text:
Shriver, Morrow Lead TU Women Past UTEP, 83-70
Jan. 10, 2002
El Paso, Texas - Tulsa junior Alyssa Shriver scored 22 points and senior Carla Morrow finished with 21 points to lead the Golden Hurricane to an, 83-70, Western Athletic Conference victory over UTEP at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.
Tulsa improves to 9-5 overall and a perfect 4-0 in WAC games. The victory was TU's fifth straight, a school record, and the 4-0 record in conference play marked the best start in Tulsa's six years as a league member. UTEP dropped to 3-9 overall and 1-3 in conference contests.
The Golden Hurricane led from start to finish, but UTEP kept the game close in the second half. Shriver missed her first field goal attempt, but reeled off a school record 10 straight baskets, including six in the first half to lead TU with 12 first-half points. After leading by as many as 15 points in the opening period, the Miners, behind 13 points in the first-half from Dragana Zoric, rallied to within six points at intermission.
In the second half, TU increased its lead, but could never shake the scrappy Miners. UTEP rallied from a 12-point deficit to within four points at the 12:03 mark. But Morrow, who tallied just two points in the first half, nailed a three-pointer and a jumper on the next TU two possessions to push the Hurricane advantage to nine points. UTEP's Kimya Murray kept the Miners close with 14 second half points, including several long range three-point buckets.
Morrow continued her scoring barrage late and finished with 19 second half points, while Shriver was steady through out the game. Both players excelled on both ends of the floor as Shriver recorded her second straight double-double with 10 rebounds, while Morrow finished with a team-high 11 boards and five assists. TU senior Leela Farr and sophomore Candice Brewer each contributed 15 points apiece. Tulsa outrebounded UTEP, 44-32, and connected on 28-of-54 field goal attempts for 51.9 percent, including 5-of-12 three-point attempts for 41.7 percent. The Hurricane finished 22-of-28 from the free-throw line for 78.6 percent.
Murray led all scorers with 24 points, while Zoric added 19 points and a game-best 12 boards. Danielle Brown chipped in 15 points. UTEP shot 37.3 percent from the field, 31.0 percent from behind the three-point line and connected on all five attempts from the charity stripe.
Fax: 918.631.3666


text:
1. PURPOSE. The purpose of the In-Person Investigation is to determine whether or not probable cause exists to issue a Complaint.
2. REPRESENTATION BY COUNSEL. Any party present at the In-Person Investigation may be represented by counsel or by an authorized representative. 456 CMR 12.05.
3. BURDEN OF PROOF. The Charging Party has the burden of presenting sufficient facts to support a finding of "probable cause" by the Investigator that the Respondent has violated the law.
4. INFORMAL CONFERENCE. The In-Person Investigation is an informal conference at which time the Investigator will afford each party a full and fair opportunity to present its position regarding the Charge.
5. ATTENDANCE OF THE PARTIES. Although any party may appear through counsel or an authorized representative, the Division Investigator will expect the parties to appear accompanied by individuals with first hand knowledge of the facts and circumstances related to the Charge.
6. SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS. The Division does not require or indeed encourage the submission of position statements. Nevertheless, parties may submit relevant documents for consideration by the Investigator. Parties who submit documents should do so well in advance of the In-Person Investigation and must serve copies of all submissions on all other parties in accordance with 456 CMR 12.02. Absent good cause, the Investigator will not accept or consider additional submissions after she or he has declared that the Investigation is closed.
7. INVESTIGATION IN ABSENCE OF RESPONDENT. If the Respondent chooses not to file a response to the Charge, not to attend the In-Person Investigation or otherwise not to participate in the investigation, the Investigator will conduct the In-Person Investigation and make a probable cause determination based solely on the basis of the Charging Party's initial Charge of Prohibited Practice and any other evidence presented by the Charging Party.
8. RECORD. The record will consist of (1) the Charge of Prohibited Practice; (2) the Respondent's initial response (456 CMR 15.02); (3) all documentary evidence submitted by the parties during the Investigation and (4) the Investigator's written decision.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A family of snowmen! This is an inexpensive craft that takes couple of socks, buttons, rice, rubber bands, some beads and fabric scraps or ribbon! I made mine out of some big white crew socks from the Family Dollar Store. You could use tube socks, too, and just about any size will work. It's a fun project for kids who can handle sewing with needle and thread. For younger children, you could use glue.
First, cut the sock off at the heel.
Fill the foot with rice. I used pearl barley, only because it's what I had in my pantry. Here's a tip: work on a cookie sheet so you don't have rice scattered all over your table.
Form a gourd shape, with a heavier bottom, and tightly rubber band the top.
Use another rubber band for the neck. Don't make it too tight. You can push the rice from the body up into the head, or vice versa, to get the proportion you like.
Sew buttons down the front. I saved the eyes for last, after I put the cap on.
For the hat or cap, I turned the cuff inside out and banded the top, then turned it right-side out. You can make long or short caps.
Now put the cap on and decorate! So simple!


text:
By Paul Stark, S.J.
Vice President for Mission and Ministry
In our modern world, we are challenged daily by the diversity of peoples and cultures. Our ordinary response for these differences is often that we strive to recognize others and their differences in what seems to be passive acceptance. We try to make the best of all the differences we can.
Cultural research informs us that human beings often find people or things different from their own experiences as being at least suspect, if not detrimental.
Because mission really does matter, St. Ignatius and his worldview challenge this position. His concept of God as present in all parts of our world opens to us to perceive diversity in a more positive, a more active, perspective. The differences we face are not threats, but invitations to understand more deeply ourselves, the world and the immensity of God.
Diversity becomes a gift that enhances our limited experiences, calling and enabling us to move beyond those mental walls into a better and more expansive experience and knowledge of truth. The bothersome differences of people and cultures become the means for us to move beyond the edges of our boxes so we might have a real possibility of "thinking-outside-the-box." Ignatius called us to seek and see God in all things, all people, all situations, in – and out of – the box.
At SLU, we can not only celebrate diversity as inevitable, but also, and more, as a blessing, a gift given to us to understand and live our mission. The truth lies outside our own experiences and perspectives, and so we need and depend on learning from others' viewpoints to advance our own and others' understanding. One tenet of recent and considerable research tells us that the more varied our observations an experiences, the more reliable our knowledge.
Ignatius calls all of us at Saint Louis University to go far beyond ourselves and each other, as we seek a better understanding of the other…whoever, wherever and whatever that might be. Today we can begin to answer his call.
For more information about mission programs at SLU, visit the Division of Mission and Ministry website.


text:
Underemployed immigrants: A plug for Maine's 'brain drain'?
PORTLAND — Sally Sutton is working on what she believes is a win-win proposition for Maine.
Since December, Sutton has served as program coordinator for the New Mainers Resource Center, a two-year pilot project to help skilled, foreign-trained professionals pursue their former careers here in their adoptive country. She estimates there are hundreds of immigrants with professional degrees in the greater Portland area who cannot work due to barriers of language or licensing.
They are doctors, nurses, pharmacists, engineers, teachers and computer scientists who are unemployed or underemployed. In a state where the buzzword has long been "brain drain," the newly arrived Mainers provide an opportunity to stem the tide, Sutton said.
"As a state, we need these people. We are old, we're aging out of the workforce," she said. "They are who we need for our workforce now. And if they're better off, we're better off."
The effort will be the subject of a free workshop on Monday, March 24, from 9-11:30 a.m., at the Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Square. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Participants should enter the library from Elm Street.
The workshop will feature guest speakers from the Welcome Back Initiative and Upwardly Global, two similar programs from elsewhere in the United States. The event is open to employers, educators, policymakers, licensing boards, skilled immigrants and the community at large.
"A big part of this (effort) is finding the U.S. employers who are willing to mentor these professionals, to take them in as volunteers, as interns and help them make that transition into the U.S. workforce," Sutton said.
As a percentage of the population, immigrants in southern Maine are younger and have higher skill levels than the native-born Maine population, according to a 2013 report by the Immigration Policy Center. Maine's 1st Congressional District has a total population of 670,000, of whom 26,000 are immigrants. About 20 percent of those immigrants hold graduate or professional degrees, versus about 15 percent of native-born Mainers.
Sutton said it's difficult to know how many foreign-trained professionals are working outside their fields, but she said the number is probably growing.
Late last year, the New Mainers Resource Center opened at Portland Adult Education (site of the former Cathedral Grammar School) at 14 Locust St. The center offers career guidance, case management and employer networking, and provides English courses tailored to specific professions, such as health care.
Through a team approach with Portland Adult Education, Sutton helps develop short-, medium- and long-term goals for new Mainers.
"My goal is to help them figure out how to use their skills as soon as possible and to the greatest extent possible," she said.
Shorter-term goals are especially helpful for former physicians, who have the longest road back to their careers, Sutton said. The language and licensing barriers, combined with a shortage of residency programs, can add several years to the effort, so Sutton often encourages former physicians to become physician assistants or nurse practitioners – careers that have similar scopes of practice, but require less time in classrooms and residencies.
One of them is Abdul Qani, a 37-year-old former doctor.
Four months ago, Qani moved to Westbrook from Afghanistan with his wife and three children. Qani graduated as a physician in 2004, practiced for one year, then took a job as a translator for the U.S. military.
He's now pursuing a career as a physician assistant through University of New England. Although he's a strong English speaker, Qani takes a class in health care-related English at the resource center alongside students from Burundi, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Iraq and Rwanda.
In the meantime, he's looking for work as an interpreter.
Qani said it's inherently frustrating to spend so much time and effort re-learning his skills, but it's also fair and appropriate that foreign-trained physicians be trained to U.S. standards.
"These are the standards, and you have to meet them," he said.
Malual Mabur is another former doctor who is working his way back into the field. He has a goal of returning within two years.
"It's not easy," the Portland resident said. "I'm trying to sit down and study, but it's really hard. Time-wise, it's really difficult."
Regaining his credentials will take a lot of time and money, Mabur said. To put in an earnest effort, he would have to study for up to eight hours a day, which is difficult with a full-time job, a wife in her second-year of a nursing program, and three young children.
"If you have time, everything is possible," he said. "But if you have a family, a job, social commitments and everything, it makes it very difficult."
Mabur, 37, practiced internal and general medicine for seven years in Sudan, the United Kingdom and Jordan.
Four years ago, Mabur moved to the U.S. after a family tragedy. He now works for the city as a health promotion specialist, working with other newcomers to help them find health care. He estimates that he makes about a third of the salary he could make as a doctor.
Mabur said he enjoys the work he's doing now, but it's not the same as working directly with patients.
"It's my passion," he said. "It's my calling."


text:
Lucy Rose, SOAK and Mercury Rev Join Iceland Airwaves 2015 Line-Up
The line-up for the Reykjavík festival grows and grows, with today's addition of XFM favourites Lucy Rose and SOAK joining headliners Bjork and John Grant.
Skip to Content
Music that rocks
The line-up for the Reykjavík festival grows and grows, with today's addition of XFM favourites Lucy Rose and SOAK joining headliners Bjork and John Grant.
The returning rapper will make a European festival exclusive appearance at Robin Hill, with organisers saying they're "mighty proud" to host her.
The best signatures will be printed up on a real cast and given to the fallen frontman.
The band reveal that the forthcoming record will feature a more mature band… and synthesisers!
The shoegaze legends continue their reunion with some more dates.
With Isle of Wight just around the corner, the organisers have announced they'll be chasing a world record - and it involves the guitar legend and a lot of masks.
A number of people have been taken ill after reportedly drinking poppers at the Manchester festival.
Soak, Ratboy and The Bohicas are amongst the acts included in the line-up for Bestival's Invaders Of The Future stage.
John Giddings, who runs the Isle of Wight festival, says he got his chequebook out to ensure Fleetwood Mac would headline his event rather than Glastonbury.
The trio have announced details of their tour plans for autumn 2015, with the band set for dates in London's Alexandra Palace, Cardiff, Manchester and more.
It's a BIG week in the delightful world of indie - The Libertines are BACK! Plus new music from The Chemical Brothers, Modest Mouse, Villagers and Bleachers.
The dust may have settled on Glastonbury weekend, but the summer of great music is just beginning. The Maccabees, The Strypes, The Big Moon and more...!
2015 is shaping up to be a big year for albums from some of XFM's favourite artists. Who's releasing what... and when? Find out here.
Jonathan Higgs and Alex Robertshaw take XFM's John Kennedy through their challenging, provocative and undeniably brilliant third album.
We're halfway through the year, but we guarantee that all of this week's tracks will be in your Best Songs Of 2015 lists come December... Beck, Foals, Editors and more.
The Libertines are finally back with a new album... but which other bands have made heroic comeback records?
Independence Day is the time of year when we celebrate the US of A for producing some excellent music over the years. Here are some of our favourite acts from Stateside.
King of rock and master of the one-liner Noel Gallagher has given us decades of newsworthy gold.
Intergalactic planetary, planetary intergalactic. The stars and the heavens have always fascinated songwriters... especially XFM's favourites.


text:
August 8, 2006 5:01 PM PDT
FAQ: Protecting yourself from search engines
- Related Stories
AOL's disturbing glimpse into users' livesAugust 7, 2006
AOL apologizes for release of user search dataAugust 7, 2006
Feds suggest 21-day deadline for Google subpoenaMarch 10, 2006
Google may have to fight second subpoenaFebruary 17, 2006
Verbatim: Search firms surveyed on privacyFebruary 3, 2006
Judge postpones Google subpoena hearingFebruary 2, 2006
FAQ: What does the Google subpoena mean?January 20, 2006
Privacy experts condemn Google subpoenaJanuary 20, 2006
(continued from previous page)
Q: OK, Ixquick.com is fine and all that, but I want to keep using my favorite search engine. How can I protect my privacy while doing that?
The first thing you should do is clear the cookies that are set by search engines--those let the company correlate your repeat visits. In Firefox, go to Preferences and select Privacy. There you have the option to delete cookies and even prevent search engines from ever setting them again. (Unfortunately, not all Web browsers offer this option.)
Let's say you're using Google. Add "google.com" to Firefox's list of cookies-not-allowed sites. Be warned: That prevents you from using options like personalization or Gmail, which is why you might want to keep another browser like Opera, Safari or Internet Explorer around to do those things.
If you're really worried, go to Anonymizer.com and sign up for one of its anonymous browsing options (they're primarily for Windows users). Tor is another option. It's a pain, but protecting your privacy may well be worth it.
Q: Excluding Ixquick, what information do other search engines collect?
We surveyed the search engines in February of this year and asked them precisely that question.
The rough overview: Given a number of search terms, they can produce a list of people (identified by Internet address or cookie) who searched for a given term. Second, given a collection of Internet addresses, they can produce a list of the terms searched by the user of a given address. That effectively creates an electronic dossier of an individual.
Q: Who can get access to my list of search terms?
Well, prosecutors in criminal cases certainly can. And it's likely that even lawyers in civil cases--divorce attorneys, employers in severance disputes--eventually will demand that Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and other search engines cough up users' search histories.
Q: Has this happened before?
Almost. A North Carolina man was found guilty of murder in November in part because he Googled the words "neck," "snap," "break" and "hold" before his wife was killed. But those search terms were found on Robert Petrick's computer, not obtained from Google directly.
Q: How are Internet addresses handed out? Do people always have the
same one?
It depends. Many DSL and cable modem providers allocate Internet addresses only when they're in use (the methods are called DHCP and PPPoe). Those IP addresses can change frequently.
Other IP addresses tend to be fixed. Faculty and staff members at universities, and employees of corporations, are more likely to have fixed Internet addresses.
AOL Search is a unique case. Because AOL users tend to be logged in when using it, AOL will know who you are--assuming, that is, that you provided accurate information when signing up for its service.
Q: If Google knows I'm connecting from a dynamically assigned Internet address of 126.96.36.199 one day, and 220.127.116.11 the next day and 18.104.22.168 the third, how can it link my queries together to create that dossier?
This is where "cookies" come in. A cookie is simply a device for a Web site to recognize people the next time they return. Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft all set cookies by default. (Microsoft's expire in 2016; Yahoo's in 2010; Google's in 2038. AOL sets a third-party cookie that expires in 2011.)
In the above example, Google.com would set a cookie for whoever's connecting from Internet address 18.104.22.168 the first day, and then figure out that the same Web browser is connecting from 188.8.131.52 and 220.127.116.11 the next two days. If people are logged in to their Google account, this makes the process even easier, of course.
Q: How long do companies keep records of my search terms?
In our survey, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo all said they keep data as long as it's necessary, which could mean forever. Microsoft did add that they are "looking at ways" to provide users with the option to delete their search histories, and Yahoo made a similar statement. It's unclear how long AOL keeps it.
Page 1 | 2
See more CNET content tagged:
America Online Inc., search engine, privacy, FAQ, Time Warner Inc.
20 commentsJoin the conversation! Add your comment
- Ixquick.com as Meta-Search... come on
- I would hardly classify Ixquick.com as a meta-search engine. Most of the results are generated from PPC search engines. Even though the site is putting the results from sponsored search separate it still gives you results from PPC engines like overture and always chooses to link to the site using PPC engine and not an organic result URL.
- Like Reply Link Flag
- Unclear on the concept
- The writer needs more familiarity with the issues involved. He
says about Ixquick:
"The Netherlands-based company proudly says it doesn't keep
records of its users' Internet addresses. In other words, it does
save search terms, but the company says it's unable to link them
to any person, unique ID number or Internet address."
"'I'm a firm believer in the privacy cause,' Ixquick.com CEO
Robert Beens said in a recent interview with CNET News.com"
Beens, too, is unclear on the privacy concept. As the AOL
scandal showed, just the list of searches alone can be enough to
identify who is searching. AOL released no more info than Beens
collects, yet it was enough to reveal the searcher's identity.
NONE of these people - and that includes reporters - can be
trusted to have thought the privacy issue through and have a
competent grasp of culture, technology, legality, and yes,
- Like Reply Link Flag
- A very clear concept
- Dear Reybar,
Your comment is not correct.
Just a list of searches alone can not breach your Privacy.
AOL released not only search terms, but also unique 6 or 7-digit user numbers.
These user numbers made it possible to combine the otherwise completely random search terms into unique user profiles.
Without this "glue" ,the millions of individual search terms would have been relatively harmless.
Since Ixquick.com deletes its user's IP address from its log-files there simply is no "glue" to build a user's profile.
This safeguards the Privacy of Ixquick.com users.
- Like Link Flag
- Thanks Reybar and Mr. Beens.
I believe Reybar's concern is valid. Why does a search engine need to save serch terms at all? If there is a list of an anonymous person's search terms, there is a way to find out who those belong to; MSNBC did that and found a person based on only search terms with no user identifiable information at all (no ip address, name, or anything).
The solution to a true anonymous search engine is a search engine that doesn't save search terms or pages visited.
- Like Link Flag
- Easy, don't use AOL
- Anyone who is stupid enough to use AOL deserves to have their search history posted anyways.
- Like Reply Link Flag
- Privacy notme.com
- Complete privacy and security at the website visted, they have no way of identifing you, nor any way to pass Cookies, Trojans, a Virus or any kind of Spyware to you.
Complete privacy and security from any PC or device connected to the internet that you happen to be using at the time with absolutely no way for the PC to track where you have been.
Complete privacy and security on your credit card statement.
And, there is absolutly no software needed, it is ISP based, so it works from any and all PC's today!
This new Patented technology is an "Indirect Portal", not a proxy, an will change how users surf the internet forever. Why? You need to do nothing except surf from NotMe when you want complete and utter privacy. The way the internet used to be way back when.
- Like Reply Link Flag
- Privacy notme.com
- Complete privacy and security at the website visted, they have no way of identifing you, nor any way to pass Cookies, Trojans, a Virus or any kind of Spyware to you.
Complete privacy and security from any PC or device connected to the internet that you happen to be using at the time with absolutely no way for the PC to track where you have been.
Complete privacy and security on your credit card statement.
And, there is absolutly no software needed, it is ISP based, so it works from any and all PC's today!
This new Patented technology is an "Indirect Portal", not a proxy, an will change how users surf the internet forever. Why? You need to do nothing except surf from NotMe when you want complete and utter privacy. The way the internet used to be way back when.
- Like Reply Link Flag
- Use a search proxy and forget about it
- Search proxies rock and they dont allow the engines to collect your data so theres nothing to report on.
Try it its free anyway. http://www.blackboxsearch.com
- Like Reply Link Flag
- Use a search proxy and forget about it
- The only way around this privacy stuff is to use a search proxy. The engines cant collect or report on anything that way.
And its FREE. http://www.blackboxsearch.com
- Like Reply Link Flag
- proxy's are useless ...
- they do nothing to the PC. The history in the PC is recorded all over the place. Proxy's don't address that. You can erase everything, buy a program that will clean the PC out... but you can't do that from work, or your friends lap-top. A 'Indirect Portal" leaves no trace anywhere Period without any pain... not even a need to set IE Explorer to accept proxy's. THE USER DOES NOTHING except surf from notme.com from whatever PC they happen to be on at the time... Complete Stealth both sides. The history records
notme.com/getme:url13567.aspx When U close the page the link recorded is expired. The site visited has zero clue who you are... and zero way of identifying you. You don't even need virus protection nor spyware protection... can't get one =)
Proxy's are a joke...an Indirect Portal is the only way of achieving Complete Internet Stealth. notme.com to find out more...
- Like Reply Link Flag
- proxys work
- The info that was handed to the govt by all the major search engines without your consent, and the info AOL published has nothing to do with YOUR local PC. It has to do with network based data collection.
Proxies dont keep someone from breaking into your house and your computer. They keep you from unwittingly participating in a fight for your personal information surrendered without you knowing it over a network.
- Like Link Flag
- AOL is doomed...
- I downloaded their free AOL, it installed a ton of unwanted crap, slowed my computer to a crawl and then it started to lock up.
I uninstalled everything and am never using AOL.
That company screwed up majorly. I would fire all the company executives who are reposible for these problems on the spot immiediately and the dumb ass CEO.
- Like Reply Link Flag
- and the coolest part
- If you use NotMe to break any laws Period, we will identify you in a snap.Think g-mail. Its important the users, normal people who want to do nothing... but, expect total privacy and security have an outlet for it. This technology is ISP based, works from anything you have connected to the net and is simple to use and totally effective.
Why does a normal person need to worry about getting information they deem sensitive. They do, and many people do not want AA or The Herpes Cafe or the Aids Hotline or RAINN in their histories yet need the help desperately...
Notme.com go wherever you want and no one will ever know, unless you break the law...
- Like Reply Link Flag
- IP's Are Often Static
- If you use a router and you don't turn it off and have Comcast it's likely you will have the same IP for years. You don't need to be on some special network. If you go into your router and change the MAC address you will get a new IP. Some routers allow you to copy the MAC address of your PC's NIC instead of sending the MAC address of the router. Comcast will then give you a different IP.
- Like Reply Link Flag


text: Ok Now I remember in the 2008 post season regional tourney, there was this wrestler and his coach was yelling at him to do a move called oklahoma. I can't tell if he did it or even attempted to or not. My only guess is that it's some type of roll but has anyone heard or seen this move? I went to youtube but no luck.


text:
Kaspersky Lab is a Russian computer security company, co-founded by Natalia Kaspersky and Eugene Kaspersky in 1997, offering anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, and anti-intrusion products.
The current line of Kaspersky home-user products consists of Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) 2011, Kaspersky Anti-Virus (KAV) 2011, Kaspersky Mobile Security (KMS) and AVZ Antiviral Toolkit, Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac, Kaspersky Password Manager, Kaspersky KryptoStorage. In 2010, Kaspersky launched a consumer security suite named Kaspersky Pure. Kaspersky products are widely used throughout Europe and Asia. In the United States, Kaspersky Lab was ranked as the fastest growing internet security software,based on NPD sales data.
One of the The Most Popular Antivirus Ever! Basic Antivirus and Antispyware protection for Windows available to download for free. Limited features, no support, for private and non-commercial use only
The Best Antivirus which Protects against viruses and other Malware with industry-leading technology with Multi-layered proactive protection against new and unknown threats.
Avast Antivirus software provides complete virus protection for your computer. Antivirus engine is complemented by anti-spyware, firewall and Antispam modules to protect you against phishing schemes, identity theft and internet-distributed web viruses.
Norton (Symantec)
Norton AntiVirus, developed and distributed by Symantec Corporation, provides malware prevention and removal during a subscription period. It uses signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features include e-mail spam filtering and phishing protection.
"Avira security software" refers to a range of antivirus and Internet security software for the Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and Solaris computing platforms by Avira. These applications are based on the AntiVir antivirus engine also known as "Luke Filewalker", first launched in 1988.
On October 17, 2008, a major update to the search engine was released, which increased scanning speed by 20%.
Avira GmbH periodically "cleans out" the virus definition files, by replacing specific signatures with generic ones, which results in a general increase in performance and scanning speed. The last database clean-out was made on October 27, 2008, which caused problems to AntiVir Personal users when updating because of its large size (15 MB) and because of AntiVir Personal's slow servers. For that reason Avira GmbH added an additional 6 GB of bandwidth to the AntiVir Personal Servers and changed the updating process: Nowadays there are 32 smaller definition files which are updated regularly to avoid peaks in the download of updates.
Eset (Nod 32)
ESET NOD32 Antivirus, commonly known as NOD32, is an antivirus software package made by the Slovak company ESET. ESET NOD32 Antivirus is sold in two editions, Home Edition and Business Edition. The Business Edition packages add ESET Remote Administrator allowing for server deployment and management, mirroring of threat signature database updates and the ability to install on Microsoft Windows Server operating systems.
Panda Security
Panda Security SL, formerly Panda Software, is a computer security company founded in 1990 by Panda's former CEO, Mikel Urizarbarrena, in the city of Bilbao, Spain. Initially centered on the production of antivirus software, the company has expanded its line of applications to include firewall applications, spam and spyware detection applications, cybercrime prevention technology, and other system management and security tools for businesses and home users.
Panda's products include security tools for home users and enterprises, including protection against cybercrime and kinds of malware that can damage IT systems, such as spam, hackers, spyware, dialers and undesirable web content, as well as detection of WiFi intrusions. Its trademark technology, branded TruPrevent, is a set of proactive capabilities aimed at blocking unknown viruses and intruders. In 2007 Panda introduced a new collective intelligence security model, which utilizes grid computing for malware collection and detection.
Panda Security spots market opportunity with cloud[clarification needed] and on November 2009, unveiled its first Cloud-Based Security Services for Home Users and SMBs
McAfee VirusScan
McAfee VirusScan is an antivirus program created and maintained by McAfee Inc. (formerly known as Network Associates). McAfee markets VirusScan to home and home-office users; McAfee also develops VirusScan Enterprise for use in corporate environments. The product is not available as a standalone package, but is included in the McAfee VirusScan Plus package or as part of McAfee Internet Security Suite. McAfee also produces a similar product for Mac OS X under the name of VirusScan for Mac. Additionally, BSkyB and McAfee have produced a "Sky Broadband" branded version of VirusScan, offered free to Sky Digital customers upon broadband modem installation.
Webroot entered the enterprise market in 2004 with the launch of Webroot Spy Sweeper Enterprise, which combined Spy Sweeper with technology that enables IT administrators to deploy antispyware protection across an entire network.


text:
There is something very special indeed about a protective momma hen and her three cute and precious ┬Ābaby chicks and darling, dabbling, ducky baby ducks.
A hen is the female bird of the domestic fowl. I wonder if our momma hen can slip away occasionally and go to a hen party?┬Ā
This momma hen is busy scratching in the manner that a hen scratches which is called hen scratch as most momaŌĆÖs do for their little families each day.┬Ā Do we all not scratch around for merely survival of getting our three good meals each day for our own little chicks and ducks as we provide for our families as the moma of our children?┬Ā
My own Mother, Elizabeth Janette Lewis McReynolds was like a moma hen to my brother, Johnny┬Ā and me.┬Ā Moma was what we called her as most Southerners call their MotherŌĆÖs...just ŌĆ£mommaŌĆØ with greatest of love and affection for her.┬Ā
In my bedroom on the dresser top by the big oval mirror is a treasured oval framed picture of my momma.┬Ā This very dresser, chest, and bed are all antiques that have been in our family for years.┬Ā This bedroom set belonged to my own parents, John and Elizabeth McReynolds, and this was one of the first purchases they made...they bought this bedroom suit as an antique furniture set┬Āafter they married on December 22, 1935. They were married in a home wedding in this very old home that Frank, my husband, ┬Āand I live in today, at 501 Louisville Street in Starkville. This framed photo of momma sits on a gold/brass tiny easel.┬Ā┬Ā┬Ā
Momma told me a story once that I always cherished about her growing up in this family home that she was born in on July 9, 1911ŌĆö the year that her own granddaddy, Wiley Bartley Pearson designed and built and finished the year she was born.
Momma told me that in the hot, sweltering, humid Mississippi summer time heat and after eating ┬Āa delicious home-grown vegetables straight from┬Āher┬ĀdaddyŌĆÖs ┬Āgarden dinner...┬Ā(high noon time is called our noon dinner time and supper was around 6 p.m. when night was beginning to fall)... that the children and her momma, my granny, would all go outside on the big wrap-around front porch and pull down huge green bamboo blinds that surrounded the porch that stayed folded up. These would be un-folded to keep the hot afternoon sunshine and┬Āheat from getting into the house. Each one of them would take an afternoon ŌĆ£cat napŌĆØ for an hour or so after the old black Emerson fan that would swirl back and forth making a certain little┬Āsqueaky sound as it┬Āwas┬Ākeeping your body sorta comfortable and cooled off as you began to get┬Ā to feel sleepy and your eye lids were beginning to close after consuming such a big dinner with that last piece of lemon ice-box pie and sip of cold sweet tea with mint and lemon on top!
The story I loved to hear was about what was underneath this old home place.┬Ā The home stood up taller than it is today and when it was restored back in the 1955ŌĆÖs momma and daddy lowered the front yard by bringing in loads of dirt to raise the front yard area.┬Ā It was so tall underneath, that Momma use to play underneath house where it was cool in the summer time to enjoy playing in this area.┬Ā
Who else enjoyed this little heaven of a spot?┬Ā A momma hen and her baby chicks would find refuge from the heat and the hot and very humid middle of the day time as a spot to keep cool too.┬Ā Momma said, ŌĆ£we use to fall asleep hearing the momma hen cackle. Hearing the sounds of the squeaking old Emerson fan plugged in as it swayed back and forth, and hearing the soft, relaxing sounds of the old momma hen┬Ācackling ┬Āand softly clucking would put all the children and the adults into a deep ŌĆ£cat napŌĆØ for an hour or so on the hot sweltering summer time afternoon!┬Ā
When they awakened from their ŌĆ£cat nap,ŌĆØ I can only imagine how relaxed and cool they must have felt to go ahead and face the rest of the hot summer time┬Āafternoon back┬Āyears ago ┬Āin Starkville.
Where in this world and in this county did I find this subject for my painting? I was searching for something to paint one day.┬Ā When I go ŌĆ£searching,ŌĆØI go riding way out into our beautiful Oktibbeha County on those country roads to find something that inspires me to stop and paint all day.┬Ā It was June 29, 1995,┬Āand ┬ĀI was making my way down one of my favorite roads in all of this county, the ┬ĀSturgis/Maben Road. I had passed a┬Ābig┬Ācountry church... and was getting on towards Maben. There to the┬Āleft of the road was the old home place a ŌĆ£weather beatenŌĆØ and ŌĆ£weather wornŌĆØ old home just standing right there on the roadside.┬Ā It was a beautiful old grey wooden home with a porch, and underneath this old porch in the back was my subject ŌĆ£just beggingŌĆØ to be sketched and painted on my canvas. I pulled into the drive and stopped my car.┬Ā I had arrived at my destination for this early morning!
I went up to the front door of a mobile home right behind this treasured old homeplace and gently tapped on the front door.┬Ā There stood none other than Mr.. Dero Reed and his sweet wife standing right behind him.┬Ā
ŌĆ£Oh, Mr.. Dero Reed, you know me.. and I know you...I had no idea this is where you lived. You know me through the Boll Weevil Laboratory and my husband, Dr. Frank M. Davis, Sr.┬Ā We have met at several Christmas parties out at the Boll Weevil Laboratory, and you are one of the finest technicians and people who work out there.┬Ā Frank just loves you, and I do too!ŌĆØ┬Ā
Then I said, ŌĆ£Mr. Dero do you mind if I spend the day painting something you have underneath your old home place which is just beautiful?ŌĆØ┬Ā
ŌĆ£It is a momma hen and her baby chicks and those visiting baby ducks that I saw underneath your home.ŌĆØ┬Ā
Mr. Dero answered without any hesitation in his voice, ŌĆ£Miss Carole, my wife, (and then he turned to introduce me to her), and I ┬Āwould be honored to have you spend a day with us, and paint... and we ŌĆ£welcomeŌĆØ you to our homes...both our trailer home and my old home place.┬Ā I want you to come with me now┬Ā and let me take you through the rooms of where I grew up years ago.┬Ā I just can not bring myself to ever tear it down cause it holds so many memories of my childhood...I just keep it sitting here empty and lonely, cause it is home to me... canŌĆÖt tear down memories...can I?ŌĆØ
It was just like ŌĆ£theyŌĆØ left it years ago except lots of dirt dobbers insects had moved in too. He had an old refrigerator inside and electricity had been wired for the old house and especially to keep the old refrigerator working to keep cold water inside to offer to his visitors whenever one might ŌĆ£tourŌĆØ inside.┬Ā He had an old Knox fruit jar besides the old fridge to offer a visitor┬Āa cool sip of water.
I unpacked all my art supplies I would need for the long day and afternoon ahead and set up my ŌĆ£outside art studioŌĆØ right behind Dero ReedŌĆÖs old home place and popped up my portable easel and big colorful umbrella to keep me cool too and the sunshine off the white watercolor hard board that I would be working on for the hours ahead of me.┬Ā
Dero soon left in his pick-up truck for some destination
down the road. I think he was going towards his church that I had just passed which he is a faithful member.┬ĀHe had a big lawn mower in the back bed of his old truck as it ŌĆ£rattledŌĆØ out of the dirt drive way headed back towards Sturgis and that quaint┬Ābig church and cemetery I had just passed.┬ĀHis sweet wife told me if I needed anything to just knock on the trailer door and ask her.┬ĀShe was sweet and kind too, and I already began to feel right at home as I began to sketch my subject for the day.┬Ā
I had my whole world right underneath this old home place.┬ĀA momma hen doing her ŌĆ£hen scratchingŌĆØ in the manner in which she
scratches around for a bite or two for herself to eat and a bite or two for her three baby chicks. And now they are all joined by three baby ducks as their visiting pals and friends for the day.┬ĀThere was an old well and an old out house in the near by backyard.┬Ā Both left behind as ┬Āpast relics of happy times and of the years long ago when life and living life... ŌĆ£use to be.ŌĆØ
Suddenly, I heard the cackle and the clucking of this happy momma hen.┬ĀI heard the ŌĆ£peep,ŌĆØ ŌĆ£peep,ŌĆØŌĆØpeep,ŌĆØ of her three little yellow fluffy chicks. I head the ŌĆ£gaggle,ŌĆØ ŌĆ£gaggle,ŌĆØ ŌĆ£gaggle,ŌĆØ of those visiting friends and pals of the chicks... the three yellow/white baby ducks who seemed almost to be ŌĆ£adoptedŌĆØ by this momma hen.┬ĀThey blended in with her own chick family...and fit in and were happy underneath the old home place.┬Ā
The rippled tin above their heads made have a nice touch to this subject.┬ĀThe dark, cool, dampness of the dark black background behind the bodies of the momma hen, her chicks and baby ducks made the yellow/white of their bodies pop out.
The scratched brown, Indian Red clay dirt gave the bottom of my watercolor board a nice contrast to the other colors in the painting.┬ĀLook at the face of momma hen.┬ĀShe looks so confident and has a very protective expression in her yellow beak.┬Ā Her red head was so much fun to paint. Look at her determined one eye. Her big fat brownish body and her feet were nice too.┬Ā The tiny chick nearest to her seems to need ŌĆ£herŌĆØ mommaŌĆÖs love, agree?┬Ā The other two chicks are maybe more independent that one chick.┬Ā
Now, we have all heard the expression, ŌĆ£like a hen with only one little chick.ŌĆØ┬ĀA child is often referred to as a chick. We have all heard the┬Āexpression too, ŌĆśno spring chicken.ŌĆØ This means you are not as young as you use to be!
As I painted I thought underneath this old house has become the┬Āspot┬Ācalled┬Āa hen coop,┬Ā for keeping fowls.┬Ā This is her...hen house.┬ĀA type of small shed (underneath the old house) for her to roost for the night.┬Ā
The middle of the afternoon was approaching, and I was getting to the end of this painting.┬Ā Dero Reed┬Āhad come and gone back and forth up┬Āand down the old Sturgis/Maben road all day long.┬Ā
Mrs. Reed and I had spent the day together chatting and laughing┬Āas I┬Ācreated my painting.
She had gone back into her trailer home, and I suddenly saw a┬Ā snake slithering near by.┬ĀI screamed and Mrs. Reed heard my scream.┬ĀI┬Āam afraid of snakes and what a┬Āsnake bite might┬Ābe and feel like..so I really did scream ŌĆ£bloody murder.ŌĆØ
She┬Āquickly appeared, and went and got her garden hoe and began to kill the snake. The snake was gone to his┬ĀŌĆ£final resting spotŌĆØ... and it was time to sign my name and┬Āturn around and head back home to Starkville and to my own home and my family. I hugged and thanked Mrs. Reed for┬Ābeing such a┬Ālovely hostess to me all day┬Āand afternoon long, and┬Āfor handling┬Āthe un-wanted snake for me.┬Ā About this time, Mr. Dero Reed appeared from his errands. I had the same opportunity to say, ŌĆ£thank youŌĆØ to┬Āhim also.
As I waved and┬Ādrove back towards home, I thought┬Āback about the┬Āthis┬Āword ...inspiration.┬Ā What really did┬Āinspire me to stop and paint this particular┬Āsubject?┬Ā┬Ā
It was the old story that I was told by my own momma, so many years ago.┬ĀIn the good┬ĀŌĆśole summertime on a hot, humid, sweltering┬Āday, I got to experience the sounds of a cackle of a hen, as she made her clucking music.┬ĀI┬Āgot to hear the gaggle of three baby┬Āducks near by ŌĆ£playingŌĆØ with their friends... these three darling chicks┬Ā. I got to feel the protective and caring love of a momma hen as she tended to her little ŌĆ£chick family.ŌĆØ┬Ā
In my own imagination I could hear the squeaky sounds of┬Ā an old black Emerson fan moving from side to side as it kept me cool all day afternoon long.┬Ā
I felt like a momma hen too with my own now three grown children as if they use to be three little white/yellow chicks, and maybe had three little neighborhood friends over to play for the day...the three little ducks!
Now, I get to share with you, ŌĆ£my viewers ŌĆ£ in the Starkville Daily News years later, a 1995 painting in this year 2011... this fun and happy painting... called ŌĆ£A Momma Hen With Her Three Baby Chicks And Three Visiting Ducks.ŌĆØ


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According to an Associated Press report filed in The Star Tribune and Washington Post, Texas prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in case against a Houston woman accused of killing a mother and abducting her newborn son outside a clinic earlier this year, authorities said Thursday.
The accused woman is 31-year-old Verna McClain, who suffered a miscarriage and felt "desperate for a baby," according to investigators. McClain is facing a charge of capital murder for allegedly shooting Kala Golden-Schurchardt outside a suburban Houston pediatric clinic and taking her newborn son upon shooting her.
According to McClain's attorneys, her mental state will be under review.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday its decision to seek the death penalty. Lead attorney Kelly Blackburn said his office would not comment on what led to the decision. According to Blackburn, Golden-Schuchardt's family is "on board" with the decision.
The shooting took place outside of Northwoods Pediatric Center about 25 miles north of Houston, where McClain regularly took her three children for checkups. Investigators believe Golden-Schurchardt was randomly targeted by McClain.
Authorities said McClain repeatedly shot Golden-Schurchardt as she was placing her days' old son into her pickup truck. McClain then took the child and sped off. Before dying at the hospital, Golden-Schurchardt was able to give a description of who had shot her and taken her son. McClain told investigators initially that the baby had been left on her doorstep before later confessing.


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PORTLAND, Me. — The mother of a stabbing victim removed her son's life-support system at 12:01 a.m. today over the objections of the assailant, who fears that he will be charged with murder.
Sylvia Lane withdrew her son Mark Weaver's feeding tube at the earliest time that it was legal to do so and before leaving for her job on the early morning shift at a nursing home. A probate judge on Feb. 27 gave her permission beginning today.
The feeding tube has kept her son alive nearly four years. Lane said doctors believe that Weaver, 26, will die in a week or two.
Only then will prosecutors say whether they will file a murder charge against Noel Pagan, who served three years in prison for aggravated assault on Weaver. A judge this week refused to allow Pagan to intervene in the case.


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Lemmingball Z is a fighting game for linux and windows, loosely based on dragonball Z, the hit anime' And when say loosely based, i mean with a big twist' Instead off the normal characters from the anime, this game features cute LEMMINGS bashing eachothers skull in! The game is released, and new versions are always in development.
Full version of the next generation Lemmingball Z, including .exe for windows and binaries for linux. *more than 35 characters *new high end engine *automatic...
The linux of LBZ, release 8460. Reuploaded because it got deleted somehow. Have fun :)
LBZ3d Windows version, release 8460! I reuploaded this because it got deleted somehow! Have fun!


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Originally written on Fox Sports | Last updated 2/6/13
The Oklahoma City Thunder haven't lost more than two in a row this season, but they also haven't won two straight in nearly three weeks. The Northwest Division-leading Thunder will try to change that Wednesday night when they go for an eighth consecutive victory with the Golden State Warriors in town. After posting 10 wins during a stretch of 12 of 15 on the road, Oklahoma City (36-12) kicked off a three-game homestand on Monday with a 112-91 victory over Dallas. It was the Thunder's fifth straight home win and helped them improve to 21-3 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. "We responded well (to Saturday's 115-110 loss at Cleveland),'' said Kevin Durant, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. "The toughest test is to see how we do the next game." Oklahoma City has won 14 straight against visiting Western Conference opponents beginning with a 119-109 victory over Golden State (30-18) on Nov. 18, but it hasn't posted back-to-back victories since a six-game surge from Jan. 9-18. If...
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There certainly aren't plenty more fish in Europe's sea. Its stocks have crashed, and imports now account for more than half the fish consumed in the European Union. Now, the EU hopes that radical reforms to its system of fishing quotas will restore fisheries by 2020. The plan is a big step forward, but experts are concerned that politicians could yet ignore scientific recommendations in implementing it.
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The verb license or grant license means to give permission. The noun license is the document demonstrating that permission. License may be granted by a party ("licensor") to another party ("licensee") as an element of an agreement between those parties. A shorthand definition of a license is "a promise (by the licensor) not to sue (the licensee)."
A license under intellectual property commonly has several component parts, including a term, territory, renewal, as well as other limitations deemed vital to the licensor.
Term: many licenses are valid for a particular length of time. This protects the licensor should the value of the license increase, or market conditions change.
Territory: a license may stipulate what territory the rights pertain to. For example, a license with a territory limited to "North America" (United States/Canada) would not permit a licensee any protection from actions for use in Japan.
Mass distributed software is used by individuals on personal computers under license from the developer of that software. Such license is typically included in a more extensive end-user license agreement (EULA) entered into upon the installation of that software on a computer.
Under a typical end-user license agreement, the user may install the software on a limited number of computers.
The enforceability of end-user license agreements is sometimes questioned.
A licensor may grant permission to a licensee to distribute products under a trademark. With such a license, the licensee may use the trademark without fear of a claim of trademark infringement by the licensor.
A licensor may grant a permission to a licensee to copy and distribute copyrighted works such as "art" (e.g., Thomas Kincaid's painting "Dawn in Los Gatos") and characters (e.g., Mickey Mouse). With such license, a licensee need not fear a claim of copyright infringement brought by the licensor.
A licence is an academic degree. Originally, in order to teach at a university, one needed this degree which, according to its title, gave the bearer a license to teach. The name survived despite the fact that nowadays doctorate is typically needed in order to teach at a university. A person who holds a licence is called a licentiate.
In Sweden and some European universities it is approximately equivalent to an MPhil or MRes. In those countries, a licence is a middle-level degree between a master's degree and a doctorate, taken by doctoral canidates, and is a popular choice in those countries where a "true" PhD would take five or more years to achieve.
In other countries, i.e. Poland or France, a licence is achieved before the master's degree (it takes 3 years of studies to become licentiate and 2 additional years to become Master). In Switzerland, a licence is a 4-year degree then there is a DEA degree which is equivalent to the Master's degree. In Portugal, before the Bologna process, students would become licentiates after 5 years of studies (4 years in particular cases like Marketing, Management, etc; and 6 years for Medicine). However, since the adoption of the Bologna Process engineering degrees in Portugal were changed from a 5 year licence to a 3 year licence followed by 2 years for the MSc: Not having the MSc doesn't confer accreditation by the Ordem dos Engenheiros)


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Andrew Bosomworth
Two features of the European Parliament elections in May left little doubt that not all is well in the 28-nation club. Only four in 10 eligible voters cast a ballot, and of those, nearly a quarter voted for Europe-sceptical parties. Europeans' apathy toward their common parliament and the rise of anti-establishment parties within it are symptomatic of genuine social, financial and economic problems.
The eurozone's problems have diverse causes and origins, yet the solutions to them proposed by anti-establishment parties converge on two common themes: exiting the euro, or the European Union (EU) in the UK's case, and curbing immigration.
Voices of discontentIn the case of the latter, curbing immigration reflects how post-industrialised Europe is struggling to compete with lower labour cost and more productive workers in an increasingly globalised world. Proposals to reinstate legacy euro currencies reflect the uneven distribution of welfare derived from membership in the monetary union.
Where anti-establishment parties have a point is that there is no historical evidence of monetary unions enduring without either breaking up or forming political and fiscal unions. The Scandinavian (1873–1914), Latin (1865–1927) and Austro-Hungarian (1867–1919) monetary unions eventually dissolved, owing mainly to divergent fiscal paths taken by member states.
The two monetary unions that endured, the UK (still to be determined as Scotland prepares to vote on independence this fall) and United States, formed political and fiscal unions. Unless this time is different, these historical precedents suggest the eurozone's citizens ultimately will have to choose between returning to a regime of flexible exchange rates or retaining the single currency and deepening political and fiscal integration.
Eurozone federalists support pooling political resources because individual member states will be too small in the future to have a seat at the international table. While such action makes sense for geopolitical reasons (defence and energy policies also lend themselves to centralised structures), they are not necessary to make a monetary union work. To identify the minimum requirements needed to make a monetary union work, we first need to understand what is suboptimal with the current one.
The pastWhat is suboptimal with the current setup is that it generated high unemployment, high uncertainty and was founded on a rules-based system that in practice could not be implemented.
Persistently high unemployment is socially unsustainable. The cost of regaining international competitiveness in the eurozone's former current account deficit countries was a doubling of their unemployment. While current accounts swung from a deficit of 5% of GDP in 2007 to positive territory by the beginning of 2014 (see Figure 2), unemployment in these countries rose from 7 million to 15 million.
High unemployment was the natural consequence of correcting large external deficits via internal devaluation induced by front-loaded, anti-cyclical fiscal policies. And it was accentuated by an overvalued exchange rate relative to domestic conditions.
In contrast, countries with large external surpluses enjoyed an undervalued exchange rate relative to their domestic conditions and greater flexibility to use fiscal policy anti-cyclically. Variations in external balances among member states and the process of correcting large imbalances led to an uneven distribution of the welfare derived from eurozone membership.
The threat of sovereign default and reversibility risk of the euro generated uncertainty; this may be holding back long-term investment in the eurozone, especially foreign investment. When European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi stated that "the euro is irreversible" in August 2012, his reassurance helped to stabilise the region's escalating debt crisis. But because government – not the ECB – determines a country's currency and exchange rate regime, uncertainty endures today and it certainly will not diminish with an increasing number of political parties in the newly elected European Parliament wanting to exit the euro.
What use are rules and treaties if they cannot be implemented?In 2010, Greece proved too interlinked with other eurozone banks and vulnerable sovereigns for policymakers – after weighing the potential costs – to risk allowing its government to default. Bailing out the banks saved the euro, but the long-term cost was to undermine support for it: The bailout was seen by many as a way to usher in the mutualisation of debt and to foster moral hazard.
The presentNearly six years after Lehman Brothers defaulted in September 2008, the eurozone's governance structure is stronger. Legislation in the so-called Two-Pack, Six-Pack and Fiscal Compact enable enhanced surveillance of public finances and macroeconomic imbalances that give eurozone finance ministers de facto veto power over individual countries' budgets. The European Stability Mechanism provides a financial backstop to sovereigns threatened by loss of market access. The ECB – via the newly formed banking union – will supervise the largest eurozone banks and a single resolution mechanism will preside over winding down insolvent banks with new rules defining the hierarchy for creditor bail-in. Also, the new process for electing the European Commission's president – Jean-Claude Juncker is currently President-elect – pays more tribute to voters' preferences.
But the business cycle continues. The prospect that the next crisis will likely generate more unemployment and uncertainty, together with the fact that banks and sovereigns remain interlinked and, therefore, that insolvent sovereigns are likely to be bailed out, portend poorly for the euro's longevity.
The futureThe eurozone will test its new enhanced surveillance tools for the foreseeable future, and probably until they demonstrably no longer work. To survive crises of existential magnitude, the eurozone's future governance structure should improve four of today's key weaknesses:
Philippe Legrain from the Centre for European Reform suggests in his report, "How to finish the euro house", four possible futures for the eurozone: a Germanic, a technocratic or a decentralised future, all of which resemble the status quo, as well as a fiscally federal one. Of the four potential outlooks, only a fiscally federal eurozone would resolutely address the existing governance structure's weaknesses; politically, however, it would be the most ambitious option to implement.
A credible roadmapAs with those who want to abolish the euro, ignore for a moment the realpolitik of system change and instead ask what a minimalist federal fiscal structure might look like and how it would be implemented. In the spirit of former European Commission President Jacques Delors, whose 1989 "Report on economic and monetary union in the European Community" was instrumental in creating the euro, the journey and destination might take the form of a Fiscal Delors Report:
Phase I: Initiation of the process (years 1-5)
Phase II: Political institutions (years 6-10)
Phase III: Fiscal tools (years 11-15)
Good relationships are based on trust, and deeper political integration requires increasing trust among governments. Trust can be achieved by upward convergence to higher common standards of public sector and labour market efficiency. Indicators produced by the World Bank, World Economic Forum, Transparency International and the University of Linz that quantify public sector and labour market efficiency show considerable variation among eurozone member states (see Figure 5). Phase I would focus on upward convergence to higher levels of public sector and labour market efficiency.
No taxation without representationUnder current arrangements, the eurozone has little representation relative to the inherent mutualisation risks accruing to taxpayers. However, were the eurozone to make these risks more transparent and confer legislative initiative to a central organ with its own resources, the collective members of the eurozone would need to create a political chamber whose voting structure fairly represents the area's citizens. The distribution of votes in the European Parliament is too skewed toward small countries, which would contribute less to a common budget relative to large countries, to be suitable for a eurozone parliament. And the European Parliament, along with the Council of the European Union and European Council, are too focused on EU-28 issues to be suitable for the smaller 18-member eurozone. In Phase II, and only after Treaty changes, the eurozone would create its own parliament, president and cabinet before taking the final step.
Fiscal tools should come in Phase III. Ideally, fiscal policy runs counter to the business cycle, producing surpluses during booms and deficits during recessions. Expenditure from a central budget could be directed toward unemployment, which rises during recessions and falls during booms. Eurozone member states' expenditure on unemployment varies from 0.5% of GDP in Malta to 3.1% of GDP in Spain (according to Eurostat as of 2012). Common unemployment insurance would spread the benefits and hardships of participation in a monetary union more fairly among member states.
Creating a credit-risk-free asset, i.e., an asset issued by the federal fiscal authority to which the ECB is subordinate, would break the bank-sovereign link. Banks could hold this security in place of securities issued by their own government, thereby enabling an insolvent government to default without tearing the euro apart.
The unfinished projectAnti-establishment parties have voiced their vision for the euro's future, a future that implies uncontrolled sovereign defaults, economic depression and turning the clock back on European integration. Today's relative tranquillity in eurozone financial markets owes largely to the ECB's willingness to hold the single currency together.
But monetary policy has its limits; other visions for the future of the euro are needed for it to endure. From an investment perspective, that implies shaking hands with the ECB for now, but do not put all your eggs in the eurozone basket.
This material contains the opinions of the author but not necessarily those of PIMCO and such opinions are subject to change without notice. This material has been distributed for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates and certain information contained herein are based upon proprietary research and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission. PIMCO and YOUR GLOBAL INVESTMENT AUTHORITY are trademarks or registered trademarks of Allianz Asset Management of America L.P. and Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, respectively, in the United States and throughout the world. ©2014, PIMCO.
No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission. Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, 650 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660, 800-387-4626. ©2015, PIMCO.
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