alfie surreal: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Hair stylists fight in court over $9.5 million lotto jackpot

By Jeff Black, Staff Writer, NBC News

Seven hair dressers from Indianapolis have taken a coworker to court claiming she cheated them out of their share of a $9.5 million Hoosier Lotto jackpot.

For her part, the woman claims it was her ticket that won, not an office pool ticket, so she wants to keep all of the winnings.

Marion County Superior Court Judge Heather A. Welch heard testimony on Wednesday and said she would rule on the case by the end of the week, the Indianapolis Star reported.

According to NBC station WTHR-TV, eight stylists who work at a local salon pooled their money to buy lottery tickets for the Feb. 16 drawing.

One of the women, identified by the Indianapolis star as Christina Shaw, was sent out to buy the tickets at a local gas station, but also apparently bought tickets for herself.

Shaw then discovered she'd won, but before making the trek to the Hoosier Lottery headquarters to claim her jackpot, stopped by the hair salon to inform her fellow stylists that her ticket had won, not theirs.

The coworkers called attorney Scott Montross who filed a restraining order to freeze the money. The court action, Montross said, was not against Shaw herself but only to keep the jackpot from being paid out.

?We are concerned that the winning ticket may have been purchased with the group?s money," Montross earlier told the Star. "There?s a dispute about it, but until there is something more definitive, we were trying to keep a low profile. But we needed to slow the train down."

Montross, the Star reported, said the coworkers at Lou?s Creative Styles routinely each contributed $5 each for lottery tickets, and that they agreed that whoever bought the tickets for the group couldn?t buy tickets for themselves in the same place.

Shaw did not comment on the case, though she did indicate to the Star that she had hired an attorney.

A Marion County judge decided to place a hold on the winnings, which after hearing from both sides on Wednesday, she extended until Friday.

According to the Star, the coworkers filing the case were identified as: Lucy Lewis-Johnston, Melanie Ann Bonar; Margie Day-Braugh; Judith Kay Pallatin; Patricia L. Pohlman; Linda Sue Stewart; and Edna M. Thomas.

A voice message left for Montross by NBC News wasn?t immediately returned.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17119705-hair-stylists-fight-in-court-over-95-million-lotto-jackpot?lite

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Why Qualcomm Wants To Bring Ultrasound Transmitters To Smartphones And Tablets

Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm has a track record of pushing new capabilities into its chips faster than its competitors in a bid to carve out a bigger chunk of the market -- and one of its latest acquisitions is in the field of digital ultrasound. So what capabilities could this technology bring to phones and tablets?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/25R0qVwLmCI/

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A year after Trayvon Martin shooting, is America much changed?

The trend in the states toward liberalized self-defense and gun laws appears to have stalled in the year since unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Fla. But states that already had such laws have stuck with them.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / February 26, 2013

This combo made from file photos shows Trayvon Martin, left, and George Zimmerman.

AP/File

Enlarge

A year ago Trayvon Martin made a fateful decision: to take a break from the NBA all-star game on TV and kick down to the corner convenience mart, where he bought a Snapple and a bag of Skittles.

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The lanky 17-year-old never returned to the home where his dad was staying in Sanford, Fla. An armed neighborhood watchman had targeted Trayvon as suspicious as he walked back from the store that evening, confronted him, and, after a tussle, killed him with a close-range gunshot to the chest. It wasn't until the next morning that Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin, learned what had happened to his missing son.

The death of Trayvon, an African-American, became major national news after Sanford police declined to charge his shooter, citing Florida's self-defense laws, and the teenager's disbelieving parents began lobbying for justice. It would spur, in the year that followed, a state reversal of the Sanford police decision not to arrest the shooter, a closer look at liberalized gun laws, and a hiatus on new state laws sanctioning lethal force to perceived threats. ?

"For years when permissive gun laws were being enacted, gun control advocates said, 'This will lead to people shooting people for no reason,' and, the truth is, studies do not back up that argument," says Adam Winkler, a constitutional law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, Law School. "But what we suddenly had was a big, high-profile incident that seemed to suggest that's what happened ? that people roaming around with guns are a danger to everybody, including an innocent kid walking around with Skittles."

George Zimmerman, 27, now faces trial for second-degree murder ? and his defense team is expected to argue during a pretrial hearing in April that he acted in accord with Florida's Stand Your Ground law and was within his rights to defend himself with deadly force, even though he forced a confrontation with Trayvon.?

"My hope is that we've sort of moved past the initial emotional reaction to more thoughtful reflection on what this means for the country, to have laws that make it so easy for disputes that could otherwise be resolved peacefully to lead to deadly outcomes that we don't seem to condemn," say Joelle Moreno, a law professor at Florida International University.

Starting in 2005, at least 24 states have enacted versions of so-called Stand Your Ground laws, but no additional states passed such a law since Trayvon's death. Others point to the attention the case brought to a driver of those laws, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which has since shifted its focus to fiscal policy instead of gun policy.

Travyon's parents, Tracy Martin and Sabrina Fulton, will attend a candlelight vigil in New York City Tuesday evening at 7:15, the time that their son died a year ago. With the help of their lawyer, Ben Crump, they have?pushed to keep Trayvon's death at the forefront of policy discussions and?formed a lobbying group urging the 24 states with some form of Stand your Ground laws to reassess the statutes' effectiveness.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Z5bSG3jYHnc/A-year-after-Trayvon-Martin-shooting-is-America-much-changed

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Senate confirms Lew as next Treasury Secretary

By Carrie Dann, NBC News

The Senate has confirmed Jack Lew, a former budget director and chief of staff to the president, as the next secretary of the treasury.

The vote was 71 to 26.

Lew's critics said he failed to adequately explain why he received a hefty severance package when he voluntarily left his job as an executive vice president at New York University.

Lew left the school in 2006 to take a position at Citigroup Inc., a post that some said made him too cozy with big banks.?

But foes failed to muster enough opposition to prevent the wonky former Office of Management and Budget chief from ascending to the Treasury Department job -- one that sits at the center of debate over the nation's spending and debt.

By a vote of 19 to 5, the Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to recommend Lew for a full Senate vote.

All five of the votes against him came from Republican committee members; six Republicans on the committee supported him.

Lew, a native of New York City, began his career in Washington in 1973 serving as a legislative aide. He went on to spend nine years as chief domestic policy adviser to House Speaker Tip O'Neill.

He most recently served as the president's chief of staff, a post he took in January 2012.

Lew accumulated minor Twitter fame for his cartoonishly illegible signature, which by law will appear on U.S. bills.

The president himself poked fun at Lew's penmanship upon making the nomination, saying that his pick had promised to make at least one letter of his signature legible "in order not to debase our currency."

This story was originally published on Wed Feb 27, 2013 6:09 PM EST

Source: http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/27/17120585-senate-confirms-lew-as-next-treasury-secretary?lite

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

DNN Training can turn you into a web guru - Your Business ...

With Dot Net Nuke, DNN, growing as the fastest Cms, CMS, on the web CCF Consulting has added DNN training being a cool product.

?A Content Management System is suppose to create your web site an easy task to operate,? said CCF Consulting President chad Clarke. ?But you have to know how to change this software to make the necessary changes and we feel that private training is the easiest method to go.?

DNN training emerged directly and remotely over the Internet.

?We?ve got trained clients throughout the usa as well as trained one client in Switzerland,? said Clarke. ?This is the beneficial service for those that want an online site they control and will make changes to.?

?In the past we have found out that clients which might be in charge of their particular site which manage to make changes automatically have a greater recovery rate using projects,? he added.

DNN training covers these:

System Overview
Using the DNN Toolbar
Adding Pages
Modifying Page Settings
SEO Page Optimization
Adding Modules (new and existing)
Managing Users and Roles (if required)
With all the Text HTML Module
Using Additional Modules (training out of stock for all those DNN modules)

The objective of Website Cms is to become proficient for web site keepers to change content on his or her internet site without the hassel of putting in and running software on their own pc or laptop. Cms are online so every one of the software sits on the server and is also maintained by the host ? clients only require a password to logon with their site.

Other CMSs include WordPress and Joomla, both are Linux based applications while DNN runs on the Microsoft .NET platform.

?When these folks which CMS for our clients and development projects, DNN had easy and simple to make use of interface for users with no familiarity with web site design,? Clarke said. ?The fundamental text/html module that is used on every DNN site feels and looks like Ms Word, and also since just about everyone has used Ms Word it can make training easy.?

CCF Consulting offers instructional documents and videos for DNN, but believes that on the job training is the foremost approach. Most services take 1-a couple of hours.

To learn more or set-up DNN training contact CCF Consulting at 228.867.6008 or 888-445-8694.

Source: http://yourbusiness.pro/2013/02/26/dnn-training-can-turn-you-into-a-web-guru/

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COO Artie Minson Could Exit AOL, Patch Issues To Blame?

AOL Chief Operating Officer Arthur “Artie” Minson could be departing the company soon, we’re hearing, possibly over how the company has been handling hyperlocal news site Patch. A spokesperson declined to comment for this story, Minson hasn’t returned my call, and our sources say that it’s not a done deal. Minson was promoted to the COO job in June of last year as part of a larger reorganization, moving over from his three-year stint as CFO.?His official bio is basically a big list of positions that he’s held at either AOL or Time Warner (hey, remember AOL-Time Warner?) going back to 2004. In his current position, he’s been responsible for leading the company’s three business units ? the membership group, the brand group (which TechCrunch is a part of), and AOL Networks. One explanation we’ve heard for Minson’s departure is that AOL is trying to boost the numbers for Patch?by lumping in traffic and revenue from the Huffington Post’s local sites. Patch is still unprofitable and?missed its sales target in AOL’s most recent earnings report.?Minson was supposedly unwilling to go along with that plan, which is why he’s leaving. None of this has been officially confirmed. The departure of executives like Brad Garlinghouse from AOL spurred a concerned investor letter back in 2011. The letter also mentioned the departure of Michael Arrington and Heather Harde from TechCrunch. Then exactly one year ago, it?announced a few more departures, including CTO Alex Gounares. Whatever happens with Minson, other exec changes are also happening. AOL is also looking to bring in a new CEO for the content brands division, according to another report out today.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/qdpZ5xXqRso/

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Blackstone seeks capital for Asia real estate fund | South China ...

Blackstone, one of the world's largest investment houses, is pitching to large institutional investors in Hong Kong and mainland China to help it launch a new real estate fund for Asia, where property prices are rising strongly.

Among the potential institutional investors, known as "limited partners" for their investments in private equity funds, that Blackstone has been talking to is China Investment Corp (CIC) in Beijing, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), said people familiar with the matter.

CIC is the mainland's US$300 billion sovereign wealth fund, whose funding comes mostly from the country's massive foreign exchange reserves. The HKMA is the de facto central bank for Hong Kong and also manages the city's large reserves.

Both the CIC and the HKMA have a strong desire to diversify their investments abroad for stable and higher returns, rather than merely buying traditional assets such as foreign government bonds. China is already the largest holder of US debt.

"Both CIC and HKMA were pitched. Given their long-standing good business ties with Blackstone, I think it is very likely that both will put some money in its new real estate fund," said one of the people, who declined to be identified as the talks remain private and confidential.

Both CIC and HKMA were pitched. Given their long-standing good business ties with Blackstone, I think it is very likely that both will put some money in its new real estate fund

Blackstone began marketing its new Asia-dedicated property fund late last year and it aimed to raise a total of about US$2 billion for the fund, which would bet on large-sized property investments in major Asian economic powers such as China and India, said the sources.

Last October, Stephen Schwarzman, a co-founder and chairman of Blackstone, said during a brief visit to Hong Kong that his firm would not quit the mainland's property market despite growing concerns about the outlook of the real estate sector. Such worries come after years of efforts by Beijing to check rising property prices and speculation.

Blackstone, already one of the largest property investors globally, aimed to buy property assets at "discount for size", said Schwarzman during his last trip to the city.

Blackstone competes with a growing number of American rivals in Asia, such as KKR, TPG, and the Carlyle Group. Like all the other major global private equity funds, it is also keen to make direct investments in mainland firms, but real estate investments have played a more significant role for Blackstone given some successful stories in this sector in recent years, said the sources.

In China, Antony Leung Kam-chung, a former Hong Kong Financial Secretary, has been leading Blackstone's fund-raising efforts for years, after he was appointed the firm's top executive for the so-called greater China region including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the mainland. Thanks to Leung's good relations with Beijing, he has already managed to convince CIC to invest in some other Blackstone funds.

The fundraising process of Blackstone's new Asia-dedicated real estate fund is ongoing and the first closing period could be late this year, said the sources. Typically, a large government-backed institutional investor like CIC is expected to put several hundred million US dollars in one such fund.

Source: http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1159408/blackstone-seeks-capital-asia-real-estate-fund

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Group: Syrian regime missiles kill 140 in Aleppo

A Syrian villager, Abu Ibrahim, 73, writes the name of his granddaughter on her grave who was killed from an airstrike by Syrian government forces, at Jabal al-Zaweya village of Sarja, in Idlib, Syria, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Syrian rebels used captured tanks to launch a fresh offensive on a government complex housing a police academy near Aleppo and clashed with government troops protecting the strategic installation on Sunday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

BEIRUT (AP) ? At least 141 people, half of them children, were killed when the Syrian military fired at least four missiles into the northern city of Aleppo last week, Human Rights Watch confirmed Tuesday after a researcher visited the area.

The international rights group said the strikes hit residential areas and called them an "escalation of unlawful attacks against Syria's civilian population."

Aleppo, Syria's largest city, has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the civil war pitting President Bashar Assad's regime against rebels fighting to oust him.

Rebels quickly seized several neighborhoods in an offensive on the city in July, but the government still controls some districts and the battle has developed into a bloody stalemate, with heavy street fighting that has ruined neighborhoods and forced thousands to flee.

A Human Rights Watch researcher who visited Aleppo last week to inspect the targeted sites, said up to 20 buildings were destroyed in each area hit by a missile. There were no signs of any military targets in the residential districts, located in rebel-held parts of Aleppo, said Ole Solvang, the HRW's researcher.

"Just when you think things can't get any worse, the Syrian government finds ways to escalate its killing tactics," Solvang said.

Human rights watch said 71 children were among the 141 people killed in the four missile strikes on three opposition-controlled neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo. It listed the names of the targeted neighborhoods as Jabal Badro, Tariq al-Bab and Ard al-Hamra. The fourth strike documented by the group was in Tel Rifat, north of Aleppo.

"The extent of the damage from a single strike, the lack of (military) aircraft in the area at the time, and reports of ballistic missiles being launched from a military base near Damascus overwhelmingly suggest that government forces struck these areas with ballistic missiles," the report said.

Syrian anti-regime activists first reported the attacks last week, saying they involved ground-to-ground missiles, and killed dozens of people. The reports could not be independently confirmed because Syrian authorities severely restrict access to media.

Human Rights Watch said it compiled a list of those killed in the missile strikes from cemetery burial records, interviews with relatives and neighbors, and information from the Aleppo Media Center and the Violations Documentation Center, a network of local activists.

The rebels control large swaths of land in northeastern Syria. In recent weeks, Assad's regime has lost control of several sites with key infrastructure in that part of the country, including a hydroelectric dam, a major oil field and two army bases along the road linking Aleppo with the airport to its east.

A key focus for the rebels in the Aleppo area is to capture the city's international airport, which the opposition fighters have been attacking for weeks.

Opposition forces have also been hitting the heart of Damascus with occasional mortars shells or bombings, posing a stiff challenge to the regime in its seat of power.

U.S. and NATO officials have previously said that Syria has a significant ballistic missile capability and is believed to have a few hundred missiles with a range of some 700 kilometers (440 miles) that could hit targets deep inside Turkey, a NATO member and one of the harshest critics of the Assad regime.

NATO has in recent weeks deployed Patriot missile systems along Turkey's border with Syria.

The missile attacks have outraged the leaders of the exiled opposition who have accused their Western backers of indifference to the suffering of the Syrian people.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-26-Syria-Missiles/id-461e6a5245224a4ca6411c57f1c8c4c1

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5 Tips to Avoid/Help Lower Back Pain | Achieve Fitness Blog

It?s been estimated that 80% of all Americans have had or are currently experiencing lower back pain. There are so many different types of lower back pain as well as a multitude of factors that contribute to each condition that it?s impossible to have a quick and easy fix to the issue. Having said that, here are five tips that have helped the vast majority of our members who have come in complaining of back pain.

1) Avoid Stretching First Thing in the Morning

While you sleep, your discs ?hydrate? and expand over night ? it?s necessary and vital for nourishment and lubrication of the vertebrae. It?s also the reason why those with lower back pain always seem to feel ?stiffer? first thing in the morning.? It?s extremely important to resist the urge to stretch out the stiffness, because the expansion in the discs reduces the effectiveness of your spine to support you while in a flexed position.? You need to give your discs some time to ?dehydrate? ? most of which will happen in the first hour that you?re awake.? It?s the reason why you see so many people blowing out their backs first things in the morning performing seemingly innocuous tasks like picking up a pencil off the floor or unplugging their laptop.

2) Breathe Through Your Belly

Put one hand on your stomach, and the other on your upper chest. Take a deep breath in ? which hand rises first? For most of you, the upper chest probably did.? When you adopt this sort of improper breathing pattern, a few things happen. For one, the muscles around your neck and upper back get extremely tight from helping you perform a job (breathing) it wasn?t designed to do. Ideally, your diaphragm should contract and descend down in order to let your lungs and ribs expand fully. When you chest breathe, the exact opposite happens. The diaphragm cannot come down and the ribs and lungs are stuck in a position where they can?t fully expand, which makes for shorter and shallower breaths. In order to compensate for this and obtain a deeper breath of air, your body will naturally shift itself into a position where the bottom of your rib cage gets tilted forward and up, which places undue stress upon your lower back.

A Proper Breathing Pattern

To help correct this, try an exercise called ?crocodile breathing?. Lie facedown on your stomach and rest your forehead on the back of your palms. From there, try to breathe in through your nose and really think about sending the air down into your stomach. If you do it right, you should feel your stomach press into the floor and expand. Exhale through your mouth slowly. Try crocodile breathing every night before bed for 5 minutes, and your lower back and neck/shoulders will thank you!

Crocodile Breathing

3) Stretch out your hip flexors!

As a society, we spend way too much time sitting down whether it?s at a desk, or in a car, or on the couch at home. Because of this, those muscles at the front of your hips can get very tight. This stiffness in the hip flexors can wreak havoc on your posture by pulling you into a position of ?anterior pelvic tilt?.? When your pelvis dips forward, your lower back is in a constant state of extension and is unable to relax. It also puts your glutes and abdominal muscles in a disadvantageous position to contract and be used effectively.

Take some time every day to stretch out your hip flexors by performing a ?half kneeling hip flexor stretch with core engagement?. Get down on one knee like the picture shown below and grab the end of a broomstick. Push the stick down into the floor (this will engage your core), tighten and squeeze the glute of the knee that?s down, and push your hips forward. Hold for a count of two seconds, and then ease off the stretch and relax. Repeat that 10x per side. Engaging the core and glutes while performing this stretch will help counteract most people?s tendency to arch the lower back, which would take the stretch off the hip flexors and actually encourage anterior pelvic tilt.

Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch with Core Engagement

4) Stop doing crunches and sit ups!

I?ve had the opportunity to see Dr. Stuart McGill speak on several occasions. He is the professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo and one of the world?s foremost authorities on the lower back. His research has shown that the flexing the spine over and over is a surefire way to develop a herniated disc. Unfortunately, this isn?t mainstream knowledge, and it?s why you see the majority of commercial gym goers repeatedly crunch and twist their way towards a future of lower back pain.

Instead opt for these ?spine friendly?, but challenging core exercises:

From Top to Bottom: Side Plank, Front Plank, Wall Push Marching

5) Learn how to hip hinge!

Place a dowel along your spine with one hand behind your neck and the other behind your lower back. From try to maintain contact with the back of your head, upper back, and butt and sit your hips back as far as you can with your knees slightly bent and without letting your hips drop and without losing contact with the dowel.

Hip Hinge with Dowel

Learning how to hinge using your hips rather than flexing at the lower back during every day activities is extremely important.? Simple tasks like getting up or down out of a chair, picking up your child, and shoveling snow can all irritate your lower back if you?re in a flexed over posture. Instead do your best to keep the back flat in order to distribute the stress to your hips and rest of your lower body.

As always, make sure you get checked out by a qualified medical professional if you?re having lower back issues, or any pain for that matter. These exercises really only scratch the surface in terms of lower back care and you definitely don?t want to put off something as potentially debilitating as lower back pain.

Train Hard (and Smart!),

Jason

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Source: http://achievefitnessboston.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/5-tips-to-avoidhelp-lower-back-pain/

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This Amazing Digital Clock Is Made Up of 288 Different Analog Clocks

Because digital clocks are way easier to tell time but analog clocks are way classier, design studio Humans Since 1982 decided to combine the best of both worlds and make a digital clock from 288 different analog clocks. It's brain meltingly delicious to see each analog clock turn its hands to form a digital clock. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/difKPXCSaME/this-amazing-digital-clock-is-made-up-of-288-different-analog-clocks

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Channing Tatum: Our Baby Will Be Born in London

"I'm walking the carpet, trying to keep it together tonight but we're good!" a radiant Dewan-Tatum told Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet Sunday night.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/tqNzwgZZt4U/

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PFT: Draft prospect Lotulelei has heart condition

Getty Images

If the Ravens want to make Joe Flacco the highest paid quarterback in the NFL, and if Flacco is satisfied to barely clear the bar set last year by Saints quarterback Drew Brees, there?s a quick and easy way to get this contract done.

Using Brees? 2012 contract as the starting point, Flacco would get a $40 million signing bonus, a fully-guaranteed base salary of $5 million in 2013, and base salaries of $10 million in 2014, $13 million in 2015, $15 million in 2016, and $18 million in 2017.

Under the rules of signing-bonus proration, $8 million would be applied to each year?s salary cap.? That would result in a cap number of $13 million in 2013, $18 million in 2014, $21 million in 2015, $23 million in 2016, and $26 million in 2017.

It equates to a five-year payout of $101 million ? $1 million better than Brees and, for now, making Flacco the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

The two sides would have to decide whether and to what extent the money due beyond 2013 would be guaranteed, for injury only or fully.? Last year, Brees received $40 million in the first year, with $20 million guaranteed for injury only in future years.? (The injury guarantees eventually convert to full guarantees.)

The cap number in the final year would be a potential problem for the Ravens, since Flacco presumably would have one more long-term contract left before retirement.? Specifically, the $26 million cap number in 2017 would translate to a franchise tag of $31.2 million in 2018.? Thus, it would make more sense for the Ravens to tack on a sixth year at a base salary of, say, $21 million.

This would keep the average north of $20 million per year and it would give the Ravens a more manageable franchise number of $25.2 million for 2019.

Is it really that simple?? Yes, it is.? Which means that it likely won?t happen this way.

Even though it could be worked out in a matter of hours.? Or, if both sides are truly motivated, a matter of minutes.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/24/combine-medical-test-reveals-star-lotulelei-has-heart-condition/related/

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After Plenty Of Duds, LG May Finally Have A Winner With The Optimus G Pro

The last time I bought an LG smartphone -- the unabashedly brown G2x -- I had to return it after a few weeks because it would randomly reboot if I so much as looked at it funny. From then on, I convinced myself that I just couldn't buy another LG phone. They just weren't worth the headache. After playing with LG's Optimus G Pro here at MWC, I'm starting to rethink that decision.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/SKV-amND3ok/

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Can escape clause save voting rights provision? (The Arizona Republic)

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C. Everett Koop, ex-surgeon general, dies

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop speaks during a press conference on Nov. 27, 2001, in Washington, D.C.

By Hasani Gittens, News Editor, NBC News

Charles Everett Koop, who raised the profile of the surgeon general by riveting America's attention on the then-emerging disease known as AIDS and by railing against smoking, has died in New Hampshire at age 96.

?Dr. Koop passed peacefully at home this afternoon,? Susan Willis, a spokeswoman at Koop?s Dartmouth Institute in Hanover, N.H., told NBC News. She declined to give a cause of death but noted Dr. Koop's age.

Koop changed the previously low-profile position of surgeon general into a bully pulpit for seven years during the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.

Yet, as an evangelical Christian, he surprised conservatives when he endorsed condoms and sex education ? in order to stop the spread of AIDS, which blossomed into a national epidemic on his watch.

He also embarked on a mission to end smoking in the United States ? his goal had been to do so by 2000. A former pipe smoker, he said cigarettes were as addictive as heroin and cocaine.

Koop, who served as surgeon general between 1981 and 1987, became an aggressive advocate for AIDS education and prevention and was the first truly public surgeon general of the modern era. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

Even though the surgeon general has no real authority to set government policy, Koop described himself as "the health conscience of the country."

"My only influence was through moral suasion," Koop said just before leaving office in 1989.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Oct. 14, 1916, Koop graduated from Dartmouth College in 1937 with a degree in zoology and received his M.D. degree from Cornell Medical College in 1941, according to a release from Darthmouth.

"Dr. Koop did more than take care of his individual patients ??he taught all of us about critical health issues that affect our larger society," said Carol L. Folt, the president of Dartmouth College, where Koop later established an institute named after him.

"Through that knowledge, he empowered each of us to improve our own well-being and quality of life. Dr. Koop's commitment to education allowed him to do something most physicians can only dream of: improving the health of millions of people worldwide."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/25/17090722-c-everett-koop-ex-surgeon-general-dies?lite

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Basics: Long Cloaked in Mystery, Owls Start Coming Into Full View

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Only lately have scientists begun to understand owls in detail, and to puzzle out the subtleties of behavior, biology and sensory prowess that set them apart.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/science/long-cloaked-in-mystery-owls-start-coming-into-full-view.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Romney to give first postelection interview to Fox

FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, file photo, Republican presidential hopeful former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks with Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday in Manchester, N.H. Wallace said on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, that he has landed the first post-election interview with Romney and his wife, Ann. The interview will air on his show next week (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Fox's Chris Wallace has landed the first postelection interview with defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann.

Wallace said on "Fox News Sunday" that the interview will air on his show next week. Additional portions will be on Fox News Channel the next day. Wallace says he'll ask Romney how he has dealt with the defeat, what he plans to do and his thoughts about President Barack Obama's second-term agenda.

Fox News spokeswoman Ashley Nerz says the interview will be taped this week in southern California, where Romney has spent much of his time since the election.

Romney has also said he will speak March 15 to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, an annual event that draws leading Republican voices.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-24-US-TV-Fox-Romney/id-dea3b6d29b25449ea06ede58537c8993

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Nokia rebrands Drive, Maps and Transit for Windows Phones: it's all about Here (video)

The jewels in Nokia's Windows Phone crown have been its Here location services -- anyone wanting them on Microsoft's platform has usually had to snap up a Lumia or make do with the Drive+ beta. Nokia is about to share that wealth, as it's bringing Drive, Maps and Transit to other Windows Phone devices under a new name. Don't switch your shopping plans to include an HTC 8X just yet, though. Apart from a lack of specific timing, Nokia is limiting the availability to certain regions, and it's promising that the "first and best" Here experience will remain on its own smartphones. We'll still take the leftovers if they give the overall platform a boost.

If you'll recall, Nokia actually enabled its homegrown mapping arsenal to spread to other Windows Phone products some time back, but it's taking things to a new level with the Here platform underneath.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia

Comments

Source: Nokia Conversations

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/nokia-drive-maps-and-transit-coming-to-other-windows-phones/

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Iran Drone Capture Denied By Revolutionary Guard

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard is denying that it captured a foreign unmanned aircraft during a military exercise in southern Iran.

A spokesman for the Guard, Yasin Hasanali, told The Associated Press that the drone was actually being used during the drill as a supposed enemy aircraft.

Iranian media on Saturday quoted a spokesman for the Guard as saying that its electronic warfare unit had taken control of a foreign drone's navigation system and forced it to land during the site of the military exercise.

Iran has claimed to have captured several U.S. drones, including an advanced RQ-170 Sentinel CIA spy drone in December 2011 and at least three ScanEagle aircraft.

The Guard's military exercise, code-named Great Prophet-8, ends on Monday.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/24/iran-drone-capture-denied_n_2753230.html

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Essentially Italian...: Speaking to the Italian Community About my ...

I wanted to share with you of an unexpected literary event that took place today. I was asked by Italian journalist Marco Luciani (who previously interviewed me on an Italian TV show and radio station) to participate in an event at Casa d'Italia, celebrating authors of Italian origin, specifically from the province of Abruzzo. My father is Abbruzzese, and so I was honoured to take part in this event that included Mary Di Michele, a well-known Montreal author and poet who is?currently a full professor in the English Department of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, where she teaches in the creative writing program.
Mary Di Michele spoke of her work and read from her novel Tenor of Love published by Simon and Schuster Touchstone (see synopsis below) and also some of her poems, one dedicated to her late father which was very touching. She is such a lovely person and we exchanged signed copies of our books. My daughter bought her poetry book The Flower of Youth.
I addressed the audience in Italian and spoke of my writing inspiration and of the role Italy played in my novel. I also read from my novel Daughter of Mine. Afterwards, I had the pleasure of selling copies of my book and speaking to interesting persons of the Italian community, among them Connie McParland?from Guernica Editions. It was a pleasant evening, and I look forward to reading and reviewing Di Michele's books in the upcoming months. I'm still wowed by the whole experience!

Here are a description of Mary Di Michele's books:

Tenor of Love by Mary Di Michele

One summer day in 1897, a young singer, Enrico Caruso, arrives at the home of the Giachetti family. He has come to Livorno to sing on the summer stage with Ada Giachetti, a famous and beautiful soprano. Ada's mother offers him a spare room, and before Ada herself has a chance to meet the unknown tenor, her younger sister, Rina, arrives home from the market and falls fatefully in love.

With the help of singing lessons from Ada, Caruso wins the leading role in Puccini's new opera La Boh?me. Although Caruso loves Rina, it is Ada he adores, and they soon become lovers. Heartbroken, Rina becomes an opera singer too, hoping to take her sister's place. For decades, the two sisters are locked in a struggle to be the star on Caruso's stage and in his bed, while Caruso's voice grows more and more unimaginably beautiful.

But as his relations with the two sisters break down in scandal and tragedy, the now world-famous Caruso builds a new life for himself as the star of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. There, far from the drama and passion of Caruso's Tuscan life, a shy young American woman will win his heart and, taking the greatest leap of faith of all, supplant Ada and Rina as his one true love.

The Flower of Youth by Mary Di Michele

Written as a kind of historical narrative in verse, the poems in this collection depict the coming of age and sexual awareness of the great Italian writer and film director, Pier Paolo Pasolini. The time of this story is World War II; the place is German-occupied northern Italy. Unlike his younger brother, Guido, who took up arms to fight in the resistance, Pasolini chose to help his mother set up a school for the boys too young to fight or be conscripted. The situation ignited an internal war for the young Pasolini that nearly eclipsed the historical moment: a battle within between his desire for boys and his Catholic faith and culture. In addition to the poems that juxtapose Pasolini?s struggle against the backdrop of political and cultural fascism, the book also includes a prologue and an epilogue that details the author?s pilgrimage to the site and her research into the time that shaped Pasolini as a man and as an artist.

A big thank you to Marco Luciani, Mary Di Michele and Casa D'Italia for making this experience one to remember!

Source: http://essentiallyitalian.blogspot.com/2013/02/speaking-to-italian-community-about-my.html

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Standard Digital News - Kenya : Coffee societies face auction over ...

Updated Monday, February 25 2013 at 00:00 GMT+3

By Erastus Mulwa

KENYA:? Coffee farmers in Kangundo and Matungulu districts, Machakos County have called on the Government to step in and save their factories from imminent auction by creditors and former employees.

The farmers drawn from at least three coffee societies, including Sengani and Kyaume -both in Matungulu District, as well as Mbilini in Kangundo District have expressed fears that they would incur huge loses should their creditors make good their threat to wind up their coffee societies owing to unsettled debts running to millions of shillings.

In a letter dated January 22 this year, addressed to the chairman of Sengani Farmers Co-operative Society Ltd, several creditors and former employees have through their lawyer Anthony Mulekyo, issued a notice of intention to wind up the society.

According to the notice, the petitioners are demanding a prompt payment of a cumulative amount of Sh2,400,239 together with an interest at court rates, failure to which winding up against the society shall commence.

Interest

The letter further alleges the debt had been accruing for a long period, and that the society had breached all consents entered into between all parties in court.

?By copy of this letter, we have taken liberty to inform the PS, Ministry of Co-operatives of our intentions to file a winding up and a petition cause under section 64 of the Co-operative Societies Act, unless the outstanding total of Sh2,400,239 is paid as demanded together with accrued interest,? reads the notice in part.

Credible sources have confined to The Standard that similar notices have been issued to Kyaume and Mbilini farmers? co-operative societies.

The debts, The Standard established, relate to unpaid salaries and benefits, legal and accounting fees as well as NHIF/NSSF deductions by the petitioners which the management committees have been accused of failing to deposit with the said statutory institutions.

On Sunday, area DCO Maisha Muthoka confirmed he disbanded the Sengani management committee after it emerged officials had been engaging in corrupt practices. ?I convened a special general meeting of the farmers on February 21 where members appointed an interim committee to investigate the activities of the former office bearers and table a report within 90 days,? said Muthoka.

Source: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000078073&story_title=Kenya:%20Coffee%20societies%20face%20auction%20over%20debts

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Green Home, Green Business ? Home Improvement Projects Made ...

TIP! New windows will reduce both heating and cooling costs and upgrade the look of any home. These windows offer quite the reward, so consider them.

A lot of people want to do home improvement projects, yet they find it too hard to do, and give up. Most home improvement projects are not as hard as they seem if you take the time to do some research and to educate yourself first. Utilize the advice provided here when you try your hand at home improvement.

TIP! Apply a glaze to your bathroom to improve its looks. It can really make it look brand new! Plus it?s a much cheaper choice than replacing all of those older fixtures and flooring; a bathroom can be glazed for just a couple of hundred dollars.

One home improvement project that can increase the home?s value is finishing the basement. Finished basements add livable square footage for higher property values and greater enjoyment. Shop around for the best values to keep costs down. Actually finishing your basement can up the value of your home by 30 percent or more.

TIP! Avoid allowing contractors to work on your house without signing a contract. If possible, get a lawyer to look at the contract before work begins.

Watch for offers from flooring stores and home improvement stores that will save you money on installation fees. To encourage people to buy carpet, they will quote low installation costs. When you see this type of sale, it?s time to move as often full-priced installation can cost more than the carpet itself.

TIP! When considering a bathroom upgrade, think about making the room handicap-accessible. Although it is not necessary to completely convert the bathroom now, preparing it for future adaptations as you grow older will be very convenient.

It?s a good idea to have a professional take a look at your existing floors before you commit yourself to the expensive proposition of installing all-new hardwood. Sometimes you may have beautiful, natural hardwood hiding underneath layers of carpet or linoleum that is just waiting to be refinished. If this is the case, you?ll just need to strip the old carpet or flooring and refinish the natural floor underneath.

TIP! Enlist the help of a professional for electrical improvements. They?ll know what they?re doing and suggest the best plan of action.

An easy, inexpensive way to keep your house (and your feet) toasty warm is to add a heat source beneath your tiled floors. If you are already planning to install tile floors, talk to a flooring person about using radiant heat. The sales person will be able to guide you on which type of flooring should be used as well as the options available for radiant heating. When you are ready to sell your home, this will be an attractive feature for potential buyers.

TIP! Dormer windows can make use of extra attic space that would otherwise go unused. This will improve the look of your house from the outside and give you much more attic space inside.

As stated before in the beginning of this article, many people are interested in home improvement, but give up after finding it too difficult to do. It is not hard if you are armed with the right know-how. It can be simple if you use this article?s advice.

Source: http://greenhomegreenbusinessplanet.com/home-improvement-projects-made-simple/

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Shane Lowry keeps right on rolling at Match Play

MARANA, Ariz. (AP) ? Shane Lowry said it would be one of the great days of his career if he were to beat Rory McIlroy in the Match Play Championship.

He just didn't want that to be the end of his week.

Lowry became a footnote in the 15-year history of this most fickle golf tournament on Friday when he became the first No. 64 seed to make it into the third round. It's difficult enough to knock off the No. 1 player in the world. The difficult part is to come back to earth and keep playing golf, and the Irishman did that with a game that was as brilliant as the sunshine on Dove Mountain.

He made five birdies in 13 holes, the last one carrying him to a 6-and-5 win over Carl Pettersson.

"I went out for dinner with the lads, my caddie and a few other guys, and I found it quite hard to sleep last night," Lowry said. "I was on such a high. There was people, lots of phone calls and texts and stuff. But I managed to get to sleep and get a few hours.

"Got up this morning, spoke to my coach for quite a while on the phone and just reminded myself that it was only the first round. The second round is today and just go out and look forward to it and enjoy every minute of it, and that's what I did."

Two days after dispatching one Irish friend, Lowry gets another Saturday morning.

Next up is Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, who is in the same management stable as Lowry. McDowell, Lowry and McIlroy had dinner together Tuesday night at a rustic outpost called Lil Abners Steakhouse, and they planned to go back Thursday night ? minus McIlroy, who is back in Florida.

And if he were to take down McDowell, Lowry could even do damage to yet another Irishman. Lowry needed to win two matches Saturday to move into the top 50 in the world and qualify for the next World Golf Championship at Doral in two weeks, though that would mean bumping Padraig Harrington out of the top 50.

It's a lot to digest, even with his appetite.

McDowell was happy just to get to Saturday after watching Alex Noren of Sweden turn in a terrific putting performance, including an 8-foot slider on the 17th hole to take the lead. McDowell answered with a 9-iron into 4 feet for birdie on the 18th, and then he won in 20 holes when Noren couldn't escape from the desert.

"If Rory didn't intimidate him, I suppose what chance do I have?" McDowell said. "It's going to be a great match. He's a quality player. We practiced together this week. I took the money in practice. Hopefully, I can continue that role tomorrow."

The Match Play Championship is the most exciting two days in golf, though it slows with each round as half the field is eliminated.

In this case, most of the stars are already gone.

One day after McIlroy and Tiger Woods went home, more top seeds followed Friday when golf's most unpredictable tournament served up another reminder that the only time the word "upset" should be used is to describe the guys who are no longer playing.

Luke Donald, the No. 3 seed who is regarded among the best in match play, suffered his worst loss in 25 matches at this tournament. Louis Oosthuizen (No. 4) and Justin Rose (No. 5) never even reached the 17th tee when it was time for them to leave.

When another wild day ended at Dove Mountain, Masters champion Bubba Watson was the last man standing among the top 10 seeds.

"This game ... it's a toss-up," Watson said after going 22 holes to beat Jim Furyk. "You can't really judge who's going to win, or bet who's going to win. It really means nothing, is what I'm saying."

At least he's still playing, even though he made it hard on himself.

Watson missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that would have won the match. He missed another 5-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole. He had to stand to the side of the green as Furyk stood over a 12-foot putt to win the match. Given new life, Watson finally advanced to the third round.

It was the first time since this World Golf Championship began in 1999 that only one top-10 seed was remaining after two rounds.

"I think we're beyond surprises, in this event especially," McDowell said. "Anybody can have a great day and anybody can have a tough day. It's what makes the game exciting, and it's what makes this game extremely fickle and extremely frustrating."

Donald, who birdied his last two holes Thursday to win his opening match, didn't know what hit him.

Scott Piercy won the first three holes, and if that wasn't enough, he hit a 4-iron into the cup for eagle on the fifth hole and was on his way to a 7-and-6 win, a margin known as a "dog license" in Britain. Back in the day, it used to cost 7 schillings and six pence.

Robert Garrigus never trailed against Oosthuizen ? Garrigus hasn't trailed at all this week ? and sounded as though he had penciled himself into the final.

"I looked at all the guys in my bracket and I was like, 'I can beat him. I can beat him. And I can beat him.' If I'm playing well and putting well, I'm going to be hard to beat. And a lot of guys will tell you that, too, because I hit the ball in the fairway. Because these fairways are huge, and if I can keep it out of the bushes, I'll be all right out here."

He'll find out Saturday morning against Jason Day, who overcame a clutch putt on the 18th hole to beat PGA Tour rookie Russell Henley on the 19th.

In other matches:

? Defending champion Hunter Mahan had an easy time with Richard Sterne to win his eighth straight match, and next faces the last player to beat him in this event: Martin Kaymer, who defeated Rafael Cabrera Bello of Spain.

? U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to beat Peter Hanson. He plays Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who easily handled that other giant killer, Charles Howell III, the winner over Woods.

? Steve Stricker came out of retirement and knocked out Nick Watney on the 21st hole. It was the first time Watney has failed to reach the third round in this tournament, though it wasn't from a lack of effort. He birdied four of the last six holes to force overtime, scrambled for par from a desert bush on the second extra hole and ended his long day with a bogey to lose. Stricker next plays Piercy.

? Ian Poulter built a big lead over Bo Van Pelt and hung on to win on the 17th hole. Poulter is the No. 11 seed and faces Tim Clark of South Africa

"I played the type of golf that's going to be tough to beat," said Poulter, the 2010 Match Play champion. "I had seven birdies, no bogeys, and when you play like that, then obviously it's going to be a tough day for him."

The tough part for Van Pelt was leaving. He later tweeted that he had to remove golf tees from his bag to meet the 50-pound weight limit for luggage on the flight home.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shane-lowry-keeps-rolling-match-play-081423430--spt.html

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Governors: Looming cuts threaten economic gains

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, left, leads fellow Democratic Governors Associations members along the driveway of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, following their meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. From left are, Shumlin, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Vermont Gov. Maggie Hassan, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, center, accompanied by fellow members of the Democratic Governors Associations, speaks outside the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, following their meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. From left are, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, Virgin Islands Gov. John De Jongh, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Hassan, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, center, accompanied by fellow members of the Democratic Governors Associations, looks up to the overcast sky, outside the White House in Washington, Feb. 22, 2013, following their meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. From left are, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, Virgin Island Gov. John de Jongh, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Hickenlooper, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, accompanied by other members of the Democratic Governors Associations, speaks outside the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, following their meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Governors are becoming prominent voices in the fight to cut the federal deficit, warning that Capitol Hill's latest budget stalemate is causing fresh uncertainty that threatens economic progress.

State leaders attending the annual meeting of the National Governors Association joined ranks Friday to condemn the massive automatic spending cuts that are set to begin March 1.

The Obama administration said failure to avert the cuts could lead to widespread flight delays, shuttered airports, off-limit seashores and the furloughing of hundreds of thousands employees.

"It is not helpful when Congress and the president and the administration have such partisan gridlock," said Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican and former member of Congress. "Because their gridlock has real repercussions on the families ... it has real repercussions on our states and our economies."

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said the nation "cannot afford to put at risk jobs and the recovery."

"The only thing that's standing in the way of prosperity right now is the games being played by the Republicans in Congress," he said following a meeting between Democratic governors and President Barack Obama.

At their weekend meetings, governors planned to focus on jobs and the economy, gun control and the new health care law.

Some Republican governors have blocked the use of Medicaid to expand health insurance coverage for millions of the uninsured. Others have joined Democrats in a wholesale expansion as the law allows. For many governors, there's a pervasive sense of frustration with Washington.

"My feeling is I can't help what's going on in Washington," Gov. Terry Branstad, R-Iowa, said in an interview Saturday. "I can't help the fact that there's no leadership here and it's all politics as usual and gridlock. But I can do something about the way we do things in the state of Iowa."

No issue carries the same level of urgency as the budget impasse.

Congressional leaders have indicated a willingness to let the cuts take effect and stay in place for weeks, if not much longer.

The cuts would trim $85 billion in domestic and defense spending, leading to furloughs for hundreds of thousands of workers at the Transportation Department, Defense Department and elsewhere.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the cuts would harm the readiness of U.S. fighting forces.

Obama has stepped up efforts to tell the public about the negative impact, and tried to pressure Republicans who oppose his approach of targeted savings and tax increases to tackle deficits.

Republicans responded sharply to the president's fresh demand to include higher taxes as part of a compromise.

"Spending is the problem, spending must be the focus," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said "there won't be any easy off-ramps on this one. The days of 11th hour negotiations are over."

But governors aren't yet resigned to the worst-case scenario.

"I think there should be limited government, but I don't like random changes. If you look at my budget, I didn't do across the board cuts," said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican. "I think you should be more strategic."

The looming cuts were never supposed to happen. They were intended to be a fallback in case a special deficit reduction committee failed to come up with $1 trillion or more in savings from benefit programs.

While Washington Republicans blame the White House for creating the plan, they joined Democrats in voting it into law.

There was little Obama-bashing from Republican governors on Friday. But there was plenty of frustration.

___

Online:

National Governors Association: http://www.nga.org

___

Follow Steve Peoples at: http://twitter.com/sppeoples and Ken Thomas at: http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-23-Budget%20Battle-Governors/id-9dc9c07e994d4b13ba34ecc1128ee865

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New London police investigate robbery of wine store

Izaskun E. Larraneta

New London ? Police are investigating the Thursday evening robbery of the Wine Merchant store at 88 Broad St.

Police said a white man entered the store around 6:52 p.m., ran around the counter and stole an undisclosed amount of cash. No threat was made and no weapon was displayed.

No injuries were reported.

Police searched the area but did not find the suspect. He is described as being around 30 years old and is about 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (860) 447-5269.

Source: http://www.theday.com/article/20130222/NWS04/130229886/1069/rss

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Gun Activists Say: Obama Is Raising a Private Black Army to Massacre White People (Little green footballs)

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| Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/286756655?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Explaining the Complete Local SEO Strategy | Annzo Corporation ...

Annzo Corporation: Do you have those local business strategies that target normal customer on daily basis? Local business owners need to understand what are the consumer ranges that they are going to target such as middle income or high income consumers because it will affect how your business will progress. When you deal with promoting your local business ?locally? most likely you go with banners or ads on local newspapers. Or going a little further you can get on to free community services campaign where you can introduce your business products and services. But the question here is how much effective these offline techniques will be for your ?local? business? When dealing with business today where market is very competitive and it?s much tougher to pull potential customers towards internet marketing has stepped in as a new potential way with more effective techniques. Local search engine optimization is one of the cost effective way when dealing with internet marketing because it?s mostly related to local businesses online. Let see here what are the techniques to promote your ?local? business through Local SEO optimization:

1)????? Keywords optimization for better results: keywords are the most important part of local SEO strategy because they are the jargons by which your potential business services are reached to the right customer on right time. Keywords should be integrated with careful means of operations and with an expert help. (tips: Keywords should always be associated with residential name or city name because it will increase your potential to show up on searches)

Explaining the Complete Local SEO Strategy

2)????? On-site optimization for local SEO: Once you?ve put together a list with the right keywords, the next thing you need to do is optimize your site for local search. To let search engines know the location you?re targeting, start by adding geo-specific information and keywords in your title and Meta descriptions.

3)????? Get on all local Directories: Google maps listings is one of the biggest and most successful example of online directories. They say that being not register with Google is like missing a big chunk of successful local SEO and that is actually true. Google covers almost 80% of internet and is the most searched engines use through the world. The first thing you need to do is add or claim your business on Google Places. Add as much information as you can to your profile and be sure to upload photos as well.? After you?ve added all the necessary information about your business, you will need to verify your business. You have two options ? either verify immediately by phone or wait for two to three weeks for a postcard by mail.

4)????? Social engines are a must: Local search engine optimization is a very broad term which accumulates a lot of different sorts of ways online to promote your services organically. But that requires some effort and knowledge in order to get more aware of what?s more in demand by online consumers. Social engines are very beneficial for local businesses in terms of making your business more profound through a direct and more opened business forum. And can help you attain your success through getting involve with your online customers socially.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://blog.annzocorporation.com/explaining-the-complete-local-seo-strategy.html

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