Monday, December 31, 2012

Northern Alberta contributes new members to the Order of Canada

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Fred Martin is one of three people from northern Alberta who are receiving the Order of Canada.

Photograph by: Supplied , Submitted

Three of Alberta?s newest members of the Order of Canada may also be its most surprised and humble.

?I was a bit taken aback, to put it mildly. I didn?t think that I had done anything in particular that warranted it,? said Fred Martin, a lawyer who splits his time between Edmonton and Salt Spring Island, B.C. He is receiving the order for working in support of equal rights, and in particularly his work with the M?tis Settlements General Council.

Ninety-one new additions to the Order of Canada were announced Sunday, three from central Alberta. In addition to Martin, Edmonton physiotherapist and professor David Magee was named to the order for ?advancing the field of sports medicine in Canada as a physiotherapist, professor and scholar,? and Vegreville?s Elsie Kawulych was given the recognition ?for her contributions to preserving and promoting Ukrainian culture in Canada and for her volunteer engagement in her community.?

The Order of Canada is given by the Governor General to acknowledge ?a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation.?

agee said he was ?flabbergasted? to find out he had been named to the order for his longtime work in the field of physiotherapy, which has included working with elite Canadian athletes and writing a popular textbook. Magee said he doesn?t know why he was nominated or by whom, and Googled the order to find out what it was.

?I didn?t feel like I did anything special, but I guess somebody feels I have,? he said. ?I really appreciate that somebody has done this for me, and it?s very humbling.?

Magee said receiving the order is ?a great honour,? and that it will find a place with to some of the other recognitions he has received through his work, including three Stanley Cup rings and a Grey Cup ring.

?I?ve been fortunate when I look back on my life,? he said. ?I guess I consider myself being at the right place at the right time for things, and I consider myself very lucky.?

Martin echoed the sentiment, and said the order made him grateful for his experiences working with the leaders of the M?tis Settlements as they fought for recognition of the M?tis Nation.

Martin said he will accept the order on behalf of everyone involved in that movement, including some of the leaders who have since died, such as Maurice L?Hirondelle, Adrian Hope, and Richard Poitras.

?I feel very good because I feel like finally their efforts have been recognized,? he said. ?They put in a lot of work, and their names don?t always get recognized.?

Martin said he will take the order to the M?tis Settlements General Council office after he receives it, so it can be displayed there.

?That?s where it belongs,? he said. ?I think of it more as a recognition of a team than as an individual.? Kawulych, a previous recipient of the Alberta Order of Excellence and the Queen?s Golden Jubilee Medal, said she was touched by the honour, which recognizes her longtime work as a devoted community volunteer and her promotion of Ukrainian heritage and culture in the province.

Finding out about the award, Kawulych said she thought, ?Oh, what an early Christmas present.?

?It was such a nice feeling.?

Kawulych said she has been guided throughout her life by the words of her dean?s speech when she graduated with a home economics degree in 1955.

?The dean said, ?Whatever you have learned, if you do not pass it on, you should not have come into our program?,? Kawulych said. ?I?ve always thought of that.?

At 80, Kawulych still volunteers extensively, shovels snow and gardens for neighbours, and sews and makes perogies and cabbage rolls for friends in need.

She said her mother, a Ukrainian immigrant, did a lot of volunteering, and instilled its importance in her children.

?My mother was so grateful to come to a free land,? Kawulych said. ?She told us to always take care of it, and make sure it stays the best country in the world.?

jpruden@edmontonjournal.com

twitter.com/@jana_pruden

? Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

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Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F264/~3/-d7KpNddmjg/story.html

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Washington State men beat Idaho State 74-39 - Sat, 29 Dec 2012 PST

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Washington State?Cougars
(Full-size photo)

KENNEWICK ? This trip to the Tri-Cities felt very business-like for the Washington State men?s basketball team.

Get in, win, get out. And get on with a stretch of games that figure to be much more difficult than the one the Cougars played Saturday afternoon at the frigid Toyota Center.

An overmatched Idaho State team offered WSU little resistance in its nonconference finale, as the Cougars led by 20 points at halftime and rolled to a 74-39 win before 4,590 mostly crimson supporters in a home-away-from-home game.

WSU finishes its nonleague schedule with a 9-4 record, three of those losses coming by two or fewer points. The Cougars have yet to defeat a team from a BCS conference ? they?ve played just two ? but coach Ken Bone said he?s relatively pleased with his team?s progress since the start of the season.

?If I were to put a letter grade on it, I would say a B-plus,? Bone said. ?It?s not exactly where we want to be, but I think we?ve made great strides in certain areas that could really help us out in Pac-12 play.?

One of those areas, Bone said, is the acclimation of senior Mike Ladd to the point guard position. Ladd steadied WSU during a sloppy start on Saturday, scoring 13 of his 17 points in the game?s first 12 minutes.

?Mike again stepped up and provided what we needed,? Bone said. ?It?s being a point guard and running the show, but at the same time tonight it was providing points at a time we had a hard time getting points.?

Another facet of WSU?s game that pleases Bone: the Cougars? ability to find shots for senior forward and leading scorer Brock Motum, who scored 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting against ISU?s unconventional 1-3-1 zone defense.

?We know our strengths,? said sophomore guard DaVonte Lacy, who scored 16 points. ?We go to Brock and we go to whoever?s on fire. Mike played well today so we went to him. I think we know our strengths, we know where our bread is buttered so that?s what we?re going to continue to get better at.?

The butter went on smooth enough yesterday. WSU was simply the superior team, and enjoyed overwhelming margins in a number of statistical categories ? field-goal percentage (49.0 to 37.2), second-chance points (20-0) and, perhaps most important to Bone and the Cougars, rebounding (43-16 overall and 15-2 on the offensive glass).

?Rebounding is a big key,? said Ladd, who also led the team with nine rebounds. ?Defensive rebounding, blocking out, finding guys, and (also) on the offensive end.?

They did all of that against the Bengals (1-10). No ISU player had more than three rebounds, and the game was won in the first half when WSU allowed ISU to shoot just 6 for 20 from the field. That fueled a 34-14 halftime lead.

?We?ve got to try to put two halves together every game,? Motum said. ?If we played defense the same way we did tonight in the first half in the second half, they?d have had 28 for the game and that?d have been outstanding.?

That?s where WSU has been most consistent. Entering the weekend, the Cougars led the Pac-12 in scoring defense at 56.5 points per game, and ranked second in field-goal percentage defense at 37.3.

Idaho State might have hung around longer than it did if it had been able to make some shots. The Bengals actually led, 8-6, with 10:51 remaining in the first half. But the Cougars reeled off a 10-0 run, ISU made just three field goals the rest of the half and WSU won for the seventh time in eight games.

Pac-12 play begins Jan. 5 with a game in Pullman against Washington.

?We want to continue our momentum,? Lacy said. ?I don?t think we?ve lost since the Gonzaga game, so we want to keep that win streak alive going into next?week.?

Source: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/dec/29/washington-state-men-beat-idaho-state-74-39/

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Vintage British Union Jack Flag iPhone Hard Case / Fits iPhone 4, 4S by CRAFIC

Vintage British Union Jack Flag iPhone Hard Case fits iPhone 4, 4S.

This Vintage Flag of Great Britain Case Design one of our Vintage Flags Collection. Bright vivid colors will remind you where your heart is. Be with your country anywhere in the world!

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The DEFAULT SIDE Color Is BLACK for this design.
All of our cases are available in BLACK, CLEAR (TRANSPARENT) and WHITE colors. Please mention which color you would prefer in your order, simply just leave a note in the ?message to seller? section. if neither is mentioned, you will receive the default color.

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All artwork copyright 2012 CRAFIC


Have any questions? Contact the shop owner.

Source: http://www.etsy.com/listing/96103093/vintage-british-union-jack-flag-iphone

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Speaking at the Alameda Writers Group January 5, 2013 ... - Walsh ...

Speaking at the Alameda Writer?s Group January 5, 2013

I will be speaking at the Alameda Writers Group on January 5th at 10:00 on Know Your Writer?s Rights, a one hour presentation where I give screenwriters everything (well, almost everything) they need to know about the legal issues affecting writers. ?Will cover copyright infringement, registrations, options agreements, collaboration agreements, Libel & Slander, Titles, and a host of other topics. ?It?s free, so come on out and begin the year by learning something new.

For more information, visit?http://alamedawritersgroup.ning.com

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Source: http://zernerlaw.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/speaking-at-the-alameda-writers-group-january-5-2013/

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Source: http://walshgerard.typepad.com/blog/2012/12/speaking-at-the-alameda-writers-group-january-5-2013.html

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Falcon Pro (for Twitter) Is a Newshound's Best Friend

Falcon Pro (for Twitter) pitches itself as "the ultimate Twitter experience on Android," and while one can usually take these app-store hyperbole laden statements with an idiom-laden statement -- in this case a grain of salt -- there is one thing that I'm looking for in a Twitter client that Falcon Pro promises.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/270292e0/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C769620Bhtml/story01.htm

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Diana Scholl: Sharing the Stories of LGBT Youth: Alex, 19, From Minneapolis, Minn.


We Are the Youth is a photographic journalism project chronicling the individual stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in the United States. Through photographic portraits and "as told to" interviews in the participants' own voices, We Are the Youth captures the incredible diversity and uniqueness among the LGBT youth population. We Are the Youth addresses the lack of visibility of LGBT young people by providing a space to share stories in an honest and respectful way. Below is the story of Alex.

* * * * *

By Alex, as told to Diana Scholl

2012-12-27-alex.jpgWhat's the hardest thing I've ever been through? I know the answer to this. I was actually diagnosed with anorexia in 2007, a while ago. It was kind of like OCD. It started out as a diet, and I just couldn't stop, because I kind of go all-out on things. It goes along with how I get fixations with cartoons, how I used to obsessively redraw Bart Simpson. It was something where I set up a meal plan for myself that was really low on any intake, and I couldn't break from it. I'm at a healthy weight now and have a meal plan set up by a dietician, but it's something I still deal with every single day. I think very obsessively about what I eat. I think it's that I don't trust myself.

The anorexia initiated me going to therapy every month, and I think the therapy grounded me to be a successful person. I really like the way I developed, and I feel like I maybe wouldn't have gotten here if I didn't try to solve my problems in therapy. It helped me with my problems of religion and cynicism about the world.

I kind of consider myself a born-again atheist. I'm kind of a fake pseudo-Buddhist despite my materialistic tendencies. I was raised Lutheran but, through my own thought, found my way out of it. It was a difficult time to feel like I was losing a part of myself. I couldn't believe in God if I even tried anymore. It disturbed me, because something that made me feel like everything was going to be OK was gone. When I was more religious, I used to feel more connected to things. I feel disconnected from it now. But that gives me comfort that I can live independently as an individual.

As a middle child I've always had a little bit of an identity problem. Being gay or bi or whatever makes it even more confusing. Something I've observed of a lot of people, and definitely myself, is right when you come out, there's a little insecurity, and you maybe want to assert your identity a little bit. Usually I just say I'm gay, but I'm probably more bi, leaning towards gay. I keep it loose. I've found it's a gray area, but I never had any success dating girls. I dated one girl, and it was the most awkward damn thing ever. I had no passion and didn't put any effort into it. I never had any opportunities at dating a guy back home, in Eveleth, Minn., but I do know the pursuit of it came much more naturally.

I had this weird date back at home about a year ago, and he was just way too immature, so it just ended awkwardly. I was kind of lonely and desperate, because I didn't have much opportunity for dating. I haven't dated anyone at Minneapolis College of Art and Design yet. Hopefully I'm more successful.

It's basically a dream come true being here. I'm thinking of going into animation or comic arts. I've spent my whole life loving cartoons like The Simpsons and The Powerpuff Girls. I love basically anything that's animated. That's what drove me to be here in the first place, to draw. In 10 years I'd like to see myself in New York or L.A., with a secure job doodling for a living.

Photo by Laurel Golio, taken in Minneapolis, Minn., 2012

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Follow Diana Scholl on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dianascholl

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-scholl/sharing-the-stories-of-lgbt-youth-alex-19-from-minneapolis-minn_b_2372479.html

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Video: FMHR Final Trade

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50312688/

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Friday, December 28, 2012

HP says gov't investigating troubled Autonomy unit

(AP) ? Hewlett-Packard says the Justice Department is investigating the business software unit Autonomy after the computer maker said the business engaged in improper accounting before HP bought it.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, HP said Justice officials had informed the company on Nov. 21 that they were opening an investigation. HP also said that it provided information to the SEC and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office related to "accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and misrepresentations at Autonomy."

Hewlett-Packard Co., which acquired Autonomy for $10 billion in 2011, took an $8.8 billion charge to reflect that the U.K. company isn't worth what it paid. HP says about $5 billion of that charge stemmed from improper accounting.

Autonomy founder Mike Lynch has said the allegations are false.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-28-Hewlett-Packard-Autonomy/id-8ad4bc3113b94bae95d8a85606320290

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Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children into law and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans.

In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care of their own and lent his support to a bill that has further strained U.S.-Russia relations.

"There are probably many places in the world where living standards are higher than ours. So what, are we going to send all our children there? Maybe we should move there ourselves?" he said, with sarcasm.

Parliament gave its final approval on Wednesday to the bill, which would also introduce other measures in retaliation for new U.S. legislation which is designed to punish Russians accused of human rights violations.

For it to become law Putin needs to sign it.

"So far I see no reason not to sign it, although I have to review the final text and weigh everything," Putin said at a meeting of senior federal and regional officials that was shown live on the state's 24-hour news channel.

"I intend to sign not only the law ... but also a presidential decree that will modify the support mechanisms for orphaned children ... especially those who are in a difficult situation, by that I mean in poor health," Putin said.

Critics of the bill say the Russian authorities are playing political games with the lives of children.

Children in Russia's crowded and troubled orphanage system - particularly those with serious illnesses or disabilities - will have less of a chance of finding homes, and of even surviving, if it becomes law, child rights advocates say.

They point to people like Jessica Long, who was given up shortly after birth by her parents in Siberia but was raised by adoptive parents in the United States and became a Paralympic swimming champion.

However, the Russian authorities point to the deaths of 19 Russian-born children adopted by American parents in the past decade, and lawmakers named the bill after a boy who died of heat stroke in Virginia after his adoptive father left him locked in a car for hours.

Putin reiterated Russian complaints that U.S. courts have been too lenient on parents in such cases, saying Russia has inadequate access to Russian-born children in the United States despite a bilateral agreement that entered into force on November 1.

NATIONAL IDENTITY

But Putin, who began a new six-year term in May and has searched for ways to unite the country during 13 years in power, suggested there were deeper motives for such a ban.

"For centuries, neither spiritual nor state leaders sent anyone abroad," he said, indicating he was not speaking specifically about Russia but about many societies.

"They always fight for their national identities - they gather themselves together in a fist, they fight for their language, culture," he said.

The bid to ban American adoptions plays on sensitivity in Russia about adoptions by foreigners, which skyrocketed as the social safety net unraveled with the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Families from the United States adopt more Russian children than those of any other country.

Putin had earlier described the Russian bill as an emotional but appropriate response to the Magnitsky Act, legislation signed by President Barack Obama this month as part of a law granting Russia "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) status.

The U.S. law imposes visa bans and asset freezes on Russians accused of human rights violations, including those linked to the death in a Moscow jail of Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-graft lawyer, in 2009.

The Russian bill would impose similar measures against Americans accused of violating the rights of Russian abroad and outlaw some U.S.-funded non-governmental groups.

(Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Steve Gutterman; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russias-putin-suggests-sign-ban-u-adoptions-121936243.html

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

NYA Communications a leading provider of English to German ...

Often when you least expect it you run across an answer to a question that you didn?t know that you had.? This is the cast with NYA Communications ? company that translates English into German and serves in other capacities in multilingual communications.? The following is an interview that I had with Nicole Adams.? If you?re serious about serving the European market?then the services that Nicole offers is worth serious consideration.? Here?s a link to her website.? NYA Communications

NYA_Communications1.?? ?Having just got back from a trip to Geneva, I find it interesting that I now have the opportunity to interview a company that specializes in translations.? From an introductory perspective, share what got you into this fascinating business.

After completing a Masters Degree in Contemporary English Language and Linguistics I initially worked in-house as multilingual account manager, German and English quality manager, and translation project manager in the UK. By chance I came across an ad from a translation agency looking for a freelance translator to translate a letter into German. I though ? hey, I can do that! ? and the rest is history. Later on I also became formally certified as a German/English translator.

I?ve been self-employed for almost 10 years now and wouldn?t change a thing. It?s very rewarding to help companies tap into new markets and grow their business through multilingual communication.

2.?? ?What is your background that makes you the expert in German to English or English to German translations?

Having been raised bilingually in German and English, I have always had a passion for languages and writing. I grew up speaking both English and German and have lived, worked, and/or studied in the US, Germany, the UK, and now Australia. What?s unique about me is that I have a perfect grasp of both German and English. This enables me to understand every nuance of the original document so that no piece of information gets lost or misinterpreted.

3.?? ?You offer several services ? give us a brief explanation of those services.

My services range from translations between English and German to editing, proofreading, and localization for companies and agencies. NYA Communications? services also include business mentoring, public speaking and workshops and helps organizations with business development, social media and computer-assisted translation (CAT) software training.

I specialize in documents from the domains of marketing, public relations, advertising, and business. The types of document I handle on a daily basis are press releases, sales presentations, websites, brochures, company magazines, corporate communications, newsletters, etc.

4.?? ?I notice that one service you offer is ?Localization? ? tell us how that might apply ? for example if I hired you to ?Localize? a news release.

When requesting a translation from,say, German to English, the client always needs to specify whether the target audience is the US or the UK (or another) market. An English text written for a UK audience might not work in the US, for example, because of the distinct cultural and linguistic differences between the two markets.

5.?? ?Also, with respect to Localization ? you reference that this service is tailored for the UK or Australian market.? But I thought you did German to English or the reverse?I?m confused.? Help.

Although I mainly translate between German and English, I also offer monolingual English language services. Localization goes beyond mere translation but is rather transcreation, i.e. rewriting the text from scratch in the target language to convey the idea of the source text in terms the target reader understands. It also involves adapting things like the date format, currencies, units of measurement, etc. to the customary local forms in the country where the localized text is to be used (e.g. ?25 December 2012? into ?December 25, 2012? or ?metres? to ?feet?).

6.?? ?Since so many on the European continent are proficient in English ? share three reasons that one would need the use of a translation service

Any company serious about expanding into foreign markets and growing their business must have their marketing collateral, website, and other documentation professionally translated. Customers only buy what they understand, and studies have shown that sales figures sky-rocket almost instantly once companies launch foreign-language versions of their websites.

A common misconception is that any bilingual intern can just compose press releases or in a foreign language, and that money can be saved when an in-house employee handles translations. This, however, is a false economy because poorly translated texts often end up costing businesses more than they would have paid for a professional translator the first time round. It is usually more costly to have a ?bad? translation revised than to hire an expert in the first place. It?s crucial for any business wanting to operate internationally to allocate an appropriate budget for translation and language services.

It?s undoubtedly true that many Europeans speak excellent English. But as Nelson Mandela once famously said: ?If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.?

7.?? ?I recently released a ?Press Release? about my role in a meeting in Geneva.? Would there be any value in releasing that in another language?? If so, share where you see the value and in what format.

It depends who it is you?re targeting with the release and whose attention you want to attract. If you have clients in Switzerland, it would no doubt be beneficial to issue a media release in their local language(s). A release in the local language is also more likely to be picked up and published by sources your clients and/or your target group know and trust. This will in turn boost their trust in you and consolidate your position as a trusted partner.

Secondly, publishing a foreign-language press release will of course give you access to entire target markets who don?t speak English or don?t speak it sufficiently for business purposes. Having a translated media release will allow you to reach all those people in your target market that would have otherwise disregarded your English press release because they don?t understand it sufficiently well.

8.?? ?As an author there are many books that have been translated into another language. Would an author come to you for that service?

Authors seeking to translate their work would usually go through their publisher, who arranges for a translator. Having said that, it is not unheard of for authors to search for and approach translators directly. This is especially the case for small? business owners publishing non-fiction books or e-books. Here, it can be very benefitial to have that direct contact between the translator and the author.

9.?? ?Share with my readers what are the top services that American?s seek from your company and why.

I work with clients all over the world, primarily in Europe. but I did notice a trend towards localization in the US market in 2012. Many requests by American companies this year were for localization services from US English into either UK or Australian English, i.e. adapting their website copy and collateral to these markets. Being based in Australia, the time zone is also a major plus because I can deliver urgent projects ?over night?.

NYA_Communications_Business_Card10.?? ?A number of my readers are in the media, so as we conclude this interview ? what two things would you want them to know about the uniqueness of your service?

There are many language service providers out there, and many who work with German, but what makes me unique is that I?m a long-term partner to my clients and understand their business needs. I am a strong believer in CPD and regularly attend online and offline courses to keep my skills up to date, which naturally also benefits my clients. My business has recently won Gold in the 2012 Australian Business Quality Awards and achieved 19th place in the 2012 Top 100 Language Twitterers Competition. I?m also currently working on a book, Translation Means Business (to be published in early 2013), aimed at newly established solopreneurs in the language industry. This unique mix of services for clients and fellow translators, rooted in my passion for communication and business, is what makes my unique in this market segment.

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Source: http://chuckgallagher.wordpress.com/2012/12/25/nya-communications-a-leading-provider-of-english-to-german-translation-helping-business-span-the-globe/

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NY firemen's killer mapped out plan for slayings

WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) ? The ex-con turned sniper who killed two firefighters wanted to make sure his goodbye note was legible, typing out his desire to "do what I like doing best, killing people" before setting the house where he lived with his sister ablaze, police said.

Police Chief Gerald Pickering said Tuesday that the 62-year-old loner, William Spengler, brought plenty of ammunition with him for three weapons including a military-style assault rifle as he set out on a quest to burn down his neighborhood just before sunrise on Christmas Eve.

And when firefighters arrived to stop him, he unleashed a torrent of bullets, shattering the windshield of the fire truck that volunteer firefighter and police Lt. Michael Chiapperini, 43, drove to the scene. Fellow firefighter Tomasz Kaczowka, 19, who worked as a 911 dispatcher, was killed as well.

Two other firefighters were struck by bullets, one in the pelvis and the other in the chest and knee. They remained hospitalized in stable condition and were expected to survive.

On Tuesday, investigators found a body in the Spengler home, presumably that of the sister a neighbor said Spengler hated: 67-year-old Cheryl Spengler. Spengler's penchant for death had surfaced before. He served 17 years in prison for manslaughter in the 1980 hammer slaying of his grandmother.

But his intent was unmistakable when he left his flaming home carrying a pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber revolver and a .223-caliber semiautomatic Bushmaster rifle with flash suppression, the same make and caliber weapon used in the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., that killed 26.

"He was equipped to go to war, kill innocent people," the chief said of a felon who wasn't allowed to possess weapons because of his criminal past. It was not clear how he got them.

The assault rifle was believed to be the weapon that struck down the firefighters. He then killed himself as seven houses burned on a sliver of land along Lake Ontario. His body was not found on a nearby beach until hours afterwards.

The motive was left unclear as well, Pickering said, even as authorities began analyzing a two- to three-page typewritten rambling note Spengler left behind.

He declined to reveal the note's full content or say where it was found. He read only one chilling line: "I still have to get ready to see how much of the neighborhood I can burn down, and do what I like doing best, killing people."

Pickering added: "There was some rambling in there and some intelligence we need to follow up on."

It remained unknown what set Spengler off but a next-door neighbor, Roger Vercruysse, noted that he loved his mother, Arline, who died in October after living in the house in a neighborhood of seasonal and year-round homes across the road from a lakeshore popular with recreational boaters.

Pickering said it was unclear whether the person believed to be Spengler's sister died before or during the fire.

"It was a raging inferno in there," Pickering said.

As Pickering described it and as emergency radio communications on the scene showed, the heavily armed Spengler took a position behind a small hill by the house as four firefighters arrived after 5:30 a.m. to extinguish the fire: two on a fire truck; two in their own vehicles.

Several firefighters went beneath the truck to shield themselves as an off-duty police officer who came to the scene pulled his vehicle alongside the truck to try to shield them, authorities said.

The first police officer who arrived chased and exchanged shots with Spengler, recounting it later over his police radio.

"I could see the muzzle blasts comin' at me. ... I fired four shots at him. I thought he went down," the officer said.

At another point, he said: "I don't know if I hit him or not. He's by a tree. ... He was movin' eastbound on the berm when I was firing shots." Pickering portrayed the officer as a hero who saved many lives.

The audio posted on the website RadioReference.com also has someone reporting "firefighters are down" and saying "got to be rifle or shotgun ? high-powered ... semi or fully auto."

Spengler had been charged with murder in his grandmother's death but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, apparently to spare his family a trial. After he was freed from prison, Spengler had lived a quiet life on Lake Road on a narrow peninsula where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario.

That ended when he left his burning home Monday morning, armed with his weapons, a lot of ammunition and a measure of hate.

"I'm not sure we'll ever know what was going through his mind," Pickering said.

___

Esch reported from Albany. Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York City also contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ny-firemens-killer-mapped-plan-slayings-071946537.html

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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Dark Roleplay*Wanting a writing collaboration*

I have recently thought a dark idea...although thats all it is right now a simple idea. I would like to collaborate with one or two people on the plot, tone, etc.

My basic idea is having the story center on a few families of the criminal underworld. Although not your ordinary type families of the mob. These criminals can be in contact with the supernatural ranging from demons to shadow creatures etc. These 'inhuman' groups generally disguise themselves as simple people with simple lives. For example that tattoo artist with the young teenage rebel can control the ink itself making it into a personal weapon, while the youth can use it to track others. That shady coroner is stealing blood and organs from his clients and selling them to dark creatures such as necromaners and vampires etc.

So this is a basic idea. I am completely willing to tweak any aspect of it aside from the fact it will be dark roleplay it is not going to be all rainbows and sugars...maybe on the occasion a kitten will show up.

Interested? Please message me or post below. Not wanting to collaborate, but still interested? Please post below as well.

Thank you for your time.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/fL156byThNA/viewtopic.php

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Fearful 'end of world' calls, emails flood NASA as Dec. 21 nears

If there's one government agency really looking forward to Dec. 22, it's NASA.

The space agency said it has been flooded with calls and emails from people asking about the purported end of the world ? which, as the doomsday myth goes, is apparently set to take place Friday, Dec. 21.

The myth might have originated with the Maya calendar, but in the age of the Internet and social media, it proliferated online, raising questions and concerns among hundreds of people around the world who have turned to NASA for answers.

Dwayne Brown, an agency spokesman, said NASA typically receives about 90 calls or emails per week containing questions from people. In recent weeks, he said, that number has skyrocketed ? from 200 to 300 people are contacting NASA per day to ask about the end of the world.

"Who's the first agency you would call?" he said. "You're going to call NASA."

The questions range from myth (Will a rogue planet crash into Earth? Is the sun going to explode? Will there be three days of darkness?) to the macabre (Brown said some people have "embraced it so much" they want to hurt themselves). So, he said, NASA decided to do "everything in our power" to set the facts straight.

That effort included interviews with scientists posted online and a Web page that Brown said has drawn more than 4.6 million views.

It also involved a video titled "Why the World Didn't End Yesterday." Though the title of the video implies a Dec. 22 release date, Brown said NASA posted the four-minute clip last week to help spread its message.

The website addresses several scenarios ? the possibility of planetary alignments, total blackouts, polar shifts and "a planet or brown dwarf called Nibiru or Planet X or Eris that is approaching the Earth and threatening our planet with widespread destruction" ? but comes to the same conclusion.

In short, NASA says, "the world will not end in 2012."

"Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012," the website says.

The Griffith Observatory will also be trying to debunk doomsday predictions. It announced plans to stay open late Friday evening ? until one minute past midnight ? to "demonstrate that claims regarding the Maya calendar, planetary alignments, rogue planets, galactic beams, and other related phenomena have no basis in fact."

A few years ago, NASA suspected that it might have to create such a campaign when the idea of the world ending began "festering," Brown said. The apocalyptic action movie "2012," released in 2009, didn't help, he said.

"We kind of look ahead ? we're a look-ahead agency ? and we said, 'You know what? People are going to probably want to come to us' " for answers, Brown explained. "We're doing all that we can do to let the world know that as far as NASA and science goes, Dec. 21 will be another day."

As for Saturday, when the questions ? not the world ? end: "I wish it was tomorrow."

kate.mather@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/Xjj4HhLIHqw/la-me-nasa-doomsday-20121220,0,2777844.story

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Wedding gets announced with a video game

Featured

31 days

Video

The 'Nintendo Wii U' is a great device now, but it might not hold up over time. NBCNews.com's Todd Kenreck reviews the device. Play video

6 hrs.

Video

We?ve heard plenty of stories of games bringing couples together and now one couple is announcing their wedding with a video game. NBCNews.com's Todd Kenreck reports.

Playlist

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/wedding-gets-announced-video-game-1C7660206

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Perceived stress may predict future risk of coronary heart disease

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Are you stressed? Results of a new meta-analysis of six studies involving nearly 120,000 people indicate that the answer to that question may help predict one's risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) or death from CHD. The study, led by Columbia University Medical Center researchers, was published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.

The six studies included in the analysis were large prospective observational cohort studies in which participants were asked about their perceived stress (e.g., "How stressed do you feel?" or "How often are you stressed?"). Respondents scored either high or low; researchers then followed them for an average of 14 years to compare the number of heart attacks and CHD deaths between the two groups. Results demonstrate that high perceived stress is associated with a 27% increased risk for incident CHD (defined as a new diagnosis or hospitalization) or CHD mortality.

"While it is generally accepted that stress is related to heart disease, this is the first meta-analytic review of the association of perceived stress and incident CHD," said senior author Donald Edmondson, PhD, assistant professor of behavioral medicine at CUMC. "This is the most precise estimate of that relationship, and it gives credence to the widely held belief that general stress is related to heart health. In comparison with traditional cardiovascular risk factors, high stress provides a moderate increase in the risk of CHD ? e.g., the equivalent of a 50 mg/dL increase in LDL cholesterol, a 2.7/1.4 mmHg increase in blood pressure or smoking five more cigarettes per day."

"These findings are significant because they are applicable to nearly everyone," said first author Safiya Richardson, MD, who collaborated with Dr. Edmondson on the paper while attending the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (she graduated in 2012 and is currently a resident at North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System in Manhasset, New York). "The key takeaway is that how people feel is important for their heart health, so anything they can do to reduce stress may improve their heart health in the future."

Coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease, is a narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. It is caused by a buildup of plaque in the arteries, which can lead to hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis. CHD is the leading cause of death in the United States for men and women; more than 385,000 people die each year from CHD.

The researchers did further analysis to try to learn what might underlie the association between stress and CHD. They found that while gender was not a significant factor, age was. The people in the studies were between the ages of 43?74 among older people, the relationship between stress and CHD was stronger.

"While we do not know for certain why there appears to be an association between age and the effect of perceived stress on CHD, we think that stress may be compounding over time. For example, someone who reports high perceived stress at age 60 may also have felt high stress at ages 40 and 50, as well." Dr. Edmondson also noted that older individuals tend to have worse CHD risk factors such as hypertension to begin with, and that stress may interact with those risk factors to produce CHD events.

"The next step is to conduct randomized trials to assess whether broad population-based measures to decrease stress are cost-effective. Further research should look at whether the stress that people report is about actual life circumstances (e.g., moving or caregiving), or about stable personality characteristics (e.g., type A vs. B), said Dr. Edmondson.

"We also need to ask why we found this association between stress and CHD, e.g., what biological components or mechanisms are involved, and what is the role of environment or lifestyle (e.g., diet, alcohol and drug use, exercise), and how best to moderate these factors to lower the risk of CHD," said Dr. Richardson.

###

Columbia University Medical Center: http://www.cumc.columbia.edu

Thanks to Columbia University Medical Center for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125975/Perceived_stress_may_predict_future_risk_of_coronary_heart_disease

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

2012 in Review: Looking back on Small Business trends from the ...

It?s that time of year when pop culture outlets are publishing their ?top? lists from the past year: What songs topped the charts? What movies made us swoon? And of course, in the wake of recent tragedies, we can all appreciate a list of 2012?s Top Inspiring and Astounding Events.

In 2012, what made us as a people sit up and take notice, what truly became part of our lives? In business we care a bit less about ?Gangnam Style? than what?s shaking in our bottom line. We look back into 2012 to see what new trends? and technologies we were able to implement in our small business, and which of these will take us into the future and toward a more successful and profitable 2013.

A World Gone Mobile

A mobile strategy has become essential for all businesses. Our smart phones are now and will be our primary computer, one that?s with us around the clock, for the?foreseeable?future. ?These devices have capability for mobile sales, marketing, payments and more. Mobile tablets like iPads and laptops outsold all desktop models in 2012 and the market will continue to grow across all countries, cultures and age ranges.

For small businesses the mobile revolution means your technology should allow your customers and employees to interact with you via a mobile device, that your web site should be mobile capable, and that its high time to integrate mobile into your advertising or marketing.

A big trend that will only grow is geo-tracking and targeting customers via their mobile devices. Mobile marketing allows ?buy it now? marketing campaigns and immediate feedback from customers, both growing trends for 2013.

Mobile Money

The rise in mobile payment options continues to be a huge plus for small business? owners. Using mobile phone apps and mobile payment apps through tablets allowed businesses to process payments from any location. Businesses and customers are no longer staying in a fixed place so mobile payment and billing is the answer.

Self Employment on the Rise

Aside from the uncertainly of the future in traditional jobs, self-employment in America is growing for a number of reasons. First the mobile world we mentioned earlier is allowing for it. People can work with a small amount of reasonably priced tools? (a laptop or tablet) and set up shop anywhere. Billing and online payments can be generated at the click of a button. Technology has allowed a new generation to jump into self-employment without the cost of renting a store or office. Business owners can reach out to mentors, financiers, employees or customers at no cost.

Financing in a Changing World

The financial landscape has changed a lot in the past year, especially in regard to how businesses get funding for start-up and expansion. Banks are no longer the place to go for business financing and the 2012 generation of business owners found themselves going to private sources and using all types of creative financing. Micro-financing and factoring (loans against orders) are popular with private lenders, and equity financing continues to expand. Crowdsourcing from places such as Kickstarter is becoming specialized to different kinds of businesses and is entering mainstream finance circles.? Online payment collection makes collecting money?online and receiving payments possible without investing in specialized software.

Internet Video

Maybe you should care about Gangnam Style after all. ?(It?s You Tube?s most watched video in history and closing in on 1 billion views!) ?Every single day over ?100 million people will watch videos online. Along with adding mobile to your marketing your business? should be adding video to your web site. Video tutorials, brochures and tours are all proven converters.

What other trends are on the rise? The Cloud will become more important to even small business as it becomes more and more accessible for applications, data and remote services. Business practices and customer feedback will become more and more transparent.

Social media applications like Pinterest and Instagram that allow people to share their hopes, dreams and likes with pictures experienced phenomenal growth in 2012 and will continue to explode.?? Next year you will likely be telling a story about your business through video, photos or infographics.

Even though technology as a whole is accused of alienating people, it has allowed us to get closer and closer to our customers and be able to gather individualized data. Serving individuals and meeting needs is not a trend but a time honored part of humanity and a great way to keep customers.

What trends did you notice in 2012? What are you looking forward to in 2013?

WePay

Source: http://blog.wepay.com/2012/12/17/2012-in-review-looking-back-on-small-business-trends-from-the-past-year/

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The Essential Newbie Guide for Buying Gold & Silver | Gold Prices ...

The Essential Newbie Guide for Buying Gold & Silver

Dec 18, 2012

If you?re new to the world of gold and silver J.S. Kim gives a good run down on some of the major points of interest and discussion?

Bankers have engaged in a huge misinformation campaign against gold and silver to deliberately keep people out of buying physical gold and physical silver and the best mining companies, that while paper, are backed by actual physical gold and physical silver. If you?re a newbie thinking about buying gold and silver assets for the first time ever, here?s what you need to know.

?

(1)True gold and silver bulls are NOT permabulls, but many stock bulls are permabulls.

All those that truly understand the gold and silver markets understand that bankers support the global Ponzi fiat currency system by deliberately creating massive volatility in gold and silver paper derivative markets, and thus, the reflected prices in physical markets. Thus, we expect gold and silver to be volatile every year, we expect periods of significant downside volatility due to banker raids in gold and silver futures markets, we expect the bankers? use of HFT algorithms to deliberately distort prices in gold and silver markets, and we expect various CME regulatory changes designed to force longs to liquidate their positions in futures markets. True gold and silver bulls will never tell their clients to buy gold & silver 24/7, 365 days a year, always attempt to manage volatility every year and never advocate purchases of gold and silver at year highs but do advocate purchases of gold and silver on dips at yearly lows. Just see this article??Fear & Panic are the Banking Cartel?s Weapons V. the Gold & Silver Bull. Patience and Logic are the Best Defense??as an example of how we advocate buying gold and silver assets on huge dips when they happen versus chasing them higher when they go on huge runs.

To the contrary, the global commercial investment industry is perpetually trying to deceive clients with their permabull strategies in terribly performing global stock markets. They will point out the fact that US stock markets have doubled from their lows a few years ago, but simultaneously warn you against ever buying gold and silver stocks because of the huge volatility of this asset class, even though the HUI gold bugs index has nearly tripled from its lows in October 2008 and slaughtered the performance of the S&P 500 when respectively comparing both indexes from their lows in 2008. But no commercial investment advisor will ever tell you this fact, because if daily trading volume picks up in the mining shares, manipulating their share prices becomes much more difficult a task for the bullion banks. Thus, their strategy is to keep people out of the mining stocks, even during times when their valuations are ridiculously low, as they were in October of 2008 and as they were in May of this past year.

While it is true, that mining stocks are wildly volatile at times, if you wanted to take the unwise strategy of buy and hold that commercial investment industry advisers always advocate, one would still have been vastly better off invested in the HUI index versus the S&P 500 index over a long ?buy and hold? period. From January 1, 2001 to present day, the HUI gold bugs index has returned a nominal, cumulative yield of 917.30%. The S&P 500? Though a laughable 7.44% return over the past 12 years, advisers at commercial investment firms have been, and are still, telling clients that buy and hold is the best strategy for 12 straight years! PM mining stocks sometimes return the entire 12-year yield of the S&P 500 in two days. If you have never invested in gold and silver assets, it would be unwise to start to do so without the guidance of someone that understands the volatility of these assets and that can guide you into purchasing at the low-risk, high-reward price points that develop every year or to do so without taking the time to truly learn how gold & silver markets operate. Learn the truth about the mechanisms that control gold and silver markets, and the risk of volatility can be greatly mitigated and subdued.

?


(2) Volatility Does Not Equal Risk

Bankers deliberately and artificially create significant bouts of volatility in gold and silver assets from time to time to create the perception that gold and silver are risky assets. Volatile? Yes. Risky? Laughable (as is Goldman Sachs?s recommendation last week to their clients to sell gold). Obviously I?ve demonstrated to you that yes, gold and silver are volatile, but even in the very volatile mining stocks, they returned a cumulative yield 123X?s greater than the S&P 500 index in the same past 12-year investment period. So are gold and silver assets (barring the dubious GLD, SLV and futures contracts) risky? No.

?

(3) Gold and silver are still CHEAP, not EXPENSIVE

?

People erroneously confuse relative price with valuation all the time. Just because gold and silver have risen 70% in a short-time period or have risen 300%+ over multiple years, people believe that gold and silver are expensive. Perhaps this is why, of all investable assets in the US, only 0.1% own gold (probably less own silver). Globally, only 1% of all global investable assets are allocated into gold, while 49% are in bonds, 36% in equities, money markets, 9% and other 4%, according to the latest study by the World Gold Council. If one understood the banking cartel?s price suppression schemes, which I have documented in general on my blog (www.theundergroundinvestor.com) since 2006 (and documented in depth for my members), then one would understand that the price of gold and silver are heading much much higher, which still makes their price cheap today. If you believe this just to be an empty prediction from someone you have never heard of, then just go check 7-year my track record on my aforementioned blog. My predictions about the behavior of gold and silver prices are there in black and white dating from 2006 when I was urging people to buy gold at $580 an ounce and silver at a fraction of its current price.

Sure it would have been better to buy back then, but this does NOT mean that gold and silver prices today still are not cheap, and that you cannot build great wealth with gold and silver going forward. On the other hand, you can find a prominent employee at some major global bank every single year of this existing gold bull that has told you that gold was expensive at $400 an oz, $500 an oz, $600 an oz, $700 an oz, $800 an oz, $900 an oz, $1000 an oz, $1,100 an oz, $1,200 an oz, $1,300 an oz, $1,500 an oz and now at $1,700 an oz. Furthermore, the great majority of the 1% invested in gold is in paper futures and ETFs. Along with some others, I?ve been urging people to?stay away from the GLD and SLV ETFs, and finally our message seems to be gaining traction.? Over the past few years, there has been a movement away from ETFs into physical instead. Just think of what will happen to gold (and silver) prices when 5% of global investment assets, instead of the existing 1%, pour into gold and silver.

?

(4) Gold and Silver Prices ARE actively suppressed by bankers

?

No, this is not a conspiracy but simply fact. Don?t let the analysts out there that say such claims are conspiracy and false convince you of their misinformation campaign. The circumstantial evidence of Central Bank and bullion bank gold and silver price suppression schemes is as overwhelming as the circumstantial murder evidence that existed against OJ Simpson. I?ve outlined some of this evidence in the video below for your review. As well, visit?www.gata.org?for a mountain of evidence. Thus, since all banking forces conspire to keep gold and silver prices low and not to drive the price higher, this supports my thesis that gold and silver prices are still cheap today. Remember, I was making these claims more than six years ago and ridiculed for my claims back then though the claims of gold and silver price suppression are much more accepted as fact today. Remember, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said this about truth:?All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; Third, it is accepted as self-evident.??In 2006, many in the commercial investment industry ridiculed for my firm stance that gold and silver prices were being manipulated downward by bankers. I believe that now we are still in the stage when the truth about gold and silver price manipulation schemes are still being violently opposed but that we will soon be moving into the stage when this truth becomes self-evident.

Always remember the plethora of examples that already exist when others were ridiculed for their commitment to exposing the truth about the global financial industry. When the first people publicly claimed that evidence was overwhelming that bankers were criminally manipulating LIBOR, they were uniformly ridiculed. Now, we all know this to be true. There is a psychological tendency to reject information that is new and novel to us and to stick our acceptance of the familiar. This is largely the reason why so many people continue to reject the notion that gold and silver prices are being widely manipulated today even though the evidence is overwhelming.

?


(5) Never leave your mining shares unencumbered.

?

Many people do not know that it is a common practice among brokerage firms to lend out gold and silver mining shares in a margin or options account to short-sellers that work against the best interests of those holding long positions in gold and silver mining shares. One can prevent this practice by holding all shares in a cash or Type 1 account and avoid holding any PM shares in a margin account (often called a ?cash and margin account?) or an option account (often called a ?cash, margin and option account?). If you own PM mining shares, do NOT leave them unencumbered by holding them in a margin account. If you leave them unencumbered, chances are nearly guaranteed that your brokerage firm WILL lend them out to short-sellers that will try to drive the price of your PM shares down. Of course, firms will still naked short stocks all the time and we can?t stop this practice, but at a very minimum, we should prevent our PM shares from being lent out to short-sellers. In general, avoid margin accounts as some brokerage firms will lend out your shares even if you have zero debt in your margin accounts. Finally, call your brokerage firm after you transfer or change your account to a cash account or Type 1 account, or if you already own a Type 1 account and request that they do not lend out any of your shares. Part of any margin account agreement is the ?hypothecation and re-hypothecation? clause whether you read the fine print in your contract when you signed it or not. This clause allows a brokerage firm to lend out (?hypothecate?) securities held in any margin account to short-sellers without your knowledge, which basically means that they will do this, and hurt your stocks in the process. With PM mining stocks in particular, one person ensuring that their PM stocks can not be lent to short-sellers will likely not make a difference, but if every single PM stock owner holds their stocks in a Type 1 account, this just may make a huge difference in muting or curtailing some of the raids that bankers periodically conduct against PM mining shares.

?

?The Essential Newbie Buying Guide for Gold & Silver?

?

Here are a few other videos that will help you truly understand the gold and silver market:

Future Gold & Silver Price Moves Higher Are Going to Shock Most People?

The World? Greatest Money Trick, Gold Myths Exposed, Part I

The World? Greatest Money Trick, Gold Myths Exposed, Part II

?

About the author:?JS Kim is the Managing Director of?SmartKnowledgeU, an independent gold & silver based research and investment firm fiercely dedicated to fighting the fraud of Main Street and promoting a return to sound money as a way to gain freedom from the debt enslavement tactics of global bankers. Follow us on?twitter @smartknowledgeu.

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Bloomberg: Cisco Systems preparing to sell Linksys, hires Barclays to handle sale

Bloomberg: Cisco Systems preparing to sell Linksys, hires Barclays handle sale

Cisco's hardware offerings are about to narrow slightly, according to Bloomberg -- the company has asked Barclays to help it get rid of its Linksys unit. The move is part of Cisco's ongoing effort to minimize its consumer businesses, the same strategy that dissolved its Flip Video division last year. The usual "people with knowledge of the situation" suggested that the company may be courting TV manufacturers, noting that the brand is likely to sell for significantly less than the $500 million Cisco paid in 2003. Both Cisco and Barclays declined to comment on the sale. We understand -- after the Connect Cloud debacle, we wouldn't want to talk either.


[Thanks, Tom]

Filed under:

Comments

Source: Bloomberg

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/6McBufMLe_w/

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5 Fascinating Facts We Learned From Reddit This Week

1. There's poop on the moon.

Apollo 11 left a lot of crap at Tranquility Base, both figurative and literal. Among the things untouched since 1969: a U.S. flag, a pair of tongs, two empty food bags, a gold olive branch, two defecation collectors and four urine collectors. In fact, there's concern among World Heritage advocates that these droppings may be disturbed when space is commercialized. So if you take a moon tour in 2050, try not to step in anything, mmk? Image via NASA.

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: 10 Naughty Cats Versus Christmas Trees]

One day, your children will fly to the moon to get a look at Neil Armstrong's poop. Don't believe me?

Check out this week's batch of Reddit Facts above.

[More from Mashable: Top 5 Apps for Kids This Week]

Thumbnail photo via Flickr, NASA

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/5-fascinating-facts-learned-reddit-week-232848286.html

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ETFs: Big Winners This Year, But Dilemmas ... - Yahoo! Finance

While fund flow numbers have been weak for the mutual fund industry this year, investors have poured money into exchange traded funds (ETFs), and are now positioning optimally for 2013.

According to ETFtrends.com, ETF assets are up 26% or $273 billion so far this year. This easily surpasses the $119 billion total seen in 2011 and is on track match the record set in 2008, according to Morningstar.

Despite more dollars in the space, there was a burst of smaller providers who "realized they can't keep products out there," says Todd Rosenbluth, developer of S&P Capital IQ ETF research and ranking methodology, which ranks 750 ETFs.

While there were 170 new ETFs and ETNs this year, there were 98 that closed as of December. In fact, so many failed that some dubbed it "The Year of the ETF Closure."

"There's been talk about closing ETFs, and that happens because some ideas don't stick," says Tom Lydon editor of ETFtrends.com, in the attached video. "But we continue to see net positive new ETFs in the marketplace."

Flows in 2012 were dominated by taxable bond ETFs, which have attracted a record $48 billion in inflows year-to-date, according to Morningstar. PIMCO Total Return ETF (BOND), the largest actively managed ETF and the most popular newcomer of 2012, has gained 10% since launching in February. With nearly $4 billion in assets already, Lydon predicts BOND will be dubbed "ETF launch of the year."

Heavy inflows to fixed income are likely to be a continuing trend in 2013 as investors hunt for yield with low cost structures, says S&P Capital IQ's Rosenbluth. Which corners do well will ultimately come down to risk tolerance -- whether money continues to flow heavily into high yield, for instance, depends naturally on the state of the economy. Investment grade bond ETFs -- which have a higher yield than Treasuries, but not that much more credit risk -- are likely to gain attention and are positioned to do well, he says.

What else is there to think about in 2013? Here are three more considerations:

Dividend Themed ETFs
The complete essence of dividend stocks has changed in the last few weeks as companies prepare for tax changes in 2013. A flood of special dividends has resulted as executives seek to reward shareholders, and themselves, before higher tax rates come into effect.

Related: Winners and 'Losers' of the Special-Dividend Bonanza

That could mean both a dearth of dividends in general, as so many were accelerated, in 2013, and a smaller profit after taxes on those that weren't.

"There's reason for people to be talking about it and concerned," says Rosenbluth,"but their appeal is still in relation to what the prospects are for the global yielding economy." These portfolios won't do as well if there's strong economic growth, and will have good downside protection and tend to do well in times of market uncertainty. "We think the market uncertainty is a greater issue than the [tax change]," he says.

The key is to look for a portfolio that owns stocks that are consistently and historically raising the dividend, he advises.

One example is WisdomTree DEFA (DWM), which owns stocks like China Mobile (CHL) and Novartis (NVS). Another is Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG), with stocks like Wal-Mart (WMT), Coca-Cola (KO) and (IBM). "Their decisions are unlikely to be changed," he says.

There were 18 dividend themed ETFs in the U.S. stock sector in 2012, and they were quite popular, with total assets around $45 billion, versus just $8 billion three years ago, notes Morningstar's Rawson.

Ways to Return to Risk
Rosenbluth predicts that in 2013 we'll see investors seek out more risk and they'll look to ETFs to do so. In this case, diversified international portfolios and emerging market products are likely to do well.

An example of the former would be WisdomTree DEFA (DWM), mentioned above, which has a diversified, dividend focused international portfolio focuses more on developed markets, like Japan, Australia and the UK.

As for the latter, S&P Capital IQ is also positive on a number of emerging market economies -- China, Mexico, Russia, Turkey -- and expects to see strong growth in ETFs that have exposure to those countries. For example, Rosenbluth points to iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM), which focuses on various sectors and good growth-oriented stocks in diversified emerging markets like Korea, Brazil, China. It's up 15% in 2012.

Of course, the big caveat would be concerns about the global economic slowdown and the U.S. 'fiscal cliff.' Therein is the risk. If the 'cliff' situation isn't resolved, risk-on assets such as emerging markets are unlikely to do well.

How to Think About Yield
In an ideal world, the higher the yield, the greater the risk you're taking on from a duration perspective, or from a credit quality perspective. However, yields on various bond ETFs have come down to similar levels despite the fact that they have different durations, says Rosenbluth. Essentially, investors are taking on different duration risk, they're just not getting rewarded for it.

For instance, the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) has a yield of 1.7% and a duration of 6.5 years, while the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) has a similar yield of 1.6%, with a duration of 5 years.

"You're taking on more duration risk in the immediate term, but the yields are quite similar, not what one would expect," says Rosenbluth. "The argument we're making is that people need to look beyond yield when they're making a fixed income ETF decision."

Similarly, if you're seeing a "high yield portfolio" that's not in proportion to others you've seen, "it could mean too much money has flowed in, so you're not getting the bang for your buck," he says.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/etfs-big-winners-dilemmas-ahead-2013-161913117.html

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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Paul di Resta thinks Force India cash boost will take time to provide ...

Paul di Resta thinks Force India cash boost will take time to provide results ? Formula 1 news

Force India driver Paul di Resta thinks that their car boost will take at least two years to provide the expected results.

The Silverstone based team approved an investment programme worth ?50 million during the last month in order to enhance its technology.

There are many reports which are stating that Force India will be very competitive in the 2013 Formula 1 season as they have invested such a huge amount of money in making the technological advancement.

However, Di Resta believes that the next season will be too early to judge the effect of their investment as it is going to take a couple of years to attain the desire results.

?I think ultimately you shouldn't really be looking at next year because I think you should be looking a year back and then two years forward,? said di Resta. ?The foundations are obviously getting bigger and there's a great level of investment coming.?

?For a team like this you will get true benefits for it, but I think you see that for years to come as opposed to the near future,? he said. ?Given the way this team works and the small network it has, I think it will build upon something.?

?That is always one thing that seems to happen,? he added.

It will be important to mention that Di Resta?s teammate, Nico Hulkenberg who performed impressively well in this season has planned to move to Sauber in the next season. On the other hand, Sergio Perez is going to join McLaren as Lewis Hamilton?s replacement.

Therefore, the Scot will definitely have more responsibility on his shoulders in the coming year. Nevertheless, he has asserted that he is very well prepared and is looking forward to score points with more consistency in the next season.

Force India emerged as one of the most competitive midfield contenders in this season. Furthermore, they successfully securing 7th place in this year?s constructors? championship.

Presently, they are targeting to make some necessary developments in their car during the winter testing so as to attain good results right from the start of the next season.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Paul-di-Resta-thinks-Force-India-cash-boost-will-take-time-to-provide-results-Formula-1-news-a208823

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Verbier, St Anton And Val Disere Ski Resorts Offer High Altitude Skiing

Seize the momentBreathe pure serenity in the heart of Verbier, St Anton and Val dIsere. Let us arrange your chalet holiday!!Planning and choosing a skiing holiday can be fun.particularly if you get it right! If you havent sampled it yet, why not put these places on your to do list this winter??

In the heart of the superb Alpine chain, at an altitude of 1500 m, Verbier is a very lively place that teems with cosmopolitan visitors and also a dream resort for keen skiers and ski racers. Positioned on a sun-drenched south-west facing plateau, the town centre retains a special charm from the chalet-style buildings that give it a large Alpine village feel in its own natural setting. As far as skiing goes and despite general belief, beginners are really well catered for due to the lift updates that have been carried out over the last few years. With a ski area as huge as Verbier and the 4 Valleys, the region offers a wide variety of slopes for absolutely everyone. Verbier boasts some of the best night life in the Swiss Alps. It also combines legendary skiing with top aprs-ski in an excellent high altitude location.

In a picture-postcard setting with unbelievable views of snowy peaks, a Verbier skiing holiday will let you to explore the immense ski area of the 4 Valleys connecting the ski resorts of Verbier, La Tzoumaz, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Thyon and Les Collons. The resort is also renowned for its gastronomy, serving all the regions local gourmet specialties. Choose to be right in the heart of the action or away from the hustle and bustle Powder White has it all.

Val d'Isere is one of the best loved French skiing destinations. Both Val dIsere and Tignes combine to create the cosmic ski area known as Espace Killy. Val dIsere is a firm favourite here at Powder White and many of us have been fortunate enough to enjoy our seasons indulging in the thrills and spills from the steep and deep that is the endless playground of the Espace Killy. Powder White offers comfortable and charming accommodation right in the centre of Val d'Isere with easy access to the resorts amenities and the expansive ski lifts. Val dIsere has surprising charm with its eye-catching old village surrounded by sensitive development using lots of stone, slate and wood.

A buzzing resort in a splendid location, St Anton is probably one of the prettiest and idyllic villages in the whole of the Austria. As for the village itself, St Anton has retained all its traditional charm, and its part-pedestrianised centre makes an attractive and atmospheric heart to the resort, perfect for skiing and a host of facilities to add to your holiday enjoyment. On a St Anton ski holiday, refueling and eating on the mountain is as important as skiing and St Anton does not disappoint on the gastronomy front. It has some fantastic restaurants serving a variety of dishes. So find a complete package at Powder White to make your holiday a success with even many late deals regardless of place.

About the Author:
A chalet holiday company Powder White offers exclusive luxury accommodation in Verbier, St Anton and Val dIsere. Verbier is legendary for its outstanding skiing and cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Verbier--St-Anton-And-Val-D---isere-Ski-Resorts-Offer-High-Altitude-Skiing/4326440

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