Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Slavery in Obama family tree? (Star Tribune)

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Lebanon's Minister to Inaugurate Lebanon Oil and Gas Summit 2012, Beirut, Lebanon

Posted by Global Event Partners on Monday, July 30, 2012

Start Date Monday, December 03, 2012
End Date Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Location
Beirut, Lebanon

Link
www.liog-summit.com

Full Details

H.E.Eng Gebran Bassil, Minister for Energy and Water, Lebanon confirmed to host the opening ceremony at The Lebanon International Oil and Gas Summit taking place this December in Beirut.

The Lebanon International Oil and Gas Summit is a two day strategic conference held under the patronage of the Lebanese Ministry of Energy and Water and is set to take place 3-4 December this year at the prestigious Phoenicia hotel, Beirut. The Summit will provide a platform for leading Lebanese decision makers to engage with international and local investors to showcase the investment opportunities available throughout the region.

H.E. Eng Gebran Bassil, Minister for Energy Water and Electricity has officially confirmed his patronage of the event, ?At the Ministry of Energy & Water we?re looking forward to The Lebanon International Oil and Gas Summit in December as it promises to unite the whole international oil and gas community here in Lebanon. These are exciting times for our oil and gas industry and the LIOG Summit will provide the opportunity for the leading players from across the Levant region to share ideas and discuss investment opportunities? confirmed an advisor at the Ministry.

The Summit is organised by Global Event Partners Ltd in partnership with the Lebanese company, Planners and Partners. ?Our international expertise along with our local network of government and industry supporters will ensure that the LIOG Summit becomes the leading international hub for trade and investment in the Lebanese Oil and Gas market? said Paul Gilbert, Managing Director, Global Event Partners Ltd. ?The response from our partners and supporters has already helped to establish the event on the industry calendar and the inaugural event looks to be a huge success? Gilbert said.

?The LIOG Summit comes at a really important time for the oil and gas industry in Lebanon, as the industry is still developing, it?s crucial to have a forum like this where private and public sector oil and gas experts can meet to explore and discuss the future opportunities in the industry? concluded Dory Renno from Planners and Partners.

The LIOG Summit programme is being finalised in partnership with the Ministry and the steering committee of private and public sector partners and supporters. The agenda will unite the leading regional and international oil and gas experts to examine the investment opportunities in the region, explore the current challenges and identify future solutions for the successful development of the oil and gas industry in Lebanon.

www.liog-summit.com
Press contact
Rosie Topp, Global Event Partners Ltd
rtopp@gep-events.com
UK Direct line: +44 20 3488 1193
UK Mobile: +44 7581 130130

Organisers
Global Event Partners is a specialist international event organiser headquartered in London that has a proven track history of bringing business communities together. The team at Global Event Partners has more than 40 years? experience in organising leading industry events around the world. www.gep-events.com
Planners and Partners SAL is an event management and conference organizer company based in Beirut, Lebanon. It is managed by experienced team leaders who have worked and organized events for more than a decade mainly in Lebanon, the Gulf and the MENA regions. www.planners-partners.com

Category
Events

Source: http://feeds.oilvoice.com/~r/EventsNoticeBoard/~3/L-2z_jLY4rc/7a610c49da.aspx

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Monday, July 30, 2012

FHA Mortgage Rates And Refinancing Options in Boulder, CO ...

July 30, 2012 ? Boulder Home Source

A lot of people are presently contemplating refinancing their home loans for lower rates or more secure loans because of the condition of the economy.? If you reply yes to any of the next questions, you might want to strongly think about refinancing to an FHA loan.

Do you currently have a mortgage with a high fixed interest rate?? Do you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and are you trying to find a low fixed rate? Do you have a second mortgage on the property? Would you want a shorter-term mortgage so you can build equity quickly?? Would you like a longer-term mortgage so you can cut back your monthly payments? Do you have an interest-only mortgage? Do you wish to cash out some of your equity for another major buy? It is very important note that refinancing to an FHA mortgage is just available to homeowners who utilize such property as their main residence.

There are several options presently available for both property owners with and without equity.? The first is known as cash-out refinancing and may apply to FHA loans together with some other types of conventional mortgage loans.? These kinds of programs are most advantageous to homeowners who have properties which have increased in value since their previous mortgage was acquired. These types of loans enable people to refinance their pre-existing loan with one that?s greater than they presently owe.? This gives them extra money for needed expenses.? FHA streamline refinancing is a good option for people who want to cut back their rate of interest fast.? These kinds of loans often don?t need an appraisal and have less paperwork.? They will typically be done by your mortgage broker also, which make them very convenient.Loan modification programs are for those individuals who owe significantly more on their first loan than their property is worth.? These types of loans can also save a house from being foreclosed on.? Loan modifications are supposed to lessen the amount of your payments by decreasing your interest rate and extending the loan period. Short refinancing is another program which has similarities to a loan modification except that it is primarily targeted on reducing the principal instead of just the interest rate.? Both these types of refinancing require cooperation from your current mortgagor.There are many options available to individuals who?re thinking of refinancing their current residence to an FHA loan.? Whatever your motive or your situation, it is best to speak to industry professionals for advice and do research prior to signing a new loan.

If you are interested in looking into FHA loans or refinancing your current Boulder, CO property, contact Boulder Home Source.? If you are looking for Louisville, Colorado real estate consider talking to one of our REMAX Alliance Realtors.

Boulder Colorado Real Estate Blog

Source: http://athomecolorado.com/blogs/guest-blogs/fha-mortgage-rates-and-refinancing-options-in-boulder-co/

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Blizzard and Valve Pan Windows 8


On the proverbial, "list of things that are bad," having developers and designers at some of the world's more popular and successful gaming companies trash your up-and-coming product is probably up there toward the top.

At least, that's how Microsoft probably felt a few days ago, when Valve co-founder and managing director Gabe Newell went on record to express his opinion about Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well. It's a hedging strategy," Newell said, speaking at a video game conference in Seattle.

"I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."

But when it rains for Microsoft's Windows 8, it pours for Microsoft's Windows 8.

Spurred on by Newell's statements, Blizzard's executive vice president of game design, Rob Pardo, went on Twitter to confirm that Windows 8 isn't presenting much of a wonderful experience for his company.

"Nice interview with Gabe Newell ? 'I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space' - not awesome for Blizzard either," Pardo wrote.

Just to put each of these comments into perspective, Valve's Steam digital distribution platform remains the service to beat on the PC gaming platform.

"Right now Steam is far and away the dominant distribution channel; no one else is even close," said DFC Intelligence's David Cole in an interview with VG 24/7 last year.

And Blizzard, of course, maintains a healthy subscriber base to its big massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft, which numbers close to around ten million players (the last time Blizzard released numbers, that is). Additionally, the company's responsible for the much-anticipated Diablo III title that just hit shelves this year ? which sold more than 3.5 million copies in its first 24 hours of life.

?

For more tech tidbits from David Murphy, follow him on Facebook or Twitter (@thedavidmurphy).

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407782,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05079TX1K0000993

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Shift Health And Fitness Fitness, Fitness And Attractiveness | e ...

Swim Spa Fitness, Health insurance and splendor

Swim Spa
Fitness without the Pain
health and wellness beauty
Pounding the streets will seek to you fit but have you ever keep in mind the cartilage as part of your knees?

A swim spa combines the benefits of a swimming pool, spa and health and fitness in a package. It provides opportunities for exercise, relaxation and therapy.

Check out the sports injury statistics below then inform me water doesn?t seem sensible.

* 65% of runners suffer at least one injury a year and miss ten percent of coaching through injury.
* 85% of badminton players are injured every growing season
* Squash players suffer 14 injuries for every single thousand hours of exercise.*
fitness and beauty
It is a nice profit around the operating table for surgeons across America.

Swimming would be the kind of exercise that is least likely to give you mobility problems in later life. Water supports the body and takes the pressure off joints and bones. Warm water eases stiffness. Water is really a cushion in case you fall.
health and elegance
And your fun!

*Injuries in Recreational Adult Fitness Activities,? The American Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 21 (3), pp. 461-467, 1993
The area Saving and Cost Effective Replacement for Swimming Pools

Swim spas are getting more and more common as cost and space efficent ways of getting safe and effective exercise, it does not matter suit your hand positioning ranging from fitness-wise.

A top of those range, above ground swim spa, is approximately 16 feet long, 9 feet wide and up to six feet deep and costs between $30,000 and $40,000. The cheaper models are smaller but still usable and weigh in at around half that figure.

Special lightweight portable pumps are there for turn existing spas into swim spas- providing these are appropriately big sturdy to let swimming set up. These cost around $3,000 to $4,000.

To you needing to boost fitness, swim spas supply an substitute for jogging or gym training. They allow for serious workout sessions without the hazards of traffic or maybe inconveniences of crowded gyms. There will be no sweating, showering, travelling or queuing to take out coming from the pleasure of a workout. They even outperform conventional swimming pools with regards to endurance training as there can?t be a way will need to spin in the end of each lap.

After what you do out, many swim spas offer the best aspects of a promising tub for pure relaxation
Aquatic Gyms

Injuries from water based training are much rarer than those suffered during land based activities where joints are routinely damaged by high workload exercises and muscles can be torn or skin blistered.

Swimming spa systems are versatile and easily adjustable to suit the demands of a typical individual. They usually are used for anything from triathlon training or aerobics to very gentle water walking on that underwater treadmill.The addition of weights, webbed gloves, ankle tethers and rowing machines can turn a spa into an aquatic gym.
Swim spas in chicago Therapy and Rehabilitation
Advantages
health and beauty
The good selling point of exercising in water the fact that joints and muscles suffer far less stress and damage than is really suffered during jogging or running. They are often excellent therapy if anyone is recovering from sports injuries and might provide complete rehab programs including treadmill and graduated walking programs. Take into consideration, though, to achieve the full benefits of hydrotherapy you would like input from a trained therapist.

For many people, especially arthritis suffers, the obese and the very elderly, aquatic exercise will be the only exercise option. A great plus for older people is the idea that falls in water are rarely serious which is is known as a confidence booster for anyone with fragile bones. For anyone with very limited mobility, lifts are available to help them backward and forward of your water.
Reward
Various reports have figured out that even gentle swimming spa and pool workout sessions help with cardiovascular fitness, weight management, mobility, stiffness reduction, diabetes, depression, lumbago, prenatal health and wellness sleep problems- and that is an impressive list.
Paddle-wheels, Propellers and Jets

If you would like a very good swimming-in-place experience, the way the current is generated is vital.

* Swim jets provide current by pumping water at fast through nozzles. The nozzles can be adjusted to give a swimmer buoyancy and a more leisurely swim but jets often generate a large amount of turbulence.
* Propellers generate a steadier current leaving the edges of the pool clear of turbulence.
* Paddle wheels give you a steady, turbulence-free current that is both broad and deep.

Whichever system you decide on, be certain current speed is all it takes for your needs. Very strong swimmers can require up to eight miles a couple of hours for only a good join boot camp.

Technorati Tags:: Fitness, health

Source: http://www.e-prescribe.biz/health-and-fitness/shift-health-and-fitness-fitness-fitness-and-attractiveness

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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Small business marketing solutions | Baltimore Share

advertising your business salt lake city Do you need a new way to give your business a quick and powerful boost? Starting a marketing campaign is a great way to give pertinent information about your business to new audiences. There are a variety of resources that can be used for your marketing strategy. A creative radio advertisement or TV commercial can reach audiences of all ages and demographics. A marketing campaign could also include innovative content and designs for magazine ads, billboards, or mailers. With all these possibilities to choose from, a professional marketing company can help direct you in the way that will help your business the most. Together, you will develop a unique marketing plan that is tailored to your individual situation, goals, and budgets. After you begin your effective marketing strategy, your client pool will grow, your profits will rise, and your business will never be the same. More Information on Marketing a business

Source: http://www.baltimorecarshare.org/?p=30568

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Marcotte: Single Motherhood OK, Not Mothers ... - Fathers & Families

Is it possible for a person to be able to write but not read? ?I doubt it, but must confess that this nonsense by Amanda Marcotte raises the issue (Slate, 7/24/12). ?Hers is the third in Slate?s series spawned by a New York Times article on the hazards of single motherhood.

You remember Amanda Marcotte. ?She?s the ubiquitous opiner who, long after it was clear that no sex ? much less forced sex ? had occurred in the case of the three Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, claimed that the men had ?held down? their accuser ?and f**ked her.? ?Principled observers doubted the rape claim from Day Two when the men announced that no sex had occurred and allowed police unfettered access to the premises to gather whatever evidence they desired. ?Four months after her libel, the Attorney General of North Carolina took the unprecedented step of finding the three factually innocent of any and all wrongdoing, to Marcotte?s deafening silence. ?With that fealty to intellectual honesty in mind, we can now deal with Marcotte?s decidedly tepid embrace of single motherhood.

Unlike Katie Roiphe, whose failed attempt at the same was tactfully but authoritatively destroyed by Brad Wilcox, Marcotte claims, in a blizzard of made-up statistics, unsupported assertions, non sequiturs and straw-man arguments, that single mothers ?do not necessarily choose to be single.? ?True enough; some fathers die, some go to prison, etc. ?Usually none of that is Mom?s fault, but she?s single nevertheless. ?But how many mothers fall into those categories and how many fall into the ones Marcotte carefully avoids discussing ? divorce and single-mother childbearing?

The answer is that 70% of divorces are filed by women and they do so because they know they?ll get custody of the kids. ?So in fact a lot of those mothers ? the ones without a paramour waiting to marry them ? decide precisely to be single mothers. ?What about the 42% of children born to single mothers? ?That?s about 1.7 million children per year in the United States. ?Now, about half of those have co-habiting fathers, so, though unmarried, they?re not exactly single, but that?s still a hefty number of kids who are either born without a father close at hand or have a father taken from them by the tyranny of the family court system.

And yes, those are choices made by mothers. ?Some of those choices are defensible, some marriages truly are insupportable and sometimes even the pill fails, but Marcotte would like us to believe that, in some way, women have single motherhood foisted on them by??outrageous fortune,? I assume, and of course by men. ?But whatever her actual claims, which aren?t at all clear, for Marcotte, single motherhood must be someone?s fault other than single mothers themselves.

Marcotte?s article is so strange and so nutty that it?s paradoxically hard to criticize. ?How best to convey the secondary-school triviality of it? ?Let?s begin with her naked assertions.

Most women who have children have partners they intend to stay with.

A lot of the time, much-wanted relationships fall apart.

But in a substantial number of cases, the men just quit their families.

That?s why only 41 percent of custodial parents receive child support.

Sixty-two percent of mothers parenting without a man in the house have been married, and most of the rest probably thought that marriage or a long-term commitment was in the cards.

Now, that?s not all of them, but I mention those five because they?re consecutive. ?Five unsupported claims in a row may be a record. ?Marcotte offers nothing at all to back them up and indeed, one of them is just flat wrong. ?Actually, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 50.6% of custodial parents have a child support order, but the factual wrongness of her claim actually obscures its full inaccuracy. ?After all, men are far more likely to be ordered to pay child support than are women. ?The Census Bureau tells us that 55% of non-custodial fathers versus only 30% of non-custodial mothers pay child support and that fathers pay a larger percentage of what they owe than do mothers. ?But Marcotte knows none of that which again urges that question about writing and reading.

Then there?s her claim that ?in a substantial number of cases, the men just quit their families.? ?Really? ?Marcotte gives no facts to back up the claim and a remarkable amount of solid social science casts considerable doubt on it, but again, she? have to have read articles from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being data, Sanford Braver?s ?Divorced Dads,? much of Kathryn Edin?s work, reports from Child Trends, Brinig and Allen?s study of divorce, and countless others. ?It?s impossible to conclude that Marcotte reads at all, otherwise she?d know that fathers of all income levels, racial and ethnic categories, religions, etc., overwhelmingly desire continuing relationships with their kids. ?That?s why fathers don?t tend to file for divorce and mothers do; fathers know they?ll lose their children and mothers know they won?t. ?Divorced fathers are far more likely to remain involved with their children and pay their child support if mothers don?t stand in the way, so many of those who lose contact were shoved aside by their ex-wives and the courts that abet their every move.

In the face of much social science that disproves her thesis, Marcotte opts for baseless assertion that agrees with little but a carefully constructed anti-father zeitgeist.

Marcotte eventually gets down to grappling with the fact that the poor have lower marriage rates than the more affluent and better educated. ?According to her, that actually reflects the superiority of the poor?s commitment to marriage. ?Yes, you read that right.

Wilcox assumes that marriage success is due to commitment to the value of marriage, and because blue state progressives with children break it off less frequently, they must just like marriage more. But?a study at UCLA demonstrates he has it backwards: ?Poor people hold more traditional values toward marriage and divorce than people with moderate and higher incomes,? that is to say, they?re more ?marriage-minded?.

In the first place, Wilcox assumes no such thing. ?What he does is what so many other observers have done; he simply states that the poor tend to not get married and, particularly when kids come along, that tends to keep them poor. ?I?m perfectly willing to accept that, when asked their views on the subjects of marriage and children, the poor may tend to express more conservative ones than do the better off. ?But whatever happens in the deep recesses of their hearts, it?s what they do that matters. ?Children of single mothers don?t do as well as those of intact families because they?re children of single mothers, not because of how their mothers answer a survey. ?But to Marcotte, the reverse is true; being a single mother means that you value marriage while being married means you don?t.

In his answer to Katie Roiphe, Brad Wilcox asked a question similar to one I had asked in my review of her article.

Surely a progressive like Roiphe should be concerned about all this, rather than dismissing the recent?New York Times?news story on the marriage divide in America as a ?puritanical and alarmist rumination on the decline of the American family.? Since when is it puritanical and alarmist in progressive circles to raise the red flag about a major driver of social and economic inequality?

Given the fact that single mothers and their children are far more likely to live in poverty than are their married peers and their children, what?s a liberal/progressive doing plumping for single motherhood? ?Since the children of single mothers are much more likely than the children of intact families to remain stuck on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder, why do ?progressives? like Roiphe and Marcotte encourage women to have children without a man to help support and care for them?

Wilcox asked the question and Marcotte responded to his article, but tellingly, she failed to answer it. ?Although it?s an obvious criticism of her and her article, Roiphe completely refused to address it. ?By now, the reason should be clear ? they can?t. ?The simple fact is that the Left?s appropriate concern for the welfare of the poor and working classes is on a collision course with feminism?s disdain for fathers and marriage. ?Fatherlessness and non-marital childbearing condemn many women and children to lives on the edge. ?It?s time leftists made a choice.

But I don?t expect Amanda Marcotte to make the hard decisions required when two ?isms? collide. ?My guess is she doesn?t even know there?s an accident already in progress. ?After all, to know that would take some reading.

Thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

?

?

Source: http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/2012/07/29/marcotte-single-motherhood-ok-not-mothers-fault/

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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Must have items to make babysitting easier | Pocketchange ...

baby bouncer, Eddie Bauer Caitlin

Whether you are babysitting someone else?s child or spending some quality time with yours, you have to make it fun and entertaining. Infants, especially four months and older, love to be spoken to or be provided toys that help improve motor skills.?

Interaction is key and doing so will make babysitting easier, allowing you to really connect with the baby. Plus you will save yourself the trouble of carrying them around. Here are a few must have items that can help you in the process:

1. Baby bouncer

Even the fussiest of babies adore these bouncers. It saves you the hassles of endless bouncing and rocking with a modern patent device. The bouncer is very much like the old car seat but with an innovative technique to cradle the infants using flexible metal or plastic frames. These help the baby to bounce with their gentle movements.

Today, bouncers are made more interesting for the little ones using dangling toys, detachable overhead toy bars, vibrators, music and of course a safety harness to help them stay put.

Eddie Bauer Caitlin

2. Eddie Bauer Caitlin playard

With this Eddie Bauer Caitlin playard, sleeping, playing and diaper changing become almost effortless. You can use this on the go or even step out on the patio for some fresh air. The mobile play yard easily folds up for fast storage and down for quick assembly. There are side pockets and a cubby organizer for all your accessories and additional items.

Apart from these, you can also get some fun play gyms or rocker chairs for the infant. These come with musical toys and eye-catching lights, which babies simply love. So if you have to do a bit of homework or run errands, you can keep the baby busy with these toys and accessories. Of course, just make sure you keep a constant eye on them!

Source: http://pocketchange.become.com/2012/07/baby-bouncer-2.html

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WIGGINSIA TEPHRACANTHUS - AuctionBidz-Online Web Auctions ...

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Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the AuctionBidz-Online Web Auctions Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions | Bookmark Us

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Friday, July 27, 2012

5 Olympic things to know for Friday

The royal barge Gloriana carries the Olympic flame in a cauldron on board, as it leaves Hampton Court Palace in London, as it makes its way along the river Thames into central London on the final day of the Torch Relay, Friday, July 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

The royal barge Gloriana carries the Olympic flame in a cauldron on board, as it leaves Hampton Court Palace in London, as it makes its way along the river Thames into central London on the final day of the Torch Relay, Friday, July 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

LONDON (AP) ? Here's what to watch for at the London Olympics on Friday:

___

1. OPENING CEREMONY: A celebration of British culture, with a touch of Shakespeare, pop music, James Bond ? and even some farm animals. A huge worldwide audience will tune in for the extravaganza, which starts at 2000GMT (4 p.m. ET).

2. WHO WILL LIGHT THE TORCH? Bookmakers are now convinced it will be Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute mile. But is there another mystery contender?

3. WEATHER: Will the famous English rain blight the opening ceremony? It's been hot and sunny all week in the British capital ? but a little wet this morning.

4. REFEREE DIES: A Turkish boxing referee has been found dead in his London hotel room. It appears he suffered a heart attack. Autopsy results expected later Friday.

5. ROMNEY FALLOUT: What will Londoners make of Mitt Romney's implication that the city isn't ready for the games? Will it draw them together?

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-27-OLY-5-Olympic-Things-to-Know-Friday/id-b2687ab8ae6b43f984399af2477dbee2

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Rolling out red carpet for central bankers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks took off at the end of the week, drawn by the allure of a helping hand from the world's two most powerful central banks. Traders are unlikely to resist those charms again next week.

The U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank both meet next week amid investor expectations of action to stimulate economic growth and, in the case of the ECB, tackle the spreading euro zone debt crisis.

The drumbeat of weak economic data and disappointing U.S. corporate profits and outlooks mean central banks can be stocks' best friends.

Equity prices tend to rise sharply in the hours before a Fed statement like the one expected on Wednesday as traders and investors jockey for position and a chance to make a profit.

Next week's calendar has a double-whammy. The Fed's monetary policy statement will come one day before an ECB meeting packed with intrigue. ECB President Mario Draghi said earlier this week the bank was ready to do whatever was necessary, within its mandate, to save the euro.

"People in this business like to get in front of big events, especially if (they) could be very, very positive for the market," said Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at agency brokerage Rosenblatt Securities.

In that sense the strategy "is almost like a lottery ticket," he said.

But was that ticket already cashed? The S&P 500 <.spx><.inx> rallied to levels not seen since May on Friday, a rally that was sparked a day earlier after Draghi stoked expectations the ECB might resume its Securities Markets Programme (SMP) and possibly adopt more aggressive quantitative easing.

Reports of meetings with the head of Germany's Bundesbank fueled a Friday rally that outpaced Thursday's gains.

Equity markets have for weeks been leaning on hoped-for stimulus from the Fed or ECB. Despite weeks of softening economic data, including a dismal payrolls report for June and a poor outlook for corporate profits, the S&P 500 has risen in seven of the past 10 weeks. It closed on Friday near a three-month high.

REMARKABLE PATTERN

At the same time that traders position themselves to benefit from the Fed's latest easy-money policy, those betting against market gains get out of the way and selling pressure recedes.

"It's very scary to short the market ahead of a Fed meeting," said Dennis Dick, a proprietary trader at Las Vegas-based Bright Trading and co-founder of Premarketinfo.com. "So you have this short-covering that drives prices up."

That helps explain the rise in stocks in the 24 hours prior to the U.S. central bank's policy decisions - a pattern that tends to hold irrespective of what the Fed actually says in its statement.

Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York performed a study of the pattern.

Starting mid-afternoon the day before such decisions, stocks in the United States, Britain, Germany and other major markets begin a sharp rise and don't stop, on average, until just before the Fed unveils its policy decision at 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT) the following day.

Since 1994 a whopping 80 percent of the premium in gains of U.S. stocks over yields on short-term government bonds has been earned in these 24-hour periods, the study found.

The pattern has grown starker as the Fed took increasingly aggressive actions to rescue the U.S. economy from recession. The two rounds of major asset purchases, known as quantitative easing, or QE1 and QE2, in recent years strongly boosted stocks.

"Perhaps this shows markets have given the Fed their seal of approval," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

"At least from a market participant perspective, they are confident the Fed will fulfill its mandate. I try to talk to individual investors to remind them that the stock market is going to react much more quickly than the economy to what the Fed does," he said.

CENTRAL BANKS OVERSHADOW EARNINGS

The focus on central bank meetings will get in the way of a heavy week of earnings for S&P 500 companies at a time when the outlook continues to worsen.

Major companies due to report include AIG , Kellogg , Procter & Gamble , Kraft Foods , Pfizer , MasterCard and General Motors .

Among the 290 companies in the S&P 500 index that have reported earnings for the second quarter, about 67 percent have beaten analysts' estimates, slightly higher than the long-term average of about 62 percent.

But just 40 percent have beaten on revenues, the worst record since the first quarter of 2009.

More worrisome is the market's outlook. Third-quarter earnings are now expected to decline 0.4 percent from a year ago, compared with an expected rise of 1.4 percent last week, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Also on investors' radar next week is another legal battle in California over patents between Apple and South Korea's Samsung . The trial's outcome could reshape the smartphone and tablet wars between the iPhone's maker and its rivals.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-week-ahead-rolling-red-carpet-central-213205267--sector.html

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Merck's 2Q net falls on charges, but sales rise

Merck & Co.'s second-quarter net income fell 11.4 percent as slightly higher sales were offset by acquisition and restructuring costs. However, the drugmaker beat Wall Street expectations, and Merck shares jumped in early trading.

The maker of diabetes pill Januvia and asthma and allergy medicine Singulair said Friday that its net income was $1.79 billion, or 58 cents per share, down from $2.02 billion, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier. The year-earlier quarter was boosted by a one-time gain of about $700 million from a favorable settlement of a tax audit.

Excluding one-time items, net income was $3.23 billion, or $1.05 per share, up from $2.95 billion, or 95 cents per share, in 2011's second quarter. That beat analysts' expectations of earnings per share of $1.01. Charges included $1.42 bilion for acquisition-related costs including writedowns for the decreased value of acquired assets, and $289 million in costs for ongoing restructuring.

Revenue rose 1.3 percent to $12.31 billion, exceeding expectations of $12.15 billion. Merck noted that unfavorable currency exchange rates, mainly due to the weak euro, reduced total revenue by 4 percent.

Pharmaceutical sales rose 2 percent, to $10.56 billion.

"This was our sixth straight quarter of top-line growth and bottom-line growth," CEO Kenneth Frazier told analysts during a conference call.

Sales were led by Singulair, up 6 percent to $1.43 billion in its last quarter before generic competition arrives on Aug. 3 and starts to cut sales. Sales of Januvia and combo pill Janumet both jumped about 30 percent, to $1.06 billion and $411 million, respectively.

Merck said it expects multiple generic versions of Singulair to hit drugstores next Friday and anticipates 90 percent of sales will be lost to generic pills within two months.

Merck noted it still expects revenue for the year to come in at about the same level as in 2011, when it reported $48.04 billion in sales. That's despite that huge hit to Singulair, the impact of unfavorable exchange rates and ongoing austerity measures in Europe, where government health programs continue to push for slight price decreases each year.

Sales of veterinary medicines climbed 8 percent to $865 million, and sales of consumer health products such as the Coppertone sun care line edged up 2 percent to $552 million.

Merck reiterated its 2012 forecast for profit of $2.04 to $2.30, or $3.75 to $3.85 per share excluding charges.

Shares of Merck rose $1.25, or 2.9 percent, to $44.58.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mercks-2q-net-falls-charges-sales-rise-113347459--finance.html

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

$140 sewer bill turns into foreclosure notice and $50,000 tab for homeowner

An aerial photo of the Vulpis home (Bing)Dominick Vulpis admits he had an outstanding $140 sewage bill. But when that bill went unpaid for four years, the $140 bill turned into a home foreclosure notice and $50,000 in debt.

MSNBC reports that Middletown, N.J., turned over the utility bill to Approved Realty Group, an investment company. The practice is far from unheard of. Private companies buy up existing debts from local governments and then pursue the responsible parties, charging interest and fees. Several states have placed limits on the amount of money these private companies can charge for unpaid public utility bills.

But last December, Vulpis, a 60-year-old plumber, and his wife, Lindarose, discovered a notice that their home was being foreclosed.

"It was never brought to my attention until it was too late and we were served with papers saying we had to move out of our house," Vulpis told MSNBC. ?"I may pay a bill late, but I pay them. I'm not trying to beat anyone for $140."

Eventually, Vulpis was allowed to keep his home. He reached a $37,500 settlement with Approved Realty Group. But Vulpis had to use his mortgage company to come up with the funds. And now, Vulpis says the added attorney fees and higher interest rate on his mortgage balance could put the total tab over $50,000.

"I think he stuck me up without a gun, this guy," Vulpis says of Approved Realty Group. "If he was a nice guy he could have said, 'OK, I understand what happened, give me $5,000 for my troubles.'? But he wanted a lot of money."

MSNBC says Approved Realty Group did not respond to phone calls requesting comment but notes that the settlement amount is 260 times the original $140 balance.

UPDATE: For any readers confused by the original photo used in this story, please take note that it was not a photo of the Vulpis home. As stated in the previous photo's caption, it was an unrelated photo of a foreclosed home. We've since updated with a photo showing an aerial view of the Vulpis home.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/140-sewer-bill-turns-foreclosure-notice-50-000-185124272.html

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Icehouse in Minneapolis ? The Heavy Table ? Minneapolis-St. Paul ...

Icehouse in Minneapolis

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

Usually a first mention of a new restaurant in town raises the obvious question, ?How was the food?? But if the restaurant is Icehouse, the first question more often has been, ?Why is it called Icehouse?? While the restaurant?s back story is interesting ? the space used to house the Icehouse Studios music / photography business ? you should quickly redirect the inquisitor to the food question because the answer is even more interesting ? ?pretty damn good.?

Not perfect, mind you, but despite a few food and service missteps, we?re fully prepared to embrace Icehouse for its inventive drink list, craveworthy sandwiches (Co-owner and Executive Chef Matt Bickford also helms Be?Wiched Deli in the North Loop), and desserts that you will, indeed, write home about. Whether you enjoy the music that graces the large dining room stage depends on which act is featured that night, but finding the gems on the menu shouldn?t be too difficult.

While the dinner menu is divided into four sections ? greens, small plates, bar snacks, and the bread department (aka sandwiches) ? all except the sandwiches offer the same modest but satisfying portions. The waitstaff recommends two to three per person, and unless you?re dining with a large party, you?re going to have to make some tough choices. Greek salad ($8.50) or cheese souffle ($8)? While the former offers crunchy, flavorful falafel spheres with a zippy tahini dressing, it?s hard to ignore the appeal of truffled cheese, with the creamy consistency of a blintz filling and the earthy aroma of the truffles elevating the relatively mild cheese to a new culinary plane.

Food at Icehouse in Minneapolis

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

The quality of the empanadas ($7.50) varies based on the filling of the day: We preferred the vegetarian version with corn, chihuahua cheese, and zingy chiles to the meat and potatoes variety, which doesn?t pair quite as well with the accompanying chunky-sweet tomato jam, cumin yogurt, and chimichurri sauces. The Buffalo wings proved to be addicting when devoured plain, with its dry rub offering the ideal balance of spice, tang, and pepper, but the sauce pooling on the bottom plate resembles a gummy tomato paste with a few dashes of Tabasco added. Skip it ? your fingers still will be lickable from the rub that remains after you down the last wing.

If not for some sorely underseasoned Gulf shrimp ($12), the seafood dishes as a whole would stand out as the strongest section of the menu. The trio of cured salmon ($12.50) not only amazes with its fresh, non-fishy flavor ? and a kick-ass dill, rye, and anchovy marinade ? but with its silky texture as well. The dish is meant for sharing, but you may find yourself carefully guarding the plate with your fork so no one else takes more than one polite bite. If the market fish happens to be scallops ($12), snatch them up to savor the sweet meat encased in a brown, perfectly seared crust. The crab-cake mac and cheese ($10.50) also succeeds with a patty that?s more crab than breading and a smooth, creamy toss of noodles that neither dominates nor falls victim to the cake.

Salmon trio at Icehouse in Minneapolis

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

The mushroom-artichoke cannelloni ($10.50) promises the gooey indulgence of robiola cheese, but unfortunately, the cheese is the only ingredient in the dish fulfilling its end of the bargain. Without a liberal dose of salt and fresh herbs, the dish rides on the cheese?s laurels but still lacks the necessary seasoning to make it worth ordering time and again. Not the case for the cheesesteak sandwich ($10,50), though ? the tender, juicy brisket gets a jolt from the spicy pepper relish and decadent blue cheese fondue, and if not for its generous size, you?d be apt to order another right away. The pastrami sandwich ($9.50) offers a similarly succulent meat on a fluffy, slightly sweet bun, but adding the fried egg for an extra dollar takes it over the top. Yes, each bite will be a mess, but there was perhaps never a more delicious mess than the mix of gooey yolk and smoky bits of beef.

Pastrami sandwich at Icehouse in Minneapolis

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

At first, inhaling a hearty cheesesteak may discourage you from ordering dessert, but that would be a big ? make that huge ? mistake. Why? Three words: bourbon caramel sundae. You don?t even have to like bourbon to enjoy this milky, nutty, sugar-and-spice laced concoction ($4.50) with house-made ice cream and a touch of mint. Just make sure someone at your table orders it. Pie lovers can rejoice at the seasonal selections at their disposal: The peach pie ($5) features firm, fresh slices of peach peeking out from a flaky, tender crust to marry with a swirl of fragrant cardamom ice cream. The chocolate ganache pie ($5) provides the depth that dark chocolate lovers crave, countered by the refreshing sweetness of raspberries on top of the slice. Peanut butter and banana lovers don?t have to choose one or the other with the peanut butter banana cream pie ($5) topped with a charred banana sorbet. The only dessert that fell short of expectations was the buttermilk pie ($4.50), which needed the fruity spice of the candied orange garnish to truly sing. One small peel wasn?t enough to enjoy with every bite, however, leaving half of the dish aching for more flavor.

Desserts at Icehouse in Minneapolis

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

The long list of specialty drinks and rocks ?sipping shots? may prevent you from looking at the beer and wine list, which offers a good range of local and / or affordable selections. But it?s hard to get excited about a glass of white wine when you could order the Taste of Summer ($10), a strawberry lemon gin sour that goes down just as easily as a non-alcoholic strawberry lemonade. The light gin, however, makes it more fun, and the hint of balsamic adds a depth that sugary ades can?t match. A pair of margaritas ? the tangerine Solid Gold and the grapefruit / rhubarb Mothership ($9 each) ? pack a pleasantly boozy punch with a fruity overtone. If the fruit drinks are too frou-frou, the Full Grown Man ($10), with its combination of bourbon, rum, bitters, and ginger beer, will put hair on your chest in a way that the purple-tinted, vanilla cream foam-topped Blushing Belle ($10) certainly cannot.

Service ranges from attentive and considerate to absent and frustrating, usually within the same evening. The beginning of the meal, when you?re ordering drinks and the first round of small plates, seems to be the sweet spot, but by the time you want to order dessert, it may take several minutes to track down your server. Receiving the bill is an even bigger challenge ? on two occasions it took us more than 20 minutes to request, review, and pay for our food and drinks, which is about 15 minutes longer than it should take, especially at the end of a long evening. It would be easier to overlook a few imperfect dishes if service remained consistent throughout the meal.

Icehouse is off to a strong start, but a few tweaks to its menu and manpower will go a long way in enhancing the dining experience. Soon the only question you may hear is, ?When can we get a table??

?

Food and drinks at Icehouse in Minneapolis

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table


Icehouse

Modern American small plates in Minneapolis
???? (Good)

2528 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55404
612.276.6523
HOURS:
Mon-Sat 11am-2pm (lunch), 5-10pm (dinner), 10pm-12am (late night menu)
Sun 9am-11pm
OWNERS / CHEF: Matt Bickford and Brian Lieback / Bickford
BAR: Full
RESERVATIONS / RECOMMENDED: Yes / Yes
VEGETARIAN / VEGAN: Yes / No
ENTREE RANGE: $8.50-18.50 for small plates and sandwiches

Source: http://heavytable.com/icehouse-in-minneapolis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=icehouse-in-minneapolis

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What Next, #Intranet Manager? | Business 2 Community

More money? New colleagues? Change of scene? Change of manager? Whatever your reason for wanting a new role, you can be certain that your skills will be in demand. But with so many options open to you, what will your next career move be? In this post, we?ll look at the career paths open to intranet managers and ask you where you think you?ll head next.

New Geographies

You?re doing a fine job managing the intranet for the company in France, it?s time to spread your wings and stretch your linguistic abilities and manage the intranet in Germany too. This is a remarkably common next step for intranet managers: develop the job by adding new territories. Same role, broadly similar skills just over more employees.

New Internal Digital Technologies

As an expert in intranets, you?re perfectly placed to aggregate some new internal digital technologies to your job role. Smart, connected organisations will ensure that these other techs ? such as digital signage ? will be connected to your intranet, so much of the content will likely be familiar to you. Consider these other internal digital technologies. Could these come your way?

Go Large ? Move to a bigger company

You?re a big fish in a small pond, so it?s time to change the size of the pond. Moving to a larger company, with larger budgets, bigger, more complex audiences is a very natural next step. However, it may not be all it?s cracked up to be. There are several thought-leaders who consider smaller intranets to be more innovative (maybe fewer people to say no to crackpot ideas?) so you may just find the bureaucracy stifling.

Add (or switch to) external digital

So you?re clearly an expert on internal digital communication, maybe now?s the time to diversify and add external digital communication to your job role. Whilst the audiences are vastly different in size and needs, the digital skills you?ve learnt in managing your intranet will be invaluable when it comes to managing your company?s customer-facing dot com or social media channels.

Specialise Still Further

Great intranet managers will have significant, valuable skills and experiences at their disposal. One career path opportunity is to specialise still further and look for opportunities in information architecture, user experience management or the specific content management system you?re using.

With the rise enterprise social networks, intranet managers may wish to specialise in internal and external social media, social communication and community management.

Drop the Digital

You can do internal digital communications, so maybe it?s the right time to switch to more an internal communication role that covers both on- and offline. Your skills could be particularly sought-after by firms which want to move more of their communications online; they?ll need someone who has a strong understanding of traditional offline channels, but at the same time can be a strong advocate for digital and can help to shape online channels and processes.

Transfer the skills

It?s time for a big change. You?ve explored all the intranet, internal digital, external digital and specialist digital career paths available to you inside the company and out and you feel it?s time for a change. So what career paths are open to you now?

  • Business Transformation ? Given the communication, collaboration and transactional nature of intranets, you probably have a very sharp understanding of how technology can make a difference to an employee?s efficiency. It?s also very probable that you understand people?s roles and the machinations of your business. I expect you could jot down five ways to improve the business right now?
  • Change Management ? There?s no chance you?ve lead your intranet without having an appreciation of change management. Whether your organisation is in the ?intranet as a project? cycle, or more about continuous improvement, recognising the impact of your changes and working to smooth the transition are an important part of your current role ? but could it be your future career?
  • Project Management ? A former manager of mine likened intranet projects to plate spinning. The real trick is to keep all the plates up and if one really must fall, make sure it?s the cheap plate from IKEA that no one will notice. In the course of your current role, you?ve managed complex cross-functional legacy projects. Fancy more of the same?
  • Consultancy ? Allow other organisations to leverage your learnt skills and experiences. We?ll spare blushes and not mention names, but there are countless intranet practitioners who are now consulting others
  • Outsource ? How about managing other intranets on behalf of other companies?
  • IT ? yea, slip over to the darkside! You?ll be able to able to provide important business insight!

Summary

The experience you?ve gained managing your company?s intranet will stand you in good stead as you embark on the next phase of your career. We hope some of the suggestions above provide food for thought. Let us know ? what?s your next step?

Source: http://www.business2community.com/online-communities/what-next-intranet-manager-0223911

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Outing Sally Ride: Her sexual orientation has nothing to do with space ships

Ride (NASA)

Maybe the idea of gays in space is just so exciting that it has overwhelmed Sally Ride's eulogists, who really should be parsing her achievements in astrophysics, accident investigations and middle-school education, rather than trying to make hay out of her mellow lesbian romantic life.

Commenters just seem like gay astronauts. After all, the first slashfic? gay romances spun out of fictional male friendships??involved men in space, namely Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock of "Star Trek." The stories were called Kirk/Spock fiction, and the name "slash" was given to the genre. Neil/Buzz slashfic also exists. There's not much of it, but it can be pretty lewd. Those who like to keep their memories of Apollo 11 chaste, or believe that slashfic defames real-life people featured in it, should never, ever put "Neil/Buzz slashfic" into a search engine.

At the same time, there was Sally Ride. Her amazing life wasn't fiction, or fan fiction, or slashfic. She really was the first woman and first gay person and youngest astronaut in space. And she and her collaborator and co-author Tam O'Shaughnessy, a biologist and school psychology professor, really did live together for three decades. This was well-known to family and friends.

Ride died Monday. Much of her adoring public learned the details of her domestic arrangements only posthumously. In this way, she was like most celebrities who die. I didn't know until I read the obituary, for example, that Davy Jones of the Monkees, who died in February, had been married three times. I was also surprised to learn that Etta "At Last" James, who died in January, had been married to one man through 42 years (during her heroin and coke addictions), and that she had two sons.

But for some reason the fact that Ride's live-in relationship with O'Shaugnessy was only revealed when she died, bugged commenters like Andrew Sullivan who managed to find feminist secrecy in Ride's and O'Shaughnessy's promotion (O'Shaugnessy was the head of Ride's company) as a woman first and a lesbian second.

"Feminists," he writes on the Daily Beast, citing no examples, "often 'inned' lesbian pioneers, or the lesbians closeted themselves. This was not because they were in a reactionary movement; it was because they were in a progressive movement that did not want to be 'tarred' with the lesbian image."

For social liberals, Sally Ride's posthumous out-coming is a luxury problem in the extreme. She was the first female, the youngest and the first gay in outer freaking space?and a major force in space policymaking. What's more, Ride alone served on the two presidential commissions that investigated both the 1986 Challenger crash and the 2003 Columbia accident, which together killed fourteen astronauts. Without fear or favor, Ride concluded that NASA made the same errors in judgment both times.

Is it more important than any of this that, having been married briefly to a man, Ride eventually settled down with a woman? Ride's identity as both gay and female is an embarrassment of riches that presents an irresistible opportunity, it seems, to kvetch rather than celebrate a life astoundingly well led.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/outing-sally-ride-her-sexual-orientation-nothing-space-212649158.html

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Mitt Romney's Foreign Policy Challenge (Atlantic Politics Channel)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/238256402?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Gabrielle Giffords tours European physics lab

GENEVA (AP) ? Former U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords toured the European particle physics laboratory Wednesday, cheerfully facing reporters but saying little during her first trip abroad since being shot in the head last year.

Giffords was accompanying her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, on a visit to the European Center for Nuclear Research, two days after she rode a cable car up into the French Alps. The lab, known as CERN, had assembled a $2 billion cosmic ray detector that Kelly and his team carried to the International Space Station in May 2011.

That mission came just months after Giffords, a lawmaker from Arizona, was shot by a gunman in a Jan. 8, 2011, rampage that killed six and wounded 13 outside a Tucson supermarket. Since then, Giffords has undergone intensive therapy and made dramatic progress, but she also decided to leave her seat in Congress to focus on her recovery.

During a press conference Wednesday, Kelly joined CERN officials and four other astronauts in recalling the delicate task of installing the 7-ton Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the space station so that it can scan the universe for signs of dark matter and antimatter. Kelly commanded the mission, which was the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Nobel Laureate Samuel Ting, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the principal investigator for the CERN-based project, said the detector is functioning "perfectly" and an international team of 600 scientists has now collected data from 18 billion cosmic rays.

Giffords, a Democrat, served on the House Science and Technology Committee, and took on NASA affairs while heading the space subcommittee. Ting singled her out for praise because of her support for the U.S. space program.

"Thank you," she quickly replied, beaming.

The 42-year-old former lawmaker said nothing else publicly, but sat during most of the half-hour press conference with her left hand clasping the hand of Ting's wife, Susan, a psychologist who is assisting her husband's project outside Geneva and who said she found Giffords to be caring and sweet.

Quiet but alert, Giffords walked slowly, with the help of aides, and was dressed casually in sneakers and slacks with her right hand in a brace and her right arm in a sling. The bullet wound in the left side of her brain has affected the use of her right arm and leg.

On Monday, Giffords and Kelly rode a cable car up the Aiguille du Midi outside Chamonix, France, where Kelly and other astronauts installed a plaque on the Refuge des Cosmiques, a high-altitude French lab for studying cosmic rays. She also ventured a few meters onto the snow, accompanied by Kelly and a mountain guide, for a photo op.

During the press conference, Kelly touched on the months between the shooting and the space mission. "As a family, we had a very difficult time between January 2011 up until I came back from space, on June 1. It was quite a challenge," he said.

He turned to acknowledge his daughters Claire and Claudia, and explained that the space shuttle had a little-known rearview mirror in which he could see the rooftop from where they and his wife were watching his launch ? two days before Giffords underwent surgery to repair her skull.

"That was very helpful, just to know they were there supporting me, especially after such a difficult time in our lives," he said.

Kelly said his wife would not grant interviews until sometime later in Arizona. "She's doing great, she's doing great," Kelly told The Associated Press. "She's just here to support me."

Kelly also declined to comment on the Aurora, Colorado, movie massacre last Friday that killed 12 and wounded dozens of others. But soon after the killings he tweeted: "Gabby and I were horrified to hear of the tragedy in Colorado last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

Jared Loughner, a college dropout, was charged with first-degree murder in the attempted assassination of Giffords and other alleged crimes stemming from the shooting. He pleaded not guilty and was found mentally unfit to stand trial.

Democrat Ron Barber, Giffords' former aide who also was injured in the shooting that nearly took her life, won a June 12 special election to replace her in the U.S. House of Representatives, a victory she celebrated by hugging and kissing him on his forehead.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gabrielle-giffords-tours-european-physics-lab-113252116.html

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

MSI GT60 and GT70 gaming laptops get NVIDIA GTX 680M ...

MSI Acclaimed G Series Gaming Laptops with NVIDIA GTX 680M ? Now Available in the US

GT70 and GT60 now armed with the most advanced and efficient graphics card to deliver breath-taking gaming and multimedia experience

City of Industry, Calif. ? July 24, 2012 ? MSI Computer Corp, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, challenges gaming standards once again by upgrading the GT70 and GT60 with NVIDIA? GeForce? GTX 680M, the fastest mobile GPU to-date.

Outfitted with state of the art gaming components, including Intel? Core? i7-3610QM Processor, Killer? E2200 Game Network, Dynaudio Tech speakers with THX Surround Sound and SteelSeries Programmable Backlit Keyboard, the upgraded units deliver utmost gaming ecstasy to both the casual and serious gamer.

"The addition of NVIDIA?s latest GPU adds the extra power to boost the already acclaimed G Series over the top," said Andy Tung, vice president of sales for MSI US. "MSI is committed to the gaming community and we believe that exceptional gaming experience and performance start with outstanding components."

Designed to deliver the utmost graphics power, the NVIDIA? GeForce? GTX 680M features the same benefits as its desktop counterpart, combining technologies such as Adaptive Vsync, Control Panel FXAA Anti-Aliasing, TXAA Anti-Aliasing and multiple core efficiency improvements to further immerse gamers in blistering frame rates, extreme special effects and unmatched 3D experience without sacrificing battery life.

The flagship 17-inch model GT70 0NE-276US also comes with 16GB of DDR3 at 1600MHz, two 128GB of SSD storage at RAID 0 with 750GB of additional HDD storage, Blu-ray Burner, Gold Flashed Audio ports with Headset AMP, 3 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB 2.0 ports to ensure maximum performance.

Both the GT70 and GT60 are currently available at Amazon, NewEgg, Tiger Direct, Best Buy, J&R and B&H. For more information about the GT70 and GT60 models, visit http://www.msimobile.com or contact PR representative Pedro Chen at (305) 374-4404 x139 or by e-mail at PedroChen@maxborgesagency.com.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/24/msi-gt60-and-gt70-gtx-680m-graphics/

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Increase Your Revenue With Internet Marketing

One primary reason why lot of people are having business is because they want to earn money and increase their profits more and more. In internet marketing, there are so many ways on increasing your revenue.

Simple Tips in Increasing Your Revenue Through Internet Marketing

1. Links are very important so make sure that you pay lot of attention to them. In SEO, link building is very effective in driving traffic towards your website. Search Engines are very particular in links so make sure to link yours with credible websites that has higher page ranks.

2. Though we can never deny the fact that what really wanted is to increase our revenues, we should not show it explicitly for that will give a negative impact into your website. You should also think of ways in which your customers would also benefit. By doing this, your customers would feel that you are also caring for them and that alone builds trust between your company and your clients. People will always look for something in which they think beneficial for themselves.

3. Ads are also one of he factors that could affect your revenues directly. Make sure that you place your ads in parts of your site which are easily seen. Choose ads that are humorous yet wholesome for the eyes of every reader. You may add some graphics to attract more attention? but make sure not to over do it. Too much graphics will make your website messy and slows down the loading.

internet marketing4. Outsourcing Business Services can also be beneficial. By outsourcing administrative tasks or any other business services could save you a lot more money. The tasks have been completed, you have a lesser expenses and yet you are able to increase your business? productivity.

5. Make your blog informative. Research conducted on internet marketing that blogs with informative contents have stronger customer engagements than those with poor quality contents. However, make sure that is not too long that will bore the readers. Make your content brief, informative and interesting.

6. When you market a product, make it looks like a ?must have? item. With proper marketing strategies that would make your product valuable for every customers, your revenue will surely increase higher than what you are expecting.

7. Since you have a lot of competitors in online marketing, make sure that you are equipped with proper knowledge, skills and technologies that would make you lead the competition. Stay up- to- date and ever give your opponents a single chance to surpass you. One single wrong move will break your business.

8. Give away coupons or offer special promos and discounts to attract more customers. This will surely attract more probable customers and then you have to make them trust you your business and brand. It is the very first thing you have to remember in marketing ? to build trust, so that later on, these probable customers will developed into regular customers.

It takes? a lot of patient, time and effort to to increase your revenue especially if you are a beginner in internet marketing. It would be a big help if you understand and learn more about SEO for you to be able to succeed in this business.

Source: http://www.herbertkikoy.info/2012/07/increase-your-revenue-with-internet-marketing/

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How To Prepare For New Time Zones When Traveling ...

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Source: http://articlereference.net/home-family/how-to-prepare-for-new-time-zones-when-traveling-2.html

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