May 21st, 2012
Updated 6:22 p.m. ET: CHICAGO — President Barack Obama on Sunday pressed world leaders to help implement a strategy for post-2014 Afghanistan after U.S. troops leave, a transition that Afghan President Hamid Karzai said will mark the day that his war-torn country is “no longer a burden” on the rest of the world.
Obama and Karzai met on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Sunday to discuss Afghanistan’s post-conflict future. After the meeting, Obama told reporters that the two-day summit would focus on Afghanistan’s move to peace and stability after a decade of war.
“We still have a lot of work to do and there will be great challenges ahead,” Obama said. “The loss of life continues in Afghanistan and there will be hard days ahead.”
Standing next to Obama, Karzai reaffirmed his commitment to the transition timetable process, which he said will lead to a time when Afghanistan “is no longer a burden on the shoulder of our friends in the international community, on the shoulders of the United States and other allies.”
Karzai also thanked Americans for the help that their “taxpayer money” has done in Afghanistan.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
President Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during their meeting at the NATO summit in Chicago on Sunday.
“Afghanistan is fully aware of the task ahead and of what Afghanistan needs to do to reach the objectives that we all have of a stable, peaceful and self-reliant Afghanistan,” he said.
President Barack Obama welcomes foreign leaders to the NATO summit in Chicago. NBC’s Kristen Welker reports.
Obama later opened the summit by telling world leaders: “For over 65 years our alliance has been the bedrock of our common security, our freedom and our prosperty, and although times have changed the reasons for our alliance has not.”
Obama urged NATO leaders to ratify a “broad consensus” for gradually turning over security to Afghan forces and pulling out most of the 130,000 NATO troops by the end of 2014.
Earlier, a top NATO official insisted that the Afghanistan fighting coalition will remain whole despite France’s plans to yank combat troops out early.
“There will be no rush for the exits,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. “We will stay committed and see it through to a successful end. Our goal, our strategy, our timetable remain unchanged.”
NATO leaders gathered in Chicago to chart a path out of Afghanistan as war-weary Western nations seek to fend off dissent in their alliance and ensure Afghanistan can hold a still-potent Taliban at bay when foreign troops withdraw.
Obama was hosting the two-day summit in his hometown, a day after leaders of major industrialized nations tackled Europe’s debt crisis, backing keeping Greece in the euro zone and vowing to take steps necessary to revitalize the world economy.
Public opinion in Europe and the United States is solidly against the war, with a majority of Americans now saying it is unwinnable or not worth continuing.
Newly elected French President Francois Hollande has said he will withdraw all French combat troops from Afghanistan by year’s end — a full two years before the timeline agreed to by nations in the U.S.-led NATO coalition.
“President Hollande has stated that France would be prepared to support Afghanistan in a different way,” Rasmussen said.
But signaling tensions over the issue, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters: “We went into Afghanistan together, we want to leave Afghanistan together.”
Hollande repeated a pledge during his inaugural visit to Washington last week to pull “combat troops” from Afghanistan this year. He has said an extremely limited number of soldiers would remain to train Afghan forces and bring back equipment beyond 2012.
“This decision is an act of sovereignty and must be done in good coordination with our allies and partners,” said Hollande, who was to discuss his exit plans with Karzai.
A last-minute addition to the list of leaders at the NATO meeting was President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, whose western tribal areas provide shelter to militants attacking Karzai’s government and NATO forces. He pressed the United States to help find a “permanent solution” to U.S. drone strikes that have fueled tensions between the two uneasy allies.
“The president said that Pakistan wanted to find a permanent solution to the drone issue as it not only violated our sovereignty but also inflamed public sentiments,” Zardari spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement after the Pakistani leader met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the summit.
The statement did not specify what such a solution might entail.
Gen. John Allen, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told Reuters he was confident a deal would eventually be struck but “whether it’s in days or weeks, I don’t know.”
Zardari also called for the United States to do more to make amends for the deaths of 24 Pakistani soldiers killed in November by U.S. aircraft along the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan has demanded a high-level apology for that incident, which the White House has resisted so far.
Fiscal demands, including plans for major cuts to defense spending in Europe and the United States, were sure to color the talks in Chicago, as they did those between G-8 leaders.
The overarching message from that G-8 summit reflected Obama’s own concerns that euro-zone contagion, which threatens the future of Europe’s 17-country single currency bloc, could hurt a fragile U.S. recovery and his re-election chances.
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters is included in this report.
More NATO coverage:
US veterans return war medals in NATO protest
Great-grandmother: Ready to ‘lose my life’ protesting
Storify: Scenes from NATO summit protesters
Video: Police say Chicago protesters planned bombings
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May 21st, 2012
UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, warns that world heritage sites in the West African country of Mali and in the Arab world are at risk of damage and theft as political upheaval sweeps through those states. Distruction of historical manuscripts
The ancient city of Timbuktu saw its golden age as an Islamic intellectual and spiritual center in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, the Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, still stand as a testament to that time. But now, UNESCO warns, they are under threat from rebel groups, including Tuaregs and the al-Qaida-linked Ansar Dine.
UNESCO Assistant Director-General Francesco Bandarin said Friday that in addition to the mosques and several mausoleums, Timbuktu also has one of the world’s most important collections of ancient manuscripts.
“They have collected in Timbuktu in different collections, mostly private collections, a very large amount, over 30,000 manuscripts that are the most important library of religious and civil life in the Sahara. Also some of them are copied from previous times. It is an extremely important heritage of Islam and history there,” said Bandarin.
He said when the coup d’état began in late March the rebels did not loot the collections. But in mid-April, the situation worsened and some manuscripts were stolen from the Islamic research center in Timbuktu. He said UNESCO does not yet know how extensive the theft was.
UNESCO has warned Mali’s neighbors to be on the look-out for trafficked manuscripts. Bandarin noted that the illegal trade in antiquities worldwide is a $6 billion a year business, so that these treasures often end up on the black market and are sold to private collectors.
He said UNESCO sent a mission to Mali’s capital, Bamako, on Thursday to look into the situation further.
Bandarin says that while the Arab Spring has been good for democracy, it has not necessarily been kind to world heritage sites in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria.
Read more in VOA com
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May 17th, 2012
Mood swings, weight gain, tummy problems―you name the ailment, there’s a pill for it. And you, the American consumer, are helping Big Pharma sell it. You don’t believe it? Well, it’s true, and believe it or not, the U.S. is one of only two countries in the world that allows this to happen.
What we’re talking about is direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, that barrage of ads you see on TV and in magazines and newspapers, or on the radio and Internet. They’re ads telling you to run right out and ask your doctor if this or that pill would be right for you. It’s a bonanza that’s turned America into a medicated mass of people who’ve been brain-washed into thinking that taking pills will make everything better―even for ailments you don’t yet have (think pre-diabetes, pre-high blood pressure or pre-cholesterol).
It’s a disgusting, dishonorable way to generate sales, but it works: according to AlterNet, in the U.S. every $ 1000 that a drug company spends on DTC advertising produces 24 new patients―seven times more customers than the companies would get if they didn’t advertise.
Vital Votes Health Blog – Natural Health Articles by Dr. Mercola
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May 17th, 2012
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May 14th, 2012
NTN-World news, the site represents a diverse and unbiased information about events in the world, politiko, ekonomio, culture and international rilatoj.
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May 14th, 2012
VIENNA (World News) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog signaled on Monday it would press Iran for access to a military facility where it suspects the Islamic state has built a chamber for high-explosive tests that could serve a bid to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran, which rejects Western accusations it seeks atomic arms, has so far resisted requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit the extensive Parchin complex southeast of Tehran. The issue was expected to be raised during a high-level May 14-15 Vienna meeting between Iran and the IAEA.
An IAEA report last November found Iran had built a large containment vessel in 2000 at the site in which to conduct high-explosive tests that the U.N. agency said were “strong indicators of possible (nuclear) weapon development”.
“A building was constructed at that time around a large cylindrical object … A large earth berm was subsequently constructed between the building containing the cylinder and a neighboring building, indicating the probable use of high explosives in the chamber.”
The IAEA said it had obtained satellite im ages that were consistent with this information. The vessel was designed to contain the detonation of up to 70 kg of high explosives.
Western diplomats say they suspect Iran may be cleaning the location to remove incriminating evidence before inspectors can go there. A U.S. security institute said last week satellite imagery showed activity there which it said raised concern that Iran may be “washing” the building the IAEA wants to see.
Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA has previously dismissed such suspicions about Parchin as “childish” and “ridiculous”.
Herman Nackaerts, IAEA deputy director general, said Iran must give his inspectors access to sites, information and people as he began the two-day meeting with Iranian officials on the country’s disputed atomic activities.
The talks in Vienna will test Iran’s readiness to address U. N. inspectors’ suspicions of military dimensions to its nuclear program, ahead of high-stakes talks on the program in Baghdad next week between Iran and six world powers.
Two previous rounds of talks in Tehran this year with U.N. inspectors failed to make any notable progress, especially on their request to go to Parchin.
“The aim … is to reach agreement on an approach to resolve all outstanding issues with Iran,” Nackaerts told reporters as he arrived at an Iranian diplomatic mission in a smart area of Vienna.
“In particular, clarification of the possible military dimensions remains our priority … It is important now that we can engage on the substance of these issues and that Iran let us have access to people, documents, information and sites.”
DIPLOMACY REVIVED
Nackaerts did not nam e the sites, but IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said earlier this month that gaining access to Parchin would be the priority for the IAEA in the talks.
Western diplomats will be watching the discussions for any sign that Iran is now ready to make concrete concessions, saying this would send a positive message ahead of the Baghdad talks.
Iran and the powers involved in nuclear diplomacy – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – revived negotiations in Istanbul last month after a 15-month hiatus and both sides say they hope for progress in Baghdad.
The resumption of diplomacy offers a chance to defuse tension that has led the United States and the European Union to try to block Iran’s oil exports through sanctions, and raised fears of a new Middle East war.
The West suspects Iran is seeking to develop the capability to make nuclear bombs, although intelligence officials believe Tehran has not made a decision whether to actually build them.
The Islamic Republic, one of the world’s largest oil producers, says its atomic program is a peaceful push to generate more electricity for a rapidly growing population.
Israel – widely believed to hold the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal – and the United States have not ruled out military action to prevent Iran from obtaining atomic bombs if negotiations fail to achieve this peacefully.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the EU wanted to see “concrete steps and proposals” from Iran.
“Without that, of course we have sanctions we have imposed. They will not only be enforced but, over time, intensified,” he told reporters before a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
HIGHER-GRADE ENRICHMENT
The IAEA wants Iran to address in particular Western intelligence reports pointing to past and possibly current research activity relevant to developing the means and technologies to build nuclear weapons, including those suspected to have taken place at Parchin.
Iran says the accusations are fabricated.
It has suggested that a broader agreement with the IAEA – which regularly monitors Iran’s declared nuclear sites – on how to address the agency’s outstanding questions must be reached before it would consider letting inspectors into Parchin.
Western diplomats see this as a stalling tactic and do not expect Iran suddenly to allow access to Parchin.
“I would be very surprised,” one diplomat said, suggesting that the Islamic Republic would want to ext ract the maximum diplomatic benefit from any such concession.
At the Baghdad talks, the big powers will press for concrete confidence-building steps by Iran.
A Western priority is for Iran to halt the higher-grade uranium enrichment work it started two years ago and has since expanded, potentially shortening the time needed to build a bomb. Iran wants the meeting to yield a deal on an easing of sanctions, something the West will be reluctant to consider before seeing substantive concessions.
Refined uranium can be used to fuel nuclear power plants, which are Iran’s stated aim, or provide material for bombs if processed further, which the West suspect is the country’s ultimate intention.
Outside the Iranian mission, a small group of Iranian opposition supporters shouted anti-government slogans and urged world powers to “stop g iving them more time” to develop a bomb.
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May 11th, 2012
EARTHQUAKE VIDEO youtu.be news.nationalgeographic.com phys.org www.weather.com www.weather.com www.chicagotribune.com spaceweather.com rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov www.haarp.alaska.edu sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov umtof.umd.edu sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov www.ips.gov.au solarimg.org www.swpc.noaa.gov hisz.rsoe.hu ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov grb.sonoma.edu
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May 11th, 2012
ONEELEVEN
LOCATION: King West, Toronto
BUILDER/DEVELOPER: Harhay Developments and Carttera Private Equities
SIZE: 382 to 1,934 square feet
PRICE: Mid-$200,000s to over $1.4-million
SALES CENTRE: 111 Bathurst St., at Adelaide Street West. Open Monday to Wednesday from noon to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.; weekends from noon to 5 p.m.
CONTACT: Phone 647-347-4111 or visit oneeleven.ca
In its latest boutique project, Harhay Developments is attempting to expand the allure of penthouse living by making it available to more than just the top-dollar buyers.
Instead of just the top level units, premium suites will be placed throughout the body of the 17-storey building at the corner of Bathurst and Adelaide streets.
“There are always fantastic penthouse units at the very top – and they’re priced accordingly and available to a select few. So we wanted to look at interspersing some fantastic units in various levels of the building that are basically penthouses on lower levels,” Chris Harhay said.
“We have two-storey units within the building on the lower levels, which is fantastic, and there are fantastic corner units with lots of glass.”
Offering larger-than-average suites like these – including some with double height ceilings and three-bedroom plans – as well as other luxuries rarely found in conventional condominiums, has played a large part in the sale of nearly half the suites before the grand opening was held late April.
“There are 255 units and 41 unique floor plans, so that’s a challenge for us to do as a builder and developer … but we really believe it adds value to the end-user and purchaser,” Mr. Harhay said. “We have many different layouts that can serve and meet various people’s preferences and desires.”
For instance, retail and office space will occupy the first and second floors respectively at 111 Bathurst St. “You don’t see a lot of condo developers doing true live/work/play concept where they include offices. You find they mostly do retail and residential above,” says Mr. Harhay, who recently built a live/work site in the east end.
“For purchasers it’s a great thing because they’ve got some convenient retail down below and work space above they may or may not take advantage of.”
Given the proximity of fitness, entertainment and dining establishments – and desire to keep monthly fees to 48 cents per square feet – the site will simply offer a double height lobby and a sixth floor party room and terrace with dining and lounging areas.
“We’re big believers in not overdoing the amenities. I always tell people Toronto is the amenity, or King West, in this case, is the amenity,” says Mr. Harhay. “It’s a fantastic location in King West.”
To strengthen residents’ connection to their surroundings, there will be floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies and terraces for roughly 80 per cent of the units in the brick and glass building designed by Core Architects.
“It’s got a corner location, so we’ve got great views and lots of glass and light-filled spaces because of that,” adds Mr. Harhay, who emphasizes the importance of outdoor space. “Many units have terraces that are as big as the actual unit.”
As examples, Mr. Harhay cites a 978-square-foot unit with a 752 square-foot, wraparound terrace, an 875-square-foot model with an 845-square-foot terrace, and a 1,934-square-foot penthouse with 1,562-square-feet outdoors.
Inside, II by IV Design Associates designed these edgy, loft-style spaces with nine-foot ceilings, exposed concrete ceilings, columns and feature walls, in addition to engineered hardwood floors, European-style bathrooms and kitchens and stainless steel appliances.
“We do some things as standard in our building that other builders don’t do, like gas lines to outdoor terraces and patios,” adds Mr. Harhay.
Parking will be an extra $39,500 and lockers $4,000.
Occupancy is December 2014.
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May 11th, 2012
MOUNT SALAK, Indonesia (AP) — Search teams have found at least 12 bodies near the wreckage of a Russian-made jetliner that slammed into a volcano Wednesday.
Searchers had to scale the volcano’s steep slopes with mountain-climbing equipment to reach the plane that crashed during a demonstration flight for potential buyers.
Officials say many of the bodies found today had been torn apart in the crash. A lieutenant with Indonesia’s marines says, “We see many other victims … but the ravines and steep cliffs prevent us from reaching them.”
All 45 aboard the jet are feared dead.
©2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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May 8th, 2012
Gamesa chooses Spain to site first offshore wind turbine
8 May 2012
 Spanish wind turbine company Gamesa said it will locate its first offshore wind prototype in its domestic market with installation expected to begin in the second quarter of 2013.
The turbine will have a nominal capacity of 5MW and the company reiterated its plans to establish its manufacturing base in the UK.
Gamesa said that following extensive research to identify suitable sites, it has selected the region of Arinaga on the basis of technical considerations for certification, wind conditions in the region, market performance and customer investment plans and its forecast.
Its priority in the offshore market is to achieve product certification in order to guarantee the successful launch, marketing and manufacturing going forward.
Jorge Calvet, chairman and CEO of Gamesa, warned, however, that demand in the offshore market is being tempered by economic and financial factors and the difficulties being encountered by developers in accessing credit.
‘The authorities are firmly committed to the development of offshore wind power in major markets such as the UK, Germany, France and China. Based upon the current situation, the US market appears to be set to develop later than others. Regional and country specific market conditions warrant even more rational decision-making process than ever, from both the technology and financial standpoints.’
Copyright © 2012 NewNet
Tags: gamesa, offshore wind, wind
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