Priceless or worthless?

A report released on September 11, 2012 lists the 100 most endangered animals, plants and fungi around the globe, as chosen by 8,000 experts for the Zoological Society of London and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The report poses the question: are they priceless or worthless?

The question was raised because the species closest to extinction don't have an obvious economic value to mankind and yet some, especially the experts, would argue for their protection.

Are they worth saving? Join the discussion on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/taypopsin) and send us your opinion at taypopsin@gmail.com. We will share your comments on our podcast, Ta Yp’Opsin this coming Sunday, September 16, from 10:00 p.m. to midnight (CST) at http://www.chicagogreekradio.com.
The podcast becomes available for download on Mondays after its broadcast (link posted on these pages).



The pgymy three-toed sloth is native to an island off Panama. Fewer than 500 are thought to be left.

(Photo credit: Craig Turner / Zoological Society of London)

Here is the full report:

http://static.zsl.org/files/priceless-or-worthless-final-wq-2040.pdf

"The donor community and conservation movement are leaning increasingly towards a 'what can nature do for us' approach, where species and wild habitats are valued and prioritized according to the services they provide for people," Jonathan Bailie, conservation director at the Zoological Society of London, said in a statement issued with the report.

"This has made it increasingly difficult for conservationists to protect the most threatened species on the planet," he added. "We have an important moral and ethical decision to make: Do these species have a right to survive or do we have a right to drive them to extinction?"



Striking Chicago teachers take on national education reform

Chicago teachers walking picket lines are taking on not just their combative mayor but a powerful education reform movement that is transforming public schools across the United States.
The new vision, championed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who used to run Chicago's schools, calls for a laser focus on standardized tests meant to gauge student skills in reading, writing and math. Teachers who fail to raise student scores may be fired. Schools that fail to boost scores may be shut down. The monopoly that the public sector once held on public schools will be broken with a proliferation of charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run - and typically non-union.
To reformers, both Democrats and Republicans, these changes offer the best hope for improving dismal urban schools. Many teachers, however, see the new policies as a brazen attempt to shift public resources into private hands, to break the power of teachers unions, and to reduce the teaching profession to test preparation.
In Chicago, last-minute contract talks broke down not over pay, but over the reform agenda, both sides said Sunday. The union would not agree to Emanuel's proposal that teacher evaluations be based in large measure on student test scores.
Nor would the union accept his push to give principals more autonomy over hiring, weakening the seniority system that has long protected veteran teachers. Already, the demographics of the teaching profession in Chicago have notably shifted, as the private managers who run charter schools tend to favor rookie teachers who are younger and far less likely to be minorities, studies have shown.
In Chicago, last-minute contract talks broke down not over pay, but over the reform agenda, both sides said Sunday. The union would not agree to Emanuel's proposal that teacher evaluations be based in large measure on student test scores.
Nor would the union accept his push to give principals more autonomy over hiring, weakening the seniority system that has long protected veteran teachers. Already, the demographics of the teaching profession in Chicago have notably shifted, as the private managers who run charter schools tend to favor rookie teachers who are younger and far less likely to be minorities, studies have shown.
In the past three years, at least 20 state legislatures have passed bills setting up new teacher evaluation systems; many require student test scores to be the primary factor. (Teachers are typically rated not on how many students pass the test, but on how much growth students show from one year to the next.)
In some cities, teachers have worked with politicians and administrators to design evaluation systems they feel are fair. AFT President Randi Weingarten has praised that approach, which she calls "solution-driven unionism."
In Chicago, though, negotiations went nowhere.

(Reuters, by Stephanie Simon and James Kelleher; Editing by Ta Yp'opsin)

'Get lost, rich jerk'

France's richest man, Bernard Arnault, head of the LVMH luxury group, is suing the leftwing newspaper Libération for publicly insulting him.Arnault launched a lawsuit on Monday after the paper carried a large photograph of the business tycoon with the headline "Casse-toi riche con!" (Get lost, rich jerk) on its front page.The headline echoed the former president Nicolas Sarkozy's insult to a farmworker who refused to shake his hand at the national agricultural show.Sarkozy told the man: "Casse-toi pauv' con!" (Get lost, poor jerk).
The Libération story referred to Arnault's announcement that he was seeking Belgian nationality just a day before President François Hollande confirmed a 75% tax band for those earning more than €1m a year.Hollande has called for exceptional "solidarity" from the rich to help France overcome its economic woes that include high unemployment, public debt and stuttering growth. Hollande has said there will be "no exceptions" to the new tax and asked business leaders to lead by example by paying up.
-The Guardian

Greek (extreme?) makeover for Angela

Ta Nea's front-page illustration of the German chancellor in national Greek costume with the headline "the big turn in favor of Greece". It reads: "Angela Merkel has finally decided decisively to keep Athens in the common euro currency."
Der Speigel claimed today that Merkel now embraces the theory that a Greek euro exit would be too chaotic.

Hey teachers, hey officials, keep them kids safe and occupied

The  teachet walkout in the nation’s third-largest school district leaves officials scrambling to figure out how to keep nearly 400,000 children safe and occupied.
Thousands of teachers walked off the job Monday in Chicago’s first schools strike in 25 years, after union leaders announced negotiations had failed to resolve a contract dispute with school district officials by a midnight deadline.
The  walkout posed a tricky challenge for the city and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who said he would push to end the strike quickly.
City officials acknowledged that children left unsupervised — especially in neighborhoods with a history of gang violence — might be at risk, but vowed to protect the students’ safety.
“We will make sure our kids are safe, we will see our way through these issues and our kids will be back in the classroom where they belong,”  Emanuel said.
The school district asked community organizations to provide additional programs for students, and a number of churches, libraries and other groups plan to offer day camps and other activities.
Police Chief Garry McCarthy said he would take officers off desk duty and deploy them to deal with any teachers’ protests as well as the thousands of students who could be roaming the streets.
Emanuel and the union officials have much at stake. Unions and collective bargaining by public employees have recently come under criticism in many parts of the country, and all sides are closely monitoring who might emerge with the upper hand in the Chicago dispute.
The timing also may be inopportune for Emanuel, whose city administration is wrestling with a spike in murders and shootings in some city neighborhoods and who just agreed to take a larger role in fundraising for Obama’s re-election campaign.

Source: AP

Angela Merkel's change of heart on Greece

An article in Spiegel on September 10, 2012 describes how Angela Merkel has changed her mind on Greece and now wants to do everything within her power to avoid a Grexit. Merkel, the argument goes, had pondered the consequences of the eurozone losing one member and decided it would be unhelpful for her re-election prospects in 2013. Ever the pragmatist, the German chancellor is now prepared to accept Greece being given a bit more help, even if the Troika report into its finances is not favorable. Not a full third-bailout, but some tweaks to its existing programs
An excerpt from the article:
"Attentive observers already noticed the chancellor's apparent change of heart two weeks ago. Merkel, whose father was a pastor in communist Eastern Germany, has suddenly discovered a deep affection for the downtrodden people of Greece. She compassionately expressed empathy for "what many in Greece have to suffer," and said that "it does make one's heart bleed." Up until this point in time, Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, were seen as supporters of the "chain theory." According to this theory, the monetary union is a chain in which each individual country forms a link. Since Greece is the weakest link, if it leaves, as the theory has it, the chain will become stronger overall. But since this summer, the majority of Merkel's advisers have now become supporters of the "domino theory," which postulates that the monetary union would not become stronger if Greece exits. On the contrary: If Greece falls, one country after the other could then be in danger of toppling. Domino theorists argue that the impact on the economy, growth and employment would be catastrophic and incalculable. But one thing remains clear: If Greece falls, Germany will have to pay -- and the bill will come to almost exactly €62 billion ($79 billion). This is the colossal sum that the Greeks and their central bank owe the Germans. The entire amount would all have to be written off."
So, potentially an important change of policy in Berlin. If true, it could support the "muddle through" theory of how the euro crisis will play out (namely that Europe could bumble along with a new rescue plan here, some tighter political union here, as much austerity as can be tolerated, and avoid the system melting down). The word last month was that the White House was terrified of the eurocrisis flaring up before the presidential elections in November, and had begged euro leaders to prevent an early Grexit. Now it's the German elections that could affect Greece's fate. If important elections kept looming on the horizon, perhaps there'll never be a right time for a Grexit....
- The Guardian

A crucial and optimistic Euro week

German judges, Dutch voters, IMF inspectors and Brussels regulators could all spring surprises this week that make it harder to resolve a sovereign debt crisis and prevent a breakup of the single currency.
Germany's constitutional court rules on Wednesday on the legality of the euro zone's permanent financial rescue fund, the European Commission unveils the same day detailed plans for a euro zone banking union, and the Netherlands holds a cliff hanger general election.
Then European finance ministers meet in Cyprus from Friday to try to thrash out differences over banking supervision and possible extra aid for Spain, the zone's fourth biggest economy, and Greece.
Decisions on Spain and Greece are not likely until October, but the talks may point to whether Madrid will apply for European assistance, at the risk of unpalatable conditions and supervision, and whether EU and IMF inspectors are leaning towards allowing a vital aid installment to keep Athens afloat.
(Reuters)