Tuesday, 31 January 2012

New BlackBerry Campaign Is Proof RIM Has Entirely Lost It [BlackBerry]

Say hello to The Bold Team. Sadly, this animated foursome is RIM's attempt to capture the youth market. They urge the younger generation to "Be Bold". Something tells me it won't work. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6G0E0nTYU7E/the-new-blackberry-ad-campaign-is-proof-rim-has-entirely-lost-it

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John Krasinski's Movie With Matt Damon Has Coen Brothers Vibe

When word got out back in October that charming and likable actors Matt Damon and John Krasinski were writing a movie together, we were instantly intrigued. Especially since the film was supposed to be Damon's directorial debut. And while the "We Bought A Zoo" actor's too busy schedule recently changed that plan, the fact that [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/30/john-krasinskis-movie-with-matt-damon-has-coen-brothers-vibe/

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Monday, 30 January 2012

Ian Abercrombie, Mr. Pitt on "Seinfeld", dies at 77 (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES, Jan 29 (TheWrap.com) ? Ian Ambercrombie, the classically trained British stage actor best known to American TV audiences as Elaine Benes' nutty boss Mr. Pitt on "Seinfeld," died of a heart attack Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 77.

Abercrombie appeared on several other U.S. TV shows. He played the 800-year-old Professor Crumbs on "Wizards of Waverly Place and a butler on "Desperate Housewives," and made guest appearances on "Twin Peaks," "Dynasty" and "Days of Our Lives."

He appeared in a number of movies, including "Stalag 17," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "The Prisoner of Zenda," with Peter Sellers.

He did voiceover work in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," "Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties" and "Rango," and had completed "Green Lantern" for the Cartoon Network just before he died.

As Mr. Pitt in Seinfeld, he was known for his obsession with socks and quirky habits like eating candy bars with a knife and fork.

He is survived by his wife, Gladys.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tv/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/tv_nm/us_ianambercrombie

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Quotes from Ron Paul???s Newsletters (ContributorNetwork)

The Florida primary is Tuesday, yet Rep. Ron Paul is campaigning in states like Maine and Nevada, both of which have caucuses. The Washington Post reported Paul's racially charged newsletters published in the 1990s might make it hard for him to win the overall GOP nomination. The New Republic released many of the newsletters for readers to view on their own.

Here are quotes from some issues of the "Ron Paul Survival Report" over the years when he was away from his time in Congress.

* "The rioting was led by red-flag carrying members of the Revolutionary Communist Party and the Workers World Party, both Trotskyite-Maoist. The police were allowed to intervene only when the rioters assaulted the famous Fairmont and Mark Hopkins hotels atop Nob Hill." -- A newsletter surrounding the race riots in California in June 1992. Paul asserted a friend of his, a business owner in San Francisco, claimed the riots were stoked by Communists as opposed to anger at the verdicts of the case.

* "AIDS was 'originally known as GRIDS -- gay related immune deficiency syndrome.' For political reasons it was changed to AIDS. ... The average homosexual has 1,000 or more partners in a lifetime, and the average homosexual has only one sexual encounter per partner and never sees the person again after that encounter." -- Paul's newsletter dated December 1989. The newsletter was defending Rep. Bill Dannemeyer, R-Calif., for speaking out against gays. The quotes in this particular newsletter came from Dannemeyer.

* "(Martin Luther) King, the FBI files show, was not only a world-class adulterer, he also seduced underage girls and boys. The Rev. Ralph David Abernathy revealed before his death that King had made a pass at him many years before. And we are supposed to honor this 'Christian minister' and lying socialist satyr with a holiday that puts him on par with George Washington?" -- Paul's newsletter dated December 1990. The publication railed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then praised the state of Arizona for not observing the holiday at the time.

* "Am I glad I voted in Congress against an expensive federal holiday for this man." -- Another newsletter dated February 1991 denouncing on the King holiday. There are dozens of newsletters quoted by The New Republic. The newsletters went under various names such as "Political Report" or "Freedom Report." One even went by the moniker "The Ron Paul Investment Letter."

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics. Born in St. Louis, Browning is active in local politics and served as a campaign volunteer for President Barack Obama and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120128/pl_ac/10896159_quotes_from_ron_pauls_newsletters

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Saturday, 28 January 2012

Britain says Afghan withdrawal must be carefully phased (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Foreign troops must carefully phase their withdrawal from Afghanistan ahead of an end-2014 deadline, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday, after France suggested giving Afghan forces full responsibility for security in 2013.

"I don't want to see some sort of cliff edge in 2014 when all of the remaining troops come out at once," Cameron said during talks in London with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"But clearly, between now and 2014, the rate at which we can reduce our troops will depend on the transition to Afghan control in the different parts of Afghanistan..."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday France would pull its combat troops out at the end of 2013, a year before an end-2014 deadline fixed by the United States and its NATO allies for handing over responsibility for security to Afghan forces.

"We have decided, in agreement with President Karzai, to call on NATO to give some serious consideration to the Afghan army taking full charge of NATO combat missions in the course of 2013," Sarkozy said at a news conference with Karzai in Paris.

He said he would raise this at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels on Feb 2 and 3.

However, some foreign troops, Sarkozy said, would stay on after 2013 to train the Afghan army - which western countries are building up with the aim of making it strong enough to maintain security without outside help after the end of 2014.

Foreign countries are already handing over responsibility for security in parts of Afghanistan to Afghan forces.

The idea of speeding up that transfer has been floated in the past, in part to provide a cushion to Afghan forces to take charge of security at a time when foreign troops would still be available to help in an emergency.

It was unclear whether Sarkozy's suggestion was meant merely to feed into this debate, or whether he was expecting the United States and its allies to agree to a serious acceleration in handing over to Afghan forces.

In Washington, U.S. defence officials said the United States, which has the lion's share of foreign troops in Afghanistan, was standing by NATO's goal of gradually handing over security responsibilities to Afghan forces by 2014.

"That transition has begun, and we have made considerable progress toward this goal over the past year, thanks to the gains of the military surge and the development of Afghan security forces," Pentagon press secretary George Little said.

Consultations on transition would continue at the meeting in

Brussels next week, he said, ahead of a NATO summit due in Chicago in May.

A U.S. defence official said that, "U.S. forces continue to plan to transition through to the end of 2014. Our policy has not changed."

In Brussels, a NATO spokeswoman echoed the Pentagon's comments, saying "transition is well on track to be completed by the end of 2014, as we all agreed."

SUPPORT AFTER 2014

Foreign countries have promised to support Afghanistan with aid and advice for years after combat troops leave.

But they have scaled back their ambitions for Afghanistan to seek a minimum level of stability that would prevent the country from again becoming a haven for al Qaeda.

The United States also began talks with Taliban insurgents in late 2010 in a slow-moving process to try to reach, or at least begin to shape, a political settlement by the end of 2014.

With the western troop presence becoming increasingly unpopular inside Afghanistan, some officials have said the withdrawal of troops might make it easier to reach a settlement with insurgents - who use their opposition to foreign forces to rally support.

Cameron plans to pull out 500 British soldiers this year but has not yet set out a timetable for further withdrawals.

He made clear, however, that British combat troops would stay to the end of 2014 - though Britain has said it will not expand its area of operations in southern Afghanistan to fill in for departing troops from other countries.

"We ... want to have a long-term relationship with Afghanistan, long after our combat troops come home, and that will happen at the end of 2014," he said.

Britain has some 9,500 troops in Afghanistan as part of the 130,000-strong NATO-led force. U.S. forces number some 90,000. France has 3,600 troops in Afghanistan.

Karzai and Cameron signed a partnership agreement setting out how their countries would work together after 2014.

Karzai said the agreement "will take us into a future where Afghanistan will benefit from the assistance and cooperation and help of Britain towards becoming a fundamentally strong democratic state." The Afghan president was asked no questions at a tightly controlled media event.

(Additional reporting by Tim Castle in London, David Alexander in Washington, John O'Donnell in Brussels; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_britain

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Brain bank examines hard hits

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Brain bank examines hard hits
The world's largest collection of athletes' brains is being used to understand exactly what hits on the field are doing to the brain.

Source: CNN
Posted on: Friday, Jan 27, 2012, 8:55am
Views: 8

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117144/Brain_bank_examines_hard_hits

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Friday, 27 January 2012

Starbucks profit beats, Europe weakness hurts (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Starbucks Corp reported a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street's view, but its shares fell as investors in the world's biggest coffee chain focused on softness in Europe rather than strength in the United States.

The company's shares, up roughly 45 percent from a year ago and hovering near all-time highs, were off 2.2 percent at $47.26 in extended trading after closing at $48.34.

Starbucks and other top-performing restaurant chains like McDonald's Corp have been on a tear and their stocks often sell off on anything but absolutely pristine results.

Sales from cafes open at least 13 months were up just 2 percent for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, versus the 9 percent gain for the much larger America unit, chiefly from the United States.

Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead said on a webcast that Starbucks has been underperforming internal targets in Europe -- where debt worries and high unemployment weigh heavily on consumers -- and that the company has taken steps to improve results there.

Operating margin for the EMEA unit was 6.5 percent in the first quarter, down from 9.7 percent a year earlier.

Starbucks said the margin contraction was primarily due to higher distribution costs related to moving to a consolidated distribution center in its UK market.

Britain's recovery from the 2008/2009 recession - the deepest since the depression-hit 1930s - has been sluggish.

Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo said results from Europe were weaker than expected, but that they needed to be seen in context.

"A 2 percent comp is still pretty good considering what's going on over there," Russo said, referring to Europe's sales at established restaurants.

Based on its better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results, the company raised the low end of its full-year profit forecast to a range of $1.78 to $1.82 per share from $1.75 to$1.82.

"They're being conservative. It's so early in the year," Lazard Capital Markets analyst Matthew DiFrisco said when asked about the company's revised fiscal 2012 forecast.

When asked if the company has noticed any evidence of softening consumer demand due to the still volatile economic conditions around the world, CFO Alstead said: "We haven't seen it."

Global sales at established Starbucks cafes jumped 9 percent, helped by an increase in customer visits and spending per transaction. That beat the 7.7 percent gain analysts, on average, expected, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Net income was $382.1 million, or 50 cents per share, for the quarter ended January 1. That was up from $346.6 million, or 45 cents, in the year earlier period.

Analysts, on average, were looking for a profit of 49 cents per share in the latest quarter, according to Thomson Reuters

I/B/E/S.

Total revenue rose 16 percent to $3.4 billion.

The Seattle-based company has been raising prices on some drinks to help offset higher costs for commodities like coffee and milk.

Starbucks expects new products to build sales as the year progresses.

In November it started selling its coffee and Tazo tea for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc's popular Keurig machines, which control about 80 percent of the fast-growing North American single-serve brewing segment.

It then expanded its coffee lineup in January with "Blonde," the company's lightest roast to date. That new coffee is widely seen as an answer to McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, which each brew lighter roasts than Starbucks. Those chains also have gone after Starbucks' core business by introducing drinks such as lattes and frappes.

Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread Co cater to relatively upscale consumers and have been outperforming the broader restaurant industry, whose overall sales are expected to lag population growth this decade.

(Reporting By Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; editing by Andre Grenon, Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/bs_nm/us_starbucks

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Edward Goldberg: Newt and the Refugees of Globalization

What is most surprising about Newt Gingrich's continuing success in the Republican primaries is that it is a surprise. No matter how hard Mitt Romney tries to fit a square peg into a round hole, his version of Republicanism no longer appears to represent the majority of the party. Globalization and its takeover of the American continental market has forced the traditional Republican Party, the guardians of the American marketplace, into a forced retreat. While the refugees from globalization, the people who have been frightened or hurt by the changes brought on by the internationalization of the American marketplace, swell the Republican ranks.

The party that was founded by uniting Lincoln's railroad clients and Whig business-friendly philosophy with northern abolitionist has now more in common with William Jennings Bryan's populist Cross of Gold Speech than with Eisenhower, Nixon or Rockefeller.

The modern day version of the Lincoln coalition, the alliance conceived by Lee Atwater and nurtured by Karl Rove, made up of business interests, the religious right and traditional conservatives has now fragmented.

The Atwater/ Rove coalition worked wonderfully, as long as there was an economic status quo. All its members could rally around the mantra of free enterprise. It was, however, truly a coalition of the convenient. The issues of big business were basically not relevant to the rest of the coalition, and big business in general ignored the issues that were important to the other members of the coalition. There was an unspoken agreement that said we would use our money and votes for your issues and you will use your votes for our issues but, basically, we do not need to interact. And since neither group of issues affected the other in the most pragmatic sense, the alliance within the party worked perfectly.

The traditional Republican brand that Mitt Romney represents came into ideological maturity during America's post Civil War Industrial revolution. In the 40 years from 1860 to 1900, America went from hovering around the 8th or 9th largest economy in the world to being by far the largest. And in the process created the first modern continental marketplace.

The Republican Party was the first of the parties to recognize industrial interests and to have a sense that something economically wonderful and new was happening in post civil war America. They were the political handmaidens of the American industrial revolution.

But this 140-year-old fusion of the dominant and massive home market with the myth of American exceptionalism appears to have created a belief system that made it almost impossible for the traditional Republican Party to see that globalization was turning its brand, and the American economy, inside out.

What is apparent in retrospect, but was difficult to see in the early days of globalization, is how rapidly the American economy changed and how relatively quickly the Americas' continental marketplace was taken over by globalization. In 1982, industrials made up 67 percent of the companies included in the Dow. Today, they represent only 30 percent. Meanwhile, technology went from 3 percent to 17 percent in the index and financials went from 3 percent to 13 percent.

As shocking as the Dow numbers are, however, they truly do not tell the whole story. For even though industrials still make up 30 percent of the index today, they don't show that in the new globalized economy much of American manufacturing is not manufacturing at all. What we used to call manufacturing is now actually sourcing, assembling, designing, marketing and financing; essentially international trading. In the technology sector, America's so-called growth business, cell phones, laptops and various other products do not even go through the assembly stage in the United States.

Pat Buchanan in the 1990s was the first Republican to realize that the de-industrialization of America created an opening to expand the Republican base with a new constituency made up of the refugees from globalization. These were the people who were being devastated or were frightened by globalization but, because of cultural and racial reasons, could not easily find a home in the Democratic Party. And to the ire of the Republican Party establishment, Buchanan focused his 1996 presidential campaign on these voters.

These new populist Republicans have now become the tail wagging the Republican Dog. In many ways, they are the children of the in roads that Nixon first made into a socially unhappy middle class. People whom the Democratic party failed to listen to and protect from globalization, who found a voice in the Republican Party's attack on big government in its traditional isolationist/American first wing, and its acceptance of value voters.

This is not to say that Big Business and the Republican Party do not still have some shared interest, primarily among them lowering taxes. However, the need to compete in a globalized not-continental marketplace has caused a defining cultural divide between big business and these new Republicans.

As the descendants of Pat Buchanan's rank and file continued to increase their numbers within the Republican coalitions, nominal political tag words have diverged in their meaning between the Republican coalition members. For the new Republicans, championing free enterprise and individual rights means a very different thing than the traditional Republican approach of big business being championed by the government, a tradition that had gone back to Lincoln's Whig roots with government support of canals and railroad right of ways. For the new members of the Republican Party, government support of big business, whether through regulations, TARP, bailouts or investments in solar energy, is not correct.

Government not only failed these new Republicans in protecting them from globalization, but they see as the root of this failure an unholy alliance between the government, big business and the internationalization of the American marketplace. To these people, Mitt Romney, with his background as a financier and corporate buyouts specialist, represents much that is wrong with America.

?

Follow Edward Goldberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/EdwardGoldberg

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-goldberg/newt-and-the-refugees-of-globalization_b_1232453.html

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Thursday, 26 January 2012

Pro Bowlers want game to stay in Hawaii

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) looks for an open receiver during NFC football practice at Kapolei High School, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Kapolei, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) looks for an open receiver during NFC football practice at Kapolei High School, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Kapolei, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald takes part in NFC practice for NFL football's Pro Bowl, at Kapolei High School on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Kapolei, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson smiles during the AFC practice at Kapolei High School, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Kapolei, Hawaii, for the NFL football Pro Bowl. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) throws in a drill during AFC Pro Bowl NFL football practice at Kapolei High School, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Kapolei, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) runs a drill during NFC Pro Bowl NFL football practice at Kapolei High School, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Kapolei, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

HONOLULU (AP) ? Many NFL stars are hoping that when it comes to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, aloha doesn't mean goodbye.

The NFL all-star game doesn't have a home beyond Sunday's game. League and Hawaii officials are negotiating a deal to keep the game in the islands, which is hosting it for the second straight year after it was played in Miami in 2010, breaking a 30-year run in Hawaii.

"It takes away from the game when it's somewhere else," said Miami Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall, who also selected to the Miami game two years ago. "It's always a privilege. It's always an honor to be selected to a Pro Bowl. But this is what the Pro Bowl is about ? paradise. So it would (stink) definitely if we no longer come out here."

Some players went as far as saying they wouldn't participate if the Pro Bowl was moved.

"That's a lot of the players' attitude, I think. If it's in an NFL city, you're in those cities quite often," Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen said.

Allen and other players said the game belongs in Hawaii, where it's more family oriented, relaxed and considered a reward for the hard work they put it during the season.

Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew's first Pro Bowl was in Miami, which he said was a great experience.

"But it's nothing like coming over to Hawaii. This is my first time here for the Pro Bowl, and it's great," he said.

In Hawaii, the players are treated to a beachside hotel to themselves. They sip on colorful, tropical drinks and lounge around the pool, golf or wade in one of the white-sand lagoons at Ko Olina Resort.

"In Miami, we didn't have the whole hotel. You're signing autographs 99 percent of the time at the hotel. It was just chaotic," Allen said. "Guys weren't showing up. You had a lot of alternates in and out. Over here, it's kind of what everybody looks forward to. ... I like it here. I'm a big fan of tradition. It started here. We should keep it here."

But the Pro Bowl wasn't born here. It was hosted for years in Los Angeles before jumping around the country in the 1970s, going everywhere from the Kingdome in Seattle to the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The game was first played at Aloha Stadium in 1980 with New Orleans Saints running back Chuck Muncie leading the NFC to a 37-27 victory. The winners earned $5,000. On Sunday, the winners earn nearly 10 times that amount.

The state is paying the NFL $4 million per game for the rights to hold this year's game. About seven months ago, Gov. Neil Abercrombie opposed the cash-strapped state paying millions to host the Pro Bowl when the money could be used for education.

"You can't do things like give 4 million bucks to a $9 billion football industry and not give any money to children," Abercrombie said then. "You've got this spectacle of these multimillionaires and billionaires out there arguing about how they're going to divide it up, and then they come and ask us to bribe them with $4 million to have a scrimmage out here in paradise.

"We've got to get our values straight and our priorities straight."

On Tuesday, however, Abercrombie changed his tune when he crashed the NFL's press conference and spoke in favor of keeping the game here. The governor said the state would like to continue hosting the game, "and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that comes about in a fashion that will make everybody very, very happy."

A House economic development committee on Thursday will discuss establishing a Hawaii Sports Task Force to coordinate efforts to keep the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, as well attract other pro sporting events.

Last year's Pro Bowl attracted 17,000 visitors to the state, generated $28.2 million in visitor spending and created $3.1 million in state taxes from people who traveled to attend the game.

Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO Mike McCartney said the agency is still in discussion with the NFL for the future of the Pro Bowl beyond 2012.

"We have enjoyed a wonderful partnership with the NFL and we look forward to continuing this relationship as well welcoming the NFL players, their families and all the fans for an exciting game on Sunday," he said in a statement.

Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey is no stranger to the islands. Bailey is making his 11th trip to the Pro Bowl.

"A lot of people wouldn't come to Hawaii if not for the Pro Bowl," Bailey said. "It would be disappointing if they moved it, but I have no say in it. If I did, I would say keep it here because I love it here."

Perhaps no one is enjoying it more this week than Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who is making his first trip to the Pro Bowl in a dozen seasons in the league.

"Twelve years," he said. "I've been waiting a long time for this. Hopefully many more to come. Every time somebody asks me how many times I've been here and I say it's my first, they seem to be surprised and shocked. I'm just happy I got here, finally."

___

Follow Jaymes Song at http://twitter.com/JaymesSong

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-26-FBN-Pro-Bowl/id-b7a4b4f64caa41ea9252725473ab889b

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Pelosi hints, then denies she has Gingrich secrets (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Does House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi know some dark secrets about GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich? Twice, she offered tantalizing hints that she does. And then said she doesn't. Gingrich said Wednesday that the House Democratic leader should come out with it or shut up.

The latest back-and-forth in the contest of two former House speakers came in a CNN interview Tuesday night, when host John King suggested to Pelosi that she "could come back here next January or next February with a President Gingrich?"

"Let me just say this. That will never happen," Pelosi said.

When King asked, "Why are you so sure?" Pelosi responded: "There's something I know. The Republicans, if they choose to nominate him, that's the prerogative. I don't even think that's going to happen."

On Wednesday, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said, "The `something' leader Pelosi knows is that Newt Gingrich will not be president of the United States. She made that clear last night."

Hammill's statement, however, acknowledged that this wasn't the first time that Pelosi hinted that she knows something about Gingrich that she hasn't revealed.

In December, Pelosi reminded an interviewer that she served on the ethics panel that investigated Gingrich's use of tax-exempt organizations. That case ended with a reprimand by the House and a $300,000 penalty against the then-speaker for misleading the committee and prolonging its investigation.

Pelosi said at the time, "One of these days we'll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich. I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff."

Hammill repeated the explanation provided after those comments.

"Leader Pelosi previously made a reference to the extensive amount of information that is in the public record, including the comprehensive committee report with which the public may not be fully aware," the spokesman said.

Gingrich said Wednesday that Pelosi should come out with her information or stop talking.

"Look, I think if she knows something she ought to say it. If she doesn't know something she ought to quit saying it. But this is baloney. I don't think any Republican is going to be threatened by Nancy Pelosi. Frankly, I'd rather have her threaten me than endorse me. So I feel pretty good about it. If she has something, bring it out," he said.

Mitt Romney, Gingrich's chief rival for the GOP presidential nomination, has asked that all records from Gingrich's ethics investigation be released. In January 1997, when the case ended, the committee did make public its final report as well as exhibits ? which amounted to a comprehensive account of the committee's findings.

The chairman of the ethics committee during the Gingrich investigation, former Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson, said the committee traditionally does not publicly release investigative documents.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_el_pr/us_pelosi_gingrich

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Wednesday, 25 January 2012

'The Bachelor' Recap: Season 20, Episode 4

So the first few few minutes of The Bachelor tonight were cut off because of a governor's speech, and when we join the women, they've already arrived in Park City, Utah, so I'm going to assume that the first minutes consisted solely of people being ridiculously excited about getting to go to Utah. What's next: Des Moines, Iowa! Lovely Newark! Anyway, all the women get a lecture from Chris Harrison on not being boring people when they have time to talk to Ben, and then he's all, "Later!" and he drops the microphone and stomps out of the condo or chalet or whatever this place is.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/bachelor-recap-season-20-episode-4/1-a-421556?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Abachelor-recap-season-20-episode-4-421556

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How to Get Business from LinkedIn -- and Spend Less Time on ...

?

I run a group that trains business owners about how to get invoiceable business from LinkedIn, and I often hear:

??I spend lots of time on LinkedIn, but don?t seem to get much back for it.?

My response is:

  1. Know what you?re there for
  2. Have a plan to do that, and no more
  3. Set a timer when you go onto the site
  4. Have a set amount of time on the site each day/ week and do it!

What do I want to do with LinkedIn?

Until you can answer this one, don?t go onto LinkedIn! Think about your business, what its marketing strategies are, and how you get your leads. You might choose to use LinkedIn to:

  • Get more leads
  • Warm up prospects
  • Develop relationships with people you meet networking
  • Keep in touch with old contacts
  • Demonstrate your expertise in a subject area

Have a LinkedIn strategy

Now that you know why you?re going there, you can create a plan. In your plan consider:

  • The profile of people you want to attract
  • What you/ your business is expert in
  • The type of material you?re prepared to share in order to demonstrate your knowledge
  • How important this tool is in relation to your overall marketing

How much time should I spend on LinkedIn?

With a specific target that you are looking for and a plan of how you?ll achieve this you should decide on a time that you will use regularly.

  • 25 minutes a day may sound like a lot of time? Now consider that many business owners will go to one or two business networking meetings a week (3-4 hours each, with travelling time). The ability to be very targeted with who you get in touch with?doesn?t?sound so much now. You choose an amount of time, based on how important LinkedIn is to you, but 25 minutes a day can get great results.
  • Use this time, no more and no less. Schedule when you will do it (e.g. I have a social media 15 minutes first thing each morning, then a LinkedIn targeted session at the end of the day)
  • Set a timer and remain?focused.?It is very easy to look at another profile and then click on something else??. Suddenly you?ve been doing it for 4 hours and got no work done. When the timer goes off, get off the site.

If you have the right plan and execute it for the right amount of time, you will get business from LinkedIn (if that is what you were trying to do). Don?t start until you know what your goal is!

What do you do with LinkedIn and how long does it take you?

Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/jon-baker/432301/how-get-business-linkedin-and-spend-less-time-it

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Tuesday, 24 January 2012

US stocks mixed as Greece negotiates to cut debt

In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, trader Gregory Rowe, left, and specialist Glenn Carell work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Hopes that Greece will eventually reach a deal with private creditors on lowering its debt supported markets on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, as investors looked past delays in reaching an agreement that would further ease Europe's debt crisis. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, trader Gregory Rowe, left, and specialist Glenn Carell work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Hopes that Greece will eventually reach a deal with private creditors on lowering its debt supported markets on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, as investors looked past delays in reaching an agreement that would further ease Europe's debt crisis. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

(AP) ? Stocks are swinging between small gains and losses in midday trading Monday. European stock indexes and the euro rose on hopes that Greece will reach a deal with private creditors on lowering its debt. The euro neared its highest level against the dollar this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 49 points to 12,670 as of 12:15 p.m. Eastern time. Procter & Gamble fell 1.7 percent, the biggest drop in the Dow.

Creditors are in negotiations with the Greek government to reduce that country's debt burden to help it avoid default. European finance ministers are expected to give new momentum to a debt-relief deal. One proposal would have Greece's private creditors, mostly banks and big investors, swap their bonds for new ones that are worth 50 percent less.

The euro rose 1.2 percent to $1.302, its highest point since Jan. 3.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 5 points to 1,310, a fall of 0.4 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 15 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,771.

Stocks are still off to a strong start in 2012, as investors' biggest fears have slowly faded. Stronger than expected job growth in the U.S. and falling borrowing costs for European governments have helped the S&P 500 index post gains for three weeks in a row. The index is now up 4.2 percent for the year.

Maybe the biggest boon to markets this year is the lack of scary headlines, said Jeff Lancaster, a principal at the investment firm Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough. "When everybody is feeling distressed, anxious and worried as they were at the end of last year, it doesn't take a lot of good news for the mood to change," he said. "It just takes a diminishing quantity of bad news."

Energy companies were making large moves in early trading. Chesapeake Energy Corp. jumped 4 percent after the country's second-largest natural gas producer said it plans to cut production, a response to plunging prices. Natural gas futures rose 4.8 percent to $2.50 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gas futures were trading above $4 just six months ago.

Stocks of other gas producers shot higher. Southwestern Energy Co. rose 7.4 percent and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. 6.8 percent.

Apache Corp. inched up less than 1 percent after the oil and gas producer said it plans on buying Cordillera Energy Partners in a $2.85 billion deal. It's the largest merger announced in the U.S. this year.

Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerry mobile devices, sank 6.8 percent after its new chief executive said no drastic changes are needed. The company's founders announced they were stepping down as co-CEOs late Sunday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-23-Wall%20Street/id-5cf5e9476d33450cbcf8df90730f7bd3

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3 killed in Arkansas, including Huckabee relative (AP)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? Three people, including a distant cousin of former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, have died in a homicide and kidnapping case in Arkansas, police said Monday.

Arkadelphia Police dispatcher Dusty Welch told The Associated Press that Donald Hux killed his ex-wife, Amy Huckabee, before he was fatally shot by law enforcement officers in the southern part of the state. Amy Huckabee's current husband, Sandy Huckabee, was found dead Sunday at the couple's home in Arkadelphia, which is about 70 miles southwest of Little Rock.

Sandy Huckabee's father was the first cousin of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's father.

Authorities said Hux, 36, abducted Amy Huckabee and their three children in Arkadelphia and then drove about 80 miles to El Dorado in Union County. He dropped the children off somewhere there, and they weren't hurt, according to the local sheriff's office.

Meanwhile, police in Arkadelphia learned about the situation and went to the Huckabee home to do a welfare check. They found Sandy Huckabee's body inside and issued a warrant for Hux's arrest on capital murder, kidnapping and other charges.

About 9 p.m. on Sunday, Hux's father, Marvin Hux, called authorities and said his Buick Rendezvous had been stolen, Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said. Shortly after that call, the missing SUV turned up on a rural road outside El Dorado.

"There was an exchange of gunfire between local law enforcement with Donald Hux," Sadler said.

He said Amy Huckabee was there, but he wouldn't say how she or Hux died. He specifically would not confirm Arkadelphia police's statement that Hux killed his ex-wife, saying that investigators were working to figure out who died first.

Hux was released Thursday from a jail in Louisiana, where he had been serving time for a solicitation of prostitution charge in Caddo Parish.

A man who answered a phone number listed for Hux said, "There's no comment to be made right now."

___

Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_re_us/us_huckabee_relative_killed

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Monday, 23 January 2012

Magnus iPad 2 Stand ? Most Elegant iPad Stand Yet?

If you’ve been trying to find an elegant and minimal stand for your iPad 2, the Magnus stand from Ten One Design looks like it might be it. Designed specifically for the iPad 2, this hand-finished aluminum stand takes advantage of the magnets that are built in to the Left side of the tablet to [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/22/magnus-ipad-2-stand-most-elegant-ipad-stand-yet/

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Sunday, 22 January 2012

Microsoft and IBM push Dow up, Google falls

In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Financial markets were cautious Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, ahead of another round of debt-reduction talks between Greece and its private creditors that could determine whether Europe's debt crisis flares up again. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Financial markets were cautious Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, ahead of another round of debt-reduction talks between Greece and its private creditors that could determine whether Europe's debt crisis flares up again. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? IBM and Microsoft drove the Dow Jones industrial average higher Friday after the tech giants reported stronger earnings than analysts expected.

Microsoft said sales of Xbox games and Office software helped push revenue up in the last quarter of 2011. IBM credited better sales of software and services and raised its earnings outlook for the year. Microsoft rose 6 percent and IBM rose 4 percent.

The Dow rose 96.50 points to close at 12,720.48. That's a gain of 0.8 percent. Without the huge gains in IBM and Microsoft, the Dow would have risen just 24 points.

The S&P 500 index inched up 0.88 to 1,315.38. Both the Dow and S&P ended the week with gains of more than 2 percent.

Plenty of things are going right, said Frank Fantozzi, CEO of Planned Financial Services, an independent wealth manager in Cleveland. Applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in nearly four years. Housing sales are steadily rising. And most companies are reporting better profits.

"Overall, we're moving in the right direction and it's bolstered the market," Fantozzi said. "The S&P getting over 1,300 this week is a nice sign."

Google lost 8.4 percent after its earnings per share fell a dollar short of analysts' estimates. The misfire stemmed from an 8 percent drop in prices that the Internet search giant charges advertisers for each click.

Google's drop tugged the Nasdaq composite index lower. It fell 1.63 points to 2,786.70.

Even though high-profile companies such as Google and JPMorgan Chase have posted disappointing earnings results in the past week, the trend is moving in the opposite direction. Of the 60 companies in the S&P index that have reported earnings so far, 62 percent have beaten estimates, according to John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet Research.

In another sign that traders were becoming more willing to take on risk, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note crossed above 2 percent for the first time in two weeks. The yield, a widely used benchmark for corporate and consumer borrowing, had inched lower since early December as traders parked money in the safest of assets.

The National Association of Realtors said that home sales rose 5 percent in December, the third straight monthly increase.

Among other companies in the news:

? Capital One Financial lost 5.6 percent. The bank and credit-card company's earnings sank 41 percent as expenses for marketing, salaries and legal fees jumped compared with the year before.

? Schlumberger rose 1.3 percent. The oil-field services company's quarterly profit surged 36 percent, helped by exploration work in the Middle East and Africa. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to 27.5 cents.

- Intel rose 2.9 percent. The world's largest chip maker reported stronger profits after the market closed Thursday. Intel's results got a boost from sales to China and other developing countries, where many people are buying PCs for the first time.

Stocks have been on a slow and steady climb to start 2012. The S&P 500 has closed higher on 11 of 13 days and is now up 4.6 percent for the year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-20-Wall%20Street/id-83e32dff2f2b40f29ec31b3e5d91a6fd

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Dow and S&P 500 post best week since Christmas (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks posted their best week since Christmas, even with a mixed finish on Friday after strong earnings from tech bellwethers IBM (IBM.N) and Intel (INTC.O) contrasted with Google's (GOOG.O) disappointing report.

The market heads into the most hectic week so far in this earnings season after a mixed start, with some worries over revenue and growth offset by sharp cost-cutting to protect the bottom line.

For the week, the Dow rose 2.4 percent and the S&P 500 gained 2 percent as investors showed some relief that earnings didn't reflect the worst elements that battered the market in the last year, especially given the problems in the euro zone that have been weighing on investor sentiment.

"For the time being, investors are pretty much taking earnings in stride. They knocked Google down this morning, but the general feeling in the marketplace is (stocks) are very undervalued at these levels, even given the marginal misses they're making in earnings," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

Indeed, investors in recent weeks have been heartened by improving economic data, even though progress has been uneven. Reflecting improved economic sentiment, the Dow Jones Transportation Average, an indicator of the economy's strength (.DJT) has gained about 2 percent in each of the last two weeks.

IBM (IBM.N) lifted the Dow a day after it offered a strong outlook and results from several big-tech names signaled they were shaking off nervousness about economic growth and boosting technology spending. IBM's stock rose 4.4 percent to $188.52.

On the flip side, Google Inc (GOOG.O) slid 8.4 percent to $585.99. The Internet search giant's quarterly profit and revenue missed expectations on declining search advertising rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 96.50 points, or 0.76 percent, to 12,720.48 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) inched up just 0.88 of a point, or 0.07 percent, to 1,315.38. But the Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) dipped 1.63 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,786.70.

For the week, the Nasdaq climbed 2.8 percent, making this its best week in seven.

General Electric Co (GE.N) was unchanged at $19.15 after the conglomerate's revenues missed consensus forecasts. Fellow Dow component American Express Co (AXP.N) fell 1.8 percent to $50.04 as it set aside more money to cover bad loans.

Intel Corp (INTC.O) rose 2.9 percent to $26.38, while Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) advanced 5.7 percent to $29.71. Both reported results late Thursday.

Investors also kept an eye on Greece, where a bond-swap deal between the cash-strapped country and its private bondholders appeared to be close, according to sources. An agreement was deemed possible by late Friday. Creditors could lose up to 70 percent of the loans given to the fiscally troubled nation.

Hopes are an agreement would prevent the nation from spiraling into bankruptcy and bring some stability to the debt-strained euro zone.

(Reporting By Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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Saturday, 21 January 2012

Bonus season not as festive for bank CEOs (AP)

NEW YORK ? JPMorgan Chase, the nation's largest bank, posted record profit for 2011. Morgan Stanley's latest quarter topped expectations as the bank trimmed costs and cleaned up mortgage-related problems. But CEOs Jamie Dimon and James Gorman aren't taking home bigger bonuses.

Banks are curbing bonus pay for last year, as stock prices slumped, mortgage-related costs still mounted and the Occupy Wall Street movement went national.

On Friday, regulatory filings showed Gorman received 2011 stock awards valued at $5.1 million ? half of what he got in 2010. JPMorgan's Dimon received restricted stock worth $12.6 million and stock appreciation rights reportedly valued at about $5 million. That's about even with the year before.

None of the banks have yet filed annual proxy statements, which include complete details on CEOs' pay.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_bi_ge/bank_bonuses

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Apple textbook project rumored to be called Bliss, inspired by Al Gore?s Our Choice

AppleInsider is rumoring that Apple's education event will include a textbook initiative codenamed "Bliss", inspired in part by current Apple board member and past Vice President of United States, Al Gore's Our Choice ebook app.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/eVZ4ar8yF6k/story01.htm

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Friday, 20 January 2012

Director of Communications- Manchester UMC ? AdSaint

?

Manchester United Methodist Church, a large progressive congregation in suburban St. Louis, MO, is seeking a dynamic, professional individual to serve as its Director of Communications.? The Director of Communications is responsible for all aspects of internal and external communications, including the development and execution of a comprehensive communications plan, composing and submitting all press releases, and coordinating and insuring quality and timely execution of all digital communications.

General Function:
Responsible for the coordination of all digital and print media; including the Friday E-
News and website publicity updates, as well as all other communications strategies and
media for Manchester UMC.

Entry Requirements/Qualifications:

  • Minimum educational requirements of a Bachelors degree in Communications or Journalism, and two years of related experience.
  • Effective written and oral communications skills
  • Experience with project management; including scheduling, planning, prioritizing,and executing projects with firm deadlines.
  • Must demonstrate expertise with computer applications such as MS Publisher, Adobe Photo Shop, Microsoft Word, and other applications as appropriate.

?

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

  • ?All aspects of internal and external communications, including:
  • Create and execute a comprehensive communications plan
  • Follow-up with staff to ensure compliance with production timeline
  • Composing and submitting press releases and other news articles
  • Coordinating and insuring quality and timely execution of all digital communications (web, e-mail, video, etc.) with MUMC?s web and graphic design companies, the Director of Outreach & Missions, and other staff
  • Developing, coordinating, and executing all internal & external communications (including special events, special holiday/seasonal services, and year-round communications of Manchester UMC?s mission, vision, and identity
  • Collaborate with Manchester UMC?s Communications Team in developing and executing a thorough communications plan for internal and external communications.
  • Work with the Director of Outreach & Missions to establish and adhere to a yearly budget for communications.

?

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of the
work being performed.? This list is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of all
duties, skills, and responsibilities required. This is a full-time position, with benefits.

For a complete job description, please visit http://www.manchesterumc.org/employment.
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume by February 10, 2012 to
employment@manchesterumc.org or Job Search, Manchester UMC, 129 Woods Mill Rd.
Manchester, MO? 63011.

Tags: Director of Communications jobs JOBS st. louis marketing jobs

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Author: TirzahClerc

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Source: http://adsaint.com/jobs/director-of-communications-manchester-umc/

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CU Buffs add Central Arkansas to 2013 football schedule

Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn has finalized an agreement for the football program to host Central Arkansas in 2013. It will be the second consecutive season the Buffs play host to a team from the Football Championship Subdivision and just the fourth time in the modern history of the program that the Buffs have played a lower division foe.

Source: http://www.buffzone.com/ci_19756460?source=rss_viewed

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Thursday, 19 January 2012

Ask and Answer Questions About Using Proxies [Help Yourself]

Ask and Answer Questions About Using ProxiesEvery day we're on the lookout for ways to make your work easier and your life better, but Lifehacker readers are smart, insightful folks with all kinds of expertise to share, and we want to give everyone regular access to that exceptional hive mind. Help Yourself is a daily thread where readers can ask and answer questions about tech, productivity, life hacks, and whatever else you need help with.

There are a few reasons you might want to use a proxy, whether for general anonymity, to browse lolcats at work, or to bypass the restrictions of an oppressive regime. We've featured a few ways to run your own proxy or manage proxies from a browser extension, and the web is full of places to find proxies and tools for using them. Ask and answer questions about using proxies in the comments.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/y3RFmavZJjc/ask-and-answer-questions-about-using-proxies

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Two Palestinians planting bombs killed by Israeli troops

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

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jta/breaking-news/~3/vwRuiZRwfSs/two-palestinians-planting-bombs-killed-by-israeli-troops

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Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Nigeria unions suspend strike after fuel price cut (Reuters)

ABUJA (Reuters) ? Nigerian trade unions called off strikes and protests on Monday, ending a major confrontation over fuel prices after President Goodluck Jonathan said he would cut them by one third.

Jonathan reinstated part of a subsidy on petrol, the scrapping of which was one of his key policies, and the u-turn may damage the credibility of a government already accused of being indecisive.

The compromise still slashes the cost of the benefit to the government and leaves the way open to talks on phasing it out again later, but doing so may be much harder if Nigerians know they can reverse the unpopular policy by taking to the streets.

The protest had added to the administration's headaches at a time when it was already under fire for failing to take adequate steps to quell an increasingly violent Islamist insurgency in the north by militant group Boko Haram.

But the deal did avert a threat by oil workers to shut down production in Africa's biggest oil producer, a threat that had supported world oil prices.

However, the main umbrella union in Nigeria's second biggest city of Kano, in the north, said protests and strikes would continue there. Sporadic violence has been worst in Kano, where anti-government sentiment is currently riding highest.

Three people were killed and many wounded in clashes there last week.

Jonathan said fixing the liter price at 97 naira ($0.60) was a short-term response to ease hardships.

"In the past eight days through strikes, mass rallies, shutdown, debates and street protests, Nigerians demonstrated clearly that they cannot be taken for granted and that sovereignty belongs to them," Abdulwaheed Omar, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), told a news conference.

"Labour and its allies formally announce the suspension of strikes, mass rallies and protests across the country."

When a price cap of 65 naira ended on January 1, pump prices more than doubled to 150 naira. The new cap of 97 naira still represents a 50 percent price increase since January 1.

The strikes paralyzed Africa's second-largest economy last week and the oil workers union had threatened to shut down its 2 million barrel a day production.

Africa's most populous nation holds the world's seventh largest gas reserves but its infrastructure provides enough power to run only one medium-sized European city, meaning most of the country's 160 million people live without electricity.

"The government will continue to pursue full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. However, given the hardships being suffered by Nigerians, and after due consideration and consultations ... the government has approved the reduction of the pump price of petrol," Jonathan had said in a national broadcast earlier in the day.

Kano NLC leader Yunusa Danguguwa said he would ignore the agreement by the union bosses to end the strike.

"We are saying no and we will continue to fight till the federal government listens to us ... we will assemble tomorrow to continue the struggle," he said, adding that it would not stop until the government reverted to a 65 naira a liter price.

PUBLIC ANGER

"Everybody has lost," said Bismarck Rewane of Lagos-based consultancy Financial Derivatives.

"The cost of administering the subsidy is higher than the subsidy and that is still there, so is the abuse and corruption that goes with the subsidy. And no one will invest in refineries to solve the long term issue while the pump price is fixed."

Rewane also said the credibility of both the government and the unions is damaged: the government because it had lost a chance to tackle a perception of it as "inefficient, corrupt and wasteful" by failing to scrap the subsidy, and had shown it could be made to back away from key reforms.

The unions have lost credibility because they are strongly suspected to have been paid off in talks, he said.

It remains unclear whether the government will be able to keep the lid on the public anger unleashed by the protests, rooted in years of frustration at corruption and incompetence.

Residents of Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, reported soldiers in the streets in an apparent security move.

"He is ... not listening to the voice of the Nigerian people. We're not stupid and he shouldn't treat us as if we(are)," said IT consultant Mavila Sadiq.

A few hundred protesters chanting "solidarity for ever" tried to continue protesting in Ketu, on the outskirts of Lagos, in the morning, but armed riot police and soldiers blocked them.

"Ordinary people went out on the streets, they sacrificed and only got a portion of what they wanted," said Antony Goldman, head of PM consulting.

"There does seem to be an element of resignation about it, but it still leaves a kind of vacuum. The government will have to deliver ... (something) quickly."

Analysts suggest that something may have to be a clean-up of the oil ministry, whose minister Diezani Alison-Madueke said overnight she had asked the corruption watchdog to investigate alleged graft in the subsidy process.

INVESTIGATION INTO GRAFT

Economists said the subsidy is wasteful and corrupt. Protesters have countered that the government should work harder to tackle graft and waste before rescinding public benefits.

Jonathan gave approval on Sunday for an investigation into corruption in the oil sector. Alison-Madueke said she had written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission inviting the regulator to examine the subsidy procedure.

The state oil company NNPC and fuel regulators have come under fire for lacking transparency and mismanagement, including in a report compiled by international accounting firm KPMG. Alison-Madueke pledged to review such reports, though some analysts question the ministry's good faith in doing so.

"The KPMG report has been on your desk for over a year. So why now?" Kayode Akindele, a director of the Lagos investment firm 46 Parallels, asked of the oil minister.

"The president might have to sacrifice somebody, and it might have to be the petroleum minister. Nobody has said anything in support of her."

But some other analysts regarded her as untouchable.

Alison-Madueke said she would meet legislators in the next week to seek progress towards passing a wide-ranging Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that has been stuck in parliament for years, costing Nigeria billions of dollars in lost investment.

Analysts said the unions reckoned that Jonathan, having a made a large concession, was unlikely to back down further.

Several people were killed in clashes with police last week and 600 were treated for wounds, according to the Red Cross.

Analysts noted the protests were not nationwide and only affected some parts of the country, as most Nigerians outside the main urban centers had never had fuel at the official subsidized price anyway.

The southeast, where Nigeria's oil lies, was quiet.

(Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja, James Jukwey, Tim Cocks and Njuwa Maina in Lagos; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/wl_nm/us_nigeria_strike

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Cause of fire that killed 2 pets under investigation | The News ...

Authorities are investigating the cause of an Appomattox house fire Sunday that claimed the lives of two pets.

The fire at 435 Oakleigh Ave. took about 30 minutes to control, Appomattox Volunteer Fire Department Chief Timothy Garrett said. The house is likely a complete loss, he said, estimating damage at between $40,000 and $60,000.

Altogether, 22 volunteer firefighters responded to the scene.

Fire Marshall Lonny Hamlett and a Virginia State Police fire investigator are working together to determine the cause of the fire.

Garrett said no one was injured in the blaze, although two dogs were unable to get out of the house and perished.?

?

Source: http://www2.newsadvance.com/news/2012/jan/16/cause-fire-killed-2-pets-under-investigation-ar-1616211/

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Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Israeli-US war games postponed (AP)

JERUSALEM ? Israeli defense officials say the U.S. and Israel have postponed their largest-ever war games to avoid aggravating mounting tensions between Iran and the international community.

The missile defense exercise, "Austere Challenge 12," was scheduled for April to improve defense systems and cooperation between U.S. and Israeli forces.

Defense officials said Monday the drill won't take place before the second half of 2012. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the decision, which they say was taken on Sunday.

Thousands of American and Israeli soldiers were to take part in the exercise, which was designed to test multiple Israeli and U.S. air defense systems against incoming missiles and rockets from places as far away as Iran.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_us

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Boring talkers

goo Ranking took a look recently at the features of boring talkers.

Demographics

Over the 25th and 26th of November 2011 1,074 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 57.4% of the sample were female, 11.6% in their teens, 14.7% in their twenties, 26.9% in their thirties, 25.0% in their forties, 11.1% in their fifties, and 10.7% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.

Number 5 is the reason I usually dislike work events, as they either talk shop (hmm, why wasn?t that in this list?) or talk about ex-colleagues or contacts in obscure departments that I have never heard of, let alone the person themselves!

Ranking result

Q: What are the characteristics of a boring talker? (Sample size=1,074)

Rank ? Score
1 Always boasting 100
2 Butts into other people?s talk 76.4
3 No punchline to their talk 74.0
4 Always pessimistic 63.7
5 Always talking about people I don?t know 52.4
6 Doesn?t have an opinion of their own 49.6
7 Has a poison tongue 47.3
8 ?You had to be there to understand? 44.2
9 Always repeats the same thing that they find interesting themselves 39.0
10 Hopeless at the lead-in to topics 36.1
11 Tells old jokes 34.8
12 Talks with a smug look 34.7
13 Gets overexcited and talks too fast 31.9
14 Vague with their back-channeling 30.6
15 Gets all their topics from television 26.3
16 Laughs at their own jokes 25.3
17 Doesn?t correct things when they trip over their own tongue 23.3
18 Throws ?LOL?, ?ROFL?, other internet lingo into conversation 22.6
19 Uses material from comedians word-for-word 19.4
20 Throws obscure in-jokes into conversation 19.1
Read more on: boring,goo ranking

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  • Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WhatJapanThinks/~3/hBLfLRsaswo/

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