Is Any Group Challenging the Canadian Prime Minister's Efforts to Weaken Environmental Protections?

POWER POLITICS: Green leaders say Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's motives for weakening environmental protections stem from his interest in expanding and exploiting Canada's tar sands oil and gas deposits, which constitute the second-largest petroleum reserve in the world (after Saudi Arabia's). Image: iStockPhoto

Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

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Dear EarthTalk: Why were some environmental Web sites blacked out all day back on June 4? Was this some sort of protest or did they get hacked??Ned Cooper, Detroit

It wasn?t hackers this time. In fact, a group of environmental and social justice organizations representing millions of Canadians blacked out their websites for 24 hours this past June 4 to protest efforts by Canada?s conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper to push through a budget bill that would significantly weaken environmental protections.

Organizations leading the black-out include the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Greenpeace, Nature Canada, Sierra Club Canada and World Wildlife Fund Canada, and several others. More than 13,000 other websites?including those of many major U.S. green groups including the Sierra Club?also participated in the black-out and continue to support the effort calling for stronger, not weaker, environmental protections. Reports the Black Out Speak Out website: ?The environmental changes are particularly undemocratic and worrisome given the extent to which the government is going to please powerful oil interests...?

Green leaders say Harper?s motives stem from his interest in expanding and exploiting Canada?s tar sands oil and gas deposits, which constitute the second largest petroleum reserve in the world (after Saudi Arabia?s). ?Harper?s attacks are happening for many reasons, not the least of which was the success of environmental groups in Canada, the U.S. and Europe in threatening what Big Oil wants most: unlimited tar sands expansion and pipelines like the Keystone XL to send its oil around the globe,? reports Michael Marx, director of the U.S. Sierra Club?s Beyond Oil campaign, on the Huffington Post website. ?He put the interests of the oil industry first and looked the other way when it came to enforcing laws about air and water pollution, endangered species and the health of downstream communities.?

Marx says that ?tar sands oil companies are destroying a pristine forest the size of England, accelerating the rate of climate change, causing thousands of wolves, bears, migratory birds, and caribou to die, and leaching toxic chemicals into rivers, as downstream communities experience a spike in cancer rates.?

According to Marx, Harper?s government is trying to disarm its opposition by threatening the charitable status (and thus the fundraising ability) of green groups who oppose tar sands, subjecting them to onerous tax reporting requirements to bog them down. ??Black Out, Speak Out? is a warning that the Harper Government has gone too far,? says Marx. ?This protest has brought together a diverse array of Canadians to defend their democracy and right to have an open debate about the future of their country.?

?Hopefully Black Out, Speak Out will mobilize thousands of Canadians and Harper will learn that it?s one thing to attack environmentalists and quite another to attack freedom of speech,? says Marx. ?If the Harper government pursues this repressive policy, it should expect the backlash to spread in Canada, the U.S. and in Europe.?

CONTACTS: Black Out Speak Out, www.blackoutspeakout.ca; Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com; Sierra Club, www.sierraclub.org.

EarthTalk? is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine ( www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=e31232a50c25e528428618d7be9a9fb7

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SA top African business travel destination ? News24

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Source: http://www.thefinancialherald.com/?p=226472

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True cost of Homebrew - The Brewing Network.com

I've been brewing 6 months now, started with a few extract kits, then jumped into all grain very quickly.

I was wondering tonight how much I spent to date making my own beer and trying to save money, pasted below is the list.

The bottom line, is just short of $1200.00. Sure adds up quickly

Im a long way from the $50 Mr beer kit that I was originally going to purchase

Oh well,

Item cost note
startup kit $100.00 Groupon deal plus extras
100 Swing top bottles $80.00 Ebay
bottle tree $45.00
bottle washer $25.00
7 gal pot $40.00
13 gal pot $80.00
Mash tun cooler $45.00
freezer and temp control $70.00 criagslist and ebay
15 gal keg, frig , 20lb c02 tank $100.00 package deal didn't really need a frig GREAT DEAL.
misc kegerator parts $100.00
keg/carboy washer parts $70.00
kegs $79.00 Ebay
better bottle $40.00
c02 regulator $100.00
frig $150.00 beer 2010 frig from craiglist.
bargain fittings $40.00 For 15.5 keg

Total $1,164.00

Source: http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=&t=28609

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France to pressure Russia, China on Syria: Hollande

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Saturday he would try again to convince Russia and China to support harder sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in order to break a diplomatic deadlock and prevent more bloodshed.

"I will once more address Russia and China so that they recognize there would be chaos and civil war if Bashar al-Assad isn't soon stopped," Hollande said, speaking to the press during a visit to a farm in the southwestern town of Monlezun.

"The regime of Bashar al-Assad knows it is doomed and so it will use force until the very end," he said. "The role of the member states of the U.N. Security Council is to step in as quickly as possible."

Western powers have thus far been unsuccessful in ending an impasse at the United Nations over further pressure on al-Assad. Earlier this month, Hollande said he was trying to persuade Russia and China to forgo their insistence on shielding the leader from additional sanctions.

(Reporting By Julien Ponthus. Writing by Alexandria Sage)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-pressure-russia-china-syria-hollande-162110777.html

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Novel therapy may prevent damage to the retina in diabetic eye diseases

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2012) ? Researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center have identified a compound that could interrupt the chain of events that cause damage to the retina in diabetic retinopathy. The finding is significant because it could lead to a novel therapy that targets two mechanisms at the root of the disease: inflammation and the weakening of the blood barrier that protects the retina.

To date, treatments for diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness among working-age Americans, have been aimed largely at one of those mechanisms.

In diabetic retinopathy, damage to the retina results, in part, from the activity of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein that weakens the protective blood-retinal barrier. Recent drugs targeting VEGF have exhibited good response for nearly half of the patients with diabetic retinopathy. But researchers believe that there is also an inflammatory component that may contribute to the disease process.

The study, published in the Biochemical Journal, June 2012 [epub ahead of print] identifies a specific protein common to both pathways as an important target in regulating the disease process in which blood vessels become leaky, and provides a drug that may be developed into a therapeutic intervention for patients in which anti-VEGF treatment alone is not sufficient.

"In diabetic retinopathy and a host of other retinal diseases, increases in VEGF and inflammatory factors -- some of the same factors that contribute to the response to an infection -- cause blood vessels in the eye to leak which, in turn, results in a buildup of fluid in the neural tissue of the retina," says David A. Antonetti, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Molecular and Integrative Physiology, who has also been awarded a Jules and Doris Stein Professorship from Research to Prevent Blindness. "This insidious form of modified inflammation can eventually lead to blindness."

The compound targets atypical protein kinase C (aPKC), required for VEGF to make blood vessels leak. Moreover, Antonetti's laboratory has demonstrated that the compound is effective at blocking damage from tumor necrosis factor also elevated in diabetic retinopathy that comprises part of the inflammation. Benefits of this compound could extend to therapies for uveitis, or changes to the brain blood vessels in the presence of brain tumors or stroke.

"This is a great leap forward," says Antonetti. "We've identified an important target in regulating blood vessel leakage in the eye and we have a therapy that works in animal models. Our research is in the early stages of development. We still have a long way to go to demonstrate effectiveness of this compound in humans to create a new therapy but the results are very promising."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Michigan Health System, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Paul Titchenell, Cheng-Mao Lin, Jason Keil, Jeffrey Sundstrom, Charles Smith, David Antonetti. Novel Atypical PKC Inhibitors Prevent Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Induced Blood-Retinal Barrier Dysfunction. Biochemical Journal, 2012; DOI: 10.1042/BJ20111961

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/a6Tel875wt0/120727144147.htm

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Health Care Tips ? Diseases Causes Treatments Symptoms Cures ...

There are many natural weight loss foods that you can make part of your diet in order to help you shed some pounds and maintain a lean frame.

Losing weight is not easy, and many people have tried and given up.

It requires a lot of commitment and hard work in addition to making some sacrifices and changes in your life.

People gain weight when they take food that contains large amounts of calories.

When these calories are not burnt, they get converted into fat which is stored around the body.

Therefore in order to lose weight and maintain a lean body, one must eat healthy foods with low calorie content.

Those who are trying to lose weight need to take all types of nutrients in the right quantities.

There are several sources of proteins that are healthy which you can put on your diet.

Apart from egg whites which have already been mentioned, you can also take chicken breast, salmon or turkey breast.

Steak, trout and lean beef are also very good sources of proteins for your diet.

Generally, fish and other sea foods are a very good source of healthy proteins for a weight losing diet.

They also contain some healthy types of fats that are very good for your health.

You should also make sure you eat a good dinner in order to avoid waking up for some late night feasting. Dinner should contain a lot of carbohydrates and very little fat. Carbohydrates will help you sleep better and also provide you with energy for your morning work out. You can take some spaghetti with all your favorite toppings and sauces. You can also take some wheat and pasta served with beans, tomatoes, carrots and beans. This way you will get to avoid excess calories, fat and cholesterol. There are many other natural weight loss foods you can find out and add to your diet.

Service Foods provides gourmet, all natural food that is both healthier and better tasting than the food you?d find at a local grocery store.

They are specialize in all natural, fully-aged, grain-fed, grass finished Black Angus beef, super select pork, Grade A free range poultry, sashimi grade seafood, and Grade A natural and organic fancy vegetables.

You can find more them at here - Service Foods Reviews

I Just come across their YouTube Channel - Here there are - http://www.youtube.com/user/servfoods

Source: http://healthcaretips-fact-guide.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-service-foods-helps-people-to-lose.html

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Autumn could possibly be the Perfect Time for them to Grow Great ...

Often there are good reasons to plant a garden among the fall, although your crops and seeds may sit for a little longer to germinate in cooler weather. An accident garden provides unique possibilities to taste types of foods that are fresh, flavorful, and excellent like growing season starts to be packed to an end. If you do missed an early spring planting, you can get an alternate ability to plant cool weather loving plants. But, what form of plants will yield a gourmet salad specifically for your table?

Vegetables that like to grow in cooler weather include peas and lettuce, in association with root vegetables like carrots, turnips, radishes, and beets. Just look at all the gourmet salad inspiration you have already with just those few vegetables in your outdoor areas this fall! And don't forget some root vegetables actually produce very delightful salad greens plus a root crop. Fall is likewise the moment to contemplate planting Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli. These vegetables work well in the course of the cooler weather when grown from small plants in contrast to seeds, which solves the shorter growing season. Harvesting these vegetables while they are very young and tender administers a surprise gourmet treat.

Autumn Is truly the Perfect Chance to Grow Great Gourmet Garden Salads lettuce plants thrive in a few weather, with kinds of heirloom and leaf lettuces to help you begin connected to gourmet salad. Choose lettuces like Boston, Bibb, Endive, and Romaine that could still be delicious late into the season. Other interesting greens are possible also, like arugula, mustard greens, leeks, tender kohlrabi, swiss chard, chicory, and corn salad. A number of absolutely wonderful salad herbs thrive in a cooler garden. You might be able to put in a gourmet taste to any salad if you add garden fresh herbs like chives, dill, chervil, cilantro, thyme, but a type of parsley. After you get all your cool weather gourmet ingredients together, it's the time needed fit your salad together.

The advisable way to benefit from the fresh vegetables from the cool weather harvest resides in the gourmet salad. Simple vinaigrette dressings permit the natural flavors of your vegetables, greens, and herbs into the future through. After all, you worked hard sitting on your fall harvest, so shouldn't you taste your time and energy first? The dressing should compliment, not compete. Beginning with ingredients like oil, white wine, red wine, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice, then combine sweet or tangy ingredients to twist the taste of those dressing to suit your needs. Then season by having dash of salt and pepper, or a little of us prized herbs you recently harvested from a fall garden.

Without a doubt, fall crops of squash and pumpkin work perfectly as well as your newly planted fall crops. When combining fresh vegetables in the earthy flavors of roasted butternut squash, or pumpkin, by way of example, pick out a sweet ingredient in your dressing, along the lines of the orange juice, maple syrup, and a little honey. Making a gourmet garden salad supplied in the fall season is focused on a combination of flavors that have been surprising not to mention pleasingly warm and satisfying. You won't get that mix by drowning the salad in heavy dressing. So, keep it light, fresh, and maybe just slightly sweet so all the flavors play nice together!

To allow a fall gourmet garden salad much more interesting, compliment it with fanciful sprouts and crunchy seeds and nuts. Top with sweet or salty pecans, walnuts, almonds, let alone a mixed nut combination. Roast the nuts first and hang by the salad hot for probably more fun. Sprout your own individual seeds and get a real taste surprise. In this case, put radish seeds hooked up to damp paper towel and you'll get sprouts that taste like radishes. That's a lot more gourmet than alfalfa sprouts, don't you may think? Add much more gourmet flair to all of your garden salad with many of smoked fish, sweet sausage, or even some fruit. Pretty slices of red pear or Granny Smith apples adds a large amount of impact to some garden salad. Don't forget the cheese! Pretty much every gourmet salad would benefit when you add a topping of crumbled Bleu cheese, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, or Feta.

If you want to learn more about gourmet salads and garden salads you definitely check out gourmet garden salads website.

Source: http://www.edirectory24.com/articles/autumn-could-possibly-be-the-perfect-time-for-them-to-grow-great-gourmet-garden-salads/

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Financing a Green Lifestyle: Energy efficiency mortgage and home ...

If you?re in the market for an energy-efficient home or want to transform your existing abode into an energy-efficient oasis, there are options.

You?ve probably heard the old adage: If you snooze, you lose. If you were thinking about scrapping your old appliances for more efficient models, particularly those qualified under the U.S. government?s trusted Energy Star label, you missed the chance to finance those purchases through the $300-million rebate program funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

As of February 17, 2012, the Energy Star rebate program funded under the ARRA officially closed after dispensing a total of 1.7-million consumer rebates, valued at $258 million. The energy savings resulting from the purchase of the rebated products are estimated at 1.7 trillion Btu, the majority coming from new household appliances, the Department of Energy (DOE) says.

But you still may be in luck, particularly if you?re in the market for an energy-efficient home or want to transform your existing abode into an energy-efficient oasis.

According to the EnergySavers (http://www.energysavers.gov/financial) website, homeowners can avail themselves of two different types of mortgages, which are available through a government-insured or conventional loan program:

? Energy-efficient mortgages are geared to those buying new, already-efficient homes. They allow homebuyers to finance and include cost-effective energy saving measures as part of their mortgage. By stretching debt-to-income ratios on loans, this type of mortgage allows borrowers to qualify for larger loan amounts and perhaps a more efficient house.

? Energy-improvement mortgages, on the other hand, are designed for those who want to buy or refinance a home that isn?t energy efficient, but will be once improvements are made. The costs of the improvements are factored into the mortgage. The lender repays the improvement expenses to the borrower from an escrow account.?Although borrowers likely will carry a slightly higher mortgage payment, the additional cost may be balanced out or even erased by?lower ongoing energy costs.

Energy Rating

To take advantage of these financing programs, however, you will need to have an energy rating performed on your new or existing home.

A rating analyzes how energy efficient your home is when compared with similar homes. A certified professional will look at insulation levels, window efficiency, heating and cooling systems, and air leakage ? findings are then described in a report along with an energy rating and estimates of annual energy use and costs. Some reports also provide recommendations on energy improvements, if needed, their costs, and the potential annual savings and eventual payback on the improvements.

Other Programs

This is just a snapshot of the possibilities. Your state and local government or your utility company may offer other incentive programs.

To find out what?s available in your community, visit the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency website he: http:// http://www.dsireusa.org/).

Above all else, remember resources are available. It might take a little homework, but in the end, it could be worth it ? through reduced energy bills and a home with greater resale value.

Editor?s Note: Constellation prepared the ?Financing a Green Lifestyle? series in the spirit of helping our residential customers better manage their energy use. This installment focuses on mortgage and home-improvement financing programs that can help offset the costs of going green.

Tags: conserve electricity, conserving energy, efficiency projects, energy efficiency, energy efficiency services, energy project, home energy project, increase energy efficiency, innovative energy solution
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Green Home | Comment on this post ?

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 26th, 2012 at 8:11 am and is filed under Energy Efficiency, Green Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://blogs.constellation.com/energy4home/2012/07/financing-a-green-lifestyle-energy-efficiency-mortgage-and-home-improvement-loans/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=financing-a-green-lifestyle-energy-efficiency-mortgage-and-home-improvement-loans

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First look: Quentin Jones fashion film for Kenzo

Rising director Quentin Jones has once again worked her magic with a stylish two-minute film showcasing Kenzo's pre-fall 2012 collection.

London-based director-and- illustrator Jones has previously worked on quirky videos for the likes of Victoria Beckham, as well as French fashion house Chanel and rising creators including Scotland's Holly Fulton.

Her new video for Kenzo, released online July 23, features hula hooping, monkey bars and boxing gloves, and confirms the modern direction that new creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim are bringing to the house.

With an emphasis on outerwear and playful accessories, Kenzo's pre-fall 2012 line is reflected by the video, which evokes its model star as a "bewitching fighter."

Fashion films are becoming an increasingly important element in promoting a label's latest designs, with houses including Lanvin and Prada going viral with their innovative videos in seasons gone by.

Jones is fast becoming one of the industry's most in demand filmmakers, along with the likes of Hollywood director James Lima and Daniel Jackson, who has worked with labels including Alexander Wang and Prabal Gurung.

Watch Jones' imaginative video for Victoria Beckham's diffusion line Victoria, Victoria Beckham at http://youtu.be/IGF5bkr8esQ.

Meanwhile, catch her new Kenzo campaign at the following address: http://youtu.be/FXEs0iAySvA

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-look-quentin-jones-fashion-film-kenzo-164024717.html

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EA Settles Price-Fixing Lawsuit But Apparently Still Has Madden Monopoly On NFL Games

Electronic Arts (aka our?Worst Company In America winner) has settled a lawsuit alleging that it was overcharging for some of its most popular sports titles, including Madden NFL as well as NCAA Football and Arena Football games. But while the settlement restricts EA's ability to sign exclusive deals with the NCAA and Arena Football, it appears its Madden Monopoly on NFL titles will march on intact.

Attorneys for game players who bought recent copies of any of the aforementioned football titles say they're setting up a $27 million fund for refunds. Those who bought games for a PlayStation 2, original Xbox or Nintendo GameCube could receive up to $6.79 per title. Games purchased for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii will garner a $1.95 refund, reports USA Today.

Also included in the settlement: EA can't renew its exclusive licensing agreement$ for?the NCAA Football franchise for five years starting in 2014, when the current deal is up. It also can't sign any exclusivity deal with the Arena Football league for five years. Not a huge deal, points out Kotaku, as EA hasn't even published an AFL game since 2007.

Seemingly not included in the lawsuit is any such provision barring exclusivity deals with the NFL, which would mean that Madden NFL titles, among its most popular games, will continue to dominate the video game market. The current exclusivity deal started in 2005 and goes through 2013.

The lawsuit had alleged that EA?"engaged in unlawful and anti-competitive agreements that nearly doubled the price of its popular game, Madden NFL," as well as claiming that the licensing deals with the NFL, NCAA and Arena Football "drove competition out of the market and prevented new competitors from entering."

The settlement will now need approval from the court.

Previously in Maddenopoly news, back in 2009:?That Wily Scoundrel John Madden Has Robbed Gamers Of $1 Billion, Economist Says

EA settles lawsuit over alleged price fixing [USA Today]

Source: http://consumerist.com/2012/07/ea-settles-price-fixing-lawsuit-but-apparently-still-has-monopoly-on-nfl-games.html

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Valley Baseball League Standings

Valley Baseball League Standings

South Division W L Pct. GB y-Waynesboro 29 12 .707 ? y-Harrisonburg 26 15 .634 3 New Market 21 20 .512 8 Rockbridge 20 20 .500 8 ? Staunton 19 23 .452 10 ? Covington 16 25 .390 13 North Division W

A link to this page will be included in your message

Source: http://www.newsleader.com/article/20120722/SPORTS/307220015/1080/rss02

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Norway remembers victims of bomb, shooting attacks

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/norway-remembers-victims-bomb-shooting-attacks-082507256.html

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I'm Sorry for Cursing - Colon / rectal cancer

I'm going out tonight, and I'm super excited.? I'm also nervous.? When meeting new people, I want them to know ME first, not the cancer.? Does that make sense?? Maybe I'm a little jumpy because I've had so many different reactions to my having cancer.? Most people are really great, supportive and everything.? Once in a while, people get...weird.? I have great hopes that it won't be weird tonight.

Source: http://imsorryforcursing.blogspot.com/2012/07/im-going-out-tonight-and-im-super.html

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Truck financing ??? Funding for commercial vehicle | Escuela ...

July 21, 2012 Posted by admin

You want to start your new trucking business and you need to finance. Buy one, requires a large amount of cash. On the other hand, you can not get a loan because of your bad credit if you approach any finance company. Truck financing offers cash instead of your bad credit. Is that company, you move forward without a credit check.

If you need to progress with a less amount of interest, you can compare to the other truck financing with low interest rates. The borrower should keep his documents ready before he applies for the loan. The borrower may have to his monthly income letter, bank statement, employment letters, and so on to present. You must ensure that the documents you have submitted to the lender true. To apply for this loan you can request your credit personally, by placing a trip to the bank or by completing an online application.

these loans in tow forms, ie secured and unsecured form pack.
For secured loans you can place all your valuable assets like your house, car, but in this case, the vehicle itself is collateral. If in case the borrower to repay the loan amount is not the risk of losing his property.

For unsecured loans, you can no collateral. These advances are a great help for non-homeowners and bad credit holders. In this case, the lenders risk is not getting his money in time. The borrower can take the sum of the 2000 claim -. 50000.the repayment period is 5 7 years

For this tax benefit loan you should be very convincing to the lender that you are capable of the borrowed amount shall be refunded and you must be a British citizen. You must be 18 years or older. You should have a bank account. You have to be used and should have a regular income.

Source: http://www.escuelalocucionrtv.com/truck-financing-funding-for-commercial-vehicle/

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The Good Times Can't Last Forever | Express Cellular Phones

Wall Street has certainly had its share of product trends. Some enter the scene with great fanfare, but eventually languish. (Witness the decline of the annuity.) Some, like collateralized debt obligations, seem like a good idea until they nearly bring about the destruction of the financial markets. Yet others, like index funds, revolutionize the way individuals and institutions manage their portfolios. But few products have grown as fast or been as widely embraced as exchange-traded funds.

So now the question is: Can this phenomenal growth continue?

Exchange-traded funds have $1.2 trillion in assets in 1,476 funds, which account for nearly one-third of U.S. equity trading. That?s pretty astounding, given the industry didn?t even exist two decades ago. Starting with a single product on the American Stock Exchange in 1993, they picked up steam in the late 1990s, and proceeded to build assets at a rate of more than 30% per year from 2000 to 2010. What started as tradable index funds soon grew more complex, branching into commodities, currencies, derivatives, fixed-income, and more. Then ETFs threw out the indexes altogether by making inroads into active management.

But the growth has been uneven. The ETF industry is exceedingly top-heavy: Three-quarters of ETF assets are managed by the big-three firms of BlackRock, Vanguard Group, and State Street. More than one-third of all assets are held in the 10 biggest funds. And more than half the ETFs on the market today have less than $50 million in assets, putting them in the ?maybe? category as to whether they?re viable products their sponsors will keep around.

To hear industry participants tell it, exchange-traded funds? explosive growth is only getting started. The rise of index-tracking ETFs will be followed by equally rapid gains via the adoption of actively managed ETFs. This will be accompanied by wider use of ETFs in 401(k) plans and deeper inroads into relatively untapped areas like fixed income. BlackRock?s iShares unit predicted this month that U.S. bond ETFs alone could reach $1.4 trillion in the next decade ? bigger than the entire industry today. ?We think investors are just beginning to realize the potential of fixed-income ETFs,? says Matthew Tucker, head of BlackRock?s iShares fixed-income investment strategy.

But the industry optimism may be less than it?s cracked up to be, according to Bernstein Research. Those three big growth areas ? active management, 401(k) and other defined-contribution plans, and fixed-income ? will be tougher to penetrate than index investing was. Active management presents challenges for managers who don?t want a spotlight on their daily trading. Fixed income isn?t as easy to index, and faces the same challenges and more in the active arena, since most bond funds use derivatives, which are not currently approved for use in ETFs. As for the 401(k) industry? Mutual-fund firms have a tight grip on retirement plans, and may not want to cede those fees to cheaper products. A ?lack of motivation? among incumbents is how the Bernstein analyst Luke Montgomery charitably describes it.

Peter and Maria Hoey for Barron?s

Topping it all off: ETFs? rapid growth today is somewhat deceptive. High correlation in global markets naturally benefits a predominantly passive industry (more than 95%), but passive investing may cool off when asset prices disperse.

Bernstein?s study ?Will ETF Growth Hit a Wall?? turned heads last month. Apparently the robust growth it predicted for the industry ? that the $1.2 trillion industry could grow by a healthy 13% per year to reach $6 trillion by 2025 ? was still way below the rosier consensus. McKinsey & Co. predicted last year that ETFs could reach $4.7 trillion globally as soon as 2015, implying U.S. growth of more than twice Bernstein?s view. Other estimates shoot as high as $10 trillion by 2020.

Despite the industry chatter it inspired, the study didn?t generate much pushback, says Montgomery, who co-authored the report with Brad Hintz and Gabriel Farajollah. After all, the 13% growth is still twice the 6% to 7% growth Bernstein expects from the asset-management business as a whole.

ETFS ARE CLEARLY A GROWTH INDUSTRY, and slowing from 30% a year to 13% is hardly a death knell. But there are some big challenges ahead. Let?s break it down.

Active management. Actively managed ETFs, the first and most promising pillar of the industry?s future growth, still face a number challenges. That?s why there are only about 50 of them on the market, with just $7.5 billion in assets, a fraction of total ETF assets, according to research and data provider XTF.com. ETFs have to disclose their portfolios every day ? an advantage for investors, but a distinct disadvantage for portfolio managers. When a well-known manager signals he?s buying (or selling) large amounts of a stock, the market tends to notice, driving prices higher (or lower). Since mutual funds are required to report their holdings monthly (plus a lag in reporting time), there?s a degree of confidentiality in their day-to-day trades. In fact, the most successful actively managed ETF isn?t an equity fund at all; it?s a Pimco bond fund.

The $1.9 billion <span id="ataglance_stock_DWC_label" class="chartToolTip" onmouseover="MDCRolloverChartManager.showPopup(this,this.id,'Pimco Total Return ETF?,'http://chart.bigcharts.com/custom/wsj-com/charts/commodities/chart.asp?size=2&style=2101&type=256&mocktick=1&symb=bond?,'/public/quotes/stock_charting.html?mod=9_2013&symbol=bond?);? onmouseout=?MDCRolloverChartManager.hidePopup();?> Pimco Total Return ETF (ticker: BOND), only four months old, is the ETF version of its Pimco Total Return mutual fund (PTTRX). Swimming alongside a $263 billion giant, front-running is an afterthought for this fund.

When it comes to stocks, the most successful actively managed ETF by assets isn?t even a stock-picking fund, at least in the traditional sense. The $329 million AdvisorShares Active Bear ETF (HDGE) is a short-selling strategy of companies deemed to suffer from poor-quality earnings.

A number of companies such as BlackRock?s (BLK) iShares and Guggenheim Investments have already explored ways to cloak active-ETF portfolios or build proxies for the disclosures, with little to show for the effort. ?Anyone holding their breath on those structures passing through the SEC is going to get very blue in the face,? predicts Dave Nadig, research director for industry watcher Index Universe.

There are other issues for active management to tackle. For instance, frequent portfolio turnover is costly, and can eat away at the tax and cost efficiencies that are the main selling points of an ETF.

Bonds. The challenges with active management are also a big factor in the bond market. Traditional indexing isn?t always well suited to bonds: Most indexes are weighted toward companies with larger market capitalizations. In the bond world, that means companies and countries that issue more debt ? which are often the companies and countries most in need of financial aid ? make up a larger part of the index.

The other bond problem: They don?t trade like stocks. ETFs are best suited to deeply liquid underlying markets, which are lacking in large parts of the bond universe. Many sought-after bonds don?t change hands every day. This has pricing implications. It?s also forced some index providers to expand the mandate of their products as demand has increased.

401(k)s. This third area of growth may be the toughest to crack of all. Mutual funds have about 55% of the defined-contribution market as of the end of last year, according to the Investment Company Institute. But ETFs have less than 1%, according to Bernstein?s figures. (ICI, the fund-industry umbrella group and keeper of statistics, doesn?t track ETF holdings in 401(k)s, according to a representative.) A growth opportunity? Potentially. Trouble is, investors don?t much need a daily trading vehicle in their long-term holdings, nor do they much value ETFs? tax advantages in a tax-deferred retirement plan. They simply want low fees. This can often be accomplished with an index-tracking mutual fund. Big mutual-fund companies like Fidelity and Vanguard are unlikely to conclude they must shift their existing businesses to ETFs if investors aren?t demanding it.

None of which means the ETF business will grind to a halt. To the contrary, it is all but certain to continue growing handily. But maybe not as handily as the industry hopes. ?The most significant opportunities for the ETF industry,? Montgomery says, ?are also the most tenuous.??

E-mail:
editors@barrons.com

Source: http://budsexpresscellular.com/the-good-times-cant-last-forever

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Video: Options Action, July 20, 2012

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/48265391/

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U.S. Court Nixes Inclusion of ‘Steve Jobs Quotes’ in Apple-Samsung Patent Trial

The sentiments aired by the late Steve Jobs about Apple's rival operating system, Android, will not be considered once the Apple-Samsung patent contest begins at the end of the month.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh granted on Wednesday Apple's plea to strike out the statements made by Mr Jobs prior to his death in October 2011.

In the Steve Jobs bio-book penned by acclaimed journalist Walter Isaacson and published shortly after the tech icon's demise, Mr Jobs did not hide his contempt for the Google operating system, which he vowed to destroy by any available means.

Mr Isaacson quoted the Apple co-founder as saying that he was willing to employ thermonuclear attack in order to stop Google from circulating the mobile platform he considered as an affront to Apple's intellectual property.

"I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this," Mr Isaacson reported the former Apple CEO as saying on the bestselling bio-book.

Mr Jobs also pledged to use up Apple's vast resources to ensure the destruction of Android, which to date has outpaced the iOS in the latest global quarterly sales of smartphones.

Apparently, the then-enraged Steve Jobs swore to "spend my last dying breath if I need to ... to right this wrong."

Samsung had decided to include on its defence Mr Jobs' 'thermonuclear declarations' against Android as it tried to convince the U.S. court that Apple's case is also about the annihilation of a competition and not merely on claims of copyright infringements.

What Mr Jobs had declared "speaks to Apple's bias, improper motives and its lack of belief in its own claims in that they are a means to an end, namely the destruction of Android," Samsung said.

But as far as the San Jose, California federal court is concerned, Mr Jobs' personal ill-feeling against a product created by a close rival should not be weighed in the patent litigation that Ms Koh has set to commence July 30.

"I really don't think this is a trial about Steve Jobs," Ms Koh was reported by Reuters as saying in deciding that the Steve Jobs quotes were irrelevant to the case between Apple and Samsung.

The same court also ruled that the trial will be allowed to touch on Apple's China assembly facilities, which she clarified must be regarded as human rights matter, and Samsung's tax records in the United States.

But the latter cannot be exploited as a platform for Apple to raise Samsung's alleged tax avoidance issues, Ms Koh stressed.

The two tech titans has been locked in more than a year of legal battles spread in markets around the world that had produced mixed results thus far.

Despite efforts by Apple to keep Samsung Galaxy product lines off the global markets since last year, claiming they were mere copycats of the U.S. company's bestselling iPhones and iPads, the products were generally allowed to be sold.

While battling threats of injunctions to its key Galaxy models like the Galaxy S2 and S3, the Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Tabs 10.1 and 8.9 and the Galaxy Nexus smartphone, Samsung has managed to achieve Q2 2012 record mobile division sales on the back of Android handsets global dominance.

Yet in the tablet computer turf, Apple's iPad remains the top choice by global consumers, with more than 60 per cent of market shares based on figures issued by leading industry trackers IDC and Gartner.

To contact the editor, e-mail:

Source: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/364686/20120719/u-s-court-nixes-inclusion-steve-jobs.htm

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Smart league lets fans track a player's heartbeat

Niall Firth, technology editor

(Image: Adidas)

Get the feeling your team's star player isn't pulling his weight? Soon, US football fans will know for sure thanks to sensors that tell them everything they need to know about their team's performance.

Major League Soccer (MLS) has paired up with Adidas to make the US league - current stomping ground for former Premier League stars David Beckham and Thierry Henry among others - the world's first so-called smart league.

Starting in the 2013 season, players at all 19 MLS teams will be fitted with a chip that fits in a pocket on the base layer they wear underneath their team's shirt. This base layer will be packed with sensors that wirelessly track a player's heart rate, speed, acceleration and where they are playing on the field.

While the miCoach Elite system, as it is known, might help the team's coach know which midfielder is playing a little out of position or which defender needs to spend a bit more time on his fitness. What's exciting is the amount of data that fans watching a game will suddenly have access to.

All the information - more than 200 data records per second, claims Adidas - will be available for fans to view on an iPad app, letting them compare each player to his team-mates and see who is coasting through the game and who is really busting a gut to win. Meanwhile, coaches will be able to get an overview of how their whole squad is performing - and maybe also get an idea which opposition players they should be most wary of.

The first game to try out the miCoach system will be the MLS All-Star Game on July 25 in Philadelphia, when the best players from around Major League Soccer will play UEFA Champions League winners Chelsea.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/218c663a/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Conepercent0C20A120C0A70Csmart0Eleague0Elets0Efans0Etrack0Ea0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Online Marketing Consultants ? Points You Need to Understand ...

July 18, 2012 in Business | Comments (1)

by Carolina H. Wigle

As with every other kinds of web task, the task of online marketing consulting is becoming huge business. Companies should not have any fixed notions about who actually might be willing to do these types of services. The person on the end of a query might be someone with no prior practical experience or may be one that is really a master of his profession.

The truly hard part of contracting the help of a web-based marketing service is definitely to possess understanding of who actually your enterprise is working with. Many of the consultants may have web logs or even web sites. One can always check these websites out thoroughly looking into referrals and project samples before actually interviewing the individual.

Whenever wanting to use a company, you need to be expressly clear that you need only original materials and that your company will retain the copyright to all written docs. The web is full of persons within the guise of offering internet marketing services that just plagiarize the project of other people and therefore are far from qualified. There are a number of advantages to obtaining a qualified person however, you need to be careful of how you go with the selection process. As stated before you will find the real professionals and also there are definitely the pretenders.

Another consideration you need to bear in mind is costs. These experts tend to be superb writers and often have numerous established research sources an internet-based media. They are essential as increasingly more businesses realize the effectiveness of the internet and also the results it can create.

Whenever going through the applications there are a variety of things that that you can do. First of all , you can do is search around. Though most of the communication will be in email format, ensure that you speak with the individual. Look over all written communique carefully and ensure it is structurally sound and also grammatically correct.

If you want assistance with seo services, visit Spellbound Web

90950" title="Online Marketing Consultants - Points You Need to Understand" url="http://www.rbar67.com/wordpress/online-marketing-consultants-points-you-need-to-understand.htm">

Source: http://www.rbar67.com/wordpress/online-marketing-consultants-points-you-need-to-understand.htm?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=online-marketing-consultants-points-you-need-to-understand

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Lawyers argue over harm in military WikiLeaks case

WASHINGTON (AP) ? An Army private charged in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history wants to be able to defend himself at trial by arguing in part that the leaks didn't do much harm.

Military prosecutors say the consequences of the leaks ? big or small ? aren't relevant. A leak is a leak, they say, and 24-year-old Bradley Manning is guilty of sending hundreds of thousands of documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Prosecutors say they aren't required to prove the leaks caused harm. And they don't want jurors improperly confused or distracted by the suggestion the leaked material didn't significantly affect national security.

On Wednesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys attempted to persuade a judge overseeing the case to rule in their favor. Prosecutors want to keep any discussion of the leak's harm out of Manning's trial, scheduled for September. The judge's ruling has the potential to significantly affect any sentence Manning might receive if convicted, according to military experts interviewed by The Associated Press.

Elizabeth Hillman, who studies and teaches military law, said Manning's attorneys have an uphill battle to clear him of the charges he faces. As a result, being able to question witnesses about the harm the leaks caused is crucial.

"This is a key piece. Will Manning be able to introduce evidence that he didn't hurt anybody with what he did?" said Hillman, who teaches at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Manning, an intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010, is accused of providing to WikiLeaks documents including Iraq and Afghanistan war logs and more than 250,000 diplomatic cables. As a result, he's facing serious charges, including aiding al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. That charge carries a possible life sentence.

Manning's lead lawyer, David Coombs, told the judge, Col. Denise Lind, on Wednesday that the defense would be "cut off at the knees" if lawyers can't talk about harm at trial, and experts agreed it will be a tougher road at trial without the information.

Coombs has consistently argued not for his client's innocence but that the material he's accused of leaking wasn't particularly detrimental. If he gets to bring that argument up at trial, it could encourage leniency from the jury.

But whether that will work is unclear. Both sides agreed in arguments Wednesday that the case is unique, and there are no similar circumstances for Lind to consider when making a decision.

The damage done by the leaks is disputed.

More than two dozen so-called "damage assessments" were conducted by the departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security and other agencies, according to Manning's lawyers. Those assessments aren't public, but Coombs said the damage is minimal or "speculative at best."

"Life has not ended as we know it because of these leaks," he said.

Speaking about the leak in 2010, then Defense Secretary Robert Gates seemed to agree, saying: "Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for U.S. foreign policy? I think fairly modest."

Other officials have been more wary. They say the information's release caused turbulent relations with some countries and caused others to pull back from dealings with the United States. They cautioned that the fallout may last for years.

If Manning is convicted, as many observers expect, his attorneys will get to talk about the effect of the leaks during the trial's penalty phase. That's when the jury would get to decide how much time Manning should spend in prison for any misdeeds. But Manning's attorney said Wednesday that would be too late. And experts agreed Manning stands to benefit if his attorneys are allowed to downplay the damage of the leaks during the trial itself, when a jury will decide his guilt or innocence on each of the 22 charges he faces.

Experts said that if a jury hears early on that the leaks caused little or no harm, it is possible they would give Manning a pass on some of the charges or possibly convict him of only less serious ones. A more plausible effect is that the more defense attorneys can repeat their no harm theory, the better chance Manning has for a light sentence, experts said.

Jon Shelburne, who has frequently been a defense attorney in military cases, said it would be a large leap for a military jury to let Manning off the hook simply because no harm resulted from his actions. Greg Rinckey, a former Army lawyer now in private practice, agreed but said military juries can be unpredictable, smiling one minute and delivering a shocking verdict the next.

"You never know how a jury is going to act," he said.

Victor Hansen, an Army lawyer for more than a decade, said the judge's ruling on the issue is ultimately important for both sides. Excluding evidence of harm makes the prosecution's already complex case more straightforward, said Hansen, who now teaches at New England Law in Boston. On the defense side, it would prevent Manning's lawyers from introducing their major theme, essentially: "No harm, no foul."

Hansen, who had worked with Manning's defense attorney when the two were in the Army, said it is a common defense tactic to talk about sympathetic evidence early if it is clear your client is guilty. Manning's defense team's no harm theory fits that pattern, Hansen said.

"What they're trying to do is start a theme early in the case they're going to return to over and over and over again."

The judge did not say when she would rule. Also on Wednesday she declined for a second time to dismiss two charges against Manning, as his defense attorneys had asked.

___

Associated Press reporter David Dishneau contributed to this report from Hagerstown, Md.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawyers-argue-over-harm-military-wikileaks-case-090046309.html

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Credit Suisse raises $8.9B; earns $806M in Q2 ... - The Finance Room

on July 18, 2012 7:49 am in Business News / no comments

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Credit Suisse Group says it is raising 8.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.9 billion) to bolster its capital reserves.

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Source: http://www.financeroom.net/?p=443620

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AT&T's new shared data plans bump up data fees

16 hrs.

Sinead Carew , Reuters

AT&T is following bigger rival Verizon Wireless with a new type of family plan that comes with as much as a four-fold increase in its fees for data services such as mobile Internet.

But, unlike its rival, AT&T says the plan will be an option rather than a requirement for new customers and subscribers upgrading to a new phone.

Late in August, AT&T, the No. 2 U.S. mobile provider, will launch the new offering, which allows its customers to buy a single data plan for up to 10 devices and includes unlimited phone calls and text messages.

While some customers who talk and text a lot could save money under the plan, some will end up paying quadruple their current fee for data. For example AT&T will charge $40 for 1 gigabyte of data per month, compared with its current rate of $30 for 3 gigabytes.

The hope is that the new plan, similar to one kicked off by Verizon Wireless in June, will entice individuals and families to connect more devices such as tablet computers to the AT&T network because they will no longer have to buy a separate monthly data allowance for each mobile device.

Since young consumers are making fewer phone calls in favor of communicating via data services, AT&T, like Verizon Wireless, is overhauling its pricing in a bid to boost revenue from data services and to avoid a future decline in voice revenue.

Pivotal Research analyst Steve Sweeney expects the plans to increase overall revenue over the long term though it may reduces average revenue per customer slightly in the short term.

"AT&T and Verizon are both changing their pricing structures to maximize their long-term revenue growth based on where the highest growth in demand will be coming from," Sweeney said, referring to growing demand for data services.

Analysts see AT&T's offer of the new plan as an additional choice for upgrading and new customers working in its favor.

"You really can't alienate people by giving them another option," Pivotal's Sweeny said. "AT&T's approach is a little smarter."

In particular Barclays analyst James Ratcliffe said in a research note that AT&T wants to hold on to its 9 million customers who bought the Apple Inc iPhone in the second half of 2010, when AT&T was still the only U.S. iPhone provider.

Since AT&T is letting them stick with their current data plans, these customers, whose contracts will end this year, may be less inclined to look at other providers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint when they buy their next iPhone.

Buying in bulk
AT&T hopes the new plan leads people to buy data in bulk because the bigger the data plan, the cheaper the per gigabyte rate. A customer who wants 20 gigabytes of data, would pay $200 every month, or $10 per gigabyte - level with its current $30 plan.

"We think there's really great flexibility for these plans," David Christopher, AT&T's chief marketing officer for mobile told Reuters.

For example, he said a customer could use more data on their tablet one month and switch their heaviest usage to their smartphone the next month without adjusting their plan.

Or if some family members tend to use less data than others, the heavier users would be less likely to go over their limit and incur hefty overage fees under the new plan.

But if the higher price for each gigabyte of data is off-putting for some consumers, there is one key difference between AT&T and Verizon Wireless. AT&T will keep offering its existing plans whereas Verizon Wireless offers no choice to new customers and customers upgrading to a subsidized phone.

"If shared data is not for you then we'd love for you to stay on our existing plans. We know the existing plans make sense for lots of situations," Christopher told Reuters in what appeared to be a veiled dig at Verizon Wireless.

The executive declined to disclose the company's expectations for the impact on revenue and customer growth.

When Verizon Wireless announced its data share plan on June 12 some customers complained that they did not want unlimited phone calls or higher data fees.

Under the new plan, an AT&T customer with one smartphone would pay a $45 monthly fee for unlimited calling and texting and a $40 fee for one gigabyte of data. The voice and texting fee per smartphone drops to $40 for customers who pay $70 a month for 4 gigabytes of data.

An AT&T customer buying 20 gigabytes for $200 a month would pay $30 for voice and texting for each smartphone, leading to a total bill of $350 for a family of five.

In comparison, a Verizon Wireless customer would pay $150 for 20 gigabytes of data and $40 per smartphone, also leading to a total bill of $350 for a family of five.

Smaller rival Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service, does not offer family plans for data, but instead offers unlimited data usage for a flat monthly fee.

Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc .

AT&T shares were up 5 cents at $35.87 on New York Stock Exchange where Verizon shares were down 8 cents at $45.58. Sprint shares rose a penny to $3.66 also on NYSE.

Source: http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/atts-new-shared-data-plans-bump-data-fees-893046

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Two killed, 19 wounded in Toronto party shooting

Mark Blinch / Reuters

Police survey a crime scene following a shooting in Scarborough, a suburb of east Toronto, on Tuesday morning.

By Alastair Jamieson, NBCNews.com

Two people have died and at least 19 others were wounded in a shooting at a block party in the eastern Toronto suburb of Scarborough Monday night, according to Canadian media reports.

Toronto police Chief Bill Blair told CBC?that a teenage girl and a man aged about 20 had been killed in the violence shortly before 11 p.m. ET Monday.

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An infant was also wounded in the shooting, he told CBC, although the child's injuries were not life threatening.

"I've been a cop for 35 years, this is the worst incidence of gun violence in my memory anywhere in North America," Blair said.

A report in the Globe and Mail said police had a person in custody, and that the shooting appeared to be a dispute.

Leighton Robinson, a?man who said he knew someone injured at the scene, told the newspaper the event was a typical block party.

"It's got to stop, there's no need for it," he said.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News on NBCNews.com on Twitter?and Facebook.?

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Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/17/12781936-two-killed-19-wounded-in-toronto-party-shooting?lite

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West Bank settlement college deemed a university

JERUSALEM (AP) ? A settler body has overturned a ruling by Israel's Council on Higher Education and has granted university status to a college in an Israeli settlement.

The move could draw a new round of international condemnation against Israeli policies in the West Bank.

Shmuel Dovrat, a spokesman for the education council of the West Bank settlements, says the school in the settlement of Ariel will now be named Ariel University. He says university status means the institution will receive public funding for the upcoming school year.

Tuesday's decision awaits a final approval from Israel's military.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the decision, and Palestinians criticized it.

Israel's Council for Higher Education ruled earlier that there was not enough funding to support another university, but the settler body overruled that.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-17-Israel-Palestinians/id-450f75f879c2413094a66f83f5d4a93a

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Movie Review: MEAN STREETS Represents the First Triumph from ...

1973?s Mean Streets marked the emergence of Martin Scorsese, Master Filmmaker.? What Scorsese did in the film is something he?s been doing ever since, in movies as diverse in their ambition as The Last Temptation of Christ or The Color of Money or The Departed: he?s fusing the personal with the theatrical.

On one hand, Mean Streets feels culled from the deepest recesses of Scorsese?s subconscious; his hero, Charlie (a very young and very brilliant Harvey Keitel), feels the torments of the world in exactly the same way Scorsese did (does?).? The Mob surrounds Charlie?s Little Italy neighborhood, and he is both seduced by its influence and power and terrified by its amorality and potential for violence.? Fiercely Catholic, he believes unhesitatingly in the fires of Hell and is convinced his own sins (drinking, whoring around, some mob collection work) have consigned him to an eternity?s damnation.? He loves a young epileptic girl (Amy Robinson) but can?t commit to her; he commits to her screw-up brother (Robert De Niro, in the role that made him a star) but doesn?t love him.? It?s no accident that Scorsese provides the scant bits of voiceover narration we hear from Charlie ? these two men share the same head, the same desires, the same concerns.

But Scorsese doesn?t just want to flay his own psyche for the entire world to see; he wants to sell tickets, too, so he holds Mean Streets to the conventions of that most venerated of Movie Genres, the Gangster Movie.? His inspirations are White Heat, Angels with Dirty Faces, a little The Roaring Twenties thrown in for color, albeit if those example utilized the kinds of freewheeling movie magic made possible during the here-and-now: attaching a camera to Keitel during a particularly raucous evening, giving De Niro a slow-motion entrance set to the Rolling Stones? ?Jumping Jack Flash,? and giving the end shootout a lurid, gruesome hue.? Still, these tricks only distinguish an example of familiar pulp fiction ? an examination of low-level mob flunkies and their shifting fortunes.

Charlie?s in one corner, and as scumbags go, he?s decently responsible and conservative, careful not to incur the wrath of his Mafioso uncle (Animal House?s Cesare Danova).? De Niro?s Johnny Boy is Charlie?s polar opposite, and if Charlie?s signature moment is holding his hand over a votive candle to test himself against Hell?s torments, Johnny Boy?s is blowing up a mailbox (just because) and then laughing like crazy afterwards.? He?s all impulse, borrowing money he can?t repay from the local loan shark (Richard Romulus), starting fights with made men, ignoring Charlie?s pleas to keep a low profile.

Anyone who?s ever seen a gangster movie knows the kind of trouble these guys bring, and just as he would do in his 1990 masterpiece Goodfellas with Joe Pesci?s hyperviolent thug, Scorsese ratchets up the tension when Johnny Boy?s self-destructive behavior starts to affect everyone he knows.? The amazing thing is that even though we know Scorsese is telling us a story we?ve heard many times before, it seems fresh because of the director?s personal connection.

There?s such verisimilitude ? he makes us smell Little Italy (ironic, given that Scorsese shot most of Mean Streets in Los Angeles), makes us feel the heat in a nightclub during a night out with Charlie, makes us kin to his characters, from Romulus? slick bookie to David Proval?s eternally beleaguered bartender Tony to Robinson?s sweet, sad Teresa ? and these details get form and purpose through the genre mechanisms.? Mean Streets sustains itself on action, on humor, and on Scorsese?s impeccable eye for details.

Warner?s Blu-ray makes Mean Streets look about as good as one could hope; Scorsese shot on 16mm, so the image will forever have a gritty patina.? Still, it looks better than the VHS version ever did, and the monaural DTS-HD Master Audio track is surprisingly robust and immersive.

Extras are few but informative.? Scorsese, Robinson, and co-writer Mardik Martin contribute a detailed commentary track, and the Back on the Block featurette is an interesting ? though dated ? look at the film?s production.

Mean Streets is Martin Scorsese?s first triumph, a master class in marrying personal filmmaking with pure cinema entertainment.? Any self-respective film fan needs this Blu-ray.

Mean Streets is now available on Blu-ray.? Click HERE for Amazon?s listing.

Source: http://culturemob.com/movie-review-mean-streets-represents-the-first-triumph-from-filmmaker-martin-scorsese

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