New 21.5-inch iMac gets an early teardown in Japan

We're currently putting Apple's latest "skinny" iMac through its paces here in New York, but an eager Japanese customer has already popped open the 21.5-inch desktop's case, revealing a serviceable hard drive, removable logic board and even a bit of room to spare in the tapered silver housing. There's not much in the way of details over at Kodawarisan, a scant Japanese-language site, but there are plenty of interior pics to gawk at, tiding us over until the experts at iFixit manage to dissect an iMac of their own. Head on over to the source link below for a dozen or so undressed snaps of Cupertino's latest creation.

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Via: Gizmodo

Source: Kodawarisan

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Opposition boycott, protests hit Kuwaiti election

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaitis voted on Saturday in a parliamentary election overshadowed by an opposition boycott, protests over a change to the polling rules and a festering political crisis in the U.S.-allied oil producer.

The election is the second this year in the Gulf Arab state, where a series of assemblies have collapsed under the weight of a power struggle between MPs and the cabinet, appointed by the prime minister who is chosen by the ruling emir.

Tens of thousands of Kuwaitis marched on Friday, urging people not to vote in protest at a change to electoral rules they say will skew the outcome in favor of pro-government candidates.

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah used emergency powers in October to cut the number of votes per citizen to one from four, saying his decree would fix a flawed system and maintain security and stability.

The opposition, which is made up of Islamist, tribal and liberal lawmakers, as well as youth groups, says the new voting rules are an attempt to skew the parliamentary election in favor of pro-government candidates.

"There is a need for the decree to take the country out of the crisis are in," 51-year-old government worker Khaled Nouri said after voting in an upmarket district south of the capital.

"The wheel of development must continue to turn."

Opposition figures have refused to stand because of the voting rules change ordered by the emir, whose family has ruled for 250 years and dominates the cabinet.

LIMITS

Under the new rules, each voter chooses only one candidate instead of four, a move the opposition says will prevent its candidates winning the majority they had in the last vote.

In the past, candidates have called on supporters to cast their additional ballots for allies. They say such informal affiliations are crucial due to a ban on political parties.

"The old system was unfair for people in some areas of Kuwait," 28-year-old Dalal al-Aboud said at a voting station in a suburb on the edge of Kuwait City.

"I think it will be better if we try this new method, then we judge if it is fair or not."

The OPEC member state has the most open political system in the Gulf and tolerates more dissent. Parliament has legislative powers and the ability to question ministers.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), and about 423,000 Kuwaitis are eligible to cast ballots to choose the 50 members of parliament. Voters trickled into stations set up in about 100 schools around the country.

Officials in polling stations in several districts said turnout did appear lighter than usual, but final figures would only be ready later in the day. Polls close at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) and results may come around three hours later, officials said.

TURNOUT CRUCIAL

University professor Alia Shuaib said women, who received the right to vote in 2005, were still finding it an uplifting experience to cast their ballots.

"I believe it is my duty as a woman and as a Kuwaiti national to vote," she said.

"It is a pleasure to get up, dress, get my papers and vote. It is breathtaking," the 45-year-old said. "I believe every person should vote and put the right people in parliament. We want educated people, the best."

Past turnouts in elections have been around 60-80 percent, but analysts said the numbers could be lower this time, given the boycott and exhaustion after the long string of elections.

"Voter apathy is to be expected, after all this is not only the second parliamentary election of 2012, but elections were also held in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2008, and 2009," IHS Global Insight analyst Jamie Ingram wrote in a note.

Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Mubarak al-Sabah said there was a "significant and positive" voter turnout in the second district which comprises the capital and nearby areas.

The opposition tends to dominate voting in districts furthest away from the capital.

Near a polling station in the south of the country, where tribal candidates have polled strongly in the past, Ahmed al-Azemi said he would not vote because his tribe was boycotting the election.

"The Azemi family, we are against the election," he said. "The new parliament will last only a month. A National Assembly without the opposition is useless."

Around him men sat drinking tea and arguing about the boycott. Asked who had voted, three of the 10 raised their hands, to shouts from the others.

"I think people want to pick a better parliament," said Mohammed al-Harbi.

The opposition won around two-thirds of the National Assembly in February and formed a bloc that put pressure on the government, forcing two ministers from office.

That parliament was dissolved after a June court ruling, the latest stage in a standoff which has stalled investment and economic reforms.

"We would love to change the MPs. The previous parliament disrupted projects and then accused the government of delays," 50-year-old dealer Fahad Hamad said after casting his vote in a Kuwait City suburb. "There was no benefit at all."

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Hagagy and Mahmoud Harby; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Sophie Hares)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kuwaitis-vote-poll-hit-opposition-boycott-protests-074010271.html

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Taxing online sales is a bad idea | Idaho Business Review

I heard a rumor today that made me cringe. Rumors usually have a sliver of truth but I hope this one doesn?t. Apparently, the idea of collecting sales taxes from Internet businesses in Idaho is still alive in the Idaho state Legislature. This is a bad idea for several reasons.

First, let?s consider the rationale. The thought is that charging sales tax on Internet businesses will ?level the playing field? for non-Internet companies. That?s ridiculous.

I suppose that in the 1920s when the automobile starting infringing on the sales of saddles, horseshoes and buggy whips we could have leveled the playing field by charging a tax on all automobile sales that subsidized tack shops and blacksmiths. Or we could have legislated that each new car must come with a buggy whip to keep the buggy whip industry alive. But, that would be just as ridiculous.

Second, companies that cry foul because they do not do business online should consider stepping into 2012 and stop running their business like it is 1980. Today, would a florist only sell flowers they get from local growers?? Or rely solely on local sales? Not if they want to stay in business. They buy flowers from growers all over the world. Florists receive orders from national companies that drive sales from of all places, the Internet. The flower business has evolved from the little shop down the street to an international co-op. I suppose we should tax them for morphing the flower industry, changing their business model and providing better service and better products more efficiently than before.

Third, the Internet has fundamentally changed the way we do business. It?s easier, more convenient, provides a huge selection and delivers to your doorstep. This new sales channel can move quickly and adapts well to shifting economies. These companies can literally reach around the world, expanding their customer base and increasing revenue.? We can accept that and create better businesses, or we can try to stifle the innovation to our own demise.

Fourth, the taxing of online businesses should not be done state by state. Legislation at the federal level is already being reviewed to pass sales tax laws that cover every business the same way nationally. State by state sales tax laws make it more difficult and costly for online businesses to do business. Is that a level playing field?

Idaho shouldn?t do anything that would slow this new economy, especially in our own backyard. It should be encouraged, celebrated and welcomed. If anything, the state should be helping small businesses become part of the new economy, not putting roadblocks in the way.

I think a better idea for all Idahoans is to provide resources, classes, training and inspiration to advance every business in the state to become an online competitor. That doesn?t mean giving up their brick and mortar presence, only that they expand their thinking and their sales by joining the Internet community. That same flower shop could develop a Twitter following to share daily deals and special reminders about birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc., that increase their exposure, brand and, of course, sales.

There are several good, reputable companies online such as BigCommerce, Magento, Shopify, and Volusion to name a few, that specialize in helping people, even Internet novices, set up and establish an online business. The cost is extremely reasonable, often under $100 a month.

There?s a public service advertisement currently running that encourages students to take the ?Go On? pledge, a campaign to get kids to commit to ?go on? to college and continue their education. I have an idea for another public service advertisement aimed at businesses that are hesitant to moving to the Internet. It?s called, ?Go Online.? Let?s get the state, the chambers of commerce and local universities to promote the movement online and stop trying to maintain the status quo.

It doesn?t surprise me that some legislators support the movement to charge Internet companies sales tax but it surprises me that Idaho would even consider the matter. But like I said, it?s just a rumor.

Don Bush is director of marketing at Kount, a leading provider of fraud prevention technology. Prior to joining Kount, Don was marketing director at CradlePoint, a manufacturer of wireless routing solutions in the mobile broadband industry. Don has worked in hardware and software management for more than 20 years and as a partner in two top technology marketing agencies.

Source: http://idahobusinessreview.com/2012/11/29/taxing-online-sales-is-a-bad-idea/

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Verbal Abuse: The Cornerstone of a Healthy Relationship ...

In keeping with the general trajectory of my life, wherein I do everything in precisely the wrong way, my husband and I have, since the beginning, made practically every mistake available to humans.

We met too young: he was 19; I was 21. I got pregnant about 47 seconds later (okay fine it was 3 months, but it felt like seconds).

And, just like any Meg Ryan movie, we got married in front of a courthouse on a cold December day, wearing all black, and our baby in a sling.

After reproducing and marrying, we decided to get to know each other, and realized to our great dismay that we only vaguely enjoyed one another?s company. We broke up like 9 times a week, often wishing homicide didn?t carry quite such a heavy sentence.

We drank too much whiskey in too many dive bars while attempting the dubious task of living a ?grown up? life with no money, maturity or discernible future.

The recipe for success, as you can see.

And yet somehow, we?re still here.

Despite some really solid efforts to eradicate our relationship (burn it down, in fact, TO THE GROUND), we are still, 12 years later, a unit.

And I?ll be damned if we aren?t the happiest unit you ever did see.

By some miracle (of what must be a really twisted love god), we have a damn good marriage. I mean it. We?re like happy. We flirt, laugh, hang out, send gushy texts, don?t have affairs.

Friends have told me it?s ?refreshing? to see a marriage actually working. [Um, yeah, it?s ?refreshing? to BE in a marriage that?s actually working.] Occasionally they ask us how we do it. ?How does your marriage work so well??

And since it?s generally people who are just starting out in a serious relationship or recently married, I feel a little awkward explaining that ?what we did? was everything wrong and ?what we?re currently doing? is apparently, everything wrong.

You see they always say the most important feature of a lasting marriage is ?good communication.? They say it?s the cornerstone of a healthy relationship. As if patience and understanding, ?I? statements instead of ?you? statements, no sweeping generalizations, no attacks or criticisms or name-calling form the HOLY GRAIL of marital bliss.

All of this came to mind the other day when I was tutoring a student in the writing center who?s taking a communications class, and I read the following in her textbook:

?Marriage counselors have long emphasized the importance of communication for healthy, enduring relationships. A primary distinction between relationships that endure and those that collapse is the presence of effective communication. Couples who learn how to discuss their thoughts and feelings, adapt to each other, and manage conflict constructively tend to sustain intimacy over time.?

And then it gave the results of a poll in America, in which they found ?a lack of effective communication to be the primary cause for divorce.?

If this is true, what the hell are Mac and I still doing together? And why are we so happy?

Our ?conflict-resolution? goes something like this:

Me, in a horrid, critical tone: ?Why do you [insert behavior that?s only annoying me because I?m overtired]? I mean how does that make sense to you? I don?t fucking get it. You make me insane. I can?t take this shit anymore.?

Him: ?Whatever, Janelle. Go to bed.?

Me: ?No, this isn?t because I?m tired. This is because you?ve got something wrong with you and I?m sick of it.?

Him: ??Then LEAVE.?

Me: ?I would if we didn?t have these kids. Where the hell am I going to go now??

Him, looking like he?s about the break my face: ?I don?t know. Go anywhere. I can?t fucking stand being around you.?

Me: ?I can?t stand you either! You have NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT SUCKS TO BE MARRIED TO YOU.?

Him: ?I want to hit you in the face.?

Me: ?Go ahead. Fuck you.?

And then he walks away and I chase him down because I don?t want to miss the opportunity to converse in this constructive manner.

Him: ?Get away from me. I mean it.?

Me: ?I can?t believe I have to deal with this shit for rest of my life.?

And with death glares, clinched fists and dark thoughts, we stomp off in different directions and slam a door or whatever. We go about our business, really fucking pissed, thinking we should probably divorce. About 8 to 12 minutes later one of us (usually whoever instigated the whole thing (WHAT? Why are you all looking at ME?) comes back around and says something totally unrelated, such as ?How was Rocket?s parent-teacher conference?? or ?Did you pay the Expedition payment??

The other person answers. A couple minutes after that, the bigger asshole (no seriously, stop looking at me. You don?t know. You don?t LIVE HERE.) occasionally mumbles some sorry excuse for an apology, like ??Um, sorry for being a dick.?

And then, ?I love you.?

And that?s it. That?s how it goes. We just drop it, until it happens again, AND IT ALWAYS HAPPENS AGAIN. Because seriously, after 12 years with somebody, the crap that still annoys you ain?t ever going away. You can talk about it ?constructively? until you?re actually out of air, and every word on the topic has been uttered, and every approach has been tried, but seriously, if it hasn?t changed yet, it ain?t never changing. (Yes, I believe that sentence called for a double negative.)

For example, I will always be better at multi-tasking, at looking at a situation and seeing what needs to be done, at taking care of the twenty-seven thousand things that must be addressed in our day-to-day lives.

Mac will always be better at not being an overbearing asshole.

To each his own I suppose.

So basically they?ve lied to us again. They lied about adulthood (it really isn?t that fun). They lied about motherhood (one word: Babycenter). And now, they?ve lied about marriage, telling us that unless we sit down in a perfectly calm manner, thoughtfully ?adapting? to one another, listening with the attention of a thousand Zen monks, our marriage will fail.

BULLSHIT.

As far as I can see it, marriage is messy. It?s ugly. It?s disheveled and weird and clunky. It?s a whole lot a of tenacity thrown in with bit of romance.

You know what it is? IT?S FUCKING WORK.

I am absolutely convinced that the only reason Mac and I are still together is because we stuck with one another with an insane, [irrational] bulldog vengeance. We gritted our teeth and dug them in and JUST WOULD NOT LET GO. We weren?t happy. We were so far from happy we made Misery look like a love story.

And we were dragged through the mud. We were towed across the coals. There were times so dark I thought I wouldn?t survive.

And there are still times I?d like to bust his gorgeous face across my knee.

But there?s never a time I regret standing in front of that courthouse 12 years ago, marrying a man I felt in the depth of my soul was the one for me, devoting myself to him without knowing how to do so, trusting something, something that told me it would be alright. And I?ve never regretted holding on, even when the only thing keeping me there was the fact that we had already started this life together, and our kids were just so beautiful, our family just so dear.

And as it turns out, we were just babies, trying to find our places in the world.

And when we finally did, it turns out they were right beside each other. I know that?s not everybody?s story. But it?s mine, so I?m telling it.

So screw those damn chick flicks. Screw the 50-year honeymoon bullshit. As far as I can tell, marriage is lived in the trenches, on the ground, in the mud. It?s built on the ruins of mistakes and struggle. But when it finds its footing, when it?s withstood all that crap, when it stands like the mightiest brick house you?ve ever seen, my god it?s lovely.

But they don?t tell us that shit in movies. It?s either 50-years of wild sex and unbridled joy ? or it?s divorce.

I don?t buy it. I don?t buy any of it. I think there?s more to the story. At least there has been in mine.

So to my friends who?ve asked ?How do you do it??, I?ll tell ya all that I know (though let?s be honest, it isn?t much):

Marry somebody you love, then hang on like hell, with everything you?ve got, until one day you let go and to your surprise, you find you?re carrying him, and he?s carrying you ? with big, easy open arms, and the most fucked-up perfect marriage you?ve ever seen.

And relax, you can do it all wrong?

until it?s all right.

more stuff I shouldn't have said out loud:

Source: http://www.renegademothering.com/2012/11/29/verbal-abuse-foundation-successful-marriage/

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ULA Pre Budget Statement | Clare Daly TD

Clare Daly TD said: More and more people in this country are struggling and wondering how they are going to pay their bills and put food on the table. Imposing a property tax on people who can already barely make ends meet will have a disastrous effect. Cutting child benefit will put enormous pressure on families. If people can?t spend how is the economy going to recover. What we need is an end to this austerity and get people back to work?

-??????????United Left Alliance pre-budget statement calls for debt repudiation and higher taxes on wealth and profits to fund jobs programmes and reversal of cuts

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-??????????ULA proposes abolition of USC for those earning less than 40,000, end to home-taxes and reversal of cuts in health, education and social welfare

?

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At a press conference today, the ULA proposed a socialist alternative to the budget proposals of the government and the other parties in the D?il. The ULA pre-budget statement says that those who are responsible for the crisis should pay for it, not those who are the social and economic victims ? the ordinary working people of Ireland.

?

The ULA??proposes to take the burden of the crisis off working people, improve their lives and revive the Irish economy. This can only be done by taking the decision-making of the banks and finance houses out of the hands of management whose only goal is profit; and embarking on a major public investment program. If the current investment rate of 10% of GDP (EU average is 18.5%) continues, Ireland will become an economic backwater with impoverishment for generations and run down public services. Only a reversal of current policies can stop that.

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The ULA proposes to repudiate all debt deriving from the financial crash that started in 2008 and raise additional revenue from increases of income tax on the richest in society; to introduce a wealth tax and a financial transaction tax; and to impose a minimum effective rate of 12.5% corporation tax, with a nominal rate of 15%.

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The following are some of the measures being proposed. The full statement is attached.

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Deficit, expenditure and revenue-raising measures:

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The primary deficit for 2013, without the ?9.1 billion debt-interest payment and without the government?s proposed cuts and tax increases would be ?6 billion. Interest payments on the remaining debt after repudiation: ?1.6 billion. Reversal of cuts: ?3 billion.

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Total deficit to be closed: ?10.6 billion

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Revenue generating measures:

Corporation Tax: ?5 billion

Wealth Tax: ?2.8 billion

Financial Transactions Tax: ?0.5 billion

Income Tax: ?2.5 billion

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Total: ?10.8 billion

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Public Investment Program: net cost ?15 billion over three years.

Redirect money held by Irish banks to pay bondholders (?17.4 billion available for 2013 alone) to a Jobs Fund. Other sources: a Jobs Bond, NPRF investment, pension funds and Credit Unions.

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Don?t pay the debt ? It?s not ours!

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The ULA proposes to write down the national debt to pre-crash levels and halt all debt-interest payments incurred as a consequence of the crash.

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Writing down the Irish debt to the pre-crash figure of ?47.4 billion would reduce debt-interest to??approximately ?1.6 billion next year ? at an interest rate of about 4%.[1]

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Repudiating the debt would also mean cancelling the planned ?3 billion in annual payments to Anglo-Irish Bank and any further payment of debts to bondholders in BOI, AIB or other private banks. These amount to???17.4 billion in 2013, ?5.9bn in 2014, ?11.6bn in 2015[2]

?

Increase total income tax-take on the wealthiest 5% by ?2.5 billion

Through a combination of graduated tax bands for incomes in excess of ?100,000 (50%), ?150,000 (60%), ?200,000 (70%) and the establishment of a sliding scale of new minimum effective tax rates on incomes over ?100,000 per year, the ULA proposes to increase the annual tax take from this group by ?2.5 billion.

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Introduce a ?Millionaires Tax? to raise ?2.8 billion in 2013; set up a wealth and assets register.

Central Bank data for Quarter two of 2012[3]?show that there were ?446.4 billion worth of net assets, when debts and liabilities are subtracted. A 5% wealth tax on assets in excess of ?1 million would raise ?2.8 billion in 2013.

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Introduce a Financial Transaction Tax.

A tax on bond and share trading of 0.1% and on derivatives of 0.01% would raise an estimated ?500 million.

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Impose an effective corporation tax rate of 12.5%, rising to nominal 15%

In 2010 companies registered in Ireland declared pre-tax profits of just under ?70 billion but only paid ?4.2 billion in tax ? an effective rate of below 6.5%. An effective rate of 12.5% would raise ?4 billion and an increase to 15% would raise another ?1 billion. Total: ?5 billion.

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Take full control of the banks.

Irish banks are among the best capitalised in Europe due to their bail-out. AIB is already 99% state-owned and Bank of Ireland is 15% state owned. We propose full nationalisation with direct public control of the banks and finance institutions, including their mortgage portfolios, without compensation except on the basis of proven need.

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Write down mortgage debt

Resolve the mortgage crisis through a write-down??to current market value of owner-occupier mortgages given out between 2002-2008. The banks have been given money to cover losses on mortgages. Any shortfall should be covered by non-payment of bondholders. Remove the bank veto in personal insolvency legislation; enshrine in law protection of the family home; no repossessions.

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Lend to small businesses ? differential rates and rent controls

Bring in a progressive system of differential rates based on profitability; end upward only rent reviews; bring in rent controls. Increase credit for small businesses and farmers through

democratic public ownership of the banks.

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?24 billion public investment to directly create 180,000 jobs ? net cost ?15 billion

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The current investment rate of 10% of GDP a year will turn Ireland into an economic backwater, with continued unemployment around 15% and mass emigration. Private investment has dried up ? down ?32 billion a year since 2007.

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A ?24 billion investment program over three years would put 180,000 directly to work. At wages of ?35,000 it would cost ?2.7 billion p/a on top of current jobless benefits. Indirectly another 120,000 jobs would be created ? a total of 300,000. The net cost to the state after three years would be ?15 billion, as a result of the increased tax revenue and higher GDP.[4]

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Funding would come from the ?17.4 billion the banks have for bond payments; from the launch of a Jobs Bond; from social investment by the Credit Union movement; from investment by Irish pension funds; and from the NPRF.

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A three-year program of state-built housing provision ? costing ?3 billion per year but self-financing over 10 years.

Provide 100,000 new Council houses over three years using empty housing and new build; transfer all suitable empty housing to local Councils; build Council housing to meet needs and eliminate waiting lists; a new state construction company employing 30,000 to refit / build 33,000 houses per year for three years.

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End the privatisation of state companies and the give-away of natural resources.

Estimates of the value of Irish oil and gas reserves range from ?420 billion to ?1500 billion. Current tax on the multinationals which extract it is the lowest in the world. Set up a state gas and oil company to develop reserves. Abolish current licences and re-nationalise all oil and gas reserves.

The government plans to sell off our state enterprises. We say stop all privatisations and renationalise of all privatised industries. Develop the economy and natural resources in an environmentally sustainable manner.

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Abolish USC and Household Tax, and reverse the cuts. (cost ?2.9 billion)

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• Abolish the USC for those under ?40,000 and reduce it by 50% for those earning between ?40,000 and ?70,000: cost ?2.5 billion.
• Abolish Household Tax. Cost: ?160 million.

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• ??????????Lift the SNA caps ? train & hire 5000 SNA?s & resource teachers
• ??????????Reverse the cuts to disability, mental health and childcare services: ?50 million
• ??????????Reverse cuts in fuel allowance: ?51 million
• ??????????Re-instate the one million home-help hours: ?20 million
• ??????????Reverse the change to the income disregard for lone parents, restore entitlement to one parent family payment to 15years;?restore?the qualified child increase to those on CE schemes &?restore concurrent payments: ?20.7 million
• ??????????Reverse the cuts to CE schemes, Back to Education allowance and jobs initiative: ?35.9 million
• ??????????Reverse the cuts to rent supplement: ?55 million
• ??????????Reverse last two years increase in the current student contribution (registration fee): ?33 million
• ??????????Reverse the reductions in 3rd level and postgraduate grants: ?15.4 million

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Total cost of reversing cuts: ?2.9 billion

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In a statement Richard Boyd Barrett TD said:

?The purpose of this pre-budget document is to nail the government lie that there is no alternative to continuously bailing out bankers and speculators and paying for it with endless and crippling austerity.

The simple fact is that government and Troika policies are crushing ordinary citizens, working people, the unemployed and vulnerable sectors of our society and strangling our economy. If the government moves ahead with the home tax and further austerity measures next Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of families will driven into poverty and our economy will be driven even further into a vicious downward spiral.

There is an alternative, if we stop paying out billions to bondholders and interest on unsustainable debts that have been loaded onto the backs of ordinary Irish people. If we repudiate these odious debts and impose higher progressive taxes on the very wealthiest in our society and on super-profitable corporations, we can relieve the burden on low and middle income families, stimulate the economy and finance major job creation programme.

Joan Collins TD said:

?By abolishing the USC for those earning less than ?40,000 and abolishing home taxes we can drag hundreds of thousands of families back from the brink of poverty and beath life back into our devastated domestic economy.

The government won?t do this because they are protecting the financial and millionaire elites. If we are going to implement a fair alternative, it will only only be done through a major movement of people power on the streets.

We are appealing to the public, who are the targets of the government?s vicious austerity policies to take to the streets on budget day and join the protests called by the Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes (CAHWT), the Council of Trade Unions and other community groups.?

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Clare Daly TD said:??More and more people in this country are struggling and wondering how they are going to pay their bills and put food on the table. Imposing a property tax on people who can already barely make ends meet will have a disastrous effect. Cutting child benefit will put enormous pressure on families. If people can?t spend how is the economy going to recover. What we need is an end to this austerity and get people back to work?

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Commenting on the ULA?s pre budget statement Socialist Party/United Left Alliance TD for Dublin West Joe Higgins said:

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?This statement for me is not about how I think the capitalist system should be run. The system itself is crisis and is failure from the point of view of working class people, low and middle income as well as the unemployed, pensioners and students. What the statement highlights is that economic activity as it is organised under this system continues to make a small minority obscenely wealthy and that if the economy was organised in a different manner the basis would be there to overturn the austerity and meet the needs of people. None of this, not the cancellation of the debt or the taxing of wealth, will be achieved by reasoning with the political establishment or the troika. Instead it has to be struggled for and if such a struggle takes place the resistance that would come from the rich to having their privileges challenged would make clearer to ordinary people the need for a fundamentally different type of society. For me that is a democratic socialist alternative to capitalist crisis.?

ENDS

ULA Budget?[PDF download]

Source: http://www.claredaly.ie/ula-pre-budget-statement/

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Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies

Wenatchee and ?Quincy Home Inspection

As a home inspector and structural pest inspector I field funny calls at times.

Many people know or read that I am a structural pest inspector and with that think that I am an authority on all pests. Well unfortunately that is not true? I am not an authority on all pests. I cannot give you very good guidance on your little brother or a nosey neighbor or a host of other pests.

Structural pest are a select group of insects and organisms that will destroy the integrity of wood structural components. The main pests I am concerned with are termites, carpenter ants, moisture ants and Anobiid beetles. The other major concern is wood decay rot fungi. There are other wood destroying insects but are not very common in my area.

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? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

But what is true I can usually find answers for people and or give them direction on who to call.

Case in point, I get a call from an associate of mine and she was beside herself. She said ?I did not know who to call. I have flies all over my house and it is driving me crazy?.

After a little giggle we get down to helping her out with her house of flies.

Flies can be a nuisance for sure. But they are like many things an indication of something, usually that you have something dying and decaying in the home.

A little Fly-ology- The most common flies we will encounter are;

House fly- House flies are 3/16 to 1/4 inch long with robust bodies and two clear wings. The thorax is marked with four dark stripes. Larvae are called maggots and are creamy-white and cone-shaped, with the hind end blunt and bearing breathing holes (spiracles) tapering to the head which bears black hook-like mouthparts.

Female flies lay numbers of eggs in suitable larval food sources such as decomposing food in garbage, animal excrement or other decomposing organic materials. Development from egg to adult can be completed in about a week under optimal conditions. Adults normally live up to 25 days but may overwinter.

Little House Fly- They are generally most numerous during the cooler spring and fall months. Adults are approximately two-thirds the size of the house fly and are missing the house fly?s distinctive thoracic stripes. They rest hold their wings over the back more than the house fly does, creating a narrower V-shape to the wing outline.

Females like to lay their eggs in animal wastes (especially chicken manure), but various moist organic materials can serve as suitable nesting substances. Their developmental time from egg to adult is somewhat longer than for the house fly at all temperatures.

Garbage Fly- A group of fly species with similar life histories and behaviors. Adult flies in this group can be readily differentiated from other flies by their coloration, which is a shiny, metallic green or blue often mixed with some copper color.

These flies can develop from egg to adult in as little as 7 days. Eggs are usually laid in decaying meats, garbage, or dog feces. Similar to other nuisance flies, garbage fly larvae leave their developmental site to seek out drier and more protected areas for pupation.

Fruit Fly-There are many species of fruit flies, ranging in size from 1/32 to 3/32. They can be recognized by the rather bulbous shape of their lower bodies, which is frequently an orange or light brown color. They are relatively slow flyers, often hovering around fruit or juice. They have an excellent sense of smell and are strongly attracted by bananas.

Female fruit flies are capable of laying hundreds of eggs and develop from egg to adult in about a week. Eggs are most commonly laid on moist, fermenting food masses such as over-ripe fruit and vegetables.

The main elements of fly prevention are sanitation and exclusion, with sanitation always the first priority. ?The fewer flies that breed in an area, the fewer there will be indoors. So keeping garbage areas clean and take your garbage out frequently. ?Throw away any decaying fruits and organics. Also I was shown by an old glazier that ?Sprayaway? glass cleaner is an excellent flying insect knock down spray. Gotta love old glaziers. I saw this in action.

These insects have been known to carry over 100 different kinds of disease-causing germs, which makes them very bad house guests.

Ancora Imparo

NCW Home Inspections, LLC ?is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more? ?

Your Wenatchee and Chelan Professional Real Estate, Home and Structural Pest Inspection Service

www.ncwhomeinspections.com ????????? 509-670-9572

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Source: http://activerain.com/blogsview/3536729/lord-of-the-flies

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Morality-based judgments are quicker, more extreme than practical evaluations

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Judgments made after a moral evaluation are quicker and more extreme than the same judgment based on practical considerations, but morality-based evaluations can be more easily shifted and made with other considerations in mind, according to research published November 28 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Jay Van Bavel and colleagues from New York University.

Previous research has suggested that moral reasoning usually occurs after a person makes a decision, as a post hoc justification of their choice, rather than the basis for the decision itself. This new study suggests that people can evaluate choices using either moral or non-moral considerations, and this can lead to different choices for the same actions.

For example, participants in the study were given actions that are typically evaluated in a moral context, such as murder, and non-moral actions, such as riding a bike or buying organic food, and asked to evaluate each in both a pragmatic and a moral sense. They were also asked to choose how strongly they would advocate the action to others.

The authors found that participants had different responses to the same decision depending on whether or not it was framed as a moral or pragmatic choice. They found that moral evaluations were faster, more extreme and more strongly associated with universal prescriptions ("everybody/nobody should" statements) than non-moral or pragmatic evaluations of the same actions. In addition, the authors also found that people took longer to decide on such universal prescriptions when asked to evaluate them in a pragmatic rather than moral context.

According to the authors, their results suggest that deciding to frame any issue as moral or not may have important consequences. They say, "Once an issue is declared moral, people's judgments about that issue become more extreme, and they are more likely to apply those judgments to others."

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Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125585/Morality_based_judgments_are_quicker__more_extreme_than_practical_evaluations

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