Global chemical watchdog wins Nobel Peace Prize

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013 citizen journalism file image provided by the United Media office of Arbeen, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, members of a chemical weapons investigation team take samples from sand near a part of a missile that is likely to be one of the chemical rockets, according to activists, in the Damascus countryside of Ain Terma, Syria. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, for working to eliminate the scourge that has haunted generations from World War I to the battlefields of Syria. (AP Photo/United Media office of Arbeen, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013 citizen journalism file image provided by the United Media office of Arbeen, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, members of a chemical weapons investigation team take samples from sand near a part of a missile that is likely to be one of the chemical rockets, according to activists, in the Damascus countryside of Ain Terma, Syria. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013, for working to eliminate the scourge that has haunted generations from World War I to the battlefields of Syria. (AP Photo/United Media office of Arbeen, File)

Director General Ahmet Uzumcu of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW, gives an update on the the chemical watchdog's verification and destruction mission in Syria during a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday Oct. 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

FILE - In this Friday Sept. 27, 2013 file photo a car arrives at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW, in The Hague, Netherlands. The OPCW were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday Sept. 7, 2011 file photo Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) comments on Libya during a press conference in The Hague . The OPCW were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

FILE - In this Friday Sept. 27, 2013 file photo spokesman Michael Luhan gives a brief statement outside the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW, in The Hague, Netherlands. The OPCW were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Efforts to eliminate chemical weapons won a Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for the global watchdog trying to destroy Syria's stockpiles of nerve gas and other poisonous agents.

By giving its prestigious prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Norwegian Nobel Committee turned the spotlight both on Syria's devastating civil war and on a type of weapon that has horrified nations since World War I.

The reaction in Syria was notably polarized. A senior Syrian rebel called the award a "premature step" that will divert the world's attention from "the real cause of the war" while a lawmaker from Syria's ruling party declared the Nobel to be a vindication of President Bashar Assad's government.

The OPCW was formed in 1997 to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention, the first international treaty to outlaw an entire class of weapons. Based in The Hague, Netherlands, it has largely worked out of the limelight until this year, when the U.N. called upon its expertise to help investigate alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

"The conventions and the work of the OPCW have defined the use of chemical weapons as a taboo under international law," the Nobel Committee said in Oslo. "Recent events in Syria, where chemical weapons have again been put to use, have underlined the need to enhance the efforts to do away with such weapons."

Friday's award comes just days before Syria officially joins as OPCW's 190th member state on Monday. OPCW inspectors are already on a risky U.N.-backed disarmament mission based in Damascus to verify and destroy the government's arsenal of poison gas and nerve agents.

"Events in Syria have been a tragic reminder that there remains much work still to be done," OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu (AKH'-meht ooh-ZOOM'-joo) told reporters in The Hague. "Our hearts go out to the Syrian people who were recently victims of the horror of chemical weapons."

"I truly hope that this award and the OPCW's ongoing mission together with the United Nations in Syria will (help) efforts to achieve peace in that country and end the suffering of its people," he said.

He said the $1.2 million prize money would be used "for the goals of the convention" — to eliminate chemical weapons.

By giving the peace award to an international organization, the Nobel committee highlighted the Syrian civil war, now in its third year, without siding with any of the groups involved. The fighting has killed more than 100,000 people, devastated many cities and towns and forced millions of Syrians to flee their homes and country.

U.N. war crimes investigators have accused both Assad's government and the rebels of wrongdoing, although they say the scale and intensity of regime abuses are greater than the rebel abuses.

Louay Safi, a senior figure in Syria's main opposition bloc, called the Nobel award "a premature step."

"If this prize is seen as if the chemical weapons inspections in Syria will help foster peace in Syria and in the region, it's a wrong perception," Safi told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Qatar.

"But demolishing the regime's chemical weapons alone will not bring peace to Syria, because many more people are dying because Assad's troops are killing them with all types of conventional weapons," he said.

Fayez Sayegh, a lawmaker and member of Assad's ruling Baath party, told the AP the award underscores "the credibility" of the Damascus government. He said Syria is "giving an example to countries that have chemical and nuclear weapons."

After an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds in Syria, Assad faced the prospect of possibly devastating U.S. strikes against his military. To avert that, he admitted his chemical weapons stockpile and his government quickly signed up to the Chemical Weapons Convention and allowed OPCW inspectors to enter the country.

The first OPCW inspection team arrived in Syria last week, followed by another this week. They have already begun to oversee the first stages of the destruction of Assad's chemical weapons.

The United Nations and the United States praised the Nobel decision.

"Since that horrific attack, the OPCW has taken extraordinary steps and worked with unprecedented speed to address this blatant violation of international norms that shocked the conscience of people around the world," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement from Kabul. "Today, the Nobel Committee has rightly recognized their bravery and resolve to carry out this vital mission amid an ongoing war in Syria."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted the recognition came nearly 100 years after chemical weapons were used in World War I.

"Like the United Nations, the mission of the OPCW was born from a fundamental abhorrence at the atrocities of war," he said. "Together, we must ensure that the fog of war will never again be composed of poison gas."

In the past, seven nations — Albania, India, Iraq, Libya, Russia and the United States, along with a country identified by the OPCW only as "a state party" but widely believed to be South Korea — have declared stockpiles of chemical weapons and have or are in the process of destroying them.

However, the Nobel committee noted that some countries have not observed the deadline of April 2012 for destroying their chemical weapons. That applies especially to the U.S. and Russia, Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said.

"I have to recognize that they have particular challenges. They have huge stockpiles of chemical weapons," he told the AP. "What is important is that they do as much as they can and as fast as they can."

The struggle to control chemical weapons began in earnest after World War I, when agents such as mustard gas killed more than 100,000 people and injured a million more. The 1925 Geneva Convention prohibited the use of chemical weapons but their production or storage wasn't outlawed until the Chemical Weapons Convention came into force in 1997.

"During World War II, chemical means were employed in Hitler's mass exterminations," the prize committee said. "Chemical weapons have subsequently been put to use on numerous occasions by both states and terrorists."

According to the OPCW, 57,740 metric tons, or 81.1 percent, of the world's declared stockpile of chemical agents have been verifiably destroyed. Albania, India and "a third country" — believed to be South Korea — have completed the destruction of their declared stockpiles.

An OPCW report this year said the United States had destroyed about 90 percent of its stockpile of the weapons, Russia had destroyed 70 percent and Libya 51 percent.

Nations not belonging to the OPCW include North Korea, Angola, Egypt and South Sudan. Israel and Myanmar have signed but not ratified the convention.

The OPCW did not figure prominently in this year's Nobel speculation, which focused mostly on Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban last October for advocating education for girls.

"She is an outstanding woman and I think she has a bright future and she will probably be a nominee next year or the year after that," Jagland, the committee chairman, told The Associated Press. He declined to comment on whether she had been considered for this year's award.

The European Union won the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for uniting a continent ravaged by two world wars and divided by the Cold War.

Established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prizes have been handed out since 1901. The 2013 winners in medicine, physics, chemistry and literature were announced earlier this week and the Nobel economics award will be announced on Monday.

___

Ritter reported from Stockholm. AP reporters Mark Lewis in Oslo, Norway, and Bassem Mroue and Barbara Surk in Beirut contributed to this report.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-10-11-Nobel-Peace-Prize/id-82eecf7c8e4a46558350fb92bd6d6fbe
Related Topics: 2013 Emmy Winners   survivor   Sarin gas   evelyn lozada   greg oden  

Volunteers help clean up tornado debris to clear way for farmers in northwest Iowa

Farmers in areas of northwest Iowa, who were already busy with harvesting duties, are now faced with the difficult task of removing tornado debris from their fields. Six tornadoes swept through last Friday night, destroying 21 farms in Woodbury County alone and damaging dozens of others. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries.

Joel DeJong, field agronomist for Iowa State University Extension, says pieces of homes, grain bins, barns, and other material are scattered through miles of soybean and corn fields.  “You can be in one mile (of a field) and you’re fine, and then you’ve got a couple of miles where the corn’s flat and the soybeans are beat up,” DeJong says. “Then, you’ll get on farmsteads where there’s a debris trail of a half mile.”

Volunteers, including area high school students, are walking the fields, picking up thousands of pieces of debris so farmers can safely finish the harvest. DeJong says if those pieces aren’t removed they could badly damage the inner workings of a combine. “At the same time, there are tires on this equipment…and most pieces don’t have to be that big to cause tire problems,” DeJong says.

When farmers can get combines in fields, DeJong says they’ll have to take it slow to catch ears that, hopefully, remain on the stalks that have been knocked over.

He says the harvest, for some, may take four times longer than usual to finish.

Related Topics: john lennon   American Horror Story   Tomas Hertl   Malala Yousafzai   Cressida Bonas  

MMO EverQuest Next revealed by Sony Online Entertainment

Sony's MMO 'Everquest II'.

Fourteen years after the introduction of the original EverQuest MMO, Sony Online Entertainment is bringing a new vision for the future of online games with the worldwide debut of EverQuest Next (EQN).

"With EverQuest Next, we're going back to our roots -- a space we defined with the EverQuest legacy -- and ushering in a new era of MMOs: The Emergent Era," said John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment. ?"Today, many MMOs fail because players consume content faster than developers can create it. With EverQuest Next, we're creating a living world that players are part of and empowering them to produce new content alongside the development team. ?What does the future hold for EverQuest Next and Sony Online Entertainment? ?It's in the players' hands, and we like it that way."

In development since 2009, EQN?"is different from all of the MMOs that have been made before in very important ways", so says Sony.

The game will feature multi-classing to allow?players the ability to explore and interact with the world according to their individual style of play. ?There are no levels in EQN, but there will be more than 40 distinct classes at launch with multi-tiered abilities and specialized weapon skills to collect and master.

It will also have destructible environments, an emergent AI (ie:?Orcs may attack opportunistically because they want an adventurer's gold, not simply because a careless hero wanders into an attack radius), permanent in-game-world change, and a player consequence engine.

"We believe that the bold choices the team is making with EQN will result in a product that provides players with an absolutely new kind of game experience," said Laura Naviaux, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. ?"However, there is something even more important to us. As an organization, we are dedicated to partnering with our community to give them a voice in the games we create. With EQN, we are taking this idea even further and offering our players the opportunity to actively build EQN with us."

Sony is suggesting that the new game will launch this Winter.

News10/KXTV

Source: http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=252760

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Author Neil Gaiman plans 'Wayward Manor' game for Mac, PC and tablets

Author Neil Gaiman - the man behind D.C. Comics' legendary Sandman graphic novel series, novels like American Gods (favored recently by our own Joseph Keller), Stardust and Anansi Boys, the motion picture Coraline and much more - is stepping into video games for the first time with a title called Wayward Manor. It's planned for release on OS X and Windows this December, with a tablet release to follow. You can preorder it now for $10, though you can spend a lot more, too.

If you're familiar with Gaiman's oeuvre, you know that he loves the macabre, the offbeat and the fantastic. As Gaiman describes the plot of Wayward Manor in a video posted to YouTube, this game will fit in well: You play as the ghostly inhabitant of a haunted manor in New England in the 1920s, and your goal is to drive the living residents of the house away by terrifying them.

Gaiman is collaborating with The Odd Gentlemen, a development studio based in Los Angeles. The Odd Gentlemen's portfolio includes Majesco's 2012 iOS release Maestro Piccolo's Flea Symphony, a music puzzle game, and The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, a well-received puzzle platformer available on Xbox Live Arcade and Steam.

In an interesting twist, Gaiman and The Odd Gentlemen are encouraging people interested in the game to pre-order it now, and depending on how much you kick in, you'll be rewarded with progressively more stuff, from the mild to wild, a bit like the "stretch goals" you see in projects on Kickstarter and similar crowfunding sites. At the low end, $10 gets you a download of the game and early access to a music track from the soundtrack; $10,000 gets you dinner with Neil Gaiman (and up to nine other well-heeled fans) at a venue in Los Angeles some time in 2014.

Mac

Macintosh

Games

Games

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/DCTlU5ncCXU/story01.htm

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Court would hear opposing views in spy cases

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The secretive court that weighs whether to let the U.S. spy on terror and espionage suspects would have to hear from lawyers arguing against doing so under a new plan introduced Thursday on the heels of Congress' rejection of sharp limits on government surveillance.

The new plan by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., would force the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to hear both sides of classified cases. The court, which isn't open to the public, currently hears only from Justice Department attorneys when it considers approving applications to seize Internet and phone records from private companies. The government uses those records to target foreign suspects in terror and spy cases.

The surveillance court has been under rare scrutiny and criticism after National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden revealed in June two classified programs that aim to thwart terror attacks but that critics say invade privacy rights. The court approved one of the programs, letting the government sweep up millions of Americans' telephone records each day.

Schiff, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said allowing a court debate would give "the benefit of an adversarial process and hearing conflicting views."

His bill would task the federal Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board with deciding which of the cases should be challenged by opposing counsel, and potentially appointing the lawyers to argue against the Justice Department during the closed-door court hearings. The board was recently directed by President Barack Obama to scrutinize government spying.

The plan comes on top of already-filed legislation to declassify more of the court's secret opinions and to require its judges to be specifically nominated for the panel by the president and then confirmed by the Senate. Federal judges are already nominated and confirmed, but are later selected for the surveillance court solely by the Supreme Court Justice.

Taken together, the measures "would give the public more confidence in the work product of the court," Schiff said. He said 10 of the 11 current surveillance court judges were appointed for the federal bench by Republican presidents, as was Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Critics have derided the court as a rubber stamp of approval for the government. Last year, the government asked the court to approve 1,789 applications to spy on foreign intelligence targets, according to a Justice Department notice to Congress dated April 30. The court approved all but one ? and that was withdrawn by the government.

Last week, former U.S. District Judge James Robertson, who served on the secret surveillance court between 2002 and 2005, described it as independent but flawed because only the government's side is represented effectively in its deliberations.

Schiff announced his legislation as opponents of the NSA's surveillance programs insisted they will continue to challenge it after a narrow defeat in the House.

Furious lobbying and last-minute pleas to lawmakers ensured victory for the Obama administration as the House narrowly voted Wednesday to spare the NSA program. Unbowed, the libertarian-leaning conservatives, tea partyers and liberal Democrats who led the fight said they will try to undo a program they called an unconstitutional intrusion on civil liberties.

___

Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/larajakesAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-07-25-US-NSA-Surveillance-Court/id-8d9d9e44554f4f4998c08ca4d5d46467

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The Neuroscience of Everybody's Favorite Topic

Why do people spend so much time talking about themselves?

By Adrian F. Ward

You will never guess what I just did Image: iStock/Monkeybusinessimages

• 

  In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a...

  Read More??

Human beings are social animals. We spend large portions of our waking hours communicating with others, and the possibilities for conversation are seemingly endless?we can make plans and crack jokes; reminisce about the past and dream about the future; share ideas and spread information. This ability to communicate?with almost anyone, about almost anything?has played a central role in our species? ability to not just survive, but flourish.

How do you choose to use this immensely powerful tool?communication? Do your conversations serve as doorways to new ideas and experiences? Do they serve as tools for solving the problems of disease and famine?

Or do you mostly just like to talk about yourself?

If you?re like most people, your own thoughts and experiences may be your favorite topic of conversation.? On average, people spend 60 percent of conversations talking about themselves?and this figure jumps to 80 percent when communicating via social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook.

Why, in a world full of ideas to discover, develop, and discuss, do people spend the majority of their time talking about themselves? Recent research suggests a simple explanation: because it feels good.

In order to investigate the possibility that self-disclosure is intrinsically rewarding, researchers from the Harvard University Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This research tool highlights relative levels of activity in various neural regions by tracking changes in blood flow; by pairing fMRI output with behavioral data, researchers can gain insight into the relationships between behavior and neural activity. In this case, they were interested in whether talking about the self would correspond with increased neural activity in areas of the brain associated with motivation and reward.

In an initial fMRI experiment, the researchers asked 195 participants to discuss both their own opinions and personality traits and the opinions and traits of others, then looked for differences in neural activation between self-focused and other-focused answers. Because the same participants discussed the same topics in relation to both themselves and others, researchers were able to use the resulting data to directly compare neural activation during self-disclosure to activation during other-focused communication.

Three neural regions stood out. Unsurprisingly, and in line with previous research, self-disclosure resulted in relatively higher levels of activation in areas of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) generally associated with self-related thought. The two remaining regions identified by this experiment, however, had never before been associated with thinking about the self: the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA), both parts of the mesolimbic dopamine system.

These newly implicated areas of the brain are generally associated with reward, and have been linked to the pleasurable feelings and motivational states associated with stimuli such as sex, cocaine, and good food. Activation of this system when discussing the self suggests that self-disclosure, like other more traditionally recognized stimuli, may be inherently pleasurable?and that people may be motivated to talk about themselves more than other topics (no matter how interesting or important these non-self topics may be).

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/basic-science/~3/bSwRF95T64Y/article.cfm

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Lolo Jones allegedly knocks out bobsled coach?s daughter in a bar fight

No idea how true this is or isn?t, but that doesn?t make it any less interesting. Lolo Jones ? yes, the same Lolo Jones who makes bad jokes on twitter and went public with her virginity at last summer?s Olympics ? allegedly got in a bar fight Friday July 12th and knocked out the stepdaughter of the bobsled coach according to Fox Sports radio host Amy Van Dyken (you can listen to the show here and skip to the 34:00 mark).

Our friends at BSO also found tweets from patrons at the bar on the night in question, and it looks like the reports may be accurate:

A bit odd that this hasn?t hit the web until a few days later, so a cover up may have been in the works.?Jones may come across as very sensitive, but apparently she?s a tougher cookie than we initially thought.

-ALR

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Source: http://losthatsportsblog.com/2013/07/lolo-jones-allegedly-knocks-out-bobsled-coachs-daughter-in-a-bar-fight/

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James Wan Talks Fast 7

With his next horror film The Conjuring set to scare audiences this weekend, director James Wan is already gearing up for his next big adventure. ?Wan was confirmed for the seventh installment in the Fast and Furious franchise a couple of months back, and started designing the film?s action sequences a month or so ago. ?While the action sequences from Fast & Furious 6?are going to be tough to beat, at least we now know what tone Wan is going for with the next film. ?It should make a lot more sense to those of you who stuck around to watch the end-credits scene. ?Hit the jump to see what Wan has in mind.

Here?s what Wan had to say about Fast 7 in an interview with The Playlist:

?I really like the theme of this next one that we?re going with. I can?t really talk about it, but I like the theme; it?s one that I really relate to. ?Then there?s the drive of Number Seven, which was set up at the end of Number Six, which is a classic revenge story. I?m a big [genre] fan, so that?s how I?m approaching it: I?m looking at it like a gritty, ?70s revenge thriller, but one that still fits into the ?Fast and Furious? series.?

Wan also cited The French Connection and Death Wish as inspirational films for his take on the franchise. ?It sounds like the team probably won?t be planning any major heists this time around, unless it?s got something to do with their ultimate goal of bringing in (or taking down) the bad guy. ?What are your thoughts on Wan?s plans for Fast 7? ?Be sure to let us know in the comments!

Sponsored Content

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1927874/news/1927874/

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While the Southern California BBB Rebuilds Itself, Struggling Taxpayers Turn to Consumertaxreviews.org to Research Reputable Firms

LOS ANGELES, CA, July 15, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Earlier this year, the president of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus, Carrie Hurt, announced that their Southern California chapter will be closing its doors. And while the national and local offices each seem to have valid, albeit opposing, points behind the cause, one thing is for certain, consumers now only have one reputable watchdog group left to turn to when researching tax resolution firms. Started over five years ago, Consumertaxreviews.org is a non-profit website created to help assist taxpayers who are interested in hiring a reputable tax resolution company. Held to the highest standards, companies rated on the site are put through an intense and detailed evaluation based on service, success, and retainer fees. Blue Tax is thrilled to be rated number two and recognized for the outstanding work they do for their clients. Todd Lewis, Vice President of Blue Tax, says, "It truly is an honor to be held in such high regard by the Consumertaxreviews.org. It's nice to be recognized for the hard work that we do."

Founded in 2009, Blue Tax quickly became one of the most sought-after Tax Solution Companies in the country. Rated higher on "Trustlink" than any other Tax company in Southern California, with over 250 testimonials, Blue Tax's business model is often imitated but truly never duplicated.

For more information about Blue Tax and its ability to help taxpayers resolve their tax problems, please visit www.BlueTax.com or call (800) 780-8485.

---
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com

Source: http://markets.financialcontent.com/mi.miamiherald/news/read?GUID=24635004

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Tumblr-Endorsed Analytics Platform Union Metrics Now Free For Individuals, Affordable For Pros

Union Metrics, providers of the first Tumblr-endorsed analytics platform for the now Yahoo-owned blog network, is upgrading its feature set today as well as introducing new lower-cost and free tiers to its service, in an effort to make Tumblr analytics more affordable to pro bloggers, small businesses and individuals. The lower cost tier will allow users to track up to three Tumblr blogs for $25 per month, while the free tier allows users to track just one blog.

Tumblr itself promoted the launch of Union Metrics back in November 2012, when it first debuted its three costly, professional-grade plans starting at $499 and up, designed for larger businesses and brands. However, at the time, Union Metrics said it would offer plans for anyone interested in tracking their personal blogs at some point in the future.

The company?s relationship with Tumblr allows it access to the full ?firehose? of Tumblr data, including blogs, reblogs and likes, as well as the ability to track blogs besides those you operate yourself, or any topic (keyword tracking). This data can then be visualized in interactive charts and graphs, and exported for use elsewhere.

Although Tumblr?s reputation is that of catering to the young, hip and sometimes fringe element?looking for privacy in an attempt to rebel against the era of the overshare, a site with over 122 million blogs and over 55 billion posts is bound to attract the attention of marketers, brands, larger publishers, and advertisers. And so Tumblr has. And so Union Metrics has, too.?To date, Union Metrics has signed up customers like?Funny Or Die, Puma, Yale University, House of Radon, Digg, We Are Social, Rhode Island School of Design,?and Hyatt. The company declined to provide customer numbers, but had 150 in November when it first debuted.

These and other subscribers to the Union Metrics analytics service will now be able to access a top-requested feature, the ability the track a blog?s followers, as well as integrate the Union Metrics service with Google Analytics.

As noted above, the low-cost tier allows for tracking three blogs, but for those individuals who can?t justify the expense, Union Metrics is also launching a free plan today, which it had previously teased via a waitlist?for private beta access. For one blog only, users can track post and notes counts over time, followers, performance of individual posts, plus identify influencers, how well blog tags and post types do, and visualize the spread of reblogs.

Since its launch, Union Metrics has processed over 40 billion Tumblr blog posts, reblogs and likes. There are few other Tumblr analytics providers out there, but they are more basic tools like Numblr?or?TumblrStats.com, or those like Statcounter which aren?t custom-designed for Tumblr. Union Metics is the only service that?s also a Tumblr partner.

The new tiers will be available on the Union Metrics for Tumblr website here.

Union Metrics builds social analytics tools. Located in San Francisco, CA, Union Metrics is the maker of the popular Twitter analytics service TweetReach, and Union Metrics for Tumblr, the first and only enterprise analytics tool for Tumblr. TweetReach provides a set of tools that measure the impact of tweets about any topic, hashtag, username or URL on Twitter. TweetReach reports include in-depth social analytics like reach, exposure, and tweet and contributor details. TweetReach customers use the tools to monitor tweets...

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/16/tumblr-endorsed-analytics-platform-union-metrics-now-free-for-individuals-affordable-for-pros/

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Inflation rises less than forecast in June, may have peaked

By William Schomberg and Christina Fincher

LONDON (Reuters) - Inflation hit its highest level in more than a year in June but the rise was less than expected, giving the Bank of England a touch more leeway to support the country's fragile economic recovery.

Tuesday's reading of 2.9 percent spares new Bank Governor Mark Carney from having to formally explain why inflation is above target, and potentially strengthens his hand to reassure consumers, businesses and financial markets that interest rates are unlikely to rise any time soon.

"With no letter (to the chancellor about inflation) required, it makes it marginally easier to introduce more formal forward guidance at the next policy meeting," Rob Wood, economist at Berenberg Bank, said.

The rise in consumer prices compared with inflation of 2.7 percent in May and was the highest since April 2012, the Office for National Statistics data showed.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected inflation to touch 3.0 percent in June, due in part to a big fall in petrol prices in June last year.

Economists said inflation, which has held above the central bank's target of 2 percent for most of the past five years, had probably peaked for the foreseeable future.

At its July 3-4 policy meeting, the central bank voted against reviving its bond-buying stimulus programme, with some policymakers citing persistently high inflation as a reason.

Minutes of that meeting are due to be published on Wednesday and will show how Carney cast his first vote on the issue.

"We're likely to see the Bank of England's inflation projections coming down in next month's inflation report and hence it takes away another potential barrier for more QE (quantitative easing bond-buying)," said Philip Shaw, an economist with Investec in London.

Another way Carney and the Bank could help the recovery would be to provide long-term guidance about how long interest rates are likely to remain at their record low of 0.5 percent.

Details of such 'forward guidance', which some argue would remove an uncertainty dragging on consumer spending, could be announced in August.

After the inflation numbers, the pound slipped against the dollar and the euro and government bond prices rose, suggesting markets viewed the data as supportive of continued loose monetary policy.

NO LETTER REQUIRED

Carney, who took over the Bank this month, would have been required to write a formal letter to Chancellor George Osborne if inflation had risen more than one percentage point above the Bank's target.

Persistently high inflation has eaten into the purchasing power of workers whose pay has mostly failed to keep pace and raising questions about how long recent signs of economic recovery can last.

One of the few major Western central banks facing the problem of high inflation, the Bank has previously said it expected price growth to peak at more than 3 percent due to the higher cost of imported goods and raw materials caused by sterling's fall against the dollar since the start of the year, and by higher utility bills.

"We are looking at a fairly moderate inflation profile for the second half of the year," said Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank.

The Bank has said inflation would exceed its 2 percent target until early 2016, pushed up by long-term rises in energy prices and university tuition fees.

June's increase in annual inflation was driven by clothing and footwear and fuel prices. The pace of price rises was slowed by weaker gains in air transport and food.

Separate figures published by the ONS showed pipeline inflation pressures were benign. Factory gate inflation was 2.0 percent in June compared with the same month last year, a touch stronger than analysts' forecasts.

Excluding food, fuel and other volatile prices, the producer price index rose 1.0 percent year-on-year, a touch weaker than a forecast of 1.1 percent.

(Additional reporting by Olesya Dmitracova, Max de Haldevang and Mark Anderson; Editing by John Stonestreet)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-good-news-carney-inflation-june-lower-forecast-083708990.html

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Thai university apologizes for Hitler banner

BANGKOK -- Thailand's premier university has apologized for displaying a banner that showed Adolf Hitler alongside Superman and other superheroes. School officials say it was painted by ignorant students who didn't realize Hitler's image would offend anyone.

The huge banner said "Congratulations." It was hung outside the art school of Chulalongkorn University for this year's graduating class.

Art school Dean Suppakorn Disatapundhu said Monday that freshman students had painted the banner. He called their mistake "the result of pure ignorance."

In a statement, the dean issued a "sincere apology" from the university.

The banner was up for two days and taken down Saturday in response to criticism.

Online photographs showed graduating students in their robes, mimicking the image of Hitler with one arm raised in the Nazi salute.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/15/3500657/thai-university-apologizes-for.html

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Australia shares rise in choppy trade buoyed by Wall St, China GDP

(Adds quotes, stocks on the move)

SYDNEY, July 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 0.4 percent in volatile trade on Monday, reflecting relief at Chinese GDP data coming out in line with expectations, plus a Wall Street rally on strong earnings.

China's annual economic growth slowed to 7.5 percent in the second quarter of 2013 from 7.7 percent - a second straight quarter of slower growth, official data showed on Monday.

Financials helped buoy the market with top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Other OTC: CBAUF - news) adding 0.4 percent and Westpac Banking Corp rising 0.6 percent.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 17.2 points to 4,991.1 by 0224 GMT. The benchmark gained 2.7 percent last week, its biggest gain in 11 weeks.

"It wasn't really a surprising result higher or lower," said Tim Waterer, senior trader at CMC Markets. "Tension will now shift towards the Bernanke testimony towards Congress later in the week."

The local bourse has bounced back from a trough of 4,632.3 hit on June 25, following a statement by the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that a "highly accommodative" policy is needed for a foreseeable future, triggering a rally in global equities.

Mining companies lost ground after copper fell on Friday. Rio Tinto Ltd (Xetra: 855018 - news) slipped 0.1 percent while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd tumbled 1.3 percent.

"The fact that its come in bang in line with expectations that may give some of our mining stocks support in the afternoon," Waterer said.

Defensives were firmer. Biotech company CSL Ltd (Other OTC: CMXHF - news) edged 0.1 percent higher while flagship telecommunications provider Telstra Corporation Ltd rose 0.3 percent.

Insurance companies QBE Insurance Group Ltd and Suncorp Group Ltd added 1.3 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.

U.S. stocks advanced on Friday, supported by banks' strong earnings, but Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) limited the Dow's gain after an airplane fire in London.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.4 percent or 16.3 points to 4,584.6.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* Treasury Wine Estates Ltd lost 12.9 percent to A$5.07, its lowest point since February. The Australian company said on Monday it was destroying some of its aged U.S. inventory, resulting in a A$160 million ($145 million) hit to pre-tax earnings in fiscal 2013 and lower U.S. shipments in fiscal 2014.

(0220 GMT)

* Linc Energy Ltd (Other OTC: LNCGY - news) soared 12.4 percent to a six-week high of A$1.54 after the company said it had completed one well at Cedar Point Field with an initial production rate of 1000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

(0221 GMT)

* Australian Power and Gas Company Ltd rocketed 29.5 percent to $A0.51 after receiving a takeover offer from AGL Energy Ltd.

(0222 GMT) (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Eric Meijer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australia-shares-rise-choppy-trade-023921894.html

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Video: Zimmerman verdict reaction around Southwest Florida

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Source: http://www.news-press.com/article/20130714/NEWS01/130714008/1002/RSS01

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Brandon Triche sees first NBA action in Las Vegas Summer League

Former Syracuse guard Brandon Triche played in his first NBA Summer League game on Sunday in Las Vegas.

&raquo Summer League scoreboard

Triche, playing for the Charlotte Bobcats, scored eight points on 3-for-4 shooting, including 1-for-1 on 3-pointers. Triche had one assist against four turnovers in 14 minutes, 55 seconds of playing time in an 86-80 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Also Sunday, Dion Waiters led the way for the Cleveland Cavaliers with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 69-58 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Waiters was 7-for-17 from the field and 8-for-12 from the free-throw line. Donte Greene scored five points on 1-for-8 shooting in 11:12 of action.

Demetris Nichols scored seven points with three rebounds and two assists for the Milwaukee Bucks in a 69-61 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jonny Flynn did not play for the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

The teams for Triche (Charlotte Bobcats) Waiters (Cleveland Cavaliers), Flynn (Los Angeles Clippers), Arinze Onuaku (Phoenix Suns), James Southerland (Golden State Warriors) and Andy Rautins (Chicago Bulls) are scheduled to play Monday.

Monday's schedule

4 p.m. New York vs. Charlotte (NBA TV)
6 p.m. Cleveland vs. New Orleans (NBA TV)
6:30 p.m. Minnesota vs. Phoenix
8 p.m. LA Clippers vs. LA Lakers (NBA TV)
8:30 p.m. Sacramento vs. Golden State
10 p.m. San Antonio vs. Atlanta (NBA TV)
10:30 p.m. Chicago vs. Denver

?

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index.ssf/2013/07/brandon_triche_sees_first_acti.html

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Thom Yorke pulls recent tracks from Spotify in protest against low pay for new artists

The artist famed for fronting Radiohead, and not so much for toeing the line, has withdrawn his solo tracks from Spotify and some smaller streaming services in order to highlight the low payments given to new musicians. Thom Yorke explained the decision by re-tweeting his producer, Nigel Godrich, who had complained that "new artists get paid f^@k all," and that the current streaming model only suits those with an existing back catalog. Yorke added that Spotify shareholders "will shortly be rolling in it," implying that the distribution of wealth is unfair. Some followers reacted badly to his decision, accusing him of "hurting his fans" with a "small [and] meaningless rebellion," but others spoke out in support -- including electronic artist Four Tet (aka Kieran Hebden) who said he'd pulled his music off Spotify for the same reason.

Spotify responded to the criticism this morning in a statement provided to TechCrunch, saying that it is "still in the early stages of a long-term project," and adding that "we've already paid $500 million to rightsholders so far and by the end of 2013 this number will reach $1 billion." The spokesperson further went on to say that "we're 100% committed to making Spotify the most artist-friendly music service possible, and are constantly talking to artists and managers about how Spotify can help build their careers." Yorke is hardly the first star to make a stand, but unlike Coldplay, Adele and the rest, his specific focus on industry newcomers (rather than himself) is -- we've gotta say -- quite refreshing.

Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, Internet

Comments

Source: The Guardian, TechCrunch

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/n8xk2ozyKtM/

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Denise Welch outs drug user at gaffe-filled Z-list wedding

DENISE WELCH stunned guests on her big day by outing a celebrity pal as a recovering drug addict in her wedding speech.

The room of Z-listers were left open-mouthed when Denise told them all about the star?s struggle in an emotional out-pouring.

And they were even more shocked when the celeb later told them that he had NO idea she was going to talk about his problems.

Bride and whom? ... Denise Welch and toyboy hubby Lincoln Townley

Splash news

A guest at the tacky ceremony ? which saw Denise, 55, marry Lincoln Townley, 40 ? said: ?When Denise got up to make her speech, everybody was expecting it to be your standard wedding stuff ? thanking her family, Lincoln and everyone for being there.

?But no one could believe it when she started talking about one of the guests and his battle with drugs. It was incredibly awkward.

?Most of us had no idea he had been having problems.

?Denise doesn?t drink, so she was stone-cold sober. Maybe she thinks that because she is a recovering alcoholic she is OK to talk about this sort of thing openly.?

The source added: ?Later in the evening, a few people asked the guy in question whether he knew Denise was going to talk about him. No one could believe it when he said he had absolutely no idea. It was all incredibly embarrassing.?

Yesterday we told how Lincoln and Denise invited a string of Z-list celebs, including the Krankies and Christopher Biggins, to their Portuguese wedding after landing a deal with Hello! magazine.

And TV Biz can reveal that their business-like approach to things didn?t stop there. The couple sent a string of tweets after the ceremony plugging companies who helped put on the day.

Lincoln even thanked the TAILOR who made his suit. He wrote: ?A special person to thank is my main man Stephen Williams who made my suit for the wedding, What a dude he is @Bespoke_HQ #hellomagpics.?

Earlier in the day he tweeted: ?Hey @Newellbespoke the sunglasses you designed and made for ?US? were admired by many dude, thanks again David #picinhellomag.?

And Denise thanked the wedding planners, writing: ?@EntertainToday Lincoln and I had the most magical wedding in the world. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts xxx.?

Last night a source said: ?I assume they got some freebies off the back of those tweets. Fair enough, but some might suggest that it?s not particularly romantic.?

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/5013444/Denise-Welch-outs-drug-user-at-gaffe-filled-Z-list-wedding.html

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Sharp PG-LW3500

You could reasonably describe the Sharp PG-LW3500 as a higher-resolution version of the Sharp PG-LX3500 that I recently reviewed. However, as is often the case for nearly identical models with different resolutions, they differ in some critical ways as well. In particular, the PG-LW3500 scored slightly better than the Sharp PG-LX3500 for data image quality on our tests, but was less watchable for video, despite the higher resolution. That makes it at least as good a choice for strictly data presentations, but not as good a choice if you need video too.

Like the PG-LX3500, the PG-LW3500 offers a notably utilitarian design that concentrates on basics, like brightness and image quality, instead of such extras as an unusually large zoom or lots of connectors. Aside from its WXGA (1,280 by 800) native resolution, it also shares most of the same features. Namely, it's built around a DLP chip, it weighs only 5 pounds 11 ounces, and it's rated at 3,500 lumens. As with the PG-LX3500, that makes it both bright for its weight class and appropriate for a small to mid-size conference room.

Basics and Setup
The PG-LW3500's sub-six pound weight along with its size, at 3.7 by 12.1 by 9.7 inches (HWD), makes it potentially portable. However, projectors in this weight class are more likely to wind up permanently installed or on a cart. And note that if you want to use it as a portable, you'll need to buy a carrying case separately. Sharp doesn't supply one with the projector.

One potential issue is that there are fewer connection choices than with most projectors. There's no USB B port, for example, so you can't connect by USB to control the computer mouse pointer from the projector's remote. However, all the most common image sources are covered, with connectors for HDMI, VGA with both computer and component video support, and composite video. Setup is absolutely typical. Plug the appropriate cables into the projector, adjust the 1.2x zoom, and adjust the focus.

Brightness
The PG-LW3500's brightness rating, at 3,500 lumens, is impressive, but keep in mind that brightness comparisons for projectors are complicated by several factors. First, perception of brightness is logarithmic. Even if you assume ratings are absolutely accurate and fully comparable, 3500 lumens wouldn't make the PG-3500 all that much brighter than, for example, the Editors' Choice NEC NP-M311W, with its 3,100-lumen rating.

More important is that brightness ratings aren't fully comparable. Projectors with three LCD chips, like the NP-311W, offer the same color brightness as white brightness. Projectors with a single DLP chip, like the PG-LW3500, generally don't. And since any difference between the two measurements can affect both color quality and the brightness of color images, comparing only the white brightness can be misleading. (For more on color brightness, see Color Brightness: What It Is, and Why You Should Care.)

That said, with the 92-inch diagonal image I used for most of my testing, the PG-LW3500 was easily bright enough to stand up the typical ambient light in a conference room or classroom. For smaller image sizes or lower light levels, the projector offers both an Eco mode and presets with lower brightness levels.

Image Quality and Other Issues
Data image quality is one of the PG-LW3500's best points. On our standard suite of DisplayMate tests, color balance was excellent in all preset modes, with neutral grays at all levels from black to white. In addition, colors were well-saturated and acceptably eye catching, despite being a little dark, with mustard-colored yellows in particular. Far more important for data images is that the projector handled detail well. With text, for example, both black text on white and white text on black was highly readable at sizes as small as 6.8 points.

With a 1,280-by-800 resolution, the PG-LW3500 can deliver 720p HD video, but that doesn't guarentee terrific video quality. Among other issues, I saw some mild posterization (shading changing suddenly where it should change gradually) in scenes that most data projectors have problems with. I also saw more noise than with most projectors, mostly in solid areas like the sky, but also occasionally in faces and other foreground areas. The noise was moderately obvious in most scenes, occasionally rising to the level of annoyingly obvious.

Another issue for video is rainbow artifacts. These are always a potential problem for single-chip DLP projectors, which typically show them more often in video than in data screens. With the PG-LW3500, I saw few enough with data images so it's unlikely that anyone would be bothered by them. However, they showed often enough with video that anyone who sees the rainbows easily is likely to find them annoying.

On the plus side, the PG-LW3500's sound system is much more useful than you might expect from a two-watt mono speaker. The audio quality is better than you'll get with many projectors, and the volume is high enough for a small conference room.

If you need a projector that lets you watch long video sessions comfortably, or you need any of the convenience features the Sharp PG-LW3500 lacks?like additional connection options or the ability to read files from a USB key?you'll obviously have to look elsewhere. If you're primarily interested in showing data images at WXGA resolution, however, and particularly if you need both a bright image and a projector that's light enough to be portable, the PG-LW3500 could be exactly the right fit.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/7pzvgm9sFio/0,2817,2421751,00.asp

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2010-2013 Volkswagen Golf Pre-Owned

Model: 2010 to 2013 Volkswagen Golf
Vehicle Type: Hatchback

The Verdict: Decent reliability, an upscale driving experience, and plenty of selection in the used market mean used Golf shoppers should have no problem confidently finding a model to suit their needs.

Price: Pricing on this generation Golf varies widely based on numerous trim grades and powertrain options. A newer, low-mileage unit can command in excess of $22,000, possibly more with the diesel engine. Older, higher-mileage units can be found from the low- to mid-teens.

What Owners Like: This era of Golf is rated highly in terms of comfort, utility, ride quality, and an overall upscale and sporty driving experience. Many owners say they love the Golf?s cabin, which is attractively styled, highly functional, and nicely trimmed.

What Owners Dislike: Typical complaints include high up-front pricing, wind noise at speed, and a mediocre, standard stereo system. On models with larger wheels, expect a rougher ride, too.

History/Description: The 2010 to 2013 Volkswagen Golf delivered style and comfort with an eye for versatility, flexible operation, and plenty of selection in the marketplace. Countless variants of the popular German hatchback were available, including a sporty GTI model, a high-performance R variant, and an ultra-thrifty TDI.

Our focus here will be on the mainstream models powered by the ?standard? gasoline engine or the popular TDI diesel engine. Gas models got a 2.5L 5-cylinder with 170 horsepower. The TDI engine was a 2.0L unit with 140. Look for manual, automatic or DSG gearboxes, depending on the model selected.

Golf was available in 3- or 5-door configurations, with Trendline, Comfortline, Sportline, and Highline models spanning basic to loaded, respectively.

Available feature content included Bluetooth, leather seating, a sunroof, premium audio, auto climate control, and more.

Source: http://www.auto123.com/en/car-reviews/used/2010-2013-volkswagen-golf-pre-owned?artid=157653&utm_medium=feeds&utm_source=feed-HUBR&utm_campaign=feeds

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U.S. community health centres eye Obamacare's newly insured

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Source: www.ibtimes.com --- Sunday, July 14, 2013
Community health centres expect to sign up millions of newly insured patients under President Barack Obama's health reform law, but U.S. budget cuts just as they need to beef up services may make it hard to keep the newcomers. ...

Source: http://www.ibtimes.comhttp:0//www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/490016/20130714/ucommunity-health-centres-eye-obamacares-newly-insured.htm

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Boy rescued after being trapped in Ind. sand dune

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) ? An 8-year-old boy who was playing near a large sand dune at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore along Lake Michigan partially fell into a hole and then got trapped under 11 feet of sand before rescuers managed to pull him out.

It took a crew using heavy excavating equipment more than three hours to pull the boy out of a dune known as Mount Baldy on Friday, Lakeshore Ranger Bruce Rowe said. The boy was taken to Franciscan St. Anthony Health Medical Center, but was later flown to a Chicago hospital.

Rowe said he was told the boy had vital signs, but didn't know his condition. Officials didn't immediately release the boy's name or hometown.

The boy's family called 911 at about 4:30 p.m. saying their son became covered when they tried to dig him out. Emergency responders were on scene within 15 minutes and began digging by hand, said Rowe, who called the incident "baffling."

"I have never heard of anything like this here or at other sand dune parks," said Rowe, who has worked at the lakeshore since 1991. "I've never heard of anything like this on a sand dune."

The dune will remain closed this weekend while authorities investigate.

"We won't let people on the dune again until we know what happened and whether it is safe for them," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boy-rescued-being-trapped-ind-sand-dune-135432807.html

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Two Chinese choppers violated Indian airspace on July 11

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Source: news.in.msn.com --- Sunday, July 14, 2013
The incident happened soon after defence minister AK Antony's visit to China when the two sides discussed measures to enhance peace and tranquillity along the line of actual control ...

Source: http://news.in.msn.com/national/two-chinese-choppers-violated-indian-airspace-on-july-11-1

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Summer jobs help youths make transition

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Text Size: A | A

A summer job can mean money, experience and a reason to get up in the morning...

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Source: http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2013/jul/14/0714_jobs/

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John Hood: Tax reform will allow N.C. to compete for jobs

Liberal politicians, activists and commentators have spent months prodding, baiting andcriticizing Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and the Republican-led legislature. While occasionally goading their targets into making unwise comments, the obstructionists have failed to keep North Carolina?s new conservative leaders from pursuing fundamental reforms of the state?s failed public policies.

Frustrated and desperate, liberals are resorting to increasingly silly and circular claims. A recent tactic has been to persuade left-leaning media outlets to cover their Moral Monday protests at the legislature and then cite that media coverage to prove that conservatives are hurting the state?s brand with potential corporate recruits.

Time for some realism. Investors, entrepreneurs and business executives don?t make multi-?million-dollar decisions on the basis of Huffington Post screeds and MSNBC tirades. They put their money where it is mostly likely to generate the highest, sustained after-tax return.

Liberal critics argue that if the N.C. General Assembly enacts a tax bill with dramatic reductions in marginal tax rates, a resulting lack of state spending on public schools and universities will deter rather than attract new business to the state. Their argument rests on the notion that, until now, North Carolina has bested lower-taxed states in recruiting top-flight corporations precisely because we were spending more money.

The only value to this claim is that it makes the claimants feel better about themselves. On the merits, the argument is incorrect in every way.

First of all, who says that North Carolina has been besting its competitors at attracting top-flight corporations? The residents of Virginia, Georgia, Florida and Texas ? all populous Southern states with more Fortune 500 company headquarters and lower jobless rates than North Carolina can boast ? would beg to differ with this assertion.

Obviously there is more to building strong economies and attracting companies to a state than having low tax rates. But just as obviously, states that manage to deliver necessary government services at a lower cost have a leg up in the competition for business investment and job creation. Each of these Southern competitors imposes lower marginal tax rates on investment and corporate income than North Carolina does. They all have smaller, less costly governments, too. Even if the General Assembly were immediately to enact the Senate?s ambitious tax bill, North Carolina?s overall tax burden would likely remain higher than that of Virginia, Georgia, Florida and Texas ? but at least those taxes would be raised with lower marginal rates on broader tax bases, a policy friendlier to economic growth than our current approach.

But what of North Carolina?s high business-climate rankings from Site Selection magazine and other groups? Critics of the new conservative majority in Raleigh tend to cite these ratings without studying them. The ratings are heavily influenced by economic-incentive policies, of which North Carolina has become an aggressive ? one might even say desperate ? purveyor. It is weird, to say the least, to construct an argument that state taxes aren?t important to economic growth by citing national rankings that place a high premium on tax incentives.

As it happens, there is strong evidence that targeted incentives aren?t particularly effective in promoting sustained growth, because they can?t make up for an underlying tax system with high marginal rates. The very fact that North Carolina has ranked well on such business-climate measures despite having, objectively, a poor climate for business growth (i.e., one of the weakest economies in the nation for years) leads me to believe that those business-climate measures aren?t very good. Perhaps I?m just being too literal.

Whatever else may be said about the 2013 legislative session, fiscal conservatives have no reason to fear that reforming and reducing North Carolina taxes will hurt the state?s brand with out-of-state investors, executives andentrepreneurs. When combined with additional pro-growth reforms of the state?s regulations, infrastructure andeducation system, tax reform will send a clear signal that North Carolina is finally ready to compete with Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Texas and other, healthier economies.

Source: http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/opinion/columnists/john-hood-tax-reform-will-allow-nc-compete-jobs-2111081

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Temperatures set to soar for the Mayor?s Newham Show and Newham Carnival

This year's Mayor's Newham Show promises two days of free fun for the whole family Picture:Andrew Baker

Melissa York, Reporter Saturday, July 13, 2013
10:05 AM

The Mayor?s Newham Show is set to be a hot ticket today as temperatures look set to hit 30 degrees over the weekend.

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Share your memories with us

If you?re out and about at the Mayor?s Newham Show and Newham Carnival today with family and friends, share your snaps with us by tweeting them @NewhamRecorder, posting them on our timeline at www.facebook.com/Newham.Recorder or by emailing newsdesk@newhamrecorder.co.uk with the subject heading Mayor?s Newham Show and we?ll try to feature as many of them in the newspaper on Wednesday and online at www.newhamrecorder.co.uk as we can.

Free drinking water and sun cream will handed out to residents attending the first day of the annual show which opens today at 12pm in Central Park, East Ham.

The free two-day event will entertain the crowds with live music, sports, carbaret, Jamie Oliver?s Ministry of Food competitions and the popular Newham beach is back again along with a host of seaside activities such as donkey rides, a paddling pool, and a helter skelter.

Hundreds of people are also expected to line the streets of East Ham in anticipation of the Newham Carnival which snakes its way from Rancliffe Road from 2pm to make its way into the Show itself around an hour later.

This year, the Carnival will feature props from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies while Newham?s lollipop men and women will march alongside the route to celebrate 60 years of the school crossing service in London.

Other attractions include a village fete, live music and cabaret, sports, food from around the world and a children?s area.

Children?s TV presenters Sid Sloane and Andy Day will be in action on the main stage throughout the day while the children?s stage also features performances from Mr Mojo, the Cosmic Sausages, and schoolchildren from the Every Child a Musician programme.

Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: ?Newham does more than any other borough to provide opportunities for people to get together and this year is no different.

?The Mayor?s Newham Show is one of my highlights for the year and this will be a fantastic weekend with an exciting programme of free entertainment that the whole family can enjoy.

?I encourage all residents to come along and make it an event to remember. I am really looking forward to meeting them there.?

Due to the blazing sunshine and soaring temperatures, health chiefs advise visitors to bring plenty of water, use sun scream, wear a hat, and seek shade wherever possible, avoiding the midday sun in particular.

Keep visiting www.newhamrecorder.co.uk for pictures and videos throughout the weekend, follow @NewhamRecorder on Twitter for live updates, and buy Wednesday?s newspaper to read full coverage of the Show.

The Mayor?s Newham Show opens from 12pm to 6pm at Central Park, Central Park Road, East Ham today.

Source: http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/temperatures_set_to_soar_for_the_mayor_s_newham_show_and_newham_carnival_1_2277071

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