Landsat 8 to the rescue

NASA prepares to launch satellite that will continue historic record of global change.

NATURE

Jeff Tollefson

06 February 2013

When Landsat 5 fell silent on 6 January, scientists across the globe mourned its passing but gave thanks for its fortitude. The satellite had lasted a record-breaking 28 years, snapping images of the changing planet from melting glaciers to burning rainforests, while its successors faltered. Landsat 6 failed during launch and Landsat 7, at 13 years old, is partially blind and has limited fuel. With the passing of Landsat 5, the future of the world’s longest-running — and perhaps most influential — set of data on global change rests with Landsat 8, which is scheduled to launch next week from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The Last Time a Pope Resigned, Dante Put Him in Hell

By Peter Coy on February 11, 2013

Business Week

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign the papacy for health reasons. The last time a pope resigned voluntarily was 1294. The great poet Dante Alighieri was so angry about it that he put the abdicating pope, Celestine V, into the antechamber of his Inferno. In the more than seven centuries since, no pope has taken the name Celestine.

EU Crisis Seen in Worst Quarter Since Lehman

By Mark Deen on February 11, 2013

Business Week

Euro-area economic data due this week will probably show the damage inflicted by the region’s sovereign debt crisis with the worst quarterly decline in output for almost four years.

A REAL paradigm shift in education

The Washington Post

Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 11, 2013 at 6:00 am

American public education has been in trouble for a lot longer than many people believe, according to the author of the following post.

Jim Armitage: A glimmer of hope for Greece but it's still going to be a long haul

There have been real reforms made to reduce labour costs, pensions and so forth

JIM ARMITAGE    FRIDAY 08 FEBRUARY 2013

The Independent

Global Outlook To visit Athens these days is to witness the flesh-and-blood, bricks-and-mortar embodiment of an economy gone badly wrong.

Is There Hope for a Recovery of the Greek Economy?

Posted: 02/08/2013 4:10 pm

Evangelos A. CalamitsisEconomist and former director at the IMF

The Huffington Post

After five years of a deepening economic recession and growing unemployment in Greece, one may wonder whether there is now hope ("elpida") for an end to the Greek fiscal and debt crisis, the restoration of the country's competitiveness, and a sustainable recovery of growth and jobs.

European Union Leaders Agree to Slimmer Budget

The New York Times

By JAMES KANTER and ANDREW HIGGINS

Published: February 8, 2013

BRUSSELS — As European Union leaders began their 14th hour of budget negotiations after a sleepless night, Valdis Dombrovskis, the prime minister of Latvia, took the floor early Friday to address what, for his Baltic nation of around just two million people, is a vital question: Why should a Latvian cow deserve less money than a French, Dutch and even Romanian one?

UPDATE 2-Greece sees smaller deficit this year, fiscal gap looms later

Fri Feb 8, 2013 9:35am EST

By Harry Papachristou

Feb 8 (Reuters) - Greece will cut its budget deficit this year by more than expected after securing debt relief, but will need to bridge a 2.5 billion euro gap to meet its long-term fiscal targets, new budget projections showed.

Global shares, euro pause ahead of ECB decision

By Richard Hubbard

London | Thu Feb 7, 2013 3:39am EST

(Reuters) - The euro, German bonds and shares steadied on Thursday, as investors awaited the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the day and President Mario Draghi's views on the region's growth prospects.

Euro, shares recover as European worries recede

By Richard Hubbard

LONDON | Tue Feb 5, 2013 5:37am EST

(Reuters) - European shares and the euro steadied on Tuesday, a day after a sharp selloff caused by rising political risks in southern Europe, as new data confirmed the region's economy is showing clear signs of recovery.

European political worries halt risk asset rally

By Richard Hubbard

London | Mon Feb 4, 2013 11:23am GMT

(Reuters) - Stronger U.S. and Chinese economic data supported world equity markets on Monday, while the euro dipped and Spanish bond yields rose as growing political uncertainty in southern Europe worried investors.

EURO GOVT-Political risks hurt Spanish and Italian bonds

Mon Feb 4, 2013 4:11am EST

* Spanish and Italian yields rise as political risks grow

* 2013 rally in peripheral bonds reaching stretched levels

* Bunds rebound but remain lower after late Friday selloff

By William James

Σωστά καταργούν το φαύλο καθεστώς σε ΑΕΙ και ΤΕΙ – Ο Σύριζα γιατί αντιδρά;

Το άρθρο δημοσιεύθηκε στον ιστότοπο www.aixmi.gr

Link: http://www.aixmi.gr/index.php/swsta-katargoun-faulo-kathestws-seaei-tei/

Του Γ. Λοβέρδου

Το σχέδιο «Αθηνά», με το οποίο ο Κ. Αρβανιτόπουλος κι η ηγεσία του υπουργείου Παιδείας επιχειρούν να βάλουν τάξη στον κυκεώνα, που είχε προκληθεί στον χώρο της Ανώτατης Παιδείας με την πληθώρα Πανεπιστημίων και ΤΕΙ, είναι αναμφίβολα προς τη σωστή κατεύθυνση.

ΕΠΙΦΥΛΑΚΤΙΚΟΙ ΠΡΥΤΑΝΕΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΟΜΜΑΤΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΣΧΕΔΙΟ ''ΑΘΗΝΑ''

(Σημ. περιέχει όλες τις μέχρι στιγμής ανακοινώσεις των κομμάτων για το σχέδιο) 

Τη Δευτέρα η Σύνοδος Πρυτάνεων

Ούτε αρνητικά ούτε θετικά ήταν η πρώτη αντίδραση της ακαδημαϊκής κοινότητας για το σχέδιο «Αθηνά», καθώς επίκειται η σύγκληση έκτακτης Συνόδου των Πρυτάνεων για να συζητηθεί το θέμα. Τη Δευτέρα το μεσημέρι θα συνεδριάσει η διευρυμένη συντονιστική επιτροπή της Συνόδου, στην οποία μπορούν να συμμετάσχουν όποιοι πρυτάνεις θέλουν προκειμένου να εκφράσουν την άποψή τους.

Το σχέδιο «Αθηνά» αλλάζει το τοπίο στα ΑΕΙ

Καταργούνται 94 τμήματα, 3 πανεπιστήμια, 4 ΤΕΙ, οι εισακτέοι μειώνονται κατά 4%, ενώ 11 πόλεις χάνουν τμήματα και φοιτητές

Του Αποστολου Λακασα

Εφημερίδα Καθημερινή

 1-2-2013

Νέο τοπίο διαμορφώνεται στην τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση, καθώς θα διαγραφούν από τον χάρτη τρία πανεπιστήμια (από τα 24 σε 21) και τέσσερα ΤΕΙ (από τα 16 σε 12) και 94 τμήματα πανεπιστημίων και ΤΕΙ (από τα 480 που λειτουργούν σήμερα θα μείνουν 386).

ΟΜΟΣΠΟΝΔΟ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΘΗΝΑ

ΕΘΝΟΣ

31-3-2013

Ομόσπονδο Πανεπιστήμιο δημιουργείται στην Αθήνα με την επωνυμία «Αδαμάντιος Κοραής» και σ΄αυτό θα ενταχθούν τα πανεπιστήμια Γεωπονικό, Οικονομικό, Πάντειο, Πειραιά και Χαροκόπειο, διατηρώντας όμως την αυτοτέλειά τους.

IMF’s Greek Euro Exit Analysis

January 31, 2013, 9:57 AM

By Matthew Dalton

The Wall Street Journal

We’re a tad late getting to this, but the International Monetary Fund in its latest report on the Greek bailout took an interesting look at how far euro-zone economic output would fall if Greece ditched the common currency. The fund’s answer: Maybe a lot, maybe not so much – though even the “not so much” scenario looks pretty bad.

GDP contracts on tepid inventories, government spending drop

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:07am EST

(Reuters) - The economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, suffering its first decline since the recession ended more than three years ago as businesses scaled back on restocking and government spending plunged.

Greenland defied ancient warming

But Antarctic glaciers may be more vulnerable than thought.

NATURE

Quirin Schiermeier

23 January 2013

Over a few exceptionally warm days last July, Greenland’s frozen surface turned into a colossal puddle. Even the coldest parts of the world’s largest island saw ice thaw and rain fall, fuelling concerns over the future of glaciers that hold enough water to raise global sea levels by around 7 metres.

PRECIOUS-Gold rallies from 2-1/2 wk low; eyes Fed meeting

Tue Jan 29, 2013 6:59am EST

* Federal Reserve policy meeting on Jan 29-30

* Investors alert to U.S. non-farm payrolls on Friday (Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)

By Clara Denina

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Gold firmed on Tuesday, snapping a four-day losing streak, but gains were limited as investors sought further data to gauge U.S. economic strength, also looking to a Federal Reserve statement later in the week.