2 dead after helicopter crashes in London

LONDON (AP) ? A helicopter crashed into a crane and fell on a street in central London during rush hour Wednesday, sending black plumes of smoke into the air as it smashed into a crowded street. Two people were killed and nine others injured, officials said.

The helicopter crashed just south of the River Thames near the Underground and mainline train station at Vauxhall, and near the British spy agency MI6.

Police said one person had critical injuries. Several people were taken to a nearby hospital with "minor injuries," London Ambulance Service said.

The Ministry of Defense said it was not a military helicopter, and a British security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the press said the incident was not terror-related.

The horrific scene unfolded at the height of the morning commute when thousands of pedestrians are trying to get to work.

Video on Sky News showed wreckage burning in a street, and black smoke in the area. The video from the crash scene showed a line of flaming fuel and debris. Witnesses said the helicopter hit a crane atop a 50-story residential building, the St. George Wharf Tower.

Allen Crosbie, who works nearby, said the explosion convinced him and others that London was being attacked.

"I was 100 percent sure it was a terrorist attack," he said. "There was debris everywhere, a ton of black smoke. Parts of the crane, parts of the helicopter. I heard bang, bang, bang ? I presume it was the helicopter hitting the crane and then the ground. People were just panicking. Everyone thought it was a terrorist attack."

He and everyone just ran for their lives, he said.

William Belsey, 25, a landscape worker at the St. George Wharf Tower, said he heard the helicopter hit the crane.

"First we heard a big crash, looked up, that's when we saw the helicopter coming toward us. We heard an explosion as it hit the ground," he said.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said he believed the helicopter was being diverted to a nearby heliport when it crashed.

"The top of the crane was actually obscured by fog so I didn't see the impact," Michael Gavin told the BBC. "But I heard a bang and saw the body of the helicopter falling to the ground along with pieces of the crane and then a large plume of smoke afterwards."

The area, roughly 10 blocks from the major Waterloo train and Underground station, is extremely congested during the morning rush hour. Many commuters arrive at the main line stations from London's southern suburbs and transfer to buses or trains there.

Aviation expert Chris Yates said that weather may have played a role. Investigators also would look at whether the crane had navigation lights.

"The question then becomes whether the pilot was fit," Yates said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-dead-helicopter-crashes-london-093806599.html

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France in 'direct combat' in Mali within hours

Young men play football in Bamako, Mali, Tuesday Jan. 15 2013. French forces led an all-night aerial bombing campaign Tuesday to wrest control of a small Malian town from armed Islamist extremists who seized the area, including its strategic military camp. A a convoy of 40 to 50 trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast as France prepares for a possible land assault. Several thousand soldiers from the nations neighboring Mali are also expected to begin arriving in coming days. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Young men play football in Bamako, Mali, Tuesday Jan. 15 2013. French forces led an all-night aerial bombing campaign Tuesday to wrest control of a small Malian town from armed Islamist extremists who seized the area, including its strategic military camp. A a convoy of 40 to 50 trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast as France prepares for a possible land assault. Several thousand soldiers from the nations neighboring Mali are also expected to begin arriving in coming days. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

French troops in two armored personnel carriers drive through Mali's capital Bamako on the road to Mopti Tuesday Jan. 15, 2013. French forces led an all-night aerial bombing campaign Tuesday to wrest control of a small Malian town from armed Islamist extremists who seized the area, including its strategic military camp. A a convoy of 40 to 50 trucks carrying French troops crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast as France prepares for a possible land assault. Several thousand soldiers from the nations neighboring Mali are also expected to begin arriving in coming days. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this picture dated Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013 and released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) shows French legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment based in Orange, southern France, exiting a military plane at Bamako airport, Mali. An official at France's Defense Ministry says the country will "gradually deploy" a total of 2,500 troops to Mali, and the French president says the military operation will last until security has been restored and African forces are ready to take charge. (AP Photo/Jeremy Lempin, ECPAD)

In this picture dated Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013 and released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) s French soldiers of the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment based in Le Mans, western France, listen to their officer during a briefing at Bamako airport, Mali. An official at France's Defense Ministry says the country will "gradually deploy" a total of 2,500 troops to Mali, and the French president says the military operation will last until security has been restored and African forces are ready to take charge. (AP Photo/Arnaud Roine, ECPAD)

In this picture dated Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013 and released by the French Army Communications Audiovisual office (ECPAD) a French soldier of the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment based in Le Mans, western France, distributes smoke grenades at Bamako airport, Mali. An official at France's Defense Ministry says the country will "gradually deploy" a total of 2,500 troops to Mali, and the French president says the military operation will last until security has been restored and African forces are ready to take charge. (AP Photo/Arnaud Roine, ECPAD)

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) ? French troops pressed northward in Mali toward territory occupied by radical Islamists on Wednesday, military officials said, announcing the start of a land assault that will put soldiers in direct combat "within hours."

French ground operations began overnight in Mali, Adm. Edouard Guillaud, the French military chief of staff, said on Europe 1 television. France's Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on RTL radio that soldiers were headed away from the relative safety of the capital toward the rebel strongholds in the north.

Residents of Niono, a city in the center of Mali which is just south of a town that was overrun by the jihadists earlier this week, said they saw trucks of French soldiers arrive overnight. The natural target for the French infantry is Diabaly, located 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of the capital and roughly 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of Niono. French warplanes have carried out airstrikes on Diabaly since the weekend, when a column of dozens of rebel vehicles cut off the road out of Diabaly and seized the town as well as its military camp.

Ibrahim Komnotogo, a resident of Diabaly who heads a USAID-financed rice agriculture project, happened to be outside the town when the jihadists encircled it. He has 20 employees and contractors who he says are stuck inside the town, which has a population of 35,000. He told The Associated Press that al-Qaida-linked rebels have sealed off the roads and are preventing people from leaving.

Komnotogo says he fears the Islamists are planning to hide within the mud-walled neighborhoods and use the population as a human shield.

"The jihadists have split up. They don't move around in big groups ... they are out in the streets, in fours, and fives and sixes, and they are living inside the most inhabited neighborhoods," he said, explaining that they had taken over the homes of people who managed to flee before the road was cut off.

French warplanes bombarded the military camp, but there have been no airstrikes inside the actual town, which begins at the eastern wall of the garrison. Residents have evacuated the neighborhood called Bordeaux, after its sister city in France, which is only 500 meters (yards) from the camp, he said. They have moved mostly into a quarter called Berlin, about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the military installation.

"They are preventing the population from leaving. We have been trying to get our employees out, but they can't leave," said Komnotogo. "They have parked their pickup trucks inside the courtyards of empty homes. They have beards. And they wear boubous (a flowing robe). No one approaches them. Everyone is afraid," he said.

French President Francois Hollande authorized the airstrikes last Friday after the Islamists began a push southward toward the capital from the northern half of Mali that they control. They seized the Afghanistan-sized north last April in the chaos following a coup in Mali's normally-stable capital.

Five days of airstrikes have done little to erode the Islamist gains in Mali, which some in the West fear could turn the region into a launching pad for terrorist attacks. The bombardments began in the town of Konna, which the rebels occupied last Thursday. After initially saying they had stopped the rebel advance, Le Drian on Tuesday acknowledged that Konna was still in the hands of the rebels.

Sahara Media, a Mauritanian-based website that the jihadists use to post videos and messages, published a video allegedly from Ansar Dine fighters in Konna, posing with the city's sign.

A member from the rebel group, one of three extremist organizations operating in north Mali, identified as Abou El Habib Sidi Mohamed, a member of Ansar Dine's communications team, said: "Thank you to God, who encourages jihad and the application of Sharia on this Earth, for we are now standing in the town of Konna, on this day, Jan. 14, 2013."

The seizure of Diabaly brings the Islamists to only 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the capital. Konna, the closest point where they were known to be before, is 680 kilometers (425 miles) away.

The ground assault reverses France's earlier insistence that it would provide only air and logistical support for a military intervention, which would be led by African troops. "Now we're on the ground," Guillaud said. "We will be in direct combat within hours."

On Tuesday, France announced it tripling the number of troops deployed to Mali from 800 to 2,500. The offensive was to have been led by thousands of African troops pledged by Mali's neighbors, but they have yet to arrive, leaving France alone to lead the operation.

Guillaud said the militant groups have a history of taking human shields and France would do its utmost to make sure civilians are not wrongly targeted. "When in doubt, we will not fire," he said.

A resident of Niono said that some residents of the besieged town had managed to slip through the rebel noose. They were arriving on foot, said Mamadou Haidara,

___

Hinnant reported from Paris. Associated Press writer Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-16-Mali%20Fighting/id-577119db14304626a5609418bff74c60

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Video Games Fights Childhood Obesity | Your Health Journal

From Your Health Journal?..?Today?s review is from The Sentinel about a 21 year old who had a great idea about how to combat childhood obesity. The author, Jessica D?Amico did a wonderful job with the story, and I recommend all of you visiting The Sentinel site (link provided below) to read the complete story. Dennis Ai learned from experience what it takes to fight childhood obesity, as he went through it himself. He admitted he had a horrible diet growing up, talked about being the ?fattest? kid in his class, along with being picked last for PE when teams were needed. Dennis decided it was time for a change. He began running home from school and even joined the track team. Now, a student in college, he is fit, but finds himself playing a lot of video games. As a computer science major, it dawned on Dennis that if he could create a video game that engaged kids in seeking out healthier foods, it could help to chip away at the obesity epidemic. Please visit The Sentinel site to read the complete article.?

From the article?..

Student?s idea makes it to national contest?s semifinals; votes needed to bring virtual world to life

If it seems that 21-year-old Edison resident Dennis Ai has a good handle on what it takes to help combat the national issue of obesity among kids, it?s because he learned from experience.

?I actually went through childhood obesity myself,? he said, recalling his formative years. ?I would eat like 20 potato skins a night. I had a pretty terrible diet. By the time I was in fourth grade, I was the fattest kid in my class.?

With that unhappy distinction came negative peer experiences, such as being chosen last for teams in gym class, and getting picked on by other kids.

?When you add it all up, it really hurts, especially as a kid,? he said.

One day, Ai decided it was time for a change. He started off by running home from school every day. Eventually, he joined the track team. By eighth grade, he was also a member of the crosscountry, tennis and swim teams at John Adams Middle School, and was able to leave behind the days of excess weight and poor health habits.

Fast forward to the present, with a fit and healthy Ai studying computer science and economics at Northwestern University in Illinois. While on break last summer, he found himself taking to video games, playing Diablo 3 constantly.

?I was sitting there playing this for eight hours a day, and I was addicted to it,? he said.

Although some may have seen Ai?s gaming as a waste of time, that ended up being far from the case. Instead, an idea was born.

It dawned on Ai that if he could create a video game that engaged kids in seeking out healthier foods, it could help to chip away at the obesity epidemic.

?Kids especially love games, because they can project themselves into the story,? he said.

After speaking with various experts on the subject and conducting research on behavior change techniques, he began assembling a team to make the health-promoting game a reality.

Always one to think big, Ai founded a company called JiveHealth, with the goal of creating a multitude of games that would meet the company?s mission of halving the number of children who are overweight or obese by 2016.

His team consists of Tom Denison, vice president of marketing and business development; Nathan Wangler, game designer; Hailey Schmidt, game artist; and Chris Yenko, software engineer. Along with running the show, Ai is the programmer for the yet-to-be-named game.

To read the full story?..Click here

Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=11558

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French Troops 'In Direct Combat' With Mali Islamist Rebels

French troops have reportedly engaged in street battles against Islamist rebels in the town of Diabaly in central Mali.

The fighting on January 16 came as French troops launched their first ground operation.

France intervened in its former West African colony on January 11 at the request of the Mali government to halt the Islamists' push southward toward the capital, Bamako.

French warplanes have since attacked rebel positions but failed to dislodge them.

French media reports said special forces were fighting alongside the Malian Army against the rebels in Diabaly, some 300 kilometers north of Bamako.

France has some 800 troops on the ground in Mali but their number is expected to rise to 2,500.

A West African regional force is also expected to deploy under a UN Security Council resolution.
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The conflict in Mali has raised concerns of an Islamist radicalization across West Africa, with Islamists threatening to take revenge for the French intervention.

Algeria Abductions

In Algeria on January 16, Islamist militants killed two people and took several others hostage in an attack on a gas facility.
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The In Amenas gas facility is more than 1,000 kilometers from the border with Mali, but near the border with Libya.
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One of those killed in the attack was a French national.
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The number of hostages remains unclear but the group is believed to include a Frenchman and other Westerners.?

The United States says it is "closely monitoring" the situation in Algeria, as the group of hostages includes several Americans.

In comments to French media on January 16, French President Francois Hollande said one of the goals of the Mali intervention was to deter such hostage-takings.
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"France cannot accept that its nationals be detained. We are making every contact so that their release can take place in the best possible conditions," Hollande said.
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"I also want to say what France's position is," he added. "It is through strong actions, including interventions such as we have staged in Mali, that we will make kidnappers and hostage-takers give up."
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The Al-Qaeda-linked militant group that claimed responsibility for the attack said it was in revenge for Algeria's support of France's intervention against rebels in Mali.

The group's claims could not be independently confirmed.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/france-fighting-mali-islamists/24831216.html

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China, India to strengthen military ties

Published: Jan. 15, 2013 at 2:08 AM

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- China and India have agreed to strengthen military ties, the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission announced.

The announcement was made by Xu Qiliang after meetings in Beijing Monday between senior Chinese and Indian military officials. The Indian side was led by Defense Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, the official Xinhua News agency reported.

Xu called China and India the largest developing countries in the world and important neighbors for each other.

He said China attaches great importance in developing military ties with India and hopes to increase mutual strategic trust, enhance friendly communication and deepen pragmatic cooperation to promote the strategic partnership for peace and prosperity, Xinhua reported.

The two countries fought a brief border war in 1962, but since then relations have steadily improved, although their border issues remain unresolved and new tensions have arisen, especially those relating to China's close relations with Pakistan, India's traditional adversary. But India-China trade also has boomed in recent years.

Other irritants in India-China relations include the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader who has been living in India since the failed Tibetan rebellion in 1959 and who China has accused of encouraging Tibetan independence. China's territorial claims in the South China Sea also are among the concerns.

Xu was quoted as saying he believes the two countries have enough wisdom and ability to handle their relationship and be able to pave a healthy and stable development path for it, Xinhua said.

Sharma said India attaches great importance to developing its relationship with China and expressed confidence in the future progress of military relations between the two countries, the report said.

Last September, the two countries agreed to resume their joint military exercises after a hiatus of four years. That was announced in New Delhi during the visit of Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie, who led a large delegation.

Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/01/15/China-India-to-strengthen-military-ties/UPI-57031358233721/

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Easy Currency Trading Strategies | CORPORATE FINANCE

Easy Currency Trading Strategies

January 16, 2013 ? Forex

The basic foreign exchange methods are the principles associated with foreign currency trading. These are the most basic resources which need being learned by traders just before they?re able to move on to more extensive methods. The dog pros and authorities regarding foreign currency trading hardly ever utilize these tools once they start working on greater extensive strategies regarding forex currency trading. Nevertheless they should get better at the fundamentals prior to they?re able to see the brand-new and also considerable strategies obtainable.

Simple forex trading techniques enable dealers to comprehend the fundamental doing work in the forex marketplaces. Even though merchants get experience in other designs regarding investing just like item areas, they will nonetheless have to grasp the basics involving foreign currency trading because there are a few crucial aspects with this marketplace that happen to be completely different. These kinds of methods might be called the education guide book regarding investors at the same time.

The normally used straightforward forex strategies are generally:

Follow the actual Bouncing Pip Forex Method: This course is quite simple to comprehend and also makes all the sell or buy selection much simpler. The idea includes the chance how the trader will to take. The system next includes the danger into the indicators that the dealers possess selected as well as suggests your selling or buying details accordingly. This allows participants an easy way of making regular and lucrative choices.

Andrew Trading System:

This is another basic software system regarding investors who?re nevertheless along the way involving studying the particular talent. It shows the particular extended along with brief positions regarding alternatives that need to be when compared. It makes model of the maps and graphs rather easy and also saves period as well. It might not always be as simple as the particular Bouncing Pip tactic nevertheless it even now makes life less complicated for brand new investors.

Horde Currency trading Strategy:

This technique fits individuals traders who aren?t remarkably experienced. The machine makes it necessary that merchants will be able to devote extended hours while watching laptop or computer. It?s signs to indicate the particular tendencies however, these indicators can?t be followed blindly. It?s kind of a lot more technological as compared to additional straightforward techniques however is painless regarding investors to know and recognize.

Compass Forex Strategy:

This method is a little more thorough regarding analysis of the indications which are selected with the investors. The strategy features particular investing regulations that has to be kept throughout close up consideration whilst choosing. Celebrate utilization of any ?Moving Average? indicating the actual downward slope with the development and also the durability. This really is very a good choice for traders when you get an insight within their indications and forex trading possibilities.

Most traders that be capable of grasp these types of basic methods appear to believe that they just don?t need these kind of strategies ever again. These people rarely return back to these kind of less difficult variants in the much more thorough strategies they?ll use throughout daily investing. These types of techniques are viewed being short-duration techniques and when acquired are generally overlooked. They are not aware that these techniques have provided basic principles for his or her information throughout trading which are not just pertaining to beginners. These may be made use of even by simply experts as well as pros once they want to make their particular judgements easier and timelier.

Related Posts

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Source: http://www.corporatefinance.biz/easy-currency-trading-strategies/

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World Bank Calls For Creation Of 600 Million Jobs

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The World Bank says an estimated 600 million jobs must be created by 2020 as global unemployment keeps rising.

Most of the jobs to be created should be in developing countries, the Bank said January 14, 2013 as its Group member's report found out that much-needed jobs in developing countries can be created at a faster rate if policymakers and development institutions make it a priority to remove the key obstacles to growth that private-sector companies face.

According to the World Bank, about 200 million people are unemployed globally and ways to solve the issue 'lies with the private sector, which provides nine out of every ten jobs'.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) report 'Assessing Private Sector Contributions to Job Creation,' indicated that four obstacles pose a particular challenge to job creation in the private sector - a weak investment climate, inadequate infrastructure, limited access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises; and insufficient training and skills.

Removing these obstacles, it says can significantly increase job creation.

'Joblessness is a global crisis that is especially urgent in the poorest countries,' said Jin-Yong Cai, IFC's Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer.

The report found that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) generate the most jobs in developing countries but they are also less productive, pay less, and do not offer as much training and development opportunities for employees, and smaller companies are also often most affected by obstacles to job creation, meaning they are unable to grow to their full potential.

Another key finding revealed by the report was access to finance by MSMEs. 'Easing it [finance] can result in significant job creation,' it said.

The study found that 45 million people enter the work force each year and yet more than a third of companies across the globe were unable to find employees with the skills that they needed.

In a joint communiqué issued at the report launch, 25 leading international finance institutions immediately pledged to work together to address job creation, and learn from each other's experience. GBN

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Source: http://www.modernghana.com/news/439851/1/world-bank-calls-for-creation-of-600-million-jobs.html

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Church teaching on homosexuality 'is like justifying slavery', says evangelical leader

The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is an evangelical and takes over the job at a time when the Church of England is grappling with the issue of whether to bless civil partnerships in churches.

Rev Chalke, founder of the Christian charity Oasis and a Baptist minister, said he recognised he would be accused by some of fellow evangelicals as having ?strayed? from the Bible but insisted he could no longer ?remain silent? on the issue.

He said that while verses in the Old and New Testaments had been used to condemn homosexual activity, they had to be interpreted in line with the wider message of the Bible, which he said was ?radically inclusive?.

?Some will think that I have strayed from scripture ? that I am no longer an evangelical,? he wrote.

?I have formed my view, however, not out of any disregard for the Bible?s authority, but by way of grappling with it and, through prayerful reflection, seeking to take it seriously.?

Rev Chalke argued that the church?s traditional teaching on homosexuality as ?a sin or less than God?s best? had been deeply harmful and that it now had a ?God given responsibility to include those who have for so long found themselves excluded?.

He went on: ?Why am I so passionate about this issue?

?Because people?s lives are at stake.

?Numerous studies show that suicide rates among gay people, especially young people, are comparatively high.

?Church leaders sometimes use this data to argue that homosexuality is unhealthy when tragically it is anti-gay stigma, propped up by church attitudes, which, all too often, drives these statistics.?

Describing how he had recently conducted his first blessing service for a civil partnership, he said he had come to view Churches? reluctance to embrace same-sex relationships as ?an injustice?.

He said that, just as there are verses which appear to support the notion of slavery, Christians would have to interpret the Bible for the contemporary world on issues such as homosexuality.

?William Wilberforce and friends were condemned by huge swathes of the Church as they fought for abolition,? he wrote.

?They were dismissed as liberal and unbiblical for their ?deliberate abandonment of the authority of Scripture.

?But, on the basis of a straightforward biblical exegesis of the Bible?s text, their critics were right.?

He added: ?When Copernicus discovered that the sun, not the earth, was the centre of our solar system, scripture was used by Luther, Calvin, the Catholic Church and many others to condemn him.

?Here is my question: shouldn?t we take the same principle that we readily apply to the role of women, slavery, and numerous other issues, and apply it our understanding of permanent, faithful, homosexual relationships?

?Wouldn?t it be inconsistent not to??

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568387/s/2787e947/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Creligion0C980A16780CChurch0Eteaching0Eon0Ehomosexuality0Eis0Elike0Ejustifying0Eslavery0Esays0Eevangelical0Eleader0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Jodie Foster Sons: Father Unknown?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/jodie-foster-sons-father-unknown/

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New York enacts gun-control law, first since Newtown attack

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed into law one of the nation's toughest gun-control measures and the first to be enacted since the mass shooting last month at an elementary school in neighboring Connecticut.

The bill passed the Democratic-led Assembly on Tuesday afternoon, a day after sweeping through the Republican-majority Senate.

The bill expands the state's ban on assault weapons, puts limits on ammunition capacity and has new measures to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.

Cuomo pressed for passage of the bill after a gunman killed 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, just over one month ago.

The measure also mandates a life sentence without parole for anyone who murders a first responder. Just two weeks after the massacre in Connecticut, an arsonist gunman ambushed and killed two firefighters responding to a fire he had set near Rochester.

At a signing ceremony in Albany, Cuomo said provisions of the bill, such as limiting gun clips to seven rounds and mental health screening for weapons purchases, were essential to making New Yorkers safer.

"People who are mentally ill should not have access to guns, that's common sense," Cuomo said. "That's probably the hallmark of this bill, coming up with a system that allows for mental-health screens."

"Seven bullets in a gun, why? Because the high-capacity magazines that give you the capacity to kill a large number of human beings in a very short period of time is nonsensical to a civil society," Cuomo said.

Police have said the gunman in Newtown, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, carried numerous high-capacity magazines and that he changed gun clips several times, allowing him to unleash at least 150 rounds in his 10-minute assault on the elementary school. Some victims were shot as many as 11 times.

Gun rights advocates lashed out at Cuomo and New York's law, decrying the speed at which the legislation moved through New York's statehouse. The state's lawmakers have been back at work for less than a week.

"The National Rifle Association and our New York members are outraged at the draconian gun control bill that was rushed through the process late Monday evening," the NRA, the nation's most powerful gun rights lobby group, said in a statement.

"These gun control schemes have failed in the past and will have no impact on public safety and crime," the NRA said. "Sadly, the New York Legislature gave no consideration to that reality."

Also on Tuesday in Danbury, Connecticut, not far from Newtown, gun control advocates gathered for a rally outside a Walmart store to demand Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the nation's largest gun retailer, stop selling assault weapons.

Among those at the rally were Lori Haas, whose daughter was injured in the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, and Pam Simon, who was wounded in the 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that also critically injured former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

The Newtown killings plunged the rural New England town of 27,000 into grief along with much of the nation and prompted President Barack Obama to form a task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden to find ways to curb gun violence. Obama is scheduled to unveil the recommendations on Wednesday.

In a White House news conference on Monday, Obama signaled he will ask Congress to ban military-style assault weapons, require stronger background checks for gun buyers and put tighter controls on high-capacity magazine clips.

The assault rifle used in the Newtown attack is based on a military rifle and can be equipped with magazines that hold up to 30 rounds of ammunition.

(Additional reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Grant McCool, Andrew Hay, David Gregorio and Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-presses-measures-tighten-gun-control-laws-063818765.html

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Florida's Python Problem: Snakes Reshape The Everglades

By editor

Originally published on Mon January 14, 2013 12:02 pm

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launched its first ever "Python Challenge." Nearly 800 hunters have registered for the month-long competition aimed at harvesting Burmese pythons. University of Florida professor Frank Mazzotti talks about the threat they present to the ecosystem of the Everglades.

Source: http://kazu.org/post/floridas-python-problem-snakes-reshape-everglades

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Silver and Gold Prices: The Gold Price Rose $8.90 Closing at ...

Gold Price Close Today : 1,668.90
Gold Price Close 4-Jan-13 : 1,648.10
Change : 20.80 or 1.3%

Silver Price Close Today : 3108
Silver Price Close 4-Jan-13 : 2989.6
Change : 118.40 or 4.0%

Gold Silver Ratio Today : 53.697
Gold Silver Ratio 4-Jan-13 : 55.128
Change : -1.43 or -2.6%

Silver Gold Ratio : 0.01862
Silver Gold Ratio 4-Jan-13 : 0.01814
Change : 0.00048 or 2.7%

Dow in Gold Dollars : $ 167.31
Dow in Gold Dollars 4-Jan-13 : $ 168.52
Change : -$1.21 or -0.7%

Dow in Gold Ounces : 8.094
Dow in Gold Ounces 4-Jan-13 : 8.152
Change : -0.06 or -0.7%

Dow in Silver Ounces : 434.60
Dow in Silver Ounces 4-Jan-13 : 449.40
Change : -14.80 or -3.3%

Dow Industrial : 13,507.32
Dow Industrial 4-Jan-13 : 13,435.21
Change : 72.11 or 0.5%

S&P 500 : 1,470.68
S&P 500 4-Jan-13 : 1,466.47
Change : 4.21 or 0.3%

US Dollar Index : 79.518
US Dollar Index 4-Jan-13 : 80.491
Change : -0.973 or -1.2%

Platinum Price Close Today : 1,656.30
Platinum Price Close 4-Jan-13 : 1,555.20
Change : 101.10 or 6.5%

Palladium Price Close Today : 702.55
Palladium Price Close 4-Jan-13 : 687.80
Change : 14.75 or 2.1%

The silver and GOLD PRICE felt pretty perky today. Silver tucked away 71.3 cents in its purse to close at 3108c. Gold added $8.90 to $1,668.9.

Since I was gone most of last week, today I'm giving y'all a review of the last six day's trading. Notice the gains silver and gold have gotten not clear of the woods yet, but at least free from the witch's house, at least. Stocks continued to rise, while the dollar spread its wings to fly and all the feathers fell off.

The gold and SILVER PRICE are a little out of sync. Today's gold show was welcome, pretty, etc., etc., but settled nothing. It did take the GOLD PRICE over its 20 day moving average ($1,666.92) but not by much -- two bucks. To convince the doubters, gold must climb above the last high at $1,695.40, and before that the early December low at $1,684.10.

On the sunny side, gold has formed a large falling wedge, which generally breaks out to the upside. Also, the spike low to $1,626 on 4 January prompted a big rally, and that day closed $23 higher than that low.

Friday, I should not overlook, it appears the Nice Government Men or other crooks who run the rigged games in Washington and Wall Street, struck about 9:30 a.m. and slammed gold down on the heels of the rally that had taken it to a $1,677.30 close on Thursday. No matter, gold's sinew was proven by today's comeback. It was, however, stopped at $1,675, so twould be nice if gold would oblige us by closing above that mark tomorrow.

The SILVER PRICE is tugging at the leash and longing to run upward. The GOLD/SILVER RATIO fell today to 53.697 from Friday's 54.665, down 1.8%.

There's more, too. Silver closed ABOVE 3100c. High came at 3114.1c, but silver held on to most of its gain. Needs to build on that gain tomorrow.

More witnesses are testifying that the lows on 4 January were the lows for the silver and gold corrections that began in October. But whether they are OR NOT, y'all need to get your heads straight about these corrections, fluctuations, and disappointments: they don't mean a hill of beans to us. All the loss there is IMAGINARY, just like every gain is imaginary until you in fact sell. If you bought silver at 880c in November 2008, you haven't lost a blessed thing in all these fluctuations, just the imaginary sting of marking to market.

What's the point? That we are NOT following a day-trading strategy, so it isn't fit to focus on daily changes. We are following a PRIMARY TREND STRATEGY, which means we climb on to that bull and ride him until he falls over. We don't blow a lot of money by trading in and out, we just hold on to the bull and ride that rascal.

And that also means that about now is the time to buy more. Or you can wait till silver climbs over 3200c and gold above $1,705 and you have more confirmation in hand.

Don't miss what platinum and palladium have done. Platinum rose $27 today to just about close the gap with gold. Y'all remember that the platinum/gold spread went negative back in October 2011, and save for a few weeks it barely poked its head above even, stayed there. Looks like the opportunity to swap gold for platinum that I mentioned several times has just about passed. I would call a move of the platinum/ gold spread to be bullish for all metals.

Palladium has dropped as low at $667 on 8 January, but has climbed back nearly $40. I don't trade palladium because it's too quirky and herky-jerky for my taste, but a close above $728 (early 2012 high) would release palladium from its long imprisonment.

US DOLLAR INDEX has given up all the gains of its rally in 2013's early days, and fallen back -- not quite through -- the downtrend line it broke for that rally. That line stands about 79.40, so a close below that gainsays further rallying. A close below 79 sends the dollar searching for the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Clawed back 12.1 basis points today to close at 79.518.

While the dollar suffers the euro exhilarates. Last week rallied up through its 20 day moving average and gained from $1.3065 to $1.3381. Rose 0.29% today alone. Aiming for $1.3500, maybe $1.3600

Is there no bottom for the yen? Today it made a new low and closed at 111.70 cents/Y100, down another 0.39% today. Everybody in the known world and remote parts of Antarctica must be short the yen. And look -- the Japanese politicians and the Bank of Japan have accomplished their purpose -- running down the yen's exchange rate -- without moving anything but their jaws. Neat, huh?

US$1 =Y89.53=E0.7473=0.032 175 oz. silver= 0.000 599 oz. gold.

Just to catch y'all up, that breakout of the 10 year bond yield has now toughed back to the downtrend line. 'Tis wholly unclear as yet whether this marks the long-awaited bursting of the bond bubble.

STOCKS just keep on a-bubbling and a-bubbling, with ne'er a sign of any economic basis for the mania. Never mind, we live in the Age of Illusions where only appearances count (as opposed to an Age of Allusion, where only literary references count).

Dow today rose 18.89 (0.14%) to climb past the 13,500 milestone and rest at 13,507.32. S&P500 lost 1.37 to $1,470.68. I still expect that both of them will gain more yet, probably hitting or exceeding the old highs. This move will run out of steam by April Fools Day.

Do not miss this fact: the Dow measured either in gold or in silver has fallen in the last 6 trading days. No new highs in store there.

Susan and I were in Chattanooga on Thursday and got to eat with restaurant entrepreneur Lawton Haygood and his wife Karen at his Boathouse restaurant perched alongside the Tennessee River. Most restaurants, even the chi-chi pricey ones, are a disappointment. Food all tastes the same, because the chefs are all cribbing out of the same magazines. But the Boathouse has flavors you won't find anyplace else. One reason is that Lawton invented a wood fired cookstove that allows cooking over a red oak fire -- directly. And wood smoke does something to seafood that carries it smack up to heaven. If y'all EVER get within 200 miles of Chattanooga, don't miss the Boathouse. But if they're too crowded, visit Lawton's other restaurant, Sugar's Ribs, and order the "Romaine is burning" -- half a head of romaine flash cooked over a wood fire, then garnished with pumpkin and sunflower seeds. My, O, my! We ate there, too.

Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought.

- Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger
The-MoneyChanger.com
1-888-218-9226
10:00am-5:00pm CST, Monday-Friday

? 2012, The Moneychanger. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission.

To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary is up targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stocks' primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold; US$ or US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate bubble has burst, primary trend down.

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER. Be advised and warned:

Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures.

NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day one or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps.

NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced.

NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt.

What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands.

One final warning: NEVER insert a 747 Jumbo Jet up your nose. No, I don't.

Source: http://silver-and-gold-prices.goldprice.org/2013/01/the-gold-price-rose-890-closing-at.html

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France scales up Mali military troops to 2,500 : Voice of Russia

He didn?t elaborate on the deadlines and type of armed forces that will be deployed to Mali.

Earlier president Francois Hollande said that 750 French servicemen, supported by the air forces and armored vehicles were fighting against Islamists in Mali.

The last few weeks saw the aggravation of the situation in Mali. The Islamists who had gained control over the north-east of the country last year, began to attack the positions of the governmental troops in the central part of the country.

On January 10, France sent its servicemen to Mali to provide assistance to the governmental troops.

In the next few days the soldiers of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) will arrive in Mali.

40 French armored vehicles enter Mali capital

A column of some 40 French armored troop transport vehicles have crossed into Mali from Ivory Coast and entered the capital of Bamako, Paris media report.

France?s President Francois Hollande said 750 troops had been deployed to this West African region. He added this number would be increased.

France scales up Mali military troops to 2,500

France is going to beef up its military presence in the war-torn Mali to 2,500 troops, French Defense Minister Jean- Yves le Drian was cited as saying Tuesday.

He didn?t elaborate on the deadlines and type of armed forces that will be deployed to Mali.

Earlier, France?s President Francois Holland said 750 French soldiers were in Mali to counter Islamist rebels.

750 French troops deployed in Mali offensive - Hollande

A total of 750 French troops have joined the offensive against Islamist rebels in Mali where overnight strikes "achieved their goal," French President Francois Hollande said in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

"For now, we have 750 men and the number will increase," said Hollande during a visit to his country's only military base in the region -- Peace Camp in Abu Dhabi. "New strikes overnight achieved their goal," he added.

Voice of Russia, RIA, Interfax, AFP, TASS

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_15/France-scales-up-Mali-military-troops-to-2-500/

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Dogs find lost boy | Steve Dale's Pet World

By Steve Dale, today at 7:34 am

Ryle Smith Baxter and Bella (Ryan Richardson/JOPLIN GLOBE)

Here's a lost boy story with a happy ending, which might have been written starred Lassie - or two Lassies.

As temperatures plunged into the low 20s, Ryle Smith 6-years-old, of Joplin, MO was discovered ?about a mile from the family house with Baxter, a Boxer, and also with Bella, a Labrador Retriever-mix lying on top of the boy keeping him warm.

Smith said that according to paramedics, the dogs were lying on top of the boy; they could tell? because his upper extremities were warm.

Ryle disappeared at about 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, ?following his puppy Bella away from the family property while playing outside. His parents called 911.? Between 150 and 200 people responded to the alert to assist with the search.This is the second generally similar story within the past few month, when a little boy was kept warm and safe in a barn by the family dog.

Complete strangers drove from surrounding cities to assist in the search.

?We were real concerned about the weather,? Newtown County Sheriff Ken Copeland told ABC News.? ?It was calling for sleet and snow later that night so we were really concerned.?

Copeland said responders from the Newtown County Sheriff?s Office as well as the Joplin, Seneca and Redings Mill fire departments, and the Newtown County Rescue and Recovery team, joined in the search, in addition to concerned local citizens.

?

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2013/01/lost-boy-kept-warm-by-dogs/

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Product Design and Patent Internship | Tradesmen.ie Blog

We have 2 Product Design and Patent Internships available to identify opportunities to create a new service related product that does not exist already or to develop a new way of delivering an existing service that has not existed previously. The positions entail doing extensive research into ways and methodologies for delivering existing services through web based applications and seeing how new patentable services or new patentable ways of delivering services can be invented.

Ideally you would work at our office here in Co. Laois, Ireland but other arrangements can be made if that is not suitable as long as it is acceptable for your placement supervisor.

Duties:

• Learn how to research existing systems and methodologies, carry out research with target user groups, collect feedback and interpret the data
• Learn how to develop detailed specification documents based on data collected
• Learn how to determine appropriate architecture, and other technical solutions
• Learn how to engage in outside-the-box thinking to provide high value-of-service to the company.
• Learn how to identify emerging technologies, web and mobile applications and the opportunities to integrate them into operations and activities.
• Odd Jobs / Errands

Qualifications:

• ?You should be studying Computer Science, Product Design or a related field
• You should have a high aptitude in Mathematics and English

Pay

This is an unpaid position but we will pay expenses, please ask for further details

About our Business

Tradesmen.ie is an interactive service that lets home owners and businesses obtain a number of quotes for jobs which are advertised over the web.? It also helps tradesmen locate work for the trades and the areas in which they are interested.?? Sms text messaging is used for real-time notification of all parties.? Buyers and sellers are matched based on locality, skills, and requirements.? The interactive nature of this service means that deals can be done much more quickly than by traditional means.

Tips For Your Application

When applying for jobs or internships make sure to write a cover letter that shows you have researched what the company is about and that you have the relevant skills and experience appropriate for the job or internship you are applying for.? Here are some tips below to help with your job or internship application

Tips to Improve your CV

1. ?Put the most relevant product design experience and qualifications at the top
2. Use bullet points to display important information
3. Spell check and proofread your resume several times

Tips to Improve a Cover Letter

1. ?Address your cover letter to the right person
2. Capture the reader?s attention, mention some product design interests or experience here
3. Spell check and proofread your cover letter several times

On your cover letter and CV find a way to show that you are smart, love product design, and are constantly growing, learning, and exploring new ideas. Talk about your relevant hobbies if you have any, like contributing to open source projects, community support forums or getting involved with a local product design or innovation group on Meetup.com or similar. If a local product design or innovation group does not exist in your area then set up one and invite others to get involved.? Let your potential employer know if you like developing products and coming up with new and innovative ideas enough to deal with them outside of your work or studies.

It is a really simple formula for the employer. While two candidates may be equal today, the candidate with passion will be far more advanced in the weeks and months to come than the candidate who treats it as ?just a job.?? And if you haven?t been partaking in any of these activities outside of your studies up to now, start as soon as you can and it will really develop your skills, help you to network with other like minded people and open up new opportunities that would otherwise never have been possible.

By following these tips you will be well on your way to getting noticed by employers in the hope of being called for an interview. The whole purpose of a CV and cover letter is to get an interview, so the work you put into improving your documents is well worth the effort.? Best of luck!

To Enquire about this internship or for any other details please contact the Managing Director Oliver Dempsey here or on mobile at:-

Cheers
Oliver Dempsey
Tradesmen.ie

Source: http://blog.tradesmen.ie/2013/01/product-design-and-patent-internship/

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Frank Mir: We Can Close The Books On Junior Dos Santos' Submission Game

Source: Studio MMA

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir owns nine victories by way of submission, and is widely considered one of the top fighters in the division on the ground.

Mir, who is rumored to be headed for a match up with Daniel Cormier later this year, was recently asked his thoughts on the Cain Velasquez-Junior dos Santos heavyweight contest that took place last month. Velasquez bruised and battered dos Santos for 25 minutes, securing the UFC heavyweight title in the process.

"I actually had it 50/50 going in," said Mir, during an interview with Studio MMA. "I still felt that Velasquez (would win), I've always said he is one of the most well-rounded heavyweights."

Mir continued to break down the fight, talking specifically about the area he is most known for: submissions.

"On the ground (Velasquez) at least went for a submission attempt," Mir said. "Everybody says Junior has submissions on the ground. I think we can close the book on that. After 25 minutes, he went for zero attempts."

Mir (16-6) had his three-fight win streak snapped by dos Santos last May, falling by second round TKO to the then-champion.

Follow FightLine.com on Twitter by clicking the "Follow" button below:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fightline_ufc_news/~3/sn9q51lDaKQ/

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US Involved in Failed Hostage Rescue

President Obama divulged today that the U.S. military played a role in a botched attempt by French commandos to free a hostage in Somalia on Friday.

In a letter to Congress released this evening the president says service members "provided limited technical support" in the raid - likely referring to intelligence or surveillance assistance - although he denies the forces took direct action in the assault on the compound. The NATO member state was attempting to free a French intelligence agent that had been captured by Islamic militant group al-Shabab three years ago.

The hostage and at least once French soldier died in the ensuing firefight, which also killed a reported 17 militants, according to the French government. A town elder told The Associated Press the commandos had also shot Somalis who had turned on flashlights during the nighttime raid attempting to discern what the commotion was hitting their streets.

Al-Shabab claims the French agent is still in their custody along with a soldier from the raid, but has offered no proof.

In his letter to Congress alerting them to his deployment of U.S. forces, Obama also writes that U.S. aircraft "briefly entered Somali airspace to support the rescue operation, if needed," but did not deploy weapons. The letter does not state whether the aircraft were manned planes or drone vehicles.

The news came as France expands military operations in another African state, sending warplanes into northern Mali to bomb al Qaeda-linked rebels.

A Twitter posting from the office of Mali's president states the United States has agreed to offer logistical support in that country, although American officials have not announced specifics. The Pentagon has reportedly said it is still weighing options in the West African state, which already sees American surveillance drones in its airspace.

ABC's Bazi Kanani contributed to this report.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-forces-involved-failed-somalia-hostage-rescue-012813277--abc-news-politics.html

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New Orleans Saints And NFL To Host Football Officiating Academy

Full Story ? SportsNola.Com

The New Orleans Saints and the National Football League will host a football officiating academy on Tuesday, January 29 at the club's practice facility in Metairie.

There is no charge to participate in the officiating academy, which will run from 3:30-8:30 p.m. for individuals aged 17 to 30 looking to become game officials or to further enhance their officiating skills with education on basic football rules and officiating philosophies. Expert instruction will be provided by NFL game officials, scouts and league officiating supervisors.

The session will feature the following activities.

By Justin Macione / SportsNola.Com

Full Story ? SportsNola.Com

Source: http://saintsreport.com/forums/f11/new-orleans-saints-nfl-host-football-officiating-academy-283848/

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Asus announces $149 MeMO Android tablet

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas may be over, but it does not mean news and product announcements come to an end. Asus waited until today, perhaps to avoid the avalanche of other announcements, to unveil its new MeMO Pad ? a seven inch Android 4.1 tablet that will be released soon.

The MeMO Pad will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, has a 1 MP front facing camera, 1 GB of RAM and comes with either 8 or 16 GB of storage. The company claims 7 hours of battery life. In addition, it claims to?feature ?a 10-point multi-touch LED-backlit display with 1024 x 600 resolution, 140-degree wide viewing angles, and its 350-nit brightness means images remain clear, even outdoors?.

The tablet ?will be available starting this January in selected markets?. Prices begin at $149 ? presumably for the 8 GB version. The MeMO Pad will come in three colors ??Sugar White, Titanium Gray and Cherry Pink and will be in the U.S. market in April.

Source: http://www.geeknewscentral.com/2013/01/14/asus-announces-149-memo-android-tablet/

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Presidential strut is now iconic inaugural moment

WASHINGTON (AP) ? At some point on Inauguration Day, if all goes as expected, the president's limousine will slow to a stop on its journey down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House. A Secret Service agent will open the rear passenger door, and the newly sworn-in president and the first lady will emerge from his car for a several-minute stroll. The crowd will cheer. Barack Obama will wave.

In that moment, Pennsylvania Avenue is America's red carpet. And the president and first lady are the only celebrities on it. The victory walk has become an iconic inaugural moment, one expected by the public and the press.

And though the tradition dates only to President Jimmy Carter, it has already developed an air of inevitability and predictable patterns.

Charlie Brotman, who has been the announcer for the inaugural parade for decades, says the crowd never tires of the moment. When it happens, the 85-year-old says, spectators can expect to hear him saying something like this over the loudspeakers: "Ladies and gentleman, here's what the parade is all about. The president of the United States is walking right in front of you."

Carter wasn't thinking about starting a tradition when he decided to walk the mile-plus parade route in 1977. The idea wasn't even his. Before the inauguration, a Wisconsin senator sent Carter a letter suggesting the new president walk the route to set a good example for physical fitness. Carter initially dismissed the idea as silly, but soon reconsidered. He wrote in his memoir, "Keeping Faith," that he "began to realize that the symbolism of our leaving the armored car would be more far-reaching than simply to promote exercise."

"I wanted to provide a vivid demonstration of my confidence in the people as far as security was concerned, and I felt a simple walk would be a tangible indication of some reduction in the imperial status of the president and his family," he wrote.

Carter told only a few people of his plan, including the Secret Service, and spectators were shocked when he emerged from the limo. At first, revelers seemed to think something was wrong with the car. Then, they realized what was happening.

"There were gasps of astonishment and cries of 'They're walking! They're walking!'" Carter remembered in his memoir.

No other president has again walked the entire route, a trek that took Carter 40 minutes. His successor, Ronald Reagan, is the only modern president to skip the stroll. Reagan and his wife, Nancy, stuck their heads out of their limo's sun roof during part of the drive in 1981, and Reagan didn't have a chance to walk after his second inauguration in 1985: that parade was canceled because of cold weather.

The next four presidents, two Democrats and two Republicans, have all pounded Pennsylvania Avenue pavement. They generally walk at least the last block to the White House, though the length and the timing of the strolls have varied. Once the president and his wife emerge, however, the script is similar. Waving, thumbs-up-giving and hand-holding are standard, and the first lady always seems to make the trek in heels. Even rain or cold don't seem to dissuade presidents. George W. Bush braved wet weather and temperatures in the 30s to walk with his wife, Laura, in 2001.

Whether children accompany their parents is hard to predict. Amy Carter, then 9, jumped and danced down the street with her parents. Chelsea Clinton joined her parents in 1997 when she was 16.

More predictable is a heavy Secret Service presence. Former agents say the parade can be a security challenge, mainly because everyone knows the route, and the street is less secure than the limo. But agents also understand the president wants to get out and be seen, says former agent Joseph Petro, who wrote a book about his years protecting presidents. Agents take a host of precautions, including leaving the limo doors open, just in case the president has to get back inside quickly.

During his last inauguration, the Obamas walked about six blocks. The president and first lady left their limo near the National Archives and Records Administration building, where the original Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence are displayed. After walking several blocks, Michelle Obama in green heels, they returned to the car briefly. They re-emerged for the last stretch to the White House, to a second round of wild cheers.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/presidential-strut-now-iconic-inaugural-moment-202651248.html

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3 Dashboards to Build Social Media Engagement | The Daily Egg

• The Daily Egg
• 3 Dashboard Tools That Measure Social Media Engagement

Everyone wants to engage with users on social media, but with 350 million updates on Twitter alone how can anyone keep track of what?s happening?

Instead of being flooded by social media data, you need to surf the wave. That?s where engagement dashboards come in.

Here are three tools worth considering:

Commun.it

If you?re mainly active on Twitter, then try Commun.it.? Sign up for an account (the free account lets you manage a single Twitter profile), input your Twitter credentials and Commun.it works its magic.

The Dashboard

Once they have, every time you login you will see a three column dashboard.

The left column is your navigation, while the center column contains your feed.? The third and final column provides more detail based on what you have selected in your feed.

In the below example I have selected ?Influencers? from the navigation in Column 1 and I am viewing the details of an ()

Click to enlarge

For each update you can see how Commun.it has tagged them (as an influencer, supporter or engaged user); which of your lists they belong to; their Twitter bio, followers and number of engagements.

You can also see mentions you haven?t replied to, with an inline tweet box and whether they are someone you should follow. Click on the ?consider to follow? button and the third column shows more detail about the user. You can follow them from the Commun.it site.

Navigating Commun.it

Beyond the dashboard, you can use the navigation in the left column to track relationships (influencers, supporters and engaged and high value); followers and unfollowers (with recommendations on who you should follow and unfollow); and groups (based on your Twitter lists).

You can find leads based on keywords you choose and refine these by location, language and sentiment.

Finally, you can search for particular Twitter users.

Activity and Engagement Reporting

To complete the package, Commun.it provides activity and engagement reports. The activity reports cover mentions sent and received, retweets sent and received, reach, the names of people mentioning you or mentioned by you, follower growth and your most retweeted status.

If you have a free account, the report covers the last 3 days only. The engagement report tracks some of the same items for particular areas and you can input a URL if you want to track that too.

Running this report brings up a table with a rating, follower count, engagement count and follower metrics for the users, including status updates.

Click to enlarge

Commun.it provides exactly what it says on its home page ? Easy Twitter Management.

But what if you also want to monitor sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and others?

Give a tool like Cloze or Engagio a try.

Let?s look at Cloze first.

Cloze

Cloze also provides a dashboard for you to track your interactions, but it?s not confined to Twitter.

You can add Facebook, LinkedIn and email ? in other words, most people?s most important networks. Cloze uses the data from these to create a profile for you that is surprisingly detailed.

When you first go to Cloze, you get a homepage showing the number of missed messages you have and your Cloze score (which measures the quality of your relationships based on dormancy, frequency, responsiveness, privacy, freshness and balance) .

The home page also shows the number of messages and contacts being tracked and the number of strong relationships it has discovered.

Every contact also has a Cloze score based on their importance to and interaction with you. All you have to do is click on their name to get a detailed view of their interaction with you, their contact information, people related to them and recent messages.

In this example, my connection with this person is positively effected by how recently we have talked,

?

The overall Cloze score is determined by a number of factors,

Catching Up

The next important page is the ?what you may have missed? page.

On the left this shows your contacts and their updates, with options to share them, mark the update as read, or mute them. You can filter the view to see just emails and direct messages; just profile updates; just new connections and just shares and comments. And you can also change what you see for targets, muted targets and everyone else.

?

Cloze automatically suggests targets based on your interaction, but you can also mute or pin different targets so you get the tailored view you want. You can even choose whether to show personal relationships, coworkers, other relationships or everyone and can track up to 100 key relationships.

Reply and share options are appropriate for the original source. For email, clicking the paper plane button allows you to send a quick email or to send one of the message templates (call me, I?m on the road, or I?ll reply soon).

Here?s an example of the options available for a Twitter status update I missed,

Cloze provides a great way to communicate with the people you want to reach from a single place.

Engagio

The third dashboard is Engagio.

Founded by William Mougayar, the site started as a social conversations network ? a way to converse with others on social media without having to go to each site to find out what was happening.

That?s still at the heart of Engagio.

Sign up, add your accounts from 14 social networking sites and track your conversations either in a unified inbox or site by site. You can follow users and and see what they are talking about and even track the top people you interact with.

All of this happens in a Gmail-like inbox interface.

Click to enlarge

Transforming Relationships

At the start, the site aimed to let you transform your online interactions into relationships and recent changes have improved functionality and design.

Engagio tracks comments and discussions from 14 networks including

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google+
• LinkedIn
• Disqus
• YouTube
• StackExchange
• StockTwits
• Angel List
• WordPress
• Hacker News
• Tumblr
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Engagio aims to end the fragmentation of the social web.

Discovering Engagement

At the heart of Engagio is the engagement discovery dashboard. On the left is a small navigation panel.

The middle shows discussions from people you are following, with a small icon indicating the network the update is on. Click on the update and a sub-menu appears to allow you to reply, share, follow, view, like or see the context. Some of these functions happen in-line, while others take you to the social media site to complete the action. And on the right of the dashboard, there are lists of sites and articles where your contacts are active.

All users also have an editable profile which lists their networks, Klout score, links (pulled mainly from Google+), bio and recent discussions. You can also get an at-a-glance view of how active users are on the social networks they use, the top sites they comment on and the people they interact with most.

Other Engagio Features

Here are some of the other major features of Engagio:

1. When you follow a user on Engagio, even if it?s just on one network, you can see everywhere that user is participating (as long as they are signed up for Engagio).
2. Engagio has a new search feature. Look for conversations on a topic of interest and drill down to the people, articles and sites talking about it ? this is an excellent research tool for writers and bloggers. You can even set up email alerts for your searches.
3. Follow conversations and discussions from your Engagio dashboard ? you don?t ever need to lose a conversation again.

Which Tool is Best?

So which engagement dashboard is right for you?

As always, it depends on your needs.

If you?re only using Twitter, then all you need is Commun.it. If you just need the biggest social networks, then Cloze has a lot to offer and since it?s still new you can expect more features to be added.

For me, as an active user of multiple social networks, Engagio is the best choice.

What social media engagement dashboards are you experimenting with?

Source: http://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/01/14/3-dashboards-to-build-social-media-engagement/

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Vatican criticizes gay adoption, topless women protest

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican underlined its opposition to gay adoption on Sunday as same-sex marriage supporters staged a topless protest in front of the pope in St. Peter's Square.

The Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano published a response to an Italian court's rejection of an appeal by a father who feared his son would not have a balanced upbringing if he lived with his mother and her female partner.

The Court of Cassation ruled it was "mere prejudice" to assume that living with a homosexual couple could be detrimental for a child's development.

While gay rights group Arcigay called it a "historic ruling" for Italy, where it is illegal for gay couples to adopt, Catholic leaders were quick to defend the traditional family unit.

L'Osservatore Romano, the 151-year-old mouthpiece of the Holy See, ran an editorial that sought to play down the court ruling, saying that children often grow up in difficult circumstances without a mother or father.

"But no one believes that these situations should be created just because in some cases they don't cause damage," wrote Adriano Pessina, director of bioethics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.

"The human is the masculine and the feminine ... the monogamous family is the ideal place to learn the meaning of human relations and is the environment where the best form of growth is possible," he wrote.

He reaffirmed the Vatican's view that no one has the "right" to children that he said gay couples who want to adopt are claiming.

In Paris, hundreds of thousands of people protested against President Francois Hollande's planned legalization of same-sex marriage.

The Vatican has become increasingly vocal against homosexual marriage in recent months. Pope Benedict strongly reaffirmed the Church's opposition to it in December, saying heterosexual marriage had an indispensable role in society.

While the pope was giving his weekly address on Sunday, four women from the Ukrainian Femen group who were in the crowd, pulled off their T-shirts to reveal the slogan "In Gay we Trust" painted over their bodies.

Screaming "Homophobes shut up" as the pope started his Angelus blessing, they provoked angry reactions from pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. One woman in the crowd started hitting the activists with an umbrella, calling them "diabolical".

Italian police grabbed the protesters and pulled them away from the crowd.

(Additional reporting by Carmelo Camilli; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-paper-criticizes-gay-adoption-italy-ruling-113634062.html

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