Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/297921109?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Compost Your Used Coffee Grounds to Kickstart Your Own DIY Fertilizer
Before you throw out your next batch of used coffee grounds, consider composting them. As food weblog Serious Eats points out, composting used coffee grounds is a great way to start cheap, low-mainetenance DIY fertilizer.
Used coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, one of the main ingredients necessary for both a good fertilizer and a properly balanced compost pile:
When paired with "browns" like leaves, twigs, even coffee filters, coffee is the perfect catalyst for healthy decomposition, which can speed up the composting process and give you better fertilizer faster. Worms love the stuff: They'll munch your day-old coffee happily, turning it into black gold by digesting it and producing nutrient-rich castings. (Just don't spread the grounds themselves straight on your trees and tulips: They can cause more harm than good if they haven't been fully composted yet.)
After the compost completely breaks down, you'll have some great fertilizer that you can use or donate?without spending any extra money. Hit the link to read more.
Why You Should Compost Your Coffee Grounds | Serious Eats
Photo by Montgomery Cty Division of Solid Waste Services.
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
QNB Group announces financial results for three months ended 31 ...
Key indicators of the financial results for the three months ended 31March 2013 are shown below. These results do not include financial results of NSGB- Egypt. QNB Group has recently concluded the acquisition of a controlling stake in NSGB amounting to 97.12%. It is anticipated that the incorporation of the financial results of NSGB will be completed during the second quarter of 2013.
- Robust balance sheet growth
Total assets increased by 22.2% from March 2012 to reach QR380bn, the highest ever achieved by the Bank. This was the result of a strong growth rate of 28.7% in loans and advances to reach QR259bn, while customer deposits increased by 28.2% to QR280bn.
- Maintenance of an outstanding assets quality
The Bank was able to maintain the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans at 1.4%, a level considered one of the lowest amongst banks in the Middle East and Africa, reflecting the high quality of the Group's loan book and the effective management of credit risk. The Group's conservative policy in regard to provisioning continued with the coverage ratio reaching 119% in March 2013.
- Increased revenues with improved efficiency
Total operating income, including the share of results of associates, increased to QR3.0bn, up by 5.5% compared to March 2012, demonstrating QNB Group's success in achieving strong growth across the range of revenue sources. Net interest income increased by 4.7% to reach QR2.4bn, with net fees and commissions and net gain from foreign exchange reaching QR350m and QR172m, respectively, reflecting success in diversifying sources of income.
The Group's prudent cost control policy and strong revenue generating capability allowed it to maintain efficiency ratio (cost to income ratio) of 17.7%, which is considered one of the best ratios among financial institutions in the region.
- Robust capitalisation
Total Equity increased by 9.3% from March 2012 to reach QR46bn as at 31 March 2013. The capital adequacy ratio stood at 20.5% as at 31 March 2013, far higher than the regulatory requirements of QCB and the Basel Committee. The Group is keen to maintain a strong capitalisation in order to support future strategic plans.
- Significant expansion of international presence
During the first quarter of 2013, QNB Group has successfully completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in NSGB amounting to 97.12%, which included the full stake of Soci?t? G?n?rale - France amounting to 77.17% along with 19.95% acquired from other shareholders.
This acquisition is considered one of the largest in the Middle East and is in line with QNB Group's strategy to expand its presence in selected markets in the region that have a strong growth potential. This acquisition is an important step for QNB Group to realise its vision of being a Middle East and Africa Icon by 2017.
NSGB has a solid financial position and a strong standing in Egypt's banking sector, with operations throughout the country.
The announced results of QNB Group do not include financial results of NSGB, which are anticipated to be incorporated during the second quarter of 2013.
- High credit ratings
QNB Group has maintained its credit rating, which is considered as being one of the highest in the region, with various rating agencies affirming the Bank's rating during the first quarter of 2013. This is as a result of QNB Group's strong financial position, high quality of its assets and leading position in the financial sector.
As a result of the Bank's high credit ratings and outstanding asset quality, it was selected as one the world's 50 safest financial institutions by Global Finance.
Based on the Group's continuous strong performance and the expanding international presence, the bank is currently ranked as the most valuable brand in the MENA region, with a world ranking of 120.
- Innovative products and services
In line with ongoing efforts to expand the range of products and services, QNB First was launched across all five branches in Oman. The introduction of this elite and exclusive service for affluent customers is designed to meet their high expectation, which is provided by a dedicated and highly experienced team. The Group aims to roll out this service during this year to a number of countries in the region where it operates.
- Staff development remains a key priority
With the addition of NSGB, QNB Group's presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies increased to 25 countries providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services. The total number of staff exceeded 13,000 operating from over 560 locations, with an ATM network exceeding 1,150 machines.
The Bank continues to place high emphasis on recruiting Qatari nationals and provide them with dedicated training programs to further enhance their capabilities. This has resulted in the Bank having a Qatarisation ratio that exceeds 50%, the highest among financial institutions in Qatar.
Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/qnb-announces-financial-results-months-31-336623
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Monday, April 8, 2013
No map, no problems for monarchs
Apr. 8, 2013 ? Monarch butterflies have long been admired for their sense of direction, as they migrate from Canada and the United States to Mexico. According to new findings from a team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Guelph, the winged insects fly without a map, and use basic orientation and landmarks to find their way to their wintering sites, thousands of miles away.
Recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study examined the insects' flight patterns and whether those patterns changed when the butterflies were displaced.
The team, which included researchers from Queen's University, Germany and Denmark, also analyzed more, also analyzed more than 50 years' worth of migration data to learn how monarchs find their way for the first time to their wintering habitat in Mexico.
A monarch flies the full migration route just once during its life cycle.
The flight patterns and data suggest that, when butterflies are blown off course, they likely use major geographic landmarks to funnel them to their destination.
Looking at the distances that these insects fly each year, scientists had long thought that monarchs were "true navigators."
"To be a true navigator, you need both a compass and a map," explained Prof. Ryan Norris, Department of Integrative Biology. "We've know for some time that monarchs use external cues, such as the sun and magnetic field, as a built-in compass that can indicate their latitude. But having an internal map requires knowledge of both latitude and longitude."
To test whether monarchs could detect longitude displacements, the team, led by U of G undergraduate student Rachael Derbyshire, examined the butterflies' flight patterns in a funnel on the University of Guelph campus. They then tested the same monarchs in Calgary.
"The monarchs we tested in Guelph flew southwest, in the general direction of Mexico," said Derbyshire. "When we tested them in Calgary, they flew in the same general direction as if they were in Ontario, suggesting that they did not know they had been displaced 2,500 kilometres."
Studying data from monarchs tagged and recaptured throughout North America from 1952 to 2004, the team found that migrating monarchs do not use an internal map to reach Mexico. Instead, they use landmarks, such as coastlines and the Rocky and Appalachian mountains.
"Given the challenge of this migratory journey and the fact that these insects are less than a gram, it is a remarkably simple system they used to travel thousands of kilometres to a site they have never seen," said Norris.
Monarchs use the same sites in the highlands of central Mexico each year. One mystery remains: how do they pinpoint these exact locations in Mexico?
Derbyshire said, "One possibility we think is likely, and would need to be tested, is that they -- like some other migratory animals -- use smell to guide them to their final destination."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Guelph, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Henrik Mouritsen, Rachael Derbyshire, Julia Stalleicken, Ole ?. Mouritsen, Barrie J. Frost, and D. Ryan Norris. An experimental displacement and over 50 years of tag-recoveries show that monarch butterflies are not true navigators. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1221701110
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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Sunday, April 7, 2013
Jim DeMint's fresh message for the conservative movement
Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Jim DeMint has played many roles over the years: U.S. senator. Kingmaker. Advocate. Lawmaker. Mentor. Rabble-rouser. In his newest iteration as president of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative movement's preeminent think tank, he wants to transform the way conservatives craft and package their message. Chiefly, he sees a need to dispel a criticism he hears constantly: that Republicans simply don't care about some Americans.
He thinks he can accomplish this more effectively as an activist at Heritage than he ever could as a Republican in the Senate.
DeMint, who gave up his seat in the Senate last year, started his new, higher-paying gig at Heritage this week. As a former ad man for private marketing firms before he entered politics, DeMint acknowledges the power of a strong presentation.
"We know that lawmakers are not going to push, promote and pass conservative ideas unless people understand and support them," DeMint told Yahoo News in an interview on his second day at Heritage. "So what I want to do is use my career and advertising and marketing to figure out how to connect with the American people in a way that inspires them and shows them that they can achieve the things they want in their lives if they support the right public policies."
During his tenure in the Senate, DeMint quickly made a name for himself as a lawmaker willing to buck his own party. He opposed all bailout measures during the financial meltdown in 2008, for example, even as many fellow Republicans warned that Congress must act to avoid an economic Armageddon. He became known as an uncompromising figure in a chamber that cherishes the art of deal making. In the four years he spent in the Senate before the rise of the tea party in 2009, DeMint's positions often put him in a lonely place.
But he wasn't alone for long. DeMint began using his political action committee to boost Senate candidates who, at the time, establishment Republicans wrote off as long shots without a chance. While some of DeMint's picks lost their races, many succeeded, giving rise to a new era of conservatives in Congress who have since become household names: Rand Paul. Marco Rubio. Ted Cruz. After a string of successes in 2010, candidates actively began seeking DeMint's blessing. For many Republicans, the DeMint seal of approval was a must. Although DeMint didn't hold traditional positions of power in the chamber, he built himself up as the Senate's Republican kingmaker.
Eight years after he joined the chamber, DeMint now says "there's no question" that the Senate is a different place from the one he encountered when he was first elected.
"I feel like my efforts to bring in some new blood are going to pay off, even though it was pretty unpopular at the time," he said. "I'm proud of the role that I played, but these folks now are leaders on their own."
From his perch at Heritage, a group that has a member base in the hundreds of thousands, DeMint can simultaneously feed policy ideas to his former colleagues in power while spreading their message outside Washington.
DeMint plans to continue investing in the policy work that has built Heritage into the Washington powerhouse it is today, but he will also seek to expand efforts to spread that message to voters. DeMint made the decision that before he could put together a fresh messaging strategy, he would need to root out weaknesses in the current one. For several months before officially joining Heritage, DeMint sat in on a series of listening sessions with voters focused on finding out why conservative messages have fallen short. The most prominent complaint he heard, particularly from black and Hispanic voters, was that they "don't believe Republicans care about them."
"The only way we're going to connect with people is to connect our ideas with the things that they really want in their lives," DeMint said. "I don't think the Republican Party has done a good job of carrying the ideas in that sense and folks need to know we care about them. I think Heritage is in a better position as being outside the partisan framework to actually connect with people."
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Loan Education Becomes Prerequisite As Student Debt Balloons
College loan debt isn't easing up, and students are struggling to navigate a plethora of obligations.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesCollege loan debt isn't easing up, and students are struggling to navigate a plethora of obligations.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesFor students now sprinting toward the end of their college days, the finish line may not be much of a relief. More than ever, their gait is slowed by the weight of impending debt.
Thirty-seven million Americans share about $1 trillion in student loans, according to Federal Reserve data. It's the biggest consumer debt besides mortgages, eclipsing both auto loans and credit cards. And on it grows, an appetite undiminished by the recession.
Learning What To Ask
There are signs that students are catching on to the dangers, however. Dawit Lemma learned his own lessons about loans and is now passing them on to others. He's the associate director of operations at the University of Maryland's Office of Student Financial Aid.
He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, in 2004, years before the recession hit. At the time, Lemma says, he considered student loans another form of financial aid.
Now, he says, students are starting to ask questions he had never considered when he took out loans.
"They know more about the loan process. So they want to know about not just [the] interest rate, they want to know about repayment options, consolidations, forgiveness options," Lemma tells Jacki Lyden, guest host of weekends on All Things Considered.
'I Was Very Naive'
Emmanuel Tellez wishes he had been more inquisitive. Tellez graduated from Northeastern University in Boston in 2008. He majored in English, and on graduation day, he owed about $50,000. That debt has ballooned to more than $70,000 with interest and collection fees.
He says it wasn't a responsibility he was ready for when he applied for school.
"When I signed my promissory note, I was 17-and-a-half. I was very naive with regard to my expectations," he says. "I knew early on I wouldn't be living high off the hog being an English major. I didn't know the explicit terms."
Tellez says he would have been more wary of the kinds of loans he took on if he had known, for example, that he would not be able to discharge the debt in bankruptcy or that the federal government could garnish his wages if he defaulted.
What Can Congress Do?
There is a legislative effort to ease some of the potential burdens, as the interest rate for some federal student loans is set to jump to 6.8 percent from 3.4 percent in July.
Congresswoman Karen Bass is proposing to cap student loan interest rates at 3.4 percent. A bill the California Democrat has introduced, The Student Loan Fairness Act, would also require the federal government to forgive loans up to $45,000 if the borrower has been paying back loans consistently for 10 years.
Bass says the bill is not an overall fix, but it's a necessary step.
"There are a lot of problems that we're facing in our country. We really need to rethink how higher education is paid for ? period. But until then, we really shouldn't pass this debt on to future generations," she says.
Moreover, she says, investing in education is essential for staying competitive with other countries.
A Bit Of Advice
Meanwhile, five years after graduating, Tellez is just trying to keep up. He has hired a lawyer to help him navigate what he calls the "labyrinth" of his private loans and has successfully consolidated his federal loans. Now he's chipping away at the total, paying about $500 a month.
Tellez, now a legal assistant/administrative assistant at a Boston law school, hopes future students can learn from his struggles.
"I tell my sister, who's now at [University of California, Berkeley], to be far more frugal than she imagines she has to be," he says. "One thing that I kind of had to learn the hard way is to scan all the documents you get and make sure that you have electronic copies because ... young people move a lot."
Today, Tellez is back in school part-time, pursuing a master's in public administration. This time, he says, he's learned his lesson: He's not borrowing. Instead, his employer is picking up the tab.
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