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Thursday, February 28, 2013
Bird Seed Feeding Made Easy | The Pet Health and Pet Care Blog
Many serious garden bird watchers are very choosy about the seeds they feed to the birds in the garden, and some seeds are even formulated to attract specific types of bird.
We should feed our garden birds all year round, even though popular belief is they should be fed only in the winter. In the spring and summer we enter into breeding season, which is followed in the autumn by flocks of hungry migrating birds arriving from long journeys. In the winter they need the extra energy to keep warm. Caring for your garden birds really is a year round project!
If you?re really into your garden birds, these little trade secrets might just help you to attract even more birds to your garden?
Large Seed = Large Birds
Many cheap seed mixes contain wheat and barley grains, split peas, beans, dried rice and lentils. These ingredients are very popular with huge flappers such as doves, pigeons and pheasants, and all of these birds have a habit of taking over the garden. Smaller birds such as robins, tits, sparrows, finches and other small garden visitors will give your garden a rather wide berth!
Manky Old Peanuts
Cheaper brands of peanuts can be high in a natural toxin called Alfatoxin (caused by a rather yucky fungus) that can make your favourite birds extremely unwell? or fall off their branch completely. Great & Small peanuts peanuts are guaranteed free from Alfatoxins.
Leftovers
Good brands of bird seed formulate their mixes for specific types of bird. Brands that contain the larger seeds and pulses that attract the larger types of bird are unpopular with the smaller garden variety because they can?t pick up the larger bits. This means leftovers can germinate in your garden and give you more gardening to do!
Great Quality Special Seeds
Great & Small have a selection of purpose made seed mixes to help you attract the birds you want while offering them a great quality and nutritious diet.
- British Finch Seed
- High Energy No Mess Seed
- Luxury Wild Bird Seed
- Robin & Tit with Suet & Insects Mix
- Songbird, Ground and Table Mix
- Wild Bird Food
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Posted in Nutrition, Wildlife, Winter Tagged alfatoxin, bird seed, bluetits, feeding wild birds, finches, how to feed wild birds, Peanuts, robins, sparrows, sunflower seeds, what to feed wild birds, wild bird food, wild birds, wrensSource: http://www.petscorner.co.uk/blog/2013/02/28/bird-seed-feeding-made-easy/
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Australian Muslim activists lose free speech case
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ? Australia's highest court on Wednesday narrowly rejected the case of two Muslim activists who argued they had a constitutional free-speech right to send offensive letters to families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Iranian-born Man Horan Monis, a self-styled Sydney cleric also known as Sheik Haron, was charged with 12 counts of using a postal service in an offensive way and one count of using a postal service in a harassing way over three years until 2009. Amirah Droudis was charged with aiding and abetting the offences. They face potential maximum prison sentences of 26 years and 16 years respectively if convicted.
The six judges of the High Court split on whether the charges were compatible with Australians' right to free speech. When the nation's highest court is tied, an appeal is dismissed and the lower court decision stands.
That sends the charges to a lower court where they will be heard on a date to be set.
Monis allegedly wrote letters critical of Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan and condemning the dead soldiers. He also allegedly wrote to the mother of an Australian official killed in a terrorist bomb blast in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2009 and blamed Australian government foreign policy for the tragedy.
His lawyer David Bennett argued in the High Court last year that the letters were "purely political." He argued the charges were invalid because they infringed on Australians' right to freedom of political communication.
The Australian Constitution doesn't include an equivalent of the U.S. First Amendment. But the High Court has held for decades that the constitution contains an implied right to free speech because such political communication is essential to democracy. This right is not as extensive as that guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
The pair had appealed in the High Court the unanimous ruling of three judges of the New South Wales state Court of Appeal in December 2011.
"Whilst at one level the letters are critical of the involvement of the Australian military in Afghanistan, they also refer to the deceased soldiers in a denigrating and derogatory fashion," their judgment said.
Prof. Anne Twomey, a Sydney University constitutional lawyer, said the High Court's tied decision offered little legal precedent on the extent that offensive speech can be prohibited in Australia.
She said the issues could be tried again in a different case. Two of the seven judges on the High Court will have changed before the next such case is heard.
"It's rather unpredictable" how the court would rule on a similar case, Twomey said. "The area of offensive speech has always been difficult."
Only six judges heard the case because the seventh, Justice William Gummow, intended to retire in October last year before the trial was likely to be completely heard.
One of the judges who would have upheld the appeal on free speech grounds, Justice John Dyson Haydon, retires in March.
It is a crime under Australian federal law to use a postal service to communicate a message that "reasonable persons would regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing, harassing or offensive."
Twomey said Monis and Droudis might not have been charged if the letters had been hand delivered.
Federal authorities have limited criminal jurisdiction in Australia and relied in this prosecution on its powers over national postal and electronic communications.
Australia has 1,550 troops in Afghanistan which is the biggest military contribution to the war of any country outside NATO. Australia has suffered 39 casualties over the past decade in Afghanistan and another 249 Australian soldiers have been wounded.
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Mike Krzyzewski done? Coach K says goodbye to Team USA
Mike Krzyzewski says he's done coaching Team USA after leading the Americans to two Olympic gold medals for men's basketball.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina in Durham, N.C., Wednesday, Feb. 13. Coach K has reiterated his plans to surrender the reins of Team USA.
Gerry Broome
EnlargeMike?Krzyzewski?said again Tuesday he doesn't plan to return as U.S. men's basketball coach after leading the Americans to two Olympic gold medals.
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Saying "my stance hasn't changed,"?Krzyzewski?told ESPN Radio he expects USA Basketball to name a new coach this summer.
The Hall of Fame Duke coach said during and after last summer's Olympics that he wasn't planning to return to the position he's held with the national team since 2005. However, he still hasn't confirmed that decision with USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, who has said they will talk after the college season.
"I've loved, loved, loved, and it's been an honor being with the USA Basketball team,"?Krzyzewski?said in the interview. "And to coach the team and work with Jerry these seven years has been marvelous.
"And we're in a good spot,"?Krzyzewski?added. "We need to keep building."
Krzyzewski?led the Americans to Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, and a world basketball championship in 2010. The Americans also won bronze in the 2006 worlds, their first tournament under his guidance, and haven't lost a game since.
The Americans automatically qualified for the 2014 World Cup of Basketball in Spain by winning gold in London. Colangelo originally said he planned to name a new coach around the new year, but put off those plans so he could talk to?Krzyzewski?once the Blue Devils' season was finished.
The delay created speculation?Krzyzewski?was open to a return, but he told ESPN Radio that USA Basketball wouldn't make an announcement during the season, anyway.
If?Krzyzewski?is indeed finished, Colangelo will first have to determine if he wants to stay with a college coach or go back to someone from the NBA. Before?Krzyzewski, the Americans had been led by someone from the pros since 1992, when NBA players were first allowed to play in the Olympics.
But after a bronze medal finish in 2004, two years after an embarrassing sixth-place performance in the worlds, Colangelo was given control of USA Basketball and hired?Krzyzewski, who has been on the staff of 12 U.S. teams since 1979.
He got the Americans back on top with a thrilling victory over Spain in Beijing, then committed to return for another three-year stint the following year. The Americans' victory in Istanbul in 2010 was their first world title since 1994, and they won even though none of the '08 gold medalists returned.
Krzyzewski?has said he planned to remain close to Colangelo and the program even if he didn't return. He was asked in the interview if the U.S. would have a different coach in 2016, when they try for a third straight Olympic gold medal.
"Yeah, and he'll be great,"?Krzyzewski?said, "and he'll get all the support of all of us, and of me."
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'Maybe thousands' of rats pack 'Hoarding' home
By Ree Hines, TODAY contributor
Lunch fully digested? No squeamish kiddies in the room? OK, then you might just be ready to view what's in store on the next episode of "Hoarding: Buried Alive."
From personal tragedies to unfortunate pets to insect overload, viewers have come to expect outrageous scenes on the docuseries, and it doesn't get much more outrageous than the rodent round up in this exclusive sneak peek.
"This house is crawling," a biohazard expert explained after discovering a tremendous amount of rat activity at the show's next locale. "Quantity-wise, there would probably hundreds -- maybe thousands. I personally don't understand how somebody could possibly live like this."
In fact, the owner of the home, Aimee, died just months before her children launched the difficult cleanup effort. The subsequent tour of her property revealed a sofa and bedding largely consumed by rats and a nest of the uninvited guests right behind the toilet.
"Rats are definitely very, very dangerous creatures," the expert warned. "There was a lot of rat droppings and urine throughout their property, so that could possibly cause a health hazard when you're working that kind of environment due to Hantavirus. Hantavirus is caused by rat urine (or) rat feces getting into your lungs, getting into mucus membranes of your nose, and it does cause you to become very ill -- possibly death if it's not treated correctly."
Find out if Aimee's children were able to remove all the rodents when "Hoarding: Buried Alive" airs Wednesday night at 9 p.m. on TLC.
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Imagine Science Films Unveils the Fly Room Project
IMAGINE SCIENCE FILMS UNVEILS THE FLY ROOM PROJECT:
A NEW EXHIBIT AND FEATURE PRODUCTION ABOUT THE BIRTHPLACE OF AMERICAN GENETICS
by Alexis Gambis
(writer-director of The Fly Room Project, founder of Imagine Science Films)
The Fly Room Project is the latest Imagine Science Films initiative. It will be an ambitious Summer 2013 interactive lab and exhibit about genetics which will include film, microscopy, and video installations. It comes to life 100 years after the original Fly Room that existed in the Zoology Department at Columbia University. The early 20th century Fly Room is considered to be the birthplace of modern genetics where the basic laws that govern heritability and the passing of traits were discovered. No one ever imagined that this claustrophobic space, overflowing with mutant red-eyed fruit flies would gain so much fame.
As you enter in new Fly Room Summer 2013, you will travel back in time to Summer 1927. On the wooden tables, hundreds of milk bottles filled with ?real? fruit flies and brass-knobbed microscopes will sit next to glass jars of ether and banana mush. Science/AAAS, the world?s largest scientific society and magazine, is our Presenting Sponsor for this project and will provide original research articles documenting the early discoveries in the emerging field of Genetics.
The goal of The Fly Room Project is to raise awareness about the early history of genetics, especially in an era where we are confronted with the excitement and scares of the Genomic Age. With our fruit flies in the spotlight, we will place emphasis on the importance of model research, notably fruit fly research, in our scientific advancement and the current research in understanding evolution, development and disease. The space will also have a treasure hunt twist where kids, a la Goonies, will embark on wild aventures to uncover clues. They will peer through milk bottles searching for answers from their fellow insects.
The Fly Room Project will bring back the philosophy of the original Fly Room which was to foster a democratic atmosphere open to new ideas and unconventional thinking. The exhibit will also paint a portrait of the work and the minds that gave significance to this room. We will show exclusive on-camera testimonials from the daughters of the Fly Room residents. 95-year old Betsey shares her stories about an unconventional father Calvin Bridges and her visit to the Fly Room in 1927 when she was 10 years old. Other stories and fly-charged anecdotes will be told by the daughters of Alfred Sturtevant and Hermann Muller.
The Fly Room will be recreated by a dynamite duo of Production Designers Ika Avaliani and Anna Yates. Artist and Photographer Catherine Chalmers will cover the walls with larger-than-life imagery of insect development. ?Art Perversionist? and Filmmaker Luis Nieto will create a Fly Circus with mutant flies. The space will be sonically charged with the old-new electroacoustic score of Daniel Wohl.
And yet, what is most unusual about The Fly Room Project is that it will also be a film set for a feature production. The film is focused on the story of 10-year old Betsey visiting her father Calvin Bridges in the Fly Room lab in 1927. Actors will enter into the skins of the Drosophila scientists and bring to life the important discoveries of the lab. 10-year old Betsey will be played by first-time actress Zoe Brooks. The film is primarily told from the perspective of little Betsey and yet flies will will occasionally have their moments to dissect human behavior.
The more that Betsey understands the world of flies and genetics, the more she enters a magical yet haunting world where flies and humans mix together. The insect world also foreshadows the evolution of Betsey?s relationship with her father Calvin Bridges and further deconstruct their interactions.
Dates of Fly Room Exhibit and Film to be announced soon.
For more information, visit:
http://www.theflyroom.com
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=6c9634b3f05f143ad77e7415e51b9ab9
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Non-brittle glass possible: In probing mysteries of glass, researchers find a key to toughness
Feb. 26, 2013 ? In a paper published online Feb. 26 in the journal Nature Communications, a Yale University team and collaborators propose a way of predicting whether a given glass will be brittle or ductile -- a desirable property typically associated with metals like steel or aluminum -- and assert that any glass could have either quality.
Ductility refers to a material's plasticity, or its ability to change shape without breaking.
"Most of us think of glasses as brittle, but our finding shows that any glass can be made ductile or brittle," said Jan Schroers, a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Yale, who led the research with Golden Kumar, a professor at Texas Tech University. "We identified a special temperature that tells you whether you form a ductile or brittle glass."
The key to forming a ductile glass, they said, is cooling it fast. Exactly how fast depends on the nature of the specific glass.
Focusing on a new group of glasses known as bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) -- metal alloys, or blends, that can be extremely pliable yet also as strong as steel -- researchers studied the effect of a so-called critical fictive temperature (CFT) on the glasses' mechanical properties at room temperature.
When forming from liquid, there is a temperature at which glass becomes too viscous for reconfiguration and freezes. This temperature is called the glass transition temperature. Based on experiments with three representative bulk metallic glasses, the researchers said there is also, for each distinct alloy, a critical temperature that determines the brittleness or plasticity of the glass. This is the CFT.
Researchers said it's possible to categorize glasses in two groups -- those that will be brittle because in liquid form their CFT is above the glass transition temperature, and those that will be ductile, because in liquid form their CFT is below the glass transition temperature.
They previously thought a liquid's chemical composition alone would determine whether a glass would be brittle or ductile.
"That's not the case," Schroers said. "We can make any glass theoretically ductile or brittle. And it is the critical fictive temperature which determines how experimentally difficult it is to make a ductile glass. That is the major contribution of this work."
The finding applies theoretically to all glasses, not metallic glasses only, he said.
"A glass can have completely different properties depending on the rate at which you cool it," Schroers said. "If you cool it fast, it is very ductile, and if you cool it slow it?s very brittle. We anticipate that our finding will contribute to the design of ductile glasses, and in general contribute to a deeper understanding of glass formation."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Yale University. The original article was written by Eric Gershon.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Golden Kumar, Pascal Neibecker, Yan Hui Liu, Jan Schroers. Critical fictive temperature for plasticity in metallic glasses. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1536 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2546
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Week of Weird: Sony Jumps the Gun, Google Luxury-Prices Its Yugo
This really has been an entire month of the strange. We had Boeing's Dreamliner sidelined for batteries that catch fire. We had Tesla locking horns with the NYT. We had Sony announce its new game system nearly nine months before it would be available -- but not actually show it. Biggest of all, despite Chromebooks failing to sell in the $250 range, we had Google offer a refresh priced at $1,500.
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HBT: Rare Honus Wagner card up for auction
I always link to stories about Honus Wagner T-206 cards going up for auction because when I was a kid I was convinced I was going to find one if I looked around in junkyards, garage sales and flea markets long enough. I would have settled for a ?52 Mantle, but the Wagner was really what I was looking for.
That said, even if I had the means, I don?t think I?d get in on the action now. It?s just ? too much:
The card being auctioned at Goldin?s is one of the three highest quality cards in existence. On a scale of 1 to 10, a card graded 8 was bought by Wayne Gretzky in 1991 for $451,000. After a handful of other collectors, it rests now with Ken Kendrick, owner of the the Arizona Diamondbacks, who paid $2.8 million for it in 2007.
Another card, with a 5 grade, was sold to an anonymous buyer in 2008 for $1.62 million.
The card at Goldin?s is also graded 5. It?s been in the hands of a private collector and locked in a bank vault for the past five years.
What a waste. Like this guy doesn?t have a bike with spokes?
I?m more surprised that Kendrick?s is the best quality one out there. While near-mint condition cards are great, you?d think he?d want something more gritty.
Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/25/a-honus-wagner-card-is-going-up-for-auction/related/
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Monday, February 25, 2013
Palm oil casualty? 14 pygmy elephants fall prey to pesticides in Borneo
Malaysian wildlife officials say 14 dead pygmy elephants were found last month in Borneo, apparently poisoned by chemicals used by farmers on the country's massive palm-oil plantations.
A Borneo pygmy elephant looks for food along the Kinabatangan river in Malaysia's state of Sabah on the Borneo island in this file photo.
Bazuki Muhammad/REUTERS/File
EnlargeA rare breed of elephant appears to be the latest casualty of the palm oil boom that is sweeping Malaysian Borneo, reigniting an already heated debate over the pros and cons of the world?s cheapest cooking oil.?
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Malaysian wildlife officials say 14 dead pygmy elephants were found last month in the wilds of Sabah Province, apparently poisoned by chemicals used by farmers to keep pests from eating the palm fruit grown on plantations that blanket vast swaths of the countryside.
In once instance, a 3-month old baby elephant was photographed nuzzling its mother, who lay on the ground next to three other corpses. For activists, the image is emblematic of nature?s losing battle with man in and around the farms.
Favored in developing countries for its versatility and long shelf life, palm oil is now found in more than half of processed foods in Western supermarkets, from cosmetics to Girl Scout cookies. Surging global demand has generated billions in profits for Indonesia and Malaysia, the world?s first- and second-largest producers, bringing prosperity to once poor corners.
The boom is changing the complexion of Borneo, the resource-rich island they share that is one home to one of the oldest rainforests on earth. But environmental groups say the palm oil boom is driving the expansion of plantations deeper into hyper-diverse tracts of forest, accelerating global warming and forcing rare species like the?pygmy elephant and orangutan into deadly confrontations with humans.
In a statement following the elephant report, Dionysius S.K. Sharma, executive director of World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia, said the ?central forest landscape in Sabah needs to be protected totally from conversions? and called for "frequent and large-scale patrolling" of forests to protect elephants. Yet he conceded this would be a "massive task" given the remoteness of the terrain and large areas involved.?
The scale of the plantations is massive. Take a flight from Kota Kinabalu, the provincial capital, to Lahad Datu, also known as ?Palm City,? and permaculture reigns: Palm plantations sprawl for miles on end, occasionally pocked with the smokestacks of large processing facilities. The largest are owned by agribusiness giants like Sime Darby and Wilmar International, with clients that include top consumer goods companies Unilever and Nestle.
Business booming
Thanks in part to new US laws mandating the removal of oils rich in trans-fats, business has never been better.
In 2011, the export of palm oil and palm-based products netted the Malaysian economy $27 billion, a fivefold increase over the past decade. With such profits at hand, the Malaysian government wants to double the area under cultivation by 2020.
This is welcome news to longtime residents of Lahad Datu, the coastal?town that has been transformed in years from a crime-ridden backwater to an investment-friendly hub. Real estate prices are soaring, investors are pouring in and the streets are safer than ever, replete with fast-food franchises and shiny hotels. ??This place is opening up, finally,? says Arnan Angkut, at a bustling seaside teashop. ?We are doing much better than before because of palm oil.?
But this kind of enthusiasm could spell long-term trouble for communities in the region and beyond.
A joint study published in October by Stanford and Yale universities revealed that land-clearing operations for plantations in Borneo have emitted more than 140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010 alone, equal to annual emissions from about 28 million vehicles. Over the past two decades, about 6,200 sq. mi. of primary and logged forested land have been destroyed in Borneo.
Orangutan populations reduced by half
Activists say that palm oil deforestation and hunting have already combined to reduce Bornean orangutan populations to half the total of the 1980s. At this rate, some predict the iconic animal could be extinct within years.
For its part, the pygmy elephant, a rare sub-species of the African elephant, is in even greater peril: WWF-Malaysia estimates there are about 1,200 left in the wild. And Malaysian wildlife authorities have said they expect to find more dead elephants as they comb the jungle.
*Jason Motlagh reported this story on a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
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Hollywood's finest pose on red carpet ahead of Oscars show
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's biggest stars strutted and posed on the Oscars red carpet on Sunday, as Iran hostage drama "Argo" and presidential drama "Lincoln" went into the movie industry's biggest night in a tight race for Best Picture.
Nominees Jessica Chastain, sparkling in a gold strapless Armani Prive dress, and Amy Adams in a gray strapless Oscar de la Renta gown, were among early arrivals walking the 500-foot (150-meter) long red carpet under warm, sunny skies.
Quvenzhane Wallis, 9, the breakout Best Actress nominee of indie film "Beasts of the Southern Wild," showed off her puppy-shaped purse to the delight of more than 100 photographers and cameras crews from around the world.
With several contests too close to call, a slate of big box office hits to celebrate and an unpredictable first-time host in Seth MacFarlane, surprises are in store when the curtain rises on the 85th annual Academy Awards.
Daniel Day-Lewis as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is considered an unstoppable force to become the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars.
And buzz was building over a possible upset by France's Emmanuelle Riva, 86, in the Best Actress contest.
Riva, star of the harrowing Austrian entry "Amour," emerged as a dark horse in the past few days in a race that had been seen as a battle between "Zero Dark Thirty" actress Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence of "Silver Linings Playbook."
A win by Riva would make her the oldest person ever to win an acting Oscar.
"Lincoln" goes into Sunday's three-hour plus ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, including a directing nod for double Oscar winner Steven Spielberg.
But its front-runner Best Picture status has been dented by the six-week victory streak enjoyed at other Hollywood awards by Ben Affleck's "Argo."
"It's been an interesting year," said Matt Atchity, editor in chief of movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.
"I think 'Argo' probably has the best shot. It's certainly got the momentum. It has won so many top awards, and I think it's probably the movie to beat," Atchity told Reuters.
If "Argo" does prevail for the top prize, it will be the first movie to win Best Picture without its director even getting a nomination since "Driving Miss Daisy" in 1990.
ANNE HATHAWAY OSCAR BOUND
Musical "Les Miserables," comedy "Silver Linings Playbook," shipwreck tale "Life of Pi," Osama bin laden thriller "Zero Dark Thirty," slavery Western "Django Unchained," indie film "Beasts of the Southern Wild," and "Amour" round out the contenders for the best film of 2012.
In other categories, only Anne Hathaway is considered a sure bet to take home a golden statuette after starving herself and chopping off her long brown locks for her supporting turn as tragic heroine Fantine in "Les Miserables."
Awards pundits says Spielberg could lose out in the director's race to Taiwan's Ang Lee for his technical and imaginative feat in filming fantastical adventure "Life of Pi" with a cast of exotic animals.
And the supporting actor Oscar could go to any of the five nominees - Robert De Niro ("Silver Linings Playbook"), Alan Arkin ("Argo"), Christoph Waltz ("Django Unchained"), Tommy Lee Jones ("Lincoln") and Philip Seymour Hoffman ("The Master").
The Oscar winners are chosen in secret ballots by some 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and handed out before an audience of 3,300 guests and tens of millions more watching around the world on television.
After several years of nominating little-seen movies, this year's nine Best Picture contenders have pulled in more than $2 billion in tickets worldwide.
Producers are promising a fast-paced show packed with music and big performances. But the man getting the early attention will be MacFarlane, the provocative comedian behind animated TV series "Family Guy" and an unknown quantity as Oscar host.
"We are not going to know what works until we put it out there and see what plays in front of an audience," Oscar telecast co-producer Craig Zadan told Reuters.
"It's a live show and that is always unpredictable. Once the train has left the station, whatever happens, happens."
The Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC television in the United States, starting at 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT).
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hollywoods-finest-pose-red-carpet-ahead-oscars-show-000807261.html
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Sunday, February 24, 2013
Eastside FC coach Michelle French named U.S. Under-20 national team head coach
Eastside FC coach Michelle French has been named the head coach for the U.S. Under-20 women's national team on Thursday, Feb. 21.
Eastside FC is the premier soccer organization which features many Mercer Island soccer players.
French, played on the Under-21 National team from 1994-1999 and was a captain of the team from 1997-99 and won a silver medal as part of the Women's Olympic team in 2000 at the Sydney Summer Games.
French started coaching the Eastside FC in 2005, helping teams to win two Washington state championships and winning multiple tournaments.
To learn more about Eastside FC, visit the website.
Contact Mercer Island Reporter Reporter Megan Managan at mmanagan@mi-reporter.com or (206) 232-1215 ext. 5054.Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/mirsports/~3/ifdcTWgnVwk/192520601.html
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Pope gives final Sunday blessing before resigning
In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)
In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)
Faithful hold up a banner with pictures of Pope Benedict XVI and writing reading in Italian "Thank you" as they attend Benedict's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
Faithful attend Pope Benedict XVI's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during his last Angelus noon prayer, from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
Nuns pray as they wait for Pope Benedict XVI's last Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Benedict XVI gave his pontificate's final Sunday blessing from his studio window to the cheers of tens of thousands of people packing St. Peter's Square, but sought to reassure the faithful that he wasn't abandoning the church by retiring to spend his final years in prayer. The 85-year-old Benedict is stepping down on Thursday evening, the first pope to do so in 600 years, after saying he no longer has the mental or physical strength to vigorously lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI bestowed his final Sunday blessing of his pontificate on a cheering crowd in St. Peter's Square, explaining that his waning years and energy made him better suited to the life of private prayer he soon will spend in a secluded monastery than as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
On Thursday evening, the 85-year-old German-born theologian will become the first pope to have resigned from the papacy in 600 years.
Sunday's noon appearance from his studio window overlooking the vast square was his next-to-last appointment with the public of his nearly eight-year papacy. Tens of thousands of faithful and other admirers have already asked the Vatican for a seat in the square for his last general audience Wednesday.
Perhaps emotionally buoyed by the warm welcome, thunderous applause and the many banners reading "Grazie" (Thanks) held up in the crowd estimated by police to number 100,000, Benedict looked relaxed and sounded energized, in sharp contrast to his apparent frailty and weariness of recent months.
In a strong and clear voice, Benedict told the pilgrims, tourists and Romans in the square that God had called him to dedicate himself "even more to prayer and meditation," which he will do in a monastery being renovated for him on the grounds behind Vatican City's ancient walls.
"But this doesn't mean abandoning the church," he said, as many in the crowd looked sad at his approaching departure. "On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve it (the church) with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength."
The phrase "tried to" was the pope's adlibbed addition to his prepared text.
Benedict smiled in pleasure at the crowd after an aide parted the white curtain at his window and he gazed at the people packing the square, craning their head for a look at him. Giving greetings in several languages, he gratefully acknowledged what he said was an outpouring of "gratitude, affection and closeness in prayer" since he stunned the church and its 1.2 billion members on Feb. 11 with his decision to renounce his papacy and retreat into a world of contemplation.
"Prayer is not isolating oneself from the world and its contradictions," Benedict told the crowd. He said he had heard God's call to prayer, "which gives breath to our spiritual life" in a special way "at this moment of my life."
Heavy rain had been forecast for Rome, and some drizzle dampened the square earlier in the morning. But when Benedict appeared, to the peal of church bells as the clock struck noon, blue sky crept through the clouds.
"We thank God for the sun he has given us," the pope said.
Even as the cheering continued and shouts of "Long live the pope" went up in Italian and Spanish, the pontiff simply turned away from his window and stepped back down into the apartment, which he will leave Thursday, taking a helicopter to the Vatican summer residence in the hills outside Rome while he waits for the monastery to be ready.
A child in the crowd held up a sign on a yellow placard, written in Italian, "You are not alone, I'm with you."
No date has yet been set for the start of the conclave of cardinals, who will vote in secret to elect Benedict's successor.
"Now there will be two popes," said the Rev. Vilmar Pavesi, a Portuguese priest who was among the throngs in the square. "There will be the pope of Rome, the elected pope, and there will be the bishop emeritus of Rome, who will live the life of a monk inside the Vatican walls."
One Italian in the crowd seemed to be doing a little campaigning, hoisting a sign which mentioned the names of two Italian cardinals considered by observers to be potential contenders in the selection of the next pontiff.
Flags in the crowd represented many nations, with a large number from Brazil.
The cardinals in the conclave will have to decide whether it's time to look outside of Europe for a pope. The papacy was considered the realm of Italian prelates for centuries, until a Pole, John Paul II, was elected as pontiff in 1978, to be followed in 2005 by the German-born Benedict.
Crucially, Italian prelates have continued to run the behind-the-scenes machinery of the church's governance, and cardinals will likely be deciding what role the Italians might have played in a series of scandals clouding the central bureaucracy, including allegations of corruption and power-grabbing.
Benedict has not made any direct comment on details of the scandals.
In one of his last papal tweets, Benedict wrote Sunday in English: "In these momentous days, I ask you to pray for me and for the church, trusting as always in divine providence."
___
AP reporter Paolo Santalucia contributed to this report.
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Fragments of continents hidden under lava in Indian Ocean: New micro-continent detected under Reunion and Mauritius
Feb. 22, 2013 ? The islands Reunion and Mauritius, both well-known tourist destinations, are hiding a micro-continent, which has now been discovered. The continent fragment known as Mauritia detached about 60 million years ago while Madagascar and India drifted apart, and had been hidden under huge masses of lava.
Such micro-continents in the oceans seem to occur more frequently than previously thought, says a study in the latest issue of Nature Geoscience.
The break-up of continents is often associated with mantle plumes: These giant bubbles of hot rock rise from the deep mantle and soften the tectonic plates from below, until the plates break apart at the hotspots. This is how Eastern Gondwana broke apart about 170 million years ago. At first, one part was separated, which in turn fragmented into Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica, which then migrated to their present position.
Plumes currently situated underneath the islands Marion and Reunion appear to have played a role in the emergence of the Indian Ocean. If the zone of the rupture lies at the edge of a land mass (in this case Madagascar / India), fragments of this land mass may be separated off. The Seychelles are a well-known example of such a continental fragment.
A group of geoscientists from Norway, South Africa, Britain and Germany have now published a study that suggests, based on the study of lava sand grains from the beach of Mauritius, the existence of further fragments. The sand grains contain semi-precious zircons aged between 660 and 1970 million years, which is explained by the fact that the zircons were carried by the lava as it pushed through subjacent continental crust of this age.
This dating method was supplemented by a recalculation of plate tectonics, which explains exactly how and where the fragments ended up in the Indian Ocean. Dr. Bernhard Steinberger of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and Dr. Pavel Doubrovine of Oslo University calculated the hotspot trail: "On the one hand, it shows the position of the plates relative to the two hotspots at the time of the rupture, which points towards a causal relation," says Steinberger. "On the other hand, we were able to show that the continent fragments continued to wander almost exactly over the Reunion plume, which explains how they were covered by volcanic rock." So what was previously interpreted only as the trail of the Reunion hotspot, are continental fragments which were previously not recognized as such because they were covered by the volcanic rocks of the Reunion plume. It therefore appears that such micro-continents in the ocean occur more frequently than previously thought.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Trond H. Torsvik, Hans Amundsen, Ebbe H. Hartz, Fernando Corfu, Nick Kusznir, Carmen Gaina, Pavel V. Doubrovine, Bernhard Steinberger, Lewis D. Ashwal, Bj?rn Jamtveit. A Precambrian microcontinent in the Indian Ocean. Nature Geoscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1736
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/OaIWm9jLxY4/130224142725.htm
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Saturday, February 23, 2013
Alleged Galaxy S IV Cases Sprout Up On The Web
A handful of cases seem to have leaked out for the forthcoming Galaxy S IV smartphone from Samsung. Since the phone has not yet been announced, we should approach each and every one of these cases with a hearty helping of salt. However, sometimes case makers get their hands on information we don't quite have, such as dimensions, meaning their cases can shed some light on what's coming next. In this particular case, the Galaxy S IV cases are coming from "a trusted Chinese case manufacturer," according to MobileFun, and are ready to support a phone with a 5-inch display.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/17sNaNUzsQA/
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Research and Markets: Ford Motor Company- SWOT Framework Analysis 2013
DUBLIN--()--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/p89lq2/ford_motor) has announced the addition of the "Ford Motor Company- SWOT Framework Analysis" company profile to their offering.
SWOT Analysis, is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective.
The aim of any SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that are important to achieving the objective. SWOT analysis groups key pieces of information into two main categories:
Internal factors - The strengths and weaknesses internal to the organization.
External factors - The opportunities and threats presented by the external environment.
The internal factors may be viewed as strengths or weaknesses depending upon their impact on the organization's objectives. What may represent strengths with respect to one objective may be weaknesses for another objective. The factors may include all of the 4P's; as well as personnel, finance, manufacturing capabilities, and so on. The external factors may include macroeconomic matters, technological change, legislation, and socio-cultural changes, as well as changes in the marketplace or competitive position. The results are often presented in the form of a matrix.
The report is also available in other formats. Please contact us for further information.
Key Topics Covered:
A. Executive Summary
B. A Brief Profile of the Company
C. SWOT Framework Analysis
C.1 Strengths to Build Upon
C.2 Weaknesses to Overcome
C.3 Opportunities to Exploit
C.4 Threats to Overcome
D. Glossary of Terms
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/p89lq2/ford_motor
Source: http://feeds.businesswire.com/click.phdo?i=63b10102060bd89345a04981bcdc12ea
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NCAA Says Pennsylvania Wants to FilchIts $60 Million Child Abuse Endowment
?????HARRISBURG, Pa. (CN) - Pennsylvania on Wednesday passed a law intended to steal $60 million from a Penn State University fund to help victims of child sex abuse and dump it into the state treasury, the NCAA claims in Federal Court.
?????The National Collegiate Athletic Association sued Gov. Thom Corbett Jr. and three other state officials, claiming the state's money-grab, "Act No. 1 of 2013," violates the Constitution's Contracts and Commerce Clauses.
?????The money stems from Penn State's settlement of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.
?????Pennsylvania calls its new law the Institution of Higher Education Consent Decree Endowment Act aka "the Act of February 20, 2013, Act No. 1 of 2013." It allows the state to grab the $60 million that Penn State will put into the fund for victims of child abuse, and give it to the defendant state treasurer. The NCAA filed its lawsuit the day the act was codified into law.
?????The NCAA claims that Act No. 1 is intended "to disrupt interstate commerce by attempting to legislate where private parties spend their money, and to confiscate funds intended for the victims of child sexual abuse nationwide to be used solely for the benefit of Pennsylvania residents, at the direction of Pennsylvania officials."
?????It adds: "The Act, by its terms, purports to permanently appropriate to the Pennsylvania Treasury the full $60 million dollar fine, even though the contract requires that the penalty be paid into the NCAA's endowment."
?????Gov. Corbett sued the NCAA in January, claiming it "exploited" the Sandusky child abuse scandal to impose "crippling" sanctions on Penn State University.
?????Corbett said in his complaint that the NCAA was using the case of the serial child molester to "force the university to endure harsh, unjustified, and unprecedented punishments."
?????After an investigation led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, Penn State entered into a consent degree with the NCAA. "Among other sanctions, the NCAA imposed, and Penn State agreed to pay, a $60 million fine, 'equivalent to the approximate average of one year's gross revenue from the Penn State football program, to be paid over a five-year period beginning in 2012 into an endowment for programs preventing child sexual abuse and/or assisting the victims of child sexual abuse,'" the NCAA says in its complaint, citing the consent decree.
?????The NCAA adds: "Upon information and belief, Penn State has already paid $12 million into an account to be transferred to the NCAA's endowment when it is established.
?????"Upon information and belief, Penn State has the financial ability to pay the full $60 million fee without using state-appropriated funds.
?????"Penn State has made clear that no state funds will be used for the endowment."
?????Penn State is able to do this, the NCAA adds, because its disgraced football program is so profitable: "in 2011-2012, the Penn State football team generated $50,223,498 of income to Penn State, but only $17,205,605 of expenses. The football team produced a profit to Penn State of $33,017,893."
?????In its complaint, the NCAA says that "authority to dispose of university property is not within the purview of the Commonwealth, and that Penn State exhibits 'characteristics of a nonprofit corporation chartered for educational purposes - not an agency of the commonwealth.'"
?????NCAA members "agree that a member institution that commits a 'major violation' of the NCAA Constitution or Bylaws shall receive a severe penalty, which may include ... '[p]rohibition against specified competition in [a] sport ... or a '[f]inancial penalty," according to the complaint.
?????The NCAA appointed a child abuse task force in September 2012, to oversee the endowment to be funded by fines from the consent decree.
?????Three months later, state Sen. Jake Corman circulated a memo to other senators with the title, "NCAA Fine Endowment for Pennsylvania."
?????"As Senator Corman's memorandum and the Act's provisions make clear, the obvious and explicit purpose of the Act was to seize the NCAA's fine and redirect it only to Pennsylvania causes," the complaint states.
?????Act No. 1 "provides that money that an institution of higher education is obligated to pay to a private endowment or other third party instead becomes the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," the complaint states.
?????"The Act directs the Pennsylvania Commission of Crime and Delinquency to 'expend the money of the endowment' ... [and] does not permit the NCAA, the NCAA Task Force, or any third party chosen by them to direct that the endowment's funds be expended upon beneficiaries of their choosing."
?????Sorry, the NCAA says: "Funds paid to the NCAA's endowment are not owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
?????"The Act, by its terms, purports to permanently appropriate to the Pennsylvania Treasury the full $60 million fine, even though the contract requires that the penalty be paid into the NCAA's endowment.
?????"By directing Pennsylvania officials to collect and take payments to which it is not entitled, the Act amounts to taking of private property without just compensation."
?????The NCAA seeks declaratory judgment that Act No. 1 is unconstitutional, and an injunction preventing its enforcement, plus attorneys' fees and costs.
?????It is represented by Thomas Scott with Killian & Gephart in Harrisburg.?
The lifetime journeys of manure-based microbes
Feb. 22, 2013 ? Studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are shedding some light on the microbes that dwell in cattle manure -- what they are, where they thrive, where they struggle, and where they can end up.
This research, which is being conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the agency's Agroecosystems Management Research Unit in Lincoln, Neb., supports the USDA priority of ensuring food safety. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.
In one project, ARS microbiologist Lisa Durso used fecal samples from six beef cattle to identify a core set of bovine gastrointestinal bacterial groups common to both beef and dairy cattle. She also observed a number of bacteria in the beef cattle that had not been reported in dairy cows, and identified a diverse assortment of bacteria from the six individual animals, even though all six consumed the same diet and were the same breed, gender and age.
In another study, Durso collaborated with ARS agricultural engineer John Gilley and others to study how livestock diet affected the transport of pathogens in field runoff from manure-amended soils. The scientists added two types of manure to experimental conventional-till and no-till fields at 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates. The manure had been collected from livestock that had consumed either corn or feed with wet distillers grains.
After a series of simulated rain events, the team collected and analyzed samples of field runoff and determined that neither diet nor tillage management significantly affected the transport of fecal indicator bacteria. But they did note that diet affected the transport of bacteriophages -- viruses that invade bacteria -- in field runoff.
Gilley also conducted an investigation into how standing wheat residues affected water quality in runoff from fields amended with 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates of manure. The scientists found that runoff loads of dissolved phosphorus, total phosphorus, nitrates, nitrogen, and total nitrogen were much higher from plots with residue cover. The team also observed that runoff from fields amended with 4-year application rates of manure had significantly higher levels of total phosphorus and dissolved phosphorus than fields amended with 1-year or 2-year manure rates.
Results from these studies have been published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and Transactions of the ASABE.
Read more about this research in the February 2013 issue of Agricultural Research magazine: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/feb13/cows0213.htm
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by USDA/Agricultural Research Service. The original article was written by Ann Perry.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/qfSF_hrZ_QU/130222143227.htm
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Friday, February 22, 2013
Trump Twitter mystery! Who hacked The Donald?
In what appears to be the latest in a minor wave of attacks on Twitter accounts belonging to out-sized corporate entities, an out-of-character tweet from Donald Trump's verified account set the Internet abuzz, and then disappeared, shortly before noon ET on Thursday.
"These hoes think they classy, well that's the class I'm skippen," read the suspect remark issued from @realDonaldTrump. It was a glaring non sequitur following tweets such as "Republicans must be careful with immigration?don?t give our country away," and "Wow, Macy's numbers just in-Trump is doing better than ever ? thanks for your great support!"
"Yes, obviously the account has been hacked and we are looking for the perpetrator," Rhona Graff, senior vice president, assistant to the president of the Trump Organization, told NBC News via email.
This confirmation was quickly echoed by Trump himself, in a tweet that read, "My Twitter has been seriously hacked ? and we are looking for the perpetrators."
Cut off after a single rogue tweet, the Trump Twitter anomaly was far shorter than the Burger King and Jeep takeovers earlier this week. On Monday, Burger King's Twitter account was hacked and renamed McDonalds, and over the course of a hour, sent out 53 tweets (and garnered 73,421 retweets) making light of the situation. The Tuesday attack on Jeep's Twitter account ? which included the erroneous announcement that the car maker had been taken over by Cadillac ? ceased after just 10 minutes and 13 tweets.
Soon after @Jeep regained control, the Twitter accounts of MTV and BET appeared to be compromised. The MTV account tweeted claims the network had been taken over by BET, and BET tweeted it was now owned by MTV. This turned out to be a publicity stunt by the networks, both owned by Viacom. As NBC News reported on Tuesday, the account of a PR representative warned of the hack ahead of time on Twitter and then both MTV and BET copped to the scheme after the "hack."
NBC News has asked the Trump Organization how Trump was able to regain control of his Twitter account so quickly, and will update this story if we receive a response.
Helen A.S. Popkin goes blah blah blah about the Internet. Tell her to get a real job on Twitterand/or Facebook.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/trump-twitter-mystery-who-hacked-donald-1C8462918
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Bulgaria faces deadlock after government quits
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's parliament on Thursday accepted the government's decision to resign in the face of anti-austerity protests, opening the way for an early election that may benefit fringe parties and make it hard to form a stable government.
Outgoing Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, praised by investors for cutting the budget deficit, lost support from voters in the European Union's poorest state over his failure to raise living standards or stamp out graft.
After mass protests set off by high energy bills, Borisov stepped down on Wednesday -- the latest administration to fall in Europe's four-year-old debt crisis.
Parliament voted on Thursday to accept the move and President Rosen Plevneliev will now ask the three biggest parties if they want to form a government to rule until a parliamentary election due in July.
But both Borisov's GERB party and the main opposition Socialists have said they do not want to participate in a caretaker cabinet, so Plevneliev could schedule an election for as early as April. Opinions polls put both parties on about 22-23 percent, suggesting no clear majority in the new parliament.
"We are open for dialogue with all parties but GERB, who ruined everything," said Socialist leader Sergei Stanishev, whose party was level in polls with Borisov's before the protests and may have benefited from the unrest.
The cabinet's departure brought some calm after a chaotic week of rallies against the government and foreign-owned power utilities and a threat by Bulgarian officials to strip one of them, Czech power group CEZ, of its license.
Boriana Dimitrova, an analyst with pollster Alpha Research, said it could push voters towards the political fringe.
"The two key political powers are not strong enough to form a stable government," she said. "The recent protests indicate there is growing support for radical, populist parties, which will also make it harder to form a cabinet."
CALM, FOR NOW
Borisov, a former guard to Soviet-era dictator Todor Zhivkov, won adoration from voters by building highways and improving roads so badly pot-holed that cars could lose wheels and travel across the small country could take up most of a day.
Around 2,000 Bulgarians waving GERB party flags, including farmers driving tractors and a truck full of pigs, cheered in front of parliament in support of Borisov.
"If all possibilities are exhausted...I will form an interim government, quickly and responsibly," said Plevneliev.
Borisov's administration also impressed foreign portfolio investors by freezing wages and pensions and cracking down on the grey economy by digitally linking firms ranging from the largest factory to the smallest kiosk to the tax office.
But those moves angered many in the Black Sea state of 7.3 million, who are also frustrated at his failure to make good on his 2009 election pledge to stamp out endemic corruption and reform inefficient healthcare and education systems.
"Am I pleased with Borisov's resignation? He's just the same as the ones before. They're all corrupt and they don't care about people," said Filip Ivanov, a 37-year-old taxi driver.
Borisov's popularity has suffered due to growing frustration over the slow plod from poverty of a country which has failed to grow convincingly since recession hit in 2009. Living standards are about 45 percent of the EU average, the bloc's lowest.
For many here, where wages average about 400 euros a month and pensions about half that, the final straw was winter power bills which at times exceeded incomes due to price rises that began to bite as temperatures fell.
In protests this month, tens of thousands blocked roads and some clashed with police and attacked offices of power distributors CEZ, Czech Energo Pro and Austrian EVN. The utilities say the increase was in line with a government approved hike in prices last year and said they had done nothing wrong.
Borisov's threat to strip CEZ of its power distribution license has also put Sofia at odds with fellow European Union member the Czech Republic and raised eyebrows over its adherence to the bloc's stipulation that its members follow due process.
But Bulgaria's power regulator appeared to soften its stance slightly on Wednesday, saying CEZ may be able to keep its license if it reverses violations of the public procurement law. CEZ shares fell 2.8 percent on Thursday to a four-year low and Prague urged the European Union to step in.
Before stepping down, Borisov tried to appease voters by sacking Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, a lightning rod for criticism for his leading the charge on belt tightening, and promising a cut in power bills as of March.
For their part, the Socialists have pledged to raise taxes on the rich and scrap a flat 10 percent income tax rate it introduced in 2009 They also want to raise the minimum wage, restart the Russian-backed Belene nuclear power project and to impose strict control on utilities and fight monopolies. that has been a draw for foreign investors.
(Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bulgaria-faces-deadlock-government-quits-162715010--business.html
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