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- 16/07/12

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New York Post eyes shielding Murdoch talks over chimp cartoon
(Reuters: Top News)

Nicky Hayden: No regrets crash.net


(Andrea Rossi - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 12:21:06 PM

irrelevant to the lawsuit brought by Sandra Guzman, a former Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:38:04 PM associate editor. CEO of News Corp Rupert In November 2009, Guzman, Murdoch attends the Allen & Co who is black and Puerto Rican, Media Conference in Sun Valley, sued the Post, its editor Col Allan Idaho July 13, 2012. and its parent News Corp for Credit: Reuters/Jim Urquhart alleged discrimination and By Jonathan Stempel harassment on the basis of race, Sun Jul 15, 2012 4:38pm EDT gender and national origin, saying (Reuters) - The New York Post is she had been fired in retaliation seeking to keep its top editor from for complaints over inappropriate having to answer questions in a conduct. bias lawsuit about his discussions She also claimed to have objected w i t h m e d i a m o g u l R u p e r t to the cartoon, which referred to Murdoch over a published cartoon the $787 billion federal economic that appeared to liken President stimulus and depicted a policeman Barack Obama to a chimpanzee. shooting a crazed chimpanzee, a Calling the February 2009 reference to an actual incident in cartoon "quintessential political Connecticut. speech entitled to the strongest Many people thought the animal p r o t e c t i o n s o f t h e F i r s t was meant to depict Obama, and Amendment," the newspaper in a Murdoch later apologized to court filing late Friday night also readers. s a i d t h e d i s c u s s i o n s w e r e In a June 29 order, Magistrate [unable to retrieve full-text content] [unable to retrieve full-text content]

Judge Ronald Ellis in Manhattan had ordered Allan, in a two-hour deposition, to answer questions, including over whether he told Murdoch he disagreed with publishing an apology, and whether he thought Murdoch believed it was a mistake to do so. But in Friday's filing, the defendants argued that the order would let Guzman breach "the heart of the editorial process," and asked District Judge Barbara Jones to reverse it. The defendants said the cartoon was intended to mock Congress' drafting of stimulus legislation and made no reference to race. They also called Guzman's request "nothing more than a fishing expedition that would invade and chill the editor's and newspaper's First Amendment rights to political expression." "We have maintained from the [unable to retrieve full-text content]

very beginning that the New York Post assertion of an editorial privilege was baseless," Guzman's lawyer Kenneth Thompson said in a phone interview on Sunday. "We now look forward to bringing Col Allan back to answer our questions." The case is Guzman v News Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-09323. (Reporting By Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Gunna Dickson) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

BSN Nicky Hayden: No regrets crash.net That allowed team-mate Valentino Rossi to pass and Hayden lost a further positron to Yamaha Tech 3's Cal Crutchlow before the end of the lap. I got a good start, but I was spinning a lot in the beginning, and I thought I was going to destroy the tyre... Rossi: Mugello proves Ducati on target Yahoo! Eurosport UK MotoGP Mugello: 'I can fight for the podium' declares Rossi BSN QP: a Ducati on row 1, but it's Barbera GPone English The Checkered Flag all 83 news articles

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When Did Romney Step Back From Bain? It's Complicated - New York Times
NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and MICHAEL D. SHEAR (Top Stories - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:39:07 PM

When Mitt Romney was running for governor of Massachusetts a decade ago, Democrats went before a state commission to demand that he be struck from the ballot. Their argument: After taking over the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, he had ceased to live and work in Massachusetts, the state where he had built Bain Capital into one of the leading private equity firms in the world. Mr. Romneys team was just as insistent in arguing the opposite. For 30 years, his lawyer argued, the center of his social, civic and business life has been in this commonwealth. Now, amid the heat of the presidential campaign and unrelenting attacks from Democrats over Mr. Romneys tenure at Bain, the three-year sojourn in Utah has again become the source of controversy but with the positions reversed. President Obama and the Democrats are questioning whether Mr. Romney really left Bain in February 1999, when he took over the Olympics. And Mr. Romney and the Republicans are insisting that he ended his day-today management role at Bain after

taking the Olympics job. At stake is whether Democrats can hold Mr. Romney responsible for a series of now-controversial investments Bain made during the period in question, including in companies that specialized in outsourcing, laid off some of their workers or declared bankruptcy. Mr. Romney faced a barrage of attacks over the issue on Sunday, as well as new demands, even from Republicans, that he release more tax returns. Democrats have seized on Mr. Romneys Bain ties as a test of his credibility, suggesting that he is evading responsibility for his leadership of Bain. The attacks have thrust Mr. Romneys three-year leave to the center of the presidential campaign, questioning a central component of Mr. Romneys case for election that his business experience gives him the experience to steer the economy on the right course while putting his campaign on the defensive when it could be attacking Mr. Obamas job record. On Sunday, Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to Mr. Romney, told CNN that the candidate had retired retroactively from Bain more than two years after leaving in 1999, an example of how the complexity of Mr. Romneys business has proved difficult to

explain in the simple terms favored by political campaigns. The complications arise in part from the ways in which Bain was organized. When Bain Capital was originally created, Mr. Romney was given full control of the private equity firms new management company, Bain Capital Inc. When Mr. Romney went on leave in 1999, he retained ownership of that entity and with it, in theory at least, the power to control Bain Capitals funds. At the time, Mr. Romney appeared to be leaving open the possibility that he would return to Bain. His leave was originally characterized as part time, and he told The Boston Herald in 1999 that he would be providing input on investment and personnel decisions in his absence. Campaign and company officials now say that the Olympics job quickly became all-consuming and that Mr. Romney delegated his management powers to the active partners, most of them longtime friends and colleagues. And in recent years, Mr. Romney has been far more definitive in characterizing his departure. Since Feb. 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital

entity in any way, reads a footnote to Mr. Romneys most recent federal financial disclosures. Yet because he retained technical control of Bain Capitals management and because his wealth remained heavily tied up with the firm, Mr. Romneys name or signature appears on dozens of documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission between February 1999 and August 2001, when he finalized a retirement deal with the active Bain partners and transferred to them his shares of Bains management entity. Mitts name were on the documents as the chief executive and sole owner of the company, Edward W. Conard, a Bain partner at the time, said during an appearance on MSNBC on Sunday. And it took several years for us to sort out how to put the management team in place. All told, Mr. Romneys name appears on at least 142 such forms, some of which have been the subject of news coverage in recent days, fueling questions about whether Mr. Romney ever really left. One such form, posted last week by Talking Points Memo, lists Mr. Romneys principal occupation as managing director of Bain Capital Investors VI Inc., a

private equity fund. Some of the filings reflect the complex nature of private equity funds: each Bain fund was run by a separate general partnership one that included all of Bains executives that in turn was legally controlled by Mr. Romney through his management entity. Its a disconnect between the ownership interest and managerial functions, said Harvey L. Pitt, who served as S.E.C. chairman under President George W. Bush. When Bain takes positions in public companies, theyre required to show anyone who has an ownership interest that could be the effective equivalent of control. So Romney has to be shown on those filings. If they didnt show them on those filings, they would have broken the law. But it has nothing to do with whos actually running Bain Capital. Indeed, no evidence has yet emerged that Mr. Romney exercised his powers at Bain after February 1999 or directed the funds investments after he left, although his campaign has declined to say if he attended any meetings or had any other contact with Bain during the period. And financial disclosures filed with the Massachusetts ethics commission WHEN page 9

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Syria Denies Attack on Civilians, in Crisis Seen as Civil War - New York Times
NEIL MacFARQUHAR (Top Stories - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:42:09 PM

D. Leal Olivas/Agence FrancePresse Getty Images A woman and her grandson in Tremseh, where dozens died on Thursday. A Syrian official said the attack there was against armed opponents of the government. BEIRUT, Lebanon The Syrian government denied on Sunday that it had used heavy weapons to attack a small farming community, although United Nations monitors documented substantial destruction in the village, Tremseh, in an attack that left scores dead and drew sharp international condemnation. In the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Sunday, some of the heaviest fighting yet experienced there erupted in a neighborhood about a 20-minute drive southwest of the city center, with activists calling it the first time government forces have shelled rebel holdouts in the capital. With continual fighting across Syria, replacing what had been separate pockets that flared repeatedly, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced in Geneva on Sunday that the conflict could now be classified as a civil war. In Damascus, in a news

conference broadcast by Syrian state television, Jihad Makdissi, a spokesman for the Syrian Foreign Ministry, said the violence in Tremseh on Thursday was a military operation against armed opponents of the government. What happened was not an

attack on civilians, Mr. Makdissi told reporters in Damascus, saying that the use of heavy weapons against such a small area would have been impossible. What has been said about the use of heavy weapons is baseless. He announced a death toll of 39,

of whom he said 2 were civilians. Activists initially said the death toll was above 200, but revised it downward to a list of 103 victims, overwhelmingly young male adults. Mr. Makdissi said that the rapid international condemnation of the

attack was premature. The first reports described it as a massacre of civilians, but the incomplete portrait that has emerged since has indicated that it was a lopsided military confrontation in SYRIA page 8

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In Cairo, Clinton Treads Lightly Amid Egypt's Fractious Political Factions - New York Times
KAREEM FAHIM (Top Stories Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:54:06 PM

Pool photo by Brendan Smialowski Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walked with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, to their meeting at the Egyptian Ministry of Defense on Sunday. CAIRO Several prominent Egyptian Christians boycotted a meeting on Sunday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, objecting to what they said was interference by the United States in Egypts politics in order to aid an Islamist rise to power. Clergy members and other who did attend complained to Mrs. Clinton that the United States seemed to be siding with Egypts newly elected president, Mohamed Morsi, a former leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, in his power struggle with the countrys military council. Though there is little evidence that Mr. Morsi needed American help gaining power, or received it, the complaints reflect persistent concerns among Christians about Islamist rule and underscore the difficulties Mrs. Clinton has faced

during her two-day visit to Cairo, treading through the minefield of a transition laden with political feuds and ideological splits. Constrained by an almost complete mistrust of the United

States motives in Egypt, Mrs. Clinton has sought to use her only leverage economic assistance to try to coax the military and Mr. Morsi toward resolving their rift. While the Obama

administration has often called for along with respect for minority a speedy transition to civilian rule, rights. Mrs. Clinton avoided making any After meeting Mr. Morsi on specific public prescriptions here, Saturday, Mrs. Clinton sat down favoring language instead that CAIRO, page 7 called for Egyptian solutions

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Fiercest fighting yet reported inside Damascus


(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:00:35 PM

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT| Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:00pm EDT (Reuters) - Opposition fighters battled Syrian government forces in Damascus into the early hours of Monday in what residents described as the fiercest fighting yet inside the capital. Activists said the fighting spread from the south of the city to a second area as night fell. At least five people were killed and dozens wounded, locals said. The spread of fighting came as U.N. peace mediator Kofi Annan was due to fly to Moscow for a two-day visit in which he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin who has resisted Western calls to increase pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Numerous Damascus residents contacted by Reuters said they could hear loud explosions, persistent gunfire and sirens wailing overnight, and described the fighting as the worst so far of the 17-month uprising against Assad. Thick black smoke was visible above the Damascus skyline in live Internet video links. Government troops closed the airport road, activists said.

"I can't believe it, it sounds incredibly close. I hear shooting and other stuff, like blasts. I can hear the sounds of ambulances rushing past. I am so afraid. People may die tonight," said a resident contacted by telephone in a district close to the fighting. Activist Samir al-Shami, who spoke to Reuters by Skype from Damascus, said the fighting was under way in the al-Tadamon district in the capital's south, after sustained battles began at nightfall on Saturday in the nearby Hajar al -Aswad district. "There is the sound of heavy gunfire. And there is smoke rising from the area. There are already some wounded and residents are trying to flee the area," he said, using Skype to show live video images of smoke visible over the skyline. "There are also armored vehicles heading towards the southern part of the neighborhood," he said. Another activist reached by Skype said the fighting later spread to al-Lawan, a neighborhood on the southwestern outskirts of the capital. A third activist, who also asked not to be identified, said: "We've been expecting things to worsen in Damascus after the army crushed the rebellions in some of the suburbs, like Douma outside

the capital. There were thousands of fighters in some of those suburbs. Some of them were killed but a lot of them fled and they've been heading to the capital itself." ABLAZE Some residents said the fighting eased slightly as the night wore on but many protests in support of the opposition were staged in the poorer neighborhoods of Damascus. One local, who gave his name as Tarek, said residents set tires ablaze to distract the security forces and relieve pressure on the fighters in Tadamon. The government restricts access to the country by independent media, making verification of events difficult. Annan is travelling to Moscow days after opposition reports of a new massacre prompted a fresh wave of denunciations in the West where there are hopes Putin might ease his support for Assad. But Moscow has shown no public sign of wavering in its backing for its last major Arab ally, a customer for its arms and host to a Russian naval support base. Along with China, Russia has blocked tougher U.N. Security Council action and the West has shown no appetite for the kind of intervention it undertook last year

when NATO helped topple Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. Annan said on Friday he was "shocked and appalled" at the government for breaking a promise not to use heavy weapons in populated areas, and that it was confirmed that helicopters and artillery had fired on the village of Tremseh. Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi criticized Annan for jumping to conclusions by accepting opposition reports of the incident last week. "What happened was not a massacre ... what happened was a military operation," Makdissi told a news conference in Damascus. "Government forces did not use planes, or helicopters, or tanks or artillery." U.N. observers returned to the village on Sunday to gather more evidence at the site after finding signs that artillery was used but inconclusive evidence of the scale of the killing. The Syrian government said it killed several dozen enemy fighters in battle in Tremseh but denied accusations that it carried out a massacre or that its forces used heavy weapons. Opposition footage of the incident on the Internet has shown bloody corpses of men, but not

women or children, making it difficult to determine whether those killed were fighters. Sander van Hoorn, a Dutch journalist who reached Tremseh, said by Twitter that he had counted 30 graves in the town and had seen clear evidence of shelling, including of a school used as a shelter by refugees. He said the evidence on the ground clearly contradicted the government's assertion that no heavy weapons were used. But he also said he had not yet seen signs of a massacre like one that took place in the city of Houla in May, when the United Nations says 34 women and 49 children were among 108 people killed. (Additional reporting by Marwam Makdesi in Damascus and Yeganeh Torbati in Dubai.; Writing by Peter Graff and Robin Pomeroy; editing by Christopher Wilson) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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Obama says he won't apologize for Bain attacks


(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 2:26:26 PM

By Andy Sullivan and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON| Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:26pm EDT (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will not apologize to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for raising questions about his tenure and the timing of his departure from private equity firm Bain Capital, the Democrat said in an interview published on Sunday. Romney demanded an apology last week after Obama's campaign suggested he may have broken the law by misrepresenting his position at private-equity firm Bain Capital, part of an assault on the former executive's business career and personal wealth that may be hurting him in the polls. "No, we won't be apologizing," Obama said in an interview with a Virginia television station WAVY. "Mr. Romney claims that he's Mr. Fix-it for the economy because of his business experience. And so I think voters entirely legitimately want to know, well what exactly was that business experience?" Obama said.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Obama's former chief of staff, was more succinct. "Stop whining," Emmanuel said on ABC's "This Week" program. "If you want to claim Bain Capital as your calling card to the White House, then defend what happened at Bain Capital." Romney has argued that the economic expertise he developed as an investor, manager and consultant make him a better choice than Obama to kick-start an economy that has been slow to recover from the 2007-2009 financial crisis. But Romney's record at Bain is also shaping up to be something of a liability. Democrats have highlighted companies that went bankrupt or shipped jobs overseas under Bain's ownership to argue that Romney is only concerned with helping his fellow millionaires, not working people. Romney's campaign has said he should not be held responsible for many of those decisions because they occurred after he took a leave of absence from Bain in February 1999 to oversee the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. But Romney continued to claim in regulatory filings that he was still in charge of Bain through

2002, according to documents that have surfaced over the past week. Bain and Romney officials say it took several years to sort out the terms of his departure but that he was not involved with the company's day-to-day operations during that time. "He actually retired retroactively at that point. He ended up not going back to the firm after his time in Salt Lake City," Romney senior adviser Ed Gillespie said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. DISTRACTION? Obama's campaign has accused Romney of being responsible for the firing of workers and bankruptcies at Bain-owned companies during those years. "So, you know, as president of the United States, one of the things I've learned ... was anything that happens on my watch is my responsibility. That's what people expect. Harry Truman said 'the buck stops with me' and I think, understandably, people are going to be interested in are you (Romney) in fact responsible for this company that you say is one of your primary calling cards for your wanting to be president," Obama sad in the interview. An Obama spokeswoman

suggested last week that Romney could have committed a felony if he signed forms saying he was in charge of Bain when he was not -which prompted the apology demand from Romney. Democrats have also criticized Romney for setting up bank accounts in offshore tax havens and refusing to release more information about a personal fortune that is worth as much as $250 million. The attacks may be resonating with voters at a time when Romney is still largely undefined in the eyes of the public. Several polls released in June found that Romney's negative ratings have risen in states where Obama and Democratic groups have attacked the former Massachusetts governor. Romney allies said the attacks were an attempt to distract voters' attention from the fact that Obama has failed to counter high unemployment and sluggish economic growth during his three and a half years in the White House. "The president can talk all he want about this, but it's the economy and jobs that are going to address this election," Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte,

seen as a possible vice presidential running mate for Romney, said on ABC's "This Week" program. The Romney campaign released a new television ad relying on footage of journalists talking about how Obama's negative tactics this year contrasted sharply with the message of hope and change he campaigned on four years ago. "This is not the candidate of hope and change, this is a candidate who is hoping to change the subject," Republican Representative Paul Ryan, another possible vice presidential candidate, said on CBS's "Face the Nation." (Additional reporting by Paul Simao and Jason Lange; Editing by Paul Simao and Sandra Maler) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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CAIRO,
continued from page 4

on Sunday morning with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the leader of the military council that took power after President Hosni Mubarak was deposed last year. The military still retains broad legislative and executive authority, having seized further powers before the presidential election in June. After the meeting, which lasted a little over an hour, a senior State Department official said Field Marshal Tantawi and Mrs. Clinton had discussed the economy, regional security, the political transition and the militarys ongoing dialogue with President Morsi. Field Marshal Tantawi stressed that Egyptians need help getting the economy back on track, the official said. The secretary stressed the importance of protecting the rights of all Egyptians, including women and minorities. But just hours after the meeting, Mrs. Clinton appeared to have achieved little reconciliation between the two sides. Field Marshal Tantawi, addressing a military ceremony, seemed eager to revive his dispute with Mr. Morsi, who was traveling in Ethiopia. Egypt will not fall, he said. It is for all Egyptians, not for a certain group the armed forces will not allow that. The

comments were widely interpreted as referring to the Muslim Brotherhood. Later on Sunday, in a break from politics, Mrs. Clinton met with young entrepreneurs, marveling at one mans proposal to build a Web site connecting doctors with patients. This is an idea thats going to spread beyond Egypt, she told the man, Mostafa Nageeb, 21. Her afternoon meeting with the leaders of Egypts Coptic Christian minority touched on one of the transitions rawest nerves: the fear of some Christian leaders and more secular-minded politicians that Mr. Morsi and his allies will move swiftly to lay the foundations of a pious, Muslim state. Those anxieties have caused some liberals and Coptic leaders to support the military in its feud with the Brotherhood and to call on the generals to keep power, at least until new elections for Parliament can be held. In trying to ease the Islamists grip on government, liberals have also been accused of being content to subvert the will of Egyptians, who voted a majority of Islamists into Parliament. And despite the Islamists repeated successes at the ballot box, some have continued to implicate the United States.

Youssef Sidhom, who attended the round-table afternoon meeting with Mrs. Clinton at the American Embassy here, said some of the discomfort was rooted in the timing of United States statements on Egypt, which seemed to bless democracy just as Islamists were winning. She kept repeating and assuring us that she has no intention to take sides, said Mr. Sidhom, who edits a newspaper that deals with Coptic concerns. He said the discussions had been frank, with Mrs. Clinton noting the Brotherhoods political skills and talking to the Christian leaders about becoming a more organized political force. A senior State Department official, speaking of meetings on Sunday with entrepreneurs, womens groups and Christian leaders, said Mrs. Clinton was trying to make absolutely clear where we stand on this political transition, which is that we support a full transition to civilian democratic rule and a constitution that protects the human rights and freedoms of all Egyptians. In Egypts current muddled politics, though, those goals are hard to reconcile. Revolutionary groups and human rights activists have warned that continued involvement by the military, which many people here accuse of

staging a de facto coup, would undermine the Constitutions legitimacy. But others, including Christian leaders Mrs. Clinton met with on Sunday, see the military as the only guarantor of a constitution that protects minority rights. She can say what she wants concerning the issue, said Emad Gad, a former member of Parliament who said he had refused to attend the meeting with Mrs. Clinton. We are living in an unstable period. If the SCAF goes back to its barracks, he said, referring to the military council by its initials, the Brotherhood will control everything. Its an Egyptian issue, Mr. Gad said. Its not for the secretary of state. Mai Ayyad contributed reporting. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Under Diplomatic Strain, Japan Recalls Envoy in Dispute With China Over Islands - New York Times
(china - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:42:59 PM

China Daily Under Diplomatic Strain, Japan Recalls Envoy in Dispute With China Over Islands New York Times Japan temporarily recalled its ambassador to China on Sunday in response to renewed friction over a disputed island group, at a time when it faces discord over sex slaves from World War II. Japan's ambassador to China returns for talks amid new fight over islands Washington Post Japan Recalls Ambassador to China Amid Rising Tensions Pittsburgh Post Gazette Japan's China Ambassador Returns for Consultations ABC News all 164 news articles

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SYRIA
continued from page 3

which scores of rebel fighters were slaughtered. Gen. Robert Mood, the leader of the United Nations observer mission in Syria, said on Friday that monitors stationed near Tremseh saw the army using heavy weaponry and attack helicopters. Independent verification of events in Syria is often impossible, because the government bars most foreign news media and international nongovernmental organizations from operating in the country. Reports by the United Nations monitoring teams who visited both Saturday and Sunday, including their video footage, suggested that Tremseh, about 22 miles northwest of the central city of Hama, had been battered heavily by government forces. The observers who visited on Sunday counted more than 50 houses that had been burned or otherwise destroyed, with pools of blood and human remains seen in a number of them, the latest statement said. It said the team had interviewed 27 residents of the village, who confirmed that the attack started at 5 a.m. on Thursday with the village being shelled, followed by

a ground assault. The army conducted house-tohouse searches, demanding that males produce their identification cards. Some were killed on the spot, while others were taken away, the residents said, according to the United Nations statement. The attack appears targeted at army defectors and activists, the statement said. The United Nations also said the weaponry used against the village included artillery, mortars and small arms, with a doctor and his children among those killed when a mortar shell struck their house. The monitors said they were still unable to confirm the number of casualties, but repeated their demand that the Syrian government stop using heavy weapons on population centers. Mortar fire and rounds from heavy guns directed against the Damascus neighborhood of Tadamon could be heard throughout much of the center of the capital, activists said, in some of the heaviest fighting yet experienced in the capital. Black pillars of smoke that could be seen from afar rose above the area. Rebel fighters had found a

sympathetic hide-out there among the mostly poor Sunni Muslims who had settled from around Syria, activists said, as well as Palestinians spilling over from the adjacent Yarmouk neighborhood. Up to 40 rebel fighters had taken up residence, prompting periodic clashes, but three days ago the rebels attacked the police station, killing three officers, activists said. That apparently set off the heavy response from government forces against Tadamon and surrounding neighborhoods. Hundreds of residents fled the area to take refuge in the mosques in Yarmouk, activists said, and all the shops closed. We got used to seeing security men in their fourwheel vehicles and pickups, but today I saw soldiers in military uniform with heavy arms, said Yasser, a resident of Tadamon reached by telephone. I think the government of Bashar al-Assad began fighting well-armed fighters in the heart of Damascus. Another activist, Samir, reached via Skype, said, It was a real battle. The declaration by the Red Cross that the Syrian conflict constituted a civil war confirmed what many observers have already said.

of force was legally justifiable under international law, The Associated Press reported. Calling the conflict a civil war means that international humanitarian law applies, and it grants all parties in a conflict the right to use appropriate force to achieve their aims. The Red Cross assessment could also form the basis for future war crimes prosecutions and increase the legal consequences of any abuses. But it was not clear that it would have any concrete effect on the fighting. Dalal Mawad contributed reporting from Beirut, Hwaida Saad from Antakya, Turkey, and an employee of The New York Times from Damascus, Syria. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Motorcycling-Motorcycling Grand Prix Italy motogp The ruling could affect what use results - Reuters
(Andrea Rossi - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 9:13:12 AM

Motorcycling-Motorcycling Grand Prix Italy motogp results Reuters Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha 41:37.477 2. Dani Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 41:42.700 3. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Yamaha 41:48.142 4. Stefan Bradl (Germany) Honda 41:48.188 5. Valentino Rossi(Italy) Ducati 41:49.172 6. Cal Crutchlow (Britain) Yamaha... Italian MotoGP grid positions Malaysia Star all 10 news articles

How China is tailoring policy for slowing growth MarketWatch


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Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:11:50 PM

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WHEN
continued from page 2

show that he drew at least $100,000 in 2001 from Bain Capital Inc. effectively his own till as a former executive and from other Bain entities as a passive general partner. An offering memorandum to investors in Bains seventh private equity fund that was circulated in June 2000 also suggests that Mr. Romney was no longer actively involved in managing firm investments at the time. The memorandum, first published by Fortune, provides background on the senior private equity investment professionals of Bain Capital. Eighteen managers are listed; Mr. Romney is not among them. On another filing with Massachusetts officials, Bain Capital listed all of Bains

directors and officers for 2001. The form lists Michael F. Goss as president, managing director and chief financial officer, along with seventeen other managing directors. Mr. Romney is not among them, suggesting that while he still owned Bains management company, he was not an officer of the company. By August 2001, Mr. Romney had announced that he would not return to Bain Capital. Talk was already swirling about a bid for Massachusetts governor; behind the scenes, Mr. Romney was negotiating his final departure from Bain. Mr. Romneys partners agreed to pay him a declining portion of the firms profits in buyout deals and other businesses for 10 years. The deal, signed in 2002, incorporated a

payout formula reflecting his passive role in the firm from February 1999 forward, officials said. Michael Luo and Kitty Bennett contributed reporting. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Korean Won Strengthens on China Stimulus Speculation; Bonds Fall - Bloomberg


(china - Google News)

The Weekend Is Over, And Corn Prices Are Soaring


Joe Weisenthal (Business Insider)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:44:18 PM

South Korea's won advanced for a second day as China's Premier Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:06:11 PM Wen Jiabao signaled further steps Korean Won Strengthens on are needed to support economic China Stimulus Speculation; growth. Government bonds fell Bonds Fall for the first time in four days. Bloomberg and more

This is the hottest bull market in the world: CORN! Thanks to the drought and the heat, corn prices are going through the roof, and in the opening of trading on this Sunday evening, prices per bushel are surging once again. Here's a look at September Corn futures via the CME:

Stepping back, you can see the big surge since mid-June. Most markets are quiet so far to start the week, but with drought and heat conditions in the farmbelt the worst in over 20 years, this is becoming a huge story. Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story

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Business/

Curated News Edition

Here's How Mormons Really Feel About Mitt Romney


Grace Wyler (Business Insider)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:34:03 PM

PALMYRA, N.Y. As thousands of Mormons descend on this tiny New York hamlet for this week's for the annual Hill Cumorah spectacle the flagship pageant of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Mitt Romney, the nation's first major-party Mormon presidential candidate, doesn't seem to be far from anyone's mind. Unsurprisingly, the sentiment about Romney is overwhelmingly positive, bordering on reverence while the accepted wisdom about Romney is that he is unable to truly inspire voters, that is patently untrue of the pageantgoers at Hill Cumorah. "I love him," Marolan Conti, a pageant attendee from Provo, Utah, told Business Insider. "Everyone loves Mitt." The main reason for her admiration, she said, is what she sees as his obvious devotion to his family, a core value of the LDS Church, and one often mentioned in my discussions about Romney with LDS members. "He has a good family family and the Constitution, those are the two most important things for us, for LDS members," Conti said. "You can tell a lot about people by the way they raise their

children, and from what I can tell his sons are good, down-to-earth people." People who know the Romney family have confirmed that perception, Conti said, adding that she has a good friend whose good friend's daughter is married to Tagg Romney, the eldest of Romney's sons, and says he is "just a great husband, a great father really down-to-earth." Conti's second-hand acquaintance with the Romneys is actually fairly common among members of the LDS Church, particularly those who live in Utah or whose families, like the Romneys, have belonged to the church for generations. "Everyone knows someone who knows someone" who knows the Romneys or their children, Conti said, explaining that he was wellknown among his fellow students when he attended Brigham Young University, where he taught his fellow students in "gospel principles," or LDS Church teachings. Robert L. Bentman, a 90-year-old pageant attendee from Salt Lake City, claims a more direct relationship with the Romneys. Mitt Romney's grandfather was the bishop of his ward (the rough equivalent of a Catholic parish), Bentman said, adding that he has "fond memories of him from my

named because of his position within the church, did express some reservations about Romney's personal wealth and about his record at Bain Capital. But he said he gives the candidate the benefit of the doubt. "I think Mitt believes that there is enough to go around for everyone," he said. But not everyone at the pageant was convinced. "I understand the appeal of the Democrats' side the idea of helping others who are less fortunate, that is more in line with what the church teaches," said David LaFrance, a pageant-goer who works in corporate finance. youth." good publicity opportunity for us, He added that he agrees with most Bentman said that he also had a not just nationally but also of Romney's policies. lot of interaction with Mitt internationally, to show off our But LaFrance, like many of the pageant-goers Business Insider R o m n e y ' s f a t h e r , G e o r g e city and our society." Romney, when both men held Even among pageant-attendees spoke to, said he welcomes the leadership positions within the who do not claim an acquaintance increased curiosity about the church, and that he got to know to Romney, there appeared to be a Church of Latter-Day Saints, and Mitt Romney when he took over general sense of familiarity with sees it as an opportunity to dispel running the Salt Lake City the candidate among pageant- some of the misconceptions about Mormons. Olympics (Bentman ran the senior goers. citizen volunteer program for "Do I know Mitt personally? No," "There are always going to be those Olympics). said one pageant attendee, who skeptics and critics, but the "I've always found him to be an holds a position with the church in exposure for the church is a net outstanding man," Bentman said, Salt Lake City. "But I know who positive overall," LaFrance said. of Mitt Romney. " He took over he is I know that he is a good "It gets people asking questions, the Olympics during a time of conservative, I know that he's a people are starting to get to know great debt, and he brought us out good dad I know that he's the our members." of it and made it profitableThat guy who can get this country back LaFrance's wife Lori added that was very important moment for on track." HERE'S page 11 the Church because it was such a This man, who declined to be

Curated News Edition

Business/

11

10 Hotels With Museum-Worthy Art Galleries


Oyster.com (Business Insider)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 4:52:00 PM

HERE'S
continued from page 10

Read the original post on Oyster.com. Theres a reason tourists flock to museums while on vacation: time goes by way too fast in the real world for individuals to set hours to wander an art gallery. And even if vacay is prime time to explore various museums wherever you may be, the galleries often come with long lines and pushy crowds. Thankfully, hotels are responding to the masses hunt for artistic expression. From intimate collections to large-scale galleries, many hotels play host to some excellent exhibitions with works by legends like Andy Warhol, Alison Shotz, and Henri Matisse, as well as up-and-coming local artists. Get your sketchpads out its time for a little artistic inspiration. The James Chicago One of Chicagos top luxury hotels, The James sometimes quirky aesthetic is modern, minimalist, and clever. Its appreciation of art and design is present throughout the lobby, which hosts small exhibitions

successful at raising the bar when it comes to hotel art. The Egerton House Hotel London This exquisite historical townhouse in the upscale London neighborhood of Knightsbridge boasts an opulent and elegant design aesthetic, as well as luxury features such as champagne on arrival and candles at turndown. And its art isnt too shabby, either. Egerton Houses notable collection, known as Art at the Edge, includes original works by Picasso, Chagall, and Matisse. Displayed throughout the hotel, the collection also includes such as Dan Gunns pieces, seen the vibe of its artsy neighbors to original lithographs from Henry above, and in its two art galleries. its premises. Its private art de Toulouse-Lautrec and turn-ofBoth local and international, collection, which is displayed the-century prints from the renowned and up-and-coming throughout the hallways, lobby, Illustrated London News, which artists can find their way into the bar, and restaurant, truly turns the ran from 1842 to 1971. This James, whose dedication to hotel into a mini-museum in its historical and artistic treasure trove is the perfect place to soak creative expression stems from own right. the artsy River North area it calls F e a t u r i n g t h e w o r k s o f in some culture over a cup of tea home. contemporary artists such as on your way to Harrods or a pint The St. Regis San Francisco Alison Rossiter, Hans Shule, Mari after a long business trip. See the rest of the story at Just steps from the San Francisco -Ruth Oda, and Chip Cooper, the Business Insider Museum of Modern Art and the hotel exudes a clean, 21st century Museum of the African Diaspora aesthetic without being cold. The Please follow The Life on Twitter (which also as an entrance in the works are interesting, chosen and Facebook. hotel lobby), the St. Regis extends carefully for each setting, and

she hopes people will start to realize that the church is not as secretive and rigid as it has been portrayed. "It's just people who are trying to live in the best way they can, following Christ," she said. John Sykes, a 22-year-old auto mechanic from New York, agreed. "Mitt puts the spotlight on Mormons," Sykes said. "Usually people think we're like Amish people, or that we practice polygamy, which Mormons haven't done in like a hundred years. This could show the rest of the country that we're normal, we just don't swear or drink." But some, like Corry and Wendy Orme, a married couple who performed in the pageant, expressed concern that Romney may not be the right candidate to carry the church into the spotlight. "I don't know a lot about Mitt Romney," Corry said. "We haven't really made up our minds yet just because someone shares my faith doesn't mean I am going to vote for them." "Like Barack Obama, Mitt could be a milestone for the church," he added. "I just hope it's the right milestone." Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story

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Business/ News Wire/ World News/ Sports/

Curated News Edition

Haiti's Housing Crisis: Relocated Is the housing Families Live in Worse Conditions market grinding to a halt? - BBC - South Florida Caribbean News
(housing - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:21:56 PM

Haiti's Housing Crisis: Relocated Families Live in Worse Conditions South Florida Caribbean News BOSTON - The Haitian

government housing program is a not a durable or sustainable solution to Haitian's tent-camp housing crisis, according to a survey of residents conducted by the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) and the Bureau des...

News

(housing - Google News)


Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:27:22 PM

Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News


(Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News)

Australia's fictional housing foundations - Business Spectator


(housing - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:52:05 PM

BBC News Is the housing market grinding to a halt? BBC News House sales are depressed and house prices are stagnant - will the market start picking up?

Australia's fictional housing foundations Business Spectator The government's peak body on

housing supply has shown again and again that it will fudge the data however possible to report a dwellings shortage. In the meantime, Australia's classic bubble goes unchecked. and more

Top Stories Human rights lawyer David Matas speaks with Malaysian medical professionals about state sanctioned organ harvesting in China. The parade called attention to the ongoing persecution of the practice in China, and the mass movement among Chinese people called Tuidang, where individuals are renouncing [...] Sudanese President Omar alBashir and his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir met in Ethiopia in an attempt to solve unresolved issues between the two countries in their first talks since April. The two presidents have

agreed and instructed their negotiating [...] Mainland security agents infiltrated the July 1 Hong Kong protest march during Hu Jintaos visit, a rights group says. Japanese soldiers and rescuers were dispatched to regions in the southern island of Kyushu after heavy rains caused floods and landslides. At least 26 people have been killed [...] This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Toll to push for injunction against group - Perth Now


(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:42:56 PM

Padres use 6 unearned runs to beat Dodgers 7-2


(Sports News Headlines Yahoo! News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:46:31 PM

BigPond News Toll to push for injunction against group Perth Now A TOLL Group lawyer says the

company will argue for an injunction against 26 people involved in a strike at a Coles warehouse despite only nine having been served with legal papers. Lawyer Maree Norton told the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday nine...

When is a picket line not Toll in court to break picket The "bargaining related"? Police and Australian F a i r W o r k A u s t r a l i a . . . Herald Sun SmartCompany.com.au all 156 news articles Supreme Court expected to enforce end to Coles Warehouse strike FOOD Magazine Australia

Chase Headley homered for the second straight game, and the San Diego Padres used six unearned runs to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 on Sunday.

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13

Fiercest fighting yet reported inside Damascus


(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:00:35 PM

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT| Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:00pm EDT (Reuters) - Opposition fighters battled Syrian government forces in Damascus into the early hours of Monday in what residents described as the fiercest fighting yet inside the capital. Activists said the fighting spread from the south of the city to a second area as night fell. At least five people were killed and dozens wounded, locals said. The spread of fighting came as U.N. peace mediator Kofi Annan was due to fly to Moscow for a two-day visit in which he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin who has resisted Western calls to increase pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Numerous Damascus residents contacted by Reuters said they could hear loud explosions, persistent gunfire and sirens wailing overnight, and described the fighting as the worst so far of the 17-month uprising against Assad. Thick black smoke was visible above the Damascus skyline in live Internet video links. Government troops closed the airport road, activists said.

"I can't believe it, it sounds incredibly close. I hear shooting and other stuff, like blasts. I can hear the sounds of ambulances rushing past. I am so afraid. People may die tonight," said a resident contacted by telephone in a district close to the fighting. Activist Samir al-Shami, who spoke to Reuters by Skype from Damascus, said the fighting was under way in the al-Tadamon district in the capital's south, after sustained battles began at nightfall on Saturday in the nearby Hajar al -Aswad district. "There is the sound of heavy gunfire. And there is smoke rising from the area. There are already some wounded and residents are trying to flee the area," he said, using Skype to show live video images of smoke visible over the skyline. "There are also armored vehicles heading towards the southern part of the neighborhood," he said. Another activist reached by Skype said the fighting later spread to al-Lawan, a neighborhood on the southwestern outskirts of the capital. A third activist, who also asked not to be identified, said: "We've been expecting things to worsen in Damascus after the army crushed the rebellions in some of the suburbs, like Douma outside

the capital. There were thousands of fighters in some of those suburbs. Some of them were killed but a lot of them fled and they've been heading to the capital itself." ABLAZE Some residents said the fighting eased slightly as the night wore on but many protests in support of the opposition were staged in the poorer neighborhoods of Damascus. One local, who gave his name as Tarek, said residents set tires ablaze to distract the security forces and relieve pressure on the fighters in Tadamon. The government restricts access to the country by independent media, making verification of events difficult. Annan is travelling to Moscow days after opposition reports of a new massacre prompted a fresh wave of denunciations in the West where there are hopes Putin might ease his support for Assad. But Moscow has shown no public sign of wavering in its backing for its last major Arab ally, a customer for its arms and host to a Russian naval support base. Along with China, Russia has blocked tougher U.N. Security Council action and the West has shown no appetite for the kind of intervention it undertook last year

when NATO helped topple Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. Annan said on Friday he was "shocked and appalled" at the government for breaking a promise not to use heavy weapons in populated areas, and that it was confirmed that helicopters and artillery had fired on the village of Tremseh. Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi criticized Annan for jumping to conclusions by accepting opposition reports of the incident last week. "What happened was not a massacre ... what happened was a military operation," Makdissi told a news conference in Damascus. "Government forces did not use planes, or helicopters, or tanks or artillery." U.N. observers returned to the village on Sunday to gather more evidence at the site after finding signs that artillery was used but inconclusive evidence of the scale of the killing. The Syrian government said it killed several dozen enemy fighters in battle in Tremseh but denied accusations that it carried out a massacre or that its forces used heavy weapons. Opposition footage of the incident on the Internet has shown bloody corpses of men, but not

women or children, making it difficult to determine whether those killed were fighters. Sander van Hoorn, a Dutch journalist who reached Tremseh, said by Twitter that he had counted 30 graves in the town and had seen clear evidence of shelling, including of a school used as a shelter by refugees. He said the evidence on the ground clearly contradicted the government's assertion that no heavy weapons were used. But he also said he had not yet seen signs of a massacre like one that took place in the city of Houla in May, when the United Nations says 34 women and 49 children were among 108 people killed. (Additional reporting by Marwam Makdesi in Damascus and Yeganeh Torbati in Dubai.; Writing by Peter Graff and Robin Pomeroy; editing by Christopher Wilson) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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Curated News Edition

Obama says he won't apologize for Bain attacks


(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 2:26:26 PM

By Andy Sullivan and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON| Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:26pm EDT (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will not apologize to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for raising questions about his tenure and the timing of his departure from private equity firm Bain Capital, the Democrat said in an interview published on Sunday. Romney demanded an apology last week after Obama's campaign suggested he may have broken the law by misrepresenting his position at private-equity firm Bain Capital, part of an assault on the former executive's business career and personal wealth that may be hurting him in the polls. "No, we won't be apologizing," Obama said in an interview with a Virginia television station WAVY. "Mr. Romney claims that he's Mr. Fix-it for the economy because of his business experience. And so I think voters entirely legitimately want to know, well what exactly was that business experience?" Obama said.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, Obama's former chief of staff, was more succinct. "Stop whining," Emmanuel said on ABC's "This Week" program. "If you want to claim Bain Capital as your calling card to the White House, then defend what happened at Bain Capital." Romney has argued that the economic expertise he developed as an investor, manager and consultant make him a better choice than Obama to kick-start an economy that has been slow to recover from the 2007-2009 financial crisis. But Romney's record at Bain is also shaping up to be something of a liability. Democrats have highlighted companies that went bankrupt or shipped jobs overseas under Bain's ownership to argue that Romney is only concerned with helping his fellow millionaires, not working people. Romney's campaign has said he should not be held responsible for many of those decisions because they occurred after he took a leave of absence from Bain in February 1999 to oversee the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. But Romney continued to claim in regulatory filings that he was still in charge of Bain through

2002, according to documents that have surfaced over the past week. Bain and Romney officials say it took several years to sort out the terms of his departure but that he was not involved with the company's day-to-day operations during that time. "He actually retired retroactively at that point. He ended up not going back to the firm after his time in Salt Lake City," Romney senior adviser Ed Gillespie said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. DISTRACTION? Obama's campaign has accused Romney of being responsible for the firing of workers and bankruptcies at Bain-owned companies during those years. "So, you know, as president of the United States, one of the things I've learned ... was anything that happens on my watch is my responsibility. That's what people expect. Harry Truman said 'the buck stops with me' and I think, understandably, people are going to be interested in are you (Romney) in fact responsible for this company that you say is one of your primary calling cards for your wanting to be president," Obama sad in the interview. An Obama spokeswoman

suggested last week that Romney could have committed a felony if he signed forms saying he was in charge of Bain when he was not -which prompted the apology demand from Romney. Democrats have also criticized Romney for setting up bank accounts in offshore tax havens and refusing to release more information about a personal fortune that is worth as much as $250 million. The attacks may be resonating with voters at a time when Romney is still largely undefined in the eyes of the public. Several polls released in June found that Romney's negative ratings have risen in states where Obama and Democratic groups have attacked the former Massachusetts governor. Romney allies said the attacks were an attempt to distract voters' attention from the fact that Obama has failed to counter high unemployment and sluggish economic growth during his three and a half years in the White House. "The president can talk all he want about this, but it's the economy and jobs that are going to address this election," Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte,

seen as a possible vice presidential running mate for Romney, said on ABC's "This Week" program. The Romney campaign released a new television ad relying on footage of journalists talking about how Obama's negative tactics this year contrasted sharply with the message of hope and change he campaigned on four years ago. "This is not the candidate of hope and change, this is a candidate who is hoping to change the subject," Republican Representative Paul Ryan, another possible vice presidential candidate, said on CBS's "Face the Nation." (Additional reporting by Paul Simao and Jason Lange; Editing by Paul Simao and Sandra Maler) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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15

US, Egypt Working to Free Hostages


(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 9:36:01 PM

The U.S. State Department announced Sunday that it is working closely with Egyptian authorities to bring about the safe release of three hostages in the Sinai Peninsula, two of which are American. Rev. Michel Louis, the 61-yearold pastor of a Boston Pentecostal church, was on a trip to retrace Jesus' steps through the Holy Land with 23 other members of the clergy and worshippers when he was abducted Friday. Along with him, a 39-year-old Boston woman in the group and a tour guide were kidnapped in broad daylight. The three are being held captive by Jirmy Abu-Masuh, an Egyptian Bedouin, who told the Associated Press he was armed when he stopped a bus on a road linking Cairo to Mount Sinai and ordered the three to get off. Abu-Masuh added that they would be released only after police release his 62-year-old uncle from prison, and he vowed to take more hostages of different nationalities if his demands are not met. He said his uncle was arrested a week ago after refusing to pay a bribe to police who stopped him along the way. The U.S. State Department said it was "aware" of the the

kidnappings on Sunday. "We will provide consular assistance as needed," spokesman John Echard said in a statement. "Due to privacy laws, we are unable to provide further details regarding this incident." A security source told Reuters that Egyptian officials are enlisting local negotiators hoping to end the hostage situation. "A high-level security delegation has been formed in addition to

some tribal sheikhs to enter direct negotiations with the kidnappers to end the crisis in a peaceful manner," the source said. The source did not disclose when talks would begin, but AbuMasuh said officials have already visited him to discuss the captives' release. Abu-Masuh said Egypt's Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri called him personally and asked him to release the Americans

"who are guests in our country." He said his uncle called him from prison pleading the same and fearing police might arrest his children or wife to pressure AbuMasuh. Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brought up the case of the two kidnapped Americans when she met with her Egyptian counterpart in Cairo on Saturday. Rev. Jean Louis, the son of Rev.

Michel Louis, said his father had natural medicine to treat his diabetes when he was taken by Abu-Masuh, but he had no information about his condition or if he would be released. AbuMasuh said Rev. Michel Louis's medicine was left on the bus and security officials will have to help with getting it. Members of a the Boston church US, page 18

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News Wire/ World News/

Curated News Edition

Low Lobster Prices Put the Pinch on Maine Fishermen


(FOXNews.com)

Tainted men get key portfolios Times of India


(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:17:44 PM

shedding their hard shells in favor of new soft shells and lobsterSubmitted at 7/15/2012 9:36:01 PM loving tourists flock to the coastal state on summer vacation. AP But an unusual phenomenon happened this year: Soft-shell The lobster crisis in Maine has lobsters began showing up in reached a boiling point. great numbers in traps six weeks As prices for the succulent e a r l i e r t h a n n o r m a l , w h i c h s h e l l f i s h d r o p , a t o p U . S . Pingree called "unprecedented." lawmaker is calling the situation a Soft-shell lobsters, which have "disaster" and said measures must less meat than hard-shell ones and b e t a k e n t o a i d s t r u g g l i n g which can be easily cracked open fishermen and reform the lobster by hand, are sweet and juicy but industry, which is vital to the sell for a lower price. state's economy. The soft-shell lobsters do not ship Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, well long-distance because they said Thursday that wholesale are too fragile and therefore must prices for lobsters in Maine have be sold on the local market or sent hit rock bottom -- selling for less to processing plants in Canada. than $1.50 per pound in some But processors there are unable to places, the lowest price since the handle the excessive supply of 1970s -- and have threatened the Maine lobsters this year because livelihood of local fishermen who Canadian lobstermen had such rely on the world-famous, tasty strong catches earlier this spring, crustaceans to earn a living. resulting in a backlog. "It's a disaster for the fishing "We have a huge oversupply of i n d u s t r y , " P i n g r e e t o l d the kind of lobster that has less FoxNews.com. "These guys can't value," Pingree said. "A big part afford to go fishing for anything of our market is shipping them to less than $2, $2.50 a pound when everyone else." you think of the price of fuel (for Pingree said that while there is no boats). They've got to earn a easy remedy for the problem, one living." long-term solution calls for Maine Maine's lobster catch typically t o s t a r t b u i l d i n g i t s o w n picks up around the Fourth of p r o c e s s i n g f a c i l i t i e s . July, as the crustaceans begin "That hasnt been the focus of the

industry for so long," she said, adding that, "Weve never really developed sophisticated methods to ship soft-shell lobsters." Bob Bayer, a professor at the University of Maine and executive director of the Lobster Institute, said his data showed the average price of lobster in the state to be higher than what Pingree and others reported. "The average price is around $2.50 for new shell lobsters, which is the problem, and $4.50 for hard shell lobsters," Bayer told FoxNews.com. "It's $1 to $1.50 lower than last summer." On Monday, Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher sought to quell fear and anger among those affected by the unusually low lobster prices. "The department will not be closing the lobster fishery," Keliher said. "Based on the concerns that have been raised by the industry, I have reviewed our statutory authorities and they do not allow us to shut down the fishery for economic reasons. "We have heard that fishermen are seeking to impose a de facto shutdown of the fishery and coercing others into complying by threatening to cut off their gear," he said. "The state will not tolerate any trap molestation, and

any such actions will be met with targeted and swift enforcement or other appropriate action. Harvesters should also be aware that such actions may be in violation of federal antitrust laws." FoxNews.com's Cristina Corbin and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet

The Hindu Tainted men get key portfolios Times of India For the second time in a week, chief minister Jagadish Shettar has ignored the advice of governor HR Bhardwaj and allotted key portfolios to five tainted ministers in his new cabinet . While Murugesh R Nirani, V Somanna, CP Yogeshwar, MP Renukacharya... Had I compromised, I would've still been CM, says DV Sadananda Gowda Deccan Chronicle Related Stories Eat this, lose BJP dissidents face a leadership weight Recipes: Lobster Rolls crisis Deccan Herald Recipe: Lobstertini Recipe: Karnataka: Jagdish Shettar Lobster Wasabi Mash announces Cabinet portfolios Share This Article Newsletter IBNLive.com Signup Hindustan Times- The HinduSign up for free e-mail news Economic Times alerts from FoxNews.com and all 203 news articles FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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Obama: Business Owners, 'You Didn't Build That'


(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 9:36:01 PM

July 13, 2012: President Barack Obama greets supporters supporters following a rally in Roanoke, Va. AP President Obama, in a speech to supporters, suggested business owners owe their success to government investment in infrastructure and other projects -saying if youve got a business, you didnt build that. Obamas comment Friday during a campaign stop in Roanoke, Va., came just days after he urged Congress to extend tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration only to families earning less than $250,000 annually -- part of his argument that top earners have an obligation to pay more to trim the deficit. There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me because they want to give something back, the president said. If youve been successful, you didnt get there on your own. You didnt get there on your own. Im always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I

Leaders of the GOP-controlled House want to extended the cuts for all American and will almost assuredly reject any plan capping them at the $250,000 income level, or $200,000 for individuals. The cuts will expire in January. Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Share This Article Newsletter Signup Sign up for free e-mail news alerts from FoxNews.com and FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to

thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If youve got a business, you didnt build that. Somebody else made that happen, he said. The Internet didnt get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has pledged a vote on the Obama plan before Congress August recess, but

whether he has the votes remains unclear. A handful of Democrats include several facing a tough re -election bid dont want to vote on a proposal that would result in a tax increase for some Americans. Senate Democrats and Republicans wrangled Wednesday over the tax cut extensions, which have emerged as a major campaign issue as GOP candidate Mitt Romney attempts to upend Obamas re-election bid.

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Curated News Edition

New York Post eyes shielding Murdoch talks over chimp cartoon
(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:38:04 PM

US,
continued from page 15

CEO of News Corp Rupert Murdoch attends the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho July 13, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Jim Urquhart By Jonathan Stempel Sun Jul 15, 2012 4:38pm EDT (Reuters) - The New York Post is seeking to keep its top editor from having to answer questions in a bias lawsuit about his discussions with media mogul Rupert Murdoch over a published cartoon that appeared to liken President Barack Obama to a chimpanzee. Calling the February 2009 cartoon "quintessential political speech entitled to the strongest protections of the First Amendment," the newspaper in a court filing late Friday night also said the discussions were irrelevant to the lawsuit brought by Sandra Guzman, a former associate editor. In November 2009, Guzman, who is black and Puerto Rican, sued the Post, its editor Col Allan and its parent News Corp for alleged discrimination and harassment on the basis of race,

gender and national origin, saying she had been fired in retaliation for complaints over inappropriate conduct. She also claimed to have objected to the cartoon, which referred to the $787 billion federal economic stimulus and depicted a policeman shooting a crazed chimpanzee, a reference to an actual incident in Connecticut. Many people thought the animal was meant to depict Obama, and Murdoch later apologized to readers. In a June 29 order, Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis in Manhattan had ordered Allan, in a two-hour deposition, to answer questions, including over whether he told Murdoch he disagreed with publishing an apology, and whether he thought Murdoch believed it was a mistake to do so. But in Friday's filing, the defendants argued that the order would let Guzman breach "the heart of the editorial process," and asked District Judge Barbara Jones to reverse it. The defendants said the cartoon was intended to mock Congress' drafting of stimulus legislation and made no reference to race.

They also called Guzman's request "nothing more than a fishing expedition that would invade and chill the editor's and newspaper's First Amendment rights to political expression." "We have maintained from the very beginning that the New York Post assertion of an editorial privilege was baseless," Guzman's lawyer Kenneth Thompson said in a phone interview on Sunday. "We now look forward to bringing Col Allan back to answer our questions." The case is Guzman v News Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-09323. (Reporting By Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Gunna Dickson) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

prayed for his release Sunday. Rev. Jean Louis said the abduction took place when his father was making his annual mission trip to the Holy Land. "He's been doing it for the past four years now, and this just turned out to be a little different from any other year," said the younger Louis, who works as a youth pastor at a church founded by his father. The abduction took place along the road linking Cairo to the 6thcentury St. Catherine's Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai where the Old Testament says Moses received the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. The route is a frequent target by Bedouins who abduct tourists to pressure police to meet their demands, which is usually to release a detained relative they say has been unjustly arrested. Friday's abduction was the latest in a series of kidnappings in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula over the past year. Abducted tourists are rarely harmed and usually released within days. Louis' son said the family is concerned about all three captives and does not want to discuss communications with the U.S. government so as not to jeopardize the chances for their release. "Any other family or anybody that has loved ones that are in a situation like that can feel ... a bit uneasy," Louis said outside the family home in Boston's

neighborhood of Mattapan. "In spirit, we are confident, we believe in God and we know that our God is active and is real and is gonna intervene on our behalf." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Related Images Pastor Michel Louis was one of two people kidnapped while traveling through Egypt on Friday during a church mission trip. July 15, 2012: Parishioners pray for the safe return of Rev. Michel Louis, , at Pentecostal Church of God in Boston. Share This Article Newsletter Signup Sign up for free e-mail news alerts from FoxNews.com and FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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19

Male primary Former NRL star Craig Field Special team to probe charged over alleged pub assault in Guwahati molestation case, 3 teacher numbers Kingscliff - The Daily Telegraph more arrested - Times of India rising - The Press
(Nation - Google News)

rugby league games in Australia, was arrested overnight... Former NRL star Craig Field Sydney Morning Herald charged over alleged assault Former NRL star Craig Field outside hotel Sydney Morning charged over alleged pub assault Herald in Kingscliff Ex-NRL player 'king-hit pub The Daily Telegraph patron' Ninemsn FORMER rugby league star, Former Souths skipper charged Craig Field, allegedly 'king hit' a over assault ABC Online man last night leaving him in a Herald Sun- Gold Coast Bulletin critical condition on life support News- Yahoo!7 News in northern NSW. Field, a 39-year all 118 news articles -old veteran of 183 first grade
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:23:57 PM

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Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:15:09 PM

The Hindu Special team to probe Guwahati molestation case, 3 more arrested Times of India Women protest against the molestation a girl by a group of youth and demand for the punishment of persons involved in the incident in Guwahati on July 15, 2012. (PTI photo) GUWAHATI: The Assam police

have formed a 'Special Investigation Team' (SIT) to... Three more Guwahati molesters held The Hindu Guwahati molestation: 3 more arrested, SI suspended Hindustan Times Akhil Gogoi submits 'instigator' scribe footage to police Daily News & Analysis IBNLive.com- Zee News- NDTV all 594 news articles

Association

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Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:00:00 PM

Pranab leaves Kashmir Bad weather sees sure of support wildlife struggle - The Deccan Herald Press Association
(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:21:27 PM

India Today Pranab leaves Kashmir sure of support Deccan Herald United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee Sunday met members of the ruling National Conference-Congress (NC) alliance and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to seek

support for candidature for the President's post... Pranab Mukherjee writes to MLA Mamata Banerjee Times of India Soren backs Pranab, Ansari Calcutta Telegraph Prez poll: Pranab writes to Mamata; Sangma optimistic Daily News & Analysis Zee News- Indian Express- The Hindu all 181 news articles

(Nation - Google News)

been struggling in the cold and wet conditions and the trust... Flora and fauna facing BBC News 'apocalypse' due to wet conditions Bad weather sees wildlife Scotsman struggle Rain 'almost apocalyptic' for The Press Association wildlife, says National Trust BBC This year's bad weather has News proved "almost apocalyptic" for Wet Weather 'Apocalyptic' For much of the UK's wildlife, the UK Wildlife Mix 96 National Trust has warned. Many WalesOnline- Express.co.uk birds, bats, butterflies, bees, all 96 news articles amphibians and wildflowers have
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:00:00 PM

expressandstar.com Male primary teacher numbers rising The Press Association The number of male trainee primary school teachers in England has increased by more than 50% in the last four years, according to figures. Data from the Teaching Agency (TA), which is responsible for initial teacher training, showed the amount of men... Sir is back! Surge in men training to teach children in primaries as number... Daily Mail Big rise in male primary teachers The Independent MEN RUSH TO SIGN UP AS PRIMARY TEACHERS Express.co.uk all 9 news articles

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Two more ATMs blown up at Secret Harbour and Willetton - Courier Mail
(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:35:30 PM

Yahoo!7 News Two more ATMs blown up at Secret Harbour and Willetton Courier Mail BOMB SQUAD: Officers from WA's bomb squad are on the scene of two early morning ATM explosions, which follows an attack last week at Riverton. Source: PerthNow BOMB

SQUAD: Officers from WA's bomb squad are on the scene of two early morning ATM... Explosions at two more ATMs in Perth Ninemsn Perth police investigate ATM bombings ABC Online Police probe more ATM explosions Sydney Morning Herald all 18 news articles

Call for vote on gay marriage plans - Scotsman


(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:57:49 PM

Phone-Free Docks - The 'Pair with Pear' Device Keeps Your Mobile Handy (TrendHunter.com)
(TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:56:02 PM

Scotsman Call for vote on gay marriage plans Scotsman Scotland's most senior Catholic has urged the Scottish Government to hold a referendum on proposals to legalise same-sex

marriage. Cardinal Keith O'Brien said a vote should be held because of "intense public interest" in the issue. Cardinal urges gay wed poll The Sun McConnell backs gay marriage proposals Bellshill Speaker all 45 news articles

( TrendHunter.com) The Pair with Pear' device allows you to play music from your dock while keeping your phone handy. Designed by the charismatic Brendan Kelso (Father and New Product Development...

Symantec antivirus software update crashes some PCs


Steven Musil (CNET News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:02:19 PM

"On July 11th, 2012 Symantec Security Response started receiving reports of customers A recent update to Symantec's experiencing blue screens after antivirus software rendered some applying the July 11th revision 18 Windows-based PCs inoperable, d e f i n i t i o n s , " O r l a C o x , o f the security software maker Symantec Security Response, disclosed Friday. wrote in the post. "Machines may An update earlier this week to continue to blue screen after they Symantec Endpoint Protection reboot. This problem only appears 12.1 antivirus software for t o o c c u r o n W i n d o w s X P businesses caused some Windows m a c h i n e s . " XP-based computers to crash In an update, the company said repeatedly with a "blue screen of the crashes were limited to XP death," the company revealed on machines running Endpoint its Web site. Protection 12.1 and certain

software from Norton. Once the cause was identified, Symantec issued a rollback of signatures on Thursday, the company said. The company said it learned of the issue Wednesday night from customers, who said they were forced to manually remove the software from disabled machines, a process they described as time consuming. One frustrated Symantec customer called the called the bug "a farce" in the accompanying community discussion board. "This whole episode is a joke, had

the issue been a conflict with a random device driver then I could maybe slightly more sympathetic," the customer said. "But for it to conflict with its own Symantec related drivers and cause this issue is a total farce. Who tested it before release? Was it even tested?" Others on the board said Symantec was working on a compensation package after they demanded to know how they were going to be compensated for their "for the hours of lost worker production and the time and effort

taken by IT staffs to rectify this huge error by Symantec." CNET has contacted Symantec for comment and will update this post when we learn more. [Via Reuters] This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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21

The Democratization Of Fashion Commerce: Big Niches Are Emerging For Startups
Leo Chen (TechCrunch)

pure-play, web driven vertical retailer. Traditionally, web retailers had to carry other brands Editors note: Leo Chen is a before moving into private labeled former product manager at goods. Brands needed brick-nAmazon and is currently the co- Both of which are extremely high mortar for distribution before founder of Monogram, an iPad risk. If retail buyers dont like setting up their own physical or fashion discovery and shopping your merchandise, youre stuck web stores. Bonobos turned that app funded by 500 Startups. You with unsold inventory. If you opt on its head and built a web-only can find Leo on Twitter @ to open your own store, the brand. leoalmighty; this article builds on upfront capital investment is an Recently, sites like ShoeDazzle, one he previously wrote for us, insurmountable barrier for most. E v e r l a n e , B e a c h M i n t a n d here. I believe were witnessing the Indochino are taking a similar Mark Susters post on why beginning of a new class of web-only approach. By foregoing media is racing to the middle brands/designers producing high the middlemen in the value chain got me thinking about how q u a l i t y a p p a r e l f o r n i c h e and the costs of maintaining fashion is moving in the same audiences. At the head-end, e- physical stores, these e-tailers are direction. To summarize Marks tailers like Gilt are helping lesser able to cut the waste in apparel t h e s i s : p l u m m e t i n g v i d e o known brands get exposure (albeit d i s t r i b u t i o n . A s a r e s u l t , productions costs and lower at heavily discounted prices). consumers benefit from higher distribution barriers are allowing a T r a d i t i o n a l r e t a i l e r s l i k e quality goods at lower prices. n e w g e n e r a t i o n o f c o n t e n t Nordstrom and Macys have been Becoming Web Famous producers to compete against the investing in niche in-house brands But for every Bonobos and big studios. The race towards the like Faconnable and Inc for years. ShoeDazzle, how many other middle (i.e. torso) starts with At the tail-end, Etsy is a channel g r e a t b r a n d s a r e o u t t h e r e YouTube leading the charge from for aspiring designers to get struggling to rise above the the long-tail and big players like distribution. Boutiques also noise? This current wave of Hulu and Netflix investing in d o m i n a t e t h e l o n g - t a i l a n d vertical retailers share a common more niche content from the head startups like Shoptiques are trait; they are tech savvy and end. In other words, theres a helping these boutiques expand understand how to leverage the huge opportunity for high quality online (pushing boutiques up the internet and social media as a content produced for large niche curve). distribution channel. I believe markets. Niche e-Tailers On The Rise there is a large, underserved Fashion As Content The hottest fashion segment community of aspiring designers How does this apply to fashion? today is vertical retailers targeting that are largely clueless when it Historically fashion content the center of the curve. Bonobos comes to building a web business producers (i.e. designers/brands) is a prime example of a vertical or manufacturing apparel at scale. had the following distribution retail success story. They were However, the real design talent options: able to establish themselves as a likely lies within this underserved
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:24:11 PM

Wholesale wooing retail buyers into carrying their line Vertical retail opening physical retail stores.

designer community. How disruptive is pure-play vertical retail? J.Crew was founded in 1983 as a catalog driven, vertically integrated retailer. It took J.Crew well over a decade and dozens of physical retail stores later to become a billion dollar business. This was before the age of Pinterest, Facebook and other social discovery channels. In comparison, Bonobos was founded in 2007 and after 5 years, their revenue numbers are in the$15-20M range from figures Ive read; far from a billion dollar business and theyve already begun carrying 3rd party brands. Dont get me wrong, Bonobos is a great business but I see them more as a content producer rather than a disruptive platform like Hulu or Netflix. As discovery commerce improves and consumers broaden their tastes, I question whether pure-play vertical retailers will ever become billion dollar powerhouses. I consider myself to be fairly fashionable and have been loyal to a handful of brands. But over the past year, Ive found my brand loyalty straying as sites like Gilt have exposed me to new brands Im rather fond of. My monthly Bombfell subscription goes even further; putting pieces from up-

and-coming designers I wouldnt have heard of otherwise right in my hands. Long-Tail Opportunities: Discovery & Manufacturing Discovery. Better discovery and showcasing of products is where the next billion dollar opportunities are: Pinterests 10 million monthly active users, most of which were amassed over the past 18 months, could potentially generate$45M/ yr for Pinterest from affiliates alone. Thats already more than twice the revenue of Bonobos without the burden of carrying inventory. Sites like Joyus and Kaleidoscope found innovative ways to help consumers discover new brands and designers. Fab and Fancy are leveraging both professional and social curation with a drop-ship model. ModCloth and Karmaloop have been carving out their niche as etailers. I was speaking to a Zulily investor last week and learned that their business has been largely focused on exposing new brands rather than established ones (Zulily raked in$150M last year). As this trend continues, DEMOCRATIZATION page 27

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Curated News Edition

How Will The Web Monetize In 2020?


Murthy Nukala (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:40:32 PM

Chris Dixon recently blogged that most mobile apps currently fit into one of four categories: Editors Note: Murthy Nukala is Time Wasters, such as Angry t h e f o u n d e r a n d C E O o f Birds and Plants vs. Zombies, A d c h e m y , a p r o v i d e r o f primarily provide entertainment advertising technology for large value. brands. Core Utilities are those apps on On a whim, I recently purchased the home screen of your phone, a Logitech Keyboard Case for my e.g., camera, phone, contacts, new iPad. Instead of being just a texting, calendar. novelty accessory, the keyboard Episodic Utilities, such as has fundamentally changed my OpenTable, Uber and Hipmunk, device usage: Im using my iPad- are extremely useful in certain plus-keyboard in meetings; I use situations. Sometimes, Im in the my laptop-plus-docking station at m o o d t o f i n d a n e w T h a i my desk; and I use my iPhone restaurant. Sometimes, I want to when Im on the go. My online know the score of specific behavior, once centered on one baseball game. device, has now been fragmented Notification-Driven Apps do just across at least three devices. that notify you. Notifications I suspect that I am not alone, and can be scheduled, for example, that this is the shape of things to when something you want to buy come. goes on sale or when your PS3 is The web is on the cusp of turned on at home. massive change: By 2020, the Broadly speaking, these four number of global internet users is categories also happen to describe expected to quadruple to 4 billion, how the web will be used and and most of these new users will monetized in 2020. come online using multiple Entertainment will either be devices. Additionally, existing monetized by the content itself usage will move significantly (e.g., paying for a game, or for a from the monolithic computer to subscription to watch a show), mobile, as smart phones, tablets, and/or by advertising that will be smart TVs, and who knows what broadcast in nature. Social ads on other devices further permeate Facebook may not drive response both work and home life. as much as other online channels, As the online population booms but Facebooks wide reach and and usage becomes more and high traffic will make it a natural more fragmented across multiple v e n u e f o r b r a n d - a w a r e n e s s devices, the key question is: How campaigns (e.g., opening night for will all this multi-device traffic be a blockbuster movie). monetized? Core usage will be sold as stand-

alone apps or subscription services (e.g., your monthly cell phone plan). Few people want to be advertised to while they are using a device for core usage. Episodic usage will mostly be monetized by advertising, which will be more targeted in nature (as opposed to broadcast). I use the term advertising broadly e.g., restaurants that take reservations via the OpenTable app are essentially advertising on a per reservation basis. Notifications will be monetized via a combination of advertising, subscriptions and freemiums all depending on the nature of the notification. Personal productivity notifications like the app that reminds you to take a break every hour will probably be free and most likely show ads with the option to upgrade to ad-free. Notifications that are based on some sort of purchase intent like sale alerts will be monetized by advertising. Apps that provide an ongoing service like the app that notifies you when your PS3 at home is turned on will either be purchased outright or be subscribed to on a monthly basis. So, outside of entertainment and core usage, the bulk of the web will still be monetized the way it is today via advertising. Device Fragmentation = Market Fragmentation? How will online advertising be different in 2020? The proliferation of devices

fundamentally changes the online advertising equation. Historically, we have primarily seen two types of online advertising: paid search and display. Paid search has been denominated in keywords. Display has fundamentally been denominated in cookies impressions, clicks, unique users, reach, frequency, returning users, etc. The biggest challenge to the online advertising industry of 2020 is the proliferation of devices. There is no ubercookie that can track a users behavior across all devices she might own and privacy advocates would be up in arms if one existed. Without an ubercookie, it seems like the online advertising market is set to become highly fragmented by device. Fragmenting the online advertising market by device might seem like a natural outcome, but its not in anyones interests. Greater fragmentation means greater advertiser inefficiency, which means online advertiser spend doesnt reach its full potential. Is there a way to avoid fragmenting the online advertising marketplace by device? We only need to look at the paid search market for the right solution. Like Search Queries, Episodic Usage is Rich with Intent With episodic usage, we have a certain objective or intent in a situation, which the device or app

helps us achieve. When we issue a query to a search engine, that query has a certain intent associated with it, and the search results page and ads on it try to help us achieve our intent. As such, episodic usage is often query-like. For example, if Im in my Urbanspoon application browsing for Thai restaurants in San Francisco, that behavior is the functional equivalent of going to my favorite search engine and entering the query Thai restaurants in San Francisco. Additionally, if my device is geoenabled, my location may help to provide further context around my behavior. My online behavior or the query is the explicit intent whereas my implicit intent is represented by geography, what device Im using, what time of day it is, etc. With paid search today, consumer intent is primarily explicit its stated in a query whereas with app usage and geo-enabled devices, intent is both explicit and implicit. Explicit intent in queries is monetized in search by selling keywords. Keywords alone, however, cant monetize implicit intent because implicit intent isnt query based. For example, a user who queries big apple on a smart phone while in New York City likely has a different intent than a user who queries big HOW page 27

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23

Spoiler Alert!
Philip Berne (SlashGear)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:56:44 PM

At the end of the movie The Grey, everyone dies. Liam Neeson dies. That totally awesome moment in the trailer where he breaks some mini-bar bottles and tapes them to his fists, ready to do battle with the Alpha wolf? Two seconds later the credits roll, and the implication is clearly that he went down fighting. Oh, wait. SPOILER ALERT. Sorry, I should have said that at the very beginning. CNN recently posted a story begging readers not to post spoilers online. The writer wants you to give fair warning, and asks you not to post even hints that there is something to spoil. I understand this, especially the hints. It is a very stupid person who says this movie has a twist at the end and thinks other people wont be able to guess. I remember when I went to see The Sixth Sense, the schmuck tearing tickets said to every single customer It has a surprise ending, youll want to see it again. Rip. It has a surprise ending . . . Rip. He clearly felt it was his job to ruin the movie for everyone. And you know what? I knew exactly what that surprise was going to be less than halfway through the movie. I tried to deny it to myself, and to forget what I had heard, but of course the movie keeps reinforcing the idea and playing with it in creative

ways. The same reason the movie is worth seeing twice is also the reason the surprise was completely ruined on the first go round. I used to review movies, and I tried to be sensitive to this. But heres the problem. You cannot properly evaluate a movie without judging its ending. You cant discuss any story properly without also discussing the climax and the

resolution. After all, everything is leading up to this climax. How can you properly evaluate a story without considering the ending? Sure, you could write an entire movie review without spoilers, and there are plenty of outlets that offer such a review. But I often read reviews of movies after I have seen them, to see if I agree with what the critics have to say. Any proper criticism

of a film, or any story at all, needs to explicitly take into account the ending. Even though most critiques try to spare readers from an early reveal of the ending, this very idea might become outdated. A friend recently told me she heard her daughter utter the words Samantha, I am your father, in the ghostly drone that passes for a childs impersonation of Darth Vader. The little girl had never

seen Star Wars. So how did this, perhaps the ultimate movie spoiler, creep into her vocabulary? Best guess is that she saw it in parodies. In cartoons, on sitcoms, and popping up over and over again, until it took on its own meaning for her. I havent shown my 3 year old son Star Wars yet. Im waiting SPOILER page 26

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Curated News Edition

HEX Academy Messenger Bag: A classy way to move your 15" MBP and iPad
Steven Sande (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)

accessories. On the outside of the bag, under a full-sized flap that closes with Velcro, is a leather Submitted at 7/15/2012 4:00:00 PM and leather bezel called the HEX HEX recently introduced the PadPort to hold your iPad into Academy line of bags and sleeves place. It's the perfect design -- if to their online store, adding a you want to spend a few moments dozen beautifully-designed and in transit just using your iPad, you well-constructed items ranging don't have to unzip the bag to from duffel bags and backpacks to retrieve it. Instead, you just pop slender sleeves. The company open the front flap and the iPad is provided an Academy Messenger ready to use. Bag(US$79.95) for review, and Gallery: Hex Academy we'll be giving it away to a M e s s e n g e r B a g TUAW reader at the end of this The entire Academy line is post. Read on to see how this new covered with a classy grey product looks and works, and then "waxed reverse denim shell," fill out the entry form for a chance which sounds odd but feels very to win. Design soft. It also repels water, perfect There are so many bags available for those places that get more than for MacBooks and iPads, and a the 15.8 inches of precipitation we smaller number of them combine get here in the Mile High City. the designed ability to carry both The zipper that secures the main of the devices. Sure, you can just part of the bag is equipped with drop both your 15" MacBook Pro leather pulls, a nice touch. and iPad into the same backpack, Inside the bag, the accessory but a really nicely designed bag pocket has assorted organizer does it by providing individual slots for pens, business cards, et pockets to separate the devices so al. There's a sturdy, but unpadded, they're not smacking into each strap for slinging the bag across other. your body like any good In the case of the Academy messenger bag. The bottom and Messenger Bag, there's a nice sides of the Academy Messenger padded cell for any MacBook up Bag are covered with what looks to 15" in size, a roomy pocket for like a tough black nylon material p a p e r s , p e n s , a n d o t h e r for extra strength and water

protection. Finally, there's another pocket on the back of the bag that's designed for those papers that you forgot to put into the main pocket. Conclusion HEX has really outdone themselves with the new Academy series of bags and sleeves. All of the items in this new series use the same design motif and materials, so if you're in the market for multiple bags they'll all match. Pros Reasonably priced for a highquality computer bag

Excellent build quality and styling HEX PadPort feature is surprisingly handy for owners of multiple Apple devices Academy design motif is consistent over a dozen HEX bags Cons None to speak of Who is it for? MacBook / iPad owners seeking a good-looking bag to carry their stuff in style.

Giveaway As part of our policy of passing on reviewed gear to our readers, we're giving you an opportunity to get this bodaciously beautiful bag for yourself. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before July 17, 2012 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a HEX Academy Messenger Bag valued at US$79.95. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading... HEX Academy Messenger Bag: A classy way to move your 15" MBP and iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments

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25

Yes, MacBook Pro's Retina Display Is Brilliant, But Not For the Christian Average User
Antone Gonsalves (ReadWriteWeb)

feature as it is a product enhancement. Let me explain. Apple is one of the best design Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:55:00 PM companies in the tech industry. First, I'd like to thank all the The beauty of its products leaves readers who commented on our people with the feeling that the post. Some of the criticisms made hardware is the most advanced me cringe, such as being called a and the most innovative. That "link-baiting whore," while other feeling is not always justified remarks were more insightful and when you separate the look from worth taking seriously. But the components. whether the comments were for or An ultra-high resolution display against the post, I'm humbled that is not innovation and is not worth so many people took the time to paying more for. Why? Because if participate in such a lively s t u d i e s s t e m m i n g f r o m t h e discussion. Because of that, we introduction of high-definition want to explain our reasoning TVs are any indication, most further. The Average User people won't be able to tell the To start, I want to point out that I difference between today's HD looked at the value of the displays and the Retina screen. MacBook Pro with Retina from In addition, Retina won't deliver the perspective of what is best for a better Web experience, a key the average computer user. f u n c t i o n f o r a n y p e r s o n a l P r o f e s s i o n a l d e s i g n e r s , computer. That's because the ultra d e v e l o p e r s , p h o t o g r a p h e r s , -high resolution of the Retina graphic artists and video editors display will produce blurry Web do not need me to tell them graphics and text in all browsers whether Apple's latest concoction except Apple Safari. i s r i g h t f o r t h e m . S u c h Now it's true that Web developers sophisticated users are capable of may eventually choose to modify deciding for themselves which content to support Retina-like system to buy. displays. But if the industry For everyone else, I maintain that follows Apple and heads in that Retina is as much a marketing direction, it will take time and by

marketing campaign for the latest t h e t i m e t h e t r a n s i t i o n i s MacBook Pro. If the company is completed, the price of such successful in steering the direction screens will be far less. A of the market, then investors will reap the rewards and these are the Marketing Feature Introducing the idea of following people Apple answers to. Pricing Apple brings me to my next point, However, what is best for w h i c h i s t h e c o n c e p t o f a investors may not bring equal marketing feature. Apple can benefits to the majority of justify collecting a premium for consumers. This brings me to its products as long as it is readers' criticism about how I perceived to be an innovator, even explained the price difference when it's not. If Apple can between the MacBook Pro with convince consumers that Retina is Retina and the standard MacBook the next big thing in laptops, then Pro of equal size. competitors will be forced to Here's where I could have done a follow, giving Apple a huge better job at explaining my market advantage over the next reasoning. While it is true the Retina model has a solid-state year or so. That's because Apple will get the drive and twice the system displays it needs through the long- memory, the display is the lure term contracts it already has in that Apple is using to get people place. Because the technology is to spend an additional $400 when new, rivals will have to wait for the less- expensive model is more manufacturers to increase output than adequate. Also, given how or pay much higher prices. Given SSD prices have fallen and the razor-thin margins of most Apple's volume discounts, I find it Windows PC makers, it's unlikely difficult to believe that component they can afford to pay a lot more is more expensive than the Retina display. than current prices. The business strategy behind Retina is why Apple has chosen to make it the centerpiece of its

World Adoption
noreply@blogger.com (Ad ServeRSS) (AdServRSS Feed)

Christian World Adoption is one of the largest international adoption agencies in the United States. Since 1991, Christian World Adoption has placed thousands of children from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. These children now enjoy the love and security of a forever family. Christian World Adoption currently offers adoption programs in Bulgaria, China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ukraine. Explore our website to learn more about international adoption. Then, when youre ready, call our friendly adoption counselor, toll free, at 1.888.97ADOPT.

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SPOILER
continued from page 23

until hell be able to sit through the entire first movie without much squirming. But Im not shielding him from learning these important plot twists in advance. I dont think its so important. I remember when I saw that fateful scene at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. I wasnt really shocked. In fact, I was more incredulous. Really? Why would the writer come up with this twist? After all, Darth Vader hardly seemed to notice or care about Luke Skywalker through the first and much of the second movie. Why isnt he more interested in reconnecting with his long lost child? We never see anybody tell Darth Vader that Luke is his son, so we must infer that he either knows through some power of The Force, or he sees a family resemblance. But if The Force tells him its true, why didnt he find the kid earlier? And why wait until after youve cut off his hand to tell him the truth, if he believed the truth would be such a convincing argument to turn the newfound Jedi?"You dont need

to be surprised by the twist to appreciate its power" The plot twist exists on its own not as a shocking surprise moment, but as an interesting turn of events. You dont need to be surprised by the twist to appreciate its power. The spoiled events in a movie rewrite the story from the beginning. In the movie The Grey, when you know that everyone dies, the story changes from a tale of survival to a tale of desperation. You might like the movie more knowing that nobody survives. When I saw the film, without knowing its ending, I was seriously disappointed. Certainly knowing the plot twists in Star Wars dont hurt repeat viewings. The only real problem is that Darth Vader seems so aloof and unimpressed by his son running around the Death Star killing Stormtroopers that we have to wonder if the writers had imagined the twist before the first movie was finished. Even in movies where you walk in with a historical knowledge of the ending, the lack of surprise

does nothing to hurt the film. In fact, it may add to the tension. In the movie 127 Hours, for instance (one of the better movies that you certainly did NOT see in 2010), I walked in knowing the main character was going to cut his arm off at the end in order to survive. The guy lives. The arm dies. Still a good movie. In Titanic, of course we all know the ending. That the ending is so well known was the punchline to thousands of lousy late night comedian jokes. But waiting for the ship to hit the iceberg, and watching its inevitable demise, added to the enjoyment. It certainly got me through the sappy scenes in the middle. I recently started watching the second season of Game of Thrones. I had originally planned to wait until I had finished the second book, but I havent been able to quickly finish the first book in the series, let alone the second. Recently, bits and pieces started popping up online. Plot details were revealed. Deaths

documented. I knew that if I didnt start watching soon, Id know the whole story before I started watching the first episode. So, I started watching, because I wanted the plot to unfold for the first time before my eyes. I didnt whine about it, I understood. People have a right to talk about the key plot elements, as a way of criticizing and evaluating the show. Its part and parcel of what makes the Internet such a great tool, the constant stream of information and feedback. Spoilers are a necessary evil. Theres no reason to be like Ned Stark and lose your head over it. Oh, I forgot to add: SPOILER ALERT. Spoiler Alert! is written by Philip Berne& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Solar-Powered Charger Kits - The Fenix 'ReadySet' Solar Kit is Green and Supercharged (TrendHunter.com)
(TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 4:36:02 PM

( TrendHunter.com) With the ever -growing threat of global warming, many are trying to actively reduce their carbon footprint and The Fenix ReadySet' Solar Kit is here to help. Creators Mike Lin (CEO) and...

Clashing Checkered Couture - The Balmain Resort 2013 Collection is Whimsical (TrendHunter.com)
(TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 4:16:02 PM

( TrendHunter.com) Inspired by a recent visit to Miami, designer Olivier Rousteing unveils a

colorful and pattern-packed (Sports News Headlines Balmain Resort 2013 collection. Yahoo! News) Structured waistcoat blazers, m i c r o - m i n i d r e s s e s a n d Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:46:31 PM oversized...

Padres use 6 unearned runs to beat Dodgers 7-2


Chase Headley homered for the second straight game, and the San Diego Padres used six unearned runs to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 on Sunday.

Curated News Edition

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27

DEMOCRATIZATIO
continued from page 21

HOW
continued from page 22

fragmentation will become increasingly overwhelming. Companies like Pinterest or Fancy have a platform mentality and its quite possible that one of these platforms could become the mesh that ties together all these e-tailers and become the ultimate discovery engine. Manufacturing. Unfortunately, the physical limitations of manufacturing and distributing apparel wont go away like they did for books, music and video. Musicians and cinematographers can synthesize their creations with software and distribute it to millions. Fashion designers have far more hurdles to overcome to manufacture their designs at scale and distributing to millions of consumers. My father used to manufacture denim for 7 for All Mankind and Forever 21, its a painstaking process where fabric, buttons, labels and zippers have to be sourced from multiple vendors and manufacturing is often an iterative process to get the perfect wash and softness. This part of the value chain is often overlooked.

Every fashion designer Ive met had to learn about manufacturing from scratch and often traveled to Asia to source materials. More often, reputable manufacturers refuse to take low volume orders so up-and-coming designers often suffer with low quality manufacturers or settle for higher cost production in places like Hong Kong. I believe theres a huge opportunity in helping designers group purchase materials and manufacturing capacity so designers can focus on what they do best, designing awesome clothes. If the thought of buying apparel primarily online still sounds farfetched, we can look overseas for some indicators. According to Benjamin Joffe, founder of the Asia-based consultancy Plus Eight Star, [This] is already happening in Asian markets where offline retail is less mature or markets ahead of the US in terms of digital retail. In China, Vancl did $1.6bn in online apparel sales in 2011. Koreas share of online vs. offline retail is possibly the highest in the world,

while Japans mobile commerce passed mobile content in value years ago. In summary, it looks like the big money will still be in the platforms because they enable the democratization of commerce. Be it a discovery platform or one that helps new designers go to market more efficiently at lower costs. The web is empowering a new generation of fashion makers with lower manufacturing and distribution barriers while cutting out the fat in the value chain. I suspect we will see many more niche designers generating $1-10 million in annual revenues. For once, the little guys can have their products showcased side-by-side with the Pradas and Guccis of the world and quickly build multimillion dollar brands. Its deflationary economics at its finest, and unlike technology, the new guys can offer equal quality merchandise as the incumbents from the get-go.

apple within a Yelp app while in North Carolina. The first person is probably looking for tours of New York City; the other person is looking for reviews of a local pizzeria. Explicit intent provides the subject; implicit intent provides the context. So keywords alone cant prevent device-based fragmentation. Nor can cookies. Intents are the Same on Different Channels, Apps and Devices Regardless of whether Im using a smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or smart TV, browsing for Thai restaurants in San Francisco via Urbanspoon always has the exact same consumer intent associated with it. In order to avoid device-based fragmentation in online advertising, a new unit of trade is needed one that is neither keyword-based nor cookie-based, but rather intent-based. If consumer intent becomes the unit of trade, which device, app or channel (search, display, or social) a consumer is using no longer matters. An advertiser might simply buy users with an intent to buy basketball shoes or

an intent to travel to Europe. Device, app and channel might only determine which type of ad to serve. If an intent-based unit of trade can be used to monetize crossdevice traffic, everyone wins. Advertisers and agencies will be able to maximize the reach and return of their campaigns, and they will benefit from crosschannel economies of scale. Publishers will monetize traffic better. And consumers will see ads that are more relevant to their intent. Google has nearly a $200 billion valuation, not because queries are valuable unto themselves, but because queries are rich with consumer intent. If the rest of the industry can monetize intents across a multitude of devices as well as Google has monetized intent in search, then online eCPMs of 2020 will be on par with search eCPMs of 2012. Image via lalunablanca

40 awesome tributes to Breaking Bad


(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:26:00 PM

Breaking Bad might not be a comedy, but we think these fan tributes are pretty funny.

BREAKING BADMAN: Heisenberg & Pinkman by Brian Lipko Left:Breaking Baddies by Smapte at Xanadoodle Right: Bruce Lowell(bruceywan) at Flickr

Alex Jones(Orion Pax) at Flickr someecards.com Renae DuHaime(RenDuH) at Craftster Kyle Hilton at Flannel Animal

See the rest at mental_floss. All the top stories from mental_floss. Permalink| Leave a comment

28

Technology/ Economy/ Finance/

Curated News Edition

Halo 4 Xbox 360 bundle becomes official


Eric Abent (SlashGear)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 2:00:30 PM

We already had a feeling that Microsoft was planning to roll out a limited edition Xbox 360 bundle to go along with Novembers release of Halo 4, but this weekend the bundle got an official reveal at the San Diego Comic-Con. Like most of the other limited edition consoles weve seen come and go throughout the years, this bundle features some snazzy artwork on the console itself and the controllers, but youll also be paying a premium price if you want one. Hit the jump for all the details. So, heres everything youll be getting in this Halo 4 limited edition Xbox 360 bundle: one 320GB console, two wireless controllers, a wired headset, a copy of Halo 4, and a set of download codes for Halo 4themed avatar items and in-game DLC. The console and controllers come decked out in Halo 4 artwork and blue LEDs to match the overall color scheme of the set, so if you want an Xbox 360

now, so get to saving! Story Timeline Microsoft announces Halo 4 for release on November 6th Halo 4 Limited Edition detailed Why Halo 4 Is the Most Anticipated Game of 2012 Halo 4 release promises nextlevel multiplayer action Halo 4 cinematic and gameplay trailer revealed at E3 Halo 4 multiplayer requirements skyrocket Microsoft limited edition Halo 4 Xbox 360 leaked Microsoft Halo 4 will work on Surface Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn official trailer debuts that stands out from the sea of other consoles out there, this is probably the bundle for you. Admission to this show is not cheap, however, with Microsoft giving this bundle a price point of $399.99. If you like the look but dont like dropping $400 all in one go, you might want to consider picking up a standalone Halo 4 wireless controller, which are being released on October 21 and will only set you back $59.99. As you can see in the image above (and the gallery below), the design of the standalone controller differs quite a bit from that of the controller included in the bundle, but Microsoft says that both will feature blue LEDs surrounding the guide button. The bundle itself releases the same day that Halo 4 hits shelves November 6 and is available for pre-order right [ via Joystiq] Halo 4 Xbox 360 bundle becomes official is written by Eric Abent& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Weekend Is Over, And Corn Prices Are Soaring


Joe Weisenthal (Money Game)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:44:18 PM

Benefits cap 'pushing thousands into work'


James Kirkup (Finance News Business news from the UK and world)

This is the hottest bull market in the world: CORN! Thanks to the drought and the heat, corn prices are going through the roof, and in the opening of trading on this Sunday evening, prices per bushel are surging once again. Here's a look at September Corn futures via the CME: Stepping back, you can see the big surge since mid-June. Most markets are quiet so far to start the week, but with drought and heat conditions in the farmbelt the worst in over 20 years, this is becoming a huge story. Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story

The Coalition's plan to cap benefits for each household is already starting to push people off

welfare and into work, ministers will claim.

Curated News Edition

Technology/ Culture/

29

Tapping Earth's magnetic field for indoor navigation


Steven Musil (CNET News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:55:19 PM

IndoorAtlas' app in action.(Credit: Screenshot by Steven Musil/CNET) While outdoor navigation has been mastered with GPS satellites and cell phone triangulation, indoor navigation has proven more tricky. Now, a group of researchers at the University of Oulu in Finland has tapped the Earth's magnetic field to create an indoor positioning system (IPS). The researchers say their approach was inspired by studying the way homing pigeons and lobsters use anomalies in the magnetic field to navigate their travels. Researchers explain in a paper (PDF), titled "Ambient magnetic field-based indoor location technology - Bringing the compass to the next level," that

the same magnetic field that proves so useful to animals also has true navigation applications for humans. "Modern buildings with reinforced concrete and steel structures produce have unique, spatially-varying ambient magnetic fields that can be used for positioning, in much the same

way (albeit on a much smaller spatial scale) as animals use the Earth's magnetic field," the paper's authors say. "In principle, a non-uniform ambient magnetic field produces different magnetic observations, depending on the path taken through it." "Each building, floor and corridor creates a distinct magnetic field

disturbance that can be measured to identify a location and generate a map," Janne Haverinen, who headed the research team, said in a statement. "When iPhone and Android phones arrived with built -in compasses, we realized that we could develop an innovative indoor navigation solution by applying our digital signal-

processing expertise." The core technology, which requires no external hardware infrastructures to operate, is accurate down to a tenth of a meter, researcher say. Researchers, who have spun off their effort into a new company called IndoorAtlas, have released an smartphone API consisting of indoor mapping tools, software licenses, and a cloud-based mapping service. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

All the Stars at Comic-Con!


Lauren Turner (PopSugar)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 11:34:31 AM

and small-screen projects, and we're right there on the scene. It's already been a busy few days San Diego got a star-studded with the cast of Breaking Dawn dose of excitement when Comic- Part 2 kicking things off. Michelle Con rolled into town this week. Williams joined Mila Kunis for a The annual convention brings panel on Oz: The Great and superfans together with celebrities Powerful, and Mila returned Matt Damon swung through with promoting their upcoming big- yesterday to chat up Family Guy.

Elysium, and Jessica Biel linked up with her Total Recall buddies Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale. There was more fun last night with The Vampire Diaries gang gathering for press and a party, and some of the True Blood guys - like Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, and Joe

Manganiello - on the scene, too. Kerry Washington rolled through with Django Unchained, and even the Glee kids stepped out. There's more to come from Comic-Con, but first, let's take a look back at all the action so far. View Slideshow

30

Technology/ Sports/ Finance/

Curated News Edition

Kickstarter: Blink(1) Is A Teenie Talkcast tonight, Weenie Thinger That Lights Up 7pm PT/10pm ET: Because Something Happened Community edition!
John Biggs (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:26:16 PM

signs into Skype or when someone contacts you in chat. You can set it as a Linux Imagine this: you get an email command-line alert so it will turn m e s s a g e . M a y b e i t s f r o m red when your hard drive is on someone important, like the Dalai fire. You can make it turn green Lama or Lorenzo Lamas. But how when youre done downloading do you know that it came? Easy. Furry porn on your Windows The Blink(1). The Blink(1) is a machine. The possibilities, as they little LED that lights up when say, are endless. something happens on your The device costs $30 shipped and computer. You can run as many theyve already surpassed their of these things as you have USB funding goal so youre definitely ports and, with a little creativity, getting one. I purchased one for you can really start to see the the aforementioned Furry porn value. download notification system Im For example, you can program working on but you can install the light with Applescript to blink them in your server farm to assess in weird ways when a contact quality of service or slap one on

your laptop to tell you when Woot is having a Woot Off. The Blink(1) is completely open source so you can hack it or even make your own. The creators note: Definitely. Were working to make the enclosure openable so you can get at the circuit board. And if you know Arduino or AVR programming, you can modify how blink(1) functions. blink(1) can be programmed with the Arduino IDE. We will include example hacks of how to turn the blink(1) into a USB keyboard and mouse emulator. Project Page

Kelly Guimont (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)


Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:05:00 PM

Johnson tops Matteson in playoff to win John Deere


(Sports News Headlines Yahoo! News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:43:48 PM

Hospedia's first buy is Extramed


Andrew Cave (Finance News Business news from the UK and world)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:00:16 PM

Zach Johnson already was a member of the board of directors of the John Deere Classic.

Hospedia, the company formed from the wreckage of controversial hospital bedside telephones and television

company Patientline four years ago, will announce its first acquisition on Monday in a move aimed at transforming itself into a healthcare IT specialist.

It's the last day of the weekend, or of Comic Con, depending on how you track that sort of thing. Either way this means we'll be talkcasting tonight at 7pm PT/ 10pm ET. This week it's open mic, so bring your topics and your opinions and we'll discuss a little of this and a little of that along with the rest of the week's news. As per tradition, The Kelly Show means The Aftershow, whatever that means. (No really, nobody knows, it changes every week.) Now it's really all about you, the community, so join me won't you? To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (Viva free weekend minutes!): dial

(724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free XLite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight! Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Community edition! originally appeared on TUAW The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments

Curated News Edition

Technology/ Economy/

31

iPhone 5 'already ECB Advocates Forcing Senior in production,' says Bondholders to Take Losses on Japan-based blog Spanish Debt; What's It Mean?
taxpayers need to inject into struggling banks. One euro-zone Submitted at 7/15/2012 1:19:33 PM official said the desire to avoid putting more public money at risk Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:49:00 PM iPhone 5 mockup.(Credit: In a surprise but welcome move, than necessary was one reason Overdrive Design) the ECB Shifts View on Bond behind the ECB's change of heart Production of the next iPhone has Losses. since 2010. The ECB's new stance already begun, a JapaneseThe European Central Bank, in a can also be explained by the language Apple blog claims. sharp turnaround, has advocated different scenarios, including the And to back up its claim, the imposing losses on holders of existence of a bank-restructuring Macotakara blog cites listings for senior bonds issued by the most framework for Spain that didn't iPhone 5 cases on China's s e v e r e l y d a m a g e d S p a n i s h exist for Ireland, and the fact that Alibaba.com. savings banks, though finance the Irish government, unlike The blog goes on to say that the ministers have for now rejected Spain's, guaranteed much of its back of the new iPhone has both the approach, according to people banks' debts. What's It Mean? glass and aluminum. "In the area familiar with discussions. Take your pick from the where aluminum is not used, there The ECB's new position was f o l l o w i n g p o s s i b i l i t i e s . is glass." (see image below). made clear by its president, Mario This contrasts with previous Draghi, to a meeting of euro-zone Losses at Spanish banks are reports that claim the next iPhone finance ministers discussing a way bigger than reported by will have an all-aluminum back euro-zone rescue for Spain's Spain's prime minister Mariano like the iPad. s t r u g g l i n g l o c a l l e n d e r s i n Rajoy. Macotakara image showing back Brussels the evening of July 9. Losses at Spanish banks are of iPhone 5.(Credit: Macotakara) The ministers rejected the advice such that they would blowout the By comparison, the iPhone 4S orders, according to Reuters. out of concern that financial entirety of the ESM sports glass coverings on the front Good luck with that. markets would react badly to the ECB president Mario Draghi is and back. Via[ AppleInsider] decision. [Mish translation: concerned about a reaction from The iPhone 5's most anticipated This entry passed through the Finance ministers want to screw the German constitutional court feature -- which has been widely Full-Text RSS service if this is the taxpayers to save the wealthy]. German chancellor Angela reported -- is a larger 4-inch class your content and you're reading it Imposing losses on bondholders Merkel warned Draghi in no Retina display with a 16:9 aspect on someone else's site, please read reduces the amount of money uncertain terms that German ratio. Previous iPhones have had a the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content3.5-inch display with a 3:2 aspect only/faq.php#publishers. Five ratio. Filters recommends: Incinerating Oh, if you're interested in Assange - The Liberal Media Go preordering an iPhone 5 Chinese To Work. resellers on Taobao (a unit of Alibaba) are already accepting
Brooke Crothers (CNET News) noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)

taxpayers would not pony up any more money for bailouts. ECB has recognized the approach in Ireland was a failure I suspect all of those are true. I also expect Irish citizens will be hopping mad over how they were treated (as well they should be). Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http:// www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

32

Technology/ Economy/ Finance/

Curated News Edition

World War Z movie getting script makeover


Mark Raby (SlashGear)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 2:21:49 PM

Was the petrol price rigged too?


Rowena Mason (Finance News - Business news from the UK and world)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:00:37 PM

There is another chapter in the ongoing saga about turning the classic zombie novel World War Z into a motion picture. You would think that writing a script for a movie thats based on a book that has already been written wouldnt be that difficult. However, that apparently hasnt been the case with World War Z, which has already faced a lot of unexpected costs due to millions of dollars worth of reshoots. The movie, starring Brad Pitt, is

now undergoing a bunch of script changes, specifically related to the end of the story. It had been previously reported that Damon Lindelof was being tapped to rewrite the final part of the movie

script, but apparently he only came up with a general idea on how to close the story. Its now been confirmed that Drew Goddard, who co-wrote the horror flick Cabin in the Woods,

is the one whos actually bringing Lindelofs ideas to life. Its believed the project has gone way over budget because of various problems both in production and post-production, and it doesnt seem to be getting any better. Hopefully in the end, it will all be worth it. World War Z movie getting script makeover is written by Mark Raby& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Motorists may have been paying too much for their petrol because banks and other traders are likely to have tried to manipulate oil prices in the same way they rigged interest rates, an official report has warned.

Pick The Subordinated Bond Out


Tyler Durden

and a 10-year grace period, reports ABC in its Monday Internet edition, without citing Something interesting happened any sources. on the way to the detail-free The EU has offered to lend up to bailout of Spain's insolvent EUR100 billion to Spain, but the banking system (which may or definite figure and the final details m a y n o t s e e s e n i o r b o n d of the EU aid won't be known impairments depending on just until July 20, when a final bailout how big of a capitalization hole agreement is expected to be the ECB, not some fringe blog, s i g n e d o f f b y E U f i n a n c e sees). We got details. To wit, m i n i s t e r s . from Dow Jones: Now here's the thing: anyone The European Union loan to who has ever looked at a balance S p a i n w i l l h a v e a 3 0 - y e a r sheet, and actually happens to be maturity, an interest rate of 2.5% familiar with terms such as
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:06:33 PM

priority, seniority, guarantee, and subordination, will notice something rather peculiar. Namely that only idiots of the n th degree will claim that a 30 year 2.5% bond is pari passu, or equal in right of subordination precisely what those unelected technocrats in Europe have been repeating day after day since various European summits - with a 10 year at 7%, which is where the Spanish debt actually clears the market. In other words, sorry there is something here which gives the bailout debt implied

seniority. And here is the punchline: if the Spanish bailout debt does not trade like a pari passu piece of debt, it means that it is... i) not pari passu, and that it is ii) priming, no matter what any so-called pundit with a newsletter to peddle, may claim otherwise. Period. End of Story. Or in other words: spot the subordinated bond out: 10 Year at 7%, or 30 Year at 2.5% Take your time. We have all the time that's left in the future of the

Eurozone... and then some. Average: Your rating: None Average: 5( 4 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Curated News Edition

Economy/

33

Is Keynesianism Running Dry?


Tyler Durden

future generations a better, brighter future. Political instability precludes the vital Via Perspectives from Pictet, nationwide consensus being Why policymakers must be brave formed to push through measures and innovate with economic required to rebuild the policy foundations of a solid economy. Even though the policy mix is This economic-policy stalemate, extraordinarily stimulating, in particular, is becoming developed-world economies just increasingly blatant. Traditional cannot embark on a virtuous Keynesian remedies are proving circle of recovery. Worse still, both unworkable and ineffectual. governments, whose finances Record public deficits of 10% of have been bled dry, are powerless GDP in 2009, inflated by the host to boost demand. This all suggests of budget reflationary Keynesian policies have failed. A programmes, have resulted in fresh approach to economic policy governments being either de facto is needed. But policymakers will or potentially insolvent. Since need to be both bold and brave. then, with no financial The current state of economies is ammunition left, governments serious and worrying: although have been unable to push through deliberate expansionary policies any further reflationary measures have been pragmatically and compensate for the drop in implemented since March 2009, wages by distributing increased governments and central banks social-welfare benefits. Worse throughout the developed world still, by slashing public spending, have been unable to push a strategy regarded by economists recalcitrant economies back into unprecedented quantitative B o t h U S a n d E u r o p e a n population in most developed as essential to restore countries the virtuous loop of selfeasing. Europes economies are e c o n o m i e s s e e j o b s b e i n g economies (15% in the US, 12% sustainable financial viability, sustaining recovery. The policymakers are making matters heading for recession, crippled by destroyed once growth slows in France, 21% in the UK). implications are plain for all to draconian budget austerity in below 2%. If recession bites, Draconian austerity measures in a worse: as growth slows, deficitsee: once governments apply a many countries intended to obviously jobs are wiped out on a setting of lacklustre growth make cutting targets are being missed brake to public spending, growth redress astronomical public-sector more massive scale and household a recipe for despair in the and the trajectory on public debt slows considerably. Economies of deficits and national debt. Worst- income shrinks. Unemployment population, creating a breeding- is moving ever further away from the developed world have become case scenarios are pointing to and contracting income penalise ground for ever more popular its optimal pathway. With no addicts, hooked on government Europes GDP shrinking by 2% social well-being in developed extremist political parties. Recent c r e d i t t o d i s p e n s e , S t a t e spending. over the coming 12 to 18 months. nations: the number of people general elections in Greece, administered Keynesianism is, in The annualised rate of US T h i s c a l a m i t o u s f a i l u r e o f living below the poverty line is France, the Netherlands, Austria effect, bankrupt as government economic growth has slackened to economic policies will have rising non-stop. Although this and Sweden have seen farright spending levers can no longer be no more than 2%, down from 6% serious social, political and, self- stratum of society was considered populist and parties disturbingly activated. in Q2 2009, in spite of the mix of evidently, e c o n o m i c just a marginal fringe twenty making electoral breakthroughs or A new role for government needs reflationary fiscal policies and the repercussions. years ago, it now accounts for s c o r i n g b i g g a i n s . M o d e r n KEYNESIANISM page 34 US Federal Reserves Keynesianism running dry between 10% and 20% of the total societies can no longer promise
Submitted at 7/15/2012 4:56:52 PM

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KEYNESIANISM
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to be envisaged How serious have things become? After all, Keynesianisms limitations have been apparent for some time. By seeking to kickstart growth by boosting consumer spending, it has become clear that modern economies no longer rely on consumption. To be more precise, the dynamics of virtuous, self-sustaining economic growth are not triggered by consumer spending. In contrast, the dynamics feed through eventually into consumption they are instigated by investment and, by extension, jobs. This key focus on the investment/ employment duo has been noticeably lacking in the US and European economic policy mix over the last four years. The time has come to review the role government and the State, shown now to be effectively toothless, play in influencing economic growth. As governments alone are no longer able to spend and stimulate growth, they need to turn towards encouraging spending by other economic players, especially those who can intervene effectively to boost jobs and incomes, i.e. businesses. To do that though, politicians will need to be both bold and brave. At a

time when capitalism is being accused of the most reprehensible wrongdoings, policymakers will need to display great courage to promote the virtues of entrepreneurship and business. However, while Keynesianism may be looking bankrupt, demand -side economic policies are looking dead in the water as well. As a result, moving to economics geared to boosting supply is absolutely indispensible. The rub is that the policies for this still have to be invented. There has, however, been one illustrious precedent: the supplyside economies implemented with success by the Reagan Administration in the early 1980s, followed by twenty-five years of sustained growth in a period referred to as the era of the Great Moderation. The fresh approach to economic policy now will need to be generous in seeking to promote innovation. Investment and job creation tend not to happen without a major wave of innovation. Of course, innovation cannot be decreed into existence. But it can be nurtured through fiscal incentives that favour risktaking. Huge tax breaks for R&D and capital spending would be likely to form the major buildingblocks of any future budget policy to stimulate supply. Making such

moves would call for great political courage as, nowadays, it is regarded as socially equitable and electorally advantageous to tax even so heavily as to veer close to financial repression those generators of wealth most liable to be most useful in boosting supply. A fresh approach to economic policy There is a second challenge though. Unchecked, supply-driven economic policies tend to lead to excess. Modern economic history covering the Great Moderation period has demonstrated that overgenerous use of credit always ends in tears. First of all, in the 1990s, the belief that boom-andbust cycles were things of the past thanks to the advent of revolutionary new information and communications technologies lured companies into running up huge borrowings beyond what their returns on equities could withstand. This sparked the bursting of the dot.com bubble and TMT (technology, media, telecom) crash. Then, from the early 2000s, it was households turn to overstretch themselves with debt, culminating in the subprime crisis. Moreover, innovation per se should not be regarded as universally

wonderful. Just take the example of financial innovation which, unregulated, lay behind the ballooning debt. Excess lending will inevitably lead to artificially-driven economic growth as it breaks the link between the cycles of innovation and economic growth. The virtuous qualities of real economic growth evaporate and become unreal. Growth fuelled by excess credit leads inevitably, as night follows day, to ballooning bubbles, burst by devastating crashes on financial markets. Fresh and well formulated supplyfocused economic policies would need to take due account of such undesirable and destabilising implications. This concern points to a new role for central bankers, implying, by osmosis, a fresh style of monetary policy being needed as well. Inflation targeting(keeping core inflation around 2%), the sacred cow for central banks since the early 1980s, is no longer appropriate for either todays growth conditions or for an innovative, supplygeared economic policy mix. Imagination will be required to forge this new role for central banks. Not to mention the bravery in calling into question the orthodoxy that has held sway for so long. In the past though,

periods when there have been serious ruptures in cyclical economic patterns have often seen major shifts and key policy breakthroughs. However, all the courage and boldness will be futile if the will to bounce back is lacking. The challenge is most daunting. The direction of economic policies over the next few years will dictate the structural trends for developed economies for decades to come. We just have to hope that policymakers will dig deep amid all the grave economic, political and social crises today to find that courage to be bold and innovative. Average: Your rating: None Average: 2.6( 7 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Photos: Rockies fall to Phillies, 5-1 - Denver Post


(news photos - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:39:40 PM

Photos: Rockies fall to Phillies, 5 -1 Denver Post

MLB baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors

Field in Denver on July 15, 2012. and more

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Loan Moratorium in Italy for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses; GDP Expected to Contract 2 Percent
noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)

Italy Loan Moratorium for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Please note that things are so bad that Italian Loan Moratorium Submitted at 7/15/2012 2:47:00 PM Italy's new economic minister Approved. expects 2012 GDP fall "little less" Small and medium-size Italian than 2 percent. companies will be permitted to Italy's GDP is expected to shrink suspend payments on 3.6 billion "a little less" than 2 percent, the euros ($4.4 billion) of debt for as country's new economy minister long as a year, the Finance Vittorio Grilli said in a newspaper Ministry of Italy said on Saturday. interview published on Sunday. Since a loan moratorium began Grilli, who took over the on March 1, Italian companies economy portfolio from Prime have made 16,000 applications to M i n i s t e r M a r i o M o n t i o n postpone 5.5 billion euros of Wednesday, made his comments payments, the ministry said. in a long interview with the About 10,000 applications were Corriere della Sera newspaper. processed through May, and the The Bank of Italy governor has rest are being addressed. forecast that the economy will The nations business s h r i n k b y 2 . 0 p e r c e n t a n d associations and the Italian employers' lobby Confindustria Banking Association agreed this has forecast a contraction of more y e a r t o e x t e n d a n e a r l i e r than 2.4 percent. Optimistic moratorium to cope with the Politicians countrys fourth recession since Given that politicians are nearly 2001. The previous moratorium, always overly-optimistic in such begun in August 2009, allowed forecasts, look for a collapse in 260,000 companies to delay 15 GDP closer to 3% than 2%. billion euros of payments, the

association said in February. This moratorium is nothing more than an attempt to keep bankrupt and underperforming businesses alive. In a free market, uncompetitive businesses should fail. Thus, the moratorium is a mistake. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http:// www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Here Are 8 Huge Differences Between Stocks And The Economy


Sam Ro (Money Game)

"This soft patch is worse for S&P EPS than it is for US GDP given its global nature and raises risk of It can't be reiterated enough that a deeper S&P 500 dip," wrote U.S. stocks and the U.S. economy Bianco in his latest not to clients. don't tell the same story. He currently expects the S&P David Bianco, Deutsche Bank's 500 to fall 5 percent from here Chief U.S. Equity Strategist, often before rallying into the end of the points to these differences when year. he frames calls on the stock Here's a chart breaking down the market. geographic mix of S&P 500 " S & P 5 0 0 g l o b a l i z a t i o n profits. Bianco submitted this accelerated in the past decade, chart to Business Insider when we further increasing the differences asked him for the most important between US GDP and the S&P charts in the world. 500," he writes. Bianco currently expects the S&P Here's a breakdown of eight big 500 to end at 1,475 by the end of differences. the year. SEE ALSO: The Most Lately, Bianco has had a bearish Important Charts In The World > slant in his research calls. As Please follow Money Game on expected, this bearishness does Twitter and Facebook. n o t t r a n s l a t e e v e n l y i n t o Join the conversation about this bearishness towards the U.S. story economy.
Submitted at 7/15/2012 2:57:51 PM

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Interview: Unusual Pre-9-11 Currency Movements; an Ex-Federal Reserve Employee Talks to Robert Wenzel
EB
Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:49:21 PM

S u b m i t t e d b y EconomicPolicyJournal.com Bill Bergman-a former Federal Reserve (Chicago branch)

economist and policy analyst, who has raised concerns about unusual currency transactions pre9-11----including billions in one hundred dollar bills, is the guest this week on the Robert Wenzel Show.

Bergman worked at the Chicago Federal Reserve for over 13 years as an economist and financial markets policy analyst, until he started asking questions about unusual currency movements before 9-11. On the show we talk

about what happened to him, after he started his investigation. We also talk about how the Fed's Biege Book is assembled, the trillion plus dollars sitting at the Fed as excess reserves, the LIBOR "scandal", Warren Buffet

and much more... YouTube and podcast versions may be found here: h t t p : / / www.economicpolicyjournal.com INTERVIEW: page 37

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Here Are The Key Market Moving Events For Monday, July 16 (GCI, C, JBHT)
Eric Platt (Money Game)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 4:01:00 PM

INTERVIEW:
continued from page 36

Monday is a relatively slow day in terms of economic announcements. Earnings out of Citigroup will be in focus. Here's what you need to know. The U.K. starts things off at 7 p.m. on Sunday evening with a reading of home prices. There is no consensus for the Rightmove report. Announcements go quiet until 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning with Indian wholesale prices. Economists forecast prices increased 7.61 percent in June compared to the year-ago period. Swiss industrial production is expected at 3:15 a.m. Forecasts are for an 8.1 percent sequential decline in the first quarter. Italian and Norwegian trade balances hit at 4:00 a.m. Eurozone CPI follows at 5:00 a.m. Economists project inflation was flat sequentially in June, for a 1.6 percent year-on-year rise. Attention shifts to the U.S. at 8:30 a.m. with advance retail sales and the Empire Manufacturing Report. Retail sales are expected

/2012/07/find-out-what-happenedwhen-federal_15.html *** EB: On the same topic, see this April 2011 report at ZeroHedge regarding Mr. Bergman's termination written by one Jr. Deputy Accountant(who, apparently, was not picked up in a chauffered black helicopter and still writes to this day here). Finally, we crunched the numbers, and indeed found a material spike in currency during the ten weeks preceding 9-11 when compared to the previous five years. All the more compelling, considering the average includes the cash dump prior to the Y2K event in 2000. See here: *** The Robert Wenzel Show is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7:00 am. Previous guests

include Robert Morrow(on the JFK assassination), Peter Schiff, libertarian candidate Gary Johnson(worth it for the fireworks), James Altucher(how he lost $15 million dollars), Derek Pilecki(inside Goldman Sacks asset management division) and many more. Average: Your rating: None Average: 5( 4 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

to improve 0.2 percent in June, while the Fed index advances to 4 from 2.29. Closing out the day at 10:30 a.m. is the business inventories report. Economists forecast inventories increased 0.3 percent in May. Below, the key earnings announcements scheduled for the day. Gannett Co (GCI): $0.53

Citigroup (C): $0.89 JB Hunt Transport Services (JBHT): $0.66 Consensus estimates provided by Bloomberg. All times are in Eastern Standard Time. SEE ALSO MEN OF WALL STREET: This Is What You Will Be Wearing Next Summer > Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story

TED: Gabriel Barcia-Colombo: Capturing memories in video art Gabriel Barcia-Colombo (2012)
TEDTalks (TEDTalks (video))
Submitted at 7/15/2012 10:12:32 AM

Using video mapping and projection, artist Gabriel BarciaColombo captures and shares his memories and friendships. At

TED Fellow Talks, he shows his charming, thoughtful work -which appears to preserve the people in his life in jars, suitcases, blenders ...

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Political Cartoons Place Blame on Scranton PA Bankruptcy Saga Squarely Where it Belongs: Public Unions
noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 12:54:00 PM

It's time once again for Sunday funnies. This time, let's take a look at Daryl Cagle's Cartoon Web Log. Cagle asked John Cole, the staff cartoonist for the Scranton TimesTribune, what his thoughts were on the news. Cole went back to November of 2010 and came up with 7 cartoons. Here are two of them. Daryl writes "A state court sided with the police and fire unions, thus putting Scranton on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to cover back pay and future pay raises. The city hadnt anywhere near the means to cover the tab. It still doesn't, in fact." Daryl writes "Around Christmas last year, the state Supreme Court sided with the city's police and fire unions, effectively saying that the states recovery plan cannot preempt arbitration or the unions contracts and ending the city's legal argument. This set the stage for the citys current financial nightmare." For background on this story

"Does any one know a good bookmark manager for Chrome?" [Ask The Commenters Roundup]
(Lifehacker)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 2:00:00 PM

Does any one know a good bookmark manager for Chrome? please see Scranton Mayor Management. Sitka Pacific is an Hive mind, help me decide Slashes All Public Worker Wages asset management firm whose between the Galaxy Nexus or the to $7.25 per Hour, Including goal is strong performance and HTC One S for my next phone! Police, Fire, His Own; City low volatility, regardless of Is there anyway to remove Effectively Bankrupt market direction. Visit http:// "system apps" from a non-rooted Mike "Mish" Shedlock w w w . s i t k a p a c i f i c . c o m / phone? h t t p : / / account_management.html to Is it worth it to buy insurance globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. l e a r n m o r e a b o u t w e a l t h on DSLR and lens? if so, who is com m a n a g e m e n t a n d c a p i t a l the best insurance provider for Click Here To Scroll Thru My preservation strategies of Sitka this purpose? My late 2008 MacBook Pro Recent Post List Mike Pacific. started to choke when launching "Mish" Shedlock is a registered any Adobe CS 5.5 app. The app investment advisor representative would either crash, or I would for SitkaPacific Capital have to force quit it cause it just spun. Has anyone else experienced this, or maybe have a suggestion?

Anyone have experience with a good web/cloud-based HTML/ CSS/Javascript editor with syntax highlighting and autocompletion? The problem lies in finding a hotel that doesn't have conflicting reviews. Are there any suggestions out there for parsing the reviews and deciding which are authentic? Can anyone recommend the best source for a video-based iOS programming tutorial? How should I transfer several hundred photos from my Picasa account to my father's? Has anyone else noticed a significant uptick in legitimate email getting swept up in GMail's spam filter More

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At Iron Man 3 Panel, Marvel Unveils 'Phase Two' of Its Movie Master Plan
Lewis Wallace (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 1:34:00 PM

The makers of Iron Man 3 talk about the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe and the fans who make it all possible during a Comic-Con panel. Photo: Lewis Wallace/Wired SAN DIEGO Marvel Studios kicked off Phase Two of its plan for cinematic world domination Saturday, laying the groundwork for a new string of films based on comic book characters both familiar and obscure. Want to hear a little bit about whats coming up? Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige asked, drawing a roar from the 6,500 fans packed into Hall H for the panel here at Comic-Con International. Billed as an Iron Man 3 showcase, the panel part sneak peek, part family reunion for the filmmakers as well as the fans offered insight into what amounts to a new Marvel Method for generating an ever-expanding movie universe. Feige, later joined onstage by Iron Man 3 stars Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau, plus director Shane Black, first took care of business. He confirmed the titles and directors

of the sequels to Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, the one-two punches that preceded The Avengers knockout box office, and also outlined a couple of the studios riskier projects (see sidebar for details). Thor and Captain America

Sequels Thor: The Dark World will be helmed by Alan Taylor, a TV director whos done episodes of Game of Thrones and other fan favorites for HBO and Showtime. Scheduled release date: Nov. 8, 2013.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be next, with a premiere on April 4, 2014. We have a pair of directors on this one named the Russo brothers, Feige said, who you may not know now, but next year when theyre sitting here with the

footage you will know them. And you will become as big a fan as I am. Feige brought out Edgar Wright to show off Ant-Man test footage (see lower sidebar) and confirmed IRON page 40

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IRON
continued from page 39

rumors that Marvel will produce another superhero team-up film: A much riskier proposition than The Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy movie slated for release Aug. 1, 2014, will depend on far less well known characters like Rocket Raccoon. You wanta see the team? Feige asked, by way of introducing the first look at concept art for the characters picked from the wide Guardians of the Galaxy roster of space superheroes. Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot and my personal favorite, Rocket Raccoon. Lets hope the movie doesnt get Howard the Duck-ed.) All these revelations came after Marvel took a well-deserved victory lap around Hall H, reveling in the years of planning and buzz-generating fan outreach during a string of previous Comic-Con panels that led up to the unparalleled crossover success of The Avengers. A montage of clips from Marvel movies, interspersed with juicy quotes from Marvel filmmakers talking from stages festooned with Comic-Cons familiar yellow-and-black logos, drove home the extraordinary strategy that fueled The Avengers$1.5 billion box office haul, which makes the cinematic superhero team-up the most successful comic book adaptation of all time(at least until The Dark Knight Rises lands Friday). First Iron Man 3 Footage After Marvels virtual victory lap, Downey made a literal one as

he danced through the aisles of Hall H and onto the stage to talk about the still-in-production Iron Man 3 with the rest of the team. Footage shown from the second shellhead sequel offered a look at Iron Mans new self-assembling armor, as well as the worlds first peek at Ben Kingsley as supervillain The Mandarin. Ive got three questions, Downey said, addressing the crowd. How much do I love you? (A roar of approval from the crowd.) Question No. 2: How much do you love me? (More cheers.) Question No. 3: Why arent we watching any footage yet? (Pandemonium.) The Iron Man 3 sneak peek began with Tony Stark talking to the suits of armor showcased in his R&D lab. Good afternoon ladies, welcome to the birthing suite, he says. Im pleased to announce the arrival of your bouncing, badass, baby brother. Looking at the pile of disassembled armor pieces in front of him, he gestures at them, as if willing them to move. He thumps his forearm, and an armored gauntlet flies through the air and onto his hand. Soon other pieces follow suit. The scene echoes the original Iron Man, in which Tony Stark first learns to operate the armor hes created. In this case, the pieces of the dissembled suit begin flying at Tony faster and faster, with one perhaps inevitably hitting him in the crotch, a comic twist as the Iron Man face plate completes the armor.

The clip also offered glimpses of Pepper Potts, Cheadle in redwhite-and-blue War Machine armor and footage of Favreau, who directed the first two Iron Man movies, reprising his role as Tony Starks assistant, Happy Hogan. Downey lauded Favreaus performance in the upcoming film. A Tiny Peek at Ant-Man Test Footage Scott Pilgrim Versus the World director Edgar Wright also popped into Marvels Comic-Con panel, showing the test footage hes shot for Ant-Man. The short clip shows how the scientist superhero uses his size-changing abilities to fight. Ant-Man will kick your ass one inch at a time, Wright said. In the unfinished clip, Ant-Man peers out of an air duct in a very official-looking hallway. Two sunglass-wearing agents stand guard outside an elevator at the end of the hall. Wearing a red jumpsuit that looks like a military flight suit, the helmeted Ant-Man charges them, changing sizes from miniscule to normal human height, using the varying dimensions to his advantage. He jumps on top of one agents gun, running headlong at the unfortunate mans face. The impact makes the agents skin flop like one of those high-speed air-blast videos. Then Ant-Man changes to normal size, flipping one of the agents in the process. After Ant-Man makes it past the two men, he stands in the elevator and gives us a good long look at

his insectlike helmet. While no date has been set for Wrights long-gestating film about the size-changing science superhero, an Ant-Man logo revealed Saturday seems to place the flick squarely in the its gonna happen column. Im taking the Terrence Malick approach, Wright joked. This time, ladies and gentlemen, Happy Hogan is so off the chain, Downey said. The things he says its like Swingers at 40. But it wasnt all humor. The clip also offered a dark introduction to Iron Man 3 s villain, the longawaited Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley. People call me a terrorist, the British actors powerful voice intoned. I consider myself a teacher. Lesson No. 1: Heroes there is no such thing. A handful of helicopters appear outside Tony Starks cliff-side home. They open fire, destroying the playboys mansion, with fire and explosions ripping through the cases where Tony displays his various suits of armor. Large sections of the building tumble into the sea, with a suited-up Iron Man ending up struggling underwater. As you cry out for mercy, Kingsley says in the voiceover, you will be silenced. Then the money shot of a hooded Kingsley follows, looking menacing with his 10 rings. Director Black said Oscar-winner Kingsley is delivering the kind of powerful performance that makes for a memorable bad guy.

Sir Bens lovely, and hes going to be absolutely terrific, director Black said after the clip finished. He came up to me and he says, You know, the most lovely thing happened to me in my hotel room the other night my voice. Im not going to tell you about it now, but Im going to show you later. And he did this kind of voice, and its one of those things thats evolving, watching this guy perform. This guy is the Mandarin. Downey, who starred in Blacks movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,, said that 2005 film helped him secure his career-defining role as Tony Stark, and that Blacks connection to the Iron Man franchise runs deep. In a way, that was kind of my screen test before the screen test, Downey said. A lot of times when we were shooting the first Iron Man, Jon and I would get a little bit stumped, and we would call Shane. Marvel is returning to the well with Iron Man 3. The first Iron Man movie introduced the Marvel Cinematic Universe, putting Downey in the role of a lifetime as a motor-mouth playboy billionaire with attitude and brains to spare. Couple that inspired casting with Favreaus fanboyfriendly handling of the film, and Marvel had a recipe for superhero success in the summer of 2008. Iron Man blasted into theaters loaded with wit, humor and great special effects while The Dark IRON page 46

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Phoenix Officials Release 'Fact Sheet' in Jailed Pastor's Home Bible Study Case
(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)

In the fact sheet, city officials gave reasons why they considered the building a "house of worship" July 12, 2012| 11:07 pm that needed to abide by The fact sheet comes three days c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d f i r e c o d e after Salman reported to jail on r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r a s s e m b l y . Monday. A Phoenix court found Follow us him guilty of 67 code violations in " M r . S a l m a n h a d r e g u l a r connection to a building where he gatherings of up to 80 people. He hosts a weekly Bible study group. held services twice a week and Salman was sentenced to 60 days collected a tithe at the services. in jail, three years probation and The building that he held services fined $12,180. in had a dais and chairs were "The case is about the building aligned in a pew formation. He that is used for regular assembly held himself out as a being a does not meet construction and c h u r c h t h r o u g h t h e m e d i a f i r e c o d e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r (Harvest Christian Church) and assembly," the City of Phoenix claimed a church status for tax stated Thursday. exemption purposes on his SEE VIDEO OF INSIDE OF property," the fact sheet stated. M I C H A E L S A L M A N ' S The following is the full text BUILDING from the City of Phoenix's fact Michael Salman, an ordained sheet on Michael Salman's case: pastor of Church of God in Christ July 12, 2012 and founder of Harvest Christian The Michael Salman court case is Fellowship, has argued that he has about building safety. Building the right to worship at home on and safety codes are in-place to his private property. He and his protect the safety and welfare of wife can't understand why they all of our residents. Some of the are being targeted for gathering at relevant facts in this case include: home for religious purposes when A house of worship is allowed in homes across America, people in any zoning district in the City are gathering for parties, poker of Phoenix nights, and football games. In The case is about the building spite of holding weekly meetings that is used for regular assembly to worship and study the Bible, does not meet construction and Salman has maintained that the f i r e c o d e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r building used for his gatherings is a s s e m b l y not a church. All houses of worship in the

City of Phoenix must conform to the same code Mr. Salman had regular gatherings of up to 80 people. He held services twice a week and collected a tithe at the services. The building that he held services in had a dais and chairs were aligned in a pew formation. He held himself out as a being a church through the media (Harvest Christian Church) and claimed a church status for tax exemption purposes on his property. Due to the regular, reoccurring high vehicular traffic in this quiet residential neighborhood, neighbors repeatedly complained about the public assembly occurring on his property. Because of the multiple, reoccurring complaints, the City investigated the activity and discovered numerous building code violations primarily related to fire safety standards. Once apprised of these violations, the City could be held liable for not enforcing safety code requirements in the event anyone was injured on the premises. Prior to commencement of prosecution, Mr. Salman was asked, repeatedly, to comply with the safety codes of the City. He chose to ignore these requests for voluntary compliance prior to the

commencement of any proceedings. VIDEO: DOES SALMAN'S BUILDING LOOK LIKE A CHURCH? Below is a summary of the case from the City's Law Department, including quotes from the relevant court judgments. Timeline Mr. Salman's interaction regarding his property dates back to 2006, when he was advised by the Zoning Administrator that his property was analogous to a church and required compliance with the Zoning Ordinance. During 2007, Mr. Salman had interaction with the City regarding his attempts to build on his property. The issue revolves around Mr. Salman's assertion that he is building a detached garage, when the building is actually to function as a church. Mr. Salman builds, despite not having a proper permit. On May 1, 2007, he is cited for, and eventually pleads responsible to building without the required permit. (Pleads responsible 7/18/ 2007) In the Fall of 2007, Mr. Salman is notified several times by the City that he needs to obtain the proper permits and approvals before holding church services on his property. In 2008, Mr. Salman's church,

Harvest Christian Fellowship Community Church, is issued a Building Permit to construct a 2,000 square foot private game room accessory to an existing single family residence. The permit states, "Any other occupancy or use (business, commercial, assembly, church, etc.) is expressly prohibited pursuant to the City of Phoenix Building Code and Zoning Ordinances." During 2009-2010 church services are held on Mr. Salman's property without proper permits and in violation of safety concerns. As a result, Mr. Salman is cited. On January 4, 2010, Harvest Christian Fellowship Community Church is found responsible for 96 civil code violations. The Court notes, "[T]he State is not saying the Salmans can't run a church or have worship services at the location, but the State is saying that if they do so, they must do it properly and in accord with the building, fire, and zoning codes." On August 30, 2010, Mr. Salman was found guilty of 67 Class 1 Misdemeanors. The Court stated, "Everyone is entitled under the United States Constitution to worship as they please. But there PHOENIX page 46

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Curated News Edition

Universe-Building With Your After Earth Hosts, Will Smith and M. Night Shyamalan
Jason Strykowski (Wired Top Stories)

Whitta and director of photography Peter Suschtizky ( The Empire Strikes Back) arrived Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:12:00 PM from the film team, while writers M. Night Shyamalan directs Peter David ( The Incredible After Earth in Costa Rica. Hulk), Robert Greenberger ( The Photo: M. Night Shyamalan on Essential Batman Encyclopedia) WhoSay and Michael Friedman ( Star SAN DIEGO It wasnt enough Trek: The Next Generation novels for M. Night Shyamalan and Will and comics) were on hand to Smith to create a sci-fi film. For discuss the creation of the tie-in After Earth, they patterned an novels and comic. Artist Beni entirely new world history (or at Lobel ( G.I. Joe comics), who least paid some really geeky penciled the one-shot prequel people to do it for them). comic After Earth: Innocence for The film is set 1,000 years in the Dynamite Entertainment, was also future, and most of mankind has on hand. moved on to another planet light- Nova Prime looks a lot like Utah years away. Nova Prime has (because its filmed in Utah), and been colonized by humans for thats where the story starts. about 200 years, said After Earth Smith plays Cypher Rage, a screenwriter Gary Whitta during a general in a military unit called Comic-Con panel for the film, the Rangers, while his real-life which is scheduled for release son Jaden plays his fictional son next year. Earth is just kind of a Kitai. The younger Rage aspires memory that is taught in history to follow in his fathers footsteps classes. and join the Rangers. When an Shyamalan and Smith did not errant asteroid damages their ship, make it here to Comic-Con it causes them to crash-land on the International to discuss After most inhospitable planet in the Earth, which is slated for release universe Earth. next summer, but their nerdy Separated during the crash, Kitai s u p p o r t s q u a d w a s o n s t a g e must battle his way across an Saturday to talk about the film aggressive and deadly planet to and the related publishing projects reach his injured father, who is in that share the movies sci-fi bad shape. The journey will take world. Kitai through jungle, desert, forest

and probably a few Shyamalanesque plot twists. In case you were wondering, After Earth designates both an actual location and an epochal nomenclature. Humans long ago spoiled the blue world and were forced to abandon the place; nature took over in our absence and, not really caring too much for mankind, went ahead and turned the planet into a deadly wasteland not at all friendly to primates. It was a one-line idea a father and son crash-land on Earth after it has been abandoned, said Whitta. Will (Smith) was sitting around and watching one of these I shouldnt be alive TV shows (and he) wanted to do a very simple movie about a father and son who crash their car. Only later did they evolve the story into a massive sci-fi epic. The sci-fi angle really amplifies everything that youre doing, said Whitta. We had a lot of fun just sitting around and geeking

out about the world-building. In lieu of a trailer, After Earth debuted a behind-the-scenes peek at the film during Comic-Con. Dont worry: Jaden brings all his Karate Kid skills to the film and spends most of the trailer kicking ass without a shirt. And by kicking ass, I mean rehearsing his stick fights in stunt training. The preview also delivered plenty of looks at the conceptual art for the film. Its a streamlined future with high-tech ships and jumpsuits that makes Will Smith look like he might have been hiding somewhere on the Death Star. Some of the spaceships, all sloping hulls and rounded exteriors, bear a remarkable resemblance to the vessels used in the Star Wars prequels. Designing the film was not just a visual endeavor it was an exercise in inventing history. Thats where the ubergeeky support squad of David, Greenberg and Friedman came in handy. The three writers created a massive, 300-page bible that tells the story of an invented universe from a billion years in our past up to, and beyond, the setting of the film, a thousand years in the future. It drives me nuts when I watch a science fiction TV show and its

long-form and the creators are making it up as it goes, said David. I think weve all seen shows like that [coughing under his breath] Lost. So, he and his team created what he calls one of the most thoroughly fleshed-out universes that has ever hit the screen or the bookstore. The bible, transferred to Smiths Overbrook Entertainment so the staff can keep the facts straight, serves as the foundation for related novels and comics. A video clip went through some of the history showing the ancestors of the Rage family, a group of Russians who happened upon an alien ship stranded on Earth. The family name was later Americanized to Rage and their skin tones changed over the years, but its the same family. As for the alien ship, well, thats the basis for much of the modern technology in this alternative retelling of human history. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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Rick Warren: 'You Can't Please Everyone'


(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)

July 12, 2012| 6:51 am (Photo: Saddleback Church/ Scott Tokar) Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren delivers an Easter message that includes looking at the story of Jesus' resurrection in three dimensions, April 5, 2012. Although the "desire to get approval from other people is not a bad thing, like all of God's gifts, what is a legitimate need in your life can be misused," said Warren, during last weekend's sermon, "You Can't Please Everyone," at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. "One day I will have to give an account of my life to God and that is an antidote (for everyone) for people-pleasing," he said. "You will find yourself in a situation where you have to ask, 'Am I going to please God or am I going to please this person?'" Warren, who admitted that he likes to be liked (as most people do), said the toughest tests in life for him have been when he has come under close scrutiny during media interviews. Often he is challenged by the interviewer to reveal whether he is politically correct of socially acceptable, he said.

Questions about whether nonbelievers go to hell, whether homosexuality is a sin, or if Jesus is the only way to heaven are asked to see if he waivers from biblical truth, he said. "I have been interviewed for lots of TV shows and broadcasts that went internationally and in those broadcasts they will ask me the toughest questions possible, the most incendiary, the most politically incorrect. They want to put me on the spot, make me [appear] that because I believe a certain thing that I'm a bigot, or I'm a this or that. And they are intentionally trying to have me back down off of what the Bible says," Warren explained. Follow us "When I'm asked those kinds of questions my human nature wants to be liked, wants to punt, wants to not to tell the truth," he continued. "In those moments when I could say something that is politically correct and wouldn't ruffle feathers, but would be a lie, I remember these truths, and in that pressure moment I do three things." Warren said, "First, I remember what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross He didn't deny me He died for my sins I remember that one day I'm going to give an account to God and at that point God is going to say,

'What did you say in that interview? What did you say in that conversation at work? What did you say to your friends at school?' And I remember that integrity is important and I'm not going to give up my integrity. So I tell them the truth and I let the chips fall." The sermon is part of an ongoing series, " You Make Me Crazy," about the "crazymakers" in people's lives. Warren has extended the series through the end of July because of positive response from the congregation. The "crazymaker," in the case of the sermon on people pleasing, is ourselves, said Warren. He quoted Jesus from verse John 5:41 in a translation that reads: "Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me." "One of the things Jesus sets us free from is the expectation of others," Warren said. "If you are looking to any human being to meet your needs you are going to be severely disappointed because nobody can meet all your needs. Only God can meet all your needs. You better put your happiness in somebody and something that cannot be taken from you and that is your relationship to Jesus Christ. You need to look to God." Warren listed six things to remember when struggling with

excessive people-pleasing: 1. Even God can't please everybody. 2. I don't need anyone's approval to be happy. 3. What seems so important now is only temporary. 4. I only have to please one person God my creator. 5. One day I will give an account of my life to God. 6. God shaped me to be me. Controversy over Warren's theology peaked earlier this year when detractors said that he believes Muslims and Christians worship the same God, has partnered with Southern California mosques and has agreed not to evangelize Muslims. In response to the controversy initially fueled by a local paper's article, Warren issued a threepage exclusive statement to The Christian Post titled "Muslims, Evangelism and Mission," which asserts that Saddleback Church is preaching Jesus Christ as Savior and a Triune God, not the same view of God that Islam teaches. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Birthday Girl Diane Kruger's Sweetest Moments With Joshua Jackson


Meghan Rooney (PopSugar)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 1:51:11 PM

Diane Kruger turns 36 today. The stylish star got her start in Hollywood with the role of Helen in 2004's Troy, and she's been a red-carpet fixture ever since. In addition to her love of fashion, Diane's known for her six-yearlong relationship with Joshua Jackson. They've traveled the world together since 2006, jetting between their homes in LA and Paris. We're taking a look back at the kisses and sweet times they've shared. Happy birthday to Diane, and click through to see her most adorable moments with Joshua! View Slideshow

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Lawyer of Jailed Pastor in Home Bible Study Case Speaks Out


(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)

Salman reported to jail on Monday after a Phoenix court found him guilty of 67 code July 12, 2012| 5:06 pm violations in connection to a The lawyer of Michael Salman, building where he hosts a weekly the Arizona pastor who is in jail Bible study group. Salman was after holding Bible studies at his sentenced to 60 days in jail, three home, appeared Wednesday on y e a r s p r o b a t i o n a n d f i n e d the show "FOX & Friends" to $ 1 2 , 1 8 0 . argue why his client is a victim of "FOX & Friends" host Doocy religious discrimination. Salman's asked his wife why having private wife Suzanne also made an Bible studies at home would appearance on the show to b e c o m e a p r o b l e m , n o t i n g , express her disbelief at the entire "People do it in my neighborhood situation. all the time." J o h n W h i t e h e a d o f T h e Suzanne expressed her shock and Rutherford Institute, which is disbelief at the situation. representing Michael Salman, told "It defies logic, honestly," she host Steve Doocy that Salman's said. "I don't understand that constitutional rights are being something so small got just so violated. large like this. People do it all "The key is the Constitution over the United States all the guarantees the right to freedom of time." religion the right to assemble Michael Salman, an ordained and talk to each other wherever pastor of Church of God in Christ you want to be in public or in and founder of Harvest Christian your home," he said. Fellowship, has argued that he has W h i t e h e a d t h e n c o m p a r e d the right to worship at home on Salman's case to the religious his private property. However, the oppression in Iran. City of Phoenix has insisted the "You might think it might happen issue is about zoning and code in some place like Iran, or in some violations, not religious freedom. of the countries around the world Phoenix City Prosecutor Vicki that are regimes, but happening in Hill said in a statement: "It came the United States in my opinion is down to zoning and proper so shocking; it's beyond belief," permitting. Anytime you are said the lawyer. holding a gathering of people Follow us continuously as he does, we ave

concerns about people being able to exit the facility properly in case there is a fire, and that's really all this comes down to." At the center of Salman's dispute with the city, which started in 2007, is whether the 2,000 square foot building in his backyard is a church. Before his conviction, Salman held Bible study gatherings inside the building, where around 30 or 40 people gathered weekly. The building has a pulpit and chairs. The prosecutor's office said Salman was given a building permit to convert a garage into a "game room," not a church. In 2009, police officers, armed with a search warrant, raided Salman's property and found 67 code violations. The pastor was charged with not having emergency exit signs over the doors, handicap parking spaces, and not having handicap ramps. Salman has taken his fight to court but the Arizona courts have consistently ruled against him. In a Jan. 2010 ruling, a court stated that the state is not prohibiting Salman to run a church or worship services at the location, but it requires that Salman abide by "fire and zoning codes." He received his jail sentence last month. On Wednesday, his wife

responded to his conviction of "zoning" and "code violations." "It doesn't make sense," she said. "People are crowding our streets, other neighbors, but yet our people park all behind on our property. It makes no sense why we're being targeted." The Rutherford Institute has filed an appeal with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The group is looking at options for getting Salman out of jail. Added Whitehead, "The early Christian church all met in homes. There would be no church today as we know if it weren't for the fact that they met in homes." "You can do all kinds of meetings on a regular basis but for some reason if they call you a church, you're illegal. And again, that's what regimes do." MICHAEL SALMAN'S TEARFUL GOOD-BYE TO FAMILY BEFORE HEADING TO JAIL: This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Estimate How Much Propane is Left in Your Tank with a Glass of Water [Video]
David Galloway (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:00:00 PM

You don't want to run out of propane halfway through your outdoor dinner party. Culinary weblog Chow shares a quick way to estimate how much propane is left in your tank; disconnect the tank from your grill and pour a glass of warm water along one side of the tankareas with with propane will absorb the heat from the water and feel cold to the touch and areas without propane will feel warm. More

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Culture/

45

10 famous literary characters based on real people


(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:01:00 PM

Write what you know, they say. So it makes sense that many authors take a good look around at friends and family when creating characters for their books. 1. Mark Twain once admitted that he wasnt terribly creative in creating Huckleberry Finn he based the character almost precisely on his childhood friend Tom Blankenship. From his autobiography:In Huckleberry Finn I have drawn Tom Blankenship exactly as he was. He was ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed; but he had as good a heart as ever any boy had. His liberties were totally unrestricted. He was the only really independent personboy or manin the community, and by consequence he was tranquilly and continuously happy and envied by the rest of us. And as his society was forbidden us by our parents the prohibition trebled and quadrupled its value, and therefore we sought and got more of his society than any other boys. Sadly, according to the editors notes in Twains posthumous

Eliza Emily Donnithorne, an Australian woman who thought she was getting married in 1856. When she was stood up by the groom, she refused to change anything about the house; the wedding feast even sat out until it rotted into non-existence. Legend has it that Donnithorne never left the house again. Potential Havisham #2: Elizabeth Parker. This Shropshire, England, woman was also jilted on her wedding day and became quite reclusive afterward. Dickins was known to visit Shropshire, and the fact that Miss Parkers house was called Havisham Court seems like it must be more than coincidence. autobiography, Blankenship was scroll. But thats not the only Hammetts lover for 30 years, but Havisham the Third: Madame repeatedly arrested for theft and character Cassady inspired: s h e w a s a l s o a r e s p e c t e d Eliza Jumel, Aaron Burrs second d i e d j u s t f i v e y e a r s a f t e r Kesey, Hunter S. Thompson, and playwright, screenwriter, author wife. Its said that Jumel may Huckleberry Finn was published. Tom Wolfe all took inspiration and outspoken political activist. have gone a little crazy in her 2. When Jack Kerouac wrote On from Cassady. Hammett apparently told Hellman desperate attempts to break into the Road, he was really writing The real Neal died at the age of that she was the inspiration for his New York high society; after finally throwing a successful about his own cross-country 41 after being found comatose by female villains as well. exploits with his Beat Generation a railroad track in Guanajunto, 4. Its almost hard to imagine that d i n n e r p a r t y f o r J o s e p h buddies. For example, the selfish Mexico, in 1968. the furious and completely insane Bonaparte, she supposedly left the Dean Moriarty represents Neal 3. Even as one of the wittiest jilted bride of Charles Dickens banquet and place settings out for Cassady, close pal of Kerouac, female characters in literary Great Expectations has a flesh- decades to commemorate her Allen Ginsberg, Ken Kesey and history, Nora Charles from The and-blood counterpart. But she social acceptance. the Grateful Dead (among others). Thin Man doesnt hold a candle to does in fact, there are at least See the rest at mental_floss. All the top stories from In fact, the characters name is her inspiration, Lillian Hellman. three that might fit the bill. mental_floss. Neal in the original On the Road Lillian was author Dashiell Real-life Miss Havisham #1: Permalink| Leave a comment

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IRON
continued from page 40

Knight, released later that summer, explored the dark extremes at the other end of the comic book movie spectrum. Superhero films havent been the same since. At a press conference earlier in the day, Black praised Marvel Studios support system, which makes it easy for directors to make movies that fit within the overarching universe thats being crafted so painstakingly. He also commented on taking the helm for the follow-up to The Avengers overwhelming success. To me, its an idea about capturing and redoubling the intensity that The Avengers managed to capture that sort of lightning-in-a-bottle feel of really stuffing so much into a limited space, Black said. Were trying to get as much of this as we can

Robert even refers to it as leaving it all on the field, and I think thats what were looking to do just get a ton of thrills in a short space, and make a nice little stew for ya. Now, with neither Downey nor Cheadle contractually obligated to do further Marvel films (Downey joked about the outrageous demands they will be making to do more), the makers of Iron Man 3 are looking to duplicate the magic of the original. And Marvel is hoping to pass a little of it on to lesser characters in the entertainment giants pulpy pantheon. If it feels a little familiar and a little calculated thats exactly the point. This is the same Iron Man that you liked, Black said. Were still here. We do em one at a

time, and this is the next one, and we hope you like it. Were halfway through if we dont fuck up the rest, its gonna be great. A fan dressed as Iron Man asks a question during Marvels Saturday night panel in Hall H at Comic-Con. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Play PopSugar's Bikini Bracket and Enter to Win $500 at Neiman Marcus
Molly Goodson (PopSugar)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 11:30:00 AM

PHOENIX
continued from page 41

is a reason for these codes and that is for public safety. And that, I believe, is all that the State is asking is that the Code violations be rectified." Mr. Salman appealed his convictions. On June 2, 2011, the Maricopa County Superior Court upheld the convictions and stated, "[T]he Defendant was engaged in public or church activities, and further that Defendant's convictions did not violate his Constitutional right to religious freedom." The Court sentenced Mr. Salman to serve jail time. He was ordered to report to jail on June 18, 2012.

The county jail relies on a Department of Public Safety table of criminal codes to confirm the basis for the incarceration when a person self surrenders. The table did not include the particular charge on Mr. Salman's confinement order. Mr. Salman was, therefore, not incarcerated. The table has been corrected. On June 28, 2012, a Probation Revocation Arraignment was held alleging violations of Mr. Salman's sentence by twice having a gathering in excess of 12 people on his premises while not in compliance with all ordinances and failing to cooperate with the

Court's Financial Screening. SEE VIDEO OF INSIDE OF MICHAEL SALMAN'S BUILDING This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

It's time for our annual PopSugar bikini bracket! There are 64 gorgeous stars in the running for this year's title, and we need your help to crown the bikini queen. Who will follow in the footsteps of Halle Berry and Jennifer Aniston? Play by picking your favorite bikini picture each time, and continue until there is only one bikini babe left! Plus for even more Summer fun, when you finish choosing your winner, you have the opportunity to enter to win your favorite Summer shades with $500 at Neiman Marcus. It's never been easier to enter for a chance to win: Step 1: Play PopSugar's Bikini Bracket game by picking your favorite bikini body in each

matchup. Continue to click until there is only one bikini babe left! Step 2: Once you've crowned your favorite bikini babe, enter your email for the chance to win your favorite Summer shades with $500 at Neiman Marcus. Start playing now! To see the official rules, click here.

Photos: Lions' Ryan Broyles married last week in Oklahoma City - Detroit Free Press
(news photos - Google News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:52:36 PM

Photos: Lions' Ryan Broyles married last week in Oklahoma City Detroit Free Press Ryan Broyles found something to

be '100 times better than Gameday' on July 7: His wedding. Check out the wedding photos by Lane Geurkink. Ryan and Mary Beth Broyles' wedding day photos are posted NewsOK.com (blog) all 2 news articles

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47

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR CONSUMERIST READERS


Consumerist yet due to the nocomment mode, but we will alert you when that changes. As some Consumerist readers For information about how to have noted, the site has been create a strong password from our down twice in the past week sister-site and we promised an explanation, Consumer Reports, click here and David Galloway (Lifehacker) which follows. here. Submitted at 7/15/2012 1:00:00 PM We first took the site down late For information about how to If you have an old rechargeable Wednesday afternoon, when we scan your computer, click here. Thanks to readers who have lantern on hand you can add a few were alerted to a security concern. The site was then reached out to us with assistance parts and make your own bug zapper! In addition to the lantern cleaned and cleared by our on this matter. We you'll need a 6V sealed lead acid security experts, and put back appreciate your attention and support and apologize for the battery, a blacklight, small online within about two hours. Last night, we detected a new down time as we continue wooden dowels, " mesh wire, and two small pieces of plywood. problem and took the site down working to resolve this problem. (Holy Kaw!) for another five hours in Time, not money, is the key More Those who wish to contact order to address that issue. resource. Entrepreneurship is a Consumerist on this matter should Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:56:57 PM To limit security concerns, the write to lifestyle, not a job. Be prepared to Anyone can be an entrepreneur. play the game for life. There are Consumerist is now operating in a support@consumerist.com. Few can do it successful. It's a no quick fixes, or quick get-rich mode that does not - Consumerist Security Team whole lifestyle and a difficult one solutions. Learn to manage and p e r m i t c o m m e n t i n g . W e This entry passed through the at that. Startup Professional balance your time; its the one apologize for the inconvenience Full-Text RSS service if this is Musings offers 10 tips for making thing that belongs to you alone. this may cause. your content and you're reading it it. Here are just two: As both a precaution and as a on someone else's site, please read Great entrepreneurs have a life Persist, persevere, prevail. outside of work, and find time to best practice, we strongly advise the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentExperts say the prime cause of give back. that you change your only/faq.php#publishers. Five failure in business is quitting too Full story at Startup Professional password at any site where you Filters recommends: Incinerating soon. The successful entrepreneur Musings. u s e t h e s a m e p a s s w o r d a s Assange - The Liberal Media Go never gives up, and uses creativity Top news for entrepreneurs. Consumerist. You cannot To Work. t o o v e r c o m e a l l o b s t a c l e s , Photo credit: Fotolia change your password at including personal, financial, and Permalink| Leave a comment technical ones.

DIY Bug Zapper [Weekend Project]

Meg Marco (The Consumerist)


Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:45:44 PM

How to live the entrepreneur lifestyle (without crashing and burning)

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Rwanda and DRC agree to AU military force


(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))
Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:37:46 PM

The presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have thrown their weight behind a regional pact to eliminate armed rebels in eastern Congo, signing the document and holding rare face-to-face talks. Along with other leaders from the Great Lakes region, the DRC's Joseph Kabila and Rwanda's Paul Kagame put their signatures to an accord on Sunday that will facilitate the creation of an international military force to take on multiple insurgencies in the eastern Congolese provinces of North and South Kivu. Uneasy neighbours Congo and Rwanda, which have gone to war with each other in the past, have often swapped accusations about backing rival rebel groups, a charge that both Kigali and Kinshasa deny. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who also attended the Great Lakes meeting on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, described the atmosphere between the Congolese and Rwandan leaders as "excellent, amicable". Before joining the other regional leaders, Kabila and Kagame held a separate one-on-one meeting for more than half an hour, also at AU headquarters, aides said. The agreement, originally initialled by Great Lakes

region foreign ministers on Thursday, proposes a military response to an offensive by rebels known as the M23 movement in e a s t C o n g o ' s turbulent borderlands. Blame game Rebel advances this month sent the Congolese government army fleeing in droves, displaced thousands of civilians, killed an Indian UN peacekeeper and stoked tensions between Congo and Rwanda. Congo accused the Rwandan army of directly equipping and supporting the M23 rebellion. Rwanda's government strenuously denied the accusations despite evidence provided by UN experts supporting allegations that highlevel military officials in Kigali were supporting and supplying the rebellion in eastern Congo. Kabila, Kagame and the other G r e a t L a k e s presidents condemned "in the strongest terms the actions of the M23 and other negative forces operating in the region and support the efforts deployed by the government of the DRC for the restoration of peace and security in North Kivu province," according to the declaration from the meeting seen by Reuters. Endorsing Thursday's security pact, the leaders also condemned a separate eastern rebellion by predominantly Hutu insurgents and agreed to "work

with the AU and the UN for an immediate establishment of a neutral international force to eradicate" all armed groups in eastern Congo. "No support should be given to any negative force to destabilise the region and eastern Congo in particular," the declaration by the presidents of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, said. Eastern Congo's enduring conflict, which has killed, maimed and displaced several million civilians over nearly two decades, has its roots in TutsiHutu ethnic and political enmities dating back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Later invasions of Congo by Rwandan forces and Kigali's backing of Congolese rebels fuelled two crippling wars. The M23 rebellion takes its name

from a 2009 peace accord the rebels say was violated by Kinshasa. It has been swelled by hundreds of defectors from the Congolese army who walked out into the bush in support of fugitive Congolese General Bosco Ntaganda, wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges. While welcoming the regional pact against armed rebels in eastern Congo, diplomats from major Western backers of Congo and Rwanda, such as the United States, have questioned where the troops for the "neutral international force" will come from. The UN has a peacekeeping mission of more than 17,000 in the Congo but has often been hard pressed to halt fighting and protect civilians in the vast, central African state which

produces gold, copper, tin, diamonds and other minerals. Addressing a plenary session of the AU summit on Sunday, AU Commission chief Jean Ping said the African body was willing to contribute to the anti-rebel force.| Diplomats said the operating mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, could also be strengthened so it could take more robust action against the eastern Congolese rebels. The encounter between Kabila and Kagame was the second successful rapprochement between feuding neighbours achieved by the heads of state at the Addis Ababa summit. On Saturday, the summit also brought together the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan, raising hopes that they could peacefully settle through negotiations border and oil disputes that had pushed them close to war in April. 762 This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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49

Tantawi pushes back on Egypt's Brotherhood


(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:38:19 PM

anyone, especially those pushed from outside, to distract it from its role as the protector of Egypt ... Egypt's top military official has The army will never commit m a d e a r a r e p u b l i c r e b u k e treason and will continue to a p p a r e n t l y d i r e c t e d a t t h e perform its duties until Egypt powerful Muslim Brotherhood, reaches the shores of safety.'' declaring that the armed forces Tantawi was the country's interim would not allow a "certain group" military ruler after President or "those pushed from outside" to Hosni Mubarak was ousted last dominate the country. year ending three decades in Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi's power. He and the rest of the remarks on Sunday came hours Supreme Council of the Armed after he met with US Secretary of Forces ran Egypt's affairs after State Hillary Clinton, who has Mubarak's ouster and remain in a used a two-day trip to Egypt to political struggle with Morsi and push for a full transfer to civilian the Brotherhood over how to authority in the wake of President direct the transition. Mohamed Morsi's victory at the Morsi, Egypt's first polls last month. democratically elected president, Earlier during her visit, Clinton h a s o r d e r e d t h e c o u n t r y ' s urged Morsi, a member of the d i s s o l v e d p a r l i a m e n t t o Brotherhood, to "assert the full reconvene, defying an army order authority" of his office and said to disband the house following a the military should return to a court decision in June. "purely national security role". The SCAF also issued a E g y p t i a n s s e l e c t f i r s t n e w unilateral package of interim president of post-Mubarak era constitutional amendments before Tantawi's comments, delivered to Morsi was sworn in, granting the reporters after a ceremony in the military legislative powers, veto city of Ismailia marking a change over declaring war and budgetary of leadership at the Second Army, autonomy, even as they officially sounded a discordant note after handed power to Morsi on June Clinton's urgings. 30. "Egypt will never fall. It belongs US has 'little leverage' to all Egyptians and not to a Clinton's visit has been marked certain group, the armed forces by various protests against will not allow it,'' he said. perceived US meddling and "The armed forces will not allow urging her not to support the

their democratic transition," Clinton said at a joint news conference with Mohammed Amr, the foreign minister. "We want to be a good partner and we want to support the democracy that has been achieved by the courage and sacrifice of the Egyptian people," she said. "Democracy is hard." Steven Cook, a Middle East analyst, told Al Jazeera that Clinton was in a difficult situation and that the United States had little leverage. "What the secretary of state clearly wants to do is demonstrate Washington's support for a full Brotherhood. On Sunday, a crowd purely national security role". threw tomatoes, shoes and plastic The two also discussed an democratic transition in Egypt. bottles at Clinton's motorcade as economic package proposed by But of course she has to walk a she departed the newly reopened Clinton and "Tantawi stressed that tight line here," he said. US consulate in Alexandria. this is what Egyptians need most "The SCAF remains very much in Protesters chanted "Monica, now, help getting the economy control; immediately after the Monica," in reference to Monica back on track," the official said. elections the generals gutted the Lewinsky, the White House intern Clinton's discussions with Morsi power of the president. So she has who had an affair with Clinton's on Saturday focused on the to deal with both the head of state, husband when he was president. domestic political deadlock and as Mohamed Morsi is, and the On Saturday, crowds gathered economic development. She power brokers behind the scenes." outside the Four Seasons hotel in pledged hundreds of millions of The US has been allied with Cairo where she was staying, dollars in debt relief, private Egypt since the country signed a holding up signs that told the investment and job creation funds peace treaty with Israel in 1979 United States not to support - money the US administration and supplies $1.5bn every year in aid, most of which goes to the "jihadists" and a "theocracy". had earlier promised. Clinton has repeatedly called on Clinton said her country's "shared military. t h e m i l i t a r y t o r e s p e c t t h e strategic interests far outnumber Clinton is on a regional visit and arrived in Israel on Sunday night. outcome of the elections and told our differences" with Egypt. a news conference her talks with "I have come to Cairo to re-affirm 782 Tantawi would focus on "working the strong support of the United TANTAWI page 50 to support the military's return to a States for the Egyptian people and

50

Politics-Left/

Curated News Edition

Damascus struck by 'most intense' clashes yet


(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:35:47 PM

and that loud explosions were heard in Nahr Aisha. The Observatory earlier said Heavy clashes between rebels violence across Syria on Sunday and regular troops have erupted in killed at least 55 people, including Damascus in the "most intense" a girl who died along with three fighting in the other people when the army capital since the start of the anti- rained shells on the town of regime revolt in Syria 16 months Rastan, a rebel stronghold in the ago, a monitoring group has said. central province of Homs. "The regular army fired mortar 'Pools of blood' rounds into several suburbs" Meanwhile, Syria has denied where fighters of the Free Syrian accusations by special envoy Kofi Army are entrenched, said Rami Annan that state forces used Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian heavy weapons or helicopters in Observatory for Human Rights on clashes in the village of Tremseh Sunday. last week, where activists said "They have never been this there was a massacre of more intense," Abdel Rahman told the than 100 people. AFP news agency. Jihad Makdissi, spokesman He said the fighting was heaviest for the foreign ministry, said on in the Tadamon, Kfar Souseh, Sunday that security forces killed Nahr Aisha and Sidi Qadad 37 fighters and two civilians in a neighbourhoods. campaign against the village, " T h e s e c u r i t y f o r c e s a r e from which the government said attempting to take control of these rebels were launching attacks on neighbourhoods, but so far they other areas. have not succeeded," he added. "Government forces did not use T h e L o c a l C o - o r d i n a t i o n planes, or helicopters, or tanks or Committees activist network said artillery. The heaviest weapon p l u m e s o f b l a c k s m o k e used was an RPG [rocketwere billowing out of Tadamon p r o p e l l e d g r e n a d e ] , "

between 100 and 200 rebels and civilians were killed. Another group of UN observers headed to the Damascus suburb of Douma on Sunday in order to hold a humanitarian visit to hospitals and schools and assess the situation. The International Committee of M a k d i s s i t o l d r e p o r t e r s i n A UN Supervision Mission in t h e R e d C r o s s s a y s i t Damascus. Syria (UNSMIS) entered Tremseh now considers the conflict in "Yesterday we received a letter on Sunday for a second day to Syria a civil war, meaning from Mr Kofi Annan addressed to assess the casualties and damage international humanitarian law the Foreign Minister Walid al- in the village. applies throughout the country. Muallem. The least that can be The group released a statement The Geneva-based group's said about this letter about what on its inspections, saying that the assessment is an important happened in Tremseh is that it did village had come under attack by reference that helps parties in a n o t r e l y o n f a c t s . A s "direct and indirect weapons, conflict determine how much and diplomatically as possible, we say including artillery, mortars and what type of force they can that this letter was very rushed." small arms". or cannot use. The UNSMIS released a video "The integrated patrol, comprised 665 report from Tremseh of specialised civilian and military This entry passed through the A freelance photojournalist who experts, observed over 50 houses Full-Text RSS service if this is visited Tremseh after Thursday's t h a t w e r e b u r n e d a n d / o r your content and you're reading it killings told Al Jazeera that he destroyed. Pools of blood and on someone else's site, please read "found obvious proof of heavy brain matter were observed in a the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentweapons". number of homes," said the only/faq.php#publishers. Five "Everyone was very nervous statement, which did not identify Filters recommends: Incinerating trying to show us what happened the perpetrators of Thursday's Assange - The Liberal Media Go in the town. There were marks of attack or estimate the number of To Work. shelling [by] mortars," said Daniel dead. Leal Olivas Opposition activists have said

TANTAWI
continued from page 49

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Sports/

51

Closing hole at British Open should deliver drama - Indianapolis Star


(- Bing News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:05:52 PM

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England (AP) The cheer was so loud, the moment so big, that Padraig Harrington forgot what he was doing. It was his major championship debut in 1996 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, and he finished off his second round of 68 by holing a bunker shot next to the 18th green. "I got so excited, I took the putter out of the bag," Harrington recalled. "I've never been as excited on the golf course. The hairs on the back of my head stood up. It was just an unbelievable cheer that went up when I holed it." The lasting memory of that moment, however, was more about the stage than the shot. "It's like no other major," Harrington said. No matter the links course, there is nothing like the atmosphere on 18th hole at the British Open anywhere in golf. The grandstands are enormous, about 10 feet above the ground and stretching 20 rows to the top, just below the iconic yellow scoreboard. They are on both sides of the fairway, starting about 50 yards before players reach the green. "It's the best finish in golf,"

Robert Allenby said. "Nothing would be more incredible than coming down here on Sunday winning the tournament, that's for sure." Dustin Johnson can appreciate what that's like as a bystander. He played in the final group last year at Royal St. George's as the thousands of people in the stands celebrated Darren Clarke winning the claret jug. "Pretty cool," Johnson said. "It's almost like you're in a stadium." The stadium was relatively empty Sunday on a surprisingly sunny afternoon at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Six people sat on the right side watching Clarke finish his practice round. Four others were on the left side when Robert Rock came through. It won't be like that a week from Sunday. There are 6,705 seats, and all of them will be occupied. One of them was taken on this quiet day. Alan Clarkin of nearly Ormskirk was on the top row, three seats from the end, eating his lunch before wandering back onto the course. He plans to be in the same spot a week from now. Clarkin goes to all the Opens in the Lancashire region Lytham & St. Annes, Birkdale, Hoylake and he sticks to the same plan. He walks the course during the practice days and the opening three rounds. He will be at the

course 10 minutes before the gates open at 7 a.m., and head straight to the top row of the grandstands. The top row is critical. Behind him is the par-3 first hole, so he can watch every player start the final round. More importantly, he'll see every player finish. Clarkin was there in 2001 when Ian Woosnam discovered he had 15 clubs in his bag a twostroke penalty and when David Duval removed his wraparound shades and squinted into the sun to hold the claret jug in his lone major triumph. "It raises the hair on the back of your neck," Clarkin said. "You see the players come through, and the cheer is almost like a crescendo." That's how it was for Harrington. He always told Ronan Flood, his brother-in-law who eventually became his caddie, that there was no greater feeling than walking up the 18th at the Open, with the gallery crammed behind ropes and metal railing, the grandstands full of people sitting elbow-to-elbow in the green chairs aligned so perfectly. "I kept telling Ronan for years, 'You've got to be coming down the last on a Sunday afternoon. There's no experience like walking down the last and getting cheered onto the green,'"

Harrington said. "The first time Ronan ever got to caddie on the 18th hole was Carnoustie. It took us three years to get there." Harrington won his first Open at Carnoustie in 2007, despite a double bogey on the 18th hole. Sergio Garcia made bogey on the last to set up a playoff, and Harrington wound up beating him by one shot. So he made the trip down the 18th fairway five times that week four in regulation, one in a playoff. "But I actually lied," Harrington added. "There's a better experience. It's going down the 72nd hole when you're actually winning The Open," he said. "Then the crowds really come alive if they have not been alive already. It's a very special feeling." Sunday before a major is getting busier, with a couple of dozen players getting in a practice round. One of them was Tiger Woods, who arrived at a nearby airport at 7 a.m., drove straight to the golf course and walked right onto the first tee. He stretched briefly, and without a practice swing, uttered his first words of his British Open week: "Get in." He nearly holed the tee shot. Woods meticulously worked his way through all 18 holes, taking notes, hitting a 2-iron off a par 5

into the wind to avoid some of the 206 bunkers. One reason for being so meticulous on a Sunday was the weather might not be this pleasant the rest of the week. The forecast was for rain just about every day, starting on Monday on the first official day of practice. The grandstands are made by a company called Wernick Events Link. The grandstands will hold some 20,000 people across Royal Lytham & St. Annes, but it's the three sets around the 18th two on either side, one to the back left corner so as not to block the clubhouse, that are so majestic. Workers began installing them in April. The last three winners have been able to soak up the moment on the 18th. Stewart Cink in the playoff at Turnberry, Louis Oosthuizen at St. Andrews and Clarke last year all had safe leads. The engraver already was at work on the claret jug. Justin Leonard won at Royal Troon in 1997, though he was in the penultimate group and was busy grinding to make par. Still, he can't think of a better stage than the closing hole of golf's oldest championship. "There's a lot of things you can understand just from watching on TV," he said. Copyright 2012 The Associated CLOSING page 53

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Sports/

Curated News Edition

Johnson tops Matteson in playoff to win John Deere - YAHOO!


The Associated Press (- Bing News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:36:12 PM

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) -- Zach Johnson already was a member of the board of directors of the John Deere Classic. Now he has another title at the tournament: champion. Johnson won the Deere on Sunday with a birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. His 193-yard 6-iron approach from the bunker left of the 18th fairway ran up to less than a foot from the cup for an easy birdie, enabling him to knock off Troy Matteson, whose approach landed 43 feet from the pin. ''I saw it bounce on the green and hoped it would kick left,'' Johnson said. ''I couldn't see the golf ball.'' Johnson couldn't miss hearing the gallery, many of them friends, as the ball crept within a foot of the hole. ''I liked that crescendo from the crowd,'' said Johnson, who is from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, about an hour from the Quad Cities. The kick-in birdie had seemed unlikely minutes earlier after

Johnson followed Matteson into the water from the same bunker on the first playoff hole. Each settled for double-bogey 6, then went back to the 18th tee for another try. Johnson's bunkered his tee shot again, but this time, he played one of the better shots of a career that includes a 2007 Masters victory and eight other PGA Tour titles. ''It's one of the best results,'' Johnson said. When Matteson was unable to sink his long birdie putt, Johnson tapped in to secure his second victory of the year, adding to the title he won at Colonial Country Club. While Johnson tried to downplay what winning would mean to him during the tournament's first three days, with the trophy in his grasp he admitted that it meant a great deal. ''It just feels awesome,'' Johnson said. ''This tournament has meant so much to me and my family, from when they gave me exemptions to being a part of its board. ''I don't really like making things a bigger deal than what they should be. It means a great deal now that

I've done it.'' The duo had tied at 20-under 264 after Johnson closed with a 6under 65 and Matteson had a 69. Matteson had his best finish since winning the Frys.com Open in 2009, and needed a top-five placing to qualify for the British Open. So rather than drive to nearby Rockford for a Monday pro-am and then fly to Mississippi for the PGA Tour tournament, he hopped on the charter that Deere has to ferry players across the Atlantic to the British Open. It will be his first appearance in the year's third major. ''It's a heck of a way to play a qualifier, for four days,'' Matteson said. ''When I started this week I really didn't think about the British Open. It's fun to play (Rockford) and then go to Mississippi.'' Matteson, playing with threetime defending champion Steve Stricker, led from the first round until a double-bogey on the 15th hole dropped him to 18-under, a stroke behind Johnson, who played a bogey-free, with birdies on three of his last six holes keying his surge.

But Matteson made up for his miscue with an eagle on the par-5 17th, sinking a 60-footer that drew a roar Johnson heard on the 18th green. ''I didn't know who the roar was for,'' Johnson said. So Johnson two-putted for par and waited for Matteson, who matched him to force the playoff. Johnson climbed into second in the FedEx Cup standings, trailing only Tiger Woods, and is fifth in the Ryder Cup standings. ''If it happens, great,'' Johnson said. ''In golf, arguably in sport, they're some of the most fun and gut-wrenching tournaments you can play in. I love that.'' Stricker began the day with a chance for a fourth straight title, but played himself out of contention by driving into high grass on the 14th hole. He settled for bogey after a penalty drop, then bogeyed the next hole and finished four strokes back, tied for fifth with Luke Guthrie. ''It was fun trying to do it,'' Stricker said of a potential fourpeat. ''It was fun, but I think it's the putter. This week it was hot and cold.'' Stricker was attempting to

become the fifth player to win the same tournament four straight times. The others are Tom Morris Jr., Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Woods, who has done it twice. Scott Piercy's closing 65 left him two strokes back in third, and John Senden posted a 67 for fourth place, three shots off the pace. The Knicks have added Kurt Thomas, Jason Kidd and Marcus Camby. Will becoming 1 of the oldest teams in the NBA lead to more playoff success? RT @ YahooDevilBall: Zach Johnson is your 2012 John Deere Classic champion. Nearly holed his approach shot from the bunker to make an inc ... The Knicks' Jason Kidd was arrested on a DWI charge after police said he crashed his SUV into a telephone pole Sunday. http://t.co/LWXFZlHl This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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53

Motor sports: Denny Hamlin's mix-up leads to win by Kasey Kahne - San Jose Mercury News
(- Bing News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:11:59 PM

CLOSING
continued from page 51

LOUDON, N.H. -- The best car was rolling toward victory -- until its driver and crew chief couldn't agree on how many tires to change. Kasey Kahne capitalized on that confusion between Denny Hamlin behind the wheel and Darian Grubb in the pits to win his second Sprint Cup race of the year and make a leap toward one of the 12 spots in the Chase that determines this year's NASCAR champion. "For those guys to miscommunicate, that helped us a ton," Kahne said. "I'll take 'em any way we can." Hamlin's Toyota led for 150 of the 300 laps at the one-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. His communication wasn't quite as good. Kahne, who finished second two weeks ago at Kentucky to Brad Keselowski, went ahead to stay during a restart on the 240th lap when Hamlin spent extra time in the pits as his crew changed all four tires. Hamlin wanted just two new

ones. "Darian asked me how much of the tires I felt I'd used up. I felt like I had used up a substantial amount," he said. "(I said) give me tires and no adjustments. He thought I meant four tires. Nothing's a given. Even though it looked like we had one in the bag if we took two tires, you never know." After the race, Grubb took the blame: "That was 100 percent my fault." Hamlin's longer pit stop left him in 13th place, but he kept passing cars until only Kahne remained in front. Then he simply ran out of miles and Kahne won by 2.738 seconds. It was the 14th win of Kahne's career and first since May 27 at Charlotte. Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Keselowski rounded out the top five. Team owner Roger Penske says South Bay driver AJ Allmendinger will be back for the next Sprint Cup race if he is reinstated by NASCAR. Allmendinger was suspended about 90 minutes before the race at Daytona International Speedway on July 7 after a urine

sample taken the previous weekend at Kentucky Speedway came back positive for what his team identified only as a stimulant."We're standing behind AJ," Penske said before the race Sunday. "Hopefully, we'll know something in the next week to 10 days." Allmendinger is driving for Penske on a one-year contract with an option for 2013."His option doesn't come until later in the year and, obviously, we'd have to evaluate that with all the circumstances at that point," Penske said. "We've made no commitment now."

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How to Watch Breaking Bad Premiere Live Online


Christina Warren (Mashable!)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:56:18 PM

Good news Breaking Bad fans, you can tune in to watch the fifth season premiere live online tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Copyright 2012 The Associated Earlier this month, an ongoing Press. All rights reserved. This dispute between AMC Networks material may not be published, and Dish over carriage fees meant b r o a d c a s t , r e w r i t t e n o r that Dish satellite customers lost access to the AMC, IFC, redistributed. This entry passed through the Sundance Channel and WEtv Full-Text RSS service if this is cable networks. your content and you're reading it That's bad news for any Dish on someone else's site, please read customer who wants to tune into the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- the latest (and final) season of the only/faq.php#publishers. Five award-winning show Breaking Filters recommends: Incinerating Bad. Assange - The Liberal Media Go For the last few weeks, AMC has To Work.

ramped up its own "Get the Facts" campaign with its " Keep AMC Networks" site geared towards telling its side of the story. In a move that is unprecedented - at least as far as these disputes go -- the network is go Continue reading... More About: AMC network, amc, breaking bad, streaming television

54

Gaming/ Social Media/

Curated News Edition

Richard Branson Announces Satellite-Carrying LauncherOne


Alex Fitzpatrick (Mashable!)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:50:35 PM

Visit Silent Hill during Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights this October
Jordan Mallory (Joystiq)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:25:00 PM

You know, we were just saying the other day how we wished we could spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a trip across the country to be tortured by grotesque manifestations of our terrible inner demons and dark secrets. How serendipitous then that Universal Studios and Konami should announce a partnership that fulfills that exact wish! Well, maybe the Silent Hill portion of Universal Studio's upcoming Halloween Horror Nights attraction won't actually transform life into an unending fount of misery and soullessness,

but walking around a replica Silent Hill does sound like a pretty sweet idea. The announcement video above specifically calls out Fog World, Otherworld, Pyramid Head and the Nurses as parts of the Silent Hill mythos that will be brought to life by the attraction, so if you're seeking redemption for the terrible sins you've committed, maybe book a flight to Hollywood or Orlando this October. Visit Silent Hill during Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights this October originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments

Cunchyroll app coming to PS3 (plus bonus streaming anime news)


Jordan Mallory (Joystiq)

an iOS/Android app. In related news, VIZ Media's non -on-demand Neon Alley anime Crunchyroll, online purveyors of c h a n n e l ( a n n o u n c e d f o r on-demand anime and Korean unspecific consoles late last dramas, will be extending the month) will be coming to the PS3 subscription-based side of its when the channel launches this service to the PlayStation 3 at fall. As you'll recall, Neon Alley some unknown point in the future. f u n c t i o n s l i k e a p r e m i u m For $6.95 a month, users will be television channel, airing shows able to stream Crunchyroll's according to a set schedule and selection of anime or Korean requiring a $6.99 subscription. dramas to their televisions by way Cunchyroll app coming to PS3 of PS3 -- getting both requires a (plus bonus streaming anime package subscription at $11.95 a news) originally appeared on month. Subscribing also grants Joystiq on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 a c c e s s t o H D c o n t e n t o n 21:55:00 EST. Please see our Crunchyroll's website, as well as terms for use of feeds. early access to new episodes and Permalink| Email this| Comments
Submitted at 7/15/2012 9:55:00 PM

Virgin Galactic, the space travel outfit belonging to business mogul Richard Branson, unveiled a low-cost option for delivering satellites into orbit called "LauncherOne" this week. LauncherOne, which Branson announced at the Farnborough Airshow near London, England, is scheduled to begin sending satellites to space in 2016. The vessel will have a cargo capacity of up to 500 pounds and cost under $10 million, according to a release from the company. Branson hailed the project as a solution for democratizing satellite-based scientific research. "It will be a critical new tool for the global research community, enabling us all to learn about our home planet more quickly and affordably Continue reading... More About: SpaceX, Tech, Virgin Galactic, richard branson, space, technology

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Gaming/ Featured/

55

For-pay services
be even easier with customization. I tell people that running a server is almost exactly as complicated Fred Wilson is writing about Free as running a laptop. Slight -vs-Pay services. differences like one goes in your My main comment is that there knapsack and the other one is are cases where the dominant always on and always connected. company has a for-pay service. But the software is identical to the Amazon's web services platform, software that runs laptops. People Dropbox and Rackspace virtual are surprised when I say that, but servers are the ones I depend on it's true. the most. Services must be for-pay when What they have in common is this kind of flexibility is required. that these systems provide a low- I don't have any doubt that a forlevel function in which the user pay version of Twitter would creates their own service. They work, in the same model as are platforms, even though Dropbox. I've often felt that Dropbox has a fairly high-level Amazon should have a simple entrypoint. I have been coming up notification service that does Jordan Mallory (Joystiq) however, we're starting to feel a with new applications for it everything that Twitter does and little better about it. The action constantly. They're not hard to nothing more. Huge explosion of Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:55:00 PM appears distinctly Zelda II-ish, implement, but they take your innovation would come from that, We're big fans of Pendleton with Jake the Dog and Finn the mind through some wonderful because there are so many Ward's Adventure Time series Human navigating top-down little twists. I use it mostly for developers who eat Amazon APIs around these parts, what with its overworlds and side-scrolling server management, but like for breakfast. I happen to be one perfect blend of humor and sections. Hopefully this trend of everyone else we use it in our of them. m y s t i c i s m a n d c h i l d - l i k e reassurance continues as we family to share photos and we're I've gotten so much value from wonderment and everything. In approach the game's fall 2012 converting the family scrapbooks the Route 53 API, for example. fact, Ward's vision of our magical release window. slowly so they're in a Dropbox It's made it possible for me to do post-apocalyptic future in the First Adventure Time footage folder structure. It's low-level, but things I only dreamt of before. Land of Ooo is so unique and shows Giant Worm King, Cosmic until this service came along there Twitter, on the other hand, tonally specific, it's been hard to Owl, promise originally appeared was no neat way to do it. And of inspired similar dreams, with an believe that WayForward could on Joystiq on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 course we pay for it, happily. uneasy feeling because I was properly capture that essence. 18:55:00 EST. Please see our People who think Amazon and concerned they would do more or After seeing this footage of terms for use of feeds. Rackspace are just for developers less what they ended up doing. Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Permalink| Email this| Comments are wrong. EC2 for Poets is Squeezing out a commercial Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!, something any user who mastered platform and killing off the parts MS-DOS could handle. It could that I loved. I end up with
Submitted at 7/15/2012 4:27:40 PM

(Dave Winer)

First Adventure Time footage shows Giant Worm King, Cosmic Owl, promise

something useful, the Twitter user interface, with none of the geek love. What if instead of hiring a marketing guy to run it they had hired an architect with a sweeping megalomaniac vision. Some truly great stuff would have happened. That opportunity still exists. But for me to buy into a for-pay Twitter-like service, I would have to know the company pretty well. I don't have absolute faith in Amazon, Rackspace or Dropbox, I've had issues with two of the companies (Amazon and Dropbox) in the last couple of years. Non-trivial ones. But netnet I go ahead and build on their services. And I like the deal. I can't believe how little I pay for them, but I'm glad I do pay. BTW, I'm not pointing to Fred's piece because I don't want to be in the chorus for his piece on Techmeme. I'd like to get equal billing. (Update: it didn't work, they put me in the chorus anyway. And of course they didn't link to my piece about User/VCs which imho is much more to the point than free-vs-pay. The issue is how we fund development in tech. We're only getting a slice of it supported by investment, so of course, that's the part that works.)

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Featured/

Curated News Edition

The rise of the User/VC


(Dave Winer)

companies that I started. Up until 2004 I thought it was because they didn't understand the One of the unwritten rules of tech ideas when they were fresh. But blogging is that you don't write then they did a couple of rounds about VCs. Or if you absolutely of investments, first in RSS must, if it's unavoidable, it's startups and then in podcasting always in glowing terms. I startups, that convinced me that suppose the reason is that in the it's personal. They don't mind back of writers' minds is that trying to make money from my someday you're going to want work, but they don't want to bet funding, or one of them is going on me personally. Okay, so why to tap you on the shoulder, but should I be careful with their none of that is going to happen if feelings? No reason to. I'm critical. Or if you even Another reason to write about mention them. VCs is that the Republican Party VCs like to operate in the is about to nominate one for background. But there's no reason President. As I watch the way they should, because they're Romney talks, and the way he centrally important to the way approaches problems, it's so eerily technology evolves. VCs are the like the VCs I know. So clubby reason that the equivalent of a hit and shallow, so mercenary, so movie in tech is a startup, and not without shame or passion. He's a software product or web service. been told that it's important to at Our whole industry is oriented least fake passion, but you can see around that idea, and it's poison. right through it. The individual VCs may not So I'm going to start breaking the know that it's poison, but that rule in the title of this piece. I'm doesn't change the fact that it is. going to talk about VCs as if they I've been watching them as w e r e p r o d u c t m a n a g e r s a t closely as I've been watching the companies like Google and BigCo's over my many years in Microsoft. I think in many ways the software business. I've had that's exactly what they are. But something like friendships with they can't generate horribly the leading VCs. They've often confusing technical standards to invested in my ideas, but never in keep their competitors at bay.
Submitted at 7/15/2012 10:55:57 AM

Instead they feed off open development work, like the stuff I've been doing for twenty-plus years. There have been some recent innovations in VC that have worked well, and that I think are good trends. The leading VC in this generation is without a doubt Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures. His innovation is that unlike previous generations of VCs, he uses the products he invests in. That seems to come first. If Fred uses your software and it works for him, that seems to have a lot to do with whether he invests or not. That's an improvement because previous generations didn't use the product, and their decisions were one level more abstract. At least Fred's companies create products that are usable, because he has a good eye for that. So resources are allocated, properly, to products that may make users lives better in some ways, and further the art of making usable software. But that isn't good enough, because his products are predatory. They feed off open development work, destroy the value of its open-ness, and put little or nothing back. So those of us who are on the side of

shoveling open innovation into the network, are constantly trying to keep up with the destruction of Fred's companies. And we're always falling behind. And that's bad for the Internet, for sure, but it's also keeping the growth down for the funds that these user-VCs manage. Eventually the well is dry, there are no more seeds to eat, use whatever analogy you like. The growth stops and we go through a completely unnecessary contraction in tech. The VCs lick their wounds, but it doesn't hurt too much, because during the boom they pocketed billions. But like the American workers who Romney's tactics cost their jobs and pensions, young tech contributors are out of work. The boom-bust cycle is very hard on the workers in tech. Eventually the generation that Fred Wilson leads will fall behind, as did the one led by John Doerr at Kleiner-Perkins. What they will be replaced with is one that is not only aware of the usability of products, but also has a sense for the flow of open technologies to fuel the ecosystem. These VCs will make side investments in technologies that are not intended to produce

an IPO or acquisition, rather are intended to produce a new layer of technology that a whole generation of startups can feed off. At the same time, some percentage of each fund will be plowed into programs designed to generate the next layer after that. The VCs will tell you that it's not their business to fund innovation for the sake of innovation. That's as short-sighted as saying that an oil company wouldn't invest in exploration or research into new extraction methods. Or if you got good service at a restaurant you wouldn't leave a 15 percent tip. Of course you don't have to do either. But if you don't do some exploration or leave decent tips, you'll be out of business one day, or get hot coffee spilled in your lap. I've always felt that as long as Moore's Law is operating, and it shows no sign of letting up, that we aren't doing our jobs if the tech industry isn't tracking its growth in a linear fashion. The boom-bust cycle is a product of the lack of vision of the VCs. Or our over-reliance on VCs to lead the investment decisions of the tech industry.

Curated News Edition

Politics-Right/

57

David Frum
(David Frum)

Andrew Sullivan complained yesterday that I had engaged in a McCarthyite attack on Ron Paul by writing the following: A politician isnt answerable for the antics of every one of his supporters. But theres surely a reason, isnt there, that racists, anti-Semites, 9/11 Truthers, and Holocaust deniers are so strongly attracted to the Paul campaign. They hear something. They continue to hear it too, no matter how firmly Ron Pauls more mainstream supporters clamp their hands over their own ears. Andrews riposte: Notice how pure the smear is, enabled and not diminished by the first sentence. Notice the key concept of Beltway ideological policemen: there is a mainstream and a non-mainstream. Dabble with the latter at your peril. Since David has perished by the cult of the mainstream, its odd he should deploy it against others. But to throw in Holocaust denial and 9/11 Truthers for good measure! Really. And notice how particularly cheap and easy it is to use such tactics against a libertarian. The traditional left is often based on collective associations, building a movement out of oppressed groups and their grievances, whether it be class or race or even

sexual orientation. Libertarianism is the opposite. Its about dis associating. When you listen to Paul saying he will not turn anyone away from supporting his platform regardless of their motives or beliefs, you are hearing a reflection of his libertarianism, not his bigotry. He will accept support from any quarter and compared with the corporate money flowing into the other candidates coffers, he is about as independent as a presidential candidate can be. Because he is a radical individualist, he doesnt even understand why he should somehow explain the belief of others, or justify their support. You should ask them, not him. This kind of gotcha-association game is particularly easy because libertarians favor liberty above all, and that will necessarily mean liberty for bigots as well as others. A principled belief in states rights will doubtless lead to more racist and homophobic policies in many states but also, of course, more enlightened and successful inclusive states like Oregon or New York or Massachusetts or California. A rejection of statism might lead to more discrimination in the private sector. But it doesnt mandate it. And it need not encourage it. A noninterventionist foreign policy will allow evil to triumph elsewhere in

the world, because it believes its none of our business or too riddled with unintended consequences to try extirpating. That may be right or wrong, but it is not an approval of the evil of Assad or Ahmedinejad or the North Korean junta. And again, it is actually much deeper an American tradition than permanent warfare. But if you can trot out David Duke or Ayatollah Khamenei as potential Paul supporters, you have a very easy, cheap and essentially McCarthyite target. It saddens me that this kind of tactic works. I still believe that the newsletters, because they were in Pauls name, require a clearer explanation from Paul than the muddled ones he has given. He should not be left off the hook. And his proposals deserve a thorough vetting and discussion. But there is something awry when a candidate is assessed not on his arguments and proposals but on the shadiness and ugliness of some of his fringe supporters. Ron Pauls supporters ask that their candidate not be judged by his associates. Or by the people he chose to employ. Or by the newsletters he published. Or by the book he wrote. Or by the way he earned the largest part of his living when out of office in the 1990s. Or by his purchase of the mailing list of the Holocaust-

denying Liberty Lobby. Or by the radio shows he chooses to appear on. Or by his strategic decision to reach out to racist voters. Or by the conspiracy theories to which he lends credence, from government creation of AIDS to Israeli culpability for the 1993 bombing to a putative 9/11 coverup. And here I thought that libertarianism was a doctrine of personal responsibility? May Ron Paul at least be judged by the words he has spoken with his own mouth within the current campaign? The supporters say no again. When Ron Paul tells an interviewer that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made race relations worse, were not supposed to consider what he might mean by better. When Ron Paul warns that a border fence would be used to prevent fleeing American citizens from exiting the country, were not supposed to conclude that hes a paranoid crank. Andrew deploys what might be called the ontological defense of Ron Paul, as follows: 1) Ron Paul is a libertarian. 2) Libertarians espouse individualism. 3) Racism is a form of antiindividualism. 4) Therefore Ron Paul cannot be a racist. That is a demonstration of what

might be called the deductive method of reasoning. But theres another way to study reality: induction. Like this: 1) Ron Paul has again and again exploited bigotry, paranoia, and hate as fundraising devices. 2) Ron Paul is a libertarian. 3) So yes, I guess it is possible for a libertarian to do that. Heres my question for Ron Paul supporters: why the denial of the undeniable? Perhaps you like Pauls message of legalized marijuana? Why not just say so? You dont think its important to stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons? Argue it forthrightly. If you regard Social Security and Medicare as literally the moral equivalents of slavery, go ahead, make your case. But all this excuse-making, special pleading and jiggering of the rules of evidence so as to exculpate Ron Paul from the record of his whole political life? For what? This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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Politics-Right/ Technology/ News Photos

Curated News Edition

Cloakroom: July 16 July 20


Josh Robbins (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)

will debate a bill meant to restrict political contributions through T h e H o u s e E n e r g y a n d disclosure requirements. The Commerce Subcommittee on Disclose Act would require Submitted at 7/15/2012 9:00:37 AM House Cloakroom Health will hold a hearing on the private entities to publicly release Analysis: This week the House Medicare Physician Payment all of their political contributions. will turn its attention to defense Overhaul. After the Supreme Courts funding. The major bill on the The House Appropriations decision in the Citizens United floor this week will be the Subcommittee on Labor, Health case declaring on restrictions on Defense appropriations bill, which and Human Services, Education, the political speech of groups provides the funding for the and Related Agencies will markup u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l , s o m e i n nations military. Additionally, t h e i r f i s c a l y e a r 2 0 1 3 Congress have pushed this type of the House will take up a bill to a p p r o p r i a t i o n s b i l l . legislation to limit their political establish strict transparency The House Armed Services contributions, and thus speech, in requirements for the Obama Committee will hold a hearing on other ways. For more on the Administrations process of the Impact of Sequestration on problems with this legislation, implementing the sequestration Defense. read Heritage analyst Hans von cuts. The debate over these The House Ways and Means Spakovskys take here. measures will likely focus on the Committee will hold a hearing on Major Floor Action: devastating effects the defense Tax Overhaul, Job Creation and sequestration cuts will have on the Manufacturing Sector. S 3369 Disclose Act military. The House Financial Services Major Floor Action: Subcommittee on Financial Major Committee Action: Institutions and Consumer Credit HR 5872 Sequestration will hold a hearing on the Impact The Senate Banking, Housing Transparency Act of Dodd-Frank Act: Consumers. and Urban Affairs Committee will HR 5856 Department of hold a hearing on the Federal Defense Appropriations Act Senate Cloakroom Reserve Monetary Policy Report. Analysis: This week the Senate T h e S e n a t e A g r i c u l t u r e ,

Major Committee Action:

Nutrition and Forestry Committee will hold a hearing on the Impact of Dodd-Frank. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Protecting the Electric Grid from Cyber Attacks. (news photos - Google News) The Senate Foreign Relations Submitted at 7/15/2012 6:07:13 PM Committee will hold a markup of the Convention on the Rights of Canada.com Persons with Disabilities. Today's photos and video: The Senate Health, Education, 'Breaking Bad' at Comic-Con Labor and Pensions Committee panel and premiere w i l l h o l d a h e a r i n g o n Examiner.com Controlling the Cost of College. The cast of "Breaking Bad" had a busy weekend in preparation for This entry passed through the the season five premiere. On Full-Text RSS service if this is Friday, July 13, 2012 they held a your content and you're reading it panel for 4000 fans. Then on S. on someone else's site, please read 'Breaking Bad' Final Season the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- Premiere: The Series' 15 Most only/faq.php#publishers. Five Memorable Deaths... Celebuzz Filters recommends: Incinerating all 819 news articles Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Today's photos and video: 'Breaking Bad' at Comic-Con panel and premiere Examiner.com

Refresh Roundup: week of July 9th, 2012


Zachary Lutz (Engadget)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 9:00:00 PM

custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a Your smartphone and / or tablet sizable chunk to get lost in the is just begging for an update. mix. To make sure they don't From time to time, these mobile escape without notice, we've d e v i c e s a r e b l e s s e d w i t h gathered every possible update, maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during

the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy! Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of July 9th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Software Refresh Roundup: week of July 9th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| | Email this| Comments

Curated News Edition

Social Media/ Daily World/

59

Coalition united for 9bn rail plan


substantially carved up as a result of the proposals for a review of the boundaries, then the idea that David Cameron and Nick Clegg you would simply march into the are due to stage a show of l o b b y i n s u p p o r t o f t h e coalition unity as they unveil C o n s e r v a t i v e G o v e r n m e n t ' s plans for the biggest investment particular anxiety to obtain this programme in the railways since piece of legislation is one that the Victorian era. may be very hard to swallow," he The Prime Minister and his said. deputy will announce a 9 billion On the Conservative side, former injection into the network as they defence secretary Liam Fox said seek to draw a line under the the Tories needed to be more latest bout of sniping between assertive with their Lib Dem their two parties. coalition partners. "We have a Over the weekend Mr Cameron particular problem which is the urged Conservatives and Liberal Liberal Democrats," he told The Democrats to come together Sunday Telegraph. "What I think behind the coalition and not to they have to remember is that they descend into "division and navel- are a sixth of the coalition, not Nina Frazier (Mashable!) human face) that control the gazing". half the coalition." expressions and show emotion. However, his appeal failed to halt Writing in The Sunday Times, Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:36:35 PM SEE ALSO: Human Thought the angry exchanges in the wake M r C a m e r o n f r a n k l y Robots just got creepier. The new Can Control This Robot of last week's Tory revolt which a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e r e w e r e FACE robot can express a range Watch the video to learn how threatens to derail Mr Clegg's "profound areas of disagreement" of human emotions that go long it took developers to create plans for House of Lords reform. between the two parties but said it beyond expressing happiness and this feat of robotics and how the Former Lib Dem leader Sir was essential that did not stop s a d n e s s t o s h o w d i s g u s t , FACE robot learns to mimic Menzies Campbell warned that them working together in the a m a z e m e n t a m o n g o t h e r actual human emotions. While a his party's MPs may refuse to national interest. Mr Cameron did expressions. It can even adjust the little unsettling, we've got to back Conservative plans to redraw o f f e r a n o l i v e b r a n c h t o i n t e n s i t y o f e a c h e m o t i o n admit thi p a r l i a m e n t a r y b o u n d a r i e s - Conservatives who feel that he displayed on a sliding scale. Continue reading... thought to be worth an extra 20 has given too much ground to the The robot relies on 32 gears in its More About: Face, Robot seats to the Tories at the next Lib Dems - spelling out some of "face" (compared to general election - unless Lords t h e a r e a s w h e r e t h e y w i l l approximately 52 muscles in a reform goes ahead. campaign on different policies at "If you are a Liberal Democrat the next election, including the MP whose seat has been pretty EU, the European Convention on
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:40:07 PM

(Evening Standard - News)

This Robot Can Express Frighteningly Human Emotions [VIDEO]

Human Rights and welfare reform. The announcement on rail investment covers the period 2014 to 2019 and is expected to include 5 billion for the completion of on -going projects such as Thameslink and the cross-London Crossrail and 4.2 billion for new schemes. Later, the chairman of the Tory backbench 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, said he believed the coalition was "very likely" to end before the general election, set for 2015. "I think it would be logical and sensible for both parties to be able to present their separate vision to the public in time for the public to form a clear view before the election," he told BBC Radio 4's The Westminster Hour. "Of course, it is always possible that that moment of separation could come sooner. It's very difficult to predict when that might be." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

60

Daily World/ Technology/

Curated News Edition

More troops on cards in G4S 'hitch'


(Evening Standard - News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:40:09 PM

moment," he told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show. "I think it is completely normal that you are The Government has refused to going to find some contractors on rule out the prospect that more a project of this size who aren't troops will have to be drafted in to able to deliver what they have the London Olympics in the wake promised." of the G4S security fiasco. But pressed on whether the 3,500 With less than two weeks until additional troops who have been the opening ceremony, ministers brought in to make up the insisted the Games would be shortfall would be sufficient, he secure and dismissed the firm's said: "We have contingency plans failure to provide the promised for all eventualities." 10,000 security guards as no more London 2012 chairman Lord Coe than a "hitch". denied security had been Earlier, however, it emerged that compromised and appeared to lay they had been warned 10 months blame for the problems with the ago in a confidential report by staff hired by G4S. "It was only HM Inspectorate of Constabulary when the rubber hit the road that (HMIC) about concerns over we were able to see, as G4S security. identified, a gap," he told BBC 5 Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt Live's Sportsweek. "The reality is, was at pains to defend G4S from and I cannot put this any more criticism, even going so far as to simply, when they expected suggest it was "completely people to materialise, they simply normal" for firms to break their didn't. That is why we moved contractual commitments on large quickly to stem that gap." projects. The Home Office, meanwhile, "G4S have been quite honourable. confirmed that ministers had They have put their hands up. received a report from HMIC last Nick Buckles, the chief executive, September raising a number of has said they got it wrong, they "issues to be addressed" with the have apologised, they are going to Games organising committee, cover all the costs, he has Locog, although it said these had apologised to the troops who are already been dealt with. "We going to be drafted in at the last asked HMIC to carry out a

number of inspections to test that Locog security planning was on track," a spokesman said. This followed the HMIC report that a review of security requirements led Locog to increase the number of security guards to be supplied by G4S from 2,000 to 10,400 while the value of the contract more than trebled from 86 million to 284 million. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the whole issue raised questions about the ability of G4S to take on major public sector contracts with organisations like the police. "They do look a complete shower at the moment, I think it is shocking what they have done. Frankly I think you have to have an awful lot of scepticism about their ability to deliver a contract," she told BBC1's Sunday Politics. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Google gently tweaks offline experience for Docs, rolling out to Drive users now
Darren Murph (Engadget)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:27:00 PM

You asked for it (probably), and Google delivered (definitely). Once you've enabled Docs offline within Google Drive-- you have, right? -- you'll be able to both create and edit Google documents and view Google spreadsheets sans a live internet connection. But now, Google's massaging the interface in order to automatically filter only offline docs while you're disconnected. Furthermore, those who'd like to preview which files are available offline while

still online, you can tap More -> Offline Docs in the left navigation pane. Google's saying that it'll roll out to "all Drive users over the next few days," so hopefully your data plan will get last you till then. Filed under: Software Google gently tweaks offline experience for Docs, rolling out to Drive users now originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 19:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Google| Email this| Comments

Curated News Edition

Daily World/ Politics/

61

Syria conflict declared civil war


(Evening Standard - News)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:40:08 PM

On 'Swiftboating' Mitt Romney


James Fallows (Politics : The Atlantic)

was not a massacre - as activists and many foreign leaders have alleged - but a military operation Syria's 16-month bloodbath has targeting armed fighters who had crossed an important symbolic taken control of the village. threshold as the International Red "What happened wasn't an attack Cross formally declared the on civilians," he told reporters in conflict a civil war, a status with Damascus. He said 37 gunmen implications for potential war and two civilians were killed - a crimes prosecutions. far lower death toll than the one The Red Cross statement came as put forward by anti-regime U n i t e d N a t i o n s o b s e r v e r s activists, some of whom estimated gathered new details on what the dead at more than 100. He happened in a village where added: "What has been said about dozens were reported killed in a the use of heavy weapons is regime assault. After a second baseless." visit to Tremseh on Sunday, the The UN has implicated President team said Syrian troops went door Bashar Assad's forces in the -to-door in the small farming assault. The head of the UN community, checking residents' observer mission said on Friday IDs and then killing some and that monitors stationed near taking others away. Tremseh saw the army using According to the UN, the attack heavy weaponry and attack appeared to target army defectors helicopters. and activists. A UN statement said The fighting was some of the "pools of blood" were observed in latest in the uprising against a number of homes. Assad, which activists say has Syria denied UN claims that killed more than 17,000 people. government forces had used Violence continued on Sunday, heavy weapons such as tanks, with more clashes reported around artillery and helicopters during the the capital, Damascus. attack on Thursday. Syrian As the bloodshed appeared to be Foreign Ministry spokesman escalating, the International Jihad Makdissi said the violence Committee of the Red Cross

(ICRC) said it now considers the Syrian conflict a civil war, meaning international humanitarian law applies throughout the country. Also known as the rules of war, humanitarian law grants all parties in a conflict the right to use appropriate force to achieve their aims. The Geneva-based group's assessment is an important reference for determining how much and what type of force can be used, and it can form the basis for war crimes prosecutions, especially if civilians are attacked or detained enemies are abused or killed. "We are now talking about a noninternational armed conflict in the country," ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

naval officer in Vietnam) turned what he presumed would be a strength, his military record, into Submitted at 7/15/2012 3:23:56 PM something he had to defend and Many readers are wroth about my explain. Long before the Swift h a v i n g u s e d t h e w o r d boat episode, this jiujutsu "Swiftboating" yesterday, in an technique was a specialty of Karl NPR conversation with Guy Raz, Rove's. to describe the controversy over Here are other examples of Mitt Romney's Bain background. candidates who had that switch (That same show, by the way, pulled on them: began with an outstanding "Cover Story" segment on the social, Hillary Clinton's presumed environmental, and economic advantage over Barack Obama in ramifications of the recent tumult the 2008 primaries was her vast in the coal business.) superiority in political and Here is why I used the word, governing experience. Obama including points there was not turned the tables on her, by time to make in real time on the asking: What was the benefit of radio. her experience, if it led her to 1) As I said, the Bain controversy support the Iraq war? is similar to " 'Swiftboating' George H.W. Bush's presumed without the falsehoods." You may advantage over Bill Clinton in think that is like saying "war 1992 was his vastly greater without the violence," but please experience, and his leadership of a follow along. worldwide coalition in the Gulf 1A) If I had thought of it at the War. Clinton (and Ross Perot) time, i would have added the term turned Bush's foreign-affairs I've since heard from another focus into a sign of being out of journalist: "self-Swiftboating." touch with the workaday concerns 2) The effect of this kind of of "it's the economy, stupid" 'Swiftboating' is, as I pointed out, regular Americans. to change a candidate's presumed Michael Dukakis's presumed strength into his weakness, or advantage in the 1988 campaign vulnerability. The term's origin is w a s h i s c a l m , n o - n o n s e n s e of course the 2004 general competence in the business of e l e c t i o n c a m p a i g n , w h e n governing. The Lee Atwater/ falsehood-filled accounts of John 'SWIFTBOATING' page 62 Kerry's record (as a Swift boat

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Curated News Edition

A midnight egg amendment creates a Constitutional quandary


Erika Johnsen (Hot Air Top Picks)

'SWIFTBOATING'
continued from page 61

anywhere should be involved in making such trifling rules over peoples personal choices. But, oh Submitted at 7/15/2012 5:31:23 PM well thats federalism, I guess. posted at 6:31 pm on July 15, The states are in control of all 2012 by Erika Johnsen powers not designated to the On July 1st, a new state law went f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t i n t h e into effect in California banning Constitution, and if Californias the sale and production of foie legislature really wants to go gras. For those not inclined to there, thats their choice. If people exploring the sometimes unsavory decide the costs of residing in a truths behind perhaps unfamiliar c e r t a i n s t a t e o u t w e i g h t h e culinary delicacies, foie gras is a benefits, they can leave, which traditional French food made out encourages states to compete for of the especially silky-textured the best policy prescriptions. livers of geese or ducks that have But heres the rub: How does the been force-fed grain to fatten foie gras ban mesh with the them up. Animal rights activists federal governments power to have never been fans of the regulate interstate commerce? practice (even though suppliers Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) doesnt claim that the production looks seem to think that it does: painful to the animals, but isnt King, in a midnight vote, got an ducks and geese dont have amendment attached to the 2012 digestive tracts comparable to farm bill aimed at stopping a humans), and California as a California law banning the sale of state decided they didnt much eggs harvested from hens living in like the idea, either. tiny cages where they cannot The law doesnt seem to have spread their wings. It also stops much efficacy to me, although it the law from banning the sale of looks like local producers could foie gras made using forced still sell foie gras if it was made feeding. without force-feeding the animals The lawmakers move infuriated (although it would presumably be animal-rights activists because it less delicious). For instance, hurt their attempts to secure better whats to stop restaurants from living conditions for the animals. importing foie gras from France But the California legislature also and serving it for free along with applied the egg restrictions to pricey pieces of toast?), and I imported eggs after local farmers dont believe any government argued they were at a competitive

disadvantage. King argues states cant make such a ban, saying states cant apply a law to imported products on the grounds that only the federal government can regulate interstate commerce under the Constitution. Pacelle said the amendment was poorly crafted and could have the effect of stopping states from regulating products sold only within those states. The wording of the amendment forbids states to impose a standard or condition on the production or manufacture of any agricultural product sold or offered for sale in interstate commerce if such production or manufacture occurs in another state. Iiiiinteresting. Who wouldve thought that just another California nanny-state, animalrights-driven regulation could spark such a debate? The amendment really would have farreaching implications for a lot of players, and there are plenty of food producers, lobbies, and agribusinesses with dogs in the fight. France, meanwhile, is responding in kind. I wouldnt say the French are really known for putting up much of a fight (while most of Europe teeters on the brink of financial collapse, theyre happily

electing more Socialists into public office go figure), but when it comes to food-related matters, they can apparently be pretty touchy. A political official in southern France is urging the nations restaurants to stop serving California wines in response to the U.S. states ban on foie gras. I call on all the restaurants in France that sell Californian wine to stop doing so in a show of solidarity for our foie gras makers and, more broadly, for all food makers, said Philippe Martin, the president of the general council in the Gers department, near the Pyrenees mountains. This wont have severe impact on the Gers region trade balance, let alone the French trade, or the California trade balance, but we had to send a strong signal because we think this is an unfair measure, Martin said yesterday in a telephone interview. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

George H.W. Bush campaign team, with its Willie Horton ads and its exploitation of Dukakis's response to the "what if your wife were raped" question at a debate, made his unflappability into a weakness. Etc A "Swiftboating"-style attack can be particularly hard for the victim to respond to, because he can scarcely believe anyone has the effrontery to challenge what he is proudest of -- or believe that people will take the slurs and challenges seriously. 3) Mitt Romney's business background is not only his "presumed strength"; it is the entire basis of his campaign. His argument against Obama, which he presents with admirable discipline and clarity on the campaign trail, is: Obama said he would fix the economy; the economy is still broken; I am a business veteran; therefore I am the man to fix this mess. If you don't buy the last two parts of this sequence, you don't buy anything about Romney's candidacy at all. Romney's team must know this. They should have been prepared to handle it, since it was much of the case made against him by Santorum, Gingrich, Perry, et al during the primaries. But so far they have 'SWIFTBOATING' page 63

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63

Is it any wonder that Washington feels as broken as it did four years ago?
Howard Portnoy (Hot Air Top Picks)

'SWIFTBOATING'
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was on the list of those deserving some of the shared blame, he responded: I think there is no Submitted at 7/15/2012 7:01:00 PM doubt that I underestimated the posted at 8:01 pm on July 15, degree to which in this town 2012 by Howard Portnoy politics trumps problem solving. Ask any Republican, and he will Short answer: No. tell you that Washington is just as So when Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.) bitterly divided along partisan raised an objection in January of lines as it was when Barack 2009 to the idea of a tax credit for Obama was swept into office on a people who dont pay income giddy wave of hope and change. taxes, the presidents haughty Or ask the president himself. responseI won. So I think on In a taped interview that aired on that one, I trump youdid not in CBS Sunday Morning, he told his view fan the flames of Charlie Rose: resentment or hostility. Nor was Washington feels as broken as it he contributing to the divisive did four years ago. And you tone he promised to end when he know, if you ask me what is the smirked in October of 2010 that one thing that has frustrated me after driving the economy into a most over the last four years, it is ditch the Republicans could not the hard work. It is not, you come for the ride, but they gotta know, the enormity [ sic] of the sit in back. decisions. It is not the pace. It is Clearly when Obama said of Rep. that I havent been able to change Paul Ryans deficit plan that the t h e a t m o s p h e r e h e r e i n GOPs vision is less about Washington to reflect the decency reducing the deficit than it is and common sense of ordinary about pitting children with peopleDemocrats, Republicans autism or Downs syndrome and independents who I think just against every millionaire and want to see their leadership solve billionaire in our society, he problems. And, you know, there is meant it in the nicest possible enough blame to go around for way. Similarly, the enemies he that. promised to punish while When Rose asked Obama if he addressing a Latino audience must

have been someone other than the Republicans. What is truly frightening is not that Obama is unable to recognize, much less own, his scornful derision toward those who disagree with him. It is that nearly half the voting age population of this country is unable to or is indifferent toward these qualities. Related Articles Subscribe at the top of the page to have my articles sent directly to your e-mail inbox. Follow me on Twitter or join me at Facebook. You can reach me at howard.portnoy@gmail.com or by posting a comment below. This post was promoted from GreenRoom to HotAir.com. To see the comments on the original post, look here. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

been wrong-footed-- and their responses have expressed irritation that anyone would have the effrontery to question his business record. 4) As I would have said if there were more time on NPR, Romney's resistance to releasing his tax returns compounds this problem in a uniquely destructive way. It is uniquely problematic for him because: his own father set such a memorable and dramatic example in the other direction by releasing 12 years' worth of tax returns during his 1968 presidential campaign; the tax returns are unavoidably connected to the controversy over his Bain background (for how long was he getting paid by them? at what level? for what duties? with what shelters? and foreign accounts?) perhaps worst of all, the campaign builds in a continuing story about when and whether he is going to release them. The daily drip-drip-drip story is almost always more damaging than bad news dumped out all at once. The longer the campaign delays, the more it guarantees coverage of the question: What is in these returns, that could be worse than the grief

the campaign takes for not releasing them? Already Louie Ludwig, who made the memorable"The Pig" parody of Reagan's "The Bear" ad, has illustrated what Romney will have to deal with until he releases the returns: 5) Here is another related interview, with Joshua Holland on AlterNet, about the current stage of press coverage of campaign disputes. So, "self-Swiftboating" would have been better. But even "Swiftboating" alone does convey the situation Romney is in. This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/07/onswiftboating-mitt-romney/259847 / This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

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Curated News Edition

Heart Ache. The dream of a Ron Paul presidency is smoked


Jazz Shaw (Hot Air Top Picks)

His backers failed to win a plurality of delegate slots at the Nebraska GOP convention Submitted at 7/15/2012 4:01:08 PM Saturday, leaving the Texas posted at 5:01 pm on July 15, congressman short of the support 2012 by Jazz Shaw necessary to have his name placed Lest we forget, the Republican into contention at the national presidential primary is still going convention. on. Well, sort of. Technically, According to national party rules, anyway. And even in July there a candidate needs a plurality of were still a few details to be the delegates in at least five states worked out in accordance with the to have his name presented for the arcane rules of the party for this nomination by falling short in summers convention. One of Nebraska, the last state to hold its those was whether or not Ron convention, Paul came up one Pauls name could be placed in state short. contention for the nomination on As you will recall, while never in the convention floor, giving the serious contention for the overall Texas congressman essentially a nomination, Pauls supporters free ticket to speak to the crowd. were incredibly effective in a This weekend, while few people number of states. It wasnt just were paying attention, it looks their ability to get out the vote, like the last nail was hammered in but years of experience with the that coffin. byzantine rules of the caucus It looks like Ron Paul isnt going states and the ability to wring to be officially nominated for the every last drop of support out of presidency in Tampa. the local power structure.

Nebraska was bracing for the same chaos as its described in the article, but in the end it simply didnt materialize. It would appear that too many of the adults in the room were well aware that the race was over, that it was time to get behind the nominee, and that to allow another stunt like the ones Pauls people had pulled before would do nothing but embarrass the GOP. At this point its difficult to see what role, if any, Ron Paul will play at the convention now. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Incinerating Assange - The Liberal Media Go To Work.

Ceton Echo Extender for Media Center beta to start in September


Ben Drawbaugh (Engadget)
Submitted at 7/15/2012 8:16:00 PM

CETON
continued from page 64

their neighbors in Redmond that Media Center is dead. Filed under: Home Entertainment Ceton Echo Extender for Media Center beta to start in September

originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 20:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Ceton Newsletter| Email this| Comments

If you're one of the lucky few -1000 actually -- who received an email today from Ceton you will have the ability to join its paid Extender beta this September. For $179 Ceton will ship testers an Echo Extender for Media Center before anyone else, but in return they need to help work out all the bugs in time for the release this holiday season. At that price the Echo isn't a budget alternative to using an Xbox 360 as an Extender, but between the additional functionality realized when paired with the upcoming

Ceton Q multi-room DVR and other features like HDMI-CEC and MoCA, it will probably be the clear choice for some -- not to mention it didn't take long for the InfiniTV 4 to drop $100 to $199, so this too should be cheaper at some point. Other news from Kirkland includes the fact that there's additional info about the Q coming in September and that the Ceton Companion beta is going well enough that the mobile apps for Media Center will launch at the end of this month. We guess it's a good thing for Media Center fans Ceton missed the memo from CETON page 64

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