Article for discussion for February 28th

FACEBOOK WILL END ON MARCH 15th, 2012!

Posted on Sunday, February 19th, 2012
By J.B. Smitts

Comments (23513)

Print This

PALO ALTO, CA –Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will be shut down in March of 2012. Managing the site has become too stressful.
“Facebook has gotten out of control,” said Zuckerberg in a press conference outside his Palo Alto office, “and the stress of managing this company has ruined my life. I need to put an end to all the madness.”
Zuckerberg went on to explain that starting March 15th of next year, users will no longer be able to access their Facebook accounts.  That gives users (and Facebook addicts) a year to adjust to life without Facebook.
“After March 15th, 2012 the whole website shuts down,” said Avrat Humarthi, Vice President of Technical Affairs at Facebook. “So if you ever want to see your pictures again, I recommend you take them off the internet. You won’t be able to get them back after Facebook goes out of business.”
Zuckerberg said the decision to shut down Facebook was difficult, but that he does not think people will be upset.
“I personally don’t think it’s a big deal,” he said in a private phone interview. “And to be honest, I think it’s for the better. Without Facebook, people will have to go outside and make real friends. That’s always a good thing.”
Some Facebook users were furious upon hearing the shocking news.
“What am I going to do without Facebook?” said Denise Bradshaw, a high school student from Indiana. “My life revolves around it. I’m on Facebook at least 10 hours a day. Now what am I going to do with all that free time?”
However, parents across the country have been experiencing a long anticipated sense of relief.
“I’m glad the Facebook nightmare is over,” said Jon Guttari, a single parent from Detroit. “Now my teenager’s face won’t be glued to a computer screen all day. Maybe I can even have a conversation with her.”

SIGN THE “SAVE FACEBOOK” PETITION HERE

Those in the financial industry are criticizing Zuckerberg for walking away from a multibillion dollar franchise. Facebook is currently ranked as one of the wealthiest businesses in the world, with economists estimating its value at around 7.9 billion.
But Zuckerberg remains unruffled by these accusations. He said he will stand by his decision to give Facebook the axe.
“I don’t care about the money,” said Zuckerberg. “I just want my old life back.”
The Facebook Corporation suggests that users remove all of their personal information from the website before March 15th, 2012. After that date, all photos, notes, links, and videos will be permanently erased.

Article for discussion for February 28th

World Bank Issues SOS for Oceans

The World Bank announced on Friday a global alliance to better manage and protect the world's oceans, which are under threat from over-fishing, pollution and climate change.

February 24, 2012 | 2

• Share
• Email
• Print

By David Fogarty

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The World Bank announced on Friday a global alliance to better manage and protect the world's oceans, which are under threat from over-fishing, pollution and climate change.

Oceans are the lifeblood of the planet and the global economy, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told a conference on ocean conservation in Singapore. Yet the seas have become overexploited, coastlines badly degraded and reefs under threat from pollution and rising temperatures.

"We need a new SOS: Save Our Seas," Zoellick said in announcing the alliance.

The partnership would bring together countries, scientific centers, non-governmental groups, international organizations, foundations and the private sector, he said.

The World Bank could help guide the effort by bringing together existing global ocean conservation programs and support efforts to mobilize finance and develop market-mechanisms to place a value on the benefits that oceans provide.

Millions of people rely on oceans for jobs and food and that dependence will grow as the world's population heads for 9 billion people, underscoring the need to better manage the seas.

Zoellick said the alliance was initially committed to mobilizing at least $300 million in finance.

"Working with governments, the scientific community, civil society organizations, and the private sector, we aim to leverage as much as $1.2 billion to support healthy and sustainable oceans."

FISH STOCKS

A key focus was understanding the full value of the oceans' wealth and ecosystem services. Oceans are the top source of oxygen, help regulate the climate, while mangroves, reefs and wetlands are critical to protecting increasingly populous coastal areas against hazards such as storms -- benefits that are largely taken for granted.

"Whatever the resource, it is impossible to evolve a plan to manage and grow the resource without knowing its value," he said.

Another aim was to rebuild at least half the world's fish stocks identified as depleted. About 85 percent of ocean fisheries are fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted.

"We should increase the annual net benefits of fisheries to between $20 billion and $30 billion. We estimate that global fisheries currently run a net economic loss of about $5 billion per year," he said.

Participants at the conference spoke of the long-term dividends from ocean conservation and better management of its resources. But that needed economists, bankers and board rooms to place a value on the oceans' "natural capital".

"The key to the success of this partnership will be new market mechanisms that value natural capital and can attract private finance," Abyd Karmali, global head of carbon markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, told Reuters.

He pointed to the value in preserving carbon-rich mangrove forests and sea grassbeds and the possibility of earning carbon offsets for projects that conserve these areas.

"The oceans' stock is in trouble. We have diminished its asset value to a huge degree and poor asset management is poor economics," Stephen Palumbi, director of the Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, told the conference.

Article for discussion, February the 14th.

• By Stephen Hayward
• Comments
• 12 Feb 2012 00:00

'We'll water down your beer': Tory's plan to cut binge drinking

A billion units of alcohol could be drained from Britain’s booze stocks in a bid to tackle binge ­drinking

Water idea: Pints of beer

Getty

A billion units of alcohol could be drained from Britain’s booze stocks in a bid to tackle binge ­drinking.

That is the figure Health Secretary Andrew ­Lansley is ­expected to set in the Government’s new ­alcohol ­strategy, to be ­unveiled in the next few weeks.

And he wants the drinks industry to volunteer to hit the target by ­watering down top- selling beers, lagers and spirits to ­weaken them, ­industry ­bible The Grocer claims.

“The Government wants a headline figure it can ­promote,” said an ­industry insider.

A billion alcohol units is equivalent to 333 million pints of beer or 111 million bottles of wine. An ­estimated 66 billion units are drunk in the UK each year.

Other tactics being ­considered are higher ­taxation on stronger drinks and a minimum price for booze.

The strategy has moved up the Government’s agenda amid rising concern about alcohol abuse, said to cost the economy £20billion a year through crime and health risks.

Figures show drinkers treated in hospital have doubled in 10 years.

Several big brewers such as Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s are ­already reducing alcohol in lagers by about 0.2 per cent from five per cent.

One unit is ­measured as 10ml – a single measure of whisky, a third of a pint of beer or half a standard glass of red wine.

The ­strategy comes after ­ministers announced plans to tackle rising obesity levels by ­cutting five ­billion calories from the UK’s daily food intake.

But there are fears it will be hard to persuade all firms to cut products’ strengths without regulation.

A source told The ­Grocer: “Retailers are going to face massive challenges and one or two of the big ones are at the point of walking away and saying, ‘Go on, just ­legislate’.”