Thursday, 5 July 2012

Humanist History: Humanism in Ancient Rome

Although much of what we regard as the ancient forerunners of humanism tend to be found in Greece, the original humanists of the European Renaissance first looked to the forerunners who were also their own ancestors: the Romans. It was in the philosophical, artistic, and political writings of the ancient Romans that they found inspiration for their own move away from traditional religion and otherworldly philosophy in favor of a this-worldly concern for humanity.

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Read Article: Humanism in Ancient Rome

Source: http://atheism.about.com/b/2012/07/04/humanist-history-humanism-in-ancient-rome.htm?r=9F

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Philippines says SP credit and debt ratings upgrade an affirmation of sound fiscal policy

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines says a credit rating upgrade by Standard & Poor's will help the country carry out reforms without weakening its financial position.

The agency on Wednesday raised the Philippines' long-term foreign currency credit rating to BB+ from BB, one notch below investment grade. It kept the rating outlook at stable.

Presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang says that while some other countries are being forced to tighten belts to get high debt under control, the Philippines can still afford to undertake public spending without jeopardizing its overall financial position.

The upgrade propelled the Philippine peso to 41.72 versus the U.S. dollar, the strongest in four years.

Carandang says the government doesn't want a strong peso to hinder competitiveness of exports.

Source: http://www.trurodaily.com/Canada---World/Business/2012-07-04/article-3023363/Philippines-says-S&P-credit-and-debt-ratings-upgrade-an-affirmation-of-sound-fiscal-policy/1

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Tuesday, 3 July 2012

America's Generation Y not driven to drive

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To Shoshana Gurian-Sherman, driving seemed like a huge hassle.

"Part of it was laziness," the 23-year-old Minneapolis resident recalled. "I didn't really want to put in the effort to learn how to drive ... I knew how to ride the buses, so it was not necessary.

"And the other thing was, it was just scary, the idea of being in charge of a vehicle that potentially could kill me or other people," Gurian-Sherman said.

She eventually got her license at 18, two years later than she could have, after her parents threatened not to pay for college if she did not learn to drive, a skill they considered to be important.

In her reluctance to drive or own a car, Gurian-Sherman is typical of a certain segment of Generation Y, the coveted marketing demographic encompassing the 80 million U.S. residents between the ages of 16 and 34.

Bigger than the post-World War Two baby-boom generation but without the middle-class expansion that drove the earlier group's consumer habits, Generation Y includes an increasing number of people for whom driving is less an American rite of passage than an unnecessary chore.

"That moment of realizing that you're a grown-up - for my generation, that was when you got your driver's license or car," said Tony Dudzik, a senior policy analyst of the Frontier Group, a California-based think tank that has studied this phenomenon. "For young people now, that moment comes when you get your first cellphone."

U.S. residents started driving less around the turn of the 21st century, and young people have propelled this trend, according to the federal government's National Household Travel Survey.

From 2001 to 2009, the average annual number of vehicle-miles traveled by people ages 16-34 dropped 23 percent, from 10,300 to 7,900, the survey found. Gen Y-ers, also known as Millennials, tend to ride bicycles, take public transit and rely on virtual media.

More than a quarter of Millennials - 26 percent - lacked a driver's license in 2010, up 5 percentage points from 2000, the Federal Highway Administration reported.

THE HIGH COST OF DRIVING

At the same time, older people are driving more, researchers at the University of Michigan found. In 2008, those age 70 and older made up the largest group of drivers on the road, more than 10 percent, which was slightly higher than those in their 40s or 50s.

The Michigan researchers offered a few reasons why some younger drivers hesitate to get behind the wheel: the high cost of owning, fueling and maintaining a car and the convenience of electronic communication.

The Frontier Group's Dudzik suggested a related cause: computer and smartphone applications that make taking public transportation easier, with minute-by-minute tracking of buses and trains and simple online maps and travel directions.

Whether Gen Y-ers will eventually drive more than they do now will affect transportation infrastructure costs, Dudzik said.

Bikes and car-sharing services make it easier to avoid the expense of owning a fossil-fueled vehicle. Environmental concerns are another reason, said David Jacobs of the Tombras Group, a marketing firm based in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"It's not the main reason, but it is a compelling reason," Jacobs said.

More central is the group's general anxiety over finances and the economy, he said.

"They're shouldering higher mortgage costs, rent; their insurance costs are higher than previous generation's," Jacobs said. "And all that's happening after a couple of recessions, so they've really never, as young adults, seen a very healthy, stable economy. They're worried about a lot of things."

To sell cars or anything else to Generation Y, he said, "you have to talk to them at their level and make them interested and show them you are a valuable, reputable company with a quality product and you do care about the environment, the economy."

That fits with Gurian-Sherman's thoughts on the environment in her decision not to own a car: "I don't know if I consider myself an environmentalist, but I care about the impact that I have." (Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/americas-generation-y-not-driven-drive-145632280--sector.html

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Friday, 29 June 2012

UK air pollution reprieve refused

Government plans to delay air pollution improvements in 12 UK areas have been refused by the European Commission, which says air quality must improve.

The UK may now face fines if it fails to improve air quality quickly.

Air pollution reduces average life expectancy in the UK by up to eight months, according to the government's own statistics.

But ministers have been slow to meet agreed European standards on cutting levels of the pollutant NO2.

This comes mainly from vehicles. It causes problems with breathing - particularly for people with heart or lung problems.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

Air pollution is recognised by the government as the second biggest public health threat, after smoking?

End Quote

The UK has been denied permission by the commission to delay air quality improvements in 12 areas - Aberdeen and north-east Scotland; Belfast; Birkenhead; Brighton; Bristol; Liverpool; Preston; Sheffield; south-west England; south Wales; Swansea and Tyneside.

Second-biggest threat

A judgement will be made at a later date on government plans to delay meeting NO2 standards in major cities until 2020 - or in the case of London, 2025.

London has the worst air of any European capital, and the UK is likely to be fined over the failure.

Air pollution is recognised by the government as the second-biggest public health threat, after smoking. It costs the UK an estimated ?20bn a year - that's more than twice the amount estimated for obesity, which gets far more publicity.

Daniel Instone, giving evidence on behalf of Defra, said ministers were considering a nationwide network of low-emission zones in which the most polluting vehicles were banned.

Simon Birkett, a campaigner from Clean Air in London, said the commission's ruling suggested that such a network would now be inevitable.

NO2 pollution affects long-term health. Experts giving evidence to the Environment Committee, EFRA, said the health of Olympic athletes visiting over the summer should not be harmed as long as the UK avoids a heat-induced smog episode.

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Friday, 22 June 2012

Real Estate Property Management | Baltimore Share

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Monday, 18 June 2012

Total petrochemical unit probed over deadly blast

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