Expected Annan replacement urges powers to unite on

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The man tipped to replace Kofi Annan as the U.N.-Arab League mediator on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi of Algeria, urged world leaders on Friday to overcome their differences on the 17-month-old conflict that is slipping deeper into full-scale civil war.

"The U.N. Security Council and regional states must unite to ensure that a political transition can take place as soon as possible," Brahimi said in a statement published on the website of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders committed to peace and human rights.

"Millions of Syrians are clamoring for peace," Brahimi said. "World leaders cannot remain divided any longer, over and above their cries."

It is Brahimi's first public statement on Syria since diplomats told Reuters on Thursday that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was expected to name the veteran Algerian diplomat as early as next week to replace Annan, barring a last-minute change or cold feet on Brahimi's part.

U.N. diplomats said Brahimi has told Ban and Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby that his condition for accepting the job was that he receive "strong support" from the Security Council, which has been sharply divided on Syria for since the uprising began in March 2011.

It was not immediately clear what Brahimi meant by "strong support," though the diplomats said he was understandably reluctant to take a job that would be extremely difficult to succeed at.

Brahimi, 78, has served as a U.N. special envoy in a series of challenging circumstances, including in Iraq after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein; in Afghanistan both before and after the end of Taliban rule, and in South Africa as it emerged from the apartheid era.

French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud, president of the Security Council this month, told reporters Ban was expected to make an announcement about Annan's successor on Monday or Tuesday after consulting with Elaraby.

Annan, a former U.N. secretary-general and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said he would step down on August 31 because he was not able to carry out his job with the U.N. Security Council's veto powers hopelessly divided and deadlocked.

There are no signs that Brahimi will get his wish anytime soon, if at all. The divisions on the Security Council - above all the split between the United States and Russia - run deep.

Russia, with the aid of China, has vetoed three resolutions criticizing and threatening sanctions against Damascus for its attempt to use military force and heavy arms to crush an increasingly militant opposition.

Washington, U.N. diplomats said, saw little point in replacing Annan since Moscow continues to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposes sanctions intended to pressure Damascus into halting the violence.

Moscow, Syria's chief ally and principal arms supplier, blames the United States, Qatar and Saudi Arabia for supporting Syrian rebels, including providing weapons.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/expected-annan-replacement-urges-powers-unite-083957981.html

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The Top Real Estate Negotiating Mistakes Everyone's Bound To ...

(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

We've already explored some common missteps that?sellers?and?buyers?(and their brokers) make. Now, here are some universal mistakes that everyone makes; in other words, here's what no one should be doing.

1.?Don't underestimate the opposition?or assume they think like you do

Bankers and lawyers negotiate very differently than artists and writers, notes?Deanna Kory of Corcoran. Find out everything possible about whom you?re dealing with?not only their personality and profession and background, but how they think.

?Understand where they?re coming from, their experience on the market, why they?re priced where they are,? says Kory. ?

Having this information not only makes it easier to plan your strategy, but also to interpret statements like, ?There?s a lot of interest in this apartment.?

?Often they are just bluffing and they don?t want to lie. It depends whom you?re talking to,? says Kory. ?If they?re a lawyer, they may be talking factually?they may have a lot of interest but no offers.? With a marketer, it may be a different story.?

2. Don't be a jerk

Being nice will generally get you a lot further in negotiations than being a jerk, according to several brokers we spoke with.

?There?s a lot of value in being nice because residential transactions are more emotional,? says?Wei Min Tan of Rutenberg Realty. ?The seller has pride and ego and so does the buyer.?

Being heavyhanded or bullying is the worst thing you or your broker can do when presenting an offer, they say.

?Let?s say the seller wants $2.5m and the buyer offers $2.3 million,? says Tan. ?A nice broker would say ?This is an all cash deal, my buyer is a very nice person and can close in two weeks which will benefit your seller who is in the process of moving to California.?? A not-nice broker would play hardball and say, ?I know your seller is moving to California.? My buyer is offering cash and no one else will. Do you want your property to sit here? Do we have a deal or what?'??

Deadlines are also usually considered a hostile move and should be avoided, says Deanna Kory.

3. Don't forget to negotiate key terms besides the price

Closing attorney Cheryl Dresner says buyers and sellers sometimes think they have a deal when in fact they haven?t fleshed out some important elements.

?Most buyers think the deal is contingent on financing, and most sellers hope it?s not,? says Dresner. ?Or the buyer paying top dollar thinks they?re getting all the chandeliers and fixtures in a gorgeous apartment, and then the seller says he?s taking everything including the doorknobs.?

Another big forget-me-not is the closing costs.

"Typically there are mistakes on all sorts of assumptions like who is paying transfer taxes, who pays the flip tax in a co-op,? says closing attorney?Sandor Krauss, noting that the responsibility for flip taxes in co-ops and non-new-development transfer taxes in condos generally falls on the seller, but not everyone realizes that.

4. Don't blow?small things into deal breakers

With real estate so expensive in New York, it?s easy to feel like you?re being gouged no matter which side of the table you?re sitting on.

?A lot of times buyers and sellers will argue tooth and nail over things that aren?t really that important, and sometimes it blows deals,? says Krauss.? ?When you?re buying an $800,000 apartment, should you really be that concerned over spending an extra few hundred dollars on the a/c that the seller wants to take??

5. Don't push ahead?when you?re butting heads

At some point in many deals, buyers and sellers ?start splitting hairs and no one is winning,? says?Holly Sose of City Connections. ?You get into a little bit of a stalemate and everyone wants an answer now and the emails are flying.?

At that point, she says, take a 24 to 48 hour break from communication.

?Give everyone a chance to disconnect and reset and take their egos out of it,? she says. A pause can also introduce some healthy anxiety, ?like if you?re dating someone and they suddenly stop talking to you.?

6. Don't take it?personally

Probably the biggest mistake buyers, sellers? and their brokers make is getting their egos involved and taking things personally.? (See ?Don?t be a jerk,? above.) Do your best to relax, detach, and keep your eye on the big picture. It?s not about you.

Ultimately, it?s just business.

Related:

Top negotiating mistakes of sellers and their brokers

Top negotiating mistakes of buyers and their brokers

A NYC real estate lawyer reveals the 14 biggest surprises for first-time buyers?(sponsored)

DON'T MISS: 10 sites that will help you outsource your life >?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-real-estate-negotiating-mistakes-everyones-bound-to-make-2012-8

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Project Morpheus vehicle experiences hardware component failure

ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2012) ? NASA's prototype Morpheus lander crashed in a free-flight test on Thursday (Aug. 9, 2012), at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On July 27, the Morpheus Lander arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and conducted a tethered test on Aug. 3.

On Aug. 9, during a free-flight test of the Project Morpheus vehicle at the Shuttle Landing Facility, the vehicle lifted off the ground and then experienced a hardware component failure. This failure prevented the vehicle from maintaining stable flight. No one was injured, and the resulting fire was extinguished by Kennedy Space Center fire personnel. Failures such as these were anticipated prior to the test and are part of the development process for any complex spaceflight hardware.

Morpheus was manufactured and assembled at Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Armadillo Aerospace. Testing of the prototype lander had been ongoing at Johnson in preparation for its first free-flight test at Kennedy. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit: http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov .

Background

Morpheus is a prototype lander that engineers can use to integrate technologies for future spacecraft that could land on a variety of destinations in our solar system. The technologies include a new propulsion system that uses liquid oxygen and methane, two "green" fuels that could be manufactured on other planetary bodies. Morpheus also is testing technology capable of identifying and avoiding surface hazards to enable a safe and accurate landing anywhere on a planetary surface and under any lighting conditions.

Morpheus is one of 20 projects comprising the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program in NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. AES projects pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating capabilities and validating concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit.

The lander underwent testing at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for almost a year in preparation for its first free flight at Kennedy. Once Morpheus had performed several successful free flights there, it was to fly about a half a mile -long approach that simulates avoiding hazards in a landing field. Teams have spent the last two months creating a hazard field of craters and rocks at the end of the runway of Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF).

Repurposing the SLF for Morpheus testing is one of many projects under way at Kennedy. Across the space center, teams are preparing for the next generation of launch vehicles and spacecraft. The preparations include upgrading launch pads and the space shuttle crawler transporter, and modifying and refurbishing the Vehicle Assembly Building.

For more information about Project Morpheus and videos of past tests visit: http://go.nasa.gov/OmxmBP

For more information about NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems projects, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/OjU0fQ

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/nasa/~3/GeLmgLuTK2I/120810124921.htm

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Baghdad at 1,250: a far cry from past glories

Baghdad was once the capital of an empire and the centre of the Islamic world, but at 1,250 years old, the Iraqi city is a far cry from its past glories after being ravaged by years of war and sanctions.

Construction of the city on the bank of the Tigris River began in July 762 AD under Abbasid Caliph Abu Jaafar al-Mansur, and it has since played a pivotal role in Arab and Islamic civilisations.

"Baghdad represented the economic centre of the Abbasid Empire, and it was used as a starting point for controlling other neighbouring regions to enhance Islamic power," said Issam al-Faili, a professor of political history at Mustansiriyah University.

"Baghdad witnessed a renaissance of thought through translation, which was usually mastered by Jews and the Christians, and became a destination for intellectuals, poets and scholars from all parts of the world, and a centre for craftsmen and a city of construction," Faili said.

"Baghdad today, after it was the capital of the world, has become one of the most miserable cities," he said.

British consultancy firm Mercer ranked Baghdad as the worst place in the world to live in its 2010 Quality of Living Survey.

The city has been conquered several times in its history, the first in 1258 when the Mongols destroyed Baghdad.

It was captured in 1831 by the Ottomans, in 1917 by the British, and in 2003 by a US-led coalition that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein but also ended up unleashing internecine violence that killed tens of thousands of people.

Baghdad was a modern capital known for its nightlife in the 1970s, but it has fallen into gloomy disrepair in the years of conflict since.

Saddam started a war with Iraq in 1980 that lasted for eight years, and then launched a disastrous invasion of Kuwait in 1990 only to be forced out in 1991.

Iraq was hit by a harsh regime of international sanctions over the Kuwait invasion, and later lived under an ever-present threat of bombings, assassinations, gun battles and death squad killings in the years after 2003.

Even now, government employees, including high-ranking officers in the security forces, are frequently gunned down in the streets.

Concrete blast walls still surround official buildings, hotels, and other structures that could be the target of attacks.

Despite its long history, there are only fleeting signs of historic buildings on even its oldest streets. Ugly, uninspired concrete boxes are far more common.

Checkpoints cause massive traffic jams, and security forces in the city are armed for war, with equipment including assault rifles, machine guns and armoured vehicles.

Baghdad's streets are often strewn with rubbish and riven by potholes. What public works projects there are move at a glacial pace.

Spider webs of power cables criss-cross many streets, linking houses to private generators -- a testament to the failure of the government electricity grid to provide citizens with consistent power.

The government is headquartered in a heavily fortified area known as the Green Zone, which is defended, among other things, by newly acquired US-made Abrams tanks.

Entry to the area requires passing through a Byzantine series of security checks, some of which are of questionable value in deterring attacks, and journalists' cameras are regarded with deep suspicion.

While Baghdad was once the centre of an empire, the Iraqi government has been paralysed by political crises for almost eight months, during which it has accomplished little.

"Baghdad today is like Baghdad of yesterday in terms of the luxury that was enjoyed by the caliph and his family in the days of the Abbasid era, while the people were in misery," Faili said.

Corruption is widespread, and while Iraq takes in billions of dollars a month in oil revenues, signs of it benefiting the general public are hard to find.

Iraq has made some efforts to return its capital to regional prominence, hosting a summit of Arab leaders in March and talks between world powers and Iran on the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear programme in May.

Preparations for those events cost around $1 billion, although the impact of that outlay for most Iraqis was limited.

Iraqi writer and journalist Rifaat Mahmud said that the "issue of restoring Baghdad to what it was is a difficult matter, and cannot be achieved in circumstances such as those in which the neglected city now lives.

"Baghdad needs what we can call a miracle to regain its form and heritage and at least a part of its past."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/baghdad-1-250-far-cry-past-glories-105957243.html

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Obama Ad Invokes Clinton to Rebut Romney Welfare Attack

A new Obama campaign TV ad in seven battleground states invokes former President Bill Clinton to directly rebut claims by Mitt Romney that the administration has a plan to "gut" welfare reform.

The 30-second spot, titled "Blatant," highlights Clinton's response to a recent Romney TV ad alleging Obama plans to drop the work requirement that was a key component of the 1996 welfare reform Clinton helped champion.

The 42nd president said in a statement earlier this week that Romney's claim simply is "not true."

While both sides have been playing fast and loose with the facts in their advertising, several independent fact-checkers have called the Romney ad highly misleading.

Its central allegation is at best an exaggeration, ABC News concluded , since the administration is offering states the opportunity to experiment with new ways of implementing the welfare law in order to boost employment, not reduce it.

Several states, including those with Republican governors, had expressed support for the increased flexibility. But the administration says no states have yet formally applied for waivers from the current rules, therefore none have been approved.

"Blatant" will begin airing today in Colorado, Iowa, Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, and Virginia - the same states where Romney has been airing his ad.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-ad-invokes-clinton-rebut-romney-welfare-attack-100057367--abc-news-politics.html

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How to Replace a Car Window

You get a pretty nasty knot in your stomach when you discover your vehicle's side window has been smashed and the interior ransacked?ask me how I know. On top of whatever was taken, there's the added injury of getting the car repaired. Between the time it requires to file a claim with the insurance company and the inconvenience of taking the car to the shop, fixing the window yourself can sometimes save a lot of headaches. Professional glass repair, including new glass and labor, has a frustrating tendency to cost exactly a few dollars less than an insurance deductible, so doing it yourself can save a ton of money. With a few pointers and some savvy parts sourcing, that unprotected hole in the door can be fixed in no time.

Clean Up

Unlike plate glass, auto glass is tempered, or heat treated, so it's very hard, but when stressed past its breaking point it fails uniformly and catastrophically. This results in small pieces that won't cause grievous harm to passengers, but the debris gets everywhere and will result in tiny, annoying cuts. Grab a powerful shop vacuum and clean the seats, doors, dash, carpet, and center console. Do the entire interior even if it doesn't seem necessary; glass will be in places that don't make any sense. Safety glasses and good work gloves are a must.

Getting Parts

If you drive a luxury car with acoustic panes and special coatings, new glass is crazy expensive and hard to find. Mass-market cars have more affordable and readily available parts. Most auto dealers will refer you to a glass specialist for brand-new parts, but if you can locate used glass, the savings can be significant. Hunt through nearby junkyards to find parts for common vehicles at steep discounts. For my 2001 Ford F-150, shown here, used glass cost 11 percent of a new piece?$18 from a local yard versus $160 from a retailer.

Behind Door No. 1

The basic steps for replacing door glass are common, but the devil is in the details. The inner door panel comes off, the mounting hardware holding on to broken shards must be extracted, and new glass has to be shimmied into place; then everything's got to be bolted back together. My truck is very basic?power nothing with roll-up windows?but as cars get more complicated, inner door panels get more devious in design. Grab a service manual for your car to make the process much clearer. This door panel on my F-150 is one big piece of plastic hung on retainer hooks, held tight by a few screws hidden behind trim. Yours will definitely be a harder repair, with multiple layered components and finicky clips. If you have power windows, and most late-model cars do, you'll need to unhook the quick-disconnect plug that delivers power to and from the window switches mounted to the inner door panel.

Remove and Replace

With the inner door panel removed, peel back the plastic vapor-barrier sheet carefully, as you will need to reinstall it later. You should be able to see the door's innards. Raise or lower the window-height-regulator mechanism to its service position?a height where the bolts or screws holding the glass remnants to the regulator align with access holes stamped in the steel. Crank windows make this easy; on power windows, plug in the switches on the loose inner door panel and turn the ignition to the "on" position; operate the window until the bolts align with the access holes. Vacuum broken glass from the door cavity; spending extra time here now avoids rattles later.

Next, remove the seal at the bottom of the window to open up the slot the glass panel needs to fit through. Finally, free one of the window tracks for fore-and-aft play that will make the install easier. These tracks guide the panel's path and are bolted along the bottom of the door.

Wriggling the new glass into place is tricky. Drop the shorter side in first at a near-90-degree angle and try to catch the long side of the glass in its track, then rotate the short side up. After a few tries the glass will slip into place. Attach the glass panel to the regulator (ask a friend for help) and bolt the window track down, then run the new glass up and down to ensure that the motion is satisfactory. The remainder of the work: Put the door together in reverse order. Hopefully you took good photos.

[ 1 ] To remove the inner door panel, look for nuts and bolts hidden behind trim. [ 2 ] The door panel is usually one big piece with components such as armrests bolted on. [ 3 ] Loosen the screws on the regulator to free the leftovers. [ 4 ] Pull the lower window seal, making a wider slot to slide the new panel in.

QUICK TIPS

- Interior designers work hard to hide the screws and clips holding the door together, so peek under and behind places you wouldn't normally look.

- Tools you'll need include screwdrivers and a socket set, but a trim-removal tool will help a lot. It makes popping off clips and retainers much easier than with a screwdriver.

- Since we're dealing with glass, wear a heavy long-sleeve shirt, full pants, covered shoes, gloves, and safety glasses. Tempered glass is safer than plate, but still treat it with respect.

- When handling glass, be very methodical and don't force anything. If getting something to fit is too hard, you're not doing it right. Step back and examine the situation again.

- Take pictures in sequence to remember how everything goes together. Keep removed parts in a cup or on a tray so they don't get lost.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/how-to-replace-a-car-window-11489178?src=rss

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Samsung Galaxy S III LTE to support VoLTE calls, starting with Korea in August

Aren't you glad you waited to buy an LTE version of the Galaxy S III? Samsung has confirmed that the versions with faster cellular data will support Voice over LTE on appropriately equipped networks, giving them that IP-based boost to call quality. The rollout will start with the Korean LTE model receiving support in August -- we suspect SK Telecom is an early partner here -- followed by a deployment in foreign LTE markets, which would mostly limit the upgrades to American and Canadian owners. About our only qualm is with Samsung's assertion that the update makes the Galaxy S III the "world's first Voice over LTE smartphone:" we're pretty sure the fine folks at LG and MetroPCS have a thing or two to say about keeping up with current events.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Samsung Galaxy S III LTE to support VoLTE calls, starting with Korea in August originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/08/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-lte-to-support-volte-calls/

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