Xbox LIVE Marketplace is a digital download centre providing free and premium content for games, as well as entertainment content such as movie trailers and music videos.
Source: http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/330105
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Today, December 30, 2012 the Engineers preparing next year?s Adult Exercise Efficiency Scoring Project, released a nine hundred word report covering how the efficiency, of eventually 200 popular muscle and cardio building exercises, will be measured, scored and reported for adults.
They also explained why they believe it could take years before learning how to accurately rate Exercise Efficiency, for the still growing bodies of children.
Here is today?s statement, exactly as provided to examiner.com:
The energy tracing methods used by engineers to evaluate building plans, when applied instead to the human body, expose how riding a bicycle, while holding the same heart rate, for the same amount of time, as running, allows the adult?s core running muscles to exert up to 4-5 times more force than is possible to exert while running, with far less pain and skeletal damage.
In other words, in the same amount of time, doing the same amount of cardio exercise, riding a bike will build far more core and leg running strength for the average adult, than running physically can.
The structural factor for noticing this huge increase in adult Exercise Efficiency, is that while sitting on the bike, the leg joints are not also hosting battles between falling body weight and External Motion Resistance (from gravity), simply because the bike supports their body weight instead of their leg joints.
By not allowing hundreds of g-force pounds to simultaneously smash leg joints the bike rider?s leg joints are free to fight immensely more running muscle exertion, they are not first deeply compressed by falling body weight.
This is one of countless examples that Exercise Efficiency not only exists exists, but that as far as for cardio exercise, the heart can work just as hard from either skeletal stress or muscles demanding more oxygen.
As far as adults go, using Skeletal Based cardio is inefficient as they don?t need to work anything harder than muscles, but all popular cardio exercises methods stress both joints and muscles.
The heart will pound from either joint or muscle stress.
For instance, if you have someone clamp your hands in iron claim, hard enough to cause enough deep skeletal stress, you can hold a targeted heart rate, which dose not make an iron clamp an efficient cardio exercise machine.
Cycling compared to running is a most common example of far less skeletal involvement, for the same amount of cardio effort.
So far, humans have only mastered the types of high exertion exercises that work best for healthy children, as their still growing joints and spinal discs, can be farther strengthened this way.
In the year 2000, out of necessity, we began using engineering research science to trace the forces of physical exercises, through the human body.
One of the first discoveries this revealed, was that almost every muscle or cardio strengthening method children and adults are taught, works (stresses) the moving parts of their skeletons (joints and spinal discs), four to twenty times harder than the muscles the method targets (that is once these muscles have become conditioned to doing the exercise).
Force Mapping reveals that ?Skeletal Based? exercises, are not only almost the only type of muscle or cardio exercises (wet or dry) Health and fitness experts have ever taught, but that they can be extremely empowering for healthy children.
This is because their still growing skeletons develop even stronger joints and spinal discs, to better handle high compression exercises preformed regularly.
However, between ages 18 -23, human skeletons harden into adulthood, and then the joint and disc building up process starts slowing down. At this age continuing the same Skeletal Based exercise cycle every few days, they did in high school, no longer provides their moving skeletal parts enough time to even fully recover before the next high compression exercise session blasts them again.
As average adult grows older, the time and ability for their joints and discs to fully recover continues to extend, and even become unattainable, by continued use of the same exercises that once empowered them as children.
So instead of adult joints and discs also growing stronger after each joint blasting workout, they start wearing out, so the exact same amount of exertion becomes continually more painful and damaging for the average adult to even do, and so less then 4% of adults even stay in shape.
This huge, but still unrealized difference between children and adults by America?s health and fitness experts, makes rating Exercise Efficiency for average adults, seniors and even mobility disabled adults, rather easy to score.
Because adults no longer need joint or disc smashing during exercises, their Exercise Efficiency is simply the percentage of all External Motion Resistance Energy, from any muscle or cardio exercise, that only opposes their muscle contractions. If all of it only opposes contractions, than it?s Adult Exercise Efficiency Score will be 100%, but only for adults.
However, because a 100% exercise for adults, cannot not maximize the strength of the growing joints and discs in children, this exercise could be far less than 50% for them.
Exercise Efficiency is simple for adults because their joints and discs no longer benefit from exercise methods that crush them, so any resistance that dissipates from joint and disc compression, is totally wasted for adults, and harming the long term health and fitness of adult joints and discs.
Unfortunately, an Exercise Efficiency for children, is as hard to determine as it is easy to for adults. Beyond the fact that their softer growing joints and discs can be farther strengthened by compression, Exercise Efficiency for children becomes an issue of determining how much skeletal based exercise is the right amount, and we have found too many factors that apply.
Every time we tried to get a handle on scoring Exercise Efficiency for children we found more questions than answers. We can say with 100% certainty that Exercise Efficiency for growing bodies even varies from one child to the next, based on factors that are not involved with scoring Adult Exercise Efficiency.
For example, a child with low bone density or mass, may suffer far more pain and skeletal damage than a child with high bone density. We found that other factors, like how straight their extremity bones and joints are, and even how large the child?s feet and hands are, can vary the efficiency of same Skeletal Based exercise from one child to another.
Since adults gain no skeletal benefit from smashing their joints and spinal discs during exercise, high Exercise Efficiency is most simply achieved by preventing the External Motion Resistance Energy from fighting other forces inside joints and discs, as children need these battles in varying amounts based on individual factors.
So until all of these factors are identified, and then made measurable, we do not believe that accurately predicting Exercise Efficiency Scores for children is not possible. This is the reason why this project is, and should only be considered relatively accurate (5% either way) for people over 22, and why it should not be even considered for creating workouts for healthy children.
Because the contributor of these articles is also heavily involved with this exercise efficiency project, expect examiner.com news, to release a review for each exercise method and it?s score. These reviews are also expected to, include illustrations and or animations depicting the exercise forces of each exercise method, as each are posted.
Possibly the most important aspect of this project, is pointing out ways to redirect some to all of the External Motion Resistance Energy of modern exercise methods and workout machines, directly against muscle contractions, before their energy can cause joint and spinal compression.
That concludes their report.
Starting the second week of January, you will also be able to see these scores at examiner.com, by entering ?Exercise Efficiency?, or ?Modern Fitness?, or listed under their health and fitness category, as they are released.
The first exercise method that will be posted, rated, and according to them, ?how it can be greatly improved, so far more adults and seniors can benefit?, will cover the basic tread mill, and secondly will be the stationary bicycle. They will be evaluated only as cardio exercise machines, generically (no brand names).
Article source: http://www.examiner.com/article/huge-exercise-difference-kids-vs-adults-health-and-fitness-pros-missed
Source: http://yourhealthychild.net/huge-exercise-difference-kids-vs-adults-health-and-fitness-pros-missed/
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? An animal rights group will pay Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus $9.3 million to settle a lawsuit the circus filed after courts found that activists paid a former circus worker for his help in claiming the circus abused elephants.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said Friday it was not admitting any wrongdoing in settling the lawsuit. The New York-based animal rights group was one of several involved in a lawsuit filed in 2000 against the circus' owner, Feld Entertainment Inc., claiming elephants were abused. Courts later found that the animal rights activists had paid a former Ringling barn helper involved in the lawsuit at least $190,000, making him "essentially a paid plaintiff" who lacked credibility.
Two courts agreed the former barn helper, Tom Rider, wasn't credible and didn't have a right to sue. As a result, they didn't address claims the circus violated the federal Endangered Species Act by allegedly chaining the elephants for long periods and allowing trainers to use sharp tools called bullhooks.
The Vienna, Va.-based Feld Entertainment Inc. sued the animal rights groups and Rider in 2007, accusing them of conspiring to harm the company's business and other illegal acts. The lawsuit claims the groups were working together with the goal of permanently banning Asian elephants from circuses.
Friday's settlement covers only the ASPCA. Twelve other defendants including The Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Welfare Institute and The Fund for Animals are still involved in the lawsuit.
The ASPCA said in a statement that "this litigation has stopped being about the elephants a long time ago" and that officials decided it was in the group's best interest to resolve the lawsuit after more than a decade.
The chairman of Feld Entertainment, Kenneth Feld, said in a statement that the settlement was a vindication for the company and its employees.
___
Follow Jessica Gresko at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - As Marvell Technology Group Ltd embarks on a legal process to void a $1.17 billion damages verdict in a patent dispute with Carnegie Mellon University, it has some reasons to be optimistic.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday by a jury in Pittsburgh, which found that Marvell had infringed two patents owned by Carnegie Mellon related to how accurately hard-drive circuits read data from high-speed magnetic disks.
On Thursday, Marvell said that it would seek to overturn the verdict through post-trial motions at the district court.
Marvell also said that, if necessary, it would appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That court, which oversees appeals in patent infringement cases, has proven willing to throw out large verdicts in the recent past.
Brian Love, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law who specializes in patent law, said damages awards are reversed about 20 percent of the time on appeal. Further, he said, "the larger a damages award is, the more susceptible it is to attack." The award is one of the largest by a U.S. jury in a patent infringement case.
Other large verdicts have not held up on appeal. In February 2011, Abbott Laboratories, for example, succeeded in overturning a $1.67 billion verdict against it in a patent infringement verdict won by a Johnson & Johnson unit.
That verdict, the largest ever by a jury in U.S. patent infringement litigation, was delivered in 2009 by a jury in Texas which found that Abbott's arthritis drug Humira had infringed the Johnson & Johnson unit's patent. But the Federal Circuit ruled that the patents at issue were invalid and thus could not be infringed.
Microsoft Corp has also successfully cut down big patent infringement verdicts delivered against it. In 2007, it was hit with a $1.52 billion verdict in a case brought by Alcatel-Lucent SA over patents related to digital music technology.
But, after post-trial motions, the judge who oversaw the case set aside the verdict, finding that Microsoft's Windows Media Player did not infringe the patents held by Alcatel-Lucent. The Federal Circuit affirmed his decision.
It's unclear which issues Marvell will raise in its post-trial motions and appeals. In a statement on Thursday the company said it did not infringe Carnegie Mellon's patents and that those patents could not have practically been used in its products.
Legal experts said Marvell's lawyers could attack the jury's damages calculation. Love of Santa Clara Law noted that the award exceeds Marvell's annual profits and is more than one quarter of the company's market capitalization.
"The law of patent damages is fuzzy, and leaves parties leeway to argue for damages amounts that differ drastically, often by 100-fold and sometimes much more," he said.
Because it received precisely what it requested, an amount calculated by an outside expert based on assumptions that could later be questioned, this award may be in "greater jeopardy than usual," Love said.
Marvell may contest the jury's finding that it willfully infringed the patents, which allows Judge Nora Barry Fischer to treble the damages owed to Carnegie Mellon.
In a decision issued in June, the Federal Circuit gave judges discretion in determining whether infringement was willful. Before that decision, willfulness was often left entirely up to juries.
"Typically that is a focal point of post-trial motions," said Donald Dunner, a patent attorney who is not involved in the case.
Marvell may also renew arguments it made in a motion seeking a mistrial earlier this month based on allegedly improper arguments made by Carnegie Mellon's lawyers during closing arguments. Judge Fischer denied the motion, but said she would consider it at the conclusion of the trial "in light of the entire record, argument, and legal authority." (Reporting by Andrew Longstreth; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marvell-options-faces-1-billion-patent-verdict-235631166--finance.html
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NRA president David Keene said Thursday that David Gregory should not be prosecuted over the gun magazine he showed on "Meet the Press."
Gregory is currently being investigated by police after he showed what appeared to be a thirty-bullet gun magazine during an interview with NRA's Wayne LaPierre on Sunday. D.C. city code stipulates that it is illegal for anyone to possess, transfer or sell a magazine. It is not known whether NBC News had permission to use the magazine, and the network has not commented on the situation yet.
Keene appeared on CNN on Thursday. When asked if he believed Gregory should be prosecuted, he responded, "No, I don't think so."
He said that Gregory's actions showed that owning a magazine is "a silly felony." He continued, "I really think what David Gregory did while he was inadvertently flouting the law was illustrating in a very graphic way, perhaps not intentionally, but in a graphic way just how silly some of these laws are."
CNN host Carol Costello pressed Keene on whether Gregory should be prosecuted, considering that the law already exists. Keene maintained his position. "I?m not a vindictive guy who wants to go after David Gregory," he said. "I think it illustrates the craziness of some of these laws."
(h/t Mediaite)
Related on HuffPost:
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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/david-gregory-nra-david-keene_n_2373061.html
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6 hrs.
BUFFALO, N.Y. --?Samantha Grossman wasn't always thrilled with the impression that emerged when people Googled her name.
"It wasn't anything too horrible," she said. "I just have a common name. There would be pictures, college partying pictures, that weren't of me, things I wouldn't want associated with me."
So before she graduated from Syracuse University last spring, the school provided her with an online tool that allowed her to put her best Web foot forward. Now when people Google her, they go straight to a positive image ? professional photo, cum laude degree and credentials ? that she credits with helping her land a digital advertising job in New York.
"I wanted to make sure people would find the actual me and not these other people," she said.
Syracuse, Rochester, and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore are among the universities that offer such online tools to their students free of charge, realizing ill-considered Web profiles of drunken frat parties, prank videos and worse can doom graduates to a lifetime of unemployment ? even if the pages are somebody else's with the same name.
It's a growing trend based on studies showing that most employers Google prospective hires and nearly all of them won't bother to go past the first page of results. The online tools don't eliminate the embarrassing material, they just put the graduate's most flattering, professional profile front and center.
"These students have been comfortable with the intimate details of their lives on display since birth," said Lisa Severy, president-elect of the National Career Development Association and director of career services at the University of Colorado-Boulder, which does not offer the service.
"The first item on our 'five things to do before you graduate' list is 'clean up your online profile,'" she said. "We call it the grandma test ? if you don't want her to see it, you probably don't want an employer to, either."
Managing your online presence
After initially supplying BrandYourself accounts to graduating seniors, Syracuse University this year struck a deal with the company ? begun by a trio of alumni ? to offer accounts to all of its undergraduate and graduate students and alumni at no additional charge. About 25,000 people have access to it so far.
"It's becoming more and more important for students to be aware of and able to manage their online presence, to be able to have strong, positive things come up on the Internet when someone seeks them out," said Mike Cahill, Syracuse's career services director.
Online reputation repair companies have been around for at least a couple of years, often charging hundreds or thousands of dollars a year to arrange for good results on search engine result pages. BrandYourself, which normally charges $10 a month for an account, launched two years ago as a less expensive, do-it-yourself alternative after co-founder Pete Kistler ran into a problem with his own name.
"He couldn't get an internship because he was getting mistaken for a drug dealer with the same name," said co-founder Patrick Ambron. "He couldn't even get calls back and found out that was the problem."
An April survey of 2,000 hiring managers from CareerBuilder found nearly two in five companies use social networking sites to research job candidates and 11 percent said they planned to start. A third of the hiring managers who said they research candidates reported finding something like a provocative photo or evidence of drinking or drug use that cost the candidate a job.
"We want our students and alumni actively involved in shaping their online presence," said Johns Hopkins Career Center Director Mark Presnell. Students are encouraged to promote positive, professional content that's easily found by employers, he said.
BrandYourself works by analyzing search terms in a user's online profile to determine, for example, that a LinkedIn account might rank 25th on Google searches of the user's name. The program then suggests ways to boost that ranking. The software also provides alerts when an unidentified result appears on a user's first page or if any links rise or fall significantly in rank.
A professional image
Nati Katz, a public relations strategist, views his presence online as a kind of virtual storefront that he began carefully tending while in graduate school at Syracuse.
Google his name and up pops his LinkedIn page with a listing of the jobs he's held in digital media and the "500+ connections" badge of honor. His Facebook account is adorned with Katz smiling over an elegant Thanksgiving dinner table. There are a couple of professional profiles and his Tumblr link, one after another on the first page of results and all highlighting his professional experience.
Before his 2011 graduation, he took the university up on its offer of the BrandYourself account and said it gave him a leg up with potential employers and internship supervisors.
"Fortunately, I didn't have to deal with anything negative under my profile," said Katz, who used the reputation website BrandYourself.com while pursuing dual degrees in public relations and international affairs. "What I was trying to form was really a nice, clean, neat page, very professional."?
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/colleges-help-students-clean-online-profile-1C7660222
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Online marketing is one of the most effective yet economical options available for many companies. Businessmen, who couldn?t consider advertising before, are now effectively utilizing various internet platforms to promote their product or service. Internet marketing has grown over the years. From being restricted to very few marketing channels, people can use almost all the internet platforms for advertising. From social media to video advertising, you can choose any type to market your service. However, before you go ahead with the marketing plan, ensure people are aware about your brand. When an ad is posted, people should immediately relate it to your product or service. Here are a few marketing tips for effective brand promotion:
Be consistent with branding:
Create a logo and tag line for your business. This provides instant brand recognition when people see it. Use it across all the websites to help recognize your brand immediately. There are certain things that are better kept unchanged and logos are one of them. Not just logos, you have to project your company?s image through your marketing. Be it creative or corporate, balance the marketing strategies to ensure your brand is not lost in the midst.
Don?t be completely dependent on your website:
Don?t rely on your company?s website to promote the brand. Sign up with various social websites and create a community. Target your audience and engage them in active discussions. Listen to their criticisms and provide valuable information. Building a website is just the first step towards marketing. Utilize other platforms including videos, blogs, images, link building, online PR options, etc. When you start building your brand, take up all the opportunities to get your brand noticed.
Use social media:
Social networking websites have become excellent platforms for marketing. Create business pages in all the leading social networking platforms to build brand awareness. However, starting a page is not enough. You have to become an active user on all the websites in which you have accounts. There are hundreds of social networks available. You have to choose the right social networks. You can either go by popularity or your target audience. The must-have accounts are on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. You also have few emerging social networks like LinkedIn and Quora. Either engage a separate social network manager or limit your accounts if you plan to do the work personally.
Viral marketing:
Viral marketing is the best way to bring instant recognition to your brand. You post marketing material. It instantly gains popularity through the ?click of mouse?. The most effective medium for viral marketing is videos and photos. All you have to do is post it on a popular platform. However, to go viral the content has to be attractive and appealing to the audience. Perfecting a viral message is not really easy. Once you get to design the right content, nothing will stop the content from going viral. When the viral message is effective, it has better reach online. The popularity or the effect of the viral message completely depends on the targeted audience. Though it gets instant recognition, viral marketing can be sustained only for a short time. You will be able to get your message across within that time.
Brand building or brand promotion should be an ongoing process. You should not establish your brand when you start a company and not promote further. People tend to go with the latest trends. To keep your brand firmly in their mind, you have to promote it continuously. With multiple competitors, it is important to stay afloat and you can do it only with effective brand promotion. You can reach millions of users in a matter of months. The trick lies in the approach you take to find them.
Tanya Hansen, a freelance writer for www.homesecurityreviewsite.com ? offers full home security to help protect your family, assets from burglary and other crimes.
Source: http://thesuccess4life.com/online-marketing-tips-effective-brand-promotion/
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High end business communications systems are essential for your company?s success. They can make it easier for employees to contact your customers, partners and suppliers. How well you communicate plays an important role because the quality of your communication services can affect customer satisfaction levels. If you don?t respond quickly to your customer queries, their satisfaction levels are likely to drop. Effective business communication is the key to ensuring uninterrupted work of your staff and the success of your marketing campaigns because if any element of your business communication system fails, you can miss out on sales. Here are some of the most important business communications tools that can improve reaching out to the customers.
Business phones
Virtually every company needs a good office phone system to communicate effectively.
You can opt for a system which handles switchboard functions externally so you don?t have to install and manage equipment in your company. Some office telephone systems form part of a unified messaging system, combining different methods of business communications so you can have voicemail sent to you in an audio file attached to an email. You can also consider outsourcing your business phones completely and have a virtual reception answer calls for you or you can outsource your call centre to save money, particularly for seasonal sales.
Business mobile phones
Mobile phones give you extra flexibility and make your business communication easier.
Thanks to a wide range of equipment and services available, you can easily find and implement the best mobile phone service for your company. Mobile phones can help your staff stay in touch when they?re out of the office, send and receive email when travelling or even divert all calls to their mobile phone when working from home. Business mobile phones are essential for employees who are on call too. There are a number of different mobile phone networks, offering different tariffs so it?s better to evaluate these tariffs carefully as most deals only look attractive and may have steep hidden charges.
Business conferencing systems
With business conferencing systems you can hold meetings between people in different locations. These business communications systems include conference calling, online meeting spaces and video conferencing. Conferencing systems are designed to cut costs as well as make it easier to hold regular meetings and share information. There are lots of low-cost conference call services, where all you need to pay is the cost of the call. These services are suitable for occasional conference calls and usually allow about 20 people to join a meeting. Most conference call providers also offer paid subscriptions so you only pay a charge for cheaper dial-in costs and extra functions like call recording.
There are plenty of business communications services and equipment offered by a whole range of suppliers. One company may be responsible for the physical infrastructure like your Internet connection and phone lines while another can take care of software and services like collaboration tools and email systems. When planning an investment in your business communication system, establish what you need from it before you buy specific equipment or services.
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Getty ImagesMany have entered the competition, but none have secured the No. 2 cornerback job.
CB Sean Smith bruised his knee against the Bills, but may still play in the Dolphins finale.
RB Brandon Bolden returned to the running back mix for the Patriots.
Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post would like to see Jets coach Rex Ryan tell the truth.
The Ravens offensive line earned some praise for paving the way to a huge rushing game against the Giants.
Said Bengals DT Domata Peko of beating the Steelers, ?That?s a huge win for us because people were doubting us.?
Browns coach Pat Shurmur fought back against criticisms of his play calling in Sunday?s loss to the Broncos.
Steelers LB Larry Foote might be playing his final NFL game this week.
TE Owen Daniels would like to see the Texans offense find its footing in the final week of the season.
Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star sets the scene as Chuck Pagano returns to work as coach of the Colts.
Members of the Jaguars don?t care that they?ve earned respect from teams that have beaten them this season.
Throwing the ball to WR Damian Williams didn?t work out well for the Titans in Week 16.
Coach John Fox credits tunnel vision for helping the Broncos to success this season.
If it?s Christmas, someone?s talking about the Chiefs? playoff loss to the Dolphins in 1971.
Some members of the Raiders defense are having a hard time figuring out how they are supposed to hit.
The future isn?t infinite for QB Philip Rivers and the Chargers.
Eric Frampton came alive as a starter at safety for the Cowboys against the Saints.
Giants QB Eli Manning thinks missed practice time due to injuries has hurt the offense this season.
Eagles DT Fletcher Cox and LB Mychal Kendricks are trying to recover from concussions.
A vote for Redskins QB Robert Griffin III as rookie of the year.
The Bears waived WR Dane Sanzenbacher to give themselves flexibility to add injury replacements to the roster.
A list of Christmas gifts picked out for members of the Lions.
Every Packers unit had a fine game against the Titans.
LB Chad Greenway hopes that the Vikings remain as consistent as they?ve been in recent weeks.
OL Joe Hawley is back with the Falcons and WR Kevin Cone has been placed on injured reserve.
All eyes are on Panthers coach Ron Rivera with one game left in the season.
LB Curtis Lofton puts significance on the Saints finishing 8-8 on the season.
Said Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano, ?What?s eating me right now is we?re close, but close isn?t what we?re here for.?
Cardinals S Kerry Rhodes said it is ?mentally draining? to go through a season like this.
The Rams won?t make the playoffs, but December wins still have value for the team.
Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick needs some work when it comes to owning up to disappointing performances.
A look at the season turned in by Seahawks CB Richard Sherman and the potential impact of a suspension.
Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/24/49ers-lose-mario-manningham-to-torn-acl/related/
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A few months ago the HOPE Financial Dignity Center, New York (HOPE Center New York) implemented the Small Business Incubator (SBI), after conducting an assessment with input from local business owners in the Harlem community and the obstacles facing them as they work to grow their businesses.
The HOPE Center New York team responded to the needs of local business?owners by creating the HOPE SBI program with is available to small business owners the 4th Saturday of every month from 10:00am ? 2:00pm.?
The HOPE SBI program gives the local small business in the community the?opportunity to have exclusive use of the New York HOPE Center and access to the New York HOPE Center Small Business Program Manager, Christina Barrett.
The HOPE SBI assists small business owners in reaching their business goals by providing meeting space for client and staff sessions. The conference room is used for presentations, workshops and business events and the cyber cafe is solely in use to business owners who are working on their business plans, grants, proposals and presentation material.
More and more HOPE Center entrepreneurs, as well as the local business?community, are taken advantage of the HOPE SBI program. The business owners are able to get technical and financial assistance and the opportunity to network and cross promote with other business owners.
?The demand for the HOPE SBI is growing. We believe it has, and will continue to be, an effective tool for the HOPE Center that will create?positive business outcomes.
Some HOPE SBI clients include, Ina Norris, HOPE Center Entrepreneur?Training Program graduate and CEO of In-A-Women Production; Andre Jones, Chairman, Founder and Owner, Jones Associates; Julius Hollingsworth, HOPE Center Entrepreneur Training Program graduate, Founder and Director of Arts and Culture for Harlem4; and Ulysees McCray, CEO Rich Kid Entertainment.
To learn more about the HOPE Center New York program offerings and how your business can access the HOPE SBI, please call: 917-477-2800.
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by Anne B. Ryan
Paper originally presented to TASC (Think-tank for Action on Social Change) conference, Crisis to Opportunity, on Oct 19th, 2012 in Dublin. The paper was presented as part of a session entitled Equality fuelling recovery.
PDF version
This paper examines the role of basic income in constructing a dynamic, diverse and democratic social economy. ?Basic income? or BI is shorthand for a regular, sufficient and unconditional income, administered by the state and issued to every member of society. BI replaces social welfare payments, child benefit and the state pension as we currently know them. It also extends to all those who currently receive no income from the state. Ideally, a BI would be sufficient for each person to have a frugal but decent lifestyle without supplementary income from paid work.i
Basic income is a measure that could be implemented during the current crisis in Ireland. It is a step that is possible within the tax and money regime that prevails at the moment, even in the EU-ECB-IMF troika programme. By itself, it will not achieve all that we need, but it has a crucial role to play in the transition to an economy and society based on the well being of all and the sharing of resources for the prosperity of all.
The paper begins by calling for ecological and economic literacy, so that the concept of basic income can be understood in a wider framework of knowledge about:
The paper then examines the immediate benefits of basic income and the longer-term possibilities for all kinds of work and workers. It also examines how basic income can support pioneers and seed projects that are already working towards a transformed economic and social regime characterised by greater equality, economic resilience and social solidarity.
The paper treats basic income as an essential and do-able step in such a transformation. As a stand-alone measure it would have beneficial effects. But it would have maximum effects if accompanied by democratic reform in tax and money systems.
Real and achievable possibilities exist to create a future that is secure and fair for everyone. However, we cannot ask for what we do not know about. No genuine development or progress can take place without the understanding, participation and creativity of as many people as possible. The general public is motivated by issues such as quality of life and well being.ii But we largely lack a language in which to discuss and visualise a social economy that can support the diverse interests of all the people of Ireland and that can release talents and energies largely constrained in the present system.
There are things every adult should know if as many people as possible are to participate in public conversations about our goals and aspirations for Ireland, and understand the global situation. In a nutshell, we need a wider understanding of the ways modern hypercapitalism operates on a system of privilege, which allows the local and global accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of a few. At the same time, it reduces the ability of the majority to participate in and benefit from economic development. And it is completely dependent on ecosystems that it does not respect.
Developing economic and ecological literacy is not just about analysis of problems. It extends to facilitating equal opportunities for people to present new visions, while also articulating their fears and insecurities. In our deliberations about what we want from life we must construct useful knowledge on which we can act. If we don?t we will perish in outdated thinking and actions. The sections below outline some of the elements of useful knowledge for the future.
We now face two classic double binds.iii First, we want to preserve our ecosystems and natural environment, but everything we do to grow our economies and preserve our material rates of consumption disrupts our relationships with the natural systems on which we depend.
Second, we also face a social double bind. We are in a situation of severe social inequality. The most widely proposed solution is to grow the economy in the same mode as we have done previously. However, the result of growing the economy in hypercapitalist mode is more inequality (the rich get richer). Growth is no guarantee of jobs, since many new enterprises are automated, with as few human workers as possible. Proceeds flow upwards to a small minority of shareholders and top executives.
A double-bind does not mean that there is no hope of resolution; but we have to seek answers from a different angle. We have to break out of the level of consciousness that keeps us stuck in a model that does not work.
The philosophy and practice of enough can be taken forward in ways appropriate to the 21st century. Wealth is inherent in sufficiency, and this knowledge can challenge the understandings of wealth implicit in the desire for constant expansion and undifferentiated growth. More never feels like it is adequate or sufficient for our needs ? indeed, more is always less ? if we don?t have a feel for the richness of enough.iv
Developing our capacity to reflect on and converse with others about the nature of wealth is part of the required cultural development towards economic and ecological literacy. For most people, genuine wealth resides in meaningful choices about how to arrange their lives, and this would be enhanced by the knowledge that they could live in a resilient social economy that is capable of coping with shocks.
We need a deep rethinking of morals and ethics about what constitutes the good life. If our goals and aspirations are well worked out, so too is it possible that associated investment costs will be accepted. Nobody wants to pay unfair taxes, devised in a piecemeal fashion, which stifle economic development and are also used to stop up a black hole of debt repayment. But if people see that public monies are raised and invested in ways that enhance the well being of the community at large (the commoners), they are likely to participate willingly in the taxation system.
In hypercapitalist boom times, equality came to mean equality of ability to consume on an equal footing with other high-consumption individuals and economies. That kind of consumption has been a cause of serious ecological degradation, resource depletion and global warming through the emission of greenhouse gases. Ecologically speaking, we need a certain amount of contraction in the production and consumption of material goods. We have recently seen reduction in carbon emissions largely because of recession, but this is not the kind of contraction that is required.
We need to create better quality of life, while at the same time consuming less in material terms. Importantly, however, this is not generalising about the common good, or saying that everyone has to live the same kind of lifestyle. It is, however, saying that at the broad parameters there have to be ecological and social limits. All growth must pay its full ecological and social costs.
The concept of security underpins the welfare state, but the system for welfare was designed to financially support those temporarily out of work from standard employment. It is not capable of providing basic financial security for all at this time.
People want growth because they see it as the only way to get jobs and other paid work. They want paid work because it is currently the only chance of financial security. But paid work is no guarantee of continued financial security. Increasing numbers of workers experience short contracts, very low wages, short hours of labour, unpredictable hours of labour, lack of representation by trades unions, and a limited range of rights and resources.
A great deal of work that comes on stream at this time is also personally or socially unsatisfactory and sometimes destructive, wasteful, or useless. Some paid work is morally unacceptable, ecologically harmful or personally alienating. Nobody should have to do such work in order to survive.
Currently, however, a large and growing group that includes many highly educated people ? self-employed, migrants, women, young people and knowledge workers ? have no or little choice about the kinds of paid work situations they enter. Paid work is the only way most people can access money.
Financial security should be a right of one?s membership of a society, not a right that comes only with employment. The thinking behind basic income wants to democratise security, in other words, to offer modest levels of protection to everybody, regardless of paid work.v Like other basic securities, such as food, energy, public transport, climate and water, sufficient income should remain stable in a democracy and should not be a matter of chance or subject to the arbitrary power of others. In addition, sustainability and resilience require that the basic securities be in place, so that members of society are not channelled into work that harms or destroys the environment or ecosystems, directly or indirectly. If the basics are in place, then people have genuine choices about taking on such work. And it is also possible to legislate to prevent work or enterprises that are ecologically or socially harmful.
Failure by the state to prevent chronic insecurity also breeds cynicism about the state and democratic processes. If large numbers of people are cast adrift, many will be open to exploitation by far-right politicians and neo-fascist groups. The presence of basic securities supports social tolerance; there is less fertile ground for divisions and hatred to grow. Security and tolerance also support creativity, innovation, cooperation and resourcefulness, which are greatly needed at this time. Such resources can help us move out of the constrained thinking and actions that that have caused the double binds.
Reverse the work-money link
Income needs to come before work, if we are to support social, ecological and personal innovation and creativity, and to release talents and energies that are constrained within the present system. This allows those who want to seek paid work, self-employed or employed, to have freedom in the types of work they do. It also allows those who do valuable unpaid or low-paid work, which may be of direct social benefit, to pursue their goals. Work is far more than paid work; it includes many ways of engaging with the world and adding value to society and economy, which are not attached to pay.
The natural commons consists of the resources provided by nature such as air, water, oil, gas and the atmosphere with its capacity to absorb a certain amount of carbon and other greenhouse gasses. The human-created commons arises from public investment and community activities.
Everyone has rights to the commons, nobody is an owner.vi Everybody is entitled to benefit from the use of the commons, natural or constructed. Those who use the commons should pay rent, which should then be shared as a dividend to everybody in society. We need shared management of the commons that benefits all right-holders.
Talk about the commons is increasing in private finance and investment. But this talk assumes that it should be brought into the market sphere. In other words, private financial institutions are trying to corner the ownership of resources that everyone needs and charge the rest of us for using them.vii This has similarities to the concept of rent-seekingviii but for purposes of literacy, the concept of commons, commons-management and commoners (the 99%) is more useful and politically resonant. Whatever we call it, the capture of the commons in the interests of a few is not going to deliver equality and progress. On the other hand, managing the commons for the benefit of all citizens of the earth helps to resolve a myriad of other interrelated issues that threaten our well being and security.ix
Dividends (a share of the rent) from the commons would be best used as an income delivered to individuals, nationally and globally. This is clearly not going to happen any time soon, but it is worth holding onto the notion of dividend, because it is a rights-based way to view basic income.x The current language used to describe transfers administered by the state and passed on to individuals ? the language of welfare, allowances and assistance ? is not too far from the notion of ?handouts? and even from a view of welfare as charity for the ?deserving poor?.
Land values
The commons includes land and the value that accrues to land arising from investments made from the public purse. Everyone should get a share of this added value. One way to begin this process in Ireland is to introduce a site-value tax, followed by a complete land-value tax. This has numerous advantages, not least that it does not rely on growth, jobs and income, to provide tax revenue. Land is always there, not like income, which fluctuates. Land-value taxes also discourage the use of money for speculation and encourage investment in projects that create everyday services and goods, which exist in a virtuous circle with employment and wages. Bad tax laws were at the root of our crisis, and land-value taxes would stop the speculation-based boom happening again.xi
Good land-value taxes push land prices down, and with them, house prices. Lower house prices mean less personal stress for people trying to buy. Less stress means better personal health, less crime and better personal relationships. The consequences of these are usually paid for from the public purse and the saving involved should be taken into account.
Cap and Share
Carbon emissions (and in the future, other greenhouse gas emissions) can also be dealt with in a commons-management framework. Cap and Share or Cap and Dividend frameworks are based on sharing the rights to dump carbon in the atmosphere. Everyone gets a quota, and if you don?t use your quota, you can keep it out of use, or you can trade it on legitimate global markets, for money.xii
Taxing the right things
Commons management also has implications for other parts of the tax system. Our human labour contributes to the creation of financial wealth and it also contributes to creating thriving communities. It makes sense to reform the tax system so that we pay low tax on income earned from our labour, provided it is ecologically and socially sound. We should, however, all pay tax on the resources ? natural and community ? that we remove from the system as a whole.xiii The global financialised economic system currently is predicated on taxing the wrong things.
The money supply is part of the commons
Money is also a public resource and a social good; it is part of the commons and should be treated as such, but it has been privatised in favour of financial lending institutions. The system needs to be democratically managed in favour of everybody ? the commoners ? and put into balance with other aspects of economic and social life.xiv
Various movements and activists are working nationally and internationally towards these cultural, political and economic changes. The more we can support these changes and raise public awareness of the concepts outlined, the more likely it is that governments will eventually engage in these new ways of thinking and acting. However, we are now, in Ireland, in a position to almost immediately introduce a universal, sufficient and unconditional basic income. If introduced now, a basic income would make huge practical differences to people?s lives. At the same time, it would help to increase understanding of the foundational concepts outlined in the first part of this paper.
Within the tax system that prevails now in Ireland, basic income would require the payment of a higher rate of income tax ? about 45% ? on any income over and above the basic income, which is always tax-free. That extra tax would be offset by the basic income received. In other words, only very high earners would experience a decrease in net income.xv The chief point is that any tax paid to finance basic income would be returned as basic income. But the change in the system would bring priceless freedom and dynamic benefits for everybody.
Basic financial security requires just a modest amount of adjustment to the current system, but gets money circulating in economy and society, without reliance on banks and without tying a basic standard of income to paid employment. Basic income also eliminates the benefits trap that many people welfare recipients can often experience if they are offered employment. With the benefits trap gone and basic security and money circulation in place, individual members of society can judge for themselves how best to organise their lives; they have scope for creativity and diversity in how they manage their different concerns, including paid and unpaid work, family, personal relationships, self-development, community and education.
Basic income is based on trust in the human capacity to judge what is good for oneself, one?s local community and for society at large. The thinking behind BI does not generalise about where the social interest or the common good lie, beyond agreed social goals and ecological limits. It is based on a logic of pluralism, multiplicity and diversity, and equality of esteem for all these differences.
At the same time, progressives would need to keep working for the important cultural changes outlined, as well as practical measures for commons management, the introduction of fair and efficient money and tax systems. These sources of revenue would need to be developed, in order to have ongoing funding for basic income.
Running a business, especially a small one, would be a different kind of experience. Everybody involved would have basic financial security, so any income from the business would be a top-up to a basic income. People would be free to try out business ideas, and a business would be viable as long as it made some small profit. It might even be able to carry losses for a short time while the business got established. As long as the business was ecologically and socially sound, there would be every chance to try out entrepreneurial ideas. There would be no harm done if a business failed, because the people involved would have their basic income to fall back on. This would be a support to entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs and a boost to existing businesses. It would also support social entrepreneurs, who want to work for direct social benefit and are not motivated by profit. It would support collective ventures, cooperatives or partnership approaches to business.
Basic income is a necessary part of any coherent state strategy for cultivating private-sector business and entrepreneurship. It creates an ecosystem for pioneering projects and small businesses. In the future, the economy will be better served by a larger number of small enterprises, rather than reliance on large employers. In such a ?polyculture?, if one part of the system fails, the system at large can continue and is able to support the individuals involved in the failed part.
Alone, a basic income will not make entrepreneurs of all of us, and not everybody will want to be self-employed or start a businesses. Those who do not will be supported by their basic income to engage with the labour market in ways that involve genuine choices (see below). But for those wishing to start a venture, basic income creates a supporting scaffold on which creativity and inventiveness can flourish. It allows people the time required to develop new business skills and become entrepreneurial.xvi It uses the state to build conditions where innovation can happen and people can act on good business ideas.
Basic income would also allow for the enforced closing of businesses (of any size) that are socially or ecologically harmful, such as weapons producers or big polluters. If a business was threatened with such closure, owners and employees could work (together or separately) to devise an alternative plan for the company. At the same time, all involved have financial security.
Basic income facilitates a genuinely flexible relationship with the labour market for employees. It re-balances power between employers and employees, giving employees a genuine exit strategy from a job that is unsatisfactory. There will always be a financial incentive for people to take up paid work, but if the conditions of employment are poor, there is a choice about staying. Having an exit strategy in place in turn affects the conditions under which employees are willing to stay, and increases one?s power in negotiating with employers.
If employees choose to negotiate collectively with employers, then trades unions will have a role to play. Basic income has been described as a ?kind of unconditional and inexhaustible strike fund?, which frees trades unions from the responsibility of fighting for a living income.xvii It allows them to concentrate on improved pay and conditions of work.
For any worker in precarious employment, basic income provides a shock absorber during times of illness or when no paid work is available. There is no need to apply for social welfare, with its frequent payment delays. The basic income is always in place.
Basic income also makes low-paid work financially viable. Low-paid work of direct social benefit has a better chance to thrive. And people doing low-paid work that is dead-end, useless, harmful or morally unacceptable have a genuine exit option.
Basic income facilitates shorter-hours of paid work. It makes what is currently called ?part-time? employment financially viable and it eliminates the pension problems associated with it. This in turn would free up time for employees? other commitments, such as family, community, self-development, education, leisure and civic-political activities. Shorter hours of paid work also benefit the environment; people who work long hours are more likely to engage in high-resource consumption such as fast travel and fast food.
Many small businesses have already turned towards shorter-hours working, out of necessity. Employers and employees, talking about their situation and acting in solidarity with each other, have created knowledge about how to share available work and save jobs. The people who are now working a three-day week on the job are in many cases enjoying the opportunity to be more involved in their families and active in their communities. They are growing the core economy, on which so much of the rest of the economy depends.xviii Basic income could help people like this to look positively on a long-term future of shorter-hours paid work, even if it becomes possible to work longer hours again.
Ideally, in the future, shorter-hours working for pay would become the norm for everyone, so that everyone can has the opportunity to balance of paid and unpaid work. As it stands now, some people have too much paid work and some cannot get any. If more people in thriving businesses chose to work shorter hours on the job, this would create employment opportunities for others.xix It would not be wise to legislate to enforce shorter hours in paid work, but basic income would make this option more attractive, and is an opportunity to expand it as the cultural norm. There may come a time when society actively disapproves of those who choose to take on extra paid hours, thereby denying others a share of the paid work available.
In addition, a good balance between paid and unpaid work is a foundation for personal, household and local resilience. It allows people to do much more production for themselves, in their households and communities.
Some people are ready to make maximum use of the support of a basic income. Thousands of projects all over the country are already engaged in pioneering ways to live and work, based on principles of solidarity, sharing, cooperation, sufficiency and ethical prosperity. The range covers small businesses including farming and growing; community supported agriculture; social entrepreneurship; repair, reuse and recycling enterprises; transition towns; community gardens; an eco-village; local mutual-help and resilience groups; local currencies and exchange networks; and many kinds of activism. Many of those involved are financially very precarious and basic income would support their work.
BI would also help others to become involved in projects for a sustainable and resilient future. Many people who are not currently involved in pioneering projects would like to become more active, but are tangled in the constraints of long hours of paid work, on the one hand, or the conditionality of receiving welfare, on the other. Whether employed, self-employed or unemployed, their talents and energies would be freed up by basic income.
Pioneering seeds-of-change projects are instances of social and ecological citizen-leadership. The people involved are shaping the wider cultural landscape. Many of them are also trying to educate high-level decision-makers in the political and economic realm about the need to manage the commons for the benefit of all. Their efforts would be hugely scaled up by the introduction of basic income.
A jobs guarantee in the transition period
While many individuals are ready and waiting to take full advantage of the possibilities offered by basic income, others will take longer to see the possibilities it opens up. It would be useful to have in place measures that help to make a transition to the different mindset about work and money that underpins basic income.
For the transition period, or even for longer, the state could offer socially and environmentally valuable paid work to anyone who wants it.xx The income from it would be supplementary to basic income.
A Jobs Guarantee (JG) programme offers a socially or environmentally useful job, and the training and skill-development that go with it, to anyone who wants to do valuable or useful paid work but who cannot find such work in the private sector. A social-green jobs programme is separate from the existing ?public sector? jobs. It uses the energies and skills of the public, at a time when the private sector is unable to use those skills and energies, or to offer work that is of direct social benefit. The state offers to purchase any surplus labour that the private sector is not purchasing. In the process, workers are learning skills that may be useful to them with future employers or if they wish to become self-employed. So a JG functions as a training scheme, but it is not training for the sake of training. It is on-the-job training doing necessary and valuable work.
A social-green JG creates a reserve army of employed people, who are available to the private sector when it is able to use the labour again.xxi Importantly, however, with a basic income also in place, everyone has the freedom to be discerning about jobs that come on stream in both the public-jobs scheme and in the private sector. There is no requirement to take a job. There is no question of workfare because the basic income is sufficient, universal and unconditional.
In keeping with the desirability of normalising shorter job-hours, it would be preferable if no social-green job were more than 20 hours per week, or the monthly or annual equivalent. If employees got accustomed to a 20-hr week in a JG scheme, they might enjoy having more time to be producers in their own lives and the opportunity to be active citizens. They might, as a result, seek shorter-hours jobs in the private sector, when private-sector jobs become available, so that they could continue their other activities.
The thinking behind basic income sees a role for the state. But it shifts the function of the state away from that of provider, to that of manager of the commons on behalf of the commoners. Basic-income thinking is also characterised by an emphasis on upstream investments, away from the notion that the role of the state is to rescue people who get into trouble, or who cannot look after themselves from the outset.xxii Basic income is an investment in building our capacity to self-organise and meet many more of our own needs than we do at present. The state, representing the community at large, pre-distributes public goods and provides security at the broad parameters of economy and society. In turn, this facilitates a diversity of expressions of social and economic health and there is no generalisation about what the outcomes should be, or what the common good should look like.
Some groups and communities are doing a great deal for themselves and showing what is possible. They already possess human and other resources that allow them to localise and become self-reliant and resilient, and basic income can help to scale up the efforts they are making. Crucially, however, the responsibility of government is to make similar possibilities available to all communities, and basic income is one element of this. Localisation and local resilience are very important, and it is equally important that some communities do not get left behind.
Present policies do not encourage the mainstreaming of pioneering projects. They do not encourage a culture of sharing, sufficiency and solidarity a chance to emerge at the general level. Where such cultural expressions do emerge, policies do not support them; pioneers ? communities and individuals ? sooner or later come up against the structures of the state. We need an eventual reorganisation of the political and economic regime so that it supports rather than blocks, as it is currently doing.
The introduction of basic income does not require huge changes in the political and economic regime. Introduced in a stand-alone fashion, which is currently possible, it would have beneficial multiplier effects socially, culturally and economically. But for its full benefits to emerge, we need to change in parallel other aspects of the way we run our affairs. Most notably, we need to create democratic money and tax systems and manage the commons (starting with land-value taxes) for the benefit of commoners. The crucial point, however, is that even before those reforms begin, we have the means to put basic income in place now.
The political and economic regime where high-level decisions are made may eventually be transformed towards social and ecological leadership, by means of higher levels of participation from people at large who are creating a new cultural landscape. Pioneering projects will continue to emerge, with or without basic income, but basic income would support them greatly and increase their multiplier effects. Politicians may become better educated about economy and ecology, but ongoing grassroots work is crucial so that any legislation that emerges is legitimised by its grounding in civil society (national and global).xxiii
Basic income is not going to make all these things happen, but it can allow and support them. It is one essential piece ? a keystone ? in the transition to a positive future. We should not underestimate the challenges involved in having the idea of basic income accepted, however, despite the fact that we can afford to pay for it. At the very moment when social, ecological and economic conditions mean that we need to move to upstream investment and foundational basic-security actions such as commons-management and basic income, ?the ideas that shape our economy and politics are still pulling in the opposite direction?.xxiv The situation is not helped by a mainstream media machine that cannot or will not understand the creation of something new, but is fixated on the imitation of concepts and methods that have failed to deliver well being and equality.
It suits the minority who accumulate wealth and power within the present system if the majority remains ignorant. It is not difficult to understand the principles and concepts involved in progressive change, but the minority want to create and maintain an aura of mystery around the entire system. The times demand that we (the commoners) develop our economic and ecological literacy, to understand that fairness and well being for all are entirely possible, and to develop confidence in our demands for them. We also need to build influence for the kinds of democratic, egalitarian thinking associated with basic income and commons management for the benefit of commoners. Key actions include dialogue, learning, creating ideas together and refining them in partnership.
We do not act because we know. We know because we are called upon to act.xxv
This article and the presentation based on it were made possible by the work, ideas- sharing and actions of my fellow-members in Feasta , Basic Income Ireland, Cultivate Celbridge and colleagues at the Department of Adult and Community Education, NUI Maynooth. The views presented are my own, as are any errors.
i. Guy Standing (2011) Work after Globalization. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar.
Clive Lord, Miriam Kennet and Judith Fenton (eds) (2012) Citizens? Income and Green Economics. Didcot: The Green Economics Institute.
Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) www.basicincome.org
ii. Philip B Smith and Manfred Max-Neef (2011) Economics Unmasked Totnes: Green Books, page 176
iii. Gregory Bateson (2000, first published 1972) Steps Towards an Ecology of Mind. San Francisco: University of Chicago Press
iv. Anne B Ryan (2009) Enough is Plenty. Ropley: O Books
v. Guy Standing (2011) Work after Globalization. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar
vi. Justin Kenrick (2012) ?The Climate and the Commons?, in Brian Davey (ed) Sharing For Survival: Restoring the Climate, the Commons and Society. Dublin: Feasta, page 42
vii. Brian Davey (2012) ?What do we do about climate change??, in Brian Davey (ed) Sharing For Survival: Restoring the Climate, the Commons and Society. Dublin: Feasta
viii. Ross Ashcroft and Mark Braund (2012) Four Horsemen: The Survival Manual: London: Motherlode. Chapter Four, ?Rent Seeking and Unearned Wealth?
ix. Justin Kenrick (2012) ?The Climate and the Commons?, in Brian Davey (ed) Sharing For Survival: Restoring the Climate, the Commons and Society. Dublin: Feasta, page 27
x. The Social Credit Movement proposes a Citizens? Dividend, which is similar to basic income. See, for example, Frances Hutchinson (2010) Understanding the Financial System: Social Credit Re-discovered. Charlbury: Jon Carpenter.
xi. Emer ? Siochr? (2012) (ed) The Fair Tax. London: Shepheard-Walwyn
Prosper Australia (2012) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnznB2g_La0
xii. Brian Davey (2012) (ed) Sharing For Survival: Restoring the Climate, the Commons and Society. Dublin: Feasta.
www.capandshare.org
xiii. James Robertson (2012) Future Money: Breakdown or Breakthrough? Totnes: Green Books
xiv. Mary Mellor (2010) The Future of Money: From Financial Crisis to Public Resource. London: Pluto
Ann Pettifor www.debtonation.org/
James Robertson (2012) Future Money: Breakdown or Breakthrough? Totnes: Green Books.
xv. Se?n Healy, Michelle Murphy, Se?nWard, and Brigid Reynolds (2012) ?Basic Income Why and How in Difficult Times: Financing a BI in Ireland?, paper presented to BIEN (Basic Income Earth Network) Congress, Munich, Sept 14th. http://www.bien2012.de/sites/default/files/paper_253_en.pdf
xvi. Juliet Schor (2010) Plenitude: the new economics of true wealth. New York: Penguin: 146
xvii. Erik Olin Wright (2005): ?Basic Income as a Socialist Project?, in Rutgers Journal of Law and Urban Policy 2(1), pages201-2
xviii. Anna Coote, Jane Franklin and Andrew Simms (2010) 21 hours: Why a shorter working week can help us all to flourish in the 21st century. London: New Economics Foundation
xix. Juliet Schor (2010) Plenitude: the new economics of true wealth. New York: Penguin: 146
Anna Coote, Jane Franklin and Andrew Simms (2010) 21 hours: Why a shorter working week can help us all to flourish in the 21st century. London: New Economics Foundation
xx. The Smart Taxes Network (www.smarttaxes.org) has suggested that the following types of ?green? jobs would be valuable:
xxi. Matthew Forstater (2006) ?New Roles for Government: Green Jobs, Public Service Employment and Environmental Sustainability?, in Challenge: July/August.
xxii. Anna Coote (2012) ?After Beveridge: Towards a New Settlement ? radical change for the Common Good?, in Brigid Reynolds and Se?n Healy (eds) Does the European Social Model Have a Future?. Dublin: Social Justice Ireland.
xxiii. Justin Kenrick makes a similar point about commons management in ?The Climate and the Commons?, in Brian Davey (2012) (ed) Sharing For Survival: Restoring the Climate, the Commons and Society. Dublin: Feasta, page 27
xxiv. Anna Coote (2012) ?After Beveridge: Towards a New Settlement ? radical change for the Common Good?, in Brigid Reynolds and Se?n Healy (eds) Does the European Social Model Have a Future?. Dublin: Social Justice Ireland, page 75
xxv. Johann Gottlieb Fichte, cited by James Robertson (2012) Future Money: Breakdown or Breakthrough? Totnes: Green Books
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BRUSSELS (AP) ? President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia isn't a defender of Syrian President Bashar Assad and wants to see a democratically elected government, but held his ground on his stance that peace in Syria can only be achieved through talks.
Putin's statement at the end of talks with EU leaders in Brussels appears to be part of Russia's efforts to distance itself from its old ally, who has been weakened by opposition victories on the battleground and increasing international isolation.
But Putin made no indication that Moscow could change its stance and stop blocking international sanctions against the Syrian regime.
"We aren't a defender of the current Syrian leadership," Putin said.
He said that a lasting peace in Syria can only be reached through a peace agreement that would ensure the protection of various religious and ethnic groups in Syria.
Russia would like to see a "democratic regime in Syria based on the expression of people's will," he said.
Russia has backed its last Middle East ally since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, using its veto power along with China at the U.N. Security Council to block three resolutions containing sanctions against Damascus.
But, Putin's primary concern while meeting wit European leaders in Brussels was energy market regulations, which Moscow has described as discriminatory against Russia's state-controlled Gazprom gas company.
European officials have warned Gazprom that it would have to allow third-party gas producers to use the prospective South Stream pipeline to comply with its new regulations. Russia considers the pipeline key to its strategy of strengthening its supply to Europe, its most important export market.
But, the EU bans suppliers from owning transit facilities such as pipelines. Europe gets about a quarter of its gas from Russia.
Putin strongly criticized the EU energy regulations as he sat down for talks with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
"It creates confusion and undermines confidence in our mutual work," he said.
Gazprom is also facing an EU probe to determine whether it violated competition rules by linking gas prices with prices for oil.
Russia has argued that South Stream, which will run under the Black Sea and circumvent the U.S.- and EU-backed Nabucco pipeline project, should be exempt from the market regulations. The pipeline's construction began earlier this month.
Alexander Konovalov, the head of the Institute for Strategic Assessment and Analysis, an independent Moscow-based think tank, Russia's chances of winning any concessions for Gazprom look slim, as the EU's effort to diversify supply routes has reduced Moscow's room to maneuver.
"The EU already has done a lot to diversify sources of energy supply, and it will continue doing so," he said. "Moscow will find it increasingly difficult to use gas as an instrument of political and economic pressure."
Another hotly contested subject at the negotiations was Russia's increasingly impatient push for visa-free travel with EU countries. While the EU has argued that Russia's porous frontiers with its ex-Soviet neighbors make visa-free travel impossible at this point, the Kremlin has criticized EU officials for dragging their feet for years.
Putin pointed at the EU's visa-free travel agreements with 40 other nations across the world, saying that Brussels refusal to strike such a deal with Russia has negatively affected relations.
EU leaders said after the meeting that they had also discussed human rights in Russia.
Konovalov said Russia's rights record has adversely affected its ties with Europe. "The lack of trust doesn't help encourage business activities and develop contacts," he said.
Outside the European Council building in Brussels on Friday morning, journalists saw four topless female demonstrators, apparently members of the feminist protest group Femen, wrestled to the ground by police and taken away.
Brussels police did not immediately confirm the arrests.
In a move that appears to reflect Moscow's desire to avoid further criticism at the summit, the Kremlin-controlled lower house postponed a debate on a controversial bill that would introduce sanctions for providing minors with information on homosexuality, which it termed "homosexual propaganda." Similar laws passed by regional legislatures in several Russian provinces caused dismay in the EU.
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Don Melvin contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/putin-russia-no-defender-syrian-president-151817846--finance.html
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