April 2013: Employer's business tax calendar ? Business ...

NOTE: Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as observed in the District of Columbia are taken into account to determine due dates. Under the federal deposit rules, you?re allowed a deposit shortfall of the greater of $100 or 2% of your tax liability.

Semiweekly and monthly deposits are for the deposits of FICA and withheld income taxes due on wages paid during the time periods indicated.

April 1 ?? ?

All employers. File Copy A of Forms W-2 with the Social Security Administration. This due date applies only if you file electronically. Paper forms should have been filed by Feb. 28. Employers with incentive stock option plans, file Forms 3921 with the IRS; employers with employee stock purchase plans, file Forms 3922 with the IRS. This due date applies only if you file electronically. Paper forms should have been filed by Feb. 28.

All businesses. File Forms 1099 with the IRS. This due date applies only if you file electronically. Otherwise, forms should have been filed by Feb. 28.

April 3 ?? ?

Semiweekly deposit for wages paid on March 27, 28 and 29.

April 5 ?? ?

Semiweekly deposit for wages paid on March 30, 31, April 1 and 2.

April 10 ?? ?

Semiweekly deposit for wages paid on April 3, 4 and 5.

Employees who work for tips. If employees received $20 or more in tips during March, they should report them to you on Form 4070.

April 12 ?? ?

Semiweekly deposit for wages paid on April 6, 7, 8 and 9.

April 15??

Monthly deposit for wages paid in March, if the semiweekly deposit rule didn?t apply.

Corporations. Calendar-year corporations deposit the first installment of estimated income tax for 2013. A worksheet, Form 1120-W, is available to help you make an estimate of your tax for the year. Fiscal-year corporations deposit by the 15th day of the 4th month of their tax year.

Partnerships. Calendar-year partnerships file a 2012 Form 1065 and provide each partner with a copy of Schedule K-1 (Form 1065). If you want an automatic 5-month extension to file the return and provide Schedule K-1, file Form 7004. Then file Form 1065 by Sept. 16. Fiscal-year filers file by the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the tax year.

Electing large partnerships. Calendar-year partnerships file a 2012 Form 1065-B. If you want an automatic 6-month extension to file the return, file Form 7004. Then file Form 1065-B by Oct. 15. Schedule K-1 should have been provided by March 15, 2013. Fiscal-year filers file by the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the tax year; partners receive Schedule K-1 by the first March 15 after the end of the tax year.

April 18 ?? ?

Semiweekly deposit for wages paid on April 10, 11 and 12.

April 19 ?? ?

Semiweekly deposit for wages paid on April 13, 14, 15 and 16.

April 24 ?? ?

Semiweekly deposit for wages paid on April 17, 18 and 19.

April 26???

Semiweekly deposit for wages paid on April 20, 21, 22 and 23.

April 30 ?? ?

All employers. Quarterly filers file Form 941 for the first quarter of 2013. Deposit any undeposited tax. If the total is less than $2,500 and not a shortfall, you can pay it with the return. If you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time, you have until May 10 to file the return. Annual filers deposit any undeposited tax, if the total liability is $2,500 or more for 2013, but less than $2,500 for the first quarter. All employers deposit FUTA taxes owed through March, if more than $500.

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Physics Week in Review: March 30, 2013

We have been Down Under in the Land of Oz all week, but Jen-Luc Piquant has been zealously compiling cool physics-y links for you anyway. By the time you read this, we will be landing in Los Angeles, arriving earlier than we left Sydney. Time travel! Of a sort?.

Yowza! Scientists from Zhejiang University in China have made a graphene aerogel that?s less than one-seventh the density of air.

In other graphene-related news, a lab ?accident? may solve your annoying battery problems, according to this article in Slate. UCLA grad student Maher El-Kady ?wondered what would happen if he placed a sheet of graphite oxide?an abundant carbon compound?under a laser. And not just any laser, but a really inexpensive one, something that millions of people around the world already have?a DVD burner containing a technology called LightScribe, which is used for etching labels and designs on your mixtapes?. The simple trick produced very high-quality sheets of graphene, very quickly, and at low cost.? I also love this quote by Kaner:
?Nothing in science is actually an accident?it only looks like that way when you look back.?

Researchers at Stanford Linear Accelerator have created an x-ray beam with two slightly different colors. ?Tuning the color of the x-rays will allow researchers to pick out specific atomic and molecular dynamics like how bonds break and rearrange in chemical reactions.?

The NOvA neutrino detector, technically still under construction, has nonetheless already begun to take data from cosmic rays.

Young Albert Einstein, 1882. Via Brainpicker.

Ladies and gentlemen: Albert Einstein as a toddler. He had a certain confident savoir-faire even then.

Justice & the Sign for Equality. In honor of civil rights for all when it comes to marriage, John Ptak tracks down when the ? = ? sign first appears in print ? in Robert Recorde?s The Whetstone of Witte, published in 1557.

Dinosaur-killing impact set the world on fire: Researchers argue forcefully that the ensuing heat set off global forest fires.

Neutrino Oscillations Are Cool. OPERA snags it third tau neutrino: the experiment has caught a muon neutrino oscillating into a tau neutrino, an extremely rare event.

Socrates (In The Form Of A 9-Year-Old) Shows Up In A Suburban Backyard In Washington. Per Robert Krulwich: ?This 9-year-old ? what he knows is different. It?s not local; it can?t be found looking under a couch. It?s mind stuff, found mostly in books or college classrooms, or by letting your mind run free.?

Georgia Tech and Purdue scientists made a recyclable solar cell. Now solar energy is truly renewable.

I lived in Washington, DC, for six years, and well remember the news stories about exploding manhole covers. Has the mystery finally been explained? ?Researchers who mapped methane concentrations on the streets of the nation?s capital found natural gas leaks everywhere, at concentrations of up to 50 times the normal background levels, they reported here last week at a meeting of the American Physical Society. The leaking gas wastes resources, enhances ozone production, and exacerbates global warming ? not to mention powering the city?s infamous exploding manholes.?

From the "Black Hole" series by Fabian Oefner: http://www.fabianoefner.com/64838/1159918/projects/black-hole

The physics of fluids in spellbinding color (see photo, right)! Per io9: ?Switzerland-based photographer Fabian Oefner has a knack for exploring the intersection of science and art. In his latest work, he pours a variety of colored paints over a rod connected to a power drill to produce some remarkable shots of fluid in motion. Who knew combining acrylics with power tools could be so beautiful??

A blob of ?intelligent? goo can compute solutions to Traveling Salesman problem and produces a route map as well. It didn?t even need to consult Google maps.

What happens when you ?turn off? gravity in the new game Parallax? Mega-coolness, that?s what.

Watch Oppenheimer recall witnessing Trinity nuclear test in 1945. ?I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.?

The philosophy of the Higgs: ?Is there a role for philosophy in physics? Should physicists listen to philosophers?? Particle physicist Michael Kr?mer hangs out with philosophers and learns that one should be wary of irrelevant blondes.

Counter-intuitive, but apparently true, based on analysis of cell phone data: Strong Social Ties Hinder the Spread of Rumours.

Eeek! The Blob is hungry! Actually it?s magnetic paste. And it?s kind of awesome.

Blasphemy! Historical contingency and the futility of reductionism: Why chemistry (and biology) is not physics. Ashutosh Jogalekar makes the argument: ?The reductionist zeitgeist of physics cannot ?explain? chemistry any more than ?entropy? explains the inexorable march of life from birth to death.? Discuss.

Prince Rupert?s Drop: The Curious Properties of a Molten Glass Blob Dropped in Cold Water:

What an 18th century treatise on population can teach us about energy resources: Revisiting Thomas Malthus.

This week?s adventure in patent pseudoscience: Introducing the Terahertz Egg, with water imprinting! Just don?t ask the applicant to specify exactly how this happens.

I wish we?d known about these spiffy waveform wedding rings by Japanese artist/designer Sakurako Shimizu when the Time Lord and I got married five years ago. Each one is custom made, ?etched with a waveform of a couple?s voices uttering any words they choose.? What could be more romantic than that?

Waveform wedding rings by Japanese artist and designer Sakurako Shimizu. Source: io9.

?

If a dry tree pops sap bubbles in the woods, does it make a sound? YES! In certain conditions, tree sap may reach extreme negative pressures and emit popping sounds.

Learn about Charles Munroe, the man who used letters to make explosions more destructive: ?You can etch words into metal with an explosion, and those words reveal a startling thing about how explosives work.?

Can the Ice Wall in Game of Thrones Survive Science? tl;dr: ?no.? Scientists are such killjoys.

And finally, speaking of Game of Thrones (Season 3 premiere on Sunday!), okay, it?s not related to physics in any way, but we adore this Game of Thrones Random Death Generator, which helpfully lets you know how you?d die in Westeros. Per the Mary Sue: ?Because you wouldn?t live. Let?s be honest here.?? My favorite: ?Stabbed by Arya Stark for Standing in Her Way (Served You Right).? But the generator told me I was choked to death by an imprisoned Jaime Lannister instead. C?est la vie! Far better than being ?bored to death by Catelyn.?

Winter is coming.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=2830f634321de1652452dd57297dc003

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Lil Wayne Reveals: 'I'm An Epileptic'

'I could've died soon,' Weezy tells L.A. radio station, clearing up rumors about his health and weighing in on 2013 'Hottest MCs.'
By Rob Markman

Lil Wayne
Photo: Christopher Polk/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704571/lil-wayne-epileptic.jhtml

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Egypt's al-Azhar asserts role on Islamic finance, clashes with Muslim ...

(Egyptian Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb in Cairo January 2, 2011. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany)

Egypt?s leading Islamic authority Al-Azhar said on Thursday its clerics must be consulted on a law allowing the state to issue Islamic bonds, setting it at odds with the Muslim Brotherhood which drove the legislation through parliament last week.

It marks the first time Al-Azhar, a thousand-year-old seat of Islamic learning, has said its Senior Scholars Authority should be consulted on issues pertaining to Islamic law as set out in Egypt?s new, Islamist-tinged constitution.

Al-Azhar?s intervention could set a precedent for clerical oversight of other affairs of state. The Salafi Nour Party has said Al-Azhar must also approve an agreement Egypt is seeking with the International Monetary Fund because it includes a loan upon which Egypt will pay interest.

The Islamic bond, or sukuk law, will allow Egypt to issue debt compliant with Islamic principles, allowing the state to tap a new area of finance as President Mohamed Mursi?s administration grapples with an unaffordable budget deficit.

The sukuk law has been a source of friction between the Brotherhood, whose Freedom and Justice Party leads the upper house of parliament, and more hardline Islamists who say it should first have been approved by Al-Azhar.
Read the full story here.
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Source: http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2013/03/29/egypts-al-azhar-asserts-role-on-islamic-finance-clashes-with-muslim-brotherhood/

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Daily Kos: President Obama considering putting social insurance ...

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are reporting that President Obama is "strongly considering" including cuts to social insurance program benefits in his budget. The budget is slated to be released on April 10, the same day Obama is having yet another charm offensive dinner with Senate Republicans. Because this strategy has been working so well for him.

According to the WSJ,

Such a proposal could include steps that make many Democrats queasy, such as reductions in future Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security payments, but also items resisted by Republicans, such as higher taxes through limits on tax breaks, people close to the White House said. [...]

Including entitlement curbs would be notable, as Republicans often have criticized the White House for offering such steps in private negotiations but never fully embracing them as part of an official budget plan.

Well, since Republicans are criticizing him for not fully and officially embracing his desire to cut benefits to the poor and elderly, by all means he has to make the offer. Included in that, reportedly, is the chained CPI for Social Security and an idea from Eric Cantor for restructuring Medicare that would combine Medicare?s coverage for hospitals and doctor services, creating a single deductible that could increase out-of-pocket costs.

But here's just one rub in the plan:

But several liberal allies, some of whom advise White House officials, said Republicans could seize on the White House-endorsed spending cuts and try to implement them into law without any of the tax increases. That would put the White House in the uncomfortable position of opposing spending cuts it formally endorsed in its own budget.

That should be considered a certainty, rather than a possibility. That goes along with the certainty that Republicans are going to use an official White House proposal to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits in 2014 to run against Democrats. Republicans aren't engaging in any of the budget negotiations in good faith. They didn't do so in Obama's first term, and they have no intention to do so now, regardless of the 2012 election.

The Senate has rejected a chained CPI for Social Security, but that vote was non-binding. All those Democratic senators who voted against it need to take their opposition to the White House and tell President Obama that he will not have their votes.

Send an email to President Obama and congressional leadership telling them to strengthen Social Security instead of cutting it.

Originally posted to Joan McCarter on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 10:18 AM PDT.

Also republished by Daily Kos.

(Load) (Load) (Load) (Load) (Load) (Load) (Load)

Source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/29/1197888/-President-Obama-likely-to-put-social-insurance-cuts-in-his-budget

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Obama to pitch more jobs in public works in Miami

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2013, about measures to protect children from gun violence. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 28, 2013, about measures to protect children from gun violence. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama will promote a plan to create jobs by attracting private investment in highways and other public works during a visit Friday to a Miami port, the White House said.

The president will flesh out details of his proposals in a speech at the port, which is undergoing $2 billion in upgrades paid for with government and private money. Obama, in the quick trip to South Florida, will try to show that the economy remains his top priority in the midst of high-profile campaigns on immigration reform and gun control.

Among the proposals Obama will call for:

?Higher caps on "private activity bonds" to encourage more private spending on highways and other infrastructure projects. State and local governments use the bonds to attract investment.

?Giving foreign pension funds tax-exempt status when selling U.S. infrastructure, property or real estate assets. U.S. pension funds are generally tax exempt in those circumstances. The administration says some international pension funds cite the tax burden as a reason for not investing in American infrastructure.

?$4 billion in new spending on two infrastructure programs that award loans and grants.

?A renewed call for a $10 billion national "infrastructure bank" ? a proposal from his first term that gained little traction.

The president made private-sector infrastructure investment a key part of the economic agenda he rolled out in his State of the Union address last month. He also called in his address for a "Fix-It-First" program that would spend $40 billion in taxpayer funds on urgent repairs.

Obama's focus on generating more private sector investment underscores the tough road new spending faces on Capitol Hill, where Republican lawmakers often threaten to block additional spending unless it is paid for by tax cuts or other measures.

Any increased spending associated with the proposals Obama was outlining Friday would not add to the deficit, a senior administration official said. The official was not authorized to discuss the plan in advance of Obama's announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official did not detail how the costs would be paid for, saying only that more information would be included in the president's budget.

Obama will release his budget April 10.

___

Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Follow Julie Pace on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-29-US-Obama/id-1c4e2b2769b5468ebab4dd9698b8dcf5

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Creative SEO Tip: Newsjacking - Search Engine Watch (#SEW)

Google is growing market share and vowing to implement more changes aimed at reducing web spam and manipulative linking. But to the average small business owner these constant changes are mystifying or even maddening. To small businesses, Google seems to be sending a consistent message: Link building, in all forms, is manipulative and bad.

But this can?t be true. We know that Google?s algorithm runs on links at the core. How can there be such a disparity between what everyone knows to be true and the message Google sends to marketers?

First Reaction: Give Up on SEO

In the face of continuing Google updates and a desire to stay ?clean,? most marketers flirt with the idea of giving up on SEO entirely and turn to PPC. PPC should be in the marketing portfolio already, as it is an excellent complement to search engine optimization.

PPC should be used for testing new keyword spaces, end-user reactions to copy, time-on-site and conversion behaviors. It is the right tool because it brings traffic quickly. But long term, PPC is expensive and estimating PPC ROI is difficult.

The next target is social media. Social media has serious media hype behind it, leading many to believe it is a viable alternative to SEO.

While social media is critical for public relations, customer service and reputation management, data strongly suggests that social media is not a great source of first-time visitors?(i.e., leads) for small businesses. Like PPC, social media is an important part of a diversified marketing strategy. And it is vital for content marketing. But it is not a silver bullet.

Second Reaction: Do SEO Faster (and More Poorly)

Faced with the realization that SEO has the strongest ROI, small business marketers often come to the conclusion that they just need to do SEO faster. Sadly, this usually means cutting corners and doing SEO more poorly.

Thin content is not a viable onsite SEO strategy. Furthermore, thin content placed in low-authority article directories does not bring strong results. Guest blog posts can be very beneficial, but not on unrelated websites. In short, link manipulation techniques that may have worked 4 years ago are now detrimental.

Avoid bad link building techniques, as Google has gotten much stronger as spotting link manipulation attempts and schemes. Don?t use spammy blog networks or buy links from shady websites. Don?t make articles without co-citation and then spin them. This is not helpful to the end-user and leaves a bad footprint in the link graph.

Final Reaction: SEO Requires Effort, Purpose and Creativity

After the dust settles (or a webmaster receives a penalty), the smart marketer starts viewing the costs associated with good SEO as a wise investment. At this point, they start to think creatively about SEO and explore the full potential of inbound marketing. They invest in building relationships while they are building links, which to the uninitiated may not even make sense. Relationships breed accountability whereas anonymity does not.

After drinking the SEO Kool-Aid, marketers recognize that their link building should be in the form of content that has real purpose and value?to the end-reader.

In short, they transform from link building SEO professionals to content marketers. They start writing for a real audience, caring about facts and statistics. The presentation of content is upgraded with relevant images and is never reused. Content is syndicated to higher-value websites now that it takes longer to procure. The end-result is stronger for end-users, and marketers invariably start to look for more creative ways to syndicate content with the hopes of something going viral.

Creative SEO Tip: Newsjacking

Newsjacking is a newer idea in SEO, but a natural extension of content marketing. While it sounds like a negative term, it is not. Newsjacking is a technique in which marketers ride existing demand associated with breaking news for exposure. In other words, smart marketers know there is extremely high demand for breaking news stories and use this to their advantage by contributing to the overall discussion.

What is newsjacking?

• Paying attention to breaking news
• Understanding the keywords being searched for in a particular news cycle
• Producing high-quality, well-researched content that serves a specific demand for information
• Syndicating content very quickly to be found when other news organizations search for sources.

Small businesses can?t newsjack any story, it has to be related to their space. But most businesses won?t have difficulty finding breaking news that somehow relates to their business.

For example, a high profile fire in a historic building could be used by a construction company to highlight the importance of local code and inspections. A bank robbery could be used by a home security company to discuss the merits of a reliable security system. In both cases, working in a natural sentence that highlights the company?s position will not be difficult.

Newsjacking is similar to content marketing in that the content comes first and the marketing second. Serve the reader?s desire for news, facts and opinion ? but use that opportunity for a branded mention and a link (yes, it is still OK to get a link when you work for it). Finally, use social media for quick dissemination and viral spread. Recognize that unlike content marketing, newsjacking is fleeting and timing is critical.

Conclusions

Regardless of the debate on Google?s effectiveness today, all agree that Google will continue to make updates to its algorithm to spot unnatural link manipulation. Smart marketers understand this trend, but don?t want to give up on SEO due to the ROI.

After exhausting PPC and social media, SEO professionals turn to high-quality, creative techniques to contribute valuable content while gaining exposure and links. Content Marketing is a well-established technique.

Newsjacking, a type of content marketing, places the emphasis on breaking news events rather than how-tos or technical Information and rides the wave of existing demand for news information to get well-earned backlinks and branded mentions.

---

Become an Expert Digital Marketer at SES New York
March 25-28, 2013: With dozens of sessions on Search, Social, Local and Mobile, you'll leave SES with everything you need to know. Register for SES today!

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2258014/Creative-SEO-Tip-Newsjacking

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Republican Rep. Don Young refers to Latinos using racial slur (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295373390?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Chillingo goes all-in with Android - Endless Road, He-Man, and more on the way

One of my favorite mobile game publishers, Chillingo, was at GDC 2013 and we got to catch up with them and hear about all of the awesome titles that are coming to Android. Some are already out, like Parking Mania and Contre Jour, but others like He-Man, Puzzle Craft, and Endless Road are on the way, and others still like Catapult King just came out. We only got to try out a few of these, but Chillingo's catalog is really impressive, and it will be great to see more of their stuff hitting Google Play this year. 

What are your favorite Chillingo games? Any other publisher that you have a particular fondness for? 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/1m8GBb5lg1A/story01.htm

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Reminder: How Mexico Treats ?Undesirable? Foreigners (Michellemalkin)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/294939025?client_source=feed&format=rss

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GameStick gets GameStop-backing, pre-loaded titles

OUYA may have nabbed the spotlight in the Android-based, Kickstarter-supported console wars, but the diminutive GameStick's got some heat behind it, too. The device's makers are putting on a bit of a show at this year's GDC, announcing a slew of news around the forthcoming product. At the top of the list are a number of backers, including, most prominently, the similarly-named GameStop, which clearly sees a viable future in such products, as the world continues to move away from brick-and-mortar outlets. Shadowgun and Smash Cops were also revealed as pre-installed titles for the console, "ensuring GameStick users have free, quality content ready to go out of the box."

Filed under: Gaming

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/JXfew0m1184/

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Brutal group number may doom one of 'Idol' men

By Craig Berman

?American Idol? had two hours of airtime to fill on Wednesday and just eight singers. That meant that in addition to everyone?s solo, each singer also had a group number to worry about.

Frank Micelotta / FOX

Lazaro Arbos will probably be safe.

That was bad news for the guys on the annual Salute to Detroit episode, appropriate for a season that has been a debacle for their gender. Guys have been voted off in each of the last two week, and tomorrow?s results show might make it a trifecta. Their group number was brutal and then they proceeded to shift the blame around to make it even more obvious that the ?Idol? guys are the J.V. talent understudying for the all-star women on the varsity.

?It?s a beautiful day in Hollywood today,? Nicki Minaj said after watching Lazaro Arbos, Burnell Taylor and Devin Velez butcher ?I Can?t Help Myself.? But that wasn?t the compliment it might sound like. ?That?s what I thought, because I thought I was back in Hollywood week! Get off the stage! Go!? she added.

They did, but not fast enough to avoid tarnishing what had been a decent week.

Lazaro Arbos badly needed a strong performance, and he got what he needed in ?For Once in My Life.? The old swagger was back, and he again looked like a pop star, which is a big step forward from the hot mess of the previous two weeks.

?I don?t know if you completely redeemed yourself, but it was much better than last week,? Randy Jackson said. But Nicki was more effusive, crediting herself for her insistence that Lazaro stop listening to Jimmy Iovine?s criticism. Forget Nicki-Mariah ? it?s Nicki-Jimmy that?s the most entertaining ?Idol? feud in years.

Burnell Taylor impressed the judges with his own solo, and continues to be the beneficiary of Randy Jackson?s worship of All Things Louisiana. Meanwhile, much-maligned Devin Velez got a huge endorsement from Nicki, who raved, ?That was an amazing job tonight. I love every single choice that you made tonight.?

Michael Becker / FOX

Burnell Taylor has a fan in judge Randy Jackson.

So, individually, the guys did fine. ?Together ? ugh.

If any of the women crack the bottom three ? and at least one likely will, given Lazaro?s demonstrated fan support, there are a couple of possibilities.

The obvious choice is Amber Holcomb, a surprise member of the unpopular trio a week ago. ?Her ?Lately? by Stevie Wonder got a standing ovation from all four judges, but it?s also the type of performance that has always tended to impress judges more than viewers.

If she?s in trouble again this week, Nicki has some fashion advice. ?If you wear the pink lipstick, you?ll get more votes,? she said.

It could also be Angie Miller, who got something less than raves for the second week in a row. She was dinged last week for being too theatrical. As if to emphasize that point,? Jimmy told her she didn?t need to enunciate like she was in the musical ?My Fair Lady? -- which caused Angie to point out that she had acted in that play in high school. Accentuating a perceived flaw is rarely a good idea.

Randy called it the first time ever he?d heard her give a pitchy performance, but Keith Urban remained optimistic. ?Your talent is undeniable, and we?ll be seeing you next week,? he said.

The other three women all shone, particularly Janelle Arthur. The judges all told her that Kree Harrison ate her lunch in their duet of ?Like a Prayer, ? but she came up huge with her slowed-down cover of ?You Keep Me Hanging On.? ?

?Janelle at her finest!? ?Mariah yelled.

?I absolutely loved it. I thought it was incredible,? Randy says.

So basically, they liked it.

Candice Glover and Kree Harrison bookended the show, either a smart decision or some lucky randomness.? Both are locks to last until May, and aren?t going anywhere. As for the boys ? well, all bets are off.

Who would you send home? Vote in our poll, and tell us on Facebook.

Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/03/27/17493335-brutal-group-number-may-doom-one-of-idol-men?lite

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GM cuts workers at Brazil factory on productivity concerns

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gm-cuts-workers-brazil-factory-productivity-concerns-210121585--business.html

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NASA's Mars rover resumes work after computer glitch

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasas-mars-rover-resumes-computer-glitch-234647088.html

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Exclusive: Protective Life in lead for AXA US insurance assets - sources

By Jessica Toonkel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. insurer Protective Life Insurance is the leading candidate to buy some of AXA SA's U.S. life insurance assets in a deal that could be valued at around $1 billion, according to two people familiar with the situation.

French insurer AXA hired Morgan Stanley last year to help find a buyer for the assets, including remnants of the Mony Group Inc business that it acquired in 2004, the sources told Reuters this week. They asked not to be named because the matter is not public.

AXA, which bought New York-based life insurer Mony Group for $1.5 billion, has been expanding into emerging markets while scaling back its presence in North America after years of underperformance in the region.

Representatives for AXA and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Birmingham, Alabama-based Protective Life did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Protective Life rose more than 3 percent to close at $35.86 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, valuing the company at around $2.8 billion.

Buying AXA's life insurance assets would help expand Protective's life insurance business, but it would help the company diversify away from its variable annuity business, which is an increasingly difficult business to manage, said Steven Schwartz, an analyst at Raymond James.

"There are two positives here - one is that the company has been weighted heavily toward annuities and variable annuities and this would diversify its business," he said. "And the other positive is the company has been very good at making acquisitions that are very accretive to earnings."

AXA, Europe's second-largest insurer behind Germany's Allianz , like its peers has grappled with the uncertain euro zone investment market as well as low interest rates, which have hurt its asset management and savings products.

In 2011, the insurer announced a strategic plan targeting 1.5 billion euros in cost savings in "mature markets" by 2015, by which time it hoped to lift its adjusted return on equity to 15 percent.

The current sale comes after years of underperformance in AXA's U.S. business, most of it centered in the sale of variable annuities. Although AXA has lately narrowed those losses, the insurer has made it clear that its acquisition priorities lie in emerging markets such as Asia rather than mature ones.

AXA, whose other units include AllianceBernstein Holding, has already taken steps to cut back on its North American presence, selling its Canadian business in 2011 while it has expanded in Asia by acquiring HSBC's general insurance businesses there among other assets.

Protective Life has traditionally been very acquisitive but mostly has focused on relatively smaller deals. However, the insurer's CEO John Johns said at an industry conference in February that the firm was well positioned to make a "major acquisition."

Last month, the firm reported fourth-quarter net income of $66.8 million or 82 cents per share, down from $86 million or $1.02 per share in the year-ago quarter.

Total cash and investments stood at $37.3 billion as of December 31, 2012, which included $600 million in cash and short-term investments.

(Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Soyoung Kim, Gerald E. McCormick, Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-protective-lead-axa-us-insurance-assets-sources-185557625--sector.html

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Mobile Job Search App Proven Now Allows Users To Create Resumes Using Only Their Smartphone

Proven, an Andreessen Horowitz-backed mobile app which allows users to apply to jobs from their smartphone, has now rolled out an update to its Android version (iOS to follow) that introduces a way for users to build resumes from scratch, directly within the app. That resume can then be used to apply for jobs on sites like Indeed.com or Craigslist, the company says, with more to come.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/6GxvyVLjzhk/

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Mom of boy killed by Ala. airport sign unconscious

People hold up a message board sign that fell on a family killing a child and injuring the mother and two other children in the terminal at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala., Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/ AL.com, Carol Robinson) MAGS OUT

People hold up a message board sign that fell on a family killing a child and injuring the mother and two other children in the terminal at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala., Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/ AL.com, Carol Robinson) MAGS OUT

A flight information sign at the newly renovated Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala., fell on a mother and her three children Friday afternoon, March 22, 2013, killing one child and injuring the mother and her two other children. (AP Photo/Tamika Moore, AL.com) MAGS OUT

Fire trucks line up outside the terminal at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala., where a message board sign fell on a family killing one child and injuring the mother and two other children Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/AL.com, Mark Almond) MAGS OUT

A maintenance worker sweeps up debris beside a message board sign that fell on a family killing a child and injuring the mother and two other children in the terminal at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Ala., Friday, March 22, 2013. (AP Photo/ AL.com, Mark Almond) MAGS OUT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) ? As airport officials tried to figure out how a 300-pound arrival-departure panel fell off the wall and onto a family, the mother of a boy who was killed by the sign lay in a hospital with her own injuries, still unaware of what happened.

Heather Bresette and two of her other sons were seriously hurt when the panel fell Friday at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. She had surgeries for broken ankles and a crushed pelvis over the weekend, but she was still in intensive care and unconscious.

"She does not know that her baby is dead," the family's priest, the Rev. Don Farnan, said.

The Bresettes, a family of seven, took a weeklong spring break vacation to Destin, Fla., and were about to fly home to Overland Park, Kan., when the flight information panel fell.

Luke Bresette, the middle of five children, was killed. His brother, 5-year-old Tyler, suffered a concussion. His 8-year-old brother, Sam, had a broken leg and nose.

Tyler was released from a children's hospital Sunday; Sam was still there.

The boys' father, Ryan Bresette, and an older son and daughter, were at the airport when the sign fell but not hurt.

Heather Bresette's condition improved to serious on Sunday, University Hospital spokeswoman Nicole Wyatt said.

During their vacation, the family swam in the Gulf of Mexico and Luke went parasailing for the first time.

"His dad said he was thrilled. He was an adventurous kid. He loved sports," said Farnan, a priest at St. Thomas More in Kansas City, Mo.

After the sign fell, it took six people to lift the large board and a dozen people to hold it up while first responders administered aid. Officials were investigating how the sign fell at the newly renovated airport and took down an identical billboard on Saturday.

The renovated concourse opened March 13. It was part of an ongoing $200 million upgrade of Birmingham's airport. The construction began in June 2011 and is being overseen by Brasfield & Gorrie Global Services Group.

The Birmingham-based company said in a statement it was working with airport authorities to determine why the sign fell.

"This is a terrible tragedy that none of us fully understand, and we hope that the family who lost their loved one will find strength through prayer and the support of all of us," the statement said.

At St. Thomas More, hundreds of worshippers showed up for a Saturday morning Mass that usually has about 75 people. Luke's uncle Alex Bresette placed a Rockhurst High School jersey on the altar.

"He would have been in the Class of 2020," he told the Kansas City Star.

Ryan Bresette said in a message on Facebook that words cannot describe the pain the family feels.

In a note to his son, he wrote, "I miss and love Luke so very much. I love you Luke!"

"Ryan is especially grateful for the amazing support of the people in Birmingham. They even started a fund for the family at a bank there," Farnan said. "There are long, loving arms that stretch between Birmingham and Kansas City."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-24-Airport%20Sign%20Falls/id-dc970a1eb86346988fd2ac2a95c742ae

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March Madness App Brings Its 'A' Game

I've previously avoided most big sports and event streaming apps for simple reasons -- they tend to bombard you with glitchy ads or make you jump through hoops to view the content, such as proving that you're a cable or satellite subscriber. In March, however, NCAA basketball grabs my attention.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/29f65ae2/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C7760A60Bhtml/story01.htm

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2013 GOP March to Madness Tourney Right-wing Media Region: O'Keefe vs. Hannity & Kristol vs. Coulter

http://us.keegy.com/post/2013-gop-march-to-madness-tourney-right-wing-media-region-o-keefe-vs-hannity-and-kristol-vs-coulter/
The document you are looking for is no longer at this address. You can either use the search box up here to find it or go back to your home.

Source: http://us.keegy.com/post/2013-gop-march-to-madness-tourney-right-wing-media-region-o-keefe-vs-hannity-and-kristol-vs-coulter/

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Obama urges lawmakers' vote on assault weapons ban

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) ? President Barack Obama says each of his proposed steps to reduce gun violence should get a vote in Congress ? even an assault weapons ban that both parties agree stands little chance of passing.

Senate Democrats dropped the ban from the bill they plan to debate next month out of concern it could sink the whole package. Still, Obama says he's pushing for it.

In his weekly radio and Internet address released Saturday, Obama says the U.S. has changed in the three months since the December school shooting in Newtown, Conn., left 20 first graders and six educators dead. He says Americans support the ban, plus limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines, school security funding and a crackdown on gun trafficking.

"Today there is still genuine disagreement among well-meaning people about what steps we should take to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in this country. But you, the American people, have spoken," Obama said.

The White House said Saturday that Obama will make additional trips outside Washington to rally support for the measures, including the assault weapons ban. The White House also said that before Obama left for Israel earlier this week, his push for gun control was among the issues he raised with lawmakers from both parties as he embarked on a concerted effort to reach out to Congress.

In the Republican address, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah says the Senate Democrats' budget raises taxes by $1.5 trillion without doing anything to save entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. He says Republicans want a balanced budget that lives up to the nation's moral obligation to act in the best interest of future generations.

"Republicans recognize that keeping dollars, decisions, priorities and power in the hands of the people is what has made America the greatest civilization the world has ever known," Lee says. "Now is the time to return to that model."

___

Online:

Obama address: http://www.whitehouse.gov

Republican address: www.youtube.com/gopweeklyaddress

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-urges-lawmakers-vote-assault-weapons-ban-155113909--politics.html

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What might 2 popes discuss over lunch?

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AP) ? Crowds gathered in the central square of this hill town south of Rome to catch a glimpse of history: Two popes meeting for lunch and presumably discussing the future of the Catholic Church together.

Pope Francis flew in to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo in the Alban Hills by helicopter Saturday where Pope Benedict XVI has been living since he resigned Feb. 28, the first pope to step down in 600 years.

Benedict's dramatic departure that day ? flying by helicopter from the helipad in the Vatican gardens with his weeping secretary by his side and circling St. Peter's Square in a final goodbye ? is one of the most evocative images of this remarkable papal transition.

The Vatican is downplaying the luncheon in keeping with Benedict's desire to remain "hidden from the world" and not interfere with his successor's papacy. There was to be no live coverage of the private meeting by Vatican television, only a few still photos from the official Vatican photographer and perhaps a video released after the fact.

That didn't stop crowds from gathering outside the villa, even though at most it appeared all they might see is Francis' helicopter overhead.

The Vatican said Benedict would be at the helipad in the villa gardens to welcome Francis, and that the two would meet in Benedict's library and then lunch together. Francis will then return to his makeshift home at the Vatican hotel at an unspecified time later in the day.

The Vatican spokesman promised a general comment about the meeting, but no detailed statement.

All of which has led to enormous speculation about what these two men in white might have to say to one another after making history together: Benedict's resignation paved the way for the first pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit, and the first to call himself Francis after the 13th century friar who devoted himself to the poor, nature and working for peace.

Perhaps over their primo, or pasta course during Saturday's lunch, the two popes might discuss the big issues facing the church: the rise of secularism in the world, the drop in priestly vocations in Europe, the competition that the Catholic Church faces in Latin America and Africa from evangelical Pentecostal movements.

Or maybe during their secondo, or second course of meat or fish, they'll discuss more pressing issues concerning Francis' new job: Benedict left a host of unfinished business on Francis' plate, including the outcome of a top-secret investigation into the leaks of papal documents last year. Francis might want to sound Benedict out on his ideas for management changes in the Holy See administration, a priority given the complete dysfunctional government he has inherited.

Then over coffee, they might discuss the future of Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, Benedict's trusted aide who has had the difficult task of escorting his old pope into retirement and then returning to the Vatican to serve his successor in the initial rites of the office.

Gaenswein, who wept as he and Benedict made their goodbyes to staff in the papal apartment on Feb. 28, has appeared visibly upset and withdrawn at times as he has been by Francis' side. The Vatican has said Francis' primary secretary will be Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, who had been the No. 2 secretary under Benedict.

Benedict's resignation ? the emeritus pope's personal choices about his future ? have raised the question of how the Catholic Church will deal with the novel situation of having one reigning and one retired pope living side-by-side, each of them called "pope," each of them wearing papal white and even sharing the same aide in Gaenswein.

After a few months in Castel Gandolfo, Benedict is to return to the Vatican to live in a converted monastery in the Vatican gardens, just a short walk from St. Peter's Basilica and the shrine devoted to the Madonna where Francis went to pray on one of his first walks as pope.

___

Nicole Winfield reported from Vatican City.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/might-2-popes-discuss-over-lunch-112417090.html

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Cyprus still groping for a solution to a banking crisis that's roiling Europe

Cyprus lawmakers are facing hard choices. Swallowing a bitter pill in exchange for a European bailout or leaving the eurozone are just two of them.

By Robert Marquand,?Staff writer / March 22, 2013

A woman waits as two people use the ATM machines in central capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday. Cypriot authorities were putting the final touches Friday to a plan they hope will convince international lenders to provide the money the country urgently needs to avoid bankruptcy within days.

Petros Karadjias/AP

Enlarge

The instant saga of Cyprus ? and whether it will go belly up, default, and shake the European, if not the world, economy like some crazed mouse that roared ? continues along with enough hourly news to bring live updates here and here.?

Skip to next paragraph Robert Marquand

Staff writer

Over the past three decades, Robert Marquand has reported on a wide variety of subjects for?The Christian Science Monitor, including American education reform,?the wars in the Balkans, the Supreme Court, South Asian politics, and the oft-cited "rise of China." In the past 15 years he has served as the Monitor's bureau chief in Paris, Beijing, and New Delhi.?

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Cyprus has until Monday to come up with $7 billion and a reform plan, or face losing its creditors and sinking into ignominious pools of red ink.

Today the Russians said "nyet" to Cypriot officials, who waited in Moscow for three days?to get a possible bailout. Russian oligarchs hold at least 40 percent of Cyprus bank deposits. Cypriots had hoped, for some reason, that Russia might bail out what is essentially a banking system that thrives on helping the wealthy evade paying Russian taxes.

?The next few hours will determine the future of the country,? Reuters reports?Cypriot government spokesman Christos Stylianides said today, ahead of a vote on a slew of different and changing plans to stay solvent. ?We must all assume our share of the responsibility.??

What first caught world attention was an EU-inspired plan, voted on and killed by Cyprus lawmakers this week, to tax or expropriate private bank deposits in the country. That sent a shudder through the minds of ordinary Europeans, not to mention a lot of Russians and Cypriots themselves.

Yet facing looming insolvency, the largest Cypriot bank today called for the nation?s parliament to levy a tax on holdings over 100,000 euros ($120,000), arguing the alternative is collapse.

Plans on Cypriot tables include the creation of ?good? banks with credible holdings and ?bad? banks with toxic holdings, and to cordon off the bad Greek bank debt whose exposure helped cause the problem in the first place, in the midst of a three-year euro crisis that started in Athens.

EU approval is essential to get the tranche of bailout funds from the European Central Bank. Today the Germans said no to a Cyprus pension raiding scheme that has been floated for days.

Cypriot banks remain closed, ostensibly until Tuesday, when no one knows what will happen; bank ATMs are for now providing petty cash for the commercial sustenance of regular folk and lines are long.

As the world starts to focus on why an island making up 0.2 percent of the EU economic picture could shake world markets, the question is being asked: Why would Cypriot officials turn their island into a quasi-money laundering center for offshore oligarchs and at the same time buy Greek debt that was already shaky ? and imagine this would somehow turn out fine?

Paul Krugman of The New York Times continues to probe the story, writing Thursday that Cyprus has combined on one tiny Mediterranean island all the mistakes made by the European economies of Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, and so on (the so-called ?PIIGS?) that have helped bring the euro crisis to bloom.?

This includes ?runaway banking,? the all-too familiar real estate bubbles brought by ?massive overvaluation,? and the problem of not having enough productive capacity to pull out of a dive into debt when things went sour.

Mr. Krugman asks:

So then what? As a number of people have pointed out, Cyprus is arguably better positioned than Iceland to do an Iceland, because devaluing a reintroduced Cypriot currency could bring in a lot of tourism. But will the Cypriots ? who haven?t even reconciled themselves to the end of their round-tripping business ? be willing to go there

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/BypO6pVAFgg/Cyprus-still-groping-for-a-solution-to-a-banking-crisis-that-s-roiling-Europe

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Turkish PM says Kurdish peace moves open to sabotage

By Nick Tattersall and Daren Butler

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Kurdish politicians on Friday of trying to sabotage talks to end a 28-year-old insurrection, lamenting the absence of Turkish flags during a mass rally to mark a ceasefire by Kurdish rebels.

Jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his fighters to cease fire and withdraw from Turkey in a letter read to hundreds of thousands in the city of Diyarbakir in the mainly Kurdish southeast on Thursday. Kurdish red-yellow-green flags and banners displaying Ocalan's face dominated the crowd.

In line with that call, the militants' top field commander based in northern Iraq, Murat Karayilan, ordered his fighters to halt hostilities against Turkish forces, local media reported on Friday, the most concrete sign yet the rebels were behind their imprisoned leader.

The reports could not be immediately confirmed.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) led by Ocalan, imprisoned on an island since 1999, had originally demanded an independent Kurdish state. However, it has moderated its declared demands to political autonomy and broad cultural freedom within Turkey.

Erdogan, taking a big political gamble in pushing talks with Ocalan, must avoid stirring fears among conservatives that any deal with the PKK could lead to the breakup of Turkey.

"We are going through an extremely sensitive process vulnerable to provocations," Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party officials in the capital Ankara.

"The absence of our star and crescent flag in Diyarbakir was a provocation designed to sabotage the process," he said, accusing organizers of the celebrations of "insincerity".

"Today is the day for unity, togetherness and fraternity."

The Kurdish conflict has killed 40,000 people, opened Turkey to accusations of human rights abuses, undermined its ambitions to play a greater role on the world stage and consigned its southeast to poverty. For its part, the PKK is regarded by the United States, European Union and Turkey as a terrorist group.

The mass rally was organized largely by local Kurdish politicians and officials of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) represented in the national parliament - figures whose co-operation he will need to press the peace process.

BDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtas said Kurds had no problem flying the Turkish flag but were uneasy about it being forced upon them.

"The Turkish flag is the flag of everyone living in this country. However, I think those who are imposing it do not have good intentions. This imposition by racist elements amounts to having to kneel before the flag," Demirtas said.

Ocalan, in talks with government representatives since October, ordered his fighters to withdraw to their bases in the mountains of northern Iraq; but he has set no timetable.

Erdogan told reporters he aimed to complete the process this year. "That is our target. 2014 will then be a healthy election year," he said.

Demirtas said the withdrawal of fighters could be completed by August if a parliamentary committee was set up to monitor it. The Kurdish armed "struggle", he said, "is 99 percent finished". But the spat over the flag indicated that the path towards peace is unlikely to be trouble-free.

Ending Turkey's most intractable conflict would cement Erdogan's reputation as the country's strongest leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the modern republic from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, and could land him Kurdish support for his ultimate ambition - taking power as a new executive president in elections next year.

Failure could sully his reputation, plunge the southeast back into a deeper conflict at a time of growing Kurdish assertiveness in northern Iraq and war-torn Syria, and lose him the confidence of the conservative grass roots voters who form the bedrock of support for his ruling AK Party.

PKK "READY FOR WAR AND PEACE"

The biggest obstacle to the process could come from within the PKK itself and hawkish Kurds, who may have been disappointed that Ocalan's announcement simply declared the period of armed struggle over without making any concrete demands.

"The Kurds have been fighting for their rights for 30 years and this state of war has brought them a kind of patience, foresight and wisdom. They know better than anyone about being deceived and left in the lurch," said Ezgi Basaran, columnist with the liberal Radikal daily.

Erdogan has already taken considerable risks since he was elected in 2002, breaking taboos deeply rooted in a conservative establishment, not least in the military, by extending cultural and language rights to the country's 15 million Kurds, who make up roughly a fifth of Turkey's population.

It is a risk none of his predecessors dared take.

In his decade in power, Erdogan has tamed the once all-powerful military, a conservative and staunchly secular force which launched three outright coups between 1960 and 1980 and pressured an Islamist-led government to quit in 1997.

The military saw itself as the guardian of a secular and united Turkey, with little sympathy for Kurdish demands.

Curbing its power removed one of the obstacles to a Kurdish solution and the fact that talks with Ocalan, hated by many Turks and held in virtual isolation on an island prison off Istanbul since his capture in 1999, have been held at all is a testament to Erdogan's political guile.

"(Ocalan) has had to wait for the right conditions, his cadre and for the government to all be aligned," said Ertugrul Kurkcu, a parliamentarian from the pro-Kurdish BDP party.

"He hasn't been sitting still in prison. He has always been preparing himself for this day."

Kurdish expectations include changes to the constitutional definition of citizenship, mother-tongue education from primary school age, the strengthening of local government and a lower threshold for political parties to be represented in parliament.

One of the most contentious could be the question of a general amnesty and freedom for Ocalan, something Erdogan has, for now, ruled out.

(Additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley and Seyhmus Cakan in Diyarbakir, Ece Toksabay and Seltem Iyigun in Istanbul and Jonathon Burch in Ankara; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Rosalind Russell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/turkish-pm-says-kurdish-peace-moves-open-sabotage-151341319.html

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