Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/177823686?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
The Research and Analysis of Personal Finance of Commercial ...
home > Finance > The Research and Analysis of Personal Finance of Commercial Bank of China
URL:http://www.economics-papers.com/?p=78119?Abstract? Personal finance is a emgerging industry for the commercial bank of China.The emergence of personal finance in China is due to the continous and quick development of national economy,the increase of the national income and the rising awareness on personal finance.Also,it is the result of the rapid development of the finance industry . Based on the ananlysis of the personal finance of the commercial bank of China, this thesis tries to find out the problem and shortcoming of the personal finance industry of the commercial bank in China by the research and analysis of the background ,strategy ,current situation of the personal finance of the commercial bank of China.Meanwhile, the thesis wants to predict the trend of the domestic personal finance of the commercial bank,and give some corresponding suggestiones.There are six parts in this thesis:Part 1:With the general introduction of the developing processes,definition,scope and theory basis of the personal finance,the thesis will preliminarily outline the personal finance industry.Part 2:In this part,the thesis focuses on the background of the development of the personal finance,and represents the relationship between the domestic macroeconomy situation,the direction of the commercial bank reformation,the development of the other financial institute,and the personal finance of domestic commercial bank.Part 3:By the analysis and research of the strategic goal as well as strategic method of the personal finance of the commercial bank of China,the thesis gerenalizes about the strategic bet of the personal finance of of domestic commercial bank.Part 4: On the basis of the deep analysis of the product,marketing strategy,service and channel,and the comparison with the personal finance of foreign commercial bank,the thesis represent the general situation of the personal finance of of domestic commercial bank. Furthermore, the thesis puts forward the shortcoming and the problem during the developing processes of the personal finance.Part 5:This part,which is based on the research of the personal finance development trend ,reprents the point of view on the perspective of the personal finance of of domestic commercial bank through the analysis of the future market development,the influence of mixed operation on finance industry and the future competitive landscape.Part 6:Based on the above-mentioned five parts,this part give some corresponding suggestiones on the development of the personal finance of commercial bank of China.
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Online gaming sees massive growth: infographic | Econsultancy
In these times of recession, online gaming is a boom industry, as witnessed by Zynga?s IPO today.
The deal values Zynga, the maker of FarmVille and CityVille, at $9bn and is the largest US internet IPO since Google raised $1.9bn in 2004.
And new data from gaming firm Pando Networks gives further evidence of the continued growth of free-to-play games.
While the data only reflects Pando?s figures, it gives an insight into the growth of gaming worldwide since 2009.
The company has seen a 1024% boom in game downloads in Europe between October 2009 and 2011, with developing nations such as Turkey seeing a 534% growth in free-to-play gaming on the Pando platform in the past 12 months.
Pando CEO Robert Levitan said the popularity of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games is being driven by several industry factors.
These factors include the transition from a ?paid? to a ?free-to-play? business model as evidenced by Turbine?s Lord of the Rings Online and Blizzard?s World of Warcraft, as well as the release of new hit games such as League of Legends from Riot Games.
?We expect continued robust growth as traditional game publishers move to full digital distribution and embrace the free-to-play model,? he said.
A full list of worldwide stats from Pando Networks can be seen in this infographic.
David Moth is a Reporter at Econsultancy. You can follow him on Twitter.?
Source: http://econsultancy.com/blog/8536-online-gaming-sees-massive-growth-infographic
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US to adopt strict new limits on chimp research
FILE - In this Jan. 31, 1961 file photo, Ham, the first higher primate launched into outer space, is comforted by an unidentified man on the deck of a rescue ship after the splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Chimpanzees should hardly ever be used for medical research, a prestigious scientific group told the government Thursday _ advice that means days in the laboratory may be numbered for humans' closest relatives. The Institute of Medicine stopped short of recommending the outright ban that animal rights activists had pushed. Instead, it urged strict limits that would make invasive experiments with chimps essentially a last resort, saying today's more advanced research tools mean the primates' use only rarely will be necessary enough to outweigh the moral costs. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 31, 1961 file photo, Ham, the first higher primate launched into outer space, is comforted by an unidentified man on the deck of a rescue ship after the splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Chimpanzees should hardly ever be used for medical research, a prestigious scientific group told the government Thursday _ advice that means days in the laboratory may be numbered for humans' closest relatives. The Institute of Medicine stopped short of recommending the outright ban that animal rights activists had pushed. Instead, it urged strict limits that would make invasive experiments with chimps essentially a last resort, saying today's more advanced research tools mean the primates' use only rarely will be necessary enough to outweigh the moral costs. (AP Photo, File)
This undated photo provided by the Wildlife Way Station shows Booie the chimpanzee. Booie who kicked a smoking habit and used sign language to beg for candy has died at a California animal refuge. Martine Colette of the Wildlife WayStation says Booie, was being treated for a heart condition when he died Saturday, Dec. 11, 2011, at 44. The chimp had been living at the animal sanctuary near Los Angeles since 1995, after he retired from a research lab. Colette says she turned Booie into a non-smoker but couldn't fix his sweet tooth. (AP Photo/Wildlife Way Station, Dave Welling)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Days in the laboratory are numbered for chimpanzees, humans' closest relative.
Chimps paved astronauts' way into space and were vital in creating some important medicines. But the U.S. government said Thursday that science has advanced enough that from now on, chimpanzees essentially should be a last resort in medical research ? a move that puts the United States more in line with the rest of the world.
Chimps' similarity with people "demands special consideration and respect," said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.
His move came after the prestigious Institute of Medicine declared that most use of chimpanzees for invasive medical research no longer can be justified ? and that strict new limits should determine which experiments are important enough to outweigh the moral cost of involving this species that is so like us.
"The bar is very high," said bioethicist Jeffrey Kahn of Johns Hopkins University, who led the institute panel.
The group stopped short of recommending an outright ban, saying a handful of research projects today might still require chimps ? but more importantly, that the animals might be required in the future as new diseases evolve and emerge.
Animal welfare groups welcomed the change but continue to push for Congress to pass legislation that would go a step further and phase out all invasive chimp research.
"Chimpanzees have provided limited value in research settings, and now alternative methods have been developed that will make their use all but obsolete," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States.
But some scientists say it's not that big a change because chimp studies already were dwindling fast as researchers turned to less costly and ethically charged alternatives.
"The use of a chimpanzee in biomedical research is the rare exception," said Dr. Thomas Rowell, who directs Louisiana's New Iberia Research Center, one of five research centers that houses chimps and other primate species used in both government- and privately financed studies.
It is not clear exactly how many of the nation's 937 research chimps ? 612 of them owned by the NIH ? are in the midst of experiments that would be affected by the new standards and could be moved into retirement instead. Most of the chimps are fairly old, as the nation has had a moratorium on breeding since 1995.
But Collins temporarily barred new government-funded studies involving chimps as his agency began implementing the recommended restrictions. Also, a working group will decide whether to phase out about 37 ongoing projects, about half of which Collins said probably don't meet the new standards.
These apes' genetic closeness to humans ? the genome is about 99 percent identical to ours ? has long caused a quandary, making the animals valuable to medical researchers for nearly a century but also sparking ethical and emotional questions about how they are housed and used.
"They are highly intelligent. They live in complex social settings, and they live for a very long time," said evolutionary anthropologist Anne Pusey of Duke University, who once worked with chimp expert Jane Goodall in Tanzania and manages an archive of Goodall's field data on the animals.
"When you enclose a chimp in a very small cage for 50 years, it really is cruel and unusual, even regardless of whether you're doing invasive things to them," she added.
The U.S. is one of only two countries known to still conduct medical research with chimpanzees; the other is Gabon, in Africa. The European Union essentially banned such research last year.
Thursday's decision was triggered by an uproar last year over the fate of 186 semi-retired research chimps that the NIH, to save money, planned to move from a New Mexico facility to an active research lab in Texas. They are staying put for now.
The Institute of Medicine's investigation found over the past 10 years, the NIH has paid for just 110 projects of any type that involved chimps. Most involved hepatitis C, a liver virus that infects only humans and chimps. Some involved HIV, a disease that scientists now know is better to study in rhesus monkeys. Still others involved comparing the genetics of chimps and humans, or behavioral research examining such things as development and mental health.
The institute recommended two different sets of restrictions. Biomedical research ? testing new drugs or giving chimps a disease ? should allow using the apes only if studies could not be done on other animals or people themselves, and if foregoing the work would hinder progress against life-threatening or debilitating conditions. The panel said behavioral and genetic research, while less controversial, nonetheless should be limited to studies that provide insights otherwise unattainable, using techniques that minimize any pain or distress.
The institute combed research files to see what types of projects would fit those strict criteria ? and could come up with only a handful, such as a possible need to test vaccines against hepatitis C in the animals. But the panel concluded chimps aren't needed to study cancer or a host of other diseases or even to test most drugs.
The standards would not automatically apply to privately funded pharmaceutical research, although the industry, too, is shifting away from use of chimps. One drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, adopted an official policy ending its use of great apes, including chimpanzees, in research.
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
Don't blame the usual suspect for cancer
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Most Popular Linux Downloads and Posts of 2011 [Best Of Lifehacker 2011]
Linux may not be the world's most popular desktop OS, but that doesn't mean it has to take a back seat to its proprietary brethren. Here are our best Linux downloads and posts from 2011.
How to Control Multiple Computers with a Single Keyboard and Mouse
If you have two or more computers at one desk, you don't want two or more sets of keyboards and mice cluttering up your workspace, too. You can buy a hardware gadget that lets you share a single keyboard and mouse with several computers (which involves a mess of tangled wires), or you could use a free software solution called Synergy. More ?
Become a Command Line Ninja With These Time-Saving Shortcuts
The command line can be quite powerful, but typing in long commands and file paths gets tedious pretty quickly. Here are some shortcuts that will have you running long, tedious, or complex commands with just a few keystrokes. More ?
How to Turn Your Computer Into the Ultimate Remote Access Media Server
If you're out of the house a lot but still want access to files on your home computer, one of the best ways to solve that problem involves setting up your computer as a remotely accessible home media server. More ?
Power Up Your XBMC Installation with These New Add-Ons
In its latest update, much-beloved media center application XBMC added one-click add-on installation, bringing browser-like extensions to your Media center. More ?
Set Up an Automated, Bulletproof File Back Up Solution
More and more, the fragments of your life exist as particles on a disk mounted inside your computer?disks susceptible to temperature changes, power surges, fire, theft, static, and just plain wear and tear. More ?
Ubuntu Linux 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" Released; Here's What's New
Like most Ubuntu updates, version 11.10 isn't a huge overhaul; rather, it improves on the big changes made in 11.04, by cleaning up the Dash, overhauling the Ubuntu Software Center, and bringing in some new default software. More ?
Five Best Desktop Customization Tools
Your desktop is your virtual home, and much like you're real home, customizing it to fit your needs and style can make the difference between between a drab and depressing workspace and one you're excited to work on. More ?
Lock Down Your Computer Like the NSA
Want to secure your computer with the same techniques used by the National Security Agency? Turns out the NSA has published guides for securing Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris operating systems using methods that "are currently being used throughout the government and by numerous entities as a security baseline for their systems." More ?
How To Turn Your Netbook Into a Chromebook with Chromium OS
Google recently released their own line of Chrome OS-clad netbooks, but with only a few choices and a somewhat high price tag, you might be more comfortable running Chrome OS on your own machine. More ?
Getting Started with Linux: The Complete Guide
If you've been meaning to try out Linux but felt too overwhelmed, we've got all the info you need to get started. Here are our five lessons on getting a working Linux partition up and running. More ?
Lifehacker Pack for Linux: Our List of the Best Linux Downloads
Linux may not be the most popular OS around, but we're not about to sit here and ignore it. Here are our favorite downloads for everyone's favorite open source operating system. More ?
Linux Desktop Faceoff: GNOME 3 Shell vs Ubuntu Unity
The popular Linux distribution Ubuntu recently finalized its move to the new Unity interface, while other Linux distributions are moving to the new GNOME 3 shell. More ?
WTF Desktop Environments: GNOME, KDE, and More Explained
You can customize nearly every last inch of your Linux installation to fit your liking, and it starts with choosing the right desktop environment. Whether you're a Linux beginner or you're just looking for a new interface, here's an overview of how desktop environments work and how to pick the right one for you. More ?
Lubuntu Breathes New Life into Your Netbook Without Sacrificing the Flexibility of a Full-Fledged Desktop
Netbooks aren't the fastest computers, but they can be useful-as long as they're usable. If you want your netbook to work and feel like a real computer rather than a toy, I can't recommend Lubuntu enough-it makes my netbook feel like a whole new machine. More ?
Lightweight Portable Security Is a Portable Linux Distro from the Department of Defense
Lightweight Portable Security (LPS-Public) is a bootable live CD designed by the Department of Defense so that government employees can access data from a public computer without worrying about security violations. More ?
E4rat Seriously Cuts Down on Linux Boot Time With a Few Simple Commands
Whether your computer already boots pretty quickly or you're trying to eke some extra spee dout of your old computer, free command line tool E4rat will seriously decrease your boot time. More ?
Learn All of Ubuntu 11.04's Keyboard Shortcuts with This Handy Wallpaper
The Unity-powered Ubuntu 11.04 is finally out, and with it comes a slew of new keyboard shortcuts for the Unity interface. They can seem a bit overwhelming at first, so spend a few days getting acclimated with this wallpaper-formatted shortcut list. More ?
ArchBang Brings Arch Linux's Greatest Features to Your PC Without the Stressful Installation
If you're in love with Arch Linux but are tired of the painstaking installation process, ArchBang is the perfect distribution for you. It has everything you love about Arch, but installs in just a few minutes with everything you need. More ?
Learn to Love Your *nix Command Line with Some Obscure but Useful Tools
Krist?f Kov?cs put together a list of 20 hugely useful command-line tools, most of which are available for Linux. Many of them are somewhat obscure, improved versions of simpler (more ancient) tools, while others are staples for experienced command-line users the world over. More ?
What Kind of Maintenance Do I Need to Do On My Linux PC?
We've gone through Windows and Mac maintenance, but what about Linux users? Luckily, it's pretty simple. More ?
There you have it. Despite its lower popularity, Linux is full of great tools and endless possibilities. Note that we left out a few of our more cross-platform posts to make room for the Linux-centric stuff we know you guys wanted to see?so you might want to take a quick gander at our most popular Windows and Mac posts of the year to check out some other Linux-compatible projects we covered this year. And, whether your favorite made the list or not, we'd love to hear about the Linux downloads and posts you loved this year in the comments.
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Obama seeks to leverage $1 trillion spending bill (AP)
WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate are using a critical year-end spending bill as political leverage to try to force Republicans to negotiate bipartisan legislation to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits due to expire at the end of the year.
An administration official said the president called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., over the weekend and urged him to hold up the massive $1 trillion-plus spending package until an agreement is reached on the tax cuts and the unemployment benefits.
Republicans controlling the House have instead charted their own course on the payroll tax, rolling it together with a provision to speed permitting of the controversial proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline and other provisions favored by Republicans.
The White House is concerned that if the spending bill were to pass, House GOP leaders could orchestrate House passage of a GOP-tilting version of the payroll tax and jobless benefits legislation that would be unacceptable to Obama and Senate Democrats ? but leave them in a political pickle ? and then leave Washington. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal administration strategy.
"What Congress can't do is make vague promises, Republicans in Congress make vague promises about a payroll tax cut and then finish its business, the business it has to get done ? the spending bill ? and then leave town and leave the American middle class holding the bag," White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday. "We're just not going to let that happen."
"They're wasting time catering to the tea party folks over there when they should be working with us on a bipartisan package that can pass both Houses," Reid said of the House GOP.
The spending bill had been gaining bipartisan support in a combative Congress. But Reid's White House-backed maneuvering could jeopardize efforts to approve new spending before the current government funding runs out this weekend. That means lawmakers could be faced with the prospect of passing a stopgap measure to keep the federal government operating ? or risk a partial government shutdown on Saturday.
Carney said that Congress has already passed a number of stopgap spending bills and passing another one wouldn't be a problem. "This isn't about a shutdown," he said.
But Carney labored to avoid directly saying that Obama and Reid linked the massive year-end spending bill to the payroll tax holiday. Pushed repeatedly on that Washington tactic, Carney ultimately said Obama will "do what he needs to do" to get the tax cut and unemployment insurance extended.
Lawmakers had by Monday reached agreement on most issues on the $1 trillion spending bill, which cuts agency budgets but drops many policy provisions sought by GOP conservatives. It chips away at the Pentagon budget, foreign aid and environmental spending but boosts funding for veterans programs and modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
"I am hopeful that the Senate leaders will come to their senses, allow members to sign this report and move forward. There is no reason to hold this bill," said Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.
But Democrats said a claim by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., that a pact had been sealed were incorrect, citing remaining disputes over policy towards Cuba, abortions in Washington, D.C., and Energy Department rules requiring new light bulbs to use 25 to 30 percent less energy beginning in 2012.
The measure generally pleases environmentalists, who succeeded in stopping industry forces from blocking new clean air rules and a new clean water regulation opposed by mountaintop removal mining interests. House Republicans were pressing hard against a White House veto threat over a provision that would roll back administration efforts to ease restrictions on Cuban immigrants on traveling to the island and sending cash back to family members there.
On spending, the measure implements this summer's hard-fought budget pact between the president and Republican leaders. That deal essentially freezes agency budgets, on average, at levels for the recently completed budget year that were approved back in April.
Drafted behind closed doors, the proposed bill would provide $115 billion for overseas security operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but give the Pentagon just a 1 percent boost in annual spending not directly related to the wars. The Environmental Protection Agency's budget would be cut by 3.5 percent. Foreign aid spending would drop and House lawmakers would absorb a 6 percent cut to their office budgets.
The bill also covers money for combating AIDS and famine in Africa, patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, operating national parks and boosting veterans' health care.
Rogers said bargainers had struck an agreement that he hoped to unveil Tuesday. But other lawmakers insisted a handful of issues remain to be finalized.
A House vote is expected Thursday and the Senate is likely to follow in time to meet a midnight Friday deadline before a stopgap funding measure expires.
Negotiations on the omnibus had largely been smooth and businesslike, a sharp contrast with the ongoing partisan brawl over Obama's demand that Congress extend jobless benefits and a cut in the Social Security payroll tax. The House is slated to vote on a GOP-friendly version of the payroll tax cut Tuesday, and negotiations with the Democratic-controlled Senate on a compromise measure have yet to begin.
Rogers was pushing until the end to block clean water rules opposed by mining companies that blast the tops off mountains, to no avail. Top Appropriations Committee Democrat Norm Dicks of Washington, when asked if the mountaintop mining rider was still a concern, said, "It would be if it were in" the final legislation.
Dicks also predicted failure for several GOP attempts to block the EPA's authority to issue greenhouse gas regulations and new limits on hazardous emissions under the Clean Air Act.
House GOP leaders pressed riders to block the administration's 2009 policy lifting restrictions on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to families remaining in Cuba, and some Democrats backing the administration policy seemed resigned to defeat.
On spending, the measure generally consists of relatively small adjustments to thousands of individual programs. Agencies like the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement would get a boost within the Homeland Security Department, while GOP defense hawks won additional funding to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. The troubled, over-budget, next-generation F-35 fighter plane program would be largely protected.
Democrats won a modest increase in funding for schools with large numbers of disadvantaged students.
_____
Associated Press writer Julie Pace contributed to this report.
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Summary Box: Best Buy 3Q profit falls (AP)
THE NEWS: Best Buy Co. said Tuesday its third-quarter net income fell 29 percent as the electronics retailer cut prices to drives sales and traffic during the all-important holiday season. Revenue rose 2 percent to $12.1 billion
THE CONTEXT: The Minneapolis company is facing tough competition from discounters and online retailers. It has been focusing on expanding its online offerings and services such as free shipping and letting customers pick up items ordered online in stores. Meanwhile, the chain has been reducing its square footage in the U.S.
WHAT'S NEXT: Best Buy reaffirmed annual profit guidance.
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Michael Bisping doesn?t want to hear about Jason Miller?s stamina, ?Mayhem? just needs work on his game
Michael Bisping just wanted a little more credit following his win over Jason "Mayhem" Miller, so he scolded the media who were saying the American ran out of steam early in the fight.
"Did you see the pace of the fight? Did you see how many punches I was throwing? Any time I stop someone it's because they gassed. I guarantee Jason didn't gas. I guarantee Jason could've gone five rounds," said Bisping.
The Brit said he was the reason Miller was physically and mentally sapped by the middle of the third round.
"Guess what? You might have cardio but when someone's landing big body shots like I was ... kneeing you in the stomach and punching you repeatedly in the face, your cardio gets affected," Bisping said. "Even the best runner would gas. You get Lindford Christie in there and beat the [expletive] out of him, see how fast he runs the 100 meters."
Bisping believes Miller can compete in the UFC, but the 30-year-old MMA veteran needs a lot of work.
"I've got good takedown defense and he took me down. Against someone less experienced, he could've gotten a submission. He gave me a tough first round," Bisping said. "If I were him, I'd go train striking, keep his shape a little bit more when he's standing up and be a little more orthodox."
Because Miller was launching his head each time he threw an overhand right, it almost became a short night for Bisping. He got drilled in the first when the fighter's clashed heads.
"He was throwing it and really committing with his head. I could feel it instantly and a big lump on my head," Bisping said. "When I'm sparring I prefer a really good, high-level boxer. Someone who's really good and technical. I do great against those guys. Someone who's unorthodox, a beginner if you will ... they catch you with shots because they do stupid things that they're not supposed to do. They don't follow the guidelines."
Miller has survived solely on his grappling by fighting in Japan, Strikeforce and some of the minor leagues around the U.S. He definitely needs to dedicate himself to the stand-up game or his stay in the UFC could be very brief.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Frank's retirement seen as major loss to fishing industry in New England (Star Tribune)
Monday, December 5, 2011
Italy PM Monti raises taxes, reforms pensions in austerity drive (Reuters)
ROME (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Mario Monti unveiled a 30-billion-euro package of austerity measures on Sunday -- increasing value added tax, reintroducing a property tax, and raising the pension age -- in a drive to gain control of Italy's strained public finances.
The measures, intended to reassure financial markets which have sent Italy's borrowing costs to untenable levels, come ahead of a vital week of meetings in which European leaders race to prevent the euro zone debt crisis from sliding out of control.
Monti said the package, divided between 20 billion euros of budget measures over 2012-14 and a further 10 billion euros in measures to boost growth, contained big sacrifices, but the government had sought to spread the burden as fairly as possible.
(Reporting By James Mackenzie, Catherine Hornby and Steve Scherer)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/bs_nm/us_italy
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Video: Cain to make big announcement
Gaming with young kids? Here's where to start
While some parents worry whether gaming is good for children, In-Game writer Winda Benedetti believes playing video games can be a wonderful activity not only for kids but for parents' relationship with their kids. With the help of her son, she hunts for the best new video games for parents to play with the youngest gamers.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45529566#45529566
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
Europe's Race to the Bottom: How Austerity is Killing the Euro (Time.com)
Stock markets may have soared after central banks around the world, led by the Fed, got together in a rare coordinated action to provide more dollars to Europe's strained financial sector. But we also got an indication of just how bad things have become. There have been concerns for months that Europe's banks were having difficulty getting dollar financing, which is very important to the operation of banks in France and elsewhere, as financial institutions around the world became nervous about lending money to a sector saddled with large euro zone sovereign debt holdings of dubious quality. The scary thing about that problem is that it could have caused a financial crisis in Europe even without a major new event in the debt crisis (like an Italian default). For central banks to act as they did, the situation must have become extremely severe, or was at least deteriorating badly.
And though that potential danger may have been averted (probably only in the short term), the central bank decision has done nothing to alleviate the underlying sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone. We're about to get some more action on that front as well, however, with yet another summit of European leaders approaching on December 9. The indications are that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy want to push ahead with some sort of "fiscal union," or at least their vision of one. As I wrote in a recent TIME magazine story, a fiscal union would probably be a real solution to the debt crisis. By coordinating national budgets and centralizing at least some decision making over spending priorities, a fiscal union could start repairing the shattered finances of euro zone countries, provide a backbone of support for weaker members like Italy, and convince investors that Europe will truly do whatever it takes to save the euro. (Read "Is Europe's debt crisis becoming a banking crisis?")
We'll have to wait for the details to get the full picture of what's on the table. But based on the early signs, the version of a fiscal union Merkel & Co. seem to advocate is really just an "austerity union," a way of forcing painful budget cuts, tax hikes and other measures onto euro zone countries through stiffer sanctions and regulations, with very little offered in return. That won't work. The euro can't survive on austerity alone. In fact, austerity, as it is being implemented now, is damaging the euro's prospects. Here's why:
The idea behind the German-backed solution to the debt crisis is to fix the broken countries of the euro zone. That, needless to say, does have to happen. But it can't be the entire focus of the crisis-fighting effort. Yes, some euro zone countries have been given financing (bailouts) to support them during their austerity programs, but now the bigger nations infected by the crisis (Italy and Spain) aren't even being offered that much. Instead, their new Prime Ministers are being placed under more and more pressure to cut, cut, cut, cut -- while the rest of the zone sits back and waits. But as we've witnessed for more than a year, cutting alone won't bolster investor confidence. They simply don't believe that the financial adjustments these countries must make can be achieved in any reasonable period of time. What these countries are being asked to do is reverse years -- in some cases, decades -- of fiscal policy in a matter of months. (France hasn't recorded a budget surplus since 1974.) (Read "Bailouts and Austerity Measures Aren't Working: Is This the Euro's Last Stand?")
Most of all, austerity is killing growth in the euro zone, and without growth, the crisis will be much harder to solve. Just look at some statistics. Spain recently downgraded its 2011 growth estimate by half a percentage point to a mere 0.8%. Portugal's GDP contracted 0.4% in the third quarter from the previous quarter. Greece's third quarter GDP plummeted 5.2% from the previous year -- its best quarterly performance of 2011. The OECD in November forecast that euro zone growth would sink to a pathetic 0.2% in 2012 from 1.6% this year. Without growth, closing deficits and stabilizing debt is much more painful. If GDP is stagnant or contracting, the amount of debt you need to eliminate to bring that crucial government-debt-to-GDP ratio down gets larger, and thus more difficult to achieve. Ditto with budget deficits. So to meet euro zone debt and deficit targets, countries have to cut more and more, further suppressing growth, and moving the target further off yet again. They become like a dog chasing its tail.
Investors know this full well, and that's why they remain wary of the euro zone debt situation even as its political leaders slice away at budgets. So borrowing costs remain lofty, making it harder, once again, for Italy and Spain to meet budget targets, which means they have to cut even more. And the pain inflicted by such severe austerity on populaces already suffering from an economic downturn (Spain's unemployment stands near a staggering 23%) only fuels opposition to reform and ire towards the monetary union. So the sick contradiction facing the euro zone is that austerity is necessary to fix the debt crisis, but at the same time, it also feeds the debt crisis. (Read "How to Know When the Euro Crisis Reaches a Tipping Point.")
How does Europe escape the trap? Austerity has to be balanced with something else to help these countries restore growth while repairing their economies. Yes, structural reforms to free up labor markets and decrease regulation will all help, but not in the short or even medium term. Nouriel Roubini argued in the Financial Times the other day that debt restructuring is the answer, to alleviate the burden on Italy. I'd suggest that the euro zone needs to improve the functioning of the common market by implementing EU-wide incentive programs to get companies in healthier countries, like Germany, to invest in weaker nations and hire the unemployed. Or the proposed fiscal union could be a true fiscal union, more like the United States, in which the center has the ability to tax and thus support member states that are economically struggling.
My sense is that none of the above is actively being considered. It seems to me that the only support being discussed is some form of a bailout -- to find a source of money to provide a financial "shield" for Italy and Spain so they can fund themselves at lower cost while implementing reforms. That may help slow the deterioration of the debt crisis, but it won't necessarily solve the debt problem itself, at least not in any acceptable time frame (as we've seen in Greece). If this is the route Europe takes, the members of the euro zone will have to be prepared to financially support its weaker members for an awfully long time before we see a real improvement in their economic health.
The solution to the debt crisis won't be budget cuts, more taxes, and more rules to force them down the throats of Italians, Spanish and Greeks. Merkel, Sarkozy and their counterparts have to find a broader solution. Otherwise, Europe is facing a race to the bottom.
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Woman: Psychologist implanted horrific memories
In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, photo Lisa Nasseff walks through a park near St. Paul, Minn. Nasseff, 31, is suing a suburban St. Louis treatment center where she spent 15 months being treated for anorexia, claiming one of its psychologists implanted false memories during hypnosis sessions in order to keep her there long-term and run up a bill that eventually reached $650,000. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, photo Lisa Nasseff walks through a park near St. Paul, Minn. Nasseff, 31, is suing a suburban St. Louis treatment center where she spent 15 months being treated for anorexia, claiming one of its psychologists implanted false memories during hypnosis sessions in order to keep her there long-term and run up a bill that eventually reached $650,000. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
ST. LOUIS (AP) ? The memories that came flooding back were so horrific that Lisa Nasseff says she tried to kill herself: she had been raped several times, had multiple personalities and took part in satanic rituals involving unthinkable acts. She says she only got better when she realized they weren't real.
Nasseff, 31, is suing a suburban St. Louis treatment center where she spent 15 months being treated for anorexia, claiming one of its psychologists implanted the false memories during hypnosis sessions in order to keep her there long-term and run up a bill that eventually reached $650,000. The claims seem unbelievable, but her lawyer, Kenneth Vuylsteke, says other patients have come forward to say they, too, were brainwashed and are considering suing.
"This is an incredible nightmare," Vuylsteke said.
Castlewood Treatment Center's director, Nancy Albus, and the psychologist, Mark Schwartz, deny the allegations, and Albus pledged to vigorously fight the lawsuit, which was filed Nov. 21 and seeks the repayment of medical expenses and punitive damages. As in other repressed memory cases, which typically involve allegations of child abuse, the outcome will likely hinge on the testimony of experts with starkly different views on how memory works.
Nasseff stayed at Castlewood from July 2007 through March 2008 and returned for seven months in 2009. She was struggling with anorexia.
In her lawsuit, Nasseff claims that Schwartz used hypnotic therapy on her while she was being treated with psychotropic drugs, and her lawyer says Schwartz gave her books about satanic worship to further reinforce the false memories. She says she was led to believe she was involved in a satanic cult whose rituals included eating babies, that she had been sexually abused and raped multiple times, and that she had exhibited 20 different personalities.
Vuylsteke said the trauma was too much to bear, and that Nasseff tried to get hold of drugs to kill herself while she was at the center.
"Can you imagine how you would feel if you thought you had participated in all these horrible things?" Vuylsteke asked.
Eventually, Nasseff learned from other women treated at Castlewood that they, too, had been convinced through therapy that they were involved in satanic cults, Vuylsteke said.
Nasseff returned to her home in Minnesota, where she works part-time in public relations and has her eating disorder in check, her lawyer said.
In her lawsuit, she claims that Schwartz warned her in October 2010 to return to Missouri for additional treatment or she would die from her disorder. She says he left a phone message this October warning that if she sued, all of her memories of satanic rituals and abuse would be revealed.
Schwartz, reached by phone at the center, where he is its clinical co-director, denied any wrongdoing but declined to discuss the case further because he hadn't hired a lawyer yet. He previously told ABCNews.com that he never hypnotized Nasseff, that they had never discussed satanic cults and that she never told him she had committed criminal acts.
Albus didn't respond to requests for comment, but she told Courthouse News Service that Castlewood "strongly believes that all of these claims are without merit and we intend to defend these claims vigorously."
Repressed memory cases, which typically involve allegations of abuse that happened during someone's childhood, became more common in the 1990s. But some experts question their validity.
Elizabeth Loftus, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, said there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the brain can store away bad memories then have them suddenly emerge.
"Where is the proof you can be raped in satanic rituals and have absolutely no awareness of it, then reliably recover those memories later?" she asked.
However, neither Loftus nor Jim Hopper, a clinical instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, would speculate about whether Schwartz may have implanted false memories. Both agreed people can have memories of events that didn't really happen and that the power of suggestion can play a role in producing false memories.
Loftus cited several medical malpractice cases won over memories that proved to be false.
Hopper said he believes memory is complex.
"Something that happened years ago can be encoded in the brain in various ways, and various combinations of those memory representations may be retrieved, or not, in various ways, for various reasons, at any particular time," he said.
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MMA Marketplace: ?Chocolate Al? shirts to raise money for Danny Miller Foundation
A writer at Cage Potato's daughter drew a picture of her father meeting "Chocolate Al" at an MMA seminar. (Say it out loud ...? maybe one more time ... there it is!) CP took that adorable story and turned it into a t-shirt.
Not only is it cool, but every shirt sold will raise between $14 and $17 for Danny Miller, the infant son of UFC fighter Dan Miller who needs help getting a life-saving surgery. It comes in three colors. Buy it here for $23.
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Friday, December 2, 2011
WADA: NFLPA stance on HGH test 'not about science'
NEW YORK (AP) ? Criticizing the NFL Players Association for blocking tests for human growth hormone, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday the union's objections are "not about science" and have "no substance."
Speaking to reporters at an anti-doping conference hosted at NFL headquarters, WADA director general David Howman added that the NFLPA's stance could lead one to believe that HGH use is a problem in pro football.
"The players are making a very good go of trying to say it is a problem by not agreeing to be tested. I would have thought if there wasn't a problem, they would say, 'Hey, test us,'" Howman said. "If you've got nothing to hide, open up."
The new labor contract that ended the NFL lockout in August included a provision for HGH testing as soon as this season ? but only once the NFLPA approved the process. That hasn't happened, in part because the NFLPA says it needs more information about the test itself.
"The NFL itself are approaching this in a pretty responsible fashion, and it's a bit disappointing when you are doing things to support the clean player that the players themselves are not in the same sort of mood," Howman said.
Earlier, during his keynote speech at "The Doping Decision: Deterring Doping in Sport," a conference organized by the Partnership for Clean Competition, Howman gave kudos to Major League Baseball and its players for recently agreeing to start HGH testing in spring training ? and took a jab at the NFLPA, saying of that union's hesitancy on the issue: "It's not about science; it's about something else, and that is frustrating."
Howman gave baseball a pass for not yet adding HGH to its list of substances being checked in the regular season.
"They're doing a step which is pretty significant. ... So I don't have a problem with them doing it a step at a time," Howman said. "Let's wait for the second step."
Told of Howman's comments about football, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said in a telephone interview: "The only institution that's lacking transparency in this situation is WADA. The test is not peer-reviewed by scientists other than WADA scientists. They don't reveal information about the population studies which is the foundation for their test, and they refuse to allow a fair appeals process as part of their program."
Anti-doping experts have said further population studies aren't needed because those used to validate the test included dozens of athletes who have a football player's body type, including players in Canada. Many of those same experts have, however, always said that an independent appeals process is critical to running a fair doping program. The NFL has final say on suspensions resulting from its testing programs.
"Our ability to begin HGH testing is not going to be determined by any artificial deadline. It's going to be determined by the validity and fairness and reliability of the test and the testing protocol," Atallah said.
Northwestern University's Gerhard Baumann, a longtime HGH expert who spoke at Thursday's conference, called the NFLPA's argument "spurious," saying there's no evidence WADA's test for that substance is unreliable.
"This has been studied for decades. These arguments are not scientifically valid," Baumann said.
WADA's Howman wasn't exactly on neutral ground Thursday: The NFL and MLB give money to the Partnership for Clean Competition, which funds grants for research to combat performance-enhancing drugs in sports; the conference was proudly touted on a video screen in the lobby at NFL headquarters; Howman was introduced to the audience by Adolpho Birch, the NFL's senior vice president of law and labor policy.
"We have attempted from August forward to address every concern that (the NFLPA) raised through the use of experts, through scientific literature, through meetings, through discussions, through offering up whatever avenues and means we had available to have those considered," Birch said after the conference ended. "We believe that we've done that. If those concerns remain, it is beyond our capacity to be able to address them further."
Among the other speakers Thursday was Jeff Novitzky, a Food and Drug Administration special agent who has been involved in federal investigations into seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and, in his prior job as an IRS special agent, into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO).
He advocated cooperation between federal investigators and various sports to track down performance-enhancing drugs.
"It's important for us in government law enforcement to work with anti-doping (agencies), to work with the leagues, to determine what are the next (substances) out there," Novitzky said. "When you find that is going on in the league, five years later it's going to filter down ... to society."
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