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By Sally Bakewell - Fri Mar 16 15:54:57 GMT 2012

Bard Holding GmbH, a German company that helped pioneer deep water wind-farms, expects talks on its takeover by several companies to close within about 12 weeks.

Bard is discussing the sale with a couple of companies, Axel Bahr, a spokesman, said by phone, declining to name them because talks are continuing. Bard anticipates indicative offers at end-March and completion in 6 to 12 weeks, he said.

The company is developing the 400-megawatt Bard Offshore 1 wind farm in the German North Sea about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Borkum island, scheduled to be completed by next year or 2014. Bard has permission to build another 80 turbines in nearby waters about 40 meters (130 feet) deep.

Cost and technical challenges from developing wind turbines far at sea, among the most expensive of renewable technologies, led to financial pressure for Emden-based Bard, Bahr said.

The company suffered delays installing the machines and ran short of money, pushing the project with an expected capacity to power 400,000 homes about two years behind schedule, Bahr said.

Bard in September said it had begun seeking a strategic investor and appointed JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)s investment banking arm to sell a 87.5 percent stake. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (042660) said in November it was interested.

While the shipbuilder is still studying it, there is no specific matter in progress at the moment, it said in an e- mailed reply to questions. JPMorgan Chase & Co wouldnt comment.

UniCredit Bank AG (HVM), which provided about 1.74 billion euros ($2.3 billion) for the wind park from 2007 to 2010, agreed to give a further 1.17 billion euros in August 2011, on the basis of various technical and legal reports by external consultants stating that the project was feasible, the bank said.

The 2.9 billion euros of UniCredit funds would allow the park to be finished, the bank said in a statement on its website this year. UniCredit declined to comment when Bloomberg called.

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German Offshore Wind Pioneer Bard Sees Takeover Within 12 Weeks

Hello, Im Lauren Rae Orsini, though most people just call me Lauren. I prefer to use my full name online to avoid being confused with any of the other Lauren Orsinis of the world. Im twenty-five.

Im a full time reporter and graphics specialist atThe Daily Dot. I specialize in new and emergent online communities. Read some of my favorite storieshere.

I recently finished a semester as anadjunct professorat American University, where I taught HTML, CSS and general Web skills to undergraduate journalism majors, despite sometimes being mistaken for one myself.

I have a Masters degree in Journalism from American University. (For more on my educational background, please refer to myresume.) The tenets of journalism that I learned in school have remained my life philosophy: Be curious. Be honest. Be bold.

I like anime, but I love fandom. I am in awe of people who proudly nurture their obsessions. Im always looking for new people like that to interview. My favorite thing to do is to attend and cover anime and geek conventions in the US. My best of list includes Anime Boston, Anime USA, and Otakon. If youd like to invite me to cover your convention, contact mehere.

Ive been fortunate to have some great opportunities to combine geekiness and writing. Ive been an intern forKotaku, a writer forJapanatorandCon-News, and a blogger forAnime BostonandAnime USA. While I am in the business of giving interviews to other people, I never turn down a chance to be interviewed myself. Imlauren@otakujournalist.com.

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Lauren Rae Orsini

Washington, March 16 (IANS) You might feel like giving a beggar a coin when you are passing by him but then quickly suppress the feeling. This could put you at the risk of acting immorally.

For instance, as an experiment shows, such lose a bit of their commitment to morality.

"Compassion is such a powerful emotion. It's been called a moral barometer," said Daryl Cameron, the journal Psychological Science reports.

"In past work, we've shown that people suppress their compassion when faced with mass suffering in natural disasters and genocide.

To the degree that suppressing compassion changes how people care about or think about morality, it may put them more at risk for acting immorally," said Cameron.

He co-authored the study with Keith Payne, both psychology researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, according to a North Carolina statement.

They showed each study participant in their experiment a slideshow of 15 images of subjects including homeless people, crying babies, and victims of war and famine.

Each participant was given one of three tasks. Some were told to try not to feel sympathy, some were told to try not to feel distress and the rest were told to experience whatever emotions come to them.

People who had suppressed compassion did, apparently, have a change in their sense of morality: they were much more likely to either care less about being moral or to say that it's all right to be flexible about following moral rules.

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Suppressing compassion might make you act immorally

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. Granted, claims by the JuiceTank's creators that their product is "the first ever iPhone charger and case in one" may be a bit overblown, but its design is certainly novel enough to make us give it a second look. The product looks like a pretty standard hard-shelled iPhone 4 / 4S case from the front -- flip it over though, and you'll see two charging prongs embedded in the back. Click the button just below and they'll pop up, allowing you to plug the handset directly into the wall -- no cords or separate chargers needed. Of course, this initial version is made specifically for North American-type outlets, so if you live outside the region or travel a lot, the novelty might be lost on you. If you're covered, however, you can pick up a limited edition green version by being one of the first 400 people to pledge $40 or more. Check out a video explanation / plea after the break. Previous project update: Still time to get in on some of that robot fighting action -- 21 days to be exact. Currently the Mech Warfare Robot Arena is at $2,441 pledged out of a goal of $6,000.

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Insert Coin: JuiceTank is a two-pronged iPhone case

16 March 2012

The Isle of Man's Department of Economic Development has announced that it will be heading a trade delegation of Isle of Man 'Clean Tech' companies to the UK, Europe and the USA, in the latter part of this year.

The events will allow Isle of Man businesses to showcase their products and services, as well as explore business growth opportunities with potential investors, customers and partners.

The locations the Department is targeting include: Boston, Oregon and San Francisco in the USA; Edinburgh, Manchester, Lincoln and London in the UK; Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia.

The Department said each event will involve a similar format. The presence of one or more electric motorbikes that have competed in a zero emissions race in the Isle of Man; presentation on the benefits of the island for Clean Tech businesses; screenings of a one-hour version of the TT Zero movie Charge, and a panel question and answer session, followed by a networking opportunity. The Isle of Man government have encouraged island businesses to get involved.

Laurence Skelly, Political Member for the Department of Economic Development with responsibility for Clean Tech, explained: The Isle of Man has a unique selling proposition to attract businesses in the Clean Tech sector, the key benefits being an ideal location to trial technology and to protect and maximize financial benefit from intellectual property. I hope businesses will take this valuable opportunity to help generate new business. We have a very competitive proposition which is difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Dr Ken Milne, Senior Manager for Energy Policy, added: The Department is particularly looking to leverage the value generated by the TT Zero event and TT Zero movie Charge and follows on from a very successful Clean Tech event we hosted in London recently which generated several high quality business leads. Through promoting the island as an excellent location for Clean Tech businesses we hope that we will attract dynamic, innovative businesses and entrepreneurs.

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IoM Plans Clean Tech Promotional Tour