blog: An Earth Scientist Explores the Biggest Climate Threat: Fear

    Here?s a ?Your Dot? contribution pushing back against apocalyptic depictions of the collision between humans and the climate system ? written by Peter B. Kelemen, the Arthur D. Storke Professor and vice chair in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. Keleman has done a lot of interesting work on possible ways to capture carbon dioxide from air (none being easy or cheap):

    Fear Itself

    ?We already know it is too late to reverse the planet?s transformation, and we know what is going to happen next ? superstorms, super-droughts, super-pandemics, massive population displacement, water scarcity, desertification and all the rest. Massive destruction, displacement and despair. Our worst fears are already upon us. The reality is far worse than anyone has imagined.?

    These phrases are distilled from ?Writing at the End,? an essay by Nathaniel Rich in Sunday?s New York Times Book Review. They capture its doomsday ethos, and its breathtaking certainty. Rich, a novelist, is sure he knows the causes of our present ills, and the nature of the near future. He probably feels that he learned this from the 98 percent of climate scientists who ? famously ? agree on some things. I am part of that community; we agree that human greenhouse gas emissions are having a huge, negative effect on global climate. But I don?t agree with Nathaniel Rich.

    Apocalyptic warnings sell newspapers, power Web sites, and are surprisingly good for marketing. Beyond the media, in the sciences and social sciences, if your research predicts a scary outcome, your name gets in the news, your grants get funded, and you feel like Paul Revere (though you might be Chicken Little). It?s a heady experience.

    Meanwhile, my children are fearful of, and almost paralyzed by, the prospect of an inevitable, dystopian future. They would like to contribute to avoiding calamity, but they don?t see where to start, and they are told it is too late to begin. And my children are lucky, in a stable home, among the 3 percent, talented, athletic, well educated. In the face of an overarching climate of fear, people with less opportunity find there is nothing they can do to help avoid ?destruction, displacement and despair.?

    However, climate catastrophe is not inevitable, let alone irreversible. Of course, it could happen. It is logical to expect that, as atmospheric greenhouse gases increase and the world warms up, the extra energy in the atmosphere and oceans will move things around in unusual ways for which we are not prepared. The costs will likely be very high. We should work to avoid this, for simple, practical reasons.? Avoiding emissions now will be far less expensive than capturing carbon dioxide from air in the future. But the future is unpredictable, our mistakes are correctable, and there is plenty of reason for optimism about what people can accomplish in the face of necessity.

    Throughout the past 10 to 20 years, despite many obstacles, worldwide wind and solar energy generation have grown exponentially, at more than 24 and 33 percent per year, respectively. They still constitute a small share of total energy production ? not surprisingly, since they still cost more than other sources. A carbon tax would help to even the playing field, factoring in the likely damage due to greenhouse gas emissions. This is overdue. But my point here is that, despite the obstacles, some segments of society are sufficiently farsighted to invest in the future, even at a present-day premium. It is happening.

    The current boom in natural gas production, based on hydraulic fracture, is fiercely opposed by many environmentalists. It?s true that low gas prices are endangering segments of the renewable power industry in the United States. Carbon dioxide emissions from burning gas are a fraction of those from coal combustion, but gas wells and pipelines leak, so it?s not clear whether switching to gas really reduces greenhouse emissions. However ? even including the cost of carbon capture and storage ? the U.S. Energy Information Administration?s 2012 Annual Energy Outlook predicts that five years from now gas-fired power will be less expensive than wind, and about half the cost of state-of-the-art solar power. [All the reports are here.]

    Gas-fired power plants are a nimble addition to the overall energy grid. They are relatively easy to switch on and off, compensating for asynchronous variation in wind speed and sunlight on the one hand, and power consumption on the other. And the increasing supply of home-grown hydrocarbons is changing the global strategic picture in positive ways. All of these topics are debatable, but it is wrong to portray the discussion as a contest between good and evil, or assert that the pro-gas path will inevitably lead to disaster. No one can know all the answers.

    In coming years there will be plenty of big storms and deep droughts. They will come in unpredictable clumps, like the giant earthquakes that have been unusually frequent in the past decade. In the midst of this natural chaos, it is hard to discern whether the long-term frequency of destructive events is really increasing or not, and why. In the popular imagination, especially in this country, when something bad happens, someone is always to blame. But in the real world, stuff happens.

    Over time, we will find out what will happen. As the costs and dangers of present trends become clear, people will react. Virtually the entire oil and gas industry was built in a century. Half of it has been constructed since 1980. Think of what we, and our children, can accomplish in the next century, starting with the next 30 years. I am optimistic about this. Climate, energy, and resource problems have solutions, and we can solve them when we muster the resolve to do so. This requires a costly commitment, which will only be made if most people believe a positive outcome is both attainable and worthwhile.

    Therefore, the climate that worries me most is the climate of fear, the belief that our current trajectory leads inevitably to total disaster. This belief discourages constructive action, and can result in irrational acts by people in despair, individually, or as nations, willing to do anything to derail the juggernaut we are told is carrying us, inevitably, to destruction. Unlike environmental problems, it is less clear to me how we change this. But at least, those of us in science, social science and the media can seek to craft solutions and enlist engagement, rather than feeding fear. With hope comes action.

    Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/an-earth-scientist-explores-the-biggest-climate-threat-fear/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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    Friday, April 26, 2013

    Syrian officials deny use of chemical weapons

    DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Two Syrian officials denied Friday that government forces had used chemical weapons against rebels, the first response from President Bashar Assad's regime to U.S. assertions that it had deployed such weapons during the 2-year-old civil war.

    On Thursday, the White House and other top Obama administration officials said that U.S. intelligence had concluded with "varying degrees of confidence" that the Syrian government has twice used chemical weapons in its battle against rebels trying to oust Assad.

    In the Syrian capital of Damascus, a government official said Assad's military "did not and will not use chemical weapons even if it had them." Instead, he accused opposition forces of using them in a March attack on the village of Khan al-Assal outside of the northern city of Aleppo, the largest in Syria. The official said the Syrian army had no need to use chemical weapons because it can reach any area in Syria it wants without them.

    He spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.

    His comments were echoed by Sharif Shehadeh, a Syrian lawmaker, who said the Syrian army "can win the war with traditional weapons" and has no need for chemical weapons.

    Syria's official policy is not to confirm nor deny it has chemical weapons.

    Shehadeh called the U.S. claims "lies" and likened them to false accusations that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction ? a claim U.S. policymakers had used to justify the invasion of that country in 2003.

    "What is being designed for Syria now is similar to what happened in Iraq when Colin Powell lied in the Security Council and said Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction prior to the U.S. invasion and occupation of that country," he said.

    President Barack Obama has said that the use of chemical weapons would be a "red line" that could result in a significant military response. But the administration said on Thursday that the new revelation won't immediately change its stance on intervention.

    Following the Khan al-Assal attack, the government called for the United Nations to investigate alleged chemical weapons use by rebels.

    Syria, however, has still not allowed a team of experts into the country because it wants the investigation limited to the single Khan al-Assal incident while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging the Syrian government to accept an expanded U.N. probe into alleged chemical weapons use.

    "They want this team to be similar to the inspection teams in Iraq that destroyed the country after it became clear that it was all a great lie," Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said in comments published on Syria's state-run news agency SANA.

    On the streets of Damascus, the conflict dragged on Friday. Government troops pushed into two northern neighborhoods, triggering heavy fighting with rebels as they tried to advance under air and artillery support, activists said. The drive was the latest in a days-long offensive by government forces in and around the capital, an apparent bid to secure Assad's main stronghold against rebel challenges.

    The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting between rebels and soldiers backed by pro-government militiamen was concentrated in the Jobar and Barzeh areas. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said troops also used mortars and multiple rocket launchers to bombard the nearby neighborhood of Qaboun.

    SANA said troops killed five rebels in clashes near the main mosque in Jobar. It added that many other "terrorists," the term the government uses for rebels, were killed in the area and the nearby neighborhood of Zamalka.

    The regime has largely kept the rebels at bay in Damascus, although opposition fighters control several suburbs of the capital from which they have threatened the heart of the city. Last month, government troops launched a campaign to repel the opposition's advances near the capital, deploying elite army units to the rebellious suburbs and pounding rebel positions with airstrikes.

    The Observatory also reported clashes in Aleppo between rebels and Kurdish gunmen in the contested Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood. It also said there was fighting around the sprawling Abu Zuhour air base in the northwestern Idlib province.

    Syria's conflict started with largely peaceful protests against Assad's regime in March 2011 but later degenerated into a civil war, which has left an estimated 70,000 dead.

    ___

    AP reporter Zeina Karam and Bassem Mroue contributed from Beirut.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-officials-deny-chemical-weapons-113003061.html

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    Drug therapy offers high cure rate for 2 hepatitis C subtypes

    Apr. 23, 2013 ? A new drug is offering dramatic cure rates for hepatitis C patients with two subtypes of the infection -- genotype 2 and 3, say a team of scientists led by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers. These two subtypes account for approximately 25 percent of hepatitis C infection in the United States.

    The drug, called sofosbuvir, offers more effective treatment for most patients studied in a Phase 3 clinical trial who had no other treatment options, report researchers in The New England Journal of Medicine. After three months of combined therapy with sofosbuvir and the antiviral drug ribavirin, the patient response rate for those with genotype 2 was 93 percent, and 61 percent in patients with genotype 3.

    This new study is one of several testing new hepatitis C drugs that were published April 23 in an online edition of NEJM. The journal publication coincides with the International Liver Congress 2013 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where the results also will be presented.

    "The new sofosbuvir therapy offers a much-needed alternative to standard therapy with interferon, which can cause significant side effects for hepatitis C patients," says the study's lead investigator, Dr. Ira Jacobson, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Vincent Astor Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

    "We have dreamed for years of being able to eliminate interferon from our hepatitis C regimens and this study is one of several that are finally bringing us very close to realizing that goal," says Dr. Jacobson, who is also a gastroenterologist at the Center for Advanced Digestive Care at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and medical director of the Center for the Study of Hepatitis C, a collaboration between Weill Cornell, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and The Rockefeller University.

    The 207 patients enrolled in the clinical trial, known as POSITRON, either did not respond to interferon, could not tolerate it or were unwilling to use it, despite the fact that there were no other treatment options available to them.

    "This new treatment represents a paradigm shift in the way that hepatitis C is going to be treated," says Dr. Jacobson. "We are achieving the same or higher cure rates in many patients with sofosbuvir, compared to interferon, and we are doing it in half the time with a drug that has a remarkable safety profile."

    Dr. Jacobson estimates that up to half of patients with hepatitis C infection either can't use interferon or don't want to use it. "Sofosbuvir is an extremely promising treatment for this population. It is widely hoped that combinations of potent antiviral drugs will eventually replace the use of interferon, in general, for most hepatitis C patients."

    The drug sofosbuvir works by interfering with the ability of the hepatitis C virus to replicate. The drug also confers a high barrier to developing the complication of drug resistance. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved sofosbuvir. However, results of the four clinical trials published in the NEJM were used to support the regulatory filing submitted to the FDA by the drug's developer, Gilead Sciences, Inc.

    No Treatment Options for Many Patients

    Approximately 170 million people are infected with hepatitis C worldwide and 350,000 people die each year from the disease. According to federal statistics, there are an estimated four million people in the U.S. infected with hepatitis C. As there are often no symptoms, most people with hepatitis C are unaware that they are infected.

    When left untreated, hepatitis C virus can cause progressive liver disease such as cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. The virus is spread by contact with infected blood, such as through blood transfusions, injection drug use or sexual contact.

    There are seven major genotypes of hepatitis C, but most cases are 1, 2 or 3. Genotype 1 is the most common subtype in the U.S. Genotypes 2 and 3 are more common in Europe than in the U.S. and genotype 3 is very prevalent on the Indian subcontinent.

    In the study, three-fourths of participants (207) were randomized to treatment with sofosbuvir and ribavirin while one-fourth (71) of participants were randomized to a placebo treatment. All of the patients either did not respond to interferon, or did not want to use it. "This mirrors what happens frequently in the clinic," says Dr. Jacobson. "Between 15 and 30 percent of patients with hepatitis C genotype 2 or 3 infections do not have a response to interferon therapy and do not have alternate treatment options."

    Patients were enrolled internationally at 63 sites in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

    Study results show the response rate for all treated patients with sofosbuvir was 78 percent compared to 0 percent in participants treated with placebo agents. Patients with genotype 2 had a higher cure rate (93 percent) than those with genotype 3 (61 percent), and patients without cirrhosis had a higher response rate (81 percent) compared with participants diagnosed with cirrhosis (61 percent).

    The results of another clinical trial, led by Dr. David R. Nelson of the University of Florida at Gainesville, were incorporated into this NEJM manuscript publication. This clinical trial study, called FUSION, was designed to test sofosbuvir and ribavirin in hepatitis C patients with genotype 2 or 3 who had failed interferon therapy.

    In FUSION, the drug regimen was tested for both 12 and 16 weeks in patients with genotype 2 or 3. The findings showed that extended use of sofosbuvir resulted in a higher cure rate in both genotypes, but that the difference seen in genotype 3 was highly significant. For genotype 2, 12 versus 16 weeks of treatment resulted in response rates of 86 percent compared to 94 percent; and for genotype 3, the response rates were 30 percent versus 62 percent, respectively.

    "Given the absence to date of alternative therapies for patients with genotype 2 or 3 who have failed interferon therapy or for whom it is not an option, treatment with the new sofosbuvir regimen offers a vast improvement," Dr. Jacobson says. "But the optimal duration of treatment for genotype 3 patients, in order to maximize their chance of cure, remains undefined. It could be longer than 16 weeks." Dr. Jacobson adds that future clinical studies will continue to define the optimal length of treatment duration for patients with genotype 3, and that other antiviral drugs in combination with sofosbuvir might shorten the duration of treatment needed to maximize the rates of response.

    Both the POSITRON and FUSION studies were funded by Gilead Sciences. Another paper in the same edition of the NEJM reports two additional studies of sofosbuvir-containing therapy, one evaluating a 12 week regimen of peginterferon, ribavirin and sofosbuvir in patients with genotypes 1, 4, 5 and 6 who have never been treated before; the other reporting results of a trial comparing 24 weeks of peginterferon and ribavin with 12 weeks of sofosbuvir and ribavirin in treatment na?ve patients with genotypes 2 and 3.

    Dr. Jacobson is a consultant, lecturer and a funded research investigator for Gilead Sciences.

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    Story Source:

    The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Weill Cornell Medical College.

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

    Journal Reference:

    1. Ira M. Jacobson, Stuart C. Gordon, Kris V. Kowdley, Eric M. Yoshida, Maribel Rodriguez-Torres, Mark S. Sulkowski, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Eric Lawitz, Gregory Everson, Michael Bennett, Eugene Schiff, M. Tarek Al-Assi, G. Mani Subramanian, Di An, Ming Lin, John McNally, Diana Brainard, William T. Symonds, John G. McHutchison, Keyur Patel, Jordan Feld, Stephen Pianko, David R. Nelson. Sofosbuvir for Hepatitis C Genotype 2 or 3 in Patients without Treatment Options. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; : 130423030016000 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1214854

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

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

    Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/HlNlHXEjxRY/130424103134.htm

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    GE Puts $105M Into Pivotal Labs, The New EMC And VMware Platform Initiative, But Here's What It Is Missing

    pivotalGE is taking a 10 percent stake and investing $105 million in the Pivotal Initiative, the spin-out from EMC and VMware. GE will work with Pivotal on research and development with the aim of helping customers develop data analytics offerings. GE says its investment aligns with its focus on the “Industrial Internet.” The move shows GE’s investments in developing its own software prowess.?GE and Pivotal will use the?”Global Software Center,” which is headquartered in?San Ramon, Calif.,?to develop a software platform that GE will deliver as a service to industrial customers. According to a press release issued this morning, Pivotal’s platform will serve as a way for the company to launch applications and offer data analytics. The Pivotal technology draws from EMC and VMware’s stable of products and services, either developed internally or acquired.?VMware?s Cloud Foundry PaaS, SpringSource and Gemstone and EMC?s Greenplum and Pivotal Labs groups form the foundation for one ?virtual organization,? with 1,400 employees.?Cetas, VMware?s big data analytics solution, is also part of the group. Pivotal is now calling itself an enterprise Platform as a Service (PaaS), a commentary on the lack of any meaning that can be found with the usual “private cloud,” rhetoric that has become the catch-all phrase for anything “cloud,” in the enterprise. In fact, there is not one reference to private cloud in the press release. Yefim Natis, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, has tepid reviews for Pivotal. He said it is?noteworthy?that Pivotal?separated its application infrastructure technologies (Pivotal) from systems infrastructure (the remaining VMware assets). It’s ambitious and provides an option for IT versus the range of vendors, such as Red Hat and data analytics companies such as MapR, which has been an EMC partner in years past. Integration is a core missing piece, Natis said in a statement. The effort lacks what is widely recognized as an EMC/VMware weakness. And that’s the lack of a truly independent platform similar to Amazon Web Services or even a SaaS offering to integrate data and applications. He further states that the current composition of technologies does not include a high-productivity development platform: The foundation of Pivotal’s application platform, the CloudFoundry CEAP and PaaS, is using a cloud-based model of elasticity, preserving compatibility with many enterprise Java applications. Offering Java or Ruby frameworks as the primary programming model is a far cry in productivity from the cloud-native metadata-driven application PaaS (aPaaS). And it is

    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ei_dGg9cA1Y/

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    Thursday, April 25, 2013

    Government pitches for rating upgrade with S&P

    By Manoj Kumar

    NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government pitched for a rating upgrade on Thursday at a meeting with ratings agency Standard & Poor's, a top finance ministry official said, citing steps taken by it to control a high fiscal deficit and revive investments.

    S&P and its rival Fitch had cut their outlook on India to negative last year, warning the country of a possible rating downgrade to "junk" on worsening public finances, a slowing economy and persistent political gridlock in New Delhi.

    But in their meeting with S&P, Indian officials argued the outlook should be changed, and the country deserved an upgrade for actions taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government to put finances in order and bolster investor confidence.

    "We are simply saying we have taken strong, hard decisions," Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told reporters after meeting a team of S&P analysts.

    "This country has shown its determination to put economy back on track. We believe it will happen," he said, referring to an upgrade.

    Earlier this month, New Delhi made a similar pitch to Fitch.

    Threatened with a downgrade the country could ill-afford, Singh's minority government took a slew of politically risky steps last September, including trimming budget-busting fuel subsidies, reining in public spending, and opening industries like retail and aviation to more overseas investment.

    While these measures have not yet revived economic growth that probably hit a decade-low of 5 percent in the financial year that ended in March, brakes on public spending have helped bring down the fiscal deficit under 5.2 percent of GDP from 5.8 percent a year earlier.

    Finance ministry officials say the actual deficit for 2012/13 could be around 5 percent. The official deficit data is expected on May 31.

    However, the new worry for the government is the widening current account deficit, which hit an all-time high of 6.7 percent of gross domestic product in October-to-December period.

    The finance ministry is optimistic that sliding gold and oil prices will help bring it down, and the government could finance the current account deficit without drawing down forex reserves.

    Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council headed by former RBI governor C. Rangarajan, says the deficit could narrow to 4.7 percent of GDP in current fiscal year beginning April, helped by higher exports and lower gold imports.

    Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has promised to limit the fiscal deficit in the new financial year to below 4.8 percent and trim it further to 3 percent by the fiscal year 2016/17.

    The government has also set up a panel to expedite regulatory clearances for major projects, which on Monday cleared energy and power projects worth billions of dollars.

    Both Fitch and S&P rate India at BBB minus with a negative outlook, the lowest investment grade among the BRIC group of large emerging economies.

    A cut to "junk" would force some foreign investors to pull their funds from the country, increasing the cost of credit for Indian firms in overseas money markets.

    In January, S&P said the possibility of India losing its investment-grade credit rating had receded somewhat as a result of economic reforms undertaken by the government.

    The S&P analysts, who attended the meeting, could not be contacted. (Writing by Rajesh Kumar Singh; editing by Tony Munroe and Simon Cameron-Moore)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/government-pitches-rating-upgrade-p-094541800--sector.html

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    Letta tries to form government to break Italy's political logjam

    By Philip Pullella

    ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister-designate Enrico Letta began tricky negotiations on Thursday to form Italy's new government and end a nearly two-month-old stalemate in the euro zone's third-largest economy.

    Letta, the deputy head of the badly fractured center-left Democratic Party (PD), was the surprise choice tapped by President Giorgio Napolitano to head a broad-based coalition.

    Markets have reacted favorably to the prospect of an end to the political deadlock, with bond yields and the spread with comparable 10-year German bonds falling.

    "The market is positive overall, there's a degree of serenity. Letta is a new name and a good 'consensus man,' unlike (former Prime Minister Giuliano) Amato, who smacks of the old order and could have caused a few grimaces," a Milan trader said.

    Amato, 75, had been tipped as Napolitano's first choice to form the government.

    The government will include the PD's traditional arch-rivals, Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL), as well as caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti's centrist group, both of which have said they will support the government.

    The bespectacled, balding Letta is an urbane moderate who speaks fluent English and at 46 would be one of Italy's youngest prime ministers, representing a generational change from the era of Berlusconi, Monti and Amato.

    Berlusconi told an Italian television station it did not matter who headed the government as long as it enacted reforms.

    "The important thing is that there is a government and that there is a parliament that can approve measures that we absolutely need to emerge from the crisis of recession and get back on the path of growth," he said.

    5-STAR MOVEMENT CONFIRMS OPPOSITION

    Letta began the consultations at parliament early on Thursday morning with smaller groupings, including the Left Ecology and Freedom party, which reiterated that it would remain in opposition.

    The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the largest group in the lower house Chamber of Deputies, has also said it would sit in the opposition, but would support specific reforms.

    Thursday was expected to be dedicated to horse-trading over about 18 ministerial posts in the new government, expected to be made up of technocrats and politicians.

    The economy ministry could go either to Fabrizio Saccomanni, the Bank of Italy's director general, or Carlo Padoan, chief economist at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to Italian media.

    Angelino Alfano, the secretary of the PDL, has been tipped by some to become deputy prime minister, a choice that would placate Berlusconi but upset some in the left wing of the PD .

    The industry and labor ministries could go to politicians and the foreign affairs portfolio to Monti or former Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema of the PD, local media speculated.

    The PDL is pushing hard for a much-hated tax on primary residences to be abolished, which was a key plank in their campaign ahead of the inconclusive February elections, which gave the PD a majority in the lower house but not in the Senate.

    Letta hopes to form the government before markets open on Monday and seek confidence votes from both houses of parliament early next week.

    The PDL and PD had previously failed to reach a deal but Napolitano twisted their arms on Saturday when he was re-elected to an unprecedented second term and threatened to resign unless parties tried to find common ground to pull Italy out of its political rut and work on institutional reforms.

    Rivalries between the parties as well as rifts within the PD, which fell short of a viable parliamentary majority in February's vote, could still block an accord. But formation of a government after such a long impasse would signal that Italy is finally ready to make a start on much-needed reforms.

    Accepting his mandate on Wednesday, Letta said Italy faced an untenable situation and the government must provide answers on jobs, poverty and the crisis facing small businesses in a recession that now matches the longest since World War II.

    He also said European Union economic policies had been too focused on austerity, rather than growth.

    (Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Stefano Bernabei; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italy-president-names-center-lefts-letta-premier-103545455--business.html

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    Credit Suisse Q1 profit jumps to $1.37 billion

    BASEL, Switzerland (AP) ? Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group reported Wednesday a huge jump in first-quarter profits compared with a year earlier, when it booked significant charges to its own debt.

    Switzerland's second-biggest bank posted a profit of 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.37 billion), up sharply from the 44 million francs in the first quarter of 2012, when it booked a loss of 1.6 billion francs on its own outstanding debt and paid out higher bonuses. Net revenue rose 6 percent to 7.2 billion francs.

    The figures show "positive momentum" based on a transformed business model, the bank said in its statement released before the opening of the Zurich exchange, where shares rose 1.4 percent to 26.82 francs in morning trading.

    "The first quarter of 2013 shows that the strategic measures we have successfully implemented since mid-2011 are effective in bringing results to the bottom line on a consistent basis," Chief Executive Brady Dougan said.

    The bank, based in Zurich, said the results for the January-March period showed "high returns, strong client franchises, reduced cost base and lower risk-weighted assets."

    Like its cross-town competitor, UBS AG, which is Switzerland's biggest bank, Zurich-based Credit Suisse has been reducing its riskier investment banking activities at a time when Europe's economy is hurting.

    The bank's quarterly report also showed further cutbacks in its staff, to 46,900 people, down 4 percent from 47,400 a year earlier.

    Credit Suisse said Monday that it was selling its private equity business, Strategic Partners, which is based in Zurich, to New York-based Blackstone Group LP for an undisclosed amount. Strategic Partners manages $9 billion in assets and buys stakes in other private equity funds. The Zurich bank agreed last month to buy Morgan Stanley's wealth management unit, with $13 billion in assets under management, to expand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/credit-suisse-q1-profit-jumps-1-37-billion-083855334--finance.html

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    BlackBerry Q10 to be available in Canada starting May 1

    (Reuters) - BlackBerry said its new smartphone BlackBerry Q10 will be available in Canada starting May 1 through Rogers Wireless, Telus Corp and Bell Mobility.

    Q10 will be available starting at C$199 ($190) with a three-year contract. It will also be available on Virgin Mobile Canada.

    BlackBerry said it expects Q10 device to be available in the United States by the end of May.

    BlackBerry is trying to claw back market share lost to rivals such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co with its new line of devices powered by the revamped BlackBerry 10 operating system.

    BlackBerry, which has changed its name from Research In Motion, has said it expects to report break-even results in the current quarter.

    The company's shares closed at C$14.74 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday. They have gained 25 percent so far in 2013.

    (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blackberry-q10-available-canada-starting-may-1-212512797--sector.html

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    The Edge: Does the Tea Party Still Matter?

    The Edge is National Journal's daily look at today in Washington -- and what's coming next. The email features analysis from NJ's top correspondents, the biggest stories of the day -- and always a few surprises. To subscribe, click here

    Does the Tea Party Still Matter?

    After months of suspended animation, conservative firebrand Michele Bachmann and her House Tea Party Caucus are getting the band back together Thursday night. But the caucus and its leader come back to a changed political world.

    Bachmann returns to the caucus after a tough reelection win and months spent out of the limelight. And while the tea party movement has cooled since its early days, it has also gotten more Washington savvy. Tea partiers now have a lobbyist and a political adviser.

    With a core issue like the debt-limit fight looming, the Tea Party Caucus is picking a good time to reconvene. The movement has been most successful when it has had a huge national issue to animate it?think ?Obamacare??and the coming fight cuts to the heart of the tea party?s belief in smaller government and lower taxes.

    This summer?s spending battle will be a key indicator of how potent a force a more mature tea party will be.

    Chris Frates
    cfrates@nationaljournal.com

    TOP NEWS

    BIDEN TEES OFF ON ?TWISTED, PERVERTED? BOMB SUSPECTS AT SERVICE. Vice President Joe Biden called the brothers alleged to have set off bombs at the Boston Marathon ?twisted, perverted, knock-off jihadists? at a memorial service address for Sean Collier, an MIT police officer killed during a shootout with Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, The Hill reports. As many as 10,000 people attended the event in Cambridge, Mass., according to some reports. Read more

    TSARNAEV INCLUDED ON TERROR WATCH LIST, NOT ?NO-FLY? LIST. Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was included on a U.S. terror watch list but federal authorities do not routinely monitor everyone in the database, Reuters reports. Because officials did not deem Tsarnaev an ?active threat,? he was not added to a no-fly list or a separate list that would have made him subject to additional screening at airports. His January 2012 departure for Russia was flagged by that system but his return to the U.S. was not captured because his status was automatically downgraded in the absence of new information. Read more

    • Investigators questioning Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have found no links between the Tsarnaev brothers and foreign terrorist groups. Read more

    PLOT THICKENS IN RICIN CASE; AUTHORITIES SEARCH SECOND HOME. After a federal judge in Mississippi dismissed charges against entertainer Paul Kevin Curtis on Tuesday in the case of ricin-laced letters mailed to President Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., authorities searched the home of martial-arts instructor James Everette Dutschke, who has a history of conflict with Curtis. Dutschke, who denies involvement in the case, said, "I guess Kevin got desperate. I feel like he?s getting away with the perfect crime." Read more

    EIGHT SENATORS WHO HOLD IMMIGRATION REFORM IN THE BALANCE. While an immigration bill is likely to pass in the Senate, supporters want a strong showing?say, at least 70 votes?to give it the necessary momentum in the conservative-dominated House. So it's useful to look at the positioning of key conservative senators to get a sense of how the legislation is faring with the GOP base. National Journal?s Michael Catalini has eight senators to watch in the coming debate. Read more

    ISSA: OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WILL HOLD ANOTHER HEARING ON BENGHAZI. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has scheduled an additional hearing on the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said today that the committee ?will examine new facts about what happened and significant problems with the administration?s own review of Benghazi failures.? Issa and the chairmen of the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Intelligence committees released a report Tuesday on the investigation to date. Read more

    • A group of high-ranking House Democrats, including John Conyers, D-Mich., and Elijah Cummings, D-Md., wrote in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and the chairs of their respective committees that in issuing the report, Republicans are ?sacrificing accuracy in favor of partisanship.? Read more

    SCHWEITZER: GREAT PROGRESSIVE HOPE? It didn?t take long for liberals to rally around former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer as a potential replacement for outgoing Democratic Sen. Max Baucus. Schweitzer, as National Journal?s Elahe Izadi reports, appeals to progressives when it comes to issues like health care; he?s a vocal supporter of a single-payer health care system, and he?s had a chilly relationship with Baucus since the senator?s role in the health care debate in Washington. But he?ll likely disappoint on stricter gun control, though he sounds open to background checks. Schweitzer hasn?t made a decision on a run yet. Read more

    ADMINISTRATION AWARE OF POSSIBLE FISKER DEFAULT IN 2010. The Obama administration was notified in 2010 that Fisker Automotive was at risk of defaulting on its loan obligations, the Associated Press reports. An Energy Department loan official wrote in a June 2010 e-mail that the electric-car maker ?may be in limbo due to a lack of compliance with financial covenants,? while an earlier message noted milestones missed by Fisker. The department eventually halted disbursement of funds in June 2011, after Fisker had received $192 million of the original $529 million loan guarantee. Department spokeswoman Aoife McCarthy said the June 2010 e-mail has been ?taken out of context.? Read more

    SENATE CONFIRMS BURWELL AS OMB DIRECTOR. The Senate confirmed Sylvia Mathews Burwell today as the next director of the Office of Management and Budget in a landslide vote, 96-0, Politico reports. Burwell, a veteran of the Clinton administration, sailed through her confirmation hearings. ?Sylvia has spent a career fighting for working families, and she was part of an OMB team that presided over three budget surpluses in a row,? President Obama said in a statement. Burwell was president of the Walmart Foundation. Read more

    HARKIN POSTPONES HEARING ON PEREZ NOMINATION. A Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee vote on the nomination of Thomas Perez to serve as Labor secretary, slated for Thursday, has been postponed, Politico reports, following Republicans? announcement of a plan to invite as a witness Frederick Newell, who has criticized Perez?s handling of Newell?s whistleblower lawsuit against the city of St. Paul, Minn. ?While I continue to believe there are no impediments to Mr. Perez?s confirmation, I am agreeing to postpone his Committee vote until May 8th, in order to allow those Senators who have asked the time to request additional information they believe they need, and to evaluate his qualifications,? committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said today. Read more

    SEQUESTER CLAIMS NEW YORK?S FLEET WEEK. The sequester has claimed New York City?s famed Fleet Week, as the U.S. Navy announced today that cuts to its budget necessitated the cancellation. ?Unfortunately, there will be no Navy ships in New York this year for Fleet Week and no additional Sailors or Marines,? Navy spokeswoman Beth Baker said. Last year was the 25th anniversary of the event, which brings in tens of millions of dollars to the city, CBS New York reports. Read more

    TOMORROW

    OBAMA TO ATTEND TEXAS MEMORIAL SERVICE, CANCELS PLANNED PARENTHOOD KEYNOTE. Obama will attend a memorial service for those killed in last week?s explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. The White House announced today that out of a desire to stay longer in Texas, the president would not be delivering a keynote address at a Planned Parenthood gala Thursday evening. The president will instead address the group Friday morning. Read more

    OBAMA TO ATTEND OPENING OF BUSH LIBRARY. On Thursday, the president and the first lady will attend the dedication ceremony of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. House Speaker John Boehner will also be attending, among others. National Journal?s Jill Lawrence wonders whether historians will ever get on Bush?s side. Read more

    QUOTABLE

    ?What we?ve said to the girls is, ?If you guys ever decided you?re going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo in the same place. And we?ll go on YouTube and show it off as a family tattoo. And our thinking is that might dissuade them from thinking that somehow that?s a good way to rebel.? ?President Obama on the Today show Wednesday.

    BEDTIME READING

    ?I?M NOT READY TO SIGN UP FOR THIS YET??THE FOOD STAMP DECISION. In Florida, the epicenter of America?s growing senior demographic, it?s people like Dillie Nerios?s job to ?enroll at least 150 seniors for food stamps each month, a quota she usually exceeds,? writes Eli Saslow for The Washington Post. ?Alleviate hunger, lessen poverty: These are the primary goals of her work. But the job also has a second and more controversial purpose for cash-strapped Florida, where increasing food-stamp enrollment has become a means of economic growth, bringing almost $6 billion each year into the state.... It also adds to rising federal entitlement spending and the U.S. debt.? Saslow documents how those eligible frequently blanch at the prospect of receiving government help. Read more

    PLAY OF THE DAY

    SEQUESTER HITS AIRLINES. During his presidency, George W. Bush was a very popular topic for late-night hosts due to his verbal mishaps and gaffes. So, it?s no wonder Late Show?s David Letterman was quick to jump back to Bush jokes with the news of his presidential library opening soon. On NBC, Late Night?s Jimmy Fallon also jumped back to jokes about ex-presidents while doing a Bill Clinton impression. On Comedy Central, The Daily Show?s Jon Stewart spent some time on the Stock Act. Leno mocked air-traffic controllers sleeping on the job and said pilots could use the delay time to ?sober up.? Stephen Colbert used a sight gag to illustrate delays. Watch it here

    THE QUIRK

    JUST HOW LONG IS THE IMMIGRATION BILL? Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, seemed a bit surprised Tuesday at Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano when she said she had read the entire, 844-page immigration bill. ?Then that must have been a busy weekend,? Cruz quipped. But just how long is it? With the wide margins, large font, and gaping spaces between paragraphs, it?s actually more dime store novel than epic tome. The bill has 161,346 words?roughly 140,000 if you subtract the numbers on each line. That?s fewer words than a typical John Grisham paperback or most of the Harry Potter books. And it?s a quarter of the number of words in War and Peace. But that?s still pretty long, and officials only had six days to read it before the hearing. Read more

    REALITY CHECK

    THE PUBLIC ISN?T SO MAD ABOUT THE GUN BILL FAILURE. A new Washington Post-Pew Research poll shows that some 47 percent of Americans say they are ?angry? or ?disappointed? in the failure of the recent gun bill, but a relatively high 39 percent describe themselves as ?relieved? or ?happy,? results that are at odds with a widely cited figure that roughly 90 percent support expanding background checks. The split was almost even among those who say they ?very closely? followed the vote, indicating a so-called ?passion gap? between supporters of gun rights and gun-control advocates. Read more

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    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/edge-does-tea-party-still-matter-160616125--politics.html

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    Wednesday, April 24, 2013

    Did brotherly bond play role in Boston bombings?

    This Monday, April 15, 2013 photo provided by Bob Leonard shows bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, center right in black hat, and his brother, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, center left in white hat, approximately 10-20 minutes before the blasts that struck the Boston Marathon. It's a vexing puzzle about the Boston Marathon bombings: The younger of the two accused brothers hardly seemed headed for a monumental act of violence. How could he team up with his older brother to do this? Nobody knows for sure, but some experts in sibling research say the powerful bonds that can develop between brothers may have played a role. (AP Photo/Bob Leonard)

    This Monday, April 15, 2013 photo provided by Bob Leonard shows bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, center right in black hat, and his brother, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, center left in white hat, approximately 10-20 minutes before the blasts that struck the Boston Marathon. It's a vexing puzzle about the Boston Marathon bombings: The younger of the two accused brothers hardly seemed headed for a monumental act of violence. How could he team up with his older brother to do this? Nobody knows for sure, but some experts in sibling research say the powerful bonds that can develop between brothers may have played a role. (AP Photo/Bob Leonard)

    NEW YORK (AP) ? Some experts in sibling research say the powerful bonds that can develop between brothers may have played a role in the actions of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings.

    Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who died last week in a shootout with police, and his 19-year-old sibling Dzhokhar, are hardly the first brothers involved in criminal acts. Three pairs of brothers were among the 9/11 terrorists and three brothers were convicted in 2008 for planning to attack soldiers at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

    Tamerlan seemed to be the dominant sibling in the family, and relatives say he was a role model for his younger brother and sisters.

    Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox says in many criminal enterprises where brothers are involved, the leader is "almost always the older brother."

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-04-24-US-Boston-Marathon-Brotherly-Bond-/id-7ba2229445794cc3bd376632d7ab04f8

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