Greek dog that hounded debt monitors is free again

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Ruby the anti-austerity dog is back on the streets of Athens ? just in time for next week's visit by representatives of international creditors monitoring Greece's troubled finances.

The male stray gained fame this month after barking menacingly as part of a pack of dogs at European and International Monetary Fund austerity inspectors driving up to the Finance Ministry for talks.

Ruby was later captured by municipal officials and freed Friday after being observed for two weeks and showing no signs of aggressiveness.

A city statement said Ruby's detention followed a complaint that he bit a man, and wasn't linked with the ministry incident. Dogs often follow anti-austerity protesters in Athens.

Recession-crippled Greece is being kept afloat by international bailouts, released following regular assessments of demanded cutbacks and reforms.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-03-29-EU-ODD-Greece-Anti-Austerity-Dog/id-a63e38e516d64f42ae2671b51680ecfa

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Veterans fight changes to disability payments

In this March 24, 2013 photo, former Marine Corps Cpl. Marshall Archer, left, a veterans' liaison for the city of Portland, Maine, speaks to a man on a street in Portland. Veterans groups are rallying to fight any proposal to change disability payments as the federal government attempts to address its long-term debt problem. They say they've sacrificed already. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

In this March 24, 2013 photo, former Marine Corps Cpl. Marshall Archer, left, a veterans' liaison for the city of Portland, Maine, speaks to a man on a street in Portland. Veterans groups are rallying to fight any proposal to change disability payments as the federal government attempts to address its long-term debt problem. They say they've sacrificed already. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

In this March 24, 2013 photo, veterans' liaison Marshall Archer, a former Marine Corps corporal, poses for a photo in Portland, Maine. Veterans groups are rallying to fight any proposal to change disability payments as the federal government attempts to address its long-term debt problem. They say they've sacrificed already. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Veterans groups are rallying to fight any proposal to change disability payments as the federal government attempts to address its long-term debt problem. They say they've sacrificed already.

Government benefits are adjusted according to inflation, and President Barack Obama has endorsed using a slightly different measure of inflation to calculate Social Security benefits. Benefits would still grow but at a slower rate.

Advocates for the nation's 22 million veterans fear that the alternative inflation measure would also apply to disability payments to nearly 4 million veterans as well as pension payments for an additional 500,000 low-income veterans and surviving families.

"I think veterans have already paid their fair share to support this nation," said the American Legion's Louis Celli. "They've paid it in lower wages while serving, they've paid it through their wounds and sacrifices on the battlefield and they're paying it now as they try to recover from those wounds."

Economists generally agree that projected long-term debt increases stemming largely from the growth in federal health care programs pose a threat to the country's economic competitiveness. Addressing the threat means difficult decisions for lawmakers and pain for many constituents in the decades ahead.

But the veterans' groups point out that their members bore the burden of a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the past month, they've held news conferences on Capitol Hill and raised the issue in meetings with lawmakers and their staffs. They'll be closely watching the unveiling of the president's budget next month to see whether he continues to recommend the change.

Obama and others support changing the benefit calculations to a variation of the Consumer Price Index, a measure called "chained CPI." The conventional CPI measures changes in retail prices of a constant marketbasket of goods and services. Chained CPI considers changes in the quantity of goods purchased as well as the prices of those goods. If the price of steak goes up, for example, many consumers will buy more chicken, a cheaper alternative to steak, rather than buying less steak or going without meat.

Supporters argue that chained CPI is a truer indication of inflation because it measures changes in consumer behavior. It also tends to be less than the conventional CPI, which would impact how cost-of-living raises are computed.

Under the current inflation update, monthly disability and pension payments increased 1.7 percent this year. Under chained CPI, those payments would have increased 1.4 percent.

The Congressional Budget Office projects that moving to chained CPI would trim the deficit by nearly $340 billion over the next decade. About two-thirds of the deficit closing would come from less spending and the other third would come from additional revenue because of adjustments that tax brackets would undergo.

Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow in economic studies at The Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, said she understands why veterans, senior citizens and others have come out against the change, but she believes it's necessary.

"We are in an era where benefits are going to be reduced and revenues are going to rise. There's just no way around that. We're on an unsustainable fiscal course," Sawhill said. "Dealing with it is going to be painful, and the American public has not yet accepted that. As long as every group keeps saying, 'I need a carve-out, I need an exception,' this is not going to work."

Sawhill argued that making changes now will actually make it easier for veterans in the long run.

"The longer we wait to make these changes, the worse the hole we'll be in and the more draconian the cuts will have to be," she said.

That's not the way Sen. Bernie Sanders sees it. The chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs said he recently warned Obama that every veterans group he knows of has come out strongly against changing the benefit calculations for disability benefits and pensions by using chained CPI.

"I don't believe the American people want to see our budget balanced on the backs of disabled veterans. It's especially absurd for the White House, which has been quite generous in terms of funding for the VA," said Sanders, I-Vt. "Why they now want to do this, I just don't understand."

Sanders succeeded in getting the Senate to approve an amendment last week against changing how the cost-of-living increases are calculated, but the vote was largely symbolic. Lawmakers would still have a decision to make if moving to chained CPI were to be included as part of a bargain on taxes and spending.

Sanders' counterpart on the House side, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, appears at least open to the idea of going to chained CPI.

"My first priority is ensuring that America's more than 20 million veterans receive the care and benefits they have earned, but with a national debt fast approaching $17 trillion, Washington's fiscal irresponsibility may threaten the very provision of veterans' benefits," Miller said. "Achieving a balanced budget and reducing our national debt will help us keep the promises America has made to those who have worn the uniform, and I am committed to working with Democrats and Republicans to do just that."

Marshall Archer, 30, a former Marine Corps corporal who served two stints in Iraq, has a unique perspective about the impact of slowing the growth of veterans' benefits. He collects disability payments to compensate him for damaged knees and shoulders as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. He also works as a veterans' liaison for the city of Portland, Maine, helping some 200 low-income veterans find housing.

Archer notes that on a personal level, the reduction in future disability payments would also be accompanied down the road by a smaller Social Security check when he retires. That means he would take a double hit to his income.

"We all volunteered to serve, so we all volunteered to sacrifice," he said. "I don't believe that you should ever ask those who have already volunteered to sacrifice to then sacrifice again."

That said, Archer indicated he would be willing to "chip in" if he believes that everyone is required to give as well.

He said he's more worried about the veterans he's trying to help find a place to sleep. About a third of his clients rely on VA pension payments averaging just over $1,000 a month. He said their VA pension allows them to pay rent, heat their home and buy groceries, but that's about it.

"This policy, if it ever went into effect, would actually place those already in poverty in even more poverty," Archer said.

The changes that would occur by using the slower inflation calculation seem modest at first. For a veteran with no dependents who has a 60 percent disability rating, the use of chained CPI this year would have lowered the veteran's monthly payments by $3 a month. Instead of getting $1,026 a month, the veteran would have received $1,023.

Raymond Kelly, legislative director for Veterans of Foreign Wars, acknowledged that veterans would see little change in their income during the first few years of the change. But even a $36 hit over the course of a year is "huge" for many of the disabled veterans living on the edge, he said.

The amount lost over time becomes more substantial as the years go by. Sanders said that a veteran with a 100 percent disability rating who begins getting payments at age 30 would see their annual payments trimmed by more than $2,300 a year when they turn 55.

.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-30-Budget%20Battle-Veterans/id-b9c15cb1e32e4b0a8fbe3cc49bdeff51

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Oklahoma: Dental clinic inspections not necessary

Dentist Alice G. Boghosian removes packages of properly sterilized dental instruments from an autoclave that uses heat and steam to sterilize the tools Friday, March 29, 2013, in Chicago. Health officials in Oklahoma are calling an oral surgeon there who used dirty equipment and risked cross-contamination a ?menace to public health? and are urging thousands of his patients to seek medical screenings for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Though officials say such situations involving dental clinics are rare, Dr. Matt Messina, a dentist in Cleveland, and a consumer advisor for the American Dental Association, says patients should ask their dentist and oral surgeon about the steps they and their staffs take to sterilize equipment. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Dentist Alice G. Boghosian removes packages of properly sterilized dental instruments from an autoclave that uses heat and steam to sterilize the tools Friday, March 29, 2013, in Chicago. Health officials in Oklahoma are calling an oral surgeon there who used dirty equipment and risked cross-contamination a ?menace to public health? and are urging thousands of his patients to seek medical screenings for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Though officials say such situations involving dental clinics are rare, Dr. Matt Messina, a dentist in Cleveland, and a consumer advisor for the American Dental Association, says patients should ask their dentist and oral surgeon about the steps they and their staffs take to sterilize equipment. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Dentist Alice G. Boghosian shows a package of properly sterilized dental instruments before they are unwrapped along with a cassette filled with more sterilized instruments, lower left, Friday, March 29, 2013, in Chicago. Health officials in Oklahoma are calling an oral surgeon there who used dirty equipment and risked cross-contamination a ?menace to public health? and are urging thousands of his patients to seek medical screenings for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Though officials say such situations involving dental clinics are rare, Dr. Matt Messina, a dentist in Cleveland, and a consumer advisor for the American Dental Association, says patients should ask their dentist and oral surgeon about the steps they and their staffs take to sterilize equipment. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

Map locates city where health officials are urging 7000 patients of Oklahoma dentist Dr. W. Scott Harrington to seek testing for hepatitis or HIV.

This photo taken Thursday, March 28, 2013 shows the office of oral surgeon W. Scott Harrington in Tulsa, Okla. Health officials have urged Harrington?s patients to undergo hepatitis and HIV testing, saying filthy conditions at his office posed a threat to his 7,000 clients and made him a "menace to the public health." (AP Photo/Justin Juozapavicius)

TULSA, Okla. (AP) ? The Oklahoma agency that accused a Tulsa oral surgeon of unsanitary practices, putting thousands of people at risk for hepatitis and HIV, says it's never needed to inspect medical offices regularly.

"This doesn't happen," Susan Rogers, the executive director of the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry, said Friday. "There's not been a need for these inspections because we've never had a complaint like this."

That's not unusual. Some other states don't routinely inspect clinics, either, noting they don't have the money and such incidents are so rare that the need just isn't there.

In Oklahoma, the Board of Dentistry's small staff does inspections only if the agency receives a complaint. That's what happened in the case of Dr. W. Scott Harrington, whose practice was inspected after officials determined a patient may have contracted hepatitis C while having dental surgery.

State epidemiologist Kristy Bradley and Tulsa Health Department Director Bruce Dart sent letters Friday to all 7,000 patients they found in Harrington's 6-year-old records, urging them to be screened for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and the virus that causes AIDS because of unsafe practices at his two clinics. More patients may be at risk, but Harrington's files go back only to 2007.

"Although we do not know whether you were personally exposed to blood-borne viruses, there is a possibility that you may have been exposed to infectious material," they wrote, acknowledging their discovery could be "alarming and frightening" for the patients.

Rogers' office filed a 17-count complaint against Harrington, saying officials found rusty instruments, potentially contaminated drug vials and improper use of a machine designed to sterilize tools.

According to guidelines from the American Dental Association, of which Harrington was listed as a member Friday, to keep their licenses dentists must stay up to date on the latest scientific and clinical developments.

Rogers noted that dentists know they could close their licenses if they violate health codes, so they are motivated to "do the right thing" ? clean their instruments, inspect drug cabinets for outdated or expired medicines and require staff to be trained.

Rogers said the Oklahoma board will consider changes in its practices but that it was too early to provide specifics.

In Colorado, where an oral surgeon was accused of reusing needles and syringes, the state doesn't routinely inspect dental offices. No changes were made to that policy after the 2012 incident.

"We respond if there is a complaint," spokesman Mark Salley said in a telephone interview Friday. "I don't know of any agency in this department that has the resources to conduct routine inspections of private practices."

California, too, responds only if a problem is reported.

"We are complaint-driven. Inspections are not routine. We're looking at 30,000-plus dentists in California alone," said Kim Trefry, the enforcement chief at the Dental Board of California.

Dr. Douglas Dieterich, a professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, called the Oklahoma case "an anomaly."

"There's all sorts of codes. The employees are watching. The patients are watching. With all the news reports of mini-epidemics caused by unsafe practices, I think everybody is" more careful, Dieterich said.

Harrington had been a dentist for 36 years before giving up his license March 20. He faces an April 19 hearing at which he could have his certification revoked.

Lydia Miller, director of communications for the Oklahoma Dental Association, said Harrington was a member of the organization until Thursday, when health officials branded him a "menace to the public health." Oklahoma has between 2,000 and 2,200 dentists; 1,600 belong to the ODA.

Until Thursday, the state Dentistry Board had had no problem with Harrington. Rogers said the agency, which is funded from license fees that range from $25 for a dental assistant's annual certificate renewal to $500 for an initial license testing fee, has only a $1 million budget and five employees to monitor dentists serving 3.8 million residents. She said the board concentrates primarily on complaints involving missing drugs and possible sexual misconduct.

Harrington could not be reached for comment Friday. His malpractice lawyer, Jim Secrest II, did not respond to phone messages left Thursday or Friday. A message at Harrington's Tulsa office said it was closed and an answering service referred callers to the Tulsa Health Department.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, there have been only three documents cases of a dental patient contracting either HIV or hepatitis B from a dental procedure: HIV in Florida in 1991 and hepatitis B in New Mexico in 2001 and West Virginia in 2009.

The CDC in 2003 established infection control guidelines for dental offices, including rules about hand hygiene and sterilization of dental instruments, but inspections are left to the states.

According to the Oklahoma Dentistry Board's complaint, Harrington's practice had varying cleaning procedures for its equipment, needles were re-inserted in drug vials after their initial use, drug vials were used on multiple patients and the office had no written infection-protection procedure. Also, dental assistants performed some tasks reserved to a licensed dentist, such as administering IV sedation. A device used to sterilize equipment hadn't undergone required monthly tests in at least six years.

Hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV are typically spread through intravenous drug use or unprotected sex.

___

Associated Press writers Tim Talley in Oklahoma City and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-29-US-Dentist-Investigation-Testing/id-bd1b810412644fd7a60c4c9221d0690c

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News Reports About Obama Girls' Vacation Disappear From the ...

Getty Images

News stories regarding the Obama daughters? purported vacation destinations appear to be disappearing from the Internet at the request of the White House, a repeat of a similar occurrence that happened when Malia Obama took a trip to Mexico last year.

Idaho?s KMVT-TV deleted a story about Sasha and Malia Obama taking a ski trip to Sun Valley, Idaho, during their spring break this week, and Us magazine did the same with a report about first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters going to the Bahamas. Breitbart News reported Monday that the Obama girls were going to the Bahamas and named the resort where they were said to be staying.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment from TheBlaze about the deleted stories, but Breitbart posted a statement from Michelle Obama?s communications director affirming that the KMVT report was pulled at the administration?s request.

?From the beginning of the administration, the White House has asked news outlets not to report on or photograph the Obama children when they are not with their parents and there is no vital news interest. We have reminded outlets of this request in order to protect the privacy and security of these girls,? first lady communications director Kristina Schake said, an identical statement to the one given after Malia Obama went to Mexico last year.

Image source: KMVT-TV

Image source: Us magazine

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) on Wednesday ripped the president for sending his daughters on vacation for spring break after so many dire warnings about budget sequestration.

Speaking on an Iowa radio show, King was responding to a caller who said watching the Obama girls go on vacation was ?hard to stomach.?

?You?re on point and on the mark all the way through,? King said, in remarks flagged by the liberal site ThinkProgress. ?You?re right on the president. I mean, he needs to show some austerity himself?he sent the daughters to spring break in Mexico a year ago. That was at our expense too. And now to the Bahamas at one of the most expensive places there. That is the wrong image to be coming out of the White House.?

It?s custom for the president?s family to pay for their own vacation expenses, while costs for security and White House staff are picked up by taxpayers.

Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/29/news-reports-about-obama-girls-vacation-disappear-from-the-web-but-how-odd-is-it-really/

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Unlike AT&T, Verizon reportedly putting promotional muscle behind BlackBerry Z10 launch

By Martyn Herman LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Whether by design, necessity, self-interest or because of all three, nurturing youngsters has become fashionable for England's elite with no expense spared in the hunt for the new Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard. The length and breadth of the country, scouts from top clubs are hoovering up promising footballers barely old enough to tie their bootlaces in a bid to unearth the 30 million pounds ($45.40 million) treasures of the future. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unlike-t-verizon-reportedly-putting-promotional-muscle-behind-142056565.html

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Ouya consoles now shipping to Kickstarter backers

Folks who funded the Ouya Kickstarter project need to start checking their mailboxes, as units have started shipping

As we mentioned just a month ago, Ouya is shipping out consoles to Kickstarter backers as of today (March 28). Folks who pledged $95 or more to help fund the project will receive the units on a rolling schedule, and everyone should have their Ouya in hand in the next few weeks. You'll be notified via email when your unit ships.

Ouya founder Julie Uhrman wants to remind everyone of a few things while you're waiting. There will be a system update out of the box, so be prepared for that. Users will also need a valid credit or debit card to download games, but they will remain free to try. Finally, while the units come with one controller, support for up to four is included and you can purchase more at their website.

The Ouya project is poised to take Android gaming to another level, with the right price and decent specs. Of course, having a fully functional Android device hooked up to your television can be a lot of fun as well. We're expecting big things as units ship out, and by the time the devices launch in early June we're sure there will be an expert or two in the Ouya forums.

More: Ouya

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/xwBcAdghBCA/story01.htm

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Selling SEO to the C-Suite - Search Engine Watch (#SEW)

?Search sits at the core of online behavior. People spend more time on the Internet than watching TV. What customers put in the search bar is the expression of intent?, said Seth Besmertnik, CEO of Conductor, and presenter at the SEO in the Boardroom: Tangible Search Metrics session at SES New York. The session emphasized the importance of executive buy-in when it comes to investing in organic search, and a wealth of tips on how to go about winning it.

A Compelling Case for Investment in Organic Search

?SEO is about optimizing content so people can find it. Many people play a role in various stages of creating content, yet SEO often has no functional ownership of this process. It is imperative to get the C-suite engaged?, said Besmertnik. Before traveling down the path of strategy and implementation, you must first sell the C-Suite on making the investment in SEO.

Organic search is the indisputable leader in driving traffic that will convert to a website. Yet, it remains among of the lowest funding priorities when it comes to the website or marketing budget. Search marketing often attracts more of the budget, despite the fact that organic search delivers a higher rate of lead to close conversion than paid search, referral, social media, or outbound marketing.

Despite the facts, ?organic search remains the most under-funded activity in web marketing?, said Besmertnik. He referenced data provided by Forrester and comScore indicating that allocation of search engine budgets is upside down.

While a mere 8 percent of search engine clicks come from paid search, 89 percent of the search budget is invested in search engine marketing. Conversely, while 92 percent of search engine clicks are organic in origin, a mere 11 percent of the search engine budget is invested in organic search.

Besmertnik shared that when his organization inquired, organizations would reveal how little they invest in organic search. He used an example of a $100,000 per month budget where 10 percent spend on organic would be considered high, a mere 1 percent of the budget allocated to organic SEO is more the norm.

This could be discouraging to those championing SEO to the leadership team within their own organization, or that of a client. Fortunately, the facts are in the favor of SEO as a qualified investment. It is just a matter of communicating them to the right people, in a way they will understand and can respond to.

Speak Their Language

Besmertnik explained, ?most technical SEO professionals fail to communicate effectively with CEOs. They dive into details about link profiles, canonical URLs, missing alt tags, etc.? A technical discussion creates a technical barrier. Resist the temptation to dazzle them with terms you may use as a technician of your craft and focus instead on terms management is familiar with and understands.

One of the easiest ways to sell anything to the CEO, CFO, CMO, CTO, CIO or any other C-level executive, is to communicate with data. At the executive level, hype and industry trends mean very little until they directly impact the competitive edge and profitability of an organization.

Use Data to Demonstrate SEO Performance

To appeal to bottom-line focused executives, performance and ROI of any investment will be more heavily scrutinized than anywhere else in the organization. Which works to your advantage, when you are prepared to sell SEO.

A million people die, it?s a statistic, one person dies and its tragic. The same applies to keywords. CEOs actually care about keywords, perhaps even including the CEO?s name. Provide granular data that enables them to identify goals and view performance.

And, never forget there is a lot of ego and emotion invested in succeeding. Besmertnik reminds us that leadership, across the board, does not want to be beat by their competition or out-performed.

SEO is on the Rise

SEO as a skillset is on the rise. The number of SEO jobs increasing over the past year or two. And, Besmertnik shared that Conductor tracks the number of people on LinkedIn with SEO in their title or description - that number has jumped from 250,000 professionals in 2011, to 500,000 professionals in 2012.

In fact, some CEOs and executives from the C-Suite may consider themselves to be the SEO. For executives and other professionals who believe they know more than then they really do, satiate their desire to be engaged with frequent sharing of information, the way they want to see it. Or, educate them on focus of big picture for results, not just granular performance of one specific keyword.

Moderator Simon Heseltine, Director of SEO at AOL, suggested, ?when the CEO or other executives show interest in being more hands-on, offer them two options to participate, based on how to be involved if they wish to be.?

ROI and Revenue

Once you?ve sold the C-Suite on SEO, it will command budgetary investment as long as it delivers. Demonstrating ROI is an imperative when it comes to organic search.

As Besmertnik explains, even if you removed every hint of organic search traffic, you?d still get some level of search traffic. So, measuring performance can be as easy as subtracting the revenue generated by doing ?nothing? from the revenue generated to determine ROI of SEO.

He presented the following equation to illustrate:

SEO Revenue
- Revenue You?d Get From Doing Nothing
= ROI from SEO Investment

The following grid was presented by Besmertnik to gauge ROI of SEO.

The top right if the chart represents the highest ROI. The bottom left represents the lowest ROI.

To be even more accurate, calculate costs of SEO that impact other roles and outcomes (cost of talent, crossover of data utilized for Paid search, programming, design, etc.) which expand the perceived value of investments made in natural search to the organization.

KPIs and Milestones

Search ranking data may not be enough to demonstrate SEO performance. To increase understanding, Besmertnik suggests referencing specific KPIs and milestones, such as how many keywords appear on page one of SERPs, rank, URLs appearing in search, competitive comparison an positioning, as well as notations of events that impact search performance (server upgrades, impact of Panda, Penguin, etc.).

Engage the C-Suite

The session could have stopped there, but there was much more ground to cover. Chuck Price, CEO of Measurable SEO, jumped right into SEO in the Boardroom. He began his presentation by emphasizing that success in SEO no longer merely means being at the top of Page 1. Although SERPs are still a good indicator of success, you cannot judge overall success by these metrics alone.

Synchronize Business and SEO

?Business and SEO must be in sync. No buy-in, no sale,? Price said. ?If you cannot achieve buy-in from C-Suite, you will not attract the budget to execute your awesome marketing plan.?

He began the discussion asking ?Remember when it was easy to demonstrate SEO value?? It used to be Page 1 Ranking = Success. Today, rankings and traffic need to yield measurable improvement in revenues and profits. Price used several key topics to illustrate exactly how SEO can positively impact the bottom line.

SEO is Multi-Faceted

Price credited Eric Schmidt of Google, author of "The New Digital Age", due to be released on April 23, 2013 with the quote ?Authorship is the next big thing?. Price explained that essentially authorship = rankings, lack of authorship = anonymity.

Price emphasizes ranking on the long tail, not just head phrases. He also mentioned the value of other assets, explaining an optimized photo can now get more clicks than a page when properly optimized.

He encourages SEO professionals to tap into visibility metrics to identify top content in order to replicate and expand it, and identify the weakest content to be eliminated or revamped. In the context of referrals, Price recommends identifying ?most linked to? content and marketing it to attract organic referrals.

Price also offered a stream of valuable tips.

How to Promote Consensus Around SEO

• Find a Cheerleader:?Leverage social media, relationships to create an internal champion for your cause.
• Objections are inevitable:?Be prepared to show ROI with Plan A, have a back-up Plan B and C if budget is an issue.
• Neutralize Naysayers:?People don't like change. Seek someone that person trusts to help you win them over.
• Offer Metrics-Based Engagement:?No performance, no payment.
• Show you have their best interest in mind:?Develop a track-record of generous contributions, and be prepared to remind them of your contribution and attention.
• Timing is Everything:?Getting it right means asking lots of questions and offering the right solution at the right time.
• Don?t Abandon Good Ideas:?If your ideas don?t get buy-in the first time, it doesn?t mean they were bad ideas. Be prepared to try later, or adapt to circumstances.
• Make Proposal Simple and Clear:?Present proposals on a single page, perhaps with a link to the details. This increases understanding of the offer.
• Co-Create the Solution with the C-Suite:?Sometimes you need to approach the project as a team, be prepared to collaborate your way to a solution.
• Best Outcomes from Relationships and Team Collaboration:?All parties are more likely to be on board with the plan, and make sure it happens.
• What?s in it For Me:?Articulate how they will benefit from the proposed solution.
• Manage What You Measure:?Invest in what will directly impact how you will measure success (rank, keywords, landing pages, organic traffic, etc.)

Price stated that he believes that achieving the top of Page 1 may require deviation from Webmaster guidelines and the risk of a penalty by Google. I would add that the comfort level with this approach may vary by organization.

3 Tools for Measuring SEO

There were three tools mentioned by Price that SEO pros may find useful:

SEO ROI and Cost of Customer Acquisition Calculator

SEO ROI Calculator

Custom Reports ? SEO Dashboard via Jill Whalen

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Convergence Analytics: Digital Measurement in Transition
This joint report by ClickZ and Efectyv Marketing seeks to identify how the evolution of digital analytics affects and challenges practitioners, vendors, and investors. Download it today!

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2258019/Selling-SEO-to-the-C-Suite

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Orbino Padova Mini for iPad mini review

Orbino has recently released its new Padova Mini Case for the iPad mini. Like its larger sibling,?the miniPadova is a form-fitting flip-style case that is hand-stitched with thick waxed thread and constructed from fine Italian leather or rare animal skins. I have reviewed other?Orbino accessories?in the past and have yet to be disappointed in their [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/03/27/orbino-padova-mini-for-ipad-mini-review/

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Wal-Mart sues union over protests at Fla. stores

Reuters ? ? ? 1 hr.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc has sued a major grocery workers union and others who have protested at its Florida stores, the latest salvo in its legal fight to stop "disruptive" rallies in and around its stores by groups seeking better pay and working conditions.

Wal-Mart does not have union-represented workers in its U.S. stores. Nevertheless, it has long faced opposition from various labor groups including the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), and from a small but vocal group of current and former employees backed by the union and known as OUR Walmart.

The lawsuit filed on Friday in Orange County, Florida state court seeks "to help protect our customers and associates from further disruptive tactics associated with their continued, illegal trespassing," Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman said.

Defendants, however, charged that the world's biggest retailer is trying to muzzle its critics.

"This is another attempt on Wal-Mart's behalf of ... silencing their employees and also the communities that support them," Denise Diaz, executive director of Central Florida Jobs With Justice Corp and a defendant named in the suit, said before reviewing the documents.

"Rather than creating good jobs with steady hours and affordable healthcare, Walmart's pattern is to focus its energies on infringing on our freedom of speech," the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), also a defendant, said in a statement.

Other defendants include the 1.3 million-member UFCW and the individuals Angela Williamson, Alex Rivera, and Alan Hanson.

The UFCW was not immediately able to comment on the lawsuit.

Wal-Mart alleged that the defendants violated Florida law through coordinated, statewide acts of trespass in several Walmart stores over the last eight months. It has asked the court for a legal ruling that would prevent future trespassing.

In the lawsuit Wal-Mart cited an example where a group of protesters projected a video promoting OUR Walmart on the side of a store in Orlando and passing out literature inside that store in July, 2012.

It alleged that a group of UFCW demonstrators returned to that same store on October 30, 2012 and "confronted the store manager and handed him a rotten pumpkin painted in support of OUR Walmart. The group left the store only after the manager warned that he had called the police."

Wal-Mart filed an unfair labor practice charge against the UFCW in November, asking the National Labor Relations Board to halt what the retailer said were unlawful attempts to disrupt its business in several states including protests that were planned for Black Friday, the busy shopping day right after Thanksgiving. In January, labor groups said that they would stop much of their picketing against the chain, while still trying to push the company to improve working conditions.

The case is Wal-Mart Stores Inc v. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union et al, 9th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Orange County, No. 2013-CA-004293.

Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/29faa3ed/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cwal0Emart0Esues0Eunion0Eover0Eprotests0Efla0Estores0E1B90A65443/story01.htm

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Sales of new US homes slip 4.6 percent in February

In this Feb. 25, 2013 photo, a new townhouse is under construction at the Crossings adult community in Colonie, N.Y. Sales of new homes fell in February after climbing to the highest level in more than four years in January. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

In this Feb. 25, 2013 photo, a new townhouse is under construction at the Crossings adult community in Colonie, N.Y. Sales of new homes fell in February after climbing to the highest level in more than four years in January. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

In this Feb. 25, 2013 photo, a new townhouse is under construction at the Crossings adult community in Colonie, N.Y. Sales of new homes fell in February after climbing to the highest level in more than four years in January. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Sales of new homes fell in February after climbing to the highest level in more than four years in January.

Sales of new homes dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000 in February, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That is a decline of 4.6 percent from the January level of 431,000, which had been the strongest sales pace since September 2008.

The decline in February still left sales 12.3 percent higher than a year ago. While sales remain below the 700,000 level considered healthy, the housing recovery is gaining strength and is starting to look sustainable. Steady job creation and near record-low mortgage rates are spurring sales.

The median price of a new home sold in February was $246,800, up 2.9 percent from a year ago.

By region of the country, sales were up only in the Midwest, which saw a 13.7 percent increase. Sales fell in every other region, led by a 13.3 percent drop in the Northeast, where severe winter weather likely dampened activity. Sales were down 9.7 percent in the South and fell 2.1 percent in the West.

Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes rose 0.8 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million units. That was the fastest sales pace since November 2009 when a temporary home buyer tax credit had boosted sales.

The rise in demand is helping to boost sales and prices in most markets. Low inventories have been a problem but the Realtors reported a gain in the number of homes on the market at the end of February compared to January. It was the first monthly rise in inventories of previously owned homes since April although the increase still left the total 19 percent below a year ago.

But analysts saw the increase as a hopeful sign that more homeowners are gaining confidence in the housing recovery and becoming willing to put their homes up for sale, helping to alleviate an inventory squeeze which had held back sales in many markets.

Low inventories are just one of several constraints. First-time home buyers are viewed as critical to any sustainable housing recovery, but their numbers are still below healthy levels. They made up 30 percent of existing home sales in February, still well below the 40 percent that is typical in a healthy market.

Since the housing bubble burst more than six years ago, banks have imposed tighter credit conditions and required larger down payments. Those changes have left many would-be buyers unable to qualify for the super-low mortgage rates which have been spurred by the Federal Reserve's efforts to ease credit as a way to give the economy a boost.

Rising demand for homes has encouraged builders to boost construction. Builders started work at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 910,000 in February, the second fastest pace since June 2008. Applications for building permits rose to 946,000, the highest level since June 2008.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-26-New%20Home%20Sales/id-9eada2c066634eb3a9e67e78635c9a83

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TOBI Podhaler: FDA OKs Inhaler To Treat Lung Infection In Cystic Fibrosis Patients

March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators approved on Friday a hand-held inhaler made by Swiss drug maker Novartis AG to treat a type of bacterial lung infection that often affects cystic fibrosis patients.
Novartis's TOBI Podhaler contains a dry powder formulation of tobramycin, an antibiotic used to treat lung infection caused by the pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
"This product is the first dry powder antibacterial drug delivered with a handheld dry powder inhaler," said Dr. Edward Cox, director of the office of antimicrobial products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
About 30,000 pediatric and adult patients in the United States are afflicted with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that causes the body to produce thick mucus that builds up in the lungs and blocks airways, the FDA said.
This build up becomes a breeding ground for bacteria such as pseudomonas aeruginosa to grow and cause lung infection.
Most cystic fibrosis patients infected with this bacteria are currently treated with a nebulizer, a larger drug delivery device that converts medication into a vapour form that can be inhaled.
The FDA approval is based on tests on 95 patients conducted using TOBI Podhaler that proved the device was effective at improving the lung function in those patients.
The antibiotic powder in Podhaler needs to be inhaled twice daily using Podhaler for 28 days, after which the therapy should be halted for the same number of days before it is resumed, the FDA said.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/25/tobi-podhaler-lung-infection-cystic-fibrosis_n_2936337.html

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C. African Republic president flees to Cameroon

In this photo taken on Friday March 22, 2013 and provided on Monday March 25, 2013 by the French Army Communications Audio visual office, French soldiers arrive at Bangui airport, Central Africa Republic. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said. (AP Photo/Elise Foucaud, ECPAD)

In this photo taken on Friday March 22, 2013 and provided on Monday March 25, 2013 by the French Army Communications Audio visual office, French soldiers arrive at Bangui airport, Central Africa Republic. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said. (AP Photo/Elise Foucaud, ECPAD)

In this photo taken on Friday March 22, 2013 and provided on Monday March 25, 2013 by the French Army Communications Audio visual office, French soldiers arrive at Bangui airport, Central Africa Republic. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said. (AP Photo/Elises Foucaud, ECPAD)

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2013 file photo, Central African Republic rebel leader Michel Djotodia arrives ahead of planned peace talks with Central African Republic's government, in Libreville, Gabon. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, March 24, after invading the capital. Seleka rebel group leader Djotodia told French radio station RFI Monday, March 25, that he is the de facto head of state and should be addressed as the president. (AP Photo/Joel Bouopda Tatou, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2013 file photo, Central African Republic rebel leader Michel Djotodia arrives ahead of planned peace talks with Central African Republic's government, in Libreville, Gabon. Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, March 24, after invading the capital. Seleka rebel group leader Djotodia told French radio station RFI Monday, March 25, that he is the de facto head of state and should be addressed as the president. (AP Photo/Joel Bouopda Tatou, File)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? The president of the Central African Republic fled the country for Cameroon after rebels overran the capital of the impoverished nation long wracked by rebellions.

South Africa said Monday that 13 of its soldiers were killed in fighting with rebels, prompting criticism about why its forces had intervened in such a volatile conflict.

Ousted President Francois Bozize sought "'temporary" refuge on its territory, the Cameroonian government confirmed Monday.

Central African Republic's new leadership appeared fragmented, with a split emerging in the rebel coalition that seized the capital.

The African Union on Monday imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on seven leaders of the rebel coalition, known as Seleka, and said their advance had undermined prospects for a lasting solution to the crisis in the landlocked country. It urged African states to deny "any sanctuary and cooperation" to the rebel chiefs.

The United States is "deeply concerned about a serious deterioration in the security situation" in Central African Republic, said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement Sunday.

"We urgently call on the Seleka leadership which has taken control of Bangui to establish law and order in the city and to restore basic services of electricity and water," the statement said.

The U.N. Security Council said in a statement that it "strongly condemned the recent attacks and the seizure of power by force in the Central African Republic" and "the ensuing violence and looting." It also denounced the violence that led to the South African casualties.

The Security Council "called on all parties to refrain from any acts of violence against civilians, including foreign communities."

The rebel groups making up the Seleka alliance agreed they wanted Bozize out. Some of the rebels complained of broken promises of government jobs and other benefits. Others cited the deep impoverishment of the country's distant north despite the Central African Republic's considerable wealth of gold, diamonds, timber and uranium.

Africa has a fraught history of foreign military missions, whether for humanitarian or political purposes, or some combination of the two, in times of conflict. The central part of the continent, repeatedly buffeted by interlocking rebellions, is particularly treacherous for countries with an activist foreign policy.

In addition to the South African troop deaths, another 27 soldiers were wounded in the country's worst loss in combat since nine soldiers died in Lesotho in 1998.

"I think South Africa realized right from the beginning that there will be casualties," said Johan Potgieter, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, in Pretoria, the South African capital. "If you want to be in peacekeeping, and you don't want body bags, you should get out of there."

South Africa's losses point to the challenges that the country faces as it tries to project continental leadership amid questions about the adequacy of its resources and the clarity of political direction from Pretoria. It has participated in peacekeeping in regions including Burundi and Darfur in Sudan.

South African troops served as trainers for the national army in the Central African Republic. But more troops were sent to protect those trainers as security deteriorated, and critics questioned the collaboration with Bozize, who came to power in a rebellion a decade ago and whose commitment to the terms of past peace deals was in doubt.

This week was meant to be triumphant for South Africa, which will host Brazil, Russia, India and China at the "BRICS" summit. South African President Jacob Zuma gave a speech on Monday that was supposed to celebrate the summit, but he devoted his first remarks to mourning for those killed in the battle in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.

Some 200 South African soldiers were deployed at the Bangui base. Estimates of the size of the rebel force that attacked them ranged from at least five to 15 times bigger, raising questions about the security precautions and reconnaissance abilities of the South African contingent.

South African troops "fought a high-tempo battle for nine hours defending the South African military base, until the bandits raised a white flag and asked for a cease-fire," Zuma said. "Our soldiers inflicted heavy casualties among the attacking bandit forces."

Gen. Solly Shoke, South Africa's military chief, said 3,000 rebels armed with mortars and heavy machine guns took part in the fighting. The bulk of the fighting occurred Saturday, though rebels contacted South African forces early Sunday to arrange and "uneasy truce," the military chief said.

South African authorities were working to identify a body, raising the possibility that the death toll would increase to 14 if it is determined the body is that of the missing serviceman.

The rebels' invasion of the capital came two months after they signed a peace agreement that would have let Bozize serve until 2016. That deal unraveled in recent days, prompting the insurgents' advance into Bangui, where French troops moved to secure the airport.

Defense analyst Helmoed Heitman said on South Africa's Radio 702 that the South African force in the Central African Republic was lightly equipped and had no aerial support. In the past, he said, South Africa turned down a deal for military transport helicopters because it could not afford them.

The Democratic Alliance, an opposition party in South Africa, said the government should explain why South African forces were deployed "in the middle of what amounted to a civil war, with so little military support."

The government of Cameroon said Bozize would be leaving for another unspecified country. There were reports of looting in Bangui amid the specter of continuing unrest.

Michel Djotodia, one of the leaders of the rebel coalition, said he considers himself to be the new head of state. Another rebel leader, Nelson N'Djadder, said he does not recognize Djotodia as president.

"We had agreed that we would push to Bangui in order to arrest Bozize and that we would then announce an 18-month transition, a transition that would be as fast as possible ? and not one that would last three years," N'Djadder told The Associated Press by telephone from Paris. "I have enough soldiers loyal to me to attack Djotodia. I am planning to take the Wednesday flight to Bangui."

N'Djadder said rebels ?not those under his command ? had pillaged homes in Bangui, including those of French expatriates.

The U.S. State Department said it was concerned about the security situation and urged the Seleka leadership to establish order and restore electricity and water.

The rebel success in the nation of 4.5 million suggests the possible backing of neighboring nations. There has been speculation that either Chad or Sudan or Gabon had provided the rebels with arms and logistical support. Djotodia rejected that claim.

The overthrow of Bozize could affect the hunt for Joseph Kony, said the commander of African troops tracking the fugitive warlord. Bozize was a strong supporter of African efforts to dismantle Kony's Lord's Resistance Army.

Ugandan Brig. Dick Olum, speaking from his South Sudanese military base in Nzara, said Monday he is concerned by past rebel statements that all foreign troops must leave the country. Some 3,350 African troops are currently deployed against the LRA in South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The U.S. also has anti-Kony military advisers in the Central African Republic.

Central African Republic has suffered instability since obtaining independence from France in 1960, including at least three coup plots in 2012, according to a December analysis by Alex Vines of the London-based Royal Institute for International Affairs. He said the European Union had spent more than 100 million euros on peace missions there since 2004.

___

Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Krista Larson in Dakar, Emmanuel Tumanjong in Yaounde, Cameroon and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda also contributed.

___

Rukmini Callimachi can be reached at www.twitter.com/rcallimachi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-25-Central%20African%20Republic-Rebels/id-dbf71cbe51b744929caa2a4042b42634

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Cyprus reaches last-minute deal on 10 billion euro bailout

By Jan Strupczewski and Michele Kambas

BRUSSELS/NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus clinched a last-ditch deal with international lenders to shut down its second-largest bank and inflict heavy losses on uninsured depositors, including wealthy Russians, in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout.

The agreement came hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system in fraught negotiations between President Nicos Anastasiades and heads of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Without a deal, Cyprus's banking system would have collapsed and the country could have become the first to crash out of the European single currency.

Swiftly backed by euro zone finance ministers, the plan will spare the Mediterranean island a financial meltdown by winding down the largely state-owned Popular Bank of Cyprus, also known as Laiki, and shifting deposits below 100,000 euros to the Bank of Cyprus to create a "good bank".

Deposits above 100,000 euros in both banks, which are not guaranteed under EU law, will be frozen and used to resolve Laiki's debts and recapitalize Bank of Cyprus through a deposit/equity conversion.

The raid on uninsured Laiki depositors is expected to raise 4.2 billion euros, Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijssebloem said.

Laiki will effectively be shuttered, with thousands of job losses. Officials said senior bondholders in Laiki would be wiped out and those in Bank of Cyprus would have to make a contribution.

An EU spokesman said no across-the-board levy or tax would be imposed on deposits in Cypriot banks, although the hit on large account holders in the two biggest banks is likely to be far greater than initially planned. A first attempt at a deal last week collapsed when the Cypriot parliament rejected a proposed levy on all deposits.

UNFORESEEABLE CONSEQUENCES

Cyprus government spokesman Christos Stylianides said: "We averted a disorderly bankruptcy which would have led to an exit of Cyprus from the euro zone with unforeseeable consequences."

Asked about the level of losses on uninsured depositors in Bank of Cyprus, he told state radio: "The assessment is that it will be under or around 30 percent."

The Cyprus central bank said the agreement had also avoided the disorderly default of Laiki Bank.

Among Cypriots, there was a mood of wariness about the deal.

"How long will it last?" asked Georgia Xenophontos, 23, a hotel receptionist in Nicosia. "Why should anyone believe anything this government says?"

But many in the capital appeared intent on enjoying a sunny holiday morning, drinking coffee at pavement cafes and watching camera crews filming people drawing money from bank machines.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Cypriot lawmakers would not need to vote on the new scheme, since they had already enacted a law on procedures for bank resolution.

At a news conference in Berlin, Schaeuble said the agreement was "much better" from Germany's perspective than the deal last week that would have hit small depositors and was rejected by the Cypriot parliament.

The new deal offers the country the best chance of getting back on its feet, Schaeuble said.

Anastasiades is expected to make a statement at some point after his return to Cyprus at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

Lefteris Christoforou, vice-chairman of the ruling Democratic Rally party, said it was important that Cyprus had avoided a chaotic bankruptcy. "It is a bad deal, but the extreme scenario we had to contend with was worse."

RESIGNATION THREAT

A senior source in the Brussels talks said Anastasiades threatened to resign at one stage on Sunday if pushed too far.

The Conservative leader, barely a month in office and wrestling with Cyprus's worst crisis since a 1974 invasion by Turkish forces split the island in two, was forced to abandon his efforts to shield big account holders.

Diplomats said the president had fought hard to preserve the country's business model as an offshore financial center drawing huge sums from wealthy Russians and Britons but had lost.

The EU and IMF required that Cyprus raise 5.8 billion euros from its banking sector towards its own financial rescue in return for 10 billion euros in international loans. The head of the EU rescue fund said Cyprus should receive the first emergency funds in May.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said the agreement was "a comprehensive and credible plan" that addresses the core problem of the banking system.

"This agreement provides the basis for restoring trust in the banking system, which is key to supporting growth," she said in a statement.

With banks closed for the last week, the Central Bank of Cyprus imposed a 100-euro daily limit on withdrawals from cash machines at the two biggest banks to avert a run.

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici rejected charges that the EU had brought Cypriots to their knees, saying it was the island's offshore business model that had failed.

"To all those who say that we are strangling an entire people ... Cyprus is a casino economy that was on the brink of bankruptcy," he said.

The euro gained against the dollar on the news in early Asian trading.

Analysts had said failure to clinch a deal could have caused a financial market sell-off, but some said the island's small size - it accounts for just 0.2 percent of the euro zone's economic output - would have limited contagion.

Cyprus's banking sector, with assets eight times the size of the economy, has been crippled by exposure to Greece, where private bondholders suffered a 75 percent "haircut" last year.

Without a deal by the end of Monday, the ECB said it would have cut off emergency funds to the banks, spelling certain collapse and potentially pushing the country out of the euro.

Under the bailout agreement, Laiki's ECB funds will pass to Bank of Cyprus, and the central bank will "provide liquidity to BoC in line with applicable rules".

Anticipating a run when banks reopen on Tuesday, parliament has given the government powers to impose capital controls.

On Tuesday, the 56-seat parliament had rejected a levy on depositors, big and small. Finance Minister Michael Sarris then spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens and companies have billions of euros at stake in Cypriot banks.

The tottering banks held 68 billion euros in deposits, including 38 billion in accounts of more than 100,000 euros - enormous sums for an island of 1.1 million people that could never sustain such a big financial system on its own.

(Additional reporting by Luke Baker, John O'Donnell, Robin Emmott, Philip Blenkinsop and Rex Merrifield in Brussels, Michele Kambas, Karolina Tagaris, Costas Pitas in Nicosia and Lionel Laurent in Paris. Writing by Paul Taylor, editing by Giles Elgood and Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-eu-imf-agree-draft-proposal-rescue-banks-002707963.html

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Catholic Church in Scotland has covered up culture of sexual bullying among priests, claims serving Father

[Another diocese in the clutches of a gay mafia (with the connivance of its bishop)?]

Catholic Church in Scotland has covered up culture of sexual bullying among priests, claims serving Father
FATHER Matthew Despard says sexual misconduct is rife throughout the church and a ?powerful gay mafia? bully and intimidate other priests

Kenny Anderson
24 Mar 2013

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/catholic-church-scotland-covered-up-1782068

A SERVING priest has accused the Catholic Church in Scotland of covering up a culture of sexual bullying by a powerful gay mafia.

Father Matthew Despard, 48, says sexual misconduct has been rife in junior seminaries, where priests are trained, for decades.

And he claims that when he alerted Church authorities to inappropriate sexual conduct, nothing was done.

Fr Despard, the parish priest of St John Ogilvie church in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire, says he fears for the future of his Church if no action is taken to end the scandal.

He has taken the difficult decision to publish a book on his experiences, Priesthood in Crisis.

Yesterday, he admitted he had struggled with his conscience before going ahead with publication.

The book was first written in 2010 but he self-published it on Amazon?s Kindle store last week in the wake of the resignation of Cardinal Keith O?Brien.

In the bombshell book, Fr Despard writes: ?My concern is that if we don?t face up to what is happening in reality, the Church will suffer enormous damage.

?The accusations I have been making may appear intolerable to some and truly I have trouble making them.

?Over and over, I have to continue to convince myself to keep writing despite the prejudicial nature of what I have to say.

?But so much of the problematic state of the priesthood stems from the junior seminaries, where training took place cut off from the world, that were laws unto themselves, where abuse became so rife that many had to be closed.

?The Catholic Church here in Scotland, and I am ashamed to admit this, has justified itself to Catholic papers by telling lie after lie, denying charges that are true, and claiming they have been defamed when the facts reported in the press are quite simply true.?

The priest?s shocking revelations will be another blow to the Church hierarchy, already reeling from the claims that Cardinal O?Brien tried to seduce a number of trainee priests.

The 74-year-old quit as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh after the accusations by former and serving priests emerged.

Fr Despard says in his book that he was the victim of inappropriate approaches during his time as a seminarian.

And he claims that trainee priests who rebuffed the advances of others were frozen out and subjected to bullying.

He reveals that his his first brush with inappropriate behaviour came when he was a student at Chesters College ? later renamed Scotus College ? in Bearsden in the late 1980s.

He wrote: ?One or two students tried to kiss me when I was there. I did not know what to make of that, whether they were just playing with me or perhaps testing me.

?As it was, the only response I could make was that I was not of the inclination that would engage in that kind of behaviour.?

But he claims that after expressing his distaste, he became a victim of verbal abuse as well as bullying.

He said: ?I became much more aware of the types of individuals that were prodding me and I began to observe many explicit indicators of homosexual behaviours that shocked me. I could not help but notice there were cliques of students with homosexual leanings who had ways of manipulating heterosexual students, turning some against others.?

Fr Despard says he alerted authorities to his claims that he had been victimised because he did not accept the sexual approaches made towards him.

And he claims that after he made his complaint verbally to a senior Church figure, the man began to ?bluster? but did not investigate his complaint.

During his time at the college, Fr Despard says, he saw numerous trainees quit altogether.

He said one young man was told he had no vocation and asked to leave after making a complaint about an inappropriate advance.

He added: ?I learned that there had been a victimisation of another first-year seminarian.

?He refused to conform to their sexually ambivalent behaviour and was subjected to such an extent of ridicule that he lost all his confidence. He chose to leave rather than continue to endure the harassment.?

Fr Despard said a senior clergyman also targeted him during one of his placements as a priest in the west of Scotland.

He said the man was difficult to work with, and threatened him after he turned down a sudden attempt to kiss him.

He wrote: ?I was passing him in the corridor on my way to my room when he stopped suddenly and then embraced me.

?It was not the usual guy-on-guy companionable embrace that I was accustomed to but something much more intimate.

?At first I thought his mother had died ? But he moved as if to give me a kiss. I found this profoundly disturbing and put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back.

?He was immediately furious, shouting and gesticulating. He said, ?So it?s true about you! Well don?t worry, Despard, we?ll soon sort you out. We?ll get you. We?ll destroy you and your family.?

?I could see real anger in his eyes and I was dumbfounded.

?Homosexuality had been rampant in the seminary and I had suffered more than my fair share of isolation and disrespect because I refused to countenance any advances.

?Here were identical behaviours but in my parish priest. He backed away and stomped up the corridor to his own room, leaving me standing there shocked and confused.

?After my rejection of the crude advances, life for me became a misery.

?In retrospect, it now seems to me that the moment in the corridor signalled the initiation of a campaign which, if not significantly overt, was psychologically brutal.?

Fr Despard added he thought there would be no point in going to the authorities for support, because his attacker was part of an ?inner circle? and would be protected.

In another chapel, he says, he was verbally and physically abused by the boyfriend of a priest.

Fr Despard insists he did not write the book to spread hatred of homosexuality.

He said: ?I have no problem whatever with priests whose natural orientation is homosexual. Where I draw the line is at the acting out of these inclinations, that is wrong.

?It is contrary to the rule of celibacy and brings great scandal to parishes where the activities of such priests have become known.?

But he added that cover-ups and corruption were detracting from the priesthood.

A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland did not return calls asking for comment.

Source: http://angelqueen.org/2013/03/24/catholic-church-in-scotland-has-covered-up-culture-of-sexual-bullying-among-priests-claims-serving-father/

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