Steve Keen is speaking at the Eton College Keynes Society tonight - this is a live blog
What is the state of economics 75 years on - economics is more akin to a crawl rather than a walk. Economists model the economy as if it is near equilibrium all of the time. But the reality is that complex systems have far from equilibrium behaviour. Complex behaviour cannot be predicted beyond a very short window - something that is well understood by weather forecasts but not by most mainstream economists.
The Butterfly Effect - 3 equilibria - all of which are unstable
Steve Keen now building a model of the Phillips Curve into his presentation ..... an unusual approach ..... to show that basic economic models do not reach equilibrium ...... indeed a slight change in the parameter of the model is that an equilibrium is never reached.
Try telling this to an AS micro or AS macro student that the equilibrium can never be achieved! Younger economists have the challenge of understanding dynamics and modelling.
Now moving onto Schumpeter
Entrepreneurs- people with good ideas but no money
Banks give them spending by creating money out of money - newly created bank debt
Conventional economists ignore banks, debt and money in their models - the Bank of England model does not include the banking sector in their models. Most A2 macro courses no longer cover anything of substance on banking too.
Back to the in-house macro modelling ..... difficult to read from 40 yards away!
Debt dynamics and the crisis
Demand in the economy is the sum of income + the change in debt
There has been a dramatic change in the behaviour of private sector debt
Huge de-leveraging has taken place, in complete opposite to the rise in government debt (private debt being squeezed / public sector debt on the rise). The steep fall in private sector debt has hit goods and service markets together with asset markets such as equities and property.?
Imposed fiscal austerity linked to the fiscal cliff will take $500bn out of the economy but the danger is that this will also encourage a futher bout of private sector de-leveraging.
The change in debt has a direct bearing on the level of employment. Deceleration of debt is even greater than during the Great Depression.
Bubbles in financial markets are nothing more than Ponzi schemes; stock market investors think they are brilliant but when share prices are rising, all they are doing is changing the acceleration of debt.?
75 years on from Keynes, we now understand complex systems and dynamics ...monetary economics must be at the heart of the study of economics at different levels.?
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Canada is the biggest country in the American continent and the second biggest one in the entire world. It is also definitely one of the wealthiest and most interesting ones and even though population is not as dense as other big countries, Canada has a big number of crowded cities where cultural and entertainment life is really amazing.
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With its capitol city in Ottawa, Canada's largest city is Toronto and what is great about Canada is that its peculiar history in which mostly native, British and French elements have taken place is the reason why you have some cities where English is the main language and some others where that language is French.
This gives us an idea of how rich and fantastic Canadian culture is as a mix of several heritages and elements that blend together in the most refined and harmonic ways.
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Among Canada's most important cities you have Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Quebec, Winnipeg, Halifax and Saint John among many others. Most of them are located near the frontier with the United States since most of the upper north of Canada has a severe climate that does not help permanent inhabitation.
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Even though it is usually believed that Canada is an extreme cold place, you can still enjoy hot summers and mild winters depending on where you are. However, there are some cities where temperatures in winter may go down to -40? C. It will always vary on where you are standing so please check this before actually traveling to any Canadian city.
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Canada offers honeymooners lots of leisure to enjoy. In the first place, the west coast where the British Columbia is, is among Canada's most important touristic centers since you can find there not only beautiful cities, but also ski centers, rocky mountains and rainforests. This is a great place to enjoy together because most of these landscapes are perfect to fall in love with.
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In the Ontario region you can enjoy the capitol city and the largest Canadian city (Toronto) as well as the amazing Niagara Falls and a truly diverse offer of eating and cultural places.
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Finally, the city of Quebec is to some the most romantic honeymoon destination in Canada since this French speaking city reminisces quite a lot the beautiful France and there you will find amazing and historical sites to enjoy together as well as a highly developed cultural and entertainment life.
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Some useful tips which will help you to plan for a Honeymoon in Canada are described below:
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The most important thing is to decide the budget for the honeymoon. While deciding the budget, you should also take into consideration some extra money which will help you to take up some extra activities during the honeymoon or for purchasing some surprise gift items during the trip for your life partner.
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The next step is to research online about the popular destinations in Canada, honeymoon cruises and the overall expenses, the resorts, hotels and other activities which are available in the various Canada honeymoon packages and opt for the best one. It will also provide you additional details about the region, its climate, best time to visit and the popular destinations for honeymoon which will help in the planning process.
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You should search on the internet or get in touch with your travel agent about the best deals. They will provide you information about the discounts, overall travel expenses and tips which will help you to save money during the honeymoon trip. You can opt for all inclusive honeymoon packages in Canada.
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Select the destination and make the necessary booking in advance. The best option is to go for hotels which would offer you all the required amenities and also offer you some intimate or romantic settings as per your ideas to spend time with your life partner. Besides these other options available are beach resorts which also would provide you excellent facilities for your honeymoon.
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If you are looking out for some special, private and romantic time to be spent together then opt for the special bridal suites or honeymoon suites and make the necessary advance bookings. It would be a wonderful experience and would provide you a honeymoon you have always dreamt of.
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Find powerful herbal remedies Island Tours in Canada
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Canada honeymoons- top spots
Quebec City- Rated among the top cities in the USA which is visited by the honeymooners, the honeymoon in Quebec City of Canada can be fun. The place is rich in history and the flavor of ancient Europe. The intimate cafes and horse rides through the stone-walled city is particularly what you would enjoy together. The Italian restaurant Le Saint Amour is popular among French honeymooners.
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Niagara Falls- Needless to say, nature lovers are sure to make their first stop at the Niagara Falls. The resorts located around the Niagara Falls boasts of offering romantic tourists the best views of the falls. You can spend great time at the Casinos here. The party just goes on here.
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Cape Breton- If city life is not the cup of tea for both of you, try the Cape Breton. An escape to this place will leave you mesmerized. You would just forget to check on your cell phones as well! Cape Breton is famous for the Celtic heritage. The Cabot Trail drive in Cape Breton is stunning during the autumn months. Check into any of the cafes there and savor a meal of lobsters.
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Banff- The Banff in Canada serves romance throughout the year. You can get cozy at any of the hot springs there or spend quiet moments at the town cabins. This Alberta town is bordered with the Canadian Rockies. Canada honeymoons are incomplete without visiting this lover's paradise.
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Montreal- Those loving metropolitan culture, clubs, and parties would not wish to go anywhere else in Canada. Montreal offers the best dining and entertainment options. The waterside zone region of Old Montreal is an ancient place ripe with romance. To experience ideal romance, check into the John& Yoko suite or take a walk to the Mount Royal in the evenings.
LOS ANGELES -- Most everyone agrees that sex sells.
Chrysler Group will soon find out whether sex tinged with bawdy humor sells Fiats.
The automaker premiered a series of new short films for its launch of the Fiat 500e electric, 500 Abarth Cabrio, and 500L wagon Wednesday at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The spots might make their way to TV, just as the brand's sex-soaked "Seduction" commercial did during the 2012 Super Bowl.
If they do, they should come with the following warning label: Like the Fiat 500's back seat, this commercial is not suitable for children or prudes, but it's sure fun to watch.
The film touting the 500e starts out with a shot of a helmeted woman zipping up the top of a racing suit with nothing on underneath and climbing into the subcompact's passenger seat for an official test of the 500e's 80-mile range and acceleration.
The "test" lasts all of 10 seconds before the car spins out and stops. As crews race to see what's wrong and fling open the door, they spot the woman passionately kissing the now-shirtless male driver.
Likewise, the 500 Abarth Cabrio spot features the return of "Seduction" star Catrinel Menghia, a Romanian supermodel, sunbathing on a beach while a black scorpion crawls over her backside and up her back. The scorpion, the image of Fiat's Abarth performance brand, cuts the string of Menghia's string bikini, making her topless, like the new Abarth Cabrio. It ends with the scorpion dragging her black bikini top across the sand as a backlit, topless Menghia leaves the beach.
Perhaps the funniest and sexiest marketing efforts, however, were left for the 500L, a cavernous five-passenger wagon. The series of spots tell a story of a young American man who falls in love with an Italian woman and meets her parents. They ultimately get married.
The spots are bawdy and hilarious and drew laughs among several hundred journalists gathered for Fiat's reveal.
Fiat global brand chief Olivier Francois makes no secret of the tack that his marketing efforts would take for the new Fiats, saying that Chrysler is trading in labels like eco-friendly in favor of eco-sexy and showing an image of a Viagra pill as part of his presentation.
Ultimately, the best answer to whether sex will sell Fiats may be left to Yiddish philosophers: It couldn't hurt.
You can reach Larry P. Vellequette at lvellequette@crain.com.
Achieving success at a home-based business is not everyone?s fortune, but don?t let that prevent you from giving it a try. At this time you simply need a computer to create, for a really low cost, a business that you can manage from home. It won?t take much at all. You need a small dose of determination to do the research, and a high-speed, low-cost internet access. A computer-based business has a global reach with unlimited consumers, whereas a traditional business is confined to local custom and has pricey set-up expenses. Everyone in the world with internet access is a potential client.
Click here if you?d like more information.
There are many ways to get your toes wet if you?re really considering a business on the Internet. To make a start you certainly don?t need to be an IT nerd, but being familiar with using a laptop or computer would be useful. Quite often, generating an income online has nothing to do with your technical skills, but with how much you know about the things you like doing. A good example of a web business for folks who are very good at writing would be doing copy writing. Content is often in demand, so a writer could also work on a freelance basis, obtaining writing jobs from individuals who are no good at it. All you need to do is look for those individuals who have a need, such as content, and supply it for them. Write down a few samples of your work and then do a bit of promoting, and you will be in business.
Online auction web sites are another avenue from which a large number of people are making good money. You can acquire items at wholesale value and sell them at full price, or you may already have products suitable for selling online. Getting your product offers looked at by customers is taken care of for you by places like eBay and other online auction sites. Your job is firstly to figure out a price and list your product, then wait for the sales. Once the buyer makes the purchase, you will receive the payment and then complete the purchase by sending the purchaser their merchandise.
Life is getting a lot easier in lots of ways through the advances in technology. The advent of the pc has put ownership of a business within the reach of ordinary folks. The Internet has everything you need to start a business. It offers access to products you can sell as well as information that shows you how to do it. If you could identify a business model that appeals to you and apply it to your own start-up business, that would be great.
Instead of a fulltime business you could just be after another income stream, which the Internet caters for handsomely. Spend a little time on your computer seeking information on starting an online business, and you will find lots of it. Get started on your research and you could soon begin making some cash.
WASHINGTON (AP) ? House Speaker John Boehner met with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Thursday and accused Democrats afterward of failing to outline specific cuts to avert the "fiscal cliff" that threatens to send the economy into recession.
The White House and other Democrats said the Republicans were the ones holding things up.
"No substantive progress has been made between the White House and the House" in the past two weeks, Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters after the private meeting with Geithner at the Capitol.
"I was hopeful we'd see a specific plan for cutting spending, and we sought to find out today what the president really is willing to do," Boehner said.
Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also offered a pessimistic take following his separate meeting with Geithner.
"To date, the administration has remained focused on raising taxes and attending campaign-style events, with no specific plans to protect Medicare and Social Security or reduce our national debt in a meaningful way," McConnell said in a statement. "And today, they took a step backward, moving away from consensus and significantly closer to the cliff."
At the White House, Obama spokesman Jay Carney took a confrontational tone at his daily briefing, saying Republicans must accept the reality that tax rates for the top 2 percent of income earners are going to go up, as President Barack Obama has demanded.
"This should not be news to anyone on Capitol Hill," Carney said. "It is certainly not news to anyone in America who was not in a coma during the campaign season."
"There can be no deal without rates on top earners going up," he declared.
To Boehner's criticism that Obama has not detailed a cost-cutting plan, Carney held up a copy of the president's plan from September 2011, noting that it was available online and on Capitol Hill. He said, "I believe they have electricity and Internet connections."
Senate Democrats insisted that it's up to Republicans to offer a specific roster of spending cuts.
"Republicans know where we stand," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "We're still waiting for a serious offer from Republicans."
Reid said there is strong public support for Obama's proposal to extend all expiring tax cuts except for those that apply to incomes over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples ? legislation that Boehner and other Republicans say would harm the economy rather than help it.
The private meetings and public statements marked an acceleration in the pace of bargaining, if not in movement toward an agreement on an issue that leaders of both parties say they want to resolve.
The speaker has said that Republicans are willing to endorse higher tax revenues as part of a deal to prevent across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect at year's end, but only if the agreement includes savings taken from Medicare and other government benefit programs.
Boehner spoke by phone with Obama Wednesday night, and said his remarks Thursday were the result of that conversation, as well as the session with Geithner.
Carney said Obama's telephone call with Boehner lasted 28 minutes. He characterized it "frank and direct" and a good conversation.
Obama is insisting that tax rates go up on family income exceeding $250,000; Boehner is adamant that any new tax revenues come from overhauling the tax code, clearing out tax breaks and lowering rates for all.
The White House has been dismissive of Republicans suggestions that they can raise enough tax revenue by limiting deductions, saying that alone would not generate the amount of money Obama wants in revenue.
A White House document being shared with congressional officials and Obama allies says that placing a $25,000 limit on deductions would generate about $650 billion over 10 years if phased in gradually, and only $450 billion if charitable deductions were excluded from the limit, as some have suggested. Obama is aiming for $1 trillion in budget savings by letting estate taxes and the rates for the top 2 percent of earners rise to Clinton-era levels.
The document, obtained by The Associated Press, states that achieving revenue gains by limiting deductions rather than by letting rates rise for the wealthy "would inevitably force any tax reform designed to further reduce the deficit to raise taxes on middle class families simply to preserve lower rates for the most fortunate."
Republicans are also demanding significant cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare, such as an increase in the eligibility age for the program from 65 to perhaps 67.
As for the "fiscal cliff," across-the-board cuts to the Pentagon and domestic programs set to strike the economy in January along with the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts on income, investments, married couples and families with children. That combination of tax increases and spending cuts would wring more than half a trillion dollars from the economy in the first nine months of next year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
No one anticipates a stalemate lasting that long, but many experts worry that even allowing the spending cuts and tax increases for a relatively brief period could rattle financial markets.
From their public statements, Obama and Boehner appear at an impasse over raising the two top tax rates from 33 percent and 35 percent to 36 percent and 39.6 percent. Democrats seem confident that Boehner ultimately will have to crumble, but Obama has a lot at stake as well, including a clear agenda for priorities like an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws.
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Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Julie Pace contributed to this report.
The Tacoma, Wash., City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to levy the city?s full business and occupation tax on its two largest nonprofit hospital networks, The News Tribune reports. The move means the MultiCare and Franciscan health systems, which had paid 0.1 percent of revenue for the tax, will now pay 0.4 percent, as do commercial entities.
Tacoma, which is facing a $66-million budget shortfall, expects to raise about $5.5-million in 2013-14 by eliminating the partial tax break. ?No one takes joy in raising taxes on anyone,? Mayor Marilyn Strickland said. ?But this is where we are right now as a city.?
Tacoma health-care nonprofits had paid no business tax at all until February, when the 0.1 percent rate was imposed on those with annual gross incomes of at least $30-million. Smaller health-care nonprofits will remain fully exempt.
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Use online technology to know about easy money loans services. It is very helpful to give a financial support when you are suffer from financial problem.The easy money loans is very easy to get through applying online and do not require the support of a guarantor to avail the loan.
Created by johnhanks321 5 hours 49 min ago ? Made popular 5 hours 49 min ago Category: News
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African drugmaker Adcock Ingram reported a worse-than-expected 9 percent fall in annual earnings, hit by the loss of high-margin drugs.
The country's second-largest drugmaker has struggled in recent months after losing three drugs that contributed as much as 200 million rand in sales due to safety reasons. Its failure to win a bigger share in the government HIV/AIDS drugs supply contract added to the headwinds.
Adcock said diluted headline earnings per share - the main profit gauge in South Africa - totalled 422 cents in the year to end-September, from 465 cents a year earlier.
The results fell short of the 430 cents forecast by StarMine's SmartEstimate, which gives more weight to forecasts from top rated analysts.
"Disappointing set of results that reflect a weak pricing power," Jean Pierre Verster, an analyst at 360ne Asset Management. "It also continues to show the impact of the loss of key drugs and lower anti-retroviral drugs volumes."
South African health authorities granted drug manufacturers a 2.14 percent drug price increase for certain prescription drugs in March this year, a hike analysts say did not keep up with the rising cost of imported raw materials due to a weaker rand.
Shares in the company dropped 2.9 percent to 53.15 rand by 1357 GMT, on course for the biggest daily percentage decline in more than five months and underperforming a slightly higher JSE All-share index.
The company said sales were largely flat at 4.6 billion rand, but it raised its final dividend by 8 percent to 115 cents per share.
Shares in Adcock are down nearly 12 percent so far this year, far behind its closest rival Aspen Pharmacare, which has surged more than 60 percent.
The Midrand-based company, which aims to earn more than 30 percent of its sales outside South Africa in three years, has been dwarfed by Aspen, which has made an aggressive push in overseas markets such as Australia.
Adcock recently agreed to pay $86 million to buy a portfolio of drugs and a distribution network from India's Cosme Farma to bulk up its presence in that country's $16 billion pharmaceutical market.
Adcock's small operations in Ghana and Kenya reported no growth in sales over the period, hit by safety recalls due to illegal distribution of fake products and factory upgrades.
A District Judge consolidated seven lawsuits brought against Cinemark, the theater chain where 12 were shot and 58 wounded during the premier of 'The Dark Night Rises' this summer. Cinemark is accused of lax security.
By Robert Boczkiewicz,?Reuters / November 26, 2012
Stephen Barton, a survivor of the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo, speaks to reporters after a meeting with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at City as part of a Mayors Against Illegal Guns program, Oct. 3, 2012 in New York. Other survivors of the shooting are filing lawsuits against Cinemark theater chain.
Mary Altaffer/AP
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A federal judge in Denver on Monday ordered the consolidation of seven lawsuits brought against the Cinemark theater chain by survivors and relatives of those killed in a shooting rampage in which 12 moviegoers were slain as they watched a Batman film.
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US District Judge?R. Brooke Jackson?also set May 5, 2014, as the earliest start date that any of the personal injury and wrongful death claims against Cinemark could proceed to trial.
Merging the cases and setting a tentative calendar for the litigation came during the first court hearing stemming from civil suits accusing?Texas-based?Cinemark USA?Inc of lax theater security in connection with the July 20 massacre.
Twelve people were killed and 58 wounded when a gunman opened fire on Cinemark patrons in?Aurora,Colorado, during a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises."
The suspect, 24-year-old former?neuroscience?graduate student?James Holmes, is charged with dozens of counts of murder and attempted murder. The criminal case against Holmes is in a preliminary stage with no trial date set. He has not yet entered a plea and defense lawyers have said in court that Holmes suffers from an unspecified mental illness.
PayPal President David Marcus held an informal sit-down with reporters today in San Francisco to address the recent shopping activity over the holidays, PayPal's strategy on data and mobile, and the potential for the company to take a stake in in-store payments.
How can anyone feel good about this? We?ve got a bunch of states stating they will not create exchanges simply because it will cost way too much money, which leaves the responsibility to President Obama?s Department of Health & Human Services to create and manage this boondoggle.
I?m telling you right now. This will not work, nor will it go well. From The Hill.
The Obama administration faces major logistical and financial challenges in creating health insurance exchanges for states that have declined to set up their own systems.
The exchanges were designed as the centerpiece of President Obama?s signature law, and are intended to make buying health insurance comparable to booking a flight or finding a compatible partner on Match.com.
So the writer thinks this will be as easy as booking a flight? Well, maybe enrolling in the exchange will be easy, but the problem will come when you try to get the actual service you need. Kind of like buying an airline ticket come to think of it.
As mentioned, a bunch of states do not want to participate and have filed suit to get out. Elise Viebeck (the author)?writes?
It?s a situation no one anticipated when the Affordable Care Act was written. The law assumed states would create and operate their own exchanges, and set aside billions in grants for that purpose.
No one anticipated this? Ms. Viebeck, let me introduce you to the Sound Off Sister. Viebeck?s remaining paragraphs confirms the Obama administration knew this would happen.
Every state must have an exchange by Jan. 1, 2014, meaning HHS doesn?t have a lot of time to do a massive amount of work. The department could quickly run through a $1 billion fund designated for implementing the exchanges.
So in-other-words, it looks like if the states don?t have exchanges, HHS steps in by design ? it?s a situation that was anticipated then? But of course, they only allocated $1 billion to set it up ? this budget figure will be blown by 2,000% in no time.
Constructing these sites is just one task facing HHS when it comes to states that have decided not to do the job themselves.
Each portal will require a front end ? the interface consumers will use to submit their information and shop for plans ? and a specialized back end that is customized based on the state.
HHS will also construct a range of other systems: a federal data hub for verifying user identity; programs for user assistance; a way to certify that health plans meet federal standards; a way to navigate the exchanges via phone or apply for coverage by mail; and so on.
Goodness grief this will be a disaster of unmitigated proportions.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2012) ? Where there's water there's life -- even in brine beneath 60 feet of Antarctic ice, in permanent darkness and subzero temperatures.
While Lake Vida, located in the northernmost of the McMurdo Dry Valleys of East Antarctica, will never be a vacation destination, it is home to some newly discovered hearty microbes. In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Nathaniel Ostrom, Michigan State University zoologist, has co-authored "Microbial Life at -13?C in the Brine of an Ice-Sealed Antarctic Lake."
Ostrom was part of a team that discovered an ancient thriving colony, which is estimated to have been isolated for more than 2,800 years. They live in a brine of more than 20 percent salinity that has high concentrations of ammonia, nitrogen, sulfur and supersaturated nitrous oxide ?- the highest ever measured in a natural aquatic environment.
"It's an extreme environment -- the thickest lake ice on the planet, and the coldest, most stable cryo-environment on Earth," Ostrom said. "The discovery of this ecosystem gives us insight into other isolated, frozen environments on Earth, but it also gives us a potential model for life on other icy planets that harbor saline deposits and subsurface oceans, such as Jupiter's moon Europa."
On Earth's surface, water fuels life. Plants use photosynthesis to derive energy. In contrast, at thermal vents at the ocean bottom, out of reach of the sun's rays, chemical energy released by hydrothermal processes supports life.
Life in Lake Vida lacks sunlight and oxygen. Its high concentrations of hydrogen gas, nitrate, nitrite and nitrous oxide likely provide the chemical energy used to support this novel and isolated microbial ecosystem. The high concentrations of hydrogen and nitrous oxide gases are likely derived from chemical reactions with the surrounding iron-rich rocks.
Consequently, it is likely that the chemical reactions between the anoxic brine and rock provide a source of energy to fuel microbial metabolism. These processes provide new insights into how life may have developed on Earth and function on other planetary bodies, Ostrom said.
The research team comprised scientists from the Desert Research Institute (Reno, Nev.), the University of Illinois-Chicago, NASA, the University of Colorado, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Montana State University, the University of Georgia, the University of Tasmania and Indiana University.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University.
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Journal Reference:
Alison E. Murray, Fabien Kenig, Christian H. Fritsen, Christopher P. McKay, Kaelin M. Cawley, Ross Edwards, Emanuele Kuhn, Diane M. McKnight, Nathaniel E. Ostrom, Vivian Peng, Adrian Ponce, John C. Priscu, Vladimir Samarkin, Ashley T. Townsend, Protima Wagh, Seth A. Young, Pung To Yung, and Peter T. Doran. Microbial life at ?13 ?C in the brine of an ice-sealed Antarctic lake. PNAS, November 26, 2012 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1208607109
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday announces that he is quitting political life after a decades-long career that also saw him serve as prime minister.
By Martin Fletcher, NBC News
News analysis
TEL AVIV, Israel ? Internet forums in Israel sprang to life when Ehud Barak made his surprise announcement that he would retire from politics in eight weeks. The overwhelming sentiment on Ynet and other newspaper forums ? good riddance.?
But the key question is, does he mean it? Consider his background.
Israel?s most decorated soldier, universally recognized as a brilliant special forces officer, in the army for 36 years.?When he went into politics he became foreign minister within two years, then prime minister and now defense minister.
And he?s 70 ? not at all old in Israeli politics.
Now think of the reasons he gave in his press conference to end his spectacular career in Israel?s military and political power centers: to spend more time with his family. "I want to study, write, live and have a good time," he said.
What Gaza fighting taught Israel about possible war with Iran
Barak has already earned considerable wealth through lectures and business consulting, and has a reputation among Israelis for enjoying the high life. So much so that to counteract that reputation, which he feared would hurt him in the polls, he sold his apartment in the plush Akirov Towers in Tel Aviv and bought an apartment in a more modest new building.
But that was in March when retiring from politics must have been the last thing on his mind.
Kobi Gideon / GPO via Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Ehud Barak visit Israel's northern Israeli border with Syria on November 14 in an image provided by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO).
At the time he wrote on his?Facebook?page?that his older home??gives a sense of alienation and detachment from the public and so we decided to move to a smaller and less expensive apartment.?
So the idea that Barak would decide to devote the rest of his life to having ?a good time,? just when Israel faces one of its most momentous decisions ever -- whether or not to attack Iran?s nuclear facilities -- and as Israel faces numerous military challenges, from Gaza to Hezbollah, to Iran and Syria, rings false to some analysts.
The real reason for the dramatic announcement, one political source said Monday, is that the party Barak founded in January this year, "Independence," is set to get trounced in the elections scheduled for Jan. 22. Barak would rather leave while on top, leaving the door open to a future return to politics.
Bernat Armangue / AP
Israel's military said it had accomplished its objectives while Hamas claimed victory after the two sides exchanged deadly airstrikes and rocket attacks for over a week.
Barak came out of last week?s mini-war with Hamas in Gaza looking good. He was seen as the restraining hand, the responsible adult, in Israel?s leadership trio of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and himself as defense minister. Israel set modest goals and achieved them with minimal loss of life at home.
After 8 days of Gaza violence, Israel declares mission accomplished, Hamas claims victory
So why retire now? The answer is that the announcement came as a surprise and it is too early to know.
One thing is for sure -- few here think he means it.
Martin Fletcher is the author of "The List", "Breaking News" and "Walking Israel".
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NASA spacecraft captured HD video of a giant plasma eruption on the surface of the Sun Friday. This plasma eruption is not headed toward Earth, so isn't expected to cause any communication problems. The sun is currently in the middle of an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle.
By Tariq Malik,?Space.com / November 19, 2012
A giant solar eruption is captured on Nov. 16, 2012 by NASA's sun-watching Solar Dynamics Observatory. The solar eruption was not aimed at Earth.
NASA/SDO
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The sun unleashed a monster eruption of super-hot plasma Friday (Nov. 16) in back-to-back solar storms captured on camera by a NASA spacecraft.
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The giant sun eruption, called a solar prominence, occurred at 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT), with another event flaring up four hours later. The prominences was so large, it expanded beyond the camera view of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which captured high-definition?video of the solar eruption.
In the video, a colossal loop of glowing red plasma erupts from the lower left of the sun, arcing up and out of frame as it blasts away from the star.
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"The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas made of electrically charged hydrogen and helium," officials with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which oversees the SDO mission, explained in a description. "The prominence plasma flows along a tangled and twisted structure of magnetic fields generated by the sun?s internal dynamo. An erupting prominence occurs when such a structure becomes unstable and bursts outward, releasing the plasma."
?Friday's solar eruption does not appear to be aimed at Earth, so will likely have little effect on our planet. But that was not the case earlier this week when a powerful solar flare erupted on Monday (Nov. 12). That flare registered as an M6-class eruption, a moderate but still intense solar event.
On Tuesday and Wednesday (Nov. 13 and 14), space weather conditions sparked a geomagnetic storm that supercharged the Earth's auroras, creating spectacular northern lights displays for observers at high latitudes.
When aimed directly at Earth, the most powerful solar flares and eruptions can pose a threat to satellites and astronauts in orbit, and also interfere with communication, navigation and power systems on the ground.
The sun is currently in the middle of an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle. The current cycle is called Solar Cycle 24 and is expected to peak in 2013.
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Editor's note:?If you snap an amazing photo of the northern lights created by recent sun flares, or any other sky object, and you'd like to share it for a possible story or image gallery, send images, comments and location information to managing editor Tariq Malik at?tmalik@space.com.
You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter?@tariqjmalik?and?SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.
Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Active lifestyle boosts brain structure and slows Alzheimers diseasePublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Linda Brooks lbrooks@rsna.org 630-590-7762 Radiological Society of North America
CHICAGO An active lifestyle helps preserve gray matter in the brains of older adults and could reduce the burden of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Dementia exacts a staggering toll on society. More than 35 million people worldwide are living with the disease, according to the World Health Organization, and the prevalence is expected to double by 2030. AD is the most common cause of dementia and currently has no cure.
Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., radiology resident at the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues recently examined how an active lifestyle can influence brain structure in 876 adults, average age 78 years, drawn from the multisite Cardiovascular Health Study. The patients' condition ranged from normal cognition to Alzheimer's dementia.
"We had 20 years of clinical data on this group, including body mass index and lifestyle habits," Dr. Raji said. "We drew our patients from four sites across the country, and we were able to assess energy output in the form of kilocalories per week."
The lifestyle factors examined included recreational sports, gardening and yard work, bicycling, dancing and riding an exercise cycle.
The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a technique called voxel-based morphometry to model the relationships between energy output and gray matter volume.
"Voxel-based morphometry is an advanced method that allows a computer to analyze an MR image and build a mathematical model that helps us to understand the relationship between active lifestyle and gray matter volume," Dr. Raji said. "Gray matter volume is a key marker of brain health. Larger gray matter volume means a healthier brain. Shrinking volume is seen in Alzheimer's disease."
After controlling for age, head size, cognitive impairment, gender, body mass index, education, study site location and white matter disease, the researchers found a strong association between energy output and gray matter volumes in areas of the brain crucial for cognitive function. Greater caloric expenditure was related to larger gray matter volumes in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes, including the hippocampus, posterior cingulate and basal ganglia. There was a strong association between high energy output and greater gray matter volume in patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD.
"Gray matter includes neurons that function in cognition and higher order cognitive processes," Dr. Raji said. "The areas of the brain that benefited from an active lifestyle are the ones that consume the most energy and are very sensitive to damage."
A key aspect of the study was its focus on having variety in lifestyle choices, Dr. Raji noted.
"What struck me most about the study results is that it is not one but a combination of lifestyle choices and activities that benefit the brain," he said.
Dr. Raji said the positive influence of an active lifestyle on the brain was likely due to improved vascular health.
"Virtually all of the physical activities examined in this study are some variation of aerobic physical activity, which we know from other work can improve cerebral blood flow and strengthen neuronal connections," he said.
"Additional work needs to be done," Dr. Raji added. "However, our initial results show that brain aging can be alleviated through an active lifestyle."
###
Coauthors are H. Michael Gach, Ph.D., Owen Carmichael, Ph.D., James T. Becker, Ph.D., Oscar Lopez, M.D., Paul Thompson, Ph.D., William Longstreth, M.D., Lewis Kuller, M.D., and Kirk Ericson, Ph.D.
Note: Copies of RSNA 2012 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press12 beginning Monday, Nov. 26.
RSNA is an association of more than 50,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists, promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill.
Editor's note: The data in these releases may differ from those in the published abstract and those actually presented at the meeting, as researchers continue to update their data right up until the meeting. To ensure you are using the most up-to-date information, please call the RSNA Newsroom at 1-312-949-3233.
For patient-friendly information on MRI, visit RadiologyInfo.org.
[ | 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.
Active lifestyle boosts brain structure and slows Alzheimers diseasePublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Linda Brooks lbrooks@rsna.org 630-590-7762 Radiological Society of North America
CHICAGO An active lifestyle helps preserve gray matter in the brains of older adults and could reduce the burden of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Dementia exacts a staggering toll on society. More than 35 million people worldwide are living with the disease, according to the World Health Organization, and the prevalence is expected to double by 2030. AD is the most common cause of dementia and currently has no cure.
Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., radiology resident at the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues recently examined how an active lifestyle can influence brain structure in 876 adults, average age 78 years, drawn from the multisite Cardiovascular Health Study. The patients' condition ranged from normal cognition to Alzheimer's dementia.
"We had 20 years of clinical data on this group, including body mass index and lifestyle habits," Dr. Raji said. "We drew our patients from four sites across the country, and we were able to assess energy output in the form of kilocalories per week."
The lifestyle factors examined included recreational sports, gardening and yard work, bicycling, dancing and riding an exercise cycle.
The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a technique called voxel-based morphometry to model the relationships between energy output and gray matter volume.
"Voxel-based morphometry is an advanced method that allows a computer to analyze an MR image and build a mathematical model that helps us to understand the relationship between active lifestyle and gray matter volume," Dr. Raji said. "Gray matter volume is a key marker of brain health. Larger gray matter volume means a healthier brain. Shrinking volume is seen in Alzheimer's disease."
After controlling for age, head size, cognitive impairment, gender, body mass index, education, study site location and white matter disease, the researchers found a strong association between energy output and gray matter volumes in areas of the brain crucial for cognitive function. Greater caloric expenditure was related to larger gray matter volumes in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes, including the hippocampus, posterior cingulate and basal ganglia. There was a strong association between high energy output and greater gray matter volume in patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD.
"Gray matter includes neurons that function in cognition and higher order cognitive processes," Dr. Raji said. "The areas of the brain that benefited from an active lifestyle are the ones that consume the most energy and are very sensitive to damage."
A key aspect of the study was its focus on having variety in lifestyle choices, Dr. Raji noted.
"What struck me most about the study results is that it is not one but a combination of lifestyle choices and activities that benefit the brain," he said.
Dr. Raji said the positive influence of an active lifestyle on the brain was likely due to improved vascular health.
"Virtually all of the physical activities examined in this study are some variation of aerobic physical activity, which we know from other work can improve cerebral blood flow and strengthen neuronal connections," he said.
"Additional work needs to be done," Dr. Raji added. "However, our initial results show that brain aging can be alleviated through an active lifestyle."
###
Coauthors are H. Michael Gach, Ph.D., Owen Carmichael, Ph.D., James T. Becker, Ph.D., Oscar Lopez, M.D., Paul Thompson, Ph.D., William Longstreth, M.D., Lewis Kuller, M.D., and Kirk Ericson, Ph.D.
Note: Copies of RSNA 2012 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press12 beginning Monday, Nov. 26.
RSNA is an association of more than 50,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists, promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill.
Editor's note: The data in these releases may differ from those in the published abstract and those actually presented at the meeting, as researchers continue to update their data right up until the meeting. To ensure you are using the most up-to-date information, please call the RSNA Newsroom at 1-312-949-3233.
For patient-friendly information on MRI, visit RadiologyInfo.org.
[ | 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.
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) ? Gunmen attacked a major police station near Nigeria's capital Monday that holds members of a radical Islamist sect, freeing prisoners and killing two police officers in the latest assault on the nation's beleaguered security forces.
The attack on the Special Anti-Robbery Squad's station near Abuja came as the death toll for suicide car bombings Sunday at a major military base rose Monday to at least 30 people killed, a hospital official said. While the sect known as Boko Haram has yet to claim the attacks, both strikes bear similarities to other assaults carried out by a group the Nigerian government seems unable to stop.
The attack on the police station began around 2 a.m. Monday, with a "large number" of gunmen killing the officers and allowing about 30 prisoners inside the facility to escape, federal police spokesman Frank Mba said in a statement. Two suspected gunmen were arrested after the attack and 25 of the prisoners have been captured, Mba said.
Authorities said none of those who escaped were terrorism suspects and that the five still at large were being held on suspicion of being armed robbers.
An investigation into the attack has begun, Mba said, while the nation's top police commander has ordered "water-tight security around all government and police-related facilities nationwide."
The robbery squad's station has come under international scrutiny after Amnesty International published a report this month describing the facility as a former slaughterhouse where chains still hang from the ceiling. Amnesty's report, which included allegations of Boko Haram suspects being abused and held indefinitely without charges, estimated more than 100 suspected sect members are held at the station. At the time of the report's release, police officials said they would investigate Amnesty's claims.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north, has demanded the release of all its captive members and has called for strict Shariah law to be implemented across the entire country. The sect has killed both Christians and Muslims in their attacks, as well as soldiers and security forces.
The group, which speaks to journalists in telephone conference calls at times of its choosing, could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.
The sect is blamed for killing more than 760 people this year alone, according to an Associated Press count. Western diplomats and military officials say the sect has loose ties to both al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and Somalia's al-Shabab, while also offering fighters to join Islamists now controlling northern Mali. That has led to worries the group will grow only more violent as time goes on.
On Sunday, the suicide bombings hit Jaji, home to Nigeria's Armed Forces Command and Staff College, one of the country's most important military colleges. While authorities initially said the blast killed 11 people, an official at the base's medical center said Monday at least 30 died from the blasts and another 45 others had been wounded in the attack. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as the military hospital bars its staff from speaking to journalists.
Brig. Gen. Bola Koleoso, a military spokesman, said he had no new information Monday about the bombings.
Despite sending soldiers into troubled northern cities, Nigeria's military has been unable to stop the attacks and has alienated locals with heavy-handed tactics and retaliatory attacks that have seen dozens of civilians killed at a time. Meanwhile, soldiers and security forces routinely have been killed in guerrilla attacks by Boko Haram.
The suicide bombings and police station attack comes after Nigerian authorities offered a total of $1.8 million in rewards for information leading to the arrest of top Boko Haram members.
___
Associated Press writers Godwin Attah in Kaduna, Nigeria, and Jon Gambrell in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
(Reuters) - ConocoPhillips said it plans to sell its 8.4 percent stake in Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oil field to India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd for about $5 billion as the Indian company looks to make up for flagging production.
Kashagan, the world's biggest oilfield discovery since 1968, holds an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil-in-place, of which 8-12 billion are potentially recoverable. First production from the field is expected in 2013.
India, the world's fourth-biggest oil importer, buys nearly 80 percent of its oil needs as expanding refining capacity has outpaced local oil output. State-run ONGC's local oil output has been almost stagnant for years.
ConocoPhillips said the carrying value of the assets related to its Kashagan interest was about $5.5 billion as of September 30.
The company said it would take an after-tax impairment of about $400 million in the fourth quarter to reduce the carrying value. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2013.
ONGC, India's third-biggest company by market value, has been investing to maintain output from its old fields and has capital spending plans of around 340 billion Indian rupees ($6.12 billion) both this year and next. The company is under pressure from the government to meet rising demand.
The acquisition is the largest ever for ONGC, and marks the biggest outbound deal from India since mobile phone operator Bharti Airtel bought mobile phone operations in 15 African countries for $9 billion in 2010 from Kuwait-based telecoms group Zain .
ONGC Videsh, the arm of ONGC that invests in overseas assets, said the acquisition would likely add 1 million tonnes (20,000 barrels per day) to its annual production over 25 years with the company's share of output significantly higher in later stages of development. ONGC Videsh's production in the year to March 31, 2012 was 8.7 million tonnes.
Kazakhstan, home to 3 percent of the world's recoverable oil reserves and the largest former Soviet oil producer after Russia, has sought to revise deals struck with foreign energy companies in the lean post-Soviet years.
ConocoPhillips has been conducting a disposal program to reduce its non-core overseas assets to reduce debt and increase its exploration and dividend budgets.
It has already exceeded its target of asset sales worth $20 billion by the end of 2012, including the sale of its stake in Lukoil , Russia's second-biggest oil producer.
"(The) purchase price of $5 billion is at the high end of our prior expectation of $4 to $5 billion," analysts at Simmons and Co wrote in a note to clients.
"This is a positive for ConocoPhillips as it marks important progress on their asset divestiture program, which is needed to support the capital program and dividend."
ConocoPhillips shares down slightly at $56.39 in early trading.
The company said it notified government authorities in Kazakhstan, and its partners in the North Caspian Sea production-sharing agreement of its intention to sell the stake.
Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev last month disclosed ConocoPhillips' plans to sell its stake in the field.
The Kashagan field is jointly controlled by state-run KazMunaiGas and six international companies, including Eni Spa ExxonMobil Corp , Royal Dutch Shell Plc , Total SA and Inpex Corp .
(Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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PayPal President David Marcus held an informal sit-down with reporters today in San Francisco to address the recent shopping activity over the holidays, PayPal's strategy on data and mobile, and the potential for the company to take a stake in in-store payments.
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Public release date: 26-Nov-2012
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