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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Mine unions, bosses in war of words before South Africa gold strike

By Sherilee Lakmidas and Ed Stoddard

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African union leaders warned on Monday, a day before a strike in the gold sector, that mine owners' handling of pay talks could provoke violence, and bosses said wage hikes would force mine closures and cost thousands of jobs.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which represents about two-thirds of more than 120,000 unionized gold miners in Africa's biggest economy, is set to strike from Tuesday.

With stoppages in the auto industry and the construction sector already sapping the struggling economy, shutting gold mines could cripple an industry that has produced a third of the world's bullion but is now in rapid decline.

Labor and management are poles apart on the issue of wages, with the NUM seeking 60 percent pay hikes for entry-level miners and its more hardline rival, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), pushing for 150 percent raises.

Companies say they cannot afford this in the face of soaring costs and depressed prices. The president of South Africa's Chamber of Mines warned unions against stoking workers' hopes.

Mark Cutifani, who is also chief executive of mining giant Anglo American said, "Promoting expectations above the capacity of the industry to pay is a dangerous road that may have tragic consequences for employees who do not understand how close we are to economic devastation in certain sectors."

"If we lose each other in the present discussions, we will count the costs in mines closed and tens of thousands of jobs lost," he wrote in a commentary in the Business Day newspaper.

South Africa's gold and platinum sectors are still recovering from a wave of violent, wildcat strikes last year. Stemming from a turf war between the NUM and AMCU, it cost billions of dollars in lost output and triggered damaging sovereign credit downgrades. More than 50 people were killed.

Business Day said gold producers were considering a pre-emptive lockout at the mines. The Chamber of Mines, which negotiates on behalf of firms, told Reuters a lockout was an option but it would be taken as a "last resort".

AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa, whose union has not yet called a strike, said a mines lockout would provoke trouble.

"I have informed the minister of police that the manner in which the gold CEOs want to approach this wage negotiation, through an offensive lockout, will result in violence," he said.

"A strike is not what we are after, we are being pushed into a corner," Mathunjwa said.

FALLEN GOLD GIANT

Critics say President Jacob Zuma and his ruling African National Congress (ANC) have paid more attention to a small and wealthy business elite, including mine bosses, and ignored the needs of South Africa's working class, poor and unemployed.

The government is anxious to keep a lid on labor unrest and potential job losses before elections next year.

A gold industry shutdown could cost South Africa more than $35 million a day in lost output, according to calculations based on the spot gold price and a Chamber of Mines estimate that the sector would stop producing about 760 kg a day.

South Africa's gold industry, which once accounted for almost 80 percent of global bullion output, now produces just 6 percent of the world total.

It has been laid low by a combination of geological and economic setbacks. After more than a century of mining, the remaining ore lies deep underground and is costly and dangerous to extract. Labor and power costs have also soared.

Monday brought some relief however from the strike pressure, when workers at petrol stations and car dealerships postponed for a week a stoppage which was scheduled to start on Monday.

But striking car manufacturing workers stayed away from work after rejecting a double-digit wage increase offer on Thursday. The auto industry strike is costing the economy an estimated $60 million a day.

Labor worries pushed the rand to four-year lows last month.

Companies which will be hit by Tuesday's strike include main gold producers AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony Gold and Sibanye Gold.

(Additional reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Louise Ireland and Pascal Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mine-unions-bosses-war-words-south-africa-gold-111912048.html

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Purported Samsung Galaxy Gear prototype images leak ahead of launch

Samsung Galaxy Gear Leaked Pictures

We may now have a good idea of what Samsung?s first attempt at making a smartwatch will look like. VentureBeat has obtained some leaked pictures purportedly showing off a prototype for the Galaxy Gear smartwatch that we expect Samsung to show off this coming Wednesday alongside the new Galaxy Note III phablet. The pictures show a device that looks rather boxy and that comes loaded with a lot of fitness-centric applications. The Chrome logo shown in the top left-hand corner of the display in one picture suggests that Google?s web browser will be the primary interface for connecting the watch to the web.?

[More from BGR: Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One: Four months later, which is the best Android phone in the world?]

GigaOM, however, suggests that the Galaxy Gear prototype shown in VentureBeat?s pictures is not what the final version of the smartwatch will look like as the publication?s sources claim that ?Samsung has a different, more finished product that will be announced this coming week.? One of GigaOM?s sources says that the device will run on Android 4.3 and will not feature a built-in web browser like the one shown in the leaked pictures. GigaOM also says we should expect the Gear?s battery life to clock in at 24 hours for moderate use and 10 hours for more intensive use.

[More from BGR: Video: ?Graphite? iPhone 5S shown in HD video for first time, gold iPhone 5S examined again]

VentureBeat?s?purported Galaxy Gear pictures follow below.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/purported-samsung-galaxy-gear-prototype-images-leak-ahead-134533640.html

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Russia doubts US proof of Syria poison gas use

Syrian refugees arrive at the Turkish Cilvegozu gate border, Monday, Sept. 2, 2013. Routine prevailed at a US-Turkish airbase in southern Turkey on Monday, a day after the US alleged that sarin gas was used in an August chemical weapons attack in Syria. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A Syrian refugee uses a mobile phone as she walks with a child after crossing the Turkish Cilvegozu gate border, Monday, Sept. 2, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama is inviting former foe Sen. John McCain to the White House, hoping one of Congress' most intractable foreign policy hawks will help sell the idea of a U.S. military intervention in Syria to a nation deeply scarred by more than a decade of war. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In this citizen journalism image provided by the United media office of Arbeen which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, black smoke leaps the air from government forces shelling in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013. (AP Photo/United media office of Arbeen)

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Evidence of alleged chemical weapons use by the Syrian regime presented to Moscow by the U.S. and its allies is "absolutely unconvincing," Russia's foreign minister said Monday, as the Obama administration lobbied Congress to support a punitive military strike against Syria.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said "there was nothing specific there, no geographic coordinates, no names, no proof that the tests were carried out by the professionals." He did not describe the tests further.

President Barack Obama initially seemed poised to launch military action without asking Congress, but over the weekend changed his mind, a decision that delays any strike until after Congress returns from summer recess next week.

At issue in the escalating diplomatic confrontation between the U.S. and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad are alleged chemical weapons attacks on rebel-held areas in western and eastern suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Aug. 21.

The U.S. said it has proof that the Assad regime is behind attacks that Washington claims killed at least 1,429 people, including more than 400 children. Syrian officials have denied the allegations, blaming rebel fighters.

Lavrov brushed aside Western evidence of an alleged Syrian regime role. Russia, along with China and Iran, has staunchly backed Assad throughout the conflict.

"What our American, British and French partners showed us in the past and have showed just recently is absolutely unconvincing," Lavrov said at Russia's top diplomatic school. "And when you ask for more detailed proof they say all of this is classified so we cannot show this to you."

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. received new physical evidence in the form of blood and hair samples that show sarin gas was used in the Aug. 21 attack. It was not immediately clear whether that evidence had been shared with Russia.

U.N. chemical inspectors toured the stricken areas last week, collecting biological and soil samples, but it is not clear when the will present their findings.

Kerry said the case for an eventual military strike against Syria is getting stronger and that U.S. credibility is on the line.

However, the Obama administration so far failed to bring together a broad international coalition in support of military action, having so far only secured the support of France.

Britain's parliament narrowly voted against British participation in a military strike last week, despite appeals by Prime Minister David Cameron, and the Arab League has stopped short of endorsing a Western strike against Syria.

In an emergency meeting on Sunday, the 22-state League called on the United Nations and the international community to take "deterrent" measures under international law to stop the Syrian regime's crimes, but could not agree on whether to back U.S. military strikes.

Russia or China would likely veto any U.N. Security Council resolution sanctioning a Western strike against Syria.

China is "highly concerned" about possible unilateral military action against Syria and believes the international community must "avoid complicating the Syrian issue and dragging the Middle East down into further disaster," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Monday.

In Washington, the Obama administration was lobbying to secure domestic support.

Obama was to meet Monday with former political rival Sen. John McCain at the White House, hoping the foreign policy hawk will help sell the idea of U.S. military intervention.

On Capitol Hill, senior administration officials briefed lawmakers in private on Sunday to explain why the U.S. was compelled to act against Assad. Further meetings were planned from Monday to Wednesday.

The Syria conflict erupted in March 2011 as an uprising against Assad that quickly transformed into a civil war. More than 100,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict.

In Damascus, the Syria representative of the U.N. refugee agency, Tarik Kurdi, said that five million Syrians have been displaced inside the country by the war.

In addition, nearly 2 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries, according to previous U.N. figures, bringing the total number of uprooted Syrians to about 7 million, or nearly one-third the country's estimated population of 23 million.

Kurdi said the need for aid is far greater than what the international community has provided so far.

"Whatever efforts we have exerted and whatever the U.N. has provided in humanitarian aid, it is only a drop in the sea of humanitarian needs in Syria," he told The Associated Press. The funding gap "is very, very wide," he added.

____

Vasilyeva reported from Moscow.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-09-02-Syria/id-c6870fcb7f1c4d2dbc29a47fe75948bf

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When Was The Last Time You Just STOPPED!Freefall Self ...

I find it ironic that I am writing a blog about this topic this week in light of being a 24/7 machine since March of 2013 since we launched our two businesses in the United States. ?Well if anything I am speaking from direct experience.

There are times when you are playing a big game you just have to do what you have to do BUT there are also times when you need to listen otherwise the universe has a tendency of getting our attention if we do not. ?I turned off my laptop and iphone for 2.5 days, big deal some may say, but for this gal it was life altering.

It was not until I stopped that I got to reflect on the previous 6 months ? I learnt alot in that 6 month period at one of the most pivotal time of our businesses but I also learnt alot in the 2.5 days of just STOPPING. ?So what did I learn?.?

Top 10 Benefits of STOPPING

1. ?ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Time to reflect and acknowledge what has been achieved. ?When you look at the picture from far, you are able to see what is wrong, what is right, what needs to be changed and what needs to be improved. You will find it difficult to see all these things if you are within the picture, you need that moment to step outside and carefully look.

2. ?DEEPER AWARENESS: ?Even though, most cultures see doing NOTHING as a waste of time and a?sign?of laziness/irresponsibility? creative and smart people understand that doing NOTHING offers a?deeper awareness from our intuitive mind

3. ?DEEPER STATE OF PEACE: ?Science has explained that the area of our brain known as the prefrontal cortex is most active during?self preoccupation. This is part of the most advanced structure of our brain and that is what separates us from other animals that cannot calculate or analyze like human beings.

When doing NOTHING, the prefrontal cortex enjoys the silence it receives and the brain moves to a deeper state where intuitive thoughts and imagination come through without being controlled, force, curtailed, judged, or censored

4. ?GREAT IDEAS: ?This somehow explains why meditation is important to certain smart people. This also explains why we get so many great ideas while showering or half-dozing; a relaxed frame of mind is conducive to insight, bringing forth new knowledge or ideas without forcing it?ALOT of great ideas happen in the shower!!!

5. ?CREATIVITY IS HEIGHTENED: ?Can you ever pour more water in cup that?s already full? In order to fill an already occupied cup, you must make space for the new substance. When you do NOTHING for a period of time, you create the space needed to make new things. When your brain is fully engaged or busy, its creativity is weakened

6. ?MASSIVE CHANGE: ?This may not be the?case for?all but is it not interesting that most?successful entrepreneurs?started their companies after they were fired from their previous jobs and had nothing to do for a while? ?I always seem to enter into a phase of massive change when I have taken time out of the realm of doing ? it is only then that what was not obvious before becomes crystal clear

7. ?THE POWER THAT EXISTS IN DOING NOTHING: ?Have you heard the cosmological argument, out of nothing the whole universe was created? You do not have to literally agree with this argument.?I am?just?using it?to demonstrate the power we believe and know to exist in NOTHING

8. ?MANDATORY SCHEDULING OF LAZY DAYS: ?After practicing a few lazy days, you will start to feel a buoyancy return to all the rest of your days. You may feel young in spirit. You may notice more space around your heart. Your ability to focus on the tasks at hand will likely improve, as will the clarity of your thinking. In this clear-minded state, you can make much better use of your time. Your projects and relationships will blossom in the full light of your attention, and they will begin to demand less of your time.

Before you fill this new-found free time up with more hobbies, errands and social occasions, pause. Remember that this efficiency resulted from aimlessness, and plan your next lazy day

9. ?MAKE IT A RITUAL: ?Lisa Markwick, a leadership psychologist with Mindful Adventures, thinks people should establish ?rest rituals? on the weekend. This doesn?t have to be sitting quietly. A rest ritual for her is going for a run. ?I am exploring what my own rest rituals are going to be after what I gleaned from taking time out

10. ?RESTING THE MIND RESTS THE BODY: ?I have been back in training, fitness wise and there are times when you re-enter that level of commitment that you need to STOP and rejuventate ? works for me!

In order to understand life and create new things or opportunities, you must constantly practice the craft of doing NOTHING. If you want to change things in your life or achieve different great results from the things you do, you must practice doing NOTHING

If you truly care about your tomorrow and want to achieve greatness in life, get into the habit of doing NOTHING. ?IT?S MY NEW HABIT AND HAVE TO ADMIT IT DOES NOT COME EASILY BUT WILLING TO LEARN!!!!!!

Source: http://www.freefallselfimprovement.com/when-was-the-last-time-you-just-stopped/

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CARROT Wakes You Up With Empty Threats...And Some Real Ones

Getting out of bed is the worst. And anyone who says they don't mind waking up can just leave now. Some of us are employing desperate measures to get going every morning, and a manipulative/verbally abusive alarm clock sounds like just the thing. The makers of the CARROT To-Do list wanted to bring their motivational snark to a particularly rough time of day and they certainly found it.

"Two other women, also breast cancer survivors, said their husbands left them after they were..."

?Two other women, also breast cancer survivors, said their husbands left them after they were diagnosed. Both had to have mastectomies (in case anyone doesn?t know, this is the surgical operation to remove one or both breasts).

The first woman said her husband told her that he would rather see her dead than see her lose her breasts. The second woman had her operation and waited all day to be picked up by her husband, who never arrived. By nightfall, one of the nurses offered to give her a ride, and she came home to find the house empty.

Obviously, these are extreme cases of a man?s reaction to his wife?s breast cancer, but this is what I see when I see the ?I ? Boobies? bracelets. I see love of the body parts, not the person being treated?not the patient, not the victim, not the survivor.?

Source: http://bunnywith.tumblr.com/post/60081101440

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Microsoft EVP: We bought Nokia, but we still love our other Windows Phone partners

Much like how Google bought Motorola Mobility, Microsoft's surprising acquisition of Nokia's devices and services business -- which is expected to be approved by early 2014 -- is no indication that it will cut off ties with other partners in its own little ecosystem. This is emphasized by Terry Myerson, EVP, Operating Systems, on the official Windows blog.

"Acquiring Nokia's Devices group will help make the market for all Windows Phones, from Microsoft or our OEM partners," said the exec. "We collaborate with our Microsoft hardware teams in the same way we partner with our external hardware partners... We look forward to building new products together that will provide valuable business opportunity for the ecosystem and enable OEMs."

In other words, Microsoft will -- surprise, surprise -- continue to license Windows Phone to other OEMs. Despite this reassurance, we highly doubt the handful of partners left are feeling totally comfortable about the situation.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia