Negotiating a Raise in a Bad Economy | Business 2 Community

A Recruiter?s Perspective

In the 1990?s negotiating a raise was a lot easier as America saw an economic boom unparalleled to what many job seekers under the age of 50 have seen before. Employees were getting paid more because the high employment rate hurt the supply of job seekers looking to move positions.

In 2012 ? 2013, it?s a whole new ball game. Job seekers willing to decline the pay they are currently making can easily be replaced by an abundance of eager job applicants who are currently looking to be employed again.

Therefore, negotiating a raise in a bad economy could be quite complex and there are many factors to consider prior to asking. Below, our Chicago recruiters have included some tips and questions to ask yourself:

Ken Sundheim is the CEO of the NYC recruiters at KAS Placement.

General Negotiation Tips

Figure out Your Worth ? If you are a sales employee, it is a lot easier to determine what your services as an employee may be worth simply because you are directly responsible for a certain amount of sales.

Employees in other departments such as accounting, human resources, B2B marketing (to an extent), management and IT don?t have this luxury. If you are a sales employee and want to determine your worth, our executive recruiters urge you to consider not the revenue you?ve been generating, but to look at the bottom line.

Don?t Rush It ? When negotiating a raise in a bad economy, you must not rush asking for the raise simply because you are short of money or that you feel that you?re working hard for the past few months.

Our executive recruiting team suggests that you take the process with caution and mitigate any risk of your request being declined or, even worse results in you getting laid-off.

2 Key Questions

Before you go and demand money that your employer may not feel is justified, ask yourself the following questions and be honest in your answers. First and foremost, make sure that your relationship with your manager is positive.

Our recruiters feel that the most important questions are:

1. How Much More Money do you Want? ? If you don?t know how much more money you desire, you?re going into the negotiation blind and are less apt to receive the raise that you want. Have a firm number, but be flexible as the economy is quite poor and you don?t want to come across as overly greedy.

2. Can the Firm Afford to Pay Your Required Salary? ? You can be doing great, but without your organization being profitable, you?re not going to get a raise. Prior to asking for more money, seriously access the health of your organization.

If your firm is not doing well and is having cash flow problems, they can use your request for a raise as a reason to lay you off. If you feel that your company does not have the money, don?t ask.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/human-resources/negotiating-a-raise-in-a-bad-economy-0336997

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Boxer 'Macho' Camacho critical in Puerto Rico

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2006, file photo, Hector "Macho" Camacho arrives for an event in Miami Beach, Fla. Police in Puerto Rico say former boxing champion Camacho has been shot and critically wounded. Camacho was shot in the face while in a car outside a bar in Bayamon, one of the cities that make up the San Juan metropolitan area. A statement from police in Bayamon said he was shot Tuesday night, Nov. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2006, file photo, Hector "Macho" Camacho arrives for an event in Miami Beach, Fla. Police in Puerto Rico say former boxing champion Camacho has been shot and critically wounded. Camacho was shot in the face while in a car outside a bar in Bayamon, one of the cities that make up the San Juan metropolitan area. A statement from police in Bayamon said he was shot Tuesday night, Nov. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2012 file photo former boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho, front center, poses for photographers at his arrival to the Premio Lo Nuestro Music Awards in Miami. Police in Puerto Rico say Camacho has been shot and critically wounded Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

Former world boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho, of Puerto Rico, is taken by paramedics inside a medical center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Camacho, 50, was shot in the face as he sat in a car at his hometown of Bayamon, one of the cities that make up the San Juan metropolitan area and doctors said he was in critical but stable condition, expected to survive. (AP Photo/GFR Media, Primera Hora/El Nuevo Dia, Sebastian Perez)

Dr. Ernesto Torres, director of the Centro Medico trauma center, talks to reporters about the condition of former boxer champion Hector ?Macho? Camacho in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. Camacho was clinging to life Wednesday after being shot in the face while in a car in his hometown of Bayamom. Doctors and his family expected to decide whether to remove Camacho from life support. His condition worsened overnight and his heart stopped at one point, said Torres. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

Hector ?Macho? Camacho's son-in-law, Widniel Adorno, talks to reporters about the condition of his father-in-law, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012. The former boxing champion was clinging to life Wednesday after being shot in the face while in a car in his hometown of Bayamom. Doctors and his family expected to decide whether to remove Camacho from life support. His condition worsened overnight and his heart stopped at one point, said Dr. Ernesto Torres, director of the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) ? The family of Hector "Macho" Camacho tried to decide Wednesday whether he should be removed from life support after a shooting in his Puerto Rican hometown left the former boxing champion clinging to life and his fans mourning the loss of a dynamic and often troubled athlete.

Doctors at the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan were conducting additional tests to determine whether he was brain dead, according to said Ismael Leandry, a longtime friend and former manager who has been at the hospital with family members.

"He's battling minute to minute. This is the most important fight of his life," Torres told The Associated Press outside the hospital in the Puerto Rican capital.

Doctors initially had said Camacho was in critical, but stable condition and expected to survive after he was shot Tuesday night in the city of Bayamon. But his condition worsened overnight and his heart stopped at one point, said Dr. Ernesto Torres, director of the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan.

The 50-year-old Camacho was shot as he and a friend sat in a Ford Mustang parked outside a bar. Police spokesman Alex Diaz said officers found nine small bags of cocaine in the friend's pocket, and a 10th bag open inside the car.

The specialists will then consult with other doctors and Camacho's mother, who flew in Wednesday from New York, to discuss whether he should be removed from life support, said Ismael Leandry, a longtime friend and former manager who was also at the hospital.

"We just have to wait to see if 'Macho' gets better. It's a hard battle," Leandry told AP.

Torres said Camacho's mother, Maria Matias, spent about 20 minutes with her son, one of the most dynamic boxing personalities of his era, and was expected to return for a second visit on Wednesday night.

"His mother came and she is devastated," he said. "She knows the prognosis is not at all favorable."

A godson, Widniel Adorno, said the family has discussed the possibility of organ donation but no final decision has been made.

Camacho's friend, identified as 49-year-old Adrian Mojica Moreno, was killed in the attack. Police said two assailants fled in an SUV but no arrests have been made and no motive has been disclosed.

Camacho was rushed to Centro Medico, where doctors initially said the bullet passed through his jaw and lodged in his shoulder. Torres said the bullet damaged three of the four main arteries in his neck and fractured two vertebrae, which could leave him paralyzed if he were to survive.

Steve Tannenbaum, who has also represented Camacho in the past, had been told earlier by friends at the hospital that the boxer would make it.

"This guy is a cat with nine lives. He's been through so much," he said. "If anybody can pull through it will be him."

Friends and family members waited anxiously at the hospital, fondly recalling Camacho's high-energy personality and his powerful skills in the ring.

"He was like a little brother who was always getting into trouble," said former featherweight champion Juan Laporte, a fellow Puerto Rican who grew up and trained with Camacho in New York.

Camacho has been considered one of the more controversial figures in boxing, but also popular among fans and those who worked in the sport.

"The Macho Man was a promoter's dream," renowned promoter Don King told AP. "He excited boxing fans around the world with his inimitable style. He was a nice, amiable guy away from the ring."

King had promoted Camacho but was caught off guard by news of the attack on the former champion. "What a tragedy this is," he said. "I'm very sorry for Hector and his family. My prayers go out to him."

The fighter's last title bout came against then-welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya in 1997, a loss by unanimous decision. He last fought in May 2010, losing to Saul Duran. Tannenbaum said they were looking at a possible bout in 2013.

"We were talking comeback even though he is 50," he said. "I felt he was capable of it."

Camacho was born in Bayamon, one of the cities that make up the San Juan metropolitan area

He left Puerto Rico as a child and grew up mostly in New York's Harlem neighborhood, one of the reasons he later earned the nickname "the Harlem Heckler."

He went on to win super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s.

Camacho has fought other high-profile bouts in his career against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard. Camacho knocked out Leonard in 1997, ending what was that former champ's final comeback attempt.

Camacho has a career record of 79-6-3.

In recent years, he has divided his time between Puerto Rico and Florida, appearing regularly on Spanish-language television as well as on a reality show called "Es Macho Time!" on YouTube. In San Juan, he had been living in the beach community of Isla Verde, where he would obligingly pose for photos with tourists who recognized him on the street, said former pro boxer Victor "Luvi" Callejas, a neighbor and friend.

"We all know what Macho Camacho has done, but in the last couple of months he hasn't been in any trouble," Callejas said as he kept vigil outside the hospital. "He has been taking it easy. He's been upbeat."

Drug, alcohol and other problems have trailed Camacho since the prime of his boxing career. He was sentenced in 2007 to seven years in prison for the burglary of a computer store in Mississippi. While arresting him on the burglary charge in January 2005, police also found the drug ecstasy.

A judge eventually suspended all but one year of the sentence and gave Camacho probation. He wound up serving two weeks in jail, though, after violating that probation.

His wife also filed domestic abuse complaints against him twice before their divorce several years ago.

____

Associated Press writer David Skretta in Kansas City contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-21-Puerto%20Rico-Boxer%20Shot/id-74f732340edd4baba14806322d6f1004

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Lavi S21i manages to KIRF the new iMac before the real one arrives

There's a growing trend of Apple KIRFs arriving well head of the devices they've been designed to imitate. While Sir Jonathan's latest desktops meander towards stores, the Windows 7 or 8-running Lavi S21i can be yours right now. The 21.5-inch machine has a 1,920 x 1,080 display, 4GB RAM and a choice of a 3.3GHz Sandy Bridge Intel Core i3 or a 2.9GHz Core i5, and your pick of a 500GB HDD or a 128GB SSD. The only real differences between this and its Californian counterpart is that the ports are tucked on the base of the display and its 4mm thicker, but it will only set you back 3,350 yuan ($540) or 3,850 yuan ($621). The only thing this KIRF is missing is the ability to fry your eggs for you in the morning, unless, you know, the manufacturers were scrimping on the safety features that day.

Filed under: Desktops, Apple

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/22/kirf-imac-2013/

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Information Technology Specialist II - HigherEdJobs

Department: Information Technology Unit (ITU)

Web Announcement:

Advanced Network Engineer

The George Mason University, Information Technology Unit invites applications for a Advanced Network Engineer.

Is information technology your calling? Do you play with programming, build your own computers or stand up servers just for fun? Did you teach yourself how to subnet? Have you ever tried to build your own router? Do you daydream about the Internet and think Network Engineers have the coolest jobs in the world?

If so, you may be a fit for the Advanced Network Technologies group (ANT) at George Mason University. ANT is the research, development, prototype, and test arm of the university's network engineering practice. ANT's mission is to design and preserve a network architecture that satisfies the availability requirements of business and residential customers, while maintaining the flexibility to support the high-performance and dynamic-service demands of research teams. ANT is currently seeking a novice or journeyman network engineer to complete its team.

This position's job responsibilities include: researching, implementing (configuring), evaluating and documenting new network technologies; building and maintaining relationships with research institutions and industry partners; production network design, analysis and maintenance; and providing consultative and technical support to the user community.

The well-qualified applicant will have or be seeking a graduate degree in electrical engineering, computer science, or a telecommunications-related field; and have experience as a network engineer in an academic, research and development, or test environment.

However, ANT recognizes that new talent may come from a different background of skills and experience, so those with information technology work experience who can demonstrate a passion for network engineering are encouraged to apply.

Required competencies include:

The ability to work cooperatively and enthusiastically with a diverse team of people; the ability to work cooperatively with external providers, clients and customers with varying degrees of technical ability in order to complete projects; knowledge of the Internet Protocol suite and Ethernet; knowledge of interior and exterior gateway routing protocols, specifically OSPF and BGP; knowledge of networking technologies and concepts including network and server virtualization, VLAN, MPLS, VPLS, GMPLS, VPN and WDM; working knowledge of a Linux, BSD or Unix-based operating system; working knowledge of a Microsoft Windows-based operating system; some programming ability; and a demonstrated skill in technical writing.

ANT strives to preserve a positive, nurturing and fulfilling work environment.

Review of applications will begin on December 5, 2012.

Salary: $55,000-$60,000; commensurate with education and experience.

Criminal Background Check: Standard Background Check

Mason Ad Statement:

Great Careers Begin at Mason!

People choose to work at George Mason University for many reasons, and there are even more reasons why they stay for a career including the excitement of being part of a vibrant academic and professional community, surrounded by people whose ideas are shaping tomorrow's news!

Mason embodies many things, but underlying it all is a commitment to flexibility, creativity, autonomy, and making a difference. Add that to a robust benefits package, a commitment to flexibility as well as work/life options, the opportunity for personal and professional development and you have a career in balance at Mason!

Enrollment is over 32,000, with students studying in over 198 degree programs at campuses in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William.

George Mason University, Where Innovation Is Tradition!

Special Instructions to Applicants:

For full consideration, applicants must apply for position number 00713z at http://jobs.gmu.edu/; complete and submit the online application; and upload a cover letter, resume, and a list of three professional references with contact information.

Equity Statement:

George Mason University is an equal opportunity employer encouraging diversity.

George Mason University is an equal opportunity employer encouraging diversity.

Source: http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?JobCode=175695504

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Greek PM presses for deal on loan

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, left, speaks with Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras during a meeting of eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. European Union officials will make a fresh try Tuesday to reaching a political accord on desperately needed bailout loans to Greece, an agreement that eluded them last week. (AP Photo/Thierry Charlier)

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici, left, speaks with Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras during a meeting of eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. European Union officials will make a fresh try Tuesday to reaching a political accord on desperately needed bailout loans to Greece, an agreement that eluded them last week. (AP Photo/Thierry Charlier)

From left, European Commissioner for the Economy Olli Rehn, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, Finland's Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem during a meeting of eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. European Union officials will make a fresh try Tuesday to reaching a political accord on desperately needed bailout loans to Greece, an agreement that eluded them last week. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble speaks with the media prior to a meeting of eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. European Union officials will make a fresh try Tuesday to reaching a political accord on desperately needed bailout loans to Greece, an agreement that eluded them last week. (AP Photo/Thierry Charlier)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Greece reacted with dismay Wednesday after European finance ministers failed to agree to release vital rescue loans, with the prime minister warning that the stakes are higher than just his debt-ridden country's future.

After 12 hours of debate, finance ministers from the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, together with the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, had no deal on Greece's financing. The impasse follows another fruitless meeting last week and highlights the depth of divisions over how to handle the country's huge debt problem without reaching deeper into the pockets of their own taxpayers.

"Greece has done what it had to and what it had committed to doing," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said. "Our partners, along with the IMF, also must do what they have undertaken."

The ministers are to convene again next Monday.

But Greece is already living on borrowed time. Faced with ?5 billion ($6.4 billion) in maturing treasury bills that it couldn't pay last week, Athens issued more short-term debt to cover the gap and tide it over until it can receive its bailout funds. But most of that was in the form of four-week treasury bills, meaning the country will face the same situation next month ? when it has more than ?7 billion ($9 billion) in redemptions ? unless the loans come through.

"It is not just the future of our country, but the stability of the entire eurozone that depends on the successful completion of this effort in the coming days," Samaras said.

"Whatever technical difficulties (there might be) in finding a technical solution, do not excuse any ... delay," he said.

Greece's fortunes are inextricably tied to the rest of the eurozone. Without the bailout funds that have been keeping it afloat since May 2010, the country would default and could end up having to leave the eurozone. This could have a knock-on effect on other financially troubled eurozone nations, with investors pulling their money out of those countries too, or demanding higher returns to keep it there.

"Europe finds itself before the dead end that its political choices have created," said Alexis Tsipras, head of the main opposition Radical Left, or Syriza, party. "Day by day it is confirmed that the path of (the bailouts) is catastrophic for the European structure and painful for the people of Europe."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is the single largest contributor to Greece's bailout, indicated that a solution was not assured even on Monday.

"I think there are chances ? one does not know, but there are chances ? of having a solution on Monday," she told lawmakers in Berlin during a speech to Parliament on her country's budget.

Greece has been relying on rescue loans from other eurozone countries and the IMF since May 2010, after a massive budget gap and spiraling national debt left investors too wary of buying its bonds on the international market.

In return, the country has had to submit its economy to scrutiny from the so- called troika of the IMF, ECB and European Commission. It has also had to impose several rounds of austerity measures, included repeated salary and pension cuts and increased taxes.

The belt-tightening has left Greece mired in a deep recession expected to head into a sixth year. One in four Greek workers are now unemployed, and tens of thousands of small businesses have shut down. The country's uneasy three-party coalition government recently passed another round of spending cuts through Parliament, a requirement for it to be given the long-delayed next installment of its rescue loans, a ?31.5 billion ($40 billion) batch.

The government also hoped to see outstanding funds from previous loan installments, and a batch originally earmarked for December, bringing the total expected to ?44.6 billion.

But there has been disagreement among the eurozone's ministers and the IMF on how to make Athens' debt manageable. The eurozone ministers are in favor of giving Greece an extra two years, to 2022, to bring its debt down to 120 percent of gross domestic product from the 176 percent forecast for this year. The IMF has resisted such an extension.

One of the reasons Greece is struggling to meet that debt deadline is that its reforms program has been delayed by political uncertainty spanning two elections in the Spring and by a savage recession.

Recognizing that Greece is unlikely to complete its program of austerity measures and budget deficit cuts by 2014, eurozone countries have given the country another two years, to 2016, to complete those reforms.

But the extensions, both on the austerity program and the debt reduction target, would cost more money since Greece's debt would have to be financed over a longer period. The troika estimates that, including the extensions, Greece will need an extra ?31.6 billion through 2016.

Eurozone countries agree that the gap should be filled largely by Greece buying back debt from the country's private investors, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters in Berlin. He noted that Greek bonds are trading at about 30 percent of their face value on the market. Greece's private investors have already agreed to a debt reduction plan which saw up to 50 percent wiped off the value of their investments.

"If those are bought, we can reduce the overall indebtedness significantly ? however, in order to do that, we need extra financing," Schaeuble said.

Schaeuble estimated that up to ?10 billion is needed to finance the planned debt buyback. Some countries want to get the extra financing by reducing the interest rates they charge the country, he said, but Germany would prefer to increase the temporary eurozone rescue fund's program for Greece.

Greek stocks fell, with the general share index down 0.3 percent in midday trading ? recovering from an opening fall of more than 3 percent.

___

Geir Moulson contributed from Berlin.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-11-21-EU-Europe-Financial-Crisis/id-bef0893110594e4b9bf178dd51dfa16a

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Syrian rebels say they seize base on Damascus outskirts

BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said they had seized the headquarters of an army battalion near the southern gate of Damascus on Monday, the nearest military base to the capital reported to have fallen to opposition fighters in a 20-month revolt.

Activists said the Syrian army had attacked southern districts of Damascus with shelling and rocket fire all day to try to stop the rebels seizing the base, in some of the heaviest bombardment of the capital.

"Multiple rocket launchers are just making huge, random destruction," said Rami al-Sayyed of the Syrian Media Centre, an opposition organization monitoring the crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The Islamist rebel groups Ansar al-Islam and Jund Allah Brigades said in a statement that they had taken the Air Defence Battalion base near Hajar al-Aswad after four days of fighting.

The district had been home to thousands of refugees from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. These were at the forefront of the movement against Assad's autocratic rule at the beginning of a revolt that has now turned into a civil war, in which activists say 38,000 people have been killed.

Activists said all the residents had fled under the bombardment.

Video footage showed rebels walking through the site, past destroyed anti-aircraft guns, and one commander saying on a walkie-talkie: "We have completely seized the compound."

Louay al-Dimashki, an opposition activist who said he had documented the fall of the base on video, said the rebels had targeted the compound with mortars then attacked in small groups, killing 14 loyalist troops and taking 35 prisoner.

"The fighters are taking whatever ammunition and weapons they can. They cannot hold on to the base because the regime will hit them from the air," Dimashki said by phone.

Independent verification of the reports was not possible because Syria severely restricts the access of foreign media.

Rebels have captured several army positions in outlying regions in the last week, including a Special Forces base near the northern city of Aleppo and a small military airport in the east, on the border with Iraq.

ROADSIDE BOMB

Inside Damascus, a roadside bomb hit a minibus along a route used by security forces and pro-government media, activists said. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people had been killed and at least 10 wounded.

Under pressure from foreign states keen to promote a viable and responsible alternative to Assad, Syria's fractious opposition formed a broader coalition group last week, led by moderate Sunni Muslim preacher Mouaz Alkhatib.

The Syrian National Coalition was promptly recognized by France as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

EU foreign ministers said on Monday they considered the group to be "legitimate representatives" of the Syrian people, stopping just short of the full recognition offered by France.

A group of Islamist fighters in Syria's Aleppo province, many of whom are well-known members of powerful rebel units in the area, said on Monday they rejected the umbrella group and planned to establish an Islamic state in Syria.

Members of Islamist groups listed in a YouTube video as supporters of the plan told Reuters they had nothing to do with the announcement, though they acknowledged that some members of their groups had appeared in the video.

This could suggest cracks in Islamist rebel ranks over how to respond to growing efforts to unify rebel groups and potentially sideline more radical Islamist elements.

The expanding conflict has threatened to suck in Syria's neighbors, especially Turkey in the north.

Syrian mortar rounds have fallen in Turkey, Lebanon and Israel as rebels hug the borders looking for safety, and Turkey's army is stationing soldiers in recently dug trenches along the border.

REQUEST FOR MISSILE DEFENCE

Germany said Turkey was expected to formally request, perhaps within days, that NATO Patriot missiles be placed on its border to defend against Syrian attacks.

"There have been informal talks on a request like this in the past few days," German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in Brussels on the sidelines of an EU defence ministers' meeting.

Only Germany, the Netherlands and the United States have the appropriate Patriot missile system available.

De Maiziere said Berlin would study a Turkish request "with solidarity" and if Germany sent Patriot missiles to the Turkish border, German soldiers would accompany them.

A Turkish government official said Ankara was still consulting with NATO.

President Abdullah Gul told a press conference that Turkey was concerned about Soviet-era chemical weapons in Syria.

"In this context, there will always be contingency planning in a NATO country neighboring Syria," he said.

NATO has deployed Patriot surface-to-air missiles to Turkey twice before, in 1991 and 2003, during both Gulf Wars.

Any NATO-supplied missiles would not be for creating a no-fly zone in Syria and, although Turkey could count on "allied solidarity", the missiles would be purely for defence, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Brussels.

Syrian rebels, despite seizing swathes of land, are almost defenseless against Syria's air force and have called for an internationally enforced no-fly zone, a measure that helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year.

A Reuters cameraman on the Turkish border said hundreds of families had fled the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain and were gathering at a border gate after clashes between rebels and Kurdish separatists who are wary of both rebels and the government.

(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft, Sebastian Moffett, Oliver Denzer, Angelika Stricker and Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels, Yosri Al Jamal in Ceylanpinar, Tom Perry in Cairo, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman and Erika Solomon in Beirut; Writing by Louise Ireland; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-rebels-seize-damascus-outskirts-222147687.html

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Maybe There Are No Willing Sellers ? Audio4cast

I?ve been thinking lots about the latest round of royalty struggles between Internet radio players (such as Pandora and iHeartRadio) and artists and record companies, represented by SoundExchange and MusicFIRST (and other lobbying organizations). The history behind this is complex and multi-layered.

The crux of the matter is that webcasters have a compulsory license to stream music as long as they pay performance royalties to SoundExchange and follow certain programming rules. That license was designed to make it easy for webcasters to stream without having to go door to door to each artist and record label to get licenses. Unfortunately, that left the matter of determining how much the royalty paid to SoundExchange should be, and that is supposed to be determined by a willing buyer/willing seller equation.

Pandora, which bears the biggest share of the royalty burden because they have the most listening of any of the webcasters, is paying somewhere around 50% of their revenues in royalties. They want a more equitable rate. But they have to get SoundExchange, funded by the record companies to agree, and that?s been a challenge.

The reality is that if Pandora claims they can?t pay what the record companies and artists claim is the rate they are willing to accept, then there is no willing seller in the room. And if that?s the case then webcasting services like Pandora, with more than 100 million listeners, go away. Can that possibly be what artists want?

Pandora has made some mistakes recently in their PR battle for a fair royalty. Top executives have been selling shares of the stock in big numbers and pocketing cash, and while there is nothing wrong with that, this might not be the best time to be taking profits while claiming that their business model is broken. But the bottom line is that Pandora is a hugely popular music platform that enables lots of musicians to reach their audiences, and artists need to notice that. If they gave one hoot about the business model they would have to admit that the royalty was too high. The willing buyer/willing seller model is supposed to incentivize artists to care about the business model and include them in the market process.

Instead, it?s created a battle of words controlled by lobbyists and press relations firms. It?s time to stop pandering to the press and start figuring out a way to stream music that works for everyone.

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Source: http://audio4cast.com/2012/11/20/maybe-there-are-no-willing-sellers/

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