Wednesday, July 31, 2013

To catch a thief: Masked man hunted after $53M Cannes jewel heist

In a brazen heist, a masked man allegedly armed with a pistol walked into the legendary Carlton Hotel in Cannes, France, and stole about $53 million of jewels that were being set up for display. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

By Michelle Kosinski and Alastair Jamieson, NBC News

CANNES, France - Police were looking Monday for a man in a mask who stole $53 million worth of diamonds and other jewels from a glamorous French Riviera hotel in one?of Europe's biggest and boldest jewelry heists in recent years.

The audacious raid prompted one security expert to speculate that the notorious "Pink Panther" jewel thief gang was "on the warpath again."

The lone robber walked into the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in Cannes late morning Sunday and demanded to be handed several bags containing jewels and diamond-encrusted watches.

"Everything happened very quickly," a judicial source told Reuters, adding that there was no violence.

The hotel, a haunt of the rich and famous, was where Alfred Hitchcock filmed scenes from the 1955 film "To Catch a Thief", starring Cary Grant as burglar alongside Grace Kelly.

It was hosting a temporary jewelry exhibit over the summer from the prestigious Leviev diamond house, which is owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev.

The heist came two months after two smaller jewelry robberies hit the annual Cannes film festival, where many of the world's top movie stars are lent gowns and gems to parade on the red carpets and at glamorous parties.

The crime follows recent jail escapes by Pink Panther gang members.

Jonathan Sazonoff, U.S. editor for the Museum Security Network website and an authority on high-value crime, told The Associated Press that police would likely probe whether the heist is linked to the escapes.

On Thursday, gang member Milan Poparic escaped his Swiss prison after accomplices rammed a gate and overpowered guards with bursts from their AK-47s.

"The brazen drama of it is their style... The possibility of the reemergence of the Pink Panther gang is very troubling and taken seriously by law enforcement worldwide," Sazonoff said. "The theft of high value diamonds is exactly what they do, so it's not a great leap to assume they are on the warpath again. They are a crime wave waiting to happen."

France has seen only one theft larger than this one ? the raid of a store in Paris in 2008 that netted more than $100 million worth of gems and jewelry.

"It's a huge theft,? Sazonoff told The AP. ?Anytime you talk about a heist with many millions of dollars it turns heads and feeds the imagination.?

In a statement seen by Reuters, Leviev said: "Company officials are cooperating with local authorities investigating the loss and are relieved that no one was injured in the robbery."

?There are three types of jewel thieves,? said financial crime author Jeffrey Robinson. ?There?s the idiot who walks into a jewelry store with a shotgun smashes and grabs and gets caught, then there?s the people who break into your home and try to steal a wedding ring.

?But then this third type - and this is the important one - he is the professional businessman. And his business is jewel thievery.?

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663309/s/2f4b8c52/sc/8/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A70C290C197538750Eto0Ecatch0Ea0Ethief0Emasked0Eman0Ehunted0Eafter0E53m0Ecannes0Ejewel0Eheist0Dlite/story01.htm

drew brees usps Ola Ray Ginobili miley cyrus miley cyrus game 7

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Can Muslims write about Christianity?

A Fox television host finds something suspect about Reza Aslan's new book on the historical Jesus.

By Dan Murphy,?Staff writer / July 28, 2013

Naga Hamadi in Upper Egypt.

Ann Hermes

Enlarge

American public discourse about Islam is filled with essentialist paranoia, fear, and the commentary of people who not only don't know much about the topic but are often dismissive of people who do.

Skip to next paragraph Dan Murphy

Staff writer

Dan Murphy is a staff writer for the Monitor's international desk, focused on the Middle East.?Murphy, who has reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, and more than a dozen other countries, writes and edits Backchannels. The focus? War and international relations, leaning toward things Middle East.

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

But the reception that scholar Reza Aslan received on Fox last Friday was a new twist: Muslim views of Christianity are inherently suspect, it seems. Mr. Aslan, who has a PhD in the sociology of religion from UCSB and a masters in theological studies from Harvard, is promoting his new book "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth" and was on with Fox religion correspondent Lauren Green to talk about it. He was born in Iran, his family fled the Islamic Revolution there in 1979, and he grew up in the US where he converted to Christianity as a teen and later converted back to the faith he was raised in.

Fox has been filled with Christian and Jewish commentators explaining Islam to their audience over the years. Daniel Pipes has been one of them. As has Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Muslim who became an atheist (an earlier version of this story incorrectly described Ms. Ali as a Christian) and who describes Islam as fundamentally violent and has written books attacking the faith. As have Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, who both describe Islam as inherently violent. In the past, it's even had conspiracy theorist Glenn Beck give long expositions of the essence of Islamic law as he sees it.

None of those people are Muslims, yet as far as I'm aware their comments have never been questioned on the network as suspect since they came from non-Muslims. Yet his faith was a major talking point for Ms. Green in their interview. Her first question? "You're a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?"

He responds: "Well to be clear, I am a scholar of religions with four degrees ? including one in the New Testament, and fluency in biblical Greek, who has been studying the origins of Christianity for two decades ? who also just happens to be a Muslim. So it?s not that I?m just some Muslim writing about Jesus, I am an expert with a PhD in the history of religion..."

At this point Ms. Green breaks in: "But it still begs the question though of why you'd be interested in the founder of Christianity?"

Does it really beg that question? Not to me. And Green, a Christian, doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong about expressing her own opinions about Islam.

She wrote in 2011: "My area is religion, not politics. So my queries about Islamic terrorism tend to break the question down theologically and ask the question:"

is there something in Islam itself that makes believers more susceptible to radicalization?... I believe essentially there are three things that may make Islam more prone to radicalization. One is the Koran itself. The fact that it's not a narrative makes it easier to pick and choose verses to fit your interpretation. Two, the Prophet Mohammed's own words and deeds. In Islam's early days, Mohammed spread the faith with the sword. Three, Islam was introduced into a world rife with tribalism; a shame and honor culture which revered and respected power. Much of what's going in Libya and what went on under Saddam Hussein, are extensions of that tribalism.?

Green has a right to her opinions, of course. But they are ill-informed.

On her first point, while it's true that elements of the Quran have been emphasized at the expense of others by various Muslim schools and sects, that's also happened with Christianity. Elements of the Bible about slavery, the role of women, giving of alms, sexuality, and even snake handling and the speaking in tongues have been seized upon by various Christians down the centuries.

To say that Islam was spread by the sword is a gross oversimplification. While Mohamed and his followers conquered Mecca by force in 630, the earliest years of the faith were focused on peaceful proselytization. While Islamist conquests spread Islam throughout the Arab world after his death, Islam spread largely through trade and cultural contacts in strongholds of the faith like India, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

Her third point is particularly incoherent. While it's true that Islam, founded in the 7th century AD, "was introduced into a world rife with tribalism" the same is true for the advent of Christianity six hundred years earlier.

I'm interested in this topic because as someone who lived in Muslim majority countries from 1993 to 2008, I find the level of hostility to Islam back here in the US to be deeply frustrating. I have known Muslims with a wide range of political views. I have met some who I'd describe as terrorists, others whose political views, informed by their faith, I find profoundly regressive and disrespectful of fundamental individual rights ??and many more who were thoughtful, open-minded and respectful of other creeds.

Yet frequently the US mass media places Muslims all in one box and it's not only inaccurate, but also harmful to a real understanding of the world and its problems.

Ms. Green's interview with Aslan is a premier example. Her first question clearly implies that Aslan ??whose book is controversial ? has some kind of agenda, something suspicious. His answer to her, expounding on his academic credentials and the fact that as a scholar he's interested in religions (plural), not just his own faith, is spot on.

He tells her: "It would be like asking a Christian why they would write a book about Islam.... I've been obsessed for Jesus for 20 years." He also points out that his wife and his mother are Christians, and says that "anyone who thinks this book is an attack on Christianity has not read it yet."

But Green presses on, quoting a Fox op-ed by Christian pastor John S. Dickerson, who wrote: "Media reports have introduced Aslan as a 'religion scholar' but have failed to mention that he is a devout Muslim."?

Really? On July 16, the excellent WNYC host Brian Lehrer had Aslan on and mentioned his faith before asking the first question: "Just some background on you first. You come from Iran originally, you've been through Christianity and Sufi Islam among your personal beliefs. Are you a practicing anything today?" Aslan responded: "Yeah, I'm definitely a Muslim and Sufism is the tradition within Islam that I most closely adhere to."?

I'm sure other interviews and reviews have failed to mention his faith. But, well, so what? This is a classic case of attacking the man, and not the argument.

Make no mistake Aslan does have an agenda. He has written a book about the historicity of Jesus, and attempts to locate Jesus as a figure of historical study have always been profoundly controversial, particularly for people who believe in Jesus Christ, the son of God and savior of mankind. Will there be scholarly criticisms of the book, saying he's gotten it wrong? Inevitably. His book is just the latest entry into the scholarly debate over the historical Jesus.

Green appears confused ??or perhaps angry about ??the separation of scholarship and belief (she herself is a devout Christian who was brought up in the African Methodist Episcopal Church).

"You're promoting yourself as a scholar and I've interviewed scholars who have written books on the resurrection, on the real Jesus ... who are looking at the same information that you're saying is somehow different from theirs is really not being honest here," she charges.

Aslan answers back: "I think it's unfair to just simply assume because of my particular faith background that there is some agenda on this book ??that would be like saying a Christian who writes about Muhammad is by definition not able to do so because he has some bias against it."

Green responds: "I believe you've been on several programs and have never disclosed that you're a Muslim and I think that there's an interest in full disclosure." To that he said: "Ma'am, the second page of my book, the second page of my books says I'm a Muslim ... it's simply incorrect that media isn't saying I'm a Muslim."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/n2MryKvKz58/Can-Muslims-write-about-Christianity

acm passover recipes 2012 kids choice awards kansas ohio state wrestlemania results womens final four josh hutcherson

Facebook Feedback Time! The Auburn Public Theater is hosting the premier of a ne...

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

Source: http://www.facebook.com/NewsChannel9/posts/10151776892690351

shepard fairey is snooki pregnant snooki pregnant gbc hedy lamarr kowloon walled city ronda rousey vs miesha tate

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Empowering your customers? Think twice about social media campaigns

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Companies that empower consumers by involving them in important processes such as product development shouldn't also try to influence them through social media, according to a new study.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/GTn-BH2ciBk/130726131253.htm

santa Capital STEEZ George Bush After Christmas Sales 2012 Charles Durning Webster Ny Mcdonalds

You asked for it, ladies | A Voice for Men

No, this isn?t a post about rape. In fact, it?s about the opposite. It?s about walking away, maybe running away. Specifically, it?s about the right to run?specifically, men?s right to decline to trust, to, eschew focus on relationships, and to refuse to open themselves to women beyond anything but the most superficial levels of interaction.

Why?

Because of the folks who dismiss or advocate for false accusers (you know, the people who rail against due process for men in criminal or family court) while claiming both moral superiority and their own right to turpitude with impunity, push men around, knock them to the ground, step on them, and kick them when they?re down. Those same folks have the screaming audacity to act shocked and appalled when men feel maligned, get fed up, pick themselves up, turn their backs, and walk away.

My opinion of your sniffing response at men who don?t want any part of you anymore is simple: Kwitcherbitchen, ladies. It?s your own damned fault. You have no business complaining.

In recent weeks, there have been more than a few volatile discussions on the topic of the MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) movement. I?ve been part of similar discussions in the past, and what I learned is that other women with any real understanding of the evolution of Men Going Their Own Way, and women who are willing to acknowledge why we women may not be justified in complaining about it, are few and far between.

At best, what I?ve heard from other women on this topic is often hypocritical, considering the decades we?ve had of feminists teaching women to hate and fear all men on the chance that some might be dangerous. Admonitions? like ?not all women are like that,? and ?don?t let a few bad eggs spoil your opinion,? are empty when offered to male survivors of habitual or chronic abuse by women, or on women?s behalf.

At worst, there is a hurling of denial, accusation, and resentment, with complex versions of ?how dare you withdraw respect,? ?how dare you reject our judgement? and ?how dare you deny our control,? all of which are nothing more than a demand that men not learn from experience. Most of these responses stem from a sense of ownership?an ownership which feminist advocacy seems to feel it is entitled to in the realm of relationships, social interaction between sexes, and most emphatically, over sexual interaction.

The general social and legal treatment of males?has begun to remind me of a book I studied in a high school literature class: Richard Wright?s Black Boy. The passage that comes to mind as a highlighting parallel is the recounting of Wright?s first job interview.

?Do you want the job?? the woman asked.

?Yes, ma?am,? I said, afraid to trust my own judgment.

?Now, boy, I want to ask you one question and I want you to tell me the truth,? she said.

?Yes, ma?am,? I said, all attention.

?Do you steal?? she asked me seriously.

I burst into a laugh, then checked myself? I had made a mistake during my first five minutes in the white world. I hung my head.

?No, ma?am.? I mumbled. ?I don?t steal.?

She stared at me, trying to make up her mind.

?Now, look, we don?t want a sassy nigger around here.?

?No, ma?am.? I assured her. ?I?m not sassy.?

Wright goes on to describe his incredulity at the senselessness of the woman?s expectation that he would honestly answer such a question, but I remember at the time that I read the story feeling outraged at the woman?s implied assumptions in asking. The question suggested that being black meant he was suspect. The rest of the discussion demonstrated that sense of superiority among racist whites which lead to the treatment of?all blacks as children, as mentioned in the text following the?conversation. Further, the candid presentation of the insult represented by the initial?question, ?Do you steal?? struck me in its callousness, cruelty, and elitism. This woman felt entitled to treat Wright as an inferior being simply because of the darkness of his skin. To her, his ability to form and adhere to a moral code was questionable, and his emotional response to mistreatment and misjudgment irrelevant, all for no better reason than because he was black. After reading Wright?s recounting of the discussion, I felt a sense of impotent disgust and anger at the folks who chose to embrace such a heartless, barbaric outlook. I wondered: what the hell was wrong with these people, that they could live this way, think this way, talk this way, right to the faces of their fellow human beings?

In the past, the treatment of our fellow human beings in this manner was widespread and overt, supported in society by political writing full of made-up reasoning and lame excuses, well exemplified in a quote from John C. Calhoun?s February 6, 1837 Senate Speech.

I may say with truth, that in few countries so much is left to the share of the laborer, and so little exacted from him, or where there is more kind attention paid to him in sickness or infirmities of age. Compare his condition with the tenants of the poor houses in the more civilized portions of Europe?look at the sick, and the old and infirm slave, on one hand, in the midst of his family and friends, under the kind superintending care of his master and mistress, and compare it with the forlorn and wretched condition of the pauper in the poorhouse?

The statement overflows with condescension. The hypocrisy of a politician in the service of a nation begun with one group?s quest for freedom from the control of others who viewed them as inferior, arguing for the control of others he views as inferior, shines a glaring light on the arrogance and pomposity of the culture of supremacy. One must assume oneself to be?grand before one may consider one?s acts of aggression against and oppression of others to be a kindness. One must fully immerse oneself in the murky bog of intellectual bigotry before one may presume to hold others with such falsely ?benevolent? contempt.

I see the same thing in today?s feminist attitude toward men, shown by the treatment of?them as borderline animals with violent tendencies and barely contained sexual impulses, instead of as fully established human beings. Wright?s white employer treated him as dishonest, stupid, and lacking in either the emotional makeup to be?offended at the assumption, or the right to act on it. Despite their frequent denials, Feminism almost universally paints men with equally sweeping, bigoted generalities. Males are treated?as potential criminals: batterers, muggers, mashers, molesters, rapists, murderers; portrayed as inept, as deadbeats, as lacking emotional maturity and sensitivity, and as intellectually inferior, all to excuse subjecting them to the very same disdainful and authoritarian treatment from which the civil rights movement has actively sought to relieve minorities throughout history. Even those feminists who don?t talk this way overtly still fervently deny the existence of, obfuscate, and/or give cover to the ones who do.

Feminist advocacy has pushed men into a corner, restricting them to narrowly defined, impossible to fulfill roles. In conflicts between men and women, men are designated?by various laws as perpetrators, presumed guilty until proven innocent. In family court, men have become nonpersons, nonparents, interlopers begging for any share in the existence of?their children ? for crumbs from the table of parental involvement ? seen as undeserving of regard or relationship, yet fully responsible for the well-being of the families from which they have been expelled. In education and the workplace, males of all ages are targets for both harassment and persecution, using female-centered human resource and behavioral policy to give women control over even the most minute aspects of interaction. Literally, everything men say, and everything they do not say, can and will be held against them. In daily life, men are subjected?to disparaging humor of a type which women need not tolerate, and men are routinely treated with suspicion which women would not abide. Men are treated to shaming of natural behavior in ways which women have fought to escape, objectification which women refuse to accept, and pressure to conform to standards of instinct-control and self-denial which women have been protesting for generations. Every exposure to female scrutiny and behavior, from the simplest everyday interaction to the complexities of various relationships, presents men with the threat of unwarranted censure under the feminist rules of intersex engagement.

The widespread female attitude of superior contempt, combined with activism which has successfully advocated the bypassing of human rights for men in the pursuit of female interests, and the application of double standards in every aspect of male-female interaction, has pushed some men beyond the point of reasonable tolerance. In response, they (and they are growing in number) have chosen to withdraw from the arena of male-female relationships in every way, opting out of collaborative personal investment in any woman. Such vulnerability could result in being used, abused, accused, adjudged, and enslaved. Why face the risk?

Now, after heaping pressure, resentment, bitterness, anger, hatred, blame, shame, and lies upon men as a group, after bawling first for equality, then for preferential treatment, now for absolute power, after shoving men to the side in the pursuit of self-interest, the femosphere has the gall to be?offended at the rejection represented by MGTOW.

The basis for protest seems to be the assertion that, just by virtue of our existence, men owe women some level of regard. It?s not supposed to matter that women are currently abusing feminist-won power, successfully using various false allegations as a weapon in disputes as a means of shutting down fathers who seek to maintain family relationships following divorce or separation, and even absent these gross abuses still routinely, even unthinkingly, use it as a tool to control every minor interaction with men?even, most ironically of all, using it as a means of?garnering attention and sympathy from other women.

Men are expected?to ignore not just the very real danger of being subjected to anything from public censure to prosecution and imprisonment with no recourse, but to everyday maligning of their character and unthinking, axiomatic expectation that they must ?prove? themselves to be ?good? men in the face of possible lies and other misconduct toward them.

Even though men are treated as perpetual suspects, and despite abuses they may have encountered in past interactions, they?re supposed to presume innocence for every woman they meet. Even though men have collectively been objectified, marginalized, and devalued, they?re expected to offer social respect for our sex, acting on the assumption of?altruistic nurturing and higher moral disposition, with no supporting evidence other than the difference in genitalia. After decades of feminist protest against traditional relationship roles and demands for sexual equality, men are required to accept a set of rules of engagement imposed for the purpose of treating female sexuality as a commodity, while simultaneously ignoring the mercenary, exploitative motive behind the hoops through which they?re being ordered to jump.

Somehow, despite feminist assertion that women are entitled?to pursue sexual gratification with the same enthusiasm and indifference they?ve attributed to men, men are still expected to make all of the effort, leaving women free to approach interaction with the attitude of, ?What?s in it for me?? While feminist advocacy has fought to free women from the presumption of female sexual consent within a relationship, the same group continues to assert the demand for male consent to sexual interaction?if he doesn?t want it he?s inferior and if you push it on him he was, what, asking for it?

The choice of men to ignore these expectations, to refuse to cater to the rapacious nature of female dating criteria, flies in the face of the existing entitlement franchise women have seized. Far from acknowledging the iniquitous degree to which women, under modern social norms, have taken all this as if it were their birthright, feminist advocates treat this resistance by men as a form of insubordination, claiming that by withdrawing their much-abused trust and intimacy men are somehow denying women control over our own sexuality. The argument, reduced to its basest level, is that in order to?ensure?female sexual freedom, men cannot be allowed equal right to say no. Feminists claim total, uncompromisable?proprietary ownership and control of consent agency.

This, broken down to its simplest form, is a demand that straight men submit to women?s will and become nothing more than slaves.

Ladies, what honest, compelling reason can you offer to counter the existing circumstances which provoked this defensive movement? Would you seriously advise?anyone to place his heart back into the meat grinder that human courtship has become under the management and regulation of modern feminism? What reward potential can you possibly offer which has not been previously?ruined by other women? What protection can you assure which has not been eradicated by feminist activism? What comfort do you have that is more than lip service?

My answer to all of the?above, the only honest answer I can form, is: none.

This is a bed women made, not a circumstance inflicted upon us by men. If women?s concern over the growing distance between the sexes is genuine; if they have any motivation?at all to regain the regard and interest of men; hell, if women want even the honest respect of men (as opposed to the genuflecting respect of sycophantic men who, if we were honest with ourselves, we?d admit we can?t stand)?if women want any of that, what women first need to realize that it?s not men?s job to address any of it. It?s on women.

If women don?t want men going their own way, women should quit pushing men around. If women can?t quit pushing men around, they?re going to have to accept that eventually, ?around? rightfully evolves into ?away.?

That?s the choice: Make the effort to earn back the regard, the trust, and the consideration to which past generations of women were accustomed? or accept the adversarial role?into which feminists have unceremoniously shoved us, but expect to give up the privileges previously associated with being ?the fair sex.?

Source: http://www.avoiceformen.com/sexual-politics/m-g-t-o-w/you-asked-for-it/

Adam Greenberg Fall Leaves Jim Lehrer 666 Park Avenue Kara Alongi Sahara Davenport Resident Evil 6

Friday, July 26, 2013

Sky launches ?9.99 Now TV set-top box bringing Movies and Sports to all

BRITISH SATELITTE BROADCASTER Sky has announced a ?9.99 Now TV set-top box to give any TV set direct access to its on-demand streaming service.

The box, which comes bundled with a remote control, connects any TV wirelessly to the internet. Once connected, the box gives viewers access to Now TV for a monthly fee or on a pay as you go basis, along with free access to BBC iPlayer, Demand 5, the BBC News App and Sky News.

The Now TV set top box with remote

Sky made its announcement just days after LG revealed a partnership with the British broadcaster to be the first manufacturer to bring Now TV to its Smart TV sets exclusively for at least 12 months. We can imagine that LG is not best pleased about Sky's set-top box, which brings the streaming service to any TV for just under a tenner.

Skys NOW TV set top box

Sky wouldn't respond to our question about why it would sign an exclusive deal with LG to bring the service exclusively to LG's Smart TV sets days before releasing a set-top box for all TVs, but it did say that the box is part of its goal to deliver the service to as many people as possible.

LG had not responded to request for comment by the time of publication.

For those who don't know how Now TV works, Sky's TV on-demand service offers non-Sky customers access to premium programming such as Sky Movies and Sky Sports for ?15 a month or on a pay as you go basis for immediate streaming with no need for a satellite dish, installation fee, contract or subscription.

Skys NOW TV interface?

The service is available through web browsers via PCs and Macs, on Xbox and PS3 consoles, Talktalk's Youview box, iOS devices, selected Android smartphones and tablets as well as Roku. Sky said that the addition of a set-top box brings the service directly to the main TV screen.

Customers can also access other popular online services such as Facebook and Spotify, all delivered over broadband internet connections.

Along with the announcement of the Now TV set-top box, Sky also released its full year results, boasting a five-fold year on year increase in TV on-demand downloads, which reached an average of 6.2 million per week.

The boasting broadcaster said that over the last 12 months there has been "an explosion" in the amount of content Sky customers have been watching using its TV on-demand services, with over a quarter or 2.7 million of its total customers connected their Sky+HD boxes to broadband for catch-up programming, an increase of 170 percent over last year.

To ensure that these TV on-demand figures will continue to grow, Sky said that over the next 12 months its connected customers will receive over 20 new channels on its Catch Up TV service.

"Sky will also make a significant investment in the quality and breadth of its TV Box Sets available on demand, increasing the hours of content available by around 50 percent," the firm bragged.

It also said that its mobile TV service Sky Go is now being used regularly by 3.3 million customers, who have collectively watched 600 million pieces of content over the last year. Its Sky Go customers will also receive more than 10 additional channels over the next year. ?

Source: http://feeds.theinquirer.net/c/554/f/434571/s/2f306173/sc/21/l/0L0Stheinquirer0Bnet0Cinquirer0Cnews0C22850A770Csky0Elaunches0Egbp9990Enow0Etv0Esettop0Ebox0Ebringing0Emovies0Eand0Esports0Eto0Eall/story01.htm

Jessica Ennis Aliya Mustafina Kirk Urso London 2012 Javelin roger federer Olga Korbut Usain Bolt 2012 Olympics

What's going on in Syria? A stepped-back look.

Trying to understand individual events in Syria's war is daunting. But looking for trends gives a sense of the state of play: Syrians are in for a long, brutal war.

By Tom A. Peter,?Correspondent / July 24, 2013

In this image taken from video, columns of smoke billowing as a result of heavy bombing, in the countryside outside of Aleppo Syria, Monday, July 22, 2013.

Shaam News Network via AP video/AP

Enlarge

With at least 1,200 rebel factions, an array of foreign actors backing the regime, and third parties on both sides driven by divergent motives, making sense of the war in Syria has become an overwhelming task.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; // google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

It is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in decades. The United Nations estimates that the conflict claims as many as 5,000 lives per month, nearly 1 in 3 Syrians are refugees or displaced inside the country, and there are 6.8 million Syrians in need of urgent assistance. Even the most devout newsreader can get lost in the flurry of statistics and layers of conflict.

The key to making sense of the situation in Syria may be focusing less on individual events, such as towns changing hands, and more on overall trends.

?There?s such a flood of information and little pieces of information. It is hard to make sense out of it,? says Jeffrey White, a defense fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. ?It?s really important to look at what?s happening over time and what the underlying dynamics are and see how those are changing, where the trends are going, and how the processes are changing.?

The stagnation of the battle lines makes it particularly difficult to understand who exactly is winning or even has momentum. While rebel and regime forces have traded control of several towns, some more important than others, none are important enough to give either side a clear-cut edge in the conflict, or to substantively change the fronts.?

?The two words that really describe Syria today are stalemate and deadlock,? says Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics. ?This is the worst scenario because what political deadlock and military stalemate mean is that it?s turning into a war of attrition, it?s a long war, it?s a costly war. Neither side has the means to deliver a decisive blow. What this means is more casualties, more escalation, and more suffering for the Syrian population.?

Although the US is increasing its involvement, it remains unlikely that it will take any action that could turn the tide of the war. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlined this week?the options for a potential US intervention, but it remains unclear which option the US will pursue, if it pursues any at all. The options ranged from providing arms and training to rebels to an air campaign to eliminate strategic targets inside Syria that would cost billions of dollars. Gen. Dempsey warned that an intervention was likely to have "unintended consequences" and draw the US further into the conflict.

It is clear from inside Syria that neither the fall of President Bashar al-Assad nor the defeat of the opposition are imminent. While the opposition has gained control of large swaths of northern Syria and?managed to make the?south an active front, the Syrian government appears to be focused on maintaining and solidifying its control of Damascus, Homs, and necessary supply routes.

?If you see gains being made by the opposition, you?ll find that they?re not being made in those areas. They?re being made in other areas ? where the regime is not pouring resources in there to hold them at all costs. Whereas around Homs they?ll put resources to fight at all costs and the same in Damascus,? explains Amr Al Azm, an associate professor of Middle East history and anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio who describes himself as an active member of the opposition.?

If opposition forces made significant progress in Damascus or Homs, or if they managed to lay siege to coastal areas loyal to Mr. Assad, this would be a significant development. If the government launched a major offensive and recaptured large parts of the north, this too would be a game-changing event.

But for now both sides are fighting either?to put themselves in a position of power should they sit down at the negotiating table or to be the eventual victor in a prolonged war of attrition. Even if Assad falls in the near future, it remains likely that fighting will continue among an opposition that remains deeply fragmented.

?You?re going to have multiple reversals. Just as the regime has learned and adapted, so too are opposition forces changing, but not in ways that are going to define the headlines,? says Aram Nerguizian, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

?I think we?ve reached a point in the Syrian conflict where if you don?t have a resolution in the short-term, and indications are that that?s a remote chance at best, you?re looking at a cycle where what will grab attention will be things like mass displacement, internally displaced persons, refugee pressures, the effect on countries around Syria in terms of how they try to fortify themselves."?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/LM2hmUFn9J8/What-s-going-on-in-Syria-A-stepped-back-look

greg smith catamount mike dantoni bulls heat goldman sachs brandon carr knicks coach

RESEND: NZ dollar falls on weaker Chinese manufacturing


RESEND: NZ dollar falls on weaker Chinese manufacturing, faster Aust inflation; RBNZ looms

(Fixes 5pm kiwi/Australian price in 3rd graph)

By Paul McBeth

July 24 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar fell after figures today showed Chinese manufacturing was weaker than expected and Australian inflation was faster than anticipated, while at home traders look ahead to the Reserve Bank?s interest rate review tomorrow.

The kiwi fell to 79.66 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 79.89 cents at 8am and 79.96 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index declined to 75.18 from 75.43 yesterday.

The flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers? Index indicated China?s manufacturing activity slowed to an 11-month low in July amid faltering new orders and a weaker labour market, sapping optimism about New Zealand?s second-biggest trading partner. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed inflation across the Tasman 0.6 percent in the second three months of the year, faster than expected, and eating into the prospect of another rate cut by Australia?s central bank. The kiwi fell to 86.01 Australian cents from 86.20 cents yesterday.

That comes ahead of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand monetary policy review tomorrow, where governor Graeme Wheeler is expected to keep the benchmark rate on hold at 2.5 percent, and may try to talk down interest rates, which have been creeping up in recent months in anticipation a weaker currency and booming housing market will start fuelling inflation. Traders are pricing in 39 basis points of increases to the official cash rate over the next 12 months, according to the Overnight Index Swap curve.

?There?s a chance of another wee push lower in the kiwi on the Reserve Bank,? said Imre Speizer, market strategist at Westpac Banking Corp in Auckland. ?The RBNZ will probably play the same story as it did in June, but there?s a risk they might try to nudge interest rates a little lower, because they?ve crept up since the last meeting.?

Speizer said the currency may trade between 79.50 US cents and 80.15 cents ahead of the central bank meeting, and still has room for a short-term lift.

?This is a temporary bounce, and once it?s done we resume the downtrend and go into the 70s (US cents),? he said.

New Zealand trade figures today showed an unexpected monthly surplus of $414 million, when economists were picking a deficit. The surprise came from a 25 percent slide in oil imports, which fell faster than sales of local dairy products, the country?s biggest export.

The kiwi slipped to 79.38 yen at 5pm in Wellington from 79.50 yen yesterday, and fell to 60.31 euro cents from 60.56 cents. It edged lower to 51.86 British pence from 51.99 pence yesterday.

(BusinessDesk)

? Scoop Media

Independent, Trustworthy New Zealand Business News

The Wellington-based BusinessDesk team of former Bloomberg Asian top editor Jonathan Underhill and Qantas Award-winning journalist and commentator Pattrick Smellie provides a daily news feed for a serious business audience.

CONTACT BUSINESSDESK

Source: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1307/S00913/resend-nz-dollar-falls-on-weaker-chinese-manufacturing.htm

helen thomas Rosy Esparza Bbc News queen elizabeth Catching Fire trailer princess diana Lee Westwood

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

World awaits first glimpse of Britain's new prince

By Belinda Goldsmith

LONDON (Reuters) - The world was awaiting the first glimpse of Britain's new prince on Tuesday, with camera crews poised to photograph Prince William and his wife, Kate, leaving a London hospital with their baby son.

Kate, 31, gave birth to the couple's first child, who is third in line to the British throne, on Monday afternoon, ending weeks of feverish anticipation about the arrival.

The baby's name will be announced later but George and James, both traditional royal names, were favored choices with British bookmakers for the child, who is destined, one day, to be king.

The popular couple were expected to adhere to tradition by giving the public the first sight of the royal baby on the steps as they leave St Mary's Hospital in west London - just as William's father Prince Charles and late mother, Princess Diana, did with him.

"We're here to witness history, where a future monarch has been born. I just can't wait to see them today," said Maria Scott, a housewife from Newcastle in northern England who has camped outside the hospital since Saturday.

Kensington Palace announced the arrival of the boy, weighing 8 lb 6 oz (3.8 kg) at about 8:30 p.m., on Monday, four hours after his birth, saying Kate and her child were doing well and would remain in hospital overnight.

William, who said he and Kate could not be happier, was with them.

Their son is third in line to the throne after grandfather Charles and William, 31, and pushes the fun-loving Prince Harry, William's brother, into fourth place.

Congratulations flooded in from around the world after the announcement of the birth, which was followed moment-by-moment by global media as well as the British press, with the excitement seen as a boost for Britons facing economic austerity.

British tabloid newspaper the Sun temporarily renamed itself the Son in honor of the baby, while the left-leaning Guardian newspaper provided readers of its website with a "Republican" button so that they could filter out the barrage of royal news if they wanted.

ROYAL POPULARITY

The birth fuels a new wave of popularity for the House of Windsor led by the younger royals, William and Harry, who were both born to Diana at St Mary's Hospital.

Support for the royals dipped after Diana's death in a car crash in Paris in 1997, a year after her divorce from Charles, as the royals were accused of being out of touch with modern Britain over their handling of the aftermath.

But last year's celebrations of Queen Elizabeth's 60th year on the throne showed support for the monarchy was running at a record high.

Hordes of TV crews and photographers, and royal fans wrapped in Union Jack flags, remained camped outside the hospital overnight on Monday, waiting for the first photo of the baby, who will be called Prince of Cambridge.

There will also be a 41-gun salute at London's Green Park and 62 rounds fired at the Tower of London on Tuesday to herald news of the birth.

William and Kate, who met when they were students at St Andrews University in Scotland about 10 years ago, have officially been known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge since their sumptuous royal wedding in April 2011.

The couple, who have been living in a cottage in north Wales where William is based as a Royal Air Force helicopter pilot, will eventually take up residence with their baby at Apartment 1A at London's Kensington Palace, William's childhood home, when a 1 million pound refurbishment is completed later this year.

Royal experts said after they leave the hospital, the new prince would be taken out of the public glare.

"All we will probably see is a glimpse of the top of the baby's head," said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine.

"After that we won't see them for some time. Having a baby is a very private moment and they are a private couple so the next time we see the baby will be the official photo and that could be weeks."

Not all Britons were celebrating the news however, with Britain's small Republican movement saying it was wrong the future head of state should be chosen by birth.

"It's sad to hear monarchists do down our country, saying we can't be equal, we can't be democratic. We aspire to something better," the campaign group Republic tweeted.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, Michael Holden, Li-Mei Hoang and Dasha Afanasieva; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/world-awaits-first-glimpse-britains-prince-000209988.html

jennie garth space needle nashville predators king arthur king arthur there will be blood there will be blood

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Contango Confusion, Part 2 (Powerlineblog)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/321106199?client_source=feed&format=rss

f/a 18 f 18 crash virginia tenebrae the lake house petrino arkansas roy williams divine mercy chaplet

Dolphins May Have Individual Names

60-Second Science

Bottlenose dolphins reacted specifically to the sound of their own individual, signature whistles when those sounds were played back to them. Cynthia Graber reports.

More 60-Second Science

  • For centuries, we?ve toyed with our creature companions, breeding dogs that herd and hunt, housecats that look like tigers, and teacup pigs that fit snugly in...

    Read More??

Many animals use sounds to convey information. [Sound of wolf? howl] Humans use particular vocal labels for objects and for people. We call these words, and names.

A few creatures, such as parrots and dolphins, can learn specific vocal labels. And wild dolphins are known to have particular, individual signature whistles. Scientists at Scotland?s St. Andrews University wanted to know: can these whistles be used as labels?

The researchers analyzed sounds from dolphins off Scotland?s east coast, and extracted these signature whistles. [Dolphin whistle sound] Then they altered the sounds so the calls wouldn?t sound exactly like the originating dolphin. [Altered dolphin whistle]
They played those sounds back to the dolphins, along with whistles from dolphins familiar to the animals and whistles from strangers.

When the dolphins heard their own signature whistle [Altered dolphin whistle] they routinely responded with that same sound. [Dolphin whistle sound] That reaction only happened twice when they heard sounds from their pals and not at all when they heard the alien dolphin. The research is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Stephanie L. King and Vincent M. Janik, Bottlenose dolphins can use learned vocal labels to address each other]

The researchers think dolphin signature whistles serve as self-identification, and maybe even as a label for addressing each other?just like a name.

?Cynthia Graber

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]???

Dolphin sounds courtesy of Stephanie L. King and Vincent M. Janik, St. Andrews University


Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/basic-science/~3/w_-mzAp48bE/episode.cfm

total eclipse of the heart jionni lavalle earthquake san francisco donald payne elizabeth berkley lenny dykstra mlb 12 the show

Every Little Thing You Should Know About Internet Marketing

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

Source: http://mcxstar.com/every-little-thing-you-should-know-about-internet-marketing

donald driver mariana trench transcendental meditation obama care miss universe canada don draper gallagher

Monday, July 22, 2013

Zomato, South Africa's Most Comprehensive Online Restaurant and Nightlife Guide, Launching in Cape Town on 22nd July

CAPE TOWN, South Africa/PRNewswire/ --

Zomato, the most comprehensive online restaurant and nightlife guide in?Johannesburg, has expanded its presence in?South Africa?with the launch of its?Cape Town?section. It entered the South African market in April this year and is already one of the top 500 websites visited by the people of?South Africa. Zomato is available on the web (http://www.zomato.com/southafrica) and on its free mobile apps for BlackBerry, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

???? (Logo:?http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130720/629581?)

Zomato.com?provides in-depth information on over 1,300 restaurants in?Cape Town, making it the most exhaustive restaurant discovery platform in the city for anyone looking to dine out, have food delivered, or order take-away. Zomato's strength is the information it provides on the restaurants, such as scanned menus, photos, mapped coordinates, and user reviews. On mobile, Zomato's award-winning app is location-aware and suggests the best restaurants around a user's physical location. All of Zomato's web features are available and fully supported on the mobile app.

Some interesting facts about restaurants in?Cape Town, which can be seen from Zomato's data on restaurants in the city:

  • Cape Town?has a total of around 1300 restaurants
  • Fast food and pizza restaurants make up about 25% of the 1300 restaurants in?Cape Town
  • Outside of fast food and pizza, African cuisine is the dominant cuisine being served in the city with about 100 restaurants
  • Asian/Chinese cuisine is a close second with about 80 restaurants
  • As most locals would already know, the Bay Area alone has more than 200 restaurants; CBD is also quite crowded with a little over 150 restaurants

Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, said "We've been expanding our geographical footprint aggressively over the past few months, and?South Africa?is an important market for us. The response fromJohannesburg?has been overwhelming. In addition to the large number of users we see visiting Zomato, restaurant owners also see the value that Zomato adds to their business, and we're expecting this trend to continue in?Cape Town?as well."

More about Zomato:

  • Headquartered in?New Delhi, India, Zomato is currently present in 8 countries:?India, UAE, UK,?the Philippines,?Qatar,?Sri Lanka,?New Zealand, and?South Africa
  • Zomato's?Johannesburg?section was launched in?April 2013, and?Cape Town?will be available to all web and mobile users starting 22nd?of July; people who already have the mobile app installed will automatically get?Cape Town?in the list of available cities without having to update the app
  • Zomato provides in-depth information such as scanned menus, mapped coordinates, contact details, pictures, and user ratings and reviews for over 103,000 restaurants worldwide. It covers over 3000 restaurants between?Johannesburg?and?Cape Town.
  • With a combined web and mobile traffic of over 14 million users per month, Zomato is ranked among the top 2,600 websites in the world and one of the top 500 websites in?South Africa. (Source: Alexa)
  • Zomato has also given its product a big overhaul by integrating social features deep into the product. This makes it the only vertical social network of its kind, based on a rich and credible content base. Users can choose a network of credible foodies & friends to follow and get restaurant recommendations from them, or send one another direct messages to plan meals and get-togethers.

Zomato plans to further expand its reach into continental?Europe, the?Middle East,?South America?andSouth-East Asia?in this calendar year.

Source: http://www.socialmediaportal.com/PressReleases/2013/07/Zomato-South-Africa-s-Most-Comprehensive-Online-Restaurant-and-Nightlife-Guide-Launching-in-Cape-Town-on-22nd-July.aspx

Julie Roberts roses april fools Good April Fools Jokes Dumpster Diaper the beach

Spider-Man swoops into Comic-Con in full regalia

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Spider-Man himself made an appearance at Comic-Con, scaling nearby hotels to swoop into a panel in the San Diego Convention Center's largest exhibition hall.

Andrew Garfield, who plays the web-slinging superhero in "The Amazing Spider-Man" and its forthcoming sequel, was nowhere in sight. The actor only joined the panel once Spidey left.

Garfield, along with Jamie Foxx, director Marc Webb and the film's producers, offered convention-goers the first look Friday at footage from "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," which is set for release next year.

But first, Spider-Man told the crowd of nearly 6,000 fans that he loves Comic-Con, saying, "It's the only place where I feel normal."

He complimented Foxx, who plays the villain Electro in the new film, saying he first noticed him opposite Al Pacino in "Any Given Sunday."

"I loved 'Django,'" Spidey said.

The superhero also confessed that he could really use a day off.

"It's nice to swing, it's nice to climb, but it all gets to be a little old hat," he said.

The footage introduced fans to Foxx's villain, a man who starts out admiring Spider-Man, but eventually seeks to destroy him. Spider-Man befriends the quiet man before an accident transforms him into Electro.

"I wanted Electro to be a serious individual who wants to burn the city down," Foxx said, "and burn Spider-Man along with it."

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy .

___

Online:

www.comic-con.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spider-man-swoops-comic-con-full-regalia-052003597.html

project runway Honey Boo Boo Behati Prinsloo Talia Castellano tiger woods mariano rivera mariano rivera

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Sri Lanka vs South Africa 1st ODI Video Highlights -SL vs SA 2013

by rahus | July 20, 2013 at 08:57 am

Video Highlights - Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 180 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo today in the first of the five-match One Day International (ODI) series.

Click to watch Sri Lanka vs South Africa 2013 1st ODI Cricket Match Video Highlights

After South Africa won the toss and set Sri Lanka to bat, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara smashed his own record scoring 169 off 137 balls to set a formidable goal of 321 for the visitors.

South Africa in reply was all out for 140 in 31.5 overs.

All-rounder Thisara Perera proved well with the bat and the ball scoring 16 and taking three wickets. Rangana Herath took three wickets and Tillakaratne Dilshan returning from injury took two wickets.

Sangakkara was the man of the match.

The match debuted Dinesh Chandimal as the ODI captain since the Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews had earned a two-match ban for slow over rate at the final with India in the West Indies tri-nation series.

Source: http://www.nowpublic.com/world/sri-lanka-vs-south-africa-1st-odi-video-highlights-sl-vs-sa-2013

jenelle evans jenelle evans glenn beck AJ Clemente Thor 2 Trailer Administrative Professionals Day Ryan Lochte

Curiosity Rover Samples Air for a Taste of Mars History

Early data from the rover teases out new details of Mars?s atmosphere and how it changed over billions of years


MSL TLS

LASER BEAMS: A laboratory demonstration of the sample chamber within the Curiosity rover's Tunable Laser Spectrometer, one of the two instruments returning new data on Mars's atmosphere. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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

    Read More??

It?s time to update the list of ingredients in Martian air.

In late 2012 NASA?s Curiosity rover drew air into its onboard laboratory and analyzed Mars?s atmospheric composition with a pair of spectrometers. The results of the investigation, published July 19 in Science, revise decades-old data on the makeup of Red Planet air and paint a broad picture of how the atmosphere has changed since the planet?s formation.

The diaphanous layer of gas enveloping Mars, where the atmospheric pressure is only about 1 percent of Earth?s at sea level, is predominantly carbon dioxide, with much smaller contributions from nitrogen and argon. Together those three gases constitute more than 99 percent of the atmosphere. (Earth?s atmosphere is also dominated by three gases: nitrogen, oxygen and argon, in that order, plus a variable amount of water vapor.)

But NASA?s Viking mission in the 1970s detected a significantly larger contribution from nitrogen than argon?2.7 percent nitrogen to 1.6 percent argon. The new measurements from Curiosity?s Sample Analysis at Mars spectrometers show that the two gases are present in almost equal amounts. In fact, argon (1.93 percent) appears to be slightly more prevalent than nitrogen (1.89 percent). The precision of the new measurements leaves little room for uncertainty, although future data from Curiosity will help constrain any seasonal variations in the atmospheric makeup.

The rover is already investigating longer-timescale changes to Mars?s atmosphere by measuring which gases are present and which nuclear isotopes are in those gases. (Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different atomic masses.) Researchers can then compare the isotopic measurements with ancient gases trapped in Martian rocks that, freed from the surface by impacts, have fallen to Earth as meteorites.

?It tells us for the first time the atmospheric composition to an accuracy that?s high enough to make direct comparisons to the meteorites in all our labs,? says experimental atmospheric scientist Chris Webster of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., lead author of one of the new rover studies.

The ratio of isotopes in carbon dioxide molecules, for instance, can indicate how much of the Martian atmosphere has been lost to space?whether blown away by meteor strikes or stripped by solar wind. Carbon dioxide molecules made with run-of-the-mill carbon-12 (the most common form of that element) are lighter than molecules containing the heavy isotope carbon-13 and escape to space easier. Therefore, atmospheric loss leaves a planet?s carbon dioxide reservoir depleted in carbon-12 and relatively enriched in carbon-13.

Compared with past missions such as Viking and NASA?s Phoenix lander, Curiosity has revealed a greater role for carbon-13, supporting the idea that Mars once had a much richer atmosphere. Intriguingly, the Curiosity data closely match analyses of a meteorite called Allan Hills 84001, which formed on ancient Mars before being ejected into space and subsequently landing in Antarctica. (The Allan Hills meteorite rose to fame in 1996, when scientists made the highly controversial suggestion that it might contain fossilized remains of Mars life.)

?We know that the Allan Hills meteorite is four billion years old,? Webster says. ?It traps gas from that early Martian atmosphere.? Curiosity, on the other hand, can determine the precise makeup of the atmosphere today. ?So we now have enough confidence and enough accuracy in the measurements to make that comparison. The overarching result is that the atmosphere has changed very little in four billion years.? In other words, it appears the bulk of Mars?s atmosphere was lost relatively shortly after the planet?s formation 4.5 billion years ago.

That does not mean there hasn?t been any recent variation. Methane, a gas that some planetary scientists expect to change greatly over time, is notably absent from the new studies. In recent years, measurements from Earth have indicated the appearance and disappearance of methane plumes on Mars that might spew from geologic?or even biological?sources. Those observations have stirred controversy, which Curiosity ought to help settle. The rover has yet to detect the gas, but that does not necessarily mean it is absent from the Martian atmosphere. The precise upper limits on methane abundance that rover scientists can infer from Curiosity?s nondetection will appear in a later study.

?That?s a big story, so we decided to separate it,? Webster says. ?We have a result that?s very interesting,? he adds, which has been submitted to Science for publication. ?We have no definitive detection of methane?I can tell you that.? It remains to be seen if Curiosity?s limits on methane abundance strongly conflict with the levels expected in the presence of seasonal methane belches from the Red Planet. If they do, the supposed plumes of mysterious origin may be consigned?alongside the purported fossils in the Allan Hills meteorite?to the long list of Martian mirages, much to the dismay of optimistic astrobiologists and an excited public. ?It?s not a message people want to hear,? Webster says. ?They don?t really want to hear that there?s no methane on Mars.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/chemistry/~3/X2_6TAgbZbc/article.cfm

firelight world peace elbow kevin love think like a man world peace world peace lakers colorectal cancer

Tito Vilanova to step down as Barcelona coach after suffering relapse

In the final months of the season Vilanova made two more trips back to America for follow-up tests and to undergo further treatment.

The second of those trips was scheduled for this summer, but was brought forward to May after Barcelona clinched their fourth Primera Division title in five years with three games to go.

Barcelona announced tonight on their official Twitter feed that the training session scheduled for this evening had been cancelled.

Reports in Spain suggest Joan Francesc Ferrer, known as Rubi, could replace Vilanova in a caretaker capacity.

Rubi joined Barca's coaching staff last month as an assistant to Vilanova and Jordi Roura - who took charge of the first team when Vilanova was absent last season.

Rubi was head coach of Girona last term and led the club to the Segunda Division play-offs, where they lost to Almeria to miss out on a place in the top flight for the first time in their history.

The 43-year-old Rubi penned a one-year contract with Barca with the option for a second season and took up his post earlier this week as the first team reported back for pre-season training.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568360/s/2ee6b69b/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Csport0Cfootball0Cteams0Cbarcelona0C10A1915580CTito0EVilanova0Eto0Estep0Edown0Eas0EBarcelona0Ecoach0Eafter0Esuffering0Erelapse0Bhtml/story01.htm

pittsburgh penguins nba finals serena williams Tamar Braxton Prism Governors Ball nsa

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Analysis: Detroit filing sends benefits warning to other cities

By Tiziana Barghini

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many U.S. cities have a much better economic outlook than struggling Detroit, but the Motor City's bankruptcy filing on Thursday should still set off alarm bells elsewhere as the cost of paying retirement benefits swells.

In recent decades, many municipalities have provided their workers with generous retirement benefits, both pensions and health coverage, often in lieu of pay increases. But this has created an unsustainable future burden for budgets that has only been exacerbated by the loss of real estate and other tax revenue in the financial crisis.

In particular, cities like Chicago and Santa Fe, New Mexico, have worryingly high pension liabilities compared to revenue, investors and analysts say.

Detroit's bankruptcy was years in the making, a result of severe financial mismanagement and a unique decline in Detroit's population triggered by job losses in the auto and other manufacturing industries, and the exodus of many residents to neighboring areas as the crime rate soared.

The ranks of retirees outnumber the city's active workers by more than a 2-1 ratio. With so many retirees receiving pension benefits as the population shrinks, the city is caught in a perpetual knot, one that other cities with high retiree costs relative to revenues - such as Chicago - might have to face in coming years as well.

"This could be kind of a precedent for other municipalities. Anyone concerned about some other cities like Chicago, cities in California, what this could do is accelerate a trend where states begin to withdraw their support for cities," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.

"We could potentially see more filings, not on the same scale of Detroit, but certainly some other ones coming out of the woodwork," he said.

Michigan's reluctance to provide a financial lifeline to Detroit may be establishing a new pattern.

"Detroit getting into trouble? Not a surprise. State of Michigan not coming to help? It is a big surprise, and I think I am not the only one to say that," said Richard Larkin, director of credit analysis at HJ Sims.

Municipal bankruptcies in the past have been mostly the result of problems unique to a particular locale - expensive public works projects that fail to deliver on promised revenues, ill-conceived derivatives agreements with Wall Street firms - but pension debt is one that affects cities nationwide as the population ages.

Public worker contracts are often protected by law against attempts to cut costs. That's a common link between Detroit, the California cities of Stockton and San Bernardino which filed for bankruptcy in 2012, and other local governments across the United States.

Chicago, for example, has to comply with a state law that requires the city to set aside more funding for pension obligations, a key reason for a recent downgrade by Moody's Investors Service, but it cannot cut retiree benefits.

Among U.S. cities with high pension costs, Moody's notes that Santa Fe, New Mexico, has net pension liabilities equal to six times its operating revenue, worse than any other city.

The city of Virginia in Minnesota follows at a ratio of 5.9. Las Vegas also in New Mexico at 5.5 ranks third, while Chicago occupies the fourth spot with 5.4.

FUTURE OUTCOME WILL SET THE TREND

Earlier this week, Moody's Investor Services downgraded Chicago's credit rating by three notches to A3 and Cincinnati to Aa2 due to mounting pension costs.

Like Detroit, Chicago has seen its population decline, with the number of residents falling by 7 percent between 2000 and 2010, but that's nowhere near the 25-percent decline in Detroit in that time period.

From California to Detroit, there is an attempt to reduce the cost of debt and pensions through bankruptcy that, if successful, might serve as an incentive for other cities, said Timothy Blake, managing director at Moody's Investors Service.

"We have to acknowledge that there is a trend," Blake said. "We still do not know what the outcome will be, but if the outcome is that they do reduce some of these liabilities that could be an incentive for the filing."

Resorting to a bankruptcy filing is the nuclear option when negotiations with creditors and labor unions to reduce debt and spending have not succeeded. However, bankruptcies are expensive and not easily resolved. Jefferson County, Alabama, until now the largest municipal bankruptcy, filed for protection from creditors in November 2011 and finally presented an exit plan in June.

The pressures some cities have felt in recent years are beginning to ebb as well, as the U.S. economy picks up and revenues flow more quickly into municipal coffers.

"Detroit should not be seen as emblematic of cities or as a harbinger of what's to come," said Clarence Anthony, executive director of the National League of Cities.

James Spiotto, head of the bankruptcy group at Chapman and Cutler LLP in Chicago, said filing for bankruptcy is very expensive and takes long time, and reaching an agreement without it is always preferable.

Jean-Pierre Aubry, assistant director at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, said that Detroit pension costs are average for the country but that the city made a particularly bad bet with the sale of two pension obligation bonds in 2005 and 2006. "Things were going well, until 2009 when the bottom fell out. Then Detroit was saddled with increased pension costs," Aubry said.

(Reporting by Tiziana Barghini; Editing by Martin Howell and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-detroit-filing-sends-benefits-warning-other-cities-121137056.html

a wrinkle in time benjamin netanyahu storm shelters nick lachey lifelock chevy volt christina hendricks

Bloomberg writers claim Apple?s TV deals, like the Time Warner Cable pact, fail its ambitions

?Apple has had grand dreams for its Apple TV, a Web-connected streaming receiver that first shipped six years ago. Customer dissatisfaction with rising cable costs offered the iPod and iPhone maker a chance to upend the economy of pricey channel packages with apps that could stream programming on demand,? Adam Satariano and Alex Sherman write for Bloomberg News. ?Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson he?d ?cracked the code? on television, and Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook declared his ?intense interest? in the company?s TV projects earlier this year. For years industry analysts have speculated that Apple might even roll out a full-on TV set, and the set-top box was a logical first step.?

?So Apple die-hards may be disappointed with the deal the company is close to reaching with Time Warner Cable,? Satariano and Sherman write. ?It saves little more than a click of the remote, according to two people familiar with the negotiations who aren?t authorized to discuss them. Right now, the $99 Apple TV box serves mostly as a hub for well-known online services such as Netflix, YouTube, and Vimeo. While the deal would add a Time Warner app, that just means viewers won?t have to switch from Apple TV back to their cable box: They?d still need to subscribe to Time Warner Cable and wait around for a technician to install it.?

MacDailyNews Take: The writers of this piece fail to note that this deal also removes the shiteous TWC user interface and replaces it with Apple?s. That is the big deal, not removing a video input change.

Satariano and Sherman write, ?That?s a far cry from Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue?s vision of a master menu of network TV apps, on-demand shows, and a handful of live channels, primarily news and sports.?

MacDailyNews Take: Actually, no, it does create a master menu of TV apps, on-demand shows, and live channels within Apple TV. Those can all be found within the TWC section of Apple TV, with other cable companies likely to follow.

Full, rather negative and ill-conceived piece that based on the writers? idea of what Apple TV should be, not necessarily Apple?s, here.

MacDailyNews Take: Straw man construction is lazy ?journalism.?

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Fred Mertz" for the heads up.]

Related article:
Apple partners with TV industry on ?grand vision? ? July 18, 2013

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wordpress/xhfA/~3/LSO1sq6O24o/

kansas vs ohio state winning mega million numbers bruce weber google maps 8 bit mirror mirror texas relays meniscus