Copper theft cuts phone service in SW Florida

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• Copper theft cuts phone service in SW Florida
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Source: http://www.e-lane.info/port-charlotte-florida/copper-theft-cuts-phone-service-in-sw-florida/

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Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM

It's Monday, and almost as regular an occurrence as the day itself, we're here to help by letting you listen into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to mp3 at 5:30PM. Please be a part of it by reviewing the list of topics after the break, then participating in the live chat as you listen in.

Continue reading Join the Engadget HD Podcast live on Ustream at 5:30PM

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GOP primary is family affair

CONCORD, N.H. --

Mitt Romney's wife gushes about his silly side and devotion to their five sons and 16 grandchildren.

Rick Santorum's college-age daughter opines online about missing the campus coffee shop and chats with friends about their Friday night plans.

Jon Huntsman's daughters generate much-needed buzz for him with a joint Twitter account and online videos, including at least one that went viral.

Days away from voting in the Republican presidential race, the path to the nomination quickly is becoming a crowded family affair with spouses and offspring pitching in and doing far more than just smiling from the sidelines.

Ann Romney, Anita Perry and Callista Gingrich are starring in new TV ads for their husbands. Romney extols her husband's character and says, "To me, that makes a huge difference" in a candidate. Perry tells the "old-fashioned American story" of how she and her husband were high school sweethearts who had to wait until he was done flying airplanes around the world for the Air Force before they could marry.

Callista Gingrich wishes the nation a Merry Christmas "from our family to yours" in husband Newt Gingrich's new holiday-themed TV ad.

Candidate kids are helping, too, acting as surrogates, strategists and, in some cases, sounding boards for parents competing for the right to challenge President Barack Obama next fall.

"There are times when I wonder why I'm not sitting in the coffee shop on campus with my friends, lightheartedly discussing ('Saturday Night Live') videos, how bad the cafeteria is, what our plans are for Friday night or how absolutely swamped we are with schoolwork," Santorum's daughter, Elizabeth, lamented in a recent blog post. "But this is where God wanted me."

Sometimes the family members campaign with the candidates, and other times they go it alone.

While Rick Perry spent several days campaigning in Iowa recently, his wife was in New Hampshire emphasizing his small-town upbringing and conservative values at a retirement community chapel. Audience members peppered her with questions about subjects such as taxes, immigration and the death penalty.

"She handled them quite well," said Sid Schoeffler, an independent voter from Concord. "When she knew the answer or knew the campaign's story line, she recited it. And when she didn't know, she said so. I thought that was refreshing.

"But whether it's enough to swing my vote, I don't know yet."

Source: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/dec/26/tdmain04-gop-primary-is-family-affair-ar-1568181/

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Christmas Karaoke Party w/ Graham @ Texas Roads Winery

Dec 22, 7-11pm @ Texas Roads Winery

Our First Annual Christmas Karaoke Party for Van Zandt Foster Kiddos. Please bring a $10 gift? to share the JOY of Christmas.

Graham wil be our "Jolly Karaoke Master" as always.--- Free food- $4 wine slushys all night!? $ 5 glass of wine!

Visit our gift shop for some great Christmas Gifts!

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Campaign Finance Law Survives Another Court Challenge

A New York City law that limits campaign contributions from individuals and entities that have business dealings with the city survived another legal challenge on Wednesday, when a federal appeals panel ruled that the law did not violate the free-speech and equal-protection provisions of the United States Constitution.

Several plaintiffs had challenged the city?s ?pay to play? regulations in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan in 2008. A district court judge upheld the constitutionality of the law in February 2009.

The plaintiffs, including former Councilman Tom Ognibene and the State Conservative Party, appealed that ruling, but their legal challenge has now been rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

In 1988, after a wave of local scandals, the City Council passed the Campaign Finance Act, which established public financing for citywide offices, the five offices of borough president and the 52 offices of the City Council. The law also limited individual donor contributions.

In 2006, the Campaign Finance Board reported that, despite the law, more than 20 percent of contributions in the 2001 and 2005 election cycles were from individuals and entities doing business with the city, making up only 5 percent of contributors, and that large donations were more likely to come from such donors than small ones.

Later amendments to the law reduced by 90 percent the amount that those with business before the city were allowed to contribute to a candidate; excluded their contributions from matching public money; and expanded the prohibition on corporate contributions to include partnerships, limited liability corporations and limited liability partnerships.

This week?s ruling keeps those provisions in place. The city?s Law Department litigated the case for the city.

?This is a significant victory for individual New Yorkers, clean government and clean campaign finance,? Christine C. Quinn, the speaker of the City Council and a driving force behind the original passage of the provisions, said in a statement. ?Powerful forces that didn?t want big business and special interests taken out of campaign donations failed to overturn our law.?

?New York City?s limits on pay-to-play are among the most comprehensive of any jurisdiction in the county,? Amy Loprest, executive director of the city?s Campaign Finance Board, said in a statement. ?It is making a difference in fighting corruption, both real and perceived.?

Source: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/citys-limits-on-pay-to-play-by-campaign-donors-survive-lawsuit/

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Koch apologizes for inappropriate relationship with staffer (Star Tribune)

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India, Pakistan to discuss conventional, nuke CBMs Monday

Home

Pakistan News.Net
Thursday 22nd December, 2011 (Source: New Kerala)

New Delhi/Islamabad, Dec 22: Seeking to push forward their revived peace process, India and Pakistan will hold two-day talks starting Monday in Islamabad to discuss conventional and nuclear confidence-building measures. ...

Read the full story at New Kerala

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Source: http://feeds.pakistannews.net/?rid=202069374&cat=8c3d7d78943a99c7

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Mortgage applications eased last week: MBA (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Applications for home mortgages slipped last week, led by a drop in purchase demand as low interest rates were not enough to entice home buyers, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 2.6 percent in the week ended Dec 16.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications dipped 1.6 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases lost 4.9 percent.

"Remarkably low rates are not enough, as many homeowners continue to hold back due to lack of equity in their properties, poor credit and a weak job market," Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.08 percent, down 4 basis points from 4.12 percent the week before. It was the lowest rate this year, the MBA said.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity rose to 80.7 percent of applications from 79.7 percent the previous week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.

(Reporting By Leah Schnurr; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_mortgages

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Vitamin D Prevents Fractures, But Role in Cancer Remains Unclear

News | Health

The analysis was requested by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and was the only study requested in advance of its draft statement on recommendations for vitamin D intake, set to be issued in January

By Karen Rowan and MyHealthNewsDaily ?| December 19, 2011?|

Image: Flickr/julochka

Taking vitamin D, along with calcium supplements, may reduce your risk of breaking a bone, but there's not yet enough evidence to say whether it may lower your risk of cancer, a new analysis concludes.

People who were taking vitamin D and calcium supplements were 11 percent less likely to fracture a bone than people not taking the supplements, according to the study.

There was an even larger reduction in fractures ? about 30 percent ? among elderly people living in institutions who were taking vitamin D, said study researcher Mei Chung, a nutritional epidemiologist and assistant director of the evidence-based-practice center at Tufts Medical Center.

Chung's analysis was requested by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and was the only study the group requested be done in advance of their draft statement on recommendations for vitamin D intake, set to be issued in January, she said.

As to the studies examining the vitamin's role in cancer prevention, "We just don't have good enough information," Chung said, and factors such as how much vitamin D people were getting in their diets, and how much sun exposure they got were not well-controlled in the previous studies she reviewed for her analysis.

The results of the new study are published online today (Dec. 19) in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Vitamin D in the body

Vitamin D is present in very few foods, though some foods are fortified with it, according to the National institutes of Health. Fish such as salmon and tuna, and egg yolks are good sources of it. It's also synthesized by the skin when we're exposed to ultraviolet rays in sunlight.

Research has shown that vitamin D is involved with the depositing of mineral in bone, Chung said, but its potential role in cancer is less clear. Some research has suggested it may promote cell division and other processes that may lead to cancer, but other work has shown it may have the opposite effect, she said. The vitamin's effect of the vitamin may vary across different parts of the body ? it could promote some cancers, but inhibit the development of others.

Chung's analysis included 19 studies examining the effects of vitamin D on bone fractures, and 28 studies of its effects on cancer.

In terms of reducing fractures, vitamin D only reduced the risk when taken in conjunction with calcium, the study showed. The benefit was seen among people taking from 300 International Units (IU) to 1,100 IU daily, according to the study.

The studies she examined conflicted in their findings about whether vitamin D might prevent cancer, Chung said. Three of the studies were prospective randomized controlled trials ? considered the strongest type of scientific evidence, in which participants are divided into two groups at the study's start and asked to either take vitamin D or a placebo ? and these studies suggested that high doses of vitamin D (1,000 IU a day) may reduce cancer.

However, the levels of vitamin D in the blood of participants in those studies were not measured, Chung said, and without such measurements, conclusions cannot be drawn. Some people in the placebo group may have in fact been taking vitamin D supplements, perhaps as part of a multivitamin, and study participants could vary greatly in terms of the levels of vitamin D in their diets, and their sun exposure. ?

Some of the prospective, observational studies Chung analyzed ? in which researchers did measure blood levels of vitamin D, and tracked those levels with cancer cases ? suggested that people with higher levels may have a lower risk of colorectal cancer, but also showed that higher vitamin D levels brought an increased risk of having any type of cancer in general. Therefore,?a general conclusion about vitamin D and cancer risk could not be made, she said.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=d63bc7ae64042604e421c4e9906f6484

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BP settles with maker of failed blowout preventer (AP)

NEW ORLEANS ? Cameron International, the maker of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer that failed to stop last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has agreed to pay $250 million to BP under a legal settlement, BP said Friday.

BP said it was "in their mutual best interests, and the agreement is not an admission of liability by either party." The companies are dropping all claims against one another, they said.

The settlement comes in advance of a federal trial over the catastrophic Gulf oil spill. The non-jury trial is slated to begin in February and determine fault in the April 20, 2010, explosion and subsequent oil spill off the Louisiana coast of more than 200 million gallons of oil.

The settlement with Cameron does not end the legal fighting over the blowout of the Macondo well, which was owned by London-based BP and two partners, MOEX and Anadarko. BP has already settled claims with those two companies and a third company, Weatherford, the maker of a part used in the well.

"Today's settlement allows BP and Cameron to put our legal issues behind us and move forward to improve safety in the drilling industry," said Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive.

"Unfortunately, other companies persist in refusing to accept responsibility for their roles in the accident and for contributing to restoration efforts," Dudley said in a swipe at Halliburton Corp. and Transocean Ltd. Halliburton supplied critical cement to seal the well and Transocean was the company drilling the well.

Probes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion by the federal government and independent scientists and engineers have found all three companies were at fault for a series of decisions and actions that led to the Macondo well blowout, the nation's largest offshore oil spill.

BP is engaged in an intense legal fight with Halliburton Corp. and Transocean. Earlier this month, BP went so far as to accuse Halliburton employees of covering up damaging evidence about a cement mixture Halliburton used in drilling the well.

BP said it would use the $250 million from Cameron to pay for the cost of cleaning up from the spill and paying individual damages claims by people, businesses and government entities hurt by the spill. BP said it has spent about $7.5 billion so far of those claims. But the British company faces billions of dollars in additional damages and fines.

Under the agreement, BP said Houston-based Cameron is no longer responsible for any additional cleanup costs related to the spill. But BP said the agreement does not cover civil, criminal and administrative fines and other penalties that might arise out of the court proceedings.

Jack Moore, the chairman and CEO Cameron, said the agreement with BP "removes uncertainty facing Cameron" as litigation intensifies over the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

"This eliminates all significant exposure to historical and future claims related to this incident," Moore said.

Moore said Cameron does not expect to have to pay much for possible court fines and penalties. "We do not consider these items to represent a significant risk to Cameron," he said.

Cameron said its insurers were expected to fund at least $170 million of the $250 million payment the company agreed to make to BP.

BP and Cameron also pledged to "improve safety in the drilling industry" and do more to improve blowout preventers.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mexico/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_us/us_gulf_oil_spill_settlement

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Video: Disaster Du Jour & Sunshine Stock: CVC & VRX

CNBC's Mandy Drury shares the details of one stock to avoid and another to watch: cable provider Cablevision and Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45701144/

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6 ways Mitt Romney is trying to prove he's 'human' (The Week)

New York ? Goodbye, Rombot. Hello, sensitive human? Here's how Team Romney is trying to make the super-rich, often-wooden candidate seem like the rest of us

"Meet Mitt Romney, human," says Reid J. Epstein in Politico. With the GOP nomination seemingly fading from sight, Team Romney has been working overtime to soften the so-called "Rombot" candidate who's been on display all year. The push to "humanize" Romney ? a strategy his campaign team disavows ? has its skeptics. But it's pretty clear, says Ashley Parker in The New York Times, that the often "inscrutable, overly polished, and occasionally robotic" candidate "is striving mightily to humanize himself just three weeks before the first round of voting begins." How? Here are six ways:

1. Deputizing his family
The humanizing effort began last week with a spate of TV ads emphasizing Mitt the Family Man. And to "show his softer side," says Philip Rucker in The Washington Post, Romney "has been campaigning more frequently with his wife, Ann, and their family." He's had various of his five sons introduce him at events, and is telling more personal anecdotes about his family life. The subtext may be a swipe at thrice-married GOP frontrunner Newt Gingrich, but it's also tactically "good to remind Iowans of how strong he is from a family standpoint," says unaligned Iowa GOP congressman Steve King.

SEE MORE: How Romney could lose to Gingrich... just like Romney's dad lost to Nixon

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2. Sending his wife to talk about his unseen side
Beyond featuring wife Ann in ads, Romney is sending her out to smaller private fundraisers to talk about "the side of Mitt people don't see or don't hear about." In other words, says Jessica Grose in Slate, "she's trying to make Mitt seem less stiff, and more fun." It might work, but if she wants to improve on "her first attempt at Mitt humanization circa 2007," Ann Romney is going to have to be a little more "specific, intimate, and revealing." It's nice that Mitt stood by her through breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, but Ann will have to "up the personal disclosures if she wants to crack that lacquered image that most people have of her husband."

3. Talking about his Mormonism
The Dec. 10 debate marked the first time in four years that Romney brought up being a Mormon, and he's only upped the religion talk since, discussing his stints as a missionary in France and as a stateside counselor to struggling Mormons. In "racing to humanize a distant and sometimes awkward politician...," say Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman in Politico, Team Romney just "smashed personal red lines the candidate spent decades erecting." He's even joking about his religion, claiming that he "encouraged the guys" who created the lewd, satirical Broadway hit The Book of Mormon, "because I thought that'd be really helpful."

SEE MORE: Mitt Romney's anti-media hostility: Will it backfire?

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4. Talking (maybe too much) about his hardships
Mitt's Mormon remembrances included new details about his two-year missionary stint that weren't even in his autobiography. Insisting he wasn't "living high on the hog" in France, Romney told a crowd on Sunday that he'd subsisted on $110 a month, in bare-bones apartments often without refrigerators, showers, or even toilets. Instead of toilets, he had "little pads on the ground, OK?" he elaborated. "You know how that works, all right. There was a chain behind you with a bucket ? it was a bucket affair." I get that he's trying to "shed his robotic image,"?says Zeke Miller in Business Insider. But that's "a definitional case of the phrase 'Too Much Information'."

5. Meeting the press more
After facing criticism for avoiding the press, and then blowing an on-air chat with Fox News'?Bret Baier, Romney has dramatically boosted his access to reporters. More is needed, American University political scientist Leonard Steinhorn tells the Boston Herald. "If he wants to humanize himself, he better work as quickly as possible and work as many media outlets as possible," especially Jon Stewart's Daily Show. Romney himself seems cool to the idea, telling the Herald he'd "much rather have a setting that's fun, and give-and-take."

SEE MORE: Romney's big weakness: Speaking French?

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6. Talking about how equally un-human his rivals are
Romney's estimated $200 million in wealth may make him seem removed from everyday Americans, but he "doesn't want to be cast as the only rich person in the race for the Republican presidential nomination," says Brian Montopoli in CBS News. On Wednesday Romney pointed out that Gingrich is also "a wealthy man, a very wealthy man," adding that "if you have a half a million dollar purchase from Tiffany's, you're not a middle class American." Zing! Gingrich is worth at least $6.7 million.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politicsopinion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20111215/cm_theweek/222472

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China to keep policy stable, fend off global risks (AP)

SHANGHAI ? Foreign investment in China fell nearly 10 percent in November in the latest evidence of the rising toll that weakness in the West is taking on the world's No. 2 economy.

The $8.8 billion in foreign direct investment in November ? down 9.8 percent from a year earlier ? was a sudden deterioration compared with an increase of 8.8 percent in October, the Commerce Ministry said. Foreign direct investment covers spending on physical assets such as factories and doesn't include financial assets such as stocks.

Exports, industrial production and property dealings are slowing, and China's leaders wrapped up their annual economic planning conference on Wednesday with statements suggesting they will be more pro-active in moving to fend off the chill from the European debt crisis.

With the European Union ? China's largest export market ? in the doldrums, Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang described trade prospects as "grim."

"The impact of the global economic climate means the foreign trade environment is very severe," Shen said. He said China would step up efforts to encourage imports and boost exports by focusing on faster growing regions such as Russia and other emerging economies.

Export growth has fallen steadily since hitting a peak of nearly 36 percent in March, and economists are forecasting foreign trade will be a drag on growth next year.

Foreign direct investment in January-November rose 13.2 percent to $103.8 billion ? a slowing from the 15.9 percent increase seen in January-October, when total foreign direct investment was $95 billion.

An 18 percent increase in investment from other Asian economies to $89.6 billion, helped to offset a 23 percent decline in U.S. spending this year, as of the end of November, to $2.74 billion. Investment from the EU held steady, edging up 0.3 percent from a year earlier to $5.98 billion.

At their yearly economic work conference, Chinese leaders pledged fine-tuning to ensure stable and more balanced growth while fighting inflation, but offered no major shifts in policy.

The gathering endorsed the ruling communist party's agenda for keeping a "prudent" monetary policy to counter inflation and a "pro-active" fiscal policy to support growth.

It also pledged to keep curbs on the property sector in place to guard against a rebound in prices, and called for keeping the value of China's currency, the yuan, "basically stable," according to a statement issued by the official Xinhua News Agency.

China plans to prop up falling exports by setting up special trade "bases" and aiding exporters in inland areas, which have lagged behind the richer coastal regions, state media cited Commerce Ministry officials as saying.

Tax cuts and increased government spending in key areas such as high-tech and energy are also likely, though analysts say they do not expect stimulus comparable to the 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) package deployed in response to the 2008 global crisis.

By targeting specific sectors, authorities aim to prevent the sort of runaway investment, driven by bank lending, that drove inflation to 6.5 percent in July and has left housing prices prone to inflate into financially risky bubbles.

With labor unrest flaring and financial conditions deteriorating across many sectors, from small companies to government-backed building projects, Beijing's mantra is "stability."

That word was repeated five times in just one sentence of the official dispatch that vowed continuity in policies for the sake of keeping social stability.

An expected transition next year to a new generation of communist leaders has accentuated Beijing's obsession with keeping control.

China's economy grew 9.1 percent in July-September but is expected to slow to below 9 percent growth in the coming year, as weaker demand at home compounds the impact from fragile conditions in Europe and the United States.

Given the weakness in demand for Chinese exports overseas, the leaders reiterated their intention to boost domestic demand to build an economy less dependent on foreign trade and investment.

___

Follow Elaine Kurtenbach on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ekurtenbachsh

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_economy

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Glam Media moves closer to IPO, filing seen in Q2 (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Glam Media, the women's lifestyle online publishing and advertising company, is close to selecting bankers to lead an initial stock offering slated for 2012, according to people familiar with the matter.

Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are in the running to lead Glam Media's IPO, the people said, following a selection process that involved presentations from roughly a dozen firms.

While no final decision has been made on the exact timing of Glam's IPO, people close to the situation say the company is aiming to file a prospectus in the second quarter of 2012, with a potential offering slated for the third or fourth quarter of the year.

Glam Media declined to comment.

Glam's plans to float shares to the public come as several of its online peer companies have made similar moves.

On Tuesday, Jive Software made its Wall Street debut with shares jumping 25 percent on their first day of trading. Social game company Zynga is expected to price its IPO on Thursday.

Facebook, the world's No.1 Internet social networking company, is preparing for an IPO in 2012, a source familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.

Glam, which was launched in 2005, was the 10th most visited online property in the U.S. in October, according to comScore, with roughly 85 million unique visitors.

Glam was valued at $950 million when it acquired social networking service Ning for $150 million earlier this year, sources said.

The company, which works with more than 1,000 brand advertisers including Nike and Lexus, competes with Yahoo Inc and Google Inc in the online advertising market.

Glam is moving towards an IPO as it nears the 500 shareholder threshold, a rule which would require the company to file public reports of its financial performance by 2013, according to the sources.

Glam's moves to select IPO underwriters were first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday.

The "bake-off" process in which banks pitch their services to handle Glam's IPO wrapped up a few weeks ago and Glam is currently deciding which firms will lead the offering. Bank of America, Citi and Credit Suisse are also in the running to have a role in the offering, according to the sources.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic, editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/media_nm/us_glam

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PFT: Peyton not cleared to practice yet

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Now that the Dolphins don?t have a head coach and owner Stephen Ross reportedly wants a star and only a handful of guys who have won Super Bowls are available, Bill Cowher?s name naturally has surfaced at the top of the list.

Former Dolphins quarterback and current Cowher CBS colleague Dan Marino thinks Cowher won?t be coaching the Dolphins, or any team for that matter.

?I would love to see him be the Dolphins coach or if he wanted to coach again because it would be great for the NFL, but I don?t think his mindset is that he wants to coach again,? Marino told Dolphins.com, via NFL.com.? ?And he may change that over time now, but my feeling is that, you know, he?s a pretty straightforward . . . guy that tells the ? kind of ? the truth most of the time, I would say ? or no, all the time ? and he said on TV that he doesn?t have any plans of coming back, and I believe him.?

Marino?s hesitation to call Cowher truthful ?all the time? was a bit odd, especially since it wasn?t said in jest or sarcastically.? Still, the fact remains that Cowher at no time has said unequivocally that he won?t be coaching in 2012.? Instead, Cowher has said only that he doesn?t ?plan? to coach and that he ?plans? to return to CBS.

Well, plans can change.

As to the Dolphins job, Cowher?s plans likely won?t change because G.M. Jeff Ireland continues to be employed by the team.? Three years ago, the courtship of Cowher by the Jets ended quickly once it became clear that G.M. Mike Tannenbaum would neither give up his job nor his final say over the roster.

Still, with each passing year Cowher risks sliding off the ?A? list.? For now, Cowher?s there ? primarily because he hasn?t said with sufficient clarity that he doesn?t want to be.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/14/peyton-manning-still-not-cleared-to-practice/related/

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Zoho CRM Gets A UI Makeover, Adds LinkedIn Integration

Web-based productivity suite Zoho is revamping its CRM offering today. Zoho CRM is one of the company's most popular application with 25,000 customers. The most distinct differences between the new version and previous iteration is the UI. Zoho says that based on how customers were interacting with the app, workflow and screens were redesigned to streamline user interactions.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/gDUORYdAbdQ/

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Did the U.S. Create the Conficker Virus to Wipe Out Iran's Nukes? [Viruses]

The Conficker worm was one of the more intriguing and potentially destructive pieces of malware in the past decade. Earlier reports have suggested that Stuxnet was created by the U.S. and Israeli governments, and now Reuters has a source telling them Conficker was also used to negate Iran's nuclear program. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/u1mvj64Ax3c/did-the-us-create-the-conficker-virus-to-wipe-out-irans-nukes

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96% The Artist

An instant classic, THE ARTIST is a joy from beginning to end. A silent love letter to the early days of cinema, this masterpiece uses sound or the lack thereof in such imaginative ways, has completely charming performances by its leads, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, and has the precise look and feel of a film made in the 1920's. Back in the 70s, Mel Brooks spoofed the silent era with SILENT MOVIE, and there are many similarities here, although THE ARTIST relies almost entirely on character and charm, whereas Mel Brooks leaned heavily on slapstick. Writer/Director Michel Hazanavicius clearly loves the language of film, how a series of retakes chronicles the development of the love story, how the unexpected sound of an object on a desk can take the audience's breath away, how the sight of a large crowd of women jumping for joy at the sight of our movie star takes you right back to newsreel images from the time. Every frame of this film is filled with a sense of wonder and yet it's remarkably light on its feet. Look at the way Penelope Ann Miller's unhappy housewife gets the very endearing detail of doodling over pictures of her celebrity husband, or how Missi Pyle hilariously gives us her whole relationship with her co-star in a single glance. A stunning shot inside the famous Bradbury Building left me saying "Wow". If you love movies, you're gonna swoon over this one.

November 13, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/

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Leaders at Americas talks: world economy top worry (AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela ? Leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean pledged closer ties to safeguard their economies from the world financial crisis as they formed a new bloc on Saturday including every nation in the hemisphere except the U.S. and Canada.

Several presidents stressed during the two-day summit that they hope to ride out turbulent times by boosting local industries and increasing trade within the region.

"It seems it's a terminal, structural crisis of capitalism," Bolivian President Evo Morales said in a speech Saturday. "I feel we're meeting at a good moment to debate ... the great unity of the countries of America, without the United States."

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and some of his closest allies called the new regional bloc a tool for standing up to U.S. influence. But other leaders focused more on economic concerns and on working together to confront issues such as drug trafficking and the effects of climate change.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that if the nations are to keep thriving they will need to look more to their neighbors.

"The economic, financial crisis should be at the center of our concerns," Rousseff said Friday night. She said Latin America should "realize that to guarantee its current cycle of development despite the international economic turbulence, it means that every politician must be aware that each one needs the others."

The region has so far weathered the economic woes better than the U.S. or Europe, achieving economic growth of more than 5 percent last year.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the region has immense potential while "there's a hurricane that's hitting the so-called industrialized economies hard." He said Colombia's current trade with Brazil, for instance, is minimal and could grow significantly.

Chavez read aloud a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao congratulating the leaders on forming a new 33-nation regional bloc, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Hu pledged to deepen cooperation with the new group.

The U.S. remains the top trading partner of many countries in the region, with exceptions including Brazil and Chile, where China has recently taken the place of the U.S. as the biggest trading partner.

The leaders formally launched the new bloc, known by its Spanish initials CELAC, by approving a declaration of shared principles as well as a clause dealing with democratic norms. Chavez said leaders had not agreed on whether to make decisions by consensus or by vote, and as a result would reach decisions by consensus for the time being and take up the matter again later.

Chavez pounded a gavel on his desk as he read out several statements approved by the leaders, including one opposing the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, a conservative who took over the new group's rotating presidency, touted it a forum to build regional cooperation in spite of political differences. Pinera said the group would hold its next summit in Santiago in 2012.

Venezuela's government celebrated the gathering at a Caracas military base with bursts of fireworks that could be heard from the session. Other events included an orchestral performance led by Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and a post-summit concert headlined by Puerto Rican hip-hop duo Calle 13.

Both Chavez and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said they hope the bloc eventually overshadows the importance of the Washington-based Organization of American States. Unlike the OAS, the new group will have Cuba as a full member and exclude the U.S. and Canada.

"We need a new inter-American system and, more specifically, a new system to guarantee human rights," Correa said Friday, referring to the Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which has received complaints from Ecuadorean newspapers and television channels that accuse his government of trying to silence critics.

Chavez called the OAS "obsolete." Bolivia's Morales strongly criticized the International Monetary Fund, saying "they've just pillaged us and led us to poverty."

Several other presidents said they see CELAC as a forum to resolve conflicts and build closer ties, but not as an alternative to existing bodies such as the OAS.

On other issues, Morales appealed for strong steps at this month's climate change conference in South Africa, saying it's critical that developed nations renew pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

"If they kill the protocol, they kill the planet," Morales said.

Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, also expressed concerns about changing weather patterns and said nations should work together to better plan for disasters.

Several leaders called for closer cooperation to fight criminals and drug trafficking.

Colombia's Santos said the new bloc could help in re-examining whether current counter-drug efforts are the right approach.

Chavez criticized past U.S. interventions in Latin America, and said the region must "demand respect."

He recalled shaking President Barack Obama's hand at a 2009 summit and giving him a copy of the book "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" by Eduardo Galeano.

"I think President Obama hasn't had time to read that book," said Chavez, whose relations with Washington have been tense for much of his nearly 13-year-old presidency.

Caribbean leaders including Haitian President Michel Martelly thanked Chavez for selling their nations oil on preferential terms including long-term, low interest loans.

"The people of Haiti love you with all their hearts," Martelly told Chavez during his speech, saying "south-south cooperation" is key to the future of his impoverished country.

Chavez assured leaders he will survive cancer, reiterating that he underwent recent tests in Cuba after finishing chemotherapy and they found no "malignant cells in any part of my body, thanks to God."

Trinidad's prime minister gave Chavez a little bottle of what she described as holy water, and Chavez thanked her saying: "Soon we will have a summit of those of us who've beaten cancer."

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Toothaker contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111203/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_summit

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Real Sociedad rallies to beat Malaga 3-2 in Spain

By JOSEPH WILSON

Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 12:21 a.m. ET Dec. 5, 2011

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -For the second week running Real Sociedad scored late to snatch victory, beating Malaga 3-2 in dramatic fashion in the Spanish league on Sunday.

With Malaga on the verge of collecting its fourth victory in five games, Carlos Vela lifted the ball with a light touch of the head before whipping an acrobatic bicycle kick into the back of the net to equalize for the Basque side in the 89th minute.

Sociedad then pressed for the winner that came three minutes later from substitute Diego Ifran, who got past Malaga defender Martin Demichelis before coolly shooting past goalkeeper Willy Caballero to cap the unexpected comeback.

"In the last three minutes we showed our skill," Sociedad coach Philippe Montanier said. "I thought it would be very difficult to rally so late but it only takes 10 seconds to score, that along with patience and a cool head."

Sociedad had gone in front in the 10th minute at Anoeta stadium when Imanol Agirretxe's header hit the crossbar and bounced off Demichelis into the net.

But striker Jose Rondon muscled free of two defenders to head in Francisco "Isco" Alarcon's cross from inside the six-yard box to level for Malaga in the 21st.

Sebastian Fernandez stole the ball from defender Mikel Gonzalez inside the area and scored to make it 2-1 in the 59th, giving Malaga control until Sociedad caught the visitors off guard with its late surge.

Sociedad also won in stoppage time last week when Inigo Martinez's blast from halfway secured a 3-2 victory over Real Betis.

"I prefer to win being up 3-0 by halftime, but this league is very tough and almost every game is close," Montanier said.

Malaga's first loss in five rounds left it three points behind fourth-place Levante, while Sociedad continued its turnaround after three rounds without a loss.

Also Sunday, Radamel Falcao led Atletico Madrid to a 3-1 win over Rayo Vallecano for the team to stay undefeated at home in the league this season.

The Colombia striker played Gabi Fernandez through to score Atletico's 25th-minute opener, before heading in Diego's cross in the 74th for his eighth league goal of the campaign.

"Of course for a striker it is good to score," said Falcao. "But I can also bring other things to the team like my participation in the first goal and always trying to be a reference for my team up front."

Atletico's Eduardo Salvio capped the win in the Madrid derby with a third goal in added time before Gabi scored in his own net to give Rayo a deserved consolation goal.

In Pamplona, Javad Nekounam scored with a free kick in added time to lift Osasuna to a 2-1 win over Betis as his team stayed unbeaten at Reyno de Navarra stadium this season.

For the second straight week Betis conceded a winner with the 90 minutes completed. Pepe Mel's team has now lost nine of its last 10 games.

Athletic Bilbao was held to a 1-1 draw at Mallorca in the Basques' first game against former coach Joaquin Caparros since his departure in the offseason.

Striker Odion Ighalo's goal just before halftime gave Granada a 1-0 win over last-place Zaragoza, which has lost six of its last seven matches.

On Saturday, Madrid beat Sporting Gijon 3-0 to remain three points ahead of second-place Barcelona. The defending champion routed Levante 5-0 but has played one game more than Madrid.

The two rivals meet next weekend in the first "clasico" of the season at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Also, third-place Valencia beat Espanyol 2-1 to keep in touch with the top two, while Racing Santander edged Villarreal 1-0.

Sevilla hosts Getafe on Monday to close round 14.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Man United vs. Man City again

Manchester United will meet defending champion Manchester City in the FA Cup for a second straight season after the local rivals were drawn against each other in the third round.

Season set

Major League Soccer's 2012 season will open March 10 with six games.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44298965/ns/sports-soccer/

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Euro 2012 offers pure treat for football fans

By GRAHAM DUNBAR

updated 6:00 a.m. ET Dec. 2, 2011

KIEV, Ukraine - Forget the World Cup for now. Many soccer purists get their quadrennial international kicks from the European Championship.

Ahead of Friday's draw in Kiev, Euro 2012 promises plenty of memorable matchups, as the strongest possible lineup according to the UEFA rankings have qualified to play in Poland and Ukraine.

Even before the draw for 16-team tournament is held Friday, it's safe to assume that the showcase for soccer's strongest continent will live up to its tradition of delivering high-quality matches over three intense weeks.

Even FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he saw too many dull group-stage games last year at the monthlong, 32-team World Cup, which gave Europe only 13 places.

"It's definitely better than the World Cup," soccer analyst and author Simon Kuper told The Associated Press. "There are far fewer weaker teams here."

England coach Fabio Capello agrees.

"At this moment (the European Championship) is tougher than the World Cup," said Capello, whose team was ousted by Germany in the round of 16 in South Africa. "The teams that finished first, second and third in the World Cup came from Europe."

That trio ? world and European champion Spain, the Netherlands and Germany ? still head FIFA's world rankings, with only South American champion Uruguay challenging the balance of power.

Kuper offers a simple explanation.

"The most technically advanced football is played here," the Paris-based writer of "Soccernomics" said in a telephone interview. "Argentina and Brazil produce better individual players still, but they don't produce better teams. We seem to be tactically and physically better."

The trend toward European domination started in 1970, after Brazil peaked in its Pele-inspired World Cup win, Kuper suggested.

It took until Euro '96 for UEFA's event to start to rival the World Cup for status and popularity. Then, the soccer heartland of England hosted a tournament that doubled in size to a 16-team format.

"It got a lot of hype and also you get the former Yugoslav and Soviet bloc teams competing," Kuper explained.

Talented teams from newly independent Czech Republic and Croatia rode a wave of national pride, and gave European soccer a fresh feel.

"You get the excitement when a country plays its first tournament," Kuper said, pointing to Slovenia (2000) and Latvia (2004), who also reached a Euro before a World Cup.

Kevin Miles, an English member of the Football Supporters Europe network, suggested visiting fans also get a better deal at the Euros: a bigger share of ticket allocations, cheaper prices, and mobile "embassies" giving free and practical information in host cities.

"UEFA, as an organizer, is much more in tune with the requirements of fans and how to deal with them," Miles said. "FIFA can learn a lot from UEFA about how to treat fans."

UEFA also scores well because its signature event is relatively scandal-free, on the field and when choosing host nations, according to Kuper.

"There seems to have been less things going wrong than with World Cups," he said.

The Euros have proved as attractive to broadcasters and sponsors as FIFA's money-spinner.

UEFA earned then $2 billion from the 31-match Euro 2008 hosted by Austria and Switzerland. The 64-match 2010 World Cup banked $3.65 billion for FIFA.

Still, many commentators believe UEFA has fussed with a winning formula by expanding Euro 2016 in France to include 24 of Europe's 53 countries.

The six-group format will likely offer fewer must-see matchups, and reward defensive play with a place in the last-16 knockout phase.

"By definition, it will be diluted," Kuper said. "These lesser teams defend because that is the easiest thing to learn."

All the more reason, perhaps, to savor the potential purity of Euro 2012.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsMarwan Naamani / AFP - Getty Images

Maradona takes swipe at Pele

Diego Maradona has taken another swipe at Pele, saying the retired Brazilian star must have taken the "wrong medication'' when he suggested Neymar was better than Lionel Messi.

Season set

Major League Soccer's 2012 season will open March 10 with six games.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45521415/ns/sports-soccer/

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Issue of child-care unionization vote heads to court (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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[OOC] Wolves of Genesis

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nightstar_

Member for 1 years

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Can I make a wolf that helps Cara track/fight Shayde? (already made the character... If you don't like it I could change it)

The night is my father, the moon is my mother, the shadows are my only
friends. I am the reason people fear the night. I am the reason children
ask their parents to check under the bed and in the closet. I am fear,
I am death, I am a wolf.

BlueWind_22

Member for 0 years

---

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Investing for Today's Difficult Economy | ivtcscs.org

In today?s down housing market and struggling economy, it seems like every other week another investment scheme comes out of the woodwork that promises you a lot of money in a very short amount of time. I have fallen for a couple of those so-called brilliant investment strategies, but each and every time I?ve wound up losing money ? and in one case, an awful lot of it. But I?m not making any money by tradition investing, either. A friend told me about the best covered call screener, though. Covered calls is a new investment strategy, one that is both realistic and effective. You won?t triple your money overnight, but I have definitely seen real results. I am recommending it to all of my friends and relatives. In today?s economy, if you have the opportunity to do something to ensure your financial security, you should absolutely take advantage of it. You just can?t afford not to.

Source: http://www.ivtcscs.org/business-finance/investing/investing-for-todays-difficult-economy

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Why Mitt Romney is losing the TV campaign ad war, again (The Christian Science Monitor)

Washington ? With just a little over a month to go before the Iowa caucus, we?re starting to see more ads by the GOP candidates. Mitt Romney has recently released two ads in New Hampshire - the first, hitting President Obama on the economy, drew criticism for taking an Obama quote completely out of context. The second is a positive (if somewhat bland) ad about Romney?s business experience and the need to cut spending. 

This morning, the Associated Press reported that Mitt Romney is launching new ads in Iowa Friday on the economy as well.

Which got us thinking: if there?s one thing that seems to encapsulate the problems with Romney?s candidacy, it?s his ads. They?re not bad. They just somehow lack personality - they don?t give you any intrinsic sense of who he really is.

(Like your politics unscrambled? Check out DCDecoder.com)

This was true for Romney throughout the 2008 cycle. Decoder recently went back and watched a whole bunch of 2007-2008 ads from the Republican candidates, and our main takeaway was this: Romney got creamed in the ad wars.

The undisputed, hands-down winner for best GOP ads in 2008 was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Remember the hilarious Chuck Norris ad? (?My plan to secure the border? Two words: Chuck Norris.?) Or the folksy subliminal-cross-over-his-shoulder Christmas ad? Pure brilliance.

The runner-up for best ads that year was clearly John McCain. While McCain?s ads didn?t have quite the entertainment value of Huckabee?s, McCain used the footage of his POW experience in Vietnam incredibly effectively. And frankly, since his ads seemed more presidential than Huckabee?s, they may have been better in ways that counted most.

Either way, Romney?s ads seemed lame and uninspiring by comparison. He also went negative more than anyone else.

Interestingly, while the whole point of ads is to manufacture an (admittedly artificial) image of the candidate, they often still tend to reveal something genuine. Watch enough of them, and you do begin to get a feel for who these candidates are - for better or worse. So far this year, we?ve had the Rick Perry ad where he left out the word ?is? (they couldn?t get a better take than that?). And the Perry ad where he calls himself ?a doer, not a talker.? And of course, Herman Cain?s weirdest-ever web ad featuring his campaign manager smoking a cigarette.

Starting Friday, Cain will begin airing a new ad in Iowa, which somehow strikes us as classic Cain. It?s got a strong economic message, a touch of humor (?this is baad?), and of course, the ?I Am America? theme song (though we confess we can?t listen to that song anymore without picturing Stephen Colbert jamming away).

Since Romney has only recently begun spending money on ads, we suppose he may release some better ones in the weeks to come. But based on his track record last time, we sort of doubt it. We?re just waiting to see what Newt Gingrich comes up with.

Want more?

Check out nearly all the candidate ads to date (most of which have been web-only) in this fabulous archive courtesy of the Political Communication Lab at Stanford University .

Like your politics unscrambled? Check out DCDecoder.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111201/ts_csm/431036

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