//////////////////Countdown to Earth Hour 2008…
Do you remember last year when Sydney, Australia made the news by turning their lights out for one hour to show their concern about global warming? Besides being concerned about the effects, especially for my children and grandchildren, as an astronomer I support anything which helps reduce light pollution, even if it's just for an hour. Beyond extinguishing the lights for 60 minutes at 8pm March 29, 2008, there are lots of things you can do to make Earth Hour 2008 an even greater success. Let's take a look. (more…)
Do you remember last year when Sydney, Australia made the news by turning their lights out for one hour to show their concern about global warming? Besides being concerned about the effects, especially for my children and grandchildren, as an astronomer I support anything which helps reduce light pollution, even if it's just for an hour. Beyond extinguishing the lights for 60 minutes at 8pm March 29, 2008, there are lots of things you can do to make Earth Hour 2008 an even greater success. Let's take a look. (more…)
//////////////////////////Bhagavad Gita Selection Number 275, for Sunday, March 23, 2008From Chapter XII: The Yoga of DevotionXII.15. YASMAANNODWIJATE LOKO LOKAANNODWIJATE CHA YAH; HARSHAAMARSHABHAYODWEGAIRMUKTO YAH SA CHA ME PRIYAH. (Krishna speaking to Arjuna)He by whom the world is not agitated and who cannot be agitated by the world, and who is freed from joy, envy, fear and anxiety-he is dear to Me. XII.16. ANAPEKSHAH SHUCHIRDAKSHA UDAASEENO GATAVYATHAH; SARVAARAMBHAPARITYAAGEE YO MADBHAKTAH SA ME PRIYAH. He who is free from wants, pure, expert, unconcerned, and untroubled, renouncing all undertakings or commencements-he who is (thus) devoted to Me, is dear to Me.
ECAPOM
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100 years ago today
News ItemsJute Fire, ~ A fire broke out early yesterday morning in a large godown in Ultadanga containing about 20,000 drums of jute belonging to Babu Ashutosh Chatterjee. The godown had been locked upon the previous evening. About 2 A.M. yesterday a constable noticed flames shooting out from the openings under the corrugated roofing of the godown and reported the fact at the thana. Information was at once sent to the Chitpur Fire Station and the Brigade turned out. The godown was surrounded by the firemen who played on the flames and prevented them from spreading. The roof collapsed shortly after the outbreak. By 6 A.M. the entire stock of jute was damaged. The cause of the fire is at present unknown. The jute was insured for the sum of Rs 16,000. A Cure For Rheumatism. ~ Mrs Stannard, the well-known novelist who writes under the name of John Strange Winter, claims to have been cured of Rheumatism by Genoform Tablets, a recently invented remedy, and has written publicly expressing her anxiety that every sufferer from Rheumatism should know what Genoform has done for her. Lantern Address. ~ The usual Students Service will take place at 6.30 this evening in the L.M.S. Institution, Bhowanipore. Speaker: Rev A. Warren. Subject: The Parable of the Sower.
100 years ago today
News ItemsJute Fire, ~ A fire broke out early yesterday morning in a large godown in Ultadanga containing about 20,000 drums of jute belonging to Babu Ashutosh Chatterjee. The godown had been locked upon the previous evening. About 2 A.M. yesterday a constable noticed flames shooting out from the openings under the corrugated roofing of the godown and reported the fact at the thana. Information was at once sent to the Chitpur Fire Station and the Brigade turned out. The godown was surrounded by the firemen who played on the flames and prevented them from spreading. The roof collapsed shortly after the outbreak. By 6 A.M. the entire stock of jute was damaged. The cause of the fire is at present unknown. The jute was insured for the sum of Rs 16,000. A Cure For Rheumatism. ~ Mrs Stannard, the well-known novelist who writes under the name of John Strange Winter, claims to have been cured of Rheumatism by Genoform Tablets, a recently invented remedy, and has written publicly expressing her anxiety that every sufferer from Rheumatism should know what Genoform has done for her. Lantern Address. ~ The usual Students Service will take place at 6.30 this evening in the L.M.S. Institution, Bhowanipore. Speaker: Rev A. Warren. Subject: The Parable of the Sower.
/////////////////God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It’s as simple as that.”
/////////////////Addiction to internet 'is an illness'Guardian - 6 hours agoTense? Angry? Can't get online? Internet addiction is now a serious public health issue that should be officially recognised as a clinical disorder, according to a leading psychiatrist.
//////////////////Study unlocks Latin American pastThe arrival of European settlers triggered a dramatic shift in the genetic profile of South America's population, a study says.
/////////////////Writing 'eases stress of cancer'Getting cancer patients to write about their fears may improve their quality of life, according to a US study.
///////////////////Spoilt children 'disrupt schools'Primary schoolchildren spoilt at home can disrupt classes with behaviour such as tantrums, a report says.
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Homeowners to pick up £1.3bn bank bill of ‘reckless’ mortgage lendersTimes Online - 11 hours agoBritain's homeowners face paying an extra £1.3 billion a year because mortgage lenders have increased their profit margins to recoup their losses from bad debts.
Homeowners to pick up £1.3bn bank bill of ‘reckless’ mortgage lendersTimes Online - 11 hours agoBritain's homeowners face paying an extra £1.3 billion a year because mortgage lenders have increased their profit margins to recoup their losses from bad debts.
///////////////////Homeowners to pick up £1.3bn bank bill of ‘reckless’ mortgage lenders
Kathryn Cooper
Britain's homeowners face paying an extra £1.3 billion a year because mortgage lenders have increased their profit margins to recoup their losses from bad debts.
Figures reveal that lenders have increased their margin fourfold over the past year, and consumer groups are accusing “reckless” banks of “plundering” homeowners.
Eddy Weatherill, chief executive of the Independent Banking Advisory Service, said: “They all got into this position and now the customer is going to pay for it.”
The new figures, compiled by Deutsche Bank, analyse the margin between the rate at which a bank or building society borrows money and the fixed-rate deals it offers. In some cases the margin has increased eightfold in a year.
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Related Links
Building societies faced with funding drought
King attacked for 'failing' to support banks
Can you insure against higher mortgage rates?
In 2007 a homeowner on a standard two-year fixed-rate deal with a small deposit would typically have paid an interest rate just 0.2% higher than the rate at which their financial institution borrowed the money. That mark-up has now increased to more than 1.6%.
The increase is bad news for the 1.4m homeowners who are coming to the end of their fixed-rate deals this year.
They already face a dwindling choice of mortgage products and are likely to face bigger monthly payouts, despite falling interest rates.
A year ago Halifax was so keen to attract new business that its two-year fixed-rate deal, at 5.14%, was lower than the rate at which it could borrow the money, which was 5.64%.
The cost of borrowing for lenders for fixed-rate deals, known as the “swap rate”, has now dropped to 4.89% but Halifax’s two-year deal is currently 5.99%.
Its rival lender Abbey has also increased the cost of fixed rates recently despite the fall in the cost of borrowing. Indeed these increases are reflected across the sector, with the average margin on fixed rates now 1.05%, compared with a margin of 0.255% a year ago.
The estimated cost to consumers is an extra £110m a month in payments, or £1.3 billion per year. Experts say the credit crunch has moved “pricing power” from borrowers back to lenders.
Ray Boulger, of Charcol, an online mortgage broker, said: “Lenders are writing new fixed-rate business at better margins than they have done for years.
“Where lenders have had to make big write-downs on mortgage-backed securities, they have got to replenish their balance sheets somehow, and the only way they can do that is to make bigger profit margins or issue new shares.”
A spokesman for the Council of Mortgage Lenders said the market had been “extremely competitive” but some of the deals on offer a year ago were “not sustainable in current market conditions”.
Kathryn Cooper
Britain's homeowners face paying an extra £1.3 billion a year because mortgage lenders have increased their profit margins to recoup their losses from bad debts.
Figures reveal that lenders have increased their margin fourfold over the past year, and consumer groups are accusing “reckless” banks of “plundering” homeowners.
Eddy Weatherill, chief executive of the Independent Banking Advisory Service, said: “They all got into this position and now the customer is going to pay for it.”
The new figures, compiled by Deutsche Bank, analyse the margin between the rate at which a bank or building society borrows money and the fixed-rate deals it offers. In some cases the margin has increased eightfold in a year.
function pictureGalleryPopup(pubUrl,articleId) {
var newWin = window.open(pubUrl+'template/2.0-0/element/pictureGalleryPopup.jsp?id='+articleId+'&&offset=0&§ionName=MoneyMortgages','mywindow','menubar=0,resizable=0,width=615,height=655');
}
Related Links
Building societies faced with funding drought
King attacked for 'failing' to support banks
Can you insure against higher mortgage rates?
In 2007 a homeowner on a standard two-year fixed-rate deal with a small deposit would typically have paid an interest rate just 0.2% higher than the rate at which their financial institution borrowed the money. That mark-up has now increased to more than 1.6%.
The increase is bad news for the 1.4m homeowners who are coming to the end of their fixed-rate deals this year.
They already face a dwindling choice of mortgage products and are likely to face bigger monthly payouts, despite falling interest rates.
A year ago Halifax was so keen to attract new business that its two-year fixed-rate deal, at 5.14%, was lower than the rate at which it could borrow the money, which was 5.64%.
The cost of borrowing for lenders for fixed-rate deals, known as the “swap rate”, has now dropped to 4.89% but Halifax’s two-year deal is currently 5.99%.
Its rival lender Abbey has also increased the cost of fixed rates recently despite the fall in the cost of borrowing. Indeed these increases are reflected across the sector, with the average margin on fixed rates now 1.05%, compared with a margin of 0.255% a year ago.
The estimated cost to consumers is an extra £110m a month in payments, or £1.3 billion per year. Experts say the credit crunch has moved “pricing power” from borrowers back to lenders.
Ray Boulger, of Charcol, an online mortgage broker, said: “Lenders are writing new fixed-rate business at better margins than they have done for years.
“Where lenders have had to make big write-downs on mortgage-backed securities, they have got to replenish their balance sheets somehow, and the only way they can do that is to make bigger profit margins or issue new shares.”
A spokesman for the Council of Mortgage Lenders said the market had been “extremely competitive” but some of the deals on offer a year ago were “not sustainable in current market conditions”.
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PhysOrg.comFossil sheds light on the history of sexTimes Online - 21 Mar 2008A long, thin rope-like creature standing erect on the sea floor up to 570 million years ago has been identified as the first animal on Earth to have had sex.
PhysOrg.comFossil sheds light on the history of sexTimes Online - 21 Mar 2008A long, thin rope-like creature standing erect on the sea floor up to 570 million years ago has been identified as the first animal on Earth to have had sex.
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BBC NewsAddicts 'not second-class people'BBC News - 5 hours agoDrug users should not be treated as second-class citizens and deserve the same right to care as everyone else, the Scottish Government has said.
BBC NewsAddicts 'not second-class people'BBC News - 5 hours agoDrug users should not be treated as second-class citizens and deserve the same right to care as everyone else, the Scottish Government has said.
///////////////////TOUCHES ALL COVERS NONE
//////////////////HS CRSS=ICNBAH-RAS-NBT
//////////////////////Is Time Disappearing From the Universe? -A Galaxy Classic
Remember a little thing called the space-time continuum? Well what if the time part of the equation was literally running out? New evidence is suggesting that time is slowly disappearing from our universe, and will one day vanish completely. This radical new theory may explain a cosmological mystery that has baffled scientists for years.
Scientists previously have measured the light from distant exploding stars to show that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. They assumed...
Read the whole entry »
• Email to a friend • Article Search • Related • •
Remember a little thing called the space-time continuum? Well what if the time part of the equation was literally running out? New evidence is suggesting that time is slowly disappearing from our universe, and will one day vanish completely. This radical new theory may explain a cosmological mystery that has baffled scientists for years.
Scientists previously have measured the light from distant exploding stars to show that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. They assumed...
Read the whole entry »
• Email to a friend • Article Search • Related • •
////////////////////Bhagavad Gita Selection Number 273, for Friday, March 21, 2008From Chapter XII: The Yoga of DevotionXII.12. SHREYO HI JNAANAMABHYAASAAT JNAANAADDHYAANAM VISHISHYATE; DHYAANAAT KARMAPHALATYAAGAS TYAAGAACCHAANTIR ANANTARAM. (Krishna speaking to Arjuna)Better indeed is knowledge than practice; than knowledge meditation is better; than meditation the renunciation of the fruits of actions; peace immediately follows renunciation.
//////////////////œThou hast created me not from necessity but from grace.â€
////////////////////“Find your own light.”
////////////////The regulation of negative emotions: impact on brain activityEmotions play an important role in the lives of humans, and influence our behavior, thoughts, decisions, and interactions. The ability to regulate emotions is essential to both mental and physical well-being. "Conversely, difficulties with emotion regulation have been postulated as a core mechanism underlying mood and anxiety disorders," according to the authors of a new study published in Biological Psychiatry on March 15th. Thus, these researchers set out to further expand our understanding of the differential effects of emotion regulation strategies on the human brain.http://www.brainmysteries.com/research/The_regulation_of_negative_emotions_impact_on_brain_activity.asp
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