Thursday, January 31, 2013

Timbuktu manuscripts mostly safe, university says

A limited number of manuscripts in Timbuktu in Mali were damaged or stolen by Islamist extremists last week before they fled the fabled desert city, a South African university said Wednesday.

People in the north Malian city who have knowledge of the documents reported that there was no malicious destruction of any library or collection, said the University of Cape Town, which helped fund a state-of-the-art library to house manuscripts.

"The custodians of the libraries worked quietly throughout the rebel occupation of Timbuktu to ensure the safety of their materials," said the university. Islamist rebels have been in control of Timbuktu for nearly 10 months.

The university said that a report from Britain's Sky News that 25,000 manuscripts had been burned was false. Other news reports quoted the city mayor, who wasn't in the city, saying manuscripts had been destroyed, the university said.

With its Islamic treasures and centuries-old mud-walled buildings including an iconic mosque, Timbuktu is a U.N.-designated World Heritage Site.

Most of the manuscripts, which are as many as 900 years old, were gathered between the 1980s and 2000 from all over Mali for the Ahmad Baba Institute for Higher Learning and Islamic Research, which moved into its new home in 2009.

Media reports said that the Ahmad Baba Institute had been ransacked by the militants. But the university said a senior researcher at the institute, Mohamed Diagayete, said the majority of the manuscripts were stored in an older building elsewhere in the city.

The manuscripts cover subjects from science, astrology and medicine to history, theology, grammar and geography. They date back to the late 12th century, the start of a 300-year golden age for Timbuktu as a spiritual and intellectual capital for the propagation of Islam.

Islamist extremists decimated tourism in 2011 when three Europeans were taken hostage from a Timbuktu restaurant in November that year. In April 2012, Tuareg nationalist rebels seized control of Timbuktu from government troops. A day later Islamist insurgents moved into the city. They banned music, insisted women cover themselves and began carrying out public executions.

On Tuesday, Timbuktu was in control of French and Malian troops, including some 250 French paratroopers dropped from the sky. The extremists melted into the desert without firing a shot. Townspeople were jubilant at the city's liberation from intolerant Islamist extremists.

"The protection of the cultural and intellectual heritage of this region needs to be enhanced and promoted," the university said. "The abandonment of the security of Timbuktu nine months ago, the flight of archivists and researchers, and the closure of libraries should not be repeated."

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/30/3208294/timbuktu-manuscripts-mostly-safe.html

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Ticketmaster makes online 'CAPTCHA' puzzles easier

This image provided by Ticketmaster shows the newly designed program for ticket purchases. Ticketmaster, often the subject of fan anger when tickets to popular concerts get sold out in seconds, is removing an annoyance that can slow down the buying process: the jumble of letters that people need to decipher known as ?CAPTCHA.? The puzzles provided by Google Inc. are meant to deter automated systems known as ?bots? from buying up mass numbers of tickets the instant they go on sale in order to resell them for a profit. (AP Photo/Ticketmaster)

This image provided by Ticketmaster shows the newly designed program for ticket purchases. Ticketmaster, often the subject of fan anger when tickets to popular concerts get sold out in seconds, is removing an annoyance that can slow down the buying process: the jumble of letters that people need to decipher known as ?CAPTCHA.? The puzzles provided by Google Inc. are meant to deter automated systems known as ?bots? from buying up mass numbers of tickets the instant they go on sale in order to resell them for a profit. (AP Photo/Ticketmaster)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Ticketmaster, often the target of fan anger when tickets to popular concerts get sold out in seconds, is removing an annoyance that can slow down the buying process: the jumble of letters that people need to decipher known as "CAPTCHA."

The puzzles provided by Google Inc. are meant to deter automated systems known as "bots" from purchasing large numbers of tickets the instant they go on sale. Scalpers have been known to employ bots to acquire tickets, which they resell for a profit.

CAPTCHA, an acronym that stands for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart," was developed by Carnegie Mellon computer scientists in 2000. Google bought the company that spun off from the university in 2009 in part to help it digitize books.

Since only humans, not computers, can decipher CAPTCHA codes, websites install the systems to keep tickets out of the hands of large-scale scalpers. In the fight against more sophisticated bot operators, CAPTCHA codes have become increasingly more difficult ? so difficult that the puzzles started slowing down flesh-and-blood fans.

Take a recent CAPTCHA puzzle, which looks like a bunch of distorted letters that is meant for a buyer to interpret and type: "dsrific LCDAppr." Because of the way the letters are bent out of shape on screen, it's tough even for humans to tell if the two instances of the letter "p'' are capitalized or not.

Ticketmaster is overhauling its website to provide easier puzzles. It has run trials online, and in the next several weeks, it will replace all its online puzzles provided by Google with easier ones provided by a New York-based startup called Solve Media. On mobile devices, Ticketmaster is eliminating the need for puzzles entirely, using its own technology that verifies the user through a "push" notification to the device.

Fans using the website will now see common phrases, such as "freezing temperatures," or multiple choice questions such as "which one is a country?" followed by a drop-down menu of answers including "monster truck," ''puppy" and "Spain."

The key is that Solve Media looks for certain digital clues ? which it won't divulge ? to determine if the ticket-buyer is a person or a bot. The technology will dole out an easy puzzle to a person. It will give a bot a difficult one.

That has already made the fan experience better, says Kip Levin, Ticketmaster's executive vice president of eCommerce. The average time it takes to solve these puzzles has been halved from about 14 seconds to about 7 seconds, the company said.

"Anecdotally, we're starting to see an uptick in fan satisfaction," Levin said. "We're happy with what we've seen from a security standpoint as well."

Some puzzles are in the form of ads. A puzzle sponsored by Southwest Airlines Co. makes buyers enter the words "Bags Fly Free." One by TurboTax requires buyers to type "File Free."

Ari Jacoby, the CEO and cofounder of Solve Media, called advertising the "third leg of the stool" for his business after improving user experience and security. Because the sponsored puzzles use company slogans or product names as answers, they are "highly effective and memorable," Jacoby said.

Solve Media has more than 6,000 customers including magazine publisher Meredith Corp. and online portal AOL Inc., which is also an investor. Advertisers have included a range of major brands such as McDonald's, Toyota, CBS and Pizza Hut.

In February, Solve Media expects to serve up 200 million puzzles. Adding Ticketmaster will boost the number of possible ads it can send out. In 2011, Ticketmaster parent Live Nation Entertainment Inc. sold 141 million tickets, although it's unclear how many were purchased online.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-29-Ticketmaster-CAPTCHA/id-7704158bc3f241ecb35efe800f483a9d

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Businesses add more jobs than expected in January

4 hrs.

Private-sector employers added 192,000 jobs in January, more than economists were expecting, in a sign of growth in the labor market, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.?

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 165,000 jobs. December's private payrolls were revised down to an increase of 185,000 from the previously reported 215,000.?

The report is jointly developed with Moody's Analytics.?

Small businesses with less than 50 employees did the most hiring this month, adding 115,000 jobs. But large businesses of more than 500 workers cut 2,000 jobs.?

"The job market is slowly, but steadily, improving," Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, said in a statement.?

By industry, professional and business services firms led gains with 40,000 jobs, while the manufacturing sector fared the worst, cutting 3,000 positions.?

Related:Are you struggling in the suburbs? We want to hear from you.

U.S. stock index futures showed little reaction to the ADP report, though futures extended declines later in the morning following data that showed the economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter.?

The ADP figures come ahead of the government's much more comprehensive labor market report on Friday, which includes both public and private sector employment.?

"The data suggests that jobs growth is accelerating and bodes well for Friday's payrolls report," said Omer Esiner, analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.?

The government release is expected to show hiring held steady in January with 160,000 jobs created.?

Economists often refer to the ADP report to fine-tune their expectations for the payrolls numbers, though it is not always accurate in predicting the outcome.?

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/businesses-add-more-jobs-expected-january-1B8174275

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Wallenda crosses Fla. tightrope 200 feet over road

Aerialist Nick Wallenda walks the high wire 200 feet over U.S. 41 in Sarasota, Fla., without a safety harness on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The Sarasota City Commission is allowing him to do the stunt without a tether. Wallenda wore a tether for the first time last summer when he walked across Niagara Falls because the television network that was paying for the performance insisted on it. (AP Photo/Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Mike Lang) PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BRADENTON HERALD OUT; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT

Aerialist Nick Wallenda walks the high wire 200 feet over U.S. 41 in Sarasota, Fla., without a safety harness on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The Sarasota City Commission is allowing him to do the stunt without a tether. Wallenda wore a tether for the first time last summer when he walked across Niagara Falls because the television network that was paying for the performance insisted on it. (AP Photo/Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Mike Lang) PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BRADENTON HERALD OUT; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT

Aerialist Nick Wallenda walks the high wire 200 feet over U.S. 41 in Sarasota, Fla., without a safety harness on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The Sarasota City Commission is allowing him to do the stunt without a tether. Wallenda wore a tether for the first time last summer when he walked across Niagara Falls because the television network that was paying for the performance insisted on it. (AP Photo/Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Dan Wagner) PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BRADENTON HERALD OUT; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT

Barb Renaud of Bradenton, Fla. center, cheers with other spectators as aerialist Nik Wallenda finishes his skywalk over U.S. 41 in downtown Sarasota on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The Sarasota City Commission is allowing him to do the stunt without a tether. Wallenda wore a tether for the first time last summer when he walked across Niagara Falls because the television network that was paying for the performance insisted on it. (AP Photo/Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Dan Wagner) PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BRADENTON HERALD OUT; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT

Aerialist Nick Wallenda walks a wire suspended 200-feet above the Sarasota Bayfront, crossing over U.S. 41 in Sarasota, Fla., without a safety harness on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The Sarasota City Commission is allowing him to do the stunt without a tether. Wallenda wore a tether for the first time last summer when he walked across Niagara Falls because the television network that was paying for the performance insisted on it. (AP Photo/Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Mike Lang) PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BRADENTON HERALD OUT; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT

Aerialist Nik Wallenda walks the high wire 200 feet over U.S. 41 in Sarasota, Fla., without a safety harness on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The Sarasota City Commission is allowing him to do the stunt without a tether. Wallenda wore a tether for the first time last summer when he walked across Niagara Falls because the television network that was paying for the performance insisted on it. (AP Photo/Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Mike Lang) PORT CHARLOTTE OUT; BRADENTON HERALD OUT; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT

(AP) ? Famed daredevil Nik Wallenda glided 500 feet across a wire suspended 200 feet above the ground on Tuesday, wowing several thousand people below in his hometown of Sarasota.

Without a tether or safety net, Wallenda was the lone figure against a blue sky, aided only by a balancing pole. He made the death-defying stunt look easy, but the performance was anything but simple: it took dozens of circus workers to pull and release the thick black cables that controlled Wallenda's wire as he walked. The morning was windier than expected, and at one point near the end, Wallenda dipped down to one knee on the wire, which led to loud gasps among the crowd.

"I have to get into a zone where I kind of forget about everything else and just focus on what I'm doing," he said shortly before he stepped on the wire. "Fear is a choice but danger is real, and that's very, very true for my line of work."

When Wallenda went to one knee, the drama reached a fever pitch.

"Scary," said Neil Montford, a vacationer from the United Kingdom, while wiping sweat from his brow and looking skyward.

Wallenda, 34, wore a gold cross around his neck and prayed with his wife, children and parents prior to the walk.

"It's my job, it's my career, it's my passion, it's what I love to do," he said.

The Sarasota City Commission allowed the stunt without a tether. Wallenda wore a tether for the first time last summer when he walked across Niagara Falls because the television network that was paying for the performance insisted on it.

Wallenda is a seventh-generation high-wire artist and is part of the famous "Flying Wallendas" circus family. His great-grandfather, Karl Wallenda, fell during a performance in Puerto Rico and died.

But Wallenda wasn't focused on the possibility of tragedy. In the hours before the stunt, Wallenda walked underneath the wire, which was suspended between a crane and a condo in downtown Sarasota. He spoke of his city, of the nearby sparkling bay and how he loved to hear the cheers of the crowd while hundreds of feet up in the air.

___

Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-29-Wallenda%20Wirewalk/id-080ee442c39a4eac8c117c3b982e7426

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Five Most Expensive Residential Properties to Recently Come ...

Think you have what it takes to be a real estate whale? Here are some recently listed pricey abodes for your consideration. 112 homes have come onto the market in the past seven days. Let's take a photo tour of the five most expensive.

4-bed, 5.5-bath, 4,900 sq. ft. single-family home

This abode recently completed quite the renovation that's all about namedropping: David Armour is the architect and Heather Hillard designed the interiors. Property highlights include up close and personal views of the Golden Gate Bridge and an au-pair suite on the garden level.

What?s next for Anthony Pettis? Waiting patiently for the lightweight title shot

With his performance against Donald Cerrone on Saturday night, Anthony Pettis made a believer out of many fight fans. One of those who now thinks Pettis belongs in the title shot conversation is UFC president Dana White.

While the next bout for UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson is set with Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez in April, Pettis has set himself up as the obvious next man up.

"I think the Melendez fight is pretty set, but (Pettis is) next. I can't say enough things about the kid tonight. That was incredible," White said in the postfight press conference.

The last time Pettis had a title shot, he had a wrench thrown into the plans. Pettis won the WEC lightweight belt in the promotion's final fight. A title shot was promised to whoever had the belt when the WEC merged with the UFC.

But two weeks after Pettis won the belt, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard faced off for the belt. They fought to a draw and Edgar kept the belt, but Maynard was given an immediate rematch.

Instead of waiting for the title shot then, Pettis fought Clay Guida. He lost a decision, and the title shot was gone. This time, he's not going to let the title shot slip through his hands.

"If it's a guaranteed title shot, then I'm waiting. That was my goal this year, and I'm definitely going to wait and get better," Pettis said.

The way title shots have been going in the UFC, there's no way to know if Pettis is making the right call. However, what Pettis is doing is setting himself up as the go-to guy if the UFC needs him. Melendez has had to postpone fights because of injuries in the past, and you never know what could happen as fighters prepare for their bouts.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/next-anthony-pettis-waiting-patiently-lightweight-title-shot-172409772--mma.html

Ryan Lanza

Monday, January 28, 2013

Good Reads: Thick financial fog, unskilled workers, self-helped Americans, and a forgiveness that heals

This week's good reads includes a look at the billowing fog surrounding bank regulations, the disappearance of unskilled labor jobs, the American tradition of self-help, and a profound act of forgiveness by a victim's family.

By Marshall Ingwerson,?Managing editor / January 14, 2013

A ?skilled worker? in Massachusetts checks the plastic coating on a solar panel.

Alfredo Sosa/Staff

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Here?s the short answer to the question posed on the cover of the latest Atlantic Monthly, ?What?s inside America?s banks??: No one knows. Not the regulators, not sophisticated investors, and not even the bankers themselves.

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?Banks today are bigger and more opaque than ever, and they continue to behave in many of the same ways they did before the crash,? write Frank Partnoy and Jesse Eisinger, authors of the Atlantic piece.

Complexity and opaqueness are the core of the problem, according to the authors. They cite a wide range of former bankers, investors, and regulatory officials who know the banks best and who ?absolutely? don?t trust their accounting. Even the banks with the best reputations, JP Morgan or Wells Fargo, are impenetrable black boxes with annual reports that defy parsing by even the most expert readers.

The fog of financial complexity is matched by a fog of rules ? as regulators parry moves by the bankers ? but always a few moves behind. The famed Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 ran to 37 pages. Dodd-Frank of 2010 was 848 pages and may balloon to 30,000 in the end. By the time the law?s ?Volcker Rule? is finalized, ?only a handful of partners at the world?s biggest law firms will understand it.?

The authors would offer the following version instead: ?Banks are not permitted to engage in proprietary trading. Period.?

That would save a lot of paper.

Maybe the Luddites had a point

Traditionally, technology has raised incomes for each generation by raising worker productivity. But ever smarter technologies are replacing the need for unskilled labor altogether, argue economists Jeffrey Sachs and Laurence Kotlikoff in a paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Think, for example, of the fully automated turnpike tollbooths or checkout stands at Home Depot. Investors are benefiting from these innovations, as are highly skilled programmers and technologists. (And lines are shorter.) But the jobs that are disappearing are the unskilled ones that offer young people a first few steps up the economic ladder. Without them, the authors argue, we don?t really have a ladder, and lifetime well-being slips by a generation. So what to do? For individuals, this sounds like a warning to get some skills.

?Although smart machines substitute for unskilled workers, they are designed and run by skilled workers. So it?s no surprise that the incomes of skilled workers have risen relative to those of unskilled workers.? The authors note that this is one reason the wage premium for college graduates has increased from around 40 percent in 1999 to more than 80 percent today.

Helping ourselves

From Benjamin Franklin to Oprah Winfrey, from ?How to Win Friends & Influence People? to ?The 4-Hour Workweek,? self-help advice is a very American phenomenon ? and getting more so, according to Laura Vanderkam writing in the quarterly City Journal. More than 45,000 self-help book titles are in print, she writes, and the genre?s share of all titles published doubled from 1975 to 2000.

?There is much to mock? in this field, she notes, and she runs through its history and various critiques. But there is much that is useful as well. Socially mobile Americans construct their own notions of the good life, in DIY-style, ?from what we see of the world around us ? and what we find at the bookstore.?

Crime and recovery

In these weeks following the Newtown, Conn., shooting, there is something ? dare we say healing? ? in The New York Times Magazine story by Paul Tullis about the killing of Ann Grosmaire by her fianc?, Conor McBride, in 2010. The crime came in a moment of overwhelming emotion after an argument between the two community college students that had stretched on for 38 hours. It was not premeditated exactly, but it wasn?t an accident either.

As the father of the mortally wounded and unconscious Ann sat with her in a Tallahassee, Fla., hospital, he ?felt? her say ?Forgive him? so clearly that he spoke his refusal aloud. But he kept hearing that message in her voice. A devout Roman Catholic, he was praying in the hospital four days later, shortly before removing her from life support, when he ?realized it was not just Ann asking me to forgive Conor, it was Jesus Christ.?

The journey the family went on then took them through a process called ?restorative justice,? which strives for agreement among everyone involved in and affected by a crime over how to make restitution. This means that victims, offenders, and their families sooner or later end up sitting around a table and talking.

The upshot, in this story as in others, is forgiveness. Says Ann?s mother, Kate: ?I think that when people can?t forgive, they?re stuck. All they can feel is the emotion surrounding that moment.... Forgiveness to me was self-preservation.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/9xbYbWQ04Sw/Good-Reads-Thick-financial-fog-unskilled-workers-self-helped-Americans-and-a-forgiveness-that-heals

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

preetysharma: involuntariness handover: Discount Web Hosting ...


Houston, Texas (PRWEB) January 24, 2013

Website hosting is one of the requirements of owning a website. Entrepreneurs, small business owners and companies selling online make use of various hosting features on a daily basis. The SuperCheapDomainNames.com company has added discount web hosting plans to its online services.

These plans are designed to offer a low price point for new or existing businesses. Plans can be purchased in monthly or annual configurations. Discount codes from GoDaddy are accepted for these new plans.

The use of social media websites has not decreased the amount of websites that are constructed annually according to research. New Internet domain name extensions have been approved to help fill the gap leftover from the shortage of available .com and .net extensions. These new extensions are expected to be available for registration in 2013. The new hosting plans that are now available are designed to help companies of all sizes save money.

Streaming online audio and video content is now possible with faster web servers. This technology has been updated annually to improve video and audio quality. The dedicated packages for hosting that are now available from SuperCheapDomainNames.com includes multimedia streaming. These inclusions are important for companies that deliver streaming content to website visitors. Each server account now includes a generous amount of streaming bandwidth to make delivery of audio and video data effortless and error-free.

To go with the cheaper server packages, a reduction in the domain name registration costs was added this month. The current price before coupon codes are applied is $ 9.99 for any available .com, .net or .org extension. This low price can be reduced downward with any GoDaddy 2013 coupon codes found online.

This special offer for reduced prices for company services is expected to remain in place through the first quarter of this year. The news announcement for the domain price drop can be found on the Internet at http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/Cheap-Domains-Website-Launches-at-4210424.php.

Additional services that are provided by this company online includes SSL certificates, dedicated IP addresses, email services and SEO services for small businesses. Any of these services can be explored on the company website by business owners or individuals.

About Super Cheap Domain Names

The Super Cheap Domain Names company has been offering its discounted services since 2010 online. As a smaller and more focused company, the packages that are offered are priced to help businesses of all sizes. The useful services like domain name registration, hosting and SSL certificates are designed by this company to help provide an easy way for anyone to start selling products or services through a website. The Super Cheap Domain Names company frequently discounts its pricing to match the demands by small business owners in all industries.

Source: http://michiganwebsitedesignllc.org/?p=344

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Source: http://preetysharma584.blogspot.com/2013/01/involuntariness-handover-discount-web.html

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Friday, January 25, 2013

Good Reads: Boomtown slum, democracy in progress, and 'rewilding' in the Netherlands

This week's good reads include a day in Kenya's bustling Kibera slum, the struggle to promote democracy in the Arab world, and a radical conservation theory in the Netherlands.

By Allison Terry,?Correspondent / January 7, 2013

A hairdresser braids a woman?s hair in her salon in Kenya?s Kibera slum.

Noor Khamis/Reuters

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The image of an African shantytown does not usually conjure up hope for economic prosperity. But Kibera, one of Nairobi?s slums and arguably Africa?s largest slum, is exactly that for the Kenyans who call it home. In The Economist, a writer chronicled a day in Kibera, describing the slum?s ebbs and flows, capturing its entrepreneurial spirit. People from all over Kenya leave their towns and villages for a chance to find work in Kibera?s ?thriving economic machine.?

Skip to next paragraph Allison Terry

Allison Terry is national news intern for the Christian Science Monitor. She previously worked on the cover page desk and contributed to the culture section of the Monitor.

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The half-mile-by-two-mile area accommodates roughly 1 million people, wedged together in repurposed wood-and-corrugated-tin-roof structures. The alleys that wind through the slum vary in size, but there is no room for cars. Many of the residents work in nearby factories or offices. Others find economic opportunity in providing goods and services for Kibera?s residents.

When Cecilia Achieng moved to the slum, she started a school, at first renting space from an empty church. She eventually saved enough money to build six makeshift classrooms. After school, Ms. Achieng starts her second job: catering. She caters church events, funerals, and is even trying to get into weddings. In the evening, Achieng goes door to door offering her services as a hairdresser.

?To equate slums with idleness and misery is to misunderstand them,? the correspondent writes. ?Slums are far from hopeless places; many are not where economic losers end up, but rather reservoirs of tomorrow?s winners.?

The promise of the Arab Spring

As post-Arab Spring countries struggle to establish democratic institutions, pessimism about their ultimate success misses a broader lesson: Stable democracies have historically evolved from violent uprisings, initial failures, and stumbling blocks.

?These troubles ... are not a bug but a feature ? not signs of problems with democracy but evidence of the difficult, messy process of political development through which societies purge themselves of the vestiges of dictatorship and construct new and better democratic orders,? writes Sheri Berman in Foreign Affairs.

Critics who see Egypt, Libya, and other transitioning countries as democratic failures ignore the inherited social, cultural, and political dynamics in these countries, and a broader historical perspective. New democracies are not blank slates, writes Ms. Berman. In the aftermath of overthrowing dictators, countries must overcome the baggage that comes with authoritarian regimes ? distrust, animosity, and lack of civil organizations to deal with people?s demands. Islamism is filling that void in Egypt after Hosni Mubarak?s fall as religious organizations were the only places where people could participate and express themselves.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/LGGtcHWW-GE/Good-Reads-Boomtown-slum-democracy-in-progress-and-rewilding-in-the-Netherlands

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Bring More Traffic To Your Site With These SEO Tips! | Internet ...

SEO can be confusing to an inexperienced person, but is essential to making big profits online. Using the proper tools can help to improve your page rank considerably.

Design your site map to incorporate your chosen keywords. This is the best way to let viewers traverse your sites, and it also provides a good starting point for search engine optimization. Search engines like Google consider the ease of access of your website in their algorithms so including a site map will have a positive effect on your ranking.

To choose the best keywords for your search engine optimization strategy you must think like someone who would want to find your website, not someone who already knows what?s there. Find out what terms are actually used when people search for your product or service.

Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is a type of marketing that can boost your business to the next level. You utilize several tools and techniques to get your site to the top of the search engine rankings. When you do this, people searching for your chosen keywords are more likely to end up at your website.

You want every section of your website to be unique. Place special emphasis on your title selection. Without good page titles, your search ranking will suffer. Make sure you add your keywords to the titles on your website.

Avoid having pages that are just lists of links. You should do all you can to make your links an integral part of your website?s content. Pages that are filled with links are often ignored by readers who often find them boring. Many search engines do not rank these pages favorably. Maintaining a sound connection between your text and content gives a much better impression of relevance to search engines.

A product feed can help bring more traffic, broaden your customer demographics, and increase your presence online. The feeds can give info to your clientele, including descriptions of products, prices, and even images. Submit your blog posts to shopping comparison websites and all of the major search engines. It is also possible for customers to use a feed reader to establish a subscription to your feed.

Image links are a rarity on websites that have undergone thorough search engine optimization. An image link offers only the URL of the linked file for search engines to index.

Joining organizations like the BBB and your city?s Chamber of Commerce can improve your site?s search engine rankings. The BBB and Chamber of Commerce usually include links to their members. These links will help you with local searches. Also, if you are a part of this Better Business Bureau and have good ratings on their site, your customers will trust you even more.

If search engines notice you?re boosting your page rank through fraudulent or manipulative means, they?ll step in and lower your page rank. Some of the more notable search engines, such as Yahoo and Google, have occasionally gone so far as to ban particular companies from their search results entirely. You should always optimize your search engine strategy in an ethical manner.

Make sure that incoming links, as well as links within your site, use keyword phrases. ? as anchor text. This way, the search engines will recognize the links as relevant to keywords and rank your site accordingly. Every so often, check through the internal links on your website, and make sure all of them are using keyword links too.

It is generally accepted that each META description tag should be different for each and every page. You?ll find that your search engine ranking will suffer if you reuse META description tags across multiple pages.

As previously stated, search engine optimization is vital for people that are trying to make money on the internet. The aforementioned advice offers you the best procedures to optimize your website. When your website looks and functions its best, more people will come see it, and that should lead to more sales.

Search Engine Optimization, SEO

Source: http://www.websitehostdirect.com/bring-more-traffic-to-your-site-with-these-seo-tips/

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The flu is not inevitable

A Christian Science perspective.

By Ann Van Tassel / January 24, 2013

The top story of every news report I had seen for weeks was ?The Flu.? (There, it just happened again, flu is at the top of this report!) Not only was it at the top of every news report, it was the subject of almost every commercial. It was the topic of conversation.

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It?s now late January, so it?s not so unusual for the flu to be in the news. But this time it seemed to me to be a little different. This time there seemed to be an intensity that I hadn?t seen before, more of a suggestion of inevitability that everyone would get it.

?Inevitable? is a word that means impossible to avoid or prevent. However, I questioned this inevitability. As a student of Christian Science I?ve learned that things are not always as they seem, disease being one of those things. I?ve learned to look for the source of something to understand its nature. What is the source of the flu? Is it germs invading a material body? Does this explanation have its source in God, the creator of all things? The Bible tells us, ?God is love? (I John 4:16). I couldn?t reconcile the thought of a loving God subjecting His creation to disease. I had a choice. I could be fearful about the inevitability of catching the flu, or I could trust that God was loving and caring for me. Could I trust God?

I had a chance to find out a few days later. I had a restless night. I awoke with all the symptoms the media defined as relating to flu. I tried my best to proceed with my day. However, in the afternoon I returned to bed. I couldn?t get comfortable enough to fall asleep, so I decided to turn my thought away from my misery and concentrate on something else. Immediately the thought came to me to think good ? as in divine good, or Godlike ? thoughts. So I thought about what God would be thinking about me, how He loved me and how He could never see me as being anything other than the way He made me, pure and perfect. I fell asleep.

When I awoke I was completely free from every symptom. It wasn?t as though I was just rested and better; it was as though I had never had a single one of the symptoms. Although the symptoms had been quite evident both to me and my family, now they were gone. I was completely and unmistakably my regular self again.

More than just a quick fix of the flu, this dramatic change indicated to me an underlying principle of perfection. This perfect state of being was understood and even required by Jesus, who said, ?Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect? (Matthew 5:48). If, in reality, our state of being is always perfect, we can rely on our understanding of this to correct any misconception that we are diseased or imperfect in any way. When we do away with misconceptions, they disappear. When we do away with the misconception of disease, it disappears from our experience.

Don?t we owe it to ourselves and others to ?be perfect? in this way, not to see disease of any kind as inevitable? Mary Baker Eddy discovered that disease was not the solid reality it claimed to be but instead was a misconception of reality, the reality that Jesus taught us about, the reality that God, good, creates. She wrote, ?To divest thought of false trusts and material evidences in order that the spiritual facts of being may appear, ? this is the great attainment by means of which we shall sweep away the false and give place to the true? (?Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,? p. 428). She taught that as we do this that we, too, can eliminate disease from our lives and the lives of others.

This experience proved to me that I could trust God. God is Love. What is truly inevitable is God?s love for His perfect creation.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/3d9sIQtOWvk/The-flu-is-not-inevitable

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Thursday, January 24, 2013

5 Steps to Starting a Business without any Cash | Training tampa ...

If you have a cool idea and want to make it into a successful business, there are going to be costs involved before you actually start making any money. Unfortunately, most of us don?t have thousands of dollars lying around to spend on starting a new business. Still, if you truly believe that your idea is a good one, and you?re ready to put in the work to make it successful, you don?t need wads of cash at your fingertips to get going.

Raise Funds

If you have a good idea, there are plenty of people out there that want to invest in you. You can get money through family or friends that want to be a part of your business, or through online systems created specifically for these situations. Some sites allow you to explain your situation and get others to donate to your idea (kickstarter.com is the most well-known of these), while others connect you with investors through peer-to-peer lending.

Peer-to-peer lending, where average people with extra cash loan money to those who need it, is more popular and safer than ever. If you can?t or choose not to get a loan through a bank, peer-to-peer lending can get you the cash you need at an interest rate based on the risk of default. If you have good credit and a stable income, you can get the money for your business at a low interest rate.

Get Educated

You may not have the cash to start your business immediately, but by talking to others in a similar field and learning about how to run your business successfully, you?ll be able to get your idea off the ground quickly without wasting much money. If you sit in on some classes focused on business management and start conversations with others, you can figure out what pitfalls to avoid and get some great advice that could be worth thousands of dollars, as well as making the connections you?ll need when your business takes off.

Start Online

Starting a business online can be surprisingly affordable, and is often a great way to get off the ground. Create a website and a blog that discusses the field your business is centered around, and start getting some traffic. Self-advertise your products or services on your site, where visitors will see what you have to offer. This can start you on your way to success, but you have to make sure you are putting quality information on your blog and updating often.

Spend Your Time

Often, a new business doesn?t need to cost a lot of money; it just needs you to put in time. If you have the cash, you can outsource work and pay for advertising, but when you don?t, you have to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself. Call people that might be interested in what your business has to offer, make prototypes and examples, create designs and the blog for your website yourself, and make brochures that you can hand out to possible customers. It?s a lot of work and may not be as polished as it could be if you had a professional doing it, but it?ll get you started and spread the word about what you have to offer.

If you believe in your business idea and are willing to put in the time and effort necessary to make it successful, you can make it happen without having cash in your coffers. Make smart decisions with the cash you?ve got and raise extra funds if necessary, but realize that the most important part of your endeavor is the time and energy you put into it. If you can do that, you can make it happen.

About The Author:

Michelle Poland is an avid blogger. If you are interested in starting a business, you might consider an MBA degree, such as those programs offered by http://onlinemba.neu.edu Northeastern University or http://www.brown.edu Brown University

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Source: http://www.trainingtampa.com/2013/01/23/5-steps-to-starting-a-business-without-any-cash/

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Russia: no plan for massive evacuation from Syria

A Russian-Syrian family leave passport control zone just after their arrival from Beirut in Moscow Domodedovo airport , Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The Kremlin's evacuation of Russians from Syria on Tuesday marks a turning point in its view of the civil war, representing increasing doubts about Bashar Assad's hold on power and a sober understanding that it has to start rescue efforts before it becomes too late. The operation has been relatively small-scale - involving fewer than 100 people, mostly women and children - but it marks the beginning of what could soon turn into a risky and challenging operation. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A Russian-Syrian family leave passport control zone just after their arrival from Beirut in Moscow Domodedovo airport , Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The Kremlin's evacuation of Russians from Syria on Tuesday marks a turning point in its view of the civil war, representing increasing doubts about Bashar Assad's hold on power and a sober understanding that it has to start rescue efforts before it becomes too late. The operation has been relatively small-scale - involving fewer than 100 people, mostly women and children - but it marks the beginning of what could soon turn into a risky and challenging operation. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A Russian woman and her daughter feel each other as they leave passport control zone just after their arrival from Beirut in Moscow Domodedovo airport, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The Kremlin's evacuation of Russians from Syria on Tuesday marks a turning point in its view of the civil war, representing increasing doubts about Bashar Assad's hold on power and a sober understanding that it has to start rescue efforts before it becomes too late.The operation has been relatively small-scale - involving fewer than 100 people, mostly women and children - but it marks the beginning of what could soon turn into a risky and challenging operation. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian-Syrian family leave passport control zone just after their arrival from Beirut in Moscow Domodedovo airport, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The Kremlin's evacuation of Russians from Syria on Tuesday marks a turning point in its view of the civil war, representing increasing doubts about Bashar Assad's hold on power and a sober understanding that it has to start rescue efforts before it becomes too late. The operation has been relatively small-scale - involving fewer than 100 people, mostly women and children - but it marks the beginning of what could soon turn into a risky and challenging operation. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A Russian woman and her child leave passport control zone just after their arrival from Beirut in Moscow Domodedovo airport, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The Kremlin's evacuation of Russians from Syria on Tuesday marks a turning point in its view of the civil war, representing increasing doubts about Bashar Assad's hold on power and a sober understanding that it has to start rescue efforts before it becomes too late. The operation has been relatively small-scale - involving fewer than 100 people, mostly women and children - but it marks the beginning of what could soon turn into a risky and challenging operation. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A Russian woman holds her baby while leaving passport control zone just after their arrival from Beirut in Moscow Domodedovo airport, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013. The Kremlin's evacuation of Russians from Syria on Tuesday marks a turning point in its view of the civil war, representing increasing doubts about Bashar Assad's hold on power and a sober understanding that it has to start rescue efforts before it becomes too late.The operation has been relatively small-scale - involving fewer than 100 people, mostly women and children - but it marks the beginning of what could soon turn into a risky and challenging operation. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

(AP) ? Russia announced for the first time Wednesday that it has evacuated families of its diplomats in Syria some time ago but said it is not planning a large-scale evacuation of tens of thousands of its citizens from Syria.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also sought to play down the significance of evacuation of 77 of its citizens who had fled Syria and were flown back to Moscow on Wednesday. He told a news conference that about a thousand of tens of thousands of Russians residing in Syria contacted consular officials to express their interest in leaving the country, but there is no immediate plan for a large-scale evacuation.

Russia has been the main protector of Syrian President Bashar Assad, shielding him from the United Nations sanctions over his crackdown on an uprising that began in March 2011. The U.N. says over 60,000 people have died in the civil war so far.

Lavrov said the 77 Russians who left Syria took buses to Beirut, from where they flew home overnight on board the two planes provided by Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry.

"As for the Embassy, we proceed from the assumption that there should be no non-essential staff there," Lavrov said. "Families have left long ago, but the Embassy is continuing to function in full. There are no other plans yet, or rather we have plans for any situation but there is no talk yet about implementing them."

Some observers saw the evacuation of 77 Russians as a possible start of what could become a difficult and dangerous operation to rescue tens of thousands of Russians living in Syria as rebels gain momentum in their fight to oust Assad's regime. Most of them are Russian woman married to Syrian men.

Rushana Vidova, who left the country with her Syrian husband Ali, said upon arrival at Moscow's Domodedovo airport she is grateful to "Russia and all who helped us."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the overnight evacuation of Russian citizens from Syria "speaks to the continued deterioration of the security situation, and the violence that Assad is leading against his own people."

____

Associated Press writers Oleg Yuriev in Moscow and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-23-EU-Russia-Syrian-Evacuation/id-f77b5b016477417cade3c82fce3c5d7a

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

you'll love it - Swiftel Communications

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Source: http://swiftel.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Position-Template-PT-Sales-Rep-B.pdf

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5 Questions to Ask about Marriage Readiness | Marriage Gems

engaged by Surachi freedigitalphotos.netIf you ask 10 people about what issues are most important in being ready for marriage, you will get 10 answers. That being said, some issues/questions will come up more frequently. Analyzing your motivations and timing for marriage is definitely worth your time and attention. Author Grace Pamer was nice enough to offer her take on 5 questions you should ask yourself if you are considering marriage (below). I would suggest there are other issues which you already know are key to marriage?things like similar values, discussing whether you want to have children, determining if you have a similar vision for life, and things of this sort.

While some couples want to be more settled before marriage (in career, education, financially, etc.), others are more willing to figure out the journey together. My husband was hoping to have his ideal job before we got engaged, but after five years of dating I was ready for commitment. He decided to take a ?leap of faith? as he called it, which paid off when he received an offer for his perfect job while we were on our honeymoon.

While some of these issues depend on your situation, many of Grace?s questions I would say are mandatory?things like monogamy and readiness for commitment. But I don?t want to give away all the secrets, so without further ado, here is Grace?s guest post:

5 Questions to Ask Yourself if You are Considering Marriage

by Grace Pamer

It?s a sad fact, but today too many people are no longer strangers to the concept of divorce. For some, it could have been their own parents who divorced when they were young. Others may have stood up at a best friend?s wedding, only to see the relationship dissolve a few years later. The point is that dissolution of marriage is not a rare occurrence today ? it can leave many individuals questioning if they are truly ready for this commitment, even when deeply in love with their partners.

The first step to warming those cold feet is to recognize that getting married has nothing to do with statistics or the relationship health of your friends and family. Being ready for marriage comes down to only one thing ? you. It is an inward journey you must take, having nothing to do with the external world or experiences of others.

The following points are five ways I believe you will know if you are ready for marriage:

1. Are You Ready For A Monogamous Relationship?

One thing that is expected from marriage is monogamy. Many people don?t commit, at least not until later in life, because they feel they aren?t ready to make such a commitment for the rest of their lives.

People who are ready for marriage want a special someone to share their lives with. They don?t view monogamy as a sacrifice ? they are happy and secure with the idea of having a perfect lover and a friend, all in one person, until death do they part.

2. Are Large Ambitions And Goals Met?

Loving couples can happily endure anything, so this doesn?t imply that life stops once you are married. But if you have a large list of desires you wish to accomplish before saying ?I do? it is important to acknowledge that.

Examples would be going through medical school, spending a year abroad or any other large time commitment that could start a marriage off on the wrong foot. Again, couples can accomplish any of these things together. But if you have a large list of independent goals you wish to accomplish solo, then take time to be certain now is the right time to be married.

3. Are You Ready For Commitment?

Healthy couples aren?t threatened when one partner spends time with other friends and family, as long as time is also devoted to the relationship as well. But being married does involve more time with one person. Never being home, coming home late after your spouse is in bed each night ? these things will take a toll.

Commitment isn?t a bad word. It is about love and respect for your lover and friend. Building a life together, sharing a home ? these are good things with the right person. However, if you find it hard to imagine not being out every evening, spending weekends with friends or being accountable to another person, then this might not be the right time to consider marriage.

4. Do You Feel External Pressure?

When you think of marriage, if there is any hint of pressure to say, ?I do,? you need to take time and acknowledge that feeling. When considering marriage, pressure can come in many forms. One in particular could be media?s influence, as we are constantly bombarded with?marriage proposal stories?and news of the latest Hollywood engagement.

Your own age might make you feel like a clock is ticking and time is running out. Family or friends might be pressuring you to walk down the aisle. You may have been with your lover a very long time, feeling obligated to move on to the next step. None of the above should be considered reasons to get married. There shouldn?t be any feeling of pressure involved in your decision, only enthusiasm and excitement about marrying your best friend.

5. Is It Based On Love Or Need?

The final step in analyzing if you are ready for marriage is the most difficult one ? being brutally honest with yourself. Many people get married for the wrong reasons, those reasons being buried deep inside their own personalities and underlying fears.

If your self-esteem is low, you fear being alone later in life, seek validation and self-worth from others or cannot stand spending time with just yourself, these issues must be addressed before you can be ready for marriage. A healthy relationship requires two healthy individuals, ones who both contribute to the marriage. Depending on another to validate your worth cannot sustain a relationship over time.

Being ready for marriage entails wanting to share your life with someone you love ? it isn?t about needing someone to give your life merit.

About the author:

Grace Pamer is a work from home mom and author of Romance Never Dies, which provides a resource for all those seeking romantic ideas and inspiration whether for a date, a marriage proposal or in a long term relationship. As featured in Cosmopolitan.com, CanadianLiving.com, FoxNews.com, YourTango.com and many more.

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Thanks, Grace, for the guest post. Readers, what question do you feel are most important to ask yourself before getting married?

Lori Lowe is the author of?First Kiss to Lasting Bliss: Hope & Inspiration for Your Marriage. It tells the inspiring, true stories of couples who used adversity to improve their marriages?from overcoming drug addiction to cancer, infidelity, religious differences, family interference and infertility, among many others. It?s available at?Amazon.com?and in all e-book formats at?www.LoriDLowe.com.

Photo by Surachai courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net.

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Source: http://marriagegems.com/2013/01/21/5-questions-to-ask-about-marriage-readiness/

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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Lupe Fiasco Kicked Off Stage After Bashing Obama During Inauguration Show (VIDEO)

Lupe Fiasco Kicked Off Stage After Bashing Obama During Inauguration Show (VIDEO)

Rapper Lupe Fiasco picsLupe Fiasco was reportedly kicked off the stage during his Inauguration performance, after bashing President Obama. Fiasco had a chance to criticize Obama for his war policies and also stated that he didn’t vote for him, before being removed by security. Lupe Fiasco was the main act for the show, spending 30 minutes on an ...

Lupe Fiasco Kicked Off Stage After Bashing Obama During Inauguration Show (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/01/lupe-fiasco-kicked-off-stage-after-bashing-obama-during-inauguration-show-video/

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Optimal Raises $7M For Social Media Ads And Analytics

optimal logoOptimal, a startup offering technology and data for social media marketers, just announced that it raised $7 million in Series B funding. The company was previously known XA.net, but it changed names back in April, embracing the term that it was already using for its optim.al social ad campaign manager. The company is part of Facebook's Preferred Marketing Director program, and it offers both a platform for buying Facebook ads and analytics tools allowing customers to measure things like brand engagement.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/bVkWbr4yNlE/

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Monday, January 21, 2013

Defending champ Azarenka advances to quarterfinals

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Victoria Azarenka advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Elena Vesnina on Monday, growing more confident she can repeat the winning roll that resulted in her first Grand Slam title here last year.

"It's getting there ... with every match you start building up for the top battles starting now," said Azarenka, who only needed 57 minutes to beat the 47th-ranked Vesnina. "It's really exciting to be again so far in the tournament."

Azarenka started last season with a 26-match winning streak, including a lopsided victory over Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final.

She moved to No. 1 in the rankings with that win and has remained there for all but a few weeks since.

But she needs to defend her Australian title to hold the top spot from French Open champion Sharapova or Serena Williams, who won Wimbledon, the London Olympics and U.S. Open titles.

Next up for Azarenka is a quarterfinal against Svetlana Kuznetsova, who entered the season's first major ranked No. 75 but has won titles at the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open.

Williams was playing later Monday against No. 14 Maria Kirilenko for a place in the quarterfinals against 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens.

Stephens advanced to the last eight of a major for the first time with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win over Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski, and was looking forward to a potential match against 15-time major winner Williams.

After five breaks of serve in the third set, Stephens broke Jovanovski and then held to advance ? knowing her parents and grandparents were watching on TV.

"I'm sure my mother's had like four heart attacks," Stephens joked after the see-sawing match. "I hope my Grandpa didn't have to put my Grandma to bed, because she gets a little worried."

Williams has rated Stephens as a potential World No. 1, although the young American is still yet to break through in a major.

Kuznetsova was given a time warning for taking too long during a changeover in her 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win earlier Monday over former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, but said it didn't bother her.

As for Wozniacki, after twice failing to win her breakthrough major as the No. 1-ranked woman at the Australian Open, she is now expected to drop out of the top 10 after a fourth-round loss that follows back-to-back first-round exits at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Kuznetsova is moving in the other direction on her comeback from a right knee injury that ruled her out of the last U.S. Open, ending a run of contesting 40 consecutive majors. And she's looking forward to taking on Azarenka.

"The time I played in Indian Wells was totally a disaster. I got (beaten) very badly," she said. "But, I mean, she's tough; she's No. 1; I have nothing to lose; she has all the pressure.

"I know I got the game to give her some problems, and I will just do my best and just try to enjoy it."

On the men's side, Frenchman Jeremy Chardy followed up his upset win over 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro by ousting another higher ranked player in the fourth round, beating No. 21 Andreas Seppi 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Monday.

He'll next play the winner of Monday's later match between No. 3 Andy Murray and No. 14 Gilles Simon of France.

Another Frenchman already through was seventh-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat his old friend Richard Gasquet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round.

Tsonga, who lost the 2008 Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic, could meet 17-time major winner Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.

Play on Day 7 ran into Day 8 overnight, when Novak Djokovic needed just over 5 hours to beat Stanislas Wawrinka 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 12-10 in a fourth-round match Sunday night, on the same court where he needed 5:53 to beat Rafael Nadal in last year's final.

"I just had flashback of 2012," said Djokovic, who ripped off his shirt to celebrate again, like he did last year. "It was maybe 45 minutes less this match than the one 12 months ago, but still it was still as exciting. I tried to enjoy the moment and couldn't ask for more. What a match point ... unbelievable."

The win was Djokovic's 18th in a row at Melbourne Park after winning the past two Australian titles, and earned him a place in the quarterfinals of a 15th consecutive major.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/defending-champ-azarenka-advances-quarterfinals-045813725--spt.html

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Warren Buffett: The Debt Is Not A Problem - Business Insider

CBS's Rebecca Jarvis had a brief profile on billionaire Warren Buffett this morning.

Among other things, they discussed the history of inequality in America and the world.

"The womb from which you emerge determines your fate to an enormous degree," he said.? "I was born in 1930.? I had two sisters that had every bit of intelligence I had.? Every bit the drive.? But they didn't have the same opportunities."

"Because you were a man," said Jarvis.

"And I was white," added Buffett.? "So, if I'd been black, my future would've been entirely different.? If I'd been a female, my life would've been entirely different."

"What about our debt?" asked Jarvis.? "$16.4 trillion."

"It's a lower percentage of GDP than it was when we came out of World War II," said Buffett. "You've gotta think of it in relation to GDP.? It is not a good thing to have it going up in relation to GDP.? That should be stabilized. But the debt itself is not a problem."

The took a drive to his regular McDonald's, his old elementary school, and his current home.

Check out the whole segment here:

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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-the-debt-is-not-a-problem-2013-1

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Saturday, January 19, 2013

ASUS in talks with Microsoft about making Windows Phone hardware, has floated idea of Windows Padfone

ASUS logo Transformer Prime

So far we've seen manufacturers like Nokia, HTC, Samsung and Huawei release Windows Phone 8 hardware into the world, and today another company revealed that it wants a piece of the Live Tile action. Benson Lin, corporate VP of mobile devices at ASUS, today revealed to The Wall Street Journal that his firm is interested in creating Windows Phone 8 devices. Lin explained that ASUS is currently in talks with Microsoft about a Windows Phone 8 licensing agreement, going on to say that ASUS has floated the idea of a Windows-powered Padfone. "With our Padfone concept, the phone plus tablet, I think it makes sense for Windows 8," Lin explained. He added that ASUS is in talks with U.S. carriers about bringing its smartphones stateside by 2014.

ASUS has been focusing pretty heavily on Android as of late, introducing a pair of Padfones as well as a range of tablets, including the Transformer line and Google's Nexus 7. It'd be pretty interesting to see what the company would do with a Windows Phone handset, and it could be good for Microsoft to add another manufacturer to Club WP8.

What is still a mystery is how a Windows-based Padfone would work, because while the regular Padfone runs the same version of Android in both the smartphone and tablet modes, there aren't any Windows Phone 8 tablets or Windows RT/8 phones. Of course, Lin also noted that "there is no target timeline" for ASUS's Windows Phone plans, so perhaps something will change in the future that would make a Windows Padfone a possibility. Given ASUS's history with Android, would you be interested in a Windows Phone product from the company?

Via The Wall Street Journal

Source: http://feeds.phonedog.com/~r/phonedog_cellphoneblog/~3/x2iXx7pky54/

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Baseball: Logan selected for Miller Park Walk of Fame

Former Milwaukee Braves shortstop Johnny Logan will be honored this summer as the newest member of the Miller Park Walk of Fame.

Logan received over 72% of the vote (32 votes) in Walk of Fame balloting, which includes members of the media throughout Wisconsin as well as Brewers executives.

Logan?s election marks the first time since Lew Burdette (2010) that a player will be inducted. Other players who received strong support this year included Braves first baseman Joe Adcock (27 votes, 61.4%) and Brewers pitcher Teddy Higuera (26 votes, 59.1%). Election requires votes from 65% of those who return ballots.

Logan played in Milwaukee from 1953 ? 1961 and appeared in four All-Star Games as a member of the Braves. For his 13 year career, Logan hit .268 with 93 home runs and 547 RBI.

He was a member of the Braves World Series Championship team in 1957 and the National League Championship team in 1958. Logan was signed by the Boston Braves in 1947 and made his Major League debut with Boston in 1951. After playing in Milwaukee, he played three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

?This is a very special honor for me to be honored in this great city, especially for this New York boy,? Logan said in a release. "I want to thank the greatest fans in baseball, and everyone in the media and community, for their support.?

There were a total of 26 Brewers players and nine Braves players on the ballot. The ballots included on-field personnel who wore a Brewers or Braves uniform for a minimum of three seasons but have been retired from playing/managing roles for at least three seasons. All players and managers receiving votes on at least 5% of the ballots will remain eligible in 2014.

?Johnny is one of the all-time great personalities of the game, and this is a special opportunity for us to honor someone who still calls Milwaukee home,? said Brewers Chief Operating Officer Rick Schlesinger. ?We congratulate Johnny and look forward to his induction later this summer.?

Other past winners of the award include Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount in 2001; Commissioner Bud Selig and Cecil Cooper in 2002; Bob Uecker and Harry Dalton in 2003; Jim Gantner and Gorman Thomas in 2004; Don Money and Harvey Kuenn in 2005; Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and John Quinn in 2007 (the first year that former Braves players appeared on the ballot); and Lew Burdette in 2010.

A date for Logan?s induction, which will take place prior to a Brewers home game, will be announced in the near future. Each inductee is honored with a granite plaque that is placed into the terrace area walkway that surrounds Miller Park.

Source: http://host.madison.com/sports/columnists/dennis_semrau/baseball-logan-selected-for-miller-park-walk-of-fame/article_8a68e7d4-60ed-11e2-bb56-0019bb2963f4.html

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CMU Abduction: Girl Runs To Home, Family Relives Horrific ...

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. ?The parking lot was packed at the Student Activities Center on Central Michigan University?s campus Wednesday night.

That?s just one reason why Isabella County?s Sheriff cannot believe what happened around 9:30 that night.

Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said a CMU student ? a woman from Kent County ? was forced into her vehicle at gun point by 30 year-old Eric Ramsey.? The pair drove to a nearby home on Crawford Road where members of Ramsey?s family live.? There, investigators say the woman was bound with tape and sexually assaulted.

Then, Ramsey reportedly grabbed two gas cans from a nearby barn, forced the woman back into the vehicle and took off.

?(Ramsey) ended up telling the female that he was going to kill her,? explained Sheriff Mioduszewski.? ?At that point, because (the victim) did fear for her life, she ended up jumping out of the moving vehicle.?

With her arm badly hurt, the woman ran up to a home on Mission Road.

?I came out in the living room and heard a girl screaming ?help, let me in, please, please,?? said 14 year-old James, who was at home with his 11-year-old sister Acelin, and two-year-old brother.

The kids know they?re not supposed to open the door for strangers, but ??you could tell by her voice something was wrong, that?s why we let her in,? explains Acelin.? ?She had tape all over her and wires wrapped around her, it was just sad to see her like that.?

James says he locked the door, grabbed his siblings and dog, and hid inside the bathroom with the woman.? That?s when the CMU students called 911, telling dispatchers she was kidnapped.

Meanwhile outside, Ramsey was trying to get in.

?We could hear him pounding on the door, saying ?let me in.?? Acelin adds the noise only lasted for a short time.

James called his Dad, who was just up the road, not knowing that, according to investigators, Ramsey was spraying the home with gasoline and lit it on fire.

?I could tell by my son?s voice, there was trouble,? said James Persyn, the children?s father. When he got home, Persyn says he was able to stomp out the flames, but there was no sign of Ramsey.

The Sheriff says Ramsey took off in the victim?s car; making it to Otsego County where he rammed a Michigan State Trooper on the road.? During the chase, Ramsey ditched the car and stole a city-owned sanitary pickup truck, before heading South and ramming a second cruiser head-on in Crawford County, injuring an officer.

A short time later, a deputy from Crawford County approached the vehicle and opened fire on Ramsey.? The 30-year-old suspect was killed.

Chief Bill Yeagley of CMU?s campus police called the victim a hero.? Both he and Sheriff Mioduszewski agree the woman probably would not have lived if it wasn?t for the two brave children that let her into their home, and the fact she remained calm and made smart decisions during the horrifying ordeal.

Now, Persyn and the children?s mother, Tiffany Ramon, are left to comfort their quick-thinking kids who helped save the woman.

?We?re trying to let them know the chances of something like this happening again are very slim,? said Persyn. ??It?s been a long night (with) no sleep, but everything you ask of your children to do, was done.?

In a strange turn of events, Ramon said she went to high school with Ramsey and has been in contact with him, on and off, for the past few years.

?I?m very shocked that it was Eric (Ramsey), I would never imagine him doing something like this or picture him acting this way.?

When FOX 17 went to the home on Crawford Road, where the alleged rape happened, family members of Ramsey said, ?he?s not that bad (of a guy), you don?t even know,? but would not comment further.

Source: http://fox17online.com/2013/01/17/cmu-abduction-girl-runs-to-home-family-relives-horrific-experience/

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Friday, January 18, 2013

City of Toronto's billboard tax boosts arts funding. Yay. ? James ...

Thanks to OIART ace Bob Breen for sending along this ?fascinating news . . . London city council & the rest of us, take note. On rawk.

Toronto, January 16, 2013: On behalf of our members and partners, Music Canada wishes to congratulate Mayor Rob Ford and the Members of City Council for their commitment to increase funding to the broad spectrum of arts in Toronto, including the city?s diverse and authentic music cluster.

?Toronto is by any measurement, one of the most successful music markets in the world, evidenced by the diverse and authentic live music offerings found throughout the city on any day of the week. The business of music employs thousands of people, attracts visitors from down the road and beyond our borders, and makes the city a desirable place to live, work and invest. With today?s decision, City Council demonstrates that it recognizes the importance of the music cluster and opens the door to a new level of communication and cooperation. We commend the leadership of Mayor Ford and Councillors Gary Crawford and Josh Colle, who were integral to making this happen,? says Graham Henderson, President of Music Canada.

The 2013 Capital and Operating Budgets include a boost in arts funding derived from the billboard tax. Among the priorities listed in the motion put forward to the Executive Committee by Councillor Gary Crawford was ?support for Toronto?s music cluster.?

?As one of the country?s premier music festivals, North by Northeast would like to offer sincere thanks and congratulations to the Mayor and City Council for recognizing the tremendous economic, cultural, and civic value of music on Toronto. The City?s firm support of artists, venues, festivals, and fans will help grow our already vibrant music scene into a global phenomenon that will attract and inspire the world,? says Andy McLean, Managing Director/Co-founder, North by Northeast.

?Toronto?s music community is one of the most vibrant and vital in all of North America, and we are both grateful for the City?s commitment to its health and excited about the possibilities it opens up for the continued growth of the sector. This announcement represents an investment in economic development, social health, and cultural heritage, all of which will return great dividends to the people of Toronto,? says Jesse Kumagai, Director of Programming for The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall.

Music Canada has published a?report?identifying opportunities for greater growth and promotion of the music industry in Toronto and is working with a coalition whose members include live music venues, festivals, concert promoters, music labels, recording studios, managers and artists.

- 30 -

For more information:

Amy Terrill ? Vice President Public Affairs, Music Canada
aterrill@musiccanada.com

Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that represents the major record companies in Canada, namely Sony Music Entertainment Canada, Universal Music Canada and Warner Music Canada. Music Canada also works with some of the leading independent record labels and distributors, recording studios, live music venues, concert promoters, managers and artists in the promotion and development of the music cluste

Source: http://blogs.canoe.ca/brandnewblog/general/city-of-torontos-billboard-tax-boosts-arts-funding-yay/

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