In case you were wondering whether Beyonce can sing the national anthem, the answer is a defiant yes.
The singer took the stage at?a Super Bowl news?conference on Thursday in New Orleans and asked those in attendance to please rise. With a giant flag waving on a video screen behind her, Beyonce launched into an?impassioned a capella version of "The Star Spangled Banner."?When she finished, she asked simply,?"Any questions?"
Mike Lawrie / Getty Images
Beyonce sings the national anthem before she addresses the media during the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show press conference in New Orleans on Thursday.
It was a dramatic end to 10 days of silence from the Grammy winner over whether she lip-synched the song at President Barack Obama's second presidential inauguration.
With the matter of whether she can sing the anthem settled, there was still one lingering question: Just what happened?on the Capitol steps in Washington?
"I did not have time to rehearse, it was a live television show, it was very important and emotional for me, one of my proudest moments," Beyonce said. "Due to weather, due to delay, due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable risking it.
"This was about the president and I wanted to make him and my country proud. I sang along with my prerecorded track -- very common in the music industry. I'm very proud of my performance."
Beyonce said she?will, however,?"absolutely be singing live"?during Sunday's halftime show. "This is what I was born to do."
She also clarified the difference between the pressure of singing at the inauguration and singing this weekend.
"This weekend I'm? performing at the halftime show and I feel like before (at the inauguration) the event was not about me. I'm excited to have done both but now I'm on to the halftime show. I always sing live. The inauguration was unfortunately a time I could not rehearse -- it was always the plan (to sing to backing track)."
Beyonce covered more ground than just the lip-synch scandal. Would the halftime show feature a Destiny's Child reunion? She didn't confirm, but definitely stopped short of an outright denial.
And what about touring again? "Soon," she said. "And I may have an announcement after the performance and the fans should stay tuned to see."
Regardless of the scandal that has up until this point overshadowed her Super Bowl plans, Beyonce made one thing clear: her performance Sunday will be a very meaningful one. Being a part of the halftime show "has been an aspiration for me," she said.? "You work very hard for these moments and I'm just hoping that all of my life lessons and experience I can feel and use during this performance."
Also at Thursday's news conference, the NFL announced that Jennifer Hudson and Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus from?Newtown, Conn., would sing "America the Beautiful" before Sunday's game. And Alicia Keys is slated to sing the national anthem.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, suffering its first decline since the recession ended more than three years ago as businesses scaled back on restocking and government spending plunged.
Gross domestic product fell at a 0.1 percent annual rate after growing at a 3.1 percent clip in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
That was the worst performance since the second quarter of 2009 and showed the economy entering the new year with little momentum. Economists polled by Reuters had expected GDP to rise at a 1.1 percent rate and none had predicted a contraction.
But economists said there was no reason for panic.
Inventories and government spending sliced 2.6 percentage points from growth, a weight that was expected to lessen in the first three months of the year.
At the same time, consumer spending accelerated and business investment rebounded, suggesting some fundamental strength that should help to support the recovery even as Washington tightens its belt.
"We are not concerned that the economy is slipping back into recession," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.
A second report showed private employers stepped up hiring in January, suggesting an improvement in the labor market. An increase in job gains could help the economy to weather the headwind of higher taxes and possible spending cuts this year.
The ADP National Employment Report showed private payrolls rose 192,000 in January after increasing 185,000 in December.
Stocks on Wall Street were mostly flat, while prices for U.S. Treasury debt fell and the dollar weakened against a basket of currencies.
The data was published as officials at the Federal Reserve wrap-up a two-day meeting. The report will likely provide ammunition for officials at the U.S. central bank to stay on their ultra-accommodative policy stance.
Economists say a growth pace in excess of 3 percent would be needed over a sustained period to significantly lower high unemployment. For the whole of 2012 the economy grew 2.2 percent, and a report on Friday is expected to show the jobless rate held at 7.8 percent for a third straight month in January.
INVENTORY DRAG
The economy was slammed by a monster storm in late October, which caused extensive damage along the East Coast. Economists said that could have cut around 0.5 percentage point off fourth-quarter growth.
The recovery also had to deal with uncertainty over the so-called fiscal cliff of scheduled tax hikes and budget cuts, which hurt confidence even though households and businesses seemed to largely shrug off the worries.
Businesses, caught with too much inventory in their warehouses in the third quarter, slowed their stock building in the final three months of the year.
That slowdown reduced GDP growth by 1.27 percentage points, the most in two years.
But with the pick-up in consumer spending in the fourth quarter, businesses now will need to replenish stocks, which should help lift growth early this year.
"The near stall in inventories and stronger durable spending suggest greater cyclical recovery momentum than expected," said Steven Wieting, an economist at Citigroup in New York.
Excluding inventories, the economy grew at a 1.1 percent rate, slowing from the third quarter's 2.4 percent.
Government spending tumbled at a 6.6 percent rate as defense outlays plunged at a 22.2 percent pace, wiping out the previous quarter's gains. The decline in defense spending was the largest since the third quarter of 1972.
Government subtracted 1.33 percentage points from growth. The likelihood of fresh spending cuts suggests government outlays will remain a drag on the economy, but not as big of a weight as in the fourth quarter.
Export weakness also cut into GDP. Exports have been hampered by a recession in Europe, a cooling Chinese economy and storm and strike-related port disruptions. Overall trade cut a quarter of a percentage point from the change in GDP. Exports fell for the first time since the first quarter of 2009.
RISING INCOME PROVIDES A BRIGHT SPOT
In one bright spot, the report showed that income available to households after taxes and inflation increased at a strong 6.8 percent rate in the fourth quarter.
In addition, the saving rate rose by more than a percentage point, which should cushion households against higher taxes.
Consumers were helped by an easing in inflation.
A price gauge in the report advanced at just a 1.2 percent pace, down from 1.6 percent in the third quarter. So-called core prices increase just 0.9 percent, the smallest gain in two years.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, rose at a 2.2 percent rate, accelerating from the prior quarter's 1.6 percent growth pace, while business investment rebounded after its first drop in 1-1/2 years.
The housing market was another positive.
Residential construction grew at a 15.3 percent rate after notching a 13.5 percent growth pace in the third quarter.
Homebuilding added to growth last year for the first time since 2005.
"A turnaround in the housing market will be a key support to the economy this year, with homebuilding contributing to growth and higher home prices supporting consumer spending," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh.
(Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
After four years of government prodding ? from federal stimulus spending to the Fed?s historic easy-money policies ? the U.S. economy finally?is showing signs of sustainable growth.?
But?it?s not out of the woods yet. The hopeful signals are coming from a broad range of indicators - from upbeat reports on home and car sales to business investment and manufacturing orders. Those reports have raised hopes that the ongoing move to balance the federal budget with tax increases and spending cuts won?t dampen the emerging recovery. ?We think the U.S. economy will be able to power through that this year ? even with the drag,? said?Tony Fratto, an economist at Hamilton Place Strategies and former Treasury official under President George W. Bush.
But when Federal Reserve officials wrap up?their two-day meeting Wednesday, they?re widely expected to continue to keep their foot on the gas pedal by extending their aggressive program of holding interest rates near zero.?
Though some critics think it may be time for the central bank to begin winding down its epic easy-money strategy, Fed policy makers have already promised to stick with it until the unemployment rate falls below 6.5 percent. ?
The halting pace of the recovery is expected to be highlighted Wednesday when the government takes its initial estimate of the growth of gross domestic product for the last three months of 2012. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the report to peg expansion at a weak 1.1 percent annual rate, down from a 3.1 percent rate in the previous three months. But a basket of separate reports this week is expected to confirm the marked pickup in growth as the year drew to a close.?
Orders for durable goods jumped by 4.6 percent in December, the?Commerce Department said Monday, more than double what private forecasters had expected. Though many business managers complained loudly that uncertainty in Washington had left them unwilling to take on new workers, they were busy investing in new plant and equipment to keep up with rising demand from customers.
?CEOs may have been worrying about falling off the cliff but demand for big-ticket items still soared,? said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic?Advisors.
The report followed wider signs of a broad pickup in demand throughout the economy. Rising home sales, which began to pick up in the second half of last year, continue to push prices higher, helping convince reluctant buyers and sellers that the market has finally bottomed out. ?
Car sales jumped 16 percent in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous year, and are on pace for another annual sales increase. Automakers will report monthly sales on Friday and are expected to post another month of robust demand. The prolonged sales downturn during the Great Recession left behind an aging fleet of cars and trucks that buyers are now replacing. ?
Despite a lackluster holiday shopping season, overall retail sales in the last three months of the year were up 6 percent from a year ago.?Manufacturers are also seeing a solid pickup in orders for new goods. Lower energy costs -- the result of an ongoing boom in natural gas production?--?have helped them win bids against low-cost foreign competitors.?
But unemployment remains stubbornly high, as the latest reading, due this Friday, is expected to show. Economists are looking for a net gain of just 163,000 new jobs for the latest month. That?s barely enough to keep up with population growth and not enough to move the needle of the unemployment rate which forecasters expect to remain stuck at 7.8 percent. To be sure, the Fed?s easy money policy is helping some households ? especially those with investments in the stock market. With interest rates at near zero, investors looking for a positive return have few alternatives.?
Stocks are up 15 percent since June. In January alone, investors sank $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, the biggest monthly inflow on record, according to TrimTabs Investment Research.?
Fears of a financial meltdown in Europe have faded. Last year?s worries about a sharp slowdown in Asia have eased for now.?And despite continued threats of political disruption in Washington, the long-running battle over the federal budget seems to be inching toward resolution.
On Monday, credit rating agency Fitch said last week?s deal to delay suspension of the country's debt limit have reduced the odds that it might strip United States of its AAA rating. Another rating agency, Standard and Poor?s, cut the U.S. debt rating one notch after the last debt ceiling debacle in July 2011 pushed the Treasury to the brink of defaulting on its bonds.?
But the recovery remains weak by historical standards. Four years after a recession, pent-up demand typically produces a strong rebound in growth and a?sustained hiring spree by employers. So far, that hasn?t happened.?
Most forecasters expect the slow steady pace of expansion to continue through this year and into 2014, with the unemployment rate gradually falling.?
The consensus sees GDP picking up to a 2.7 percent annual rate by the end of this year and 3.0 percent by the end of 2014, according to the latest survey by Blue Chip Economic Indicators. That pace is expected to pull the unemployment rate down to 7.5 percent by the end of this year and to 7.0 percent by the end of next year.
If that scenario plays out, it will be awhile before the Fed reaches its 6.5 percent jobless rate target and begins to throttle back its money-making machinery. ? ? ? ?? ?At some point were going to have to wean ourselves off that kind of support,? said Fratto. ?And I think we?re going to see that this year. But we have to go through that ? and it?s going to bode well for the future.?
PARIS (Reuters) - French shops and office buildings will have to turn off their lights at night to save energy and reduce light pollution, the French environment ministry said on Wednesday.
From July 1, all non-residential buildings will have to switch off interior lights one hour after the last worker leaves the premises. All exterior and shop window lighting will have to be turned off by 1 am.
Local authorities will be able to allow exceptions for Christmas lighting and other local events.
The new law will save about two terawatt/hours of electricity a year - the equivalent of the annual consumption of 750,000 households, the ministry said.
Environment Minister Delphine Batho said it would also make France a pioneer in Europe in preventing light pollution, which disrupts ecosystems and people's sleep patterns.
(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Pravin Char)
There are a lot of homeowners who are afraid to engage in home improvement projects. It may seem too expensive, time consuming or messy for them. By understanding what you are getting yourself into, you will have less to worry about. Oftentimes, projects around the home are easy if you search for helpful tips. The following article offers many of tips to use during your home improvement project.
Before you attempt to make a major repair, get professional advice. Sometimes just getting a simple heads up can save you a lot of time and money. If you dive in without the advice of a professional, you may very well regret it.
Be sure to get an estimate from each contractor you contact. Also be sure that the estimates are apples-to-apples comparisons. Create a detailed list of what you want improved and make sure that list remains the same for each contractor. If you change things you want for each contractor, it will be tough to compare between them.
New furniture is expensive. Add some spice to your home by buying vintage furniture. Amongst all of these bargains, you will likely find many amazing deals on decor and furniture. Some may need a lot of work, but if you invest enough time, they can greatly improve your home.
Consider insulating your residence during your next home improvement project. Install all your windows and doors with weather-stripping. Reducing air leaks in your home can help your air conditioner and heater run more efficiently, lowering your costs to run them. This will save you money on energy costs.
If you need to repair your roof, use white tile. Using dark colored tile can cause an attic to become hot. A lighter color reflects light away from the surface and that equates to a cooler space. You will actually be able to enjoy your attic space.
If you want to renovate your home, deal with any electrical or plumbing issues in the home first. This makes sense to get this done first because you need to be inside of your walls for this kind of a repair. Any repairs of wiring or plumbing should be done when renovations are taking place.
A homeowner that is prepared has nothing to fear when it comes to home improvement. The information provided here can help you stay on track and on budget. Home improvement education done on one?s own can conquer fears and help guide the homeowner to simple projects that make their home more useful, attractive and valuable.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Senate Democrat said on Tuesday that he wants increased tax revenues to help replace the automatic spending cuts looming on March 1, a demand that could reignite partisan budget tensions.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats are working on alternatives to the $85 billion in delayed, across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester. They will seek to end some tax credits and close loopholes - possibly some for oil companies - to find revenues to help replace the cuts, he said.
"There's a lot of things we can do out there, and we're going to make an effort to make sure that sequestration involves revenue," Reid told reporters in the Capitol.
He said there was "low hanging fruit" among deductions and credits in the tax code that Republican have agreed should be cut.
The sequester is a holdover from a 2011 budget deal that lifted the debt limit and set in place $1.2 trillion of across-the-board spending cuts. These were meant to be so painful that Congress would have no choice but to replace them with other budget savings, but bitterly divided lawmakers could never agree on a plan.
Even after the New Year's fiscal cliff deal raised tax rates on couples earning over $450,000 a year, Reid said Americans still want the wealthy to pay more in taxes and do not want the Medicare health program for the elderly "whacked."
"Part of it is the wealthiest people in America paying a little bit more. It should be a balance of spending cuts and revenue," he said, adding that Democrats would discuss their plans at a retreat next week.
Reid's call for revenue associated with the sequestration cuts is part of a growing chorus of Democrats demanding that the wealthy pay more in taxes to reduce deficits without resorting to big cuts to health care benefits and other social safety net programs.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray last week told Senate Democrats that she would include new revenue sources in a fiscal 2014 budget resolution that she expects will win Senate approval this year.
WE GAVE AT THE CLIFF
Republicans have argued that they have already made their one concession on tax revenue in the fiscal cliff deal, which avoided big tax increases on the middle class. They want further budget savings to come solely from spending cuts, especially for expensive benefit programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
The fiscal cliff deal also delayed the launch of the automatic sequester cuts until March 1, reducing them to about $85 billion for the remainder of fiscal 2013.
Failure to find replacement savings by the March 1 deadline is not expected to spark a financial crisis because the cuts, split evenly between military and domestic programs, would start to bite gradually.
But they are already having some effects. The Pentagon announced last week that it had begun laying off most of its 46,000 temporary and term employees and was cutting maintenance on ships and aircraft to slow spending.
Many in Washington seem resigned to their launch.
Paul Ryan, the influential House Budget Committee chairman and the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, said on Sunday that he thinks "sequester is going to happen."
He blamed Senate Democratic opposition to legislation passed by House Republicans to replace the automatic cuts with deep cuts to programs that aid the poor while sparing military spending.
Democrats counter that the problem is Republican resistance to additional tax revenue.
"I think that if we are going to have any substitute for sequester, it is going to have to include revenue, so that may explain why Mr. Ryan and others are saying it's inevitable to go to sequester," Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois said.
A senior Democratic aide on Tuesday also predicted that the automatic spending cuts would occur. "It is unlikely we do anything to prevent the sequestration before it kicks in," said the aide, who asked not to be identified.
The aide added that it was unclear how long they would remain in effect. That would depend on whether lawmakers use upcoming budget and appropriations battles to try to cancel the cuts or substitute something else for them. The aide added that the White House will soon begin laying out in great detail the effects of the automatic spending cuts.
Budget tensions recently eased a bit after House Republicans opted against waging another immediate battle over raising the $16.4 trillion U.S. debt limit.
Rather than using the borrowing cap as a lever to demand deep spending cuts, they have approved an extension in U.S. borrowing authority until May 19. The Senate is expected to pass the measure this week.
The reprieve was aimed at pressing the Senate to pass a budget this year and fostering a debate over a return to a more sustainable fiscal path without risking a default crisis.
(Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai and Kim Dixon; Editing by Stacey Joyce)
In the past week (on 22 January 2013), the Faculty of Economics (FELU) sent its best students an invitation to join the Beta Gamma Sigma Honour Society. The invitation was extended to the top 10% of undergraduate degree students, the top 20% of master degree students, recipients of the Pre?eren award, and all students who earned a doctoral degree at the FELU in the 2011/2012 academic year. Further, a re-invitation was issued to all students who were invited in the previous year, but have not yet joined the Society.
Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can receive at a school accredited by AACSB International. To receive additional information regarding the Society and the Ljubljana Chapter, please contact the Chapter Advisor Professor Tanja Dmitrovi?.
Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) is a scholastic honour society of business students that in 2013 is celebrating its centennial anniversary. The mission of BGS is to encourage and honour academic achievement in the study of business, foster personal and professional excellence, advance the values of the Society, and serve its lifelong members. By establishing a local BGS chapter, the FELU offers its best students and graduates additional networking opportunities as are provided to students of the top business schools around the world. Corporate recruiters actively seek individuals who have Beta Gamma Sigma since membership in BGS conveys their academic been elected to membership in excellence.
We congratulate all the invitees for their outstanding scholastic achievements!
Another busy week in tech has come and gone, so you know what that means: It's time for CrunchWeek, the time when a few of us writers talk about the most interesting stories of the past seven days. In this edition, Leena Rao, Anthony Ha and I (beaming into the TechCrunch TV studio via Skype as I was a bit under the weather) discuss how Apple's first quarter earnings report has gotten a very chilly reception from Wall Street,
SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian police on Monday detained the owners of the nightclub where a fire killed 231 people as well as two band members whose pyrotechnics they say triggered the blaze as the focus turned to finding those responsible for the tragedy.
No charges were filed against the four men, but prosecutors said they could be held for up to five days as police pressed them for clues as to how the fire early Sunday morning could have caused so many deaths.
Stunned residents in the southern city of Santa Maria began attending a marathon of funerals in the pre-dawn hours of Monday. Many of the dead were university students who knew each other.
Coffins, many draped with flags of the victims' favorite soccer teams, lined a gymnasium that has been used as a makeshift morgue.
Most of the dead were suffocated by toxic fumes that rapidly filled the Kiss nightclub after the band set off a flare at about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, authorities said.
The club's operating license was in the process of being renewed after expiring last year, and witnesses said bouncers initially blocked the only functioning exit because they believed fleeing customers were trying to skip out on their bar tabs.
Tarso Genro, governor of the prosperous southern state of Rio Grande do Sul where the disaster occurred, said police had taken the men into custody to ensure "this will never happen again."
Genro said authorities' focus had shifted from rescue and taking care of the wounded to investigating the scene. "We're going to find out who was responsible," he vowed.
The death toll was revised down to 231 from 233 as officials said some names had been counted twice. Eighty-two people remained hospitalized, at least 30 of them in serious condition.
The tragedy came as Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and 2016 Olympics, putting its safety standards and emergency response capabilities in the international spotlight. President Dilma Rousseff visited the scene, visibly upset, on Sunday.
Relatives and friends of the dead demanded accountability, signaling the start of a wave of police probes, lawsuits and recriminations that could drag on for months or even years.
"We can't trust in the ability of city hall, or the police, or anybody who permits a party with more a thousand people under these conditions," said Erica Weber, who was accompanying her daughter to a funeral for one of her classmates.
Based on testimony from more than 20 witnesses, investigators are now certain that the band's pyrotechnics show triggered the blaze, said police official Sandro Meinerz. He added that initial reports that the club was operating beyond its capacity of 1,000 people were likely false.
"Witnesses said the club wasn't as full as it had been in previous weeks, which surely avoided an even greater tragedy," Meinerz said.
The band's guitarist, Rodrigo Lemos Martins, 32, said he doubted the band was responsible for the blaze. "There were lots of wires (in the ceiling), maybe it was a short circuit," Folha de S.Paulo newspaper quoted him as saying.
The band's accordion player, Danilo Jaques, 30, was among those killed but the other five members survived. Vocalist Marcelo de Jesus dos Santos and production engineer Luciano Bonilha, who police believed were responsible for firing the flare, were taken into custody, according to Brazilian media.
LAWSUITS COMING
It seems certain others will share the blame for Brazil's second-deadliest fire ever. The use of a flare inside the club was a clear breach of security regulations, fire officials said.
Some details may never be known. Meinerz said the club's internal video surveillance system had stopped working three months ago, according to the club owner.
Clubs and restaurants in Brazil are generally subject to a web of overlapping safety regulations, but enforcement is uneven and owners sometimes pay bribes to continue operating.
The investigation of the Kiss fire could drag on for years. After a similar fire at an Argentine nightclub in 2004 killed 194 people, more than six years passed before a court found members of a band criminally responsible for starting the blaze and causing the deaths.
That tragedy also provoked a massive backlash against politicians and led to the removal of the mayor of Buenos Aires.
Civil lawsuits stemming from the Brazil fire are likely to be directed at the government because the owners of the nightclub probably don't have much money, said Carlos Castello de Campos, a Brazilian lawyer who has handled big cases including the crash of a TAM Airlines jet in Sao Paulo in 2007.
Castello de Campos disputed some local officials' claims that the Kiss nightclub could have continued operating legally while it was waiting for its license to be renewed. "If the license was expired, that's an irregular situation," he said.
Valdeci Oliveira, a legislator in Rio Grande do Sul state, said he and his colleagues would seek to ban pyrotechnics displays in closed spaces such as nightclubs.
"It won't bring anybody back but we're going to introduce the bill," Oliveira said on his Twitter feed.
The Brazil fire is the worst to hit an entertainment venue since a fire on Christmas Day in 2000 engulfed a mall in Luoyang, China, killing 309 people.
(Additional reporting by Eduardo Sim?es in Sao Paulo; Writing by Brian Winter; Editing by Todd Benson, Kieran Murray and Doina Chiacu)
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About the Author: Regarded as Indias most premeditated town, Chandigarh is full of fine-looking landscapes and to a certain level a fast life.
PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, violence that compounds a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said, where gunshots rang out and protesters burned tires in anger that people from their city had been blamed for the deaths of 74 people at a match last year.
The rioting in Port Said, one of the most deadly spasms of violence since Hosni Mubarak's ouster two years ago, followed a day of anti-Mursi demonstrations on Friday, when nine people were killed. The toll over the past two days stands at 39.
The flare-ups make it even tougher for Mursi, who drew fire last year for expanding his powers and pushing through an Islamist-tinged constitution, to fix the creaking economy and cool tempers enough to ensure a smooth parliamentary election.
That vote is expected in the next few months and is meant to cement a democratic transition that has been blighted from the outset by political rows and street clashes.
The National Defense Council, which is led by Mursi and includes the defense minister who commands the army, called for "a broad national dialogue that would be attended by independent national characters" to discuss political differences and ensure a "fair and transparent" parliamentary poll.
The statement was made on state television by Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsoud, who is also on the council.
The National Salvation Front of liberal-minded groups and other Mursi opponents cautiously welcomed the call, but demanded any such dialogue have a clear agenda and guarantees that any deal would be implemented, spokesman Khaled Dawoud told Reuters.
The Front spurned previous calls for dialogue, saying Mursi had ignored voices beyond his Islamist allies. The Front earlier on Saturday threatened an election boycott and to call for more protests on Friday if demands were not met.
Its demands included picking a national unity government to restore order and holding an early presidential poll.
THREATS OF VIOLENCE
The political statements followed clashes in Port Said that erupted after a judge issued a verdict sentencing 21 men to die for involvement in the deaths at the soccer match on February 1, 2012. Many were fans of the visiting team, Cairo's Al Ahly.
Al Ahly fans had threatened violence if the court had not meted out the death penalty. They cheered outside their Cairo club when the verdict was announced. But in Port Said, residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible.
Protesters ran wildly through the streets of the Mediterranean port, lighting tires in the street and storming two police stations, witnesses said. Gunshots were reported near the prison where most of the defendants were being held.
A director for Port Said hospitals told state television that 30 people had been killed, many as a result of gunshot wounds. He said more than 300 had been wounded.
Inside the court in Cairo, families of victims danced, applauded and some broke down in tears of joy when they heard Judge Sobhy Abdel Maguid declare that the 21 men would be "referred to the Mufti", a phrase used to denote execution, as all death sentences must be reviewed by Egypt's top religious authority.
There were 73 defendants on trial. Those not sentenced on Saturday would face a verdict on March 9, the judge said.
At the Port Said soccer stadium a year ago, many spectators were crushed and witnesses saw some thrown off balconies after the match between Al Ahly and local team al-Masri. Al Ahly fans accused the police of being complicit in the deaths.
Among those killed was a former player for al-Masri and a soccer player in another Port Said team, the website of the state broadcaster reported.
TEARGAS FIRED
On Friday, protesters angry at Mursi's rule had taken to the streets for the second anniversary of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and which brought Mubarak down 18 days later.
Police fired teargas and protesters hurled stones and petrol bombs. Nine people were killed, mainly in the port city of Suez, and hundreds more were injured across the nation.
Reflecting international concern at the two days of clashes, British Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said: "This cannot help the process of dialogue which we encourage as vital for Egypt today, and we must condemn the violence in the strongest terms."
On Saturday, some protesters again clashed and scuffled with police in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. In the capital, youths pelted police lines with rocks near Tahrir Square. In Suez, police fired teargas when protesters angry at Friday's deaths hurled petrol bombs and stormed a police post.
"We want to change the president and the government. We are tired of this regime. Nothing has changed," said Mahmoud Suleiman, 22, in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the cauldron of the 2011 anti-Mubarak revolt.
Mursi's opponents say he has failed to deliver on economic pledges or to be a president representing the full political and communal diversity of Egyptians, as he promised.
"Egypt will not regain its balance except by a political solution that is transparent and credible, by a government of national salvation to restore order and heal the economy and with a constitution for all Egyptians," prominent opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on Twitter.
Mursi's supporters say the opposition does not respect the democracy that has given Egypt its first freely elected leader.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Mursi to office, said in a statement that "corrupt people" and media who were biased against the president had stirred up fury on the streets.
The frequent violence and political schism between Islamists and secular Egyptians have hurt Mursi's efforts to revive an economy in crisis as investors and tourists have stayed away, taking a heavy toll on Egypt's currency.
(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy, and Peter Griffiths in London; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Jack and Jackie Harbaugh would do well to practice their impassive faces in front of a mirror before the Super Bowl.
The parents of Baltimore Ravens coach John and the San Francisco 49ers' Jim Harbaugh will be watched closely during Sunday's Super Bowl ? if anybody finds them ? for any visual evidence that mommy and daddy really do love one boy or the other best.
It promises to be a fascinating sidebar to CBS' coverage of the game because, as Lynn and Rick Raisman can attest, parent cams are valuable in sports coverage. NBC's clip of the Raismans watching daughter Aly perform on the uneven bars during last summer's Olympics in London went viral, with stage parents everywhere relating to their murmurs and facial contortions.
"I had no idea it was going to be so great," said David Michaels, senior producer at NBC Sports, who often produces and directs coverage of gymnastics and figure skating, events where parental involvement can be particularly intense.
Michaels makes it a point to know where parents are sitting during competitions, tracking them through spotters or sometimes sports governing bodies that know where parent seats have been assigned. Or where they are not sitting: Sometimes a dad who retreats to a concession stand because he can't bear to watch an offspring compete is a good story, too.
Michaels said he tries not to overdo it, sticking with parents who he knows are interesting and very involved in their children's competitive undertakings.
"It has certainly gotten more ubiquitous," he said. "Sometimes it's fantastic and sometimes it's just too gratuitous."
Jack, a former college and high school football coach, and his wife will be attending the Super Bowl. On a conference call last week, the parents said they did not know where they would be sitting. Even if they did, they'd be unlikely to inform a horde of reporters about their seat locations.
The senior Harbaugh was a college head coach at Western Michigan and Western Kentucky and an assistant at several places, including Michigan, Pittsburgh and Stanford. His son-in-law, Tom Crean, is the Indiana University men's basketball coach. It doesn't seem like a family that would want to watch a game casually while piling their plates with nachos.
The couple had a practice run to see what it would be like to watch their sons coach against each other on Thanksgiving 2011, when older brother John's Ravens beat the 49ers 16-6.
During that game, the couple watched in an office. Jack said his wife's face looked "nearly comatose" throughout the contest.
"She just stared at the screen," he said. "Not a word was spoken. And at the end of the game, it was just over."
They'll experience the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat ? all at once. A 75-yard touchdown pass that would be reason to stand up and cheer for one son is another son's horrible defensive lapse.
"I am going to be neutral in the game," Jackie Harbaugh said. "I know one is going to win and one is going to lose, but I would really like to end in a tie. Can the NFL do that?"
CBS Sports President Sean McManus said there will be a pregame feature about the familial battle. It would be hard to argue otherwise; no matter how much the brothers want to downplay it, it's a unique situation. But McManus said CBS would try not to let it dominate its coverage of the game.
Given the need for the coaches' parents to stay neutral, longtime TV critic David Bianculli said he wondered how much of a story it will be visually for CBS. If they really maintain impassive faces, how much will viewers want to see them on the screen?
"I would advise them to pay attention to the field, more than anything else," said Bianculli, who teaches about television for Rowan University.
A stone face is a story, too, Michaels said. The only question is how much a producer should go back to the shot.
He said he can't imagine CBS not knowing where the couple is. If they're out in public, the network will likely keep a close eye on their reactions.
"As a producer or a director in this kind of a situation, it's incumbent upon you to know where every element of the story is because you never know how it's going to evolve," Michaels said.
Finding the right approach ultimately shouldn't be much of a problem for CBS, he said.
"It's a little bit of a distraction at times," he said. "But they'll figure out the best way to deal with it. The pictures won't lie."
___
AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report.
Liquidity needs is certainly important, setting aside 300k should be more than enough.
I also noticed that you are currently renting. Perhaps getting a fully paid house may be a good idea since you wont be subjected to the mood of the landloard. The house is to be viewed as a cosy place for residence and not as a form of investment.
Otherwise, i think your plans look pretty okay. Anyway, congrats to your early retirement!
Depends on your age to me. If 50 or more years to 90 is diff from if only 30 years. Also 2 kids education if go USA or uk will cost some 0.5m min for both.
So I would be more wary... And really calculate including inflation wand one off expenses on education and medical and even housing for kids. After that if numbers are good, consider if equity markets tank. It is very dangerous to have no bonds or property. Basically 1 asset class...
Also, 100k for family of 4 is comfortable but not much buffer. If u spend 200k then at least downgrading lifestyle is possible, but at 100k very little room to do that in expensive sg....
A local living in the heart of the Siberian Taiga in Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, directed by Werner Herzog and Dmitry Vasyukov
Photo By Music Box Films.
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga doesn?t quite qualify as a Werner Herzog movie. Think of it more as a Herzog remix: The idiosyncratic German director culled 94 minutes of footage from a four-hour documentary the filmmaker Dmitry Vasyukov created for Russian television. Vasyukov had spent a year and a half living in a remote Siberian village, following the day-to-day life of its residents over the course of four seasons. After condensing and re-editing Vasyukov?s film for theatrical release (with the help of his son, Rudolph Herzog, and editor Joe Bini), Herzog added one of his characteristically meditative voice-overs, turning a straightforward anthropological documentary into a filmed essay on freedom, self-reliance, and the sheer miracle of another year survived in one of the planet?s harshest settled places.
Bakhtia is a remote settlement of about 300 people accessible only by helicopter and?during the parts of the year when the river flowing through it isn?t frozen solid?by boat. It?s nestled deep in the heart of the Taiga, an immense wooded region one and a half times as big as the continental United States. The people of Bakhtia lead an existence not too far removed from that of their Iron Age ancestors, hunting, trapping, fishing, and growing vegetables with tools they make themselves (plus some chainsaws and snowmobiles).
Gennady, the omnicompetent hunter/trapper with whom Herzog?s edit spends much of its time, demonstrates early on how to fashion a pair of skis from a freshly chopped-down tree, all the while extolling the virtues of a properly honed ax wedge. Later Gennady explains how to lay a trap for a sable using only tree branches, find and train a good hunting dog, and store precious winter supplies out of the reach of marauding bears. Here I?d be happy just to be able to open a new jar of pickles without help.
Much of Happy People takes place not in the village of Bakhtia itself but out in the lonesome wilderness of the Taiga, following Gennady on the fur-trapping route that takes him away from his family?and indeed, from all companionship except that of his hardworking hunting dog?during the snow-covered winter months (when a 33-degree-below-zero day counts as a balmy excuse to address some undone chores). The taciturn Gennady has a way of offhandedly segueing from sable-skinning tips into jaw-dropping stories of struggle and loss, including a still-painful memory of losing a beloved dog to a maddened bear. Later, after demonstrating the construction of that ingenious trap, he suddenly waxes reflective about the moral valence of his relationship to animals: ?Come to think of it, we are all killers or accomplices.? But at least, Gennady concludes, unlike a farmer who raises animals only to slaughter them, the hunter?s relationship with the animal is ?honest?: ?Here, it?s about who outsmarts whom.?
Happy People?s images of the Taiga, while often breathtaking, come from the standard visual language of nature documentary: in between interviews with villagers, cutaways to icicles hanging from branches or dawn breaking over an expanse of snow. It?s Herzog?s inventive use of voice-over that elevates the film above an extremely well-researched episode of Nature. In some moments the voice-over takes off on solo flights that achieve the narrative compression of haiku: ?Summer in its fullest display. Swallows, boats. Daylight lasts twenty hours.? Like haiku, Happy People is also finely attuned to the passage of the seasons: The film begins during the spring thaw, when preparations are already beginning to be made for the inevitable brutal onset of winter, and grows increasingly suspenseful as the seasons progress. Will the inhabitants of Bakhtia be able to get through the staggering amount of labor that lies before them?the stockpiling of supplies, the carving of dugout canoes, the readying of hunting cabins and setting of traps?before winter sets in and makes survival the only priority?
It?s Herzog who declares the stoic residents of Bakhtia ?happy people??with the exception of an indigenous Siberian who appears in a too-brief scene to lament the plague of alcoholism in his community, the subjects in this documentary spend little time holding forth on their state of personal well-being. Near the end, when Herzog, in voice-over, embarks on yet another lyrical flight celebrating the radical freedom and self-reliance of this largely pre-modern culture, it?s hard not to hear in his enthusiasm the idealizing nostalgia of a modern European observer, and to smile at his naivet?. But after watching Gennady and his fellow hunters spear fish in the dark of night using a method that?s remained unchanged for thousands of years, it?s even harder not to be inspired by the villagers? ingenuity, resilience, and capacity to endure. In their honor, tomorrow I?m getting the top off the pickle jar all by myself.
Belkin has entered into an agreement to acquire Cisco?s Home Networking Business Unit, including the Linksys brand, for an undisclosed amount.
Belkin, a private company based in Playa Vista, Calif., with operations and sales in more than 100 countries, intends to maintain the Linksys brand and will offer support for Linksys products as part of this transaction. Linksys? main office is located in Irvine, Calif. All valid warranties will be honored by Belkin for current and future Linksys products.
After the transaction closes, Belkin will account for approximately 30 percent of the U.S. retail home and small business networking market. Despite being a brand that consumers can also purchase directly, Linksys has held the top market position for routers in the custom installation space for years, garnering a 48-percent marketshare of the CE Pro 100 in the 2012 Brand Analysis Study.
Belkin and Cisco intend to develop a strategic relationship on a variety of initiatives including retail distribution, strategic marketing and products for the service provider market. Having access to Cisco?s specialized software solutions across all of Belkin?s product lines will bring a more seamless user experience for customers, according to a statement from Belkin, which adds that the companies plan to ?develop the next generation of home networking technology.?
Chet Pipkin, CEO of Belkin, says the two companies share similar beginnings and a passion for serving customers. ?Belkin?s ultimate goal is to be the global leader in the connected home and wireless networking space and this acquisition is an important step to realizing that vision,? he says.
?Linksys pioneered wireless connectivity capability around the globe, and has a strong brand renowned for its premium market position, the strength of its installed base and its proven dependability. Linksys users benefit from peace of mind in their home networking environment. At Belkin we have developed great insight into consumer needs, and the experiences, solutions and products we bring to the market, including our WeMo home automation platform, will help us to grow Linksys? market presence,? Pipkin says.
Discussing distribution strategy, he says, ?With complementary innovation and engineering strategies in the combined organization, Belkin will be able to create new opportunities for consumers, distribution partners and resellers, and will have the strongest retail presence in the U.S. networking marketplace. Belkin also will have access to a large installed base that will be able to upgrade their networking environment to take advantage of new technologies in the smartphone, tablet, notebook and home automation arenas. Additionally, Linksys will enhance Belkin?s capabilities to meet the needs of the service provider space and small business users.?
Hilton Romanski, vice president corporate business development, Cisco, says he is ?pleased about this strategic relationship with Belkin to build on Linksys? position of strength.?
Pipkin concludes, ?We look forward to honoring the heritage of the Linksys brand and investing in the continuing evolution of its product portfolio. Together, we will provide a powerful, simple to use, and reliable wireless and networking platform for the markets we serve.?
Specific financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed. The transaction is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to close in March 2013.
Global warming less extreme than feared?Public release date: 25-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Thomas Keilman thke@rcn.no The Research Council of Norway
Internationally renowned climate researcher Caroline Leck of Stockholm University has evaluated the Norwegian project and is enthusiastic.
"These results are truly sensational," says Dr Leck. "If confirmed by other studies, this could have far-reaching impacts on efforts to achieve the political targets for climate."
Temperature rise is levelling off
After Earth's mean surface temperature climbed sharply through the 1990s, the increase has levelled off nearly completely at its 2000 level. Ocean warming also appears to have stabilised somewhat, despite the fact that CO2 emissions and other anthropogenic factors thought to contribute to global warming are still on the rise.
It is the focus on this post-2000 trend that sets the Norwegian researchers' calculations on global warming apart.
Sensitive to greenhouse gases
Climate sensitivity is a measure of how much the global mean temperature is expected to rise if we continue increasing our emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activity. A simple way to measure climate sensitivity is to calculate how much the mean air temperature will rise if we were to double the level of overall CO2 emissions compared to the world's pre-industrialised level around the year 1750.
If we continue to emit greenhouse gases at our current rate, we risk doubling that atmospheric CO2 level in roughly 2050.
Mutual influences
A number of factors affect the formation of climate development. The complexity of the climate system is further compounded by a phenomenon known as feedback mechanisms, i.e. how factors such as clouds, evaporation, snow and ice mutually affect one another.
Uncertainties about the overall results of feedback mechanisms make it very difficult to predict just how much of the rise in Earth's mean surface temperature is due to manmade emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the climate sensitivity to doubled atmospheric CO2 levels is probably between 2C and 4.5C, with the most probable being 3C of warming.
In the Norwegian project, however, researchers have arrived at an estimate of 1.9C as the most likely level of warming.
Manmade climate forcing
"In our project we have worked on finding out the overall effect of all known feedback mechanisms," says project manager Terje Berntsen, who is a professor at the University of Oslo's Department of Geosciences and a senior research fellow at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research Oslo (CICERO). The project has received funding from the Research Council of Norway's Large-scale Programme on Climate Change and its Impacts in Norway (NORKLIMA).
"We used a method that enables us to view the entire earth as one giant 'laboratory' where humankind has been conducting a collective experiment through our emissions of greenhouse gases and particulates, deforestation, and other activities that affect climate."
For their analysis, Professor Berntsen and his colleagues entered all the factors contributing to human-induced climate forcings since 1750 into their model. In addition, they entered fluctuations in climate caused by natural factors such as volcanic eruptions and solar activity. They also entered measurements of temperatures taken in the air, on ground, and in the oceans.
The researchers used a single climate model that repeated calculations millions of times in order to form a basis for statistical analysis. Highly advanced calculations based on Bayesian statistics were carried out by statisticians at the Norwegian Computing Center.
2000 figures make the difference
When the researchers at CICERO and the Norwegian Computing Center applied their model and statistics to analyse temperature readings from the air and ocean for the period ending in 2000, they found that climate sensitivity to a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration will most likely be 3.7C, which is somewhat higher than the IPCC prognosis.
But the researchers were surprised when they entered temperatures and other data from the decade 2000-2010 into the model; climate sensitivity was greatly reduced to a "mere" 1.9C.
Professor Berntsen says this temperature increase will first be upon us only after we reach the doubled level of CO2 concentration (compared to 1750) and maintain that level for an extended time, because the oceans delay the effect by several decades.
Natural changes also a major factor
The figure of 1.9C as a prediction of global warming from a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration is an average. When researchers instead calculate a probability interval of what will occur, including observations and data up to 2010, they determine with 90% probability that global warming from a doubling of CO2 concentration would lie between 1.2C and 2.9C.
This maximum of 2.9C global warming is substantially lower than many previous calculations have estimated. Thus, when the researchers factor in the observations of temperature trends from 2000 to 2010, they significantly reduce the probability of our experiencing the most dramatic climate change forecast up to now.
Professor Berntsen explains the changed predictions:
"The Earth's mean temperature rose sharply during the 1990s. This may have caused us to overestimate climate sensitivity.
"We are most likely witnessing natural fluctuations in the climate system changes that can occur over several decades and which are coming on top of a long-term warming. The natural changes resulted in a rapid global temperature rise in the 1990s, whereas the natural variations between 2000 and 2010 may have resulted in the levelling off we are observing now."
Climate issues must be dealt with
Terje Berntsen emphasises that his project's findings must not be construed as an excuse for complacency in addressing human-induced global warming. The results do indicate, however, that it may be more within our reach to achieve global climate targets than previously thought.
Regardless, the fight cannot be won without implementing substantial climate measures within the next few years.
Sulphate particulates
The project's researchers may have shed new light on another factor: the effects of sulphur-containing atmospheric particulates.
Burning coal is the main way that humans continue to add to the vast amounts of tiny sulphate particulates in the atmosphere. These particulates can act as condensation nuclei for cloud formation, cooling the climate indirectly by causing more cloud cover, scientists believe. According to this reasoning, if Europe, the US and potentially China reduce their particulate emissions in the coming years as planned, it should actually contribute to more global warming.
But the findings of the Norwegian project indicate that particulate emissions probably have less of an impact on climate through indirect cooling effects than previously thought.
So the good news is that even if we do manage to cut emissions of sulphate particulates in the coming years, global warming will probably be less extreme than feared.
###
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Global warming less extreme than feared?Public release date: 25-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Thomas Keilman thke@rcn.no The Research Council of Norway
Internationally renowned climate researcher Caroline Leck of Stockholm University has evaluated the Norwegian project and is enthusiastic.
"These results are truly sensational," says Dr Leck. "If confirmed by other studies, this could have far-reaching impacts on efforts to achieve the political targets for climate."
Temperature rise is levelling off
After Earth's mean surface temperature climbed sharply through the 1990s, the increase has levelled off nearly completely at its 2000 level. Ocean warming also appears to have stabilised somewhat, despite the fact that CO2 emissions and other anthropogenic factors thought to contribute to global warming are still on the rise.
It is the focus on this post-2000 trend that sets the Norwegian researchers' calculations on global warming apart.
Sensitive to greenhouse gases
Climate sensitivity is a measure of how much the global mean temperature is expected to rise if we continue increasing our emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by human activity. A simple way to measure climate sensitivity is to calculate how much the mean air temperature will rise if we were to double the level of overall CO2 emissions compared to the world's pre-industrialised level around the year 1750.
If we continue to emit greenhouse gases at our current rate, we risk doubling that atmospheric CO2 level in roughly 2050.
Mutual influences
A number of factors affect the formation of climate development. The complexity of the climate system is further compounded by a phenomenon known as feedback mechanisms, i.e. how factors such as clouds, evaporation, snow and ice mutually affect one another.
Uncertainties about the overall results of feedback mechanisms make it very difficult to predict just how much of the rise in Earth's mean surface temperature is due to manmade emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the climate sensitivity to doubled atmospheric CO2 levels is probably between 2C and 4.5C, with the most probable being 3C of warming.
In the Norwegian project, however, researchers have arrived at an estimate of 1.9C as the most likely level of warming.
Manmade climate forcing
"In our project we have worked on finding out the overall effect of all known feedback mechanisms," says project manager Terje Berntsen, who is a professor at the University of Oslo's Department of Geosciences and a senior research fellow at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research Oslo (CICERO). The project has received funding from the Research Council of Norway's Large-scale Programme on Climate Change and its Impacts in Norway (NORKLIMA).
"We used a method that enables us to view the entire earth as one giant 'laboratory' where humankind has been conducting a collective experiment through our emissions of greenhouse gases and particulates, deforestation, and other activities that affect climate."
For their analysis, Professor Berntsen and his colleagues entered all the factors contributing to human-induced climate forcings since 1750 into their model. In addition, they entered fluctuations in climate caused by natural factors such as volcanic eruptions and solar activity. They also entered measurements of temperatures taken in the air, on ground, and in the oceans.
The researchers used a single climate model that repeated calculations millions of times in order to form a basis for statistical analysis. Highly advanced calculations based on Bayesian statistics were carried out by statisticians at the Norwegian Computing Center.
2000 figures make the difference
When the researchers at CICERO and the Norwegian Computing Center applied their model and statistics to analyse temperature readings from the air and ocean for the period ending in 2000, they found that climate sensitivity to a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration will most likely be 3.7C, which is somewhat higher than the IPCC prognosis.
But the researchers were surprised when they entered temperatures and other data from the decade 2000-2010 into the model; climate sensitivity was greatly reduced to a "mere" 1.9C.
Professor Berntsen says this temperature increase will first be upon us only after we reach the doubled level of CO2 concentration (compared to 1750) and maintain that level for an extended time, because the oceans delay the effect by several decades.
Natural changes also a major factor
The figure of 1.9C as a prediction of global warming from a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration is an average. When researchers instead calculate a probability interval of what will occur, including observations and data up to 2010, they determine with 90% probability that global warming from a doubling of CO2 concentration would lie between 1.2C and 2.9C.
This maximum of 2.9C global warming is substantially lower than many previous calculations have estimated. Thus, when the researchers factor in the observations of temperature trends from 2000 to 2010, they significantly reduce the probability of our experiencing the most dramatic climate change forecast up to now.
Professor Berntsen explains the changed predictions:
"The Earth's mean temperature rose sharply during the 1990s. This may have caused us to overestimate climate sensitivity.
"We are most likely witnessing natural fluctuations in the climate system changes that can occur over several decades and which are coming on top of a long-term warming. The natural changes resulted in a rapid global temperature rise in the 1990s, whereas the natural variations between 2000 and 2010 may have resulted in the levelling off we are observing now."
Climate issues must be dealt with
Terje Berntsen emphasises that his project's findings must not be construed as an excuse for complacency in addressing human-induced global warming. The results do indicate, however, that it may be more within our reach to achieve global climate targets than previously thought.
Regardless, the fight cannot be won without implementing substantial climate measures within the next few years.
Sulphate particulates
The project's researchers may have shed new light on another factor: the effects of sulphur-containing atmospheric particulates.
Burning coal is the main way that humans continue to add to the vast amounts of tiny sulphate particulates in the atmosphere. These particulates can act as condensation nuclei for cloud formation, cooling the climate indirectly by causing more cloud cover, scientists believe. According to this reasoning, if Europe, the US and potentially China reduce their particulate emissions in the coming years as planned, it should actually contribute to more global warming.
But the findings of the Norwegian project indicate that particulate emissions probably have less of an impact on climate through indirect cooling effects than previously thought.
So the good news is that even if we do manage to cut emissions of sulphate particulates in the coming years, global warming will probably be less extreme than feared.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Another busy week in tech has come and gone, so you know what that means: It's time for 
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Public release date: 25-Jan-2013
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