Finding a job is not easy ? especially in the competitive post-college market. So what is the best way for an aspiring copywriter to get noticed by potential employers? Chris Liu transformed his resume into a Google search results page which includes his bio resume, social media channels and educational background. Not missing a beat and identically mimicking Google?s layout which cleverly he calls ?Liugle?. A creative, stand-out resume website, yet Google might have its own concerns with copyright infringement.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Gov. Rick Perry isn't letting lawmakers leave until they deliver more spending for congested Texas highways so drivers can get where they're going.
But there's one growing problem: simply getting lawmakers to the Capitol to vote.
When the Texas House failed to approve spending an extra $900 million a year to ease traffic-choked and crumbling highways, missing from the make-or-break vote were 23 lawmakers, some of whose absences remained unexplained Tuesday.
The bill ? the only order of business left for the Legislature ? fell short by 16 votes Monday. The result Tuesday was an immediate third session ordered by Perry, who called the failure of a transportation funding bill "unacceptable."
Some lawmakers believe the bill would have prevailed in a full chamber ? thereby averting yet another special session, each of which costs the state roughly $800,000.
Republican House Speaker Joe Straus said filling chairs won't get easier as the Legislature drags into an eighth month.
Without enough lawmakers present to deliver a two-thirds majority, the House can't approve a plan to send voters a November referendum for more transportation spending.
"It is clear as you get deeper into the summer that to have 150 members here is not going to happen," Straus said. "There's several members who have family illnesses that they're attending to. There's members whose families are going back to school shortly. There's a lot of reasons why members who are part-time legislators can't be here every day so it's going to be tough to pass something that requires a hard 100 votes."
The Associated Press reached out to every House member absent for Monday's vote. At least three lawmakers were dealing with sensitive personal issues: Democrat Marisa Marquez was mourning the weekend death of her chief of staff, and Democrat Terry Canales was in a California hospital with his son. Republican John Zerwas was at a hospital with his wife.
Aides to other House members would not comment on their bosses' whereabouts and took messages that were not returned.
Republican state Rep. Lyle Larson, one of only a handful of lawmakers who showed up for work Tuesday, said the bill's prospects in a full House on Monday would have been strong because some members likely would have switched votes if the bill was on the brink of passage.
"We would've got real close," Larson said.
Some lawmakers were unapologetic for not being at their desks.
"We're supposed to be a part-time Legislature. They've held us there captive," said Rep. Jessica Farrar, who was among 14 Democrats absent for the vote. "They had us there for abortion. I really just think it's failed leadership. It should have been taken care of a long time ago."
Farrar said she missed the afternoon vote because she was studying for the bar exam. By the evening, the former House Democratic leader said she decided she was still not ready to take it.
Farrar said she would not have supported the bill if present, further dooming its chances anyway.
In the Senate, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst blasted the House for their thin ranks.
"I'm really shocked that so many people who have been elected take off when they need to be here," Dewhurst said.
He then added: "These members have responsibility to show up and do the work they were elected for or resign."
Justin Rodriguez, a first-term Democrat from San Antonio, also missed the vote. Brian Hodgdon, his chief of staff, would not reveal where Rodriguez was other than to say that he was among nine lawmakers Monday whose absences were recorded as excused.
There is a low threshold for being granted an excused absence in the House. The explanations in the official journal are vague and typically chalked up to "important business in the district."
The House needed two-thirds of the chamber to support the would-be constitutional amendment. The vote came after a week of talks between the House and Senate, and was freighted with the hopes of finally sending lawmakers home after seven months.
Among the Democrats not present was Trey Martinez Fischer, who was at the White House for a conference on voting rights. Ruth McClendon, who sits on the House Transportation Committee, was speaking at the Southern Legislative Conference in Alabama, said Janis Reinken, her chief of staff. Rene Oliveria was sick in Brownsville, said spokesman Anthony Gray.
Other Democrats missing were Rafael Anchia, Garnet Coleman, Helen Giddings, Sylvester Turner, Joe Farias and Joe Deshotel.
Republicans not present were Pat Fallon, Jim Keffer, Chris Paddie, Diane Patrick and Allan Ritter. Republicans Matt Krause and Stefani Carter said they were temporarily out of the chamber but would have voted no.
___
Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber
Myanmar at the crossroads: Conservationists see opportunities and challenges in biodiversity hotspotPublic release date: 30-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: John Delaney jdelaney@wcs.org 718-220-3275 Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society study finds impending economic growth and climate change impacts require long-term adaptation efforts to conserve Myanmar's unique biodiversity
Long isolated by economic and political sanctions, Myanmar returns to the international community amid high expectations and challenges associated with protecting the country's great natural wealth from the impacts of economic growth and climate change.
In a new study, scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society have examined the implications of economic development and climatic changes on conserving Myanmar's biodiversity and provide recommendations for conservation planning within a context of a changing climate by strengthening the protected area system and engaging in ecosystem-based adaptation strategies.
The paper appears in the latest edition of AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. The authors include: Madhu Rao, Saw Htun, Steven G. Platt, Rob J. Tizard, Colin M. Poole, Than Myint, and James E.M. Watson of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
"For many years, Myanmar's isolation has served to protect the biodiversity which has disappeared from many other regions in Southeast Asia," said Wildlife Conservation Society's Dr. Madhu Rao, lead author of the study. "Things are now changing rapidly for Myanmar, which will soon experience increasing economic growth and the myriad cascading effects of climate change on its forests and coastlines. The opportunity to protect the country's natural heritage with a strategic and multi-faceted approach is now."
Unlike many other countries in the region, Myanmar still contains high levels of biodiversity along with vast swaths of natural forests. The country contains a wide assemblage of habitats including lowland tropical forests and mangrove ecosystems that are increasingly degraded and depleted elsewhere in the region. Myanmar also contains a number of species found nowhere else on Earth, such as white-browed nuthatch (Sitta victoriae), Myanmar snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri), Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota), and Burmese roof turtle (Batagur trivittata). In all, Myanmar is home to 233 globally threatened species, including 37 critically endangered and 65 endangered species.
The authors conducted their analysis of Myanmar's environmental threats with an examination of relevant peer-reviewed and gray literature sources. Within a context of weak environmental safeguards and low investment in conservation, rapid economic development is expected to have negative implications for already threatened biodiversity and natural resource-dependent communities. Climate change will further exacerbate prevailing threats given Myanmar's high vulnerability. The effects of climate change, the authors assert, will directly impact wildlife species through loss of suitable habitat and changes in ecosystem function. Climate change will also impact local communities, and affect their reliance on terrestrial, freshwater, and marine resources.
"The threat of climate change implies the need to embrace ecosystem-based strategies that will enable people to be resilient and allow species to survive. With sensible planning, the people of Myanmar can aim to protect the key ecological services that will provide an important buffer for the likely effects of climate change that are already occurring," said Dr. James Watson, WCS's Climate Change Program Director and a co-author on the study.
Recommendations presented in the paper include a planned expansion in the existing protected area network to capture underrepresented ecosystems and climatic refugia while ensuring functional connectivity for species in the context of climate change. The authors recommend the development and implementation of strict regulatory frameworks to mitigate potential negative impacts of large-scale infrastructure development projects on biodiversity.
"Leaders of the Myanmar government have a chance to transform their country into a model for sustainable development," said Joe Walston, Executive Director of WCS's Asia Program. "Saving Myanmar's natural wonders for posterity will rely on filling knowledge gaps and correctly anticipating the responses of environment and people in a changing world."
###
The study was made possible by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and other generous supporters.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Myanmar at the crossroads: Conservationists see opportunities and challenges in biodiversity hotspotPublic release date: 30-Jul-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: John Delaney jdelaney@wcs.org 718-220-3275 Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society study finds impending economic growth and climate change impacts require long-term adaptation efforts to conserve Myanmar's unique biodiversity
Long isolated by economic and political sanctions, Myanmar returns to the international community amid high expectations and challenges associated with protecting the country's great natural wealth from the impacts of economic growth and climate change.
In a new study, scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society have examined the implications of economic development and climatic changes on conserving Myanmar's biodiversity and provide recommendations for conservation planning within a context of a changing climate by strengthening the protected area system and engaging in ecosystem-based adaptation strategies.
The paper appears in the latest edition of AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. The authors include: Madhu Rao, Saw Htun, Steven G. Platt, Rob J. Tizard, Colin M. Poole, Than Myint, and James E.M. Watson of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
"For many years, Myanmar's isolation has served to protect the biodiversity which has disappeared from many other regions in Southeast Asia," said Wildlife Conservation Society's Dr. Madhu Rao, lead author of the study. "Things are now changing rapidly for Myanmar, which will soon experience increasing economic growth and the myriad cascading effects of climate change on its forests and coastlines. The opportunity to protect the country's natural heritage with a strategic and multi-faceted approach is now."
Unlike many other countries in the region, Myanmar still contains high levels of biodiversity along with vast swaths of natural forests. The country contains a wide assemblage of habitats including lowland tropical forests and mangrove ecosystems that are increasingly degraded and depleted elsewhere in the region. Myanmar also contains a number of species found nowhere else on Earth, such as white-browed nuthatch (Sitta victoriae), Myanmar snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri), Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota), and Burmese roof turtle (Batagur trivittata). In all, Myanmar is home to 233 globally threatened species, including 37 critically endangered and 65 endangered species.
The authors conducted their analysis of Myanmar's environmental threats with an examination of relevant peer-reviewed and gray literature sources. Within a context of weak environmental safeguards and low investment in conservation, rapid economic development is expected to have negative implications for already threatened biodiversity and natural resource-dependent communities. Climate change will further exacerbate prevailing threats given Myanmar's high vulnerability. The effects of climate change, the authors assert, will directly impact wildlife species through loss of suitable habitat and changes in ecosystem function. Climate change will also impact local communities, and affect their reliance on terrestrial, freshwater, and marine resources.
"The threat of climate change implies the need to embrace ecosystem-based strategies that will enable people to be resilient and allow species to survive. With sensible planning, the people of Myanmar can aim to protect the key ecological services that will provide an important buffer for the likely effects of climate change that are already occurring," said Dr. James Watson, WCS's Climate Change Program Director and a co-author on the study.
Recommendations presented in the paper include a planned expansion in the existing protected area network to capture underrepresented ecosystems and climatic refugia while ensuring functional connectivity for species in the context of climate change. The authors recommend the development and implementation of strict regulatory frameworks to mitigate potential negative impacts of large-scale infrastructure development projects on biodiversity.
"Leaders of the Myanmar government have a chance to transform their country into a model for sustainable development," said Joe Walston, Executive Director of WCS's Asia Program. "Saving Myanmar's natural wonders for posterity will rely on filling knowledge gaps and correctly anticipating the responses of environment and people in a changing world."
###
The study was made possible by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and other generous supporters.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 100 U.S. Republican donors and fundraisers called on conservatives in Congress to back an overhaul of the nation's immigration system, including supporting "legal status" for those in the United States illegally, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The Republicans, including former President George W. Bush's aide Karl Rove, told lawmakers in a letter that refusing to reform the immigration system amounted to "de facto amnesty," the newspaper said.
"Standing in the way of reform ensures that we perpetuate a broken system that stifles our economy, leave millions of people living in American unaccounted for, maintain a porous border, and risk a long-lasting perception that Republicans would rather see nothing done than pass needed reform," they said in the letter, a copy of which was posted on the newspaper's website.
"That is not the path for the Republican Party."
The effort was shepherded by former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, who also served under Bush, and included a variety of political donors and fundraisers who offered three mandates that should be included in final legislation:
"To fix our immigration system we need meaningful reforms that will (1) secure our borders, (2) provide a legal way for U.S.-based companies to hire the workers they need while making it impossible to hire workers here illegally, and (3) take control of our undocumented immigration problem by providing a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants who pay penalties and back taxes, pass criminal background checks, and go to the back of the line," the donors wrote.
Lawmakers are trying to work out a solution to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, including a plan to address the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally.
The Senate passed a sweeping reform bill in June, but House Republicans are deeply divided over the issue and have no clear strategy or timeline for passing their own legislation that could eventually be merged with the Senate bill.
White House spokesman Jay Carney has said he expects Congress will pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation that President Barack Obama will sign into law.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; editing by Christopher Wilson)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Seventeen car bombs exploded in Iraq on Monday, killing at least 55 people in predominantly Shi'ite areas in some of the deadliest violence since Sunni insurgents including al Qaeda stepped up attacks this year.
Police and medical sources said the attacks, which appeared to be coordinated, were concentrated on towns and cities in Iraq's predominantly Shi'ite south, and districts of the capital where Shi'ites reside.
The car bomb attacks in busy streets and crowded markets underscore deteriorating security in Iraq, where nearly 4,000 people have been killed since the start of the year, according to violence monitoring group Iraq Body Count.
The violence has raised fears of a return to full-blown conflict in a country where Kurds, majority Shi'ite and minority Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable way of sharing power.
At least 10 people were killed when two car bombs blew up near a bus station in the city of Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of the capital, police said.
Four more were killed in a blast in the town of Mahmoudiya, about 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, and two bombs in Samawa, further south, killed two.
The rest of the bombings took place in regions of Baghdad, in Sadr city, Habibiya, Hurriya, Bayaa, Ur, Shurta, Kadhimiya, Risala, Tobchi and Abu Dsheer neighborhoods.
In July, more than 810 people were killed in militant attacks.
Iraqi forces patrolling alone since U.S.-led troops left in 2011 are struggling to contain a resurgent al Qaeda, which has been regrouping and striking with a ferocity not seen in years.
Sectarian tensions across the region have been inflamed by the civil war in neighboring Syria, which has drawn Shi'ites and Sunnis from Iraq and beyond into battle on opposite sides.
(Reporting by Kareem Raheem in Baghdad, Aref Mohammed in Basra and Jaafar al-Taie in Kut; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)
California band Night Riots has only been around for a couple of years, but already the group has a bit of a following. The Riots raised almost $12,000 to record their new EP, Young Lore, via Indie Go Go and will put out the record tomorrow, July 30. A.V. Club readers can hear the new single off the record now, though.
?Remedy? is a bit of a departure from the rest of the material on Young Lore, but lead singer Travis Hawley says that?s a good thing. Says Hawley, ?When we went into the studio, we decided to change everything but the lyrics and melodies. It changed the entire vibe, but in the best way possible.? Listen below and judge for yourself.
Comparing the HBO series' depictions of Occupy Wall Street, the Republican presidential campaign, and the opening of the "Ground Zero Mosque" to what really happened
HBO
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The News vs. The Newsroom: Did the Show Get Occupy Wall Street Right?
The Newsroom takes place roughly two years in the past, where the ACN News Night team strives to virtuously and judiciously report the news as it happens. By reenacting headline-making happenings, Aaron Sorkin's HBO series comments both on those happenings and the way they were handled by journalists. So it's worth asking: How does The Newsroom's version of events fit in with the way these events really unfolded in the media?
Not always perfectly--but not always incorrectly, either. Here's how the third episode of The Newsroom's second season compares to the real-life news coverage and media narratives of the time period it portrays.
The Newsroom: Episode Three opens on September 23, 2011. At the GOP presidential debate the night before, all nine Republican presidential candidates remained silent while audience members booed at a gay U.S. soldier's question for Rick Santorum about policies regarding homosexuality in the military. Will McAvoy delivers a report with some punishing extra commentary.
The news: When Stephen Hill was booed at the Republican debate and Rick Santorum didn't acknowledge the audience's negative response, several prominent media figures were, like Will, shocked, indignant, and disappointed.
MSNBC's Chris Matthews pointed out--as Jim Harper does in the episode--that this gaffe was, above all, a missed opportunity. "Is there any natural leader in the Republican party, or is it mob rule? [A candidate could say,] 'Now, let's think that through again. This guy is fighting for our country,'" Matthews said. "'You may not approve, if you have an attitude, about his orientation or his political ideologies. But let's have a hand for everybody in our military.' That would be a chilling moment."
Several Republican leaders decried both the booing and the lack of response from the primary candidates--even debate participants Santorum (who said he couldn't hear the boos from the stage) and Gary Johnson, who said he could hear the boos and regretted not saying something.
Megyn Kelly, however--the moderator at the GOP debate, for whom The Newsroom's Charlie Skinner offers a very colorful suggestion--tried to set the story straight.
The Newsroom: Neal continues to carry a torch for the OWS cause, and makes his case to Mackenzie that the protesters in Zuccotti Park are doing something that deserves more news coverage.
The news: In the last days of September, sentiments like Neal's popped up in the news--but they were expressed by the protesters themselves.
"Why is the media not covering it? ... Because the media is controlled by the exact people we're protesting against," said one protester, in a report from RT News. "They don't really talk about why we're there, or they try to make it seem like our numbers are dwindling when in fact they're increasing. Or that we're dirty hippies or young teenagers who are now disgruntled when that's really not the case at all."
And as for the Megyn Kelly video that Neal and Mackenzie watch in her office, you can see the rest of that report--in which Kelly expresses uncertainty over whether the protesters sprayed with pepper spray were over-dramatizing the effects of it--here. (Rough week for Megyn Kelly in Newsroom-world.)
The Newsroom: Sometime around September 26, Hallie appears to discover--with Jim's help--inconsistencies in Mitt Romney's record on abortion issues.
The news: Romney's sudden change of heart after a history of defending the status quo on abortion issues certainly invited questions from reporters like Hallie in the following weeks and months, as well as from the general public. This compilation of footage of Mitt Romney defending abortion rights as a Massachusetts politician surfaced that fall on YouTube.
But his changing stance was already public knowledge at this point, to some extent. Here's Rick Perry calling out Mitt Romney for flip-flopping at the GOP presidential debate on September 22.
The Newsroom: "You know what opened four days ago? Park51, the Ground Zero Mosque," Will tells Mackenzie. "Turns out the sky didn't fall down. And nobody, including us, covered it. You wonder why people hate the media."
The news: Expand your media diet, Will McAvoy--The Huffington Post, Gothamist, Newsday, The Washington Times, and Bloomberg Businessweek all picked up the story.
"This space is a testament to our intentions and to the service that we, as Muslims, intend to give back to Manhattan," said the Islamic cultural center's developer, Sharif El Gamal.
A bit of a mystery is brewing over at Apple as Senior Vice President Bob Mansfield has disappeared from the company?s leadership page at Apple.com, and no information can be found anywhere on the site.
Sometime over the weekend Mansfield?s bio disappeared from the Apple site, but no word has been spoken as to why. Mansfield announced his retirement in June 2012, only to announce a mere eight weeks later that he was sticking around after all. The belief was that the firing of Scott Forstall factored into his reversal in employment.
In a bid to keep him on with the company, it is believed that Apple CEO Tim Cook offered him a pay package that was generous enough to keep him around until at least 2014, so the sudden disappearance from the company?s bio page is a bit shocking. He also had moved from being in the hardware division, where he oversaw the design of the MacBook Air, to being the?Senior Vice President of Technologies where he was working on projects such as wireless charging and semiconductors.
It is always possible this is an error, or some form of work is being done to the page, but it definitely seems a tad suspicious. We?ll just have to see if anything is revealed in the coming days or if the page just suddenly reappears.
The research, published online today in Science, "increases understanding of the molecular mechanisms of action of PTEN, which is known to be defective in as many as half of all advanced cancers" says principal investigator Vuk Stambolic, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Dr. Stambolic, a specialist in cell signalling, is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto.
In the lab, working with cell and animal models of cancer, the research team discovered what happens when the protein product of PTEN is lost or deregulated. Dr. Stambolic says: "We realized that the PTEN nuclear function links this tumor suppressor to the response to conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation. This new knowledge, combined with our prior understanding of PTEN, provided immediate clues for individualizing therapy for patients with PTEN-deficient tumors."
Medical oncologist Lillian Siu, who leads numerous clinical trials at Princess Margaret, but was not directly involved in this research, says: "For clinicians, this is a significant finding that could help guide treatment decisions, especially considering that we can already test for PTEN deficiency by molecularly analyzing biopsied tissue, providing a biomarker for implementation of combined therapies that may be most effective."
For Dr. Stambolic, the discovery builds on his earlier research (Cell, 1998) which helped explain how PTEN loss promotes cell survival, another key feature of cancerous cells. "We now realize that the PTEN story was only half-told in 1998," says Dr. Stambolic. "The new findings, in conjunction with advances in molecular profiling and access to drugs already available or being tested in clinical development, present a tangible scenario to tailor treatment."
BURLINGTON, Ky. - A Northern Kentucky church group that traveled to Las Vegas on a mission trip has fallen victim to thieves.
Shortly after arriving in Las Vegas, thieves stole thousands of dollars of supplies, a sport utility vehicle and a trailer while members of the Burlington Baptist Church congregation were inside eating dinner at a Chili?s restaurant.
"A family of seven drove their own SUV, and took a trailer full of all of our supplies and they drove across country. And we were going to meet them there and help unload the trailer," said Ken Ford, deacon at the church.
Ford, who was already in Vegas when the group arrived Thursday evening, said the thieves made off with various things ranging from band equipment to religious materials.
"We had band equipment, lots and lots of tooling, vacation Bible school stuff, so literally thousands and thousands of dollars inside the trailer, roughly $50,000 of supplies," he said. ????????????? The value of what was taken is estimated at close to $100,000 if you include the family?s GMC Yukon and the trailer.
The church group traveled out west to join members of their sister church, Summerlin Community Church, in working toward improving the local community.
Ford said he filed a police report with Las Vegas police and is hopeful someone who was at the restaurant Thursday evening can help them get their stuff back.
While he?s trying to remain optimistic, Ford said news he received from officials with the police department is making that difficult.
"They say it's very common, very frequent and the odds of us getting (our supplies) back is very slim," he said.
Some of the group?s plans have had to change as a result of the incident so Ford flew back to Northern Kentucky to figure out what to do next.
However, while they may have been momentarily slowed down, the church group isn?t letting the actions of a few people undermine the work they?re trying to accomplish. About 70 people from the church are staying in Las Vegas to continue their mission.
Ford credits the resolve and dedication of the members of the group for keeping their minds and hearts in the right place.
"They have really pulled themselves up and have decided to do the mission they intended to do and be out there for the week until next Saturday," Ford said.
While they received a cold welcome when they arrived in town, members of Burlington Baptist Church said multiple churches in Las Vegas have been generous and willing to share their resources with them.
"Some of the other local churches, as an irony, have donated some supplies for Vacation Bible School to help us do what we were going to do," Ford said.
On Sunday, the church asked members of the Northern Kentucky community to make donations to help them replace what was stolen.
You can make a donation by visiting the church office at 3031 Washington Street in Burlington.
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
This utility installs the originally shipped version of the VAIO Smart Network software.
Important Notes - During the installation of this file, be sure that you are logged in as the Administrator or as a user with Administrative rights. - To ensure that no other program interferes with the installation, save all work and close all other programs. The Taskbar should be clear of applications before proceeding. - Print out these instructions for use as a reference during the installation process.
It is highly recommended to always use the most recent driver version available.
Do not forget to check with our site as often as possible in order to stay updated on the latest drivers, software and games.
Try to set a system restore point before installing a device driver. This will help if you installed a wrong driver. Problems can arise when your hardware device is too old or not supported any longer.
China?s government has ordered companies to close factories in 19 industries where overproduction has led to price-cutting wars, affirming its determination to push ahead with a painful economic restructuring despite slowing growth.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued orders late on Thursday to more than 1,400 companies to cut excess capacity that has led to financial trouble for manufacturers.
The affected industries include steel, cement, copper and glass. It requires some companies to close outright.
The ministry said it aims to eliminate ?backward production capacity,? indicating it also is meant to improve efficiency in energy and resource use.
Other industries targeted include coke, calcium carbide, aluminum, smelting of lead and zinc, paper, alcohol, monosodium glutamate, citric acid, leather, printing and dyeing, chemical fiber and batteries.
The production glut is in part a lingering cost of the multibillion-dollar stimulus that helped China rebound quickly from the 2008 global crisis. Beijing pumped money into the economy with a wave of spending, much of it financed by state banks, on building new subways, bridges and other public works.
Higher revenues for state-owned construction companies and suppliers of steel and other building materials propped up inefficient producers and encouraged some to expand.
In the cement industry, Thursday?s order calls on companies to shut down facilities with annual production capacity of more than 92 million tons. Steel producers were ordered to eliminate 7 million tonnes of production capacity.
Communist leaders are trying to reduce reliance on investment and trade. However, a slowdown that pushed China?s economic growth to a two-decade low of 7.5 percent in the latest quarter prompted suggestions they might have to reverse course and stimulate the economy with more investment to reduce the threat of job losses and unrest.
?This detailed list shows the government is serious in its efforts to restructure the economy and is prepared to tolerate the necessary pain,? Nomura economist Zhang Zhiwei (???) wrote in a report. ?This reinforces our view that aggressive policy stimulus is unlikely in 2012 and that growth should trend down.?
An investment boom and government subsidies to industries such as solar panel manufacturing prompted producers to expand rapidly until supply exceeded demand. Companies have been forced to slash prices, often to below production cost.
The government?s overall measure of prices charged by producers has fallen for the past 16 months, threatening a growing number with financial ruin. A major solar panel maker, Suntech Power Holdings Ltd (??), was forced into bankruptcy this year.
An All Nippon Airways' (ANA) Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner plane, which flew from Sapporo in Northern Japan, lands at Haneda airport in Tokyo May 26, 2013.REUTERS/Yuya Shino
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's ANA Holdings Inc <9202.T>, which operates the world's biggest fleet of Boeing Co <BA.N> Dreamliners, said it found damage to the battery wiring on two 787 locator beacons during checks after the devices were identified as the likely cause of a fire on another aircraft in London this month.
The damage was slight, but the beacons have been sent to the manufacturer, Honeywell International Inc <HON.N>, for inspection and the airline has informed local aviation regulators, an ANA spokesman, Ryousei Nomura, said.
British investigators probing the fire aboard an Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner at Heathrow airport are focusing a possible pinched wire on an emergency beacon and on condensation in the plane, which has higher humidity levels than other aircraft.
ANA has taken the built-in locator beacons out of its eight domestically operated Dreamliners with the permission of local regulators and has inspected and put back those on its 12 787s that fly international routes.
The beacons are designed to guide rescuers to downed aircraft, although in most cases close radar tracking and eyewitness reports allow air traffic controllers to pinpoint crash sites.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Matt Driskill)
The most recent interest rate announcements from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England all featured new information about how these central banks would respond to possible future developments. Last week, in its first communiqu? under new Governor Stephen Poloz, the Bank of Canada also added words about the path we should expect its overnight-rate target to follow as the Canadian economy returns to more normal conditions.
More Related to this Story
These statements got lots of attention. Each central bank was trying to fill a gap between the very low interest rates most people expect for quite a while and the higher rates appropriate to the more robust economic growth everyone hopes eventually to see. So far so good ? but a better way to fill that information gap would be by publishing the expected policy interest rate path, complete with actual numbers and dates.
These policy interest-rate announcements are key statements of central bankers? thinking about the outlook for the economy and inflation. Since the 2008 crisis, there hasn?t been much doubt, for most central banks most of the time, about an individual rate setting ? they have been holding interest rates stable and very low to keep economies struggling with damaged banks and weak private sector confidence afloat. The news in the announcements has been much more about how central banks describe their future actions, and what might lead them to change rates.
Adding yet more detail to these latest versions made sense. As time passes, the problems created by apparently endless cheap borrowing are worsening. In Canada, as elsewhere, households and governments are going into the red to finance housing and consumption ? boosting short-term spending, but drawing resources away from investment and hurting the prospects for long-term growth. The Bank of Canada has been warning, albeit in its typically measured phraseology, that when interest rates do rise to more normal levels, those households and governments will get a nasty shock. But as the C.D. Howe Institute?s monetary policy council has noted several times, the Bank of Canada?s approach has problems.
One is that the bank starts sounding like the boy who cried wolf. The longer it warns that rates must rise without actually raising them or even saying when, the likelier many Canadians are to ignore it. Among closer observers of monetary policy, repeated warnings about higher interest rates raise fears that the bank is tying its hands. It?s clear that faster growth and higher inflation will push the policy rate up sooner and further. But what if growth and inflation fall ? does the commitment to a higher rate over time mean the bank wouldn?t drop it in response?
While the added detail in the most recent statements does give a bit more forward guidance about policy interest rates, the crying-wolf and tying-of-hands problems remain. To progress further, the Bank of Canada and others should follow the lead of counterparts ? the central banks of New Zealand, Sweden and Norway ? that publish the path they expect their policy interest rates to follow: actual numbers on actual dates.
Such a step looks dangerous to the central banks that have not yet taken it. Wouldn?t such explicit statements tie central bankers? hands more tightly? And wouldn?t a delay in an explicitly mapped rate worsen skepticism that a wolf exists?
Probably not. Smart central-bank watchers understand that all forward guidance is subject to change in the face of new information about the economy and inflation. Central banks can underline this point by publishing, as those of Sweden and Norway do, a chart showing bands of uncertainty around the rate. And any concern that revising an explicit forecast would undermine confidence in central bank competence would likely vanish with experience. We know the Bank of Canada can?t see the future. But we do know its monetary policy matters, and we do want as much information as we can get about how it sees the future unfolding.
The extra words in recent statements are helpful, but still inadequate. The gap is too big between actual low interest rates now and vague statements about higher rates in the future. Publishing an explicit path for the overnight interest rate would fill it. It?s time for the Bank of Canada to give us the numbers.
William Robson is president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute.
Microsoft Now Suddenly Cares About Privacy Rights, Constitution
After Their Above and Beyond NSA Cooperation is Exposed
As recent leaks made clear, Microsoft was the first in line to participate in the government's PRISM spying program. What's more, the company went above and beyond what was asked of it, not only delivering access to user data, but aiding the government in intercepting Skype communications and even helping the government break Microsoft encryption. Of course now that the program has been exposed and Microsoft in particular has been singled out as a government snooping BFF, the company's going to great lengths to express how concerned they are about government over-reach.
Like the other companies caught up in the PRISM scandal before it, Microsoft is now asking the Obama administration for the right to detail just what kind of information has been asked of it. In a blog post by the company that uses meticulously-crafted sentences to deny much of what Snowden's leaks have clearly illuminated, Microsoft insists they're now very, very concerned about the Constitution:
The world needs a more open and public discussion of these practices. While the debate should focus on the practices of all governments, it should start with practices in the United States. In part, this is an obvious reflection of the most recent stories in the news. It?s also a reflection of something more timeless. The United States has been a role model by guaranteeing a Constitutional right to free speech. We want to exercise that right. With U.S. Government lawyers stopping us from sharing more information with the public, we need the Attorney General to uphold the Constitution.
Yes, it's true that the government's new snooping laws demand companies turn over a significant amount of data and not talk about it, but it's also clear from leaks in recent weeks that Microsoft went well above and beyond what was demanded of it. That's in contrast to Yahoo, who appears to have tried briefly to fight for consumer privacy rights, well after Microsoft was already part of PRISM. To gleefully help an over-reaching government at every turn and then turn around pretending they're incredibly concerned about user privacy and the constitution (much like AT&T did when they were caught being equally hyper-cooperative) has the disingenuous stink of empty damage control.
Microsoftee
Call me surprised. 360 Microsoft.
Doing 180's on their Xbox One. Windows 8 needing start button so there it is in 8.1
Some how, Microsoft is the picture of its software: release it broken then patch it later. -- Splat
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Re: Microsoftee
Win8 is such a massive turd. It's not that win8 doesn't do things win7 and below did, but MS completely changed how the interface interacts with the user. Why change something that wasn't broken since 1995? In win8 you turn the computer off under a popout "settings" icon! C'mon, now! I had to actually google how to turn off my win8 laptop the first day! I was so frustrated about that.
I wasn't buying a xbone anyways as my xbox360 red ringed after only a few games. My only wish is that game devs start making games work on linux out of the box. If they did that, I'd drop windows 8 like the turd it is.
said by kickass69:
Thing is, people wanted the Start Button back with the Windows 7 Start Menu attached to it not just the button.
Well said... and we would like our windows back as well
Fullscreen8? is great on tablets and televisions... but not so great on a PC.
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Its still not a real start button, it just gets you back to the main metro interface. In any case windows 8 is the biggest POS O/S release ever from them. Im now starting to thing Bob was a good release
Got the rents a new laptop, and Win 8 lasted 10 minutes. They couldn't even begin to figure it out, even after I showed them. When I thought of the stupid decisions that were made and the more effort it took--except getting to live tiles with ads--I realized just how bad this O/S is.
The good news is because it is SO BAD that Win 7 will be supported for at least another 10 years until hopefully I can get my key apps on Linux or something new and not have to worry. Heck in 10 years PCs will probably be dead, so no matter anyways and I guess that's MSFT point of releasing a tablet O/S for desktop.
As to spying, the US Govt is MSFT biggest customer, so it's no surprise that MSFT does what the boss says.
?bgr.com/2013/06/27/windows-8-1-s???useless/
Note: AES 256, Blowfish, et al encryption can in 2013 allow citizens to have 100% security and private communications, yet almost all of our communications are in public and in the clear. Until that changes it will easy for the govts, criminals, or companies to get at that data...
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Re: Microsoftee
said by Karl Bode:
I don't mind the core WIndows 7-esque Windows 8 experience (after I added Start 8 by Stardock start button), but I LOATHE the whole Metro thing. Like somebody duct-taped a dead hamster to my OS. It's such a fractured, bizarre experience I can't comprehend why so many reviews seemed to think it was ok....
I agree. The OS is great but they flubbed the User Experience.
I have been running 8 at work since RTM with Start 8 and It's as good as if not beeter than Win7.
But they REALLY screwed the pooch on the UI and putting that same garbage on Server 2012 just compounds the blunder.
Blob -- I may have been born yesterday. But it wasn't at night.
Host: Time Warner Intern.. PC gaming Tech PC gaming GAMES
Re: Microsoftee
said by b10010011:
Because most are little more than paid shills. But they get paid in getting new hardware/software first. Too many bad reviews and you might find yourself lower on the list of who gets it first.
Yeah I've seen that first hand quite often. Seems like there's way too many brand focused journalists whose entire life seems focused on blowing smoke for one brand. I've yet to see one that thinks this is in any way gross, either.
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Agreed regarding the Win 8 "user experience"
It's on the new Lenovo Yoga I bought (with no way to downgrade to Win 7 that I can see) and dear god in heaven Win 8 looks like it was programmed for computer users who have trouble typing *email addresses*
The kicker? It still won't help those users...
I mean hiding the way to turn the system *off*??
Bravo MS.... Bravo
and then this whole "let's give the government every byte of user data that we have on them"
NefCanuck
Oh Microsoft, you are such a Whore!
Meh! Microsoft is like a whore that is sorry she got caught boning the neighbor and now she claims, "We were just playing!"
Too little too late Baby! I won't be using Bitlocker Drive encryption on my drives any time soon!
Next!
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It certainly is possible to be...
...both concerned about privacy and still cooperate "to the fullest extent" (or however the MS legal staff interpreted the requirements of the various FISA orders over time.)
Recognize a very small subset of the 90,000 plus MS employees were even aware of the FISA activity, and that had it been put to a vote (not how any business actually functions, they need to be faster /more efficient than a representive democracy) there likely would have been years of discussions and delays by which time a new version would be out, requiring an entirely new method.....
... dead hampster duct-taped ...
Nice one, Karl.
k
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First nail in Microsoft coffin
I think this deal with the N^A will spell the end of M$ dominance of the world market. I can see China building their own OS and requiring all it's citizens to use it. I would love to see statistics of how it changes in other countries after this. The N^A had to be thrilled about all the bootleg copies of windows around the world.
Will we see China and others firewall off their Internet or start their own Internet? I'll Leave that question for another thread.
Re: First nail in Microsoft coffin
said by plk:
I think this deal with the N^A will spell the end of M$ dominance of the world market. I can see China building their own OS and requiring all it's citizens to use it. I would love to see statistics of how it changes in other countries after this. The N^A had to be thrilled about all the bootleg copies of windows around the world.
Will we see China and others firewall off their Internet or start their own Internet? I'll Leave that question for another thread.
that will be good for the US as they can't take our jobs when our software can't run on china os
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Re: First nail in Microsoft coffin
said by Joe12345678:said by plk:
I think this deal with the N^A will spell the end of M$ dominance of the world market. I can see China building their own OS and requiring all it's citizens to use it. I would love to see statistics of how it changes in other countries after this. The N^A had to be thrilled about all the bootleg copies of windows around the world.
Will we see China and others firewall off their Internet or start their own Internet? I'll Leave that question for another thread.
that will be good for the US as they can't take our jobs when our software can't run on china os WHAT JOBS if we have NO access to that market? There is a reason MS sells a very cheap version of windows in ASIA, and then works with those gov't to slow piracy rates, (while most like providing language specific NSA backdoors to their gov'ts in return) You only need half of those (soon to be) billions of computer users to pay a few dollars a year to add up to a lot of money. Boeing and MS and a lot of other US companies will gladly trade some of the profit for a chunk of the market.
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Public release date: 30-Jul-2013
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