Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Ross Brawn says F1 teams are expert enough to avoid problems ...

Ross Brawn says F1 teams are expert enough to avoid problems with new Pirelli tyres ? Formula 1 news

Team principal for Mercedes, Ross Brawn, has stated that the F1 teams are expert enough to avoid the problems that might be caused by the new Pirelli tyres in the beginning of the 2013 F1 season.

?I think the process on the part of the teams will be much stronger.? Brawn said. ?We've been through a period where the tyres were fairly benign and we didn't need a lot of tyre expertise within the team. With the Pirelli tyres, there was far more potential to get it right or wrong, and we needed to create or strengthen the expertise. I think all the top teams have now got a lot of [tyre] expertise within their groups. Therefore when we start on the new tyres next year, we'll have a much stronger organisation to support it.?

He added that the chance of having difficulties with the new tyres has been reduced but not completely eliminated. He said that the teams go through the pre-season testing while it still winters but they only start to understand the tyres when the actual season begins. However, he said that the teams are still competent enough to adjust themselves with the new tyres.

Pirelli had introduced new tyres for the 2012 F1 season and they became a cause of unpredictable results in the beginning of the season. There was a lack of consistency as the season witnessed seven different drivers from five different teams in the first seven races.

Pirelli is introducing new tyres for the upcoming season as well. They provided the teams with prototypes during the Friday practice session of the season ending Brazilian GP. Ahead of the Brazilian GP, Pirelli?s motorsport director, Paul Hembery, said that the new tyres were going to bring a change in the aerodynamics of the cars. He told that they have used new compounds in them and had given the teams a chance to try the new tyres; collect information to take back to their respective factories and get the correct the working frame for the new tyres. He had also told that since the cars themselves were not changing much so the teams will not be in for any huge surprises.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Ross-Brawn-says-F1-teams-are-expert-enough-to-avoid-problems-with-new-Pirelli-tyres-Formula-1-news-a207843

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Fresh Meat!

That someone would be this person, apologies for not telling you my username prior. Welcome to the site, first and foremost! I'll be sure to show you a good time, as I'm sure everybody else will. I've already linked you to some of the guides around here, so you won't be needing that. This is just a formal welcome, and a thank you for joining. I'll show you around chat next. (:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/ms2PoV7ITqU/viewtopic.php

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How A Hyperlocal Approach Can Overhaul Your SEO Strategy ...

HOW A HYPERLOCAL APPROACH CAN OVERHAUL YOUR SEO STRATEGY

Small business owners used to consider search engine optimization a luxury. After all, even a basic website with a phone number and an e-mail address would get enough attention to generate new business. Paying for organic search engine results really only paid off for companies that relied on lead generation for big ticket sales, especially attorneys, banks, and professional development services.

Then, everything got local.

Google bought Zagat so it could weld that company?s respected business ratings into their Google Places service. Microsoft?s Bing search engine now plugs reviews from Yelp and Facebook into its results. As Americans replace the phone book with the search bar, businesses that haven?t focused on a local search engine optimization strategy could find themselves spending extra money on keyword ads while still losing out to scrappy competitors. Targeting the communities of your key audience makes your site even more appealing to prospects?and to search engines.

Search Engines Get Local

Over the past few years, search engines have responded to user demands by automatically applying more localized filters to their results. Web surfers who build detailed search profiles tend to get search engine results pages tuned to their location and their projected intent. That?s why, if I?m in New York City searching for ?Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza,? I?ll get recipe suggestions instead of directions to Lou Malnati?s.

If you don?t use local SEO targeting techniques on your website already, search engines have probably already made their best guess about where you operate. For example, if you?ve tried to extend a nationwide presence by using a toll-free number and a post office box, you?ll fall farther down the list on localized SERPs. According to Google?s quality guidelines, ?P.O. boxes are not considered accurate physical locations.?

On the other hand, a local area code in your phone number and a set of directions to your physical address teaches search engines to bump you higher than many of your competitors. Claiming your company?s physical location on Google, Bing, Yelp, and Yahoo! assures you of stronger results, especially if you serve customers face-to-face.

The Long Tail Loves Hyperlocal Keywords

Hyperlocal strategies tend to favor businesses who already operate in crowded keyword marketplaces, like real estate, insurance, and legal services. Instead of projecting a global presence, today?s best SEO targeting techniques encourage companies to ?deep dive? into their neighborhoods.

In addition to the tongue-in-cheek definition of the phrase ?Philadelphia lawyer,? searchers who use that phrase get served listings from attorneys all over the city. A ?Rittenhouse Square lawyer? and a ?Strawberry Mansion lawyer? mean two very different things to residents of those neighborhoods. Prospects identify more closely with businesses who have established themselves as part of their communities.

Companies just now investing in SEO strategy can pick up some quick wins by homing in on hyperlocal content. Instead of spending big bucks fighting for paid search results placements, some rare keyword combinations can put your business at the top of your prospect?s organic search results.

The Spiders Have Learned How to Read

Early SEO techniques focused on keyword placement and repetition, resulting in some ridiculous attempts to game the system with endless lists of longtail keywords. That frustrated users, and the search engines have heard their pleas. Google and Bing have both supercharged their search results with help from users? own social networks.

Search users can tell pretty quickly if they?re not finding the results they?re looking for. Either they click the back button or search the same phrase again in a short amount of time. If you make the same search as a member of your social network, Google and Bing will weight your SERPs using the knowledge they gained when your friends looked for similar information in the past.

That drives veteran SEO experts crazy. No amount of ?black hat? coding or keyword strategy can trump the knowledge that your prospect?s friend thought your site sucked. Instead of writing content for spiders, you?re writing for people. And the bots that still handle basic search engine crawling can tell the difference between a thoughtful piece of prose and a cynical list of linkbait phrases.

Building Community Backlinks

Diving deeper into your community can land you into a compelling, new backlinking strategy, as well. Previous versions of search engine algorithms ranked your site based on the number of other sites linking to it. Google added complexity when it introduced PageRank, presumably weighting your site?s inbound links based on the authority of the sites doing the linking.

A Stanford bias toward academic research bled into early Google and Yahoo! search results, emphasizing content hosted on servers with ?.edu? domains. Student newspapers and university publications experienced a veritable gold rush, as SEO experts and PR agencies fell over each other to earn backlinks from ?high authority? websites.

Under today?s hyperlocal SEO algorithms, linking from an ?.edu? doesn?t mean very much without the right context. A Seattle university student?s blog linking to the site of a Dallas coffee shop won?t do much to improve latte sales in the West End. In fact, too many college backlinks can make search engines suspicious of foul play. This month?s news included reports of SEO strategists so desperate to remove outdated backlinks that they?re issuing DCMA takedown requests against college-hosted websites.

Instead, today?s best organic search engine optimization techniques require you to meet your neighbors. That Dallas coffee shop will improve its search rankings when it posts blog items about the pizza shop that moved in on the corner, or about the travel agent who works up the street. A block or a neighborhood with local businesses that link to each other create a rising tide that lifts all their boats. (That?s especially good news for the travel agent, who specializes in cruises.)

Harnessing the Power of Reviews

Executing a localized SEO strategy doesn?t always mean devoting yourself to blogging about your neighborhood. The best testimonials about your business have always come from your customers. Today, your customers are writing about you online, whether you know it or not. Embracing those conversations and inviting them onto your site can help your business maintain its commitment to serving existing customers while discovering new ones.

Google, Bing, Yelp, Angie?s List, Facebook, and a host of competitors allow business owners to claim and manage ?locations? on their listings services. Despite some companies? attempts to lace review sites with paid praise, most web surfers can see through ?astroturfing.? Managers and owners who take the time to resolve complaints in public can earn repeat business by building trust online. In return, they can reap the benefits of comments, tweets, and blog posts attesting to the quality of their business?all of which factor into the latest search engine rankings.

Categories: contentmarketing | Permalink

Source: http://www.name.com/blog/contentmarketing/2012/12/how-a-hyperlocal-approach-can-overhaul-your-seo-strategy/

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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

U.S. and Russia still back Syria settlement: U.N. envoy

BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. and Russian officials have given their commitment to a political solution for the deepening Syrian conflict, a United Nations envoy said on Sunday, but Moscow dismissed speculation it was preparing for President Bashar al-Assad's exit.

With rebels now fighting on the doorsteps of Damascus, Assad's forces kept up their now daily artillery strikes and air raids on eastern suburbs as well as some rebel-held districts on the capital's outskirts.

U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met the U.S. and Russian deputy foreign ministers in Geneva for the second session of tripartite talks in less than a week, apparently in response to rising violence that now threatens to engulf Damascus.

"All three parties reaffirmed their common assessment that the situation in Syria was bad and getting worse," a statement from Brahimi said. "They stressed that a political process to end the crisis in Syria was necessary and still possible."

Notwithstanding his comments, commitment to a political process could be at risk. Western officials were among those who helped rebels to create a unified chain of command at the weekend, and Washington is expected to recognize the opposition as the sole representative of the Syrian people next week.

Russia, Syria's main arms supplier, insisted its position on Assad had not softened and it was not negotiating on the future of the president, whose family has ruled Syria for 42 years.

"We are not holding any talks on the fate of Assad," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass news agency in Moscow. "All attempts to present the situation rather differently are shady."

Several countries are believed to be supplying both sides in the conflict, with Iran bankrolling Assad's war efforts while its regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar arm the rebels.

Brahimi said the talks aimed to find a solution based on last June's Geneva Declaration, which called for a transitional government. This proposal originally foundered over different interpretations of that transition; Washington said Assad could not play a role but Russia insisted that his fate should not be decided outside Syria.

Syria's 20-month-old uprising, which began as peaceful protests but has descended into civil war, has become increasingly bloody with over 40,000 people killed.

RADICALS ON THE RISE

The rebels have gained momentum in recent weeks, capturing a series of military sites across the country often with the help of radical Islamists. However, some activists believe the opposition is still far from toppling Assad, whose army has largely held together and who has many heavy weapons.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported army shelling and clashes across the country on Sunday, with 60 counted dead before evening. Death tolls have averaged at around 100 per day in recent weeks.

In the north, the radical Islamist group Jabhat al-Nusra, linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq, led other rebels in seizing on Sunday a regimental command center in Aleppo province, which borders Turkey.

The British-based Observatory, which has a network of activists across the country, said the centre's commander fled along with 140 soldiers. Five troops soldiers were captured.

Western powers have become increasingly alarmed by the role of groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra, which Washington is considering putting on its terrorist list.

Radical groups have gained increasing popularity and influence despite their small numbers. The seasoned fighters they attract from Syria and abroad have increased the effectiveness of their attacks.

Some rebels and residents feel the militants are more disciplined than other rebels, drawing fewer charges of looting and kidnapping.

ROAD TO DAMASCUS?

Damascus has become a focal point of battles over the past week, as rebels effectively shut the international airport by clashing with Assad's forces near there. Foreign flights have been suspended and residents say the airport road is closed.

Rebels who have called their campaign "Operation Opening the Road to Damascus", uploaded video on Sunday that showed heavy gunbattles and explosions rocking several rural towns around the capital. The video also showed rebels firing a fully functioning tank which they had captured from the army.

But there is no clear winner yet in a battle where neither side seems to have advanced. The Syrian army has claimed many successes around the capital, airing footage on state television of soldiers raiding parts of the rebel stronghold of Deraya.

"Our noble forces in Deraya have destroyed some of the terrorist dens used by al Qaeda terrorists to store weapons and other criminal tools," said a report on Syria TV, which usually refers to rebels as terrorists. "Many terrorists were killed."

Still, rebel gains have helped drive a surge of diplomatic efforts among Gulf Arab states and the West to support the opposition and its newly-formed umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition.

The move may be encouraging defections. Nine judges defected in a YouTube video published on Sunday. Such videos, however, are difficult to verify as the Syrian government has restricted media access in the country.

(additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Nastassia Astrasheuskaya in Moscow,; editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-russia-still-back-syria-settlement-un-envoy-045743835.html

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Potent antibodies neutralize HIV and could offer new therapy, study finds

Dec. 10, 2012 ? Having HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence, but it's still a lifelong illness that requires an expensive daily cocktail of drugs -- and it means tolerating those drugs' side effects and running the risk of resistance. Researchers at The Rockefeller University may have found something better: they've shown that a therapeutic approach harnessing proteins from the human immune system can suppress the virus in mice without the need for daily application and could one day be used in humans to treat the disease.

Florian Klein and colleagues in Michel Nussenzweig's Laboratory of Molecular Immunology found that a combination of five different antibodies -- proteins the immune system uses to fight infection -- effectively suppressed HIV-1 replication and kept the virus at bay for a 60 day period after termination of therapy thanks to their longer half-life, while current antiretroviral drugs require daily intake.

These especially potent antibodies were only recently discovered, some of them by several of Klein's colleagues in the Nussenzweig laboratory. Called broadly-neutralizing antibodies, they were identified and cloned from HIV-infected patients whose immune systems showed an unusually high ability to neutralize HIV. In recent years the potent antibodies were found to prevent HIV from infecting non-human primates, demonstrating the possibility for a vaccine in humans. But they were thought to have little or no effect on established infections.

"Antibodies had been written off as a treatment for HIV/AIDS because previous studies showed only a limited effect on controlling the virus," says Klein. "But that was before these more potent antibodies were discovered. We wanted to readdress this question using these new tools."

HIV-1 is notorious for evading the immune system's attacks by constantly mutating, but the new antibodies are able to throw a wrench in that strategy. The key is in the combination. The antibodies target HIV-1's surface protein gp160, a large molecule that forms a spike that seeks out host cells and attaches to them. One antibody alone wasn't enough to quell the virus; neither was a mix of three. But five of them in unison proved too complicated for gp160 to mutate its way out of.

The researchers used "humanized" mice for the study, provided by Alexander Ploss in the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, because normal mice don't have the right receptors to be infected with HIV-1.

"Although HIV-1 infection in humanized mice differs in many important aspects from infection in humans, the results are encouraging to investigate these antibodies in clinical trials," says Klein. "It also may be that a combination of antibodies and the already established antiretroviral therapy is more efficacious than either alone," says Klein.

"If this could be used as a treatment one day, it is conceivable that patients would only need to take traditional drugs until the virus is controlled, and then receive antibodies every two to three months to maintain that control. We're eager to explore if a benefit in HIV-1-treatment can be achieved in humans."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rockefeller University.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Florian Klein, Ariel Halper-Stromberg, Joshua A. Horwitz, Henning Gruell, Johannes F. Scheid, Stylianos Bournazos, Hugo Mouquet, Linda A. Spatz, Ron Diskin, Alexander Abadir, Trinity Zang, Marcus Dorner, Eva Billerbeck, Rachael N. Labitt, Christian Gaebler, Paola M. Marcovecchio, Reha-Baris Incesu, Thomas R. Eisenreich, Paul D. Bieniasz, Michael S. Seaman, Pamela J. Bjorkman, Jeffrey V. Ravetch, Alexander Ploss, Michel C. Nussenzweig. HIV therapy by a combination of broadly neutralizing antibodies in humanized mice. Nature, 2012; 492 (7427): 118 DOI: 10.1038/nature11604

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/MzB_utCC7XA/121210220916.htm

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The Ravens waste no time (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, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/269793721?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Monday, December 10, 2012

Pro-Military T-Shirt Company Posts Vulgar Photoshop of Pope on Facebook

[Update, Saturday, 9 pm Eastern: Ranger Up also promoted the vulgar image on their Twitter account.]

On Friday, Ranger Up, an apparel company that sells "shirts for the military and the patriotic Americans who love the men and women of the Armed Forces", inexplicably posted a crude rendition of Pope Benedict XVI on their Facebook page, which has over 82,000 fans. The graphic invokes a famous Marilyn Monroe scene in the movie The Seven Year Itch. Instead of standing on the streets of New York City, the Pope is in the middle of a park in the tropics, and a little girl appears to be running away in horror of the sight of the pontiff's bare legs. [image below the jump]

So far, over 350 people have "liked" the image on Facebook, it's been shared 122 times, and several anti-Catholic posts have been left on its comment thread, with no reply or comment from the anyone at the company.

Screen Cap From Ranger Up's Facebook Fan Page | NewsBusters.org

Someone who works for the pro-military company, which was started by people who "either were or are still in the military", must have found the crass Photoshopped image funny. However, it ultimately only serves the agenda of those who would like to smear all Catholic clerics as perverts who like to abuse children.

Image of Pope Benedict XVI; taken from http://www.catholicvoiceoakland.org/2008/08-04-21/popevisitphotos.htmThe graphic also dishonors the hundreds of thousands of Catholics who have served in the U.S. military since the American Revolution. Many of them died in the defense of the American republic. The two Navy SEALs who were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq - Michael Murphy and Michael Monsoor - were both Catholic. [image at right found at The Catholic Voice; courtesy CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec]

Ranger Up's decision to post the image is even more incomprehensible in light of the fact that they sell T-shirts, sweatshirts, and even fight shorts with an image of Holy Michael the Archangel on them. The company describes the T-shirt in the following way:

The Archangel Saint Michael is the protector saint of Warriors, Paratroopers, and Police Officers.

When the idea for this shirt came to us from one of our fans in Law Enforcement, I immediately thought of the Saint Michael pendant I carried with me every day of my military career. My grandmother gave it to me right before I went to Airborne School and I carried it with me until the day I hung up the uniform. Shortly therafter, I asked the rest of the guys on Team Ranger Up if I was alone in doing this, and found out that every single one of us carried Saint Michael with us.

We knew this had to be a shirt and we poured our hearts and souls into this one. Here's hoping Saint Michael looks over you as well as he did us.

Story Continues Below Ad ?

As for what the company should do about the vulgar image on their Facebook page, they should follow the example of the first commander-in-chief, George Washington, who banned the celebration of the anti-Catholic Guy Fawkes Day shortly after taking command of the Continental Army outside of Boston in 1775.

Source: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2012/12/08/pro-military-t-shirt-company-posts-vulgar-photoshop-pope-facebook

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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Obama, Boehner meet to discuss 'fiscal cliff'

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunday at the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the impending "fiscal cliff," the first meeting between just the two leaders since Election Day.

Spokesmen for both Obama and Boehner said they agreed to not release details of the conversation, but emphasized that the lines of communication remain open.

The meeting comes as the White House and Congress try to break an impasse over finding a way to stop a combination of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to kick in at the beginning of next year.

Obama met in November with Boehner, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The president spoke by telephone with Reid and in person with Pelosi on Friday.

Obama has been pushing higher tax rates on the wealthiest Americans as one way to reduce the deficit ? a position Boehner and other House Republicans have been steadfastly against. Republicans are demanding steeper cuts in costly government entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

One GOP senator said Sunday that Senate Republicans would probably agree to higher tax rates on the wealthiest Americans if it meant getting a chance to overhaul entitlement programs.

The comments by Bob Corker of Tennessee ? a fiscal conservative who has been gaining stature in the Senate as a pragmatic deal broker ? puts new pressure on Boehner and other Republican leaders to rethink their long-held assertion that even the very rich shouldn't see their rates go up next year. GOP leaders have argued that the revenue gained by hiking the top two tax rates would be trivial to the deficit, and that any tax hike hurts job creation.

But Corker said insisting on that red line ? especially since Obama won re-election after campaigning on raising tax rates on the wealthy ? might not be wise.

"There is a growing group of folks looking at this and realizing that we don't have a lot of cards as it relates to the tax issue before year end," Corker told "Fox News Sunday."

If Republicans agree to Obama's plan to increase rates on the top 2 percent of Americans, Corker added, "the focus then shifts to entitlements and maybe it puts us in a place where we actually can do something that really saves the nation."

Besides getting tax hikes through the Republican-dominated House, Corker's proposal faces another hurdle: Democrats haven't been receptive to GOP proposals on the entitlement programs. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Sunday was skeptical about proposals to increase the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67. He said he doesn't see Congress addressing the complicated issue of Medicare overhaul in the three weeks remaining before the end of the year.

"I just don't think we can do it in a matter of days here before the end of the year," Durbin said. "We need to address that in a thoughtful way through the committee structure after the first of the year."

And hard-line fiscal conservatives in the House are holding fast to their position.

"No Republican wants to vote for a rate tax increase," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Added Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.: "I'm not sure there is support for the rate hikes. There is support for revenue by cleaning up the code."

Still, at least one House Republican has said there is another way. Rep. Tom Cole, of Oklahoma, has said Obama and Boehner should agree not to raise tax rates on the majority of Americans and negotiate the rates for top earners later. Cole said Sunday that most House Republicans would vote for that approach because it doesn't include a rate hike.

"You know, it's not waving a white flag to recognize political reality," Cole said.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., already has said he could support higher tax rates on upper incomes as part of a comprehensive plan to cut the federal deficit.

When asked Sunday what it would take to sign on to a tax rate increase, Coburn echoed Corker's comments by responding, "Significant entitlement reform." He quickly added, however, that he has estimated that such a tax rate increase would only affect about 7 percent of the deficit.

"Will I accept a tax increase as a part of a deal to actually solve our problems? Yes," Coburn said. "But the president's negotiating with the wrong people. He needs to be negotiating with our bondholders in China, because if we don't put a credible plan on the discussion, ultimately, we all lose."

Obama's plan would raise $1.6 trillion in revenue over 10 years, partly by letting decade-old tax cuts on the country's highest earners expire at the end of the year. He would continue those Bush-era tax cuts for everyone except individuals earning more than $200,000 and couples making above $250,000. The highest rates on top-paid Americans would rise from 33 percent and 35 percent to 36 percent and 39.6 percent.

Boehner has offered $800 billion in new revenues to be raised by reducing or eliminating unspecified tax breaks on upper-income people. The Republican plan would cut spending by $1.4 trillion, including by trimming annual increases in Social Security payments and raising the eligibility age for Medicare.

Hensarling and Coburn spoke on ABC's "This Week." Blackburn and Cole spoke on CNN's "State of the Union." Durbin spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-boehner-meet-discuss-fiscal-211638994.html

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NEWS: Amanda Palmer cancels 2013 tour dates to be with friend battling cancer

Amanda Palmer has posted a blog entry on her website explaining that she will cancel all of her upcoming 2013 tour commitments to stay with her best friend Anthony as he battles Leukemia.

"[M]y best friend is really sick and his future is uncertain," Palmer says. "So i am going to stay with him while he goes through this."

Though Palmer notes that she struggled with the decision to make the cancelations for months, she ultimately came to the conclusion to cancel as she was "imagining a world in which he left like Becca [a friend who recently passed away] suddenly, in the middle of the night. and imagining what i would give to be able to be with him one last time, to abide by him, to be present with him as he faced the music. and i know, i?d give anything. any forward momentum in my career, any number of record sales, any amount of success. anything. because if i wasn?t willing to do that: what is my life even worth? why bother to be successful? if i can?t throw it away and sit by my friend when he?s this sick?who the fuck would i be? really?.who?"

Palmer goes on say,? "I said, at the beginning of this, that i felt like i?m letting a lot of people down. Having written this?.i actually don?t believe that. I believe that you know me. i believe that you trust me. and i believe that actually, i?d be letting you down if i decided to leave my best friend hanging and leave on tour anyway. because that?s not who you?d want me to be."

All tickets are refundable and some dates are being rescheduled.

Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra will still perform Prince's Purple Rain at Terminal 5 in New York on New Year's Eve. Tickets are still available for that event.

Source: http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/amanda_palmer_cancels_2013_tours_to_be_with_friend_battling_cancer

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Venezuela's Chavez says cancer back, plans surgery

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 file photo, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, during a press conference at the Miraflores palace in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has arrived back home in Caracas after 10 days of medical treatment in Cuba. State television showed images of Chavez arriving at Caracas' airport early Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, and walking down the steps of the presidential jet. (AP Photo - Nicolas Garcia)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Saturday night that his cancer has returned and that he will undergo another surgery in Cuba.

Chavez, who won re-election on Oct. 7, also said for the first time that if his health were to worsen, his successor would be Vice President Nicolas Maduro.

"We should guarantee the advance of the Bolivarian Revolution," Chavez said on television, seated at the presidential palace with Maduro and other aides.

The president said that tests had shown a return of "some malignant cells" in the same area where tumors were previously removed.

"I need to return to Havana tomorrow," Chavez said, adding that he would undergo surgery in the coming days.

Chavez called it a "new battle." It is to be his third operation to remove cancerous tissue in about a year and a half.

The 58-year-old president first underwent cancer surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011, after an operation for a pelvic abscess earlier in the month found the cancer. He had another cancer surgery last February after a tumor appeared in the same area. He has also undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Chavez said tests immediately after his re-election win had shown no sign of cancer. But he said he had swelling and pain, which he thought was due to "the effort of the campaign and the radiation therapy treatment."

"It's a very sensitive area, so we started to pay a lot of attention to that," he said, adding that he had reduced his public appearances.

Chavez made his most recent trip to Cuba on the night of Nov. 27, saying he would receive hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Such treatment is regularly used to help heal tissues damaged by radiation treatment.

Chavez said that he has been coping with pain and that while he was in Cuba thorough exams detected the recurrence of cancer.

He arrived back in Caracas on Friday after 10 days of medical treatment in Cuba, but until Saturday night had not referred to his health. His unexplained decision to skip a summit of regional leaders in Brazil on Friday had raised suspicions among many Venezuelans that his health had taken a turn for the worse.

Chavez said that he was requesting permission from lawmakers to travel to Havana.

"I hope to give you all good news in the coming days," said Chavez, who held up a crucifix and expressed faith.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://enews.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20121208/d47295ba-fcee-4ed5-b342-a718a1bbb298

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Farney preparing for first legislative session

By SHELLY WILKISON

Dr. Marsha Farney, a Republican from Georgetown, will represent Liberty Hill in the Texas House when it convenes Jan. 8, 2013. (Photo by Shelly Wilkison)

With one month before she is sworn in as State Representative, Dr. Marsha Farney is spending her days preparing for a legislative session where all eyes will be on public education.

Dr. Farney, a Republican, was elected without opposition in November to represent Williamson, Burnet and Milam counties in the Texas House. A member of the State Board of Education with a credentialed background and extensive experience in Texas public schools, Dr. Farney believes she is uniquely positioned to be an advocate for school districts during an anticipated fight on school choice.

With the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, chairs of the House and Senate Public Education committees and the Commissioner of Education all supporting some form of school choice or voucher program, Dr. Farney expects the discussion to be among the top issues awaiting legislators when they convene Jan. 8, 2013.

?Of course, I?d like to see how a bill will be worded, but I don?t see any public outcry for that,? she said.

During an interview in the newsroom of The Independent this week, Dr. Farney said some school districts already offer some form of school choice by allowing non-resident students to transfer into their districts.

Liberty Hill ISD, for example, accepts transfer students without charging fees, while another school district in Milam County has a similar policy and provides transportation for those students. Because state funding is based on school enrollment, accepting transfers is a way for districts to increase their state revenue.

But for Dr. Farney, who began her career teaching third and fifth grades, the bigger threat posed by a voucher system is the possibility that it could turn public schools into ?schools of last resort.?

?I?m afraid of creating a system where public schools are the schools of last resort. Where we create a system of segregation? based on the size of the parents? wallets,? she said.

Among her top concerns about a voucher program are how it would impact special needs children, who currently receive a level of care in public school that might not be offered in a private school.

How private schools handle non-English proficient students and economically disadvantaged students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals are additional concerns, Dr. Farney said.

?I also have a lot of questions about how or if transportation would be provided to these schools,? she said.

?I understand a need for greater school choice, especially in inner-city schools where safety issues are the primary concern,? she said. ?But I have a lot of confidence in our public schools and don?t believe vouchers are warranted statewide.?

She said discipline issues continue to be a problem for public schools distracting students from learning and teachers from teaching.

Dr. Farney said she continues to solicit input from school?superintendents in House District 20, and?has already heard the concerns of LHISD Superintendent Rob Hart on the issue of school choice. Dr. Hart has expressed opposition to a voucher program.

Dr. Farney said she is also monitoring pre-session discussions on school finance and is ?hopeful that this time districts will see some remedies? as opposed to cuts.

She said she is asking her superintendents to inform her of the three most burdening unfunded mandates in hopes that she can facilitate some relief.

Dr. Farney?s passion for education began developing as a young mother who discovered with the birth of her first child how much she enjoyed teaching her things.

Later, as an elementary teacher, she said she never had a classroom without a child who had been abused. As a result, she pursued additional education in counseling.

?I wish I didn?t know what a cigarette burn on a child looks like,? she said. ?I had kids who would fall asleep in class because they had slept in the closet the night before trying to get away from fighting parents.?

She later pursued an interest is school administration and after earning degrees from Texas A&M Commerce, she earned a doctoral degree from The University of Texas. She also worked as an education consultant in some of the southern states during the implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind, and realized then how other states were looking to Texas as a public education leader.

Because she is keenly aware of the sacrifices of public school teachers, Dr. Farney said she is especially interested in protecting the benefits of retirees.

This session, the future of public worker pensions will be a top issue as some lawmakers backed by special interest groups? will attempt to change from defined benefit systems to defined contributions.

Dr. Farney said she doesn?t support the change for Texas teachers because the data is not there to warrant it.

?The defined benefit is a solid program, and I?m in favor of it remaining a defined benefit plan,? she said. ?TRS (Teacher Retirement System) is viable and funded through 2050.?

She said she has also spent some time talking with state education officials about the way Texas ranks schools and districts based on student performance on standardized tests.

Currently, students are required to pass the STAAR exam (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) and school performance is based on the results.

Dr. Farney said she would like to see a system of bonus points awarded to districts that achieve in other areas beyond the test.

?I don?t like reliance on preparation for testing,? she said. ?By doing this, we have created a generation of great bubblers (a reference to shading bubbles correctly on? test documents).

?We have stifled teachers? creativity and tied their hands,? she said. ?I would like to see project-based learning so teachers have more control.

?Teachers, superintendents want accountability, but it needs to be balanced so that they can be rewarded for other things (not just test scores),? she continued.

She said she would like to see more opportunities for districts to partner with industry and institutions of higher learning to create courses for students looking to enter the work force after graduation rather than pursuing four-year college degrees. In communities where industry needs certain skill sets from future workers, public schools can help meet those needs. Those districts that seek out those relationships should be rewarded in their ratings, she said.

With her expertise in public education, Dr. Farney said she will request an appointment to the House Public Education Committee, but expects many freshmen legislators will make a similar request.

Speaker of the House Joe Straus is expected to announce committee assignments in February 2013.

Representing a mostly rural district, Dr? Farney said she is also interested in serving on the House Committee on Natural Resources.

As a member of the State Board of Education, she said she came to learn of the challenges facing rural school districts with regards to water supply and proper infrastructure.

?I became concerned about how infrastructure issues can have a negative impact on public schools,? she said. ?Water is a recurring concern.?

During freshmen orientation last week, Dr. Farney said she learned that Williamson County is the fastest growing county in the nation, and leaders in rural parts of her district are concerned about how their communities will be impacted by the growth.

?As many as 1,000 people are moving to Texas every day and most are congregating along the IH 35 corridor,? she said. ?I?m concerned about what impact that will have on our resources, affordable energy, water and efficient schools.

?The truth is that rural communities may not always be as rural as they are now,? she said. ?I?d like to see more opportunities for job creation in rural communities.?

Dr. Farney lives in Georgetown where her youngest child attends public school.? She is active in various civic and charitable organizations throughout her three-county district.

?I want to be a true member of each community, and plan to host coffees and other events where I can listen to their? concerns,? she said. ?For now, I?m anxious to get the rough edges off and learn as much as I can.?

?

Source: http://lhindependent.com/2012/12/farney12612/

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Scientists identify genes that predict whether trastuzumab will work for breast cancer patients

Dec. 7, 2012 ? Adding the drug trastuzumab to chemotherapy prevents cancer recurrence and improves survival in a large number of women with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer. But trastuzumab does not stop tumors from returning in about 25 percent of patients -- and oncologists haven't been able to identify these women before treatment. This situation may soon change, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

A team of U.S. researchers, led by oncologists at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida, have discovered 27 genes that are significantly associated with a good outcome with concurrent use of trastuzumab and chemotherapy, as well as five other genes linked to a poor outcome using the same treatment regimen.

Results of their study -- believed to be the first to use gene expression profiling to predict outcome to trastuzumab as part of adjuvant breast cancer therapy -- offer a number of future potential benefits, says Edith Perez, M.D., deputy director at large of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and director of the Breast Cancer Translational Genomics Program at Mayo Clinic.

"These findings also are getting us closer to unraveling the biological factors that are relevant to patient outcome, which will help us improve clinical care," Dr. Perez says.

For example, the discovery may help scientists devise a genetic test that can help oncologists select the best treatment for their HER2-positive patients, she says.

Further analysis will illuminate the inner biological workings of individual HER2-positive tumors, which could provide clues for novel treatments, Dr. Perez adds. The researchers have already found that the genes linked to outcome can be grouped into different categories that affect tumor functioning, such as cell cycle, cell death, cell receptor signaling, and gene transcription.

Dr. Perez and her team plan to validate their findings through collaborations with researchers in the United States and Europe who have led other trastuzumab clinical studies.

"We are on our way to developing a predictive test that can define the right treatment for individual patients, and that is very exciting," she says.

The study was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute and Mayo Clinic, with further support from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the 26.2 with Donna Foundation. The N9831 clinical trial was conducted by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group, now part of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Dr. Perez is a group vice chair for the Alliance.

The study's co-authors include researchers from Mayo Clinic's campuses in Florida, Minnesota and Arizona, Indiana University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the University of Washington, and Ventana Medical Systems-Roche in Tucson, Ariz.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/rSn8xIBvy1A/121207225026.htm

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What should you do to a computer before you sell it?

2 hrs.

You know you should securely wipe your hard drive before you sell a computer, but is there anything else you should do before you?put it up on eBay?

Selling (or giving away) an old computer is often a little scary. You likely invested a lot of hours into using your computer, and it's packed full of all your personal stuff. You also want to make sure it's in tip-top running condition before you sell it off so you can get the most money. Here's what you need to do.

Step 1: Back up all your files
The first thing you want to do is make sure you back up everything you need. How you do this really depends on what you have on your computer. If you just need to hold onto a few files,?Dropbox?(or any?cloud storage service) will do the trick. Alternately, you can easily?back up your data to an external hard drive.

If you're going to go a little while between computers, a cloud backup solution like?Crashplan?might be a good bet, and it's?very easy to back up and restore your data. Regardless of what method you choose, make sure you run the backup before you do anything else so all your files are up to date.

Step 2: Deauthorize any software
Next, deauthorize any digital software or files you have. This includes programs like the?Adobe Creative Suite,?Amazon's Kindle Apps, and files you download from online stores?like iTunes.

Likewise, it might be a good time to clean up the services?you enabled two-factor authentication on. While the chances of someone having your password after you securely delete your hard drive in the next step is slim, it's a good idea to make the process of someone logging into your accounts impossible from the start.

One last thing to note before we delete everything: If you're a Mac user running OS X Mountain Lion or OS X Lion, you might?need to make your own USB or DVD boot disc?so you can easily reinstall the OS in step four. You can also?download and install the OS during the reinstallation process, but a physical copy of the OS will put your mind at ease just in case things don't go as planned.

Step 3: Securely Format Your Hard Drive
As we've?mentioned before, the only secure way to clean out your computer's hard drive is to format it so you start from scratch. This process is time-consuming, but it's necessary before you sell your computer to stranger. You don't want any personal information remaining on the hard drive.

We've?walked you through this process before, and it's very simple. On Windows, we like the program?Darik's Boot and Nuke?to format the hard drive, and on Mac the built-in Disk Utility works great.

Step 4: Reinstall the Operating System
Once your hard drive is formatted, you won't have anything on it. This means you need to reinstall an operating system before you sell it. The process?is easy provided you still have your operating system discs. Reboot the system, and boot from the OS disc itself. Windows should automatically boot from the disc, but if not you?can change the settings in your BIOS?to make it work. For Mac, hold down the Option key after you hear the startup chime and select your boot disc (the USB or DVD you made yourself in step two).

Once you're done reinstalling the operating system, it's up to you how far into the setup process you want to go. If you're selling a computer online at a site like eBay, you can stop at the new user creation screen. Just power off your computer when it asks your to create a user account and you're good to go. If you're selling on Craigslist, you might want to create a dummy user account so you can show the person buying the computer that it works.

You don't need to worry about registering the software or anything else, but if you have to prove the computer is in good working shape, just create an account with a simple username and passwords (admin/password works), and tell the buyer to delete the account once he or she decides to buy.

Step 5: Clean it Up
Finally, clean up the computer and make it as nice as possible before you sell it. Not only will it likely sell for more if it looks good, it might also run a little smoother. As we've?talked about before, you should do a few simple things: Wipe down the computer, clean out the keyboard, clean the screen, and pop it open to clean out dust from the inside. This makes the computer a lot more aesthetically appealing, and that makes it easier to sell.

Once your computer is cleaned up and it's looking as good as new,?take some great pictures of it, and then?sell it online at the right time to make the most money.

More from Lifehacker:

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/what-should-you-do-computer-you-sell-it-1C7505410

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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Georgetown Mayor: environmental tax should be used to help clean up the city

Georgetown Mayor: environmental tax should be used to help clean up the?city

Georgetown Mayor: environmental tax should be used to help clean up the city

City Mayor, Hamilton Greene, believes, that a percentage of the environmental tax ought to be allocated on a percentage basis to help the city. The Mayor was speaking during an interview with this newscast. In excess of 1 billion dollars was collected as revenue and that money is supposed to be used according to the law for the clean up of the environment. The tax is charged for the recycling of?Styrofoam? aluminium and plastic containers. ??

According to the Mayor, the Government does not seem friendly to the City Council for reasons for which he claims are unclear.

Mayor Greene also believes, that the Haag Bosh landfill site at Eccles is a disaster.

And the Georgetown Mayor and City Council will commence a 12-day clean up of the city from Monday. The exercise will see the support of a number of businesses, private citizens and the US embassy will also be on board.

City Hall is also looking at a public education programme to raise the awareness of the proper disposal of garbage.

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By guyaneseonline, on December 8, 2012 at 3:08 pm, under Government, Guyana, Health / Environment, Personalities, Politics. Tags: City Council, City Mayor - Hamilton Greene, environmental tax, Guyana Online, Guyanese Online. 4 Comments or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

Source: http://guyaneseonline.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/georgetown-mayor-environmental-tax-should-be-used-to-help-clean-up-the-city/

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Video: The Week That Was: Special Dividends & the Fiscal Cliff

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50123527/

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Pearl Harbor dead remembered on 71st anniversary

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) ? More than 2,000 people are gathering at Pearl Harbor on Friday to mark the 71st anniversary of the Japanese attack that killed thousands of people and launched the United States into World War II.

Ceremonies get under way with a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the exact time the bombing began in 1941.

The crew of a Navy guided-missile destroyer will stand on deck while the ship passes the USS Arizona, a battleship that still lies in the harbor where it sank. Hawaii Air National Guard aircraft will fly overhead.

The Navy and National Park Service are hosting the ceremonies, which are being held in remembrance of the 2,390 service members and 49 civilians killed in the attack.

Friday events also will give special recognition to members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, who flew noncombat missions during World War II, and to Ray Emory, a 91-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor who has pushed to identify the remains of unknown servicemen.

Admiral Cecil Haney, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, is scheduled to give the keynote address. The ceremony will also include a Hawaiian blessing, songs played by the U.S. Pacific Fleet band and a rifle salute from the U.S. Marine Corps.

President Barack Obama marked the day on Thursday by issuing a presidential proclamation, calling for flags to fly at half-staff on Friday and asking all Americans to observe the day of remembrance and honor military service members and veterans.

"Today, we pay solemn tribute to America's sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice at Oahu," Obama said in a statement. "As we do, let us also reaffirm that their legacy will always burn bright ? whether in the memory of those who knew them, the spirit of service that guides our men and women in uniform today, or the heart of the country they kept strong and free."

The Navy and park service will resume taking visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial, which sits atop the sunken battleship, after the ceremony.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pearl-harbor-dead-remembered-71st-anniversary-091656970.html

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Take On Internet Promotion Experts With These Top Tips - Businesses

Internet promotion can aide businesses with promoting services and products in conjunction with traditional ad media. like television and print. Use these tips if you would like to perform Internet promotion with your business.

Send related items and catalogs to your customers. They are more likely to make purchases from you if a previous order went well. If you have a website that has books and people buy a novel, offer them a selection of similar novels. You will get higher sales if you target others.

Creating unique and quality content is important to successful Internet marketing. It is easy to discover duplicate content, so save yourself trouble by creating your own work. Discover how to be creative.

TIP! If possible, interview people who are recognized as authorities in your industry. Videos, audio files, or plain text can all be used to present an interview.

Viral videos and media can help improve the success of your website. Don?t forget to put a link leading to your site in the video?s description. This will have a big impact on the amount of people who visit your website.

A press release might help you to increase traffic, and it is a fantastic way to market your brand. Focus on writing informative, relevant and interesting press releases, then distribute them to trusted outlets. This is a quick and easy way to raise your visibility.

Plump your website with interesting and vital content. Search engines will notice the rich content as well as the uniqueness of your offerings, and visitors will want to keep coming back to see what you have added that no other website offers.

TIP! If you want your customers to trust you, back up any claims with actual proof. For example, if you?re selling a Spanish course, show a video of yourself speaking Spanish to prove how well it worked for you.

On your webpage, have free offers. One of the most effective free offers is an article that provides useful information to your customers. For example, if you are a general contractor, you might have a good article of home repair tips for your customers to download. This tells customers that you care about what is important to them.

It is helpful to have real-time leads when you are trying to sell something online. They provide instant access to potential customers who want to learn more about your products or services. Once they fill out the information form, you have instant access to their information.

TIP! Considering offering a subscription service to your customers for products that they purchase from your website. You can give them the option of automatically receiving a set amount of product every week or month at a deeply discounted per item rate.

In summary, all businesses can usually find some sort of Online marketing as very helpful. It is a fantastic way to promote services and products that you sell as opposed to using the traditional television and print marketing. By using the tips here, you can make Website marketing work for you.

Source: http://elektrotehnickifakultet.com/take-on-internet-promotion-experts-with-these-top-tips.html

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Friday, December 7, 2012

Hamilton, Greinke remain on market after meetings

Roy Krasik, senior director of Major League Baseball operations, directs the Rule 5 draft at the baseball winter meetings on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Roy Krasik, senior director of Major League Baseball operations, directs the Rule 5 draft at the baseball winter meetings on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Detroit Tigers general manager David Dombrowski, center, talks with reporters following the Rule 5 draft at the baseball winter meetings on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks with reporters during the Rule 5 draft at the baseball winter meetings on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

(AP) ? As baseball's new Mr. Moneybags, Ned Colletti gets mentioned when almost any free agent is discussed this offseason.

"There's a perception that we're in on a couple dozen starting pitchers, three dozen outfielders and infielders, 17, 18 catchers," the Los Angeles Dodgers general manager said.

"People like to have us in. I guess it doesn't hurt to have us in, even though we're not in. We may have to hire somebody next year just to tell everybody who we're not in on," he said.

As teams headed home from the winter meetings Thursday, the biggest free agents were still on the market. The availability of slugger Josh Hamilton and pitcher Zack Greinke held up decisions on other signings and possible trades involving on Rangers star Michael Young and the Mets' Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.

The Yankees, quiet thus far, were pursuing former Boston star Kevin Youkilis and also met with the agent for Mark Reynolds.

With most clubs already packed up and leaving the sprawling, 2,881-room Opryland hotel, Philadelphia acquired outfielder Ben Revere from Minnesota for right-handers Vance Worley and Trevor May.

Hamilton could remain with Texas, and Seattle seemed to be interested. Greinke's options include staying with the Los Angeles Angels, moving up the coast to the Dodgers or signing with the Rangers.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said that after taking in information from other clubs and agents, it was time to return home and "cool your jets."

"There can be a domino affect," he said. "I think when clubs are focusing on a certain position, a certain need, there's options out there. And once one option goes away, then that changes the landscape of what a club would want to do. Everybody's got their ducks lined up in a row, and it's just a matter of how things fall. And there's timing involved."

The annual meeting wasn't much of a swap session. The Phillies-Twins deal was just the fourth trade over the four days.

Atlanta announced a one-year deal with outfielder Reed Johnson on Thursday, and Texas said reliever Koji Uehara had reached an agreement with Boston.

But the 25-foot wide dais with a podium backed by MLB logos was used just three times: Yankees general manager Brian Cashman discussed Alex Rodriguez's hip injury; Major League Baseball announced an auction benefiting Stand Up to Cancer; and the Mets talked about David Wright's $138 million, eight-year contract, which had been agreed to last week.

The Yankees have been quiet, watching as catcher Russell Martin agreed with Pittsburgh last week and backup third baseman Eric Chavez went to Arizona during the meetings. Wanting to get under the $189 million luxury tax threshold in 2014, the Yankees are being cautious. Still, Cashman maintained it hasn't been a rough week for him.

"Because I don't read the papers as much as I used to," he said. "This year's marketplace, it might be strong in terms of the dollars being thrown around, but I don't think it's a strong market in terms of the available talent."

As the meetings ended, Cashman had made a $12 million offer to Youkilis, who would play third base while A-Rod recovers. The Phillies were trying to obtain Young, the infielder who has been with the Rangers for his entire 13-season career and would have to approve a trade. Arizona was listening to offers for outfielder Justin Upton.

"It seems like when people leave the winter meetings, there's a bit of a quiet period," Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said. "People kind of get out of the frenzy, maybe take a step back and realize that maybe something they were talking about isn't such a good idea. Sometimes things get close and never end up happening."

For all the talk, the Dodgers have made only one big move since the end of the season, re-signing closer Brandon League. But they've been quite busy over 2012. After they were bought in May for $2 billion by a group headed by Mark Walter and Stan Kasten, Los Angeles added stars Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett. The Dodgers face a Sunday deadline to reach a deal with South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-Jin, whose rights they gained for a $25.7 million bid.

Quite different from the days under the previous owner, Frank McCourt.

"You couldn't get an agent to return a phone call," Colletti said. "Now you've got them lined out the door."

Texas GM Jon Daniels was popular, too, given his interest in Hamilton and Greinke, and talks involving Upton and a possible a multi-team trade.

"It just makes it tougher, more than two clubs," he said, adding he had a variety of trade and free-agent options. "There are a couple of big decisions that are going to impact the direction. We've narrowed it down, but there's still a couple ways we can go. Some of that is up to us, and some of that is up to the guys on the other side of the table."

After exploring trades involving Dickey, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said it was possible the team could keep the knuckleballer without a deal for beyond 2013.

"I don't think it's necessarily the optimum result, but it's a possible result," he said.

Some teams worry about overpaying this early in the offseason. Other clubs conclude they must.

"You run into people, like, 'Man, I didn't want to do that, but I had no choice,'" Cashman said. "So they're getting a problem solved, but they're not happy with their solution and what they had to do to solve it. I don't want to be in that position. I'd rather feel good about what I'm doing."

NOTES: The winter meetings will return to Nashville in 2015, the governing body of the minor leagues announced. Next year's meetings are in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and the 2014 session is in San Diego.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-06-Winter%20Meetings/id-1ef6d106605d456982de82ec8cc52866

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Austrian bus driver finds, turns in ?390,000

VIENNA (AP) ? Vienna's transport authority says a city bus driver checking a bag left behind by a passenger had the surprise of his life ? ?390,000, or over $500,000, in neatly stacked 500-euro bills.

Transit authority spokeswoman Anna-Maria Reich says the driver handed the stash to police who tracked down the owner, an unidentified elderly woman.

But the driver has nothing to show for his honesty beyond praise from superiors. Weeks later, the owner has not contacted him to offer a reward.

The incident happened last month and Reich confirmed details first reported Thursday by several Austrian tabloids. It was unclear why the woman was carrying so much cash.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-12-06-EU-ODD-Austria-Honest-Bus-Driver/id-3a86f13897b543dd9d8e20532461fe8c

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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Another weak open on Wall Street; JC Penney slides

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks opened modestly lower on Wall Street Friday as investors worried that political wrangling in Washington will push the economy back into recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 28 points to 12,780 shortly after the opening bell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1 point to 1,376 and the Nasdaq composite edged up one point to 2,897.

The market is coming off its worst two-day slide in a year. The Dow average plunged 434 since President Barack Obama won re-election as investors turned their focus to a deadline at the end of the year for Congress to act on reducing the budget deficit.

If it doesn't, a series of drastic government spending cuts and tax hikes will kick into effect, potentially derailing the U.S. economy. The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that the measures, if implemented, would likely push the economy back into recession.

The dimming outlook for Europe also weighed on markets this week. The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, slashed its forecast for economic growth in the region Wednesday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 1.62 percent from 1.61 percent late Thursday.

Among stocks making big moves:

? Online deals company Groupon slumped $91 cents to $3.01 after it said after hours Thursday that it was hurt by the economic problems in Europe and growth failed to meet its expectations.

? J.C. Penney dropped $1.78 to $ 19.91 after the company reported a loss that was larger than investors were expecting. Shoppers have been abandoning the store after it got rid of blockbuster sales in favor of everyday low prices.

? Kayak Software surged $8.22 to $39.26 after the company said yesterday that it had agreed to be bought by Priceline.com Inc.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/another-weak-open-wall-street-jc-penney-slides-144443164--business.html

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Video: Obama's emotional, teary thank you to staff (Los Angeles Times)

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 and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series, Revealed

If the 2013 GT version of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG had you thinking the wizards of Merc's AMG performance arm couldn?t squeeze any more from the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 you would be incorrect.

Announced today and arriving next summer, the 2014 SLS AMG Black Series adds another 39 horses to the stable, bringing the total power of Mercedes?s flagship supercar to 622 hp. In addition to reaching even more ludicrous power numbers, the AMG engineers replaced the aluminum exhaust system with one made of titanium, substituted aluminum body parts for carbon fiber, and even replaced the standard lead acid battery with a lithium ion one for a total weight savings of 154 pounds. The result is a 3.5-second 0-60 time, 0.2 seconds faster than the GT, and an electronically limited top speed of 196 mph.

The car also draws from its racing cousin, the SLS AMG GT3, by adding a larger front splitter, side skirts, and rear spoiler?all fashioned from carbon fiber?plus a new rear electronically controlled locking differential.?

The latest version of the SLS is the fifth car in the company?s famed Black Series, The most aggressively-styled Mercs with the most biblical of engine notes to be produced outside of niche tuning companies. But the other four cars to receive the Black treatement?the 2006 SLK 55, the 2008 CLK63, the 2009 SL65, and the 2012 C63?have been relatively conservative (read: German) in their paint schemes. Not so the 2014 SLS AMG Black, which Benz revealed with a bumblebee yellow paint job. It also comes in white:

But then again, if you?re going to buy an expensive, shouty car like the SLS AMG Black, understatement is probably the least of your concerns.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/2014-mercedes-benz-sls-amg-black-series-revealed-14620183?src=rss

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