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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45917409#45917409
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Monday, January 9, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
NASA Glenn to test tornado siren at noon January 7
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Source: http://blog.cleveland.com/newssun/2012/01/nasa_glenn_to_test_tornado_sir.html
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Friday, January 6, 2012
Insight: Economic horizons darken for ANC-ruled South Africa (Reuters)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) ? Trevor Ghavala has grown up in post-apartheid South Africa, and like nearly half his young adult contemporaries he is unemployed and has little chance of escaping a social underclass in which millions are trapped.
"I don't have a job ... I've never had a job. I've been asking people, doing crime," said Ghavala, 24, chewing on a piece of bread as he squatted with his back to a wall in a central street in Johannesburg's Soweto township.
South Africa's African National Congress (ANC), the anti-apartheid liberation movement turned ruling party, came to power in 1994 promising to help people like Ghavala.
But after 17 years running Africa's biggest economy, critics say it has done more to enrich its leading members and allies than to help the poor masses.
At the weekend, it will hold a lavish birthday bash to celebrate its 100th anniversary with a golf tournament, banquets and concerts by the biggest stars in South African music while people like Ghavala struggle to eke out a living.
"I wish that Madiba was fresh back," Ghavala said, referring to the popular clan name of former president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela who, in a blaze of international goodwill, led South Africa into a new era of multi-racial democracy.
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For a graphic on education: http://r.reuters.com/peg87p
For a graphic on services: http://r.reuters.com/gyx49r
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Mandela, elected president of the ANC after it was unbanned and he was freed from jail, led the country from 1994-1999. His departure from power was seen as an example to African leaders although the movement sees itself ruling for years to come.
It beat its nearest rival by more than 40 percentage points in elections last year, but analysts warn the party faces a defining moment in the next three years or so.
They say that if the ANC government keeps up its current policies, South Africa risks slipping to new depths of unemployment, debt and corruption that could swell the ranks of the destitute like Ghavala and undermine long-term prospects.
Critics say President Jacob Zuma, an ANC veteran and political backstreet brawler both before and since taking office in 2009, has been a virtual bystander when it comes to tackling the country's deep social and economic problems.
"We are deeply concerned about the current trajectory. A rapid turnaround would be required in Zuma's next term," said Neren Rau, the chief executive of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
ANC PUT TO THE TEST
The ANC says it has made big strides in erasing the economic and social injustices caused by decades of oppression of the black majority by a white minority under apartheid.
The government says that when the ANC took over in 1994, 62 percent of households had access to clean water and about 50 percent had access to electricity. This has increased to nearly 95 percent and about 80 percent, it says.
Underpinning the economy is the most advanced infrastructure on the continent, the strongest banks and a well-developed rule of law and judicial system, making South Africa a stepping stone for investment in Africa's quickly emerging states.
One constant that has kept the ANC government on the fiscal straight and narrow and reassured investors has been the National Treasury, led since 1994 by just two finance ministers highly praised for their fiscal discipline.
The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Survey ranks South Africa as top in the world for its regulation of its security exchanges, number two in the world behind Canada for the soundness of its banks. It is also one of the easiest places for a firm to raise money by issuing shares.
But the same survey also said South Africa has some of the world's most rigid labor laws, one of its least productive workforces and a broken school system that is staggeringly bad at educating its students, given the money spent on it.
At the end of 2012, Zuma faces a party leadership election. Despite a leadership style criticized as lacking vision and ineffectual, he is widely expected to garner enough support in the fractious party to win a second term as party chief and then stay on as national president until 2019.
Against this background, analysts do not expect him to rock the boat and upset left-leaning allies with pro-business reforms such as loosening the labor market and state economic controls.
"As it approaches almost two decades in power and demands for economic delivery grow more strident, the party's ability to hold together in the same way will increasingly be put to the test," Standard Chartered Africa analyst Razia Khan said in a research note.
BOWING TO THE UNIONS
Unemployment has been a chronic problem for the ANC and has also contributed to an alarmingly high murder rate, among the highest in the world outside a war zone.
About 40 percent of the adult population is jobless - a percentage expected to rise substantially in the coming years - and this is seen driving crime and widening economic inequality.
"If the same pattern of job loss continues, we will reach very shortly, in three to five years, a situation where more people are unemployed than employed," said Andrew Levy, who heads a leading private South African labor research group.
"Economically, there will be a continually higher burden on those who are working because government will try to do more and more to ease the lot of the unemployed," Levy said.
ANC governments have poured billions of dollars into job training programs only to see much of it lost to corruption or incompetence and the education system fails to provide basic skills.
The country has lost about a million jobs in the past two years, with the manufacturing sector the hardest hit. Many of these jobs will not come back because labor has priced itself out of the market.
The average factory worker in South Africa earns about six times as much as a factory worker in China and is less efficient. Industries in sectors which were once internationally competitive, such as footwear, have faded.
South Africa adopted rigid labor laws in large part because of the governing alliance between the ANC and the major union federation COSATU, a pact which was formed in the anti-apartheid struggle and continued after the ANC formed a government.
Zuma and other ANC leaders have tried to keep COSATU and its 2 million members close to them, not wanting to alienate a major source of votes by enacting labor reforms that would make it easier for firms to hire and fire workers.
There are four major measures before parliament aimed at appeasing COSATU that will be at the heart of the legislative agenda this year. The bills place more burdens on employers, make it more difficult for them to hire seasonal labor and drive up personnel costs.
BUDGET UNDER STRAIN
While joblessness looks set to rise, so too does the country's growing debt as pressure mounts on the ANC to open the taps to still more welfare spending.
The squeeze on state finances will likely push South Africa's debt-to-GDP ratio above 50 percent in the next three years for the first time under ANC rule, economists said. This would put the country's credit rating under pressure and could make it more expensive to borrow money.
"Debt levels will continue to rise as a percentage of GDP until 2016 when they should plateau at around 55 percent," said Peter Attard Montalto, emerging market economist at Nomura.
The budget is already under strain to pay the wages of more than 1 million civil servants, many of whom belong to COSATU-affiliated unions.
"South Africa's debt position will likely become more precarious, especially if economic growth continues to disappoint," said Anne Fruhauf, a specialist on Africa at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
If the global economic crisis leads to slower growth in South Africa, and lower tax revenue as a result, the government wage bill could well reach about 50 percent of tax revenue within three years, leaving even less money for other spending.
On top of this, the government plans to begin rolling out a National Health Insurance program it said will cost 125 billion rand ($15.6 billion) this year, about 13 percent of the state budget.
"PREDATOR ELITE"
There is also a growing clamor from ANC supporters to improve delivery of electricity, running water, schools and other basic services to the poor. Analysts say this is undermining the ANC's voter support.
Improvements the ANC has made so far have not satisfied the poor black majority, which sees progress as too slow and complains of incompetent local officials. Scores of violent protests have added to the pressure for better services.
The country has also slid in Transparency International's highly regarded gauge of perceived corruption, from 38th in the world in 2001 to 64th in 2010, a trend that worries many citizens, long-time ANC supporters among them.
"The problem is the leaders. They must deliver, They are corrupt," said Soweto resident Mzwandile Sifile, expressing a widely held view.
Corruption has also undermined investor confidence.
There is also growing anger with ANC economic empowerment policies that were nominally designed to reverse apartheid era curbs that had largely shut blacks out of the economy.
Many see the programs as benefiting just a few people with ANC connections. COSATU has said they have lined the pockets of a corrupt "predator elite."
"We are still waiting for the delivery," Soweto resident Sifile said. "We are still hoping for the best."
($1 = 8.0343 South African rand)
(Additional reporting by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Philippa Fletcher)
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New Google Chrome Extension Reveals SOPA Supporters
Chrome can now help anti-SOPA activists easily identify who to boycott or protest.
It seems difficult to make your way around the web these days without hearing about who does, doesn't, or did but now doesn't support SOPA, a potential, and somewhat draconian measure that would block access to any website thought to be in violation of copyright infringement. After the collective voice and actions of multiple netizens forced Go Daddy to drop support, many internet users are looking to use that momentum to continue the fight against this impending legislation. No SOPA, a newly created free extension for Chrome, is looking to help them by putting information in their hands.
Using No SOPA will cause a message to appear on your browser every time you visit a website that supports the measure, creating a bar with the words "SOPA Supporter! This company is a known supporter of the dangerous 'Stop Online Piracy Act'!" for you to dismiss at your leisure. Its creators hope this can serve to educate people as to who is currently working to push the act into law. What people do with that information, however, is their choice.
"Boycott? Nasty letter time? You decide," wrote Andy Baird and Tony Webster, the two guys behind the No SOPA extension.
The time for action, regardless of what type, is growing slim. Congress could meet on SOPA as early as January 17th, and the Senate could vote by the 24th.
If you're interested, you can download the extension here.
Source: ReadWriteWeb
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Oil industry launches big election PR push
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The oil industry launched a nationwide campaign titled "Vote 4 Energy" Wednesday, a day after the Iowa caucus set the stage for the 2012 presidential election.
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Greek PM warns of default without loan deal (AP)
ATHENS, Greece ? Greece's Prime Minister urged defiant union leaders Wednesday to accept further income losses, warning that vital international rescue loans could otherwise dry up and force the debt-crippled country into a disorderly default in March.
Lucas Papademos said decisions made over the next few weeks before a mid-January visit by international debt inspectors, known as the troika, will determine whether the country holds onto the euro or reverts to its pre-2002 currency, the drachma.
Greece has been subsisting on a euro110 billion bailout from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund since May 2010, and in return has imposed deeply resented austerity measures. The country is negotiating to finalize the details of its second international bailout, for euro130 billion ($169 billion).
"Without the agreement with the troika and the resulting funding, Greece faces an immediate danger of disorderly default in March," Papademos told union leaders and employers' federations, according to a transcript provided by his office.
"If we want to secure our most significant achievements ? participation in the euro and avoidance of a massive, vertical income devaluation that a disorderly bankruptcy and exit from the euro would lead to ... then we must accept a short-term income reduction," he said.
But the country's biggest labor union, the GSEE, ruled out any further income losses saying Greeks had suffered enough from two years of harsh austerity.
Greece took the first bailout after sky-high borrowing costs caused by its runaway budget deficit and huge public debt blocked its access to money markets. The previous, Socialist government then slashed pensions and salaries and repeatedly hiked taxes ? sparking a string of general strikes and often violent demonstrations.
Largely as a result of the cutbacks, the economy became bogged down in a deep recession ? expected to stretch on for a fourth year in 2012 ? while unemployment reached 17.5 percent in September.
The second bailout was agreed to in October after it became clear that the first batch of loans would not suffice. That deal also called for a euro100 billion writedown of the country's privately held debt, in a bid to restore debt sustainability. The country's debt-to-GDP ratio is currently the highest in the European Union at more than 160 percent in 2011, and the writedown would reduce it to about 120 percent by 2020.
Papademos said the troika has called for a re-examination of labor costs, to boost lagging competitiveness and fight high unemployment, and warned that, unless significant action is taken, the country will not receive its next vital installment.
"If we do not make the necessary adjustments, it is to be taken for granted that we cannot expect that the other EU countries and international organizations will continue to finance a country that does not adjust to reality and does not tackle its problems," he said.
Immediate union response was chilly.
After talks with Papademos, GSEE chief Yiannis Panagopoulos insisted that the national collective wage agreement, which includes minimum wage provisions and those of holiday pay known as the 13th and 14th salaries, was not up for negotiation. The extra two salaries per year have been slashed in the public sector as part of austerity measures.
"Workers and pensioners have shouldered a disproportionately high burden of the crisis, and now have no more leeway for further cutbacks and reversals in labor relations," a GSEE statement said.
Papademos also met with Hellenic Federation of Enterprises head Dimitris Daskalopoulos, who said his industry federation would do "whatever it can" to ensure the minimum wage is not lowered.
Troika officials are due in Athens on Jan. 15.
"With the beginning of 2012 we enter the most critical period for the course of the Greek economy," Papademos said. "The coming few weeks will be extremely crucial."
Key details of the second bailout deal are still being negotiated ? above all the provision under which private creditors such as banks and investment firms would take a 50 percent cut in the face value of the Greek bonds they hold.
Greece has to implement the haircut ahead of the March 20 maturity date of euro14.4 billion worth of bonds. Athens would not be able to make the repayment without the second bailout, while the bond writedown would also reduce and delay the amount that would be due.
The Institute of International Finance, which has been leading negotiations on behalf of Greece's private creditors, said late Tuesday that some progress had been made in the discussions in recent days. However, indicating the urgency of finding a solution, the IIF stressed a deal had to be found "in the days ahead."
Panagopoulos, the labor chief, told journalists that Papademos was upbeat on the course of the talks and expected an agreement later this month.
"(Papademos said) negotiations with representatives of our creditors on the writedown are going well, that there will be an agreement within the next fifteen days but an extra month will be required for its implementation," Panagopoulos said.
Negotiating the details of the second bailout and ensuring Greece gets the funds is the main mandate of the temporary coalition government headed by Papademos, a former central banker appointed in November after a political crisis forced Socialist prime minister George Papandreou to resign.
On Wednesday Papandreou told a top party meeting that he will not seek re-election as Socialist leader, according to party officials. The son and grandson of Greek prime ministers, Papandreou won a landslide victory in October 2009 with promises to increase the incomes of low-earning workers and pensioners, just before Greece slipped into its crippling economic crisis.
Papandreou also pledged to boost tax revenues, famously claiming that "the money is there" to be collected. But his government failed to meet revenue targets despite raising the top sales tax bracket to 23 percent and imposing a hugely unpopular property tax that punishes noncompliant households by cutting off their power supply.
____
Elena Becatoros in Athens and Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this story.
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Thursday, January 5, 2012
Springer to head up Knight Parade
TAMPA - Former Cincinnati mayor and current television personality Jerry Springer will be the Grand Marshal of the 2012 Knight Parade.
The annual parade of floats, marching bands and beads is part of the Gasparilla celebration and has taken place since 1972.
The parade through Ybor City is scheduled for February 18, 2012 at 7:00pm.
A parade map is available here. (mobile and tablet users, visit http://wfts.tv/xDeL5h )
Additional information is available on http://www.knightparade.com .
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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