Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/297921109?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
Meghan McCain fires back at Ann Coulter's lethal joke
They're at it again- Ann Coulter and Meghan McCain are in a Twitter war. The reason for the bickering? Ann Coulter stated that Meghan McCain should be killed in a blog posted on her own website, as well as Fox Nation.
"MSNBC's Martin Bashir suggested that Republican senators need to have a member of their families killed for them to support the Democrats' gun proposals. (Let's start with Meghan McCain!)" the blog said before it was taken down earlier this morning.
McCain responded with a series of Tweets:
Apparently Ann Coulter made a joke about me being killed in a recent column. I should expect nothing less but disgusted regardless.
? Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) April 11, 2013
My father is a very famous politician. My family gets a lot of threats. Joking about me being killed really isn't funny or appropriate.
? Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) April 11, 2013
The feud between the two conservative women has a long-standing history. Three years ago, McCain wrote an opinion column for The Daily Beast airing her grievances with the Republican Party, and cited Coulter as one of the individuals who perpetuates negative stereotypes:
"?certain individuals continue to perpetuate negative stereotypes about Republicans. Especially Republican women. Who do I feel is the biggest culprit? Ann Coulter. I straight up don't understand this woman or her popularity. I find her offensive, radical, insulting, and confusing all at the same time? I hope viewers understand Ann Coulter is not the woman we Republicans need representing us right now"
Cindy McCain, Meghan's mother and wife of Senator John McCain, also jumped in the battle in defense of her daughter:
Ann Coulter have one of your family members threatened. See how you feel!. Apparently Ann Coulter (cont) tl.gd/lhbufq
? Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) April 11, 2013
Coulter has not responded to either of the McCain women. The posts have also been taken down from both Fox Nation and her own blog.
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Botched SimCity launch vaults EA to second consecutive award for ?Worst Company In America?
By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is capable of intercepting a North Korean missile, should it launch one in the coming days, but may choose not to if the projected trajectory shows it is not a threat, a top U.S. military commander told Congress on Tuesday. Admiral Samuel Locklear, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific region, said the U.S. military believed North Korea had moved to its east coast an unspecified number of Musudan missiles, with a range of roughly 3,000-3,500 miles. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/botched-simcity-launch-vaults-ea-second-consecutive-award-194255890.html
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Philby and Oswald
A November 1955 photo of Kim Philby, left, the "Third Man" in the Burgess and MacLean spy case. Lee Harvey Oswald, right, suspected assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, at police headquarters in Dallas, Nov. 22, 1963. Photo by AP, left; Photo by Ferd Kaufman/AP, right
Oswald and Philby. Lee and Kim.
?The Lone Gunman? and ?the Third Man.? We?re still haunted by the legacy of these spectral figures, their legacy of doubling and doubt?and, yes, the shadowy counterspy linked to both. At least I am. You should be too, since you live in a world of uncertainties they helped create.
Not just from their overt acts?Philby, long-term, high-level KGB mole inside British secret intelligence service (MI6), a double?or was it triple??agent shaping the origins of Cold War paranoia; Oswald, leaving a legacy of mystery, paranoia and conspiracy theory around himself, of the sort that has come to shroud so much alleged certainty about historical truths ever after. Is there any major event that now doesn?t come with its penumbra of YouTube conspiracy fantasies? The more you look the less (undisputed) truth you see.
The two of them (and the shadowy third whose identity I will disclose, I promise) exemplify a century of double agents, double dealing, double meaning, doubly ambiguous doubt about the public narrative of history, ambiguities that cloud or complexify conventional wisdom about the accepted narrative and suggest we are lost in ?a wilderness of mirrors.? And every once in a while something new turns up, a new twist, a declassified document, an overlooked defector, a forgotten witness.
As it has recently with both these enigmatic figures. A half-century after their defining moments on the stage of history, two new books have disclosed unexpected perspectives worth exploring.
1963: Fifty years ago, the year Kim Philby defected to Moscow, purportedly erasing any doubts he was a KGB mole. Although, in fact, the doubts persist in some circles, mainly in the form of theories that he was a triple, not a double, agent. That is, who was he really working for all those years, us or them? More piquantly: Is it possible even he didn?t know?that he had been set up and used? Questions too about exactly how he distorted the ?facts? he communicated to both sides at the origin of the Cold War, thus shaping or misshaping history.
1963: Fifty years ago, Lee Harvey Oswald does something in Dallas, the president?s head explodes, and soon Oswald is dead too. According to polls, more than half the nation still believes that if Oswald was involved at all in the shooting (not just, as he claimed, ?a patsy?) he was part of a conspiracy involving two shooters, even ?two Oswalds? or an ?Oswald impersonator? or two. But the true locus of mystery and generator of conspiratorial doubt is Oswald?s mind, that lonely labyrinth in which even he may have been lost. Whose side was he really on, was he a double agent, was he a player on his own stage, or was he being played? By whom?
I?ve spent a considerable amount of time exploring both enigmas. I thought that in my 12,000-word Philby investigation for the New York Times Magazine some time ago, I had exhausted the number of mysteries Philby set afoot with his double (or triple?) dealing. And I?ve written frequently on JFK theories, recurrently changing my mind on that morass of mystification; to my current belief Oswald was a shooter, though not ruling out the possibility of a second one, or silent confederates egging Oswald on to do the deed. But what an amazing legacy of paranoia he?s left us, what a vast spectrum of theories that seems to keep growing, concatenating.
Things seemed to have slowed down on that front, the high tide of conspiracy books receding (though not ceasing), the two camps?lone gunman vs. conspiracy?fortified in their opposing certainties with little or no new evidence on the crime itself emerging. I basically gave up thinking there would be anything new to emerge despite the likelihood that (as Jefferson Morley?s valuable investigative lawsuit claims) there are a large number of important documents on the case still classified.
But in the course of one week this winter I came upon two recent books that made me think the two cases deserve further thought.
A coincidence no doubt?as is the fact that the names of the authors of the two books?Lattel and Littell?are so similar (and end in the syllable for ?tell?). In this game one has to learn to distinguish between the meaningful and the meaningless coincidences.
The Oswald-related book, Castro?s Secrets, is by Brian Latell, a former top-level CIA agent charged with the debriefing of a high-ranking defector from Fidel Castro?s highly secretive intelligence agency, the DGI. The defector who came in from the cold in Vienna in 1987, a guy named Florentino Aspillaga, offered some remarkable inside DGI information about Oswald, the DGI, and Fidel that, if true, argues for a paradigm shift in Kennedy assassination theories. He also discloses substantiating material from a previous defector?information that was new to me.
Young Philby by Robert Littell Courtesy of Thomas Dunne Books
The Philby book?Young Philby?is a unique (and strangely overlooked) historically-based spy novel by well-respected espionage writer Robert Littell (The Company and The Once and Future Spy among others, many of which suggest contacts within the intelligence community). It seeks to substantiate the possibility that Philby was more than a KGB mole, that in fact he may have served as a knowing or unknowing channel of information (and disinformation) for MI6 and the CIA?a theory I wrote about (and called ?unlikely?) in my investigation, but which Littell?no naif in these matters?clearly seems to believe. And he says he has a smoking gun to prove it.
Maybe we should start from the beginning. Harold Adrian Russell ?Kim? Philby, the Cambridge-educated scion of the British establishment, was the son of the once-famed Arabian explorer St. John Philby. According to most accounts, an Austrian sexologist and Soviet agent named Arnold Deutsch recruited Kim as a Soviet operative after he had left the leafy glades of Cambridge to consort with Austrian Communists (and marry one) during the 1934 street battles with fascists in Vienna. Philby?s mission: disguise himself as a right-winger and work his way up the old-boy network of the British ruing class on behalf of the NKVD (predecessor to the KGB). Kim was joined by a quartet of other like-minded college fellows later to be known as the ?Cambridge Five.? If you?ve read your le Carr?, you?ll recognize Kim as a good match in character at least for the mole, Bill Haydon, in Tinker, Tailor.
And boy did he succeed, getting recruited by an apparently oblivious (or were they?) MI6 as the second world war began, ending up after the war as the head of MI6?s Russian Division, thus making him the grand pivot man in the genesis of the Cold War?confirming Stalin?s belief in the evil plotting of the West, feeding the West a careful diet of disinformation about what the Soviets were up to. Or was it the other way around? Who got the info and who got the disinfo? Should we credit Philby and his other moles with preventing World War III?giving Stalin the security that his most paranoid fears (of a surprise nuclear attack) were unfounded, because he would have known from his moles if something was up? Or did both sides get what Philby chose to weave out of his own history-making imagination? (?Espionage,? le Carr? once wrote, ?is the secret theatre of our society.?)
Ultimately Philby was on the verge of becoming head of MI6?as I believe I was the first to confirm from a highly placed source?when the ?Third Man? affair fatefully killed his chances. Two of the Cambridge Five defected to Moscow in 1951, fearing they were about to be arrested, and suspicion fell on Philby for being the ?Third Man? who tipped them off. Philby was forced to resign and consigned himself to a purgatorial limbo in the Middle East where, under the watchful eyes of MI6, the KGB, and the CIA, he wrote for the U.K. Observer (and the New Republic, which was owned until 1956 by another former Soviet mole Michael Straight, not yet exposed). It should be noted that the famous Orson Welles-starring film The Third Man was written by Graham Greene and released in 1949, two years before Philby was named ?Third Man.? (Click here for more on the Graham Greene connection.)
Finally in 1963, MI6 felt it had enough evidence Philby had been a mole to confront him in Beirut. In what is still one of the most debated episodes in his career, he managed to?or was allowed to?escape to Moscow, where he lived until his death in 1988. Still, even in Moscow he was never fully trusted, according to former KGB colleagues I interviewed. As far back as 1948, an NKVD agent was compiling a dossier on Philby, attempting to prove that he was really a plant ? not a double but a triple agent actually working for MI6 to deceive the Soviets into thinking he was their mole. One ex-KGB source called this 1948 hellhound on Philby?s trail ?Madame Modrjkskaj,? said to be head of the NKVD?s British division, who ?came to the conclusion that Kim was a plant of the MI6 and working very actively and in a very subtle British way.?
Here?s where Robert Littell?s new novel takes up the case. The somewhat misleadingly titled Young Philby tells the Philby story in part from the point of view of a female NKVD analyst whose name Littell spells ?Modinskaya.? (I think the spelling is just a variant, not an attempt to fictionalize her.) And basically Littell?s novel concludes that she was right: that, yes Kim?encouraged by his scheming father, St. John Philby?was playing the triple-agent game on behalf of MI6. Littell (who did not respond to an email sent through his publisher to his residence in France) portrays Madame M. as being executed by Stalin for her suspicions of his prized mole, although I don?t know if this is historically based. But if she died, suspicions of Philby never did, and they haunted him even in his post-defection home in Moscow.
But what makes Littell?s book more a than just another twisty spy fantasy is the nonfiction epilogue, in which Littell tells of a fascinating encounter he had with Teddy Kollek, a figure most well-known as longtime mayor of Jerusalem, but who knew Kim as a young communist sympathizer in Vienna in 1934. And here?s where we meet our mysterious third figure: in a 1983 Harper?s piece I wrote about the way there were some who believed U.S. counterintelligence guru James Angleton had not been fooled by Philby, because Angleton had been tipped off by Kollek and?here?s yet another way of looking at the case?had deliberately fed Philby disinformation. Philby was then the dupe of Angleton, not the other way around. An unwitting triple agent.
People are prepared to believe that of Angleton because of his mythic reputation within the intel community as the Master of the Game?a reputation he guarded jealously. If Philby was, as many have called him, the spy of the century, James Angleton was the counterspy of the century. Legendary for having learned the complexities of the game from the study of ?seven types of ambiguity? as a Yale English literature scholar?he published High Modernists such as William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound in his undergraduate literary magazine?he was notorious for pursuing suspicious ambiguities in the backstories of many defectors he believed were actually KGB plants. He would want to have people believe he was outfoxing Philby, not the other way around.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=75f097d86b452d20c053f37fafb37fd0
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High levels of lead detected in rice imported from certain countries
Apr. 10, 2013 ? Rice imported from certain countries contains high levels of lead that could pose health risks, particularly for infants and children, who are especially sensitive to lead's effects, and adults of Asian heritage who consume large amounts of rice, scientists said in New Orleans on April 10. Their research, which found some of the highest lead levels in baby food, was among almost 12,000 reports scheduled for the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
Tsanangurayi Tongesayi, Ph.D., who headed the analysis of rice imported from Asia, Europe and South America, pointed out that imports account for only 7 percent of the rice consumed in the United States. With vast rice fields in Louisiana, California, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, the U.S. is a major producer and exporter of the grain. However, imports of rice and rice flour are increasing ? by more than 200 percent since 1999 ? and rice is the staple food for 3 billion people worldwide, he added.
"Such findings present a situation that is particularly worrisome given that infants and children are especially vulnerable to the effects of lead poisoning," Tongesayi said. "For infants and children, the daily exposure levels from eating the rice products analyzed in this study would be 30-60 times higher than the FDA's provisional total tolerable intake (PTTI) levels. Asians consume more rice, and for these infants and children, exposures would be 60-120 times higher. For adults, the daily exposure levels were 20-40 times higher than the PTTI levels."
The research was part of a symposium titled "Food and Its Environment: What Is In What We Eat?"
Tongesayi's team, which is with Monmouth University in N.J., found that levels of lead in rice imported into the United States ranged from 6 to 12 milligrams/kilogram. From those numbers, they calculated the daily exposure levels for various populations and then made comparisons with the FDA's PTTI levels for lead. They detected the highest amounts of lead in rice from Taiwan and China. Samples from the Czech Republic, Bhutan, Italy, India and Thailand had significantly high levels of lead as well. Analysis of rice samples from Pakistan, Brazil and other countries were still underway.
Because of the increase in rice imports into the United States, Tongesayi said that rice from other nations has made its way into a wide variety of grocery stores, large supermarket chains and restaurants, as well as ethnic specialty markets and restaurants.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/qPiHCEdUtMc/130410201824.htm
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Striped like a badger: New genus of bat identified in South Sudan
Apr. 9, 2013 ? Researchers have identified a new genus of bat after discovering a rare specimen in South Sudan.
With wildlife personnel under the South Sudanese Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism, Bucknell Associate Professor of Biology DeeAnn Reeder and Fauna & Flora International (FFI) Programme Officer Adrian Garside were leading a team conducting field research and pursuing conservation efforts when Reeder spotted the animal in Bangangai Game Reserve.
"My attention was immediately drawn to the bat's strikingly beautiful and distinct pattern of spots and stripes. It was clearly a very extraordinary animal, one that I had never seen before," recalled Reeder. "I knew the second I saw it that it was the find of a lifetime."
After returning to the United States, Reeder determined the bat was the same as one originally captured in nearby Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1939 and named Glauconycteris superba, but she and colleagues did not believe that it fit with other bats in the genus Glauconycteris.
"After careful analysis, it is clear that it doesn't belong in the genus that it's in right now," Reeder said. "Its cranial characters, its wing characters, its size, the ears -- literally everything you look at doesn't fit. It's so unique that we need to create a new genus."
In the paper, "A new genus for a rare African vespertilionid bat: insights from South Sudan" just published by the journal ZooKeys, Reeder, along with co-authors from the Smithsonian Institution and the Islamic University in Uganda, placed this bat into a new genus -- Niumbaha. The word means "rare" or "unusual" in Zande, the language of the Azande people in Western Equatoria State, where the bat was captured. The bat is just the fifth specimen of its kind ever collected, and the first in South Sudan, which gained its independence in 2011.
"To me, this discovery is significant because it highlights the biological importance of South Sudan and hints that this new nation has many natural wonders yet to be discovered. South Sudan is a country with much to offer and much to protect," said Matt Rice, FFI's South Sudan country director. FFI is using its extensive experience of working in conflict and post-conflict countries to assist the South Sudanese government as it re-establishes the country's wildlife conservation sector and is also helping to rehabilitate selected protected areas through training and development of park staff and wildlife service personnel, road and infrastructure development, equipment provision, and supporting research work. || Read more about FFI's conservation efforts in South Sudan here.
The team's research in South Sudan was made possible by a $100,000 grant that Reeder received from the Woodtiger Fund. The private research foundation recently awarded Reeder another $100,000 dollar grant to continue her research this May and to support FFI's conservation programs.
"Our discovery of this new genus of bat is an indicator of how diverse the area is and how much work remains," Reeder added. "Understanding and conserving biodiversity is critical in many ways. Knowing what species are present in an area allows for better management. When species are lost, ecosystem-level changes ensue. I'm convinced this area is one in which we need to continue to work."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Pensoft Publishers. The original story is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
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Google Street View Hyperlapse Is An Experimental New Way Of Wandering The World
Google Street View is maybe one of the most interesting and under appreciated technical developments of the past decade, but it's all a little static when viewed through standard channels like Google Maps on the desktop or on a mobile device. A new project from Toronto UX design firm Teehan+Lax, which operates a Labs unit to explore its more playful side, threads together Street View imagery to create time-lapse animations called Hyperlapses, which makes Street View a more immersive experience.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/lCh4-S12PCg/
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Democrats Call Mitch McConnell 'Washington's Top Roadblock'
ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:
A pro-Democratic super PAC unveiled an online campaign on Tuesday that aims to draw attention to what the group says is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's "record of putting Washington's interests above Kentucky's."
The Senate Majority PAC has created a microsite, "Beltway Mitch," that calls the Kentucky senator, who is up for re-election in 2014, "Washington's top road block" and accuses him of being "deep in hock to extreme special interests."
"As a top Washington insider, Mitch McConnell has left Kentuckians' interest behind and voters need to know his true record," Rebecca Lambe, co-chair of the Senate Majority PAC said in a statement. "By acting as a roadblock for job creation, investment in education, and giving law enforcement the tools they need, McConnell has proven he has forgotten the people of the Commonwealth."
In addition to the website, officials with the group said its anti-McConnell push would also include paid content on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
So far, no top Kentucky Democrats have launched a bid to challenge McConnell, leaving it to organizations like the Senate Majority PAC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to start chipping away at McConnell's record as they try to damage his hopes of winning a sixth term.
Last month, one day after actress Ashley Judd announced her intention not to run against McConnell, the DSCC began running radio ads against him.
Since Judd made her decision public on March 27, speculation has focused on Kentucky Secretary of State Allison Lundergan Grimes as a viable opponent to McConnell. But as recently as this weekend, Grimes said she was undecided.
"I don't know what the next step is for me," Grimes told a crowd at a Democratic fundraising dinner in Bardstown, Ky.
According to a local news report, Grimes did not mention McConnell by name in her remarks, but did fit in a few thinly-veiled digs.
"It makes a difference as to who you send, for instance, if you send someone to Frankfort or to D.C. that votes against the Violence Against Women Act," she said.
McConnell opposed the Violence Against Women Act, a vote that the Senate Majority PAC highlighted on its "Beltway Mitch" site.
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
ACMG releases statement on noninvasive prenatal screening
Apr. 8, 2013 ? The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) has just released an important new Policy Statement on "Noninvasive Prenatal Screening for Fetal Aneuploidy."?
As background, in recent decades there have been many changes and improvements in prenatal genetic screening and diagnosis. The risk, however, of testing with specimens obtained by invasive procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS) has led to the search for new methods using mother's blood specimens obtained noninvasively. The most recent advances in genomics and genomic technologies have resulted in such noninvasive prenatal screenings (NIPS). The acronym NIPS is used to emphasize the screening nature (false positives and false negatives do occur) of tests currently on the market.
The new ACMG Statement on Noninvasive Prenatal Screening addresses:
- The current limitations of NIPS
- The advantages of NIPS compared with current screening approaches
- Pretest and posttest genetic counseling
- The reporting of results by laboratories performing NIPS
- Oversight of analytical and bioinformatic components by testing of the laboratories performing NIPS
The Statement says that while studies are promising and demonstrate high sensitivity with low false-positive rates, there are limitations to NIPS, "NIPS for fetal aneuploidy has arrived; however, as with most new technologies, there is room for refinement." The report strongly states that positive results should be followed-up with an invasive diagnostic test before any decision is made regarding pregnancy termination.
Lead author of the ACMG Statement Anthony R. Gregg, MD, FACOG, FACMG and high- risk pregnancy physician said, "Obstetric care providers must become familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of the use of this approach. Clinicians should provide patients with both pretest and posttest counseling with the goal of avoiding patient harm or confusion -- I can't stress this enough."
Gregg added, "Most of the companies that are developing these tests have referred to it as NIPDiagnosis or NIPTest. In our view, it is NOT a diagnostic test such as chorionic villus sampling [CVS] or amniocentesis; hence, we coined the term Noninvasive Prenatal SCREENING (NIPS)."
NIPS was initially validated for Down syndrome screening and has been applied to other trisomies including 13 and 18 with sex chromosomes being added now.
ACMG Medical Director Barry Thompson, MD, FACMG, another author of the Statement added, "NIPS is now one of many approaches available to women who desire Down syndrome screening. Unlike other methods, it is minimally invasive in that it only requires a blood sample from the pregnant mother rather than the more invasive amniocentesis or CVS that have associated risks of miscarriage."
"NIPS is a very accurate screening test, " said Michael S. Watson, PhD, Executive Director of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. However, it is well known that the cells originate from 'extraembryonic tissues' around the fetus so aneuploidy status may not always be identical to the genetics of the fetus. The advantages include that the detection rate is higher, the negative predictive value is greater, and the false positive rate is lower, than any other current screening approaches for Down syndrome. It must be followed up, however, by a diagnostic test since NIPS is a screening test."
"Finally, NIPS does not replace a first trimester ultrasound (12-14 weeks); rather, it complements it," Watson added.
The Statement can be found in the Publications section of the ACMG website at http://www.acmg.net and will soon be published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Genetics in Medicine.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/OL916zUx7fk/130408133754.htm
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Google target of Microsoft-led antitrust complaint
BRUSSELS (AP) ? A group of companies led by Microsoft have called on European authorities to launch an antitrust investigation into Google and its hold over mobile internet usage on smartphones.
The "FairSearch" initiative of 17 companies ? which includes Microsoft, Nokia, and Oracle ?claims Google is acting unfairly by giving away its Android operating system to mobile device companies on the condition that the U.S. online giant's own software applications like YouTube and Google Maps are installed and prominently displayed.
"Google is using its Android mobile operating system as a Trojan horse to deceive partners, monopolize the mobile marketplace, and control consumer data," said Thomas Vinje, the group's Brussels-based lawyer.
Android operating systems have the largest share of the smartphone market worldwide, followed by Apple's iOS platform with systems from Blackberry, Microsoft and others far behind.
"Google's predatory distribution of Android at below-cost makes it difficult for other providers of operating systems to recoup investments in competing with Google's dominant mobile platform," FairSearch said in a statement.
The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive arm and antitrust authority, is not obliged to take any action other than reply to the group's complaint.
Google Inc. did not address the complaint's charges in detail. "We continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission," said Google spokesman Al Verney.
The U.S. company is already under investigation by Brussels for practices related to its dominance of online search and advertising markets.
That complaint, launched in 2010, alleges Google unfairly favors its own services in its Internet search results, which enjoy a near-monopoly in Europe. Google has proposed a list of remedies to address the Commission's concerns to achieve a settlement. The Commission is currently examining the proposed changes.
In China, Google has already come under official scrutiny because of Android's dominance of the mobile smartphone market there.
Several European data privacy regulators have also launched an investigation into Google's practices, alleging the company is creating a data goldmine at the expense of unwitting users.
Last year, the company merged 60 separate privacy policies from around the world into one universal procedure. The European authorities complain that the new policy doesn't allow users to figure out which information is kept, how it is combined by Google services or how long the company retains it.
The policy allows Google to combine data collected from one person as they use Google's services, from Gmail to YouTube, giving it a powerful tool for targeting users with advertising based on their interests and search history. Advertising is the main way the company makes its money.
___
Toby Sterling in Amsterdam contributed reporting.
___
Follow Juergen Baetz on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jbaetz
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-target-microsoft-led-antitrust-complaint-080949532--finance.html
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Many fouls, few points as season draws to a close
Louisville's Stephan Van Treese (44) vies for a loose ball against Wichita State's Fred Van Vleet (23) as Louisville's Peyton Siva (3) looks on during the second half of the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game Saturday, April 6, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Louisville's Stephan Van Treese (44) vies for a loose ball against Wichita State's Fred Van Vleet (23) as Louisville's Peyton Siva (3) looks on during the second half of the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game Saturday, April 6, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams (1) falls to the court as Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) vies for the ball during the second half of the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game Saturday, April 6, 2013, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
ATLANTA (AP) ? Once the nets are down and the confetti stops flying, it will be safe to open your eyes again, basketball fans.
Yes, 2012-13 has been one ugly season.
Scoring hasn't been this low in decades and the same for shooting percentages. Foul calls also are way down, which turned much of this year's action into something more like wrestling with occasional breaks for free-throw shooting.
Long delays for video reviews, confusion over the charge-block call, hand-checking, arm-blocking and always, always, an endless string of TV timeouts added to a feeling among even basketball lovers that many nights were hard to sit through.
"It doesn't take long, if you're really watching, to see what's happening and say, 'Oh my God, this is awful,'" said ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of the state of the game.
The season capped off by the Michigan-Louisville NCAA title game Monday night has been one marked by amazing parity ? something the leaders of most sports strive for, but one that may have played into the muddle that has become college hoops.
At one point, the top spot in The Associated Press poll changed for five straight weeks. Only one top-seeded team, Louisville, made it to the Final Four and there were two No. 4s and a No. 9; overall, this was only the fourth time since seeding began in 1979 that only one top-3 seed made it to the sport's biggest stage.
Better coaching, better preparation, more good players and the willingness of many of the best ones to enroll at less-heralded schools all played into the evenness. As early as junior high, players in the same age bracket go against each other on traveling AAU and All-Star teams. When college rolls around, the intimidation factor is gone. If today's dynamic were in place in the 1970s, almost every player at the Final Four would've played against Bill Walton at least once.
"Some of these guys couldn't score, so is that ugly?" said Bill Raftery, one of the sport's most effervescent color commentators. "Some would prefer high scoring and free-wheeling but preparation is such that it's not going to be that way. And the kids all know one another, so they're not in the least bit in awe of an opponent. You get Wichita State playing Louisville and they don't really give a damn. It's just another team to them."
It can make for unexpectedly close games and exciting finishes ? see No. 1 Louisville's come-from-behind 72-68 win over that plucky underdog, No. 9 Wichita State, in the national semifinals.
Still, the overall product suffered this year and the statistics back that up:
? Teams averaged 67.49 points, lowest since 1951-52, decades before either the 3-point line or the shot clock were introduced to college basketball.
? Field goal percentage was 43.3 percent, lowest since 1964-65.
? Shooting from the 3-point line was a tad over 34 percent, the worst it's been since 1996-97.
? The average team's 17.66 fouls per game were the lowest since the stats started being recorded in 1947.
? March Madness did not provide a reprieve. This has been the lowest scoring version of the NCAA tournament since the 3-point line came into effect in 1987, at 131.2 points per game.
Given those numbers, it seems almost fitting that the tournament's most enduring moment was cringe-worthy: the compound leg fracture suffered by Louisville guard Kevin Ware. And then, in the run-up to the Final Four, there was the unsavory story of Mike Rice, coach of a losing program at Rutgers who got fired for his brutish tactics during practices.
"A failure of process," school president Robert Barchi called the Rice fiasco, which also led to the resignation of the athletic director, who failed to fire the coach when first presented with video evidence of his abuse.
While that story keeps unfolding over the offseason, the leaders in college basketball will spend the time off trying to clean things up on the court.
Raftery predicts the sport's powers will take a long look at the "arc" ? that befuddling semicircle drawn underneath the basket that a defensive player cannot be standing in if he hopes to draw a charge call.
"They're going to do some things with the rules," Raftery said. "But I enjoy the game, so it doesn't really offend me the way it does a lot of my pals."
But he, too, thinks the number of video reviews needs to be pared.
Officials stop action to parse through college's very specific rules on flagrant fouls, which call for checking the video any time one player's elbow makes contact with another's head, whether it's obviously intentional or not. Refs also stop play to determine whether shooters are behind the 3-point line and to put tenths of seconds back on the clock late in games. Those stoppages often deprive fans of a bang-bang, sometimes fantastic finish so officials can huddle around video monitors to study the clock while coaches huddle with their teams to draw up a play.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino said he remembers the same sort of troubles bogging down play in the NBA when he coached there in the 1980s and '90s. The commissioner, David Stern, called some of the sport's best minds into a room and they started figuring out how to make things better.
Pitino said it all comes down to "freedom of movement," which can only be assured if the officials start calling the games more tightly, doing away with all the grabbing, hand-checking and arm-barring that clogs up the flow of these games.
"The only way to do it is the first 10 games of the season, the games have to be ugly," Pitino said of the extra stoppages and free throws that could ensue while refs try to clean things up. "Then the players will adjust, then you'll see great offense again. Like the NBA now, you see all those great scoring teams. Now they have a great product, and we need to go the route of the NBA."
___
AP National Writer Paul Newberry in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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Obama budget takes heat from all quarters
Republicans reject any new taxes. Liberals say they'll fight any changes to Social Security and other entitlement programs. Does the Obama administration have any room to maneuver?
President Barack Obama, and White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer react to a reporter's question as they leave the Treasury Department in January. Pfeiffer warned Republicans Sunday that a "my way or the highway" approach would spell the GOP's defeat in upcoming budget negotiations, and he told Democratic allies that they, too, will have to bend on Obama's delayed spending plan set to be released this week.
Charles Dharapak/AP
EnlargeDoes President Obama?s budget have a snowball?s chance in Hades?
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He?ll submit his administration?s budget for the fiscal year beginning in October on Wednesday, and based on leaked details it?s getting largely negative reviews.
House Speaker John Boehner has rejected it because it includes new revenues, meaning some new taxes on the wealthy. Obama?s liberal base promises to block any cuts in entitlements ? in particular, a revised inflation adjustment for Social Security known as "chained CPI."?
"There are nuggets of his budget that I think are optimistic." Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday ? the only praise, however lukewarm, heard from a Republican.
"The president is showing a little bit of leg here, this is somewhat encouraging," said Sen. Graham. "He has sort of made a step forward in the entitlement-reform process."
"He showed some leadership," Graham added. "That puts the burden on us."
Which is exactly what Obama?s liberal base fears, a fact all too clear to the White House, which sought to clarify its position Sunday.
"This chained CPI that?s being referred to here, it is something the president will only accept on two conditions," senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer?said on ABC?s ?This Week.? "One, it?s part of a balanced package that includes closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest, and two, that it has protections for the most vulnerable, including the oldest seniors."
On Wednesday ? the day he officially unveils his budget for FY 2014 ? Obama will dine with a dozen Republican senators.
"The president's focus, in addition to the regular order process that members of Congress say they want, is to try to find a caucus of common sense, folks who are willing to compromise, that don't think compromise is a dirty word, and try to get something done," White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday on "This Week.?
But Obama might want to schedule a meal with liberal lawmakers and pundits as well.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/3sGxt_6XldM/Obama-budget-takes-heat-from-all-quarters
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Louisville women join men with shot at NCAA title
Louisville players including Cortnee Walton (13) celebrate after a national semifinal against California at the Women's Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2013, in New Orleans. Louisville won 64-57. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Louisville players including Cortnee Walton (13) celebrate after a national semifinal against California at the Women's Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2013, in New Orleans. Louisville won 64-57. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Connecticut players celebrate in the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament semifinal against Notre Dame, Sunday, April 7, 2013, in New Orleans. UConn won 83-65. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Louisville's basketball teams have been pulling for each other during both NCAA tournaments, sweating through the nail biters, cheering the wins.
There hasn't been a loss yet. It sure is a joyous time to be a Cardinal.
The women got a pep talk from men's coach Rick Pitino after they lost to Notre Dame in the Big East tournament ? and they haven't lost since, beating Cal 64-57 on Sunday night to advance to the school's second NCAA championship game.
The women's players gathered at a New Orleans restaurant to watch the men beat Wichita State on Saturday and will be watching again Monday night when the men play Michigan for the title.
"The way I look at it, I think the men are trying to feed off of our success," women's coach Jeff Walz said with a smirk before adding on a serious note that he'd received word from Atlanta that the Louisville men "were in the hotel lobby, jumping up and down and cheering for us."
Pitino texted Walz after their victory "congratulating us and telling me to tell the players what an unbelievable job they did."
And so they have.
Connecticut women's coach Geno Auriemma is well aware of what Louisville is going through right now.
Back in 2004, the men's and women's teams at UConn were playing for the national title and both came away victorious, the only time one school won both titles in the same season.
Now Louisville can do it again.
"If it were easy, it would have been done a lot of times, but the fact it's only been done once shows you how difficult it is to do," said Auriemma after his team routed Notre Dame 83-65 to reach the final. "At the same time, this has been a magical year for Louisville. ... It's just amazing what they've been able to do, so I think we're playing against Louisville and we're playing against a certain karma, maybe."
Auriemma's Huskies were finally able to shake off the Fighting Irish, thanks to an incredible effort by star freshman Breanna Stewart. She scored a career-high 29 points to go with four blocks and was seemingly everywhere.
"Given the stage, and what was at stake, I don't know that I've seen any bigger performance," said Auriemma. "I know there's been NCAA tournament games that we've had certain individuals play great, but I don't remember a player having a better game in this environment."
UConn will be going for its eighth championship Tuesday night, which would match Tennessee for the most in the women's college game.
No team has dominated the Huskies under Auriemma the way the Irish had over the past few seasons. UConn (34-4) had lost the previous two national semifinals to Notre Dame and dropped three thrilling games this season to their conference rival.
Stewart and her teammates wouldn't let it happen again, ending the brilliant career of Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins with a thud. Diggins finished with 10 points, going a dismal 3 for 15 from the field.
"Once you get here you're only going to beat great teams. And the reason Notre Dame has beaten us seven of the last eight times is because they're really, really good," Auriemma said. "For one night, that's what's great about the NCAA tournament, for one night, for just this night, we just needed to be better than them, and we were."
The Huskies built a 10-point halftime lead and Notre Dame (35-2) could only get within six in the second half as its school-record winning streak came to an end at 30 games.
UConn and Notre Dame have developed the best rivalry in women's basketball over the past few seasons, and this game might have been the final chapter between the two with the Irish heading to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season.
Two years ago, the Huskies won the first three meetings before Notre Dame shocked them in the national semifinals. The Irish had won seven of the previous eight meetings before Sunday night and this one, for once, started slowly. Notre Dame went nearly 7? minutes without a field goal, missing 14 consecutive shots, and neither team led by more than four over the first 16 minutes.
But trailing 26-25 with 3:44 left in the half, UConn started to take over. Bria Hartley, who has struggled all season while recovering from an ankle injury she suffered over the summer, was the spark. The junior guard started the spurt with a 3-pointer and added a nifty pull-up moments later to make it 32-26.
Diggins was 0 for 6 from the field in the first half as the Huskies harassed her all over the court. She scored the Irish's first two points on free throws and didn't have another point until getting a steal early in the second half and converting it for the easy layup to make it 42-35.
The two-time All-American tried to do everything she could to rally her team, twice chasing down Hartley on the break for a block, but her shots weren't falling and her team was falling behind.
UConn led 50-43 with 12:22 left before Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Stewart hit back-to-back 3s to give the Huskies their biggest lead. Notre Dame wasn't done, with star freshman Jewell Loyd scoring five points during a 9-2 run to get the Irish within 61-55.
But that was as close as they could get.
Stewart was the most heralded freshman coming into the season, but struggled through the middle part of the year. But ever since the Big East tournament she's been on a roll.
"Every player, especially young players, deal with things differently," Auriemma said. "And I think when the season ended, it just let the air out of the balloon and she said, 'Now I just want to play basketball.' My God, she was amazing tonight."
Now Stewart and the rest of the Huskies will get ready for the Cardinals, who have beaten Baylor, Tennessee and Cal their last three games to make it to the championship.
But that can wait until after Monday night ? when the Cardinals will watch the men's team try to win their own title.
___
Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg
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Sony MDR-1R
Sony's forays into headphones of late have often been focused on boosted bass, or even co-branding with television shows (like the X Factor), so it's refreshing to see a no-nonsense, high quality pair like the MDR-1R. At $299.99 (direct), it's priced for serious music lovers, and its sound signature, with powerful-yet-refined bass response and crisp highs, does not disappoint. The design is visually pleasing, well-constructed, and comfortable, and includes thoughtful features like detachable cables. There are no ugly surprises here?the MDR-1R doesn't distort at top volumes, nor does it lean too heavily in favor of deep bass.
Design
The design of the MDR-1R is graceful, with the simple black matte, shiny metallic-colored surfaces, and luxurious-looking padded leather all combining to create a classic backdrop for the familiar Sony logo. A touch of bright red is used on the ear cups, and it elevates the look from stately to cool. If there's a complaint, it's only that some of the materials feel a little cheap for a model of this price?but they don't look cheap, and they function perfectly.
The headband, for instance, is not only well-padded and extremely comfortable, but adjusting it is an unusually smooth and graceful process?it's easy, using the stop-clicks, to get the proper-fitting size and keep it. Equally comfortable are the circumaural (around-the-ear) ear-pads, which feel almost like pillows. Swivel joints above the ears allow for the headphones to fit even more seamlessly, pivoting to the shape of your head. The headphones also fold down flat for easier packing and toting.
That the cable, which connects to the left ear, is detachable adds value to the MDR-1R?but the inclusion of two cables, one with an inline microphone and remote?even further solidifies the headphones as a solid investment. Since cables are often the first part of the headphone equation to malfunction over time, being able to swap them out, rather than replace the whole unit or send it in for repair, is a money saver.
Call clarity is solid enough?the mic picks up voices well, and the headphones block out a bit of ambient room sound (passively), allowing for clearer conversations. But, this is cellular audio quality we're talking about, so don't expect it to sound stellar.
Along with the two cables, the MDR-1R ships with a drawstring protective carrying pouch. Surprisingly, there's no 1/4-inch headphone jack adapter for stereos and pro-gear, nor is there an airline jack adapter. These exclusions on a pair this pricey are annoying, but if you need them, the problem can easily be remedied at a Radio Shack for cheap.
Performance
At top (and unsafe) listening volumes, the MDR-1R reproduces deep bass effectively and cleanly?there's no distortion on The Knife's sub-bass-laden "Silent Shout", and at this price, there shouldn't be. The manual claims that the frequency range of the MDR-1R is 4Hz to 80kHz, which is bound to make some audiophiles snicker?typical adult human ears top out at the high-end of the frequency spectrum anywhere from 15-20kHz, depending on the listener, so we'll just have to take Sony's word for it that these headphones extend a full 60,000 Hertz beyond the limits of human hearing.
Even the low end of the MDR-1R's range is unusually low?it's not terribly common to see a pair dip below 10Hz in the realm of subwoofer bass response, but these headphones apparently reproduce sub-bass frequencies all the way down to 4Hz. (You have a much better chance of hearing those frequencies than ones hovering around 80kHz.)
These potentially dubious claims shouldn't scare the serious listener off, however?the MDR-1R packs a robust, yet refined, bass response. If it does indeed go all the way down to 4Hz, it does so without needlessly boosting the bass beyond sensible limits. There's perhaps more bass than someone seeking flat response might want, but this is not an outrageously bass-boosted pair by any means.
On Bill Callahan's "Drover," the MDR-1R strikes an ideal balance between the low frequencies, high-mids, and treble. Callahan's vocals on this track can sound muffled on a bass-heavy pair that lacks enough treble edge, or overly sibilant on a pair that tweaks the high-mids and highs too much. Here, his unique baritone vocals have a smoothness and edge all at once, while the drumming receives a nice bit of low-end boost without threatening to take the spotlight.?
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild", the kick drum loop's attack has enough high-mid presence to sound punchy, while its sustain is rounded out by the MDR-1R's smooth low-frequency response. The sub-bass synth hits that lend this song an ominous feeling are conveyed accurately here?not overly-boosted so that the mix sounds off-balance, but certainly with some added oomph. If anything, both Callahan's and this track might have benefited from the slightest bit of boosting in the high-mids, to add an extra bit of crispness to the vocals and snap to the percussion?but this is nitpicking. The MDR-1R sounds pretty fantastic.
On classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances", the higher register strings already possess enough high-mid crispness to fend for themselves. The lower register strings are given a nice, subtle boost, adding a sense of depth to the mix. The huge drum hits at the end, which can sound comically unnatural on heavily bass-boosted headphones, sound large and intense here, without venturing into a realm of fake mega-bass. The MDR-1R, in other words, suits classical music quite well.
If you're looking in this general price range, and you want that added bass depth that the MDR-1R's reigned-in sound signature lacks, you have options. The less expensive Denon Urban Raver AH-D320 and the SMS Audio Street by 50 DJ both pack healthy, boosted low frequency wallops.
If you just want to explore other similar options in this range, the Yamaha PRO 400, which doesn't boost things nearly as intensely, shifts the focus to the midrange. Its styling isn't as classy as the MDR-1R's, but sonically, the pairs are comparable. If you have a local electronics store that can make it happen, it might be worth a head-to-head comparison to see which you favor most, as it's about personal taste and not overall quality at this point. And if all of these pairs are out of your range, consider the excellent, Editors' Choice Sennheiser HD 558, a sonic marvel at a sub-$200 price.?
At $300, the Sony MDR-1R delivers powerful audio with focus on overall balance. It could use a bit more high-mid presence, and bass lovers will wish there was more low-end boosting, but the sound signature comes close to the audiophile ideal of flat response, without throwing bass presence out the window. There's no question of whether these are high quality headphones; it's merely whether their sound signature is what you're looking for.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/amSfEnbqmOM/0,2817,2417268,00.asp
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Monday, April 8, 2013
The OpenDaylight Project Is Open Source Networking, Corporate Style
Now, this is news: A bunch of big and powerful companies may have something in their common interest that also benefits their customers.
The Linux Foundation, which has managed the creation of that popular computer operating system, is working with a number of large technology companies to develop an open source project around software-defined networking.
S.D.N., as it is called, is important both in lowering costs and increasing the capabilities of the globe-spanning data center networks that have come to dominate the computer industry. These networks, which carry Internet traffic, hold personal and corporate data and manage cellphones, among other things, have largely been cobbled together from older equipment and use traditional practices.
S.D.N., which involves putting more complex software atop standardized components, would make it easier to improve network performance and create new applications.
Members of the group include Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, I.B.M. and VMware, along with Big Switch Networks, Brocade, Citrix, Microsoft, Arista Networks, NEC and Red Hat. Each company will contribute some of its technology to the open source effort, called the OpenDaylight Project. As with many other open source projects, the final specifications of the product will be determined by a steering committee elected by members.
In some ways, OpenDaylight looks like a more efficient version of the kind of industrial standards body that governs the creation of radio systems for cellphones. While ostensibly impartial, these bodies have often been highly political and could delay technology deployment for years while companies fought to have their technology incorporated into common use.
The companies in the project have spent billions of dollars already on S.D.N. VMware, for example, paid $1.23 billion for an S.D.N. company called Nicira, while Cisco has financed its own S.D.N. company.
The OpenDaylight participants may have decided it?s just more efficient to get to work, and work on the parts of their technologies that mean something to customers, than to fight each other over details. OpenDaylight could also lower customer resistance to adopting S.D.N., as there will be fewer concerns about incompatible technologies.
?We were contacted, based on our ability to structure the project,? said Jim Zemlin, the executive director of the Linux Foundation. ?These folks are pooling their research and development costs. The value is at the higher levels (of software), rather than who has the best file format.?
The first code for the project is supposed to be released in the third quarter this year. This will include basics like a controller, a virtual overlay network, and switch device enhancements. These are far from trivial creations: One contribution from Big Switch alone has over 200,000 lines of software code.
The real test of whether this works like an open source project will come over a longer time. It will depend on how well it attracts new members and independent developers and how fast it creates new products.
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Is North Korea on the brink of war?
Kim Jong Un on horseback in an undated photo (KNS/Getty Images)
Politicians and pundits painted a pretty bleak picture of the situation in North Korea on the Sunday talk-show circuit, with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham predicting a "major war" breaking out if Kim Jong Un attacks South Korea.
"The North Koreans need to understand if they attack an American interest or an ally of this country, they're going to pay a heavy price," Graham said on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday. "I could see a major war happening if the North Koreans overplay their hand this time, because the public in South Korea, the United States, and I think the whole region, is fed up with this guy."
"I think we have to convince this new, young, inexperienced leader that he's playing a losing hand," Michele Flournoy said. "The only way out of the box to get the economic development he wants, to get the progress that he wants, is to ratchet back the rhetoric. Come back into compliance with the international obligations."
Since assuming power in late 2011, the provocative Kim has defied U.N. sanctions by continuing to develop North Korea's missile program.
"He's kind of reckless right now," U.S. Gen. James Thurman, the top U.S. military commander in South Korea, said on ?This Week with George Stephanopoulos" on ABC. "If they decided to, you know resume hostilities, I think we've got to be ready to go."
Earlier Sunday, U.S. officials said Thurman?who was expected to travel to Washington this week to appear before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees?will stay in Seoul as "a prudent measure."
When asked to speculate on the outcome of a war, Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said: "The North loses and the South wins, with our help. That's what happens."
[Related: Rodman says Kim Jong Un wants Obama to ?call him?]
On "Meet The Press," former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson called Kim's leadership "belligerent," but cautioned against U.S. military action.
"I think the goal should not just be to calm them down, to cool the rhetoric down," Richardson said. "The goal has to be [to] get North Korea back to the negotiating table on nuclear proliferation, on de-nuclearization. They have to do it, because that whole Asian area is a tinderbox."
Greta Van Susteren, who has visited North Korea three times, said negotiation is not something on the minds of most North Koreans.
"The whole time we were there, all we saw was preparation for war," Van Susteren said. "If you go inside, they have been at war with us since the early 1950s. They think that every single one of us is spending every Saturday night sitting around planning how to get them while we're busy ordering pizzas and Chinese food carryout, they think that we're getting ready for war."
Graham said the United States needs to keep its eye on Syria, too.
"Crazy people and nuclear weapons who proliferate those weapons throughout the world, who support terrorist organizations, are incredibly dangerous," Graham said. "That's why we need to stop Syria from getting chemical. Chemical weapons need to be controlled in Syria; the ayatollahs in Iran are just as crazy as this guy in North Korea."
He added: "This could be a nightmare in the making with these chemical weapons falling into radical Islamists. The number of radical jihadists on the ground in Syria today is growing every day this war goes on."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/north-korea-kim-jong-un-war-201715650.html
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Abu Dhabi Finance signs three-year Dhs100m term-loan agreement ...
The agreement was signed by Andre Sayegh, CEO of FGB, and Ali Eid AlMheiri, Chairman of ADF.
ADF, a private joint stock company partnership between Mubadala Development Company pjsc, Aldar Sorouh Properties pjsc and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), specialises in real estate financial services for individuals and businesses. It offers solutions ranging from residential and commercial mortgages to financial support services.
Commenting on the agreement, Andre Sayegh, CEO of FGB, said, "As a UAE-based bank, we are committed to taking part in initiatives and agreements that aim to benefit the UAE's economy and its continued development and growth. This agreement with Abu Dhabi Finance will work towards supporting the growth of the UAE's real estate sector."
Ali Eid AlMheiri, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Finance, went on to add, "First Gulf Bank is one of the leading banks in the UAE, and has built a strong place for itself in the market. We are pleased to be joining efforts with the bank, and will be using this loan to enhance our operations. Our goal is to provide our clients with the best real estate financial services and to work towards the rational development of the local real estate market."
Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/abu-dhabi-finance-signs-three-year-dhs100m-336583
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Mary Eileen Williams: Want To Attract Recruiters? Power-Up Your LinkedIn Profile!
Any job seeker today knows that social networking sites like LinkedIn are invaluable resources for making important contacts. And, in addition to LinkedIn's effectiveness as a networking tool, many recruiters are now forgoing traditional methods of sourcing candidates and turning directly to this major site as their preferred method for identifying potential employees. So if you want recruiters to choose you as a candidate for their open positions, you'll need for your online profile to be as powerful as possible.
Although securing recommendations and endorsements are important, the keywords you select to include in your profile are critical. You'll want recruiters to locate you quickly and easily. Even more -- you'll want them to like what they see. Therefore think like a recruiter, highlight the skills they're looking to find, and present yourself as the attractive, winning candidate they'll want to contact.
Here are 3 key strategies to consider as you build your online profile:
Present a Unified Brand: It is essential that you make certain your LinkedIn profile is current, complete and that it substantiates how you're describing yourself on your resume and in your cover letters. Although I suggest customizing resumes to the specifics of any posted position for which you apply (with the right formatting, this can be a relatively easy process), the information should basically be the same as that on your online profile. The way you present yourself forms the foundation of your job search -- so make certain that it's strong, current to the needs of today's job market, and distinguishes you from the competition.
Become Highly Searchable: The strategic use of keywords is critical. You already know that recruiters (both independent and internal company recruiters) will turn to LinkedIn as a primary tool for sourcing candidates. The way they'll find you is by the words you've chosen to include in your profile. Your aim, therefore, is to become as highly searchable as possible. The following are three ways you can accomplish this goal.
- An easy way to determine which keywords get the largest number of hits is by using the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. This free service ranks keywords by the number of global monthly searches they elicit. A good rule of thumb is to focus mainly on skill words with numbers in the midrange. If you use too many words with high-ranking search numbers, you may get lost in the crowd; if your profile is filled with low-ranking words, your chances of being found will diminish.
- Another way to identify keywords with the potential to get you noticed by recruiters is to study the postings for your line of work. You'll want to identify and list skills that are frequently requested in the ads and load up your LinkedIn profile with these valuable industry buzzwords. It goes without saying that you'll need to actually have the skills they're requesting in the ads, but employers are telling you what they want -- so give it to them!
- A third way to make certain that you're maximizing your LinkedIn profile is to take a look at how others in your line of work are marketing themselves. Use the search feature to source people in your same occupation and check out the words they're using to highlight their skill sets. Chances are you'll find some valuable tips that will improve your own profile.
Once you've determined several keywords for your area of specialty and identified those relating to your key skills and selling points, you'll want to embed these attention-grabbing words in both the Summary and the Experience sections of your LinkedIn profile. Remember to think like a recruiter! Which skills will they be looking to find? Be generous and make certain that each of these sections is richly populated with the words, phrases, and job titles recruiters will want to see.
Your All-Important Photo: Another important feature of your LinkedIn profile is the photo you choose to provide. Dress as you would for a job interview; you'll want to display your image as a professional. You'll also want to exude your warmth and personality through your photo. A smile is generally best. Your goal is to strike a balance between professionalism and approachability. Employers are looking for skilled problem solvers but they also want to hire someone who's pleasant to be with.
As you create your profile, you'll want to factor-in each of these elements. And, as with other aspects of your job search, you'll want to consider your profile to be a work in progress. If you're not getting results, improve it. An up-to-date profile that highlights your skills and experience to best advantage is critical. Recruiters are looking to find you and are using LinkedIn and other social networking sites as both a way to source and to vet their candidates. So use this valuable platform and turn your profile into a winner!
Mary Eileen Williams is a Nationally Board Certified Career Counselor with a Master's Degree in Career Development and twenty years' experience assisting midlife jobseekers to achieve satisfying careers. Her book, Land the Job You Love: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50, is a step-by-step guide that shows you how you can turn your age into an advantage and brand yourself for success. Updated in February 2013, it's packed with even more critical information aimed at providing mature applicants with the tools they need to gain the edge over the competition and successfully navigate the modern job market. Visit her website at Feisty Side of Fifty.com and celebrate your sassy side!
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Follow Mary Eileen Williams on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FeistySideFifty
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