![Click here to read Maurice Sendak: "F*ck Ebooks"](http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2012/01/small_912b21f400c364ce30af49bd2e0add4f.jpg "Click here to read Maurice Sendak: "F*ck Ebooks"")
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ldvif1gxcpo/maurice-sendak-fck-ebooks
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Maurice Sendak: "F*ck Ebooks" [Video]
Hands on with Color Splash Studio for iPhone
MacPhun, the makers of FX Photo Studio, are working on a selective-coloring photography for iPhone called Color Splash Studio. Unlike similar apps already available in the App Store, FX
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/pC6Jy-VWU7M/story01.htm
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Personal Finance Management Tips
The increase in consumerism today has made the common man or the average earner to spend more than what he used to. This resulted in more people getting in to debts and credit card scams. Many people today are suffering from huge loans that they have taken from the banks and are finding it difficult to pay them back.
All this confusion leads them to the conclusion that finance management is almost impossible. This is not right. It is definitely true that the concept of personal finance management and personal budgets is completely confusing, but they are not impossible for sure.
All this confusion leads them to the conclusion that finance management is almost impossible. This is not right. It is definitely true that the concept of personal finance management and personal budgets is completely confusing, but they are not impossible for sure.
Having sound personal budgeting strategies means you can settle your debts and mortgage loans early, pay regular bills comfortably and still have some money left to help you purchase things for your house or even plan for a small vacation.
This will lower your bill a little.
Look at the lights you are using in the house, if you have forty or sixty watt bulbs you are using less energy than seventy five and one hundred watt bulbs in all the lamps in your home. Cut costs by starting with the electric bill. Manage your budget; manage your money by adding more to your monthly household budget.
Another cardinal mistake people commit when using credit cards is that they fail to pay them off when they are supposed to either because they genuinely forget, or because they simply do not have the cash to do so at that current period in time. The truth of the matter is that if you do not pay you will end up paying more money in the long term and this is because of the interest payments that you will be hit with.
We can blame so many factors for this ? the government, the corporates and most of all the banks who gave easy loans to people who could never afford them. But the truth is that it?s the job of banks to encourage us to take loans. That?s how their business. It?s only up to us to make complete sense of the situation.
You will have to make some data entry first of all to provide all the financial details. Then you can device your long term and short term financial requirements separately. After this, you provide the amount of savings and investments that you have made and are planning to make. Once all these information is gathered, the tool produces a very effective budget for us.
Now you have all your expenses listed out. From the last section, cut down all the expenses that you think is no necessary. You will surely find enough unwanted expenses here. Now reduce the expense that you think is less important. Now you have a renewed last section.
Source: http://whatismortgagerefinancing.com/personal-finance-management-tips/
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Sunday, January 29, 2012
Salvage crews suspend work on capsized cruise ship (Reuters)
GIGLIO, Italy (Reuters) ? Salvage crews preparing to pump thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel and oil from the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Italian coast suspended work on Saturday because of bad weather that could last into next week, officials said.
With heavy seas and strong winds set to continue, work on removing more than 2,300 tonnes of diesel may be held up for days, according to a spokesman for SMIT, the Dutch company that is managing the operation.
"Starting operations depends on the weather conditions," Martijn Schuttevaer told reporters. "The forecast is for the bad weather to last until Tuesday and we don't expect to be able to recommence activities until the middle of the week."
A barge carrying pumping equipment that was attached to the capsized ship was withdrawn after strong winds and high waves worsened conditions for the divers working on the huge wreck.
Despite the interruption the search continued for bodies on the half-submerged vessel, which lies in about 20 meters of water on a rock shelf close to the island of Giglio off the Tuscan coast.
Divers found the body of a woman on Saturday, bringing the number of known dead to 17. Authorities also said they had identified the body of a German woman recovered last week.
Two of the bodies found after the shipwreck are unidentified and 15 people are still missing.
With no hope of finding survivors, the focus has switched to preventing an environmental disaster in Giglio, a popular holiday island in a marine nature reserve.
Before the work was suspended, crews were installing valves to help pump out six fuel tanks towards the front of the ship which hold most of the diesel. The pumping operation is expected to take between three weeks and a month.
The Concordia, a 290-metre long floating resort carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, sank more than two weeks ago after it ran into a rock close to the shore which tore a long gash in its hull.
The accident, expected to trigger the most expensive maritime insurance claim ever, has set off a legal battle in which U.S. and Italian lawyers are preparing class action and individual suits against the operator, Costa Cruises.
In a bid to limit the fallout, Costa, a unit of Carnival Corp, the world's largest cruise ship operator, has offered the more than 3,000 passengers $14,500 each in compensation on condition they drop any legal action.
The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, suspected of causing the accident by steering too close to shore, and faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.
The ship's first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, has also been questioned by prosecutors but the company itself has not been implicated in the investigation at this stage.
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Brazilian bikinis burgeon to fit the fat (AP)
RIO DE JANEIRO ? Tall and tan and young and ... chunky?
The Girl From Ipanema has put on a few pounds, and for many sunbathers on Brazil's beaches the country's iconic itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini just doesn't suffice anymore.
A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines.
That's nothing short of a revolution in this most body-conscious of nations, where overweight ladies long had little choice but to hit the beach in comely ensembles of oversized T-shirts and biker shorts.
"It used to be bikinis were only in tiny sizes that only skinny girls could fit into. But not everyone is built like a model," said Elisangela Inez Soares as she sunbathed on Copacabana beach, her oiled-up curves packed into a black size 12 bikini.
"Finally, it seems like people are beginning to realize that we're not all Gisele," said the 38-year-old mother of four, referring to willowy Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
Clothing designer Clarice Rebelatto said her own swimwear-hunting travails prompted her to found Lehona, an exclusively plus-size beachwear line.
"Honestly, the problem went way beyond just bikinis. In Brazil, it used to be that if you were even a little chunky, finding any kind of clothes in the right size was a real problem," said Rebelatto, herself a size 10. "And I thought, `I'm actually not even that big compared to a lot of women out there, so if I have problems, what are they doing?'"
Since its launch in 2010, the line has become a hit.
In brash leopard spots and flower prints not meant for wallflowers, the label's 14 bikini styles aren't what you'd normally associate with plus-size swimsuits. The necklines plunge dramatically. Straps are mere strings. And while the bottoms provide too much coverage to qualify for the famed "fio dental" or "dental floss" category of Brazilian string bikinis, they're significantly more audacious than the standard U.S. cut.
"We're working from the principle that bigger women are just like everyone else: They don't want to look like old ladies, wearing these very modest, very covering swimsuits in just black," said Luiz Rebelatto, Clarice's son and director of Lehona.
He said that recent publicity of the brand and several other new swimwear lines catering to plus sizes has triggered an overwhelming number of calls and e-mails from would-be customers.
"They're all excited and they say, `I've been looking everywhere for a bikini like that. Where can I get one?'" said Rebelatto.
Lehona is currently sold exclusively at big and tall specialty stores throughout Brazil. Its bikinis retail for about 130 reais or $75 ? a relatively high price-point here, but Rebelatto said sales have grown at a galloping pace, though he did not provide any figures.
It's the same story at Acqua Rosa, a conventional swimwear label that added a plus-size line in 2008. Now, plus-size purchases account for more than 70 percent of the brand's total sales, said director Joao Macedo.
It makes sense.
For centuries, large swaths of Brazil were beset by malnutrition, and in 1970, nearly 10 percent of the population in the country's poor, rural northeast region was considered underweight, according to Brazil's national statistics institute.
But the phenomenal economic boom that has lifted tens of millions out of poverty and into the burgeoning middle class over the past decade has also changed the nation's once-svelte physique: A 2010 study by the statistics institute showed that 48 percent of adult women and 50 percent of men are now overweight. In 1985 those figures were 29 percent for women and 18 percent for men.
(Still, there's been no rash of plus-size male swimwear lines, as men here wear Speedo-style suits that don't impinge on big guts.)
Analysts attribute Brazil's rapidly widening girth to changes in nutrition, with chips, processed meats and sugary soft drinks replacing staples like rice, beans and vegetables.
And while the country's elite are widely known to be fitness freaks ? and also among the world's top consumers of cosmetic surgery ? those recently lifted out of poverty and manual labor are becoming increasingly sedentary. A 2008 study showed that barely 10 percent of Brazilian teens and adults exercise regularly.
Still, despite their growing numbers, not everyone is eager to embrace "gordinhas" ? or "little fatties," as chunky women are affectionately known here.
Many high-end bikini-makers have turned a seemingly deliberately blind eye to the burgeoning plus-size market. Rio-based upmarket brand Salinas, for example, offers five sizes, from extra-small through extra-large. But their sizing runs notoriously small and it's hard to imagine anyone over a size 6 actually managing to fit into any of the brand's minuscule two-pieces.
Luis Rebelatto of Lehona chalked it partially up to snobbery.
"Some brands, they don't want their image to be associated with chunky women," he said. "Only the thin, the rich and the chic."
While Brazilians' increasing heft is a public policy preoccupation for the government, growth in the ranks of the overweight population has given them increased visibility in Brazilian society. Extra-wide bucket seats for the obese have been installed in Sao Paulo's metro system, and on Sunday the city will host Brazil's first ever Miss Plus Size beauty contest.
"It used to be that people would stare at me," said Soares, the voluptuous sun-worshiper on Copacabana beach. "Now when I come to the beach I see women who are much bigger than me ? and lots of them are wearing bikinis ? so I'm not self conscious any more.
"God makes some people thin but he made me like this," she said, rubbing down the well-oiled bulge of her stomach and thighs. "So who am I to think that he was wrong?"
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Fran Drescher: Aliens implanted me with chip
Getty Images file
By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Fran Drescher, star of "The Nanny" and owner of one of the most distinctive voices in Hollywood, now has a distinctive story to go with it. According to The Huffington Post, the actress?said that?both she and her ex-husband saw aliens as children, and matching scars on their hands mark where the extraterrestrials embedded some kind of chip. (Tracking, not potato, we assume.)
It's hard to read this story without wondering if The Huffington Post is using it as a test run for a possible Onion-like publication, or if Drescher is putting them on -- she is a comic actress, after all --?but writer Rob Shuter says Drescher told him the story "in all seriousness."
The Huffington Post headline says Drescher was "abducted" by aliens, but in the quotes from her, the actress only says she "saw" them. But when discussing the fact that she and her husband both have a scar in similar places on their hands, she seems to hint that she was not only abducted, but implanted with the chip.
Drescher's ex-husband says she got the scar from either a drill bit or burning herself by holding a cup of hot water. But that's not what she says. "I said to him, that's what the aliens programmed us to think," the Huffington Post quotes the actress as saying. "But really, that's where the chip is."
On Friday, presumably after seeing the Huffington Post story, Drescher tweeted: "Must b a slow wk in huffingtonpost 2 rite an alien abduction story on me! R they goin tabloid?" She doesn't deny or confirm the story itself.
OK. We saw "The X Files." We want to believe. But for now, we're going to believe that this entire interview was performance art on Drescher's part, and she thought it would be funny to pull the reporter's leg.
Do you think Drescher was serious? Tell us on Facebook.
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Bats occupy Israeli army ghost bunkers (Reuters)
QASR AL-YAHUD, West Bank (Reuters) ? Abandoned Israeli army bunkers along the Jordan River are providing a lifeline for bats on the endangered species list, researchers say.
Soldiers left Israel's underground forts along the frontier with Jordan after a 1994 peace treaty between the two countries. With much of the former front line, some of it dotted by mine fields, still designated by the military as off-limits to civilians, bats swooped into the secluded and dark steel caverns.
Several years ago, researchers from Tel Aviv University were granted access to the ghost bunkers. Now, they say, they have identified 12 indigenous bat species in the 100-kilometre- (60 mile)-long tract between the Sea of Galilee in Israel and the Dead Sea's northern edge in the occupied West Bank.
Two of the species commonly known as the Mediterranean horseshoe bat and Geoffroy's bat are on the critical list and three others are designated as endangered.
"There is no doubt that by being in a closed military zone that has prevented human interference, the bat habitat will allow these delicate creatures to thrive," said one of the researchers, Eran Levin.
But he said it was too early to quantify the growth of the local bat population, estimated to be in the thousands, because the research project was not yet complete.
One former bunker -- overlooking the spot along the Jordan River where some Christian faithful believe Jesus was baptized by John -- has been turned into a more accommodating home for the webbed-wing mammals.
To give the bats more grip, the research team roughed up its smooth steel and concrete walls, suspended mesh sheets and wooden palates, sprayed insulating foam and stuck stones to surfaces.
Different bat species each preferred different grip surfaces, Levin said.
A thick layer of bat guano now covers the floor and metal bunk-bed frames the military left behind.
A night-vision camera follows the bats' movements during the period they inhabit the bunkers from March to October when daytime temperatures in the area soar above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Enjoying their own peace dividend, the bat population could also give something back to Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians in the area.
Aviam Atar of Israel's Nature and Parks Authority said the bats help to reduce crop damage by eating insects at night, coming out to feed in the dark when the fields are empty.
"Because each bat can eat a few grams of insects each night, they reduce the need for the use of pesticides and this certainly has potential for facilitating green farming. The crop growers don't even know this is happening," he said.
(Writing by Ori Lewis, Editing by Jeffrey Heller)
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Obama urges Congress to act in election year (AP)
CAMBRIDGE, Md. ? President Barack Obama told House Democrats Friday to be ready to work with Republicans if they show a willingness to put politics aside even "for just a nanosecond," but to stay firm and push back if the GOP stands in the way.
"Where they obstruct, where they're unwilling to act, where they're more interested in party than they are in country, more interested in the next election than the next generation, then we've got to call them out on it," Obama said at the annual House Democratic caucus retreat. "We've got to push. We can't wait, we can't be held back."
Coming off a three-day tour of politically important states to promote his State of the Union message of economic opportunity, Obama promised a "robust debate" with Republicans once they choose their nominee, but reminded Democrats that in the meantime, there were things they could do to help the public, including working to extend a payroll tax cut for the remainder of the year.
Despite some past clashes with House Democrats over his willingness to compromise with Republicans, Obama was warmly received and was introduced as "our champion" by Rep. John Larson of Connecticut.
The president returned the warmth with a vote of confidence that Democrats would win back the House in November, making a nod to their leader as "soon-to-be once-again Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi."
"I believe in you guys. You guys have had my back through some very tough times. I'm going to have your back as well and together we're going to move this country forward," he said in a pep talk to the Democrats, who've gathered in Maryland for a three-day retreat.
The president spoke of rigors of the debate ahead, the cynicism in the country about Washington and the work they can all do together. He encountered a more unified group of House Democrats, who have welcomed the populist pitch and middle-class message of his State of the Union address Tuesday night. The bitter divisions among Republican White House hopefuls have helped bring them together, as well.
"It's going to be a tough election because a lot of people are still hurting out there, and a lot of people have lost faith generally about the capacity of Washington to get anything done," Obama said.
"The main thing I want to urge all of you is that even as we are out there making our case, even as we push hard to persuade not just the American people but hopefully some folks on the other side about the brightness of our future, if we work together I think it's important in the course of this year not to forget that there's still work we can do right now," he said.
Obama spoke after the Democrats heard from Vice President Joe Biden, who said that Republican obstructionism will help Democrats' elections prospects in November, from the party's hopes of reclaiming the House to President Barack Obama's bid for a second term.
Biden, delivering more pointedly political remarks than Obama did and calling out some Republicans by name, said the American people will reject GOP unwillingness to compromise and its blatant determination to make Obama a one-term president.
Biden also said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's criticism of the auto bailout and a host of positions stated by rival Newt Gingrich on government intervention will create a clear contrast for voters.
"These guys are helping us by saying what they believe," Biden said.
"We need this to be rung out. Their America vs. our America," the vice president said.
Biden mentioned the disconnect that's existed between the administration and House Democrats.
At last year's conference, Biden said the message he heard from Pelosi, D-Calif., was "get tough. Enough is enough." He said several Democrats in the room were furious when the administration agreed on an end-of-the-year deal on extending President George W. Bush's tax cuts in December 2010.
"The message was heard. The message was heard," Biden said. "And I think we've delivered."
House Democrats echoed many of the themes from Obama's speech on economic fairness, boosting manufacturing and helping middle-class Americans, a reflection of campaign messaging and a recognition that their fate is inextricably linked to the president. They held a series of closed-door sessions on strategy for the coming year and later spoke to reporters.
It comes in a week in which Democrats saw some positive signs, from Obama's address to polls showing more voters think the country is on the right track, to a daring hostage rescue of an American in Somalia. Signs of an economic rebound are prevalent; Commerce Secretary John Bryson told the Democrats that of the 3 million new jobs, 300,000 were in manufacturing.
As for the Democrats' own finances, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised more than $61 million last year and has $11.6 million cash on hand. It also eliminated a lingering debt.
Democrats face a tough challenge in recapturing the House as Republicans have shored up their vulnerable lawmakers through redistricting. The GOP scoffs at the notion that Democrats can win the 25 seats necessary to take control.
Democratic leaders said Obama should run against a "do-nothing Congress" to highlight for American voters how Republicans have obstructed his agenda.
Republicans signaled they have a ready response to the White House strategy.
"The president can blame anyone he wants, but it won't change the fact that this year will be a referendum on his economic record," said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
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Bacteria help reveal a secret to evolution
The arms race between a virus and the bacteria it attacks has helped scientists better understand one of the mysteries of evolution: How new traits evolve.
In a series of experiments, the bacteria-infecting viruses repeatedly acquired the ability to attack their host bacteria through a different "doorway," or receptor on the bacteria's cellular membrane, explained Justin Meyer, the lead researcher and a graduate student at Michigan State University.
Their results offer insight into a difficult question about evolution: Where do new traits come from?
According to evolutionary theory, natural selection can favor certain members of a population because of traits they possess, such as camouflage or an ability to get at food others can't reach. These favored organisms are more likely to reproduce, passing on the genes for their helpful traits to future generations.
While it's clear how natural selection causes a population to change, or adapt, explaining how new traits arise has been trickier, Meyer said.
For instance, do random genetic mutations gradually accumulate until they produce new traits? Or, does natural selection drive the process from the start, favoring certain mutations as they arise, until a whole new trait appears?
To get an idea, he and others, including two undergraduate researchers, prompted a virus to evolve a new way to infect the bacteria, then looked at the genetic changes associated with this new ability. They also found that changes in the bacteria could prevent the virus from acquiring this new trait.
In 102 trials, they combined E. coli cells with the virus, called lambda. Lambda normally infects the bacteria by targeting a receptor, LamB, on the bacterium's outer membrane. The virus does this using a so-called J protein at the end of its tail; this protein unlocks the door into the bacterial cell, Meyer said.
When cultured under certain conditions, most E. coli cells developed resistance to the virus by no longer producing LamB receptors. To infect the bacterial cells, then, the virus had to find another doorway into the cell. (Once inside, the virus hijacks the bacteria's cellular machinery to copy its own genetic code and reproduce.)
In 25 of the 102 trials, the virus acquired the ability to infect bacteria through another receptor, called OmpF. The viruses were genetically identical at the beginning of the experiment, so the researchers looked to see what genetic changes had occurred.
They found that all the strains that could infect the bacteria shared at least four changes, all of which were in the genetic code for the J protein, and which worked together, according to Meyer.
"When you have three of the four mutations, the virus is still unable to infect (the E. coli)," Meyer said. "When you have four of four, they all interact with each other. ? In this case, the sum is much more than its component parts."
However, natural selection appears to have driven the rise of these individual mutations, he said, because the same mutations arose over and over again, and because they appear to affect the function of the J protein.
"The mutations are really centered on a small part of the gene and genome that would affect binding," he said.
?So, why, in most cases, did the virus fail to acquire the ability to enter through the OmpF doorway? The researchers looked to see if other changes in the virus, or changes in the bacteria, interfered.
They found that while other changes in the virus did not seem to interfere, a specific change found in the E. coli populations from 80 trials did.? Disruptions appeared in bacterial genes responsible for producing a protein complex, called ManXYZ, in the inner membrane. That change in the inner membrane meant the virus couldn't get all the way inside the cell, whether through LamB or OmpF.
"So there is this interesting co-evolutionary dance," Meyer said. "One mutation in the host and four mutations in the virus lead to a new virus. One mutation (in the host) and only a few mutations in the virus and a second mutation in the host, and the whole system shuts down."
You can follow LiveScience senior writer Wynne Parry on Twitter @Wynne_Parry. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46152646/ns/technology_and_science-science/
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Islamists, liberals square off in Egypt's Tahrir (AP)
CAIRO ? Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians thronged major squares across Egypt on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, in rallies that turned into a show of strength by secular groups in their competition with the country's powerful Islamists over demands for an end to military rule.
Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 18 days of protests against Mubarak, was transformed into the focal point of the rivalry between revolutionary activists who want to show they can still mobilize the street and the Muslim Brotherhood, who emerged as Egypt's dominant political force after a landslide victory in parliament elections.
The secular activists urge continued protests to force the immediate ouster of the generals who took power after Mubarak's fall, saying they are just as dictatorial as the former president. The activists touted their powerful turnout as a sign they can pressure the Brotherhood, who they fear will accommodate the military in order to ensure their own political dominance.
"I have hope that these marches will be a message to the Brotherhood as much as the military council," said Sahar Abdel-Mohsen, who walked 3 1/2 miles (5 kilometers) in a giant march across Cairo to Tahrir.
"We all know even if the Brotherhood are strong, the military council is still stronger. ... What we all want is an end to military rule," she said.
Both sides were intent on bringing out as many supporters as possible to show their weight in a nation still reeling from the aftershocks of Mubarak's ouster.
The Islamists got off to a strong start, taking up positions in Tahrir in the morning and claiming the right to police it, with Brotherhood volunteers checking the bags of those entering.
From a large stage with 10 loudspeakers, they blared religious songs and chants of "Allahu akbar" and set a tone of celebration for what they called the successes of the revolution ? particularly the newly elected parliament.
But around a dozen large marches organized by secular groups converged on Tahrir from various parts of the city, chanting "Down, down with military rule!" and filling large boulevards as passers-by joined in along the way. The "non-Islamists" swarmed into the downtown plaza before sunset, jam-packing it to outnumber the Islamists.
Some marched to the sober beat of drums to pay tribute to the hundreds of protesters killed over the past year ? by Mubarak's regime and the military ? and to emphasize that this was not a joyous anniversary, with so many demands for democratic reform left unachieved. Many wore masks with pictures of the faces of slain protesters. Once in the square they erected a pharaonic-style wooden obelisk with the names of the "martyrs."
"I am not here to celebrate. I am here for a second revolution," said Attiya Mohammed Attiya, a 35-year-old father of four who is unemployed. "The military council is made of remnants of the Mubarak regime. We will only succeed when we remove them from power."
Together the two sides packed Tahrir in one of the biggest gatherings since the height of the protests against Mubarak and the frenzied celebrations on the night he fell on Feb. 11. There were no army troops or police in Tahrir or at the marches, a sign the military was looking to avoid an eruption of new clashes after deadly violence in October, November and December.
The competition for influence between the secular forces and the Brotherhood centers on the issue of the ruling military, led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years.
The revolutionaries say the generals must surrender power to civilians immediately, accusing them of perpetuating their former mentor's authoritarian system, bungling the transition and committing large-scale human rights violations. The Brotherhood says the generals should go, but are willing to accept their promise to step down by the end of June.
The revolutionaries, however, have been unable to agree on an alternative plan for the handover.
The Brotherhood and other Islamists have been the biggest beneficiaries of the military's handling of the transition. Elections held over the past two months gave the Brotherhood just under half the seats in the new parliament that convened Monday, and the ultraconservative Salafis snapped up another quarter. Liberals and left-leaning groups credited with leading the protests that ousted Mubarak garnered less than 10 percent.
In the eyes of the secularists, the Islamists' triumph underlined their obsession with power after decades of persecution by successive governments, as well as their waning interest in pressing the demands of the "revolution" for real change to dismantle the legacy of 60 years of autocratic rule. Many fear the Brotherhood will compromise with the military, ceding it future political power to seal their dominant status.
"A message to the Brotherhood: The revolutionaries love the square more than they love parliament," read one poster in Tahrir. In one march, a protester shouted: "For those who won in the elections, now is time to mete out justice for those killed."
After the arrival of the secular-led marches, the tone of the Brotherhood speakers slightly changed, trying to cleave closer to the revolutionaries. Earlier in the day, Brotherhood speeches were strongly religious ? one speaker proclaimed the need to face Egypt's "enemies" who aim to strike against Islam. But later, several speakers underlined the need for justice for slain protesters and for the military to hand over power to civilians ? issues closer to those of the secular-led marches.
Many of the secular youth groups called for a sit-in in Tahrir for the next days to press their demands. Such overnight sit-ins in the past have been hit by violent security crackdowns. Islamists said they would hold "celebrations" in the square until Friday, though not a sit-in.
Khaled Abol-Naga, a movie actor and protester, said despite the differences, the square was united Wednesday in the desire for an end to military rule. Even the Islamists want this because they don't want to lose their credibility, he said.
"The pact between the Islamists and the military won't survive this pressure," he added.
Ismail Badawi, a 55-year-old Brotherhood backer, said he was determined to see the military leave power, but that must be achieved through parliament, not the street.
"Parliament is the voice of the nation," he said. "We are here to support parliament."
"A confrontation will come, when the military tries to determine who will be president," he added, referring to fears the ruling generals will try to push through their own candidate in presidential elections due by the end of June.
"The Brotherhood will go down (to the street) when it is time."
The secular-led marches attracted a broad cross-section of society, similar to the biggest days of the anti-Mubarak protests. Young people, university students, middle-class men and women joined the processions.
"Tantawi, come and kill more revolutionaries, we want your execution," they chanted, alluding to the more than 80 protesters killed by army troops since October. Thousands of civilians have been hauled before military tribunals for trial since Mubarak's ouster.
"Don't mess with the people," others chanted. "Go, field marshal."
Pro-reform leader Mohammed ElBaradei participated in prayers at a mosque with one group of marchers before the procession set off toward Tahrir.
Unlike many of the demonstrators, ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said that the immediate return of the military to the barracks was not the main issue.
Instead, he told The Associated Press the focus should be on "the revolution's goals" ? drafting "a proper constitution," fixing the economy, establishing independent media and courts and prosecuting those who killed protesters.
Emad el-Hadidi, a 66-year-old pharmacist, watched from the sidewalk as the marchers went by, chanting, "Bread, freedom and social justice."
El-Hadidi said the activists were too hurried and should give the military time to hand over power. But he also admired the protesters, his eyes tearing up because he felt he was too old join them.
"We are a generation brought up with fear," he said.
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Oil above $100 as Fed vows to keep key rate low (AP)
BANGKOK ? Oil rose above $100 a barrel Thursday in Asia after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates at record lows at least until 2014 to help jump-start the world's biggest economy.
Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 71 cents at $100.11 a barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose by 45 cents to finish at $99.40 per barrel in New York on Wednesday. At one point it was as high as $100.40.
Brent crude for March delivery was up 88 cents at $110.69 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.
The U.S. central bank, which has kept its benchmark interest rate near zero for three years, said Wednesday that it doesn't plan to raise the rate before late 2014.
That caused the dollar to turn lower against major currencies, which makes dollar-priced oil less expensive for holders of other currencies.
"That would mean the U.S. dollar would continue to be cheap versus other currencies, and there is typically an inverse correlation between the value of the dollar and commodity pricing," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
"So oil prices are supported by the Federal Reserve statement," he said.
But other analysts saw room for oil prices to fall.
Leaving rates low would encourage businesses and consumers to borrow money cheaply, boosting the economy and leading to higher oil demand. But the Fed also "telegraphed its concern regarding U.S. economic growth ... which is intuitively bearish for oil," said energy trader and consultant The Schork Group.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 2.8 cents to $3.04 per gallon and gasoline futures gained 1.7 cents at $2.86 per gallon. Natural gas advanced 2.4 cents to $2.75 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
What puts Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at odds?
LOS ANGELES?? They're arguably Hollywood's highest-profile couple, so it's only natural that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would privately discuss the art and business of filmmaking. According to Pitt, they don't always agree.
Speaking with Reuters at Saturday's Producers Guild Awards in Beverly Hills, Pitt said that he and Jolie, who are each busy on both sides of the camera as well as raising six children together, will talk shop at the end of a long day.
Story: Jon Voight: Hollywood should fear Jolie-Pitt kids"Usually we argue shop every now and then," Pitt said, noting that they tend to differ in their approach. "She's much more decisive, she's much more quick. I've got to see everything. I've got to shop the entire eBay to know exactly what I want and what I need."
When he's stumped, Pitt said, "I'll always go to her and talk it out."
Story: Five biggest jaw-droppers of the GlobesJolie, who received the guild's Stanley Kramer Award for her directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," said Pitt's role as a producer calls for different skills. He produced and starred in "Moneyball," one of the 10 films nominated for the Producers Guild's top prize.
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'Loser' host: Joe threw away a rare opportunity
When Joe quit "The Biggest Loser," he was the first contestant to do so, and fans were in an uproar. But they weren't alon...
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'Loser' host: Joe threw away a rare opportunity
"I had to direct, I think it's different. I think he'd execute properly if he was the director," Jolie said. "But I do like to think of myself as decisive, so I'll take that."
Slideshow: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (on this page)Regarding her first work in the director's chair, a love story set amid the harrowing destruction of the Bosnian War, Jolie said her intention "wasn't to make a political statement against anybody. It was simply to say, 'We must talk about what happened, we must try to learn from what happened, we must try to see humanity on all sides,' and if we can, then we can start to move forward."
On the other hand, Jolie admitted that she was "fascinated" by a political matter somewhat closer to home: the Republican presidential race.
Story: Jolie: Brad found me sobbing in the shower"There's that part of us that's wanting to learn about what's going on, and wanting to see who could possibly be the next president, and taking that very seriously, which it is. And then there's that other part of it that is this strange television ... these characters that we're watching. So you try to kind of separate that," Jolie said, adding that "it goes into the bizarre sometimes."
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46098304/ns/today-entertainment/
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Investor: What Cancer and Investing Have in ...
If you are seeking investment help, look at the video here on my services. If you are seeking a different approach to managing your assets you have landed at the right spot. I am a fee only advisor registered in the State of Maryland, charge less than half the going rate for investment management, and seek to teach individuals how to manage their own assets using low cost indexed exchange traded funds. Please call or email me if interested in further details. My website is at http://www.rwinvestmentstrategies.com. If you are new to investing, take a look at the "DIY Investor Newbie" posts here by typing "newbie" in the search box above to the left. These take you through the basics of what you need to know in getting started on doing your own investing. 
Source: http://rwinvesting.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-cancer-and-investing-have-in.html
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Google+ now allowing the use of nicknames and other established identities
A longstanding bone of contention when registering for a Google+ profile was that you were required to use your actual name. Google had gone so far as to delete entire accounts based on psuedonyms. But Google has finally decided to allow for these nicknames and other established identities to be used on Google+, which is definitely a huge plus for folks out there who have built themselves around the alternative identity. While they will still be watching over the nicknames, and have restrictions put in place, this is definitely a huge step in the right direction.
Source: Google+ Names Policy; via: +Bradley Horowitz
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/XvonChvRpM0/story01.htm
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Monday, January 23, 2012
James' passion, great range remembered (AP)
NEW YORK ? On her last album "The Dreamer," released just three months before her death, Etta James sings a mix of covers, from the R&B classic "Misty Blue" to the Ray Charles song "In the Evening." But perhaps the most curious tune included on the disc may be the Guns N' Roses staple "Welcome to the Jungle."
That a 73-year-old icon of R&B would tackle the frenetic rock song ? albeit in a pace more fitting her blues roots ? might seem odd. But the song may be the best representation of James as both a singer and a person ? rambunctious in spirit, with the ability to sing whatever was thrown at her, whether it was jazz, blues, pining R&B or a song from one of the rowdiest bands in rock.
"She was able to dig so deep in kind of such a raw and unguarded place when she sang, and that's the power of gospel and blues and rhythm and blues. She brought that to all those beautiful standards and rocks songs that she did. All the number of vast albums she recorded, she covered such a wide variety of material that brought such unique phrasing and emotional depth," said Bonnie Raitt, a close friend, in an interview on Friday afternoon after James' death.
"I think that's what appealed to people, aside from the fact that her personality on and off the stage was so huge and irrepressible. She was ribald and raunchy and dignified, classy and strong and vulnerable all at the same time, which is what us as women really relate to."
James, whose signature song was the sweeping, jazz-tinged torch song "At Last," died in Riverside, Calif., from complications of leukemia. Her death came after she struggled with dementia and other health problems, health issues that kept her from performing for the last two or so years of her life.
It was a life full of struggles. Her mother was immersed in a criminal life and left her to be raised by friends, she never knew her true father (though she believed it was billiards great Minnesota Fats), and she had her own troubles, which included a decades-long addiction to drugs, turbulent relationships, brushes with the law, and other tribulations.
One might think all of those problems would have weighted down James' spirit, and her voice, layering it with sadness, or despair. While she certainly could channel depression, anger, and sorrow in song, her voice was defined by its fiery passion: Far from beaten down, James embodied the fight of a woman who managed to claw her way back from the brink, again and again.
It's an attitude that influenced her look as well. Despite the conservative era, she dyed her hair platinum blonde, sending out the signal that she was far from demure, and owning a brassy, sassy attitude. She relished her role as saucy singer, a persona that she celebrated in her private life as well.
"In terms of 1950s rhythm and blues stars, she had kind of a gutsy attitude and she went out there and did what she did, and she was kind of bold ... and it had a huge influence," said David Ritz, the co-author of her autobiography "Rage to Survive: The Etta James Story." "I think her gutsiness and her lack of fear and just her courage (made her special). ... I believe that made her important and memorable."
Beyonce, who played James in the movie "Cadillac Records" about Chess Records, also spoke about her influence on other singers.
"I feel like Etta James, first of all, was the first black woman I saw with platinum, blonde hair. She wore her leopard and she wore her sexy silhouette and she didn't care. She was strong and confident and always Etta James," said Beyonce in a 2008 interview.
James could often be irascible. Ritz remembers when he was working with her on her autobiography, touring with her around the country, that one time he approached her with his tape recorder and she barked: "If see that tape recorder again I'm going to cram it up your (expletive)."
But at other times, she'd be effusive and warm and anxious to talk.
"Once she did talk, she was always candid and unguarded. She was a free spirit," Ritz said.
While Ritz put her in the category of other greats like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye, she never enjoyed their mainstream success. Though "At Last" has become an enduring classic, there were times when James had to scrounge for work, and while she won Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she did not have the riches, the multitude of platinum records or the hits that some of her peers enjoyed.
"She at least enjoyed a great resurgence like John Lee Hooker did and B.B. King, (and) has had some great decades of appreciation from new generations around the world," said Raitt. "There's no one like her. No one will ever replace Etta."
And Ritz said the lack of commercial success does nothing to diminish her greatness, or her legacy.
"Marvin certain knew it and Ray knew it ... the people who know that she was in that category," he said. "Whatever the marketplace did or didn't do or whether her lack of career management didn't do, it has nothing to do with her talent."
And on Friday, the Queen of Soul was among those who paid tribute to James greatness, calling her "one of the great soul singers of our generation. An American original!
"I loved `Pushover,' `At Last' and almost any and everything she recorded! When Etta SUNG, you heard it!"
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AP Entertainment Writer Chris Talbott and AP Writer Mesfin Fekadu contributed to this report.
___
Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi
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Diagramming the Costa Concordia Disaster
How on earth does a $450 million cruise ship end up on its side, only a third of a mile off a picturesque Italian island? What is going on in the crazy photographs making the rounds? The annotated images below should help paint a more complete picture of how the Costa Concordia fiasco went down. Hover over the highlighted sections for a guide to what you see and facts about what happened off the shore of Giglio. ?
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Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=89887aced1485b710b3084f4efed14ba
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Report: Japan withheld scary nuclear scenario
By msnbc.com staff
The Japanese government kept secret for months a worst-case scenario report predicting?a massive release of radioactive materials for a year at the earthquake-crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant,?goverment sources told the Kyodo news agency.
The report, shown?first to just a small group of policy makers in late March, said a hydrogen explosion would tear through the No. 1 reactor's containment vessel and force all workers to flee lethal radiation levels. It said residents within 105 miles of the plant would be forced to evacuate. A voluntary evacuation zone would have included Tokyo, about 140 miles away.
There would be no time to carry out needed evacuations, sources said, and officials did not want to spur anxiety, according to the Kyodo article published by the Japan Times.
"The content was so shocking that we decided to treat it as if it didn't exist," a senior government official said.
Then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan decided to quietly bury the report, the sources said. His successor, Yoshihiko Noda, changed the?document's status after it leaked so it would become?public late last year.?
Three of six reactors at the Fukushima plant melted down after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling systems and set off the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Contentious NY Senate feuds over 'women's week' (AP)
ALBANY, N.Y. ? The often contentious New York Senate can agree on one thing ? women make up more than half of the nation's population.
Otherwise, state Democrats and Republicans disagreed Thursday on everything else in a proposed proclamation to recognize Jan. 22-28 as "Reproductive Rights and Justice Week."
Democrats proposed the proclamation. Then Republicans struck through 10 entire paragraphs of the 12-paragraph proposal. The two sides disagreed on whether women are solely responsible for bearing children, and Republicans gutted support for abortion rights, contraception and "medically accurate sexuality education."
Democrats can bring the proposal back up but say they won't support the Republican version.
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Zeal Optics iON goggles take full HD to the slopes, let you share the extreme thrills
Zeal Optics iON goggles take full HD to the slopes, let you share the extreme thrills originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/20/zeal-optics-ion-goggles-take-full-hd-to-the-slopes-let-you-shar/
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Relief in Spain, tension in Greece for euro zone (Reuters)
MADRID/ATHENS (Reuters) ? The embattled euro zone cleared a major funding test on Thursday when Spain romped through a key bond sale, while signs pointed to only a mild recession for the 17-nation bloc.
Talks between Greece and its creditors remained deadlocked, however, threatening to derail a needed bailout and keep the region's all-consuming debt crisis on the boil.
A Reuters poll of economists pointed to the euro zone wallowing in a mild recession until the second half of this year, but contracting by just 0.3 percent for the year compared with a forecast three months ago of 0.9 percent.
At the same time, the International Monetary Fund is expecting the euro zone economy to contract by 0.5 percent in 2012, according to draft document reported by the Italian news agency ANSA.
Neither figure is comforting, but both suggest a downturn is seen as short and shallow.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, speaking in Abu Dhabi, repeated his view that the euro zone economy is fragile.
"We see a softening business cycle in Europe with significant downside risk. We also see some tentative signs... but I have to be quite cautious here... some tentative signs of stabilization of economic activity at low levels," he said.
"All this is subject to downside risk, in other words it can get worse."
One key risk is if the debt crisis intensifies, pushing borrowing costs to unsustainable levels and driving a further wedge between the robust northern euro zone economies such as Germany and The Netherlands, and the debt-laden south.
CHEAP MONEY
Spain's auction of benchmark 10-year bonds was a major test of investor appetite in the peripheral euro zone country. Short-term auctions last week had been successful but Thursday's sale was for longer-dated bonds.
It raised more than forecast at 3 billion euros, at a yield of 5.403 percent, a drop of more than 1.5 percentage points since the same bond was last sold in November.
The sale signaled that markets have largely shrugged off last week's salvo of euro zone rating downgrades from Standard & Poor's, an impression reinforced by a strong bond sale in Paris.
"These results are bullish for both Spain and the broader periphery and stand to further underpin the ongoing 'risk-on' tone... For now.. the glass half-full brigade have the upper hand," said Richard McGuire, rate strategist at Rabobank in London.
Euro zone bond auctions have been largely successful since the ECB offered nearly half a trillion euros of cheap, three-year loans to push investors towards buying government bonds and lowering borrowing costs.
"We start seeing also a fall of the longer-term part of the yield curve as well. I think that by and large this measure has really avoided a serious funding crisis that European banks might have to face," Draghi told reporters.
LITTLE PROGRESS IN GREECE
Greece remains the fly in the ointment, with Athens locked in negotiations with creditors on a deal to reschedule its debt and avoid an uncontrolled default.
Nearly a week after talks hit an impasse, the two sides remain bogged down over the coupon, or interest payment, that Greece must offer on new bonds under a debt swap.
Athens and its foreign lenders offered a coupon of just over 3.5 percent during a two-hour meeting on Wednesday, but bondholders rejected that as too low, one source said. They were angling for a coupon of at least 4 percent, one source said.
A senior Greek official also played down speculation that terms of a deal had been nearly pinned down, saying: "Nothing has been concluded yet."
The two sides must thrash out a deal within days to pave the way for Greece to receive a new infusion of aid and avoid bankruptcy when 14.5 billion euros ($18.5 billion) of bond redemptions fall due in late March.
Kept afloat by bailout loans, Greece faces the threat of having to leave the euro zone and slumping into further economic and social misery if it fails to come to grips with its debt, including securing a deal with the private bond holders.
"Now is the crucial moment in the final battle for the debt swap and the crucial moment in the final and definitive battle for the new bailout," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told parliament. "Now, now! Now is the time to negotiate for the sake of the country."
(Additional reporting by Andy Bruce in London and Martina Fuchs and Martin Dokoupil in Abu Dhabi; Writing by Jeremy Gaunt; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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DMX, Eve, The LOX To Reunite On Ruff Ryders Tour
Swizz Beatz also onboard for U.S. and overseas dates, RR co-CEO Joaquin 'Waah' Dean tells MTV News.
By Rob Markman
DMX
Photo: Larry Busacca/ Getty Images
At their height, Ruff Ryders were one of the most electrifying crews in rap. Now, DMX, Swizz Beatz, Eve and the LOX are planning to reunite on an upcoming Ruff Ryders Tour.
"Everybody's on deck. It's just that we're making sure all of the schedules are intact," RR co-CEO Joaquin "Waah" Dean told MTV News.
Dates are still being finalized, but Dean confirmed that he expects the tour to start between March and April. The plan is for the crew to begin their run overseas and then come over to the U.S.
"We gonna take it nice and slow. We ain't gonna do like how we used to do, 30 or 40 cities; we not gonna go that far just yet," he said. "We gonna take it slow. Do a nice little five to 10 joints overseas and then some dates on this side just to build the momentum and have some fun with it."
"We are all family and we're going to come back stronger than when we left. ... It's going to take the nation by storm," DMX told TMZ on Thursday (January 19).
When the story was first reported by TMZ, there was some question concerning the LOX's involvement, but Dean insists that Jadakiss, Styles P and Sheek Louch will be onboard. "LOX is done; can't do nothing without the LOX," he boasted.
In addition to all the original members of Ruff Ryders, the tour will also showcase RR's new talent like Murda Mook. "We're not starting from scratch, but we're starting from a whole new generation who have to get familiar with us," Waah said.
Will you check out the Ruff Ryders Tour? Let us know in the comments!
Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677586/ruff-ryders-reunion-tour.jhtml
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Crucial debt talks resume in Athens
Communist party affiliated protesters block the entrance of the General Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants building in Athens on Wednesday, Jan. 18 2012. Greece's unions and employers are to start talks on reducing labors costs, but the negotiations were disrupted when protesters from a Communist-backed labor union occupied the central building where the meetings were to take place. The banners read " Hands off Labor Contracts" "Increases in Salaries and Pensions". (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
Communist party affiliated protesters block the entrance of the General Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants building in Athens on Wednesday, Jan. 18 2012. Greece's unions and employers are to start talks on reducing labors costs, but the negotiations were disrupted when protesters from a Communist-backed labor union occupied the central building where the meetings were to take place. The banners read " Hands off Labor Contracts" "Increases in Salaries and Pensions". (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
Communist party affiliated protesters block the entrance of the General Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants building in Athens on Wednesday, Jan. 18 2012. Greece's unions and employers are to start talks on reducing labors costs, but the negotiations were disrupted when protesters from a Communist-backed labor union occupied the central building where the meetings were to take place. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
Charles Dallara, the head of the Institute of International Finance, which represents Greece's private bondholders, leaves after his meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, in Athens, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. The Greek government resumed talks with its private creditors in Athens on Wednesday in the hope of sealing a debt relief deal needed to avoid a disastrous default this spring. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? The Greek government resumed stalled talks with its private creditors in Athens on Wednesday in the hope of sealing a euro100 billion ($128 billion) debt relief deal needed to avoid a disastrous default this spring.
Charles Dallara, a top official at the Institute of International Finance, a global banking association, returned to Greece after negotiations stalled last week, and held a nearly three-hour meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.
"A very crucial meeting, that lasted several hours, has just finished at the prime minister's office," Venizelos told Parliament shortly afterward. "The meetings between the Greek government and the IIF have resumed and they will continue (Thursday)."
Earlier, he said the talks "are without a doubt at a very sensitive stage."
The so-called private sector involvement, or PSI, deal is meant to write off half of the debt Greece owes private bondholders. Creditors would get most of the remaining debt in new bonds with extended repayment periods, as well as a cash payment.
"We want this (deal) to happen in a way that is safe for Greece ? with Greece in the eurozone ? and safe for the real economy and the financial system," Venizelos said.
Since May 2010, Greece has kept solvent with rescue loans from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund. In the event of bankruptcy, Greece would likely have to abandon the euro and revert to a devalued currency. Since the country imports more than it exports, the costs of fuel and basic consumer goods would skyrocket, further frustrating a population angered by two years of harsh austerity.
The PSI talks have mainly been held up by a disagreement on interest rates for the new bonds.
"The interest rate on the new loans is a key issue here," Dallara told CNN before Wednesday's meeting. "Some seem to have a view that we should actually extend the loans at interest rates even lower than what the IMF and (the Europeans) extend their loans at, and there's not much logic in that in our viewpoint."
Dallara urged the EU to make clear that a similar deal would not apply to other troubled eurozone countries. "Greece really is a unique situation," he said.
A Greek government official said Athens is still considering whether to impose so-called collective action clauses on its bonds. Such clauses could force private debt holders resisting a settlement to fall in line with the majority if an agreement is reached. The official asked not to be identified, citing the sensitive nature of the talks.
A second government official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Athens estimates there could be an agreement by the end of the week.
Greece needs to clinch the deal quickly to qualify for more bailout loans before it faces a euro14.5 billion ($18.6 billion) bond repayment on March 20. The bond swap is a key part a new euro130 billion ($166 billion) bailout package in loans and bank support from international rescue creditors.
Recession-bound Greece needs to write off some of its borrowings, if it is to have a fighting chance of emerging from its debt hole.
It has so far relied on austerity measures, which were a condition for it to receive the emergency loans. The Greek government has cut pensions and salaries, raised taxes and sold some state property.
Yanis Varoufakis, a professor of economics at the University of Athens, argued that even with a debt deal Greece could do little to eventually avoid default.
"Let the truth be revealed. Let's have a default because Greece is insolvent and insolvent entities have to default. It's a law of nature and of society and of reason, and we should simply succumb to that," Varoufakis told AP Television.
"If European leaders are worried about the effect this will have on banks, they might as well recapitalize them, not continue to drip-feed the Greek state," he said.
Dallara, the Institute of International Finance official, said that if Greece is forced to default, it will be messy. "I personally believe that there is no such thing as an orderly default for Greece," he told CNN. "If there is a default, it is likely to be very disorderly."
As austerity measures have cut deeply into incomes and unemployment has risen, unions have held frequent strikes and protests over the past two years.
Unions and employers were to start talks on Wednesday on reducing labors costs, but the negotiations were disrupted when protesters from a Communist-backed labor union occupied the central building where the meetings were to take place.
EU-IMF debt inspectors are back in Athens this week to monitor progress of those reforms aimed at slashing the country's high budget deficits.
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Derek Gatopoulos and Theodora Tongas in Athens contributed to this report.
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